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

After the troops arrived on the outskirts of Fuzhou, Zhou Zeyuan left only a small number of soldiers to guard the main road, while the main force quickly moved up the mountain and plunged into the dense forest.

The weather in July and August is in the height of summer.

Although it was sultry in the forest, it was a welcome respite from being scorched by the sun on the mountain path.

The soldiers clutched their guns to their chests and collapsed onto the grass under the shade of the trees. Some didn't even bother to lay anything down; they fell asleep the moment their feet touched the ground, and snoring filled the air.

This is another reason why Zhou Zeyuan chose to make a nighttime raid—the weather was too hot.

Even during the day, marching leaves one drenched in sweat; if they were to march even faster, several might collapse from heatstroke.

Traveling at night and sleeping during the day, although it reverses the work-rest schedule, at least people can endure it.

Zhou Zeyuan himself was also quite exhausted.

He leaned against the trunk of a large banyan tree, took off his hat to cover his face, adjusted his breathing, and fell asleep almost instantly.

The guard, Xiao Zhong, sat down a short distance away from him, holding his gun, and listened intently to the sounds around him.

Not long after, a series of light footsteps approached.

Xiao Zhong looked up and saw Zheng Sanjiang, the commander of the 3rd Regiment of the 7th Division, bending over and waving vigorously at him with a "don't make a sound" expression on his face.

Xiao Zhong had been following Zhou Zeyuan for so long that he was used to it. He gently put down the gun and tiptoed over.

Zheng Sanjiang was a true veteran of the Huangma Uprising. He was from Huangpi and participated in student movements while studying in Wuhan during his youth.

He then joined the Party and has fought alongside the team ever since.

Back then, Teacher Li sent a group of helpers to Zhou Zeyuan to help him lead the team. After several years of fighting, those old faces either died or were transferred, and now only Zheng Sanjiang is left.

Speaking with a heavy Wuhan accent, he lowered his voice and asked, "How long has the legion commander been asleep?"

Xiao Zhong glanced back at Zhou Zeyuan under the tree: "It's been about an hour. Commander Zheng, is something urgent? Should I wake the legion commander?"

"Don't wake him!" Zheng Sanjiang quickly waved his hand. "It's nothing serious, let him sleep. The legion commander usually wakes up every hour and a half. I'll just wait by his side for a bit."

Xiao Zhong scratched his head, somewhat puzzled: "If it's not urgent, why are you waiting for him? Can't you talk to him during lunchtime?"

"Oh well! Just pretend I don't exist, okay?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint buzzing sound suddenly came from the horizon.

Zheng Sanjiang muttered to himself, "That's strange. Could it be that I haven't been sleeping well lately? My tinnitus has gotten worse..."

Xiao Zhong's expression suddenly changed, and he blurted out, "Oh no! It's an airplane!"

The shout startled Zhou Zeyuan, who was leaning against the tree, awake. He yanked off his hat, frowned, and sat up.

"What are you shouting for? We're in the woods, completely hidden by the branches. The Kuomintang planes can't even see us. What are you panicking about?"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zheng Sanjiang slapped Xiao Zhong on the arm, "That's right! I also believed your nonsense. If this happened in the White Army, and you shouted like that while others were resting, you'd be dragged out and shot!"

Xiao Zhong shrank back and shut his mouth sheepishly.

Zhou Zeyuan brushed the grass clippings off his clothes and looked at Zheng Sanjiang: "Old Zheng, what are you doing here? Something wrong?"

Zheng Sanjiang rubbed his hands together and leaned closer: "Commander, you see... the First Regiment was transferred to eastern Fujian, right? They used to be the main attacking force, so shouldn't it be our Third Regiment's turn to get a taste of the spoils this time?"

Without a second thought, Zhou Zeyuan shook his head: "No way. Your most important task, Third Regiment, is to protect our precious artillery. Whether we can break through the city tonight depends on whether you can get those cannons into position."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Sanjiang's smile vanished: "Commander, you can't always make us guard! We're infantry, what's the point of always making us squat in front of the artillery..."

Zhou Zeyuan glanced at him, his heart softening: "How about this! You leave 100 soldiers behind, but you must personally command them and keep a close watch on the artillery positions. The rest will be temporarily assigned to the Second Regiment to participate in tonight's main attack."

Zheng Sanjiang's eyes lit up: "Hey! That's great! This is a good idea! Now I can go back and report to my soldiers!"

He agreed repeatedly and turned to leave.

"Old Zheng." Zhou Zeyuan called out to him, walked up to him, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Old Zheng, I know these arrangements are a bit unfair to you. You've fought so many battles, and others have gotten all the spoils. I understand you're upset. But don't worry, I've taken it all to heart. From now on..."

"Commander, let's not talk about this. I'm here to start a revolution, not to become an official."

Zheng Sanjiang looked up at the sky, then suddenly frowned. "Hey, look at that plane, why is it flying west? Is it heading towards our legion headquarters?"

Zhou Zeyuan looked up at the few black dots on the horizon that were gradually getting smaller, but his expression didn't change.

"It's alright, with Comrade Su Yu directing things over there, nothing will go wrong."

At noon, in the Fuzhou City Defense Command Headquarters, Wang Jingjiu was holding a report sent back by an Air Force reconnaissance plane, his brow furrowed.

The telegram clearly stated: The main force of the Red Army, numbering several thousand, was about 40 to 50 kilometers from Fuzhou and was slowly advancing eastward along the Minjiang River.

At this rate, it will take until at least tomorrow to reach the outskirts of Fuzhou.

Wang Jingjiu put down the telegram, paced around the office twice, and said to Jiang Dingwen, who was sitting on the sofa:

"Commander, the Red Army outside the city has made no move since last night. This is highly illogical."

"In my humble opinion, there are two possibilities: First, they are indeed short of troops and have run out of strength after reaching the city walls, so they dare not make any rash moves; second, they are conserving their strength and preparing to launch a major night attack tonight, so they are resting during the day."

"Commander, what do you think...? Should we send a troop out to probe the enemy? The Red Army outside the city might just be a small vanguard unit, and their main force hasn't arrived yet. Let's take advantage of their unstable foothold and give them a warning, to find out their strength."

Jiang Dingwen leaned back in his chair and waved his hand. "No need. What appears to be false is actually true, and what appears to be true is actually false. What the Air Force sees may not be the whole truth."

"If you send a troop out and it falls into an ambush, not only will you suffer heavy losses, but the morale of the troops will also be shaken. Tell all the troops to hold their ground and not come out. I want to see what the Red Army can do to me."

Wang Jingjiu pondered for a while, and finally nodded, agreeing with this statement.

"Commander, there's been no movement from the Red Army outside the city. Should we arrange for our men to take turns resting in preparation for any possible battle tonight?"

Jiang Dingwen waved his hand, but a shrewd smile appeared on his lips: "I have more experience in this than you. The Red Army was able to sleep because they had traveled all night and were exhausted, so they had no choice but to sleep."

"But we're different. Listen to me, don't arrange rest or entertainment. Provide the brothers with all the good food and fun activities, except for drinks. Serve them with plenty of fish and meat, and as many cigarettes as they want."

"This afternoon, send all the prostitutes, actors, singers, and storytellers from the city to the front lines outside the city. Let the brothers have some fun."

"After they've had their fill of eating and playing during the day, they'll be in high spirits by nightfall. When the Red Army comes to attack the city, we'll be ready to wait in comfort... no, I mean 'wait for them to tire themselves out with our joy'."

He picked up his teacup, a hint of smugness in his smile: "I want the brothers to know that following me, Jiang Dingwen, is no less hardship and toil than following the Red Army."