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

Meanwhile, the main force of the legion marched north along the main road, deliberately appearing slow and cautious, while continuously attacking small enemy outposts and sentry posts along the way.

They adopted a hesitant stance, appearing to be "wanting to move north but also afraid of being ambushed," and made it seem like they were feigning an attack on Youxi while actually covering the troops in the eastern mountainous areas.

Su Yu gestured on the map, "In this way, Lu Xingbang will most likely conclude that our main force is still in the eastern mountainous area, and the troops on the main road are just for containment and feint attacks."

"He will focus his main attention on the east, and may even urge the troops at Zhanghuban to strengthen their defenses, rather than immediately returning to reinforce the county town. This gives us a valuable window of time to mobilize our forces and deploy ambushes."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zeyuan clapped his hands in praise: "Old Su, that's a brilliant move! Let's do it that way!"

Xun Huaizhou agreed, saying, "It's better to walk slowly. Firstly, it will conserve our strength for the upcoming battle, and secondly, it will give us more time to train the newly enlisted soldiers so they can integrate into the team as quickly as possible."

On the morning of July 20, the Seventh Red Army Corps left Datian County amidst the reluctant gazes of the local people.

The newly established county party committee and the core members of the Red Guards have also gone underground, preparing for a long-term struggle.

As Su Yu had predicted, the subsequent march proceeded as planned. Lu Xingbang, this veteran warlord, simply did not believe that the Red Army would dare to actually attack his stronghold, Youxi.

In his view, the Red Army's northward march was at most a matter of borrowing a route.

Despite Jiang Dingwen's coercion and enticement, promising him a whole host of tempting conditions, he remained unmoved.

But he would be extremely unwilling to take the initiative and expend his own core forces to fight the Red Army to the death.

Faced with the Red Army's aggressive northward march, Lu Xingbang adopted a typical warlord response strategy.

On the one hand, they withdrew from the outer strongholds and huddled their troops inside the county town, adopting a posture of holding out for reinforcements.

On the other hand, several telegrams a day were sent to Jiang Dingwen and the Nanchang Headquarters, exaggerating the perilous situation, the overwhelming strength of the bandits, the bloody battles fought by the troops, and the heavy casualties.

He had no hope of actually getting reinforcements, and Jiang Dingwen probably wouldn't genuinely want to save him either. This was purely a preemptive warning to his superiors: Don't rush me into battle! The enemy is too strong; if I go out, I'll just be throwing my life away, providing the Red Army with equipment and supplies! I can only hold my ground!

The soldiers of the Seventh Red Army Corps marched steadily, taking three full days to reach the outskirts of Youxi County.

Meanwhile, the two units of the First Division responsible for intercepting reinforcements and blocking enemy advances had already secretly moved along mountain trails and arrived at their designated positions ahead of time, silently opening the trap.

The foreplay has been sufficient; now we're just waiting for the main event to begin.

Lu Xingbang, inside the city, gradually sensed something was amiss. The Red Army on the other side was too quiet; aside from initially eliminating a few outer outposts, there were no signs of a large-scale advance.

If the intention was truly to feign an attack and create distraction, this shouldn't be the way it is... An ominous premonition lingered in my mind.

He immediately grabbed the phone and sent a telegram to his younger brother, Lu Xingrong, who was stationed in Shaxian: "Xingrong! Something's wrong! The Red Army might be serious! You must lead your troops back from Shaxian immediately! They must arrive by noon tomorrow at the latest! If they are late, the county town may fall!"

Meanwhile, the first phase of the siege by the Seventh Red Army Corps also began. This time, there was no bluffing.

On the afternoon of July 23, accompanied by several sharp whistles, a number of mortar shells slammed into enemy bunkers and fortifications outside the south gate of Youxi County.

Immediately afterwards, the Second and Third Divisions launched a massive offensive from the south, with gunfire and shouts of battle deafening the air and attracting the attention of most of the defending troops.

Just as Lu Xingbang was hurriedly dispatching troops to reinforce the South Gate, the main force of the 7th Division, which had circled around to the East Gate, launched a sudden and fierce attack on the outer defense line of the East Gate under the personal command of Zhou Zeyuan!

Contrary to popular belief, attacking a well-prepared county town these days is not as simple as just launching a fierce assault on the city walls.

They usually also have to go through a tough battle to clear out the outer strongholds.

The enemy not only deployed defenses on the city walls, but also built bunkers, dug trenches, and set up fortifications around the main roads leading to the city walls and on high points, forming a layered defense system.

These tentacles must be removed one by one to open up access to the city walls before the real siege can begin.

Even if they manage to breach the city walls, the more stubborn enemy troops will retreat into the city and engage in house-to-house fighting in the streets and alleys.

Therefore, even if Lu Xingbang had underestimated the enemy, as long as he had done a good job in the most basic outer defense, even if the Red Army launched a surprise attack, the enemy would quickly become alert as soon as the gunfire started, making it difficult to break through the city wall defenses in one fell swoop.

But what Zhou Zeyuan wanted was not to take the city in one fell swoop.

What he wanted was precisely this intense "sweeping away the perimeter" battle.

He wanted Lu Xingbang, who was holed up in the city, to hear clearly that what was coming from outside the city was no longer sporadic harassing gunfire, but dense gunfire and artillery roar!

He wanted to convince Lu Xingbang that the Red Army was serious this time and really wanted to take on this tough nut!

The attack of the 7th Red Army Division was extremely sharp. The veterans used their skillful tactical maneuvers and, under the cover of machine guns and mortars, quickly cleared out several outposts and earthen bunkers outside the East Gate.

Led by the veterans, the new recruits mustered their courage and charged forward. Although their movements were a little clumsy, their morale was high.

The defenders on the city wall panicked, and machine gun bullets rained down like water.

The Red Army soldiers sometimes crawled forward, and sometimes leaped forward swiftly, constantly compressing the enemy's defensive space.

This intensity of siege warfare is just right; the risks are not too great, and the casualties are still manageable. The Red Army can learn from the experience of siege warfare in such battles.

Zhou Zeyuan's strong advocacy of attacking the city and intercepting reinforcements was also intended to serve as a precaution for the upcoming operation in Fuzhou.

The battle lasted from afternoon until dusk. The outer defenses of both the south and east gates were breached to varying degrees by the Red Army.

Lu Xingbang was restless in the command post, with the phone ringing and staff reports coming incessantly.

"Commander! Bunker number three outside the south gate has fallen!"

"East Gate requests reinforcements! The Red Army's offensive is fierce!"

"The First Battalion suffered heavy casualties and a small-scale riot broke out, but it has been suppressed by the supervisory team."

His face was ashen. On the one hand, he was heartbroken that his resources were being depleted; on the other hand, the Red Army's determination and fighting power far exceeded his expectations.

This is absolutely not a feint! This is a real siege!

"Order all regiments to consolidate their defensive lines and hold fast to the city walls and core fortifications! No one is allowed to venture out of the city to counterattack without my orders! Set up all the mortars on the city walls and fire hard!"

As night fell, the sounds of gunfire gradually subsided, but did not cease.

Instead of launching a large-scale assault on the city walls at night, the Red Army consolidated its captured outer positions and continuously harassed the city with small detachments to maintain pressure.