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

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the area outside the county town was already bustling with activity.

The parade ground was packed with people, including the original two thousand officers and soldiers of the Independent Division, as well as elite forces drawn from the village militias.

At a glance, there were nearly three thousand people.

These militiamen, who came from various townships and villages in Changting, did not arrive empty-handed.

Some carried long spears and broadswords, while the better ones carried Hanyang rifles and fast/slow-speed machine guns.

The team at the very front was the Songmaoling Militia Team.

In addition to each person having a rifle, there were also two heavy machine guns.

This is not surprising, because Zhou Zeyuan was the previous captain of the Songmaoling militia.

Unlike others, even if he is disciplined, he will try his best to stay on the front line.

Being frozen is acceptable, but being put in a freezer is not. Otherwise, even if a person comes out alive, their energy and spirit will be greatly diminished.

It is said that prisons produce talented people, but at the same time, they can also destroy them.

Many heroes and great men become completely different people after being released from prison!

He would rather be out of contact intermittently than go to jail.

Seeing the fairly impressive team, Zhou Zeyuan nodded in satisfaction.

Suddenly, he stopped and walked straight to the side of the group.

There stood a middle-aged man.

"Chen Sheng." Zhou Zeyuan called out, and the entire room fell silent instantly.

"Two years and three months, I thought you wouldn't come back."

Chen Sheng's eyes widened suddenly, then welled up with tears. "Commander... you still remember?"

"How is your mother's health? I still remember the dried bamboo shoots she made that were so spicy that I had to drink half a ladle of cold water."

"He passed away on the eighth day of last month." Chen Sheng lowered his head and vigorously wiped his face. "Fifty-seven, a happy death, you could say. It's just... it's just that before he passed away, he kept saying he was sorry to his superior, that he had promised to follow you to the end, but I..."

"Taking care of my mother is my duty, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Now that I've taken care of my own family, it's time to come back and do something big with everyone!"

"I've been waiting for you to say that! Commander, my eyes and ears have been working non-stop in the mountains these past two years. I can figure out about 70-80% of the mountain ranges, waterways, and road junctions in central Fujian with my eyes closed."

"Okay." Zhou Zeyuan nodded, but his gaze had already shifted and landed on a one-armed man in the front row of the line.

"Zhao Dashan, you're something else. Last year I sent you to lead the militia, and this year you've brought back a reinforced platoon."

The man grinned. "Commander, the men are all ready. Just give the word, and they'll brave any danger. It's just that we're short on guns; quite a few of them are carrying broadswords and spears."

"People are more important than guns. Don't worry, we'll have guns and bullets. Our transport captain is right across from us."

He then called out the names of seven or eight more people in succession.

The questions were nothing more than whether the old woman at home was in good health, how the harvest from the newly allocated land was, and whether the scars from the last battle still hurt.

This scene, as witnessed by the soldiers, was both heartwarming and natural.

In the ranks, apart from the new recruits who had just put down their hoes, which veteran didn't recognize the division commander?

This isn't a case of me knowing him and him not knowing me; rather, we know each other.

Thanks to his strong mental strength, Zhou Zeyuan has a memory far beyond that of ordinary people. He usually spends his free time recognizing people in the team and chatting with them.

He could name any soldier who had been in the army for more than a month.

Zhou Zeyuan walked back to the front of the group, and all three thousand eyes in the room instantly focused on him.

"Comrades, let me tell you a story. About two weeks ago, the Kuomintang 85th Division occupied Huangnikeng Village in our Soviet area. They entered the village three times."

"The first time, they said they were 'sweeping away the families of Red Army soldiers,' and they looted all the grain and livestock from every household in the village."

"The second time, they said they were searching for hidden agents. They turned every place where people could hide upside down. In the meantime, they raped more than a dozen women in the village. The oldest was over sixty and the youngest was only fourteen."

"The third time... they found it too troublesome, so they simply set the entire village ablaze. Of the more than one hundred people, fewer than twenty survived."

There were no shouts, no roars, but every word was like an ice-cold knife, piercing the hearts of everyone present.

The parade ground was deathly silent, with only heavy breathing audible. Many soldiers' eyes instantly turned red, and their teeth clenched so tightly they rattled.

Zhou Zeyuan took in everyone's anger, then abruptly changed the subject, his voice rising several decibels:

"I won't say more, the truth is simple and cruel. It's simple, as everyone knows: if we want to live a good life, we must win the battle and completely defeat the Kuomintang reactionaries! Only then can we go home and live a good life with our wives, children, and warm beds!"

His eyes were now brimming with tears, and his voice was slightly hoarse.

"The cruel thing is that when peace comes, many of us may not be able to see that happy scene or reunite with our loved ones."

"But! Our motherland will remember us! Our loved ones will be grateful to us! It is we who have brought them peaceful and happy lives! It is we who have shown those reactionaries that the power of the workers and peasants is incomparably strong and cannot be bullied!"

"boom!"

At this moment, everyone's blood was completely ignited!

The fear of death and the uncertainty about the future were instantly swept away!

"Tell me!" Zhou Zeyuan shouted, his voice hoarse, "For our country and our loved ones, are we afraid to die?!"

"Don't be afraid!"

"I'm not afraid!!"

The roar of three thousand people merged into a deafening sound wave that pierced the sky!

"Can we complete the task assigned to us by our superiors?"

"Yes...yes...it's definitely possible!"

Looking down at the faces flushed with excitement, and the eyes burning with passion.

Zhou Zeyuan also made up his mind that he not only wanted to win, but also wanted more soldiers to live to see the new China!

After a large-scale conscription, he was given over a thousand soldiers and three hundred rifles.

Now he could increase the number of his three infantry regiments to nine hundred men. In addition, with the division headquarters' mortar company (8 82mm mortars) and machine gun company (9 heavy machine guns), their overall strength was no less than that of the current 7th Red Army Corps.

With such a foundation, he had the confidence to compete for internal power.

Don't mention anything about obeying orders. If Le Shaohua, as the political commissar of the Corps, can give orders, why can't Zhou Zeyuan do the same?

A mature organization, in addition to strong organizational and execution capabilities, also needs a strong ability to correct its mistakes.

Clearly, it will take a bloody price to make everyone realize the importance of the latter.

I, Zhou, am not very capable, but I am willing to become this error-correcting machine.

The short-term goal is to beat all the stubborn guys in the advance team one by one!

There's an old saying that goes, "If a child is disobedient, it's mostly because the stick in the father's hand is too thin!"

Zhou Zeyuan believes that one should not be too lenient with one's own people, and problems should be corrected in a timely manner.

If you see any bad signs, nip them in the bud.

Don't say he only has this idea and hasn't put it into action yet!

Bullshit, judging criminals is what judges do.

He's a soldier; he doesn't need evidence, just a list and coordinates.