Southern guerrilla warfare: I led the Red Seventh Army Corps to amassed a million troops.

Two days later, the final military meeting before the northward advance began.

Zhou Zeyuan ignored Qiu Bai's request to sit in on the proceedings and took Le Shaohua to Pingnan.

Not long after the meeting began, Zhou Zeyuan once again made a guarantee: once the campaign is officially launched, the opinions of superiors can be selectively followed.

What if it's not an opinion but an order?

Cold!

Led by Xun Huaizhou, Zhou Zeyuan accepted the enthusiastic applause from the audience with a clear conscience, while Le Shaohua looked on with envy, helplessness, and hesitation.

Then, the atmosphere in the meeting room suddenly changed!

Sitting in the main seat, Xun Huaizhou was full of vigor, his back straight and his eyes bright.

Standing before the map, Su Yu held a baton in her hand, her expression calm and her tone steady.

Although they each had only about 10,000 troops at their disposal.

But at this moment, both of them exuded an unparalleled arrogance, as if Prime Minister Zhuge Liang regarded Cao Cao's million-strong army as mere ants.

Su Yu pointed to the southern part of Ningde on the map:

"...That's all for now regarding the defense of northern Fujian. Judging from the current situation, as long as we control the key location of Nanjishan in eastern Fujian, the Nationalist army in Ningde will have no peace of mind."

"Although the 49th and 57th Divisions are not weak, they are stretched thin because they have to defend Ningde and Fu'an at the same time, and also send troops to attack the base area."

"Concentrating superior forces to capture Nanjishan is the best option for the National Army at present."

Ye Fei stood up and said in a loud voice, "Please rest assured, Chief of Staff! My Fujian-East Independent Division has absolute confidence in holding Nanji Mountain and inflicting heavy losses on the invading enemy!"

Su Yu nodded. Ye Fei's route was relatively the most stable, as he had existing positions to rely on for mountain defense.

In terms of troop strength, the enemy has at most twice his size.

If the strategy of directly confronting the enemy and combining it with guerrilla harassment is executed well, it might be the fastest way to determine the winner.

"Next is the Lianjiang direction. Here we face the enemy forces in Fuzhou. The enemy has three divisions, all of them elite, well-equipped, and with ample ammunition."

Zhou Zeyuan slightly raised his hand: "I will be in charge of this route. I am not entirely confident of victory, but I can guarantee that we can at least delay the enemy for half a month."

Xun Huaizhou continued, "The First Column's more than 10,000 men have already moved into position, and we'll set off tomorrow. If the Nationalist army reacts quickly, we'll start fighting the day after tomorrow."

"The tasks have all been assigned. The Nationalist army is coming in strong. If anyone feels that they are not up to the task, they can speak up. The corps headquarters will not hold them accountable."

The gazes of everyone present remained firm, and not a single person wavered.

Some people even puffed out their chests, as if the phrase "no one will be held responsible" had stirred up a bit of resentment in them.

After the meeting adjourned, everyone left one after another, leaving only Zhou Zeyuan sitting in the conference room.

He didn't get up, but leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the map spread out in front of him.

His bodyguard, Xiao Zhong, walked in. "Commander, who are you waiting for?"

"Naturally, I'm waiting for someone to come looking for me."

No sooner had he finished speaking than there was a knock on the door.

The two looked towards the door, which was pushed open, and Su Yu stood outside.

"Chief of Staff." Xiao Zhong saluted, then turned and walked towards the door. In that final glance back, he looked at his own legion commander, his eyes filled with admiration.

He truly lives up to his reputation for being incredibly insightful; he even predicted the chief of staff's whereabouts.

What he didn't know was that after he walked out the door, he closed it behind him.

Zhou Zeyuan's first words were: "Why is it you here?"

Su Yu smiled: "Shouldn't I have come?"

"No, I just feel there's someone else I should talk to."

"Forget about Huaizhou." Su Yu walked in and sat down opposite Zhou Zeyuan. "He's full of passion right now. Wait until he calms down before giving him a heads-up via telegram. With a major battle imminent, I need to have some heartfelt words with you."

Zhou Zeyuan's expression turned serious, and he sat up straight: "Yes, go ahead."

"I hope you are mentally prepared for the possibility that if Gutian is lost, Pingnan falls, and the enemy breaks through southern Zhejiang and northern Fujian, I hope you can remain calm and not lose your composure."

Zhou Zeyuan's face had turned ashen.

My dear chief of staff, what are you trying to do?

At this moment, Zhou Zeyuan was completely unaware that his indulgent attitude had inadvertently fueled the ambitions of his two good brothers.

Su Yu continued, "On several fronts, we can either engage in direct confrontation or use guerrilla tactics to buy time."

"But if we can't win a decisive victory, if we can't annihilate a part of the enemy forces in an organized manner, this war will turn into a protracted war of attrition. That's how the Central Soviet Area was worn down."

At this point, he emphasized, "Our ammunition is hard-won, and we cannot waste it on meaningless battles."

I'm rough around the edges! That's just my perspective. That's what perspective is all about.

At this moment, Zhou Zeyuan was truly convinced.

He had to admit that there are indeed differences between people.

He considered himself to have some strategic insight, but he was truly lacking in Su Yu's composure and overall perspective.

However, the more this is the case, the more important the mid lane becomes!

Still unwilling to give up, he asked, "Since you're going to focus the decisive battle on the mid lane, how about I send two teams there for you?"

"There's no need for that." Su Yu shook his head. "Most of our logistical supplies are in Lianjiang and Luoyuan areas, and the Soviet government is also located here. Our logistics and morale depend on this area, and we absolutely cannot let the Kuomintang invade."

Zhou Zeyuan held up one finger. "One regiment. I'm only giving you one regiment. We have two whole divisions here; it's a waste to use them only for defense."

Su Yu nodded: "Alright, transfer the Second Division's supplementary regiment to me. This regiment has more than a thousand people, which I can use as a reserve force."

"Are you sure you only want one reinforcement group?"

Zhou Zeyuan felt he had never been so humble as he was today.

I wanted to send you more troops, but I couldn't even send them out.

It's so difficult to deliver things, is there no law anymore?

"That's enough. Quality over quantity is the key to a good army. If you really want to give me some support, that mountain artillery battalion still has about one round of ammunition left. If I accidentally run out, don't take it out on me."

Zhou Zeyuan waved his hand dismissively, "Fight, fight all you want. As long as we can win the battle, I'll figure out a way to get things sorted out."

Zhou Zeyuan said he would try to get it, but he wasn't hoping to seize it from the Kuomintang.

During this period, the National Revolutionary Army was said to have a million-strong army, but the entire army only had a few hundred mountain and field artillery pieces.

Forget about seizing artillery shells through ordinary channels.

It depends on luck, and the opponent must be a member of the Central Army's elite forces.

He also had a more reliable source: Mayer, the most promising candidate for the Far East War King, the young master of Shenchang Trading Company, and a descendant of Vikings.

This guy is incredibly resourceful; he's recently managed to hook up with a Japanese businessman.

The other side claimed that as long as you have money, you can get ammunition.

He certainly couldn't get his hands on the artillery that was in service with the Imperial Japanese Army, but he had plenty of shells.

Not only the Type 41 mountain gun, but also the shells and 7.92mm bullets for the Liaoning-made 77mm field gun were plentiful.

After contacting Zhou Zeyuan by telegram and receiving a positive reply, Mayer immediately paid a deposit to the other party and arranged for the goods to be shipped.