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

As night deepened, the Fujian-Zhejiang Military Region Command was located at Nanji Mountain.

Zhou Zeyuan sat at the table, holding the telegram sent by Su Yu in his hand. He had already read it three times.

Su Yu's telegram was written with restraint, briefly outlining the contents of the letter before adding: "If this matter succeeds, it will alleviate our immediate crisis. I hope you will make a decision soon."

Zhou Zeyuan put down the telegram, leaned back in his chair, and remained motionless for a long time.

He originally thought things would unfold according to his plan.

The Fujian-Zhejiang Soviet Area could only avoid capsizing if it took the helm itself.

Su Yu and Xun Huaizhou are extremely capable in external warfare, but they are not good at internal affairs.

Comrade Qiu Bai has high prestige and deep experience, but his shortcomings in military affairs are extremely obvious.

The operation of the Fujian-Zhejiang Soviet Area required a person who excelled in both military and political affairs, could coordinate all parties, and maintain stability.

He himself is the most suitable person.

Staying behind to oversee the base area and coordinate the overall situation—this was the role he set for himself.

It's not that he likes to sit in command, but that no one else can do it.

But this letter immediately offered him a new possibility.

If we could bring Director Chen to the Fujian-Zhejiang Soviet Area, he would definitely be able to stabilize the situation there.

With sufficient seniority, high prestige, rich command experience, and a close personal relationship with Comrade Qiu Bai, the two would hardly have any problems cooperating.

In this way, I will be completely free.

He could combine the 11th and 10th Red Armies into one large army of 50,000 men and wreak havoc on the outer front.

No need to worry about instability at the rear, no need to worry about no one to keep things under control, just go all out and fight.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt that this matter had potential.

If your Central Military Region doesn't think much of this talented person, that's fine, our Fujian-Zhejiang Military Region does.

Moreover, Comrade Qiu Bai also held the position of political commissar of the military region. It was entirely within his power to issue an order to transfer a comrade to a local post.

There were no obstacles in terms of procedures, and there were no problems with the process.

He stood up and strode out of the office.

The village where Comrade Qiu Bai worked was not far from the command post; it only took about fifteen minutes to walk there.

When the soldier on duty at the village entrance saw that it was Zhou Zeyuan, he didn't even ask any questions and simply made way for him.

Zhou Zeyuan walked to the room with the lights on, and without knocking, he lifted the curtain and went inside.

Yu Qiubai was sitting under a kerosene lamp reviewing documents, with a thick stack of account books and sample banknotes spread out on the table. Recently, riding on the momentum of the great victory in southern Fujian, the issuance and promotion of Fujian-Zhejiang-Jiangsu currency has been quite smooth, and he has had much more work to do.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up. "Oh, it's Zeyuan. Coming to see me so late, is there some good news?"

Zhou Zeyuan sat down opposite him, a smile on his face: "Of course it's good news. One of your poet friends secretly sent a letter to Su Yu. We're finally no longer completely in the dark about the situation in the Central Soviet Area."

He handed over the telegram.

Yu Qiubai took the telegram and glanced at it. After reading a few lines, he chuckled, "So, you were talking about Old Chen. In your eyes, our relationship is just that of poetry friends?"

Zhou Zeyuan shook his head: "Of course, it's not just that. But what impressed me most about Director Chen was his poetry. Everything else has to take a backseat."

Yu Qiubai laughed at his words: "I will definitely pass on your words to him tomorrow."

He smiled and shook his head, continuing to read. But his smile faded halfway through.

His gaze swept quickly across the paper, his expression shifting from relaxed to serious, and then from serious to somber.

Just a moment later, he slammed his hand on the table.

"Nonsense! Absolutely nonsense!"

His chest heaved, his voice filled with barely suppressed anger: "What is Lao Xiang doing? How many times have I told him to be flexible, flexible! Not to fight head-on! He's completely ignoring me!"

Zhou Zeyuan sat quietly opposite him, waiting for him to finish venting his anger before speaking: "Military discipline is not something that can be easily adjusted."

"This is closely related to a person's abilities, way of thinking, and judgment of the military situation. If you ask him to make adjustments, firstly, he may not listen to you; secondly, he may not be able to make the adjustments well."

"I advise you to take this kind of thing in stride. Revolutions inevitably involve bloodshed and sacrifice, and if you want to minimize losses, instead of thinking about how to change others, you should think about how to strengthen yourself."

Yu Qiubai took a deep breath, picked up the enamel mug on the table, and drank a large mouthful of water. It took him a while to calm down and suppress his anger.

"Oh? So you already have a plan? There are still 20,000 to 30,000 troops left behind. These are valuable revolutionary forces and should be preserved as much as possible."

Zhou Zeyuan nodded: "Director Chen asked me to lead troops to relieve the siege. To be honest, he overestimated me. If the main force of the National Revolutionary Army rushes towards the base area, I am confident that I can rely on inside lines to deal with them."

"We have the advantage of favorable timing, location, and popular support. Even if our hard power is slightly weaker, we can still make up for it with tactics. But if we launch a long-distance expedition and take the initiative to attack the main force of the National Revolutionary Army, then the difference in hard power will be too great. This is a strategic disadvantage that is difficult to make up for with tactics."

Yu Qiubai waved his hand: "Alright, alright, don't shut me up. I won't give you orders or offer any military opinions, is that alright? Just tell me your plan."

Zhou Zeyuan sat up straight, meeting Yu Qiubai's gaze: "I've devised an operation codenamed Qingming."

"Qingming? Is it one of the twenty-four solar terms? Or a festival?"

"That's not important. What's important is that, as a first step, I will try to combine the forces of the 10th Red Army and the 11th Red Army."

"The second step... is to do something big, to draw all the attention of the Nationalist army to us. Not just ordinary attention, but to mobilize at least 300,000 enemy troops and make them chase us like mad dogs."

Yu Qiubai frowned slightly: "Like mad dogs? What makes them mad dogs? Did you dig up their ancestral graves?"

Zhou Zeyuan smiled and said, "It's not impossible."

Yu Qiubai was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter. He laughed heartily, and his laughter sounded particularly abrupt in the quiet night.

But as he smiled, the expression on his face slowly froze.

He stared at Zhou Zeyuan, his eyes filled with surprise and doubt. "What did you just say?"

I said it's not impossible.

"Not that sentence." Yu Qiubai shook his head, his voice lowering slightly. "Code name: Qingming? Qingming is for ancestor worship. Who are you planning to worship for?"

Zhou Zeyuan met his gaze and said calmly, "Fenghua Xikou."

These words were like a thunderclap rising from the ashes.