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

Chief of Staff Su Yu chimed in at the opportune moment: "Logically speaking, it should be a three-person team."

"Comrade Zeyuan made this promise on behalf of our entire advance team. If he fails to fulfill it, the leadership of the advance team will naturally bear the responsibility, namely Comrade Huaizhou, Comrade Hongyi, and Comrade Shaohua."

Upon hearing this, Zeng Hongyi and Le Shaohua immediately became like ants on a hot pan.

The two of them racked their brains, but couldn't think of a reason to refute it.

Xun Huaizhou added, "I agree with that view."

"Although I didn't sign this pledge, since I've taken over command, I must bear the corresponding responsibility, which is in line with the principle of equal rights and responsibilities. If we fail to complete the mission, our three-person leadership team will resign collectively."

Upon hearing this, Zeng Hongyi completely lost his composure and said urgently:

"Shouldn't we calculate it that way? Comrade Zeyuan proposed the task. If we succeed, we'll all receive the reward; if we fail, we'll all share the responsibility. That's in line with the principle of collective leadership!"

Zhou Zeyuan shook his head with a wry smile: "The problem is that I am only the deputy corps commander now. I don't have command authority and I can't participate in core decision-making."

"Whether the battle goes well or whether the mission is accomplished has no direct bearing on me. Unless..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "Let me join the leadership group as deputy corps commander, participating in top-level decision-making. That way, it will be perfectly legitimate."

Le Shaohua gripped the pen tightly in his hand.

Careless.

How can Zhou Zeyuan be so terrifying?

Every step seemed meticulously planned, each move calculated and deadly.

Zeng Hongyi was already panicking, but when he thought about Zhou Zeyuan's possible retaliation, he steeled his resolve.

"Comrade Zeyuan, the members of this highest leadership body are decided by the Central Committee. It would be against the rules for us to make decisions privately!"

Wow, Old Zeng's got some guts! Looks like I've been too busy with work lately to have a good time with him.

Zhou Zeyuan deliberately put on a forced smile and said, "Commander-in-Chief, your words are somewhat biased."

"We discuss it collectively and then report it to the central government. How can that be considered doing it privately? And where is it against the rules?"

His smile turned sinister. "Or are you, Commander-in-Chief, deliberately targeting me?"

"No, no, I misremembered. Um, our discussion was completely in accordance with the organization's procedures." Zeng Hongyi immediately knelt down.

Immediately, everyone's eyes were focused on Le Shaohua.

At this moment, Le Shaohua truly understood what it meant to be caught in a dilemma!

His first thought was to refuse outright and take the responsibility himself.

But upon reflection, Xun Huaizhou was clearly in cahoots with Zhou Zeyuan.

If Xun Huaizhou deliberately causes trouble and fails to complete the task, and the three of them resign collectively, then the new leadership will be entirely composed of Zhou Zeyuan's faction.

Will he still have a place to stand then?

Should we report this to the central government and have the mission cancelled?

Absolutely not.

The central government is in even greater turmoil than he is, and there is absolutely no way they would agree to that.

More importantly, if such an application is made...

Wouldn't that be admitting their own incompetence? Admitting that this leadership team can't manage this group well?

But if Zhou Zeyuan were to be brought into the leadership team, things would be even more disastrous.

They couldn't even beat one of them before, so now that it's two against two, they're even less of a match.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed in Le Shaohua's mind.

"Comrade Zeyuan is well-versed in military affairs and has made outstanding military achievements, so it is only right that he be included in the leadership team. However, the leadership team is usually composed of an odd number of members, which facilitates voting."

"Alright, in addition to Comrade Zhou Zeyuan, the deputy corps commander, joining the leading group, Comrade Liu Shengmu, the director of the political department, will also join the leading group, forming a five-person leading group."

Liu Shengmu, who had been acting as an invisible person on the side, suddenly felt a jolt. Was there something he was involved in here?

Before he could react, Zhou Zeyuan immediately chimed in, "I agree with that view. Comrade Liu Shengmu has excellent political qualities and rich organizational experience..."

"Moreover, he was also the political commissar of our Seventh Division. His joining us had a very positive impact on the leadership of our team."

Everyone was stunned. What on earth was going on?

Which side does Liu Shengmu belong to?

Why did both sides recommend him to join the leadership team?

At this moment, many generals who had fought on the battlefield felt that their minds were suddenly not working properly.

Liu Shengmu himself was the most shocked. Was I on Le Shaohua's side or Zhou Zeyuan's side?

I'm not on either side! Why does it feel like both sides are treating me like one of their own?

At this point, Le Shaohua was already starting to regret his decision. Zhou Zeyuan's quick agreement only made him more uncertain.

Could it be that Liu Shengmu had already sided with Zhou Zeyuan during the month or so that he served as the political commissar of the 7th Red Army Division?

But the words were already spoken and couldn't be taken back.

Breaking his promise not only damages his political credibility but also alienates Liu Shengmu.

"Okay, it's settled then. Report it to the Central Committee as soon as possible."

With the leadership reshuffle finalized, the meeting's agenda shifted to the construction of the base area.

The so-called base area construction, specifically, includes, in addition to land revolution, the improvement of the Party's organizational style, and cultural and educational development.

The most pressing issues at present are military development, economic development, and political power development.

The arsenal was considered the top priority.

The base area established a special military production committee, with Le Shaohua serving concurrently as the committee secretary. Several cadres in charge of military production in eastern Fujian were assigned to positions within the committee.

The Mindong base area itself also had several small arsenals and repair shops. Although the production tools were very backward, the difference between having the foundation and not having it was like heaven and earth.

Le Shaohua confidently introduced his three-step military production strategy.

The first step is to expand the production capacity of the local arms factory.

The local craftsmen in eastern Fujian were allowed to select from the captured machinery and equipment, and those that were useful were given priority to be allocated to the local arsenal.

The second step is to build a new factory building, select the better-quality equipment without obvious faults, and install it in the new factory building.

The third step is to repair and reuse waste, and to obtain machine parts through smuggling channels as much as possible.

The entire military industrial construction process was arranged in an orderly manner. After listening to it, Zhou Zeyuan could only say "yes, yes, yes" and couldn't offer any opinions at all.

That's not all. When it came to the production type, he made a very forward-thinking statement: "The top priority right now is to reload the bullets."

Le Shaohua immediately remarked: "That's quite true, but not entirely. Repairing the damaged guns is the top priority; reloading the bullets is secondary."

Then Zhou Zeyuan remained silent for the rest of the time. He realized that Le Shaohua was going to make up for all the humiliation he had just suffered at Le Shaohua's hands during the discussion on military production.

However, to be honest, the value of arsenals lies in their long-term impact. In the short term, the Seventh Red Army Corps mainly relied on its stockpiled ammunition to fight.

The Military Industry Commission estimates that after the first phase of expansion is completed, the monthly production capacity of reloaded bullets will only reach 6 to 8 rounds, and hand grenades 3000 to 5000 pieces.

We aim to complete the installation and commissioning of all equipment within two months, at which time production capacity is expected to double again.

In Zhou Zeyuan's plan, the arsenal's production capacity was mainly intended to supply local armed forces.

These field units mainly relied on the transport battalion commander.