The document circulated once around the Imperial General Headquarters meeting before finally returning to the hands of General Yamanashi Hanzō's adjutant, who put it away.

General Yamanashi Hanzō stood up. "Since the Meiji Restoration, the Empire has worked hard to become strong, and our national power has risen. For decades, we have been victorious in every conquest, invincible in all directions. Today, we face a shameless sneak attack by the enemy. His Majesty the Emperor is furious, and the people are indignant. This counterattack must retake Korea, invade Manchuria and Mongolia, and crush the enemy bandits. I hope you gentlemen will distinguish yourselves on the battlefield and achieve meritorious deeds for the Emperor!"

"Hai!" The generals in the Imperial Headquarters responded in unison.

General Yamanashi scanned the generals, seeing determination and resolve on every face. He continued, "In the first phase of the counterattack, the Manchuria-Mongolia Expeditionary Army will launch a frontal assault on the enemy's defensive line, striving for a breakthrough. The Second Expeditionary Army will seek opportunities to land on the enemy's flank, forming an envelopment to annihilate them in one stroke. You will receive specific orders very shortly. Now, stand up! Tenno Heika Banzai! (Long live His Majesty the Emperor!)"

All the generals rose and shouted along with General Yamanashi: "Tenno Heika Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!"

As soon as the meeting ended, Ishiwara Kanji, who had arrived in a hurry, left the Imperial Headquarters with the Second Expeditionary Army Commander Suzuki Kantarō and Vice Commander Ugaki Kazushige. The three of them got into the same car and headed straight for Tokyo Port.

On the road to the port, the congestion that had persisted for more than two months had finally eased as large quantities of troops and equipment were shipped to Korea. There were few pedestrians on the snow-covered road, only columns of soldiers marching through the snow on either side of the road, heading toward the port.

Not long after getting into the car, Vice Commander Lieutenant General Ugaki lit a cigarette. Ishiwara Kanji expected someone to say something, but the three remained silent until the car stopped at the pier. The waiting officer immediately opened the door. As soon as the three got out, the officer saluted, "Excellencies, please board the ship immediately."

Lieutenant General Ugaki then walked over to Lieutenant General Suzuki. "Commander, we will wait for you in Nagasaki."

Lieutenant General Suzuki Kantarō, full of worry, sighed, "Commander Ugaki, bon voyage. I will follow with the fleet."

Once on board, just as the long whistle signaling departure ended, Lieutenant General Ugaki spoke up. "Ishiwara-kun, Excellency Suzuki doesn't seem to agree with your plan."

Ishiwara Kanji replied decisively, "This subordinate also believes that beaching a large number of ships in winter is a difficult method to accept. It is already very surprising to this subordinate that it passed at the Imperial Headquarters."

It was Ishiwara Kanji—who, from the very beginning of the Second Headquarters' repeated discussions, did not believe there would be a second chance—who had proposed this. In order to land as quickly as possible, they had to accept the loss of many ships due to beaching.

Like the Navy, Lieutenant General Ugaki initially did not agree with the idea of letting troops wade ashore in the cold winter. But simply unable to find any other plan, the Second Headquarters had been forced to reluctantly accept Ishiwara's suggestion.

Looking at Ishiwara's grim expression, Lieutenant General Ugaki spoke, seeming both to encourage and to warn him. "Ishiwara-kun, if the landing plan fails, we will have no choice but to commit seppuku to apologize."

Ishiwara Kanji did not answer, but there was a touch of disdain in his heart. In fact, after considering the situation comprehensively, Ishiwara had long reached the conclusion that a counterattack should not be launched at this stage at all. Although Ishiwara was a thorn in the side of his superiors, he was not a fool. He knew very well that this could not be said under any circumstances.

When he was in Korea, Ishiwara and Nagata Tetsuzan had discussed the future course of the war. Both discovered that the other's judgment was identical to their own. However, when they were about to touch upon whether to seek an armistice, they ended the topic with a tacit understanding, without even dropping a hint.

Nagata Tetsuzan's tone had been heavy but full of determination. "The enemy's understanding of war is already above that of the Imperial Army. Ishiwara-kun is a rare talent of this era. If Ishiwara-kun cannot become a general with a voice, I fear the counterattack will result in a new disastrous defeat."

Ishiwara recognized Nagata's political strength and strategic vision. Hearing Nagata frankly admit that the counterattack might fail, Ishiwara also recognized Nagata's magnanimity. Compared to Ugaki, who actually mentioned seppuku during a conversation, Nagata was more suitable to be a leader of the army.

As if there were some telepathy, or perhaps because he was facing the same situation as Ishiwara Kanji, Nagata Tetsuzan, the Chief of Staff of the Manchuria-Mongolia Expeditionary Army, received the secret telegram to start the war on January 10th and couldn't help but sigh secretly. *If only Ishiwara were at the Expeditionary Army Headquarters right now.*

Like Ishiwara, Nagata only thought about it for a moment before throwing himself back into the war effort. At least in the Manchuria-Mongolia Headquarters, because they didn't have to cooperate with the Navy, no one mentioned things like seppuku due to excessive pressure. All the officers were doing their utmost to prepare for war.

Major General Okamura Yasuji had little color in his face. Even though he had finally been able to sleep these past few days, the heavy workload still left him exhausted. Placing a report in front of Nagata, Okamura couldn't help but let out a breath. Nagata picked up the report and couldn't help but sigh as well. The Manchuria-Mongolia Expeditionary Army General Staff had finally completed the plan and testing for rapidly moving nine hundred 150mm heavy guns northward.

"Okamura-kun, good work," Nagata praised.

But Okamura Yasuji said, "Chief of Staff, I think we should launch the campaign ahead of schedule. We can absolutely deploy in front of the enemy's first line of defense before January 10th."

Nagata had the same intention. The date set by the Imperial Headquarters was just a deadline; the Manchuria-Mongolia Expeditionary Army Headquarters could absolutely choose a start time that suited them. Since Okamura made such a suggestion, it meant the Operations Section believed the war could already be launched.

Taking Okamura along, Nagata went to see the Expeditionary Army Commander, Lieutenant General Terauchi Hisaichi. After the three talked for quite a while, Lieutenant General Terauchi immediately ordered the division commanders of the six divisions on the Seoul front to come to headquarters for a meeting.

The six divisions were the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th Divisions, all elites of the Japanese Army.

Upon learning that Terauchi Hisaichi had decided to launch the counterattack, the division commanders, who had already led their troops into position two days prior, immediately stood up with intense emotion. "Commander, Excellency, please give the order!"

Terauchi Hisaichi did not waste words either. "Gentlemen, tomorrow at dawn, we attack."

At dawn on January 2, 1922, Nagata Tetsuzan looked at the silent Northeast Army positions across from him from a high ground. For two months, the two sides had not been shrinking in their trenches without moving. Both the Northeast Army and the Japanese Army had launched harassment attacks.

Initially, it was the Northeast Army conducting "Cold Gun, Cold Cannon" attacks. They would send troops to ambush near Japanese positions at night, launching sudden attacks when they saw an opportunity, and then retreating under the cover of Northeast Army artillery after achieving results.

The Japanese Army suffered losses and quickly learned the Northeast Army's tactics, returning the favor with the same sniping and shelling. In comparison, the Japanese were more fearless of death and gained a slight advantage.

The Northeast Army then shifted tactics to counter the Japanese sniping and shelling. The Japanese changed accordingly. Every day, there was fighting on the front lines, and every day, loyal and brave Japanese soldiers were killed in action.

Nagata had seen the Northeast Army's battle lines many times through his binoculars, and now he looked again. It was a very tightly arranged line. In the pure white snow, a large number of slightly protruding thin lines were the trenches and communication trenches dug by the Northeast Army. Those loach-like Northeast Army soldiers relied on these fortifications to enter their positions. Over the past two months, thousands of Japanese soldiers had fallen in front of the Northeast Army's positions.

Putting down the binoculars, Nagata checked his pocket watch. The time had reached 6:21 AM. The snow had stopped, and the clear sky was as pure as a boundless blue transparent curtain.

Before Nagata could ask, a dense sound like firecrackers began to ring out from the rear. Countless whistling sounds cut through the air and reached Nagata's ears. Immediately, the earth beneath his feet began to tremble.

The Northeast Army's trenches, communication trenches, and minefields all began to shake. The snow covering the ground was torn apart like thin gauze and immediately melted. The shells of the 150mm field guns blasted patches of ground, sending soil flying. It wasn't just the position before Nagata's eyes; the entire tens-of-kilometers-long battle line was bombarded by the Japanese Army's nine hundred 150mm guns.

The smoke of explosions mixed with water vapor, plus the soil on the ground that had its moisture instantly baked out, blended into a black screen that shrouded the Northeast Army's lines.

Within two minutes, the Northeast Army's 120mm field guns began to return fire. The first batch of 120mm guns had been firing for less than five minutes when the Japanese 150mm guns began suppression fire.

This round of shelling lasted for fifteen minutes. Nagata felt the soles of his feet going somewhat numb.

As soon as the Japanese shelling ended, four divisions launched the first wave of attacks across the tens of kilometers of battle line. While passing through the minefields, some Japanese soldiers were blown away by landmines, but these fish that had slipped through the net of the shelling no longer had any ability to obstruct the advance. Shouting, the Japanese soldiers crossed the thoroughly battered Northeast Army positions, surged into the first line of defense, and advanced one kilometer forward.

After occupying the Northeast Army's first line of defense, they began to advance rapidly toward the front. On the pure white snow, several communication trenches led directly to the Northeast Army's second line of defense. A Japanese squad entered a communication trench, and after walking twenty or thirty meters, they triggered a landmine. In the communication trench, the fragments and shockwave of the explosion spread along the trench, instantly leaving over a dozen Japanese soldiers lying in pools of their own blood.

Using engineers to clear mines while advancing was too much of a waste of time. The Japanese had to use the 150mm guns to cover the area with bombardment again. The shells swept across the open ground like weeding, and the white snow was blasted into nothingness. The Japanese troops then used the shell craters to begin their attack on the Northeast Army's second line of defense.

Although the second line of defense also suffered shelling, when the Japanese approached, they still encountered resistance from the Northeast Army. Nagata received battle reports on the front line at all times. The fighting on the second line was proceeding very bloodily. Both the Northeast Army and the Japanese Army were using mortars and 75mm field guns. In previous battles, the Japanese had already learned that the Northeast Army used a 75mm gun similar to the French one. Although this artillery had been suppressed by the German 105mm howitzers in field battles, that did not mean it lost its power in close-range trench warfare. On the contrary, because this artillery nicknamed "Miss 75" was inherently suitable for this kind of combat, and both the Japanese and Northeast armies had chosen the most effective weapon, it meant the fighting would be extremely cruel.

Just as Nagata expected, the attack on the Northeast Army's second line encountered determined defense. The first wave of attacks by all four divisions had to temporarily withdraw due to excessive casualties.

At this time, the Japanese 150mm howitzers had already moved their positions and began a new round of firing. The retreating Japanese troops quickly reorganized and prepared for the next round of attacks.

The immense power of the 150mm guns shattered the Northeast Army's second line of defense, and the Japanese Army's new attack did not encounter resistance. The troops successfully arrived in front of the Northeast Army's third position. The Northeast Army continued to bravely block the Japanese on the third position.

Nagata did not want to hear combat reports. He simply demanded that the troops immediately clarify one question: "Exactly how many casualties has the Northeast Army suffered on the position?"

As the battle for the third position unfolded fiercely, the report was delivered to Nagata. "Report. We found approximately one thousand enemy corpses on the enemy position. Most were killed by our infantry; over three hundred were killed by artillery."

A wave of disappointment rose in Nagata's heart. Over a thousand enemy troops was not a small number, but over a thousand enemy troops across dozens of kilometers was truly very few. Nagata asked, "What are our army's casualties so far?"

"Report, Chief of Staff. There are over 2,800 men."

Hearing this number, not only Nagata, but the other staff officers also changed their expressions. The Japanese Army possessed clustered heavy artillery, yet they had still fought to a 1:3 exchange ratio. The Northeast Army's defense was truly hateful!