"Captain, are we going to continue the attack tomorrow?" When Captain Ando returned to the garrison, he was immediately surrounded by his soldiers. Their faces wore expressions of concern and even fear.

Captain Ando could only sigh, unable to say a word.

The soldiers had enough trust in Captain Ando, who had prestige and had always treated them well, to dare to speak some truth. A soldier said in an agitated tone, "Captain, hasn't the Army Ministry always said that China is very backward? That the Chinese only have numbers, aren't afraid of death, and dare to charge? Now it's obviously not the case!"

Captain Ando had no way to answer this question. He had fought against the Chinese and knew that the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was no weak force. This Chinese army was well-equipped, had superb tactics, and was well-trained. Of course, it was also a fact that the Chinese had numbers, weren't afraid of death, and dared to charge. However, the people in the Japanese Army Ministry had cleverly used rhetoric to avoid talking about Japan's inferior equipment and tactics, only talking about how the Chinese weren't afraid of death and dared to charge, as if the Japanese army could win on the battlefield just by being even less afraid of death and daring to charge even more.

Once they were really on the battlefield, facing attacks from the Chinese in the air and on the ground, the Japanese soldiers immediately knew they were facing an enemy armed to the teeth, possessing war capabilities beyond the imagination of Japanese soldiers. This huge contrast gave the Japanese soldiers a strong sense of fear and also a strong feeling of having been deceived.

Captain Ando wanted to say directly that everyone had been tricked into coming to the battlefield. Captain Ando also wanted to say directly that the Army Ministry's talk about the Chinese army being driven onto the battlefield was also nonsense. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army did detailed mobilization work before every battle, telling the Chinese soldiers the truth about why they had to fight this battle. But Captain Ando's status prevented him from saying this directly. Saying it directly wouldn't solve any problems and would only cause emotional instability among the soldiers.

However, the Japanese soldiers weren't fools either. Someone had already whispered, "Have we been deceived?"

The voice wasn't loud, but it made every soldier fall silent. Seeing the situation reach this point, Captain Ando couldn't stay silent even if he wanted to. The Captain said loudly, "Gentlemen, then I can only ask you to obey my orders. But please rest assured, I will definitely strive to bring everyone back to our hometown alive. Any speculation is meaningless; only by going back alive can we speak of a future. So now I am issuing a gag order. All matters related to future marches and battles are strictly forbidden from discussion!"

The Japanese army did have this advantage; when a superior officer issued such a strict order, the soldiers would obey, especially since it was the prestigious Captain Ando. Watching the dispersing soldiers, Captain Ando's heart didn't feel lighter, but heavier. A lie is a lie, and it can't be maintained for too long. Although Captain Ando sincerely wanted to bring his subordinates back to Japan alive, he himself had no confidence in whether he could do it. Unless some earth-shattering event occurred, the upper echelons of the military would never issue an order to withdraw troops.

It wasn't just the flustered officers and soldiers on the front line who didn't rest at night; the Japanese military headquarters was also brightly lit. China's rapid and tough response exceeded the expectations of the Japanese military. Taiwan certainly could not be lost; if Taiwan was lost, Japan's efforts over the past 40 years would come to naught. The Japanese military had to adopt a tough confrontational attitude. Having a short-term response method was at least an explanation for the war.

How exactly was this war to be fought? To what extent? Long-term strategy had always been Japan's shortcoming. Japan's long-term strategy only worked when they defeated the Manchu Qing in the First Sino-Japanese War. Afterward, Japan's strategy met with a powerful counterattack from the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. In the days that followed, Japan was always troubled by immediate matters and no longer had the ability to carry out any long-term strategy.

The option of declaring war on China was first rejected by Prime Minister Takahashi Korekiyo. He had originally opposed Japan's meaningless provocation of conflict with China, but now the main force advocating a tough stance against China had become the Navy. With Saionji Kinmochi present, Takahashi Korekiyo couldn't actively oppose the Navy Ministry either. Once the war started, it would consume huge funds. Japan's economic recovery was slow, and the fragility of this recovery during the Great Depression could be imagined. If it were to undertake a full-scale war now, the Japanese economy would inevitably collapse.

There were quite a few guys in the Navy Ministry who understood international conventions. They actually started shouting in the newspapers that after an official declaration of war internationally, all countries would have to "maintain neutrality" towards the warring nations, and one of the conditions was to reduce or even interrupt trade with the warring nations. China's economy would suffer heavy losses in the embargo. Seeing this kind of propaganda, old man Takahashi Korekiyo's face turned green with anger. Japan's total losses might be smaller, but the proportion of losses would only be greater. Prime Minister Takahashi Korekiyo suspected that these people were crazy for war? To even come up with such an idea?

Not only was Takahashi Korekiyo firmly opposed to this move, but many industrial and commercial forces, including the zaibatsu, also opposed such a move. They had managed to get exports to the United States with great difficulty. Once exports stopped, wouldn't it be the death of them?

The relationship between the Navy Ministry and industry and commerce was relatively close. Facing the opposition of the diet members representing the enterprises, these people were unhappy but couldn't refuse. The Army, on the other hand, had always disliked Japanese enterprises. While in Korea, they strove to prohibit large enterprises from investing in Korea. The Army Ministry personally organized the "Death Mines" for production. Although it aroused the opposition of the entire Korea, the Army Ministry believed that its failure was due to lax management and methods that were too mild. If they could have ensured that no mining slaves escaped from the mines at that time, how could the Koreans have known about the existence of the Death Mines? In the final analysis, it was the management of those enterprises that was problematic, not the Army Ministry's measures.

Seeing that the Navy Ministry, which originally had a bit of backbone, showed a shrinking posture after facing opposition from the bourgeoisie, the Army Ministry cursed behind their backs that the Navy Ministry was full of born traitors.

"Did these people not think about what the result would be after losing Taiwan?"

"The Imperial Kingdom's seventy years of national destiny will be ruined in a day with the loss of Taiwan!"

Abuse of the Navy Ministry occupied the main part of the early stage of the meeting, but just abusing didn't solve the problem. The southward offensive campaign in Taiwan had suffered a great setback. In the telegrams, even those in the Taiwan Command very implicitly raised the request of whether to choose to stick to defense temporarily. Now even the Army Ministry's own people couldn't be relied on, which made the officers in the Army Ministry who didn't participate in the war burn with anger. The Army Ministry was like a gambler who had lost his eyes; seeing that this last hand seemed precarious, they were especially unwilling to lose it.

"Let the Taiwan side launch an all-out attack and fight to the end for the Emperor!" Finally, the Army Ministry made such a decision.

After the Army Ministry meeting ended, Nagata Tetsuzan went to find Okamura Yasuji. Both of them were now colonels. They could know the situation inside the Army Ministry but didn't have much special speaking rights. In the strategy of the Navy challenging China, both of them had played a certain promoting role. But at this time, their spirits were not very high.

"This move was made too early!" Nagata Tetsuzan said with difficulty.

Okamura Yasuji nodded slightly. Neither of them expected the Chinese side to react so swiftly. As a smart person, Okamura Yasuji knew he had miscalculated.

"Okamura-kun, do you think the Taiwan side can hold out?" Nagata Tetsuzan asked.

Okamura Yasuji shook his head slightly. Meaningless fantasies couldn't solve problems in reality. Okamura Yasuji didn't like to talk much. Firstly, it was his nature, and secondly, the atmosphere inside the Army Ministry made Okamura Yasuji feel that speaking was sometimes quite painful.

Nagata Tetsuzan held the same view as Okamura Yasuji. He pondered for a while and finally asked what was in his heart, "If we fail this time, does Japan still have a chance?"

Okamura Yasuji slowly answered, "If we ally with China, perhaps there is still a chance."

"What?" Nagata Tetsuzan asked in astonishment. Defeating China and dominating Asia had been Japan's national policy for decades. Even with Nagata Tetsuzan's intelligence, he involuntarily placed his train of thought on this traditional national policy and didn't expect Okamura Yasuji to jump out of this mindset.

Okamura Yasuji continued, "If we, Japan, have already annexed China, then what is the next step we need to do? It must be an attempt to conquer the world. Now that China has revived, what does their attitude towards Britain and the Netherlands this time indicate? China also has plans to conquer the world. If Japan is bound to fail, then why don't we cooperate with China while we still have a naval advantage? As the old Chinese saying goes, if they eat meat, they should give us some soup."

"Give us some soup?" Nagata Tetsuzan was Japanese after all. In Japanese habits, the loser would have nothing. The winner would not give any preferential treatment to the loser. Nagata Tetsuzan couldn't accept Okamura Yasuji's idea for a moment.

Okamura Yasuji didn't let Nagata Tetsuzan continue his meaningless brain-filling. He said, "I have talked with Kita Ikki several times recently. Kita Ikki's view is that China hopes for a revolution to occur in Japan, and then China and Japan will imitate the relationship between China and Korea to reach an alliance. Once a Far East alliance is reached, we will possess a navy that can rival Britain and the United States, and an army that surpasses Britain and the United States. At that time, this Far East alliance will be an invincible force in the world."

"Kita Ikki wants to oppose feudalism, which means completely destroying all of Japan's current foundations." Nagata Tetsuzan got a bit truly agitated. He loudly reminded Okamura Yasuji.

Okamura Yasuji wasn't so agitated. He still said unhurriedly, "If opposing feudalism can make the Imperial Kingdom more prosperous, then it's not like we can't oppose feudalism. Where are all those daimyos now? If those daimyos hadn't been eliminated, how could there be the Imperial Kingdom of today? The Choshu Domain is gone, but isn't the Choshu clique a feudal force? If we can borrow China's hand to wipe out these local forces in Japan, it wouldn't be a bad thing for the Imperial Kingdom."

Nagata Tetsuzan fell silent for the time being. His loathing for local forces was unparalleled. If these "feudal forces" could be uprooted all at once, Nagata Tetsuzan would naturally welcome it. Similarly, Nagata Tetsuzan also had an extreme loathing for democratic politics, and wanted to completely annihilate the so-called emerging capitalist democracy. This concept of feudal socialism was the common attitude of the smart people in the Army Ministry. Regarding the points raised by Kita Ikki, Nagata Tetsuzan had as much opposition as he had agreement, and even more.

Okamura Yasuji was inferior to Nagata Tetsuzan in some areas, but in the consideration of strategy and the judgment of immediate maximum interests, he had a level surpassing Nagata Tetsuzan. Seeing that Nagata Tetsuzan was on the verge of being persuaded, he continued to persuade, "Nagata-kun, the Imperial Kingdom still has the ability to reach a compromise with China now. If we are hesitant and wait until we have nothing in our hands, it will be useless to think about anything then."

"Those people in the military headquarters cannot be persuaded..." Nagata Tetsuzan rarely found an excuse.

Okamura Yasuji answered seriously, "Don't worry about those people in the military headquarters. If Japan is defeated this time, it's useless no matter what those people in the military headquarters say. China cannot possibly fight directly into Japan; they also need collaborators in Japan. At this time, whoever acts as China's collaborator in Japan can wield the great power of Japan."

Nagata Tetsuzan was frightened by Okamura Yasuji. Listening to Okamura Yasuji's meaning, he actually really wanted to make a fresh start.

"We can contact Kita Ikki more and see what China's attitude really is. We can make a decision then," Okamura Yasuji answered.

That night, Okamura Yasuji and Nagata Tetsuzan went to see Kita Ikki together. Kita Ikki didn't have much friendship with Okamura Yasuji, but he owed Okamura Yasuji a favor after all. After the Great Kanto Earthquake, if it weren't for the several helping hands of Okamura Yasuji, who was the person in charge of news and intelligence management, Kita Ikki's end would likely have been very bad.

Seeing Okamura Yasuji and Nagata Tetsuzan, who was now also somewhat famous, visiting, Kita Ikki was quite polite to them.

Okamura Yasuji asked straightforwardly, "Kita-kun, coming here presumptuously this time, I want to ask, in the political program designed by you, what position does the military headquarters hold?"

Kita Ikki didn't hoodwink these two either, "The army must be commanded by the Party!"

The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army resolutely obeyed the command of the People's Party. This was something the Japanese military headquarters was very clear about. China's system was not unacceptable in the eyes of the Japanese military headquarters; they were even very envious of it. The reason they didn't do so was certainly due to political system reasons, but the dispute between the Japanese Army and Navy was also an unsolvable problem. The two simply couldn't be unified under one banner.

The two sides talked for a while longer. Kita Ikki said seriously, "Gentlemen, I know that many people in the military headquarters envy China's system where the Party commands the gun, but where does the People's Party's power come from? It doesn't come from Chen Ke, but from the Chinese people. The People's Party doesn't rely on military force to suppress the people, but relies on military force to suppress the people's enemies. In the mid-Meiji Restoration period, there were many state-owned enterprises, and these enterprises supported the country. When the state-owned enterprises were carved up by the zaibatsu, the country's power also fell into the hands of various zaibatsu. The new system I hope to establish is not a military dictatorship, nor is it an Emperor dictatorship, but a system where everyone is equal before labor. The political party that will lead Japan in the future is a laborers' party."

Okamura Yasuji and Nagata Tetsuzan didn't really oppose this idea of Kita Ikki's. Neither of them came from the upper class. Towards those guys who were born with silver spoons in their mouths, these two were envious on one hand and looked down on them on the other. If relying on ability, these two believed they were not inferior to anyone. Pursuing equality is a kind of social instinct of human beings. The more capable people are, the less they think there is a reason to be born subservient to others.

In recent years, Kita Ikki had considered a lot by combining China's revolutionary practice. He analyzed in detail the relationship between science and democracy, the relationship between class and oppression, and the relationship between the Emperor system and Emperor dictatorship to these two middle-aged officers who were considered "Young Officers". Okamura Yasuji and Nagata Tetsuzan finally understood that a democratic system didn't necessarily mean abolishing the Emperor, and that there was a huge difference between a democratic system and populism. Theoretical modern democracy is established on a scientific basis, a discussion of interests within the same class, and the distribution of the fruits of labor. It is not a group of people sitting there deciding everything by voting. Modern democracy is opposed to absolute egalitarianism. Understanding this, as military experts, Nagata Tetsuzan and Okamura Yasuji had a new understanding of modern democracy. They felt that this modern democracy might not be devoid of merit.

By the time the discussion reached this point, it was almost dawn. Nagata Tetsuzan and Okamura Yasuji had official duties the next day, so the two stood up to take their leave. When sending the two to the door, Kita Ikki said seriously, "Gentlemen, I believe that no matter what the future holds, the first thing Japan needs to do now is to strive to bury the feudal system."