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

Zhang Boting withdrew his gaze and shook his head slightly. "If the Red Army were to enter the Jinqu Basin, wouldn't the Principal be furious?"

Sun Yuanliang's expression froze.

Without waiting for his reply, Zhang Boting continued, "Forget it, you're the division commander, so you have the final say. But I must make it clear: I obey your orders. But this battle plan has nothing to do with me, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the General Staff."

After speaking, he took half a step back, stood at attention, and his expression returned to its usual businesslike calm.

Sun Yuanliang's face stiffened, but he breathed a sigh of relief.

Old Zhang is a decent person; if he doesn't want to participate, he doesn't participate, at least he won't tattle on himself.

To be fair, although Sun Yuanliang was quite concerned about saving his own life, he didn't just care about his own; he also genuinely cared about the lives of his men.

He led the main force across the Songyin River. After reaching the north bank, he specifically ordered that all the boats used for crossing the river be left on the south bank and lined up neatly at the dock at the foot of the mountain.

The artillerymen aimed their cannons here, and if the Red Army dared to try to seize the boats, they would ruthlessly sink them all.

Before long, the vanguard of the Red Army arrived at the foot of Baxian Mountain.

After a round of probing, they immediately launched a fierce attack!

Just as Sun Yuanliang had initially anticipated, this Red Army eliminated its equipment shortcomings after acquiring a large amount of spoils.

The combat power they displayed was extremely astonishing!

At least he himself was not confident that he could defeat Xun Huaizhou!

The regiment on Baxian Mountain suffered heavy casualties after three hours of fierce fighting with the Red Army's vanguard.

After the Red Army captured several positions, the regimental commander conveyed a request for retreat to the division headquarters via telephone.

Sun Yuanliang didn't hesitate for even a second and approved it immediately!

Frankly speaking, if they hadn't fled without a fight, there would have been no way to cover it up.

He doesn't even want to keep this regiment!

Let's just leave one or two links at random!

During a lull in the Red Army's attack, the regiment abandoned its baggage, and several hundred men traveled light.

They ran frantically down the mountain for their lives!

Based on Xun Huaizhou's assessment that the enemy would either send reinforcements or, if not, attempt to break out under cover of night, given the fierce fighting of the Nationalist army, they would likely attempt to do so.

But he simply couldn't understand Sun Yuanliang's thought process and never expected that they would retreat so suddenly.

By the time the Red Army observation posts at the front reacted, the group had already reached the riverbank.

Under the cover of the division headquarters' firepower, they boarded the boat and crossed the river in one smooth motion.

When the Red Army reached the south bank, the last boatload of people was already about ten meters from the shore. The sound of bullets hitting the deck was loud, but they were ultimately unable to stop them.

Subsequently, the Red Army launched a probing attack across the river.

Upon discovering that the Nationalist army on the north bank had dense firepower and a solid defensive line, they temporarily abandoned the offensive and began to rest and regroup.

But Sun Yuanliang dared not be careless in the slightest.

His men reported that the Red Army was surveying the hydrology along the river.

Some reports also say that the Red Army is cutting down trees, seemingly to build rafts.

Messages kept coming in, each one making his heart tighten.

Fortunately, he was prepared.

He knew that mountain warfare was not his forte, and that he would ultimately have to rely on rivers to resist the Red Army's offensive.

Therefore, they seized all the boats within a ten-mile radius in advance, not even sparing the small fishing boats used by ordinary people.

That night he ordered a tight defense to guard against a possible night attack by the Red Army.

The soldiers lay prone in their fortifications on the riverbank, staring wide-eyed at the darkness on the opposite side.

The beams of the searchlight swept across the river again and again, illuminating the dark waters in a stark white light.

Every now and then, flares would be launched into the sky, exploding into a blinding white light that illuminated the terrain on both sides of the river as if it were daytime.

I spent the night on edge.

The next day at daybreak, Sun Yuanliang stood on the hilltop, holding up his binoculars and looking towards the south bank.

The morning mist rises from the valley, like a thin veil, obscuring the mountains and forests on the opposite bank.

He stared at it for a while, then suddenly felt that something was not quite right.

It's too quiet.

There was no smoke from the chimneys, no one in sight, and even the campfire that had been faintly visible last night had been completely extinguished.

The entire south bank seemed to have been hollowed out, utterly silent.

His heart skipped a beat. Just as he was about to send someone down to investigate carefully, the door to the telecommunications room was suddenly kicked open.

"Report! Reporting to the division commander!" A communications soldier came running up, panting, holding a telegram in his hand: "Urgent telegram from the Songyang County Security Regiment!"

Sun Yuanliang took the telegram and looked down at it.

He only glanced at it, and his head exploded with a "buzz".

The above message is a request for reinforcements from the Songyang County Security Regiment: the main force of the Red Army has appeared downstream of the Songyin River and is advancing rapidly towards Songyang County.

Songyang.

Sun Yuanliang's mind went blank, as if he had been hit hard on the back of the head.

He turned around abruptly and looked at the map.

Songyang is located northwest of Lishui.

Beyond Songyang lies Suichang. Beyond Suichang lies…

He suddenly remembered.

Why did Yu Jishi insist on having his 88th Division set up a blocking position at Baxian Mountain?

It's not because Baxian Mountain is particularly dangerous, but because this place blocks both the northward and westward routes.

He abandoned Baxian Mountain and led his main force to retreat to the north bank, which indeed blocked the Red Army's path to attack Lishui.

But they turned around and headed northwest, attacking Songyang, then passing through Suichang, and were able to enter the Jinqu Basin.

He opened the door himself, then moved a stone to block it, thinking that this would keep people out.

But he was blocking his own door.

They climbed out of the window.

As the autumn wind blew, he felt a chill on his back.

Zhang Boting leaned against the wall, watching him pace anxiously, and couldn't help but chuckle.

You reap what you sow!

Why bother? Either don't join the army, or be prepared to die on the battlefield.

However, he clearly underestimated Sun Yuanliang's political intelligence.

Just a moment later, the "Flying General" suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He quickly walked to the table, picked up a pen, and quickly drafted a telegram.

Zhang Boting leaned over and took a look.

He glanced at it once, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

What a clever use of euphemism!

The telegram read: "The soldiers of the 88th Division of the Ministry fought bravely and engaged in a bloody battle with the bandits at Baxian Mountain for a day and a night, killing and wounding many bandit soldiers."

However, the bandit army was extremely cunning. While fighting a bloody battle with our army, its main force crossed the Great Wall and advanced westward.

The officers wanted to pursue the enemy, but feared falling into an ambush, so they requested tactical guidance from their superiors.

Every word is the truth.

But when read together, the meaning is completely different.

Zhang Boting glanced at the telegram, then at Sun Yuanliang.

Sun Yuanliang felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, coughed lightly, folded the telegram, and handed it to his staff officer: "Send it, send it immediately."

The staff officer took the telegram, turned around, and quickly walked out.