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

Ye Fei put down the enamel mug, took the telegram, and without reading it, casually placed it on the ammunition box next to him, then forked a piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth.

After swallowing the piece of meat, he slowly picked up the telegram and brought it to the firelight to read it.

After reading a few lines, the relaxation on his face slowly disappeared.

The first order: After the battle, keep the Nationalist troops within the city as much as possible and do not allow them to easily leave the city.

He understood this. If the enemy was kept trapped in the city and couldn't come out, the surrounding villages would be the Red Army's domain.

The second order: Intensify the harvesting of rice in rural areas of Ningde, Fu'an, and other places; not a single grain is allowed to enter the city. Starve them to death.

Fortify the walls and clear the fields, using grain as weapons.

Although the Nationalist army occupies this territory, every harvest season we harvest the grain, and the local agricultural output has nothing to do with the Nationalist army anymore.

The third order: Absolutely no activity is permitted around the port area. Any disobedience will be subject to military law.

Ye Fei's finger stopped on that line of text.

The port is not allowed to be disturbed?

He frowned. Ningde and Fu'an are both coastal counties, and their ports are their most crucial supply routes.

Most of the Nationalist army's ammunition, food, and reinforcements were brought in by sea.

If the ports are cut off, that would be a real case of starvation and death.

The first two points state that the enemy should be trapped, but the third point forbids any action on the port.

Isn't this deliberately leaving an opening for the enemy?

"Political Commissar?" The staff officer beside him, noticing him staring at the telegram for a long time without speaking, cautiously leaned closer and asked, "Is there a problem with the order?"

Ye Fei did not answer. He vaguely sensed that there was a big game going on here, and that the legion commander and chief of staff were definitely plotting something, but he couldn't figure it out for the time being.

He turned the telegram over to see if there were any notes or instructions on the back.

No.

But when he turned to the second page, his hand stopped.

That page contained a military intelligence report.

"In the direction of Gutian Shuikou, I, Comrade Su Yu, commanded the Second Division and a part of the local armed forces to set up an ambush in the basin north of Gutian."

The enemy's Li Yannian column, consisting of four divisions totaling approximately 35,000 men, launched a night raid, killing each other in the process. Taking advantage of this, our troops launched a general offensive.

More than 20,000 enemy soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured, and more than 16,000 rifles, more than 270 light and heavy machine guns, and more than 80 mortars were seized.

The Nationalist 52nd Division was basically annihilated, and the 56th, 36th, and 83rd Divisions suffered heavy losses. The remnants have retreated south to the Shuikou area.

The soldiers around them were still eating, drinking, laughing, and joking, and no one noticed the change in their political commissar's expression.

Only the signalman who delivered the telegram and the staff officer next to him saw it.

Ye Fei's expression changed from confusion to shock, and then from shock to an indescribable complex expression, like he was laughing, yet also like he was gritting his teeth.

He jumped to his feet and roared, "Holy crap, what kind of divine staff is this?!"

If you were to ask Ye Fei what his feelings were at this moment, you could borrow a famous quote from a later literary giant during an interview: "My first reaction after reading this was envy. Damn, that's awesome!"

So he stopped drinking tea and eating, gathered a group of staff officers, and went back to the command post to review the battle.

The result of the first round of review was that I could do it too.

But Ye Fei is such a shrewd person. If it were that simple, why didn't others think of this method before?

This kind of review doesn't seem very meaningful. Others have already figured out the method, given you the solution process and answer; you just copy it, of course it's easy.

He simply gathered all the officers together for a tactical seminar, and the conclusion was that the tactics were top-notch, but the strategic vision was god-like.

After this one battle, Ye Fei was truly convinced that Su Yu was an insurmountable peak.

The slight lack of confidence that had just surfaced in his mind was immediately suppressed by him.

I've made up my mind to learn more from others in the future!

As Deputy Corps Commander Zhou once said, "I am a general with great talent. It must be because I have too little experience in large-scale operations. I still have a lot of potential that I haven't had time to explore. Once it is fully explored, it is not impossible for me to catch up with or even surpass the Chief of Staff."

The sudden outbreak and swift conclusion of the Battle of Gutian Shuikou not only brought jubilation to the Red Army.

The people of Gutian breathed a sigh of relief.

These simple and honest people know the importance of gratitude. Families that had finished harvesting rice all pitched in to help the Red Army transport supplies and treat the wounded.

What was seized from Li Yannian's column was not only 16,000 guns, but also a large amount of food, clothing and medicine.

These items, except for some reserved for the Second Division to re-equip, the higher-quality weapons should be immediately transferred to the Northern Fujian Independent Division, the Eastern Fujian Independent Division, and the Third Division.

The local armed forces had a great year. The newly established Gutian Independent Regiment, being in a prime position, was able to get all its members re-equipped with Hanyang rifles!

The Battle of Gutian.

Zhou Zeyuan led his guards along the official road on horseback. The further they went, the more shocking the scene became.

On the open spaces on both sides of the road, stretchers and carts lined up in long rows, covered with straw mats or white cloths.

A faint smell of blood permeated the air, mixed with the scent of earth and vegetation, making one involuntarily hold their breath.

He reined in his horse and waved to a Red Army cadre who was directing the transport by the roadside.

The man jogged over and saluted.

Zhou Zeyuan pointed to the carts and asked, "Where are these being transported to?"

"Reporting to the deputy corps commander, the commander has given the order to transport the remains of the fallen soldiers to a mountain valley five miles to the south for centralized burial. He said that if the bodies of tens of thousands of people are buried near the battlefield, it may pollute the water source and cause a plague."

Zhou Zeyuan nodded without saying anything more.

Even though it's autumn, the weather still carries a hint of summer heat, and the daytime temperature isn't low. If a corpse isn't handled properly, it can easily lead to serious problems.

Su Yu considered this matter very thoroughly.

He urged his horse forward, crossing a field ravaged by artillery fire, and arrived at the command post at the foot of Tiger Head Mountain.

Zhou Zeyuan dismounted, tossed the reins to the guards, and went inside, lifting the curtain.

Su Yu was sitting at a square table, sketching something on a map.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw Zhou Zeyuan, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Zeyuan, what brings you here?"

Zhou Ze sat down across the table, looked Su Yu up and down, and said, "Old Su, you really gave me a big surprise this time. One division defeated four divisions. When I received the telegram, I almost thought the cipher clerk had copied the numbers wrong."

"Haha, Zeyuan, I didn't mean to hide it from you. It's just that before the fight started, I wasn't entirely confident myself. What's the point of telling you beforehand and making you worry?"

Zhou Zeyuan waved his hand: "Sigh, no need to explain further, I understand. The more people who know about the military plan, the greater the risk of leakage. You did the right thing."

"But if there's another big move like this next time, at least give me a heads-up so I can be mentally prepared. My heart can take it, but Comrade Qiu Bai almost couldn't."