Vice Speaker Malon had brought a French parliamentary delegation, accompanied by a large group of French entrepreneurs and bankers. Seeing them eagerly waiting to meet with He Rui, Malon stood up. "Mr. Chairman, please allow me to introduce the other members of my country's delegation."

Soon, these French representatives got their wish and began conversing with He Rui. Malon stepped out of the circle and went to a corner to ponder the recent events. The French upper echelons had indeed considered the Indochina issue. Before the outbreak of the Sino-British War, France had predicted that China might launch an attack on French colonies. At that time, France had just finished the Great War in Europe, having lost millions of young men and suffered immense damage to its national strength. Therefore, the prevailing view among the upper echelons was, 'Let the cabinet fall again.'

However, the worst-case scenario did not occur, and things had miraculously reached the current stage. Now, the French leadership felt very helpless regarding Indochina. This region was far from France and was a traditional tributary state of China. It was inevitable that China would make demands. Compared to the benefits of Sino-French friendship, the interests in Indochina were trivial. However, giving up Indochina would cause a chain reaction shock to France's colonies. This was a very difficult trade-off to make.

When the banquet ended and He Rui was seeing the French delegation off, he shook hands with Vice Speaker Malon and suggested, "I imagine France is quite unfamiliar with Korea. I suggest the French delegation visit Korea. It is a very beautiful country."

Vice Speaker Malon understood He Rui's intention but did not expose it. He simply smiled and said, "Korea is currently under the joint management of China and Japan. If we wish to go, how should we proceed?"

"Korea is not under Sino-Japanese joint management; its internal and foreign affairs are temporarily guided by China and Japan. If you wish to go to Korea, you can apply for official travel procedures at any Chinese embassy or consulate. Of course, since you are already in China, you can go directly to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to apply. It is not complicated at all."

"We will consider it, Mr. Chairman," Malon replied.

After concluding the meeting with He Rui, Malon quickly made a decision and called for a reporter from *Le Figaro*. The next day, *Le Figaro* published the news. However, the report contained absolutely no hostile descriptions; instead, it expressed views on the Indochina issue from a very rational and objective perspective.

Adjusting colonies was nothing new for France; it had been a common occurrence over the past few centuries. Even the British, upon seeing the content, did not try to sow discord. This was because the most recent colonial adjustment had taken place just three years ago, involving Britain and China. Through that 'colonial adjustment,' Britain had transferred sovereignty over Upper Burma and the Assam region to China.

Since none of the great powers were saints, the British side merely offered a small taunt: "France has finally understood the pressure that must be endured when next to a powerful China." This remark lacked lethality, as Britain was a powerful country right next to France.

Compared to such weak attacks, the British media focused their firepower on the 'Korea Model.' Over the past few centuries, Korea was the only country that had been reduced to a colony and then gained independence through peaceful means from the hands of the colonial power. Of course, the so-called 'peace' was not truly peaceful; it was a result gambled upon with the blood of hundreds of thousands of Chinese and Japanese soldiers.

British newspapers directly raised doubts: "The independence of Korea, Upper Burma, and the Assam region is a rash and reckless action lacking consideration. If these three regions continued to be managed by China, they could fully achieve security and prosperity. The independence of these three regions not only subjects their economies to immense pressure but will also trigger a new round of regional turbulence.

"As a leader with global appeal, Mr. He Rui should understand that relying solely on goodwill cannot solve reality. From a global perspective, the independence of these three regions will bring a domino effect, introducing a mass of unpredictable risks to the currently stable world order..."

China, the instigator of this event, had not yet made a sound, but the Soviet Union's *Pravda* immediately wrote an article: "...Judging from the articles in British newspapers over the last few days, the evil British colonialists are in a panic. Yes, they are truly panicked!

"In the eyes of these colonialists, the fact that colonies can actually achieve independent status means the foundation of colonialism is being destroyed. That is why they fear, that is why they curse. They claim colonial liberation is an unpredictable risk.

"However, in the eyes of all people with justice and morality in the world, the colonialists are the truly unpredictable risk to the world. As long as these colonialists exist, the world will forever be threatened by war, massacre, famine, and plague. And this threat is not bounded by skin color; the Irish people have experienced the Great Famine artificially created by British colonialists..."

On the same day *Pravda* published this article, the Irish regional parliament sent a telegram to the Chinese government and distributed the content to newspapers in various countries. This was not due to any conspiracy with the Soviet Union; Ireland did not believe in communism. In the telegram, members of the Irish local parliament wrote: "On behalf of the Irish people who have always sought independence, we express our sincere respect for the Chinese government's just views. According to British tradition, Britain will never give freedom to people of other regions and will use every means to suck the last drop of blood from its colonies. The 'Korea Model' promoted by the Chinese government is undoubtedly benevolent, successful, and moral. We wish the Chinese government complete success in all such current and future actions. China has become a nation with immense influence on the world stage and is the true light of this world!"

Three days after the Irish local government published this telegram, several Irish-American organizations in the United States issued statements: "Irish-Americans and Chinese-Americans are both parts of this nation of the United States. We share common morals and ideals, and we should become the friendliest ethnic groups within America."

Situ Meitang, a Chinese-American leader, frowned as he finished reading the statements in several newspapers. Before he could even sigh, the advisor of the Hongmen Zhigong Tang ran over. "Tong Leader, an Irish assemblyman wishes to meet with you."

"What do they mean by this?" Situ Meitang was very distrustful of the Irish community.

"They just said they want to meet." The advisor of the Hongmen Zhigong Tang was also uneasy.

The core of the diplomatic war between He Rui and the United States was the 'Chinese Exclusion Act.' Over the past two years, the historical origins of the Chinese Exclusion Act had been dug up, and the initial strong promoters were the Irish. The advisor felt that the Irish assemblymen asking to see Situ Meitang now likely meant a trap.

Situ Meitang was a man who had seen much of the world. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "We'll meet them! Let's talk first and see what happens!"

For two consecutive days, American newspapers were all praising the Republic of China government for forging a new path, declaring that liberating colonies was a morality that transcended interests for the world. Before and after meeting with different Irish-American assemblymen each day, Situ Meitang saw such reports. These changes made this rather tough man feel somewhat at a loss for how to evaluate what was happening.

During the meetings, the Irish assemblymen did not apologize, nor did they threaten. They simply proposed a cooperation. With the United States having repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act, all restrictions previously imposed on Chinese-Americans had been lifted. The Irish assemblymen proposed that in communities where Chinese resided, the Irish could help the Chinese elect their own councilors. In exchange, in elections for larger districts, the Chinese would support Irish candidates.

Situ Meitang felt he could no longer grasp the situation. After much thought, he finally decided to seek an audience with Franklin D. Roosevelt. Before Roosevelt became disabled, he had worked in a law firm for a long time. The young lawyer had been very interested in criminal cases and had many business dealings with Situ Meitang, a highly combat-capable Chinese leader.

However, Situ Meitang was now somewhat worried. Franklin D. Roosevelt had been elected Governor of New York. With such status, would Roosevelt still be willing to see him?

Matters turned out to be simpler than Situ Meitang had imagined. A few hours after submitting the request, a phone call came through. Governor Roosevelt invited Situ Meitang to dinner that evening.

The two had not seen each other for some time. Seeing Roosevelt in a wheelchair again, Situ Meitang felt a bit distressed. Back in the day, Roosevelt had been a spirited young man who, when facing gang leaders with criminal records and legal troubles, showed no fear and could even joke with them.

The current Franklin D. Roosevelt had lost the greenness of his youth and appeared deep and steady. But that spirited young man had turned into a middle-aged man who could only move by wheelchair. Roosevelt was 48 this year; he would soon be over fifty, becoming an old man.

Situ Meitang did not voice his inner feelings. After shaking hands and sitting down, he recounted recent events to Roosevelt. Roosevelt lowered his gaze, and although he listened seriously, he showed an expression of indifference. to 'Old Money' in America, a few tens of thousands of Chinese votes were important, yet also unimportant.

After listening, Roosevelt said, "Mr. Situ, thank you for your trust in me. what is your view on this?"

Situ Meitang answered frankly, "Franklin, I did not go to the Chinese Embassy for advice, but came directly to find you. I hope to receive your suggestions."

Having said this, Situ Meitang thought he would feel excited or uneasy. The feelings of excitement and unease did appear, but they were far less intense than he had anticipated. Situ Meitang discovered a more powerful strength within himself. Behind him, there were not only those who dragged him down, but for the first time, a powerful China appeared. Although Situ Meitang still hadn't figured out how to utilize this new backer, or if he could even treat the Chinese government as a backer, just the existence of such a potential backer made him feel less apprehensive, even when facing the Roosevelt family.

Since the apprehension was gone, Situ Meitang felt his mind naturally become sharper. He made a decision based on his own judgment: rather than selling the Chinese-American votes to those Irishmen, it was better to give them to Roosevelt. From a holistic view, Roosevelt couldn't give Situ Meitang much. However, in Chinese culture, when looking for a backer, the bigger the better. In this regard, the Roosevelt family was much more reliable than the Irish assemblymen.

Of course, this depended on whether Roosevelt would accept Situ Meitang's suggestion.

Roosevelt did not like Situ Meitang's approach. This method might have been fine a hundred years ago, but it was too 'low' for the present. However, Roosevelt was not displeased. Situ Meitang was at this level; realizing that Chinese-American votes could be concentrated showed he was a very brainy leader among the gang forces. Moreover, Situ Meitang frankly stated he had not gone to the Chinese Embassy for advice, and this attitude was very correct.

Chinese-Americans were indeed of Chinese descent, but they were Americans. Running to the Chinese Embassy for advice on politics and votes would be treason! Franklin D. Roosevelt had absolutely no interest in maintaining any relationship with a traitor.

After pondering for a moment, Roosevelt said, "Mr. Situ, in a few days, my secretary will introduce you to some gentlemen. I believe they can give you real help."

Situ Meitang nodded and was about to take his leave when he remembered another matter. "I also want to ask about one thing, though it is completely beyond my understanding. I simply cannot figure out what those Irish people want to get from me?"

Roosevelt also felt Situ Meitang couldn't understand the political logic within, but since Situ Meitang was so sincere, Roosevelt didn't mind saying a few words. "Mr. Situ, those people don't want to get anything from you; they want to gain the attention of the Chinese government through such a display. Of course, in my view, these people have completely failed to understand Mr. He Rui's political philosophy. So you don't need to care. You can just respond to their friendliness with friendliness."

Situ Meitang confirmed he had not been swept into a political storm and finally felt relieved. He was about to leave when he remembered one more thing. "Franklin, can the gentlemen you recommended solve the problem of education for Chinese people? You know, we Chinese are very willing to study and attend university."

Roosevelt nodded. "Rest assured, they will help you solve it."

After seeing Situ Meitang off, Roosevelt began to eat dinner alone. Since Situ Meitang had tactfully not insisted on dining with him, Roosevelt was happy to have time to think. As the knife cut into the thick beef, red juice oozed out. Roosevelt turned a blind eye to this, his mind filled with He Rui's recent actions.

The US domestically very much wanted to obtain a trade share with China similar to France's. Of course, if the US could occupy the entire Chinese market, it would have no complaints. However, the US economic circles were not optimistic about this because He Rui was clearly preventing any Euro-American country from possessing control in the Chinese market.

Raising the Indochina issue right before the French election would inevitably stir up heated debate within France, and the politicians participating in this election would likely all be dragged in. Franklin D. Roosevelt believed He Rui knew very well that this would cause a major shock to the colonial issue on a global scale. He Rui's purpose in doing this was clearly to become a pioneer of a new direction for the world.

To avoid this action triggering anger from France and Britain, He Rui only pushed for colonial independence after starting cooperation with France. France would not break with China over the independence of a few Asian colonies, which would end France's currently vibrant economy.

"Truly a formidable character!" Roosevelt muttered to himself. Every country in the world hoped its leader was a strategist with global insight, and they all focused on cultivating young talents with such aptitude. Roosevelt himself was someone cultivated in this way. Therefore, Roosevelt truly envied He Rui. This 40-year-old middle-aged man, eight years his junior, not only possessed keen vision but also powerful strength, and a strong body to match that strength.

And recently he heard He Rui had taken two wives; presumably, his kidneys could keep up... Looking at his own legs and crotch, which had completely lost sensation, Franklin D. Roosevelt sighed and swept the last few pieces of steak from his plate.

*Achoo!* He Rui sneezed, rubbed his nose, and continued listening to Yao Changtian, the Vice Minister of Industry, recount the completion progress of the Asian Coal and Steel Community. Northern Korea had quite a few mines, including a fair number of medium-to-high-grade iron ore deposits. Although China had much iron ore, there were few high-grade ones, and reserves were low.

At this stage, China had neither the ability nor the willingness to open mines in Brazil or Australia. As a result, France had picked up a bargain; the Guinea region they controlled had high-quality bauxite. This had originally been He Rui's target, and both sides had already found bauxite deposits through joint surveying. Moreover, there was also high-quality iron ore there, which China also wanted to develop along the way.

But in the 21st century, the Simandou iron ore mine, located in the Kerouane Prefecture of southeastern Guinea, was the world's largest and highest-quality undeveloped iron ore mine, with an initial capacity of 120 million tons of high-quality iron ore annually. However, over the past 20 years, due to legal disputes, construction handling, and infrastructure issues, this project had never been effectively developed.

Aside from Guinea's political situation, the biggest difficulty facing the development of the Simandou iron ore mine was infrastructure construction. Due to its geographical location, developing this mine required building a railway spanning over 600 kilometers across eastern and western Guinea, as well as a port on the western coast. The Guinean government had stated that any mine developer must build a railway across the country to ensure that iron ore mined from Simandou was exported from Guinea's own ports, which greatly increased the cost of mine development.

In the current 20th century, once war broke out, transportation problems would arise. Bauxite was one thing, but iron ore had to rely on Asian deposits. China was now desperately confirming sources of ore to ensure the Coal and Steel Community in East Asia would not be affected by external influences.