On Earth, the sun seen is the same one. The morning sun not only illuminated the mountains of the Jinzhou Isthmus in the Northeast but also lit up the streets and buildings of Tokyo, Japan.

Japan's time zone is one hour ahead of China. At eight-forty something in the morning, a car stopped outside the Ministry of the Army. Newly promoted Colonel Nagata Tetsuzan walked out of the Ministry of the Army and got into the car. In the Japanese army, Colonel is the highest rank for frontline personnel. However, to have one's own assigned car, one must become a general officer, or be addressed as 'Excellency'.

But who was Nagata Tetsuzan? In the Japanese military, he was recognized, like Obata Toshishiro, as a leader of the next generation of the Japanese army. Even without such status, with Nagata Tetsuzan's connections in the military, he could always get a car when he urgently needed one.

Nagata Tetsuzan got into the car, and Lieutenant Colonel Okamura Yasuji, who was following him, also got in. He heard Nagata Tetsuzan order the driver: "Go to the General Staff Headquarters."

As the car began to move, the newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel Okamura Yasuji asked, "Nagata-kun, why didn't you tell General Tanaka your views?"

"Would it be useful?" Nagata Tetsuzan replied briefly.

Now Okamura Yasuji fell silent. More than ten minutes ago, Okamura Yasuji and Nagata Tetsuzan were promoted together. The Minister of the Army, General Tanaka Giichi, gave Nagata Tetsuzan a new position: Deputy Director of the Quartermaster Department of the Korean Army, to take office immediately. Okamura Yasuji, as Nagata Tetsuzan's adjutant, would go to Korea with him.

Okamura Yasuji had thought Nagata Tetsuzan would immediately convene the comrades of the 'Futaba-kai' to give instructions on this war. Unexpectedly, Nagata Tetsuzan's first move was to visit the Chief of the General Staff. Under such urgent military circumstances, Nagata Tetsuzan indeed managed to get a car to save time. But even so, Okamura Yasuji still felt that Nagata Tetsuzan was perhaps 'too good at playing politics'.

But Nagata Tetsuzan didn't care at all what Okamura Yasuji thought at this moment. He went to visit General Uehara Yusaku, the Chief of the General Staff, first. With an extremely sincere attitude, he informed General Uehara Yusaku of his new position, saying somewhat humbly, "Your subordinate has shallow knowledge and meager talent, so I specially came to ask for Your Excellency Uehara's guidance before departure."

Although General Uehara Yusaku did not get along with Army Minister Tanaka Giichi, seeing Nagata Tetsuzan being so tactful, he laughed heartily. "Nagata-kun is too polite. Everyone in the army praises your talent."

Nagata Tetsuzan bowed his head slightly. "Excellency, although your subordinate is wrongly loved by everyone and has a slight reputation, I have never participated in a war. All reputation is empty. Your Excellency has experienced hundreds of battles in the Qing Dynasty and the Northeast. Your subordinate asks for your guidance on this trip to Korea."

Seeing Nagata Tetsuzan's low posture, Uehara Yusaku said with satisfaction, "Nagata-kun, He Rui may be a talent, but the pillars of the Empire of Japan are definitely not weaker than him. Young people don't need to envy He Rui; he just took advantage of the chaos in China's internal politics to steal the position in the Northeast. Over the past few years, He Rui has taken advantage of the world and Chinese situation, seemingly succeeding in everything, but in fact, he has become complacent. To actually declare war on the Empire of Japan, his death is imminent. Manchuria and Mongolia are the lifelines of the Empire of Japan. Nagata-kun going to Korea this time should support the frontline to fight bravely and lay the foundation for the Empire's eternal legacy..."

Okamura Yasuji knew very well that Chief of General Staff General Uehara Yusaku was a radical who had always strongly advocated external expansion. These clichés were expected. But Okamura Yasuji could no longer accept this nonsense, so he lowered his head and pretended to listen attentively.

Nagata Tetsuzan looked at General Uehara Yusaku with a sincere face. When the General finished speaking, Nagata Tetsuzan immediately stood at attention and saluted. "Your Excellency's teachings, your subordinate will keep in mind. Upon arriving in Korea, whenever there is an opportunity, I will definitely fight hard. Please watch my performance, Excellency."

General Uehara Yusaku nodded, then encouraged, "Nagata-kun, I wish you long-lasting military fortunes."

After speaking, General Uehara Yusaku turned to Okamura Yasuji, "Okamura-kun, you must strive forward too!"

Leaving the General Staff Headquarters, Nagata Tetsuzan continued to drive to visit several big shots in the military. Okamura Yasuji was initially a bit disdainful of the humble sincerity Nagata Tetsuzan displayed. However, seeing the satisfied expressions of those condescending big shots and hearing their words of support for Nagata Tetsuzan, Okamura Yasuji's mood couldn't help but change a little.

The military big shots generally believed that Nagata Tetsuzan had leadership qualities. To be able to gain the support of so many big shots, including the Choshu clique big shots whom Nagata Tetsuzan and the Futaba-kai comrades had vowed to overthrow—even if it was only verbal support—among the younger generation, only Nagata Tetsuzan could do it.

Moreover, when Nagata Tetsuzan met the big shots, he did not forget to introduce Okamura Yasuji to them, praising Okamura Yasuji as an outstanding soldier with a long-term vision and a first-class tactician of the Empire. Whether out of politeness or interest, the big shots would chat a few sentences with Okamura Yasuji.

Okamura Yasuji knew this was Nagata Tetsuzan's kindness. How many people did the big shots see every day? How could they remember so many people? Being able to leave an impression on the big shots might very likely facilitate Okamura Yasuji's promotion opportunities in the future.

Seeing that it was almost 12:00, Nagata Tetsuzan went home first and changed into a kimono. Only then did he take the car to Takahashi Korekiyo's house.

Although Takahashi Korekiyo had a distinguished reputation, among Japanese field officers, he was seen as a spokesperson for British and American interests in Japan and the protector of Japanese exporters. If not for the visits in the morning consuming too much mental energy, Okamura Yasuji would have wanted to tell Nagata Tetsuzan that there was no need to bow to such a traitor.

The car stopped outside Finance Minister Takahashi Korekiyo's door. Nagata Tetsuzan took out his pocket watch to check and said in a low voice, "It's one o'clock."

Okamura Yasuji thought Nagata Tetsuzan was thinking about the battle situation in the Kwantung Leased Territory and estimating the time. Last night, Okamura Yasuji and Nagata Tetsuzan discussed the war situation and believed that today was the most important day for the Kwantung Army. If the Kwantung Army could hold the Jinzhou Isthmus today, the Northeast Army would never be able to capture Port Arthur.

Seeing Nagata Tetsuzan checking the time, Okamura Yasuji wanted to talk about the war situation. But he saw Takahashi Korekiyo's door open, and a maid came out to welcome them. Seeing Nagata Tetsuzan and Okamura Yasuji arrive, the maid stepped forward and bowed, "Mr. Nagata, the appointment is for one o'clock. You are truly on time."

Nagata Tetsuzan smiled and said, "I intended to be five minutes early, but I didn't expect to arrive just on the dot. As long as I didn't delay things."

It turned out that 1:00 PM was not a key point in the war situation, but the appointment time with Takahashi Korekiyo. Okamura Yasuji felt like a big fool, so he shut his mouth and said nothing, deciding not to say another word before the visits ended today.

At this very moment, on the battlefield that filled Okamura Yasuji's heart, the sounds of guns, cannons, killing, and explosions plunged the entire battlefield into an almost frenzied state.

Brigade Commander Kamijo of the Kwantung Army's 2nd Brigade was directing the battle on the last line of defense. A whistling sound came from the air; the Northeast Army's bombers had arrived overhead again, dropping a new round of bombs on the high ground where Brigade Commander Kamijo was located.

Throughout the morning, starting from 8:00 AM, the 2nd Brigade didn't know how many rounds of bombing it had experienced. Brigade Commander Kamijo immediately ordered: "Troops prepare, the enemy is about to start attacking!"

As soon as his voice fell, the whistling of shells cutting through the air came towards the high ground. All Japanese officers and soldiers began to take cover. Japanese observers fulfilled their responsibilities regardless of life and death. Amidst the explosions, an observer shouted desperately, "The enemy has reached the foot of the mountain and started attacking the high ground! Distance... 230 meters."

Just as he finished speaking, there was the whistling sound of bombs landing again. The violent explosions forced the Japanese troops to take shelter temporarily. The Northeast Army did not drop bombs all at once, but one by one, prolonging the bombing time. Brigade Commander Kamijo was not ignorant of airplanes; many in the Japanese military were also very interested in such new weapons.

According to those enthusiasts in the military, "There is absolutely no need to count on the bombing capability of current aircraft." But after saying this, those people would continue, "Aircraft will definitely develop the capability for precision bombing."

Major General Kamijo was not interested in the impulsive words of these young people. Moreover, up to now, neither Japanese aircraft nor Northeast Army aircraft had shown the ability to bomb accurately.

The officers of the Kwantung Army's 2nd Brigade were not people who hadn't seen the world. After the initial surprise, they gradually got used to the bombing and continued to act recklessly under the leadership of the officers.

However, the Northeast Army's use of bombers was simple, crude, and very effective. Before the artillery bombardment, bombers would continuously drop bombs on Japanese positions. Japanese firing points directly destroyed by these bombs were unlucky, but the flying shrapnel from the bombs could cause area casualties. Many units suffered considerable casualties during movement. The bombing by aircraft played a role in harassing and restricting Japanese movements, while the Northeast Army artillery conducted quite precise shelling during the bombing.

Even if the Japanese army withstood the bombardment from these two sides, when the aircraft and artillery stopped attacking a certain high ground, the Northeast Army soldiers who had already taken the opportunity to start attacking would use that moment when the Japanese movement was restricted to move to the closest attack distance.

These soldiers held submachine guns capable of continuous fire and conducted warfare in small teams. Following behind the attacking infantry were machine guns. Whether infantry or machine guns, they used continuous firepower to fiercely attack the Japanese army. One by one, the high grounds occupied by the Japanese army were constantly lost in such a situation.

Brigade Commander Kamijo no longer considered the possibility of leaving alive. Kwantung Army Commander Lieutenant General Kawai Misao wanted Brigade Commander Kamijo to defend for at least 24 hours to buy time for the defenders of Port Arthur and Dalian. Until now, there were still 44 hours left before the estimated 72 hours. The Northeast Army had ample time to prepare for the capture of Port Arthur.

Just then, the Northeast Army's attack began. Those tall Northeast Army soldiers moved exceptionally nimbly. It seemed they had all received excellent training.

The Northeast Army used available terrain to attack upwards. Machine gunners exchanged fire with Japanese firing points, suppressing Japanese firepower and covering the infantry's upward attack.

Machine gunners on both sides showed extremely tenacious fighting will. In his binoculars, Brigade Commander Kamijo saw several Northeast Army machine gunners being killed behind cover, and immediately other machine gunners pushed aside the bodies of the fallen gunners and continued to operate the machine guns to fire. Facing the fierce enemy, the officers and soldiers of the 2nd Brigade also showed amazing tenacity. No matter how many machine gunners were killed, the Japanese army continued to exchange fire with the Northeast Army.

However, before the tenacious Japanese army could completely overwhelm the enemy, Northeast Army shells came whistling in, blowing the Japanese machine gun positions into the sky. The red-eyed Japanese soldiers immediately entered other firing points and continued to shoot.

After another ten minutes of fighting, the Northeast Army soldiers attacking the high ground seemed unable to hold on and quickly withdrew down the mountain.

At this time, the whistling sound of Northeast Air Force bombs rang out in mid-air again. This sound upset Major General Kamijo, making him wish he could immediately capture a Northeast Army bomber to see what part of the bomb made such a sharp and unpleasant sound.

The bombs landed, and the explosion sounds were not loud. But centered on the bombs, large patches of dry grass and shrubs actually began to burn. As the Northeast Army bombers continued to drop bombs, there were more and more fire points. It was already autumn, and the grass leaves had begun to wither. With the wind blowing, the wind lent power to the fire, and the fireheads rose very quickly.

Brigade Commander Kamijo hadn't expected the Northeast Army to use fire attacks. What era was this? Did they really think setting a few fires could ignite a huge area? The Northeast Army commander must have watched too much *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*.

Just then, at the upwind position at the foot of the mountain, tongues of fire began to spray towards the wild grass. In the blink of an eye, the grass and shrubs that would have taken a long time to ignite were burning. At the same time, Northeast Army planes continued to drop bombs, and more fireheads appeared on the hilltop and halfway up the mountain.

The strong wind rolled up thick smoke and hot air, blowing towards the officers and soldiers of the 2nd Brigade at higher positions. Not only the high ground where Brigade Commander Kamijo was located, but also other high grounds that were easy to defend and difficult to attack—on the last line of defense guarded by the 2nd Brigade, fires broke out under several high grounds. The fire swept towards the hilltops completely uncontrollably with the help of the wind.

Brigade Commander Kamijo could almost hardly open his eyes at this time. Not only him, but as the fire approached, most Japanese troops were in the same situation as Brigade Commander Kamijo.

If facing a fierce enemy, Brigade Commander Kamijo had the courage to lead his troops to persist. But what came was fire; no matter how the Japanese fired their guns, they couldn't extinguish the fire. Helpless, Brigade Commander Kamijo coughed while painfully issuing the order to retreat.

The attacking 14th Army did not give up the opportunity of chaos in the Japanese defense line. Artillery and a new round of arriving air force bombarded several Japanese positions with predetermined targets fiercely. The reason for burning those high grounds was entirely because several Japanese high grounds that were easy to break through could get fire support from those high grounds. Now that the Northeast Army had obtained a fleeting opportunity, how could the troops let it pass?

It was now 12:00 noon China time. In just the past 5 hours of fighting, the casualties of the troops were several times more than the whole day of fighting yesterday. If they couldn't break through the Japanese defense line at the Jinzhou Isthmus in one go and let the Japanese stabilize the battle line, the Northeast Army would only suffer greater losses.

The battalion commanders all went to the front line, and company commanders and political instructors all carried rifles with bayonets fixed, fighting on the very front line.

These officers had at least three and a half years of service and had all received education from the Officer Corps. If the war situation were not so urgent, the 14th Army Headquarters would never have easily thrown them into the front line to lead the attack.

The Jinzhou Isthmus is 4 kilometers wide, and only about three kilometers are suitable for combat. In this discontinuous three-kilometer width, the 1st Division 2nd Regiment and 3rd Division 3rd Regiment of the Northeast Army 14th Army entered the battle.

The commander of the 2nd Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Regiment saw that the opposite Japanese machine gunner position was somewhat exposed, but the Northeast Army machine gunners had suffered heavy losses. The assistant gunner was responsible for shooting, and the accuracy was just a bit poor. The 2nd Company Commander pulled away the machine gunner and fired personally, taking out two groups of Japanese machine gunners in succession. Taking advantage of the weakened Japanese firepower, the troops began to attack quickly.

Just then, the hidden Japanese firing points had to start shooting, knocking down several soldiers in succession and suppressing other soldiers so they couldn't lift their heads. The 2nd Company Commander exchanged fire with the Japanese firing point. The Japanese machine gun had a shield; although it was hit several times, it wasn't destroyed. The 2nd Company Commander was hit by a burst of bullets and sacrificed on the spot.

Taking over the 2nd Company Commander was the political instructor. As an instructor, he was different from the instructors in a lot of trashy movies and TV shows in another timeline. Since they had to guide the troops in training and combat, the instructors' mastery of equipment was much higher than that of the soldiers.

The instructor who took over the company commander hit the Japanese shooter with his first shot, then used a precise shooting rhythm to suppress the Japanese firing point so they could hardly lift their heads. The suppressed Northeast Army attack squad reorganized and continued to storm. Advancing another dozen meters, the grenadier threw several grenades in succession, causing the Japanese in front to scream repeatedly. The grenadier then stood up, regardless of whether he was exposed to the Japanese line of sight. He threw with all his might; the grenade traced an elegant arc, flew a distance of at least sixty meters, and flew accurately into the Japanese firing point. With an explosion, some Japanese soldiers were even thrown out of the firing point by the blast wave.

Seeing the last Japanese firing point destroyed, the attacking troops raised their weapons and killed their way into the Japanese trenches. However, at the machine gun position below, a medic rushed up trying to treat the instructor who had somehow been shot. Turning the instructor's body over, the medic saw blood gushing from the instructor's chest. It was unknown which Japanese rifle bullet had hit the instructor's chest. Judging from the location of the hit and the amount of bleeding, the instructor's heart had probably been hit.

When the uniform was torn open, the uniform, undershirt, and underwear were all soaked in blood. At the heart position, a bullet hole was clearly visible.

Just then, a platoon leader ran up quickly and froze when he reached the instructor. A moment later, the platoon leader shouted, "Deputy Company Commander! Is the Deputy Company Commander here?"

He shouted several times, but no one answered. The platoon leader never expected that now that the company commander and instructor had died in battle, the deputy company commander was nowhere to be found. While he was anxious, a soldier carrying someone on his back came down from the front. Seeing the medic, the soldier carrying the wounded man quickly put him down and gasped, "Medic, this is our Deputy Company Commander. He's seriously wounded!"

The medic rushed forward. The platoon leader, having confirmed the current status of the company-level officers, was at a loss for a moment. For so long, the Northeast Army hadn't participated in a real war. Everyone only knew that if the unit's command staff were all casualties, a new command group should be organized immediately. But that was all content from study classes; when things really happened, the platoon leader was completely stunned.

At this time, the medic had finished examining the deputy company commander's wound. The deputy company commander had commanded the troops to attack the high ground. He was shot five times in the chest. Although the heart was not hit directly, the lungs were hit, and blood vessels were damaged. Although the deputy company commander still had breath now, it was his last breath. Unless surgery was performed immediately, there was only a glimmer of hope.

After stopping the bleeding urgently, the medic was about to call someone to carry the deputy company commander down the high ground. Looking up and seeing the panic on the platoon leader's face, he immediately felt angry. So he shouted loudly at the platoon leader: "The Company Commander and Instructor are dead, so the Party Branch commands the battle! Where are the Party members? Where have the Party members gone?"

The platoon leader just lacked experience; hearing this, he immediately recalled the organizational regulations. He immediately shouted loudly: "Party members assemble! Party members assemble!"

Just as the medic and a soldier carried the deputy company commander and began to go down the slope, they heard the platoon leader shout loudly to the few assembled Civilization Party members: "We will form the Company Command Post now. Send someone down the mountain to notify the Battalion Commander and ask him to send a new Company Commander immediately. The rest of you, follow us to continue the attack!"

The medic and the soldier carried the deputy company commander towards the bottom of the slope. Facing a company that had suffered such losses, the medic only hoped that they could get the command of a new company commander as soon as possible.

However, the medic did not know that at this time, the Battalion Commander was also hit by a Japanese shell while commanding the attack on the front line. His life was hanging by a thread, and his survival was uncertain.

Relevant news reached the troops continuously. Although the two regiment commanders responsible for the attack were not from the same division, their reactions were extremely similar. They both wanted to go to the front line personally to command the troops to continue the attack. Facing the regiment commanders who were anxious and angry upon learning that the battalion commanders and political commissars were killed or seriously injured, the regimental staff officers all said the same thing: "According to regulations, we go first."

After speaking, the two regimental staff officers turned to the regimental commissars, "Commissar, let us go take over command."

The Japanese defense line at the Jinzhou Isthmus looked precarious, but this round of attacks by the Northeast Army also suffered heavy casualties. Officers and soldiers of both China and Japan converged towards the center of the fierce battle like moths to a flame. The several mountain tops that had been ignited were completely burning, and thick smoke rushed straight into the sky.

Kwantung Army Commander Lieutenant General Kawai Misao, who was waiting for the latest battle report at the Port Arthur Fortress, learned of the thick smoke. He climbed up the Port Arthur Fortress and raised his binoculars to look. From here, the burning high grounds of the Jinzhou Isthmus could not be seen, but the thick smoke was clearly presented in the binoculars.

The ominous feeling became stronger and stronger in Lieutenant General Kawai Misao's heart. Just then, the 'Anti-Aircraft Observer', a newly established combat unit at the top of the fortress, shouted loudly: "Report, the enemy's air force is here again!"

Hearing this, the adjutant hurriedly asked Lieutenant General Kawai Misao to return inside the fortress first.

Walking into the dimly lit fortress, Lieutenant General Kawai Misao's ominous feeling grew a few points stronger. When the battle at the Jinzhou Isthmus began, the Northeast Army's planes had not come to Port Arthur again.

Why did the Northeast Army's air force come again now, when thick smoke visible from dozens of kilometers away was rising from the direction of the Jinzhou Isthmus? Could it be that the Jinzhou Isthmus has been lost?