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

Within half a day, all fronts reported on the enemy situation.

The Nationalist army dispatched five armies to invade our Fujian-Zhejiang base area.

The first place where the fighting broke out was not Nanjishan, which was initially expected, but Shunchang County, where Zhang Qiming was stationed.

After the Nationalist army realized they had been tricked, the two divisions had just arrived in southern Zhejiang and hadn't even had a chance to catch their breath before being transferred to western Zhejiang.

A security corps stationed in southern Zhejiang launched a fierce attack on Shunchang County in the heat of Yu Jishi's anger.

Zhang Qiming was not to be outdone.

The Northern Fujian Independent Division stationed two battalions in Shunchang County. Together with the local armed forces, he had nearly 4000 men under his command.

With such formidable strength, they were able to penetrate Fuzhou, yet they couldn't handle a mere security corps?

He ordered local troops to change into regular army uniforms and retreat south in a grand manner.

On the other hand, he personally led the main force to set up an ambush on the enemy's inevitable route.

For a time, the valleys of southern Zhejiang were filled with the sounds of gunfire and shouts of battle!

Soon after, fighting broke out on the Nanji Mountain side as well.

Given Ye Fei's command style, it's impossible for him to passively defend.

In the past few days, he had already figured out the location of the enemy's arms depot.

While launching a frontal assault, he also deployed two more troops to avoid the Nationalist scouts on the front lines and lie in ambush in the western mountains.

They changed into Nationalist army uniforms and, as soon as it got dark, launched a surprise attack on the armories in Ningde and Fu'an.

The Nationalist troops advancing from the western front, coming from the direction of Nanping and Jian'ou, were relatively slow in their movements.

There have been no large-scale clashes with the Minbei Independent Division so far.

The reality is that, with the Minbei Independent Division extensively mobilizing the masses to wage guerrilla warfare and harassment, and destroying roads and bridges on a large scale, they couldn't move quickly even if they wanted to.

The Nationalist troops in the Fuzhou direction were the most interesting.

Zhou Zeyuan acted ahead of time, sending an infantry battalion across the front line into the Minjiang Plain.

They only fought a small battle, annihilating a company of the local security regiment.

Before his death, the company commander gave an embellished report on the enemy situation.

The Nationalist troops in Fuzhou were in an uproar.

Local officials, recalling the fear of being dominated by the Red Army not long ago, jumped for joy and no longer cared about the overall situation of suppressing bandits.

Wang Yaowu had already led his troops into the northern mountainous area when he was urgently summoned back by a telegram.

The real main battlefield is along the Shuikou to Gutian line.

The Nationalist army had amassed a formidable force of five divisions, totaling over 5 men, here.

Four of these divisions were assigned to Li Yannian's column, tasked with advancing north to attack Gutian, and searching for the main force of the Red Army to encircle and annihilate it.

The newly arrived 10th Division of the National Revolutionary Army under Li Mo'an was responsible for the defense of Shuikou Town and the logistical protection along the line.

The main road from Gutian to Shuikou Town is flanked by mountains and hills, and the winding official road looks like a gray-yellow ribbon.

In the very center stands Tiger Head Mountain, not high, but with a rounded shape, just like a crouching tiger, firmly blocking the east side of the main road.

At this moment, a large number of Red Army soldiers and mobilized civilians are digging fortifications and reinforcing tunnels along the mountainside.

The small hilltop was teeming with people, shovels and picks rising and falling incessantly, and soil cascading down the slope.

Some people were carrying logs, some were reinforcing firing bunkers, and others were digging anti-artillery tunnels on the mountainside. The whole mountain looked like a pot of boiling water, steaming hot.

This location is not the highest point in the surrounding area.

A little further to the south, there is an olive ridge, which is higher in altitude and more precipitous in terrain.

From the summit of Olive Hill, one can see the surrounding mountains and roads for miles around.

More importantly, the foot of Olive Ridge is located at the bend of the main road.

The area to the south is narrow and rugged, with high mountains and deep valleys, and narrow roads, making it difficult for large troops to deploy.

If you continue north and pass that bend, the terrain will suddenly open up.

A small basin unfolds, offering a wide field of vision, which is advantageous for large-scale troop operations.

Without a doubt, this is a strategically vital location that military strategists must contend for.

But at this time, there were very few people on Olive Hill.

There weren't many Red Army soldiers; they were scattered in twos and threes in the fortifications, making the place seem rather deserted.

The fortifications above were already in place, with trenches, bunkers, and firing positions all in place.

However, it looks rather flimsy at first glance, which contrasts sharply with the bustling scene on Tiger Head Mountain.

Su Yu, the commander-in-chief of this battle, was standing in a hidden observation post halfway up Tiger Head Mountain, holding binoculars and looking at the village at the foot of the mountain.

The golden rice in the fields has all been harvested, leaving only short stubble neatly arranged in the fields.

The villagers were also mobilized to hide deep in the mountains, leaving only empty village houses lying quietly at the foot of the mountains, with a few unattended stray dogs wandering around the village entrance occasionally.

The Gutian Creek meanders along the west side of the village, its shallow waters shimmering in the autumn sunlight.

However, the stream has a small volume of water and the channel is too narrow to navigate by boat. It is difficult to transport supplies, let alone even a bamboo raft.

Therefore, Wei Lihuang judged that it was not advisable to use too many troops to attack Gutian, otherwise even if all the people along the Minjiang River were mobilized to transport grain, it would be easy to fall into a dangerous situation of insufficient food supplies.

Standing behind Su Yu, Ma Gongcheng, the regimental commander of the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Division, looked towards Olive Ridge with a puzzled expression, and finally couldn't help but ask:

"Chief of Staff, which unit is stationed on Olive Ridge across the way? I've never seen them before."

Su Yu put down her binoculars, glanced back at him, and said, "Oh, those are comrades from the local armed forces."

Ma Gongcheng's eyes widened in surprise: "Chief of Staff! You're handing over such an important position to the local armed forces? Isn't that...?"

Su Yu raised her hand to interrupt him: "Don't overthink it, and don't ask any questions. Just follow my orders. I can tell you clearly that the comrades above will try their best to hold out for two to three hours."

"Next, you will face the Kuomintang army. Whether they send a division or their entire column, you must hold out until nightfall."

Ma Gongcheng straightened his back and replied resolutely, "Yes! I guarantee I will complete the mission. As long as I'm here, the position will stand!"

But I couldn't help but ask again, "But... Chief of Staff, why don't we focus our defenses on Olive Ridge?"

Su Yu gently touched her forehead; she couldn't suppress her curiosity.

"Haha, you know, some things lose their effectiveness if you say them out loud. But I can give you a hint: how many divisions of the Nationalist army are currently facing us? What are their unit numbers? What's their background? Do you know?"

After a moment's thought, Ma Gongcheng blurted out, "I know. There's the 36th Division and the 83rd Division, both of which are Central Army units; and the 56th Division and the 52nd Division, both of which are miscellaneous units."

"The leader is Li Yannian, a graduate of the first class of the Whampoa Military Academy, and he is considered one of our defeated opponents. This kind of unit, a mix of ragtag troops and Central Army soldiers, distrusts and does not cooperate with each other, so it is actually difficult for them to have strong combat power."

Su Yu shook her head. "You're only half right. It's true that they don't trust each other and don't cooperate, and that's a real weakness they have."

"But if we don't make use of this weakness and just watch it happen, then it won't be a weakness anymore; it will just be a minor flaw."