The report in *The Times*, "Begging or Charity—The Latest Sino-French Relations," immediately triggered a fierce reaction in France. For the French, whether politicians or ordinary people, being guarded against the British was already an instinctive reaction. It was very much a case of if Britain said east, France would go west; if Britain wanted to beat a dog, France would scold a chicken—a sort of PTSD. From a long-term analytical perspective, their intuitive attacks on the British were actually quite correct.

Therefore, He Rui was not only not displeased by the British media starting to fan the flames, but was actually quite happy. If Britain didn't come to assist, promoting Sino-French cooperation would have required more of China's attention.

The logic wasn't hard to understand; the Chinese ministers just hadn't observed it in practice. Soon, the ministers couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Britain's reaction, and their attention was all focused on the negotiations and cooperation with France.

On January 28, because President Doumergue made a rather "leftist" speech on the street, the French left-wing parties, who viewed President Doumergue as a right-winger, were unhappy and fiercely attacked the party President Doumergue belonged to in the French Parliament. Radical small left-wing parties in France had already shouted out proposals that were more about posturing than practicality, calling for increasing French welfare and taking care of the French poor.

At the collective meeting in the evening, after sweeping the room with a metal detector once to ensure there were no listening devices, the regular meeting was held. Listening to the comrades responsible for collecting political intelligence finish speaking about this, Minister of Industry Zhuang Jiaxiong asked, "Shouldn't the left wing be echoing this a bit?"

He Rui explained, "How could the left wing let these small parties steal their business?"

Zhuang Jiaxiong understood after a moment's thought, and thinking about it further, he felt a bit happy. The French left wing rejecting the left-wing proposals put forward by the small parties was so that the left wing could propose the same plans later. That is to say, the French left wing had a high degree of recognition for the prospects of Sino-French cooperation.

Speaking his own view, He Rui replied, "This is certainly one of the reasons, but another big reason is because of Britain. Britain is also starting to get anxious; the latest few cooperation plans are all projects in the field of internal combustion engines. The world has now entered the internal combustion engine revolution, which is also the electrification revolution. There are knowledgeable people in Britain. Although these knowledgeable people have not yet been able to dominate British economic policy, Britain can feel that in such an advanced technical field as internal combustion engines, France has gained greater momentum through cooperation with us. After all, French enterprises in the internal combustion engine sector can earn more money than the British through sales to our country."

The ministers were well aware that in the first year of Sino-French cooperation, priority was given to introducing technical equipment related to agriculture, as well as technical equipment in the internal combustion engine field. Agriculture directly related to China's consumption power. The three years of land reform were an asset reorganization carried out at the level of land ownership and usage rights. The productivity level of Chinese agriculture under non-industrialized levels was extremely high; after three years, there was no room for a rapid increase in rural productivity.

The promotion of synthetic ammonia could inject power into agriculture, allowing Chinese agriculture to break through the limits of agricultural society and enter the industrialization stage. The increase in agricultural product output was the basic driving force of China's consumption power, enabling China's economic development to continue moving forward.

The development of internal combustion engines was a kind of leapfrog development. In He Rui's words, it was called "overtaking on a bend." Since the development of internal combustion engines and electrification had only just begun, China had every opportunity to complete the accumulation of internal combustion engine technology through China's vast application scenarios and become the most advanced level of the era. The 10 billion franc cooperation between China and France was not a comprehensive rollout, but a cooperation with clear priorities and a clear path.

China had China's plans, and the French side naturally had France's gains. French advanced companies in the fields of synthetic ammonia and internal combustion engines earned money they would not have otherwise been able to earn by selling technology and complete sets of equipment to China. Originally, similar British enterprises might have used Britain's better economic situation to suppress these French counterparts. With the appearance of China, similar British enterprises fell to a disadvantage in the competition with their French counterparts. This was a very big threat to Britain.

The ministers were Chinese after all, so it was easy for them to have the intention of closing the door and living their own lives well. So it was difficult to proactively consider things in this direction full of struggle. It wasn't until they arrived in France and saw British territory with their own eyes at the port of Calais in France that everyone had a clearer understanding of many ideas regarding Europe.

Geopolitical theory is based on real physical existence. Britain and France are so close that only one Chinese idiom can apply: "How can one allow others to snore beside one's bed?"

The core part of Europe is not large, at most 3 million square kilometers, which is about the same size as China's core area. This area has been unified since the time of Qin Shi Huang. Since more than 2,000 years ago, even in times of division, this area was considered to belong to a unified China.

The situation in Europe is completely different. On land that in China's view has no natural barriers, there are dozens of countries that insist they are independent, and every country really thinks that other countries should be independent entities. So China cannot understand Europe's way of thinking. Changing to China's line of thought, Europe should have been unified into one country long ago. Even Britain, which is so-called "hanging alone overseas," is separated by the narrow English Channel which is only a bit wider than the Yangtze River; however one looks at it, it shouldn't be an obstacle blocking unification. European politics and identity are so fragmented, and China can't help it. It can only understand the thinking of Europeans based on geopolitical concepts.

Following European thinking to deduce, the ministers actually relaxed. If the relationship between China's Hebei and Henan provinces is competition based mainly on cooperation, the fragmented Europe makes the struggle between Britain and France greater than cooperation. Two countries with populations of 40 to 50 million, two complete industrial systems with complete industrial chains. In such an environment of struggle, there is not even a need for deliberate hostility; the rise of France is a threat to Britain, and vice versa.

Originally, the ministers felt that He Rui's strategic thinking was unpredictable like ghosts and gods. Seeing the changes with their own eyes in France, the ministers determined that He Rui's strategic thinking was just a serious, earnest, and realistic deduction. Executing according to this strategy, although the ministers' work schedules were very full, they felt relaxed and happy inside.

Early on the morning of the 29th, an invitation from the French Parliament was delivered to the Chinese delegation's residence. Delivering a speech close to the people was not a problem for He Rui, but after visiting the French Parliament, there was a press conference. He Rui cared about this very much and prepared in advance.

On the morning of the 30th, a car sent by the French Parliament stopped in front of the Chinese delegation's residence. The Vice President of the French Parliament got out of the car and personally came to welcome He Rui. The subsequent itinerary was all arranged. The President of the Parliament personally acted as a guide, leading He Rui to visit the Bourbon Palace, where the French Parliament is located by the Seine River. He listened to the President of the Parliament introduce the history of the Parliament of the French Third Republic and the history of the Bourbon Palace.

When He Rui walked into the parliament hall under the guidance of the President, all members of the French Parliament stood up and applauded to pay tribute to He Rui. Foreign Minister Yan Huiqing, who was following He Rui, only felt a dreamlike feeling. From the time He Rui started the unification war in 1923 to now, it was at most five years. Actually, only four years.

In four years, China had changed from a place full of foreign concessions to an important partner respected by France. Even though Yan Huiqing, through serious study and understanding of He Rui's strategy, was already clear about what He Rui was doing, Yan Huiqing still felt a gap like a natural moat between reality and his feelings.

Steadying himself, Yan Huiqing hoped to calm down so as not to be seen as diffident in front of the French MPs. Seeing He Rui calmly ascend the podium and express gratitude for the invitation of the MPs in French, the French MPs immediately responded with warm applause. Yan Huiqing felt that his mood had calmed down, and at the same time, a sigh arose in him. A true strategist is simply too precious for a country! From He Rui's return to China in 1915 to now, it has only been 13 years. Looking at the data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in the past 13 years, the change in China's absolute strength has been very significant, but compared to the strength China can exert, it appears quite limited.

Yan Huiqing had told Lou Tseng-Tsiang that Yuan Shikai was indeed an outstanding figure in the Beiyang era. But there was a gap of more than ten times between the power China could exert under Yuan Shikai's control and the power China could exert under He Rui. This is the difference between a strategist running a country and an ordinary person running a country.

At this time, He Rui began to deliver his speech, "...There has been a long history of exchanges between China and France. Now, the history of Sino-French cooperation has opened a new page. Because both China and France have a common hope, which is to let the people of both countries live better lives. And China and France no longer need to fight alone. Through the Sino-French Economic Cooperation Agreement, the two countries, through mutual assistance and cooperation, will push the economies of both countries to a new level together, without suspecting each other. The future of human civilization should be such a model. If such a model cannot be adopted, the chain of suspicion between countries will continue, eventually dragging all countries into the abyss. History before 1914 has proved what tragic results the chain of suspicion will cause in the world..."

At the end of the speech, the French MPs not only applauded but some even whistled to express their respect for He Rui. Generally speaking, whistling in parliament is meant to express opposition. But at this time, no one misunderstood this attitude of support.

Yan Huiqing steadied himself, ready to meet the next condition. Only half of the reporters at the press conference were French; the other reporters had come from various European countries. Although reporters all aimed to make big news, this time the French reporters had all received instructions from the upper levels of their newspapers that this was absolutely not the time to mess around. The French reporters all knew this was the government's intention, and this time the government rarely hadn't gone in the wrong direction. Even if they wanted to make things difficult for He Rui, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. What France needed now was to pull the economy out of its current destitution.

So before the British BBC reporter got to ask a question, the atmosphere at the press conference was very harmonious. The BBC reporter opened his mouth and asked, "Chairman He, you haven't visited various parts of France yet. We heard that you will go to lay flowers at Richelieu's tomb."

This was a topic setting a huge trap. Yan Huiqing immediately became vigilant. Richelieu was very important to France. Internally, Richelieu completed France's centralized political system and established France's internal system as a major European power. But also because of this, Richelieu, who combined the identities of cardinal, noble, and minister of an absolute monarch, was fiercely attacked during the French Enlightenment and the French Revolution, becoming a representative of negative figures. It wasn't until after the Franco-Prussian War that the French discovered that the political legacy Richelieu gave to France had actually been squandered by France. Under the crisis of French nationalism, Richelieu's reputation flipped rapidly. By now, Richelieu's reputation was already quite positive.

In addition to France's internal system, Richelieu's political legacy was that after winning the Thirty Years' War, Richelieu completed a geopolitical landscape surrounding France that was beneficial to it. The fragmented German region, the weak Italian region, and the advantage over Austria. All this guaranteed France's huge advantage on the European continent.

The trap set by the BBC reporter's question lay here. Although Richelieu was a great statesman of France and a defender of French interests, the geopolitical landscape constructed by Richelieu resulted in France oppressing the Western European countries.

Although Yan Huiqing heard the problem, he was not worried; he believed that He Rui's learning would not fall into such a trap. Sure enough, He Rui replied, "Mr. Richelieu is a very important historical figure for France, and he has a place in history books. As a history enthusiast, if I pass by Mr. Richelieu's tomb, I will definitely think of him. But France has too many figures worthy of a special trip to lay flowers. The pioneers of the Enlightenment, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau. Masters in the field of French science, Descartes, Pasteur, and Hugo and Molière in the field of culture. There are also a large number of masters of music, painting, and sculpture. In my itinerary, I want to lay flowers for these masters. Mr. Richelieu has not yet been included in my itinerary plan."

Yan Huiqing heard a burst of laughter and quite a bit of applause from the French people. He was not surprised in his heart.

The BBC reporter continued to ask, "Chairman He Rui, you have won huge prestige through war. As a master of war, how do you view the current military situation in Europe? And do you think your arrival will affect the strategic situation in Europe?"

Yan Huiqing's heart skipped a beat. He Rui had said before that this Sino-French cooperation would trigger British vigilance, and Britain would consider taking military means to solve the problem. Of course, He Rui also said that Britain would ultimately not do so. But the British BBC reporter provoking so frankly showed that Britain was indeed anxious.

He Rui smiled and said, "Although I graduated from a military academy, I never consider myself any master of war. In my opinion, it is best if there is never war in the world. The Versailles System that dominates the world now is based on the premise that war does not break out between Britain and France. Peace between Britain and France is the foundation of European peace. Based on my understanding of the British and French countries, neither government would wish for war to break out between the two countries. So whether I come to Europe or not will not affect the security situation in Europe. Moreover, my visit to Europe this time is with the purpose of cooperation and goodwill. If I can have an impact on Europe, it must be to make Europe more peaceful and stable. I am very confident about this."

The BBC reporter wanted to continue asking questions, but the host of the press conference immediately switched to reporters from other countries. Although reporters had no reason to sing praises for He Rui, the British BBC reporter asking this was because Britain indeed felt the pressure. Although the French side didn't like such questions, they could understand. Reporters also had the ability to read the room; if reporters from other countries insisted on jumping out to raise matters that had nothing to do with their countries, the French government would think these people were looking for trouble. Whether they could successfully come to France for interviews in the future would be a question.

Therefore, reporters from various countries asked questions based on their own countries, so although the subsequent questions were lively, they didn't have much value. Among them, the more valuable ones were the questions raised by reporters from the Netherlands and Belgium, "If our government extends an invitation to Chairman He Rui, will the Chairman visit our country?"

He Rui naturally agreed readily. Yan Huiqing noticed that although German reporters also came to this French press conference, the French side gave the German reporters absolutely no chance to speak.

Connecting this to the questions raised by the Dutch, Belgian, and Spanish reporters, Yan Huiqing felt that if German reporters were allowed to raise the question of He Rui visiting Germany, France would definitely be very unhappy domestically. Although He Rui indeed had plans to visit Germany, politically, such things could not be raised in France.

As for Austria, it was even more out of the question. Germany was at least still an independent country; present-day Austria had been reduced to a buffer zone between Italy and Germany. He Rui's visit plan completely excluded Austria. So this time the French side didn't let the Austrian reporter ask questions either.

Seeing the skilled operations of the French side, Yan Huiqing had a high evaluation. Compared with the accumulation of French diplomacy, China indeed had a gap now. Yan Huiqing made up his mind that after returning to China, he must strengthen China's diplomatic capabilities. But on second thought, Yan Huiqing felt that his giving up was the best.

Although the diplomatic results this time were part of He Rui's strategy, for Yan Huiqing personally, he had already achieved huge success. So Yan Huiqing's best choice was to leave the position of Foreign Minister with this huge honor after returning to China and yield this position to someone else. Thinking of this, Yan Huiqing felt a mixture of sadness and joy. He realized that the old figures belonging to his era indeed had to leave; the future belonged to the new young generation.