On his way to the meeting, He Rui quickly scanned the report in the car. Most central leaders did roughly the same, so when He Rui walked into the conference room and everyone saw him actually yawn slightly, they all thought He Rui might have been studying this matter all night and hadn't slept yet.

This was obviously a benign misunderstanding on everyone's part. He Rui just had a sudden burst of interest yesterday and had been tossing around with a girl until quite late. Additionally, seeing the US stock market crash, He Rui felt the pressure in his heart drop significantly, so his body naturally appeared less energetic. Seeing the eager expressions of many comrades, He Rui roused his spirits and said, "Our current priority is to forget the past and focus on the present. The strategic goal China is currently executing is to seek power and recognition on a global scale."

Because the gap between He Rui's statement and the comrades' expectations was too large, most comrades were confused for a moment. He Rui wrote a line of text and had his secretary write it on the blackboard. Only then did he look at the comrades, a smile appearing on his face. "Premier, is the intelligence gathering team arranged?"

Premier Wu Youping answered immediately, "The personnel we sent to the US are all in place. They will collect public data affecting the core US economy in a timely manner and transmit it back to the country."

He Rui then turned to the comrades. "Whether what is happening in the US now is a technical adjustment of stocks or a great economic crisis, specialized departments are already observing it. Personally, such huge economic fluctuations are rare in history, and I am very concerned. I believe comrades living in this era will also be very concerned. Comrades can all obtain abundant materials, and relevant departments will also produce special topics. Comrades will listen to reports regularly. This is very normal, comrades. When everyone gets old, and your grandchildren ask, 'Grandpa, Grandma, how did the events of 1929 in the US happen, and how did they develop?' Comrades should always have something to brag about to the children."

"Haha." Laughter rang out. He Rui's attitude and description made the atmosphere very relaxed, relieving most of the pressure in the hearts of the department leaders who were previously responsible for monitoring this matter.

He Rui put away his smile. "However, the anticipation regarding the US economy breaking out into a great economic crisis ends here. Individuals can pay attention to this matter, but national strategic resources must be invested in today's strategic arrangements."

At this time, the secretary had already copied what He Rui wrote onto the blackboard. He Rui stood up and pointed to the chalk writing on the blackboard. "The strategy of seeking power and recognition is composed of four independent but interconnected factors: strategic will, strategic deterrence capability, national credibility, and strategic frontiers.

"Whether we can have enough willpower to execute the strategy is the primary condition. If we internally cannot understand this strategy and reach a consensus, then once we encounter strategic pressure, setbacks, or other temptations appear, the execution of the strategy will go astray, ultimately resulting in the strategic arrangement being overturned.

"Let me describe this strategy again. China wants to establish a world economic order led by China. This order is not limited to East Asia, nor is it limited to the Soviet Union plus East Asia, which have currently built a relationship of security trust and economic cooperation with China. This is a new economic order covering the globe, a global economic system with the goal of developing productive forces. Although there are still strong and weak countries, first-mover and latecomer countries in this system, this order is not based on unfair plunder but has cooperation and common development as its core philosophy. That is to say, this will be a world economic community with a new height of human civilization as its core..."

Previously, He Rui had also discussed the current world order, the pros and cons of various civilizations, and the future of humanity at central meetings. But such discussions were more of a 'metaphysical talk,' that is, a brainstorming session. Now He Rui was presenting these as a strategy. It could be seen that the comrades of the Central Committee were following He Rui's line of thought; some looked grave, some very excited, and some frowned deeply.

If it were just a theoretical discussion, everyone could naturally speak freely. But these imaginations of the future were placed on the table as China's future strategy. Once passed, all central leaders would have to implement the strategy and resolutely complete their assigned tasks. If they couldn't do it, naturally there would be people who could do it to replace them in their positions.

Establishing a world order was already heavy enough to make the comrades of the Central Committee feel almost unable to breathe. Especially for a woman like Minister of Health Pang Congcong, the thought suddenly arose: *Are all men so unreliable?* But this thought only popped up for an instant before Pang Congcong realized she was actually questioning He Rui. A sense of trepidation arose spontaneously, making Pang Congcong almost unable to breathe. To question He Rui on national strategy, Pang Congcong felt she had gone mad.

Pang Congcong didn't dare to question He Rui, but there were quite a few comrades who dared to express their views. Wu Youping asked, "Chairman, if we push forward with our industrialization with all our might first, we can make China strong in just 20 years. Would it be too late to start then?"

"First, the economic crisis will trigger the next war. The intensity and severity of this economic crisis far exceed the past. If a true world order cannot be established, the crisis simply cannot be resolved. The war will continue. Moreover, the Western civilization that currently dominates the world is too low-level. The Age of Discovery has already proven the evil of this civilization; hundreds of millions of people worldwide have been killed because of it. The ensuing war will display the evil of this civilization even more nakedly. If it cannot be replaced, this low-level civilization will surely destroy the world."

Wu Youping had never seen He Rui describe Europe and America with such intense and acerbic vocabulary, so much so that Wu Youping was awed into speechlessness by the indescribable pressure radiating from He Rui. Wu Youping only felt that He Rui looked incredibly unfamiliar, almost like another person, or rather, the dark side that He Rui had never shown finally appeared on the surface.

Not only Wu Youping, but other comrades who had struggled alongside He Rui for a long time also had the same feeling. Everyone had more or less felt over these years that He Rui was always suppressing some thoughts in his heart. At this moment, amidst the shock, a feeling of 'so that's how it is' actually arose. Many comrades even felt a sense of relief. The previous He Rui always gave people a feeling of being so intelligent he was almost demonic. The current He Rui was what a real human being should look like. Even if full of venomous resentment, that was an emotion a human should have.

Wu Youping was the first to recover his composure. After taking two deep breaths, he continued to ask, "Chairman, our industrial capacity won't surpass the United States for another 10 years."

He Rui answered immediately, "Enough! Just surpassing the United States is enough!"

"But what about Britain?" Minister of Industry Zhuang Jiaxiong withstood the pressure and asked with difficulty. He had to ask because industry was under his charge.

"Britain? Britain is the best world hegemon right now. Because Britain is very weak, very weak. If we support Britain as the world hegemon, Britain will continue to compete with the United States, checking US power. Comrade Zhuang Jiaxiong, if one's virtue does not match their position, disaster will surely follow; if one does not deserve their wealth, they will surely lose it. The British don't understand Chinese culture at all, so Britain can't understand why we let it off during the last Sino-British war."

Pang Congcong only felt her heart beating violently. The heart rate was so fast that Pang Congcong had only experienced it during heavy physical training. But although the heart rate was fast then, the internal pressure was far less than it was now.

Previously, He Rui explained various strategic judgments from a positive perspective, so Pang Congcong felt the majestic Kingly Way, and the huge effort that had to be paid to support this Kingly Way thinking. At this moment, He Rui revealed the other side of the majestic Kingly Way. The shock of that cold-blooded open scheme made Pang Congcong feel fear.

This wasn't He Rui digging a pit for Britain. Giving up the position of world hegemon, Britain would immediately be finished. If they persisted, at least there was a chance of not being finished. Even if the British ruling class understood Chinese culture and understood the inevitability of 'if one's virtue does not match their position, disaster will surely follow,' they would still jump in without hesitation.

"10 years." He Rui said in a depressing atmosphere, "With the severity of the economic crisis, the Western world can last at most 10 years. In these 10 years, everyone will surely develop the judgment that a new world order must be established. The reason I propose it now is that strategy must be formulated in advance. If possible, I also don't want everyone to bear the pressure right now."

Hearing He Rui say this, the central leading cadres understood that there would be another chance in 10 years to decide whether to launch a war. If it was launched at that time, everyone felt much better.

And He Rui continued, "The world needs a new civilization and an order based on the new civilization. Only China can bear such a heavy responsibility. The moment the new civilization blooms on the material basis of the new world order, human civilization will welcome the dawn. Comrades, this is a heavy responsibility that only we can bear. Do we want to take this as China's strategy? Does anyone have any questions? If not, we will start voting."

Pang Congcong couldn't help but request to speak. After receiving permission, she stood up and asked, "Chairman, although the ruling classes of Western countries aren't good people, they are by no means stupid. If they really reach a dead end, will they not consider uniting to solve the crisis at all?"

Hearing this, Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang couldn't help but chuckle. He Rui's predictions popped into his mind: 'The US engaging in tariff barriers,' 'Britain engaging in the Imperial Preference system.' Up to now, these were just predictions and hadn't happened. But once these predictions appeared, it meant He Rui's judgment of the Western world wasn't wrong.

Although Pang Congcong looked at Li Chenggang, Li Chenggang had already fallen into thought and completely ignored Pang Congcong's gaze.

He Rui just said that in less than 10 years, China's central leadership would determine that a new world order must be established through war. Li Chenggang discovered that as long as He Rui's two predictions became reality, Li Chenggang himself would believe Europe and America were completely hopeless. Without waiting 10 years, within two or three years, Li Chenggang could determine his stance.

And He Rui replied, "Comrades, in your spare time after doing your own work well, you might as well pay attention to the follow-up of the economic crisis. Whether the Western world will unite, we don't need to predict; just looking at the result will do."

Pang Congcong sat down upon hearing this. She intuitively felt that there was a high probability that Europe and America would not unite to deal with the crisis. If so, China would have to take the responsibility upon itself.