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

Yang Yongtai pondered for a moment: "In my opinion, we should retreat. The 11th and 67th Divisions are the elite of the Party and the State. We should temporarily retreat to Jinhua to guard the eastern gateway of the Jinhua-Quzhou Basin, join forces with the Zhejiang army, and then plan a counterattack."

The principal's smile vanished, and he slammed his baton onto the sand table: "No way. If the Red Army comes and we avoid battle, what will become of the Party and the nation's reputation?"

Everyone looked at each other.

Here we go again; the principal is especially wise when he's wise.

But this saying also has another meaning: when someone is muddle-headed, they simply won't listen to advice.

He Guoguang cautiously reminded him from the side, "Principal, judging from the current situation, it will take at least four or five days to transfer the army from southern Zhejiang to Quzhou."

"Let our troops in Lishui, Yongkang and other places set off first, lightly equipped, and march through the night. Even that would take three days. And they can't carry heavy weapons."

Everyone looked at the principal with hopeful eyes, hoping he would make the decision to retreat.

But to everyone's surprise, the principal's gaze lingered on the sand table for only a moment, a fleeting hesitation in his eyes before he resolutely declared:

"Then send a telegram to Luo Zhuoying, instructing him to hold Quzhou for at least five days. If he succeeds, his merits and demerits will cancel each other out. If he fails, he will be punished for both offenses, dismissed from his post, and investigated without leniency."

Yang Yongtai pondered for a moment and said, "Since the principal has made up his mind, we shouldn't try to persuade him. Instead, we might as well transfer as many planes as possible, especially bombers, from Jiangxi and Hunan to Quzhou and Shangrao."

"Reinforcements on land won't arrive in time, but air support is feasible. Once we get through the most difficult first three days, the Red Army's offensive on the eastern front will be exhausted. The main force of the Red Army will be breaking out towards the Xiang River soon, and then we can call the air force back."

The principal nodded, his expression softening slightly: "The Red Army's Central Column is like a turtle in a jar; it's unlikely to be able to rise up. A few fewer bombers shouldn't be a problem. Let's do what we need to do. Urge Gu Zhutong to send reinforcements immediately; it's extremely urgent."

At this point, no one raised any further objections, after all, they were all senior advisors personally promoted by the principal.

If someone is too straightforward, the principal would never promote them to his inner circle.

Doing something as inhumane as Li Shimin promoting Wei Zheng is something that not everyone can do.

But history has proven time and again that if a decision-maker has a stubborn person by their side, they won't be forced to stop when faced with a major mistake and head straight for the edge of a cliff.

Located in the western suburbs of Quzhou, at the foot of Phoenix Mountain.

Jiangshan Port and Qujiang River meet here. The river water is clear and the green mountains on both banks are beautiful. However, at this moment, a sense of desolation has been added.

At the foot of the mountain, on an open field, gray military uniforms surged like a tide, and the Red Eleventh Army from the south and the Red Tenth Army from the north finally met successfully here.

People, whether familiar or not, greeted each other, and old friends who had been separated for a long time shared their recent experiences.

Among unfamiliar comrades, they shared captured cigarettes and meat cans, boasting about their own or their unit's heroic deeds.

More teams are arriving in droves, winding down the mountain road like a long gray dragon slowly converging into this valley.

As more and more troops arrived, new garrison camps and command posts were quickly built.

On a flat area at the foot of the mountain, a large number of weapons and equipment were neatly arranged.

Light and heavy machine guns were neatly mounted on wooden frames, and the machine gunners were cleaning their old buddies with a care that was more meticulous than when they were cleaning their own precious possessions.

These days, a lump of iron is much more precious than a lump of meat!

The mortars were arranged in several rows according to their caliber, and the gunners quickly assembled them from their parts into place, ready for any battle that might break out at any moment.

Further away, a dozen or so Type 41 mountain guns from the mountain artillery battalion were being pulled into position by mules and horses. The gunners were checking the gun mounts and sights with practiced and steady movements.

An old Red Army soldier with a beard was standing in an open space, directing several soldiers to drive wooden stakes into place in order to set up a larger command tent.

He turned around and saw the neatly arranged artillery and the mountain of ammunition boxes, and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement:

"My goodness! I've never seen such a powerful and well-equipped army when I was in the central government!"

"Haha, Lao Wei! Comrade Zeyuan still has one division that hasn't arrived yet; it'll be even more impressive when it does!"

The voice sounded extremely familiar. Old Man Wei turned his head and saw that it was Su Yu and her group walking on the main road ahead.

He quickly stood up straight and saluted: "Chief of Staff! Long time no see! You've gotten much stronger and more energetic!"

Su Yu stopped and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Really? I'm not a child anymore, I'm still growing!"

Ma Gongcheng, who was standing next to him, laughed and added, "Chief of Staff, the amount of meat we eat in a month now is equivalent to what we used to eat in a year. You were indeed somewhat malnourished before."

Su Yu smiled and was about to say something more when a slender figure lifted the curtain and walked out of the command tent that had just been set up in front.

The man was not tall, but he stood ramrod straight, his eyes were sharp as an eagle's, and his face carried a calm and confident air of someone who had been through many battles.

"Haha, Lao Su! You weren't as fast as me this time!"

Su Yu smiled and strode forward, raising her right arm.

Xun Huaizhou strode forward, opened his arms wide, and gave him a solid bear hug.

He patted Su Yu's back hard twice. "Haha, Old Su, when I went north, I was really afraid that after this parting, the only time I would see you again was at your memorial service!"

Su Yu shoved him away with disdain, laughing and cursing, "Pah! You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth!"

Xun Huaizhou wasn't annoyed. With a smile, he put his arm around his waist and led him into the house: "Come on, come on, let's go inside and talk!"

Once everyone had entered the house, Su Yu glanced around and was stunned.

Although the tent is not large, it has all the necessary facilities of a command center.

The most eye-catching feature is the large table in the center, on which sits a sand table with mountains, rivers, towns, and roads clearly marked.

A military map of the area surrounding Quzhou hangs on the wall, with the enemy and friendly forces marked in red and blue pencils.

A radio had even been set up in the corner, and a communications soldier was wearing headphones and adjusting the frequency, the static crackling softly.

Su Yu turned around in surprise: "You've only been here a short time? You've already finished the sand table?"

Xun Huaizhou walked to the edge of the sand table, his gaze falling on the city model marked "Quzhou" in the center: "Don't forget, I once occupied Quzhou. I've explored the entire city, inside and out, the terrain and topography. I've drawn dozens of maps. What's so difficult about making a sand table?"

"It's a pity. I thought at the time that I would come back to visit again if I had the chance. I would just tear down the city wall completely. But the Nationalist army counterattacked too quickly, so we only demolished part of it and then withdrew."