After the second round of shelling by the 255mm siege mortars ended, Lieutenant General Kawai Misao climbed up from the floor of the fortress operations command room. He ordered his adjutant, who was covered in dust and looked disgraced: "Issue the order: except for a few garrison troops, all withdraw from the Port Arthur Fortress. Troops are to quickly enter the urban area and engage in street fighting with the enemy."

The adjutant still couldn't quite believe that the Port Arthur Fortress, which had been reinforced since the Russo-Japanese War, was so fragile. But Chief of Staff Major General Fukuhara Yoshiya, who had also climbed up, had already picked up the phone and issued Lieutenant General Kawai Misao's order.

After conveying the order, Major General Fukuhara Yoshiya said to Lieutenant General Kawai Misao, "Excellency, please allow your subordinate to command the street fighting."

Kawai Misao saw determination in Major General Fukuhara Yoshiya's eyes. There was nothing more to say at this point. Lieutenant General Kawai Misao bowed to Major General Fukuhara Yoshiya. "I have implicated you all. Please fight for the Empire, Fukuhara-kun. I will return to the Kwantung Army Headquarters and command the battle from there."

Fukuhara Yoshiya bowed in return and answered loudly, "Excellency, see you at Kudanshita. Your subordinate is going."

Even after suffering such a heavy blow, the Japanese army's actions remained extremely fast. The artillery left a minimum number of personnel behind; after all, there were many cannons inside the Port Arthur Fortress, including a reinforced heavy artillery regiment. As long as they weren't destroyed, they had the power to counterattack. All other surviving Japanese troops followed their unit commanders out of the fortress and into the urban area.

These troops were divided into two parts. More than 70% of the troops were commanded by Kwantung Army Chief of Staff Fukuhara Yoshiya, directing frontline operations in the urban area. Less than 30% of the troops were Japanese soldiers who had lost their organizational structure and were scattered. They conducted rapid reorganization near the Kwantung Army Headquarters, reorganizing into combat-capable formed units as quickly as possible to be committed to key battlefields where the situation was critical.

Inside the Kwantung Army Headquarters, nothing had changed since Lieutenant General Kawai Misao moved the command to the Port Arthur Fortress. But Lieutenant General Kawai Misao felt that the surrounding air seemed to have solidified, making it difficult for him even to breathe.

With the war fought to this point, Lieutenant General Kawai Misao already understood that the destruction of the Kwantung Army was inevitable. The reason for the destruction had been decided before the war: the enemy possessed overwhelming power and successfully launched a surprise attack after clever strategic deception. From that moment on, the fate of the Kwantung Army was decided.

Of course, Kawai Misao also had responsibility. As the commander, he did not see this fact at the beginning of the war. If Kawai Misao had seen it, he could have abandoned the fortress garrison troops at the border of the Kwantung Leased Territory and used all ships to transport the Kwantung Army away. That was still achievable.

If the distance to Korea was too far, he could have transported the troops directly to Tanggu, where foreign garrisons in China were located. In this way, when Japan assembled a large army to attack He Rui, Kawai Misao could still lead the main force of the Kwantung Army to attack Shanhai Pass.

Now, everything was too late. One wrong step, every step wrong. While at the military academy, Kawai Misao had sat in on a debate in the army discussing the influence of courage and fortitude on war. As the opposing side, He Rui said in a serious tone: "Strategy succeeds because it is correct, and tactics are correct because they succeed. The spirit of courage and fortitude belongs to the tactical level."

From that time on, Kawai Misao paid close attention to He Rui. Being able to articulate such cognition was based on a profound understanding of war itself. Rather than a school, the Japanese Army War College should be classified as an academic institution. What took place there was the discussion and learning of the understanding of war, not teaching excellent officers how to fight battles. He Rui was undoubtedly the one most suitable to study there.

Now, Kawai Misao had proven the first half of He Rui's sentence with his own experience: 'Strategy succeeds because it is correct'.

Of course, Kawai Misao did not give up all hope. After all, street fighting is the cruelest and bloodiest of all combat scenarios. Powerful field armies often fail to gain an advantage in street fighting. As for wanting to use artillery to completely destroy a city the size of Port Arthur in a short time, it was physically impossible.

Tactics are correct because they succeed, and the spirit of courage and fortitude belongs to the tactical level. So, how was He Rui's tactical ability? If He Rui's troops could not eliminate the Japanese troops in the cities of Port Arthur and Dairen within 24 hours, Japanese reinforcements would definitely arrive by sea. At that time, it would be the Japanese army's turn to counterattack.

At this moment, the hour hand in the operations command room of the headquarters was pointing to 8:00 AM.

At 8:03 AM, Xu Shichang and Duan Qirui walked out of Xu Shichang's house and headed straight for Zhang Xiluan's residence not far away. When the two arrived outside the door, they saw the main gate wide open. Zhang Xiluan walked out with a glowing face. Seeing the two, Zhang Xiluan smiled and said, "President Xu and Premier Duan coming together truly brings light to my humble abode."

Duan Qirui was 57 years old this year, Xu Shichang was 67, and Zhang Xiluan was already 79. Setting aside Zhang Xiluan's previous status, just being nearly 80 and retired commanded respect. Xu Shichang and Duan Qirui hurriedly stepped forward to pay their respects.

The three entered Zhang Xiluan's residence. After taking their seats, Xu Shichang said straightforwardly, "Brother Zhang, this younger brother came here to ask Brother Zhang to condescend to take the post of Minister of War (Army Minister)."

Zhang Xiluan smiled. "Brother Xu, the world belongs to young people nowadays. I am so old; how can you bear to let me come out of retirement again?"

Duan Qirui immediately took over the conversation. "Brother Zhang, nowadays young people are displaying their grand ambitions. I, your younger brother, am already 57 years old, and it is time to yield my position. But there are so many Beiyang brothers, and foreign ministers are forcing Brother Xu to order Brother He to stop the war. At this time, only if Brother Zhang assumes the post of Minister of War can everyone feel at ease."

Zhang Xiluan originally thought Duan Qirui was merely making arrangements for the retreat of the old Beiyang brothers and didn't really want him to come out. But hearing Duan Qirui mention the coercion of foreign ministers, he was somewhat moved.

Seeing Zhang Xiluan's expression change, Xu Shichang immediately continued, "Brother Zhang, you are indifferent to fame and fortune. You entrusted the Northeast to Brother He, wasn't it precisely because you sought for Brother He to accomplish something and restore our status as the Celestial Empire? Now that Brother He has started a war with Japan, I'm afraid he also holds the intention of wiping away the shame of the Jiawu War (First Sino-Japanese War). Both Brother Duan and I came from that time and will absolutely not hinder Brother He. But for such a major event, if the government cannot give an attitude to the world, it cannot account for it. The world knows the relationship between Brother Zhang and Brother He, and the foreign ministers also know it. As long as Brother Zhang serves as the Minister of War, there will be much less unnecessary verbal dispute."

Hearing this, although Zhang Xiluan still didn't want to come out very much, he also understood the purpose of Xu Shichang and Duan Qirui. After pondering for a while, Zhang Xiluan asked, "Two brothers, I want to ask you one thing. Do you think Brother He can win?"

Xu Shichang had never fought a war and actually had no idea, so he looked at Duan Qirui. Duan Qirui answered frankly, "Brother Zhang, I no longer understand what young people think. But I can still say a thing or two about some matters. Today's Japan is vastly different from the time of the Jiawu War. If Brother He wins this time, China will hold its head high from now on, at least returning to the status of the Tongzhi Restoration. If Brother He loses, China will definitely face another calamity. I cannot determine at this moment whether those people in the Zhili clique will stay out of it. But since my Anhui clique is sitting in the central government, we absolutely cannot sit idly by. Even if it means being crushed to pieces for the country, we have to do our best. To prevent the situation from reaching that stage, I came to Brother Zhang's place with Brother Xu to ask Brother Zhang to come out."

Xu Shichang stared at Zhang Xiluan's expression, thinking about how to persuade Zhang Xiluan to come out. He saw Zhang Xiluan stand up after listening to Duan Qirui's words and say generously, "During the Jiawu years, when I fought against the Japanese army, I already harbored the thought of dying for the country. The situation is such now, and I am honored by the love of you two brothers coming personally. Although my body is old and my days are numbered, there is still an opportunity to serve the country. Two brothers, I will assume the post of Minister of War."

Xu Shichang hadn't expected Zhang Xiluan to still have such heroic spirit. In his excitement, his eyes became a little moist. Standing up, Xu Shichang stepped forward and held Zhang Xiluan's hand. "Old brother, this younger brother thanks you on behalf of the country." After speaking, he bowed deeply.