Lieutenant General Kawai Misao's seppuku was simple and brisk. In the open space in front of the Kwantung Army Headquarters, a short sword for seppuku was placed on a Japanese-style tray. Wearing a kimono, Lieutenant General Kawai Misao walked to the tray and knelt down in *seiza*.

According to the formal Japanese seppuku procedure, Lieutenant General Kawai Misao should write a *jisei* (death poem) in waka form at this time. But the Lieutenant General himself had absolutely no such mood at this moment. The sooner he committed seppuku, the sooner his subordinates would be safe. Moreover, when drinking with He Rui, the Lieutenant General had chanted, "Human life lasts but fifty years, it is like a dream, like an illusion. Having life, there is death; what regrets does a brave man have?" This was actually his death poem.

When he first heard He Rui sing this song loudly under the influence of alcohol, he was quite surprised. Singing a death poem at such a joyous banquet was a bit shocking.

Back then, before Oda Nobunaga launched a night attack on Imagawa Yoshimoto, the "Number One Archer in the Tokaido", Oda Nobunaga ordered his attendant to beat the hand drum while he danced to "Atsumori" from the Noh chant "Kowaka-mai".

Later generations in Japan generally believed that at that time and moment, this was Oda Nobunaga's death poem. At this moment, Lieutenant General Kawai Misao finally understood that He Rui had long disregarded life and death, preparing for the current war.

Lifting his kimono to expose his chest and abdomen, Lieutenant General Kawai Misao picked up the short sword. Without hesitation, he stabbed it into his abdomen. The short sword cut from left to right, then made a second cut slightly upward. Through the huge incision, intestines slightly spilled out.

The remaining Japanese troops were kneeling neatly in front of Lieutenant General Kawai Misao. Seeing Lieutenant General Kawai Misao facing death so resolutely, many people cried out in alarm.

Acting as the *kaishakunin* (second) was Lieutenant General Kawai Misao's adjutant. He was a master of swordsmanship. At this time, he had raised his military sword high. Seeing Lieutenant General Kawai Misao make the second cut, he immediately swung the sword down. The katana cut through the neck, severing Lieutenant General Kawai Misao's cervical vertebrae, but did not completely sever the neck, leaving a thread of connection between the head and the neck. This was exactly the swordsmanship a Japanese *kaishakunin* should have.

A group of Japanese soldiers all bowed to the corpse of Lieutenant General Kawai Misao, who had returned to heaven. After everyone finished bowing, several of the remaining field officers drew their pistols and committed suicide directly. Although the lieutenants, NCOs, and ordinary soldiers looked grief-stricken, no one committed suicide.

For them, Lieutenant General Kawai Misao issued an order before committing seppuku, asking officers and soldiers to surrender with dignity to preserve the Empire's elite. Naturally, they couldn't say they didn't want to die, but the officers and soldiers who had survived the fierce fighting indeed wanted to live.

The surrender ceremony went very smoothly, and the bodies of Lieutenant General Kawai Misao and several suicide field officers were transported to the port. Major Yu Cen, responsible for this matter, saw a Japanese gunboat flying a white flag approaching from the opposite side. Only after both sides exchanged signals did the Northeast Army allow the Japanese gunboat to dock.

The gunboat was one of the Port Arthur fleet. The Northeast Army had the ability to annihilate the Kwantung Army's land forces but had no way to deal with the Japanese Navy. As for flying the white flag, it was a convention in war. If the Japanese gunboat dared to come flying the Japanese flag, even knowing they came by invitation, the Northeast Army would sink it directly according to battlefield conventions. When Major Yu Cen went to declare war for the first time, because war had not started, he could fly the Five-Colored Flag of the Republic of China and the Five-Star Flag of the Northeast on his car. The second time he went to persuade surrender, Yu Cen also went holding a white flag according to rules.

Even in wartime, the Japanese soldiers who came to move the bodies maintained politeness even though their expressions were full of resentment and grief. They bowed and saluted upon meeting. After moving the bodies onto the gunboat, they also bowed and saluted when leaving.

Watching the shadow of the Japanese gunboat gradually disappear into the distance, Major Yu Cen felt in his heart that Japan was indeed a great enemy. These Japanese soldiers gave Yu Cen a feeling as cold and gloomy as wolves; one never knew when they would counterattack.

Outside Port Arthur city, He Rui walked side by side with 1st Group Army Commander Zheng Silang. Zheng Silang was somewhat puzzled. "Did the Chairman make a special trip just to see off Kawai Misao?"

He Rui shook his head. "I came here to deal with a possible Japanese naval landing attack. The 1st Group Army attacked effectively and resolved the battle before the Japanese Navy arrived, giving the Japanese Navy no opportunity to exploit. Comrades did well."

Zheng Silang smiled. "This is all because the troops resolutely executed the operational plan that we could fight so smoothly."

After speaking, Zheng Silang looked at He Rui's expression. After a slight hesitation, he still asked, "If the attack was unfavorable, did the Chairman prepare a plan to destroy the Japanese Navy?"

He Rui didn't want to mention the operational plan but still nodded. "Indeed, there was."

Zheng Silang knew He Rui didn't want to say it, so he didn't ask further. Before this battle, Zheng Silang was sure the Northeast Army should win; all uneasiness stemmed from his lack of participation in a campaign of this scale. In the Battle of Kwantung Leased Territory, the enemy and us invested a total of 110,000 troops: 80,000 Northeast Army and 30,000 Kwantung Army. Both sides engaged in fierce battles around fortresses, bunkers, and the isthmus.

To make the operational plan, not only did the Northeast Army's officer corps participate, but the 300,000 main force troops of the Northeast Army also conducted a large number of discussions in the mode of military democratic meetings at all levels, also known as 'Immortal Meetings'. Zheng Silang recalled now that the contributions of those ordinary NCOs and soldiers were no less than those of the staff department.

It was precisely because 300,000 frontline soldiers raised questions, found the best tactics and equipment applications, and made suggestions on equipment needs through executing exercises that the staff department could operate efficiently and summarize with a clear target.

He Rui attached great importance to the key role of military democracy in military construction in the early days of building the army. After several years of honing, the officer corps finally got the hang of it.

However, what Zheng Silang cared about at this time was still the Japanese Navy. After all, the Japanese Navy was an enemy that the Northeast Army Navy had absolutely no way to confront head-on. "Chairman, until now, I still can't imagine that the Japanese Navy actually failed to arrive. I have been worried that the Japanese fleet would run over to shell the coast."

He Rui knew that this possibility was actually very low, but He Rui didn't have real combat experience either. Coupled with various bizarre decisions of the Japanese army in WWII, especially the bizarre deeds in the Battle of Midway, he made abnormal arrangements.

Historically, before the naval battle, the Japanese Navy Department conducted war games several times, all resulting in a crushing defeat for the Japanese army. Afterward, the Japanese Navy General Staff modified the parameters, and modified them several times, finally obtaining the result of a great victory for the Japanese Navy. At least on the surface, they set out happily.

The facts before his eyes proved that the current Japanese Navy had not entered the frenzied state of WWII in history; its reaction belonged to the normal reaction of an excellent army.

Seeing that Zheng Silang couldn't figure it out, He Rui said, "Judging from the time, at 9:00 AM on the 7th, the Japanese Navy received the news and immediately entered a wartime state. By 10:00 AM at the latest, all officers except those on leave received the news to return to their units. At 11:00 AM, more than 90% of officers began to perform their duties. At 12:00 PM, the fleets of the Japanese Navy also began to enter a state of combat readiness. At 4:00 PM, ships on duty and ships not in repair yards all began to refuel with coal and water. Basically completed before 8:00 PM. At this time, the Japanese Ministry of the Army had already begun to discuss with the Navy to implement a plan for transporting troops by sea. Japan had two choices at that time: one was to pick up part of the Japanese army stationed in Korea directly from Pusan and set off; the other choice was to assemble a part of the 7 fully equipped divisions in Japan proper to come to Port Arthur for reinforcement. To resolve this issue, the Ministry of the Navy and the Ministry of the Army discussed it. They probably discussed it until 10:00 PM."

Zheng Silang listened with great interest; this process was almost exactly the same as the Northeast Army's.

"After 10:00 PM, the Ministry of the Army understood the transport capacity limit of the Ministry of the Navy. Then they might have mocked the Ministry of the Navy for being incompetent. And the Ministry of the Navy cursed the Army 'idiots' (baka) in their hearts. Both sides reported to their superiors respectively. After 12:00 AM, that is, 0:00 on the 8th, both sides probably reached a compromise: try their best to transport a brigade to the Kwantung Leased Territory first."

Zheng Silang interrupted, "Chairman, a brigade's strength doesn't seem to be enough, right?"

Having personally commanded this campaign, Zheng Silang had a personal experience of the consumption rate of troops in high-intensity, high-lethality warfare.

He Rui smiled. "This is a compromise plan. Silang, we have discussed that for a normal professional system, when encountering a problem, three strategies—High, Middle, and Low—will be proposed. The Low Strategy is a response measure formulated based on absolute realistic conditions and is regarded as conservative. The Middle Strategy is a plan proposed based on balancing the needs of all parties. The High Strategy is a high-risk, high-return plan formulated based on one's own advantages. From historical experience, as long as it is a normal professional institution, executing the Low Strategy and executing the High Strategy may not necessarily say which is better, but the worst is undoubtedly the Middle Strategy."

Zheng Silang nodded, feeling that comparing these discussed words with this campaign gave him a different feeling. The original feeling was much different from now.

"The Low Strategy is as objective as possible. The High Strategy is very subjective but has strong subjective initiative. The problem with the Middle Strategy is not the incompetence of the formulator, but that the Middle Strategy itself is the result of compromise by all parties, involving too many interests, detached too far from reality, and very impure. For example, if the Japanese army used fast warships to urgently transport 4-6 battalions carrying only light weapons and a small number of mortars within 48 hours, and Japanese battleships came over to form a firepower defense system with the Port Arthur Fortress to prevent our army from occupying the Port Arthur port... How much impact do you think it would have on the war situation?"

Zheng Silang thought for a moment and answered immediately, "Just those light infantry filling the trenches could delay us for four or five hours. If Japanese battleships participated in the defense, it would be extremely difficult for us to conquer the Port Arthur port. I'm afraid it couldn't be completed within 72 hours."

He Rui nodded. "However, for the Navy to transport this little troop strength, the materials consumed would be worth several tons of gold. The Navy Minister would jump up and curse! Such a plan would be immediately rejected in the Navy General Staff. Yes, now we know that that little troop strength could indeed play a role, but who could be sure at that time that such resources must be spent to execute such a radical plan?"

Zheng Silang understood now why He Rui had to come personally. If the Japanese army really made such a reaction, He Rui would use countermeasures. These were undoubtedly top-secret plans, plans that Zheng Silang could not be authorized to know.

"Chairman, what happened after 0:00 on the 8th?" Zheng Silang asked.