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

The Nationalist government announced that peace talks were about to begin, which immediately caused a huge uproar among the demonstrators in major cities.

Countless people spread the news and celebrated this hard-won victory.

At this point, some naive individuals or those with ulterior motives in the group seized the opportunity to suggest: Since the authorities are willing to negotiate and our initial goals have been achieved, we can temporarily disband the march and observe how things develop.

However, the student union leaders and progressives from various universities who were the organizers of this action expressed deep skepticism.

Many of them had suffered from the deception and repression of the Nationalist government, and they immediately sensed that something was wrong.

They firmly believed that this was a delaying tactic by the Nationalist government.

They explained to the marching crowd and students that the authorities had repeatedly feigned compromise before turning around and arresting organizers and dispersing the crowd.

They tried their best to maintain the stability of the marching group, but soon the official announcement from the Nationalist government came out.

The announcement not only specified the time and place of the negotiations, but also included a list of delegation members, which included many well-known pro-democracy figures.

More importantly, at the very bottom of the announcement, it was written in large, glaring characters that, effective immediately, the National Army would cease fire across the board, with all troops stationed in place and not advancing any further, as a sign of sincerity in the negotiations.

This immediately misled not only students, but also many patriotic individuals with extensive social experience, who genuinely took the news as a glimmer of hope for peace.

This cannot be blamed on them; it just goes to prove what Mr. Lu Xun said:

"I have always been inclined to assume the worst about government authorities, but this time it has surprised me."

How could they have imagined that a formal, official announcement issued by a ruling government could contain such shady dealings?

Even more unbelievable is that these people in the authorities are so shameless, having already made up their minds to deceive everyone.

In fact, it wasn't just patriots who were deceived; factory owners, bankers, university professors, and even diplomats from various countries were all closely watching the negotiations.

At this moment, only a small group in the Yangtze River Delta region (Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai) is able to calmly and clearly assess the current situation.

"Haha, this time our Civil Rights Protection Alliance has really made a name for itself." At the entrance of Mr. Zhou's apartment, Mr. Shi handed Mr. Zhou some snacks he had bought on the way and said with great pride.

After taking the pastries, Mr. Zhou took a sniff of their sweet aroma, nodded in satisfaction, and closed the door behind him.

The two went upstairs and sat down in the living room.

Mr. Zhou eagerly tore open a paper package, only to find neatly stacked maltose inside. He forcefully broke off a piece and put it directly into his mouth.

Mr. Shi shook his head slightly. "Hey, Yucai, I'm talking to you about serious business!"

"Speak, I'm listening," Mr. Zhou said indistinctly.

Mr. Shi was also helpless. If ordinary people did this in front of him, it would be considered rude!

Mr. Zhou's behavior in front of him is called carefree and spontaneous.

A great writer like him deserves these special privileges!

"The situation is exactly as Commander Zhou predicted. Do you think these capable and battle-hardened generals are like Zhuge Liang, able to predict the future?"

Mr. Zhou took the maltose candy out of his mouth, smacked his lips a couple of times, and then said, "It's hard to say about others, but the guy in Nanchang is really easy to guess what he's thinking. It would be strange if he didn't do this."

"That's troublesome. The government has directly designated us as members of the negotiating team, which is clearly a ploy to lure us away from our predicament. But we can't refuse to go; they've already placed us on the moral high ground."

"With so many eyes watching across the country, if we back down even a step at this point, we'll be immediately labeled with a barrage of accusations. We'll become the sinners who sabotage the peace talks."

Mr. Zhou smiled faintly, "That's impressive, but it's also a good opportunity. I'll go and meet Qiu Bai."

"As for Shanghai, Mr. Song has already told me that she has been unwell recently. Although she is willing to mediate between the two sides, she is unable to do so."

After providing a solution, Mr. Zhou put the maltose in his mouth again and gently bit it.

Mr. Shi was relieved. He was most afraid that after they left, the agents would have no more scruples and would act recklessly, harming their supporters.

Those people are not as famous or have as high a social status as we are. If something were to happen to them, it wouldn't cause a huge uproar.

Thinking of this, Mr. Shi spoke again: "Yucai, when I came over just now, I discovered something very interesting. Would you like to hear about it?"

Mr. Zhou nodded, a look of curiosity on his face indicating that I was very interested, but he didn't say a word.

Mr. Shi leaned forward slightly and whispered, "On the way here, I noticed that those people from the Special Agents actually appeared right next to me, and those spies at your doorstep were also swaggering around. I was staring at them, and they didn't even flinch. Are spies this brazen these days?"

Mr. Zhou's eyes also showed a hint of interest. Just as he was about to speak, his teeth were suddenly glued together.

One, two...

Then their eyes met, and the atmosphere became slightly awkward.

Mr. Zhou quickly turned around and poured himself a glass of warm water, clearly showing that he was quite experienced in dealing with this kind of situation.

A moment later, Mr. Zhou sat back down in his seat as if nothing had happened.

"In the current situation, spies can't be so brazen. The fact that they're being so blatant can only mean one thing: they're not planning to assassinate you, at least not in the short term."

"Since they don't intend to harm you, there's no need to conceal their whereabouts. Open surveillance is more efficient. Even if they are discovered and questioned, they have an explanation—the situation is turbulent, and they are here to protect us."

Mr. Shi breathed a sigh of relief.

The flower of democracy needs to be watered with blood.

Even though he was mentally prepared, being able to live even a moment longer would be an immense blessing.

He was unwilling to die before the mission of the League for Civil Rights was completed.

Especially now, Mr. Chen and Mr. Li have gone to such great lengths to set up this grand scheme, not to obtain a ceasefire treaty that is destined to be torn up.

The current situation remains extremely difficult!

Mr. Zhou's attitude was somewhat indifferent. In the end, they didn't have guns and there was only so much they could do.

Just do your best and leave the rest to fate!

Furthermore, there will be an opportunity to meet his relative in person, which will allow them to discuss the matter face-to-face.

It's better than sitting here anxiously waiting.

What Mr. Zhou, who is currently suffering from tuberculosis, is unaware is that Zhou Zeyuan is also a doctor, and a highly skilled one at that.

Once the patient is with him, how could they possibly run away?