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

Liu Chouxi walked in the middle of the group, holding a map in his hand, and stopped every now and then to check the terrain.

Having just arrived and being unfamiliar with the place, he felt more at ease only after personally experiencing these things, even though he had a guide.

This is also a necessary step in getting familiar with the terrain in actual combat. After walking this route, he will be very familiar with it.

That afternoon, the vanguard arrived outside Xianyou City.

The garrison in Xianyou numbered only about three hundred men, most of whom were veterans of the security regiment. They lived a comfortable life, collecting taxes and bullying the villagers.

They didn't even know that the Red Army had set off from Yongtai until the scouts ran back to the city wall in a panic and shouted "The Red Army is here!" They then hurriedly closed the city gates.

But it's too late.

Liu Chouxi did not launch any probing attacks.

He ordered the mortar crew to fire three shells at the city gate, which knocked down the Kuomintang flag on the city tower.

Then he ordered Zheng Mingde to lead a battalion in a feigned attack from the front, while he himself led two companies to circle around to the east gate, where a few grenades blew open the dilapidated wooden door.

The gunshots lasted less than twenty minutes.

As soon as the white flag was raised on the city wall, more than 300 people squatted down at the foot of the wall, put their hands behind their heads, and surrendered their weapons to avoid being killed.

Liu Chouxi did not enter the city. He ordered Zheng Mingde to leave a company to guard the prisoners, while the rest of the troops continued westward without rest, heading straight for Dehua.

Dehua was even easier, as there weren't many Red Army soldiers active there to begin with, and even bandits were few.

Consequently, military equipment fell into disrepair and defenses became lax.

When the defending troops saw the red flags covering the mountains and plains from afar, they immediately panicked.

When the Red Army rushed to the city wall, only a captain and about twenty soldiers were left squatting at the entrance waiting to surrender; the rest had all run away.

It was just dusk when they captured Dehua. Liu Chouxi dismounted, took a sip of water, and asked Zheng Mingde, "Has the news reached Datian?"

"It shouldn't be yet. Xianyou and Dehua are dozens of miles away from Datian by mountain roads. Even if someone went to deliver the message, they would only have just arrived outside Datian city."

"Then we won't rest." Liu Chouxi mounted his horse, waved to the troops behind him, and said, "Let's go tonight. We must reach Datian City before dawn tomorrow."

The group continued westward into the night. The mountain path was rugged, the moonlight dim, and many people slipped and fell, but they got up, dusted themselves off, and kept going.

No one complained. The victory of capturing two cities in quick succession ignited a fire in the hearts of every soldier, who wished they could march all the way to Daejeon in one fell swoop.

Halfway there, the Datian Party Committee sent someone to meet them.

Upon learning that they were going to attack the county town, they were overjoyed.

They immediately mobilized the surrounding guerrilla forces to join the army and mobilized the surrounding villages overnight.

Before dawn, the vanguard arrived outside Daejeon City.

As the eastern horizon began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, the soldiers guarding the city walls were still dozing when they were jolted awake by a deafening roar of battle cries.

After learning that the Nationalist army in the heart of Fujian was weak, Liu Chouxi's appetite grew enormous.

At the very least, we must capture Datian County and hold it firmly.

This county is located in the heart of central Fujian, bordered by Yong'an to the west and Youxi and Shaxian to the north. It serves as a transportation hub connecting eastern and western Fujian.

Taking Datian is like driving a nail into central Fujian.

More importantly, after the rapid expansion of the Fujian Central Independent Division, it also faced the problem of food shortages.

Only after securing Datian, a major grain-producing area, did he have the confidence to further expand his forces.

The battle progressed even more smoothly than Liu Chouxi had imagined.

Zheng Mingde led his troops to launch an attack from the south gate. Suddenly, the spies planted by the local Party committee in the city were activated and the city gate was captured in one fell swoop.

The security troops panicked and scattered in all directions; not a single unit even considered retaking the city gate.

Liu Chouxi commanded the main force to block the north and west gates, catching the security guards who were trying to escape.

The city's security regiment was hastily rebuilt by Lu Xingbang after being decimated by the Red Seventh Army Corps. It consisted of about 800 people, with outdated equipment and low morale.

They faced four thousand regular Red Army soldiers who had been fighting continuously and were in high spirits.

The garrison commander was quite carefree. He stayed overnight at Yichun Tower last night and, upon hearing gunfire, assumed it was another attack by Red Army guerrillas.

It wasn't until his subordinates rushed in to report that the main force of the Red Army was coming to attack the city that he finally heard the news.

He hurriedly dressed, but before he could even issue a single battle order, he was blocked at the door by two Red Army soldiers.

He glanced at the two dark gun barrels and wisely raised his hands.

The battle ended just as the sun rose.

When Liu Chouxi rode into the city, the streets were already lined with people peering out.

Several daring children chased after the Red Army troops, shouting, "The Red Army is coming!"

How should I put this feeling?

In short, awesome!

This is no better than being trapped in the mountains by the Nationalist army and forced to fight a guerrilla war in Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi!

Zheng Mingde caught up from behind: "Commander, the ranks have expanded again. Just the young men who signed up to join the army from Xianyou, Dehua, and Datian, plus the local guerrillas who came to join us, have increased by more than 3,000 in the past two days. Now the whole division has nearly 8,000 men."

Liu Chouxi nodded slightly, forcibly suppressing the upward curve of his lips.

I've been a division commander before, so I need to stay calm!

He dismounted and walked briskly into the county government office.

He spread out a map in the courtroom, his gaze falling on the two county towns of Yong'an to the west of Datian and Youxi to the north.

He had done his homework before coming.

The attack on Daejeon was not a rash decision. The area had a strong local following and the support of local armed forces, which were all favorable conditions for the development of the troops.

After taking Youxi, it will be able to connect with the Minjiang guerrilla area.

Firstly, it provides readily available troop replenishment; secondly, it provides material assistance from eastern Fujian, instantly revitalizing the entire situation.

But then again, I can see this, and the Kuomintang should see it too. They would never let me capture Youxi so easily!

"Commander Zheng, let the troops rest for a day. Tomorrow morning, send a regiment to launch a feigned attack on Le'an to the west, while the main force remains in place and prepares to attack Youxi to the north."

Liu Chouxi paused, then added, "Those who need to train should hurry up and train. Our team is still too weak; we can't rely on just having a lot of people."

Zheng Mingde stood at attention and saluted: "Yes, sir!"

When news of the fall of Daejeon reached Nanping, Wei Lihuang was looking at maps in the operations room.

After listening to the staff officer's report, he remained silent for a while, then turned to his adjutant and said, "Go and call Lu Xingbang here."

The adjutant responded and went out.

Wei Lihuang turned his gaze back to the map, moving from Datian to Youxi, and then from Youxi to Shaxian.

His brows furrowed deeply as he muttered to himself, "Three days, three county towns. This Liu Chouxi has quite the appetite; I really underestimated him before."

Even if you're not a veteran, it's easy for someone to become famous once they've achieved some success!

In particular, Liu Chouxi was quite popular among the first batch of students at the Whampoa Military Academy, so this sudden commotion naturally alarmed the upper echelons of the National Revolutionary Army.

Hearing that one of his classmates had become famous overnight, it naturally attracted a lot of attention.

Some busybodies even gave him the nickname "Tiger of Fujian"!