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

Zhou Zeyuan could no longer laugh.

He looked at the three men laughing so hard they were doubled over, and helplessly shrugged: "The news spread pretty fast. What's so funny? Doesn't any of you know the whole story?"

As he spoke, he gestured towards the command post, indicating "please," and the four men filed in.

As Xun Huaizhou walked, he said, "They know, but others don't. Oh, Zeyuan, you yourself said it yourself: it takes only a mouth to spread rumors, but it takes a lot of legwork to refute them. You've splashed dirty water on yourself; let's see how you'll wash yourself clean in the future."

Zhou Zeyuan shrugged. He always believed that cherishing one's reputation was something only the weak would do, while the strong were never afraid of gossip.

Leaving aside the distant past, during the impending World War II, which of the leaders of the great powers—Britain, the United States, Germany, and the Soviet Union—wasn't he highly controversial? But did that affect their status?

In this era where the law of the jungle prevails, there is a particularly popular saying: the strong are not blamed!

Fang Zhimin found a chair and sat down, looking at Zhou Zeyuan with a hint of approval in his eyes:

"Everyone says that revolutionaries don't care about personal honor or disgrace for the sake of the nation's fate, but how could they really not care? What we care about most is our reputation before and after death. Comrade Zeyuan, you are truly ruthless. In this respect, I would call you the strongest."

Zhou Zeyuan sat down opposite him and waved his hand: "You flatter me. Actually, Yao Guangxiao is not a derogatory term. He assisted Prince Yan Zhu Di in overthrowing Zhu Yunwen, who had harmed his compatriots and acted against the tide, and made an indelible contribution to the creation of the Yongle era."

The so-called "evil monk" label is nothing more than the impotent rage of those failed intellectuals. I believe that future generations will have discerning eyes and will give this period of history a fair evaluation.

Fang Zhimin's eyes lit up: "Zeyuan, it seems you read quite a lot. You're so knowledgeable about history and have your own unique insights."

"But even if these things happen, that's in the far future. Right now, our reputation has certainly been damaged."

"So what? I'll just deny it." Zhou Zeyuan shrugged. "This is clearly dirty water that the Kuomintang is smearing on me. I believe the masses have discerning eyes. Let's not worry about this for now. We'll refute the rumors after this is over."

Fang Zhimin gasped, too shocked to speak.

Su Yu added, "Comrade Zhimin, don't be surprised. Zeyuan has always been unconcerned with trivial matters; he's willing to sell his pride for money."

Fang Zhimin nodded and gave Zhou Zeyuan a meaningful look: "Yes, I can tell."

Zhou Zeyuan quickly retorted, "Nonsense! I only do this to the enemy; I'm still very loyal to my own people."

Xun Huaizhou added quietly from the side, "That's why we people here are so united, we're all afraid of being treated like outsiders by Comrade Zeyuan."

Fang Zhimin nodded vigorously: "Yes, I can see that too, I can see that too."

"Oh dear, this is too much! How did this turn into a denunciation meeting for me?" Zhou Zeyuan slapped his thigh and complained, "Comrade Zhimin, Huaizhou must have been talking badly about me behind my back, which made you have a preconceived notion."

"In fact, I am an extremely kind person and strictly adhere to the code of conduct for revolutionaries—to be as warm as spring to my comrades and as ruthless as winter to my enemies."

Fang Zhimin exclaimed, "That's well said, Zeyuan. Your theoretical level is absolutely unparalleled among the younger generation."

He suppressed his smile and said seriously, "Actually, I didn't come here to criticize you. It was the boss who was worried that you would go astray, become too obsessed with ingenious schemes and tricks, and lose the noble and upright spirit of a revolutionary. But now it seems that their worries were unnecessary."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zeyuan immediately straightened his back: "Old Fang, you really have insight. My teacher is a good person in every way, but since I haven't seen him for a while, my impression of him is still from when I was a teenager."

"Little do people know that a scholar should be viewed with new eyes after three days of separation. My mindset has always been as steady as Mount Tai. I never care about any schemes or plots, nor do I have any preferences. I use whichever is useful."

"This is pragmatism, and it's the right way. At least the battalion commander has already witnessed your capabilities."

Fang Zhimin nodded. "Our comrades in Shanghai have sent word that Boss Rong has been making a lot of moves lately. I think the second round of negotiations shouldn't be far off. So, are you ready?"

Zhou Zeyuan was extremely confident about this: "There's no need to prepare. If I don't push him to his bottom line, I'll write the character 'Zhou' backwards."

"However, I can't count on any peace talks. Based on my understanding of the Kuomintang, it would be easy to reach a ceasefire now, but as soon as they feel that their military strength has the upper hand, they will immediately tear up the ceasefire agreement."

Su Yu added, "So we've been conducting anti-ambush training recently. Currently, the base's defenses are loose on the outside but tight on the inside. If the Nationalist army invades, we'll let them into the base and then annihilate them."

Fang Zhimin nodded. "Very good. Then the focus of this negotiation should be on personnel exchange. This is also the central government's intention, to let us take advantage of this negotiation opportunity to grow stronger as much as possible."

"I heard that Commander Chen captured more than 20,000 prisoners in one go. Adding those that were already backed up, that brings the total to 30,000 to 40,000. If we can get all our comrades back, the revolutionary cause will reach a new level."

Zhou Zeyuan gave a wry smile: "I'd like to too, but I doubt the captain will agree."

"Of these 30,000 to 40,000 people, what he wants most are the several thousand of his own officers and key personnel. The others are at best just an add-on, completely dispensable. This is different from us."

Su Yu nodded in agreement. Even if they were willing to make the exchange, he wouldn't! At the very least, he wanted to pick out the technical soldiers from the newly captured prisoners first.

Xun Huaizhou interjected, "Then let's exchange some of them first. After that, we'll arrest Liu Zhi and force them to exchange again."

Fang Zhimin's eyes lit up, but he then shook his head: "That's ambitious, but this matter might be a bit difficult to handle."

Zhou Zeyuan thought to himself, "That's really difficult. Even the Japanese devils couldn't catch this old fox."

He said, "It doesn't matter if we can't catch them. There are hundreds of thousands of Nationalist troops on the other side, including quite a few generals from Whampoa Military Academy. The battalion commander has no choice but to compromise."

Fang Zhimin paused for a moment, then changed the subject: "I don't quite understand. Although the boss has formulated a strategy of striking after the enemy has acted, it doesn't necessarily mean we have to follow it. Why don't you strike first?"

"The longer the battle drags on, the more troops the National Revolutionary Army will mobilize, and the more difficult the subsequent battles will become."

Zhou Zeyuan smiled confidently: "The more the better, we couldn't be happier."

Fang Zhimin was shocked. Are young people these days so confident?

Then he turned to look at Su Yu and Xun Huaizhou and found that the two of them looked calm and composed.

Su Yu noticed Fang Zhimin's gaze and said softly, "Comrade Zhimin, you've come all this way, why don't you take a tour of our troops?"