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

Wei Desheng stared at the pontoon bridge below for a few seconds, then looked at the riverbanks on both sides of the pontoon bridge.

The area looked very quiet; apart from a few figures running into the woods, there wasn't even a machine gun in sight.

But something felt off. Could it be a trap?

"I still feel something's not right. Look at those bridges, they're built so neatly, and there's not even any air defense firepower around them."

Liu Changgeng clicked his tongue: "Old Wei, you're just too timid. You know what kind of anti-aircraft firepower the Red Army has. Have you forgotten the last time in southern Jiangxi, when we flew over their heads and dropped bombs, they couldn't do anything to us and could only run around on the ground?"

As he spoke, he pushed the control stick forward, and the plane began to descend rapidly. The river water spread out below the wings, and the floating bridges became clearer and clearer.

Two small bombs hanging under the wings detached from their racks and fell toward the pontoon bridge.

The bomb landed on the river, creating two plumes of water, but it was still twenty or thirty meters away from the pontoon bridge and didn't even touch the wooden planks next to the bridge.

"It's veering off course!" Wei Desheng shouted.

"Got it! Let's do it again!" Liu Changgeng leveled the nose of the plane, drew a large circle in the air, and re-aligned it with the direction of the pontoon bridge.

This time he lowered his head even further, and he could even see the figures of the Red Army soldiers running on the shore.

The moment he pressed the bomb-throwing button for the second time, more than a dozen tongues of fire shot out from the reeds on the shore at the same time.

Those were heavy machine guns hidden behind the grass and bushes, their muzzles already pointed at this airspace.

Bullets rained down on the sky.

Liu Changgeng felt the fuselage suddenly shake, as if it had been hit heavily by something. Immediately afterward, a piece of the windshield in front of the cockpit shattered, and a shard flew past his ear, leaving a bloody mark.

Before he could even shout, a second wave of bullets arrived, piercing the wing skin and tearing apart the right aileron.

"Pull him up! Quickly, pull him up!" Wei Desheng's voice came from behind, filled with an unprecedented panic.

Liu Changgeng frantically pulled on the control stick, and the plane climbed erratically, but the left engine was already belching black smoke, and the fuselage began to tilt uncontrollably to the right. Bullets fired from the ground were still chasing them, hitting the control surfaces at the tail with dull metallic clangs.

The propellers slowed down, and the plane, like a bird with broken wings, struggled shakily in the air for a few seconds before plunging into the mudflats on the north bank of the Qujiang River.

The other plane kept circling at high altitude.

I watched with my own eyes as the plane in front of me dove down, got hit by ground fire, started smoking, and crashed.

The two pilots on board were their beloved family and friends, brothers!

After careful consideration, they made a painful decision—to return to base immediately to report the situation and request that their superiors send a search and rescue team to carry out the rescue.

Normally, plane crashes fall into two categories: the pilot dies or the pilot survives.

If it lands hard, then there's a high probability that it's over!

But right now, their comrade's plane had crashed into the mud by the river. Based on their experience, as long as the Red Army's machine gun bullets didn't hit them directly in the body, they would most likely survive.

As for how the superiors should rescue their comrades from the Red Army's encirclement, that was not their concern.

By nightfall, both Red Army forces had completed clearing out the enemy's outer outposts.

They also built forward positions about two kilometers away from the Nationalist army's positions.

Although the official attack is scheduled for tomorrow, it doesn't mean there's nothing to do tonight.

Su Yu and Xun Huaizhou adopted the same strategy without prior communication.

The majority of the soldiers were allowed to rest, while a smaller number were tasked with night raids and harassment.

而且他们内部还进行了分组，晚上9点到10点第1组来， 11点到12点第2组上，然后是第3组第4组……

This is where the advantage of having a large army and many generals became apparent. The gunfire was almost constant throughout the night, and the Nationalist soldiers at the front lines had to get up repeatedly during the night.

You can't just not get up. The last night raid was a ruse, but who knows if the mistake in the next round will be real.

Meanwhile, Zhou Zeyuan was already on his way on horseback.

Along the route from Pucheng to Quzhou, there were supply depots set up by the Red Army, which contained food, water, and a small amount of ammunition.

There were also fast horses available for transfer.

He covered the 300-mile distance from Pucheng to the front line in Quzhou in just 8 hours.

When they arrived at Su Yu's command post, it was still dark!

As Zhou Zeyuan dismounted, several guards waiting at the camp gate quickly came to greet him.

One soldier reached out and took the reins from his hand, while another soldier brought over a lantern from the side to light the way for him.

"Comrade Commander, I have great news to share with you! We shot down a Kuomintang plane yesterday!" The soldier who spoke was young, his voice practically bursting with excitement. "This is truly a first in so many years! The whole army is talking about it!"

Zhou Zeyuan nodded, continuing his steps, and casually asked, "What about the two pilots? Were they rescued?"

"Oh, one person was hit by two bullets and just had surgery. Whether he lives or dies is up to fate. The other person just hit his head and is fine."

Zhou Zeyuan paused for a moment, then continued walking: "That's great. At least we can save one person. Our team has been developing for so long, and we finally have a pilot. Keep a close eye on him, do some ideological work with him, and try to convert him."

The soldier paused for a moment, then scratched his head. "Yes, comrade commander. But we don't have any planes, so what do we need pilots for?"

Zhou Zeyuan had already stepped onto the steps at the entrance of the command center when he heard this. He turned around and laughed, "Not now, but there will be later."

After he finished speaking, he lifted the curtain and went inside.

A kerosene lamp was lit in the command post. Su Yu was lying face down on the table, her face buried in her arms, breathing evenly and deeply, clearly fast asleep.

But the gust of wind that Zhou Zeyuan brought in when he entered made the lamp flicker, and Su Yu woke up almost immediately.

He looked up, rubbed his eyes, still a little sleepy, and saw the figure standing at the door. He paused for a moment, then came to his senses.

"Oh, Zeyuan. You came pretty fast, it's not even dawn yet. Why don't you get some sleep first?"

Zhou Zeyuan walked to the table and sat down opposite Su Yu: "If I rest now, you won't be able to sleep. So, what do you want to ask? Ask away."