"Miss Zhang, if war breaks out in China and you are conscripted into a frontline combat unit, would you feel resistant to it in your heart?" Duke Saionji asked with interest, sipping his tea as the picnic came to an end.

After asking, Saionji Kinmochi emphasized his scenario: "I mean going to the front lines, engaging in direct combat with the enemy. Enemy bullets flying everywhere, shells constantly striking. You would be under the threat of death at every moment."

In Saionji's experienced eyes, the young girl before him was far from being a scheming or deeply calculating person. Although she was intelligent and knew how to be polite, a young person was, after all, a young person.

Sure enough, Guide Zhang's brows furrowed slightly. After a moment of contemplation, she seemed to come to terms with it, and her furrowed brows relaxed a bit. "I would obey the country's orders."

"...Truly brave," Saionji uttered his only sigh of the moment.

Guide Zhang gave a wry smile and answered with feigned cheerfulness, "The army certainly wouldn't send me to fight with bayonets. If I'm following the troops and fighting in the trenches, I should still be able to fight."

Saionji had intended to end the topic there. For a young girl under twenty to support herself as a guide using the foreign languages she had learned was already remarkable. That such a girl knew to serve her country, even if it was just lip service about daring to go to the battlefield, was admirable enough. There was no point in saying more.

However, hearing the girl actually say she couldn't engage in bayonet fighting but could execute trench warfare, Saionji felt he should continue the chat. Being willing to go to the battlefield was courage—courage is a hard thing to define, and many people might suddenly find it in a moment. But using a rifle in combat was another matter entirely. Even for a girl, if she truly understood how to conduct trench warfare, she could display combat effectiveness on the battlefield. Being hit in a vital spot by a bullet meant death; being hit in a non-vital spot meant injury. It had nothing to do with whether the person firing the bullet was a man or a woman.

Saionji chatted as an ordinary old man would with a junior. "How many months of military training did you undergo, Miss Zhang? You actually handled a rifle?"

Guide Zhang hesitated, looking like she wanted to stop. "Your Excellency, I apologize. I've taken up so much of your time. Let's continue visiting the botanical garden."

Saionji waved his hand. "I have visited many botanical gardens—in Europe, in Japan, in the United States. I've seen them all. But I have never seen a woman who underwent rifle training during military training. In Japan, I wonder if there are even ten such women."

Speaking of this, Saionji turned to Mitsuko. "Mitsuko-chan, you are a reporter and have seen much of the world. Have you seen any?"

Mitsuko indeed had never seen a Japanese woman who had received formal military training. However, Mitsuko also knew very well that Saionji wanted to hear about Guide Zhang's training experience. So she smiled and said, "Miss Zhang, I really want to know. Please tell me; I will definitely write it into my news report."

Guide Zhang hesitated for a moment. Although she felt she shouldn't say it, she couldn't quite hold back. Especially hearing that her experience might be published in a Japanese newspaper, the feeling of anticipation actually gained the upper hand over the feeling of refusal.

Moreover, before this reception duty, her superior had said, "As long as you don't involve anything related to personal privacy, including names, just answer whatever Mr. Saionji asks."

Guide Zhang finally mustered her courage and began to recount her military training experience. She had participated in two training sessions. The first was a month and a half, receiving "rookie training" in formations, basic military terminology, and the basic use of weapons like rifles.

The second was three months. This time, she was trained as a new recruit. The training content included marching, drills, basic military boxing, light weapon usage, and soldier combat techniques. In the end, she even participated in two small-scale military exercises.

Saionji was already seventy-three years old. If he didn't want the other party to see his expression of astonishment, they absolutely wouldn't see it. Therefore, Saionji asked with a look of astonishment, "I didn't expect Miss Zhang to have actually fired a gun in a trench."

Miss Zhang had a deep impression of this part of her recruit experience because she didn't know how many times she had been reprimanded by instructors and unit commanders. Hearing Saionji say this, those memories immediately floated to the surface of her mind.

Morita Mitsuko had never received military training. She had a strong impression of a photo showing soldiers squatting side by side in a trench, their upper bodies resting on the edge of the trench. That was the photo with the densest concentration of soldiers and the clearest image she had ever seen. So, gesturing as she spoke, she described the scene in that photo to Guide Zhang.

In Mitsuko's imagination, Guide Zhang and a group of young girls receiving military training stood shoulder to shoulder in the trench, shooting at the 'enemy' in the exercise field. That felt so cool and intimate.

Guide Zhang really couldn't hold it back and laughed. "Haha. How could we lie on the edge of the trench? do you think the enemy's machine gunners are just decorations? If a row of heads is out there, one burst of bullets comes over, and few in that row would be left. Mitsuko, when entering a frontline trench, you have to huddle inside, with your back against the side of the trench facing the enemy. All actions follow the squad leader's command. Without an order, you are absolutely not allowed to stick your head out to look. Weapons must be grounded with the stock on the ground and the muzzle facing the sky. You are absolutely not allowed to raise them, and certainly not allowed to point them at your own comrades."

Mitsuko recalled the appearance in the photo and really couldn't understand the purpose of these requirements. Mitsuko could only continue to ask according to her own thinking, "If you don't lie on the trench edge, how do you shoot at the enemy?"

"The squad leader will arrange firing positions."

Hearing this, Mitsuko was even more confused. "Do you mean... the squad leader has to arrange a firing position for everyone?"

Looking at Mitsuko's cute appearance with her brows slightly furrowed, Guide Zhang, who was 163 cm tall and several centimeters taller than Mitsuko, smiled. "Isn't that what the squad leader is for? Mitsuko-chan, firing positions have to be changed frequently. It's impossible to let you lie in one spot and fight from beginning to end."

Hearing this, Mitsuko no longer knew what to say or ask. In Mitsuko's imagination, battle was orderly, with unified command. In many war pictures regarding the Meiji Restoration, soldiers on the battlefield stood shoulder to shoulder, holding rifles and shooting together at the enemy opposite them. As for the military formations passing neatly during parades, they further reinforced Mitsuko's imagination of the army.

Of course, when He Rui rented a room at Mitsuko's home, Mitsuko had also asked He Rui what fighting was like. At that time, war was just a very vague concept for Mitsuko, a kind of thrilling story. He Rui didn't like to talk about war, so Mitsuko had absolutely no concept of the reality of war.

The story told by Guide Zhang before her was about the combat of grunts in the trenches, which was miles apart from the war in Mitsuko's imagination.

Finally, Mitsuko asked, "Why?"

Guide Zhang looked at Mitsuko, just like seeing herself before attending military training. She felt quite emotional, and the words of her platoon leader during training blurted out, "Fighting is to survive. Doing what you said not only throws your life away for nothing but also exposes the unit's position. That harms both yourself and others."

Mitsuko had never been spoken to like this, especially not by a girl two years younger than herself. For a moment, she couldn't keep her composure, and a dark cloud covered her face.

Seeing Mitsuko like this, and knowing Mitsuko's relationship with He Rui, Guide Zhang quickly smiled and said, "Mitsuko-chan, don't be angry. My platoon leader scolded me like that many times before. I don't know why, but it just popped out. If you get angry, I'm going to cry."

Mitsuko certainly knew she couldn't get angry at He Rui's people, even for He Rui's sake. However, the unhappiness in her heart was real. Fortunately, Mitsuko had been a reporter for two years and had encountered quite a few awkward situations. She barely managed to gather her mood and said, "Then let's cry together."

Watching the girls bantering like this, Saionji couldn't help but laugh out loud. But inside, Duke Saionji was not happy at all. Mitsuko understood nothing of military affairs, but Saionji did.

Guide Zhang's description of trench warfare was feminine in phrasing, but put Guide Zhang in a trench and she would be a good soldier, absolutely capable of combat. And listening to Guide Zhang, the number of young women who had received such military training was not small. How many young men were there at Guide Zhang's level? Saionji was now willing to fully believe Nagata Tetsuzan's estimate that the troop strength in the Northeast Army capable of fighting the Japanese Army was roughly between 300,000 and 500,000. If these women were added, 500,000 was not impossible.

Once Mitsuko's emotions returned to normal, Saionji smiled and asked, "Miss Zhang, if you were to join the army, which positions do you feel you are most suited for?"

"I want to go to the communications unit, or the translation department," Guide Zhang answered.

Saionji nodded and dropped the subject, resuming the tour of the botanical garden. Although he was looking at plants, Saionji was considering war. Guide Zhang, a young girl, would be a qualified trench grunt if not for bayonet fighting. The gap between her and 50% of Japanese soldiers was limited.

Once this young girl went to the communications or translation departments in the army, she would be completely competent. However, although 99.9% of the Japanese army were qualified trench grunts, they did not possess the ability to understand English, Russian, and Japanese. Guide Zhang would already be classified as a technical NCO in the army, a rare and important human resource even in the Japanese army.

The contrast in strength between the Northeast and Japan gave Duke Saionji even more confidence and expectation for Japan to transform into a democratic society led by citizens.

That evening, upon returning to his residence, Duke Saionji fell into deep thought. The Duke had intended to travel more in the Northeast, but he had lost interest. Various landscapes were no longer rare to Saionji; what was truly valuable were the people, and the social system that allowed people to fully exert their abilities.

At this time, the comrades of the Civilization Party's Military Commission had not rested either. Not only the Military Commission, but every Army Group also convened internal meetings. Chief of General Staff Cheng Ruofan forwarded a top-secret mobilization order and had the Army Groups and Army commissars open and read a document sent to the political departments at the Army Group and Corps levels.

In the headquarters of the 2nd Army Group, Commander Hu Xiushan and others quietly listened to the clerk reading this document.

"...Japan's national fiscal budget for 1920 to 1922 was 1.5 billion Yen. The proportion of military expenditure has been increasing constantly. In 1922, the Army budget was 256 million Yen, and the Navy budget was 397 million Yen. In 1914, the Japanese Army budget was 95 million Yen, and the Navy budget was 104 million Yen. Because the Navy budget accounts for more than half of Japan's military expenditure, our army has an opportunity to win."

After the clerk finished speaking, the 1914 Japanese government total budget, as well as the Army and Navy budgets, and the ratio of military expenditure to the budget were written on the blackboard.

The commissar and military commanders of the 2nd Army Group Headquarters looked at these figures, and their expressions could not help but become grave. Japan's military expenditure figures were huge. Even if the Navy took more than half, the coming war was indeed a land war. But Japan's military power was truly strong.

After writing, the clerk turned back and continued reading the report.

"...In 1921, the population under the Northeast Government was nearly 40 million. The per capita GDP was about 125 Yuan, with a total volume of 5 billion. Since the value of one Northeast Yuan is close to one Japanese Yen, it is roughly calculated as an exchange of one Northeast Yuan to one Japanese Yen. Since the Northeast tax revenue is around 30%, the government tax revenue is 1.5 billion Yuan in cash and goods. The Northeast Government's finances are equivalent to the Japanese Government's."

The vast majority of the comrades in the troops did not care about economics. Hearing at this moment that the Northeast's tax revenue was actually as much as Japan's national fiscal budget, they were all shocked by this matter.

The comrades from the Political Department had their eyes lighting up. They praised the General Staff Department in their hearts; worthy of being the General Staff, as soon as the numbers came out, the effect was excellent.

These numbers... were morale-boosting!

There was also light in the clerk's eyes, and his emotions were obviously fuller. "Our army's annual military expenditure is about 400 million Yuan. The sum of military expenditure over the past six years actually exceeds the Japanese Army's military expenditure for the same period. Furthermore, our army's weapons and equipment all adopt the latest technology, and in a series of confrontation exercises, we have clearly suppressed the Japanese army. If the Japanese army were to divert military funds into the production of new weapons and equipment, the quantity would be far lower than ours and could not cause a major impact on us. In the coming war, our army is in a position of advantage regarding equipment."

Hearing this, even the reticent Army Group Commander Hu Xiushan nodded slightly. As for the other military and political personnel, they were even more spirited.

"Comrades, the agricultural strength possessed by the Northeast Government exceeds that of Japan, and exceeds it by a lot, while the industrial strength is inferior to Japan. However, the Northeast Government's system is based on developing productive forces and improving the level of the people's labor power. All tax revenue is used to provide social services for the working people. The privileged ruling class of this country, Japan, controls the power to distribute Japan's national profits, and a considerable part of these profits is used to satisfy the interests of the Japanese privileged ruling class. Even if Japan's total national industrial capacity exceeds the Northeast, the amount of funds available for national construction is lower than the Northeast. In particular, a large part of Japan's heavy industry serves the shipbuilding industry and naval equipment, and cannot be switched to infantry equipment. There is no particularly large gap in the output of civilian industry between the Northeast and Japan. Especially in the production of army equipment, we have absolutely no disadvantage."

"More importantly, is the question of why we fight and for whom we fight. Ordinary Japanese army soldiers come from Japanese rural families. Japan is mountainous with few plains. There is still a gap between rural life there and the Northeast in 1915. After seven years of construction in the Northeast, the standard of living for farmers has tripled, basically eliminating the survival problem in rural areas and beginning to enter a development stage. Japanese rural areas are still controlled by landlords and gentry, a situation similar to the old Chinese countryside. Tenant farmers struggle amidst abject poverty and debt. The fighting will of such a Japanese army lies in plundering spoils after victory. Once the war enters a protracted phase and the goal of a quick victory is shattered, although the Japanese army can still maintain combat effectiveness under nationalist sentiment, they can no longer have any expectations for a bright future. Under such expectations, the thinking of the Japanese army will begin to fall into a twisted state. The distortion of thinking and mental state will produce a negative impact when the army exerts its combat effectiveness."

The military commanders could understand, but the political and ideological aspects were the work of the Political Department. The military commanders just listened and did not say anything. The personnel of the Political Department had fallen into thought. Everyone was actually unclear about what the thoughts of the Japanese army were. But the basic political logic of the Civilization Party held that the economic base determines the superstructure. Even if they didn't know how the Japanese landlords and gentry differed from the Chinese landlords and gentry, with the same economic base, presumably their methods wouldn't be much different.

If the majority of the soldiers in the Japanese army opposite them were fighting for such Japanese landlords and gentry, their fighting will would indeed be affected under a political offensive.

The clerk paused, and Army Group Commissar Lu Dingnan said, "Continue reading."

The clerk then read the final paragraph. "Comrades. The Central Military Commission decided to fight against Japan only after conducting a comprehensive assessment of the strength of both the enemy and ourselves. We are not fortune tellers who can predict with iron certainty; we will definitely encounter various accidents during the course of the war. As long as we maintain our army's tradition of military democracy, and through full communication and exchange with officers and soldiers let them understand the purpose of the war and the process of combat, pool wisdom, and seek truth from facts, we can certainly formulate specific operational plans that fully bring into play our army's combat effectiveness. In the entire development of the war, our army possesses tangible advantages. As long as we exert our combat effectiveness in battle, we will certainly be able to win the war. Chief of General Staff, Cheng Ruofan."

When the final name was read, no one spoke in the 2nd Army Group Headquarters. Warm applause rang out.

The uneasiness in the expressions of the comrades responsible for military administration had vanished. Everyone was mentally prepared for the brutality of combat. But having never fought a major war, it was inevitable to feel uncertain and have various wild thoughts.

The document sent by Cheng Ruofan had thoroughly analyzed the Northeast Army's advantages and its relative disadvantages compared to Japan. Just as the document stated, if combat effectiveness was exerted in battle, then victory or defeat was already determined.

At this point, what more was there to say?

This report was first conveyed in the various Army Group headquarters, and then the Army Groups convened meetings of division and brigade-level military commanders and regiment-level commissars for centralized conveyance. The effect was better than the Army Group headquarters had imagined.

Division and brigade military commanders did not need to consider strategic issues. Just as described in the report, the military commanders had clearly noticed the gap in weapons between the two sides during a large number of confrontation exercises. Taking the rifles used most in the army as an example, the Northeast Army's semi-automatic rifles did not require pulling a bolt, had a fast rate of fire and high accuracy, and easily suppressed ordinary Japanese infantry.

The Northeast Army had a high proportion of technical weapons. Infantry squads had squad machine guns. Infantry platoons would use heavy machine guns and mortars in defense, and if needed during offense, heavy machine gun squads and mortar squads would be added.

Regiment-level units were equipped with radios, so a regiment could operate independently. Therefore, intermediate command units did not fear the Japanese army and even looked forward to fighting them.

These pieces of news were aggregated through the reports of various troops and handed over to He Rui. Just as He Rui was reading the reports, his secretary walked into the office. "Chairman, Mr. Saionji would like to have a meal with the Chairman."

He Rui looked at his watch; it was already three o'clock in the afternoon. Duke Saionji had traveled in the Northeast for four days, visited some places, and seen quite a lot of the specific situation in the Northeast.

Stretching his back, He Rui answered, "Tell His Excellency Saionji that I will treat him to dinner tonight."