"Has Kita Ikki made any moves?" Nagata Tetsuzan asked with some suspicion. They had assumed that Kita Ikki would do his best to incite the soldiers while a large number of angry soldiers were returning to Japan. Unexpectedly, Kita Ikki did not do so; instead, his organization turned towards the more grassroots rural areas.

"It seems they want to advocate for the 'Five-tenths Tax' through the general election, saying they will strive for the countryside." Okamura Yasuji did not act as proactively as Nagata Tetsuzan; instead, he planned before acting. Therefore, Okamura Yasuji put extra effort into intelligence gathering.

"Five-tenths Tax?" Nagata Tetsuzan frowned at first, then couldn't help but laugh out loud. "He actually wants to push for the Five-tenths Tax through the election?"

In the Japanese countryside, collecting seventy percent tax could probably be called benevolent government. According to the intelligence on China provided by Okamura Yasuji, the People's Party only collected thirty percent agricultural tax, which Nagata Tetsuzan did not dare to believe for a long time. Kita Ikki wanted to reduce rural taxes to fifty percent through the parliament; no matter how one listened to it, it sounded like a big joke.

Okamura Yasuji did not laugh, however. He had absolutely no interest in whether Japan could levy only fifty percent agricultural tax. Originally, both Nagata Tetsuzan and Okamura Yasuji believed that Kita Ikki, as the spiritual leader of the Imperial Way Faction, would likely be the first to take action. They were all waiting for Kita Ikki to make the first move, or at least for the Imperial Way Faction to cause trouble. Regardless of what Kita Ikki was actually thinking, it seemed this plan could not be realized for the time being. If the Imperial Way Faction did not move, it would be inconvenient for the Control Faction to make a move.

Previously, the Control Faction and the Imperial Way Faction in Japan shared a common stance: a tough attitude towards China. Whether it was the Control Faction's "Total War" or the Imperial Way Faction's "Seven Lives for the Country," if it was just to defend Japan, there was no need to consider such drastic methods. After carefully understanding the course of the Taiwan Campaign, even Nagata Tetsuzan felt that this stance had to be abandoned.

China's huge advantage in army and air force weapons left Nagata Tetsuzan wondering how to bridge the gap. Data collected from the battlefield indicated that the Chinese aircraft participating in the war were several times larger than the largest aircraft Japan could build. The air force was not the army; for the army, even if one found a farmer who had never been trained, shoved a rifle into his hands, he could pass off as an infantryman. But the air force relied entirely on technological power. After seeing the data on Chinese air force planes brought by Nagata Tetsuzan, the person in charge of the Army Air Service R&D institution asked repeatedly whether these were airplanes or airships. After confirming that they were indeed airplanes, the person in charge's face turned green. He clearly stated that Japan was simply unable to develop aircraft of such volume. Then, as if possessed, he rambled on about various air force data.

Nagata Tetsuzan had no interest in terms related to air force development. Through this incident, he understood that Japan need not consider manufacturing a force capable of countering the Chinese air force for several years. If well-trained army troops went to the battlefield and were wiped out by Chinese planes before even seeing the faces of the Chinese, then what was the point of training the army? Nagata Tetsuzan was not one of those old fogies in the military department; he held an extremely clear attitude towards war: one should not fight when one cannot win.

But the actual situation in Japan was that for decades, the propaganda of the Japanese military department had always claimed that in the late period of the Tokugawa Shogunate, which was beset by internal troubles and foreign aggression, patriotic scholars and soldiers did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives and abandon everything to strive to save the country. Only then were they able to overthrow the old Shogunate, implement the Meiji Restoration, establish a stable national system, and subsequently, with the national policy of "Rich Country, Strong Army," develop industries and resist foreign insults, taking only 45 years to make Japan leap into the ranks of the world's first-class powers.

Now, after less than twenty years of "struggle," Japan, as a first-class power, had been beaten by China, once an old and weak empire, to the point where it could only defend the Japanese homeland. The unrest triggered by this huge contrast would definitely thoroughly deal a blow to the status of soldiers in Japan.

Even if they finally realized the need for "anti-feudalism," Nagata Tetsuzan and others still believed that what was needed was an "anti-feudalism" led by a unified Japanese military department, rather than the military department itself being reduced to a minor role. Since Tanaka Giichi, the Japanese Army had always wanted to exclude other political parties and completely control the cabinet. Now that the Army and Navy were continuously defeated, the possibility of controlling the cabinet was constantly decreasing.

The Imperial Way Faction was originally a radical faction for foreign war. After a series of failures, they now turned inward, demanding to clear out domestic "traitors" first. The Control Faction wanted to reap the spoils of the contest effortlessly. But Kita Ikki supported this "Five-tenths Tax," seemingly intending to steer the struggle towards parliamentary struggle, which greatly surprised the members of the Control Faction.

"I'm afraid the People's Party is behind this!" Okamura Yasuji pondered again and again and finally put forward his own opinion. The People's Party followed the path of "encircling the cities from the countryside." Before obtaining sufficient strength, the People's Party abandoned its old nest in Shanghai and lay low in the rural areas of Anhui to develop; Okamura Yasuji was very clear about this. Now that Kita Ikki said he wanted to promote the "Five-tenths Tax," in terms of his scope of action, he had already shifted to the Japanese countryside. The Japanese countryside had always been a place the Japanese ruling class found very thorny; the origin of the Rice Riots was the countryside, and social contradictions were quite acute. According to the People's Party's theory, this was a place with great potential.

Hearing Okamura Yasuji's explanation, Nagata Tetsuzan also felt it made quite a lot of sense. But if Kita Ikki did this, the Control Faction had no way to cope. Could it be that they had to go down to the countryside with Kita Ikki and the others to "compete for the masses"? The Control Faction's strongholds were all in the cities; they had no such plans at all.

"Now, no matter what, someone must come out to drive the situation!" Nagata Tetsuzan said.

Almost at the same time, Obata Toshishiro was also holding another meeting. "Now, no matter what, we must not act rashly!"

When the "Three Crows of Baden-Baden" first formed an alliance, they still had a group of like-minded youths. Among them, four were known as "China Experts." Okamura Yasuji naturally ranked first; the other three were Itagaki Seishiro, Doihara Kenji, and Isogai Rensuke. As a member of the Imperial Way Faction, Obata Toshishiro had already parted ways with the Control Faction, and these four China Experts all joined the Control Faction side. Actually, there was one more, and that was Ishiwara Kanji.

Ishiwara Kanji was originally an officer stationed in Korea. After the great defeat in Korea, Ishiwara Kanji changed his stance. He believed that Japan could no longer challenge China, so he turned to advocate completing Japan's internal Showa Restoration first, strongly advocating getting rid of domestic zaibatsu and reorganizing Japan. So Ishiwara Kanji simply defected to the Imperial Way Faction supported by Obata Toshishiro.

Hearing the viewpoint put forward by Obata Toshishiro, Ishiwara Kanji agreed greatly. The current situation in Japan was like dry wood and a blazing fire. After the defeat in Taiwan, not only were tens of thousands of troops lost, but the national finances, which had shown some improvement, also fell into crisis again. In the remarks spread by the Control Faction, not only did they not mention the military department's problems, but they actually pointed the finger at Prime Minister Takahashi Korekiyo, believing that Takahashi Korekiyo's reduction of military expenditure led to insufficient equipment, which was the greatest responsibility for this failure.

Ishiwara Kanji was not a benevolent man or a faithful woman, but even he could not stand such lies. The military department's assertions were simply nonsense. China naturally wanted to avenge the First Sino-Japanese War, but without the Navy Department jumping up and down contacting white people to try to encircle China, China would simply have had no excuse to strike so hard. With Obata Toshishiro pointing this out, Ishiwara Kanji also felt that the Control Faction's approach harbored evil intentions.

As a minor aristocrat, Obata Toshishiro knew the corruption of Japan's upper class well. After uniting with Kita Ikki, he realized the issue of class struggle, so at this time, Obata Toshishiro resolutely opposed the Imperial Way Faction making any rash moves.

Ishiwara Kanji also didn't want to pull chestnuts out of the fire for others, only he also didn't wish for the current military upper echelons to continue occupying leadership positions. Ishiwara Kanji asked, "Then shall we sit and watch the situation remain unchanged?"

"It is impossible for the situation to remain unchanged," Obata Toshishiro replied. "This time, like before, there will be a large number of wounded soldiers retiring. However, after these wounded soldiers return to the countryside, their lives will definitely be very difficult. The Five-tenths Tax movement launched by Mr. Kita is to use this retirement to exert pressure on the government. If the farmers in the countryside can unite to put forward their own political demands, it will be greatly beneficial for promoting the revolution!"

"Farmers?" Ishiwara Kanji was stunned. In this country with a strict hierarchy, farmers were not a glorious identity. They were objects of exploitation, bullying, and utilization, and were also considered the group with the least power. Hearing that Kita Ikki wanted to mobilize farmers, Ishiwara Kanji couldn't help but feel surprised.

"Is Mr. Kita preparing to organize an Ikki (uprising)?" Ishiwara Kanji asked tentatively. This was the most destructive way of organizing farmers he could think of.

"Since there is already a general election, mobilizing farmers to promote changes in parliament members is also a method," Obata Toshishiro replied.

Ishiwara Kanji was not optimistic about the general election at all. "The general election is bribery; those people buy and sell votes openly!"

Farmers knew nothing about politics. In the harsh living environment, they tried to sell everything in their hands for banknotes. Bribery in the general election had become normalized, turning the general election system, which was initially advertised as everyone having political power, into something completely different.

Obata Toshishiro knew how to fight wars, but he didn't know specific political operations. He could only choose to believe in Kita Ikki. "Mr. Kita's meaning is to let the people know that the ballots in their hands can realize political interests. If there is no such avenue of struggle, there is simply no starting point for wanting a revolution."

Looking at Ishiwara Kanji's face full of disbelief, Obata Toshishiro emphasized, "Ishiwara-kun, you should be very clear about the equality between officers and soldiers in the Chinese army, right? I remember you were the one who told me this matter first."

Ishiwara Kanji naturally knew. Initially, he told Obata Toshishiro about this matter with the mindset of telling a "strange tale." After so many years, Ishiwara Kanji finally understood that equality between officers and soldiers was one of the basic guarantees for the formidable combat effectiveness of the Workers and Peasants Revolutionary Army.

"Soldiers are the foundation of the Japanese army. In the Chinese army, soldiers who perform well also have the opportunity to enter military academies to receive education and then become generals. Our Japanese army cannot do this now, but at any rate, we must pay attention to the lives of soldiers. This is absolutely correct," Obata Toshishiro said seriously.

Ishiwara Kanji occasionally felt a surge of pity when he saw the miserable state of soldiers after retirement. When he didn't see it, he put the matter to the back of his mind. However, since Kita Ikki wanted to use retired soldiers to make an issue, Ishiwara Kanji had to consider that Kita Ikki also had intentions of trying to expand his influence within the army. But since he thought of this matter, he thought of it; there was no need to say it out loud. So Ishiwara Kanji replied, "As the person in charge of retired soldier affairs, I will also do my best to provide better placement for the soldiers."

The Imperial Way Faction had changed direction, and the Control Faction was also waiting for an opportunity. Although a large number of soldiers were injured, retired, or killed in battle, Takahashi Korekiyo exhausted all financial efforts to barely withstand the pressure. Therefore, the turmoil that was very likely to occur did not happen.

The high officials of the Japanese military department self-righteously believed they had prestige and appeal, so they didn't consider specific details. It wasn't that they didn't want to consider them, but that they didn't dare to study them carefully. Perhaps there were some sensible people in the high levels of the Japanese military department. Although they hadn't heard Chen Ke's saying "Those who die first have it easy, those who die later have it hard!", they also knew that it was always quiet before the storm. But what could a few sensible people do? The situation remained calm on the surface, brewing a huge storm for the future.