On his way back to the office, Foreign Minister Li Shiguang reflected that serving directly under He Rui's leadership was a relatively relaxed job. Even so, Li Shiguang dared not slack off; upon returning to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he immediately prepared to convene a meeting. However, the Director of the General Office appeared before him first. "Minister Li, we have received a notification..."

Less than half an hour later, Li Shiguang appeared on the Second Ring Road. At the scene of a traffic accident, two cars remained stopped in the position of their collision. One car window was shattered, and a long crack had appeared on the windshield. Seeing Li Shiguang arrive, the police officer on duty hurried over to report the situation. "Minister Li, two cars collided. Fortunately, no one was injured. Regarding the cause of the accident, the British Embassy's vehicle bears the primary responsibility. However, our people were furious at the time. After getting out of the car, they demanded the people in the British Embassy vehicle come out. The British Ambassador didn't dare to emerge, only sending a secretary. Then..."

As he spoke, the police officer led Li Shiguang to the side of the British Embassy's vehicle and pointed to the ground. Li Shiguang looked and saw the small British flag that had been mounted on the car. It had been torn down and thrown onto the ground. Judging by the tattered state of the flag, it had been trampled and ground into the dirt with force.

The police officer's account matched what Li Shiguang had heard. The Chinese car owner, distressed over his vehicle and seeing the British occupants refusing to exit theirs, recalled the lawless rampages of foreigners in China. In a fit of rage, he had directly ripped off the British flag, threw it to the ground, and trampled it.

Diplomatically speaking, this was an act of profound disrespect toward Great Britain. However, Li Shiguang was not particularly worried. Both sides were at fault in this incident, and the current British government was unlikely to go to war over such a matter. Walking up to the British Embassy's car, he saw British Ambassador Miles Lampson already opening the door to welcome him. Li Shiguang shook hands with the British Ambassador and said, "I apologize to you for the radical actions of my country's citizen."

British Ambassador Lampson shook his head. "Minister Li, if you respect the diplomatic interests of our two countries, I hope you can ensure this matter does not appear in the newspapers."

Li Shiguang paused for a moment before understanding Lampson's reasoning. Sino-British relations were currently tepid, which did not align with British national interests. Lampson was displaying the high caliber of a diplomat, which Li Shiguang genuinely appreciated.

"How do you intend to handle the collision itself?" Li Shiguang asked, showing no leniency regarding the accident. Until the police provided their final investigation conclusion, he could not make any statement on that front.

The next day, the Asian edition of *Le Figaro* carried the news of the car accident as its headline. Li Shiguang was helpless; he had already made arrangements regarding this matter, and domestic newspapers should not have published any news about it. But *Le Figaro* was a French newspaper. The Chinese government could do nothing about their Asian edition publishing a car accident that had indeed occurred.

Sure enough, the British Embassy made no mention of the incident. On the same day, France's *Le Figaro* and several other major French newspapers published or reprinted the news: "British diplomats in China rampage lawlessly, violating traffic rules and hitting people. This proves that the British government continues to hold an arrogant attitude toward China. This narrow-minded islander mentality is a thousand-year-old British tradition."

Upon seeing the news, the British Foreign Office lost even the impulse to be angry. Ambassador Lampson's handling of the situation had been very appropriate, and the Chinese side's response had also demonstrated sincerity. As for France jumping out to stir up trouble, it was truly not surprising in the least.

Consequently, British newspapers immediately reported on the matter: "No one was injured in this car accident. The British Ambassador to China has already expressed sympathy to the Chinese car owner and stated a willingness to cover the vehicle repair costs. The car owner accepted the British Ambassador's consolation and shook hands with Ambassador Lampson in parting, fully demonstrating the friendship between China and Britain.

"The French side, in order to monopolize the Chinese market, has sown discord, fully displaying their narrow nature. Furthermore, France announced an increase in tariffs the day before yesterday, aiming to reduce the import of high-quality industrial components from various countries into France. These high-quality parts, which France is unable to produce, are used in complete sets of industrial equipment purchased by China from France. For the benefit of their own factory owners, France does not hesitate to lower the overall quality of their industrial equipment, completely disregarding the interests of Chinese users. We suggest the Chinese side have a clear understanding of this: the French only love francs, not the Chinese people.

"Now, for the sake of profit, France does not hesitate to pass off shoddy goods as high quality. What heinous atrocity will the French commit next time? It is truly terrifying to contemplate..."

This article was published in *The Times*, and the next day it appeared in the Asian edition of *The Times*. A war of words between the two countries immediately ensued. Li Shiguang felt quite helpless in his heart, as Chinese people reading the newspapers would inevitably be somewhat influenced by the news. some small Chinese tabloids began scolding the British, while others suggested the French were being unethical. Li Shiguang felt very fortunate; at least thanks to the British Ambassador's quick reaction, the trampling of the British flag had been suppressed. Otherwise, this incident would have caused a much bigger uproar.

By June 15th, the day before He Rui was set to visit Japan, the front-page headline of *The Wall Street Journal*'s Asian edition read: "After Burning the Summer Palace, Britain and France Fight Again for China's Wealth."

Without needing to read the content, Li Shiguang could guess the gist of it. The United States certainly did not want to see Sino-French cooperation, nor would it support Sino-British cooperation. *The Wall Street Journal*'s Asian edition was using this kind of hate propaganda hoping to incite hostility among the Chinese public toward Britain and France, preparing public opinion for the United States to seize a larger share of the Chinese market in the future.

After that, however, no other countries published news that incited further hatred. This was likely because the Eight-Nation Alliance covered the most powerful of the Great Powers in Europe and America. Other countries either lacked the ability to compete for the Chinese market or were unwilling to provoke the eight most powerful nations by bringing up the story of the Eight-Nation Alliance. The United States felt no pressure in cursing Britain and France, but if anyone else were to accuse the Eight-Nation Alliance, the United States would not let them off easily.

By this time, the ship carrying He Rui had arrived in Tokyo Bay. Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet Yamamoto Isoroku first boarded the *Siping*, the light cruiser He Rui was traveling on, via a small boat. Seeing his old friend, Yamamoto first saluted He Rui. After He Rui returned the salute, Yamamoto extended his hand. The two men clasped hands firmly. Yamamoto sighed, "He-kun, we parted in Tokyo fifteen years ago. Meeting again now, I am filled with emotion. When we old friends discussed the future of East Asia back then, it turns out He-kun's judgment was indeed correct."

He Rui smiled. "Yamamoto-kun, this is not about right or wrong. If we want East Asia to have a bright future, this is the only path to take."

Yamamoto sighed. "I have learned much. We still view the world in terms of right and wrong, whereas He Rui only reaches a conclusion after fully analyzing various possibilities. It is inevitable that He Rui has conquered and won victories over the past ten-plus years."

After speaking, Yamamoto Isoroku pointed to the Japanese Grand Fleet sailing in the distance. "He-kun, please review the Japanese Combined Fleet. Given the friendship between China and Japan today, the Combined Fleet will certainly fight to guard the peace of East Asia."

He Rui nodded and stood at the bow, watching the towering Japanese battleships pass in front. On every ship, signal flags were hung from bow to stern according to specific regulations. In addition, strings of incandescent bulbs were hung along the lines of the full dress flags, and the railings of every deck level were also draped with lights.

This was called "Full Dress Ship" and "Full Illumination." It was the highest naval courtesy, signifying respect and celebration. The flags were for daytime viewing; at night, all the incandescent bulbs on the warships were lit to replace the flags.

The officers and men of the Japanese Navy stood in formation along the rails of their warships. As they passed the light cruiser *Siping* carrying He Rui, the warships sounded their whistles in unison, and the Japanese naval personnel raised their hands in salute simultaneously. Although there was a massive difference in tonnage between the warships of China and Japan, the Japanese Navy showed not the slightest disdain. Respect was demonstrated in every aspect.

After reviewing the Japanese Combined Fleet, He Rui's flagship entered Tokyo Port. At this moment, Tokyo Port was awash with flags and banners. As soon as He Rui went ashore, the President of the Republic of Japan, Taira Toyomori, came forward to welcome him. As He Rui's earliest partner in Japan, the two were now heads of state upon this reunion. As Taira Toyomori shook hands with He Rui, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion. "He-kun, back then, you and I both wanted to serve our countries with our learning. At that time, we had nothing but passionate enthusiasm, yet I never expected that today our wishes would actually be fulfilled."

He Rui nodded in agreement. "Taira-kun, we co-authored *Introduction to Geopolitics*, and back then we reached the conclusion that East Asia must cooperate. I believe that over these years, our understanding of this conclusion has become much more profound."

"Precisely so." Taira Toyomori nodded repeatedly.

Subsequently, the two reviewed the Japanese honor guard at Tokyo pier. President Taira Toyomori said, "He-kun, it is late today, so please stay in the vicinity. Tomorrow, please proceed to the Presidential Palace by car."

The accommodations arranged by the Japanese side were indeed not luxurious, but they were heavily guarded, with sentries every few steps. He Rui entered the hotel and saw the figure of Ishiwara Kanji in the entryway. Although Ishiwara still had that round baby face, the childishness was gone. As he walked toward He Rui from the entryway, Ishiwara was full of joy, yet already very composed.

Stopping in front of He Rui, Ishiwara bowed slightly. "Teacher, you have finally come."

Looking at his own achievement in Japan, He Rui smiled. "You have finally come too, Ishiwara-kun. I have been waiting for you for a long time."

The two looked at each other and smiled, all their feelings left unspoken.