The news that the 15th Army had launched an attack on the Japanese 7th Division, the Japanese 6th Division had begun to retreat and move closer to the 7th Division, and the Japanese 19th Division was fleeing north after looting Benxihu arrived on Mu Husan's desk almost simultaneously.

The General Staff was stunned. The speed of the Japanese reaction was far beyond the expectations of the Fourth Field Army. Such a coordinated movement could only be described as moving like a rabbit after sitting like a virgin. Mu Husan, however, was not too surprised. He stared at the map for a long while before saying, "There must be some outstanding talent in the Japanese 19th Division!"

"The 19th Division can't command the other two divisions," the staff officer said, puzzled by Mu Husan's judgment. According to common sense, the most important thing at this time was to break through or bypass the 18th Army's defensive positions.

"The actions of the three Japanese divisions are not the result of direct contact; there wasn't enough time," Mu Husan explained to the comrades in the General Staff. "The 19th Division might have told the 6th and 7th Divisions their plan. But they are clearly selling out their teammates. Someone in the 19th Division definitely knows the war philosophy of our Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army."

***

Twenty-four hours before Mu Husan explained his thoughts to the staff officers, Major Staff Officer Okamura Yasuji of the 19th Division said to the 19th Division Commander, "Your Excellency, keep people and lose land, land and people are both kept; keep land and lose people, land and people are both lost!"

Okamura Yasuji was a descendant of a Tokugawa Shogunate samurai. After graduating from elementary school, he was admitted to the affiliated middle school of the famous Tokyo Senmon Gakko (renamed Waseda University in 1902). Later, because the tuition was expensive, he transferred to the Tokyo Army Junior School. After graduation, he was admitted to the Army Academy. In October 1904, he graduated from the 16th class of the Army Academy with excellent grades and was commissioned as an infantry second lieutenant, serving as a platoon leader in the supplementary unit of the 1st Infantry Regiment.

At that time, the Russo-Japanese War broke out. With an urgent desire to make contributions to the Emperor, and after Okamura Yasuji's repeated requests for battle, his superiors finally approved his request. In April of the following year, Okamura Yasuji was transferred from the supplementary unit to the 49th Infantry Regiment as a platoon leader in the newly formed 13th Division to participate in the Battle of Sakhalin.

In 1910, Okamura Yasuji entered the Army War College in Tokyo for further studies. In 1913, he graduated from the 25th class of the Army War College with excellent grades and served as a captain company commander in the 1st Infantry Regiment. In August 1914, he was transferred to the War History Section of the General Staff Headquarters as a staff officer.

As a soldier with a purely academic background, Okamura Yasuji's resume could be said to be quite remarkable. When he served as a staff officer in the War History Section of the General Staff Headquarters, Okamura Yasuji was originally assigned to the German War History Research Group. However, since the People's Party had seized Qingdao from the Germans at this time, Okamura Yasuji spent a lot of time researching the People's Party's army on his own.

Before World War I, Japan paid relatively high attention to war history, and it was relatively easy to obtain various materials, at least without encountering any difficulties. In addition, the war philosophy system of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was not complicated, and Chairman Chen's quotations of war philosophy, which Chen Ke was familiar with, were so simple and profound, and catchy. Okamura Yasuji soon researched it quite thoroughly.

In 1915, when Japan formed the 19th and 20th Divisions of the Joseon Garrison Army, Okamura Yasuji was transferred from the War History Section of the General Staff Headquarters to become a major staff officer of the 19th Division. During this war, Okamura Yasuji always held views that were "not quite gregarious" with other staff officers. Therefore, he had always been unpopular with the Division Commander. Before this retreat from Fengtian, Okamura Yasuji pointed out again that they were likely to be intercepted and blocked in the Benxihu area, and it would be better to take the land route directly back to Korea. The Division Commander was furious and simply asked Okamura Yasuji to be responsible for the rear guard work. And Okamura Yasuji commanded the rear guard troops to "turn a blind eye" to the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army killing their way into the nearby Fengtian, but tried his best to get the troops to disengage from the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army as soon as possible.

After the destruction of the Miyazaki Brigade, the 19th Division Commander discovered that if the 19th Division's rear guard troops had hesitated even a little at that time and continued to entangle with the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, they would probably be surrounded by now. And the commander of the rear guard troops, Okamura Yasuji, was even able to judge the actions of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army in advance. Now trapped in Benxihu and facing the possibility of being completely surrounded by the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army at any time, the 19th Division Commander had to call Okamura Yasuji and ask him for his views on the war situation.

Okamura Yasuji did not make any predictions about the war situation like a psychic immediately, but first used "Keep people and lose land, land and people are both kept; keep land and lose people, land and people are both lost!" as his opening remark.

"Before the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army entered Manchuria, we relied on the garrison army in the Northeast and various institutions of Mantetsu to effectively control Manchuria. After the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army entered the Northeast, they first expelled all Mantetsu institutions within their reach. The land of Manchuria always exists. If we lose the existence of Mantetsu institutions on these lands, we lose control over those areas."

The reasoning was very simple. The 19th Division Commander felt quite disappointed in his heart. What he had hoped for was that Okamura Yasuji could accurately point out what actions the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army would take, and more importantly, where they would appear, just like before. But listening to Okamura Yasuji's digression, the Division Commander could not bear it anymore. Now was not the time for this kind of simple military theory discussion.

"Okamura-kun, what do you think the People's Party will do next?" the Division Commander asked.

"Your Excellency, the strategy of the People's Party has been consistent from beginning to end. They want to annihilate us," Okamura Yasuji replied.

The Division Commander's original patience completely flew out the window after hearing this. He did not feel it was necessary to have such a "low-level" discussion with Okamura Yasuji. If the People's Party wanted to occupy the Northeast, they naturally had to find ways to annihilate the Japanese troops in the Northeast. If the Japanese army wanted to occupy the Northeast, they also had to do their best to kill other forces that dared to intervene in the Northeast. This was not worth discussing at all.

Okamura Yasuji soon saw the Division Commander's dissatisfied attitude, and he quickly explained further. "Division Commander, the biggest difference between the People's Party's strategy and ours is that in their recent strategy, the purpose of occupying all land is to annihilate our army. While in our army's strategy, there is no such thorough concept at all; what we must guarantee first is the occupation of Manchuria. Manchuria is not our Japanese homeland. Even if our strategy looks the same as the People's Party, when executed, the basis of our considerations will involuntarily have fundamental differences. In any case, the locals in Manchuria do not consider themselves citizens of our Japan. And we do not consider the locals in Manchuria to be our Japanese citizens!"

Those who could mix their way up to the rank of Division Commander were certainly not idiots. With Okamura Yasuji analyzing the current situation like this, the 19th Division Commander somewhat suddenly realized. As long as the People's Party could expel other forces in the Northeast, they would naturally be able to gain the approval of the locals in the Northeast. Because no matter what, the locals in the Northeast at least considered themselves Chinese. The Japanese army in the Northeast must first ensure the safety of the strongholds they maintained, so the People's Party could completely aim to annihilate the Japanese army, while the Japanese army must first ensure their own footing. After losing the support of the Mantetsu organization, the situation of the Japanese army naturally went from bad to worse.

It wasn't that Okamura Yasuji hadn't said similar things before, but only today did the 19th Division Commander truly listen to everything he said. Because when facing the Northeast Army of Zhang Zuolin, the Japanese army did not have such feelings. Only when the opponent of the Japanese army turned into the brave and skillful Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army did the 19th Division Commander truly feel that the Japanese army's status as invaders and outsiders had become their biggest burden in China. If they could not defeat the Chinese army in Northeast China, the Japanese army could basically not truly occupy the Northeast.

After a long silence, the Division Commander continued to ask, "So what exactly is Okamura-kun's idea?"

"At present, we shouldn't expect the 6th and 7th Divisions to be able to rescue us in time. The Miyazaki Brigade has already fought very well. Under such circumstances, if we still can't win, the 6th and 7th Divisions can't possibly actively break through the defensive positions of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. Our current solution is to decisively retreat to the north where there are no enemies, cross the mountains, and return to Korea," Okamura Yasuji said.

The 19th Division Commander listened carefully to Okamura Yasuji's method. If the 19th Division retreated north now, there were basically no enemies in the north. Although crossing the mountains in winter would be fraught with difficulties, as long as the 6th and 7th Divisions pinned down the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, presumably the commander of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army would not be stupid enough to leave their solid defensive positions and expose the rear of their troops to the attack range of the Japanese army.

If they wanted to play a little trick in such a battle, while the 19th Division began to retreat north, the 6th and 7th Divisions could even retreat south at the same time. If the commander of the 18th Army of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was a reckless person, he would very likely be tempted by such a fighter opportunity and want to take this chance to pursue. As long as they left the solid formation, or even if only a part of the army left the solid position, then the 6th and 7th Divisions would have room for action. The Japanese army's superiority in troop strength could play a huge role in the battle.

If the commander of the 18th Army of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was a suspicious person, he would definitely try to figure out what exactly happened. By the time he figured it out, the 19th Division would have long completely disengaged from contact with the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. Even if the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could implement a pursuit, the 19th Division would have enough time to set up an ambush in the mountains and deal a certain blow to the pursuers.

"No matter what choice the enemy makes, our army can mobilize the enemy through action. The worst-case scenario is just that our army suffers certain losses when passing through the mountains." Okamura Yasuji finally finished his plan.

The 19th Division Commander pondered silently. It wasn't that he felt there was anything wrong with Okamura Yasuji's plan. Overall, the feasibility of this plan was very high, and the chance of success was very great. But precisely because the chance of success was great, the 19th Division Commander had to think of another matter: what would be his fate after returning to the country? If it were during the First Sino-Japanese War, suffering such a defeat, no matter whose responsibility it was, the 19th Division Commander would have no choice but to commit seppuku to apologize. Even in the current time when the Japanese military system had undergone deep reforms, the responsibility for suffering this disastrous defeat might not necessarily be borne entirely by the 19th Division Commander. But even so, demotion, facing a court-martial, or even being stripped of military status. Plus suffering the supercilious looks of everyone around, such punishment was actually not much different from suicide.

After a long silence, the 19th Division Commander asked, "When does Okamura-kun think it is appropriate to retreat?"

Okamura Yasuji replied decisively, "Retreat now!" After saying this, Okamura Yasuji added in a low voice, "Leave behind all heavy weapons and advance with light equipment."

The muscles on the 19th Division Commander's face twisted. Leaving behind heavy weapons meant it couldn't even be called a "strategic shift" as an excuse; this was already an out-and-out escape. However, at this point, he had no other choice. With a feeling of hopelessness for the future, the 19th Division Commander agreed to Okamura Yasuji's suggestion. He sent people to report to the 6th and 7th Divisions, looted supplies from the people in the Panjin area on a large scale, and the Japanese 19th Division immediately began to move north in the heavy snow.

Although he didn't know the specific situation inside the 19th Division, Mu Husan already understood the 19th Division's thinking. The 18th Army could not pursue the 19th Division no matter what. The 14th Army coming south from Fengtian could at most send out tailing troops, but could not truly implement a pursuit and annihilation. What's more, the key point of the current situation was to annihilate the 6th and 7th Divisions in front of them. Once these two divisions could be annihilated, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could thrust directly into Andong and face the Japanese army across the river.

Although he was quite apprehensive about the combat effectiveness displayed by the 19th Division in the past few days, as well as their cognitive ability regarding war, as long as the Sino-Japanese War was not over, there would be plenty of opportunities to meet the 19th Division again on the battlefield. Moreover, the fact that the 19th Division disengaged from the battlefield so decisively completely eliminated the worries of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. From this perspective, Mu Husan did not think he had suffered a loss.

"Troops move south and participate in the battle to encircle and annihilate the Japanese army!" Mu Husan ordered.

In front of the 18th Army was the Japanese 6th Division. This Japanese unit had not participated in the battle, but had only deployed an offensive posture a few kilometers away. Now that they began to retreat, the road trodden by the main force of the Japanese army reduced the trouble for the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's pursuit. The vanguard troops soon caught up and engaged in a fierce exchange of fire with the Japanese rear guard troops.

This was a true field battle. Thick snow covered the earth. Except for the undulations caused by the terrain, the battle between the two armies was carried out on almost the same plane. The Japanese field living conditions were obviously inferior to those of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, and the Japanese cold-weather clothing was also obviously inferior to that of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. The cold and fatigue accumulated over several days were very obvious in the battle. That was something difficult to explain except for soldiers; if one had to say it, the Japanese army extremely "lacked combat enthusiasm." They were just fighting mechanically according to their daily training. In contrast, every soldier of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was doing their best to complete the combat mission.

As the defending side, the Japanese army at least occupied a high slope area. And the Japanese artillery advantage was also brought into play, with shells blasting sky-high snowflakes on the attack route of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. Black ugly "scars" appeared one after another on the snow-white fields.

"Up!" The one responsible for the first round of attacks was the 3rd Division, which was originally defending the southern front. The commander of the 9th Regiment had managed to snatch the attack mission with great difficulty. With his order, the engineers had already bent down and began to excavate at the bottom of the snow layer more than a meter thick with engineer shovels on the side of the temporarily dug ice and snow trenches.

The distance between the Chinese and Japanese battle lines was currently more than 300 meters. Launching a charge on such a flat plain was just sending themselves up as targets. They had to get closer to the enemy continuously, closer to the maximum limit. The fierce exchange of rifle fire continued. Although it was difficult to aim from more than 300 meters away, this was also a necessary containing battle.

After many snow tunnels dug forward in parallel extended for more than thirty meters, a Japanese shell flew off course and landed straight on a tunnel. The explosion not only lifted a large cloud of snow but also collapsed the snow above several nearby tunnels. Seeing many depressions suddenly appearing on the snow, the Japanese quickly understood what the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army wanted to do. While howling, they fired fiercely in the direction of these tunnels.

"Dig some tunnels openly! Save time! Get as close as possible!" The 9th Regiment Commander issued orders.

Under the new order, the tunnel excavation speed obviously increased. The winding tunnels began to extend upwards continuously, not only extending longitudinally but also connecting laterally. Relying on the tunnels, the soldiers of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army advanced rapidly, constantly shortening the distance between them and the Japanese army.

Seeing that the situation was not right, the commander of the Japanese 6th Division simply gave up the plan to stand fast. The Japanese army gathered troops on the front line, and with the sound of bugles, a large group of Japanese troops actually launched a charge.

"The Japanese are coming to send themselves to death! Grant their wish!" It was no longer a snowy day, and there was uncontrollable excitement in the voice of the 9th Regiment Commander. When the Japanese approached, the machine guns on the front line of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army began to sing lightly, and the dense bullets killed row after row of those Japanese troops moving slowly in the snow. Because their legs were stuck in the thick snow, some Japanese soldiers just leaned forward or backward, or tilted left or right after death, their legs still stuck in the snow and not pulled out at all.

Seeing the advance blocked, the Japanese army had to retreat. But retreating was not so easy either; the slow speed made them excellent targets. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army also tried firing mortars, but the shells drilled directly into the deep snow layer with a great curvature. The exploded snow, apart from causing some trouble for the enemy, had its real killing power greatly discounted.

The 9th Regiment Commander did not completely give up shelling because of this. He ordered: "See if the gunners can blast a few paths out with shelling!"

The gunners' attempt was quite good. The mortar shells greatly improved the progress of the "earthwork." The 9th Regiment Commander immediately informed the 3rd Division Headquarters of this new discovery by phone, and the 3rd Division Headquarters also conveyed this latest experience to its 7th and 8th Regiments.

Although the number of troops was far lower than the Japanese 6th Division in front, the commanders and fighters of the 3rd Division displayed unprecedented initiative, stubbornly shortening the distance with the Japanese 6th Division, and doing their best to push the battle towards a full-scale battle.

Mu Husan constantly received the latest battle reports, and to his delight, the 2nd Division of the 14th Army did not pursue the Japanese 19th Division but made every effort to rush to the battlefield. Holding the military strength of four divisions, Mu Husan was full of confidence in achieving a complete victory in the battle.