The students kneeling in front of Sakuradamon in Tokyo showed no intention of leaving. The palace was quiet, and there was no sign of anyone coming out. The guards' hearts, which had held some expectation, turned cold again. It seemed there would be no response from within the palace.

Unlike those foolish students, the soldiers of the Imperial Guard Division saw nobles and senior statesmen coming and going every day, as well as the civil and military attendants of the Emperor and the Prince Regent entering and exiting the palace. If one were to say the Emperor and the Prince Regent were hoodwinked by these people, the soldiers of the Imperial Guard wouldn't dare to make a judgment, but to say the Emperor knew nothing of Japan's current situation was certainly a lie.

The attendants of the Emperor and the Crown Prince had come out several times to observe the petitioning students from a distance; the Emperor and the Crown Prince definitely knew what was happening outside. Since no one had been sent out by now, it must be that the Emperor did not want to see the students.

The sky grew dark, and the guard at Sakuradamon was about to change. In the dead of winter, with the guard changing, those students were still kneeling outside Sakuradamon. It seemed that even if these people froze to death kneeling outside the gate, no one from the palace would come to comfort them.

After handing over to the relief guard, the squad had just returned to line up inside the palace gate. The officers, with dark faces, severely scolded these men for daring to talk back to their superiors. This referred to when the officers ordered the dispersal of the students, and the junior officers and soldiers refused to act on the grounds that they could not leave their posts without permission.

But this reason was flawless, and the officers couldn't use it as a pretext. However, looking at the officers' ferocious expressions and angry roars, presumably, everyone would be given a hard time in the future.

After the officer finished scolding the troops, he dismissed them to return to the barracks. They had just walked a dozen meters when suddenly, faint screams came from outside the palace gate. The officers and soldiers were all stunned and stopped in their tracks. For such sounds to suddenly come from outside Sakuradamon, they wondered who dared to cause a disturbance.

Disregarding everything else, the officer immediately ordered the soldiers to stop and ran straight for the palace gate himself. Before long, the officer ran back hurriedly and shouted, "All of you follow me outside the gate to strengthen the defense!"

The soldiers ran out of the palace gate again, only to see that the students who had been kneeling all over the ground not long ago had scattered significantly. Many people were lying on the snow, struggling. Although the light was dim, those students were indeed injured. And the fear and despair in their cries of pain were by no means feigned.

Before long, a large number of police arrived, picked up the students, threw them onto the arriving trucks, and took them away. Night fell, and the dim streetlights came on. Looking at the snow again, apart from a mess of footprints, not a single person could be seen.

Four days later, on January 14, 1927, the ship Ishiwara Kanji was on finally arrived in Tokyo. That evening, Ishiwara met with several field officers, ranging from Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel. These faces were familiar, only the names were strange. After introductions, these officers were from various divisions stationed north of Tokyo, all new members of the Future Society. They had come to Tokyo for a meeting and, hearing of Ishiwara's return, immediately came to meet him.

The officers brought Ishiwara a piece of news: the three divisions returning from India hadn't arrived yet, but the General Staff had already begun making transfer plans for their personnel. Ishiwara just nodded after listening. It seemed the Ministry of War and the General Staff viewed these three divisions as a threat. But this was good; personnel transfers would instead give Ishiwara opportunities.

Seeing Ishiwara's confident appearance, several officers immediately asked, "Excellency, we all agree with the Outline for Japan's Future Society and voluntarily joined the revolution. But is Your Excellency certain that after the revolution succeeds, He Rui will definitely support us?"

Ishiwara looked at the apprehension in these officers' eyes and asked frankly, "As soon as the revolution succeeds, we will immediately implement the Japan Land Outline throughout Japan. Do you think Japan will be saved?"

The officers were stunned for a moment, then answered, "At least the countryside will be saved."

Ishiwara continued to ask, "The countryside is saved. We begin to reorganize the urban economy. Just the reconstruction of Tokyo—how many people will be recruited, how many jobs will be provided? These economic policies alone are enough to stabilize the Japanese economy so that it no longer declines."

The officers' eyes lit up, and they nodded one after another. Many of these officers had attended the Army War College. In recent years, the Japanese government had loudly cursed China for interrupting Sino-Japanese trade, causing Japan's economic recession. These officers could all understand the economic principles involved.

For the past few decades, Japan had gained economic benefits by winning wars, yet He Rui had defeated Japan relying only on the Northeast region. Now He Rui controlled all of China, and even Britain had to admit defeat. The Japanese officers knew very well that if they used force against China again, it would be a complete dead end. In utter despair, a large number of Japanese field officers had turned to choose the Future Society.

After reading the Japan Future Society's revolutionary plan, the officers' understanding of Sino-Japanese economic and trade relations deepened significantly. If Japan could not get China's support now, it would be absolutely impossible to restore the economy quickly.

Even knowing his question might displease Ishiwara, a colonel still continued to ask, "Excellency, if the economy doesn't improve quickly after the revolution, we will certainly face a counterattack."

Ishiwara was indeed very unhappy in his heart, but these officers were not originally within the scope of his recruitment. Since even they had chosen revolution, he couldn't let such a large force be disappointed. Ishiwara answered, "Once the Japanese revolution succeeds and advances along the path opened up by the Chinese revolution, Japan will certainly be saved. Gentlemen, you should have considered the trade relationship between China and Japan. In the past three years, has the government ever issued a threat of war against China? If not, why has China consistently refused to restore trade with Japan?"

Hearing this, the officers could only nod in agreement. Since the defeat, the Japanese public had been quite hostile towards China, but the Japanese government had been extremely restrained and had issued no further military threats. But while they didn't say it, the Japanese government's actions still couldn't break free from previous national policies. He Rui was no fool; how could a few words deceive him?

Ishiwara struck while the iron was hot. "Gentlemen, Japan is not without a future. I have always believed Japan has a bright future. What we need to do is lead Japan to that future. We are not out to slaughter, but to clear away all obstacles blocking the path to Japan's future. As for what Japan's future should look like, the Future Society has already stated it clearly enough, so I won't repeat it! Gentlemen, do you have any other questions?"

The officers looked at each other and saw the struggle in each other's hearts. If possible, they also didn't wish to carry out a thorough purge of Japan's upper class, but the current Japan had no other choice.

Just then, Aizawa Saburō spoke up. "Have you gentlemen heard of the massacre in front of Sakuradamon?"

Several officers had been in meetings since arriving in Tokyo and hadn't specifically inquired about what was happening in Tokyo. Moreover, there was no news in the newspapers, so naturally, they didn't know. However, Sakuradamon was the main gate of the Imperial Palace. For a massacre to happen right at the Palace gate truly shocked these officers.

Aizawa Saburō briefly recounted the massacre at Sakuradamon to these officers. Patriotic Japanese students went to petition in front of Sakuradamon, kneeling for several hours without receiving any response. At dusk, dozens of black-clad men with knives suddenly rushed out and attacked the students. The students had been kneeling for hours; where would they have the strength to dodge? Casualties were heavy. Aizawa Saburō hadn't been able to find out the exact numbers, only learning that nearly ten people were killed on the spot and dozens injured. After the injured were sent to the hospital, nearly ten more died due to severe wounds.

Hearing that such a lawless tragedy had actually occurred, the officers couldn't fully believe it for a moment. Aizawa Saburō took out a list. "Gentlemen, you can see if there are any people you know on it. If there are, won't you know once you ask?"

The officers hurriedly took the list and read it carefully, and indeed found a few names they recognized. Unless they were different people with the same names, based on the officers' knowledge of these individuals, they were extremely moderate people. They were extremely loyal to the Japanese Imperial Family and government and would never participate in any anti-government actions.

Aizawa Saburō continued, "Gentlemen, Japan has fallen into despair. The current government and powerful elites not only do not worry about the country but instead only think of suppressing and slaughtering patriots. Do you think the slaughter will end here? In the eyes of those elites, as long as the Japanese people refuse to obediently starve to death, they will continue killing."

The officers didn't know what to say at this point. Aizawa Saburō was already making it clear to everyone that arrests and suppression would not end but would be carried out even more fiercely. That is to say, if things continued to develop according to the current situation, Japan was beyond saving!

Several people hesitated for a moment and asked Ishiwara, "Excellency, what exactly should we do?"

"Identify the people in each division who are hindering Japan's future," Ishiwara ordered in a voice chilling to the bone.

Several officers shuddered but stood at attention and saluted, "Yes."

After the men left, Aizawa reported the recent progress to Ishiwara. The restoration of peace between Britain and China had a huge impact on the Japanese army. Facing financial exhaustion, the Japanese government had to propose a disarmament plan. Before this plan was even implemented, it had already caused more Japanese officers and soldiers to completely change their attitudes. In despair, the view that Japan must have a revolution began to become mainstream in the army.

Civilian revolutionary forces had been forced into silence after months of arrests and crackdowns by Japan's upper echelons, but anger among the people was gathering continuously, especially as the government mobilized propaganda tools to desperately depict the people's desire not to starve to death as 'riots'. As for those classes that were barely holding on and hadn't yet lost their jobs, although they didn't dare to make the slightest move, they were equally desperate about the current situation. If a revolution broke out in Japan, even if these people wouldn't welcome it, they definitely wouldn't oppose it.

The ones who truly began to organize against the revolution were the powerful elites and the Japanese landlord class. The elites knew Japan's desperate situation very well, while the landlords were stimulated by the Japan Land Restoration Outline. After seeing the land reform policies in the Chinese revolution, they maintained strong fear and opposition to any revolution.

After listening to Aizawa Saburō's detailed introduction, Ishiwara said, "Aizawa, I will likely be monitored next. So, let the comrades make preparations quickly. Tell the comrades that the time for revolution is approaching fast. Let the comrades develop more comrades as soon as possible. Once the enemy and ourselves are clearly defined, the revolution can be launched!"

Aizawa Saburō still lacked confidence. "Excellency, this matter still needs you to direct from the center."

"No." Ishiwara shook his head. "The people already know what Japan's future should look like. The only thing missing now is emotion. Whether to freeze to death, starve to death, or die struggling for a new Japan—judging from the Sakuradamon massacre, the Japanese public still has illusions. But the elites have large amounts of wealth and food in their own storehouses, while the national treasury is about to be empty. Identify the enemies quickly now. A Japan with an empty treasury will arrive very soon. Aizawa, according to intelligence, in two months at most, the Japanese economy will really be unable to hold on."

Aizawa Saburō wanted to say more, but a knock came from outside. Aizawa alertly lifted his military saber and opened the door carefully. The one knocking was a comrade responsible for guarding this meeting. "Branch Chief Aizawa, comrades within the Tokkō sent word that the Tokkō has already sent people to monitor His Excellency."

Even a Lieutenant General like Ishiwara was to be monitored; Aizawa understood how tense the situation had become. He bowed to Ishiwara, "Excellency, I will leave first. I will definitely execute the matters Your Excellency ordered with full effort."

Ishiwara also bowed to Aizawa, "Everything relies on Aizawa-kun and the comrades!"

A while after Aizawa and the others left, Ishiwara walked to the second-floor window and pushed it open. He saw several people who were obviously monitors standing under the eaves across the street. Hearing the sound of the window opening, not only did they not hide, but they actually looked back at Ishiwara. The expressions on their faces were gloomy and cold, showing no concealment even when making eye contact with an Army Lieutenant General.

Ishiwara looked at them for a moment before closing the window. To say he didn't care about his own safety at all would be false; Ishiwara hadn't cultivated his mind to the point of fearlessness yet. But because of the almost brazen behavior of these people, Ishiwara remembered a sentence he heard British high command cursing He Rui with in India: 'Whom God would destroy, He first makes mad.'

If those people could still control the situation, they could totally dismiss Ishiwara or even imprison him. Adopting such public surveillance to intimidate an Army Lieutenant General only proved that those people had reached a dead end and had no other means.

Nagata Tetsuzan watched the snow scene with a cold face at this time. He heard that Ishiwara had returned to the country but did absolutely nothing against Ishiwara. Because Nagata himself had suffered considerable frustration at this time. Previously, Nagata wanted to contact Army Lieutenant Generals, hoping to organize a restoration.

But after thinking it over, the Army Lieutenant Generals chose not to join. The field officers, originally high-spirited and thinking they could truly serve the country by getting rid of the old things, also became cautious after the news of the major disarmament spread. If they got rid of the old things only to take over an empty treasury, it would be better to let the old guys sit on the stage for a while longer, at least until the interest-free loan from Britain to Japan arrived before taking action.

Looking at the snow scene outside the window, Nagata suddenly remembered that snowy night five years ago. He and Ishiwara discussed Japan's future on the campus of the Army War College. Nagata knew very well that he couldn't act now, but Ishiwara wouldn't hold back. With the path Ishiwara wanted to take, his time had come.

Is this the future of Japan? Aside from despair, for a moment, Nagata didn't know what other mood he had.