On the afternoon of October 8th, Nagata Tetsuzan, dressed in a kimono, personally visited a group of political big shots, every one of whom was considered a traitor in the eyes of young Japanese field officers and a spokesperson for British and American interests in Japan.

It wasn't until Nagata Tetsuzan stepped into the residence of Foreign Minister Uchida Kosai that Okamura Yasuji, following behind him, sighed. Uchida Kosai was a member of the nativist faction and consistently supported a hardline attitude toward China. His connections with the business world were limited to the South Manchuria Railway Company. Even if he couldn't be called one of the Army's own, at least he wasn't in opposition.

Like those pro-British and American civilian officials, Uchida Kosai was very polite to the next generation leader of the army. Nagata Tetsuzan, on the contrary, did not sincerely ask for help as he had with the pro-British and American civilian big shots. Instead, he asked straightforwardly, "Excellency Uchida, with the Northeast declaring war on the Empire this time, I wonder what your plans are?"

Uchida Kosai frowned slightly, obviously surprised. After thinking for a moment, Uchida Kosai asked, "Nagata-kun, if you have any views, why not say them frankly?"

Nagata Tetsuzan knew that Uchida Kosai had a resolute character, worked hard, and was a very responsible politician. So he said frankly, "Excellency, if this war can be decided quickly, it would naturally be best. However, in my humble opinion, I'm afraid it won't be that easy."

Uchida Kosai frowned and thought for a long while before speaking, "Nagata-kun, I don't understand military affairs. I have a question: He Rui is good at diplomacy. Compared to his diplomatic ability, which is stronger, his military ability?"

Okamura Yasuji felt that Uchida Kosai was worthy of being the Foreign Minister; this comparison was truly interesting. But since every profession has its specialization, making such an analogy allowed Uchida Kosai to intuitively understand He Rui's military ability.

Nagata Tetsuzan thought briefly and replied, "Has Your Excellency read *Introduction to Geopolitics* written by He-kun?"

Uchida Kosai nodded and sighed, "I have read it. After reading it, I really felt like the clouds had parted to reveal the sun."

"Excellency, He-kun is definitely not just good at a few fields. If we must say what he is good at, perhaps he can be called a philosopher."

"A philosopher?" Uchida Kosai couldn't help showing a look of astonishment. He graduated from the Law Department of Tokyo Imperial University in 1887 and entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Japan introduced the European knowledge system, and in the traditional view of this system, true philosophers were regarded as people who mastered the topmost part of knowledge. Nagata Tetsuzan's evaluation of He Rui could be described as extremely high.

Nagata Tetsuzan didn't keep him in suspense. "In everything He-kun does, whether diplomacy or military affairs, it seems like an antelope hanging by its horns leaving no tracks to follow. In fact, he can always grasp the essence of things."

Uchida Kosai felt that Nagata Tetsuzan's praise of He Rui was a bit excessive, so he simply asked, "In that case, why did He-kun declare war on the Empire?"

Nagata Tetsuzan countered with a question, "Excellency, if He-kun wants to unify China, will the Empire agree?"

Uchida Kosai's expression became grim. "Maintaining China's division is the Empire's national policy at the current stage. Weakening China is the Empire's long-term national policy."

"He-kun tried every means to achieve China's unification. Trying to avoid the Empire's interference would certainly cost a huge price. Instead of being controlled by others, it is better to use these costs to start a war with the Empire. If He-kun achieves his goal, forcing the Empire to make peace with him... When that day comes, who in China will dare to stop He-kun from unifying China? Even if those people don't surrender at the mere sight of him, the cost for He-kun to unify China will be minimal. This is the reason why He-kun started the war."

Uchida Kosai's face looked even uglier, but a moment later, the Foreign Minister's expression returned to calm. "What does Nagata-kun hope the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will do?"

"Diplomatically, communicate deeply with Britain and France as much as possible. Once China is unified, it will inevitably trigger a chain reaction, leading to changes in the international order. Any change in the international order will damage the interests of Britain and France. The order under the current Versailles System has already maximized the interests of Britain and France."

Uchida Kosai nodded. Britain and France were undoubtedly at the peak of their interests now, and any change would only reduce their interests rather than increase them. Uchida Kosai was confident in persuading British and French diplomats in this regard.

"Excellency, I believe that the war will definitely not end in the short term. It is very likely to fight for two years. For victory, the Empire's bond issuance and fundraising in overseas markets are particularly important. Now the Beiyang Government is weak and powerless, and He Rui, as a local government, has no ability to issue bonds in the international market. This is a major advantage for the Empire. If fully utilized, it is extremely important for winning the war."

Hearing this, Uchida Kosai was somewhat puzzled. "Nagata-kun, what you said seems to imply that you think the Empire will lose?"

Nagata Tetsuzan shook his head. "The Empire will never lose, but He-kun never thought about winning in the first place."

This statement was a bit convoluted. Uchida Kosai thought for a while, connected it with Nagata Tetsuzan's earlier point about He Rui's purpose for launching this war, and suddenly realized the truth. Indeed, what He Rui sought was not to defeat Japan, but to make Japan no longer send troops to interfere with his unification of China. From a diplomatic perspective, He Rui couldn't afford to win this battle too thoroughly. For example, if He Rui defeated the Empire of Japan and occupied Korea, then the Empire of Japan would never make peace with He Rui no matter what.

Having figured this out, Uchida Kosai sighed, "The outside world's evaluation of Nagata-kun is indeed correct. Nagata-kun's wisdom is breathtaking."

Speaking of this, Uchida Kosai made a small joke, "Nagata-kun has been a military attaché abroad for so long. If you retire from the army, please be sure to come to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As long as I am still the Foreign Minister, I will definitely invite Nagata-kun to serve as the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs."

Okamura Yasuji did not misunderstand the goodwill represented in these words. Being able to persuade the Foreign Minister with a single speech, Nagata Tetsuzan's insight impressed Okamura Yasuji.

After listening to Nagata Tetsuzan's analysis, Okamura Yasuji felt that these were logical and should be so. But facing the current situation, Okamura Yasuji could not make such a complete analysis on his own.

Nagata Tetsuzan was not complacent but bowed his head sincerely to Uchida Kosai. "Excellency, this is a great challenge for the Empire. If Your Excellency can maneuver diplomatically, the pressure on me fighting on the front line will be much less."

Uchida Kosai didn't respond directly, only saying, "I wish Nagata-kun long-lasting military fortunes."

Coming out of Uchida Kosai's residence, Nagata Tetsuzan breathed a long sigh of relief. Okamura Yasuji asked, "Nagata-kun, where to next?"

Nagata Tetsuzan answered decisively, "Change into military uniform and go to the Army War College."

In the car, Okamura Yasuji finally had the will to ask questions. "Nagata-kun, how do you think the war situation will develop?"

"When we have the meeting tonight, I will discuss it with everyone together." Nagata Tetsuzan cleverly expressed his refusal to answer.

While the car was moving, Nagata Tetsuzan changed into his military uniform. Arriving at the Army War College, people were already waiting at the gate; they were all juniors. Seeing Nagata Tetsuzan arrive, everyone rushed up to salute, then surrounded Nagata Tetsuzan and headed straight for the auditorium.

The Japanese Army War College recruited an average of 54 students per year. Graduation took three years, so there were fewer than 200 students in school, and the auditorium was not large.

Nagata Tetsuzan had visited the current principal, Major General Tamura Mamoru, overnight after receiving the news last night that he was going to Korea to serve as the Deputy Director of the Quartermaster Department. When Nagata Tetsuzan walked onto the podium, he saw Major General Tamura Mamoru and Instructor Ishiwara Kanji enter through the main door and sit in the corner of the last row.

The Army War College students in the audience all knew that war had broken out, and each looked forward to being involved in the war. With the highly acclaimed and promising senior Colonel Nagata arriving, everyone waited excitedly.

Nagata Tetsuzan didn't talk nonsense. He briefly introduced the current situation and expressed to the Army War College students, "Fellow students, you all come from various units in Japan and have performed excellently during your service. In terms of leading troops in battle, the Ministry of the Army and the General Staff Headquarters are not worried about your strength at all. And you come to study at the Army War College to learn a higher-level military cognitive system and take your understanding of military affairs to a higher level. I welcome graduating students to go to the front line, but for students who have not completed their studies, I expect you to study with peace of mind and graduate with the best grades. For you, even if you miss this war, there will be a next time. But you only have this one chance to study at the Army War College."

Seeing Nagata Tetsuzan being modest and polite, and his words full of encouragement, especially genuinely caring about everyone's future, the students all felt admiration. Then they heard Nagata Tetsuzan say, "Students need to complete their studies, but instructors don't. Coming here this time, I want to invite Instructor Ishiwara Kanji to go to Korea with me."

Most of the students hadn't noticed that Ishiwara Kanji was here. Nagata Tetsuzan shouted loudly to the surprised Ishiwara Kanji, "Ishiwara-kun, are you willing to lend me a hand?"

Now the students all turned to look in Ishiwara Kanji's direction. Ishiwara Kanji was noncommittal. During their last deep conversation with Nagata Tetsuzan, both confirmed that their concepts ran in opposite directions. Ishiwara Kanji didn't think his views had changed, so there was nothing to say to Nagata Tetsuzan.

But the principal of the Army War College was right next to him. No matter how prickly Ishiwara Kanji was, he wouldn't disrespect the principal. More than ten minutes later, he sat face to face with Nagata Tetsuzan in the principal's office.

Nagata Tetsuzan got straight to the point. "Ishiwara-kun, now in the Ministry of the Army and the General Staff Headquarters, most people think that the Northeast Army is just the Beiyang Army with better weapons. Although led by He-kun, its actual combat effectiveness is not strong. So after receiving the Kwantung Army's telegram for help, they immediately ordered the Korean Army to set out in full force. Now the advance troops have already moved out. Based on my understanding of He-kun, he comes prepared. The Kwantung Army is probably doomed, and even the Korean Army, thinking it's an adventure, will suffer a lot."

Ishiwara Kanji had already considered this matter. Originally, based on the intelligence analysis he obtained, Ishiwara Kanji always felt that there was something 'exaggerated' in what He Rui did. Now that the truth was out, Ishiwara Kanji understood that he had never thought He Rui would declare war on Japan at the end of '22 before. That was why the misunderstanding arose. He Rui should have been planning to declare war on Japan since before he returned to China. Analyzing from the perspective of declaring war on Japan, He Rui's actions were not only not exaggerated but could even be described as 'racing against time'.

Although Ishiwara Kanji was shocked and angry at He Rui's actions, this did not mean Ishiwara Kanji had a good impression of Nagata Tetsuzan. So Ishiwara Kanji asked, "Since Nagata-kun has already seen this step, there is no need to come to me for confirmation, right?"

Although Nagata Tetsuzan wore glasses, his gaze was still piercing. He said steadily, "Ishiwara-kun, we parted ways two years ago because our paths were different and we could not plan together. But we are both Imperial soldiers and should be loyal to the Empire. Ishiwara-kun's intelligence is above mine. You must know that with He-kun's strength, the Empire of Japan is facing an unprecedented challenge. At this time, we have only one stance, which is to serve the Empire of Japan. This is the time to discard past grievances and unite in good faith. regarding the fate of the Korean Army, I have revealed my deductions completely. Ishiwara-kun, please go to Korea with me. If I can lead the Korean Army, I will definitely ask Ishiwara-kun to be the Chief of Staff. With Ishiwara-kun's intelligence and wisdom, even He-kun cannot beat us."

Ishiwara Kanji stared at Nagata Tetsuzan for a while and saw that Nagata Tetsuzan looked sincere, without any falsehood at all. He stood up abruptly and bowed deeply to Nagata Tetsuzan. "Thank you, Nagata-kun, for your advice, allowing me to see the sun through the clouds. If Nagata-kun hadn't come, I would still be stuck in a small circle and couldn't get out. Please be sure to take me to Korea, Nagata-kun."

Major General Tamura Mamoru, the principal of the Army War College, naturally knew Ishiwara Kanji's temperament. Although Ishiwara Kanji had restrained himself a lot in recent years, just listening to his reputation, one could imagine a thing or two about the past. Therefore, Major General Tamura Mamoru did not think Nagata Tetsuzan could persuade Ishiwara Kanji.

Unexpectedly, Ishiwara Kanji was actually persuaded by Nagata Tetsuzan. Major General Tamura Mamoru was very happy in his heart; he could finally kick Ishiwara Kanji out of the Army War College. This was truly good news.

Okamura Yasuji, on the other hand, was really a bit puzzled. Today he followed Nagata Tetsuzan to visit big shots. Yet the important evening time was spent on Ishiwara Kanji. Could Ishiwara Kanji's value be equal to those big shots?

Surely not!