June is the rainy season in Japan, a season where the rain seems like it will never stop. However, June 17th was a surprisingly sunny day. Early in the morning, the sound of military commands and the rhythmic marching of troops rang out on the streets of Tokyo. From 6:00 AM, the streets from the guesthouse where He Rui was staying to the Japanese Presidential Palace had already been cleared and closed to traffic.

At 9:25 AM, the motorcade of President Taira Toyomori arrived at the main entrance of the guesthouse. Soon, He Rui, guided by Taira Toyomori, boarded a luxury open-top car together. A few minutes after the lead vehicles departed, at 9:35 AM, the motorcade slowly started moving onto the road.

After the Great Kanto Earthquake, Tokyo had undergone urban replanning. The once narrow roads had all been widened; the main thoroughfare He Rui was traveling on was a six-lane avenue. In another timeline, He Rui had visited Tokyo. He knew that six lanes were indeed a main thoroughfare for 21st-century Japan. So He Rui had no thought of mocking Japan, though for 21st-century China, eight lanes were the common standard for main roads in the new districts of first- and second-tier cities.

The security force for this event reached 24,000 men. On both sides of the street, all soldiers carrying rifles stood facing away from the street. The Japanese government had adopted Emperor-level protocol to welcome He Rui's arrival in Tokyo.

Passing through the completely cleared section, the streets ahead were no longer empty but packed with people. Both He Rui and Taira Toyomori stood up. To compensate for the height difference between the two, a 10-centimeter thick wooden board was placed under the carpet beneath Professor Taira Toyomori's feet, making the height difference between the two heads of state appear to be only 7 or 8 centimeters.

On both sides of the street, Japanese citizens who had come to watch the excitement stood three rows deep inside and three rows deep outside. The motorcade did not move fast, and every so often in the crowd, one could see banners welcoming He Rui's visit to Japan and proclaiming "Long Live Sino-Japanese Friendship." Banners from the business community, such as Mitsui & Co., and welcome banners from various Tokyo schools were intermingled among them.

There were also many small business associations whose names He Rui had never heard of that had displayed their own banners. Judging by the names, they appeared to be Japanese shopping street organizations.

Seeing that He Rui seemed to pay attention to these banners, President Taira Toyomori turned and said, "He-kun, these are organizations that came spontaneously to welcome you. Our Japanese public admires you greatly, considering you an East Asian leader cultivated by Japan, and they are proud of this."

"I thank the Japanese people for their friendship," He Rui replied. He then waved along with President Taira Toyomori to those common folk from the streets holding welcome banners.

Seeing He Rui wave at them, those people waved back excitedly. Some Japanese citizens were so agitated that they jumped straight up, waving their hands high. Soon, they were held down by the shoulders by people next to them to stop them from being so unruly.

He Rui was not wearing a military uniform, but a tunic suit similar to a Zhongshan suit. There were no medals or decorations on the clothes; it was just very simple attire. Every stretch the vehicle traveled, He Rui would show a bright smile and wave to the dense crowds of Japanese people on both sides of the street. When encountering crowds who actively cheered for him, He Rui would immediately wave back in interaction.

Arriving in Japan again after a lapse of fifteen years, He Rui saw that the clothing of the Japanese people did not differ much from fifteen years ago. Most men and women wore Japanese-style clothing. Male students all wore uniform-style student suits, while female students wore sailor suits. Among the men, whether wearing Western suits or Japanese clothing, more than half wore Western-style hats.

Children, on the other hand, wore small military caps, Western-style button-down jackets on top, and Japanese-style wide-legged hakama pants on the bottom, with wooden clogs on their feet. The intermingling of Japanese tradition and Western clothing was presented particularly clearly on them.

Regardless of their attire or age, no one on the sides of the street pointed or gestured rudely; instead, they cheered and paid their respects to He Rui from the roadside.

Along the dozen or so kilometers of road, there was truly a sea of people. By the time the motorcade finished this section and entered the controlled zone again, He Rui made a rough estimate in his mind: there must have been over a million people. It was evident that the Japanese public was very supportive of the Sino-Japanese friendship represented by He Rui's visit. Of course, a large part of this support was also support for the current Japanese government.

He Rui did not find it strange. The Ishiwara government had proposed the 'Rice Plan', striving to ensure that Japanese citizens could eat rice every day. It would be strange if the Japanese people did not support it.

After getting out of the car and walking towards the President's temporary residence, He Rui asked, "President Taira, how is the popularization of vitamin knowledge going in Japan?"

Taira Toyomori was not at all surprised by such a grounded question. "We are doing our best to promote it, of course. Beriberi has existed for so many years, and the public has accepted the understanding of a healthy diet. While the Rice Plan is being implemented, relevant knowledge is also being popularized with full force."

Since they were discussing this, He Rui asked again, "In terms of grain, apart from rice, what else can we do?"

Taira Toyomori smiled. "When I was conducting surveys in China, I was deeply impressed by the mantou mixed with sorghum flour. The taste was truly fresh."

"Haha, I also like that kind of mixed-grain mantou. The sorghum from the Northeast is especially delicious. But we don't need to worry about these things; sorghum is available in the grain futures market in Shanghai. However, most of the land in the Northeast is now planted with rice and soybeans. Sorghum is no longer a crop planted on a large scale. If you just want to eat it for a fresh taste, it seems to be available everywhere, but if you want to acquire it on a large scale, you really have to contact the growers through the futures market."

"Why don't the Chinese people grow sorghum anymore?" Taira Toyomori was somewhat surprised.

"Sorghum is very tolerant of saline-alkali soil. We have attached great importance to the problem of soil salinization in recent years and have adopted many effective solutions. Now that the amount of land suitable for planting wheat has increased, farmers are naturally unwilling to plant low-income sorghum. Most of those still growing sorghum in China now do so to meet the needs of distilleries."

"Oh? Does China intend to buy sorghum from abroad?" Taira Toyomori felt he heard an implication in He Rui's words.

As they spoke, the two heads of state had already arrived at the conference room. As the doors opened, a long table was seen placed towards the inner side of the room. Diplomatic personnel from both countries were already prepared at their respective sides of the table. Leading to the table was a long red carpet. Chairs on both sides of the red carpet were arranged in a phalanx. Officials from both countries and a large number of reporters were already seated, waiting for the signing ceremony of the two heads of state.

At this moment, Taira Toyomori did not have a raised wooden board under his feet, and he was a full head shorter next to He Rui. However, the two had become accustomed to this height difference nearly twenty years ago, and they walked side by side along the carpet towards the signing table. Reporters on both sides raised their cameras and began to take pictures, while news crews from both countries followed the two heads of state forward, carrying camera equipment the size of half a pig.

The content of the agreements had long been determined by the foreign ministries of both countries. The two heads of state sat in their seats, and under the barrage of cameras and lenses, they signed and stamped the documents, which were then exchanged by the foreign ministry personnel of both countries.

The *Sino-Japanese Friendship and Security Treaty*, the *Sino-Japanese General Agreement on Trade and Commerce*, the *Sino-Japanese Cultural Exchange Agreement*, and the *Sino-Japanese Agreement on Immigration and Personnel Exchange*. Signing these agreements alone took more than two hours. These agreements completed the final step in establishing comprehensive relations between the two most powerful countries in East Asia.

After the state banquet, He Rui and Taira Toyomori went to a small conference room together. Those present were all tycoons of the Japanese business and education sectors. There was not a single government official. Mitsui Yasuki, now the head of the Mitsui conglomerate, was the first to step forward and shake hands with He Rui. "He-kun, there are no longer obstacles to Sino-Japanese cooperation. We look forward to East Asia advancing with full force and becoming the wealthiest region in the world."

He Rui just smiled but did not respond. After shaking hands with the others one by one, everyone took their seats. He Rui began to speak: "Just now, Mitsui-kun said that there are no longer obstacles to Sino-Japanese cooperation. I agree with half of that."

Mitsui Yasuki was not displeased that his view was refuted; instead, he looked at He Rui with great interest, waiting for He Rui's subsequent exposition. On the other hand, the other Japanese tycoons had not had much contact with He Rui, and hearing this, there was a look of surprise on their faces.

"The primary factor for the current situation of the East Asia + Soviet Union economic circle is that our countries have essentially achieved mutual trust in security. I heard that the Soviet Union wants to sign a security agreement with Japan. If the two countries can sign this agreement, it will legally determine security mutual trust. Only with security mutual trust can countries begin economic interaction, thereby forming economic mutual trust. Many countries can form such good relations at a certain stage, but as the economies of various countries develop, conflicts of interest will become prominent. And with conflicts of interest and changes in the balance of power, divergences will appear. External forces will use these divergences as a tool to intervene. The most obvious case is the conflict between France and Germany."

Mitsui Yasuki nodded slightly, and the other business and academic tycoons felt that He Rui was not trying to accuse anyone of anything, so they all listened seriously.

"For the young people of France and Germany, after they live to the age of twenty, whether they can live to forty is left to fate. The contradictions between France and Germany are resolved by round after round of war. And the youth and citizens of France and Germany have an awareness of this. Every external Great Power can exploit this contradiction; even Serbia exploited this contradiction once. Isn't this ridiculous? Germany and France are both world powers; the two countries threaten each other time and again, finally erupting into war. And external countries support France when Germany is strong, and support Germany when France is strong. Germany and France can never walk out of such a contradiction, like trapped beasts in a cage. Sorrowful! Truly sorrowful!"

After speaking, He Rui lit a cigarette, simultaneously giving the others a chance to ask questions. But no one from the Japanese side asked a question; they were all waiting for He Rui to continue expressing his views.

"Is there a solution? Of course there is. That is, Germany and France could entirely start with a Coal and Steel Community. While resolving economic mutual trust, it also solves security mutual trust. Moreover, a Coal and Steel Community could also pull in countries like Italy and Austria, which lack both coal and iron ore, to share resources together. Fighting a war requires building weapons, and a Coal and Steel Community would clarify the chain of suspicion between countries to the greatest extent. Once there is mutual trust, many problems can be solved through negotiation and consultation. But Europe did not do this. Whereas in East Asia, the wars that broke out in the past thousand years were very limited. Europe in the past thousand years has been ridden with war and deep-seated hatred. We can completely avoid the situation of Europe."

Mitsui Yasuki then asked, "Does He-kun think the current borders in East Asia are the best? Or do you think the current borders are only temporary?"

"East Asian civilization, and even Asia, has long had its own concept of the state. I believe that in the foreseeable future, mutual annexation between countries has no practical significance. However, cooperation between countries has broad space. As long as all Asian countries can reach a consensus to resolutely oppose annexation, and at the same time have a consensus to carry out comprehensive economic cooperation, peace and prosperity will have a foundation."

Taira Toyomori asked, "Cooperation will strengthen the advantages of strong countries. Even without aggression, colonialism will appear economically."

As one of the few masters of geopolitics in Japan, Taira Toyomori's question hit the nail on the head. The other Japanese tycoons nodded slightly, or simply kept their faces unchanged, just staring at He Rui.

"The essence of economic colonialism is that a certain country uses its technological advantage to obtain excess profits, and constantly strengthens its own advantage to always obtain excess profits. I can guarantee to everyone that this situation is completely unsustainable in peaceful state relations. The economies of any countries that suffer losses will be unable to continue, and they will then have to interrupt trade relations. Then, to continue maintaining trade relations, one must rely either on war or on transferring industries and releasing profits. This returns to the previous question: the foundation of future international relations must be peace. On the basis of peace, countries must also abandon the idea of economic colonialism and establish a fairer model of international cooperation. In other words, strong countries must pay!"

Hearing this, the expressions of the tycoons finally wavered. Everyone was knowledgeable, so they could understand that He Rui's attitude was indeed very upright. A person with ulterior motives would never dare to tell such a big truth. Although asking strong countries to pay was undoubtedly a fantasy given current international relations, daring to voice such a view was enough to prove his magnanimity and sincerity.

The Japanese upper echelon all believed that He Rui was a true leader, so He Rui's words sounded quite sincere to them.

Mitsui considered for a while before asking, "He-kun, please speak frankly."

He Rui said decisively, "First, East Asia must absolutely not allow any country to become a tool for external countries. We must break through prejudice and complete internal security integration. If the possibility of using military means to solve problems still exists within East Asia, then as I said before, economic problems will definitely lead to issues arising. What do you all think?"

No one from the economic and academic circles was willing to speak; their gazes all shifted to Taira Toyomori. Taira Toyomori, however, was not afraid of trouble. He immediately asked, "Please explain more specifically, He-kun."

He Rui was not in a hurry either. He slowly explained the content regarding military cooperation that he had discussed with Ishiwara yesterday, item by item. These tycoons of the economic and academic circles were first surprised, then stunned, and finally silent. For them, who had not participated in bloody wars, He Rui's views were truly too radical.

He Rui did not force those people this time. He just asked, "Do you gentlemen think that, given the status quo in East Asia, it is impossible for war to occur?"

Regardless of what this group of people thought, one of the purposes of He Rui's visit to Japan this time was to explain this matter to Japan. Now that China wanted to enter the next stage, this problem had to be solved. Correspondingly, once this problem was solved, the external difficulties of the work in the next stage would be basically eliminated.

Of course, He Rui was not optimistic. When waiting for the highest bid, humans display amazing greed. And this greed often blinds people's eyes, making them think that this opportunity will exist forever. He Rui was not very tolerant of such fellows.