"Gentlemen, what do you think the Great Empire of Japan will lose if we sign this agreement?" Ishiwara's tone had already hardened. Everything that needed to be said had been said; if they still couldn't agree, it would be based on emotion rather than fact. Ishiwara didn't think he needed to waste time on these people.

After waiting for a while, Ishiwara saw no one raising an objection. Since these fellows were so sensible, Ishiwara took the responsibility upon himself. "If no one objects, the Cabinet will pass this agreement. The focus of the current administration's work will shift to economic construction. If, during this administration's four-year term, the annual economic growth can exceed 5%, the Japanese public will fully understand the significance and value of our decision for Japan."

Hearing the figure of 5% annual economic growth, the Minister of Finance's face twitched twice, as if he had a sudden, severe toothache. Most of the other Ministers noticed the Finance Minister's expression and couldn't help but feel sympathetic. If the growth rate Ishiwara expected was truly achieved, the Japanese public would certainly be able to accept the decision to allow colonial independence. Even if a minority were dissatisfied, they wouldn't really cause any waves. However, this growth rate was not easy to achieve. It was practically certain that the Minister of Finance would find it difficult.

Ishiwara, however, did not waver at all. Judged strategically, China must pull Japan along to face external challenges together, and China's leader is a strategist of such high caliber as He Rui, so he wasn't worried that He Rui would renege on his word after restoring the old borders. As long as He Rui didn't break his word, the opportunity before Japan was enormous.

As for long-term interests, Ishiwara believed that the forces of East Asia would inevitably go to war with Europe and America. As long as Japan truly cooperated and contributed, given He Rui's breadth of mind and boldness, Ishiwara believed that while China ate the meat, Japan could at least gnaw on the meaty bones.

Although he didn't know if his government could last until then, if it really could, Ishiwara believed he would definitely lead Japan to an unprecedentedly bright realm. But Ishiwara decided to bet everything he had. He ordered, "Minister Yagyu, please introduce the content of the negotiated agreement to everyone."

What He Rui wanted was to restore the old order of East Asia, which naturally also satisfied Japan's needs. Taiwan was a security issue for Japan, so the Japanese military could use berths in three major ports in Taiwan for 20 years, and the Army's withdrawal would also be completed over 5 years.

If Ryukyu chose independence, Japan could also continue to use military ports in Ryukyu for 20 years. As compensation, China would cooperate with Japan in the field of synthetic ammonia production.

Korea's independence process would be divided into 10 years, with both China and Japan guiding Korea's domestic and foreign affairs. Japanese enterprises and legal property in Korea would be protected by law. However, Korea would inevitably implement land reform, so Japanese land in Korea would be subject to the land redemption policy adopted by both China and Japan.

Hearing up to this point, the faces of some Japanese cabinet members finally turned ugly. The so-called 'redemption' meant the average yield per mu over the past five normal years multiplied by 1.2 as the land redemption price. This was essentially state seizure of land. But since both China and Japan had done this sort of thing, there wasn't much to say.

Korea had to provide Japan with a portion of the 'redemption fees.' To spare Korea's pride, the national redemption fee would naturally be given a pleasant-sounding name. And China would guarantee this national redemption fee. If Korea couldn't come up with the money, China would pay it on Korea's behalf.

China's only requirement was that during the 10 years of transfer of governance, China and Japan would manage their respective sides with the 38th parallel as the demarcation line.

Economically, besides restoring Sino-Japanese trade, China opened its futures market to Japan and simultaneously accepted Japan's entry into the trading system between China and the Soviet Union. Japan could obtain raw materials from the futures market and could also enter the trade system of China and the Soviet Union.

Even Minister of Defense Yamamoto Isoroku felt that what Japan had failed to pursue through several wars had now been achieved through peace. Yamamoto Isoroku also sensed a tremendous danger.

"If we don't agree, will China go to war?" Yamamoto Isoroku heard such a voice. Just as he was looking to see which cabinet member had said it, he heard Foreign Minister Yagyu Komei answer decisively, "This is indeed the Foreign Ministry's judgment."

Hearing Yagyu Komei answer so frankly, the cabinet members ceased mentioning this question. When Yagyu Komei finished reading the conditions offered by China, Ishiwara asked, "Do you gentlemen have any other questions?"

Most cabinet members wanted to ask what to do if China didn't keep its word. But no one raised this question because the impression the Japanese Cabinet members had of He Rui was that of a very strong leader. Such leaders rarely reneged on agreements. Only the Minister of Finance asked, "What if Japanese goods earn too much in China?"

Ishiwara answered decisively, "If trade disputes arise, China and Japan will resolve them through negotiation."

Ishiwara knew he had to convince the cabinet members; in Ishiwara's assessment, Japan had obtained a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Also having to convince cabinet members was He Rui. At a meeting of the Chinese government's high-level officials, Minister of Industry Zhuang Jiaxiong asked straightforwardly, "If Japan finds they have a trade deficit in industrial goods, will they make unreasonable demands?"

He Rui shook his head. "Japan is an industrial country after all; short-term surpluses or deficits won't have a direct impact. As for structural deficits, we should be able to solve them through negotiating how to cooperate."

This question surprised the Minister of Propaganda somewhat. He asked, "Minister Zhuang, why are you so confident?"

Under everyone's gaze, Zhuang Jiaxiong flipped through his folder, found the page regarding Japan's industrial production capacity, opened it, and then read the key points: "Current Japanese machine tool inventory, classified by usage, is as follows. Lathes: about 35,900 units, with production times as follows: lathes produced in 1900 account for 33% of Japan's existing lathes..."

After reading Japan's figures, Zhuang Jiaxiong read China's figures. The leaders of departments related to industry looked very relaxed. The Minister of Propaganda had some understanding of industry, but at this moment he couldn't fully comprehend the result of this comparison, so he asked, "I think Japan has advantages over us in many crafts. Won't these advantages be reflected in trade?"

Zhuang Jiaxiong shook his head. "Japan's craftsmanship lags behind France's. Japan's mechanical equipment is older and has lower precision than the French equipment we introduced. We have introduced technology and equipment for most industrial categories from France. If Japan has any advantage, it's that their education started earlier, and at this stage, they have more skilled workers than we do. But the effect of these skilled workers is limited compared to the advanced nature and high precision of equipment. So at this stage, our industrial goods can stand on par with Japan's; Japanese goods do not possess an advantage. Moreover, regarding those Japanese skilled workers, in order to improve the production level of Chinese factories as quickly as possible, we are also preparing to introduce a batch of them to enrich our skilled worker ranks, provided an agreement is reached between China and Japan."

The Minister of Propaganda nodded. The target audience of the Propaganda Department was the ordinary masses; it was enough for the ordinary people to have a normal view of Japan.

Instead, He Rui said, "In our Chinese culture, propaganda about foreign countries tends to be polarized. Either portraying foreign countries as very good, or portraying them as very bad. The masses have limited financial resources and cannot travel abroad to study or tour, so in terms of propaganda, we must make the masses realize that there is a country called Japan, and that most people in this country are normal people. To this extent is fine. There is no need to deliberately emphasize Japan's good points, nor emphasize Japan's bad points. Japan is a country with a population of tens of millions; there are good people and bad people. From the Japanese perspective, Japan's interests are naturally higher than China's interests. This is the real Japan."

The Minister of Propaganda had planned the work this way, but hearing some emotion in He Rui's tone, he thought it was the result of He Rui's extreme dissatisfaction with the propaganda within the country during the Qing Dynasty's return. He quickly stated, "The Propaganda Department will follow the Chairman's line of thinking."

The Minister of Propaganda didn't know that He Rui recalled the "Sino-Japanese Friendship" propaganda from the 1990s in another timeline, which had left a terrible impression on him. At least He Rui didn't feel there was any necessity for China and Japan to become "brotherly nations" at that time. Even now, He Rui had no intention of forgiving Japanese militarism from another timeline.

Both sides' upper echelons were ready to sign. On September 1, 1928, the Japanese delegation arrived in Kaifeng. On the first day, the Chinese side invited the Japanese delegation to eat Kaifeng cuisine on the Imperial Street of Kaifeng. Henan specialties like Xiao Long Bao and Carp with Roasted Noodles satisfied the Japanese delegation greatly.

After lunch, Japanese Foreign Minister Yagyu Komei and Chinese Foreign Minister Li Shiguang took the lead, walking through this famous historical city of China. Yagyu Komei smiled and said, "Tokyo Bianliang, the capital of the Song Dynasty. This name has quite a destiny with present-day Japan."

Li Shiguang nodded. "After Edo was renamed, it is indeed so." Until the Shogunate was overthrown, the Emperor of Japan had always lived in Kyoto. After the Tokugawa Shogunate fell, the Japanese Emperor moved the capital to Edo, where the Shogunate was located, and renamed Edo to Tokyo.

Yagyu Komei asked with interest, "Since we have arrived in Tokyo, I wonder if there is an opportunity to go to Xijing, Luoyang. I have long heard of the Longmen Grottoes and truly wish to go and pay my respects."

Li Shiguang smiled. "If Minister Yagyu is interested, after the negotiations end, I will personally accompany the Japanese delegation to go there together. I have also long heard the name of Kyoto in Japan; if I have time, I would also very much like to go and experience the atmosphere of Kyoto."

"Then I will have the opportunity to fulfill the duties of a host in Japan." Yagyu Komei generously expressed his willingness to host warmly.

There were many ancient buildings in Kaifeng. White Horse Temple, Daxiangguo Temple—these famous temples were also well-known in Japan. Although Japan was Shinto, and Shinto was considered the state religion, Buddhism was the religion with the greatest influence among the Japanese people. Learning that they were going to head to Daxiangguo Temple next, Yagyu Komei and the others were very pleased.

Walking along the Imperial Street, they saw the sign of 'Goryeo Pharmacy' ahead. Yagyu Komei stopped at the door and looked; seeing that the shopkeeper and assistants inside were obviously not dressed as Goryeo people, he had no intention of entering and walked straight ahead.

After resting for a night, negotiations began on the second day. The foreign ministers of the two countries quickly exchanged the views of their respective governments, and everyone reached a consensus on principled issues. In the afternoon, specific negotiations were started by the staff of both sides.

The negotiations were divided into several groups, each responsible for negotiating a section of the content. Some were responsible for Korea, some for Taiwan, some for Sino-Japanese economics and trade, and another group was responsible for negotiating the compensation China would provide to Japan. The staff of both sides brought out details proposed according to the principled outline previously agreed upon by both parties and began to exchange views item by item.

The main time and workload of the negotiation were all in determining details. Details were presented in the content of the agreement articles, and every article contained their respective interest demands. Consensus was easily reached on most content, but some parts caused fierce debate, even disputes, between the two sides. After the negotiations ended each day, both sides would convene delegation meetings to carefully comb through the agreed content, picking at it word by word to ensure there was no ambiguity. For content with disagreements, they analyzed whether this content was within the bottom line, and if so, how to bargain.

After five busy days, the first phase of negotiations ended. Both sides received the documents provided by the other and began to pick through them word by word with translators to ensure no problems would arise. Fortunately, the textual interoperability between China and Japan was very strong. Although Japan had engaged in de-Sinicization culturally at this stage, the proportion of Chinese characters used in its official documents remained very high.

By September 11, China and Japan concluded the negotiations and gave this treaty a name: the "Tokyo Bianliang Treaty." The characteristics of the script between China and Japan allowed for significant room for interpretation of this treaty's name, and this interpretation itself was very interesting.

Li Shiguang did not break his promise. During the time the treaty was sent back to both governments for review, he invited the Japanese delegation led by Yagyu Komei to visit Luoyang.

When the train passed the Luo River, Yagyu Komei was surprised to find that the river water was actually quite clear, showing a light green color. He couldn't help but ask in great astonishment, "Is this the Yellow River?"

As the host, Li Shiguang explained, "This is the Luo River, the very Luo River where Cao Zhi wrote 'Ode to the Nymph of the Luo River'."

Yagyu Komei watched for a good while before withdrawing his gaze, praising, "I didn't expect it to be so clear; truly a place of spiritual mountains and beautiful waters."

Li Shiguang was actually somewhat surprised too, but seeing the massive amount of vegetation on both banks of the Luo River, he understood. From the time of the Northeast Government, He Rui had established Arbor Day, and government departments had to plant trees and create forests every year. After ten years of propaganda, planting trees and forests and protecting water and soil had naturally become the basic view of government officials and the public covered by newspapers and other propaganda. As long as greening was carried out in river channels and mountainous areas, the sediment washing into the rivers would naturally decrease, and the rivers would become clear.

What Li Shiguang hadn't expected was that the Luo River would become so beautiful. The current capital was right next to the Yellow River. Although annual data showed that with the rapid construction of a large number of silt storage dams on the Loess Plateau, the sediment content of the Yellow River was decreasing, the Yellow River he saw was still that turbid. Looking at the shimmering Luo River, Li Shiguang couldn't help but think, *if only the Yellow River could become like the Luo River.*

At this moment, he heard Yagyu Komei say, "I have heard a saying in China: 'When a Sage appears, the Yellow River clears.' I presume the Yellow River will also become clear."

Li Shiguang wanted to answer casually that it wouldn't be that easy. But on second thought, he answered confidently, "I believe the Yellow River will definitely become clear."

Seeing Li Shiguang so confident, Yagyu Komei felt that the Chinese government members' confidence in He Rui was extraordinarily strong.

On September 16, the Japanese delegation, having returned to Kaifeng from Luoyang, received orders from the Japanese government that they could sign. With mixed emotions of relief and unwillingness, both sides signed the "Tokyo Bianliang Treaty" in front of Pan Yang Lake.

Once this treaty was announced, it immediately triggered a huge reaction internationally. To offset the shock this treaty caused in Japan, the Second Sino-Japanese Go Challenge was held in Tokyo, Japan. The Challenge rules stated that the winner of the previous Go Challenge would welcome the loser's challenge in their own country. Japan had won the previous Go Challenge, so the Chinese Go delegation arrived in Tokyo again to challenge.

Meanwhile, the cultural ministries of both China and Japan had begun to formulate a series of upcoming exchange activities. In addition to news of the Chinese and Japanese Olympic delegations returning home from the Netherlands together, and the news that China would host the Far Eastern Championship Games in 1929, the Japanese Noh theater troupe would travel to China for a tour.

Under the overwhelming propaganda, and with the Japanese public reacting to the news of the He Rui government's series of military and diplomatic victories as well as Sino-French cooperation, the worst-case scenario Ishiwara's government had considered did not occur. This allowed the members of the Ishiwara Cabinet to breathe a sigh of relief.

But for the countries of the world, especially for Britain, China and Japan solving the East Asian problem in one go was not good news. Although peace was a good thing, the British *Times* still sourly stated in a news report, 'Under immense pressure from China, the Japanese government had to sign the "Tokyo Bianliang Treaty," turning the clock in East Asia back 50 years. Furthermore, while the current immense pressure may have prevented an outbreak of Japanese nationalism, the accumulated anger will eventually manifest...'

The next day, the French *Le Figaro* ran the headline: 'The Islanders have started their traditional dirty tricks again, attempting to provoke conflicts between other countries!'

As before, Britain and France started cursing at each other first. However, this time the British newspapers were quite rational; while cursing France, they also expressed Britain's view. "The independence of Korea and Ryukyu is the independence of two colonies. In just this one year, four new sovereign states have appeared in Asia. The last time such a situation occurred was in 1919. We need to conduct a prudent assessment of such matters. Will such changes cause more uncertainty for the world?"

As soon as uncertainty regarding Britain's global hegemony appeared, the United States immediately took action. Special Envoy Bush, who had just returned to the United States, immediately went to Washington to seek an audience with President Coolidge, requesting to go to the Far East again. President Coolidge did not refuse and even arranged for his son to join the delegation led by the Special Envoy.

On September 30, Special Envoy Bush and Coolidge Jr. got off the train at New York Station and took a car to the pier. Soon, the silhouette of a luxury ocean liner appeared in Coolidge Jr.'s view. The two got out of the car, and Special Envoy Bush pointed to the liner and said, "Mr. Coolidge, we will take this ship to China."

On the gangway, there were many people dressed in magnificent clothes. Special Envoy Bush had booked first class. Letting the servants stow the luggage, Special Envoy Bush invited Coolidge Jr. to sit in the first-class bar. On the way to the bar, Coolidge Jr. raised a question, "What is the difference between an ocean liner and a cruise ship?"

Bush thought for a moment. "To my understanding, an ocean liner must guarantee speed. Crossing the Atlantic takes only one week. A cruise ship has no speed requirements and travels between various ports according to the passengers' requests."

"I heard some people live on ocean liners for a long time. Is that true?" It was Coolidge Jr.'s first time on an ocean liner, and he asked many questions of interest.

"Those are some rather eccentric people," Special Envoy Bush gave his opinion. As a steel tycoon, Bush couldn't understand how people living on ocean liners could have so much time to waste.

The two soon walked into the extremely lavishly decorated bar. The bartender saw the two sit down on the high stools in front of the bar and immediately asked, "What would you two like to drink?"

Before the two could answer, someone nearby already said, "Isn't this Mr. Bush?"

Coolidge Jr. turned his head to look. The face of the speaker had appeared in newspapers many times; it was actually the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. Bush wasn't surprised. He greeted Rockefeller and introduced him, "This is Mr. Coolidge, President Coolidge's son."

Rockefeller wasn't there to take the liner for a trip. Upon learning that the order in East Asia had undergone a major change, Rockefeller couldn't hold back anymore. After learning that Bush had become the Special Envoy again, he boarded this ship together with those tycoons interested in China to head there.

Rockefeller hadn't expected to see Coolidge Jr., but since he had, it wasn't bad. Soon, several others came up to say hello. Bush left the bar counter and found a salon to invite everyone to sit down. Bush raised his glass, "I wish everyone a pleasant journey."

Everyone raised their glasses, though their objectives were not entirely the same. But these people indeed hoped that this trip would achieve the expected results—earning their own benefits in China. With such a mood, everyone said together, "Wish us a pleasant journey!"

The tycoons clinked glasses with the President's Special Envoy and the President's son. After the crisp clinking sound, everyone drank together.