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

Most notably, the task of suppressing bandits in Fujian was assigned to Gu Zhutong by Peanut.

If Zhou Zeyuan knew that after playing one terrible chess player, another terrible chess player had appeared, he would probably laugh like a pig.

He was also a steady and conservative old-fashioned soldier who preferred to follow a set procedure in combat command, but unfortunately lacked the ability and courage to adapt to changing circumstances in the face of the enemy.

Zhou Zeyuan loved fighting this kind of opponent the most: using feints, speed to defeat slowness, and surprise attacks, and he was always right.

But Li Yannian was in a rather unpleasant mood.

He got a new boss, and one whose style was completely at odds with his own.

This is truly a bolt from the blue!

He braced his hands on the edge of the table, his chest heaving a few times, and gritted his teeth, saying, "You should have said so earlier if you wanted to blockade him! But with orders changing every day, who can stand that?"

The principal was also completely uncertain about whether to launch a swift and decisive attack or to use fortifications and tunnels to gradually subdue the enemy.

They wanted to wipe out this Red Army force as soon as possible, but didn't want to take any risks. There's no such thing as a free lunch!

Song Xilian's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. He took a half step forward and lowered his voice, saying:

"Brother Jifu, it's one thing for you to scold Commander Gu. He's a die-hard from the Baoding Military Academy, and his tactical thinking is somewhat outdated."

"But the principal is working tirelessly, and his thoughts aren't limited to matters on the battlefield; he needs to consider all aspects. If we students don't understand, who will?"

Li Yannian slowly sat back in his chair, rubbed his temples, and sighed, "Yingguo, I'm sorry, I acted impulsively."

"Watching the Red Army's roads get better and better, I was really scared. There's an old saying that goes, 'Strike first to gain the upper hand, and strike later to be controlled.'"

"Our troop strength is no match for the main battlefield in Jiangxi. Moreover, Wang Zuomin reminded me more than once that the fighting power of this Red Army and the tactical level of its commanders are extraordinary."

"You know him. The First Supplementary Brigade was a model unit in the army, but even they suffered a great loss. There's no guarantee that you or I won't be next."

Song Xilian laughed, "Brother Jifu, you're overthinking it. We've set traps in three directions. As long as the Red Army dares to come... even if they don't fall into the traps, they'll inevitably fight us to a standstill. We'll use positional warfare to wear them down."

Li Yannian nodded, then shook his head: "The commanders of this Red Army are extremely cunning, practically rabbits. Once they sense something is wrong, they'll immediately slip away."

"However, even if we can't capture the Red Army, it doesn't matter much. Taking this opportunity to get rid of those two warlords, Lu Xingbang and Chen Qixuan, would be a great gain."

Nanji Mountain is the southern gateway to Ningde.

North of Luoyuan, both the east and west routes are blocked by this mountain. Logically speaking, as long as the mountain is held, the Red Army's northward advance can be cut off.

But things aren't that simple.

Nanjishan, along with several surrounding hills, stretches for five or six kilometers from east to west. The Nationalist army was not defending an isolated peak, but rather a small mountain range.

Chen Qixuan placed a troop here, but still felt it wasn't enough.

He then requested reinforcements from the column headquarters, stating frankly: "Our unit is indeed a miscellaneous force, with outdated equipment, insufficient training, and low morale. I fear we are ill-equipped to handle the crucial task of defending Ningde. I hope you will send a contingent of elite Whampoa Military Academy troops to assist in the battle and bolster our prestige."

Li Yannian did indeed send reinforcements, and the leader was indeed a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, specifically He Wending, a graduate of the first class of Whampoa.

However, He Wending was the deputy division commander of Lu Xingbang's 52nd Division at the time, and the regiment he brought was still a ragtag unit.

Sending out ragtag troops to watch another group of ragtag troops die—this tactic is made without any attempt to conceal it.

He Wending, who was in full command of the front line, even boasted that even if the Red Army mobilized all its forces, it could hold out for three days.

Turn Nanjishan into a giant meat grinder.

Morning light filters through the tree canopy, casting dappled shadows on the mountain path.

Several figures moved quickly, using the trees as cover.

The lead scout gave a hand signal, and the men behind him immediately crouched down and crept over.

The sentry at the very front leaned against a crooked pine tree, his gun slung across his shoulder, his head drooping little by little.

He yawned, squinted at the increasingly bright sky, and thought that he would be changing shifts in half an hour. He would definitely get a good night's sleep after his shift ended.

Before he could close his mouth, he heard a slight noise behind him.

He instinctively tried to turn around, but an arm was already lodged in his throat.

Those were a pair of calloused hands, tightly gripping his neck, while another hand covered his mouth.

The sentry's gun slipped from his shoulder and was caught by a foot without making a sound.

His legs kicked a few times, carving two shallow furrows in the soil, before his body gradually went limp.

The entire process takes no more than ten seconds.

In the distant bushes, a hand stretched out two fingers and waved them forward.

Immediately afterwards, more figures rose from behind the bushes and rocks, advancing silently forward.

Ye Fei and Zheng Sanjiang, the commander of the Third Regiment of the Seventh Division of the Red Army, hid behind a rock.

Ye Fei held up his binoculars, his gaze passing over the mountain ridges ahead and landing on the distant, continuous mountain shadows.

The morning light was perfect, and the visibility was excellent. Through the binoculars, the outline of the National Army's positions could be clearly seen.

He put down his binoculars, turned his head and asked, "Commander Zheng, our two units together only have six thousand men, about the same number as the White Dogs on the mountain. Do you have any ideas on how to fight this battle?"

Zheng Sanjiang grinned. "Political Commissar Ye, before I came here, the corps commander told me that you are a capable man, better at commanding battles than I am. He told me to listen to you completely. The corps commander never misjudges people, so I will fight exactly as you tell me how to fight."

Ye Fei didn't refuse, pointing towards the mountain: "My idea is this: two-thirds of the troops will launch the main attack, while one-third will make a show of force, pretending to intercept reinforcements."

"Can attacking reinforcements be done with mere bluster?"

"This is a feint attack; we don't actually intend to take this mountain. The most important thing is to create the impression of our main force. Destroying the enemy is secondary."

"We need to scare Chen Qixuan in the city so much that he won't send troops to help. But he can't leave Nanjishan unattended, which will force him to ask for help from above. By mobilizing the enemy, we'll have achieved our goal."

Zheng Sanjiang nodded. "I've seen this fighting style a few times before when I was working under the corps commander. Political Commissar Ye, did you learn this from the corps commander?"

Ye Fei was taken aback, then gave a wry smile: "I've heard of people wearing the same clothes, but I've never heard of people using the same tactics. Do you believe me if I say I really came up with this myself?"

"I believe you." Zheng Sanjiang said with a serious face. "The corps commander has used too many tactics. Several generals in our Red Army have encountered your situation before. It's not just once or twice."

Ye Fei breathed a sigh of relief. If word got out that he had stolen someone's skills and plagiarized their intellectual property, he would be in deep trouble.

In order to make a big splash, he made two preparations. The first was to launch attacks on multiple points at the same time to create a huge momentum.

Secondly, the main attack was directed towards the western highlands, which was also the planned route for the flanking forces.

If the attack goes poorly, the flanking force and the main attack force should join forces to capture one of the enemy's positions first.