The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

Xu Wenqing was overjoyed. He was delighted that he could actually earn a commission from the things he had originally intended to give away for free. However, to avoid suspicion, he sent someone to invite Director Li of the Political Department to come and discuss the matter together.

After the guard left, Andrew asked meaningfully:

"General He, you didn't develop these things yourself, did you? You're not just a Red Army cadre, are you?"

"No, no. Everyone has secrets, you have yours and I have mine. Just keep it to yourself. Some secrets, even if you're a good friend, you can't tell them!"

Xu Wenqing took a deep drag on his cigarette, exhaled a large smoke ring, and said in a low voice, feigning mystery.

Andrew nodded in understanding, and the two of them burst into laughter, leaving Director Li, who had just arrived, completely bewildered. Xu Wenqing quickly explained to him:

"Mr. Andrew was moved by the noble qualities and strong will of the Red Army and offered to help us purchase some scarce supplies."

Andrew, of course, echoed this sentiment, expressing his deep respect for the Red Army. After shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries, the group reluctantly bid farewell.

"General He, how should I deliver the supplies to you after I've prepared them?"

Just before leaving, Andrew realized that it would be easier to transport the supplies into China than into the war zone.

Xu Wenqing smiled slightly and replied:

"You can send this batch of supplies to Nianzhou Prefecture City, and we'll send someone to bring them back!"

"General He is a gold mine, and a rich one at that!"

On the way back, Andrew finished speaking to his daughter with deep emotion, then closed his eyes to rest, completely unaware of Denise's puzzled look.

With the series of actions taken by the 19th Division, the objective of holding back the enemy and covering the main force of the corps' breakout has been basically achieved, and it's time to seriously consider the next steps.

After entering Nianzhou Prefecture, Xu Wenqing's forward command and Yao Hutou's rear command met up and began discussing the next steps.

Faced with this favorable situation, Xu Wenqing proposed a swift change in the methods of struggle. Several leaders, including Political Commissar Yao Hutou, couldn't understand this, and Xu Wenqing's repeated attempts to persuade them were ineffective, only making everyone sullen. Seeing this, Xu Wenqing insisted on taking them up the mountain to see the sea of ​​clouds and clear their minds.

The sea of ​​clouds at Jiugong Mountain is neither smoke nor mist, but poetic and dreamlike, magnificent and awe-inspiring; the sunrise at Wugong Mountain illuminates the entire world, rising slowly, creating a vast expanse of red waves. Surging and surging, it's as if the meadows are burning, the sky is burning, giving one a sense of universal illumination leading to the true path of Buddhism;

Standing atop the mountain, everyone was lost in thought, marveling at how quickly time had passed. Yao Hutou, moved by the scene, said:

"The current revolutionary situation is like this sea of ​​clouds, ever-changing, neither smoke nor fog, sometimes sunny, sometimes stormy!"

"Political Commissar Yao is right. Our Chinese revolution is currently at a low ebb. The enemy's strength is unprecedented. Let's all think carefully about what we should do?"

Should we confront them head-on, or avoid their sharp edge and wait for a more opportune moment?

Xu Wenqing calmly picked up the conversation, looking at everyone with bright, piercing eyes.

Chief of Staff Hu Jiu asked in return, his face full of doubt:

"Commander, if we avoid their sharpest attacks, the enemy's strength will only grow stronger, while our strength will diminish, making it even more impossible to defeat them?"

Xu Wenqing did not answer Chief of Staff Hu's question, but instead raised a new one:

"I'd like to ask a few questions and see what everyone thinks!"

First, our revolution failed in the cities and we established very few Soviet areas in the rural areas of the north, but we established five or six Soviet areas of varying sizes in the south.

Second, why did the counter-encirclement campaigns in the Soviet areas fail?

Third, how can we rise again and liberate all of China?

Yao Hutou and the others fell into deep thought, and after a long time, they began to offer a variety of reasons. Xu Wenqing shook his head slightly, indicating that the answer was not comprehensive.

"Commander, please stop keeping us in suspense. Why don't you tell everyone?"

Someone impatiently urged.

Xu Wenqing said with a beaming smile:

"The correct method for carrying out the revolution in China is to accumulate strength in the countryside where the enemy's rule is relatively weak, to encircle the cities from the countryside, and finally seize national power. At first, our Party placed the revolutionary base in the cities, which resulted in failure. After summarizing the experience, the Party Central Committee shifted the revolutionary base to the countryside, mainly to the southern countryside where the old and new warlords were busy fighting in the north and had no time to attend to it. Only then were the revolutionary forces able to recover and develop rapidly, and the Central Soviet Area and other Soviet Areas were established. Do you all think what I said is right?"

After listening, Yao Hutou nodded in agreement:

"What the division commander said is well; he has summarized the lessons learned from our Party's struggles. But why has the counter-encirclement campaign failed now?"

Xu Wenqing paced back and forth, frowning, recalling revolutionary summaries published in later books while adding his own insights in response to Yao Hutou's question:

"This is because after the Central Plains War, the southern rural areas, being closer to the White Army's ruling center and relatively prosperous, were increasingly targeted by the White Army to strengthen its control. Our Red Army lost the favorable conditions for further development. The White Army government had already established its rule nationwide and could mobilize large numbers of troops to deal with us. Furthermore, the provinces of Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Hunan, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong were the 'capital region' of the Nanjing government. 'No one can sleep soundly under one's bed.' The White Army regime would absolutely not allow our Red Army to continue to exist and develop, threatening its capital region. Not to mention the fifth 'encirclement and suppression' campaign, even if it succeeded, Chiang Kai-shek would not give up. He would launch a sixth and seventh 'encirclement and suppression' campaign until our Red Army was annihilated!"

"That makes perfect sense. We can't just sit here and wait to die, can we?"

Everyone's enthusiasm was high. They started discussing it, and Yao Hutou raised the most pressing issue that needed to be addressed.

Before Xu Wenqing could answer, Yao Hutou quickly offered his own opinion:

"According to the division commander's account, based on the characteristics of the Chinese revolution, the main force of our Southern Red Army can only gain new space for survival and development, and wait for an opportunity, by transferring to rural areas where the enemy's strength is relatively weak?"

Xu Wenqing loudly affirmed Political Commissar Yao's insight:

"Yes! After the September 18 Incident, with the deepening of Japanese aggression and the gradual compromises and concessions of the White Area ruling group, the North once again became the most sensitive area for the national struggle. Our Party and the main force of the Southern Red Army under its leadership had to shatter the Chiang Kai-shek group's policy of 'pacifying the country before resisting foreign aggression,' achieve the goal of resisting Japan and opposing Chiang, and seize a favorable position in the national and class struggle. Our Red Army had no choice but to move to the North, which was both close to the front line of the anti-Japanese campaign and far away from the Kuomintang's ruling center, and wait for the right opportunity!"

"But will an opportunity arise that is in our favor?"

Doubts have arisen.

"Yes, and it's definitely possible!"