Rebirth from the Ashes: Rebuilding the Red Soviet Area

After briefly analyzing the psychological warfare, Li Yan continued, "We have taken Yong'an and Liancheng successively."

“I know everyone is having a hard time right now.”

“But now is not the time to rest.”

"The main force of the Nationalist Army heading south has already engaged the Red Army in southwestern Fujian."

"The longer we hesitate, the more dangerous they will be."

"We must now find a way to quickly move south, attack the enemy's Yong'an headquarters, and force the national army to return for support."

"Not to mention the time it takes to continuously attack and dispatch the enemy, even the time spent on the road will be quite a bit."

"It's hard to say whether the Southwest Fujian Military Sub-district, with more than 4000 troops against more than 3 nationalist troops, can hold out for such a long time."

Lu Zhiguo asked, "Captain, didn't you say that Guangdong agreed that we could enter their territory?"

Li Yan said: "There is no such thing as a free lunch."

“It’s not that easy.”

Lu Zhiguo asked again in confusion: "Didn't the 19th Route Army speak for us?"

Li Yan shook his head and said: "The 19th Route Army is speaking for us."

“But they are not the Southern Heavenly King after all.”

"We have arrived at his territory, but he has to face pressure from the national army."

"Do you think these warlords will help us regardless of anything for such a thankless task?"

“You can only feel at ease if your destiny is in your own hands.”

Lu Zhiguo frowned. As an old Red Army soldier, he agreed with what Li Yan said.

These warlords who occupy land as kings are just like the national army. They have no credibility at all. They only have interests.

Zhao Wu, who was standing next to him, also understood the current situation.

Opening his mouth, he asked, "Captain, what should we do next?"

Li Yan said: "We are short of troops."

"The original plan was to capture Liancheng and storm Changting."

"Forced the Nationalist troops attacking Meishan from Lianpeng Town to withdraw"

"Then quickly head south to join up with Zhang Dong and Su Shan's two regiments."

"Concentrate all forces at Meishan to severely damage the division entering Meishan from Wan'an Town."

"Then send troops directly to Longyan"

"However, the situation in southwestern Fujian has undergone subtle changes."

"We captured Liancheng and incorporated the 45th Division"

"Not only was there no major damage, but it also gained strength."

"I decided to first eliminate the 108th Brigade of the 36th Division that was besieging Meishan."

"Then raid Shanghang"

"After taking Shanghang, send a small force to sneak into Guangdong to support the Yongding Southwest Fujian Military Sub-district."

"At the same time, the main force went along Jiaoyang Town and directly entered the back of Wan'an Town."

"Together with Zhang Dong and Su Shan, they attacked from both the north and south."

"Finally, we will take over the entire western Fujian"

"Then we will have space to gain a foothold in the future."

Lu Zhiguo was suddenly shocked. He didn't expect Li Yan to have such a big appetite.

He quickly advised: "Captain, I did a simple calculation"

“国军本身8个师，去掉大清洗的52师，永安的83师，连城的45师和南下围剿闽西南军分区的第3师和75师”

"In western Fujian, Changting, Zhangping, Shanghang, Longyan, and Pengkou Town each have one brigade, plus Wan'an Town has one division, that's a total of three divisions."

"Including the security forces in western Fujian, there are at least 5 people."

"We in Meishan, including the incorporated 45th Division, only have about 7000 regular troops, and including the militia, there are only more than 10,000 people."

“How can we take over western Fujian in a short period of time?”

Li Yan smiled and said, "Chief of Staff, our Red Army has won many victories against encirclement and suppression."

“That time we were not outnumbered.”

"This also shows that war is not just about the number of troops, there are other factors."

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

"First of all, now is the time when the Nationalist Army has the smallest number of troops in western Fujian."

"And most of their heavy weapons were taken away by the nationalist troops heading south."

"Secondly, the three divisions are scattered in their locations and their forces are also dispersed."

"It gives us the possibility to defeat them one by one"

“The last and most crucial point”

"Although our Meishan troops are insufficient, we still have a victorious army."

Lu Zhiguo's eyes lit up: "You mean the 19th Route Army?"

"Yong'an hasn't established itself yet, how can they help us?"

Li Yan nodded: "It is the 19th Route Army"

"Chief of Staff, don't forget..."

"A lean camel is bigger than a horse"

"After the 19th Route Army was purged, soldiers and low-ranking officers were kicked out of the army."

"But the 19th Route Army has been operating in Fujian for many years and still has connections."

"These people were not disbanded, but dispersed to the security groups in Fujian."

"Dai Ping reported back that Yong'an has gathered two divisions of troops in the past few days."

"More and more soldiers from the 19th Route Army will return later."

Lu Zhiguo frowned: "This is not a good thing"

"The 19th Route Army was once a powerful local lord with great ambitions."

"We helped them take Yong'an, so they won't attack us now."

“But they have the territory and the people.”

"You can just sit back and watch us and the national army fight, and both sides will suffer losses."

Li Yan said confidently: "Absolutely not"

"Although the 19th Route Army occupied Yong'an, it had not yet received official authorization from the National Army."

"We still need the prisoners from the 83rd Division as bargaining chips."

"At the same time, the 19th Route Army also understood the principle of "the lips and the teeth are cold"

"If our Red Army is wiped out, the 19th Route Army will be the first to be branded as unkind and unjust."

"We also have to face the entire Fujian Nationalist Army, and even Jiangxi and Hangzhou will send reinforcements."

“Who will help them by then?”

After listening to this, Lu Zhiguo nodded involuntarily: "Then what is our next specific plan?"

Li Yan said: "Let's take down the 108th Brigade of the 36th Division in Pengkou Town first."

Zhao Wu asked, "If we attack the 108th Brigade, what if the 36th Division attacks us from behind in Changting?"

Li Yan said: "If the 36th Division reinforces from behind Changting..."

“That would be even better.”

"We will take advantage of the fact that Changting is weak in manpower and capture it in one fell swoop and join forces with the Red Army on the Fujian-Jiangxi border."

"Then we will combine our forces to attack the rest of the 36th Division."

"By that time, we will have firmly established ourselves in northwestern Fujian."

"But Commander Song of the 36th Division isn't that stupid."

This time, Li Yan made his strategic intentions very clear, and everyone understood it clearly.

Nodding

Li Yan immediately gave the order: "Zhao Wu, leave a battalion of troops in Liancheng to prevent the 36th Division from launching a surprise attack, and also to prevent the 108th Brigade of the 36th Division from escaping after its defeat."

"Everyone else, get ready. We will attack the 108th Brigade tomorrow."

"The 108th Brigade is now in a pocket."

"Chief of Staff, you still need to go to Gao Xuan immediately."

"Let's use something to attack him."

"To maintain the unity of our east-west cooperation"

"Take away a radio operator from the 45th Division, and send someone back to the cave to ask the old squad leader for the radio."

"Some time ago, when we ambushed the 247th Brigade of the 83rd Division in the Lingkengzhai Valley, we captured an enemy radio."

"We don't have the Central Red Army's code, and the Minxi Military Sub-district doesn't have a radio station."

“It’s been sitting in the warehouse for a long time and it’s useless.”

"This time we finally got another radio station in Liancheng"

"This way we don't have to run back and forth when we need to contact each other."

Lu Zhiguo said with a smile: "The radio is a good treasure."

"This can greatly improve the efficiency of combat."

“I’ll go now”

After Lu Zhiguo left

Li Yan continued, "Tong Liang, go to Yong'an and find Dai Ping."

"Tell him to tell the 19th Route Army that I want to see Lu Yun."

"Yong'an has been captured for three days. Some of the middle and high-ranking members of the 19th Route Army should have arrived."

Li Yan was not wrong

After the meeting, Li, Chen, and Cai sent some high-level and middle-level alliance generals to secretly return to Fujian.

After all, the top brass of the 19th Route Army in Fujian have been purged.

A snake cannot move without a head