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

Not long after, reconnaissance company commander Chen Sheng was brought to the corps headquarters.

Facing a room full of high-ranking officials, this veteran soldier showed no stage fright, stood ramrod straight, and reported in a loud and clear voice:

"Reporting to our superiors! We've made contact with our comrades from the underground Communist Party in Youxi County and brought back important intelligence!"

"According to the comrades in the county committee, just two days ago, Lu Xingbang, the warlord of northern Fujian, transferred one of the two main regiments stationed in Youxi County to Zhanghuban. The intention was very clear: to block our passage northward to cross the Minjiang River."

"Now there is only one regiment left in the city, plus his division's guard battalion, and some scattered militia and police, all together, the number should be less than three thousand."

Zhou Zeyuan immediately pressed further: "Besides Zhanghuban, what other Kuomintang regular armed forces are closest to Youxi?"

Chen Sheng had clearly done his homework, answering fluently: "The closest is Shaxian, and Lu Xingbang's brigade, which is about fifty kilometers away from the other two."

"Further afield, the Kuomintang's 52nd Division is stationed in Guihua County, which is more than 100 kilometers away from Youxi. Other Kuomintang troops are even further away and are unlikely to pose a direct threat in the short term."

After listening, Zhou Zeyuan turned to Zeng Hongyi, Le Shaohua, Xun Huaizhou, and others present, his eyes gleaming with excitement:

"Gentlemen, this is a golden opportunity! We no longer need to take the mountain road from the east as originally planned. We can take the main road directly, capture Youxi County, and open up the passage to the north!"

Le Shaohua's heart skipped a beat. He had always advocated fighting in major cities and in tough battles to demonstrate the might of the Red Army.

The reason he had previously agreed to the detour was because intelligence indicated that Lu Xingbang's main force was entrenched in Youxi, which made him wary. But now, with the enemy's forces weakened, the temptation was too great!

He was torn between two conflicting thoughts: to fight or not to fight?

Fighting is risky, but the rewards are huge. Not only can we seize supplies, but we can also greatly boost morale and expand our influence.

But the thought that this tempting plan was proposed by Zhou Zeyuan again made him feel inexplicably uncomfortable, as if he were being led by the nose again.

Just as Le Shaohua hesitated, unexpectedly, Xun Huaizhou, who had always supported Zhou Zeyuan, spoke first and raised a question:

"Zeyuan, Youxi is a county town with city walls and fortifications. Although Lu Xingbang's troops are a mixed force, they are still regular troops and far superior to the security regiment of Datian."

"We lack experience in siege warfare and the heavy firepower required for it. A hasty attack would likely result in heavy losses. What are you thinking?"

Zhou Zeyuan was stunned. He had prepared himself to deal with Le Shaohua's difficult behavior, but he didn't expect to be betrayed by his good brother at the crucial moment.

He turned his inquiring gaze to Le Shaohua, wanting to see the political commissar's reaction.

As a result, Le Shaohua wore a "watching a show" expression and slowly said:

"Yes, I'm very interested too. I'm not against attacking the county seat in principle, but the prerequisite is that there needs to be a practical and feasible battle plan. Comrade Zeyuan, why don't you elaborate?"

Now that things have come to this, Zhou Zeyuan no longer needs to hide anything:

"In the short term, we only need to consider the threat posed by Lu Xingbang. The other Kuomintang troops are either too far away to help, or they themselves are happy to see Lu Xingbang being attacked and may not be genuinely willing to come to his aid."

"My idea is to concentrate superior forces, besiege the city and attack reinforcements, and combine feints with real attacks."

"First, in terms of attacking the city, the 7th, 2nd and 3rd Divisions of the Red Army formed an encirclement and feigned attack on Youxi County, putting pressure on the defending enemy and forcing them to ask for reinforcements."

"Secondly, regarding the attack on reinforcements, the First Division Commander Hu Tiantao will be in charge. The troops will be divided into two routes: one route will select elite forces and secretly deploy them to ambush the regiment that is returning from Zhanghuban to Youxi County, aiming to wipe it out."

"The other route will harass and sabotage the road from Shaxian to Youxi, slowing down the reinforcement speed of the Shaxian brigade."

"Commander Hu, your mission is to do everything in your power to hold off the enemy in Shaxian for at least 48 hours along this 50-kilometer stretch of road!"

Hu Tiantao nodded: "My First Division can handle both of these tasks. But Commander Zhou, can the main force of the legion really capture the county town within forty-eight hours? If they can't, we will be under tremendous pressure, and we may even be caught in a situation where we are attacked from two sides."

Zeng Hongyi quickly echoed, his face full of worry: "Yes, yes, if we can't take it down, the consequences will be too serious. It's better to be safe and take a detour."

Zhou Zeyuan, however, seemed confident: "It doesn't matter, it's okay if we can't take it. We didn't necessarily have to take the county town."

"My core objective is to advance north safely. We can advance north while fighting. The specific operation is: during our siege, the army headquarters, logistics units, and non-combat personnel will take advantage of the enemy's attention being drawn to the city defenses, quietly bypass the outer perimeter of the county town, and head north directly along the main road."

"The enemy is under attack and preoccupied with its own problems. They would never dare to, nor could they, spare many troops to intercept our corps headquarters. Based on the timeline, the corps headquarters will be able to catch up with the First Division's ambush of the Zhanghuban reinforcements on its way north."

"At that time, the corps headquarters can join forces with the 1st Division's ambush troops and be protected. Meanwhile, our 7th, 2nd, and 3rd Divisions will continue to maintain pressure on the county town."

"If we can take it, that would be best. If we can't, we'll withdraw from the battle when it gets dark."

"I originally intended to fight this battle just to see how it goes. Even if we couldn't take the county town, as long as our offensive was fierce enough to hurt Lu Xingbang and frighten him, he wouldn't dare to easily leave the city to pursue us."

Su Yu added, "This method is indeed good, allowing for flexible advance and retreat. We can also make some additional arrangements, such as feigning a retreat to lure the defending enemy out of the city to pursue us, and then ambushing them in the wild. If we can eliminate a portion of their forces, the effect will be even better."

Xun Huaizhou's brows relaxed, and he nodded, saying, "This is indeed an excellent strategy. The enemy has no more than three thousand soldiers, and relying on the city walls to hold their ground, they are indeed a tough nut to crack. But if we lure them out of the city to fight in the open... then they won't be a major threat to our army. Zeyuan, your mind works really fast."

Zeng Hongyi nodded repeatedly, his worry completely gone. This plan demonstrated an offensive posture, ensured a safe withdrawal, and even sent the army headquarters out first—it truly resonated with him.

"Safe, absolutely safe! I think this plan is excellent! Didn't we devise a strategy to demonstrate our strength to the enemy? This frontal assault will perfectly showcase our military's power."

"Everyone knows that our Red Army is not good at attacking fortified positions. Even if we fail to capture the stronghold in the end, it will not expose our true strength. But in the eyes of the enemy, we dare to fight Lu Xingbang head-on, which shows that we are very confident and must be quite strong."

The atmosphere was very positive, and the plan was about to be finalized.

But at times like these, Le Shaohua always manages to cause some trouble.