The Kwantung Governor-General's Office was a Victorian-style building occupying a large area, bustling with Japanese military personnel coming and going. Before long, the officers entering and exiting suddenly stood at attention and saluted one after another as a middle-aged Major General led a group of field officers to the entrance.

"Attention! Salute!" The guards on duty at the gate raised their rifles in salute.

He Rui guessed that this must be Major General Hamamo Matasuke, Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Governor-General's Office. Seeing him come personally to the main gate to welcome him, He Rui couldn't help but be greatly surprised.

This was somewhat unconventional. Just as he was puzzled, he saw a Japanese Captain behind Hamamo Matasuke—thin, wearing glasses, smiling and nodding at him. It turned out to be Nagata Tetsuzan. He Rui suddenly understood.

He Rui and Nagata Tetsuzan rarely met, but they communicated frequently. When He Rui was first admitted to the Japanese Army War College, Nagata was still a military attaché in Berlin, Germany, returning to Japan only in early 1914. As He Rui's fame in Japan grew, Nagata Tetsuzan also became interested in He Rui's scholarship, especially appreciating his geopolitics. For this reason, he had made a special trip to the Army War College to treat He Rui to drinks. However, the man was busy with affairs and hard to meet. Later, the two mostly communicated via letters.

In He Rui's impression, Nagata Tetsuzan was very different from the average Japanese Army officer. He was shrewd and adaptable, possessed strategic vision, yet could humble himself to flatter superiors. He had hooked up with Crown Prince Hirohito very early on and had wide connections in Japanese political and military circles. With both high EQ and IQ, and a strong set of military accomplishments and theories, in He Rui's mind, this person ranked first in the Japanese Army.

Major General Hamamo Matasuke walked up to He Rui and stopped. He Rui stepped forward and saluted, speaking in Japanese, "Subordinate He Rui pays respects to Your Excellency, Major General."

Major General Hamamo Matasuke nodded, returned the salute, looked He Rui up and down, and smiled. "I am Hamamo Matasuke. He-kun, your Principal Kawai Misao is an old friend of mine. I wonder how his health is now?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the Principal is in good health," He Rui replied.

"Very good! Although I am in the Kwantung territory, I have long heard of He-kun's great name. Even Kawai Misao wrote to praise you, which is truly rare." Major General Hamamo Matasuke reached out and pressed He Rui's shoulder. He Rui stood solemnly at attention, motionless. Hamamo said with satisfaction, "Truly an excellent junior. Pity he's not Japanese!"

He turned around and ordered a staff officer, "Go prepare the car. I want to treat He-kun to drinks!"

Translator Zhao whispered the content of the conversation to Major Liu and Xu Chengfeng from behind. Both looked numb; clearly, this scene far exceeded their imagination.

Before long, the convoy stopped outside a rather imposing Japanese restaurant. The sign bore three large characters: "Kwantung Maru." The owner, who had long been waiting at the door, immediately stepped forward to help open the car door diligently, bowing incessantly, and then ushered everyone into a private room.

The private room was set up in a Japanese banquet style, with a main seat and two rows of small individual dining tables on the sides. Several heavily made-up Japanese women in kimonos bowed deeply in welcome. The Japanese officers took off their shoes and walked in. Xu Chengfeng finally realized why He Rui had asked everyone to bathe, soak their feet in hot water, and put on clean socks before setting off.

Major General Hamamo Matasuke sat in the main seat, and He Rui sat in the first guest seat. Major General Hamamo pointed to the Captain sitting opposite He Rui. "He-kun, Nagata-kun is also your old friend. Today is just like being in Japan; everyone, no need to be formal."

He Rui bowed to Nagata Tetsuzan before replying, "Subordinate pays respects to Senior Nagata. To this day, classmates at the Army War College consider Senior Nagata the pride of the school."

Major General Hamamo laughed. "Nagata, both the Palace and the Army have high hopes for you. Even a figure like He-kun admires you so much; you mustn't let everyone down."

Nagata Tetsuzan smiled and said to He Rui, "He-kun. I heard you wrote a report to Minister Takahashi [^1] before returning to your country. Could you reveal the content of the report?"

"Senior Nagata is too polite. It was just some small suggestions, not worth mentioning. Professor Taira Toyomori of Tokyo University and I wrote a situation analysis proposal to the Ministry of Finance. We predicted that before the end of the World War, Japan would transform from a debtor nation to a creditor nation."

"Oh?" Major General Hamamo Matasuke was slightly stunned, while Nagata Tetsuzan just nodded thoughtfully. The Japanese field officers in the room were not as steady as Major General Hamamo; some looked surprised, while more showed smiles, though they didn't dare cheer aloud.

Seeing everyone moved, He Rui had an idea. Using Nagata Tetsuzan's inquiry, he made the content sound more interesting. "In the report, we suggested to Minister Takahashi that Japan should currently focus all its attention on coordinating production capacity. Professor Taira Toyomori even repeated three times in the text: Export, Export, Export! I was already preparing to return to China then and was very worried that Professor Taira would be just as agitated when reporting to Minister Takahashi in person. But Professor Taira remained stubborn. He said if he met Minister Takahashi, he would definitely argue strongly that the European War is a golden opportunity for Japan that comes once in a thousand years. If we don't seize this opportunity to expand industrial scale and revitalize national power, it will be a regret for a hundred generations!"

He turned his head to look around at the focused officers and smiled. "If production capacity increases rapidly, trade volume will increase rapidly. Consequently, Japan will obtain a large export surplus, and foreign exchange will flow in violently. At that time, there will inevitably be significant room in the budget for the Navy and Army military expenses."

Hamamo Matasuke had originally been listening with a polite smile, but hearing that military expenses would increase, he was visibly moved. "I hope what He-kun says can come true."

At this moment, there was a gentle knock from outside, and the paper door slid open. The restaurant began serving dishes. Various Japanese dishes were quickly placed on the small tables. Major General Hamamo Matasuke raised his glass. "Gentlemen, today He-kun visits. Let us toast to East Asian unity!"

"Cheers!" everyone responded.

After three rounds of drinks, the door opened again. Four geishas in splendid attire walked into the private room with mincing steps, bowing to greet everyone. The crowd knelt on the tatami and bowed slightly in return. The geisha holding a shamisen knelt down and picked up the plectrum. As the music started, the other three held folding fans and began to dance gracefully before the seats.

Japanese dance emphasizes elegance. The geishas' movements were small but calm and graceful. The field officers watched intently. As the banquet approached its peak, some young officers slowly began to let loose.

He Rui was very experienced with this scene, and the standard of geishas in the Kwantung territory was far below that of Tokyo. After watching for a while, he felt bored, so he raised his cup and took a sip, glancing at Major General Hamamo Matasuke and Nagata Tetsuzan along the way. He saw that both were watching the geisha performance, yet seemed lost in thought. When his gaze fell on Nagata Tetsuzan, Nagata seemed to sense it and turned his head to look over.

He Rui held his wine cup and toasted Nagata Tetsuzan from a distance. Nagata Tetsuzan raised his cup in return, and both drained their glasses in one gulp.

***

[^1]: Takahashi Korekiyo (高桥是清), a prominent Japanese politician and financial expert.