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

Liu Kan shook his head slightly. "That makes sense, but this battle has also served as a reminder. In the future, when dealing with Su Yu, we must never use ragtag troops as cannon fodder again. Otherwise, we will be the ones who suffer."

At this point, he suddenly sighed, "Sigh! What's the use of discussing this now? After this battle, you and I will probably both be sidelined. Who knows when we'll have the chance to lead troops on the front lines again?"

Li Yannian looked directly into Liu Kan's eyes and said, "Speak your mind."

Liu Kan and Song Xilian exchanged a glance.

Song Xilian spoke first, "Liu Heding's lack of discipline led to the troops breaking up, which was the direct cause of the defeat in this battle."

Liu Kan continued: "Lu Xingrong led his troops in rebellion, which ultimately triggered the collapse of the entire front. He was the biggest culprit in this battle. And it had to be so."

After they finished speaking, their eyes both fell on Li Yannian's face.

Li Yannian nodded slowly. "Now that things have come to this, there really is no better way. Draft a telegram, and I'll send it to the Commander-in-Chief."

……

"Jifu, Jifu, your defeat is nothing but trouble for me."

In the command post in Nanping, Wei Lihuang held the newly issued telegram in his hand, his face showing an undisguised bitter smile and loneliness.

He had read the words on the telegram three times, and each time it felt like rubbing salt into a wound.

In his telegram, Li Yannian primarily blamed the defeat on Liu Heding's lack of discipline and Lu Xingrong's rebellion, placing himself in the position of "lax supervision and poor personnel management."

This telegram was written flawlessly, absolving itself of all responsibility and making no mention whatsoever of any wrongdoing on the part of its superior.

But Wei Lihuang knew very well what was going on.

No matter how flowery the telegram may be, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Fujian-Zhejiang Bandit Suppression Campaign, he was the supreme commander in this battle.

He was the one who sent out Li Yannian's column, and he approved the battle plan.

Now that an army of over 30,000 has been decimated overnight, he cannot escape the responsibility for this.

He knows the rules of the game in Nanjing all too well.

Li Yannian, Song Xilian, and Liu Kan were all students personally trained by the principal of the first class of the Whampoa Military Academy.

Even if they lose, the principal will most likely treat them harshly but leniently.

They'll scold them a few times, give them a demerit, transfer them to a sinecure for a while, and then reinstate them once the storm has passed.

Their status as students of the Whampoa Military Academy was their best protection.

But I am different.

He wasn't a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, and he didn't have the prestigious title of principal and student.

He fought his way up step by step through his military exploits, starting as a platoon leader, then a company commander, and finally a battalion commander.

In the most arduous and toughest battles of the Central Plains War, Wei Lihuang was always at the forefront.

However, he had neither a strong faction to rely on nor a prominent background to protect him in the military.

Every step was taken with extreme caution; the slightest misstep could lead to utter ruin.

He rubbed his temples and remained silent for a long while.

But he also knew that he couldn't deny the battle report.

Not only can they not shirk their responsibilities, they must also take the initiative to help Li Yannian and the others share some of the blame.

From the principal's perspective, a commander who takes initiative and shares the burdens of his subordinates is always more likable than a superior who shifts the blame to his subordinates when things go wrong.

Trust is something that is sometimes harder to build than military achievements, and easier to lose.

If he loses the principal's trust in order to escape punishment, he'll be in big trouble.

He reached for the phone on the table and shook it twice: "Connect the Chief of Staff."

Chief of Staff Guo Jiqiao arrived very quickly.

He clearly already knew about the defeat at the front, and he entered with a solemn expression on his face.

"Commander, you wanted to see me?"

Wei Lihuang pushed Li Yannian's telegram in front of him: "Take a look at this first."

Guo Jiqiao picked up the telegram and quickly glanced through it.

"The damage is done, and no amount of investigation into responsibility can undo the losses. The most urgent task now is to clean up the mess." Wei Lihuang's voice was slightly hoarse.

"If the Red Army pursues their victory and loses Shuikou, the Minjiang River waterway will be cut off. At that time, our tens of thousands of troops in western Fujian will have to rely entirely on land routes to cross mountains and valleys for food and supplies, and then we will be unable to fight."

Guo Jiqiao nodded and spread out the plan he had brought on the table: "According to our original battle plan, if a certain column suffers heavy losses from the enemy, the best option is to terminate the encirclement and suppression operation, withdraw all units to their attack positions, and regroup and reorganize."

"At present, Li Yannian's column has basically lost its offensive capability. Although the other columns have just engaged the Red Army, their flanks have been exposed."

"If the Red Army takes advantage of the situation and launches an attack from Gutian to the northeast, in coordination with the Fujian-East Independent Division, it is entirely possible to crush my Second Column in Fu'an and Ningde in one fell swoop."

Wei Lihuang had already prepared the troops ideologically and immediately made a decision: "Order Li Yannian's column to strictly guard Shuikou and the Minjiang River. Order Tang Enbo's troops to depart from Yanping and go to Shuikou to reinforce them."

"Order the First, Second, Third, and Fifth Columns to cease their attack, withdraw from the battlefield as appropriate, and be on high alert for a Red Army counterattack."

"Furthermore, draft a telegram of apology for me and submit it to the Nanchang Headquarters. The wording should be sincere, and I should not shirk the responsibilities I should bear."

Guo Jiqiao nodded and quickly wrote it down in his notebook.

After taking notes, he glanced at Wei Lihuang, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

Wei Lihuang noticed his expression: "Speak your mind."

Guo Jiqiao sighed, "Chief, I thought that young man named Xun Huaizhou was already quite capable. I never expected that an even more capable person like Su Yu would emerge."

"With just one division, they defeated four of Li Yannian's divisions. This Su Yu is incredibly shrewd in his military tactics, unlike someone a young man. I'm wondering... how come all these talented individuals are on the Red Army's side?"

"Hahahaha!" Wei Lihuang seemed to have heard an extremely ironic joke, and couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

"There's not much to say. What the Red Army gave us was something we couldn't give them. Their situation was relatively more straightforward."

"Ambitious and capable young people go there like fish swimming into the ocean. As for us here, well, let's not even talk about it..."

Guo Jiqiao stood up, saluted, turned around and strode out.

After Guo Jiqiao left, Wei Lihuang's gaze returned to the map.

This hurdle is relatively easier to overcome.

He was a veteran general, and the loss of 20,000 to 30,000 men was not enough to break him down.

However, Xun Huaizhou's advance into western Zhejiang threatened the principal's hometown and the heart of the party and state.

If there is even the slightest mistake, it could lead to some irreparable consequences.

Then he can start thinking ahead about which country he should visit on a government-funded research trip after resigning.