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

Mr. Zhou's apartment, No. 9, Dalu Xincun, Shanyin Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai.

In the living room on the second floor, Mr. Shi sat in a rattan chair, took out a few telegrams from the file folder he carried with him, and placed them on the table.

"These are the materials that Commander Zhou sent over. Most of them are his personal resume, some true and some false, but they all seem plausible."

Mr. Zhou slowly stubbed out the cigarette, which was now only half-smoked, in the ashtray.

He reached for the few pages of telegram and began to read them.

The living room was quiet for a moment. Mr. Shi picked up his teacup, but didn't drink it. He just used the lid to stir the tea leaves floating on the surface of the water, his gaze fixed on Mr. Zhou's face, waiting for his reaction.

After a long while, Mr. Zhou put down the telegram: "Interesting, only twenty years old. Even throughout history, those who could command thousands of troops and fight in the north and south at this age are few and far between."

Mr. Shi smiled and waved his hand: "That's an exaggeration. We have a history of five thousand years, and young generals are not uncommon. Huo Qubing was enfeoffed as Marquis of Champion at the age of seventeen, Sun Quan took control of Jiangdong at the age of nineteen, Yue Fei joined the army to fight against the Jin at the age of twenty, and Li Zicheng had already shown his talent at the age of twenty."

"Young generals are not uncommon, but the only one I can think of who can command tens of thousands of troops and participate in a crucial war that determines the fate of the nation is General Huo Qubing. The rest are merely serving others like dogs and horses."

Mr. Shi's smile vanished, and he gasped, "Wow, now that you mention it, this Commander Zhou is truly extraordinary."

"Upon closer reflection, Zhou Yu, the handsome young man of Jiangzuo, achieved fame at a young age, but he was already over thirty when the Battle of Red Cliffs took place. Remarkable, truly remarkable. In my opinion, although that principal also taught many generals, none of the thousands of outstanding individuals can compare to Zhou Yu."

Mr. Zhou laughed and pointed to himself: "I also have the surname Zhou. Your words make me quite embarrassed."

Mr. Shi was taken aback, then burst into laughter, pointing at him twice with his right finger: "You really are... If anyone else dared to be this thick-skinned, I would definitely give them a good scolding. But it's not an exaggeration to say that about you."

After he finished laughing, he composed himself and said seriously, "Yucai, these articles are of great importance, and I still hope that you will write them. Firstly, your writing is sharp and your reputation is well-known; secondly, our Shenbao newspaper is full of all sorts of people, and I will feel at ease entrusting this matter to you."

Mr. Zhou nodded. "I feel it's my duty to do this. I'll send you the article by tomorrow morning at the latest. However, I would like to ask that I be able to choose my own pen name."

Mr. Shi breathed a sigh of relief, but then looked hesitant: "No problem, but there's still one thing I'm not entirely sure about."

Are you worried I'll write too harshly?

"That's right. He was a Red Army commander. For the sake of our plan, he didn't hesitate to tarnish his own reputation, needlessly labeling himself as an opportunist, an ambitious schemer, and someone who would stop at nothing. Revolutionaries value their reputation above all else, even more than their lives."

"I feel a little guilty when I think about this. In my opinion, that's enough. We can't include everything in the article."

Mr. Zhou took out another cigarette, struck a match, lit it, took a drag, and slowly exhaled the smoke before speaking:

"On this matter, I support my relative more. What we are doing now concerns the fate of the country and the future of the revolution."

"I don't know how much determination Zhou Zeyuan had to make to write this telegram, but since he has made up his mind, all we can do is help him."

Mr. Shi's expression changed, and his voice rose several decibels: "This is called fulfilling someone's wishes? What kind of contemporary Jia Wenhe, or Yao Guangxiao of Fujian... In all my years, I've never seen anyone curse so filthyly, especially when they're cursing themselves!"

Mr. Zhou's gaze was calm and firm: "It must be done this way. Only by doing this can we convince everyone that this suddenly rising Commander-in-Chief Zhou is a ruthless and unscrupulous man who is capable of anything."

"Only in this way will these capitalists in Jiangsu and Zhejiang feel an uncontrollable fear rising from the depths of their hearts."

"Because ordinary Red Army generals could be restrained by reason and rules, and could be discussed and negotiated."

"But if rumors circulate that this person is unrestrained and will stop at nothing to achieve his goals, once his troops reach Shanghai, no one can predict what he will do. At that time, not only will his money and property be at risk, but even his life will be in danger."

A complex look flashed in Mr. Shi's eyes: "How ruthless, how insidious! To dare to stab oneself in the back, that's truly a vicious person!"

Mr. Zhou, however, said with a look of relief, "If you're not ruthless, you can't stand firm. Our comrade is outstanding in talent, character, and vision, but he lacks a bit of domineering ruthlessness. Now that his students are helping him make up for it, I feel much more at ease."

Mr. Shi frowned: "What's wrong with taking the benevolent path? Compared to Cao Cao, I think Liu Bei is more suitable to be the legitimate ruler of the Han Dynasty."

Mr. Zhou shook his head with a wry smile: "Liu Xuande is certainly good. He is a good medicine that can cure diseases and save lives, and can strengthen the body, but the only problem is that he is a bit slow to take effect."

"Those who are seriously ill are often eager to recover their health, and naturally they will not take such slow-acting medicine seriously."

"Usually, people go out and find a bunch of quack doctors, who treat them until they're exhausted and injured. If they're lucky enough to survive, they'll obediently go back to find a miracle doctor to save their lives."

Mr. Shi's eyes widened suddenly, and he was stunned for several seconds before slapping his thigh: "Your analogy... is so apt! It has instantly cleared up my doubts that have lingered in my mind for many years. By the way, Yucai, there is something else I would like to discuss with you."

"Okay, go ahead."

Mr. Shi placed his right hand on the table, gently stroking it twice, before speaking:

"It was Commander-in-Chief Zhou who wanted me to leave some clues so that the Kuomintang agents would think I had a connection to the Red Army and could get some intelligence from them."

"Commander Zhou said that this is essentially putting me in the center of the vortex, which actually makes me safer. Do you think this is a reliable plan?"

Mr. Zhou thought for a moment and then said, "Anyway, I don't think that doing this will put you in any more danger."

Mr. Shi breathed a sigh of relief: "Oh, that's good, that's good..."

Mr. Zhou then added, "Because you were already in great danger, no matter how dangerous it gets, it won't be much more dangerous."

Mr. Shi almost spat out the tea he had just drunk. He put down his teacup, stared at Mr. Zhou with wide eyes, and shook his head helplessly after a long while: "Yucai, Yucai, you are good in every way, except for this mouth of yours, it's too sharp."

Mr. Zhou smiled but didn't reply. He picked up the telegram again and began to study it carefully.