General Otani Jiro, Commander of the Chosen Army, was born in 1864 and was already 58 years old. His credentials were exceptional: he had graduated with honors from both the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and the Army War College, and was a recipient of the Imperial Sabre. He had served as Yamagata Aritomo's adjutant, and during the Russo-Japanese War, he served as the Vice Chief of Staff of the 3rd Army, directing the siege of Port Arthur and witnessing the blood-soaked victory that finally claimed the fortress.

If he were not such an outstanding soldier, he would never have risen to the position of Commander of the Chosen Army. While in the middle of a military conference, General Otani heard that Nagata Tetsuzan, leading his adjutant Okamura Yasuji and that famous army troublemaker Ishiwara Kanji, was requesting an audience. General Otani could not fathom Nagata Tetsuzan's purpose. Was Ishiwara Kanji so impatient that he wanted to complete the promotion process to Lieutenant Colonel tonight?

However, since they were dispatched from Tokyo, it would be inappropriate not to see them. The doors to the war room slid open, and the three young officers strode in.

Nagata Tetsuzan saluted the room full of generals and officers, then spoke with impassioned resolve, "Reporting to the Commander. We have learned that war has broken out, and we request immediate deployment to combat."

Okamura Yasuji and Ishiwara Kanji stepped forward in unison, saluting the officers. "This subordinate is willing to serve the Empire on the front lines."

Hearing this, General Otani frowned slightly and looked at Admiral Saito Makoto, the Governor-General of Korea. It was a good thing for young officers to be willing to go to the front. However, the status of these three was somewhat special; sending them to the front lines was not entirely appropriate.

Admiral Saito thought for a moment and praised, "As expected of the War College elite, true Imperial soldiers. At this time, we indeed need soldiers to bravely throw themselves into the war. Surely Otani-kun thinks so as well?"

Seeing that Saito had already expressed his stance, General Otani still felt it was somewhat improper, so he asked, "Nagata-kun, is this an arrangement from the Ministry of War?"

"Reporting to the Commander, the Ministry of War dispatched us here to serve the Empire. As officers of the Chosen Army, we naturally obey the Commander's arrangements."

With the conversation at this point, General Otani could only have the Chief of Staff take the three men out to assign them duties. Once outside, the Chief of Staff asked, "Do you have any specific requests, Nagata-kun?"

Ishiwara Kanji stepped forward and loudly requested, "Reporting to the Chief of Staff, after graduating from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, this subordinate was assigned to serve in Cheongcheon, Korea. Therefore, I request the Commander's permission to go to the front lines to fight."

Okamura Yasuji also stepped forward. "Reporting to the Chief of Staff, as the adjutant to the Military Supply Vice-Minister, this subordinate is willing to throw himself into logistics work, contributing to the transport of supplies for the front."

Nagata Tetsuzan said, "This subordinate will completely obey the Headquarters' arrangements."

Since it was so, the Chief of Staff had Nagata Tetsuzan formally assume the duties of Military Supply Vice-Minister, responsible for logistics and reserve forces. Since Okamura Yasuji and Ishiwara Kanji had volunteered, the Chief of Staff satisfied their requests as well.

Formal assignment of duties naturally required procedure. As the Chief of Staff was drafting the official documents, he suddenly remembered the issue of Ishiwara Kanji's rank. He ordered someone to bring the Ministry of War files and rank insignia, stood up to read the document to Ishiwara Kanji, and then personally replaced Ishiwara's insignia with the new ones.

After handling these matters, the Chief of Staff rushed back to the operations room. Just as he entered, the communications officer followed him in, handing a telegram from the front lines to the command.

The Chosen Army was formed from the reorganization of the 19th and 20th Divisions, making it the largest force among Japan's overseas garrisons. The telegrams sent by the two division commanders were similar: "To the Chosen Army Headquarters: Subordinates have repelled the enemy attack, achieving significant results. Due to changing circumstances, this Division will change the night raid plan to an active offensive at dawn tomorrow. Requesting instructions from Headquarters."

No one spoke, including General Otani Jiro, upon whom everyone's gaze was fixed. He was seriously considering whether to order the two divisions to retreat first. But thoughts were just thoughts; organizing a division-level retreat at night was impossible. It would have to wait until daybreak.

As for whether to retreat after daybreak, General Otani also found it a difficult decision. The Chosen Army and the Kwantung Army were supposed to support each other, forming a pincer movement against China's Liaodong Peninsula and controlling the vital passage into the Bohai Sea. The two armies had frequent exchanges in peacetime.

The Kwantung Army's combat effectiveness was considered top-tier within the Japanese military, and they held the Jinzhou Isthmus and the Port Arthur Fortress. General Otani had fought in the Russo-Japanese War at Port Arthur and knew very well exactly how much sacrifice it took to breach that fortress. Yet such an elite force as the Kwantung Army had not lasted three days under the Northeast Army's ground assault, even without naval support. Could the current Chosen Army really cope with the Northeast Army's offensive?

The officers in the operations room watched their silent Commander and remained quiet. Since the Northeast Army's combat effectiveness was completely different from what was previously imagined, the only one who could take responsibility for the upcoming orders was the Commander.

After a long silence, General Otani finally made his decision. "Telegraph the two divisions. Headquarters agrees to their operational plan."

At that very moment, at the entrance of the Governor-General's Office, Ishiwara Kanji saluted Nagata Tetsuzan. "Nagata-kun, I will now proceed to Pyongyang."

Nagata Tetsuzan returned the salute and extended his hand. As their hands grasped each other, Nagata sighed, "Ishiwara-kun, take care on the road."

As Ishiwara Kanji prepared to depart, Okamura Yasuji finally spoke. "Ishiwara-kun, let us work hard together. I will not let everyone down."

Ishiwara Kanji smiled faintly, gave Okamura Yasuji a military salute, got into the car sent by the Governor-General's Office, and headed straight for the train station.

The night grew deeper. Nagata Tetsuzan looked at his watch; the hands pointed to 12 o'clock.

In the mountains of northern Korea, the Northeast Army's infiltration troops could already faintly hear distinct sounds. The sky ten or twenty kilometers away seemed to flicker with thunderclouds, brightening and dimming intermittently.

Some units were continuing to advance along their march routes, while others were resting briefly. The slowest element in the units was undoubtedly the radio teams. To increase marching speed, the radios were carried by docile yet powerful mules. They had now passed the first phase where they could march with their heads down; it was the fixed time for units to contact Headquarters. The troops had to stop temporarily to establish radio contact.

One by one, the units received telegrams. Headquarters ordered them to increase speed and advance toward their destinations.

At this time, the corps artillery of four different armies was shelling areas where Japanese troops were likely stationed. After every round of shelling, the artillerymen hurriedly shifted positions.

With every discharge in the night, the muzzles spewed bright flashes of fire. All units maintained various alerts, but no one knew how many Japanese observers on the opposite peaks were providing firing data to Japanese artillery based on these flashes.

Of course, it was not only the Japanese who were observing; the Northeast Army's observers were also at work. The airships, which had previously been unable to launch due to wind conditions, were now aloft.

The opposing Japanese forces refused to simply take a beating; their artillery was returning fire. After firing, the Japanese artillerymen were also trying their best to shift positions.

The headquarters of each army made the same judgment: when dawn arrived, a massive frontal battle between the Northeast Army and the Japanese Chosen Army would erupt.

The division commanders of the Japanese Chosen Army's 19th and 20th Divisions coincidentally dispatched a regiment each towards key transportation hubs in their rear, preparing for a potential forced retreat.