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

Just as Zhou Zeyuan was about to get up, a sudden idea flashed into his mind. "Comrade Qiubai, I have a suggestion for you. When we issue Soviet area currency, we must first conduct pilot programs. You might as well choose Lianjiang, Gutian, and Minjiang guerrilla areas, which are close to the Kuomintang-controlled areas, as pilot locations."

"Our currency is strong and has good credit, so it will naturally circulate in the Kuomintang-controlled areas. In addition, the merchants coming and going will also accelerate the spread of the currency. At that time, we can launch an infiltration war against the Kuomintang in the financial field."

Yu Qiubai slapped his thigh. "Great idea! You said you didn't understand finance!"

Zhou Zeyuan coughed lightly, "I know a little, I know a little."

……

In the Fujian-Zhejiang Soviet Area, this rare strategic window of opportunity was used for rest and recuperation.

The adjustments to the organizational structure have been completed.

The 10th Red Army was constantly adjusting its strategy while fighting.

Just two days later, the situation changed drastically.

The Nationalist army launched a campaign to recapture the Jinqu Basin from three directions: east, west, and south, with a force of over 100,000 troops.

The leadership of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi provinces had already taken steps to address this issue, choosing to avoid direct confrontation.

Many local forces offered only symbolic resistance before quickly going underground.

Just as the three armies had joined forces in Quzhou and were preparing to march north to attack the Huaiyu Mountains.

As a result, southern Anhui suddenly fell into crisis, and the Red Army launched a large-scale offensive towards the Huangshan area, with Qimen County and Shitai County falling one after another.

The banner being flown on the other side bore the name of Xun Huaizhou, the Red Army's top general.

This is truly a case of one problem being solved only to create another; one wave subsides only for another to rise.

If the Red Army had truly established itself in southern Anhui, they would have had to expend ten times the effort and still might not have been able to eradicate the enemy completely.

Left with no other option, the top brass of the Nationalist government temporarily set aside their efforts to suppress Fang Zhimin.

Leaving behind a portion of the garrison, the rest of the army split into two groups, one on the left and one on the right, to encircle Xun Huaizhou.

That's the allure of operating on the perimeter!

The goal is to force the enemy to choose between their remaining garrison troops and their main mobile force.

In fact, the answer was already predetermined. If the Nationalist army did not have the strength to deal with both sides, it would have to prioritize annihilating the main mobile corps.

The seeds of revolution were sown everywhere.

From the reactionaries' perspective, it would be futile to put out fire after fire unless the arsonists were eliminated.

In this way, Xun Huaizhou's 7th and 19th Red Divisions successfully lured the enemy's main force to the southern Anhui region.

This bought valuable time for the reorganization of troops in Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces.

The remaining Nationalist troops were still viewing the Red Army with outdated perspectives, believing that the main force of the Red Army had already moved north and that the remaining troops were nothing more than second-rate units.

To be fair, this judgment was correct a week ago.

But just a week later, the 20th and 21st Red Divisions not only received reinforcements in terms of personnel and equipment.

More importantly, Zhou Zeyuan transferred their army commander, and now they are commanded by Wang Ruiou, a tactical master of guerrilla warfare!

The situation in Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi is at a critical juncture, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

Meanwhile, in the Xianyou and Yongtai areas of Putian, another spark of revolution began to take root and sprout.

Liu Chouxi, who had just arrived in Yongtai County through a secret passage, convened a military meeting of the Fujian-Central Fujian base area that afternoon.

There were not many people present, including Huang Xiaomin, secretary of the Fuqing Central County Party Committee, Huang Guozhang, secretary of the Putian Central County Party Committee, Zheng Mingde, commander of the Minzhong Independent Division, and a few regimental-level cadres.

A dozen or so people were crammed into a small room in the backyard of the Yongtai County Government Office.

Liu Chouxi didn't exchange pleasantries. He glanced at the map spread out on the table after entering, and his first question was, "What's the situation with the troops?"

Zheng Mingde had already prepared the data: "Reporting to the Commander, the Fujian-Central Independent Division currently has over 4,300 men, over 5,000 rifles, including 2,700 Hanyang Type 88 rifles, 800 old-style rifles, and the rest are miscellaneous types. It also has over 400,000 rounds of ammunition, 24 light machine guns, and 6 heavy machine guns."

Liu Chouxi was deeply shocked after hearing this.

He led troops in Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi for many years. At his most extravagant, the entire army had only about two thousand guns, and bullets had to be used sparingly.

This force of over four thousand men had more than five thousand guns, with an armament rate exceeding one hundred percent, making them more than twice as well-equipped as the troops from Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi.

A strange feeling suddenly arose in his heart.

Before he came, he thought he had been exiled, transferred from army commander to commander of the Fujian Central Military Region, a demotion in name only, and sent to a poor, remote place to retire.

But judging from the current situation, it's clear that Zhou Zeyuan, the legion commander he's never met before, has given him a big gift.

"Were all these weapons provided by the Fujian-Zhejiang Soviet Area?"

"Yes, during the autumn harvest, Chief of Staff Su organized a large number of able-bodied men and transported them all over at once."

Liu Chouxi nodded. All along the way, he had been thinking about how to fight after arriving in Fujian.

Looking at it now, what's the point of thinking about it? All that talk of taking things slowly and gradually, all that plan of gradual encroachment, has been thrown to the winds.

He looked down at the map, his finger pointing from Yongtai southward through Xianyou, then westward to Dehua, finally stopping at Datian.

He tapped twice at the spot in Daejeon: "Attack here first."

Huang Xiaomin was taken aback: "Commander Liu, Datian is more than 200 li away from us by mountain road, and there are Xianyou and Dehua in between..."

"Then let's fight our way through." Liu Chouxi raised his head. "Xianyou has 300 troops, and Dehua has 200, all of them are security regiments. I can take three county towns within three days."

Huang Guozhang frowned and couldn't help but speak up: "Commander, the enemy forces in Fuqing and Putian number over three thousand, and they are all regular troops. What if they try to outflank us while our main force is advancing westward?"

Liu Chouxi, however, didn't take it seriously. He knew all too well the true nature of these local Kuomintang armed forces. They would hide in their shells at the slightest sign of danger.

Ultimately, there wasn't a single elite unit of the Nationalist Army within a hundred miles, which gave him a peculiar sense of exhilaration, like a max-level player returning to a newbie village to crush noobs.

He clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles cracking. "Then let them come. I'll leave a regiment in Yongtai, making it look like we're going to attack Putian."

"Plant all the red flags from the city onto the hills outside the city, make more straw figures, and build more stoves. If the garrison in Putian dares to step out of the city, they can deliver ammunition to me."

These words were spoken with absolute certainty, leaving no room for negotiation.

Huang Guozhang opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more.

They are veterans from the first class of the Whampoa Military Academy, and they have commanded more major battles than any of them have ever seen. Since the army commander says they can fight, then they should be able to fight.

Liu Chouxi did not delay.

Before dawn the next day, he personally led two main regiments, advancing rapidly southward along mountain paths.

Red flags fluttered all the way, warhorses neighed, and dust filled the sky. From a distance, there were at least tens of thousands of people.