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

Every now and then, Red Army soldiers would suddenly fire a few shots at the opposite side, making a charging gesture to provoke the enemy machine gunners on the position to expose their positions.

The heavy machine gun was indeed fooled, and every now and then it would spit out a string of fire, which was particularly dazzling in the night sky.

Hu Tiantao squinted at the location of the machine gun for a while, then turned to the gunner beside him and said:

"Old Wu, since you joined our Red Army, all you've ever done is operate the mortar. Have you gotten rusty with it?"

Old Wu was squatting on the ground adjusting the angle of the cannon when he spat:

"Screw you! We're that close, I could hit it with my eyes closed. Unless the Kuomintang's cannon is broken. When are you going to fire?"

Hu Tiantao lowered his voice: "No rush. Once the legion commander leads his troops to flank us from both sides, we'll wipe them out in one go."

Just then, an orange signal flare suddenly rose into the night sky to the east, trailing a long flame that pierced the darkness.

Old Wu turned his head sharply: "Is this the signal that the attack has begun?"

Hu Tiantao's expression changed drastically, and he cursed fiercely, "Damn it! The Kuomintang is running away! Old Wu, fire! Let's chase after them!"

With a muffled "boom," the anti-tank gun jolted violently, and the shell whistled out, hitting the barricade at the crossroads, exploding into a burst of fire, with broken bricks and tiles flying everywhere.

Immediately afterwards, the Red Army's bugle call tore through the night sky, and a large number of soldiers poured out from the street corners and behind doorways, rushing towards the enemy command post like a tidal wave.

They advanced with unstoppable momentum. The Nationalist army's resistance was much weaker than expected, offering only sporadic resistance before collapsing after firing a few shots.

When the vanguard rushed to the gate of the command post compound, they were met with a chilling sight: the entire compound was engulfed in towering flames.

Before retreating, the Nationalist army doused the command post with gasoline and set it on fire.

Flames licked at the doors and windows, climbed up the eaves to the roof, and the crackling fire made the heat wave unbearable.

Worse still, the fire was spreading to the surrounding houses on the night wind.

Enraged, Hu Tiantao kicked the stone steps beside her: "Those white dogs are just white dogs! They're utterly despicable! Put out the fire quickly! Don't let it spread to the people's houses!"

On the other side, Zhou Zeyuan led his outflanking troops through the alleys, but they only managed to catch up with the tail of the Nationalist army's rearguard.

These local troops who remained behind were so familiar with the streets and alleys of Fuzhou that, upon receiving the order to retreat, they disappeared into the crisscrossing alleys like mice burrowing into holes.

In the darkness, the Red Army soldiers were unfamiliar with the area and had to be wary of occasional sniper shots from the shadows, making the pursuit extremely difficult. After chasing for several streets, they completely lost sight of their target.

Zhou Zeyuan stopped and looked back at the ever-growing fire in the direction of the command post. The firelight reflected in his pupils, flickering uncertainly.

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Well, one shouldn't be too greedy. We've already seized so many good things, what more could we ask for?"

He glanced around, but his expression suddenly changed.

Along the streets and in the dark corners, more and more restless emotions were stirring.

Every time a city is breached, this happens: some thugs and ruffians try to take the opportunity to vandalize, loot, and burn, while others seek to settle personal scores.

But this time, the situation seems particularly serious.

He quickly understood the reason: the fire.

The fire in the darkness was so eye-catching that the towering flames seemed to be telling the whole city: the Nationalist army had been defeated.

Those who were initially hesitant have now become bolder.

Zhou Zeyuan acted decisively, shouting, "Liu Feng!"

"arrive!"

"Take the men of the Second and Third Regiments to the front to establish blocking positions and prevent the Nationalist army from counterattacking. I will lead the remaining soldiers to patrol the entire city and quell any riots."

"Yes, Commander! I guarantee I will complete the mission!" Liu Feng turned to leave.

"Wait a minute." Zhou Zeyuan called out to him, his tone serious. "Just a reminder: when setting up your positions, make sure the depth is wide and the spacing between your troops is large. This is to prevent being wiped out by enemy naval guns."

Liu Feng was stunned for a moment: "What? This is the city center. Does the enemy dare to fire artillery? Aren't they afraid of hurting innocent civilians?"

Zhou Zeyuan sneered: "What's there to be afraid of? When have these officials ever cared about this? They can just say it was an 'accidental bombing' later. Anyway, you better watch out."

Liu Feng's expression hardened, he nodded heavily, and turned to run off to make the arrangements.

Fuzhou was in complete chaos.

The first to rush out onto the streets were the thugs and hooligans who usually only dared to hide in the shadows of walls.

The news of the Red Army's capture of the city spread like a gust of wind through every alley.

Those monsters and demons who had been suppressed by the Nationalist army now poked their heads out from their hiding places like wild cats smelling blood.

Ah Si was one of them.

This man usually only dared to do petty theft in Fuzhou, such as stealing a pair of pants drying in the yard or taking a couple of coins from a steamed bun shop. He would never dare to pull off a big heist.

But tonight is different.

He squatted at the entrance of the alley and watched as a group of Red Army soldiers carrying guns hurriedly ran past without even glancing at him.

Those policemen who used to kick him whenever they saw him had long since disappeared.

His heart was pounding, and his palms were sweaty.

But it felt as if something was pulling him along, and he slowly made his way to the depths of the alley he had been watching for three whole months.

He knew that family very well. The man worked for a foreign firm, and yesterday he fled to Xiamen with his family.

Before leaving, I locked the doors and windows, but I forgot about the fist-sized vent in the backyard.

After crawling inside, Ah Si made his way to the bedroom and, by the light of the fire shining through the window, saw a half-empty bottle of foreign liquor on the bedside table.

He pulled open the drawer, revealing a neatly stacked wad of colorful banknotes.

His hands were shaking violently, but he didn't slow down at all, and in a few quick movements he stuffed all the banknotes into his pocket.

The moment he put it in his pocket, he thought he would feel satisfied.

But he was wrong.

The thick wad of banknotes pressed against his chest did not fill the hole in his heart; instead, it made the hole grow larger and larger.

An unprecedented greed coiled around his heart like a venomous snake, making his breath scald.

He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the furnishings of the house, when suddenly a face flashed into his mind: the house of Widow Wang at the end of the alley.

Widow Wang's husband went to sea with the ship owner last year, but the ship capsized and he never returned.

The shipping company lost a large sum of money; neighbors were saying it was at least several hundred dollars.

What's worse, Widow Wang was only twenty-five or twenty-six years old, and her figure and appearance were well-known in this neighborhood.

Every time Ah Si passed by her door, he would steal a few glances and ponder it over and over in bed at night.

He swallowed hard, steeled his resolve, grabbed a wood-chopping axe from the stove, and turned to leave.

When he arrived at Widow Wang's door, he swung his axe at the door.

The door was just a thin wooden board, and it was easily split open with several large cracks.

A woman's scream pierced the night air.

Upon hearing the shout, Ah Si was not afraid at all; instead, he became even more excited and increased the strength in his hands, causing the door to groan under the strain.

"Bang!"