"The diligent efforts of the Chinese people have developed the Daqing Oilfield, allowing China to shed the label of an oil-poor nation. As a partner in technology and equipment, the Rockefeller Company is proud to have participated in this great project and expresses admiration for the perseverance and hard work demonstrated by the Chinese people..."

Wu Youping looked at the *National Daily* report on the interview with Rockefeller representative Henry Yang, and the image of this shrewd middle-aged man appeared in his mind. Henry Yang's father was a Chinese-American; even during the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act, his father had married a German-American woman and had three sons. Henry Yang was the second son. He attended university in Massachusetts and later worked for the Rockefeller consortium. Now, he served as Rockefeller's business representative in China.

News from Britain was significant: the British government was beginning to discuss the possibility of the pound sterling exiting the gold standard. With the economic crisis raging, countries were starting to consider abandoning the gold standard. Not only was Britain discussing it, but similar discussions were also emerging in the United States. Only by exiting the gold standard could a country devalue its currency and boost its exports.

While he was pondering these matters, the telephone rang. Wu Youping saw it was the red telephone, and his spirit instantly sharpened. He picked up the receiver and heard Lieutenant General Yu Cen's voice on the other end. "Premier, the Vietnamese uprising we predicted has broken out."

"Is there more specific intelligence?" Wu Youping asked. After asking, his mood grew somewhat heavy. The specific outbreak of an uprising certainly had its particular processes, but the overall social background of the uprising was simple and clear. Before 1924, the French had been quite arrogant in China.

It was only after China's suicide attack aircraft sank a British detachment flagship—a battlecruiser—and He Rui's regime seized power in China with the force of a thunderbolt that France became humble. Even when various officials from the French Concession and employees who violated Chinese laws were sentenced to death in the courts of the He Rui regime and left swaying in the wind on the gallows, the French government merely issued fiercely worded statements without taking any practical action.

When the Anglo-Chinese Burma War broke out and the Chinese army repeatedly defeated the British army, the French government completely forgot that over ten thousand French Concession personnel had been executed by the He Rui government. Instead, for the sake of international prestige, they began to exist as a mediator in the Sino-British war, and through this mediation, they gained immense international standing.

However, France only showed friendship and respect to China. In their Indochina colony, their actions remained unchanged. To earn more money, the French Indochina colonial government increased exports to China. The colonial government naturally could not conjure up trade goods out of thin air; the increase in export volume naturally had to be squeezed from the colonial people.

Taxes on agricultural products in the Indochina colony increased, and the colonial government also forced the Vietnamese people into corvée labor, working in newly opened plantations and mines. Exports of rice, cane sugar, bauxite, and coal increased significantly. Correspondingly, the volume of light industrial goods and refined oil imported from China also surged.

In summary, the booming trade between China and the French Indochina colony was built on the foundation of exploiting the Indochinese people. The people of the colony were merely tools for France to extract profit, not human beings entitled to human rights. It wasn't just the French government that held this view; the British and American governments felt the same. The Chinese government's view was completely different from these nations; Wu Youping did not hold a single positive view of colonialism.

On the other end of the line, Lieutenant General Yu Cen replied, "Premier, we will send someone to give you a briefing."

"Mm. Make it quick," Wu Youping replied. Putting down the phone, Wu Youping felt very unhappy. He finally looked out the office window at the flowerbed. Under the careful cultivation of the gardener, the rose bushes were in full bloom, beautiful enough to make one want to smile. But thinking that a war against colonial oppression was taking place right on China's border, Wu Youping could not let it go.

Finally, Wu Youping sat back in his chair, stubbed out his cigarette, lit another one, picked up the phone, and said with the cigarette dangling from his mouth, "Connect me to the Chairman's office."

Not long after, He Rui's voice rang out. "Hello?"

"Chairman, it's me! Wu Youping!" Wu Youping was prepared to have a serious talk with He Rui.

"Hehe, what makes you so agitated?" He Rui chuckled on the other end.

Wu Youping immediately conveyed his emotions to He Rui. In the past, Wu Youping would never have revealed his emotions to He Rui, but this time he truly couldn't stand it. If he couldn't voice his unhappiness, Wu Youping felt he would suffocate.

After listening to Wu Youping's account, He Rui's voice sounded more serious. "Is that all?"

After venting, Wu Youping felt his agitated mood calm down significantly, but a sense of helplessness arose spontaneously. He asked in a low voice, "Chairman, what do you plan to do?"

He Rui answered straightforwardly, "It just so happens the Speaker of the French Parliament is arriving soon. When I see him, I'll talk to him about this."

Wu Youping was stunned, and a feeling of apprehension arose. "Chairman, will doing this cause a misunderstanding with the French side?"

Wu Youping had thought He Rui would hesitate, but he didn't expect He Rui to answer immediately, "Misunderstanding? What is there to misunderstand! When Qin Shi Huang annexed Vietnam, Caesar's grandfather's grandfather, who wrote *The Gallic Wars*, had just been born! How many years has it been since the Qing Dynasty recognized France's suzerainty over Vietnam? Can we not even speak now? Youping, after the British coughed up Upper Burma and Assam, they are now eager to replace France as our partner. Youping, even from the perspective of cooperation, we should at least ask the French: turning Indochina into this state, what kind of explanation does France plan to give us?!"

Wu Youping was stunned, and his vision suddenly blurred. A strong wave of emotion made him want to cry out loud. Finally, he suppressed his sobbing and tried to say in a calm voice, "Chairman, I want to meet with you to talk."

"Uh... finish by 8 p.m.," He Rui said, feeling a bit guilty. Although in another timeline, He Rui had played in such a grand event as the Eight-Nation Alliance, times had changed. Once things involved emotions, men easily found themselves at a disadvantage. There was a reason why matriarchy had steadily continued for at least millions of years among intelligent species including elephants, orcas, and hairless upright apes, while patriarchy hadn't even sat securely for a thousandth of that time.

However, Wu Youping didn't think so much. After dealing with a few mandatory matters, he went straight to He Rui's Chairman's Residence. As soon as they met, Wu Youping said, "Chairman, I am certain: colonialism must be eliminated."

"Of course, this backward system has no value in existing," He Rui expressed his support.

The two sat down, and Wu Youping immediately voiced his reflection. "Chairman, I'll make a self-criticism. I viewed the economy as too important and almost forgot our original intention."

He Rui waved his hand. "China's liberation is built on economic development; you haven't forgotten the original intention. If judged by the rising nationalist sentiment in the country right now, you are already close to the line where everyone says you deserve to be killed."

This was another troublesome matter. When He Rui mentioned this issue, Wu Youping couldn't help but smile bitterly. Fifteen years ago, young people like Wu Youping, taking it as their duty to drive out foreign aggressors and restore China's sovereignty no matter what, had gathered under He Rui's banner. After arduous struggle, they finally realized the long-cherished wish of that group of revolutionary youth.

After China achieved liberation, a large batch of new nationalists appeared. Wu Youping did not think these young people were unpatriotic, but this group operated on the concept of "establishing a China in the sun," believing that a revived China needed to obtain the status of an empire on which the sun never sets.

Just as He Rui said, the new generation of nationalists didn't necessarily like imperialism. If other imperialist countries in the world were eliminated by China, these new Chinese nationalists would also be willing to implement more "benevolent governance." But their primary goal was to eliminate imperialist countries other than China, not to eliminate imperialism itself. Wu Youping's philosophy, considered dovish, was loathed by China's new generation of nationalist youth.

Wu Youping didn't want to defend himself. He continued to ask about the French colony issue. "Chairman, I'd like to ask, if France believes we are plotting for their colony, what should we do?"

"I will first tell the French that we have no intention of annexing the Indochina region. The French will understand my sincerity," He Rui answered calmly.

Wu Youping thought for a moment and finally nodded. Currently, Sino-French cooperation was France's economic lifeline, and both Britain and the US were very unhappy about this... Thinking of this, Wu Youping suddenly had a new thought. "Chairman, do you think Britain and the United States are the masterminds behind this Vietnamese uprising?"

He Rui shook his head. "That's definitely unlikely. Britain and the US won't be the masterminds because the Vietnamese people won't accept inviting the British to be new colonists after driving out the French. But I believe that behind this incident, Britain and the United States must have taken some action. This is the topic point I want to cut into."

While He Rui and Wu Youping were conversing, on the border between Thailand and the Indochina colony, several British men were sitting in a long thatched hut by the river, using fans to drive away mosquitoes. On the side of these huts facing the river, bamboo poles several meters long were inserted into the mud at the river bottom, and a trestle bridge made of bamboo was erected between the thick bamboo poles. As long as boats docked beside the trestle, cargo could be conveniently moved from the boat to the trestle, or from the trestle to the boat.

Thai laborers watched the river surface, full of tropical green duckweed, from the trestle, waiting for the small boat convoy to arrive for the rendezvous. After waiting for less than an hour, a small fleet appeared in the distant river bend. Four rowers, all wearing Vietnamese-style clothing, pushed aside the water with their oars, heading towards the dock.

When the fleet stopped by the trestle, the British men were already standing there. There was no warmth on their faces; instead, they were full of condescension. Behind them, some Malayan colonial troops gripped their rifles, staring with sharp eyes at the people in Vietnamese attire.

The people from the Vietnamese side went ashore and immediately saluted the British fellows, then said in broken French, "Thank you for your support, gentlemen."

The British man replied in equally fluent French, "Don't be mistaken, we just want to sell some weapons to you. Did you bring the money?"

"Where are the weapons?" the person from the Vietnamese side asked warily.

The British man lifted his chin. The Malayan colonial troops nearby carried over one of several boxes and opened it. Inside, weapons wrapped in Indian-made jute cloth were revealed. There were also several greasy paper boxes nearby. The Vietnamese revolutionaries pulled out the weapons. Whether it was the Indian jute cloth, the weapons inside, or the paper boxes containing bullets, everything was greasy, emitting the somewhat pungent smell of lard and tallow.

Seeing the weapons and ammunition were fine, the Vietnamese revolutionaries carefully took out small coin purses kept close to their skin and produced several gold coins. The British man curled his lip. "Not enough."

Another Vietnamese revolutionary took out a wallet and pulled out a stack of Chinese yuan banknotes. The British man took the money and counted it once before saying, "You can check the other weapons."

The British side's asking price wasn't high, not even reaching the cost price. But Britain had very rich experience as an international "shit-stirrer." At this stage, they could sell weapons at a loss, but they couldn't *not* take money. Only after establishing the trade model could they ensure those Vietnamese revolutionaries, who couldn't get weapons from elsewhere, would continue to get weapons from Britain.

As long as it could impact France's economic confidence, Britain had already profited. Theoretically, giving the weapons away for free would be fine. But to make the people on the Vietnamese side continue fighting, Britain precisely could *not* give them away for free. It hadn't reached that stage yet! Britain had stood tall for hundreds of years because they knew clearly what to do and when!

The transaction ended quickly. The Vietnamese side obtained 120 rifles, 40 pistols, and 6,000 rounds of ammunition at a considerably low price. The British men looked indifferent, but inside they were actually praying for the Vietnamese revolutionaries, hoping every bullet would eliminate a Frenchman.

As soon as the transaction ended, the British men quickly left the trading site with the Malayan colonial troops and Thai assistants. The Vietnamese revolutionaries also boarded their boats and immediately returned to their camp. Along the way, the Vietnamese revolutionaries were very excited. 120 guns could arm 120 people, but they could raise a team of at least 600. Especially those pistols—they could equip revolutionaries in the cities to launch attacks on some police stations with weak French defenses.

While they were chatting happily, a *chug-chug-chug* sound came from the distance. The Vietnamese revolutionaries' faces changed; that was the sound of a French small gunboat navigating the water. Judging by the sound, the French gunboat would soon encounter their fleet.

The leader immediately ordered, "Go ashore! Prepare for battle!"

Ten minutes later, a French patrol boat of several dozen tons discovered the small boats by the shore. The small boats were parked haphazardly in a river bend with no one on board. This made the French troops on the patrol boat feel something was wrong. Small boats were important property to the Vietnamese, and this wasn't near any village. It was absolutely impossible for small boats to be left unguarded.

The patrol boat immediately slowed down. The 20mm small cannon on the boat and the machine gunners pointed their muzzles towards the nearby woods. They guarded cautiously like this for over ten minutes. Just as the French patrol boat slowly approached the small boats, gunshots suddenly rang out from the woods.

The French soldiers did not hesitate and immediately began firing towards the position where the gunshots originated. The two sides exchanged fire for less than ten minutes before a rustling sound came from the jungle. The French officers and soldiers immediately understood that the Vietnamese revolutionaries had started to flee. The patrol boat immediately docked, and French soldiers, carrying their weapons, began to give chase.

Within an hour, the battle was over. Two people on the French side suffered minor injuries. Three Vietnamese revolutionaries were killed, and six were wounded and captured. A total of one rifle was seized. The other Vietnamese revolutionaries fled into the forest.

The French patrol team immediately began interrogation. The screams of the captured Vietnamese revolutionaries did not travel far in the jungle. Nearby lizards, snakes, and insects smelled blood and gunpowder smoke and fled far away. After some torture, two of the six captured revolutionaries couldn't withstand the beating and died on the spot. The other four confessed the news that they had bought weapons from foreigners. But the identity of these people was not certain.

The French officer listened to his subordinate's report, spat at a Vietnamese revolutionary whose nose and mouth were bleeding from the beating, and said hatefully, "Damn British!"

But being angry was useless. Since they hadn't caught them red-handed with the loot, Britain certainly wouldn't admit to what they had done. Moreover, it wasn't strange for the British to do this. If the positions were swapped and Indochina were a British colony, the French wouldn't mind fueling the flames to make the Indochina uprising more intense.

This was determined by the interests of all parties. Of course, if the French patrol boat had actually caught the trading British men, they wouldn't have really killed the British fellows. At most, they would have thrown a few punches and kicks; they absolutely wouldn't have harmed their lives. This was reality. If the French went on a killing spree against the British, the British would immediately retaliate. This kind of conflict had to be avoided at all costs. After all, the French upper echelons had long determined that the Versailles System was the result of Anglo-French compromise. If Britain and France tore off their masks and fought openly, the first result would be the mutual destruction of both Britain and France.

Although the French officer on the patrol boat didn't understand international politics very well, he was very clear about orders from above. So all his pent-up anger was vented on the captured Vietnamese revolutionaries. He kicked the Vietnamese revolutionaries, who had lost the ability to resist, viciously several times. The French officer ordered, "Take them all! Let's go back!"

Back at the camp, the wounded French soldiers were treated using medicine imported from China. Since the gunshot wounds weren't serious, at this stage they took a few sulfonamide pills, and after treating the wounds, applied gentian violet. Since the wounds hadn't festered, there was absolutely no need to use penicillin right now.

Diplomatic personnel under the French Governor-General's office immediately found the British Consul in Indochina and demanded an explanation. The British Consul replied lightly, "Where is the evidence?"

The French diplomatic personnel threatened hatefully a few times, but could only go back first.