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

The Nanchang Headquarters immediately concluded that the Red Army did not intend to head north, but rather to advance eastward.

Peanuts, who had originally planned to sit back and watch the Red Army and Lu Xingbang suffer heavy losses, suddenly became anxious!

He thought he had seen through everything; the Red Army wanted to march north and launch a surprise attack on his hometown.

But he was not worried at all. Jiangsu and Zhejiang were his strongholds, which he had painstakingly cultivated for a long time. Not only was his political foundation solid, but the Baojia system had also penetrated deep into the countryside, and the gentry wholeheartedly supported him.

The local security regiments were also well-trained and well-equipped, and many were organized according to the requirements of regular troops.

His original plan was to wait until the Red Army defeated Lu Xingbang, then incorporate these warlord troops into his own forces before dealing with the Red Army.

He had already laid a trap in southern Zhejiang, just waiting for the Red Army to run into it.

Unexpectedly, the other party turned east, catching him completely off guard.

This was something neither Peanut nor Zhou Zeyuan's teacher, Mr. Li, had anticipated: that someone would send a detachment to attack the heavily fortified provincial capital.

It can only be said that intelligent people will never understand the strange thinking of some people.

What's the point of attacking a city that's destined to be unconquerable?

The reason why it couldn't be taken down was not only because the city's defenses were strong, but more importantly because Fuzhou, as a coastal city, had more than one warship docked in its eastern port.

There was also an airport outside the city, with the Nationalist Army's air force providing support.

This is somewhat similar to the Battle of Shanghai. We were not as well-equipped as the enemy, but the enemy bombed us from the sky and bombarded us from the sea. Even if we could gain a temporary advantage by fighting at night, we would eventually be pushed back by the enemy.

The only difference is that the Battle of Shanghai was a defensive battle; as long as you could hold out, you would win.

The Northern Expeditionary Force's attack on Fuzhou was an offensive operation, which was slightly more difficult.

At this point, within the entire Seventh Red Army Corps, let alone others, even Zhou Zeyuan and Su Yu lacked the confidence to simply slack off and get through the battle.

The only one who still maintained a certain fanaticism was Zhou Zeyuan's arch-enemy, Le Shaohua. Somehow, the more hostile he was to Zhou Zeyuan, the more he believed that Zhou Zeyuan could create miracles.

Few people in the Red Army, from top to bottom, believed that the Anti-Japanese Vanguard could capture Fuzhou.

However, from the Kuomintang's perspective, this matter must be taken seriously.

Firstly, they didn't know the strength of this northward anti-Japanese vanguard team; they only heard from Lu Xingbang that the enemy seemed to be equipped with heavy artillery, which was quite alarming.

Secondly, because the Eastern Route Army had drawn too many troops from Fujian, the defenses of Fuzhou were actually somewhat weak compared to normal times.

The field force consisted of only one regiment of the 87th Division, plus three artillery battalions, the 4th Military Police Regiment, security forces, police forces, etc., with a total strength of more than 5,000 people!

Under normal circumstances, relying on Fuzhou's strong city defenses, even an elite division of the National Revolutionary Army would not be able to take it down within three to five days.

This brings us to the third and most crucial factor: Fuzhou is the provincial capital, and its loss would certainly be a major political crisis.

But even if it wasn't lost, being besieged by the enemy would still have very serious negative consequences.

To paraphrase a peanut: The provincial capital is a vital city, crucial to the nation's dignity. Although we now have a city to defend, the fact that the enemy is at our gates is a great disgrace.

This matter is detrimental to international image, damages the prestige of the Party and the country, and dampens the morale of the army. How should we conduct ourselves?

Therefore, even though they were quite confident in the defenses of Fuzhou, the National Revolutionary Army still quickly dispatched reinforcements.

Not only did they need to mobilize all the units of the 87th Division scattered in Quanzhou, Ningde, Fu'an and other places, but they also needed to gather them in Fuzhou by sea.

The 49th Division under Wu Chengren, stationed in Hubei, will also be urgently transferred to Fuzhou by waterway.

Some might say that there wasn't enough time, and indeed, it wasn't that quick; at least the 49th Division couldn't catch up with the battle of Fuzhou. They could only contribute in the subsequent pursuit of the northward-bound anti-Japanese vanguard.

Although the 87th Division's troops are scattered, they are all located within the province and in port cities, and can arrive gradually within a week at most. Some may arrive in as little as three to five days.

By the way, it's worth mentioning that warships of foreign powers were also stationed in the port of Fuzhou.

The warships have a small number of marines, not many, but when several countries combine them, they can form a formidable invading force.

In particular, there were Japanese expatriates in Fuzhou, and according to their militaristic traditions, these people had undergone certain training.

In times of crisis, they would arm themselves to protect their interests in China, and might even collude with reactionaries to fight against the Red Army.

Knowing all this is why Zhou Zeyuan's attitude is so negative.

Given his personality, if his superiors dared to order him to make an infiltration, he would dare to break through the enemy lines and plant his own flag.

But this time it's really hard to break through, and there's really no hope of winning, so preserving strength is the best option.

While we're at it, we should also capture the two county towns of Minqing and Minhou, and try to gain some advantage in the battles surrounding Fuzhou, capturing as much equipment and supplies as possible.

In this way, when we reach the Mindong base area, we will have surplus guns and ammunition to distribute to the armed forces there, and the strength of the troops may even be able to reach a new level.

At noon on the 30th, the 7th Division, as the vanguard, had arrived at the outskirts of Minqing County and was making preparations for crossing the river to launch an attack.

It's worth mentioning that both are county towns that developed along the Minjiang River. Minqing County is located on the south bank of the Minjiang River, while Minhou County is located on the north bank.

For the Red Army, which was marching on the north bank, attacking Minqing County would be a little more troublesome.

However, since it was located in the heart of the Nationalist-controlled area, there were no well-constructed river defenses, and the local militia forces were not very combat-effective.

Zhou Zeyuan judged that the battle would not last long, and after taking it, the troops would continue eastward.

Let's not bother with the rich this time; we absolutely won't waste that time.

Upon reaching the walls of Fuzhou, they engaged in a seemingly serious battle, testing the enemy's outer defenses. Unable to breach the city's defenses, they quickly retreated northward.

He had already prepared a battle plan to feign a retreat, lure the enemy deep into his territory, and ambush and annihilate the 87th Division.

They'll definitely have our political commissar completely fooled.

Of course, it can't be entirely called a hoax; there is indeed some truth to it.

The current strength of the Northern Expeditionary Force against Japan is still somewhat inferior to that of the Kuomintang's elite 87th Division.

The number of people on both sides is not much different.

However, in terms of personnel quality, due to the absorption of too many new recruits and prisoners of war, coupled with a considerable number of non-combat personnel in the ranks, it was directly outpaced by the 87th Division.

In terms of equipment, the advance team was far inferior. Their light and heavy machine guns and mortars were a level below, and they simply didn't have any field artillery capable of long-range suppression.

However, these can all be compensated for through tactics. The gap between the two sides is not so vast. Once they enter the mountains, Zhou Zeyuan and Su Yu have several ways to defeat the 87th Division.

However, just when Zhou Zeyuan thought everything was under control, several intelligence reports came from the central government, disrupting his plans once again.