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

Not only did he not believe it, but none of the Nationalist soldiers and Red Army commanders and soldiers who were unaware of the details of the Seventh Red Army Corps dared to believe that Zhou Zeyuan could win this battle with only three thousand men.

But there is some good news as well.

After re-equipping themselves with captured weapons, the Seventh Red Army Corps finally achieved a unified caliber.

In addition to the equipment seized from four battalions of the Nationalist Army in Shuikou Town earlier, and the operation to confiscate weapons in Fuzhou City today.

The Northern Expeditionary Force against Japanese Aggression now possesses 16800 rifles and pistols, 350 light and heavy machine guns, including 70 heavy machine guns, and 100 mortars.

In terms of artillery, in addition to the twenty mountain guns that had been captured, four 77mm Liaoning-made field guns were dismantled from the city wall.

I really don't know how the equipment from the Fengtian Arsenal ended up in Fujian. This artillery piece has a pretty good range, but it's short on shells, only about a dozen in total. And it's hard to replenish them.

Zhou Zeyuan planned that if he couldn't catch up by the time he got to Mindong, he would have to go back to school and start over.

After deducting the losses from a night of fierce fighting, the entire legion's ammunition reserves reached 190 million rounds.

Now the troops have ample ammunition and are fully confident in fighting a major battle.

Previously, there was a concern that a direct confrontation with the 87th Division of the National Revolutionary Army might result in losses.

Now... as long as we deal with the prisoners, the troops have rested and reorganized, and become familiar with the operation of the new equipment...

The Seventh Red Army Corps was fully capable of defeating elite Nationalist troops like the Eighty-Seventh Division in open field battles.

Wenzhou, Zhejiang.

The sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy smell, blew in from the east.

The dock was filled with soldiers in yellow-green uniforms, and squads were orderly stepping across the gangplank to board several large transport ships moored at the shore.

The officers stood at the bow of the ship, holding rosters in their hands, calling out names one by one.

Zhou Zhidao, the commander of the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Brigade, walked quickly to a temporary command post piled with ammunition boxes by the dock, holding a map in his hand.

Wang Yaowu stood there, also holding a map in his hand, his gaze slowly sweeping across the sea from the dock, lost in thought.

Zhou Zhidao saluted. "Commander, at most one hour, my entire unit will be able to board the ship and set sail."

Wang Yaowu nodded, and asked casually, "How's the morale of the men?"

Zhou Zhidao carefully considered his words: "Morale is fairly good. It's just that everyone is a little uneasy about the sea voyage."

A cryptic smile played on Wang Yaowu's lips: "I'm afraid it's more about unease about the Red Army."

Zhou Zhidao, his thoughts exposed, remained silent for a moment before truthfully replying, "Yes. My unit only has a little over seven thousand men. Intelligence from Commander-in-Chief Chiang indicates that the Red Army has more than twenty thousand troops."

"Moreover, there is a trend of merging with the Fujian-Eastern Red Army. The General Staff analyzed that its strength is very likely to exceed 30,000."

"The soldiers are indeed somewhat worried. However, once we reach Fuzhou and join up with other friendly forces, the situation should improve."

Wang Yaowu suddenly asked, "Jingfang, do you really believe Commander-in-Chief Jiang's claim that the Red Army has 20,000 men?"

"Perhaps... he exaggerated slightly to shirk responsibility, but it shouldn't be too far off," Zhou Zhidao replied hesitantly.

"Think about it again. Is it possible that the Red Army is just bluffing?" Wang Yaowu's tone was unhurried, like a teacher testing a student.

Zhou Zhidao was even more puzzled. He frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head: "It's not impossible, but the Red Army has actual combat achievements to support it."

"The capture of Youxi and the taking of Fuzhou were a complete rout. I can't imagine how this could be a mere bluff. Commander, are you overthinking it?"

Wang Yaowu didn't immediately refute. He pointed to several marks on the map: "When I first had this thought, I was quite startled myself. But the more I analyzed it, the more something seemed off. When has the Red Army ever cared about casualties?"

"Why would they allow Commander-in-Chief Chiang to remain holed up in the port with his troops instead of launching a final attack?"

"Of course, perhaps they really do intend to advance into southern Zhejiang and threaten Nanjing, and want to preserve their strength, which is also a plausible explanation."

Zhou Zhidao nodded: "The Nanchang Headquarters also thinks so. This Red Army is so brave and skilled in battle, and its sudden dispatch to the outer lines must be to relieve the crisis in its home base. Pointing the target at Nanjing is the most reasonable choice."

"I didn't say this choice was unreasonable. But have you ever thought about how the Red Army conjured up such a brave and skilled army out of thin air?"

"The units at the front did not detect any signs of a large-scale mobilization of the Red Army. Of course, what supports my idea is a detail."

"What details?"

Wang Yaowu pointed to the map in front of him, a map of the situation in eastern Fujian, with the occupied areas of both sides marked in red and blue pencil.

The Red Army's occupied territory extended northward to the southern part of Ningde City and southward to the entire city of Fuzhou.

Between the two red areas, there is only a narrow strip of red. That is the western mountainous area of ​​Lianjiang County.

"Didn't you notice anything strange about the Red Army's occupied territories?"

Zhou Zhidao leaned closer to the map, his gaze slowly moving along the edge of the red area, before suddenly stopping at a spot: "Commander... you mean Lianjiang County in the northeast corner of Fuzhou?"

"Not bad. Very observant. If it were me, after stabilizing the situation in Fuzhou, I would have immediately sent a detachment to take Lianjiang."

"This would reduce the threat from the flanks on the northward march, making it safer, and the occupied territories would be contiguous, providing a strategic buffer—a win-win situation. So why didn't the Red Army take action?"

He paused, his gaze sharpening: "There's only one answer: their forces are stretched thin, they simply can't spare any more troops."

Zhou Zhidao gasped.

He stared at the glaring blank space on the map, remained silent for a long while, and then exclaimed in genuine admiration:

"Commander, I'm convinced. I'm truly convinced. The possibility you're describing has at least an 80% chance of happening."

Wang Yaowu chuckled: "Oh? You're even more confident than I am. In my opinion, there's at most a 70% chance. After all, this is just my deduction; I haven't personally fought against the Red Army, so it's too early to draw conclusions!"

He cast his gaze toward the transport ship that was setting sail in the distance, a hint of regret in his voice: "It's a pity I'm not in Fuzhou right now. Otherwise, I would definitely launch a counterattack."

Zhou Zhidao was taken aback: "Huh? But our troops in Fuzhou number only ten thousand. I'm afraid they're not strong enough to launch a counterattack?"

Wang Yaowu turned to look at him and said in a low voice, "So you won't fight if you're not strong enough? How will you know the enemy's strength or weakness if you don't fight?"

"Hmph, Commander-in-Chief Chiang is as afraid of the enemy as a tiger. If I were in command, as long as I was well prepared, no matter how strong the opponent was, I would take the initiative to disrupt their deployment."

"Remember this: if the enemy doesn't attack you for the time being, there's only one possibility: that he's not confident he can take you down in one fell swoop."

Zhou Zhidao straightened up. "Yes, sir. I will keep it in mind. When we get to Fuzhou, we'll test the Red Army's mettle."