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

They not only completed the political mission of heading north, but also found a base where they could establish a firm foothold and safely settle the captured military equipment.

However... the thought of disobeying the central government's orders made them hesitate instantly.

Zhou Zeyuan saw this and smiled knowingly.

Now, the main contradiction has shifted from the internal conflict within the legion's leadership to the conflict between the local authorities and the central government.

This shift in the situation was exactly what he wanted.

Le Shaohua sighed, his voice tinged with struggle: "Such a strategy... is too slow. The Central Committee will not agree to it."

"Not slow at all," Zhou Zeyuan denied decisively, his tone resolute. "We can do everything at the same time. Our strength is far greater than you imagine."

"We currently have over ten thousand guns, and we could easily double the size of our troops. The key issue is the shortage of soldiers. Even if we recruit a few thousand men in Fuzhou, without training, they won't be able to handle any major issues in the short term."

"But there are already local troops in eastern Fujian. What they lack is weapons, not manpower. If we incorporate them into the corps, the strength of the entire Northern Expeditionary Force against Japan will undergo a qualitative change."

Su Yu pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded: "If that's the case... then we do have the capability to carry out the mission to go north while consolidating our base in eastern Fujian."

"This doesn't count as disobeying the central government's orders; it's just that there was a slight degree of flexibility in the execution."

Seeing this, the expressions of everyone present improved considerably.

Le Shaohua breathed a sigh of relief and pressed on, "What about the machinery and equipment? Comrade Zeyuan, do you have any good ideas?"

Zhou Zeyuan smiled slightly, clearly having given this issue considerable thought: "Actually, everyone has a misconception. They always feel that the spoils of war must be transported all the way to eastern Fujian and to a safe place before they can feel at ease. In fact, that's completely unnecessary."

He walked back to the table, picked up a pencil, and drew a simple diagram on a piece of paper: "I chose a location in the north of Fuzhou City—Huanxi Town."

"This place is about 20 kilometers away from Fuzhou. It is blocked by mountains to the south, and the terrain is relatively dangerous, but there is also a water source. All the supplies we have captured can be temporarily transported here for transit."

"In this way, when the people from the Mindong base area come to meet us, we can save a lot of travel time and reduce the risk of exposure."

Su Yu's eyes lit up, and she slammed her hand on the table: "Brilliant!"

The more he thought about it, the more ingenious the plan seemed: "When we retreat, the main force will cover the rear here. I'd like to see if the newly arrived Kuomintang troops dare to leave the city and pursue us."

At this point, not only Le Shaohua, but everyone else perked up.

The journey is only twenty kilometers long. A strong laborer can push a wheelbarrow or carry a load of goods weighing several hundred kilograms and return on the same day.

How many people live in Fuzhou? How many able-bodied men are there?

Putting aside everything else, the total number of members of trade unions in various industries alone exceeds 20,000.

These are all strong laborers who have been doing hard labor all year round. As long as they pay them with some money, grain and cloth, they can transport not only hundreds of tons of goods, but even thousands of tons.

This is where Zhou Zeyuan's decision to make the Nationalist government's decision not to hold citizens responsible for helping the Red Army a key negotiating condition became crucial.

Regardless of whether they admit it later, once this statement was issued, all the people in the city were relieved of their worries.

Since they could receive payment without worrying about being held accountable afterward, many citizens flocked to it.

As the number of people involved in transportation work increases to a certain extent...

Even if the Nationalist government wanted to back out later, Chiang Ting-wen would never dare to carry out the order to settle scores.

This is called "the law does not punish the masses".

Some say that whether one person dies or ten thousand people die, it's just a number.

That's utter nonsense!

If the latter are concentrated in one area, they can directly incite popular uprisings.

At this point, the Red Army's original plan to acquire key supplies such as weapons, medical equipment, machinery, and communication equipment could be put aside.

Go all out on the intensity, I want it all!

They bought everything that could be used to build a base area: grain, cloth, salt, lighting equipment, and military raw materials.

As for the money, that was not a problem at all. After the first day of the raid, Zhou Zeyuan no longer cared about the little bit of wealth that Le Shaohua was so protective of.

The branches of the four major banks, including the Central Bank, seized over two million silver dollars worth of real gold and silver in one go.

Several large money shops had just been raided, and nearly one million yuan was seized. There are more than one hundred money shops in Fuzhou, and several large families are also on the list.

After we've finished raiding these big ones, when we have time, we'll raid the casinos, opium dens, brothels, and loan sharking dens as well.

Getting rich overnight is no joke.

At this point in the discussion, everyone's opinions began to converge.

It could also be said that they are gradually moving closer to Zhou Zeyuan.

After a show of hands, the three-person group passed the above series of resolutions.

At the same time, the opinions of the Seventh Red Army Corps were reported to the Central Committee, requesting that they rest and reorganize in eastern Fujian, help the local area to build up the base area, and then head north.

Zhou Zeyuan once again resorted to the tactic of making empty promises to his superiors.

In his telegram, he stated that after completing the military expansion in eastern Fujian, the number of troops in the Northern Expeditionary Force against Japan would reach more than 20,000.

It is hoped that one or two more decisive battles can be fought in a short period of time, and that the enemy's massive force of no less than fifty regiments can be tied down.

During this period, the organization of the National Revolutionary Army was chaotic, with some having a three-regiment system (three regiments directly under the division headquarters), some having a two-brigade four-regiment system, some having a two-brigade six-regiment system, some having a three-brigade nine-regiment system, and even a bizarre five-regiment system.

But overall, small infantry divisions make up the vast majority.

Fifty regiments are roughly equivalent to ten or more infantry divisions.

Such a tempting pie is certainly very appealing!

Although Li Bo had his doubts, the thought of a 20,000-strong army supporting them from the outside, which tied down a large number of Kuomintang troops, made them extremely excited.

The situation in the Soviet area is extremely precarious, with increasing pressure every day. They desperately need hope for victory.

Even if it was that disobedient brat in their eyes who accomplished all of this, they couldn't care less.

But Zhou Zeyuan actually played a trick in the text: isn't the security regiment a regiment?

The Yellow-Eyebrowed King once said: A weasel is still a wolf!

Anyway, I've tied down fifty enemy regiments. If you're not satisfied, you can't say I haven't completed my mission.

In the afternoon, Liu Shengmu led the troops from the Mindong base area to Fuzhou. This unit was designated as the Second Independent Regiment of the Mindong Red Army.

After the 1st Regiment of the 7th Division entered eastern Fujian, it quickly made contact with the local Party committee and worked together to capture Luoyuan County.

They wiped out the surrounding enemy forces and successfully connected several scattered base areas into one.

With the arrival of local troops in eastern Fujian, the relocation process proceeded much more smoothly.

It would be absolutely abnormal for Zhou Zeyuan not to use some heretical cultivation methods during such group activities.