The Operations Section Chief invited Yamamoto Isoroku out of the operations room. Stopping at the corner of the corridor, the Chief kept a stern face and said, "Yamamoto-kun, please do not make such sensationalist remarks during work."

Yamamoto Isoroku replied calmly, "Is this not a method that the desperate Northeast Army would consider?"

***

The Operations Section Chief suspected Yamamoto Isoroku was being deliberately contrarian, but judging by Yamamoto's expression and tone, he was seriously considering the possibility. Most importantly, although Yamamoto's views were unconstrained, they were unexpectedly serious.

Yamamoto Isoroku had no intention of causing confrontation from the start. Seeing that the Operations Section Chief did not want to consider this possibility, he could only continue, "Section Chief, this subordinate will not mention this matter again."

Seeing Yamamoto compromise, the Section Chief was about to speak when he heard the sound of people coming to attention behind him. Turning around, he saw the three naval chiefs—the Minister of the Navy, the Chief of the Navy General Staff, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet—walking down from upstairs. The officers in the hallway stood at attention and saluted one after another. When the Section Chief saw the Chief of the Navy General Staff's gaze fall upon him, he froze for two seconds before hurriedly rushing towards the Operations Section office with Yamamoto.

The admirals were called to the conference room to attend a meeting presided over by the three chiefs. The field officers didn't know what had happened and could only speculate wildly in their hearts. The admirals heard Admiral Kato say in a steady tone, "The Ministry of War has requested the Navy, hoping to implement a large-scale landing operation in Korea. The Navy Ministry and the Navy General Staff have agreed to this operational concept. Gentlemen, you must devote your full efforts to the preparation of this operation."

The Operations Section Chief was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected the Navy Ministry to actually agree to the Army Ministry's request, yet he didn't find it strange. If one didn't consider Japan's interests and only considered the Navy's interests, this defeat would greatly increase the Navy's relative power. The Army would become a subsidiary of the Navy, just like in Britain.

But if Japan were defeated, not only would the Army's reputation be ruined, but everything Japan had accumulated over decades would suffer tremendous losses. As part of Japan, the Navy had to fight for Japan.

This had nothing to do with the Army-Navy rivalry. Even if the Army was disgraced, the Imperial Japanese Army could not be abolished. Even if the previous generation of Army *baka* all committed seppuku to apologize, the next generation, and the generation after that, were growing up one after another.

Originally, the Operations Section Chief felt that Yamamoto Isoroku's strange theories would affect morale, but now Yamamoto's prediction weighed on his heart like an immovable stone.

Admiral Kato cut straight to the point. "Gentlemen, today we will conduct a feasibility study for a large-scale landing operation. There is no need for field officers to participate for now."

The generals nodded one after another. The admirals had confidence in their own confidentiality capabilities and those of their peers. The field officers were also trustworthy, but they might inadvertently turn this matter into an outlet for emotional venting due to their youthful vigor.

Admiral Kato immediately expounded on the landing concept provided by Nagata. "Transporting several divisions to the Korean coast, a large-scale landing operation involving fierce combat from the moment of landing. Its purpose is to coordinate with the Army's fierce attack on the Seoul front, creating a campaign situation extremely favorable to our forces..."

The admirals all possessed extremely high military literacy, but a landing operation of such scale exceeded their imagination. If not for Admiral Kato requiring everyone to conduct an immediate assessment, the naval admirals would have preferred to go back and think individually before proposing plans. Now, the admirals were like junior staff officers, throwing themselves into the work in the directed direction.

The arduous deduction proceeded slowly. Questions were raised one after another and answered one by one.

How to conduct reconnaissance, how to communicate, what kind of landing craft to use, how to determine the landing sites. How to guarantee the simultaneous landing of heavy equipment and troops during the landing process, and how to have the reorganized landing troops advance immediately to clear the landing site for follow-up troops to reorganize.

The amount of content was so vast that even for a feasibility discussion, the amount of thinking required exhausted the admirals' mental energy. Sweat flowed constantly from Admiral Kato's forehead during the meeting, and his adjutant kept handing him towels to wipe it away. During the interval, the Admiral struggled to stand up several times and staggered to the next room. After a while, although the Admiral's face was pale, he was able to return and continue participating in the discussion.

The meeting lasted for several hours. It wasn't until past 7:00 PM that the naval admirals reached a conclusion that wasn't particularly reliable: 'A large-scale landing operation is feasible. Although specific landing locations haven't been discussed, at least a landing operation of two divisions can be confirmed. Larger-scale operations across multiple regions are also feasible, but combat efficiency would be greatly reduced.'

Several hours of discussion had exhausted the admirals' energy. Everyone looked wearily at Admiral Kato. They saw that the Admiral's originally pale face had unknowingly gained some rosiness. The Admiral's sharp gaze had also become softer, his eyes even having a somewhat watery brightness.

Looking at the gray faces of the others, everyone felt somewhat surprised. They could only assume that this result matched Admiral Kato's mood, making the Admiral very happy, hence his current expression.

Admiral Kato held onto the table and stood up, speaking sincerely, "I leave the rest to you, gentlemen."

The generals hurriedly stood up, but saw Admiral Kato turn and leave without giving them time to speak. The generals looked at his retreating back in confusion, unsure of Admiral Kato's intentions.

Admiral Kato did not have his own mood at this moment. To pass this landing operation plan in the Navy Ministry, Admiral Kato first had to persuade the other two of the three chiefs. This process alone took nearly two hours. Before the meeting, Admiral Kato had injected another dose of morphine. The pain was reduced, but not completely eliminated. The sensation was like a maggot attached to the bone, distracting Admiral Kato's attention. Yet, just when Admiral Kato felt his consciousness beginning to dissipate, it stimulated him, allowing him to refocus and continue discussing the feasibility of the large-scale landing operation with the naval admirals.

Although there were still many deficiencies, Admiral Kato knew he really couldn't hold on any longer. In the original plan, he was to go to the Palace to submit his resignation today. Kato knew very well that he was terminally ill and beyond the help of medicine. The reason he had held on until now was entirely because the defeat had not yet been reversed.

Seoul was held, and the imagined great defeat did not occur. Admiral Kato prepared to submit his resignation. The Prime Minister dying in office would be another new blow to Japan. Now that the situation had eased, even if the cabinet fell, it would have an impact, but it wouldn't shake the overall situation.

At this moment, Admiral Kato felt only pain, relaxation, unhappiness, and joy—various emotions converging into a single stream, making his whole body feel light, as if his soul was about to happily detach from his flesh.

As soon as he left the conference room door, Kato immediately ordered his adjutant, "Call His Majesty's Chamberlain immediately. Tell him I am proceeding to the Palace now to submit my resignation."

Watching the Admiral's somewhat stumbling steps, the adjutant almost cried out, but he held back his grief and hurriedly executed the Prime Minister's order. At the same time, he ordered the car to wait at the entrance of the Navy Ministry building.

The Navy Ministry building was not far from the Sakurada Gate at the front of the Imperial Palace; one could walk there completely. But Kato Tomosaburo no longer had the ability to walk. Sitting in the car, Kato felt his physical strength dissipating rapidly, so he sat upright, trying hard to lift his head and look forward through the car window. He used this to heighten his focus.

In the night, the Sakurada Gate could already be faintly seen, no more than two or three hundred yards away. However, his vision began to darken continuously, and the Sakurada Gate actually disappeared from Admiral Kato's field of view. Admiral Kato felt the strength in his whole body being drained rapidly, his head lowering involuntarily. He used all his strength to lift his head up.

But the result of every effort failed quickly. Admiral Kato felt as if his head had infinite weight, and his neck could no longer lift it.

The car soon arrived outside the Palace gate. The adjutant turned around and saw Prime Minister Kato sitting upright, his head drooping slightly as if he had fallen asleep. Wanting to let the Prime Minister rest a little longer, the adjutant got out of the car to report first. The Grand Chamberlain to the Emperor had actually said on the phone that he would come out to welcome him personally.

The adjutant felt exhausted and his eyelids were heavy. He lit a cigarette and took deep drags to refresh himself. These days, all parties in Japan expected the Kato government, known as the "Cabinet of Bureaucrats," to sustain the situation, and the Kato government had indeed held on. But this was supported by Prime Minister Kato Tomosaburo forcibly sustaining himself by burning his life away with injection after injection of morphine.

Now that Prime Minister Kato had decided to submit his resignation, the adjutant felt only relief. But the adjutant had no confidence whether the resignation would be approved. If the Palace could accept it, they wouldn't have sent the Grand Chamberlain to welcome him personally.

Just as he finished a cigarette, the small door beside the main gate of the Imperial Palace opened. The Grand Chamberlain, accompanied by attendants, walked out quickly. Seeing the adjutant, he asked, "Is Your Excellency in the car?"

The adjutant answered hurriedly, "Yes. I will go invite His Excellency."

The Grand Chamberlain nodded. The adjutant walked quickly to the car and opened the door. He saw Prime Minister Kato's head completely lowered. He called out a few times, but Prime Minister Kato didn't respond at all. He gently pushed the Prime Minister's shoulder with his hand, and the Prime Minister actually collapsed limply with the gentle push. The adjutant was shocked and hurriedly shouted for the Prime Minister, shaking his shoulder.

Hearing the commotion, the Grand Chamberlain rushed over. Although the matter of Prime Minister Kato suffering from colon cancer had not been told to Kato, the Grand Chamberlain knew it very well. Seeing this scene, he hurriedly reached out to check Kato's breathing and pressed his fingers on the carotid artery of Kato's neck. Kato Tomosaburo had no breath, and his carotid artery was cold and motionless. He had passed away at some unknown time.

Although he knew it was useless, the Grand Chamberlain still immediately asked the duty imperial physician to come for rescue. Watching the adjutant desperately trying to wake Prime Minister Kato and the driver helping in a flurry, the Grand Chamberlain took a step back, took off his military cap, and bowed to Prime Minister Kato's remains. He then turned and went back to the Palace; he had to inform the Emperor and the Prince Regent of this matter as soon as possible.

Unlike the chaos and solemnity in front of the Japanese Imperial Palace, the banquet between He Rui and Wang Shizhen appeared much more relaxed and gentle. Wang Shizhen had already roughly understood the Northeast Government's attitude in previous meetings, so he did not hide anything at this time and asked straightforwardly, "Brother He, since Duke Xu and Duke Duan have already resolved to yield to you, why won't Brother He give Beiyang some face?"

He Rui had long felt that Wang Shizhen's purpose for negotiation was the interests of the Beiyang clique, which was why He Rui didn't want to talk with Wang Shizhen. If there was to be a talk, it naturally had to be about how to solve the country's current problems and discuss China's future development. The interests of the Beiyang clique could only be considered through the realization of China's interests. For the Beiyang clique to place their own interests before China's interests was, in the view of the Civilization Party and the Northeast Government, an order of priorities that was already wrong to an absurd degree.

But this was reality, a reality He Rui had to face. He Rui was truly disappointed. If Yuan Shikai were still alive now, perhaps they could talk about serious business. Regardless of being called a usurper of the nation after his death, at least Yuan Shikai was a major figure with the vision of a major figure. After losing its leader, Beiyang had degenerated to its current state.

After Wang Shizhen finished stating the warlords' positions, He Rui smiled and said, "Duke Wang, this junior believes that the Northeast having its current situation actually proves one thing. I wonder what Duke Wang thinks that thing is?"

Wang Shizhen felt He Rui wanted to show off his capabilities, and felt some contempt for He Rui in his heart. But involuntarily, Wang Shizhen smiled and said, "Brother He's talent should have long ago led you to enter the central government. Heroes come from the youth; we old fellows can no longer compare."

He Rui shook his head slightly. "Duke Wang, the Northeast has a system, policies, and a philosophy of governance. The current situation proves that the Northeast's system, policies, and philosophy of governance can make China strong and can confront the current Great Powers. If the Northeast can achieve its strategic objectives this time, forcing Japan to sign an armistice agreement and refrain from interfering in China's internal affairs via armed invasion, China can develop according to the system, policies, and philosophy of governance already implemented in the Northeast."

Wang Shizhen couldn't help but frown. This was the reason Wang Shizhen couldn't accept it. The Anhui clique and the Fengtian clique were neighbors, yet they hadn't understood the Northeast these past few years. They hadn't seriously understood the Northeast. This was also the reason the Anhui clique had to negotiate with He Rui now.

The Northeast's land system, economic policies, and philosophy of governance and personnel employment—once applied nationwide, the Anhui clique would not just be giving up political power, but would be uprooted completely, with nothing left. If the outcome was to be so, the Anhui clique could only rise up and fight. Wang Shizhen didn't want to see such a result. After all, Japan hadn't been able to do anything to He Rui so far, and the Anhui clique hadn't gone so mad as to think their strength could exceed the power of the entire Japanese nation.

Just as he wanted to persuade him again, He Rui continued to explain, "Duke Wang, during the Xiaozhan army training back then, you assisted Duke Yuan and should know that Duke Yuan's purpose in training troops was for the country. The various actions of the Northeast Government today are also for the country. The Beiyang seniors today think the Northeast is merely bullying others with its power; I disagree with this. The Northeast Government today contains all kinds of people. The heads of various government departments come from north and south of the Yangtze, and from inside and outside the Great Wall. The reason they are entrusted with important tasks lies in the fact that they have accepted the Civilization Party's political philosophy and have the ability to complete their work. That is all. I presume Duke Wang is not unfamiliar with this."

Hearing this, the words Wang Shizhen originally wanted to say could no longer be spoken, and he couldn't help but sigh. During the Xiaozhan training back then, the situation was just as He Rui said. Yuan Shikai recruited worthy men and gathered troops relying on a set of systems. If the army had been built using the Qing Dynasty model of that time, who knows what it would have turned into. And Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, and others would absolutely not have been able to stand out.

He Rui continued, "The current situation in the Northeast is absolutely not because I have any extraordinary qualities, but simply because the Northeast Government uses the system of a modern industrial state to operate the Northeast. If the Northeast Government succeeds, it can only prove that the system of a modern industrial state is correct. With so many talents in the Northeast Government, they are not there to pledge loyalty to me, He Rui, in exchange for their glory and wealth. Rather, they came to the Northeast to save China. Since this path can be walked through, they naturally want to implement this successful experience across the whole of China. Duke Wang should be able to understand this."

Wang Shizhen advised, "Brother He, Beiyang knows your capabilities and is willing to invite you to enter the central government. Since there are so many heroes in the Northeast, they can naturally understand the benefits of sincere unity."

He Rui shook his head. "The essence of unity lies in what basis we unite upon. If everyone's goal is to revitalize China, there is no need for Duke Wang to explain; we would naturally come to your door to plead. If it is only to use one's strength as a bargaining chip to maintain personal wealth and status... if this junior were to agree, it would prove that the Northeast Government's system does not necessarily have to be implemented. There is absolutely no possibility of the Northeast Government agreeing to such a thing."

Wang Shizhen was a smart man and had worked with those major figures. He knew the importance of systems. If the system did not exist, the country would fall apart. Seeing He Rui, at such a young age, already well-versed in this matter, he couldn't help but admire him. That the Northeast could have its current strength was absolutely not, as many Beiyang high-level officials thought, because He Rui had good luck and got the Northeast from Zhang Xiluan. In Wang Shizhen's view, it was Zhang Xiluan who had good luck meeting He Rui. And Zhang Xiluan himself had the boldness to entrust the Northeast, which was how Zhang Xiluan's name was made.

Having discussed to this point, Wang Shizhen rose to take his leave. Returning to his residence, Wang Shizhen ordered preparations to send a telegram immediately. Sending a telegram required the machine to warm up. Taking advantage of this time, Wang Shizhen quickly wrote out the telegram draft. At the scheduled time, it was sent to the capital.

In addition to clarifying the core contradiction between the Northeast Government and the Beiyang Central Government, Wang Shizhen added a sentence at the end: "This subordinate prepares to stay in the Northeast for a few more days, requesting instructions from President Xu."

More than ten hours passed. After Wang Shizhen woke up and waited until noon the next day, there was still no return telegram. He then summoned the group of people accompanying him on this trip. "I plan to stay in the Northeast for a period of time. if you gentlemen have matters to attend to, you may return to the capital on your own."

Lü Feng had originally intended to leave as soon as possible, but after walking around the streets of Shenyang for the past two days, he felt that Shenyang was not inferior to Tokyo, Japan. He heard even more that the most industrially developed city in the Northeast was not Shenyang, but Siping, where He Rui had first served in the Northeast. So he smiled and said, "Duke Wang, I would like to go to Siping to take a look first. Whether to leave or stay, I'll decide then."

Yang Du also had this intention, so he followed up and asked, "Since Duke Wang wishes to stay a few more days, why don't we go to Siping together?"

Going to Siping was also in Wang Shizhen's plan. Since the other two thought the same, he nodded. "That is excellent."

Learning of Beiyang's reaction, He Rui didn't care. He simply invited the Director of the Merchants Bureau, Morrison. "Director Morrison, the US Ambassador said he wants to come in a private capacity. Do you want to receive him?"

Morrison had no feelings at all about being called 'Director Morrison'. This wasn't something He Rui started, but because when Morrison signed his name, he used the Chinese characters 'Mo Li Xun'. Chinese cadres who had no understanding of English names naturally thought Morrison's surname was Mo and his given name was Lixun. They even felt this name was quite good.

Morrison himself defaulted to it. After all, having a Chinese name in China wasn't bad.

Hearing He Rui say the US Ambassador wanted to come in a private capacity, he smiled and said, "If I come out to host, will Ambassador Schurman feel uneasy?"

However, Morrison obviously underestimated the US Ambassador. Ambassador Schurman met He Rui accompanied by Morrison. Since it was a private capacity, the conversation was very relaxed. Ambassador Schurman exchanged a few pleasantries and then asked, "Mr. Chairman, does your government still need a Deputy Director for the Merchants Bureau?"

Morrison was stunned, while He Rui was amused. Americans were really frank to the point of being cute.