On October 25, 1923, the signing ceremony took place in the center of a pontoon bridge on the Yalu River. This bridge had been widened to over ten meters. Thick wooden planks were laid across it, and although the table placed on top rose and fell slightly with the water, it did not affect writing.

The autumn wind blew over the curtains beside the signing table, whistling loudly. On both sides of the Yalu River, hundreds of thousands of Chinese and Japanese troops stood in neat formation, all waiting for the signing of the armistice agreement to be completed.

Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Ijuin Hikokichi, with a stern face, finished signing the armistice agreement, and the secretary behind him handed the document to He Rui's side. He Rui had already signed his copy. The two sides exchanged documents, completing the signing. Legally, the Northeast Government and the Japanese government had officially ceased hostilities.

There was no applause, nor did the two sides shake hands in congratulations. The Japanese representatives looked cold, standing up and leaving immediately. The Northeast Government representatives wore smiles and shook hands with each other. He Rui did not expect to say anything more to Saionji Kinmochi; he simply nodded to Saionji, who was observing the ceremony, and then led the Northeast Government delegation away from the signing venue.

The armistice was established at this moment.

Yan Huiqing, observing the ceremony, felt that the signing venue, simple to the point of being shabby, was like a magnificent hall. A diplomatic ceremony resulting from a direction led by China was a grand event Yan Huiqing had never experienced in his life. But this moment was too short, so short that Yan Huiqing didn't even have time to savor it. Seeing the Northeast Army already beginning to evacuate the negotiation venue, Yan Huiqing hurriedly asked the colleague beside him responsible for photography, "Did all three cameras capture it? Don't let there be issues with the film resulting in no photos being handed down to future generations!"

The comrade responsible for photography came from the *Northeast Daily*. In a cheerful mood, he didn't mind the mistrust in Yan Huiqing's words. Everyone could understand this feeling; for such an important matter, images must be left behind! Any amount of worry was understandable.

Yan Huiqing was feeling somewhat at a loss amidst the lively crowd inside China's border when Director Liu of the Foreign Affairs Bureau arrived beside him. "Mr. Yan, the Chairman wants to see us."

Yan Huiqing's spirits lifted, and he followed Director Liu. The meeting took place inside a bunker within the Yalu River defense line. Director Liu gave a brief report on the preparations for the War of Unification, and then asked Yan Huiqing and Gu Weijun to report on legal issues.

Gu Weijun was in high spirits, but his expression was even more solemn and serious. "For our side to engage in war with Britain without any restrictions, we need to be in a situation of mutual non-recognition. The Northeast Government must first declare itself the Central Government of the Republic of China, shedding the identity of the Northeast Government. After all, the Northeast Government is a legitimate local government currently recognized by Britain. As a local government under the Central Government of the Republic of China, the Northeast Government naturally acknowledges the British government recognized by the Central Government of the Republic of China as a legitimate government."

He Rui nodded slightly. "To achieve our goal legally, what should the process be?"

Gu Weijun pressed, "Chairman He, must you do this? If Britain does not recognize us as the legitimate government, no country in the world will recognize us."

He Rui nodded. "Therefore, in all our subsequent conflicts with Britain, the goal is to force Britain to sign a Sino-British Joint Declaration with us, and to issue three communiqués."

Speaking of this, He Rui couldn't help but laugh aloud. Gu Weijun felt He Rui's choice was too radical. Although as a public servant and international law expert, Gu Weijun could complete the assigned tasks, he still could not agree with He Rui's decision.

Yan Huiqing looked at He Rui's hearty laughter with interest. It was a smile from the heart, and it had a feeling of 'nostalgia'. Yan Huiqing felt curious, wondering what He Rui was nostalgic for.

He Rui was nostalgic for the Three Joint Communiqués between New China and the United States, which were diplomatic masterpieces led by Chairman Mao. The Three Joint Communiqués not only announced the foundation of Sino-US diplomacy to the world but also served as the foundation and benchmark for other countries in the world to establish diplomatic relations with China. If He Rui now forced Britain to sign a joint declaration through struggle, the diplomatic baseline with other powers could also be drawn.

Of course, this strategy was not the only choice. Just as the strategic choice for China's War of Unification also had many other possibilities. He Rui decided to choose to learn from and borrow these strategies because these plans themselves were extremely proactive and aggressive.

Germany developed extremely rapidly after Bismarck's unification, and New China's diplomatic development was also excellent, whether after the Korean War or after exporting revolution and finally signing the Three Joint Communiqués with the United States.

Unsuccessful cases were all related to 'insufficient struggle'. India's independence, and the diplomatic relations between African countries and the powers. It was not that those leaders did not want to obtain the best results, but that insufficient struggle led to compromise, and from then on, they lost the initiative.

Gathering his thoughts, He Rui asked, "If we follow this goal, what should the process be?"

Gu Weijun looked at Yan Huiqing, and Yan Huiqing replied, "Chairman, after discussing with Director Liu, we have arrived at the following process. We must engage in a military conflict with Britain before marching into the capital. When we march to the vicinity of the capital, the President, Premier, and other officials of the Republic must announce their collective resignation. Afterwards, our side will enter the capital and actively declare ourselves the Central Government of the Republic of China. Only by doing this can we ensure that our side has no succession relationship with the previous Central Government of the Republic. In terms of international law and international conventions, foreign governments should not immediately recognize our side as the legitimate central regime of China. Especially since our side will have first erupted in military conflict with Britain, it is even less likely for Britain to actively recognize our government. After that, our side will be free from the constraints of international law and can act as we see fit."

Lieutenant General Zhong Yifu, who was by He Rui's side, listened to the expert's description and found it completely consistent with the course of action He Rui had decided on earlier. He was very happy in his heart. Just as he was rejoicing at being able to thrash the foreign garrisons in China, he heard Yan Huiqing add, "Chairman, there is another key point here. If our side erupts in armed conflict with foreign garrisons in China, it is best not to use military operations as the reason, but rather police actions."

Zhong Yifu did not quite understand the meaning of this. Seeing that Yan Huiqing had no intention of explaining, he asked, "What does this mean?"

Yan Huiqing saw He Rui's expression and felt that He Rui understood. But he hadn't noticed that Lieutenant General Zhong Yifu didn't seem to understand, so he hurriedly explained, "If we use military operations as the reason, it might be used by others to confuse it with a declaration of war. If we use police actions as the reason, our operation is bandit suppression, not attacking foreign armies."

Zhong Yifu still couldn't quite understand. "Mr. Yan, according to what you say, can we completely avoid foreign countries using this as an excuse to declare war on us by using bandit suppression as the reason for taking action?"

Yan Huiqing shook his head. "If foreign countries are determined to declare war, any reason can become an excuse for declaring war. My suggestion is to reduce the excuses for foreign countries to declare war as much as possible."

Speaking of this, Yan Huiqing suddenly felt a burst of loss in his heart. Declaration of war or not simply depended on willingness. In the past, when the powers launched military strikes against China, they didn't necessarily care about declaring war.

But after this burst of loss, Yan Huiqing tried hard to cheer himself up. Although Japan's power could not be mentioned in the same breath as the European and American powers, China had at least achieved its strategic intentions through war. Yan Huiqing had to keep up with the Northeast Government's extremely proactive and aggressive thinking; at least at this time, the gap between the Northeast Government and the world powers had greatly narrowed. The Northeast Government might not lose to the European and American powers.

He Rui continued to ask, "Is there any other content?"

Yan Huiqing shook his head. Although it seemed like a short conversation, it had actually consumed a lot of energy for him and Gu Weijun. Especially since the two had to adjust their mindset while working, it was truly arduous.

"Thank you both for your work." He Rui stood up and shook hands with Yan Huiqing and Gu Weijun.

On the way back to Shenyang, Zhong Yifu and Cheng Ruofan discussed their views on this meeting in low voices. Soon, Zhong Yifu said to He Rui, who was resting with his eyes closed, "Chairman, I have some new ideas." Seeing He Rui didn't react, Zhong Yifu nudged He Rui's arm. "Chairman?"

He Rui woke up from a half-dreaming state. In that vague dream, He Rui was issuing orders to Chinese armored units entering Vietnam, ordering the armored group army composed entirely of light tanks to drive south quickly and completely resolve the enemies in the Indochina Peninsula. Hundreds of tanks, with structures more reasonable than the German Panzer II of World War II, were traversing the tropical rainforests and mountains, pouncing towards the enemy.

At the same time, an aircraft carrier formation with several Sino-Japanese joint fleet carriers as the core had already sailed to the vicinity of Cam Ranh Bay. While continuing south, reconnaissance planes took off non-stop, searching for the joint fleet of Britain, the Netherlands, and France in the South China Sea...

Waking up suddenly at this moment, He Rui was a bit unaccustomed for a moment. He steadied his mind before pulling himself back to reality.

Zhong Yifu advised, "Chairman, do you want to rest for a while?"

He Rui smiled bitterly. "I already rested just now. Speak, what ideas do you have?"

Zhong Yifu then replied, "Chairman, after Chief of Staff Cheng and I considered the ideas proposed by the Foreign Affairs Bureau, we found that we have two choices. The first is naturally to explain clearly to Duan Qirui and let Duan Qirui cooperate with us in acting out this play. The other is to kill our way down directly. Given Duan Qirui's personality, as long as we act, Duan Qirui's reaction will likely be the same as we expect. I personally worry that Duan Qirui will choose to defect to Britain. The second plan is safer."

He Rui took out a cigarette and replied before lighting it, "No. I will send... Director Zhao to see Duan Qirui and Xu Shichang, and tell them the general process of our plan."

Hearing the sound of the lighter, Cheng Ruofan's throat couldn't help but move a little, but thinking that he had decided to quit cigarettes, Cheng Ruofan rubbed his nose. "Chairman, Duan Qirui has reached the final juncture, he will definitely want to make a last gamble. If we let Duan Qirui know at this time that we are going to be enemies with Britain, he will very likely feel that the 200,000 Beiyang troops in his hands can be sold for a good price, and it will be even harder for us to persuade him."

He Rui took a drag and nodded in agreement. "Precisely because of this, we must treat him with courtesy. Duan Qirui alone is not worth mentioning. In the long run, if the middle and upper-ranking officers in the 200,000 Beiyang troops know our intentions, and after being defeated, see that our army is indeed advancing step by step according to our plan, the positive effect on our army's future will outweigh the negative effect. We also cannot rule out the possibility that Duan Qirui will ultimately choose to cooperate. Perhaps under heavy pressure, he will understand that resistance has no future, and only adapting to the situation is the best policy."

Zhong Yifu and Cheng Ruofan did not understand Duan Qirui and could not make a judgment. However, the plan was originally based on total war, and Duan Qirui's decision indeed could not affect much. So they agreed.

He Rui, Zhong Yifu, and Cheng Ruofan went through the plan again and didn't find anything else they hadn't considered. So it was decided. He Rui also proposed the time for launching the campaign. "Since the armistice agreement has been signed, the Japanese army will begin to withdraw. We could actually wait until the Japanese army begins a large-scale demobilization, but I don't want to wait any longer. According to the General Staff's judgment, our army can now maintain the Yalu River defense line with only 300,000 main force troops coordinating with 500,000 new recruits. We'll just wait for half of the Japanese army to withdraw, then start moving south. As for the time, at the latest by 0:00 on November 11th, we will start moving south."

Cheng Ruofan pressed, "The candidate for the commander staying behind in the Northeast has been determined. It's Xiushan and Silang. Who do you prefer, Chairman?"

"Silang has a straightforward personality. I want him to go to Shaanxi. The people there deal most easily with straightforward people. The Northeast needs a comrade with meticulous thinking to hold down the fort so that everyone can be at ease."

Cheng Ruofan and Zhong Yifu looked at each other and felt there were no other issues. The two stood up and said, "Chairman, please rest a bit first. We are also going to sleep for a while."

He Rui knew that the comrades cared about him, so he stood up. "This time my main energy will be on politics and economy. The military work will be borne more by the General Staff."

"Yes!" Zhong Yifu's eyes shone, and he couldn't help but speak his mind. "Chairman, watching the comrades thrash the Japanese, I was truly envious. This time, please watch my performance, comrades!"

Fighting foreign invaders was just so happy. He Rui could completely understand Zheng Silang's excitement and smiled. "I will wait and see, waiting for good news!"