Ishiwara Kanji knew very well how ruthless He Rui could be in his strategic judgments, so he harbored no illusions of luck. With the Japanese general election approaching, Ishiwara did not make any unnecessary struggles and directly appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yagyu Komei, as a special envoy to visit Beijing, China, to seek an audience with He Rui.

Outside the window, the gloomy clouds of the rainy season were dense. Yagyu Komei's seat was directly facing the window. Looking through the glass, the top of the restored Tokyo Tower disappeared into the gray clouds, seemingly struggling against the drifting clouds.

Withdrawing his gaze, Yagyu said, "Your Excellency President, Your Excellency Prime Minister, I believe that on the Ryukyu issue, we can treat it as equivalent to Assam and Upper Burma."

The meeting also included Minister of Defense Yamamoto Isoroku, Minister of Internal Affairs Mikami Tsugio, and Minister of Finance Inukai Tsuyoshi. Hearing Foreign Minister Yagyu's view, all three expressed their agreement. Hira Toyomori and Ishiwara exchanged a glance upon seeing their reaction. Both saw the same emotion in the other's eyes. Ruthless strategic planning meant doing things thoroughly; He Rui could not have failed to consider Japan's various calculations.

After the exchange of glances, Hira Toyomori felt it was not appropriate for Ishiwara to explain at this moment, so he said, "Mr. He has a far-reaching vision. I fear his advocacy for economic integration covers the entire Asian continent."

A gleam passed through Yamamoto Isoroku's eyes before he lowered his gaze. Under the Ministry of Defense, although the Army and Navy were finally unified, the Navy had held many internal discussions. The Navy supported the new government's economic policies, but they also hoped for a bright future for themselves. Even if the future Japan would not beat its swords into plowshares, a Japanese military that no longer sought expansion would be nothing more than a watchdog of peace, and would not receive continuous strengthening.

Although it was not explicitly stated in the Navy's internal discussions, some Japanese naval officers expected He Rui to adopt an expansionist policy. Only in this way would the Navy receive sustained investment due to the availability of battles to fight. If China continued to expand externally, Japan, as an ally, would benefit, and the Japanese Navy in the coalition forces would also be strengthened through continuous investment.

Hira Toyomori's words gave Yamamoto a clear sense of expansion. To bring Asian countries into an Asian Economic Community, the European and American powers would inevitably have to be driven out of Asia. Furthermore, only by defeating Europe and America in a war across a broader field could they ensure that the West acknowledged the reality of their withdrawal from Asia.

If that were the case, Yamamoto felt it was not worth falling out with China over a mere Ryukyu.

The perspectives of the others differed from Yamamoto's. Inukai Tsuyoshi asked, "Could it be that Chairman He would actually allow the independence of Upper Burma and the Assam region?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the Ministers who had not yet spoken changed. The Assam region was rich in black tea, while Upper Burma was rich in teak. Both regions were in the tropics, and China had already sent many immigrants to both places to open plantations for tropical economic crops. It was heard that cane sugar from the Burma region was already being transported by rail to ports in Lower Burma and then shipped by sea to China. When Inukai Tsuyoshi said that China would actually let these two places establish independent states, most of the Japanese present did not believe it. At the very least, Japan would never voluntarily give them up.

Only then did Ishiwara speak, "Whether it is true or not, we can just ask Mr. He directly when we meet him. Mr. He has a magnificent spirit and will certainly not deceive us. Yagyu-kun, you will go to Beijing as a special envoy."

"Yes," Yagyu Komei replied hurriedly. As a special envoy, there were many preparations to be made, but the reason Yagyu wanted to leave quickly at this moment was that he wanted to organize his thoughts. However, Yagyu heard Ishiwara continue, "If Mr. He is indeed promoting the independence of Assam and Upper Burma for the sake of Asian economic integration, I believe Japan should respect such an attitude."

Yagyu Komei felt that as a special envoy, he indeed needed to clarify He Rui's thinking and attitude. As for whether to respect this attitude, Yagyu only knew that if they didn't, a war might break out. The reason the upper echelons of the Japanese state had not mustered the courage for military confrontation this time was largely because after the Sino-British War, China had forcibly extracted the Assam region and Upper Burma from the tiger's mouth that was Britain. Since even the British had conceded, Japan did not have the courage to resist to the end.

A few days later, as the special envoy and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Japan, Yagyu Komei met He Rui in the study of the Chinese State Chairman's residence in Beijing. When stepping forward to offer greetings, Yagyu Komei said, "Chairman He, hello. But if I may, I would prefer to say to you: Hello, Teaching Assistant He."

He Rui had an impression of Yagyu Komei. When He Rui was a specially appointed researcher and teaching assistant at the University of Tokyo, Yagyu Komei was Hira Toyomori's student, belonging to the early students of Geopolitics. In the cultural habits of East Asia, Yagyu Komei's form of address already represented many things.

Yagyu Komei had great confidence in the mutual trust between the current heads of state of China and Japan. To put it extremely, it was a trust where if one side said they would kill the other's whole family, they would definitely follow through to the end. Concealment and probing were meaningless for current Sino-Japanese relations, so the conversation quickly cut to the main topic. After hearing Yagyu Komei's question about whether to completely restore the traditional East Asian borders, He Rui answered readily, "First, we must establish an East Asian Free Trade Zone. Korea, Taiwan, and Ryukyu are all under a state of Sino-Japanese joint management. After the joint management period ends, the only content of the referendums for Korea and Ryukyu will be whether to become independent."

He Rui did not mention Taiwan, and Yagyu Komei did not ask about Taiwan in detail; both sides were very clear on China's attitude towards Taiwan. Following his previous preparations, Yagyu Komei said, "Your Excellency, Ryukyu is something Japan cannot give up, just as Burma is something China cannot give up."

He Rui laughed, "Haha. We are currently organizing local autonomous governments in the Burma and Assam regions to prepare for their independence in ten years."

Even though Hira Toyomori and Ishiwara Kanji had judged that China would likely allow the independence of Assam and Upper Burma, Yagyu Komei was still stunned by He Rui's words. He even suspected that He Rui might not have spoken Japanese for many years, leading to a mistake in expression.

He Rui continued, "I will emphasize it again. China is preparing for the independence of the Upper Burma and Assam regions in ten years. In ten years, these two regions will not just be starting independence, but the local autonomous governments established during these ten years will directly take over political power."

"...Why?" Yagyu Komei asked in a voice trembling with shock.

"Economic development is about increasing the consumption power of the people by raising the level of productive forces. Colonies are objects for plunder; if the wealth of the colonial people is plundered, the colony cannot develop. Therefore, from the perspective of human development, colonialism must be eliminated."

Yagyu Komei felt sincerity in He Rui's tone and demeanor, and couldn't help asking, "Then what does China hope the two regions will do after independence?"

"Of course, we hope that both countries can continue on the path of developing productive forces and improving the living standards and civilization level of their own people. Moreover, Asian integration will allow Burma to modernize faster and shorten the time required for development. The faster the development speed, the less suffering the people will endure. This has been proven by history."

Yagyu Komei pondered for a while before replying, "I admire Your Excellency's foresight. But Your Excellency seems to be speaking of modernization, not industrialization."

"The Burma region is not suitable for heavy industry; this is determined by Burma's geographical environment. Likewise, Burma has many goods suitable for local production. If they cannot trade at fair prices, Burma cannot obtain the industrial goods to develop their advantage industries. Economic integration can solve this problem."

"You want to cooperate between countries?"

"It is coordination under economic integration. Yagyu-kun, do you know of 'bumper harvest famine'?"

Yagyu Komei had seen this description in Chinese history books, but he had never really seen it in Japan. So Yagyu shook his head.

He Rui felt he had taken it for granted, so he changed his explanation, "When grain prices fall, it has a huge impact on farmers. When grain prices skyrocket, it is unfavorable for urban consumers. Therefore, a relatively stable agricultural price is beneficial for both producers and consumers of agricultural products. This contradiction also exists between different countries, necessitating an economic cooperation organization to solve this problem and ensure that overall price fluctuations do not destroy economic development. Because agricultural countries also need reasonably priced industrial goods. If we can solve the market sales and raw material issues of each country's products through economic integration, and solve the problems encountered in each country's development through an economic cooperation organization, then although Burma cannot establish efficient heavy industry due to its natural environment, it can still complete its domestic modernization through trade..."

That night, Yagyu Komei stood before the glass window of his hotel room, looking at the street scene of Beijing. Unlike Tokyo, China's capital was not in the plum rain belt; the half-moon and scattered starlight were clearly visible in the clear night sky. Reconstruction in Tokyo had been slow after the Great Kanto Earthquake and the economic depression, and it only began to recover quickly after the success of the revolution. Beijing, on the other hand, was newly built, similar to Tokyo.

Comparing the two places, one could feel that Beijing was obviously more vibrant and the construction speed was faster. Moreover, with its extremely wide streets and orderly residential districts, the layout of China's capital was clearly superior to that of Tokyo. And He Rui's vision far exceeded that of the Japanese government. Even in the Japanese government's most self-satisfied era, they only discussed a vision of Japan leading Asia. Yet He Rui was now already beginning to implement his strategic concept in East Asia.

Yagyu Komei struggled to break free from his emotions. What he could be sure of was that He Rui was determined to restore the old borders of East Asia. Facing such a firm attitude, Yagyu Komei no longer had the resistance he had felt before coming. Suddenly, Yagyu Komei felt he understood why Hira Toyomori and Ishiwara Kanji wanted to persuade the Ministry of Defense first, and then persuade the departments with little relation to the economy. Putting those departments closely related to industry, as well as those with little connection to industry, for last.

As long as no one in the cabinet strongly objected, the departments related to industry were actually very easy to persuade. Because Japan was an island nation; without sufficient trade, the Japanese economy would have no room for greater improvement no matter how much effort was spent.

Feeling that he had figured this out, Yagyu Komei sat back on the sofa. He had decided to take a plane back to his country early tomorrow morning and report the content of this meeting to the cabinet in detail. Thinking of the future under economic integration, Yagyu Komei felt both uneasy and expectant. He even wished he could fly back to his country right now.