On the third day after meeting the British Military Delegation, Ishiwara was teaching newly joined members of the Future Society in the New Technology Training Bureau. To liberate Japan, one must liberate the thinking of Japan. These young soldiers all shared the same philosophy as the Future Society: the Japanese people are one of the important components of Japan. Japan's restoration must elevate the status of the people to their due position.

Halfway through the lecture, a Future Society cadre responsible for guarding outside knocked on the door, and everyone in the room quieted down. The classroom door was pushed open. Besides the two cadres guarding the door, Ishiwara's adjutant, Captain Kurita, was standing outside. When Ishiwara went to the corridor, Captain Kurita immediately reported, "Your Excellency, the adjutant of the Minister of War called, asking Your Excellency to go to the Minister of War's office tomorrow morning."

Early the next morning, Ishiwara appeared in front of the Minister of War, General Terauchi Hisaichi. General Terauchi asked, "Ishiwara-kun, Britain has invited the Japanese Ministry of War and Ministry of Navy to send an officer delegation to visit Britain, and they specifically invited you."

Ishiwara was stunned. He was basically certain that Britain would be defeated and didn't pay much attention to Britain at this time. The Japan Future Society was entering a new stage of internal change. Originally, the Future Society mainly recruited members in the army, but now it had to recruit members among the people. At this time, Ishiwara didn't want to leave Japan at all.

So after thinking for a moment, Ishiwara replied, "I am grateful for the attention from the British side, but I may not be suitable to go to Britain."

General Terauchi Hisaichi couldn't figure out what trick Ishiwara was playing, so he asked, "Why?"

"I really want to cause more trouble for the Chinese army, so once the British army asks me about tactics, I will definitely do my best to help. However, the British side only wants to communicate with me and does not hope that I will influence the British Army. And I am very likely to have a rift with them because of this. For the honor of the Japanese Army, I do not want to go to Britain."

After sincerely explaining his reasons, Ishiwara looked at General Terauchi Hisaichi seriously, waiting for General Terauchi to speak quickly. He saw astonishment and some unhappiness in General Terauchi's expression. This was exactly what Ishiwara expected. Next, waiting for General Terauchi to say, 'Go down and wait for news,' Ishiwara would be free of such trouble.

However, General Terauchi's expression changed from initial unhappiness to contemplation, and he continued to be silent. This made Ishiwara feel that something was wrong. Ishiwara was very puzzled; did he defeat his own purpose?

General Terauchi also felt puzzled in his heart at this time. Such a thorn as Ishiwara had actually matured at this time. Based on General Terauchi's understanding of Ishiwara, what Ishiwara just said was very likely to happen. More importantly, General Terauchi was originally hesitant about whether to send Ishiwara to visit Britain. Calling Ishiwara here this time was to see this thorn and strengthen his determination not to let Ishiwara go. But Ishiwara's answer increased General Terauchi's hesitation instead, because what Ishiwara worried about was exactly what General Terauchi hadn't considered before: the British didn't sincerely rely on Japan.

Finally, General Terauchi said, "Go back and wait for notification." Then he ended the meeting.

After Ishiwara saluted and left, General Terauchi stood up and began to pace in the office. The purpose of Britain sending a delegation was to hope that Japan and Britain would re-conclude the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and jointly deal with China. Some of the Japanese upper echelon did not want to be dragged into this war, especially dissatisfied with Britain's offer so far. Therefore, when the British delegation proposed that Japan send a delegation to visit Britain, the Japanese government agreed immediately.

This Japanese delegation visiting Britain included political, economic, military, and other teams. Its purpose was to let the British understand Japan's asking price. To persuade the British to accept such a price, the head of the military delegation was Nagata Tetsuzan. Regardless of whether the alliance could be successful in the end, letting Lieutenant General Nagata Tetsuzan serve as the head was paving the way for him to serve as one of the Three Chiefs of the Japanese Army in the future.

After reading the list, the British side put forward their suggestion, 'Can we invite Lieutenant General Ishiwara Kanji to visit?' This put the Japanese Army in a very passive position. In terms of strength, the Army recognized Ishiwara very much. But Ishiwara was excluded from the core circle. If the Japanese side accepted the British request, it would be equivalent to recognizing the British attitude towards Ishiwara Kanji. Then there would be not one, but two candidates who were destined to become the Three Chiefs in the future. This was not the result the Army wanted to see.

However, Ishiwara's reason for refusal allowed Terauchi Hisaichi's thinking to jump out of internal personnel struggles and view the issues between Britain and Japan from a higher level. A considerable number of people in the Japanese high-level wanted to do their utmost to promote the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. Their reason was very simple: Japan must stand with the West. Even if Japan didn't exert effort after reaching the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, it had to establish Japan's position through the alliance relationship.

From the perspective of these people, since the British side valued Ishiwara so much, there was no reason not to let Ishiwara go to Britain. Although the status of the Three Chiefs of the Army was important, compared with the future fate of Japan, it seemed insignificant.

Of course, there were those who advocated 'Leaving Asia and Entering Europe,' and naturally there were those who held different views. Japan had long had the 'Pan-Asianist faction' [Prosper Asia faction], advocating uniting Asia to resist Western invasion. With the continuous decline of China and Japan securing the throne of the number one power in the Far East, the proposition of this faction turned into the 'Invade Asia faction.'

But as China revived and unified under He Rui's hands, many people picked up the thoughts of the Pan-Asianist faction again. And Kawai Misao, He Rui's teacher when he studied at the Japanese Army War College, insisted on the idea of the Pan-Asianist faction. Another outstanding student of Kawai Misao was Ishiwara Kanji, who refused to go to Britain.

Thinking of this, Terauchi Hisaichi suddenly felt that he somewhat wanted to let Ishiwara Kanji go to Britain. Because Terauchi Hisaichi was both an 'Invade Asia faction' and a 'Leave Asia Enter Europe faction.' Unlike the pure Invade Asia faction, Terauchi Hisaichi believed that in the current situation, only with the support of the West could Japan become a 'power balancing China' and maintain Japan's current national polity. Otherwise, Japan would sooner or later have to cooperate comprehensively with China.

Given the political system currently adopted by China, even if China would not demand changes in Japan's domestic polity, the Japanese domestic public would sooner or later demand that the Japanese government adopt the same economic policies as the Chinese government. That is to say, a domestic revolution in Japan was only a matter of time.

Terauchi Hisaichi considered Ishiwara Kanji's matter, and Ishiwara Kanji also had a judgment on how Terauchi Hisaichi would choose at this time. So after Ishiwara left the Ministry of War, he immediately asked his adjutant to secretly contact Mitsui Yasuki for a meeting.

That night, in a private room of a restaurant, Ishiwara 'accidentally' met Mitsui Yasuki. At this time, Mitsui had just finished entertaining guests, and Ishiwara had already sat opposite him. Without pleasantries, Ishiwara said immediately, "Mitsui-kun, if you support the Control Faction, presumably you can get many arms orders soon."

For the conglomerate, getting orders was important, but not that important. The most important thing was whether they could cooperate with those in power. As long as they cooperated with those in power, temporary losses were negligible compared to the benefits of long-term cooperation.

Mitsui Yasuki trusted Ishiwara's strategic considerations very much, and he also knew the contradictions and differences between Ishiwara and the Control Faction as well as the ruling faction. After listening to Ishiwara, Mitsui asked, "Ishiwara-kun, what is the price of cooperation?"

"The price is that Japan becomes a pawn for Europe and America to contain China. China will not only not restore trade relations with Japan but will also take defeating Japan as the primary task. Most importantly, with the rejuvenation of China, once Europe and America are unable to blockade China's development and have to compromise with China, Japan will be abandoned by Europe and America."

Mitsui Yasuki could understand a large part of the future described by Ishiwara. So Mitsui replied calmly, "Ishiwara-kun, even if Japan is abandoned in the future, that will be a long time later. I am just a merchant; if I can make money now, I can continue to survive now. National affairs are not something I can intervene in."

Ishiwara could completely understand Mitsui's thoughts because Mitsui spoke the truth. Moreover, even if China completely defeated Japan, it was impossible to occupy it militarily for a long time and implement colonial rule. Japan still had to be managed by Japanese people. At that time, capable *zaibatsu* like Mitsui would still become China's collaborators. Maybe because of the personal relationship between Mitsui Yasuki and He Rui, if Japan was conquered by China, the Mitsui family might even gain higher status and master more power.

But no matter which situation, the ones suffering would inevitably be the Japanese nationals.

Ishiwara did not try to move him with emotion or reason. Instead, he asked a question, "Mitsui-kun, if Japanese popular politics rises, do you think the *zaibatsu* will be safer?"

Mitsui Yasuki gave a chuckle and didn't answer. Every year, many people claiming to be 'national politicians' or 'democratic politicians' would request support from the *zaibatsu* in various ways. Having seen many such people and things, Mitsui was completely immune to such words. So-called democratic politics also always has someone holding power. Since the *zaibatsu* need to cooperate with those in power, cooperating with the current power holders is the safest choice. At least the current power holders have built a power system, while those trying to seize power are a group of guys without bottom lines. At least, they don't know how power operates at all.

For a moment, both fell silent. Mitsui Yasuki considered whether to help Ishiwara, because Ishiwara was originally a member of the power holders, and a power holder with great vision.

Ishiwara broke the silence first, "Mitsui-kun, the Japanese upper echelon currently prepares to use nationalist sentiments to coerce the people to maintain power, making Japan and China hereditary enemies. The longer such a situation is maintained, the more destitute Japan will become internally. To maintain rule, these people must stabilize society by sacrificing others. Mitsui-kun, what status do you think the *zaibatsu* are in within Japan?"

Mitsui Yasuki's biggest worry was poked by Ishiwara; he only felt a tremble in his heart and couldn't help asking, "How long does Ishiwara-kun think the government can last?"

Ishiwara gave a decisive judgment, "If they don't actively attack China, they can last at most 15 years. If they actively attack China, they will be completely defeated within 10 years."

If the Japanese government could only last for 15 years, that would be too short. Mitsui Yasuki felt very helpless in his heart and had to ask, "Then what does Ishiwara-kun think I should do to help the current country?"

"It is time to let the people know about the 'Japan Land Restoration Plan'." Ishiwara replied.

Hearing Ishiwara's request, Mitsui Yasuki felt much more relaxed. If it was just doing this, Mitsui could still complete it easily. So Mitsui Yasuki nodded but didn't say anything.

Ishiwara bowed deeply to Mitsui Yasuki to express his gratitude, then stood up and left. Besides not letting people catch any leverage, Ishiwara had to quickly arrange the work of the Future Society. If the Ministry of War did not intend to let Ishiwara go to Britain, there should be news by now. However, Ishiwara hadn't received any news until now, which proved that the Ministry of War had begun to consider letting Ishiwara go to Britain. And as long as the Ministry of War started to consider this, given the pressure the British were under now, the trip would definitely happen.

Before being forced to leave Japan, Ishiwara had to at least explain the internal strategic thinking of this Anglo-Japanese Alliance to the comrades clearly. If he didn't explain it clearly, they would likely be easily blinded by other wrong strategic considerations.

A strategy that can truly guide people to victory is never afraid of being known. And those failed strategies all have one thing in common: they will never let the people understand the true content of these strategic considerations. Because these strategies are always at the expense of others, and in every sacrifice, the people are always the first batch to be sacrificed.