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

The following day, the negotiation delegations of the Red Army and the National Army held their first round of talks.

Both sides presented their respective negotiation principles.

Basically, it's about understanding the issues, the bottom line of core interests, and the principles of cooperation.

The aim is to clarify the scope and understand the other party's attitude, but care should be taken to avoid delving into specific details to avoid revealing one's hand.

Chen Lifu immediately made outrageous demands.

He first emphasized that the Nationalist government was the only legitimate government in China, therefore the Soviet government had to be abolished and the Red Army had to be reorganized, which was the only long-term way to maintain peace.

Zhou Zeyuan showed no mercy and turned the tables on him, almost killing the negotiations.

He stated that the revolutionaries also recognized the concept of one country and one government, but this government must be clean, efficient, and dedicated to serving the people.

Therefore, he proposed a final thorough investigation of all personnel within both governments.

Any official who embezzles more than 100 months' wages for an ordinary worker will be executed if there is solid evidence, with no upper limit.

Once this step is completed, everything else will be easier to discuss and negotiate.

The entire venue fell silent for three seconds.

Not only government officials and democrats, but even the representatives of the Red Army themselves were stunned.

This is simply a cruel official, even more cruel than Shang Yang.

When Shang Yang reformed the laws, he beheaded 800 people in one go, turning the Wei River red with blood.

If things continue like this, there will probably be 8000 heads to catch.

The most ruthless thing was the statement that there was no upper limit. If that were really the case, Old Chen felt that even his head might not be safe.

However, directly refuting them is not an option either, as anti-corruption and unification are politically correct in any era.

Throughout the more than 2000 years of monarchical autocracy, except for a few periods when corruption was so deeply entrenched that it was brought to the forefront.

At other times, no matter how rampant the corruption may be in private, at least on the surface everyone is an honest and upright good official.

Even the Nationalist government, which was rotten to the core, would occasionally launch anti-corruption campaigns to arrest and punish some unlucky people without any background, in order to give the general public an explanation.

Let alone Chen Lifu, even the principal was just condoning it; he wouldn't dare to openly say that corruption is not a crime.

So Chen Lifu brushed the topic off with a laugh.

But it's okay, it's Zhou Zeyuan's turn next.

Unsurprisingly, he proposed relieving the Red Army in the southwest.

This even includes the Soviet areas in southern Jiangxi, Hunan and Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi, and Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi, all of which need to be relieved.

The reason was quite valid: we organized our army to march north to fight the Japanese, but you blocked the road, so we couldn't get out.

This infuriated the Nationalist delegation, and Zhang Chong even slammed his fist on the table.

"Commander-in-Chief Zhou, your words are grand and righteous, about leading the troops north to fight the Japanese. But as far as I know, you yourself have personally commanded large armies and captured many of our country's cities. Under these circumstances, how can we trust you?"

Chen Lifu chimed in, "That's right. Given the Red Army's past misdeeds, I propose that the anti-Japanese forces heading north temporarily disarm, and once they reach the North China front, our army will provide them with equipment and logistics."

The other officials in the Guo government also echoed this sentiment!

Some say that a fully armed Red Army could easily cause panic in the local area.

This is playing the bad cop!

Some people also praised the Red Army for its bravery and skill in battle, saying that if it had the equipment and sufficient logistics of the National Revolutionary Army, it would have been able to defeat the Japanese invaders in one fell swoop and safeguard the peace of the border.

This is playing the good cop!

Zhou Zeyuan looked on with disdain. This abacus bead was too quick to work, it was almost hitting my face.

Before Zhou Zeyuan could speak, Fang Zhimin, sitting next to him, sneered and interrupted:

"Having dealt with your party for so many years, I am quite familiar with your reputation. My assessment is that, despite your many misdeeds, you are still much better than the Ming Dynasty."

He paused, his piercing gaze sweeping across the well-maintained faces opposite him, his tone chilling:

"How loyal and brave Qi Jiguang's army was back then, but what was the result? They were all lured and killed by the words, 'Tomorrow we will receive our pay at the drill ground, so we don't need to bring our armor.'"

"I imagine that although your party has many methods, it would not do something so foolish as to destroy its own foundation."

Zhou Zeyuan's face darkened, and his eyes twitched slightly.

This is outrageous! How dare they steal my lines!

However, upon closer inspection, many of the Kuomintang negotiators sitting opposite them had turned a deep purplish-red, clearly quite taken aback by these veiled insults.

Seeing that the situation was about to reach a stalemate again, Mr. Cai, who was sitting at the head of the table, quickly tried to smooth things over:

"It seems that you all have significant differences of opinion on this issue. How about we discuss it again tomorrow? Let's talk about some issues that are easier to reach a consensus on first, and seek common ground while reserving differences."

Chen Lifu immediately felt relieved, realizing that today's negotiations were even more mentally taxing than those with foreigners.

For the first time, he felt that inviting democrats to intervene as a third party was an excellent thing, and quickly echoed:

"What Cai said makes sense. Let's start with something small, like the issue of prisoner exchange."

Zhou Zeyuan smiled slightly and said, "Talking is fine, there's nothing we can't talk about. I have a list of personnel here, including more than twenty colonels or above from your side, and more than seventy county-level cadres from our side. We can start with them as a good beginning."

As he spoke, he took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and pushed it across the table.

Chen Lifu took the note and handed it to Dai Yunong, who was standing next to him.

After Dai Yunong took it, he only glanced at it briefly before his expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in disbelief:

"Commander-in-Chief Zhou, this is impossible! There are many sensitive figures involved; we absolutely cannot accept such conditions!"

Zhou Zeyuan leaned back slightly, a sinister smile spreading across his face: "Xia Chuzhong, a graduate of the first class of the Whampoa Military Academy and commander of the 98th Division, inflicted heavy casualties on our army during the attack on our Central Soviet Area. Is there anyone more sensitive than him?"

"If even he can be released, why can't the rest of us be released? Director Dai, let me remind you, we've already broken down on two issues. If we still can't reach a consensus on the third issue, I don't think there's any point in continuing these negotiations."

The moment these words were spoken, the air seemed to freeze.

Dai Yunong looked troubled, hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Chen Lifu beside him, his voice very low:

"Minister, there are several people here whose crimes are extremely serious and unforgivable..."

Chen Lifu didn't reply, but picked up the note and stared at it for a few seconds, as if weighing the pros and cons.

A moment later, he unexpectedly handed the note back, saying calmly, "We can accept this condition."

Dai Yunong's eyes widened suddenly, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

Chen Lifu ignored his subordinates' shock and questioned, "It seems a bit unreasonable that one person can be exchanged for three in terms of numbers."