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

Zhou Zeyuan could tell from his expression that he wasn't here for anything easy.

"You want to discuss military matters with me? This is never going to end."

Yu Qiubai chuckled at his words: "You can't stand this? If you were working under the principal, wouldn't you have rebelled?"

"No, not at all."

Yu Qiubai's eyes widened slightly. Has this kid changed his ways?

Then Zhou Zeyuan added unhurriedly, "It's just a job. Who cares about the company's performance? I'll do as much work as they pay me, and if all else fails, I'll just lie down."

"But it's different for me now; I'm starting my own business. We revolutionaries have a sense of ownership. In other words, we are all shareholders of the company. If the company doesn't perform well, which shareholder wouldn't be worried?"

Yu Qiubai was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. After laughing, he pointed at Zhou Zeyuan with his finger:

"Good, good, you know how to talk, you're absolutely right. I'll write this down and publish it in the 'Red China' newspaper another day."

"Alright, alright, don't flatter me. Just tell me, what's the matter?"

Yu Qiubai's smile faded, and his expression turned serious: "The teams from Huaizhou, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi have joined forces. The central government's intention is to combine the two forces into one, under unified command, so that they can unleash even greater power."

"Therefore, it was decided that the 10th Red Army would also be incorporated into the Northern Expeditionary Force for the War of Resistance Against Japan. The 1st Division was reorganized into the 19th Red Army Division, the original 10th Red Army troops were reorganized into the 20th Red Army Division, the local troops from Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi were reorganized into the 21st Red Army Division, and the 7th Red Army Division was also temporarily incorporated into the 10th Red Army."

Zhou Zeyuan nodded: "This is the three-tiered organizational structure of corps, army, and division that the Central Committee previously mentioned, and I agree to it. I have no objection to this. But what about the personnel arrangements?"

"Personnel matters should be kept as unchanged as possible to maintain stability. Huai Zhou will remain the corps commander. Liu Qiuxi will be the commander of the 10th Red Army, and Comrade Wang Rui'ou will serve as the political commissar."

Zhou Zeyuan was silent for two or three seconds, then let out a meaningful chuckle: "No wonder you wanted to discuss this with me. You've got some cunning scheme up your sleeve, directly taking away the command of two divisions."

Yu Qiubai's expression changed slightly: "How can you say that? Comrade Huaizhou is still the highest military leader."

Zhou Zeyuan pressed on bluntly, "Then what's the point of having a corps commander? When it comes to giving orders, whose orders are you taking?"

"Playing tricks with command authority will cause big problems in actual combat. The corps commander in Huaizhou can directly command this corps now, wouldn't it be better to let him also serve as the corps commander?"

"In my opinion, the personnel arrangement should be as follows: Comrade Fang Zhimin should continue to serve as the Chairman of the Government, as the top leader, to control the overall situation."

"Comrade Huaizhou will concurrently serve as the army commander, responsible for military command, while Comrade Wang Rui'ou will serve as the political commissar, primarily in charge of ideological and political work. A three-person leadership group will be formed. This is the most reasonable team composition."

Yu Qiubai frowned, his tone hesitant: "Isn't this...this a bit inappropriate?"

"What's wrong with that?" Zhou Zeyuan's tone showed no sign of backing down. "A three-person leadership team, two of whom are from Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi. Isn't that enough? Politics is about balance. You also need to talk to the higher-ups and tell them not to go too far."

Yu Qiubai was somewhat embarrassed by his words and sighed, "Alright, alright, don't be angry. I was just asking for your opinion, wasn't I?"

"But wouldn't that leave Comrade Liu Chouxi with nothing to do? We can't exactly demote him to division commander, can we?"

Zhou Zeyuan's eyes darted around. "Of course not. Comrade Liu Chouxi is an old comrade after all. How can we wrong him? I think he should be in charge of the military affairs of a base area on his own."

"Huh? Which base are you talking about?"

"The Fujian-Central Base Area. We are preparing to establish the Fujian-Central Military Region and vigorously develop our military strength. We are currently lacking a mature, prudent, capable, and experienced comrade to take charge of the overall situation."

Yu Qiubai frowned even more deeply: "Commander of the Fujian Central Military Region? How can that be compared to the position of Army Commander?"

"That's not how it works. The power of a position isn't just determined by rank, but also by its strategic importance and the actual number of troops it commands."

"The Central Committee can tell Commander Liu that the next area, central Fujian, is the next eastern Fujian, and it is an important direction for us to achieve a strategic breakthrough."

"The Fujian-Zhejiang Soviet Area will provide the greatest support in terms of personnel, equipment, and supplies. Once he arrives, he can quickly raise an army."

Yu Qiubai looked at him, his gaze scrutinizing him: "Why do I feel like what you're saying is so unreliable?"

"Where is it unreliable?" Zhou Zeyuan shrugged. "Look at the natural endowments and popular support in central Fujian. How similar it is to eastern Fujian. We should build the central Fujian base into a second eastern Fujian Soviet Area, and then southern Fujian."

"Our goal is to revitalize these base areas one by one, turning them into impregnable fortresses, and ultimately forming a strategic counter-encirclement of the Nationalist army."

Yu Qiubai's expression gradually changed from doubt to contemplation, and finally he nodded:

"Hey, you know what, this strategy is actually quite promising. I'll report it to the Central Committee right away."

He stood up, took a couple of steps, then turned back. "By the way, you should also make preparations on your side. The troops remaining in the Fujian-Zhejiang Soviet Area will be reorganized into two armies. You'll mainly be in charge of personnel decisions, and the Central Committee will try its best to respect the opinions of local comrades."

After saying that, he strode out.

Zhou Zeyuan picked up the teacup again, but found the water had cooled down, so he put it down.

Xiao Zhong, the bodyguard who had been quietly serving him tea and water, couldn't help but speak up: "Sir, the strategy you just mentioned sounded quite good, why don't we use it?"

Zhou Zeyuan glanced at him and casually replied, "It's not that I don't need it, it's that I'll use it later."

"Then why not just not use it?"

Zhou Zeyuan was silent for a moment, looking out at the darkening sky, and slowly said, "Well, how should I put it, it's a good idea, but it's just too slow."

"It won't be long before the Nationalist army's encirclement and suppression campaign becomes as fierce as a storm. Our counterattack must also be as fierce as a storm, not as lukewarm as it is at this stage of development."

Xiao Zhong scratched his head: "I still don't understand, what's wrong with our development model?"

"Of course it's not good. The current situation is that the main force of the National Revolutionary Army is tied down by the central government, which gives us time to build up our strength. But this time won't last long."

"When the time comes, when the Nationalist army gathers hundreds of thousands of troops to encircle and annihilate us... hehe, I won't wait for them to be ready before I make my move. At that time, I will definitely strike first."