He Rui thought for a moment and gave an instruction to his secretary. After listening, the secretary hurried out. He Rui then said to Itagaki, "Itagaki-kun, please rest in the adjacent living room for a moment."

"Yes." Itagaki bowed hurriedly and replied. In the next room, the secretary brought tea and newspapers. Itagaki flipped through the *Northeast Daily* and saw the headline: "Third Mandatory Compulsory Education Inspection Begins, Northeast Literacy Campaign Continues to Strengthen."

After reading the content, Itagaki recalled seeing many newly painted slogans on his way here, such as "If children don't go to school, the whole family faces tax increases." As the head of the "He Agency," Itagaki knew that He Rui was truly going all out on education.

According to investigations, compulsory education had been universally implemented in the cities of the Northeast, and primary schools had been built in every single village. The curriculum even borrowed heavily from Japanese textbooks.

With so many schools opening all at once, there was certainly a shortage of qualified teachers. He Rui adopted a rotation system where two people were recruited for one teaching position; one would teach while the other underwent rotational training. The school year consisted of eight months of classes, with a rotation every two months.

In addition, teachers had to undergo intensive group training during holidays to improve their educational standards as quickly as possible.

Beyond these brute-force measures to boost numbers, He Rui also established normal schools and implemented a teacher certification system. Itagaki was somewhat skeptical of such a certification mechanism. In Japan, teacher qualification was a very important social status. Itagaki agreed with the rule of strict standards for entry and exit for granting teacher qualifications.

However, under He Rui's current approach, the initial threshold for teacher certification was set very low, while the requirements to obtain full certification were gradually raised. When teaching became a profession rather than a status, Itagaki disdained this amateurish atmosphere that lacked dignity.

As an intelligence officer, Itagaki had to admit from a policy perspective that He Rui's methods were very pragmatic. Japan's investment in education was massive, while He Rui used grain as a means of payment, supplemented by a certain amount of currency. The Northeast was vast and sparsely populated, and He Rui's agricultural policies were effective, so he happened to have enough grain for payment. The education expenses that once put tremendous pressure on Japan's finances did not cause an overly heavy burden for He Rui.

Itagaki sighed, feeling some regret that the investment in Northeast education hadn't weighed He Rui down to the point of suffocation. While investing heavily in education, He Rui still had the capacity to build an army of 120,000 men, which made the Japanese General Staff feel the strain.

The General Staff did not feel that He Rui's 120,000 troops posed a threat to Japan; the pressure lay in Japan's inability to effectively threaten He Rui. Japan had only sent tens of thousands of troops to Shandong, which rendered the Beiyang government helpless. But based on the General Staff's understanding of He Rui, if the Japanese army dared to attempt in the Northeast what they did in Shandong, He Rui would truly dare to go to war with the Japanese army.

While he was lost in thought, the secretary came in and invited Itagaki to He Rui's office. Upon returning to the office, he noticed four young men in the room. Their gazes towards Itagaki held curiosity and vigilance. He Rui maintained his calm demeanor. "Itagaki-kun, in what capacity are you asking the question you posed earlier?"

Itagaki felt that He Rui lived up to his reputation, able to grasp the crux of the problem. He took out an official document and presented it to He Rui.

He Rui took it and glanced at it; it was a document issued by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting a dialogue with He Rui regarding the Russian issue.

Putting down the document, He Rui resumed the previous conversation. Itagaki repeated his earlier question, "Your Excellency, do you have any further moves regarding Russia?"

He Rui replied, "Japan has misunderstood one thing. We have not taken any action against Russia; we have merely fulfilled our obligations to the Allied Powers within Chinese territory. As for further moves, that is a matter for the Allied Powers to discuss. We will not unilaterally do anything to Russia."

Itagaki Seishiro noticed the young men starting to take notes. Unsure of their identities, he continued to the next question. "If the Allied Powers take military action against Russia, will Your Excellency join in?"

"If it is a collective decision by the Allied Powers, I assume China will have been assigned its tasks by then. If it is a military action launched by an Allied member state individually, I can only provide support within China based on the situation. I will not participate."

"Will Your Excellency oppose or terminate support for the Allied troops attacking Russia on account of certain agreements?"

He Rui knew what Itagaki meant but asked in return, "Which countries would prevent which countries from attacking Russian territory?"

Lieutenant Colonel Itagaki Seishiro knew He Rui understood perfectly, so he was puzzled by He Rui's counter-question. Deferring to his host, Itagaki added, "For example, some countries preventing Japan from attacking Russia."

"Then we must distinguish which countries they are, and our actions also need to obtain the broadest understanding from all nations. If Japan acts on its own, it can purchase supplies and support through commercial channels."

After the meeting ended, He Rui asked the four trainee diplomats observing the session about their impressions. Everyone was a bit reserved and hesitant to speak. Seeing this, He Rui didn't force them to answer immediately and instructed, "Then go back and write an analysis."

"Chairman, can you give us some guidance?" one of them mustered the courage to ask.

He Rui smiled. "Analyze what you saw, and the views and positions of both sides. Write down whatever thoughts you have."

After these young comrades left, He Rui then had someone call Zheng Silang over. As soon as Zheng Silang saw He Rui, he said, "Chairman, I know I was wrong. I offer my self-criticism. I acted on impulse and without authorization. I was wrong."

"How should the attack on Shanhaiguan be fought?" He Rui asked calmly.

"According to the plan, we should have implemented a coordinated infantry-artillery attack."

"Since the plan was already set, you changed it without authorization. From the results, neither the plan nor the result was the issue. What happened in the middle?"

"In the middle?" Zheng Silang was stunned. He had prepared himself to be severely criticized by He Rui, but he didn't expect He Rui to compartmentalize the issue. Zheng Silang suddenly clearly recalled where his initial impulse stemmed from. At that time, he was prepared to execute the combat plan. However, during an assessment of enemy and friendly casualties with the staff officers, they found that under a frontal attack, the defenders at Shanhaiguan would likely suffer hundreds of casualties.

Zheng Silang was already worried about his teacher Li Yidao's safety. Seeing the assessment data, he truly couldn't bear the thought. The idea of reducing casualties through a surprise attack emerged. Afterward, Zheng Silang began to guide the discussion direction and finally made the decision for a surprise attack.

When making the call, Zheng Silang actually didn't think that much; he just made the decision on an impulse. Now that the matter was clarified, Zheng Silang suddenly felt a sense of relief.

Suppressing his shame, Zheng Silang told He Rui exactly what had gone through his mind. After finishing, Zheng Silang pledged again, "I was wrong this time. I will never make my own decisions or change combat plans without authorization again."

He Rui was calculating in his mind whether to let Zheng Silang lead the troops to execute the plan to recover Outer Mongolia. Xu Chengfeng, Cheng Ruofan, Zhong Yifu, Hu Xiushan—none of them would act as Zheng Silang did. Among the candidates available to He Rui, Zheng Silang had the most straightforward personality but also the softest heart. But for the upcoming recovery of Outer Mongolia, He Rui felt Zheng Silang might be the most suitable one.

Compassion does not command soldiers, but a soldier cannot lose the sense of benevolence. Zheng Silang's mistake was not in hoping to reduce casualties, but in his failure to observe military discipline.

He Rui finally made up his mind and stated his decision to Zheng Silang. "For your violation of discipline, there will be an army-wide notice of criticism. You will also be demoted. The Chief of Staff this time will also receive the same punishment."

Zheng Silang straightened his back. "Chairman, I understand. I dragged down my comrades; I want to apologize to them."

"It's not about dragging them down. It was your wrong choice that disrupted the military system. When the Chief of Staff encountered such a situation, he did not consider his duties. If the Chief of Staff could completely disregard your seniority and status as a military commander and act entirely according to the system, naturally only you would be punished!"

Zheng Silang originally intended to take all the blame on himself, but classes in the army had taught that taking all the blame was to shield others from punishment and was a form of insubordination. Whoever did that would have to leave the army. The army was an organization composed of various departments, not a gang where one person could shoulder all the blame. If Zheng Silang wanted to continue serving, he had to obey discipline.

Seeing that Zheng Silang hadn't violated the fundamental principles, He Rui felt somewhat relieved. Within two days, the notice of punishment was issued to the entire army. Many soldiers were confused by this. Why did a good result receive a severe reprimand? This was counter-intuitive.

The political commissars and instructors in the army had been briefed and began to explain the issue to the officers and soldiers. Facing the soldiers' questions, the political commissars and instructors posed the question taught since enlistment: "Is the first duty of a soldier to obey orders?"

With this, the soldiers understood. Zheng Silang's problem was not about the outcome, but violating military orders. More bluntly, he was insubordinate. Since the doubts were resolved, the price was that Zheng Silang's credibility was greatly reduced because of this incident.

With their military commander receiving such a reprimand, even the officers under Zheng Silang's command felt they lost face.

At the same time, He Rui summoned the main cadres for a meeting in Fengtian and informed everyone of Japan's attitude. Upon learning that Japan intended to invade Russia while it was in a civil war, Cheng Ruofan's refined face was full of mockery. "This country, Japan, is like a hungry wolf; it bites anyone it sees."

Xu Jia reminded him, "Don't personify the country. This isn't a decision made by all the Japanese people."

Cheng Ruofan did not back down. "But the Japanese people support this war!"

Although Xu Jia didn't agree with Cheng Ruofan's viewpoint, he couldn't find a suitable rebuttal, so he looked at He Rui.

Xu Chengfeng interjected, "Chairman, can Japan achieve its goal?"

He Rui answered decisively, "Impossible. Japan can invade Russia in the short term and occupy a piece of land in Russia's Pacific region, but it can't swallow this land. So no matter how Japan thrashes about, in the end, it will be a waste of blood and treasure."

Xu Chengfeng, Zhong Yifu, and others' eyes lit up at this. Anything that caused Japan to suffer was something they welcomed. Given the accuracy of He Rui's past deductions, everyone had confidence in his judgment.

Thinking He Rui would continue to explain the reasons, they saw He Rui turn to Cheng Ruofan. "Ruofan, if what you said were true, the Japanese government would certainly be a government capable of effectively mobilizing the full power of Japan. Based on my understanding of Japan, they really don't have that ability. Your judgment of the Japanese government really gives them too much credit. If the scenario you described counts as 100 points, the Japanese government scores at most 40 points. In fact, they likely only have 25 points."

Cheng Ruofan had long been in awe of He Rui's judgment ability, yet hearing that Japan's actual capability was only 25% of his own judgment, he was still shocked by this figure. Before he could ask, he heard He Rui continue, "You say the Japanese people support the Japanese government sending troops to attack Russia; this is not a fact. When the Japanese government fought the Qing Dynasty back then, they announced to the whole country that in order to donate money to build warships, the Emperor ate one less meal a day, and all the people had to donate whether they wanted to or not, which was a de facto tax. Before sending troops this time, let alone discussing it with the Japanese people, the Japanese government won't even announce it to them. So the idea that the Japanese people and the Japanese government are united in purpose simply doesn't exist."

Even though Cheng Ruofan admired He Rui, being pointed out that his premise was wrong still made him feel a bit awkward. Fortunately, Zhong Yifu interjected, "Chairman, Japan raised taxes and borrowed money during the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War. Why won't they borrow money this time?"

"The Sino-Japanese War was a war Japan fought to win a strategic development opportunity, so it could garner domestic support in Japan. For the Russo-Japanese War, Britain chose Japan to contain Russia's expansion in the Far East. Japan's international borrowing was supported by Britain from the start. As long as they won, Britain would naturally provide favorable terms regarding repayment. For example, borrowing new debt to pay off old debt. As the world's financial center, a few hundred million pounds is easily handled by Britain. But this time, Japan is acting unilaterally to expand its power in the Far East. Britain refused to let Russia expand in the Far East, so why would they accept Japan expanding there? Now that Britain is embroiied in war, it's even less likely they'll support Japan."

Zhong Yifu thought for a moment and sighed, "Britain is indeed the scourge of the world!"

He Rui didn't wait for everyone's sentiments to grow and immediately explained, "Not necessarily so. Any country attempting to establish a world order will consider its own interests as the highest priority, and there is also path dependence. Britain employs a balance of power strategy in Europe, and the same goes for the world. Let's look at it from another angle. If not for Britain's balance of power strategy, we wouldn't have the chance to obtain so much machinery and equipment. You know, British colonialists absolutely do not wish to see the emergence of a new industrial country."

Zhong Yifu fell into thought again, but after a moment, he obviously didn't want to dwell on it and asked, "Chairman, based on what you said, we are providing support to Japan within our borders. Why is that? Can Japan really not annex Russian territory?"

"Japan can't do it. Because if Japan wants to annex Russian territory, unless Russia voluntarily cedes it, they have to rely on military occupation. And military occupation costs money. If that land produces nothing, Japanese finances will be like a wound hemorrhaging non-stop; if the bleeding isn't stopped, they will bleed dry. If they want that land to be profitable, they have to invest huge manpower and material resources to develop it. We all participated in our land reform; does everyone think that's an easy task? We are in the Northeast and have obtained the support of the Northeast people. Can Japan get the kind of support we have on Russian land?"

The cadres felt the reasoning sounded correct, but they still felt it wasn't entirely convincing. Finally, Xu Chengfeng asked, "Why did the Chairman agree to provide support to Japan?"

"This isn't support; it's a service bought by Japan with money, so we are not supporting Japan. To show that we won't oppose Japan acting against Russia, it's like Japan is sprinting towards a big pit. When passing by us, they even actively begged us to sell them something to make them run faster toward it. How would you comrades choose in such a situation?"