In the month of the year, due to the erroneous "Left" dogmatism, the Central Red Army ended in failure during the fifth counter-"encirclement and suppression," forcing them to withdraw from the revolutionary base and embark on the great Long March. During the Long March, the Red Army had to pass through Guangxi to head north to resist Japan. In this long journey fraught with dangers, the Central Red Army, undeterred by hardships, pressed westward, approaching Guangxi against the current. The path of the Central Red Army's Long March was fraught with near-death experiences, facing several tightly sealed lines of defense laid out by Chiang Kai-shek. After consecutively breaking through the "third line of encirclement," the Central Red Army entered the northern Guangxi region on the day of the month through Yong'an Pass and Leikou Pass, passing through Guiyan, Shuiche—Wenshi, Libi—Lushui—Gebishan—Gulingtou—Xinfudong—Shitang—Mazidu, and aiming towards the Xiangjiang River.

The failure of the Fifth Counter-Encirclement Campaign of the Central Red Army led to a continuous shrinkage of the revolutionary base areas, making it extremely difficult for the Central Red Army to establish a foothold. In order to escape the encirclement and pursuit of the Nationalist forces, the Central Committee of the Party made the strategic decision to transfer, reluctantly bidding farewell to the Red Capital in search of a new path. Under the protection of the people of the Soviet region, the Central Committee of the Party and the Red Army headquarters broke through the encirclement of the Nationalist forces in a certain month and year, departing from Ruijin, Jiangxi, leading the main force of the Central Red Army and the rear organs, totaling more than 80,000 people, to begin the Long March. After the failure of the Fifth Counter-Encirclement Campaign, the Central Red Army embarked on the arduous Long March. Li De and Bo Gu designed a "corridor-style" marching formation for the Central Red Army, with the first and second columns in the center, the First and Third Red Army Corps as the vanguards on the left and right, the Ninth and Eighth Red Army Corps protecting the left and right flanks, and the Fifth Red Army Corps as the rear guard. The Long March of the Red Army was supposed to be light and simple, but under the command of Li De and Bo Gu, it formed a moving "republic," resulting in extremely slow movement, sometimes only covering 10 to 20 kilometers in a day. However, the greatest danger the Red Army faced during the Long March was not the slow progress but the multiple layers of strict blockades set by Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang aimed to annihilate the Red Army on its journey, so he devised a plan to pursue the Central Red Army: "The Sixth Army of the Northern Route, under the command of General Xue Yue, led the central army forces Wu Qiwei and Zhou Hunyuan to form a 'pursuit' force, chasing the main force of the Red Army; He Jian was ordered to move the headquarters of the Western Route Army to Hengyang, with one part continuing to 'suppress' the Red Army in the western part of Jiangxi, while the main force of the Hunan Army was transferred to the southern part of Hunan to build fortifications along the eastern bank of the Xiangjiang River for blocking; Chen Jitang of the Southern Route Army was ordered to move the headquarters to Shaoguan, with one part remaining in the border area of Jiangxi and Fujian for 'suppression,' while the main force advanced to the border area of Guangdong and Hunan to build defensive lines between Lechang, Renhua, and Rucheng for interception; the Fourth Group Army of the Guangxi warlords Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi was ordered to move the headquarters to Guilin, with the main force concentrated in northern Guangxi, preparing for combat." The Nationalist Party was internally factionalized, with each faction harboring its own schemes, and factional struggles were a constant part of its political operations. The Central Committee of the Party and the Military Commission of the Revolutionary Committee made every effort to exploit the relationship between Chiang Kai-shek and the local warlords to create a favorable situation for the Red Army. The Central Red Army and the Southern Guangdong Army, led by Chen Jitang, secretly negotiated and reached an agreement on passing through northern Guangdong into southern Hunan on a certain day and month.

From October 21 to 22, the main forces of the Red Army entered the first blockade line set up by Chen Jitang's Southern Guangdong Army. Chen Jitang boasted that this blockade line was as "impenetrable as a copper wall and iron wall," as it was fortified by the natural barrier of the Taogang River, stretching about 100 kilometers from east to west and about 100 kilometers from south to north, with multiple fortresses, barbed wire, deep trenches, and hidden bunkers at each section. Chen Jitang constructed this blockade line to prevent the Central Red Army from entering Guangdong, but due to a private agreement reached with the Central Red Army before the Long March, Chen Jitang concentrated his main forces in depth, only stationing part of his troops in various locations. To avoid suspicion from Chiang Kai-shek, he built fortifications and dug trenches along the way, setting up guns and cannons as if facing a major enemy, to demonstrate his commitment to Chiang Kai-shek's order to "encircle and suppress" the Central Red Army. The Central Revolutionary Military Commission decided to set the breakthrough time from the night of October 21 to the morning of October 22. On the night of October 21, the Red Army began its breakthrough, and the battle broke out between Anyuan and Xinfeng in Jiangxi. The intense fighting was due to the failure of the "borrowing the road" agreement to be communicated in time. After the agreement was communicated between the two armies, the Guangdong Army, based on the agreement, put up slight resistance and then withdrew its main forces; the Central Red Army also adhered to the agreement, not entering Guangdong or pursuing the retreating Guangdong Army. On October 25, the Central Red Army successively crossed the Taogang River, breaking through the first blockade line set up by the Nationalist Army.

According to the instructions of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, the Central Red Army, after successfully breaking through the first blockade line set by Chen Jitang, continued to advance in a corridor-like formation along the border between Jiangxi-Guangdong and Hunan-Guangdong towards Rucheng, Hunan, and Chengkou, Guangdong. Upon learning that the Central Red Army had successfully breached the first blockade line, Chiang Kai-shek was in a state of great anxiety and immediately ordered Chen Jitang and He Jian to deploy troops swiftly to construct the second blockade line and block the westward advance of the Red Army. The second blockade line was the defense line of the Hunan and Guangdong armies between Rucheng, Hunan, and Renhua, northern Guangdong. The cunning He Jian passed the responsibility of intercepting the Central Red Army to Chen Jitang, but Chen Jitang had other plans. He adhered to the principle of "maintaining peace within the borders" and was unwilling to directly block the Central Red Army, thus feigning a series of actions to intercept and pursue the Central Red Army to placate Chiang Kai-shek. On a certain date, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission decided to leave a portion of the Red Army forces in Rucheng to defend against the enemy, while the main force of the Red Army advanced towards the area between Rucheng and Chengkou in three columns, thereby crossing the second blockade line set by the Nationalist forces. On a specific date, the Central Red Army successfully broke through the second blockade line set by the Nationalists before the main force of the Nationalist army arrived.

After successfully breaking through the second blockade line, the Central Red Army advanced towards the southern Hunan region. The path ahead was always fraught with thorns, as they faced the third blockade line set up by the Nationalist forces. In just one month, the Central Red Army had consecutively broken through three blockade lines set by the Nationalist army. Although there was a glimmer of dawn, they paid a heavy price. When breaking through the first blockade line, the Central Red Army lost over a thousand men; when breaking through the second blockade line, they lost several thousand men; and when breaking through the third blockade line, they lost over a thousand men, totaling over a thousand men lost. Despite the losses, the organization and sequence remained largely intact. After breaking through the third blockade line, the Central Red Army entered the southeastern Hunan region, specifically the areas of Linwu, Lanshan, and Jiahe in Hunan. At this time, Chiang Kai-shek had determined that the true intention of the Central Red Army's breakthrough was to follow the route of the Sixth Red Army through the Guangxi regions of Quanzhou and Xing'an to cross the Xiang River and head towards the northwestern Hunan to unite with the Second and Sixth Red Armies. Upon discerning the true intentions and route of the Red Army, Chiang Kai-shek was both surprised and delighted. He was pleased that the Central Red Army's direction of travel spanned across the Xiao and Xiang Rivers, and the area they were advancing through was where the forces of Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and the Central Army could converge, presenting an excellent opportunity to annihilate the Red Army. However, more than joy, he felt uneasy, fearing that if these three Red Armies successfully united, they would rebuild a revolutionary base in Hunan, integrating the Soviet regions of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou into a more formidable red revolutionary regime, making the situation difficult to control.

As the Central Red Army made its way to the northwestern part of Hunan, it was inevitably going to pass through the natural barrier of the Xiang River. The Xiang River, situated in the "Xiang-Guang Corridor Valley" between the Dupang Ridge and the Yuecheng Ridge, runs through the counties of Xing'an and Quanzhou. Chiang Kai-shek intended to utilize the natural defenses of the Xiang River to construct the fourth line of encirclement, concentrating his main forces along the Xiang River at the border of Hunan and Guangxi provinces. He coordinated with the Guangdong and Guangxi armies to surround the Red Army on the eastern side of the Xiang River, forming a pincer movement and deploying a large army to seal the trap. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek appointed He Jian as the overall commander of the "Pursuit Army," commanding the Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Central armies, totaling several full divisions and over 100,000 troops, forming a multi-pronged force. This force was to block the advance of the Central Red Army from the front, pursue from behind, and attack from both sides, forcing the Central Red Army into the triangular area at the intersection of the counties of Quanzhou, Guanyang, and Xing'an on the eastern side of the Xiang River. This triangular region, less than 10 kilometers from west to east and less than 10 kilometers from south to north, was where He Jian, following Chiang Kai-shek's orders, urgently deployed nearly 100,000 troops centered on the eastern bank of the Xiang River along the Hunan-Guangxi border. He aimed to use the natural barrier of the Xiang River to encircle the Red Army from the east, south, and north (with the Xiang River and Yuecheng Ridge blocking the west), compelling the Central Red Army to engage in decisive battle.