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

Zhou Zeyuan is currently preparing for the negotiations. The most crucial thing is to obtain authorization from the central government, and it must be a very clear order—in the absence of being able to break the encirclement of the southwest through negotiations, to prioritize securing other interests!

Zhou Zeyuan doesn't care about his reputation or stains, but there are some very sensitive things that he must handle flawlessly.

Fortunately, although the current central leadership has its problems, it is tough enough that even titanium alloys would have to take a backseat.

In summary, the Central Committee's reply can be condensed into one sentence: What cannot be obtained on the battlefield, do not expect to obtain at the negotiating table.

In the case of ordinary negotiations with other warlords, the National Revolutionary Army would usually request that the negotiations be held on its own territory.

First, it demonstrates one's legitimate identity to the outside world; second, it establishes a psychological advantage and gains more bargaining chips.

But given the current situation, patriots across the country are hoping to hear good news, and they will become very anxious if they don't.

When they panic, public order deteriorates, financial markets fluctuate, and the Nationalist government faces immense pressure.

If the Nationalist government dared to propose holding the negotiations on their own territory at this time, Zhou Zeyuan would really have to have a serious talk with them. If they dragged it out any longer, their hometown might be blown up.

But the captain wasn't stupid; their Huangpu Group was in a crisis of plummeting stock prices and desperately needed good news.

Why would they waste time on such trivial matters?

Therefore, after a brief consultation, the two sides announced that their negotiating representatives would begin peace talks in Quzhou on December 25th!

The Nationalist military will be represented by civilian official Chen Lifu as the head of the delegation for this negotiation, followed by a long list of delegation members.

To demonstrate its sincerity, the Red Army sent Zhou Zeyuan, the commander-in-chief of the advance team, to personally participate in the negotiations!

He was accompanied by democratic pioneers and revolutionary elders such as Fang Zhimin and Yu Qiubai.

They've fielded what is arguably their most star-studded lineup to date.

On the railway leading to Quzhou, a steam train belching white smoke rumbled along.

Outside the car window lay the fields of Jiangnan in early winter, the harvested rice paddies a withered yellow.

The sky was overcast, with leaden clouds hanging low, as if a cold rain was about to fall at any moment.

In a luxurious compartment at the rear of the train, two brass-framed wall lamps cast a warm glow. The compartment was carpeted in dark red, and a small mahogany table was fixed to the side panel, with several newspapers scattered on its surface.

Chen Lifu leaned back in his velvet chair, holding a newspaper in his hand, his gaze lingering on the blurry black-and-white photograph on the front page for a long time.

The young man in the photo is wearing a gray military uniform. He has a thin face but very bright eyes, like two black pebbles washed by rain.

The bold, lead-printed title above the photo was alarming: "Zhou Zeyuan, an opportunist and ruthless schemer lurking within the Red Army."

Chen Lifu stared at the photo for a long time, his brows furrowed slightly.

He turned to the second page of the newspaper, which was also about Zhou Zeyuan—things like "before he rose to power, he was just a militia captain in western Fujian," "he seized power with an iron fist while the corps commander was injured," and "he disregarded organizational discipline and expanded the troops without authorization."

The text is full of unfounded speculation, yet it also contains some seemingly plausible details that make it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

Chen Lifu felt that this information was half true and half false. At most, only Zhou Zeyuan's career path could be considered true, while the rest should be questioned.

At this moment, Zhang Chong, the deputy head of the delegation sitting opposite him, spoke up:

"Minister, most of the content in these unofficial reports is sensationalist. To investigate Zhou Zeyuan, we need to rely on professional intelligence."

Chen Lifu put down the newspaper and sighed helplessly, "I wish I could, but Zhou Zeyuan has risen too quickly. He was previously unknown. The information gathered by intelligence agencies is not as comprehensive as what these newspapers provide."

These words were spoken lightly, but to the third person in the private room, they carried considerable weight.

Dai Yunong stood near the door of the private room and lowered his head slightly when he heard Chen Lifu's seemingly innocuous accusation.

Despite his formidable reputation outside, the respected figures in the other carriages of the same train were both afraid and angry at him, yet helpless against him.

However, in the Kuomintang's bureaucratic system, which valued seniority, his background as a graduate of the sixth class of the Whampoa Military Academy meant he was destined to be out of the loop.

The senior students from the first class of the Whampoa Military Academy all had to respectfully address Chen Lifu, a bigwig in the Central Party Headquarters, as Minister Chen.

he?

Of course, we should also call him Minister Chen!

Although the generals from the first class of Whampoa Military Academy were juniors, they still had the confidence to sit opposite others.

All I can do is stand up!

Chen Lifu turned his head to look at him, a smile appearing on his face:

"Hehe, Yu Nong, I didn't mean to blame you. It's just that this negotiation is destined to be a tough job, and I just want to learn more about our opponents. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated."

Dai Yunong then raised his eyes, and said with trepidation, "It is my incompetence that caused the failure to gather intelligence and delayed the minister's important business."

"However, regarding this Red Army unit, although we lack accurate and detailed intelligence, we have still conducted a military strength assessment based on information from various sources. I wonder if the Minister would be interested?"

Chen Lifu sat up straighter and gestured for him to speak: "Of course I'm interested. The most important bargaining chip at the negotiating table is the strength of the army. Go ahead and tell me."

Dai Yunong took two steps forward, took out a thin file from his bag, unfolded it, and placed it on the table.

"Based on the current battlefield situation and the scattered intelligence gathered from various parties, we can basically deduce the enemy's military strength composition. It can be roughly divided into two parts—the Fujian-Zhejiang Military Region and the Northern Expeditionary Anti-Japanese Vanguard Team."

"These two parts are nominally independent of each other, one being a field force and the other a local force. However, due to the deep involvement of Zhou Zeyuan and the senior leaders of the Northern Expeditionary Anti-Japanese Vanguard in the establishment of the Fujian-Zhejiang Military Region, they can actually form an effective command and control linkage."

Chen Lifu nodded: "How many troops are there in each of these two groups?"

"The Northern Expeditionary Anti-Japanese Vanguard Force consisted of main forces with strong combat capabilities and excellent equipment, totaling approximately 60,000 troops. In addition, they could also command scattered guerrilla units in the vicinity, but these units were few in number and poorly equipped, and were not a cause for concern."

Dai Yunong turned a page of the file. "Although the overall combat effectiveness of the Fujian-Zhejiang Military Region is not as good as that of the field troops, and its command is not coordinated and unified, and it is divided into several parts, its numbers are very large, and it is estimated that it has no less than 200,000 militiamen."

There was a moment of silence in the private room.

Chen Lifu's hand, holding the teacup, hovered in mid-air for several seconds before he put it down.

He took a deep breath. "You just said... it's divided into several pieces? What does that mean? Explain in detail."