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

Outside Lushun City, the Northeast Army's forward command post.

This temporary forward command post was located on an unnamed hillside about six kilometers north of Lushun City.

The hillside is not high, with an altitude of only sixty or seventy meters, but the view is extremely wide, overlooking the outline of the entire Lushun city area, as well as the outer defense line to the north in the direction of Longwangtang and Baiyushan.

At this moment, the hillside was filled with senior generals of the Northeast Army.

Zhang Xueming stood on the highest bluestone, holding a telescope in his hand, pointing it directly at the position in front of him.

Beside him stood Zhang Xueliang, Wang Yizhe, Liu Duoquan, Tang Yulin, and others, all their eyes fixed on the smoke-filled battlefield ahead.

Six kilometers away, the outer defenses of Lushun City had completely collapsed.

The concrete bunker complex in the direction of Longwangtang was reduced to ruins under repeated bombardment by aerial bombs and tank cannons.

Although the fortifications at Baiyushan were sturdy, the defending troops had been scattered by the recent air raid, and the tanks could easily break them apart.

The position in the direction of Golden Hill is in slightly better shape, but the defending troops have also begun to retreat.

The entire outer defensive line was breached in less than three hours, from the start of the attack to the complete breakthrough.

Next, we will attack the city walls.

The city wall of Lushun was built by the Russians and later reinforced by the Japanese for thirty years. The wall is twelve meters high and six meters thick, and is entirely made of a mixture of bluestone and concrete.

There was a machine gun bunker every fifty meters on the wall, and anti-tank ditches up to five meters deep were dug at the base of the wall, with anti-tank mines buried at the bottom.

There are three layers of barbed wire and a minefield extending two hundred meters deep outside the city wall.

This was the most fortified defensive position in the entire Kwantung Army headquarters, the last bastion of defense in Port Arthur.

Huo Quji's armored formation had already reached the north gate of the city wall and was using its main guns to target and eliminate enemy firing positions on the wall.

The Japanese troops on the city wall also returned fire with heavy machine guns and mortars, and the two sides exchanged fierce fire at a distance of less than 500 meters.

Flashes of explosions rose and fell on the city walls, and billowing black smoke obscured half the sky.

But the city walls were too thick.

The T-34's 76mm main gun could only chip away a layer of concrete from the city wall, creating a shallow crater the size of a washbasin, but it could not fundamentally destroy the wall.

To cross the anti-tank ditch, the trench had to be filled in first. To fill in the trench, the firing points on the city wall had to be suppressed first. To suppress the firing points, the concrete bunkers had to be destroyed first.

But those bunkers were made of reinforced concrete a meter thick, and when a 76mm shell hit them, it only left a charred bullet mark.

This is an endless loop.

Tanks cannot cross anti-tank ditches, infantry cannot fill in the trenches under heavy fire, and artillery fire cannot destroy a meter-thick concrete bunker.

To breach the city, we would need to use heavier artillery with larger calibers, but the heavy artillery units are still behind us.

The pursuit battle on the Liaohe Plain was fought too quickly, leaving the heavy artillery units far behind. It would take at least another day for them to reach Lushun.

A communications soldier galloped up from the foot of the mountain, his horse's hooves flying, leaving a long trail of dust on the hillside.

He rushed to the generals, dismounted, and stood at attention to salute.

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief! Commander Huo is calling!"

He was panting heavily, and read the telegram as quickly as possible:

"Our troops have cleared all the outer strongholds outside the North Gate and are launching a probing attack on the city wall."

"But the city walls were extremely strong, and the defenders relied on concrete bunkers and anti-tank ditches to put up a stubborn resistance."

"The 76mm main gun is unable to penetrate the bunker walls. The engineering corps is under machine gun fire in front of the anti-tank ditch and is unable to carry out trench-filling operations. Requesting further instructions!"

"understood."

Zhang Xueming put down his binoculars, his expression calm. "Reply to Huo Quji: Temporarily halt the offensive, maintain firepower suppression, and await the heavy artillery units."

"Yes, sir!" The communications soldier mounted his horse and rode off in a cloud of dust.

A look of worry crossed Zhang Xueliang's face. He stepped forward and said:

"Second brother, Lushun is not like Liaoyang or Haicheng."

"This was the headquarters of the Kwantung Army. During the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian army defended this fortress for nearly a year."

"The Japanese operated here for thirty years, with layers upon layers of fortifications, from the outer perimeter to the city walls and then to the core positions. Every inch of land was transformed into defensive fortifications."

He pointed towards the city wall and continued:

"As you can see, the tanks' cannons can't penetrate those concrete bunkers."

"If we're going to launch a direct assault, we'll have to use infantry to push up, but that would result in unbearable casualties, and—"

He paused for a moment, as if considering his words.

"And what?" Zhang Xueming's voice was devoid of any emotion.

"And we don't have much time."

Zhang Xueliang finally voiced his concerns: "Although the main force of the Kwantung Army has been annihilated by us, we cannot forget that there is still the North China Garrison Army in Tianjin."

"The Fifth Division was stationed in Tianjin, less than 300 kilometers from Lushun."

"If they come by boat, they can arrive in as little as a day and a half."

"In addition, there are the 19th and 20th Divisions of Fengcheng."

He looked around, casting his gaze at the other generals as if seeking their support.

"If we are blocked by the city walls here and cannot take it down in a few days, once the reinforcements from the North China Garrison arrive and land at Lushun Port, we will be caught in a passive situation of being attacked from both inside and outside."

"At that time... at that time, all the victories we have achieved in Liaoyang and Haicheng may be in vain."

After he finished speaking, the hillside was silent for a few seconds.

Wang Yizhe and Liu Duoquan exchanged a glance, but did not speak.

Tang Yulin simply shifted his gaze to the distant battlefield, as if he hadn't heard Zhang Xueliang's words at all.

They were all seasoned veterans who knew Zhang Xueliang's concerns were not unfounded, but they were even more aware of something else.

In the Northeast Army, who is the one who truly calls the shots now?

The person who had the final say was standing on the bluestone, coldly watching Zhang Xueliang.

"Cowardly as a mouse."

Every word Zhang Xueming uttered was like a hammer blow, striking Zhang Xueliang's nerves.

"What did you say?" Zhang Xueliang's face flushed red.

I said you're a coward.

Zhang Xueming repeated, "We have armored formations, air force, and 40,000 elite infantry. What are you afraid of?"

"Don't even talk about whether those Japanese devils dare to come. Even if they do, I'll make sure every single one of them dies."

He turned around, facing all the generals present, and his voice suddenly rose:

"The North China Garrison Army? Ha, traitors who sell their heads for profit."

"If they really dare to come, I'll save myself the trouble of going to Tianjin again."

The generals were completely silent.

Zhang Xueliang's face turned a deep purplish-red, and Zhang Xueming scolded him like a grandson.

He opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but when his gaze met Zhang Xueming's fierce eyes, he swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

He lowered his head, his lips pressed into a thin line, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

The other generals present, Wang Yizhe, Liu Duoquan, and Tang Yulin, were all looking up at the sky as if there were aliens in the heavens.

No one looked at Zhang Xueliang, no one spoke up for him, and not even a glance was exchanged.

Zhang Xueliang stood in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by these deliberately avoided gazes, like a primary school student who had just been scolded.

His breathing became heavy, and the veins on his temples throbbed, but he remained silent and lowered his head.

Zhang Xueming no longer looks at him.

He turned around and waved to the guards behind him.

The guard immediately understood and brought over a folding chair, placing it next to the bluestone.

"Don't bother me."

Zhang Xueming sat down in the chair, closed his eyes, and said, "I need some peace and quiet."

The generals looked at each other, wondering why the commander-in-chief wanted to "quiet down" at this critical juncture.

But no one dared to ask.

They simply moved a few steps to the side silently, giving Zhang Xueming a quiet space.