Just as he finished criticizing Yamamoto Isoroku for drinking good wine, Nagumo picked up the wine Yamaguchi Tamon had just poured and drank it all in one gulp.

He Rui was a little surprised, while Yamaguchi Tamon laughed. "Nagumo-kun is so straightforward today." As he spoke, he poured another cup for Nagumo.

Nagumo picked up the freshly poured wine and drank it all in one gulp again. In the blink of an eye, three cups of wine were down his stomach.

With three cups of wine down, Nagumo Chūichi was ready to speak. However, Yamaguchi Tamon, this young man, was a bit heartless and didn't stay idle while pouring wine. He continued to say to He Rui, "He-kun, the dispute between the Navy and the Army mentioned just now is very strange when you think about it. If it were a dispute between clans, the clans are no longer there. If it were a dispute over selfish desires, as far as I can observe, the Genrō wouldn't be so petty. Even the centuries-old feuds between daimyō during the Warring States Period didn't reach this level. It's truly strange. Although everyone is used to it, I always wonder about it."

Nagumo Chūichi followed with a muffled voice, "I have asked He-kun about this several times before, but He-kun always evaded the subject. Now that you are about to return to your country, you must have something to teach me, right?"

He Rui finally understood the purpose of their visit. Holding his wine glass, he smiled. "Hehe, did the two of you visit just to ask about the dispute between the Navy and the Army? This is Japan's internal affair. Isn't asking a Chinese person like asking the blind for directions?"

Nagumo Chūichi looked unhappy. "He-kun has written many papers in recent years, covering politics and economics, which have been praised by the higher-ups. He-kun has also seen so much statistical data; how can Japan's affairs be hidden from you? Moreover, He-kun is not Japanese, so you can jump out of the chessboard. Presumably, you must have gained something. If He-kun is unwilling to reveal it, we have already drunk three cups of farewell wine, so we will take our leave today." After saying that, he was about to stand up.

"Why is Nagumo-kun so impatient?" Yamaguchi Tamon held Nagumo Chūichi back. He turned to He Rui and said, "He-kun, we are about to part. Why keep being mysterious?"

He Rui found it interesting and also felt some emotion. Facing domestic problems, the elites among the Japanese youth racked their brains to find solutions. As for the Beiyang government... it was really hard to explain in a few words.

With emotion in his heart, He Rui sighed, "Alas, Nagumo-kun, don't be anxious. I do have a few words. Please correct me if I'm wrong."

After Nagumo Chūichi sat down again, He Rui said, "Everyone says that the dispute between the Japanese Army and Navy is caused by the accumulated grievances of the former Chōshū and Satsuma samurai, but I don't think so. I think this is purely a dispute of geopolitical concepts."

Nagumo Chūichi and Yamaguchi Tamon exchanged glances and responded, "As expected. A few days ago, Yamaguchi Tamon, Yamamoto Isoroku, and I carefully read He-kun's great work and seemed to vaguely figure out some ideas. Today we came to verify them with you."

He Rui poured wine and then asked, "Nagumo-kun, Yamaguchi-kun, in your opinion, is Japan an island country or a continental country?"

Yamaguchi Tamon answered puzzledly, "Japan is naturally an island country..." Then he reacted and quickly asked, "Please instruct us, He-kun!"

He Rui replied, "Geographically, Japan is definitely an island country. However, in the past two thousand years of history, it has been deeply influenced by continental culture and considers itself a continental country culturally."

Picking up the wine glass, He Rui didn't drink but slowed down his tone. "This is a rare phenomenon in human civilization where natural geographical cognition and political culture have a contradictory inversion. Looking at Japanese history, there are two points that are quite rare. First, although it is an island country, it has always used the concepts of continental agricultural civilization to govern the country and shape its culture. Although there were repeated wars, it was eventually unified. Within the four islands, it claimed to be 'All under Heaven' (Tenka), constructing a nation with the Emperor as the core, which is no different from my China. Second, observing world history, island countries are all mercantilist, eager to sail everywhere to gain profits. Western civilization originated in Greece and Rome, which is the so-called circum-Mediterranean sea power civilization, thus influencing the entire European culture. Japan only slowly broke its seclusion and accepted this cultural injection after the Black Ships attacked. Therefore, although the Navy was greatly developed, how could its own continental civilization tradition be abandoned just like that?"

After He Rui finished speaking, the room fell into silence for a while. Seeing the two people opposite him frowning and thinking with puzzled faces, He Rui realized that he was still holding the wine glass, so he raised it to his mouth.

Before the wine could go down his throat, Nagumo Chūichi suddenly slammed his fist on the floor. "To think it could be analyzed like this! Our Navy imitates Britain in everything, so we naturally see ourselves as an island country. The Army modeled itself after France and Germany successively; conceptually, do they still think Japan is a continental country?"

He Rui almost choked on the wine. He could only hold his breath and remain silent.

Yamaguchi Tamon slapped the table and praised, "Listening to your words is better than reading books for ten years. The so-called geopolitics really does not deceive me! If following the method of the British Empire, Japan naturally puts the Navy first and the Army second. If it considers itself a continental country, then the Army naturally will not retreat an inch. In addition, adding the conflict of political interests between soldiers, it becomes even more irreconcilable."

Nagumo also sighed rarely, "If this principle is understood, the dispute between the Army and Navy can cease. My Yamato race is a united people. If there is a great cause, disputes can naturally be resolved. He-kun is truly a wise man of the generation!"

He Rui finally caught his breath. "How can it be that easy? Even if the Emperor, the Genrō, and the Army and Navy officers know this principle, I'm afraid it will still be difficult to reconcile."

Yamaguchi Tamon asked in surprise, "Why does He-kun say this? Isn't this self-contradictory?"

He Rui loosened his button, let out a breath, and continued, "It is not contradictory. Although Japan is an island country, it indeed possesses an agricultural environment rare among most island countries. The climate is warm and humid, and there is also volcanic ash soil. The land is fertile, thus supporting a population far exceeding that of similar island areas."

Looking directly at the two who were listening seriously, He Rui continued, "Among Japan's current 55 million population, 80% are farmers. So from the economic environment, objectively speaking, Japan is indeed really a small continental country. Generally speaking, geography and resource environment will largely determine the economic mode, the economic mode will determine the political mode, and the political mode determines the national character, culture, and even military strategy. This is a chain that cannot be reversed."

Nagumo Chūichi said, "In that case, is the dispute between the Japanese Army and Navy insoluble?"

"Not necessarily. I just mentioned the theory and methodology. In fact, if Japan can maintain a good speed of industrial development and gradually achieve: gross industrial output value far exceeding agricultural output value; and the industrial and service employment population in the national population far exceeding the agricultural employment population, then Japan will quickly switch to the British model, with the Navy as the main force and the Army as the auxiliary. The Army and Navy will generally serve Japan's industrial policy and trade policy."

Excited, Yamaguchi Tamon clapped his hands and praised, "This statement is wonderful. This is what He-kun described in the book: the army itself cannot generate war objectives; the army can only ever serve the optimization of production and distribution for the country and the nationals, formulating military strategies based on the problems that the former two need to solve?"

He Rui nodded. "*On War* says that war is the continuation of politics. I think if it is changed to 'military is the continuation of policy', it might be more in line with Clausewitz's original intention."