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

Nanping, the headquarters for the suppression of bandits in Fujian and Zhejiang.

Wei Lihuang sat behind his desk, with a map of troop deployments along the Minjiang River spread out in front of him.

His gaze shifted back and forth between the place names of Yanping, Shuikou, and Fuzhou.

The garrison in Yanping numbered 23,000, including the 4th and 7th Divisions of the National Revolutionary Army, plus a brigade reorganized by Liu Heding from local garrison troops.

The garrison in Fuzhou numbered 31,000, including the 83rd Division, the 85th Division, the 4th Gendarmerie Regiment, the Fuzhou Fortress Garrison, and several provincial security regiments.

The garrison at Shuikou numbered 20,500, including the 10th Division of the National Revolutionary Army, the remnants of the 83rd Division reorganized into a regiment, and Wang Yaowu's Supplementary First Brigade.

Three points, and none of them can be overlooked.

Yanping is the confluence of the Minjiang River and its tributaries, the Jianxi and Xixi Rivers, making it a vital waterway and land transportation hub.

If Yanping is lost, the Red Army can advance straight down the Minjiang River.

With the south they could capture Shaxian, and the north they could seize Jian'ou. The Red Army's sphere of influence could then penetrate deep into the heart of central Fujian, and from then on, it was unstoppable.

Fuzhou is the provincial capital; if he loses Fuzhou, he won't be able to explain it to the principal.

Although Shuikou is just a town, it is the throat of the middle reaches of the Minjiang River. If the Red Army controls Shuikou, the entire waterway of the middle reaches of the Minjiang River will fall into enemy hands, and the connection between Yanping and Fuzhou will be cut off.

He wanted to firmly grasp all three places, but he only had so many troops at his disposal.

The troops were divided into three locations, each capable of maintaining a force of over 20,000 men.

However, the unit numbers were chaotic, the equipment was incomplete, and they were not under each other's command.

He had absolutely no confidence in deploying these troops for field combat.

Even if they relied on the city's fortifications to hold out, he dared not say how long they could hold out.

He rubbed his temples and sighed.

Having three forces divided into three, with defenses everywhere but weaknesses everywhere, is a major taboo in military strategy, but he really couldn't come up with a better solution at the moment.

Originally, Wang Yaowu's idea of ​​concentrating elite troops to form a mobile corps was expected to reverse the strategic passivity in one fell swoop.

But the principal also strictly ordered him that Fuzhou must not fall, or he would be severely punished.

At that moment, he felt as if he were shackled and walking on a tightrope, yet he still had to dance gracefully in front of a group of high-ranking officials and dignitaries.

It's so difficult!

Just then, a voice called "Report!" came from outside the door.

A staff officer walked in, stood at attention, and saluted: "Commander, we have results from the body collection team. Lu Xingrong has been found."

A flicker of surprise crossed Wei Lihuang's eyes: "Alive, or dead?"

"He's dead. He must have accidentally fallen off the cliff during the breakout. Of course, it's also possible that someone deliberately pushed him off. But there were no gunshot wounds on his body."

Wei Lihuang first frowned, then slowly relaxed, and then let out a meaningful laugh:

"Haha, it's good that he's dead, it's good that he's dead. Sometimes, the dead are more useful than the living."

The staff officer stood there, not saying a word. He had followed Wei Lihuang for several years and knew that it was inappropriate to speak up at this time.

Wei Lihuang pondered for a moment, then asked, "Has Commander Lu come to question us again?"

"Yes. Would you like to go and meet with him?"

"Yes, absolutely." Wei Lihuang stood up, straightened his collar, and said, "Also, start preparing for the memorial service immediately. Deputy Division Commander Lu was the highest-ranking officer to die in this battle, so we'll use that name to commemorate him."

"By the way, don't say he fell off a cliff during the breakout; that's too shameful. After all, he sacrificed his life for his country; we should give him a dignified explanation."

He tapped his forehead, pondered for a few seconds, and said, "Just say that when the Red Army launched an attack, he led his troops to cover the rear and ultimately died a heroic death."

The staff officer quickly jotted it down in his notebook, then saluted, turned, and strode out.

Wei Lihuang sat back down in his chair, reached into the drawer of his desk, and took out the onions that the chief of staff had prepared for him.

He weighed it in his hand, sighed, and said, "Old Lu, you're lucky. If you hadn't made a blood feud with the Red Army, I would have sent you to Nanjing."

He put the onion back in the drawer, his expression becoming complicated.

He was forced into this situation by no means.

The Red Army was so powerful that it had already threatened the heart of Fujian. He was short of troops and had to do everything he could to plunder soldiers from all over the place.

Lu Xingbang still has some influence in Youxi, Shaxian, Datian and other places.

Those places are the Lu family's stronghold, which they have cultivated for many years. They are surrounded by villagers and clansmen. As long as they are given some support and a legitimate reason, they should be able to quickly raise an army.

Otherwise, if his remaining troops were incorporated as originally planned, there would likely be chaos in the local area in the short term.

Moreover, the Red Army was causing a great disturbance in Datian and Youxi. If they were to take advantage of any loopholes, these two county towns might be captured by the Red Army.

Keeping Lu Xingbang around can be seen as providing a kind of shield.

He picked up his pencil again and added a sentence at the end of the battle plan: "All units must strictly defend the city and are not allowed to engage in battle without orders from superiors. Violators will be dealt with according to military law."

After finishing writing, he threw the pencil on the table, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

With their forces divided into three groups, each holding a stronghold, they were unable to support each other.

Anyone who is well-versed in military strategy, even without having been on the battlefield, knows how dangerous and passive this arrangement is!

He didn't know if his move was right or wrong, but he had no other choice.

Now we can only place our hopes on those sturdy city fortifications; we'll hold out for as long as we can.

We must hold out until Xun Huaizhou's side is dealt with, until the principal can free up resources from the northern and eastern fronts to send him reinforcements.

He must not allow his defenses to collapse before that day comes.

In the command post in Gutian, Zhou Zeyuan and Su Yu, two rising stars in the military, were both senior commanders who claimed to have a deep understanding of human nature and the National Revolutionary Army.

The two of them, along with a group of staff officers, conducted a series of simulations of the next phase of the Minjiang Autumn Harvest Operation.

Multiple operational plans for encircling key points and intercepting reinforcements were formulated.

They had not only made all the necessary preparations to press their advantage and expand their gains, but also prepared contingency plans for retreat should the situation turn unfavorable.

But what they didn't expect was that this time the Nationalist army wouldn't play along with them at all.

Let alone Zhou Zeyuan being considered a genius in the general sense, even if Su Yu had made the plan as thorough as possible.

I never imagined that the Nationalist army had only suffered one defeat and Fuzhou had only been slightly threatened, yet the Nationalist army's high command had already tied Wei Lihuang's hands and feet.

So when they commanded the various units of the Red Army to advance together and launch a night attack on the Minjiang River, they deployed several regiments of troops to key locations.

Local Party committees organized the people to rush to harvest crops, and local armed forces also began to fight against local tyrants and distribute land.

As a result, the anticipated major battle did not occur, and the vanguard forces encountered nothing.

The local military force was almost completely depleted, leaving only a few symbolic old, weak, and disabled soldiers.

The carefully prepared punch from the Fujian-Zhejiang Soviet Area landed squarely in the air.