The three British policies for dealing with the economic crisis were so well-organized that Wu Youping began to suspect the UK had formulated a plan targeting Sino-French economic cooperation long ago. After reading the report, Wu Youping immediately called He Rui. "Before their King visited China, the British government came up with a complete set of policies. Was this planned in advance?"

He Rui felt that historically, from 1931 to 1932, Britain had continuously deepened its understanding of the economic crisis and gradually completed these three policies. Bringing them out all at once now suggested the British upper echelons had realized this economic crisis would be long in duration and high in intensity. They had to respond with a more decisive attitude and greater force. He asked, "Youping, what kind of needs do you think would make Britain combine these policies?"

"I'm not too sure... Could it be that Britain sensed the threat of war?" Wu Youping couldn't help but lower his voice slightly.

He Rui felt this answer was worth about an 85. Overall, after France established cooperation with China, Britain adjusted its policy under the pressure of France's rise, clarifying its own camp. If Wu Youping had suggested that Britain might use the threat of war to deal with other countries and force them to agree to British conditions, that might have been a perfect score.

Hearing He Rui's explanation, Wu Youping fell temporarily silent. He Rui expected Wu Youping to ask how to deal with the potential British threat, but instead heard him ask, "Chairman, are there still deficiencies in our economic development plan?"

He Rui did not answer immediately. The Sterling Bloc was very interesting; it was formed in 1931, right during the world economic crisis. Participants included members of the British Commonwealth (except Canada) as well as Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Egypt, Iraq, Argentina, Brazil, and other countries with close financial and economic ties to Britain. It stipulated that member currencies maintain a fixed exchange rate with the pound, while exchange rates with other currencies were determined by the pound's rate against the US dollar. Countries stored most of their foreign exchange reserves in London for international settlement. Britain used the Sterling Bloc to consolidate its position in these markets. In 1939, this group was replaced by the newly formed Sterling Area.

Historically, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Egypt, and Iraq were all targets for Germany. Britain creating such an organization cut off Germany's markets. The Little Mustache would have to break this bloc to obtain markets for Germany. So, Britain really hadn't expected war, or rather, the economic war had already begun. Military war was just the continuation of this economic war.

Composing himself, He Rui continued to explain, "As I see it, when Britain and the US make requests of us separately, we should organize a four-power economic cooperation plan involving China, the US, Britain, and France. We require Britain and the US to provide capital, and in return, we help them solve some of their demand needs—helping Britain drive employment for 800,000 workers and the US for 2 million. This is our limit. I think the British and Americans have the capability to make the correct judgment; they know very well that if they want more, the only option left is military means."

Wu Youping was speechless for a moment. Over the past two years, many comrades in the Party Central Committee and the State Council had developed somewhat unrealistic views on diplomacy, feeling that diplomacy seemed capable of solving many problems. Wu Youping felt this thinking was too wishful, but He Rui's diplomacy had been so successful that some comrades felt 'others might not be able to do it, but Chairman He can.' Even Wu Youping didn't know how to refute such views, because any rebuttal might make people suspect he was 'questioning He Rui's ability' based on some unreasonable attitude.

Hearing He Rui express a cautious and rational view on the boundaries of capability, Wu Youping felt completely at ease. As long as He Rui remained this clear-headed, Wu Youping's pressure would be much lighter.

At this point, He Rui asked, "Youping, is there anything else you want to ask?"

Wu Youping couldn't help but ask a question about the distant future. "Chairman, the future war may not necessarily be a conflict between Germany and France, right?"

"Where do you think the main contradiction comes from?" He Rui was interested.

Wu Youping explained his thoughts. As a high-ranking member of the Civilization Party, Wu Youping naturally knew China was preparing for war after 1939. Marshal Foch of France had said, "This is not peace. It is an armistice for twenty years." Defeated Germany had neither been thoroughly weakened nor received corresponding appeasement, and the victorious powers who signed the treaty had not honored their promise to lift the blockade on Germany. Marshal Foch predicted that Germany, in poverty and hunger, would never let the matter rest.

Originally, Wu Youping felt Marshal Foch's judgment was very reasonable. But with the experiences of these past few years, especially the cooperation with France, Wu Youping felt the biggest problem stemmed from the current world order. The current world order determined the suffering of Germany and the oppressed people of the vast colonies. Countries without colonies also lived very difficult lives in the current world order. A counterattack against Britain and France was only a matter of time.

"Chairman, even without Germany, other countries would come out to challenge the Versailles System. The United States might be the country that most wants to destroy the Versailles System," Wu Youping stated his view.

"The current world order stifles the development of productive forces. The new order the United States hopes for is an economic model beneficial to the American system. It shifts from realistic colonialism to economic colonialism. Its lower limit is higher than the Versailles System, but essentially it can only be considered an upgraded version. It still cannot solve the problem of unfairness in the world order. Of course, this is my view on another possibility. As for what is actually happening, you can consider the British bloc, the East Asian bloc, the United States, and France—these four forces have already divided the world into these major pieces. The ultimate war will definitely break out."

Hearing He Rui confirm that war was unavoidable, Wu Youping unconsciously let out a sigh of relief. Just as he wanted to express his agreement with He Rui, he heard He Rui continue, "I want to emphasize one thing to you. This war is not some ultimate holy war. As the Premier of the country, you must clearly realize that human progress is a very dynamic thing. The result of the last Great War in Europe only strengthened the evil colonial system and did not make the world more progressive. So, whether the next war can make the world more civilized and progressive is determined by the ability and cognition of the participants, not that the world will naturally progress after a devastating war breaks out."

Hearing this, Wu Youping felt an inexplicable emotion and immediately replied, "Yes. I understand."

"Alright. We both need to read materials. Watch your eyes." He Rui finished speaking on the other end of the phone, and with a click, the line went dead.

Wu Youping looked at the large number of comparative analysis reports, feeling a slight resistance in his heart. At least at this moment, he wanted to think a while longer.

After the pound left the gold standard, its exchange rate against other major currencies fell, which would promote British commodity exports.

Establishing the Sterling Bloc ensured the pound became the major currency in circulation in these countries, stabilizing the pound's position.

The Imperial Preference system ensured Britain possessed a stable fundamental base of over 500 million people when facing world economic danger.

The preparation and ongoing development of these three policies forced Wu Youping to admit that Britain did not lack far-sighted politicians and scholars capable of making decisions most beneficial to Britain based on its reality. Although China was now industrializing rapidly, facing Britain, which had been industrializing for 200 years, Wu Youping somewhat doubted whether China could gain the ability to overwhelm world powers like Britain and France through ten years of development. Calling He Rui just now was not only to gain ideas but more to gain confidence.

At this moment, his thinking might not be very clear, but sensing He Rui's calm, serious, and fearless attitude, Wu Youping felt he had gained confidence from him. Others might view this as charisma. Wu Youping, however, felt he simply agreed with He Rui's thinking: China had 500 million people. If 500 million people could achieve a little bit of tangible progress every day, the accumulation would be a tremendous force.

Thinking of this, the resistance to the heavy workload disappeared, and Wu Youping picked up the report and began to read.

A great power of 500 million people—Wu Youping couldn't manage it all no matter what. Even with an administrative system containing a massive number of government workers, it was still impossible for the country to develop according to the judgment of one person or a few people. So government management required KPIs.

KPI is an English abbreviation related to economic management: Key Performance Indicator.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are a type of goal-oriented quantitative management indicator that measures process performance by setting, sampling, calculating, and analyzing key parameters at the input and output ends of an organization's internal processes. It is a tool that decomposes a company's strategic goals into actionable work goals and is the foundation of corporate performance management. KPIs can clarify the main responsibilities of department heads and, based on this, clarify the performance measurement indicators for department personnel. Establishing a clear and feasible KPI system is the key to good performance management.

The relationship between the state, society, and government is complex. China's most important strategic goal at this stage is to develop industry. As an advanced productive force, as industry becomes the main driving force in social production, lifestyles, thoughts, and morals consistent with industrial production operations will naturally emerge.

As Premier of the State Council, what Wu Youping had to do was push forward China's industrialization policy. Over the past few years, China had completed a basic social survey and mastered basic data and materials. Various departments of the State Council formulated their development plans into development steps, quantifying them step by step.

As Premier, his job was to constantly monitor the execution progress of these KPIs to determine if the policies of various departments were reasonable and to adjust them. This is the SMART principle for determining key performance indicators. SMART is an abbreviation of the first letters of five English words:

S stands for Specific: Performance assessment must target specific work indicators and cannot be vague;

M stands for Measurable: Performance indicators are quantitative or behavioral, and the data or information to verify these performance indicators can be obtained;

A stands for Attainable: Performance indicators can be achieved with effort, avoiding setting goals too high or too low;

R stands for Realistic: Performance indicators are real and can be proven and observed;

T stands for Time-bound: Focusing on the specific deadline for completing performance indicators.

Wu Youping quickly flipped through the documents. After finishing the synthetic ammonia production file he hadn't finished earlier, Wu Youping picked up the phone again. "Old Zhuang, send someone over. The plan you proposed this year is 2.1 million tons of synthetic ammonia, which is different from what was said before."

On the other end of the line, Zhuang Jiaxiong was very helpless. "Youping, when we said 2.4 million tons before, our calculations weren't accurate enough. You can't make us unable to complete the plan."

Wu Youping held the phone while his fingers habitually tapped on the thick materials on the desk. "Since you've heard about this, you have to come over. If you don't come, I'll go to you."

Zhuang Jiaxiong got angry. "No means no. Our Ministry of Industry needs to save face too."

"Hehe, Old Zhuang, you don't need to be angry. We all know a bit about this. I can guarantee that by the end of the year, you'll definitely be holding the extra hundreds of thousands of tons of synthetic ammonia produced, expressing how hard your Ministry of Industry worked. Why bother!"

Everyone was an old fox. Hearing his old classmate puncture this little trick, Industrial Minister Zhuang Jiaxiong stopped pretending. "Youping. Based on some experience we've summarized now, unless you accept even the substandard products, beat me to death and I still won't have 2.4 million."

Wu Youping gave a dry laugh. "You definitely have a backup move. Tell me what backup move you've prepared! If you don't say it, I'll go find you right now."

Zhuang Jiaxiong sighed. After thinking for a while, he replied, "That depends on your luck. There are four synthetic ammonia plants newly built with our technology that will go into production successively after April this year. The design output of these plants is three times the original output. But these plants are for testing. If they can reach the design standard without the material excessive wear problems that were most worried about at the time, or if those are resolved within the year, then there are a few more production lines that will also be modified. Then the output can reach between 2.4 million and 2.5 million tons."

"Then do you have any requests? Need money? Need people?" Wu Youping felt he had probably forced out the final means his old classmate was hiding.

"I'd really like to ask you for money and people, but for the sake of being old classmates, I'll tell you the truth. Can you get the Soviet side to complete the production of those components for the 50 thermal power plants strictly according to quality and quantity on a regular basis? Brother, we didn't let the Soviet side produce all the thermal power equipment; they are only producing a part of it. But the Soviet side keeps urging us to send the equipment we're responsible for over to them. Looking at it now, the Soviet side wants to stall—finish the thermal power station projects on their side first, then produce for us."

Hearing this request, Wu Youping was also very helpless. The commercial credit of the Soviet side really wasn't that bad; at least the Soviets didn't want to renege on debts. But the production arrangement on the Soviet side was truly hard to describe. Wu Youping had also heard that Comrade Stalin was quite severe in his use of cadres. If they couldn't complete their work, they would face severe punishment. Dismissal, imprisonment, and even execution were all very terrifying possibilities. Under such high pressure, many things done by Soviet cadres were very speechless.

Wu Youping sighed, "Let me tell you a joke. One day, a hunter took a hunting dog hunting. The hunter shot a rabbit in the hind leg, and the injured rabbit began to run desperately. Under the hunter's instruction, the hunting dog also flew to chase the rabbit. But after chasing for a while, the rabbit disappeared. The hunting dog had to return to the hunter resentfully. The hunter began to scold the hunting dog: 'You are really useless; you can't even catch an injured rabbit! No food for the next meal!'

The hunting dog replied unconvinced: 'I tried my best!'

The rabbit ran back to its hole with its injury. Its brothers gathered around and asked in surprise: 'That hunting dog ran so fast! You were injured, how did you outrun it?'

'If I didn't run with all my might, I would have lost my life!'

Old Zhuang, from the Soviet side's perspective, we are in it for the money, but they are in it for their lives!"

Zhuang Jiaxiong also sighed. "Anyway, I've said what I needed to say. The situation is just like this now; there's only so much electricity. However much electricity you give me, our Ministry of Industry can guarantee that much production capacity!"

"...Alright. I know," Wu Youping replied helplessly.

Putting down the phone, Wu Youping called the Ministry of Commerce. Li Chenggang picked up the phone and heard Wu Youping say, "Can we sell a little less synthetic ammonia to Japan this year?"

Li Chenggang immediately replied, "No. The agreement is already signed. Japan needs synthetic ammonia very urgently. They absolutely must have 130,000 tons. Premier, you can't make things difficult for me. If you make it difficult for me, I'll have to make it difficult for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!"

This was very realistic. With the current Sino-Japanese cooperation, no one wanted to affect the content of the cooperation. But this made Wu Youping feel very unhappy. The most unhappy part was that he still had to persuade the Ministry of Agriculture. Because in this year's agricultural production, the Ministry of Agriculture had expended great effort and amazing perseverance to create an extra 800,000 mu of double-cropping farmland. Moreover, in the recent results obtained by the Ministry of Agriculture, many farmers who were unwilling to sign up to purchase synthetic ammonia last year had changed their minds and decided to use synthetic ammonia to complete the double-cropping production.

Adding the two together, a large gap in synthetic ammonia appeared. Although for 2.4 million tons of synthetic ammonia, 300,000 tons didn't seem like that much. But statistically, this was a 12.5% gap. From the perspective of KPI task orientation, any final result fluctuating more than 20% above or below the plan proved the plan was a complete failure. Although this 12.5% was not enough to prove the plan failed, it was still a huge impact.

Finally, Wu Youping felt he had to call He Rui again. When the call connected, Wu Youping suddenly felt He Rui was also quite pitiable. Wu Youping knew He Rui could analyze data very efficiently. Although Wu Youping's ability had improved over these years, he was still very unskilled with many problems. But Wu Youping wasn't afraid; if he couldn't do it, he could ask He Rui. Compared to Wu Youping, He Rui not only had to solve problems for himself but also answer questions for others. With both pressures added to He Rui, it was really too pitiable.