Chapter 424: The British Empire Will Reconsider All Policies Toward Japan

Ge Lei nodded, "Understood."

"Second, the navy should tighten the blockade of the North Sea, especially the Norwegian straits. If those two Bismarck Class ships dare to emerge, we will make sure they never return."

Bei Er Fu: "Yes."

"Third," Asu Kui Si's gaze deepened, "and this is the most crucial— we must have a top‑level direct dialogue with Lanfang's Chen Feng. Not through ambassadors, not through diplomatic notes, but face‑to‑face, a candid exchange between the highest echelons."

"You intend to invite Chen Feng to London?" Ge Lei asked, surprised.

"No." Asu Kui Si shook his head. "I cannot go to the Far East, and he may not dare come to Europe. Choose a neutral venue—Egypt, Cairo. Have His Majesty the King intervene personally."

The remark left everyone stunned. His Majesty the King? King George V himself going?

"The standards must be high enough to show our regard and to probe Chen Feng's hand," Asu Kui Si explained. "We need to determine Lanfang's ultimate aim. What exactly do they want? Pure commerce, or a larger ambition? Only by clarifying these can we devise a genuine strategy."

He looked at Ji Qi Na. "Lord, I know you are angry. I am angry as well. But anger cannot guide strategy. What we need now is calm calculation and… patience."

Ji Qi Na and the Prime Minister stared at each other for a long moment; finally, those steel‑like shoulders sagged slightly. He sat down slowly, rubbing his face with a rough palm.

"Eight months, two hundred thousand people…" he murmured. "My boys, dying at the hands of those Eastern mercenaries…"

The conference room fell silent again. The rain outside sounded unusually clear.

Asu Kui Si looked at Ge Lei. "Draft a note to the Sakura Nation. The wording must lash their faces like a whip. Then send a telegram to Lanfang's Chen Feng in His Majesty the King's name, inviting him to meet in Cairo."

"Yes, Prime Minister."

"Adjourn."

Tokyo, Prime Minister's Residence, 11 p. m., 31 July 1916

Cicadas shrieked endlessly through the summer night, and humid warm air drifted from the open corridor into the tatami room, bringing no relief. Xiyuan Si Gongwang knelt on the tatami, a telegram translation spread on the low table before him, beside a cup of green tea long gone cold.

The sixty‑seven‑year‑old Prime Minister wore a simple linen kimono, his graying hair meticulously groomed, yet the dark circles under his eyes and the deep‑set wrinkles at his mouth revealed days of sleepless anxiety. His back remained straight—a posture inherited from generations of aristocracy—but the fingers holding the telegram paper trembled slightly.

It was not fear. It was anger, shame, and a profound helplessness.

On the telegram paper, the English original and Japanese translation were side by side. It was a formal note personally signed by Yingguo Foreign Minister Sir Edward Gray and urgently submitted through the Yingguo Embassy in Japan. Xiyuan Si had read it five times; each time the wording scorched his retinas like a red‑hot branding iron.

"…The British Empire Government, in the strongest terms, protests the Sakura Nation Imperial Government's breach of the spirit of the Anglo‑Japanese Alliance…"

"…Disguising themselves as Degjun units and taking part in operations against Yingguo and its dominion forces constitutes an unacceptable betrayal…"

"…We demand that the Sakura Nation Imperial Government immediately recall all units fighting on the Western Front and provide compensation for the casualties already incurred…"

"…If a satisfactory reply is not received within twenty‑four hours, the British Empire will reconsider all its policies toward Japan, including but not limited to terminating the alliance treaty, imposing economic sanctions, and taking other necessary measures…"

Each word landed like a slap.

The sound of wooden clogs echoed down the corridor, growing nearer. Xiyuan Si did not look up; he knew who was coming.

The paper sliding door was gently pulled open. General Da Dao Jianyi, Minister of the Army, appeared in the doorway. He wore a military dress uniform, evidently having just arrived from the Army Ministry, sweat beading on his forehead. The fifty‑nine‑year‑old officer, a native of Iwamura, bore the rugged visage of a soldier, yet his eyes flickered with a complex mix—stubbornness, anxiety, and a barely perceptible guilt.

"Prime Minister." Da Dao bowed slightly at the threshold, then entered the tatami room and sat opposite.

Xiyuan Si said nothing, merely pushing the telegram across.

Da Dao picked up the telegram, scanning it quickly. His lips formed a straight line, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"The Yingguo… response is more intense than expected." He finally spoke, his voice hoarse.

"Intense?" Xiyuan Si finally lifted his gaze, his eyes cold as the winter waters of Lake Biwa. "Da Dao, this is not 'intense.' It is an ultimatum. Do you understand what 'reconsider all policies toward Japan' means? It means Yingguo may cease exporting machine tools, steel, and ship engines to us, may stop supporting our interests internationally, and may stand on the opposite side in the next war."

He paused, each word squeezing out like from between teeth: "And all this is because the Army Ministry, behind the cabinet and government, sold eight divisions to Degjun."

"For the Empire!" Da Dao suddenly raised his voice. "Prime Minister, do you know what that deal brought the Empire? Eight million pounds in cash! Krupp's artillery steel smelting technology! Siemens's electrical technology! And Germany's promised post‑war support on the Shandong issue! These are not obtainable through diplomatic rhetoric."

"So we let two hundred thousand imperial subjects don enemy uniforms and march ten thousand kilometers away to die for someone else's war?" Xiyuan Si's voice trembled. "You turn them into nameless wandering ghosts who cannot even have their names carved on a tombstone?"

Da Dao's complexion paled, yet his soldierly stubbornness kept his back straight. "They are soldiers! A soldier's duty is to obey orders and sacrifice! Moreover, they receive double pay, and the families of the fallen get triple compensation! Prime Minister, ask those impoverished rural families whether they would rather have their sons starve at home or go to Europe to earn enough to keep the whole family alive."

"And then?" Xiyuan Si slammed his hand on the low table, the teacup jolting. "When the war ends, the whole world will know the Sakura Nation as a mercenary state that sells soldiers' lives! Where is our international reputation? How will we deal with other great powers on equal footing in the future? Tell me, have we made the wrong choice!"

"Future?" Da Dao sneered. "Prime Minister, without the present there is no future! After the East Sea naval battle, the United Fleet was annihilated, and the navy cannot recover its vigor within a decade. Russia watches hungrily from the north, America expands in the Pacific! The Empire now resembles a stranded ship; we need money, technology, and time!"