"The rules and regulations for the railway system have been compiled. Chairman, please review them." Zhuang Jiaxiong, a graduate of a railway academy, was finally returning to his professional field, and his voice was a notch louder than usual.

He Rui only opened one page, glanced at the table of contents, and closed the specification book. "How long will it take for us to train this many people?"

Zhuang Jiaxiong answered immediately, "About one year."

"I want to form a Railway Corps and militarize railway management," He Rui said without concealment.

Zhuang Jiaxiong was stunned. Before he could speak, a guard entered. "Report, Chairman. A telegram."

He Rui had thought the quickest solution for the Chinese Eastern Railway would come from Changchun. Looking at the telegram, it was indeed from Changchun. Cheng Ruofan was asking for the operation's code name.

Only then did He Rui remember that for the sake of secrecy, the operation was known only to the upper echelons. For this operation, Zhong Yifu and Hu Xiushan had begun various preparations a year ago. But he had simply forgotten the code name.

Cheng Ruofan must be anxious right now. He Rui wrote down the first word that popped into his head on the telegram form. Siping was very close to Changchun, so it wasn't long before Cheng Ruofan received the reply at his headquarters.

For a moment, Cheng Ruofan was bewildered. There were three characters on the telegram: 'Check Water Meter' (*Cha Shui Biao*). Taken separately, he understood them. Combined, he could sort of grasp the meaning, but it felt inexplicable.

"What does this mean?" Cheng Ruofan handed the telegram to Hu Xiushan.

Hu Xiushan took the telegram, looked at it, and wrote the three characters 'Check Water Meter' into the operational order before commanding the staff officer, "Operation Code Name: Check Water Meter."

Cheng Ruofan was momentarily surprised, but on second thought, he felt he was being truly odd. A code name was just a code name. Even if they named it 'Strength Uprooting Mountains and Spirit Overshadowing the World', it would be useless for the battle itself.

Having thought this through, Cheng Ruofan put the matter out of his mind and began to ask, "Are the trains in position?"

Although Zhong Yifu had a somewhat awkward personality, that was in daily life. Once it came to matters related to war, Zhong Yifu became a different person. As for Hu Xiushan, he was recognized as the most detailed, patient, and capable talent in the army for bearing burdensome work. The plan the two had produced was less an operational plan and more of a marching guide.

Moreover, in their analysis of the combat deployment, the two clearly pointed out that based on all available intelligence regarding the Russian Chinese Eastern Railway and the concessions, the Russians within China did not possess any formidable firepower. If fighting broke out, although the intensity would be fiercer than bandit suppression, it wouldn't be anything extraordinary.

The key to recovering the Chinese Eastern Railway lay in suddenness. The troops had to launch the attack as simultaneously as possible. This required the commanders of each unit to have strong execution capabilities.

Since the General Staff had already considered and analyzed every possible situation, Cheng Ruofan believed that the remaining matters were his responsibility as the Military Region Commander.

As radio signals flew back and forth between the various units, the positions of the troops were confirmed one by one on the map.

In the Kwantung Leased Territory, the pace of the officers inside the Japanese Kwantung Governor-General's Office quickened considerably. Just a short while ago, Japanese wireless intercepts picked up numerous encrypted communications. The volume was such that anyone who wasn't a fool could understand that many radio stations were conducting massive communications.

Ever since the Northeast Arsenal made breakthroughs in electronic equipment processing and began producing its own radios, such signals had increased. Recently, the Northeast Army had conducted several military exercises in succession, and the scale of radio communication had reached this level, so this was presumably the same. It was just that He Rui's frequent military exercises left the Kwantung Governor-General's Office unable to figure out his intentions.

Lieutenant Colonel Itagaki Seishiro, head of the 'He Agency', was summoned to the office of Major General Hamamoto Matasuke, Chief of Staff of the Governor-General's Office. Hearing the question, Itagaki Seishiro could only voice a deduction he wasn't quite sure of himself. "I believe He Rui may be moving into Outer Mongolia."

Major General Hamamoto was not surprised. Taking advantage of Russia's current predicament to seize Outer Mongolia, where Russia had fostered separatist forces, was indeed a very good opportunity. However, Major General Hamamoto dared not confirm such a possibility either.

It would be winter soon. For an army to fight in Outer Mongolia, they would face not just that small number of enemies, but overwhelming snow and temperatures of minus twenty-some degrees. The Army War College graduated only a few dozen people each year, and even the last-place graduate could understand such combat difficulties, let alone He Rui, who graduated at the top.

"Why would He Rui take such a great risk?" Major General Hamamoto asked.

Itagaki Seishiro also knew the difficulty of such operations, yet he did not believe He Rui was merely preparing for next spring. He replied, "Your Excellency, forgive this subordinate's rash analysis. He-kun's character is resolute and decisive; he has no interest in petty tricks. I do not believe he would create such a large commotion just for an exercise. But He-kun is extremely cautious; he will not attack Russia."

Major General Hamamoto felt he could understand Itagaki's view. He Rui's vigorous and sweeping style was simply more Japanese than the Japanese. Judging by He Rui's experience in taking over the Northeast, Major General Hamamoto had originally thought He Rui had Duan Qirui's support. Now it was certain that He Rui made decisions relying entirely on his own judgment. This daring was truly astonishing.

In the end, Major General Hamamoto did not ask more and simply dismissed Itagaki.

Just then, an adjutant entered and handed over a new report. "Your Excellency, the radio communications have stopped."

Major General Hamamoto felt this was likely just another of He Rui's exercises. Perhaps by tomorrow, there would be more of this nonsense. He ordered, "Send a telegram to the Office of General Zhen'an in Fengtian. Demand that He Rui explain this matter."

Watching the adjutant leave to carry out the order, Major General Hamamoto did not believe He Rui would actually offer an explanation. But these events made Major General Hamamoto somewhat uneasy. During the war, Britain and France were desperate and would sell anything. In just two years, He Rui had made godspeed progress in the military industry. If He Rui wasn't made aware of Japan's attitude, heaven knew what he would do next.

Almost simultaneously, large groups of Northeast Army soldiers had received the order to move and were assaulting rapidly from various assembly points. To achieve the goal of a surprise attack, the officers and soldiers did not set out from their barracks but had long been lying in wait in buildings near their targets.

The door curtain of a teahouse was lifted, and Northeast Army soldiers filed out. joining forces with comrades emerging from other shops, they pounced directly on the Russian settlements.

Inside the train station, officers and soldiers disguised as ordinary civilians pulled tight-fitting military tunics from their luggage and put them on. Beneath the tunics were the baggy, bloated cotton trousers common among the ordinary people of the Northeast.

The Russians and Chinese in the station were dumbfounded. It wasn't until the soldiers pulled pistols from their crotches that the Russian railway staff realized something was wrong. However, the officers and men had practiced this many times; they immediately rushed up and subdued the Russian railway personnel.

Soon, the door to the station dispatch room was kicked open, and officers and soldiers rushed in with weapons ready. The Russian dispatcher was at a loss and subconsciously stood up, asking in Russian, "What are you doing?"

The leading officer didn't care if the Russian could understand or not and shouted the operation code name directly: "Check the water meter!"

Amidst the shouting, the soldiers beside him had already pounced, subduing the group in the dispatch room and taking control. Immediately, Chinese railway workers, speaking with accents from all over the country, took over the dispatch work.

Many of them were obviously young students. Participating in such a military operation, the young men were all in high spirits. Their reasons for coming here were not complicated. Their classmates or juniors, Wu Youping and Zhuang Jiaxiong, had written to them over the past year or so, inviting everyone to come to the Northeast to participate in railway construction.

The youths who could come were all here with the aim of serving their country; otherwise, who would run to this bitterly cold land beyond the pass? Seeing that He Rui had truly dealt with the Russians and retaken the Chinese Eastern Railway, everyone immediately joined in the dispatch management.

It was not just Changchun; Harbin was the same. Every station on the section of the Chinese Eastern Railway managed by Russia, every Russian settlement, and every concession was raided. Under radio coordination, these actions began almost simultaneously.

The Northeast Army not only controlled the Chinese Eastern Railway and the Russian concessions but also rapidly dispatched troops to station at key points on the Sino-Russian border, strengthening fortifications and preparing for battle.

Less than 24 hours after He Rui's order was issued, news came from all sides: the military operation was a complete success, and the entire Chinese Eastern Railway was under control.

He Rui looked at the calendar. Today was November 22, 1917. Stretching his back, He Rui, who hadn't slept at all, said to his secretary, "I'm going to sleep for a while. Unless it's bad news, don't disturb me."

The secretary hadn't expected they could seize the Chinese Eastern Railway so smoothly. He saluted He Rui excitedly. "Order received!"