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

Northeast Guangdong, northern suburbs of Meizhou.

The Guangdong army retreated 40 miles away as agreed, and Meizhou is now a ghost town.

Su Yu's Red Army was able to move freely across the Lingnan region.

Soon, the two teams finally met at the intersection of a dirt road.

A group came from the west, dressed in rags, their faces weathered. The group included the elderly, women, and children, as well as several stretchers hastily made from door panels and bamboo poles, on which lay sick people and pregnant women who could not walk.

Another force came from the east, their gray uniforms neat, their guns gleaming, and their ranks impeccably ordered—clearly a battle-hardened, regular Red Army unit.

The moment the two teams met, the Red Army soldiers immediately went to greet them.

Some people unloaded cloth bags full of dry food from their shoulders, some brought water bottles, and others led over horses and bamboo reclining chairs that had been prepared beforehand, helping the elderly and pregnant women in the group to sit down.

The elderly, women, and children who had trekked all the way from Ruijin finally relaxed upon seeing their own group, their nerves, which had been tense for many days.

Some people's eyes welled up with tears as they held onto the saddle, while others simply sat down on the roadside, hugging their children and bursting into tears.

It's not sadness, it's the relief of surviving a disaster.

This road has been incredibly difficult.

Starting from Ruijin, they bypassed the Kuomintang army's blockade, traversed mountains and valleys, and traveled by night and hid by day. The journey was fraught with danger but ultimately safe, though they remained constantly on edge and dared not stop for a moment.

Finally, we met the team that came to pick us up, and we can finally relax after being anxious for so many days.

Su Yu stood on a rock by the roadside, her gaze sweeping over the group from Ruijin, and she quickly recognized several familiar faces in the crowd.

Among them were the wives of his former comrades-in-arms, the wives of several central leaders, and even the wife and daughter of Secretary Xiang.

He immediately understood why Secretary Xiang had agreed so readily.

By arranging for family members to be placed in a relatively safe place, everyone could concentrate on fighting the enemy to the death.

This should also include Secretary Xiang himself.

It can only be said that everyone has selfish desires.

But most revolutionaries, when faced with the final moment, had the courage to face death.

As he was thinking, a loud voice came from the front of the group: "Comrade Su Yu!"

Su Yu turned his head and saw a middle-aged man with bandages wrapped around his leg, but who looked very energetic, walking towards him with a hastily made wooden stick.

The injury on his leg was clearly not fully healed, and his gait was somewhat awkward, but his steps carried an undeniable air of boldness.

Director Chen walked up to Su Yu with a face full of excitement, grabbed his hand, and squeezed it tightly:

"Comrade Su Yu! It's been several years since we last met! Ever since the main force of the Central Committee moved away, I thought we'd meet again at Marx's place!"

Su Yu was amused by these words, and shook Director Chen's hand firmly twice, her tone calm and resolute:

"Comrade Commander, you're being too pessimistic. Comrade Zeyuan told me that the current difficulties are only temporary, and as long as we find the right path forward, dawn is just around the corner."

Upon hearing this, Director Chen's eyes lit up, and his interest soared even higher.

He was a recognized chivalrous revolutionary, and he was known for his bold and straightforward speech.

He dared to speak his mind when he was in Ruijin, let alone now that he's on Zhou Zeyuan's turf.

They're all on the same side, so what is there for him not to say?

"Comrade Su Yu, what you said really hit the nail on the head! When I was in Ruijin, I said that Xiao Zeyuan had only learned three or four tenths of Lao Li's essence, yet he was able to make such a fortune in Fujian."

"If teachers could take charge of military affairs, wouldn't the mere Kuomintang reactionaries be easy prey?"

Su Yu handed the riding whip to the guard and said as they walked, "The small achievements we have made so far are still built on the foundation laid by our predecessors."

"From central Fujian to eastern and northern Fujian, and then to Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi, without the mass base laid by countless revolutionary martyrs, it would have been impossible for us to develop so rapidly just by winning a few battles."

Director Chen laughed heartily: "Haha, you have a good way of speaking, kid! You're much more modest than Zeyuan!"

"If he hears me praise him a couple of times, he'll immediately acknowledge it and then brag a bit more, and that's the least of his worries! He's nothing like his teacher; he's more like Lao Peng."

Su Yu shook her head, her tone serious: "I think you still don't quite understand Comrade Zeyuan. His outward personality is just a facade; his deep-seated sense of the big picture is more precious than gold."

"Otherwise, so many comrades from the Fujian-Zhejiang Military Region and the Northern Expeditionary Anti-Japanese Vanguard Team wouldn't have been convinced by him. Like Committee Member Li, he truly won people over with virtue."

Director Chen paused for a moment, then nodded, his tone tinged with emotion: "Yes, only when people with both virtue and talent lead the revolution can it have a future. But unfortunately, I am of low status and my words carry no weight."

Su Yu comforted him, saying, "Commander, now that you're in Fujian, your words will carry weight."

"Really? You're not lying to me?"

Su Yu smiled and said, "Comrade Qiu Bai also said before he came that he was a nobody with little influence. Now he's always giving orders and reporting to comrades in the Central Committee. He has to try to control his tone and tone down his achievements so as not to hurt the self-esteem of some comrades."

Director Chen burst into laughter at his words, patting him on the shoulder: "Hey! I just said you were being modest, and you're already spouting nonsense!"

"Alright, I am now the commander of the Fujian-Zhejiang Military Region. Comrade Su Yu, please give me a brief overview of the military region so that this old comrade can have a look."

Su Yu took out a folded piece of paper from her pocket, unfolded it, and handed it over: "I haven't been back to the military region for a while now. This is some information that Comrade Zeyuan recently compiled. It's not entirely accurate, but it's pretty much correct."

Director Chen took the paper and his eyes fell on the densely packed numbers.

His expression froze at first glance.

He glanced at it again, then slowly turned his head and asked Su Yu in a tone tinged with disbelief:

"Xiao Su, is there a mistake in this translation? Are you sure... the number of local armed forces and militia is 117,000?"

Su Yu nodded, her tone calm: "There shouldn't be any mistake. I heard before I left that there were more than 70,000 registered militiamen at that time, and the base area had only just begun to build up its militia on a large scale. It's not surprising that it increased to 110,000 after some time."

He glanced at Director Chen and said, "What's wrong with you? This number is nothing compared to the Central Soviet Area at its peak."

Director Chen suddenly felt a stiffness in his neck and couldn't help but twist it.