In the evening, the afterglow of the setting sun spilled into the courtyard of *Genrō* Saionji Kinmochi's home. Looking back at the courtyard, Nagata, who hadn't focused on scenery for a long time, saw the maple trees gently swaying their beautiful leaves in the summer evening breeze, and an inexplicable emotion welled up in his heart.

Since entering the war in October 1922, seasonal changes had been just one of the many changes Nagata had to deal with. Changes in winter and spring/autumn clothing, the supply of relevant food. Or after returning to Japan, as the Director of the Mobilization Bureau, considering the needs of general mobilization at different stages.

All external changes were problems imposed on Nagata. Nagata's work was to overcome the changes and fluctuations caused by the natural environment and human society, striving to keep Japan on a stable and feasible trajectory, moving towards a better future.

At this moment, Nagata suddenly realized that summer had come. The heat, the growth, the insects—when everything finally returned to summer itself, the natural emotion made Nagata feel that a part deep in his heart that seemed to have been frozen was softening again.

But staring at someone else's courtyard like this was truly rude. Nagata turned and walked towards the car. He had decided that he must relax tomorrow. Take a bath, but don't drink alcohol, let himself completely forget the current world, and live like an ordinary person for a few days. He didn't know how much vacation time he had accumulated; he certainly couldn't use it all in these few days.

However, as a member of the core power layer, Nagata's thought didn't last for a moment before his train of thought returned to the meeting that had just ended. After a conversation, Saionji Kinmochi should be very satisfied. This Japanese *Genrō* hinted to Nagata that when it was time to decide Japan's new national policy, Nagata might obtain a very important position.

This was a very tempting hint, but Nagata himself sensed the danger in it. Unlike others in high positions, Nagata's background was very ordinary, even inferior to Ishiwara Kanji's. Ishiwara Kanji's father was the police chief of Tsuruoka City, Japan, a big shot in a rural area like Tsuruoka.

Current high-level officials all considered Nagata as the 'future Army leader,' not the current leader. In terms of seniority, Nagata indeed needed time to continue cultivating his own power. If he emerged too early, he would very likely become the scapegoat for a certain policy. For the core power layer, abandoning a person was as decisive as supporting a person.

In the end, Nagata decided to just wait for that day to come. Given the current situation, the formulation of a new national policy determining Japan's future destiny would come sooner or later, and might even force the Japanese upper echelon to make a decision in the not-too-distant future. At that time, Nagata would naturally know what he had to face.

As the car drove towards Nagata's residence, the relaxed Nagata smelled the odor on his body and wanted to go take a bath immediately. For a moment, he suddenly remembered the time when he, Ishiwara, and Okamura soaked their feet together at the Japanese Command in Seoul.

If only he could go back to that time now, Nagata sighed in his heart. If the power of the three were combined now, even facing the pressure of the entire military upper echelon, Nagata would have nothing to fear. But the divergence between Ishiwara and Nagata had reached a point where it was extremely difficult to bridge. Nagata just couldn't understand why Ishiwara insisted on such radical thinking.

Nagata couldn't understand Ishiwara's thoughts, but Ishiwara felt he completely understood Nagata's thinking. At this time, in a small room next to the Director's office of the New Technology Training Bureau, Ishiwara was holding a secret meeting with the new core members of the group.

Food was laid out on the table. Compared to the meals served to guests at *Genrō* Saionji Kinmochi's home, this food could be described as very crude. In front of everyone was a bowl of rice mixed with barley, a fish, a portion of pickles pickled in a large vat in the cafeteria, and a bowl of kombu (kelp) soup. The only benefit was a bottle of *Daiginjo* sake. Ishiwara was a Lieutenant General after all; although he didn't have financial support from people like Nagata, he could still afford it with his own salary.

The enthusiasm of the young people made this meal look very sumptuous and delicious in their eyes, and with wine to drink, it was almost a banquet.

Kita Ikki, who had newly joined the group, was telling his comrades about his observations in China, "...Shanghai was taken over in an extremely short time. Every time a foreigner was executed, it received cheers from the Chinese people. The cheers from the oppressed people, even though I am Japanese, I still couldn't help but be moved. I always believed that the Japanese revolution must be completed after the completion of the revolution in China, borrowing the success of the Chinese revolution. However, the corruption and depravity of the Chinese government exceeded my imagination. Before, I couldn't understand why a great country would degenerate to such an extent. It wasn't until I read He-kun's articles that I truly understood that a comprador regime would inevitably move towards that step under the trend of economic activities..."

The other core comrades of the Future Society listened to Kita Ikki's views and felt quite touched. Kita Ikki went to China to participate in the Chinese revolution from a young age and had always been a close partner of the southern revolutionary party. However, the current Kita Ikki still had deep affection for the Chinese revolutionary party, but in terms of ideology, he had completely turned to the He Rui regime.

The reason was exactly as Kita Ikki said. When Kita Ikki figured out that the Manchu government at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the subsequent Republic government were both comprador governments, he understood who the object of the revolution should be.

If all those in the middle and upper strata of society under the old system were regarded as enemies, one would naturally choose a revolutionary movement that overthrew the upper strata with lower-class power. But the result of such a revolution was that no matter how the revolution was promoted, it couldn't solve practical problems. In order to keep the disappointed supporters, they could only continue to find enemies.

But what was the use of defining certain people as enemies? As long as the economic model maintaining government operations was a comprador economy, no matter how many people came to power, they would yield to the pressure of realistic government survival and choose the comprador economic model.

He Rui gave a very thorough exposition of this in his articles. And he confidently made a judgment on China's future development. As China's bankrupt rural economy recovered, and as China's tax revenue could support the operation and development of the country, the foundation of the comprador economy had been eradicated. The victory of the new government was not a simple military victory, but a victory of rebuilding the economic order, a victory of politics formulating a new economic order.

China was so big that there would inevitably be people deluding themselves into restoring the old system. The problem these people faced was that they had to lose money to achieve their goals. If those people couldn't get support from foreign forces, their own little money couldn't make any waves at all.

Of course, the new government wouldn't just watch. The new government accepted the inevitable reality of the existence of the opposition and also believed that reactionaries would inevitably exist. For the opposition, the new government wouldn't do anything against them. But for the reactionaries, the new government would definitely uphold an attitude of respect and eliminate them.

Even though the entire article was aimed at China's revolution and construction, in the eyes of Japanese revolutionaries, it still had immense guiding significance.

After recounting his own views, the excited Kita Ikki asked the comrades of the Future Society, "I wonder what the comrades' judgment is on the current revolutionary situation in Japan?"

Ishiwara Kanji answered frankly, "The current Japan does not possess the conditions to launch a revolution hastily. If we want to launch a revolution, several conditions must be met."

Under Kita Ikki's bright gaze, Ishiwara continued, "One of the most basic conditions is that middle and lower-ranking officers must have a clear understanding of reality. The changes in Kita-kun in China are enough to prove the importance of this work."

Kita Ikki nodded heavily. He had been seeking revolutionary companions but found that revolutionary companions had ideas that Kita Ikki found hard to accept. For example, he returned to Japan from China in 1919 because he felt that the Chinese revolution had turned into an anti-Japanese struggle, considering it narrow-minded and unacceptable.

Going to Shanghai this time, he saw with his own eyes the new government executing foreigners counted in the tens of thousands with cruel and swift means, among whom there was no lack of Japanese. Kita Ikki, who accepted the new cognitive system, no longer considered this an anti-Japanese or xenophobic action. Executing criminals is the most normal thing in any country, and the new Republic government's definition of criminals fully conformed to Kita Ikki's cognition.

Ishiwara paused; he raised his wine glass and took a sip, trying to sort out his thoughts at the same time. Many things were only truly realized after Ishiwara became the Director of the New Technology Training Bureau and came into contact with a large number of young officers. It wasn't that the previous Ishiwara couldn't understand these things, but that Ishiwara couldn't accept a fact: most Japanese officers were ignorant.

Knowing such a reality and accepting such a reality were not the same thing. Ishiwara knew very early on that most Japanese officers were very ignorant. At that time, Ishiwara chose to be a prickly person, despising those officers, and only willing to contact those officers who reached a certain standard.

Now Ishiwara was willing to contact various officers, make friends with them, talk heart-to-heart, and try to understand why they were so ignorant politically. After doing so, Ishiwara's gains were immensely huge.

Just like Ishiwara could get the latest *National Daily* sent by comrades in the intelligence department every three days.

The current Japanese Ministry of Army needed the image of Ishiwara, a war hero, after the great defeat, and Ishiwara also very much needed the job opportunity at the New Technology Training Bureau. To say that Ishiwara couldn't see through Nagata's trick of arranging the position would be underestimating Ishiwara too much. But the monitoring capability within the Japanese Army was not poor. If it was discovered that Ishiwara could actually get the latest news from all over the world, it would definitely be noticed.

Since the Future Society developed comrades in the intelligence department, not only were these problems solved, but Ishiwara could also get more intelligence to understand the development of the world situation.

When the time for revolution would arrive was up to Ishiwara and his comrades to make their own judgment. Through comrades in the intelligence department, Ishiwara obtained the latest newspapers from various countries collected by the Japanese intelligence department. All Ishiwara needed was to let the comrades send the newspapers back after reading the foreign newspapers. Because these newspapers were publicly distributed in various countries, the intelligence department only cared that relatively new newspapers didn't appear to be stolen on a large scale to sell as waste paper for money.

After sorting out his thoughts, Ishiwara explained: First is the personal appeal of the main cadres of the Future Society. Only by having contact with middle and lower-ranking officers can they make decisions when needed. No normal person would respond to a proposal from a stranger.

Another condition is to have enough comrades in the army. Ishiwara didn't need all officers to choose Ishiwara; as long as the number of comrades was sufficient, Ishiwara could launch an action when the actual time arrived.

"The complete success of the Chinese revolution also takes time to nurture. He-kun also needs time, and what we need is the divergence that will inevitably result when Japan formulates its future national policy. I received the latest news that in 1924, China has started the railway from Hubei to Hunan, as well as the Sichuan-Chongqing railway. Because the ownership of these railways caused the 'Railway Protection Movement,' which was the fuse for the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution..."

"The new government moving the capital shifted the ruling center south by nearly 700 kilometers, returning to the Central Plains region, greatly increasing the radiation capability over the Yangtze River Basin. When these railways are completed, the He Rui government's rule over the south will continue to strengthen. Land reform solved the situation of almost total bankruptcy in rural areas. Combined with the improvement of ruling capability, the new Republic government is likely to completely stabilize within half an year."

"If these are completed, what does it mean?" Kita Ikki still couldn't understand Ishiwara's thinking.

"It means that at that time, Britain might start building an encirclement against Japan. Let's tentatively call it the China Encirclement Network," Ishiwara explained.