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

In addition to these, there are also seasonings!

This allows the soldiers to choose entirely according to their own tastes.

Some added chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, some added salt and ginger, and some mixed in brown sugar.

Zhou Zeyuan's own bag is sweet, with a lot of sugar and a little salt added.

Most of his soldiers came from Fujian, and their tastes were not much different from his.

In those days, although sugar was a rare commodity, with the Nationalist army's coastal blockade ineffective, large quantities of white sugar from Southeast Asia were being imported into the base areas.

The base area itself also has scattered sugarcane fields. Although the local brown sugar production may seem small-scale, the output from dozens of counties combined is quite considerable.

Some veterans from Jiangxi prefer spicy food, adding chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, salt, and ginger together, eating it until they are sweating profusely.

In addition, the cooks also prepared some pickled vegetables that had been marinated in advance.

In short, during combat, frontline troops do not cook, but logistical supplies are plentiful.

Zhou Zeyuan picked up the bowl, added some water to the fried noodles, and stirred it into a paste.

He would take a sip of water every few bites, and occasionally pick up a piece of pickled vegetable, but he seemed to enjoy his meal.

Although it's not very nutritious, at least the portion is enough to fill you up.

Although he also had cravings, they were within the normal range and he could restrain himself for a long time under harsh conditions.

If there is an important goal at hand, or other spiritual enjoyment, then it can be completely ignored.

Unless the food is so bad that it affects his health and consequently his work.

For many soldiers, being able to eat their fill was enough; they didn't care whether the food was good or not.

People in the army call it fried rice, but in my poor hometown, it's called pearl powder.

Want to eat this every day?

Being able to eat this once a month is already a good thing!

As for eating as much as you want, and having enough to eat?

That was something I only dared to think about after joining the Red Army!

Ultimately, the Red Army simply didn't want to spend too much time on food, which didn't mean their logistical supplies were insufficient.

On the contrary, since Zhou Zeyuan took over the Mindong Military Region, their Red Army has never lacked food.

This is the benefit of military victory: a large amount of spoils, an expansion of territory, and the support of the people make their finances and logistics extremely abundant.

And this scene is also thanks to Xun Huaizhou and Fang Zhimin.

Without the Red Army's experience of not committing any offenses during their last entry into the Jinqu Basin, and without Fang Zhimin's long-term management of the surrounding area, western Zhejiang would have been a clear-cut White area.

As Zhou Zeyuan was eating, his bodyguard Xiao Zhong lifted the tent flap and came in.

"Commander, a Kuomintang special envoy has arrived outside. He's wearing a military uniform, and it seems... he's a major general."

Zhou Zeyuan and Su Yu, who was standing next to him, exchanged a glance.

"It seems the Kuomintang reacted quite quickly."

Su Yu took a bite of the pale red fried rice and said slowly.

"You and Huaizhou are fighting so fiercely; if they don't react soon, the city will be gone in a couple of days. Please come in quickly!"

Xiao Zhong responded and turned to leave.

Su Yu glanced at the dishes of pickled vegetables on the table and hesitated, "Should we... tidy up?"

"Why bother packing? Let's eat. If they've arrived without having breakfast, just give them an extra set of chopsticks."

Su Yu shook her head, laughing at herself for being pretentious. Our Red Army has always been so simple and frugal, which is our greatest strength. Why be afraid of others laughing at us!

A short while later, Xiao Zhong led someone in.

The man was in his forties, of medium build, and dressed in a crisp Nationalist Army general's uniform with a major general's insignia pinned to his collar.

He wore gold-rimmed glasses, had a refined demeanor, and a perfectly measured smile on his face. As soon as he entered, he cupped his hands in greeting to the two of them.

"My name is Luo Weixiong, and I am the adjutant commander of the Fifth Column. You may address me as Adjutant Luo."

His gaze swept over the two men's faces. "May I ask how you two leaders are addressed?"

Zhou Zeyuan put down his bowl, stood up, and cupped his hands in greeting: "My name is Zhou Zeyuan, deputy commander of the Seventh Red Army Corps. I am just an unknown junior."

He pointed to the side, "This one is extraordinary. He is the chief of staff of my 7th Red Army Corps, named Su Yu. He is also the oldest and most senior leader in my corps. I'm sure Lieutenant Luo has heard of his great name."

Luo Weixiong quickly cupped his hands in greeting to Su Yu: "Chief of Staff Su, Deputy Corps Commander Zhou, your reputations are well-known to me."

He glanced around the tents and asked, "Where is your army's commander, General Xun Huaizhou? I am here on the orders of Commander-in-Chief Luo Zhuoying to negotiate with your army, and I hope to meet with your highest leader."

Su Yu glanced at Zhou Zeyuan and, realizing he wasn't going to speak, immediately understood and said:

"Comrade Xun Huaizhou is commanding the army on the north bank, aiming to cut off your army's retreat. I usually handle the many miscellaneous affairs of the legion. If there's anything, you can discuss it with me."

Xiao Zhong then brought over a chair and placed it on the table: "Lieutenant Luo, please sit down."

Luo Weixiong thanked him and sat down.

In just a few words, he had already rapidly analyzed a large amount of information in his mind.

Zhou Zeyuan, the deputy corps commander, is not a relative by connections as rumored, but someone who truly wields real power.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be only two people eating in this tent.

Of course, eating in the main tent does not necessarily mean having real power, but the fact that Su Yu, a fierce general of the Red Army, did not show the slightest dissatisfaction when he spoke first speaks speaks volumes.

As for Chief of Staff Su Yu, he was by no means Xun Huaizhou's deputy, as some people thought. Instead, he was a military leader with extensive experience, prestige, connections, and military achievements in the army, and might even be superior to the corps commander Xun Huaizhou.

The combination of "Su Xun" was by no means unfounded. The fact that these two fought separately for a long time was most likely due to a mismatch in their official positions and seniority.

Those with high official positions but low seniority, and those with high seniority but low official positions, are likely to have frequent conflicts, which is why they chose to divide their forces.

In addition, the Red Army's military deployment was very likely aimed at annihilating the Fifth Column, especially the Eleventh Division.

Otherwise, a deputy general could be left to command the operations on the north bank; why should the corps commander personally take the lead?

A flood of information rushed through his mind, and Luo Weixiong even felt a surge of pride.

He's just a young man, too naive. I figured him out in just a few words.

After he sat down, he straightened his sleeves and said, "My unit received the public declaration sent by your army yesterday. May I ask, does this declaration of marching north to resist Japan stand?"

Su Yu nodded: "Of course it counts. What, does your army intend to withdraw from Quzhou and clear the road for us to head north?"

"Indeed, after a series of bloody battles, both sides have suffered considerable casualties. Although the two militaries have different ideologies, they are ultimately both part of China's national defense forces."

"Such a waste of resources would probably make the Japanese in Hongkou, Shanghai, laugh with glee if they saw this."

"Brothers may quarrel within the walls, but they unite against external aggression. My Commander Luo said that if your army is truly committed to resisting Japan, our army can readily cede Quzhou, lead our troops to Jinhua, and clear the main road for your army to advance north."