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

On the city tower of Ningde, Zhou Zeyuan gazed at the densely packed streets and layered rooftops within the city.

The streets were bustling with people. Although it couldn't compare to a bustling commercial port like Fuzhou, it was a world of difference from the desolate and closed-off county towns they had visited when they first arrived in eastern Fujian.

After watching for a while, he sighed to Huang Ligui beside him, "Now, our base area finally has some business."

Huang Ligui nodded slightly, but his tone became more pragmatic:

"Commander, there's not much to be happy about. Compared to that, taking Ningde and completely connecting the main roads between northern and eastern Fujian, linking all eleven counties in the Fujian-Zhejiang Soviet Area together, is the greatest gain of this battle."

Zhou Zeyuan was taken aback. After a long while, he said with a sigh, "I never expected that we would have such a large territory without even realizing it."

Eleven county towns—that's quite a lot.

There are only about sixty counties in the entire Fujian province, and he accounts for one-sixth of them.

If you looked at this on a map, you'd see such a large red area in northern Fujian; the brigade leader probably wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully at night.

"No! The weapons we seized from the Kuomintang were the biggest gain of this battle!" Ye Fei's voice arrived before he had even fully reached the top of the city wall, as he was climbing the steps.

Zhou Zeyuan turned around upon hearing the voice and couldn't help but laugh: "Oh, our Sudhana is here. Comrade Ye Fei, tell me, how much good stuff did you manage to seize this time?"

Ye Fei strode up to Zhou Zeyuan and flashed the stack of invoices in his hand in front of him:

"There's so much good stuff! 18,000 Enfield rifles; 600 Browning automatic rifles; 200 M1917 heavy machine guns; 2,000 Colt pistols. And two full loads of ammunition."

"In addition, there are too many odds and ends such as helmets, military boots, water bottles, belts, and bullet pouches to count them all in a short time."

Zhou Zeyuan took the receipt, glanced at it, nodded, and mentally gave himself a thumbs up.

I paid a deposit of 300,000 yuan and got so many things; I must be a business genius.

Standing to the side, Huang Ligui looked somewhat uneasy. He hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"Commander... isn't it a bit inappropriate to give all these good things to our two independent divisions in eastern and northern Fujian?"

"That's not accurate. These are for the local garrison troops of the entire Fujian-Zhejiang Soviet Area, not just for your two divisions."

Ye Fei chimed in, "Commander, how about... we share some with the other main divisions as well?"

Zhou Zeyuan shook his head, his tone resolute: "Hels, boots, and ammunition pouches will be prioritized for the main force. As for weapons, they will all go to the garrison troops. This was decided long ago."

"I went through so much trouble to standardize the field troops' language, it's impossible for me to mess up the field troops' logistics just to covet a little bit of American equipment."

Ye Fei pondered for a moment and nodded: "Maintaining a unified standard is indeed very necessary. Our local troops rely on vast base areas to conduct guerrilla warfare and harassment warfare, so the margin for error is relatively high, and everyone is also used to the wide variety of weapons at their disposal."

"But the main force is different. Once it engages in external operations, there is often no way to retreat. In key battles, not a single one can be lost."

Huang Ligui glanced at Ye Fei speechlessly: "Comrade Ye Fei, what you're saying sounds strange. It's like our local armed forces suffered a huge loss? This batch of weapons is enough to arm a 30,000-strong army. We've gotten a huge advantage this time, haven't we?"

Zhou Zeyuan waved his hand, interrupting their argument: "It's not a matter of who benefits. These weapons can only be of any use if they're given to you. After all, there are only two basic sets of ammunition, and it's not easy to replenish them once they're used up."

Ye Fei's expression turned serious again. He considered for a moment and said, "Commander, I'm more worried about the ammunition."

"I request that our old weapons be stored away. That way, if our base is subjected to a fierce attack and we run out of American-made ammunition, we won't be completely helpless."

Zhou Zeyuan glanced at him, his eyes showing a hint of approval: "Okay, I agree."

At the same time, the atmosphere at the Fujian-Zhejiang Bandit Suppression Headquarters in Nanping was completely different.

Wei Lihuang stood behind his desk, the teacup in front of him had fallen to the ground, shards scattered everywhere.

His face was ashen, his chest heaving, and his hand was still in the position of slamming the table.

"Wu Chengren! That good-for-nothing! A complete idiot! How dare he live? His name sounds impressive—'Sacrifice for a cause'—but when it comes to real action, he's a complete coward! He doesn't deserve to be a soldier!"

Chief of Staff Guo Jiqiao stood to the side, his expression also not very good. He took half a step forward, about to say a few words of advice, when a "Report!" came from the doorway.

A staff officer strode in, clutching a document in his hand. When he saw the scene of broken porcelain all over the floor, he paused involuntarily.

"explain."

The staff officer swallowed hard and stood at attention: "Commander... the provincial government wants an explanation from us."

Upon hearing this, Wei Lihuang's anger, which he had just suppressed, surged up again. He slammed his hand on the table:

"Bullshit! I haven't even asked them for an explanation yet! Who contacted the supplier first? Who transferred the payment to HSBC? They were so eager to take credit when they were with me, but now that things have gone wrong, they want to shirk responsibility. No way."

He took a deep breath and pointed at the staff officer: "Go now and arrest this Wu Chengren and send him to the Nanjing Military Court! No matter who's backing him, I'm going to bring him to justice this time!"

Guo Jiqiao hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Commander, what about the principal...?"

Wei Lihuang's breath hitched, as if something had blocked his chest.

"What about being the principal? After one defeat after another, the principal won't protect me anymore."

He turned around, walked to the window, and gazed at the deep night of Nanping City outside, remaining silent for a long time.

"I'll write a resignation letter. Hopefully... I can leave unscathed."

Meanwhile, in Fu'an City, Wu Chengren had finally escaped back from Ningde and had just changed into clean clothes when his door was kicked open from the outside.

Several fully armed military police barged in. The one in the lead looked at him expressionlessly and said coldly, "Commander Wu, come with us."

Wu Chengren's expression changed, and he abruptly stood up: "What do you want? Do you know who I am? Call your Commander Ruan over here!"

The head military policeman remained unfazed: "I'm sorry, we are acting on orders from the General Headquarters to arrest you and take you to Nanjing for trial."

Wu Chengren struggled, but two military police officers grabbed his arms on either side, lifted him off the chair like a chick, and dragged him out.

His military boots left two messy tracks on the ground. "I want to see the Commander-in-Chief! I want to see the Commander-in-Chief! I have rendered meritorious service to the Party and the country! I have shed blood for the Principal!"