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

Not long after, the battle report from Xun Huaizhou's side was delivered to the Danyang Town command post.

After the corps headquarters moved to Pingnan, they established a rule that all battle reports from each unit would be transferred to Pingnan, while the Danyang command would only be responsible for military intelligence affairs around Lianjiang and Luoyuan.

Naturally, this battle report was first sent to Su Yu, who then passed it on to Zhou Zeyuan.

This is called unified authority, with two command centers, one main and one deputy, neither of which overshadows the other.

Yu Qiubai sat on the sofa, holding the battle report in his hands, a look of approval on his face:

"Comrade Huaizhou is indeed a wise and brave general. With just a little trick, he successfully broke through the Nationalist army's blockade."

However, when they saw in the lower right corner of the battle report that the 1st Regiment of the 7th Division did not pursue the 1st Column after completing its feint attack mission, they were shocked to find that the 1st Regiment of the 7th Division did not pursue the 1st Column.

Instead, they retreated to Taishun County, which was nearby.

They took over the local city defenses and prepared to fight a decisive battle against the invading Nationalist army.

He couldn't help but chuckle to himself; these young people really knew how to have fun.

It seems Xun Huaizhou has also followed Zhou Zeyuan's bad ways!

Zhou Zeyuan, leaning against the window, replied, "Yes, recently the title 'God of War' has started circulating within the National Revolutionary Army."

He said with a hint of amusement, "I just don't understand, why weren't Su Yu and Xun Huaizhou this dazzling before?"

Yu Qiubai's expression froze. Having weathered many storms over the years, he could easily discern the sharp edge hidden beneath those words.

He immediately chuckled and continued, "Of course, it's because you're a good leader. You young people understand young people better and know how to appoint the right people. We old folks can't keep up with the times."

Zhou Zeyuan shook his head: "I dare not accept such praise. How could I, a mere deputy legion commander, dare to lead them?"

Yu Qiubai leaned a little closer, half-seriously and half-jokingly saying, "What, you think your official rank is too low and want a promotion?"

"It's all for the revolution, I don't care much about rank or position."

"Really?" Yu Qiubai leaned back on the sofa and said slowly, "I was thinking that this position would be vacant after Zeng Hongyi left."

"You are suitable for the position in terms of military achievements, seniority, and prestige. Since you are not interested in this matter, I will not force you. Instead, please ask the Central Committee to send another experienced comrade over."

Zhou Zeyuan glanced at him, secretly amused. He thought to himself, "Trying to make fun of me."

The methods are outdated; the technique is good, but it's not fast enough, and even less ruthless.

He replied nonchalantly, "Parachuted? Parachuted in at will. However, our Northern Expeditionary Anti-Japanese Vanguard is somewhat diverse in composition; the comrades from the Central Committee might not adapt well. I estimate that this comrade's final performance might not even match Zeng Hongyi's."

Yu Qiubai stared at Zhou Zeyuan with a resentful look in his eyes.

You brat, I gave you a way out and you just took it, you really don't know how to respect your elders.

But he really didn't have any solutions, or rather, the higher-ups didn't have any solutions either.

In the current situation, trying to seize command by parachuting in cadres is nothing short of a pipe dream.

He sighed helplessly, "Yes, there really isn't a suitable candidate. It seems this position will have to remain vacant for the time being."

Zhou Zeyuan stopped beating around the bush: "What are the conditions?"

Yu Qiubai's smile faded slightly, and he said seriously, "First and foremost, we must win this battle, and win it decisively. Otherwise, all the talk is meaningless."

"Secondly, Comrade Le Shaohua's work has not been going smoothly lately. I hope you can cooperate more to ensure that the political commissar's work can proceed normally. The rights that are rightfully his should belong to him."

Zhou Zeyuan put down his teacup: "You think I'm trying to trip him up? To be clear, no. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to do any job."

"He's just paying back what he did before. The attitude of the comrades at the grassroots level towards him is much, much milder than the attitude he used to have towards them."

Yu Qiubai frowned.

He suddenly realized that by accepting Le Shaohua, he might have taken on a liability.

Judging from the current situation, this political commissar's influence in the military has almost disappeared, and may even be negative.

But I've already sided with him and invested so much political resources; I can't let it all go to waste.

He carefully considered his words and said in a heartfelt tone, "We're all comrades, who hasn't made mistakes? We should give him a chance to continue contributing to the revolution, which would be a way to make up for his mistakes."

"Alright, I don't object. Comrade Shaohua's revolutionary spirit is still admirable. It's just that he's gone astray a bit. Let him make a public apology and express his determination. It's also a way of giving an explanation to the comrades he hurt in the past."

"Okay, no problem." Yu Qiubai nodded after only three seconds of thought.

As for this self-examination, should it touch upon the soul? And if it does, how much of an uproar will it cause?

It doesn't matter! Anyway, if something goes wrong, Zhou Zeyuan will take the blame.

Thinking of this, he relaxed. "Once the battle is over, our Red Army will have another young officer at the corps level. What a wealth of talent!"

"Haha, the fight has just started, and you're even more confident than I am."

"Of course I'm confident. Didn't someone say that as long as the higher-ups don't give bad orders, even the most difficult situation can be turned around?"

His tone became serious. "Alright, I can give you a clear answer now. As long as the attack on the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway is successful, even if it only lasts for three to five days, you can report the victory to the Central Committee."

"Military matters are my only concern; I have no say in anything else. Besides, I was originally here to oversee Party affairs, not military matters, so it's not my place to manage them."

Zhou Zeyuan gave the old revolutionary a meaningful look.

Good grief, I thought he was on the side of the center.

Who would have thought that both sides would draw their swords? Even if they didn't fight, they would still have to confront each other. He slipped away, leaving himself to stand up to the central government.

In the blink of an eye, he understood.

Once this veteran comrade had secured his position and gained his own supporters, he, like himself, no longer wanted to be bossed around by those above him.

However, they are more tactful than I am.

Just then, the voice of the guard, Xiao Zhong, came from outside the office door: "Commander, the Chief of Staff has sent the latest enemy intelligence report! The Nationalist troops on all fronts have begun to move!"

Zhou Zeyuan responded towards the door, "Understood."

He turned to look at Yu Qiubai: "Come on, let's go take a look."

"No, thank you. I just said I won't get involved in military matters."

"Let's take a look, otherwise you won't be able to sleep well tonight. Whether you ask about it or not, I'll do it the way I want."

"Haha, you lad." Yu Qiubai stood up. "Alright, let this old man see how you young people deal a heavy blow to the enemy."

Zhou Zeyuan, supporting Yu Qiubai's arm, walked towards the door, saying in a low voice as they went:

"Could you please stop using 'we' all the time? It makes you sound so old. At your age, with a little effort, you could easily have several kids."

"Haha, doesn't this make me seem more senior?"