"If the Japanese government does not accept peace talks, the British government will cast aside the Japanese government and sign a peace agreement with China unilaterally..."

In the office of the Japanese Prime Minister, the secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs read to this point, his voice trembling involuntarily. As his audience, the five cabinet ministers—the Prime Minister, the Minister of War, the Minister of the Navy, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs—also saw a change in their expressions.

However, all five cabinet ministers were mentally prepared; the situation had not reached this point suddenly. Since the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, the British military had done its utmost to fight the Republic of China National Defense Force, engaging in hundreds of battles large and small. The purely white troops from the British homeland, Canada, and Australia had suffered over 100,000 deaths, more than 20,000 captured, and roughly 200,000 wounded. The losses of white troops alone approached 500,000. The losses of the native Indian troops from British India were approximately 300,000 to 400,000.

Excluding these losses, Britain still had over 400,000 white troops and over 400,000 Indian auxiliary troops on the battle lines. Adding the 100,000 expeditionary troops from Japan as an ally, the British side was confronting the Chinese army with a force of one million.

There was absolutely no need for Britain to pay such a colossal price for Burma, a colony with a population of only a few million. The reason the Sino-British War had expanded to its current extent was entirely because Britain was doing everything in its power to exclude China from the international community.

At this moment, the Foreign Minister's secretary finished reading the mandatory contents of the telegram sent back by the Japanese Ambassador to the UK and stopped to look at the Foreign Minister. Seeing the Minister's signal, the secretary bowed to the group and withdrew from the office.

The five ministers of the Japanese cabinet each had a copy of the Sino-British peace treaty at hand, but none of them looked at it; these details held little significance for the Japanese upper echelons. The most urgent problem for the Japanese cabinet was how to face the latest situation.

The five cabinet ministers in the office were a cabinet pushed forward by the Japanese dignitaries, and the cabinet meeting did not delay the dignitaries from holding their own meetings. In the Japanese military, Major Generals were roughly at the threshold of the dignitary class, while active-duty Lieutenant Generals were the dignitaries.

Lieutenant General Nagata Tetsuzan's gaze was deep as he listened to the views of several other Lieutenant Generals on the matter. Hearing someone actually accuse Britain of not being firm enough in a moment of agitation, Nagata felt a wave of annoyance in his heart.

Britain had already done its utmost. If China were still facing diplomatic isolation and remained unrecognized by the international community, Britain would continue to sustain the war even if it suffered heavy losses. However, the means by which He Rui achieved a diplomatic breakthrough were simply inconceivable. Although the establishment of the Asian International Court was guided by He Rui according to the circumstances, it succeeded in bypassing Britain's diplomatic blockade through a path that only a country like China—completely free of the stain of colonialism—could take.

He Rui had precisely grasped the contradictions between Britain and the European continent, using the Asian International Court, this international-level diplomatic stage, to achieve diplomatic communication with countries that had limited conflicts with China.

Without this communication channel, other countries would not be clear about China's current strength and would worry that rash action might trigger British suppression, so they would not actively establish diplomatic relations with China in the short term. With the channel of the Asian International Court, everything changed.

Thinking of this, even the sense of defeat in Nagata's heart ceased to exist, leaving only a deep sigh. In the early days of the Asian International Court's establishment, Nagata still could not figure out how He Rui intended to break through the diplomatic blockade constructed by Britain. With He Rui's strategic penetration and execution reaching such a level, Japan truly could not cope.

The several Lieutenant Generals were actually not muddled people; their anger was merely an emotion born of despair. After speaking a few sentences, they also felt it was meaningless. They looked at the silent Nagata, wanting to hear the views of this "Wall of the Empire." If even Nagata had no solution, the Army high command would not know where the future lay.

Nagata spoke, "Gentlemen, at present, there is no other way but to endure."

A single sentence caused the hearts of the Lieutenant Generals to sink. It was somewhat ironic to say, but in recent years, with the popularity of "He's Philosophy" in Japan, after Japanese Army officers privately studied and exchanged ideas on "He's Philosophy," they could all clearly understand that as long as the economy could be maintained, political stability could be achieved even without continued rapid development. Under such a situation, enduring and waiting for an opportunity was indeed a completely acceptable policy.

No matter how strong He Rui was, he was human, and humans always made mistakes. Even if He Rui did not make mistakes, people in He Rui's government would. As long as the time was long enough, an opportunity would eventually descend.

But Japan's current economic situation was deteriorating day by day. Japan's accumulation over the past few decades was being ruthlessly cannibalized by the status quo, and the situation faced after waking up each day was worse than yesterday.

Britain's choice to establish peaceful diplomatic relations with China undoubtedly made Japan's future even more difficult. Although He Rui would make mistakes, he would not make mistakes on major issues. The reason He Rui launched the Sino-British War was to integrate peacefully into the international society. Now, He Rui would absolutely not allow anyone within China to destroy the hard-won status quo.

Looking at Japan's geopolitical reality, for every day China's status quo was maintained, Japan's despair would also continue for a day. This was by no means a problem that could be solved by endurance. If they endured any longer, Japan's development over the past few decades would be eaten away completely.

Watching the changes in the expressions of those Lieutenant Generals, Nagata knew very well what these people were thinking, but he did not point it out. Because these Army dignitaries knew very well that if Japan wanted to embark on a new path, a price had to be paid, and this price was the entire Japanese dignitary class.

If the dignitary class were all like Professor Ping Fengsheng, there would be no need to worry about their safety. Professor Ping Fengsheng came from a wealthy family, but his money was earned through his own scholarship. Relying on his income from the past ten-plus years, Professor Ping bought over a thousand *mu* of land in his hometown, qualifying as a large rural landlord.

In the past ten years, Professor Ping had gathered the land to create a rural commune. This commune was no different from He Rui's land reform. As a landlord, Professor Ping Fengsheng did not collect rent himself but distributed two *mu* of land to every landless peasant in the village. It was not easy for peasants to eat their fill relying on just two *mu* of land, but they would not starve to death. During the slack farming season, the village set up some handicraft workshops and also built water conservancy projects and planted mulberry trees and bamboo forests, allowing the labor force to have some other income.

With a big shot like Professor Ping taking the lead, small landlords and small farmers with a bit of land all flocked to Professor Ping and joined his "commune." In the entire village, not only were land use rights very equal, but they also used the income from public land to establish a provident fund and built a primary school. If children could pass the entrance exam for junior high school, the commune would provide funding for their studies. In recent years, as Japanese industry shrank, those educated young children were forced to return to the countryside after losing their jobs, where they obtained land to farm. They did not suffer from hunger and cold due to unemployment, nor did they have to sell their sons and daughters to survive the difficulties.

Compared with other regions of Japan, Professor Ping Fengsheng's hometown had a bit of a Shangri-La feel to it. However, the path chosen by the Japanese dignitaries was the opposite of Professor Ping Fengsheng's. They used all the capital they controlled to desperately oppress the populace, levying exorbitant taxes. If a new era arrived, the angry populace would spare Professor Ping Fengsheng, but how would the angry populace treat this bunch of dignitaries?

Since the dignitaries were unwilling to be the price of the new era, Nagata Tetsuzan, as a member of the dignitaries, absolutely could not let the new era arrive. This was Nagata's obligation.

The other Lieutenant Generals also roused themselves from their depression at this time. They also knew that what Nagata said was correct, so they earnestly discussed how to "endure."

Nagata had planned for this long ago and had discussed it with the Army officers for a long time. With the situation having reached this point, Nagata actually lost the resistance he faced before. "The urgent task now lies in eliminating those troublemakers and buying time for Japan. The Outline of Japan's Restoration is not without merit; the biggest problem in this Outline is that the plan is initiated by the Diet rather than by the Emperor."

Hearing Nagata say this, the eyes of the Lieutenant Generals immediately became sharp. A word popped up in everyone's heart: "Imperial Rule."

The Emperor was regarded as a deity by the Japanese folk. Imperial Rule was a deity directly issuing instructions to humans. Although Japan's current political system also borrowed Western political terms such as "Diet," it actually originated from the shogunate system of that year. The shogunate sidelined the Emperor, making the Emperor the nominal ruler and the religious master of Shintoism. But this precisely guaranteed the iron-clad Emperor and the fluid shogunate and *daimyo*.

The Lieutenant Generals were all very clear that, regardless of whether the Emperor personally had the will to rule, Imperial Rule alone would undoubtedly be a thorough coup d'état. Imperial Rule would require a brand-new government system and government personnel, and the military was undoubtedly an extremely important human resource for the Emperor's government. And although the upper echelons of the military had myriad links with the privileged rentier class, and quite a few high-ranking Army and Navy officers were even born of the privileged class.

However, the dignitary class and the privileged rentier class were not equal. In many aspects, there were profound contradictions between the dignitary class and the privileged class. The Army Lieutenant Generals also did not care for the privileged rentier class. If the privileges of the privileged rentier class could be greatly weakened, thereby improving the Japanese economy, the Army Lieutenant Generals would not likely oppose someone doing so.

Then the key point came: who was qualified to do this!

Looking throughout Japan, the Emperor undoubtedly had such qualifications.

Nagata had long performed countless deductions for Japan's future and also had very many scenarios. However, with the changes in the external environment, the companions who were once in the same trench had turned into the opposing side, while the once hostile forces had instead turned into forces that could be united.

With the current situation, Nagata found that the "Control Faction" (Tōseiha) he had strived to promote could actually take shape. Although this was forced, maintaining a stable domestic system under a stable external environment could be considered a kind of luck.

"The future Japan must be One Party, One Nation, One Leader. Only in this way can we endure and tide over the difficulties," Nagata said.

Historically, Nagata did not know that his philosophy would be called Fascism by later generations. If he knew, he would definitely feel baffled and even a bit aggrieved. Japan, a dignified Imperial Kingdom of three thousand years, what relationship did it have with the Romans' Fascism? Japan's social system originated from Japan's long history, not from concepts introduced from foreign countries.

In Nagata's conception, the internal rebels in Japan had to be solved first. To create a strategic window for Japan's political reform, or rather, a coup d'état. The Diet could be retained, and even the so-called elected government could exist in form. However, Japan's political reform must be initiated by the Emperor and the people around the Emperor. The people around the Emperor were naturally those national pillars who truly loved Japan, with Nagata at the core.

The Outline of Japan's Restoration proposed by Professor Ping Fengsheng was not impossible to implement, but it had to be implemented in an orderly manner under the guidance of the Emperor's personal government.

In this period where one must sever an arm to survive, the privileges of the privileged rentier class naturally had to be reduced. The nation's distribution system also needed adjustment. But these changes and adjustments must be carried out under the orders of the Emperor's government, and the executors must first pledge loyalty to the new system. Anyone who wanted to seek their own interests from this change was a traitor to the country. In extraordinary times, no living space could be left for traitors.

The Army Lieutenant Generals were very familiar with this; this was the rhetoric of the "Imperial Way Faction" (Kōdōha). Just looking at the so-called "basic philosophy," there seemed to be no difference between the Imperial Way Faction and the Control Faction; both were "One Party, One Nation, One Leader."

But in reality, the Imperial Way Faction and the privileged rentier class were in the same gang, while the Control Faction stood with the Japanese industrial and commercial <i>zaibatsu</i>. If they wanted to make a move against the privileged rentier class, they had to exterminate the rural Imperial Way Faction like Tanaka Giichi. With things having come to this, the Lieutenant Generals knew they had no choice but to be forced to make a choice.