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

(Thanks to Maple233 for the amazing verification! I've been so busy with company events lately, sorry!)

Zhou Zeyuan immediately perked up.

When was the last time someone verbally provoked me?

too long.

After Lao Zeng and Lao Le left, no one dared to challenge their authority.

Comrade Qiu Bai is not in good health and dares not eat strong food!

Masters are lonely.

Now that Chen Lifu has delivered himself to our doorstep, he can be considered a formidable opponent.

The key is that they're not even one of our own, so let's increase the intensity a bit.

He put his glass on the table and said in a casual tone:

"I heard of a person who studied at the Baoding Army Rapid Training School in his early years and later went to Japan to study military affairs. He graduated from the Tokyo Zhenwu School before the Xinhai Revolution and was then assigned to the Japanese army for a basic internship. After completing his internship, he was able to enter the Japanese Army Officer Academy."

"If one can systematically learn professional military theory, one might achieve remarkable success in the field of military command in the future."

Chen Lifu paused slightly in his wine glass, his smile still lingering, but a hint of wariness flashed in his eyes.

"But just as the Great Revolution broke out, this man returned to China to participate in the revolution, leading a suicide squad to raid the city of Manchuria. He was once full of passion."

At this point, Zhou Zeyuan looked at Chen Lifu, a playful smile appearing on his lips. "Mr. Chen, what do you think of this man's military talent? Is he worthy of being appointed a general?"

Thunder rumbled in the sky, and ten thousand horses galloped.

Chen Lifu felt a rush of blood to his head.

His hand holding the wine glass froze in mid-air, and the expression on his face underwent a complete transformation in an instant, from bewilderment to shock to frustration.

I fired at you, shouldn't you retaliate?

Why did you go straight to the principal?

This young man doesn't follow the rules!

But the cultivation he developed over many years of political ups and downs was not acquired for nothing.

Chen Lifu took a deep breath, suppressing the surge of pent-up anger, and tried his best to make his voice sound calm and normal:

"General Zhou is joking. A storm begins with a gust of wind, and a wave is formed from a rivulet. To say that a hero's origins are irrelevant and that talent should be judged by his birth is utterly absurd."

"Putting everything else aside, seven years ago, General Zhou, you were nothing more than a beggar. Now you command an army, able to turn the world upside down with a flick of your wrist! This is the clearest proof of that."

Zhou Zeyuan nodded, feigning ignorance, and even showed a look of sudden realization: "Minister Chen is right. Military merit is the only way for a man to reach the top. I understand this deeply."

"According to you, the hero you speak of must be an invincible general who wins every battle and conquers every city. Wherever his army goes, the enemy will surely crumble and be utterly defeated."

"Otherwise, how could someone of humble origins command respect and rise to a position of command? I wonder if Minister Chen could share with me this person's superb command and outstanding achievements?"

Chen Lifu's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

He knew, of course, who Zhou Zeyuan was talking about. Every word he said pointed to the principal's resume, from Baoding to Zhenwu School, and then to the daredevil squad during the Great Revolution.

The problem is, the principal's military command skills...

Well, it's hard to say, really hard to say!

Of course, there are some outstanding aspects; otherwise, how could it have established itself?

But recently, he really did have a huge bowel movement.

If you really want to list them all, it's not something to be proud of.

"Well..." Chen Lifu picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and hesitated for a couple of seconds before continuing, "Actually, a great commander doesn't necessarily have to personally command every battle. More often, it requires grasping the overall situation, knowing how to use people effectively, and skillfully deploying resources to achieve victory from afar..."

Yu Qiubai, who had somehow already strolled a couple of steps away, heard this and replied:

"So it turns out that your party's commander only needs to control the overall situation and know how to appoint people to positions. Our army's commander-in-chief must be able to fight and be the bravest in the army. The standards of the two sides are so different."

"I didn't understand before. Comrade Xiao Zhou's talent is mediocre. Within our Party, he wouldn't even be in the top 30. Why was he able to win battle after battle? It turns out that his opponents were even more incompetent."

These words were spoken lightly, but to Chen Lifu, they were like salt rubbed into a freshly opened wound.

Zhang Chong, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it any longer and suddenly stood up: "Enough!"

All eyes in the hall turned to it.

Zhang Chong's face flushed red, his voice filled with barely suppressed anger: "Your Red Army has only won two battles by a narrow margin, what's there to be proud of?"

"Our army boasts a million soldiers, ten times the land, population, and tax revenue of yours, and we also have the great cause of national unification. Such advantages are entirely due to the wise decisions of our principal! How can you possibly discredit us with a few words?"

Zhou Zeyuan wore an extremely innocent expression and shrugged, "Was I talking about the principal? No."

His tone was so sincere, as if he were helping an old friend out of a difficult situation: "Minister Chen asked me a question—my command skills aren't the best, so why should I be the commander-in-chief?"

"To be honest, I really don't know the answer. Thank you, Minister Chen, for clearing up my doubts."

The hall was silent for two or three seconds.

At the table of pro-democracy activists, several people looked at each other, and then a look of realization flashed across their eyes.

This type of debate shifts the blame placed on you onto the other person, forcing them to defend themselves.

After he finished his defense, the doubts surrounding him would naturally be resolved.

High, really high.

Chen Lifu took a deep breath and raised his glass to Zhou Zeyuan:

"General Zhou is indeed a young hero, eloquent and persuasive. However, we have come here to negotiate in good faith, and have specifically announced a ceasefire across the entire front. Your aggressive approach is somewhat ungentlemanly."

When they can't win an argument through reasoning, they resort to personal attacks.

But the intensity is too weak; it's no different from gua sha (scraping therapy).

Since you're still not convinced, then I'll play along with you a little longer.

Zhou Zeyuan raised his glass in return: "Since the fifth counter-encirclement campaign, our army has suffered a large number of wounded soldiers who urgently need medical treatment. Your ceasefire comes at just the right time."

He paused here, his gaze slowly sweeping across the hall, and his voice rose a few decibels:

"Some say that this peace talk is just a delaying tactic, a way for the Nationalist government to buy time to mobilize more troops and organize the next encirclement and suppression campaign. In my opinion, this is pure nonsense."

Everyone perked up their ears.

"Little did they know that with each passing day, several wounded soldiers of our army would recover and return to their posts. The combat effectiveness of my newly formed troops would increase by one point."

"As time goes on, the situation becomes more favorable for our Red Army. Therefore, I fully believe in the sincerity of the Nationalist government in these negotiations."

Upon hearing this, everyone present wore extremely strange expressions.

The pro-democracy activists were taken aback for a moment, then some lowered their heads to suppress laughter, while others exchanged meaningful glances.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere among the officials at the Nationalist government's tables suddenly became strange as they exchanged glances.

Are we really sincere?

Shit.

Before they arrived, each of them had been instructed to delay as much as possible, to focus on the details during negotiations, and even to be unreasonable if necessary.

But now, listening to this, what the Red Army commander said seems to make a lot of sense.

As time goes on, it might actually be more advantageous for the Red Army.

So whose time are they actually wasting?