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

"That doesn't make sense either," the battalion commander scratched his head. "Who fires so many shells during a reconnaissance mission?"

"Why do you care so much? All's fair in war. Maybe the Red Army is deliberately acting so unprofessionally to lower our guard. That's why I came here specifically to remind you—be careful and vigilant."

Although the battalion commander still had doubts, he nodded: "Don't worry, our Guangdong Army is not to be trifled with. No matter how many Red Army soldiers come, we'll kill them all."

At this point, he frowned. "I'm worried that the Central Army on our flanks and rear will falter. If they can't hold out, our retreat will be cut off by the Red Army."

The commander suddenly felt exhausted talking to this subordinate. He didn't want to say anything more, only giving a single instruction:

"You don't need to worry about those things; the command will handle them. Just remember, there are strict orders from above: without secret orders, hold your ground and do not venture out. Under no circumstances are you allowed to move a single soldier to pursue them. Violators will be dealt with according to military law."

After saying that, he turned and left.

The battalion commander stood there, watching the regimental commander's hurried departure, feeling that his superior was acting strangely today.

He couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong, but it just felt like the regimental commander wasn't surprised at all by the Red Army's attack.

Meanwhile, on the Lotus Mountain position southwest of Yunding Mountain, a fierce battle was raging.

Mortar shells rained down on the Nationalist army's trenches like a hailstorm, sending some unfortunate men to their deaths.

Those who were a little luckier felt the earth tremble and worried that they might follow in their comrades' footsteps in the next moment.

The fear and anxiety in their hearts quickly cooled down the fervor that had been fueled by the ocean and the wine!

During the brief lull in the artillery fire, the Red Army's skirmish lines advanced from behind the bushes on the hillside.

Unlike the loose and disorganized tactics of the feinting troops on Yunding Mountain, these Red Army soldiers were arranged in a standard triangular formation.

At the very front were the scouts, responsible for charging and breaking through enemy lines; on each side were two soldiers, one with a rifle for support and the other with a light machine gun for fire support.

The distance between each combat team was kept at about ten paces, which was neither too close to pose a threat to the machine guns, nor too close to ensure mutual support.

The Nationalist army machine gunner peeked out from behind his bunker, pulled the trigger, and a long string of fire shot out from the muzzle.

The first few Red Army soldiers fell to the ground, but those behind them immediately took their place, their steps never faltering.

The Red Army's fire support team quickly located the enemy's machine gun.

The two light machine guns simultaneously turned their muzzles and precisely unleashed fire at the Guangdong army's machine gun emplacements.

The machine gunner had just finished firing a burst and was about to retreat to cover when a volley of bullets caught up with him, splattering blood on his shoulder and causing him to fall backward.

With the machine guns no longer suppressing the enemy lines, the Red Army's advance suddenly accelerated.

The Nationalist soldiers hastily approached and fired, their rifles clattering, but under the pressure, their accuracy was remarkably high.

Naturally, they could not stop the Red Army soldiers who surged forward like a tide.

When the first batch of soldiers jumped into the trenches, the white light of their bayonets flashed in the smoke, followed by short screams.

At first, the Nationalist army was able to put up some resistance by relying on the winding terrain of the trenches, but as more and more Red Army soldiers jumped into the trenches, their formation began to falter.

Among these recruited local troops, a very small number had actually been prisoners of war once before, and faced with a similar situation, they resolutely chose to return to prison.

Many more simply turned and ran, fleeing along the trenches towards the main peak.

In less than a quarter of an hour, another position on the outskirts of Lotus Mountain fell into the hands of the Red Army.

In the lookout post on the main peak of Lotus Mountain, the garrison commander put down his binoculars, his face so gloomy it looked like it was about to drip water.

"Useless! You're a bunch of idiots! Fire the signal flare and tell the reinforcements to stop. Going there now is just handing them over to the Red Army! Organize another battalion and launch a counterattack immediately!"

The adjutant stood beside him, looking somewhat troubled: "Commander, our reserves... we only have less than a company left."

The regimental commander hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth: "Then send them all up! If we can't take back the position, the Red Army will take my head tonight!"

Just as the adjutant was about to turn around to relay the order, the phone on the table suddenly rang.

The regimental commander grabbed the receiver: "Hey? Commander, it's me!"

Jiang Boqing's voice came from the other end of the phone: "I have received news that the Guangdong Army has agreed to send a regiment to take over your positions."

"Hold on a little longer tonight, then head straight back to Jimei for a rest. Be polite during the rotation, don't give them any reason to complain."

"A whole regiment? Great, that's fantastic!"

He put down the phone and let out a long breath.

He turned around and waved to his adjutant: "Stop the counterattack for now, consolidate the defensive line, and gather the remaining troops on the main peak. We'll talk about it again when the replacement troops arrive."

As night fell, the Guangdong military officers and soldiers on Yunding Mountain had just finished dinner and were packing their gear.

The colleagues stationed at Lianhua Mountain sent a messenger with the order to take over the defense. The Guangdong troops at Yunding Mountain had to move south overnight to take over the defense of several positions on the outskirts of Lianhua Mountain.

When the news reached the battalion commander, he was squatting in the trench cleaning his gun. After hearing the messenger's words, he paused for a moment: "If we leave, who will guard Yunding Mountain?"

"The brothers at Lotus Mountain said they've been decimated and urgently need reinforcements. The troops taking over here should arrive soon." The messenger finished speaking and hurried away.

Although the battalion commander found it strange, military orders were absolute, so he could only order his men to pack up their equipment and leave the position.

Not long after the group had gone, a strange sound suddenly came from behind.

It wasn't the sound of gunfire, but rather a series of low footsteps.

The battalion commander stopped and looked back, but the night was too dark to see anything clearly.

He shook his head and continued walking forward.

Unbeknownst to him, less than a quarter of an hour after his group left Yunding Mountain, a dense mass of people emerged from the bushes and woods at the foot of the mountain.

Thousands of Red Army soldiers silently climbed the mountain ridge and quickly took control of the high points.

The red flag was raised in the night, and almost without stopping, the various units quickly passed through the passages on the north and south sides of Yunding Mountain, like a flood bursting through a dam, surging in through the suddenly opened breach.

The Red Army scouts, who had been lying in wait for a long time, quickly joined up with the main force.

They pulled out a map with very clear markings and guided the Red Army soldiers to quickly head south along a main road.

This road conveniently avoided several of the Guangdong Army's defensive positions and command posts.

At the same time, the Guangdong army had just carried out a series of troop rotations.

The garrison at several surrounding positions was completely cleared out, and the sentries and scouts were also recalled.

Three hours passed in this way, and the Red Army penetrated deep into the heart of the Nationalist army's territory.

The leading scouts were all dressed in Nationalist Army uniforms. They would deceive, approach, and ambush the Nationalist Army checkpoints along the way, taking them down with a smooth, quick combo.