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

Liao Lei looked at the red area on the sand table, marked by blue flags at both ends west of the Xiang River, and shook his head.

"The simultaneous blocking on both the north and south fronts, with the First and Third Red Army Corps facing off against our Guangxi and Hunan armies, sounds like a mantis trying to stop a chariot."

"Once any line of defense is breached and the crossing is captured, the troops following behind will be like birds in a cage. The Red Army will likely be annihilated on the banks of the Xiang River."

Bai Chongxi straightened up, sighed, and made no attempt to hide his helplessness: "It's not that bad. Given the Red Army's tenacity, how could we possibly break through their blocking line in less than two or three days?"

"What a pity! I finally found an opportunity to withdraw the troops from Quanzhou, but the Red Army dragged its feet and let the Hunan Army get there first. This really... has caused me a lot of trouble."

Xia Wei shook his head helplessly. They had risked angering the battalion commander to completely withdraw the troops from the Guibei area.

The idea was to let the Red Army pass through directly, then give them a chase like sending them off, and everyone would be happy.

Who knew that the Red Army, for some inexplicable reason, dragged their feet when fleeing for their lives.

The distance from Xiaoshui to Xiangjiang is only 70 kilometers, but it took four days to complete.

If this marching speed were to occur in their Guangxi army, it wouldn't be a severe punishment, but rather the immediate cancellation of their unit designation.

Xia Wei frowned and said, "Fighting the Red Army is not in our Guangxi Army's interest. But the pressure from Nanchang is too great. If we continue to delay and shirk responsibility, the battalion commander might find something to use against us."

"Or... let's fight anyway. We don't need to go all out. The life and death of the Red Army depends on whether they are tough enough."

Bai Chongxi shook his head, his tone leaving no room for doubt: "That's not appropriate. Even if we hold back, this punch will still cause internal injuries to the Red Army."

"I don't care whether they are injured or not, but the Red Army in Fujian and Zhejiang is not to be trifled with. So many elite troops of the Central Army have been defeated and killed by them."

"There is also the Fourth Front Army, with tens of thousands of troops. No matter how dire the situation is for the Red Army now, it is still the strongest force besides the Central Army."

"This game has entered its later stages and looks like it's about to end, but until the very last moment, it's still hard to say who will win. If possible, it's best to avoid becoming enemies with them."

Liao Lei was silent for a moment, then suddenly lowered his voice and said, "If it doesn't work, we'll rebel. The Central Army in Jiangxi is stuck in place, and the Red Army has invaded Zhejiang. The battalion commander is too busy to take care of himself. This is a golden opportunity."

"The Central Army in southern Hunan only has tens of thousands of troops under Xue Yue's command. Let's join forces with the Guangdong Army, launch a surprise attack, and wipe them out. Then we'll march north and head straight for Nanchang."

Bai Chongxi's expression darkened, and he turned to look at Liao Lei with a stern look in his eyes:

"Don't let such thoughts pop into your head so easily. You can know a person's face but not their heart. We're going to unite with the Guangdong Army, but who knows if they'll turn around and betray us?"

"And then there's He Jian from the Hunan Army, he's practically a vicious dog by the battalion commander's side, single-mindedly tearing the Red Army apart."

"Besides, if we succeed at this point, it will only benefit the Red Army. If they become too powerful, won't they turn around and wipe us out as well? It's best for us not to get involved in the struggle between the top two."

Liao Lei wanted to argue a bit more, but when he met Bai Chongxi's gaze, he swallowed his words.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 12199.99]

Xia Wei chimed in from the side, "But we can't just stay out of it. Nanjing is, after all, the central government, and it holds the moral high ground. At most, we can only outwardly comply while inwardly resisting; we can't directly disobey military orders."

Bai Chongxi raised his hand and gently pressed down: "Let me have some peace and quiet."

He bent down again, his gaze falling on the sand table, slowly moving along the mountains and rivers on both sides of the Xiangjiang River.

The command room was quiet for a moment, and the junior staff officer next to him tactfully turned and left.

Liao Lei and Xia Wei both stood still, without saying a word.

After about a minute or two, Bai Chongxi suddenly straightened up: "I've got it!"

Liao Lei and Xia Wei both stepped forward simultaneously: "Commander, have you come up with a solution that satisfies both sides?"

"I've figured it out." Bai Chongxi stretched out his hand and drew an arc westward from the Xiangjiang River on the sand table.

"You see, if the Red Army crosses the Xiang River, they will be surrounded by enemy forces on both the north and south sides. They will have no choice but to cross the Yuecheng Ridge to the west. Beyond the Yuecheng Ridge lies Ziyuan County."

He withdrew his hand and turned to the two men: "We can stockpile a batch of medicines in Ziyuan County, especially anti-inflammatory drugs and quinine that the Red Army urgently needs. When the Red Army enters Ziyuan County, they will naturally obtain this 'spoils of war,' and they will definitely understand what it means."

"On the main battlefield, we still have to fight, otherwise we won't be able to hide it from the Central Army's eyes and ears. But we can't fight too fiercely. If I give the Red Army this big gift again, they will have to accept my favor."

After listening, Liao Lei couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. You've mastered the art of pleasing neither side; you've truly mastered it."

Xia Wei hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'm afraid that if we don't keep things secret, the news will leak out."

"Of course, I'm not saying our Guangxi Army would leak information. But as the Red Army retreats, it's inevitable that some wounded will fall behind and be captured by the Nationalists, and the news will inevitably leak out. If the Central Army questions us about whether we deliberately aided the enemy, that..."

"Hey, Lao Xia, why are you being so indecisive..." Liao Lei was about to retort when Bai Chongxi raised his hand to interrupt him.

"Old Xia is right, we need to be more thorough."

He paced back and forth for a couple of steps with his hands behind his back, then stopped and said, “Here’s what we’ll do: you guys get the stuff ready first. When the Hunan Army and the Red Army are locked in fierce battle, we’ll say, under the guise of rewarding the troops, that the Hunan Army has come all the way south to help our Guangxi Army eliminate this major threat, the Red Army, and that we are deeply grateful and righteous.”

"Considering the heavy losses and rampant disease of the Hunan Army, we specially donated some medicine and 50 fat pigs to support the troops. But who knew that the damned Red Army would suddenly cross the Yuecheng Ridge and rob our Guangxi Army's transport team."

(Long Yun: Oh no, I've been accused of plagiarism.)

Xia Wei's eyes lit up slightly, and he continued, "Besides that, we also need to send someone to discuss with Commander-in-Chief He Jian the retreat arrangements after the Hunan Army enters our territory to wipe out the Red Army."

"We should urge them to finish annihilating the Red Army and leave our territory as soon as possible, and offer them generous rewards in return. This way, it will seem reasonable for us to give them gifts."

Liao Lei's gaze shifted back and forth between Bai Chongxi and Xia Wei a few times, and he suddenly felt that he was somewhat superfluous.

He quickly cleared the thought from his mind and asked, "Commander-in-Chief, if we want to fight seriously but also conserve our strength, what exactly is our strategy?"

Bai Chongxi said calmly, "It's very simple. Fight the way you usually do. But those brothers who are good at bayonet fighting, let them provide fire support or serve as reserves."

"Don't send the elite troops up for the charge. I don't want our hard-earned veterans to be wasted in the battle against the Red Army."