"Teacher, the current Japanese government has proposed to the people that within its term, every Japanese citizen will be able to eat one rice ball every day."

"Is one rice ball 50 grams or 100 grams?"

"Haha." Ishiwara laughed. "Teacher, you are joking. Where in Japan are there such large rice balls?"

"Then it must be 100 grams." He Rui felt this was likely the Ishiwara government's requirement.

Ishiwara put away his smile. "To achieve a rice yield of 7 million tons in Japan within four years, we need a huge breakthrough in agricultural technology."

"Does Japan want to join China's synthetic ammonia plan?"

Ishiwara knew that He Rui had a very pragmatic style. Since he mentioned these things, there would be a complete set of considerations. Of course, Ishiwara also knew how determined He Rui was in what he wanted to do. If Ishiwara refused He Rui's proposal, then Ishiwara must come up with an alternative that satisfied He Rui. Otherwise, Ishiwara should honestly accept He Rui's suggestion, or decisively refuse it.

The current Ishiwara had no possibility of refusing He Rui, so Ishiwara followed He Rui's line of thought and put forward his own request, "Are you willing to provide markets and investment for the Japanese machine tool industry? Japan hopes to contribute to East Asia's synthetic ammonia production."

"This investment will be very large. Is Japan ready for this?"

"According to statistics, 70% of Japan's machine tool equipment needs to be eliminated, and the total amount of new equipment will double the current amount. If China can provide this part of the investment and market, we want to solve this funding issue by selling machine tools to China and sharing the R&D of industrial mother machines."

He Rui did not agree immediately. Machine tools, also known as industrial mother machines, are machines used to manufacture machines. Since machinery and equipment need to be manufactured by processing metal or other material blanks through machine tools, machine tools are called industrial mother machines, which are the total starting point of a country's manufacturing precision, efficiency, and quality.

Japan's industrialization was earlier than China's, and it was indeed ahead in these fields. Therefore, the "sharing of industrial mother machine R&D" proposed by Ishiwara did not meet He Rui's expectations.

Seeing He Rui silent, Ishiwara immediately raised the stakes, "We are willing to co-build the design standards for industrial mother machines with China and conduct comprehensive technical exchanges."

Seeing that Ishiwara still hadn't grasped the main point, He Rui could only actively make a request, "Ishiwara-kun, have you considered establishing a China-Japan Coal and Steel Alliance?"

Ishiwara was stunned for a moment and subconsciously sat up straight. If there was any industrial demand more basic than machine tools, it was starting from the mining industry, from the analysis of mineral composition to smelting standards, to the determination of material performance. Only with these metal materials could the production of mechanical equipment begin.

If Japan's import of basic raw materials was cut off, Japan could not satisfy the needs of its continuously developing industry relying solely on domestic raw materials.

If the East Asian Coal and Steel Alliance were established, this transnational institution would hold the power of the Coal and Steel Community, responsible for coordinating the coal and steel production of member countries and ensuring effective competition within the community. In order for this institution to operate effectively, it would possess the power over production, investment, prices, and raw material allocation within the community, as well as the power to develop or close down certain enterprises or departments.

Japan joining the China-led East Asian synthetic ammonia production consortium was a major event for the current Japan, but compared to establishing a Coal and Steel Alliance, it was just a very ordinary matter.

Ishiwara did not hesitate or look back and forth; he answered decisively, "Teacher, if you think it is necessary to build such an institution, I will fully promote it within the Japanese government."

He Rui nodded, "Mm. Then, on to the next question."

Ishiwara quickly stabilized his mood and said, "With the completion of land reform, Japan's yield per mu has returned to its highest historical level. The Japanese government has fully implemented compulsory education, but at this stage, the number of rural laborers in Japan is still surplus. You know, the Japanese people have high obedience, and the current government also has the strength to organize them for labor export."

"The Soviet Union has already begun to try planting rice in its border oblasts. Based on the similarity in geographical location, I think rice from the Soviet border oblasts should be closer to the taste of the Japanese people. Recently, the Soviet Union made a request to us, hoping that China could send a demonstration engineering team to establish farms in its border oblasts. I think this is an opportunity for labor export. Also, in some regions of China, including Upper Burma and the Assam region, there is also some demand."

Ishiwara did not expect He Rui to give a solution so readily. He was not overjoyed but asked very cautiously, "There is also some room for discussion in this."

He Rui appreciated Ishiwara's keenness, so he stated his thoughts, "I hope some outstanding Japanese talents can come to China to serve as local officials, school principals, and chief engineers."

Ishiwara did not answer immediately. Since Japanese people could go to China to serve in these positions, it meant that Chinese people would also serve in corresponding positions in Japan. He Rui was not a benevolent man or a believer; Ishiwara would absolutely not think that He Rui would accept a situation where Japan benefited unilaterally. The most important part of this suggestion lay in how deep the cooperation between the two sides would actually go.

After thinking for a while, Ishiwara asked, "Teacher, you definitely wouldn't think there is a need for a merger between China and Japan; this would trigger comprehensive turmoil in China."

"Let's create a fantasy world. If the Japanese home islands moved to another region... Japan has over 300,000 square kilometers of land, tens of millions of population, and educated people. Placed in other regions, it would be an undisputed great power. If such a thing really happened, what would be the result? So, China and Japan, no matter what..."

Ishiwara first frowned, then his brow relaxed, and he laughed. But after laughing for a moment, his smile quickly disappeared, and he finally became serious, "Teacher, if such a thing happened, Japan would inevitably become the priority target for strikes by other regional powers."

He Rui nodded, "Correct. If Japan moved near the United States, the United States would inevitably strike Japan. And China and Europe would inevitably fully support Japan to oppose the United States. If Japan moved to Europe, China and the US would support Japan to oppose Europe. If Japan moved to Africa or South America, all countries that do not wish for Japan to expand in Africa or South America would strike Japan together. So, let's return to the real world. China and Japan cannot give extraterritorial forces any space for offshore balancing."

Ishiwara nodded slightly. He knew very well that there was currently a group of people in Japan who believed that at this stage, they should use East Asian cooperation to develop Japan, making Japan strong first. After Japan became strong, they would use the power already gained to seek greater benefits for Japan. As for how to seek them, some fools among this group believed that becoming some kind of offshore balancing role would be beneficial to Japan.

In Ishiwara's view, this idea was stupid beyond belief. If Japan really became strong to that degree, it would have to go and offshore balance other countries. For Japan to make itself a pawn for other countries' offshore balancing in East Asia was simply baffling.

Thinking of this, Ishiwara felt that the presence of a small number of officials in each other's countries between China and Japan was indeed a very good method. After determining the line of thought, Ishiwara deduced slightly and laughed, "Teacher, we will receive diplomatic documents of 'serious concern' from various countries."

He Rui was very indifferent and answered calmly, "It would be strange if they weren't seriously concerned, after all, those countries all take their own national interests as the starting point."

Ishiwara felt that under the new framework, Japan's domestic employment pressure could be greatly relieved. So he raised the next question, "In such a situation, I wonder what Teacher's view is on Japan's financial status?"

He Rui was somewhat unable to help, "Tokyo will inevitably become the financial center of the Japan region. But the financial status of Shanghai and Guangzhou is determined by their geographical factors. This depends on realistic commercial needs and is not decided by us."

Ishiwara still wouldn't give up and proposed a hypothesis, "Teacher, I agree very much with the decision to move the capital. I wonder how Teacher positions China's Capital?"

"In terms of current geographical location, the Capital will be a political center and a cultural center. If you want the Capital's economic center status to rise again, it will take at least 40 years, when China's new energy achieves a breakthrough, the Yellow River is restored to a stable, large-scale waterway, and large ships of at least 50,000 tons can go upstream from the Yellow River mouth to the docks of the Capital. Besides that, the Grand Canal must be dug out again, so that 50,000-ton large ships can turn into the Grand Canal from the Capital's Yellow River dock and go straight south to the Yangtze River. 20,000-ton inland river vessels go north to reach Beiping. Before that, the Capital being able to utilize local resources and population to become a light industry center, food processing center, and scientific research and technical center is the upper limit for the Capital and Zhili."

Hearing such a cold and realistic analysis, Ishiwara also knew there was no way to fight for more for Japan, so he no longer discussed this issue further. At least He Rui was not harsh on Japan's finance and accepted Tokyo's status as a financial center in East Asia.

"Teacher, can we negotiate with the Chinese government regarding the rationing needs for the daily necessities of Japanese citizens now?"

"I think you can open up your thinking a bit. This year, Japan can complete a rice supply of 7 million tons. Added to a portion of the labor export population leaving Japan, Japanese citizens can eat rice every day. We will not require Japan to import a certain amount of rice every year; as Japan's rice production increases, your import volume will naturally decrease. Even we in China have to consider the impact of agricultural import volumes on domestic farmers. You know, the French government is now constantly expressing that they can export rice from Indochina to us."

Ishiwara bowed slightly, "Thank you, Teacher, for your consideration of Japan." This feeling was not feigned but came from the heart. As the Prime Minister of the Republic of Japan cabinet, rural income in Japan was a massive matter. At this stage, to honor the Republic of Japan government's promise to citizens that all Japanese nationals could eat rice, they had to import grain.

As Japan's agricultural output increased, grain imports would have to be reduced. If domestic grain prices in Japan plummeted due to the impact of imported grain, and rural population income plummeted, Japan's economy would experience turbulence.

To avoid problems, very serious and detailed management was needed. The degree of detail even had to reach what He Rui said, considering even the Japanese public's demand for the taste of rice. The matter regarding taste seemed somewhat comical, but it was actually very serious. For instance, if a certain imported rice completely suited the Japanese public's taste, the Japanese government would have to consider switching to planting this rice. This involved very many issues; the first question was whether this rice could be planted in Japan and how the yield would be.

If this rice could not produce high yields in Japan, then its import would have to be strictly restricted, or even refused.

These were some of the contents of social refined management that he and He Rui had talked about during idle chats when He Rui was still studying in the military academy back then. When both were military cadets, although Ishiwara felt these words were very correct, he only "knew" them. When Ishiwara became the Prime Minister of the Republic of Japan, he discovered that refined management was a basic skill for operating the economy well. That really could not be wrong in the slightest.

But the larger the grain import volume, the lower the average price. Conversely, if the import volume was small, the average price was high. For Japan's demand method, many markets would not cater to it. Now China was the largest agricultural product region in East Asia and also had East Asia's most powerful agricultural product futures market; Japan had to get China's support to satisfy domestic refined needs.

"Rest assured, Ishiwara-kun. These matters can all be solved through negotiation." He Rui gave Ishiwara a reassurance.

Ishiwara trusted He Rui very much. After bowing slightly, he entered the next topic, "Teacher, Japan will definitely not become a handle for extraterritorial countries to conduct offshore balancing against East Asia. However, this creates a problem. After the Japanese revolution, foreign policy changed, so domestic military demand in Japan is not high. Now the Japanese Diet's cuts to military expenditure have reached an unreasonable level. I want to know Teacher's judgment on the strategic level regarding Europe and America."

Just as Ishiwara finished asking, He Rui answered immediately, "East Asia needs to maintain the current naval scale. China will provide support in this aspect and will not let Japan bear this expenditure alone."

Hearing this, Ishiwara felt greatly relieved. But next, he heard He Rui continue, "Therefore, I suggest that in the future, a portion of Japanese Army officers serve in the Chinese military. The Japanese Army Academy can be headed by Chinese military personnel. Similarly, the Chinese Navy Academy will hire Japanese naval personnel as principals, and a portion of Chinese naval officers will study at the Japanese Naval Academy."

This was the plan for the de facto merger of East Asian armies that He Rui had determined when he was studying in Japan. He Rui hadn't proposed this plan before because it couldn't be done. At this stage, the opportunity had finally arrived. In the future war, He Rui did not wish for China alone to bear the combat tasks; all East Asian countries had to take responsibility for the war. Not only East Asian countries, but He Rui also looked forward to the opportunity to form a world coalition army.

If it were only the Chinese army destroying colonialism and breaching the capitals of imperialist countries, it would be considered China's single-handed world conquest. If it were a coalition of various countries liberating the world, only then could it gain the greatest political support.

Ishiwara did not know He Rui's longer-term plan, but merely hearing He Rui propose the idea of the actual merger of the Chinese and Japanese armies, he was already greatly shocked. He had heard some talk of personnel exchanges between the Chinese and Japanese armies before, understanding it at the time as China and Japan resolving the mutual hostility caused by the war and enhancing friendly relations between the two countries through close personnel exchanges.

After pondering for a while, Ishiwara said, "Can I ask Teacher to wait a bit on this matter? I need time to convince the comrades."

He Rui didn't want to give Ishiwara a chance to back out. The situation had developed to this stage; where was there any chance for hesitation? "If you have a need, I will talk to them personally. By the way, of the officers we both know, how many active ones are left?"

Ishiwara sighed, "Of the officers we both know, whether active or retired, only one-third are left in total, I suppose."

Although he did not regret the mass killing during the Japanese revolution, recalling that so many classmates he had once spent day and night with had passed away, Ishiwara had to admit that being a soldier was simply a cursed profession.

"One-third... is enough. Ishiwara-kun, this must be done quickly. Because the Japanese army has already fallen into a stage of confusion at this point, if a new direction cannot be given to everyone as soon as possible, many people will lose their spirit. We don't need such people who just muddle along."

Ishiwara's heart shivered; he heard the meaning of "elimination" in He Rui's words. But as the leader who personally led the mutiny and executed the Tokyo Bloodbath, Ishiwara also knew that the current Japan didn't even have space to let those soldiers with different views hold idle positions; any soldier who could not accept strategic arrangements had to be kicked out of the army.

A moment later, Ishiwara's gaze became sharp again, "Teacher, I will definitely be able to resolve this matter."

Ishiwara and He Rui discussed the problems Japan needed to solve one by one like this until late at night. Ishiwara felt that almost everything that needed to be discussed had been discussed. Standing up, Ishiwara realized that in the June weather, after not moving for several hours, his trousers were damp with sweat. But his mood at this moment was very good.

"Teacher, thank you for everything you have done for Japan." Ishiwara bowed to He Rui.

"No matter who was in my position, they should have done these things." He Rui also stood up and replied. At this moment, He Rui inevitably recalled what Japan had done in another timeline, and his heart was truly a bit emotional; Japan was naturally impossible to become a country that truly led the world. Europe and America were the same; their culture really wasn't up to it. Of course, there was no need to say this out loud.

"Please rest first, Teacher. Tomorrow, Teacher will go to the President's residence. The citizens of Japan are all looking forward to seeing Teacher's heroic bearing with their own eyes. I will take my leave." Ishiwara finished speaking and bowed again.

Sending off Ishiwara, He Rui stretched. Thinking of tomorrow's car parade, He Rui felt very tired. If possible, He Rui wished someone else could shoulder this job. After all, like most people in the 21st century, although He Rui was not without curiosity, he was generally a bit of a homebody.

Especially since a car parade was political work. He Rui preferred watching others parade online, like Kennedy. It wasn't that He Rui was afraid of threats, he just purely disliked trouble.