October 10, 8:30 AM. Tokyo. The Ministry of War received a telegram from the Korea Army Headquarters: "Lost contact with two division headquarters. Urgently attempting to restore communications."

Minister of War Tanaka Giichi was no longer surprised. He got into his car and headed straight for the Prime Minister's official residence. Led by a secretary, he entered the Prime Minister's office. The secretary withdrew, carefully closing the door behind him.

Prime Minister Katō Tomosaburo looked exhausted. He pondered for a moment before asking, "Tanaka-kun, how does the Ministry of War intend to explain this to the people?"

Tanaka Giichi had long since considered who would bear the responsibility. "The Chief of the General Staff will resign. Regarding the command staff of the Korea Army Headquarters: general officers will be transferred to the reserves; field officers will be demoted two ranks and sent to the front lines. The Chief of the Intelligence Section and the Chief of the China Office will be handed over to the court-martial. The Deputy Chief of the Intelligence Section and the staff of the China Office will be demoted and sent to the front lines."

After listening to Tanaka Giichi, Prime Minister (and concurrent Minister of the Navy) Katō Tomosaburo did not answer immediately. He remained silent for a while before saying, "Understood."

A weight lifted from Tanaka Giichi's heart. He had prepared an even harsher punishment plan, but since Prime Minister Katō Tomosaburo did not kick him while he was down, there was no need to propose it. With a touch of gratitude, Tanaka Giichi bowed to Katō Tomosaburo. "Thank you. The Army is expediting the completion of the counterattack plan. We will certainly destroy the He Rui regime."

Hearing this, Katō Tomosaburo replied coldly, "I hope Tanaka-kun can explain this to the Imperial subjects as soon as possible. In decades, the Empire has never suffered such a great defeat. Once the news spreads, public sentiment will inevitably be inflamed. The Diet members will make even more noise."

Tanaka Giichi responded, "The Army will do its utmost. We also hope Your Excellency can assist the Army in dealing with this."

Katō Tomosaburo had no fondness for the Diet. When it came to dealing with public opinion, the Army and Navy were in alignment.

Having discussed these matters that required immediate attention, the two men did not delve deeper but stood up and headed for the Imperial Palace. Soon, the Imperial Conference convened within the palace.

Japan's Imperial Conference differed from the court assemblies attended by the Emperor in China. Since the establishment of the Shogunate system, the Imperial Court managed the nobility, while administrative affairs were the responsibility of the Shogun. Although the Tokugawa Shogunate had performed the 'Restoration of Imperial Rule' (Taisei Hōkan), administrative power had actually been returned to the central government. While the Imperial Court's voice had greatly increased, it was not yet a system of absolute monarchical power like the Chinese dynasties.

Therefore, when the Cabinet met in the Imperial Palace, it was called an 'Imperial Conference.' Crown Prince Hirohito was already Regent, and he attended the Imperial Conference on behalf of Emperor Taishō. According to the system, Crown Prince Hirohito was merely an observer at the Imperial Conference. He made no decisions and did not participate in the discussions.

There were currently five Cabinet Ministers in Japan: the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Navy, the Minister of War, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of Finance. Each department was managed by its respective minister.

Before the meeting began, the ministers bowed to the Crown Prince. Crown Prince Hirohito merely nodded, remaining silent according to the rules. The meeting then formally commenced.

The Prime Minister, Katō Tomosaburo, first asked the Minister of War about the development of the war. Tanaka Giichi concealed nothing, explaining the latest situation and offering a very objective and reasonable projection regarding the fate of the Korea Army.

Next, Tanaka Giichi laid out the punishment plan. Since the Minister of the Navy was concurrently the Prime Minister, and neither the Minister of Foreign Affairs nor the Minister of Finance spoke up—not feeling the need to involve themselves in this matter—the issue at hand was not who was punished, but how to deal with the war.

After Tanaka Giichi finished with the punishment plan, he continued, "Given the current situation, the war with the Northeast Government needs to be escalated to a National War. The Empire of Japan must retake all of Korea as quickly as possible, enter the Manchuria-Mongolia region, thoroughly destroy the Northeast Government, and proceed to completely occupy Manchuria and Mongolia. What suggestions do Your Excellencies have regarding this?"

Foreign Minister Uchida Kōsai immediately expressed his opinion. "Destroying the Northeast Government can be understood by the various nations. However, occupying Manchuria and Mongolia differs from the stance of the Washington Conference and will not be recognized by the powers."

Tanaka Giichi responded, "Then we will support a regime controlled by the Empire to replace it. But in any case, the Northeast regime must be thoroughly destroyed."

At this, the various ministers had no objections. Given what the Northeast Government had done to the Empire of Japan, there was absolutely no reason to allow the Northeast regime to continue to exist.

Prime Minister Katō Tomosaburo agreed with the Army Ministry's policy and turned to ask the Foreign Minister, "Regarding communication with foreign nations, does Uchida-kaku have any suggestions or requests?"

Foreign Minister Uchida Kōsai immediately replied, "Your Excellency, the Northeast Government is merely a regional regime; the Empire cannot declare war on it. Declaring war on the Chinese government is also impossible. Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently contacting various nations, attempting to gain their understanding and support. In the Beiyang Government's latest personnel changes, Zhang Xiluan has become the new Director-General of the Army. In his inauguration statement, he mentioned that the current Republic of China government must guarantee the free flow of transportation and commerce. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes this is the Republic of China government expressing goodwill towards He Rui."

The other ministers remained silent, but they all understood the Foreign Minister's meaning. The Northeast Government was currently fighting Japan independently; they needed vast amounts of supplies and funds. These supplies and funds would naturally be obtained through trade with the lands inside the Pass. For a Director-General of the Army to emphasize 'the free flow of transportation and commerce' in his inauguration statement, it was naturally an expression that they would absolutely not interrupt trade with the Northeast.

However, no one suggested demanding clarification from the Beiyang Government on this issue. The Beiyang Government could use a hundred reasons to explain that they had no other intentions. If the Japanese side demanded that the Beiyang Government interrupt trade with the Northeast, the Beiyang Government had a hundred ways to stall.

In the final analysis, as long as the Empire of Japan failed to overwhelm the Northeast Government militarily, the Beiyang Government would have endless room to maneuver.

"Who supports the Empire at present?" Katō Tomosaburo continued to ask.

Uchida Kōsai replied, "The British government has expressed shock, the French government has merely expressed concern, and the US government calls for peace. Soviet Russia has not made any public statement."

There were only these four countries that could truly influence this war. Because Soviet Russia was not recognized by Japan, and Japan had participated in the Allied intervention against Soviet Russia, the two countries did not even have diplomatic relations. Therefore, the current Soviet Russia was by no means He Rui's enemy.

In this brief silence, Hirohito's aide-de-camp, Nijō Kōichi, spoke up to ask, "May I ask Uchida-kaku, do you believe Soviet Russia will support the Northeast Government?"

At the Imperial Conference, Hirohito would only make purely polite remarks, and never more than two sentences. Even if he said nothing at all, it was not abnormal. But since the Imperial Conference was an *Imperial* Conference, someone had to speak for the Imperial House. The aide-de-camp was that role.

Nijō Kōichi—one could tell from the name alone that he was a noble. It was a tradition for children of the nobility to serve as aides-de-camp. This Nijō Kōichi was born in 1874, entered the Army Academy in 1892, and later served in the cavalry unit of the 1st Division. He entered the Army War College in 1898, graduated in 1901, and entered the Guard Division cavalry unit. He had participated in the Russo-Japanese War and earned some merit. He became Hirohito's aide-de-camp in 1909. It was basically the standard path for the peerage (Kazoku).

Hearing Nijō Kōichi's question, Uchida Kōsai felt the issue was indeed critical. Once Soviet Russia and the Northeast Army formed a coalition, Japan would face tremendous pressure. Uchida Kōsai answered decisively, "At this stage, it is impossible. Directly recognizing Russia would make the Northeast Government a rebel against the Republic of China government. However, if the Northeast Government were on the verge of being defeated by the Empire, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes it would be quite possible at that time."

As he said the latter sentence, Uchida Kōsai felt a bit uncertain in his heart. When a person is sailing with the wind, their basic baseline of action can be predicted. But when they are at a dead end and facing imminent destruction, the probability of breaking through that baseline becomes very high.

The breadth of Nijō Kōichi's vision in asking this question surprised Uchida Kōsai slightly. The question was tricky, but not without value for consideration.

Nijō Kōichi then turned to look at Tanaka Giichi. "Tanaka-kaku, what is the reason for the Northeast Army's victories up to now?"

Hearing the question, Tanaka Giichi did not flinch due to the defeat. Instead, he answered decisively, "The incompetence of the Imperial Army's intelligence department led to a completely wrong assessment of the Northeast Army by the Empire. This is the Army's responsibility."

"When will the Army Ministry's assessment of the Northeast Army's true strength be completed?" Nijō Kōichi continued to ask.

This question left Tanaka Giichi unable to answer immediately. After a moment of thought, Tanaka Giichi replied, "Aside from immediately deploying reinforcements to Korea, this is the highest priority task."

Nijō Kōichi did not pursue the matter further but turned to Prime Minister Katō Tomosaburo. "Your Excellency, has the Navy formulated its own operational plan?"

Katō Tomosaburo answered calmly, "The Navy will study landing operation plans together with the Army."

Hearing this answer, Nijō Kōichi bowed slightly. "Thank you for your answers." Then he sat back in his seat.

Although Tanaka Giichi did not look at Nijō Kōichi, he was very mindful of this fellow's questions in his heart. The questions were all reasonable, exactly what an aide-de-camp to the Prince Regent should ask. However, these questions all contained a core message: proceed with caution. If they could not produce an assessment of the Northeast Army, the next battle would likely also be a failure.

But did this caution represent some attitude of the Crown Prince? Tanaka Giichi was not yet clear on this.

Katō Tomosaburo's final question was directed at Minister of Finance Takahashi Korekiyo. Takahashi Korekiyo stated once again that as long as the "Budget for the Expansion of the War against China" was drafted, the Ministry of Finance would immediately begin its review. Apart from this statement, Takahashi Korekiyo did not say another word.

The meeting ended there. Generally speaking, at such times, the Imperial family members attending the Imperial Conference might say something, but Hirohito merely stood up and left without a word. As the protocol officer chanted "Sending off," the Cabinet Ministers bowed together to Hirohito's retreating figure.

The Imperial Conference was over.

The Cabinet Ministers said nothing to each other as they left. Everyone got into their own cars and went off to attend to their own affairs. Tanaka Giichi got into his car, and the adjutant inside immediately presented three telegrams. According to the urgency of the war situation, the Korea Army Headquarters was now sending a telegram to Tokyo every 30 minutes.

The adjutant also explained, "Your Excellency, in the past hour, we have still received no telegrams from the two divisions of the Korea Army."

Tanaka Giichi flipped through the three telegrams. The telegrams from the Korea Army Headquarters only stated that they were continuing to contact the two divisions and were urging the Japanese logistics units to go to their rescue. This order made Tanaka Giichi even more unhappy. Even at this point, they were still indulging in wishful thinking—did the Korea Army Headquarters want to deliver their last remaining troops to the Northeast Army as well?

Meanwhile, in Pyongyang, a train pulled into Pyongyang Station. Large groups of officers and soldiers were waiting at the station. As soon as the train stopped, Major Fukuyama boarded, found the conductor, and said sternly, "This train has been commandeered!"

As soon as the words fell, Ishiwara Kanji, who had walked over, smiled and said, "Fukuyama-kun, you look in such high spirits."

Major Fukuyama turned around and saw it was Ishiwara Kanji. Overjoyed, he quickly stepped forward and grasped Ishiwara Kanji's arm. "Ishiwara-kun, why are you here?"

Ishiwara Kanji put away his smile. "I came to Pyongyang to command the troops in battle."