On the battlefield, the crews of every 255mm siege mortar remained orderly, with absolutely no one showing the slightest nervousness or panic. The intense shockwaves generated when the shells landed and exploded could be felt even on the ground five kilometers away. Each gun crew continued to operate like a machine, firing armor-piercing shells fitted with delayed fuses at the Japanese fortresses at a rate of one round every 15 minutes.

Beside the gun crews, two German artillery officers participating in the Northeast Army's siege artillery units as de facto observers looked solemn. Both were instructed by the German 'former General Staff' to come to the Northeast with the mini-General Staff to give lectures. After the cooperation period ended, most of the German dispatched officers were extremely opposed to the Northeast Army's political model of unity between officers and soldiers and chose to return home. These two officers came from ordinary families, without 'von' in their names, and both chose to stay.

(XXX von XXX is the naming convention for German nobility; anyone without 'von' is of commoner origin.)

Although the two did not like the Northeast Army's political model either, they learned from letters from Germany that the German economy was even more depressed after the war. Employment opportunities were scarce, and returning meant unemployment. After discussing it, both requested to renew their contracts.

After political vetting, the Northeast Army judged that their backgrounds were within an acceptable range, and their solid artillery experience was a plus. With revenge sentiments high after Germany's defeat, it was unlikely that these two were British or French spies. Coupled with the fact that they stated their true reasons for staying very sincerely, they were hired as instructors in the artillery major at the Army Academy.

Seeing the Northeast Army artillerymen firing in an orderly manner without asking them to participate at all, the two German officers inevitably felt a bit jealous. In the interval while the artillery adjusted firing data based on the previous shell's impact point, they conversed. Unlike the emotions in their hearts, what they spoke aloud was different content.

"It seems the Northeast Army can already produce qualified naval guns."

"Hmm... 255-caliber naval guns could fully serve as the main guns of Chinese battleships."

The artillery officers discussed their profession. In World War I, German battleships also used 305mm main guns. Although the 255 caliber was slightly smaller, the two German artillery officers hadn't expected the Northeast Government to be able to produce 255-caliber artillery themselves. With such military industrial capability, China could certainly build battleships of smaller tonnage.

"It's a pity. If China had its current strength before World War I, we might not have lost."

Although this hypothesis was meaningless, both German officers couldn't help but have such a thought. China's greatest enemy in Northeast Asia was undoubtedly the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. If China had been unified under He Rui before World War I and could build its own battleships, airplanes, and cannons, China joining the Central Powers would certainly have changed the entire war situation.

Even if China didn't participate in the war, as long as it could force Russia not to participate, Germany could have spared two more group armies when the war started. The German army might have fought its way into Paris within less than half a year of the war starting.

But laments were just laments, and a new round of shelling had begun. The two German officers shut their mouths; the shock generated when the 255 siege mortars fired overwhelmed all surrounding sounds.

Less than two minutes after the shelling, Senior Colonel Qiu Wenchang, Commander of the 13th Army Artillery Regiment, spoke a few words with a soldier who ran over, then turned and shouted with the unique loud voice of an artilleryman: "Comrades, we have hit the Japanese fortress! Comrades, add oil (keep it up)! Two or three more hits and the Japanese fortress will be completely written off!"

The two German officers' Chinese was average and couldn't keep up with such a fast speaking speed. However, seeing the artillerymen cheering in unison, they understood that the shells had hit the Japanese fortress. When destroying the Belgian Liege Fortress, German officers and soldiers were similarly excited when they learned they had destroyed one of its turrets. On the positions at that time, German military caps were constantly thrown into the air, and cheers shook the earth. Compared to that, the Chinese Northeast Army was really much more reserved in expressing emotion.

The good news for the Northeast Army was bad news for the Japanese side. It was just 10:00 AM, and the city within the Kwantung Leased Territory was already in chaos.

A large number of Northeast Army aircraft were circling over the Kwantung Leased Territory. The 10kg bombs carried by the planes fell here and there in the military zone of the Kwantung Leased Territory. Although accuracy was out of the question, the military zone occupied a large area within the Territory, and the bombs were not dropped into residential areas.

Inside the cramped cabin of Bomber No. 0042, the roar of the engine echoed. The pilot turned his head and shouted at the bombardier at the top of his lungs, "Drop the bombs quickly, we're running low on fuel!"

The bombardier was observing ground targets through the bombsight, trying to find the best position to drop the bombs. This shout interrupted the various parabolic calculations churning in the bombardier's mind. The Northeast Air Force combat manual stipulated that planes were absolutely not allowed to fly back to the airfield with bombs. The bombardier stepped hard on the pedal, and the bomb bay door below the cabin opened. A gust of strong wind blew directly into the cabin; if not for his goggles, the bombardier would have instinctively closed his eyes.

The last of the four 10kg bombs carried by the bomber was clamped on the bomb rack. As the bombardier pulled the handle hard, the clamp on the rack opened to both sides, and the bomb fell into the wind like a light piece of paper. The bombardier immediately released the pedal. As the lower hatch closed, he could no longer see the situation below.

The plane shuddered slightly from the tactical maneuver of dropping the bomb. The pilot quickly stabilized the plane and began to turn back. Neither the pilot nor the bombardier could see that the small propeller on the stabilizer at the tail of the bomb began to spin rapidly under the push of the air. A moment later, it turned into a nose-down posture and plunged toward the ground.

A squad of Japanese soldiers preparing to enter the city defense fortifications was running through the streets. With a sharp whistle, this 10kg bomb landed and exploded in the middle of this unlucky Japanese formation. The violent explosion directly blew more than twenty Japanese soldiers into severed limbs flying in the air.

This squad of Japanese soldiers was exceptionally unlucky. The bombing accuracy of the Northeast Air Force was not just unsatisfactory; it could only be said to be better than nothing. Before the hundred or so bombs dropped earlier landed, the bombardiers all tried their best to hit valuable targets, but the results were poor. The number of Japanese soldiers killed or wounded was only over three hundred, and few buildings were destroyed—all valueless ordinary barracks. This bomb, which wiped out more than twenty Japanese soldiers at once, was actually the result of a random drop.

The Japanese troops on the ground didn't know the state of the Northeast Air Force overhead. A 10kg bomb had an explosive charge of about 8kg, which was about the same amount as a 155mm shell. This round of bombing, which had absolutely no accuracy to speak of, dropped more than a hundred bombs equivalent to the power of 155mm shells into the Kwantung Leased Territory military zone. The chaos caused was far greater than the actual casualties.

Lieutenant General Kawai Misao, Commander of the Kwantung Army, received various chaotic reports. That the Northeast Army actually used an air force for bombing did indeed surprise Lieutenant General Kawai Misao. But it was only surprise.

During World War I, a large number of fighter jets and bombers had already appeared on the European battlefield. The Japanese army had sent many young officers to Europe as observers, so they were not unfamiliar with this.

Lieutenant General Kawai Misao believed that the Northeast Army fought very methodically. Before the fierce infantry engagement, the Northeast Army, as the attacker, not only conducted standard artillery bombardment but also dispatched an air force to bomb and cause chaos among the Japanese troops.

When a communication officer with a grief-stricken expression brought the news that a fortress had been destroyed to the Kwantung Army Headquarters operations room, Lieutenant General Kawai Misao stood up, ignoring the stunned and angry expressions of other officers, and stood before the window with his hands behind his back.

Lieutenant General Kawai Misao found that he was indeed somewhat shocked and annoyed, but felt more of a sense of certainty. This was the level that He Rui, who had deliberately planned the attack, should achieve. His student He Rui possessed all the qualities a chaotic commander should have, and even more so the ability and perseverance to turn his plans into reality. To annihilate the Kwantung Army, one must destroy the fortress defense system that the Kwantung Leased Territory was so proud of. If he couldn't do that, He Rui would never have acted rashly.

At this moment, the only regret Lieutenant General Kawai Misao felt was that although he knew He Rui was prepared for war, because of his own arrogance, he thought He Rui's target would never be the Empire of Japan.

Although a group of Kwantung Army officers was waiting for Lieutenant General Kawai Misao's orders in the command room, and although the war situation was obviously developing in a direction favorable to He Rui, Lieutenant General Kawai Misao continued to calmly consider countermeasures.

At 8:35 AM, the Kwantung Army Headquarters had already reported to the Army Ministry and the General Staff Headquarters in Tokyo that they might be under attack.

At 9:05 AM, the news that the Kwantung Leased Territory was sneak-attacked by He Rui was also sent out.

According to the current troop deployment of the Empire of Japan, the first to provide reinforcements would be the Army stationed in Korea. In 1910, Japan formally annexed Korea and established the Governor-General of Korea, with the Commander of the Korean Army as the Governor-General, directly answerable to the Emperor. At the same time, the main forces of the Japanese 19th Division and 20th Division were organized into the new Japanese Korean Army.

Given the combat readiness of the Korean Army, the entire army could reach the Yalu River in four days at most. Lieutenant General Kawai Misao was certain that He Rui must have prepared defensive fortifications on the Yalu River border to resist the attack of the Korean Army. At the same time, he would do his utmost to completely annihilate the Kwantung Army before the Imperial Japanese Navy could transport a large number of troops to reinforce the Kwantung Leased Territory via transport convoys.

In other words, He Rui had to achieve his goal within 72 hours. As long as the Kwantung Army survived these 72 hours, they could win the victory.

Having sorted out the basic situation of the war, Lieutenant General Kawai Misao turned around, walked back to the operations conference table, and sat in his seat.

"Gentlemen, our army must hold out for 72 hours. The enemy is using siege artillery to destroy our outer fortresses. Our army currently has two choices: one is to stick to the Port Arthur Fortress and wait for reinforcements. The other is to send infantry to launch a counterattack against the enemy, at least to destroy the enemy's siege artillery positions. What do you think, gentlemen?"

Lieutenant General Kawai Misao's voice was not loud, and his speaking speed was not fast, but he had the ability to calm people down. The anxious Kwantung Army officers immediately determined the current situation from Lieutenant General Kawai Misao's speech and understood all the remaining choices for the Kwantung Army in the face of He Rui's fierce attack.

Since it concerned the outcome of the war, no one dared to answer immediately.

At this moment, a violent explosion came from outside the window. Officers immediately became nervous and wanted to stand up to look.

Lieutenant General Kawai Misao immediately ordered the subordinates who stood up to sit back in their seats. "No need to panic. The enemy doesn't have artillery that can reach here. It was just a plane dropping a bomb that landed nearby by accident."

The Kwantung Army officers also had an understanding of airplanes. For a high-speed airplane to accurately drop a bomb on a target was not something current technology could achieve. Their hearts also settled down.

Seeing that his subordinates had regained their composure, Lieutenant General Kawai Misao continued to ask, "Gentlemen, regarding the plan just now, what are your opinions? Or, do you think there are other options?"