On the eve of the fall of Liaodong, he led his troops in a remonstrance against the young marshal.

"The Empire has no way out; in this battle, there is only victory, no defeat!"

Nanjiro's voice was strong and clear, and his eyes were full of determination.

"You're talking nonsense."

Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, Isoroku Yamamoto, stepped out from the ranks, his tone full of urgency.

"The empire has suffered repeated heavy blows. We should not continue the offensive; that would be a gamble, a gamble with the fate of the nation."

"The situation is very unfavorable for the Empire. The Notoro has sunk, Hongkou Airport has been bombed, and Matsui's 2,600 marines have been decimated."

"Our reinforcements are still at sea and will take at least three days to reach the city."

"In three days, by the time reinforcements arrive, Matsui's body will be cold."

"When the empire loses its stronghold at Hucheng, it will only be able to attack from the sea, unable to coordinate attacks from within and without, and the war situation will take a sharp turn for the worse."

"Even the strongest empire cannot withstand the drain of a cross-sea expedition."

Nanjiro abruptly turned his head, glaring angrily at Yamamoto:

"Then let the combined fleet be deployed!"

"Is your Combined Fleet just for show? Even after suffering heavy damage off the coast of Port Arthur, you are still the third strongest navy in the world."

"No matter how powerful the Northeast Army was, did they have a navy?"

"The Combined Fleet is not a magician."

Yamamoto's face was as gloomy as the sea before a storm. "The naval air force has lost most of its elite forces, and the mobile forces that can be mobilized now are extremely limited."

"If we were to engage in another decisive air battle with the Northeast Army, the Empire's air force could very well be completely annihilated."

"We'll fight even if the entire army is wiped out!"

Nanjiro's voice was fierce: "The Northeast Army only has its air force to pose a threat to us. If we can use the Empire's navy to take them down with us, then the Northeast Army will have completely lost its means of countermeasures."

"Even if the Northeast Army had tanks, they were no match for naval guns in Hucheng, which is close to the sea."

"No! Absolutely not! The air force is the future of the navy. If the air force is completely destroyed, the Imperial Navy will lose the next thirty years." Yamamoto shook his head frantically, desperately refusing.

"Baka!"

Nanjiro pretended to be insane and started cursing loudly.

"If we don't annihilate the Northeast Army's air force, the empire will lose its future. Do you want to ruin the empire's century-long destiny in your hands?"

Yamamoto Isoroku's face turned pale and then red, his teeth clenched in anger.

Silence fell over the meeting room.

Nanjiro and Yamamoto Isoroku stared at each other, neither willing to yield, like two fierce beasts vying for territory.

The army advocated continuing the fight, while the navy advocated withdrawing; the contradictions between the two services were laid bare at this moment.

The other ministers looked at each other, none of them daring to interrupt.

Just then, Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka spoke up.

"Gentlemen, how to fight militarily is a matter for the army and navy."

"But I would like to remind you of one thing: some things can be resolved entirely through diplomacy."

"If China isn't afraid of us, why wouldn't it be afraid of Lion Camel Ridge and the White Bear? We can completely use the League of Nations to suppress China and buy time for reinforcements."

Lion Camel Ridge.

The name of the place made everyone in the conference room sit up straight.

Within the empire's upper echelons, there was an unspoken consensus:

The empire can do without Manchuria, but it cannot do without Lion Camel Ridge.

The empire's steel, oil, rubber, machine tools, and almost all strategic materials depend on imports from Lion Camel Ridge.

The total value of goods imported by the Empire from Lion Camel Ridge each year accounts for more than half of the Empire's total imports.

Lion Camel Ridge had a concession in Hucheng, with huge commercial interests and tens of thousands of overseas Chinese.

If Hucheng falls into prolonged war, the merchants of Lion Camel Ridge will be the first to jump out.

Matsuoka continued:

"Lion Camel Ridge is the Empire's most important trading partner, and we have a close relationship."

"Moreover, Britain, France and other countries also have huge interests in Hucheng, including their concessions, banks, trading companies and textile mills."

"They will never tolerate the war spreading to their own territory."

His gaze swept over everyone present, finally settling on the king.

"Your Majesty, I suggest a two-pronged approach."

"On the one hand, we asked Britain, France and the United States to put diplomatic pressure on Nanjing and force the 19th Route Army to stop its offensive and withdraw from the Japanese concession."

"The Chinese people do not yet have the confidence to turn against all the great powers at the same time. As long as Britain, France and the United States exert pressure together, Nanjing will not be able to remain indifferent."

"As long as we can slow down the Chinese, even for just a few days, it will be enough for the empire to complete its military deployment."

"On the other hand, the Combined Fleet was ordered to proceed at full speed to Tojo, to regain air superiority as quickly as possible and create a beachhead for the army landing."

The king nodded slightly. "Go on."

"The key to diplomatic pressure lies in the concessions."

Matsuoka walked to the map and drew a circle around the location of Hucheng with his finger. "Britain, France, and the United States all have concessions in Hucheng. These concessions are their most important commercial bases on the Chinese mainland."

"If Chinese troops storm into the Japanese concession without any punishment, what reason will they have to stop Chinese people from entering the British, French, and American concessions in the future?"

"This is not just a matter of imperial interests; it is a matter of common interests of all the great powers in China."

"Therefore, as long as we make this logic clear, Britain, France and the United States will definitely take action."

On the matter of Hucheng, the interests of Britain, France, and the United States are aligned with ours.

"We can't open the door to the concessions, otherwise no one will be able to escape."

Prince Miyako nodded. "Matsuoka makes a good point."

"A combination of military and diplomatic measures is currently the most pragmatic approach."

"But the key issue is whether our envoy can get the message to Britain, France and the United States before the Chinese break through the headquarters."

"If Matsui can't hold on, then there's no point in discussing anything else."

The king turned around, looked at the location of Hucheng on the map, and remained silent for a long time.

Dusk had completely fallen outside the window, and the lights in the Imperial Conference Room were turned on, casting his shadow on the map and obscuring the small dot of Tojo.

"Order."

With a do-or-die attitude, he gave the order:

"First, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should immediately contact the embassies in Britain, France and the United States, and through the League of Nations, put pressure on the Nanjing government to demand that the 19th Route Army immediately cease fire and withdraw from the Japanese concession, on the grounds of protecting the safety of overseas Chinese and the concession."

"The wording must be strong, and the Nanjing side must understand that this is not just the Empire's demand, but the common demand of all the powers that have concessions in China."

"Second, order the main force of the Combined Fleet to set sail immediately and head to Tojo at full speed."

"All available aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, and destroyers will be deployed."

"Within three days, I will annihilate the Northeast Army's air force."

He paused, turned his head, and his gaze swept across the faces of Nanjiro, Yamamoto Isoroku, and Matsuoka Yosuke.

"This battle is a gamble on the fate of the empire."

"The rise and fall of the empire hinges on this battle."

"We can only win, we can't lose. If Tokichi loses again, you know what to do."

Nanjiro and Yamamoto Isoroku bent over at the same time, their foreheads almost touching their knees.

The meeting room was completely silent.

Only the huge Rising Sun Flag on the wall cast a blood-red shadow under the lamplight, enveloping everyone's face.

..........

That night, in Toshiro, the Japanese concession.

Most of the streets surrounding the Hongkou Marine Corps Headquarters have fallen into the hands of the 19th Route Army.

North Sichuan Road, Baoxing Road, and Disiwei Road—every street was piled with sandbag fortifications and the wreckage of Japanese armored vehicles.

The wreckage was still burning, black smoke billowed under the streetlights, and the air was filled with the acrid smell of burning rubber and a strong stench of blood.

The mortar company of the 19th Route Army set up four mortars directly north of the headquarters, with the muzzles pointed at the main entrance of the headquarters building.

The machine gunners took up firing positions in the buildings across the street, with their gun barrels sticking out of the windows, blocking every possible exit from the command post.

The infantrymen lay prone behind sandbags, bayonets already fixed to their rifles, the tips of the bayonets gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

Cai Tingkai stood on the roof of a three-story building at the intersection of Disiwei Road and North Sichuan Road, holding binoculars and looking at the red brick building across the street that was still desperately resisting.

Through the telescope, all the windows of the command building were blocked with sandbags, leaving only firing ports, from which machine gun fire occasionally spurted out.

A Rising Sun Flag was still flying on the rooftop, but it had been riddled with bullet holes, looking like a tattered curtain riddled with needle marks.

"Commander-in-Chief."

Jiang Guangnai walked onto the roof, holding a telegram he had just received: "Telegram from Nanjing."

"It was personally signed by He Yingqin, ordering us to immediately cease fire and withdraw from the Japanese concession."

"What?"