That night, Xu Chengfeng forced himself to lie down, tossing and turning for a long time before falling asleep. Cheng Ruofan, on the other hand, fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow; since he had lost to He Rui, he wasn't worried about any issues arising during the review. The others, each with their own preoccupations, eventually succumbed to exhaustion and slept.

At six o'clock, everyone gathered in the exercise command room with their breakfast, eating and chatting while looking at the maps and sand table.

Hu Xiushan, silent as usual, was the first to finish eating. Putting down his bowl and chopsticks, he walked to the blackboard and began writing out the course of the battle. Hu Xiushan's chalk calligraphy was excellent; he wrote line after line without a single wasted word, focusing entirely on the operational content.

By the time Hu Xiushan was halfway through, several senior officers were holding their empty bowls, staring intently at the blackboard. Having personally participated in the exercise, they had forgotten some details, but watching Hu Xiushan's reconstruction brought every experience back to them.

Seeing their reaction, Xu Chengfeng kept a straight face and barked, "All of you, I'm giving you two more minutes. Finish eating quickly. When time is up, the tableware gets cleared away."

One minute later, the orderlies cleared the dishes. When everyone looked back at the blackboard, Hu Xiushan had reached the section on the counter-encirclement. The counter-encirclement had been a decisive move, but because the vanguard of the counterattack ran into a counter-charge by two Japanese divisions, they were unable to break through and had to tighten the encirclement. It truly felt like falling short at the last moment.

The group began to discuss. Some felt that even if the battle continued, the Japanese might not necessarily win. Zheng Silang loudly retorted, "We might be able to keep fighting, but can the people of the Northeast accept it? Do the people hand over so much money and grain every year just to watch us fight a losing battle?"

Once this was said, no one discussed fighting on the mainland anymore. Everyone understood that Zheng Silang was right; if the war really reached that stage, the Northeast Army would have long since been finished.

At this moment, Hu Xiushan wrote the final line: *Defense of Shenyang begins; exercise concludes with the Northeast Army admitting defeat.*

Clapping the chalk dust from his hands, Hu Xiushan asked, "If anyone wants to add anything, come up and modify it yourself."

With that, he walked back to his seat and sat down.

Commander Xu Chengfeng walked up to the platform and asked, "From which step did our war situation go wrong? Answer one by one!"

The 120,000-strong Northeast Army had organized twelve divisions and four armies. Xu Chengfeng and the others did not take up command of these units but were responsible for army building. The military commanders and chiefs of staff of the four armies and twelve divisions were all products of the military academy. Faced with such a failure in the exercise, Lin Mengchu, Commander of the 4th Army, stood up and answered, "Reporting to the Commander, I believe the problem lies in the anti-landing operations. If the Japanese army had not secured landing points on the Liaodong Peninsula, they would not have been able to move freely."

Lin Mengchu's view immediately won the approval of the crowd. Amidst their agreement, the pressure in Xu Chengfeng's heart lessened considerably. It seemed that the results of three years of military education were not poor. Although everyone lacked actual combat experience, their basic understanding was correct.

Xu Chengfeng looked at Lin Mengchu and saw that his eyes were red as a rabbit's. It seemed this fellow hadn't slept at all last night. Added to the nearly two days without sleep during the exercise, Lin Mengchu had truly been preparing without rest or slumber.

Just then, Hu Xiushan spoke up. "But we have no way to stop the Japanese from landing. No matter how many troops we place on the beachhead, we cannot stop a Japanese landing."

This splash of cold water made several army and division commanders and chiefs of staff somewhat unconvinced. Hu Xiushan did not refute them directly but pointed to the map and said, "Let's simulate it."

Comrades stood up and made room. Hu Xiushan called over Jing Fusheng, the Chief of Staff of the 6th Army, to form the offensive side, while the officers who believed they could successfully defend formed the defensive side, and they began a simulation on the map.

The tactical content was very fast-paced, with dialogue exchanged at high speed between the two sides.

"Naval gunfire bombardment."

"Digging positions."

"Your position is in a rocky area; entrenchments cannot be dug."

"Building fortifications."

"Under 220mm naval gunfire, fortifications are destroyed."

...

Hu Xiushan had a very detailed understanding of the topography and geology of the entire Northeast. He quickly completed landings in areas unsuitable for defense and inflicted heavy losses on the defending troops.

Seeing that they could not stop the Japanese landing, the military commanders looked at the map and sand table, their brows knitting into knots. Various thoughts churned in their minds until finally, someone raised a question: "Chairman He was commanding the attack. The Japanese operational command might not be as formidable as Chairman He."

*Smack, smack.* Two sounds rang out. Both Xu Chengfeng and Cheng Ruofan slapped the table. Cheng Ruofan shouted, "Is war a child's game? Do you expect the enemy to cooperate with you?"

Xu Chengfeng had wanted to say the same thing. Since Cheng Ruofan had spoken first, he clasped his hands behind his back and walked to the window, looking out at the June sunlight that illuminated everything outside with extreme brightness.

In the silence, Cheng Ruofan said, "Before, the Chairman said we would fight a war involving a million men against the Japanese. At that time, I thought 'million-strong army' was a figure of speech. After the exercise, I feel it shouldn't be a metaphor. Fighting like this proves our troop strength is insufficient. In the next exercise, our side must expand its forces to one million."

The exercise room remained silent, but Xu Chengfeng, looking out the window with his hands behind his back, felt the atmosphere change completely. Turning around, he saw the senior officers looking either surprised or delighted; Lin Mengchu and the others were already overjoyed.

No change could be seen in Hu Xiushan's expression. He walked to the iron blackboard painted with white lacquer and placed magnetic markers one by one onto defensive positions. Cheng Ruofan took a step forward and used soft iron wire to draw defensive lines on both sides of the Liaodong Peninsula. Although the two had not communicated, their thinking was remarkably consistent.

Xu Chengfeng only took a few glances, and the situation was already outlined in his mind. The Northeast's troop strength was 2.5 times that of Japan, and they held the advantage of defense. By ceding the coastline which was difficult to defend and constructing a defensive system outside the range of Japanese naval guns, it would be enough to prevent the landed Japanese forces from deploying effectively.

Once the two had finished setting up, the command room, which had been oppressed by a heavy atmosphere, completely recovered its vitality and passion. Xu Chengfeng didn't even speak before everyone began discussing. Lin Mengchu yawned, pointing cheerfully at the Liaodong Peninsula. "If we set up a pocket formation here, as long as the Japanese are encircled, they're dead meat."

After speaking, he leaned back in his chair, watching the map. Cheng Ruofan did not participate further in the discussion but found a board among the dozen large blackboards in the command room and began calculating troop numbers and designations.

Having calculated a rough estimate, Cheng Ruofan turned and shouted, "Commander Lin."

Lin Mengchu tilted his head and didn't make a sound. Cheng Ruofan shouted again, but there was still no sound from Lin Mengchu. Everyone looked over and saw Lin Mengchu's head tilted to the side; he had actually fallen asleep.

There were bunks in the command room. Xu Chengfeng directed everyone to carry Lin Mengchu to a bunk, where they saw him hugging a thin quilt in his sleep, slumbering sweetly. After a burst of laughter, the crowd continued to deduce the situation. Disappointment and panic had been thrown completely to the nine heavens.

At ten o'clock in the morning, He Rui walked into the exercise command room. He saw a group of young soldiers, full of vigor and eager to try.

Hearing Cheng Ruofan propose the adjustment in troop numbers, He Rui was relieved. Since the comrades could realize on their own that their initial troop arrangement was problematic, He Rui was saved a lot of talking.

After Cheng Ruofan finished his brief explanation, He Rui asked, "When will we hold another one?"

Cheng Ruofan immediately answered, "Reporting to the Chairman, can we do it now?"

Hearing Cheng Ruofan voice their own feelings, the others looked at He Rui with expectation. They saw He Rui nod. "Start in fifteen minutes."

Because there was no longer any pressure in his heart, Lin Mengchu slept extremely well. It seemed like only an instant before he woke up. Finding himself lying on a camp cot without knowing when he got there, Lin Mengchu was confused about what had happened. for a moment, he wondered if he was having a nightmare about the failed exercise.

He saw his comrades gathered around blackboards, whiteboards, and sand tables, or sitting at tables writing furiously. Lin Mengchu hurriedly rolled over and got up, asking, "How is the fighting going? What about the Japanese landing forces? Have they assembled?"

A few people looked up at Lin Mengchu, then continued their work. Most didn't react at all. Only Xu Chengfeng walked over and asked in surprise, "Did you wake up in the middle? or are you sleep-addled?"

Seeing the sky outside was dark, Lin Mengchu asked in confusion, "Commander, how long did I sleep?"

Xu Chengfeng looked at the wall clock. "About eight hours."

Lin Mengchu jumped off the bed. He realized now that he wasn't dreaming; he had missed the beginning of the second round.

Xu Chengfeng laughed, "Hurry up and wash your face. Join in after you've freshened up."

In the washroom, Lin Mengchu submerged his head directly into a basin full of tap water, splashing water with his hands and washing the back of his head, which was shorn into a short soldier's cut. Lifting his head from the basin, he felt a bit dizzy, so he buried his head in the water again. After doing this three times, Lin Mengchu felt his spirit completely restored, and he remembered everything that had happened before he fell asleep.

With his mind incredibly clear and the thought that this was a war of a million troops, Lin Mengchu felt as if a fire was burning in his chest. Wiping his head, he ran back to the command room. He saw that the Northeast Army had held all defensive lines.

Looking at the Japanese again, they only controlled some strongholds along the coast but could not advance further. On the map, two large groups of Japanese forces were actually split east and west. The eastern Japanese force had passed through Russian territory and launched a fierce attack on the Northeast Army from the direction of Vladivostok. The western Japanese force had occupied Shanhaiguan and was striving to advance along the railway.

Lin Mengchu was shocked. *Could there be such a variation?*

Leaning in to look, he saw that although the Japanese had adopted such a deployment, they still could not break through the Northeast Army's defense lines. The entire war situation had become completely deadlocked. A blackboard listed the units of both sides; Lin Mengchu went up and looked for a while. All Japanese divisions, even the Tokyo Garrison Division, had been sent to the front lines.

Even though Japan had mobilized the power of the entire nation, the Northeast Army still held out, keeping the Japanese army outside the defensive system. They did not let the Japanese enter the Northeast hinterland, nor did they cause any destruction. The Northeast Army had even prepared a reserve force, ready to respond to emergencies at any time.

Lin Mengchu was filled with regret. He had missed such an intense exercise deduction because he had fallen asleep. Angry, Lin Mengchu just wanted to slap his own face.

Then he heard Xu Chengfeng ask in a slightly hoarse voice, "What month is it?"

Someone immediately answered, "It's October. The grain harvest has begun."

Xu Chengfeng shouted, "Everyone be careful, don't let the Japanese break through the defense line. As soon as the harvest is finished, we start the counterattack!"

The comrades responded in unison, every voice filled with confidence.

Lin Mengchu remembered that the last battle had lasted less than three months before the Japanese fought their way to the walls of Shenyang. He hurriedly asked the 7th Army Chief of Staff, Nguyen Tianyou, who was responsible for recording time, "How long have we been fighting?"

Nguyen Tianyou answered, "One year and two months."

"That long?" Lin Mengchu regretted it even more.

Just then, the exercise command communications officer, who was delivering messages, ran in shouting, "Surrender! The Japanese command has surrendered!"

The exercise room immediately fell silent. Everyone thought they might have misheard. The communications officer thought the crowd hadn't understood and shouted again, "The Japanese command surrendered! We won!"

The exercise command would not lie. The silent command room immediately erupted in a burst of cheers. Some of the more steady-natured commanders sat back in their seats with smiles on their faces; exhaustion prevented them from showing too much joy. The excitable ones jumped up and down, hugging and shaking hands in intense happiness, giving full vent to the joy of victory.

Only Lin Mengchu stood in the corner, looking enviously at his comrades celebrating. In his intense disappointment, Lin Mengchu made up his mind that next time, no matter what, he would not miss out. Even if he was excited, he had to sleep on time. He had to save up the minimum strength to participate in normal work. As long as he didn't stay up for three days in a row, even if he snatched two or three hours of sleep in between, he would have enough strength to throw himself into the second exercise.

At this moment, the door opened and He Rui walked in. Now the cheering and jumping comrades didn't dare to mess around anymore; they all raised their hands to salute He Rui. But the joy on their faces could not be put away.

He Rui shook hands with the comrades one by one before asking, "What are the gains?"

"Interior lines operations, fighting the few with the many," Xu Chengfeng answered in a slightly hoarse voice. Commanding a million troops in battle this time, even if it was just a paper exercise, allowed Xu Chengfeng to feel the immense advantage brought by powerful troop strength. Even if tactics and equipment hadn't changed, just the change in the number of troops committed to battle turned the war from incredibly arduous to incredibly smooth.

When it was Hu Xiushan's turn, the always reticent Hu Xiushan raised a question in a clear voice, "Chairman, I don't think there's a need for another exercise. I just want to do a local deduction of the Shanhaiguan part during the review."

This question made the soldiers nod one after another. Indeed, the Japanese sudden capture of Shanhaiguan had caused quite a shock to the Northeast Army. If not for sufficient troops, and the fact that the Jinzhou region was an important location, the Japanese surprise attack might have succeeded in capturing Jinzhou.

He Rui nodded. This small matter was nothing. If He Rui were commanding the battle, Shanhaiguan would definitely be taken first.

Hu Xiushan continued to ask, "Chairman, will Russia allow the Japanese army to launch an attack on us through Vladivostok?"

Seeing that everyone shared this confusion, He Rui answered, "This possibility is not non-existent. If the Japanese get desperate, we can't pretend this possibility doesn't exist. Of course, we will work through diplomatic channels to avoid such a possibility. But the defense in this direction must absolutely not be relaxed."

Hearing this, someone couldn't help but ask, "Will Russia join the Japanese side for their own interests?"

"Why?" He Rui asked in return.

The comrade answered loudly, "Such situations have occurred in history. In the Second Opium War and the Boxer Calamity, Russia stuck a foot in and carved away land from us."

He Rui felt that the education on national humiliation had been quite successful, leading directly to the comrades' vigilance. This was the negative aspect of nationalist sentiment. He Rui thought about it and felt that the current situation was not a suitable time for education, so he could only answer, "Don't worry. The current Russia is being attacked by countries led by Britain and France. They won't engage in such things with Japan."

That comrade still didn't have much confidence. Historical events really couldn't be ignored. He said hesitantly, "But, the foreigners..."

Cheng Ruofan couldn't listen anymore and shouted, "Discuss this later. It's so late today, everyone say a few words and then hurry up and rest. Tomorrow..."

He Rui nodded and smiled, "Comrades have done very well. Tomorrow we will review in detail."

After chatting for a while longer, everyone went back to the dormitory to rest. Only Lin Mengchu was very energetic and could only stay in the exercise room flipping through the records, trying to reconstruct the events that happened while he was sleeping.

Lin Mengchu wasn't the only one who didn't sleep; He Rui didn't sleep either. Morrison had been wanting to see He Rui all day. Learning that He Rui was unavailable, Morrison brought He Rui a piece of news: Britain had clearly expressed its attitude toward Soviet Russia.

As soon as the exercise ended, He Rui went to visit Morrison. Morrison, wearing casual clothes, opened the door and invited He Rui in.

Morrison handed a document to He Rui, then asked his awakened wife to bring He Rui black tea. He Rui downed the black tea without sugar or milk in one gulp, his gaze fixed on the document.

Before the Russian Red Army counterattacked, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George had pressured Poland to accept Soviet Russia's peace terms. He Rui had seen this news.

A few days ago, at the end of June 1920, Britain announced it would supply Poland with a large amount of military material surplus from World War I. However, the British Trades Union Congress, opposing British aid to "White Poland," threatened a general strike to prevent the weapons bound for Poland from leaving British ports. Lloyd George was not enthusiastic about supporting the Poles, but was pressured by right-wing cabinet members like Curzon and Winston Churchill to provide those supplies to Poland.

Just yesterday, June 28, 1920, the British government issued a "virtual" ultimatum to Soviet Russia, demanding that Soviet Russia cease hostilities against Poland and the Russian Army (the White Army led by Wrangel in southern Russia), and accept the Curzon Line as the temporary border between Soviet Russia and Poland until a permanent border was established through negotiation. If Soviet Russia refused, Britain threatened to assist Poland by all available means.

He Rui read the last paragraph of the intelligence repeatedly, feeling somewhat delighted in his heart. He also felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.

The British government proposed to Soviet Russia that if the war continued, Britain would terminate all trade with Soviet Russia. He Rui's understanding of this period of history was not extensive, nor was it detailed enough. Most of what he knew concerned internal matters of the Soviet Red Army.

Seeing that all trade between Britain and Soviet Russia was cut off, plus—he forgot exactly when it happened—Soviet Russia refused to pay all loans France had lent to Tsarist Russia, and used "odious debt is not repayable" as a reason to conversely demand compensation from France for Soviet Russia's losses, the relationship between France and Russia completely collapsed.

From then on, Britain and France entered a state of hostility and blockade with Soviet Russia.

Looking at it now, things started with the Polish-Soviet War. Comrade Lenin was under unprecedented pressure at this time, and the pressure would only increase in the future.