The meeting between the Japanese Army General Staff Headquarters and the British Military Delegation ended. Ishiwara had no intention of staying to chat, so he stood up and walked out. Lieutenant General Hamilton had just asked Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Kanaya Hanzo for a completed copy of the meeting minutes when he saw Ishiwara walking straight out. He hurriedly called out, "General, please wait."

Ishiwara stopped and turned to General Hamilton. He heard General Hamilton ask, "General, do you think China has absolutely no intention of seizing colonies from Britain when formulating its strategy?"

Ishiwara answered decisively, "Absolutely not. But if Britain is defeated, before returning the colonies, China will very likely demand that Britain recognize their right to free trade in the controlled areas."

Faced with such a clear and decisive answer, the 'further questions' Lieutenant General Hamilton had prepared were completely useless. He looked at Ishiwara awkwardly for a moment and could only say, "Thank you."

Ishiwara bowed slightly, then continued to walk out. Exiting the gate of the General Staff Headquarters, the door of a car parked at the entrance opened. Okamura came out and waved to Ishiwara. Ishiwara didn't say much and got into the car.

Nagata had left the conference room earlier than Ishiwara and was already sitting in the car. After Ishiwara and Okamura sat firmly, he ordered the driver, "Go to Niyō-tei." Then he turned to Ishiwara, "Ishiwara-kun, in just over a year, your views on strategy have become deeper."

Ishiwara smiled bitterly. "But this cannot change the previous situation." This remark referred to the war between the Northeast and Japan, which was also a sad matter for the three generals in the car. The three people in the car recalled some things individually and didn't speak along the way.

The car stopped at the entrance of Niyō-tei. Seeing the three, the waiter hurriedly led them in and arranged a quiet seat very suitable for chatting. After taking his seat, Nagata said, "Ishiwara-kun, some things before were just because of our political disagreements. But I have always highly respected Ishiwara-kun's strategic ability."

Since Nagata adopted such a posture, Ishiwara replied calmly, "Nagata-kun, I know."

"Ishiwara-kun, the British Military Delegation is part of the British delegation this time. Britain has sent a considerable delegation to visit Japan. What Ishiwara-kun said today will definitely have a great impact on the British delegation."

Ishiwara teased, "It seems Nagata-kun is worried that those British people will suspect that Japan does not want to ally with Britain again after listening to my words."

Nagata looked calm and didn't take this seriously at all. He certainly knew Ishiwara was pro-China, but there had always been pro-China factions in Japan; one more Ishiwara was not many, one less Ishiwara was not few. The most important thing at this time was Japan's future. If being pro-China could really help Japan, being pro-China was not a problem.

Okamura Yasuji was not so firm in his heart. He asked, "Ishiwara-kun, if the outcome of the Sino-British war is already doomed, can't Japan gain benefits from it?"

Ishiwara replied, "Since Nagata-kun said a large diplomatic team came, the Foreign Minister should be negotiating the price of rebuilding the alliance with Britain at this time. Okamura-kun, what was the core of the last Anglo-Japanese Alliance? Presumably, Okamura-kun should be very clear. I don't think Britain can provide conditions that truly help Japan."

Okamura was silent. The Anglo-Japanese Alliance Treaty was signed three times in total, and the first time was actually the most important.

The first alliance treaty was signed in London on January 30, 1902. The treaty had a total of six articles, with two core contents. Article 1 was to strike at Russia's expansion in China and Korea. Article 2 was that if one ally fought with two or more other countries, the other ally should provide military assistance and must also consult with the ally when making peace.

These two articles drew the bottom line, allowing the Anglo-Japanese Alliance to determine the common enemy and the bottom-line military alliance obligations of both parties.

Nagata knew that Okamura's strategic ability was worse than Ishiwara's. From Okamura's words just now, it could be heard that Okamura actually failed to fully read the basis of these two alliance treaties, so he explained a little, "Okamura-kun, China can indeed be regarded as the enemy of both Britain and Japan at present. However, where has China expanded?"

Okamura almost said 'Burma,' but he immediately felt that what Nagata wanted to say was definitely not Burma, so Okamura was silent for a moment and said, "Please enlighten me, Nagata-kun."

"The purpose of He-kun launching this war is to make countries accept China's diplomatic principles. The Chinese government will never recognize the interests seized from China by various countries through war. But China is not prepared to change the surrounding spheres of influence. In other words, what China wants is the integrity of sovereignty and the legal recognition of various countries. If countries recognize He-kun's regime on the basis of such principles, there will be no loss to any country. If He-kun's diplomatic principles are regarded as China's outward expansion, and we want to stop China's expansion, what kind of military action should we take?"

Listening to Nagata's analysis, Okamura deduced along this logic and quickly reached a conclusion. If one wanted to thwart China's 'expansion,' one could only attack the Chinese mainland.

And Nagata continued, "This is what Britain hopes the Empire will do."

Just as he said this, the kitchen of the French restaurant Niyō-tei had already served the dishes. Waiters wearing suit vests and bow ties brought the dishes to the table of three on trays. Ishiwara was not polite either; he picked up the knife and fork and began to eat. After meeting for almost a whole day, Ishiwara was really hungry.

Eating until he no longer felt hungry, Ishiwara asked, "Nagata-kun, you are highly regarded by the higher-ups. I wonder how high the Prime Minister's acceptance of the British proposal is?"

After attending the cabinet meeting, Nagata was very disdainful of the higher-ups' thoughts and couldn't help sighing, "Ishiwara-kun, the Prime Minister's understanding of strategy is below yours."

Ishiwara was tearing off a small piece of bread at this time, dipping it in the soup of Bouillabaisse, and putting it into his mouth. Hearing Nagata complain like this, Ishiwara Kanji could probably guess what the current Prime Minister thought, nothing more than how to use the current situation to seek benefits. Ishiwara was not surprised. The current Japan was either such muddled fools who were actually passive but thought they could seize the opportunity, or arrogant people who were short-sighted and self-righteous because of limited knowledge. It was precisely because such insects were entrenched in positions of power that a new path could not be taken.

Swallowing the bread, Ishiwara sighed, "In Japan, the people who truly understand strategy are all in this Niyō-tei."

Okamura felt Ishiwara's words were too full. But at least Ishiwara didn't brag that he was the only one who understood strategy, and Ishiwara was indeed qualified to brag like this. However, Okamura inevitably had some lucky expectations in his heart, so he asked, "Is France not worried that China will take action against them?"

Nagata shook his head. "If China embarks on a strategy of fighting for colonies, to use a Chinese saying, pick the soft persimmon to pinch. At this time, China should attack Indochina first. I believe China must have conducted a large number of secret negotiations with France now."

Seeing Nagata looking at him when answering Okamura's question, Ishiwara sneered, "No need for secret negotiations. France can understand China's intentions seeing China send troops to Burma. China has long stated their diplomatic principles very clearly, and France must be able to understand the essentials. Countries do not actively establish diplomatic relations with China at present, just temporarily waiting and seeing. Once Britain is defeated, countries will take action."

Although Okamura admitted his strategic level was inferior to Ishiwara, he was not very convinced because his temper did not match Ishiwara's. Seeing Nagata also had the same opinion at this time, he could only admit that Britain might indeed lose the war. Thinking that the world's number one power was actually strong on the outside but weak on the inside, Okamura sighed and continued to bury his head in eating, wanting to use gourmet food to dispel the unhappiness in his heart.

Nagata took a sip of white wine to calm his mood. Unlike Ishiwara, who was kicked to the Army New Technology Training Bureau, a department with no real power, as the Director of the Japanese Mobilization Bureau, Nagata could get the latest news from home and abroad immediately.

As far as Nagata knew, the British side believed until now that the Burma region of British India suffered a sneak attack by the Chinese army, which led to a somewhat passive situation. The British had seen the Sino-Japanese War and the suicide attack aircraft of the Chinese Air Force, and did not underestimate the Chinese army. So they were gathering troops, preparing for a counterattack after the rainy season.

If he hadn't experienced the war with China, Nagata Tetsuzan would have thought this was a response completely in line with common sense. But Nagata had experienced the war with China, the same unexpected surprise attack, the same offensive that seemingly had to pause. If the future trend was like the Sino-Japanese War, the British would counterattack next, suffer heavy losses, and finally be consumed to the point of having to stop the war.

However, the Japanese Army high-level officials and the Japanese high-level officials who had suffered big losses did not think so. Nagata had to remind these guys that He Rui challenged the thriving Japan after the European War at the end of 1922. At that time, He Rui only had a corner of China and a population of 30 million. No one could imagine that the Northeast Government would take the initiative to attack and win. Now He Rui had unified China and controlled a population of 480 million on 11 million square kilometers. This was already a terrifying force.

As a Japanese military attaché, Nagata stayed in Europe for a long time. He remembered Hegel saying that the only lesson humans learn from history is that humans never learn lessons. But the Japanese fools saw Britain as the world hegemon from birth, so they stubbornly believed that Britain was the world's number one power, the world hegemon dominating the current Versailles system, and it would be China, not Britain, that would be consumed to the point of being unable to continue first.

Since he couldn't communicate effectively with these insects, Nagata decided to exchange views with a true strategist. He put down his wine glass and asked, "Ishiwara-kun, I think after the Sino-British peace talks, the two countries will fully restore trade relations. But Britain will not make restoring Sino-Japanese trade a prerequisite for establishing diplomatic relations with China."

"I think so too." Ishiwara nodded in agreement.

Okamura's heart tightened. The biggest problem Japan faced now was the economic recession caused by the interruption of Sino-Japanese trade. If Sino-Japanese trade continued normally at this time, Japan could comfortably watch these two countries fight a dog-eat-dog war while selling goods to both countries.

Thinking of this, Okamura remembered the rumors among the Japanese upper echelon: whoever can restore Sino-Japanese trade can become the Prime Minister. Did Nagata's goal not only be to become the leader of the Army but also want to obtain the status of Prime Minister?

Just thinking of this, he heard Nagata continue, "To be able to bind with Britain, the Empire needs to restore the alliance relationship with Britain."

Okamura was stunned. Britain might be defeated. If Japan joined the British side, it would also be defeated. Nagata would never deliberately join the defeated side. If a reason had to be found, there was only one reasonable explanation left. Nagata deliberately joined the losing side to restore Sino-Japanese trade. So that after the armistice, he could request the restoration of normal trade with China together with Britain.

Okamura dared not be sure if his idea was correct. He just felt that if this concept was true, it would be too crazy.

Unlike Okamura, Ishiwara did not feel surprised. He finished the last mouthful of rice on the plate, calmly picked up the kettle to pour water for himself, drank a mouthful of water, and then replied comfortably, "Using the method of allying with Britain to obtain British support, and then restoring Sino-Japanese trade by binding with Britain, this is also a way. But I think the best way is to actively accept He-kun's suggestion, jointly build a Sino-Japanese Free Trade Zone, and realize a customs union. Only this can allow Japan to obtain the greatest benefits."

Nagata shook his head. "If we do this, the army will lose influence. There are four kinds of political power in Japanese history: bureaucratic power, money power, people's power [democracy/human rights], and military power. In the Meiji period, bureaucratic power prevailed. In the Taisho era, money power gradually overwhelmed bureaucratic power, and at the same time, the struggle between money power and people's power also intensified. To both suppress money power and appropriately protect people's power, bureaucratic power cannot shoulder such a mission. With the rise of party politics, the focus of ordinary people is no longer limited to the economy but has expanded to the political field. Influenced by the Soviet Union and China, the choice of ordinary people is tending towards violent revolution. At such a time, only by strengthening military power can Japan be maintained."

Listening to the discussion of the two top strategists in the Army, Okamura could understand their strategic judgments but couldn't interject at all. Okamura knew very well that this was the result of the gap in vision. His ability could solve practical problems very well, but he could not make strategic judgments.

However, regarding the strategic judgments of the two just now, Okamura firmly supported Nagata's view. Although he initially felt Nagata's strategic thinking was indeed radical. But after the conversation between the two, Okamura understood Nagata's thinking.

Restore the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, obtain a large amount of support from Britain, and use this support to rebuild the Army as the cornerstone for stabilizing Japanese society. Afterwards, even if Britain is defeated, as long as He Rui's goal is to join the current world order with complete sovereignty, Britain has no reason to refuse making the restoration of Sino-Japanese trade one of the negotiation conditions.

Of course, Ishiwara's view was not without merit. At the moment when the Sino-British war started, accepting the establishment of a Sino-Japanese Free Trade Zone and establishing a customs union, China had no reason to refuse either. But this meant Japan had to be deeply bound with China.

Between Britain and China, Okamura would choose Britain. Moreover, due to the Sino-Japanese War, Japan was currently full of hostility towards China. Even with huge efforts, this hostility might not be resolved. And this hostility was a tool that could be easily used. If he didn't use this tool, he would only let other forces master this tool. Politically, this was an extremely stupid and unwise choice.

Ishiwara gave up the plan to persuade Nagata. Even if Nagata had the smartest brain in the Japanese Army, as the core of Japanese power, Nagata had been bound and corrupted by power. Even if he had seen the road to the future, Nagata still unconsciously rejected the correct choice.

This couldn't be blamed on Nagata either. Because Japan's rebirth must be built on the destruction of old power. A person can sacrifice himself, but will not destroy himself.

So Ishiwara nodded. "If Nagata-kun has made a decision, please go on with your efforts, Nagata-kun. Thank you for your hospitality, Nagata-kun. Farewell."

After speaking, Ishiwara stood up and walked towards the gate. Watching Ishiwara's back, Nagata sighed slightly. He had always wanted to pull Ishiwara to his side, but judging from the current result, Ishiwara still stubbornly walked the path he chose. He had no intention of changing at all. This made Nagata feel regretful; such a smart person constantly lost opportunities to gain power because of personal stubbornness. It was really a waste of such precious intelligence.