Lieutenant General Yu Cen, Commander of the Southwest Theater Command, flew directly from Kunming to the capital. During the Sino-British War, when Yu Cen had flown from the capital to the Southwest, the journey of over 500 kilometers had taken a full day, with the plane landing and taking off multiple times along the way. Now, it took only three hours to reach the destination. Listening to music throughout the journey, he landed before he even had a chance to feel restless, which Yu Cen appreciated greatly.

After checking in at the reception, he had just entered his room and hadn't yet closed the door when he heard a happy voice from the hallway: "Isn't that Brother Yu?"

Turning his head, Yu Cen saw someone he considered an acquaintance. The man was dressed in a military uniform with Lieutenant General rank insignia. Since he wasn't wearing a cap, his bald head reflected a bright shine under the lights. It was Wu Peifu.

Yu Cen had initially been in charge of managing prisoner-of-war camps during the Sino-British War before returning to headquarters. The one who succeeded Yu Cen was none other than Wu Peifu, known as the "Valiant General of the Beiyang." Later, he had occasionally heard that Wu Peifu seemed to have gone to the General Logistics Department, but he hadn't expected to run into him here.

Seeing that Wu Peifu was keen to chat, Yu Cen invited him in. The two discussed their current positions; Wu Peifu was currently serving as the Director of the Statistics Bureau in the General Logistics Department. Hearing that Yu Cen was serving as Commander of the Southwest Theater Command, Wu Peifu sighed with emotion. "Brother, you've fought against the Japanese, against the garrisons of the Eight-Nation Alliance, and against the British. And you won every time! Your life has truly been worth living."

After saying this, Wu Peifu sighed again. "In my life, I haven't fought a single battle against foreigners; I've just done some petty, shameful things. Now, although I've cast my lot with a wise master, I'm about to be transferred to the reserves. Sigh... this life really wasn't worth it!"

Yu Cen consoled him, "Brother Ziyu, you are in the prime of your life, why be so discouraged?"

Wu Peifu smiled bitterly. "According to the latest *Officer Service Regulations*, those at my rank retire at 63. I am already 59 years old. Although I'm a Bureau Director, I really don't have many years left to work."

While Yu Cen offered verbal comfort, inwardly he didn't think much of Wu Peifu's old-fashioned mindset. In the old way of thinking, it was best for an official to die in office. Although scholars always talked about how comfortable it was to retire and return home, that was just lip service.

He Rui's government was not a government of old-school scholars, but an industrialized government led by "engineering men." They were very strict about age limits in the retirement system. Just as Wu Peifu had mentioned, the *Officer Service Regulations* stipulated the service age limits for officers.

The maximum age for military, political, and logistics officers in combat units during peacetime service were:

Platoon level: 30;

Company level: 35;

Battalion level: 40;

Regimental level: 45;

Divisional level: 50;

Corps level: 55;

Grand Theater level: Deputy 63, Commander 65.

As Commander of the Southwest Theater Command, Yu Cen would retire at 65. Wu Peifu was a Lieutenant General, but his actual position was only Director of the Statistics Bureau in the General Logistics Department, which was equivalent to a corps-level position. For him to be subject to the retirement standard of 63 was clearly a case of special consideration. If not for the need to make the old Beiyang faction feel they weren't being discriminated against, and to keep a few of them in the army, Wu Peifu would have retired by now.

To Yu Cen's surprise, although Wu Peifu looked regretful, he showed no sign of wanting to find a backdoor to stay for a few more years. In the reputation of the Beiyang clique, Wu Peifu was considered a man of character. Looking at him now, Wu Peifu seemed to live up to that reputation.

After chatting for a while, Wu Peifu brought up the matter of the Sino-British War. "Before, I thought Chairman He was just trying to appease the feelings of the Beiyang brothers by giving me a position of some sort. But with my limited ability, I certainly wouldn't catch Chairman He's eye, so he arranged for me to manage the POW camps. But after doing that for more than a year, I realized that the old Beiyang really shouldn't have caught Chairman He's eye. Saying that the old Beiyang lacked culture really doesn't wrong us. Over at the POW camps, quite a few old Beiyang brothers remembered the grievances they had suffered in the past and wanted to vent their anger on a bunch of prisoners. Heh."

Hearing this, Yu Cen felt that Wu Peifu might have more "virtue" than he had thought. Officers from the Northeast Government had, after all, received more than a decade of education, and everyone knew that "imperialism" was not a good word. Even so, quite a few officers had a bit of an "imperialist" style themselves, though they were unwilling to admit it.

Yu Cen wanted to ask what had happened in the POW camps, but felt it wasn't appropriate to ask. While he hesitated, Wu Peifu started talking about these things himself. "Before anything big could happen, the higher-ups sent new political commissars. The commissars held meetings every day, which was hard work. But with the commissars there, at least nothing went wrong. Otherwise, given the nature of the old Beiyang brothers, they would have either been drinking and swearing brotherhood with the British prisoners, or skinning them alive..."

It turned out that after Yu Cen left, the management in the POW camps had fallen into ideological chaos for a short time. The old Beiyang men had a love-hate relationship with imperialism. They hated being oppressed by imperialism, but loved the idea that imperialism could oppress others.

Imperialism is a noun, but humans instinctively bully the weak and fear the strong, and quite naturally discriminate against other races based on appearance. In an environment like a POW camp, such emotions breed easily. Not to mention that China had suffered nearly a century of foreign oppression, and the public generally had strong feelings of revenge.

It wasn't until the Military Commission sent a group of people to assist that things stabilized. The political work cadres were divided into two parts: one part did ideological work on the old Beiyang fellows, and the other part managed the POW camps and did ideological work on the prisoners. Non-political work cadres, a group of intellectuals led by Hu Shi, were sent to teach Chinese culture to the prisoners.

At that time, the establishment of the Asian International Tribunal in Shanghai made the British prisoners extremely fearful. Although the captured British soldiers had not participated in the ANZAC Corps' massacre of the Burmese people, these British prisoners had committed many similar crimes in other colonies. Hearing the news of the ANZAC Corps being put on trial, these British prisoners were terrified.

The pressure felt by the British Indian prisoners was no less than that of the British. Although these British Indian troops suffered British oppression, when suppressing the resistance of the local Indian people, they used quite ruthless methods to gain the appreciation of their British masters.

Moreover, these British Indian troops not only obeyed British orders, but most of them also came from the upper and middle classes of India. With such backgrounds, before receiving communist education, they naturally stood firmly on the side of the local Indian dignitaries. And dignitaries anywhere have always stood on the opposite side of the people. Out of this stance, when suppressing the Indian people's resistance, their hearts were filled with hostility toward the ordinary Indian laborers.

The Sino-British War ended quickly, which caused these ideological issues to be exposed, but before they could be truly resolved, the British and British Indian prisoners were released. Wu Peifu had only seen the problems, but hadn't seen how they were resolved.

Chatting up to this point, Lieutenant General Yu Cen began to understand why the Military Commission would truly employ an old Beiyang warlord like Wu Peifu. Although this guy had also colluded with the British in the past, Wu Peifu was at least a cultured man who had passed the imperial examination at the county level; he had some idealism, and his level of understanding of certain issues was far higher than that of the ordinary Beiyang soldier.

Yu Cen hadn't seen many old Beiyang men, but the ones who left a deep impression on him were the family of Wang Qinian, an engineer at the Aircraft Design Bureau. That family came from a *Jinshi* (imperial scholar) background, and although they still held onto that old scholar mindset in many ways and placed great importance on social hierarchy, in the new era, their family changed quickly. At least when discussing such topics, they spoke according to the concepts of the Civilization Party.

Wu Peifu was another type of person. He inherently pursued loyalty and righteousness and had feelings for the country. So when facing problems, he would also study and try to understand them.

Apart from these two, the old Beiyang men Yu Cen had met were all vulgar people pursuing fame and fortune. The establishment of the He Rui government, to them, was just the world changing masters. For this group of people, whether in the Qing Dynasty, the Beiyang era, or New China, their pursuit never changed—it was always just fame and fortune. Yu Cen chose to keep a respectful distance from such people.

After chatting for a while, it was time for dinner. Wu Peifu wanted to treat Yu Cen to a couple of drinks, but Yu Cen politely declined. Wu Peifu didn't mind and took his leave quite freely.

Early the next morning, the military region guesthouse where the group was staying became lively. Everyone was a soldier, and their schedules were quite regular. As soon as the reveille sounded, even the soldiers who didn't have to run drills got up. Yu Cen put on his shoes and went for a walk in the open space of the guesthouse. In the corridor, he ran into several Lieutenant Generals who had the same idea.

Even if they weren't familiar with each other, they had at least attended meetings together. They greeted each other and started jogging in the open space. From the drill grounds not far away came the shouts of soldiers doing their morning exercises, making Yu Cen feel very comfortable. Yu Cen had initially joined the army out of passion. Now Yu Cen regarded being a soldier as his profession; as long as he was in a military environment, he felt at ease.

Coming to a meeting meant no one had to be on night duty. By 7:30, everyone had finished breakfast. Many room doors were open as people quickly organized their things. By 7:45, people had already arrived at the pickup point. At 7:55, when the bus came to pick them up, all the attendees were present.

By 8:25, the conference room was packed, with only three seats in the middle empty. Yu Cen was very excited. Those attending this time were all Lieutenant Generals, many of whom were commanders and political commissars of Great Military Regions. Presumably, many had received the meeting order suddenly and rushed over immediately. So, of the three empty seats, at least one should be for He Rui. Thinking that he would attend a meeting presided over by He Rui, Yu Cen was full of anticipation.

At 8:28, the door opened, and He Rui and Zheng Silang walked in. Originally, some people were talking in low voices, but the conversation stopped abruptly, and the Lieutenant Generals all stood up.

He Rui was also very happy to see a group of familiar faces. Getting these people together usually only happened at the two annual regular meetings; the rest of the time, everyone was busy at their respective posts. He hoped that these guys would all be able to pass the test of this impromptu meeting.

Walking to his seat and standing still, He Rui ordered, "At ease, sit down."

The Lieutenant Generals sat down in unison, and He Rui immediately said, "Recently, nationalist sentiment has become increasingly intense in the ideological field. Not long ago, quite a few problems appeared during the education process against hatred. This meeting is to discuss this matter..."

Yu Cen listened quietly, surprised that a meeting was being held for such a reason. After He Rui finished explaining the theme, it was Zheng Silang's turn to introduce the situation. Watching Zheng Silang read completely from the script, Yu Cen felt a bit of sympathy for his old superior. The upper echelons of the military knew that among the "Five Tiger Generals," Zheng Silang was a very fierce nationalist. So having Zheng Silang read a report on anti-hatred education felt a bit like forcing a duck onto a perch.

However, Yu Cen didn't think Zheng Silang was being deliberately made things difficult for. Because Zheng Silang was a nationalist, having him read the report was tantamount to He Rui vouching for him, which was good protection for Zheng Silang.

After reading, He Rui asked, "Comrades, you can speak your views first. I know you have your own opinions, speak directly. I will answer them."

As soon as the voice fell, someone had already raised their hand. Yu Cen looked and saw it was actually Wu Peifu. Since only Wu Peifu raised his hand, he naturally got the chance to speak. Wu Peifu stood up and asked, "Chairman, I support China not engaging in racism ten thousand percent. I also know that our opponents are racists, and I don't care about that. I only have one question: why don't we annex Upper Myanmar and the Assam region? I'm finished."

Hearing this, many comrades felt that Wu Peifu had voiced their own doubts, and they all looked at He Rui. The combined population of Myanmar and the Assam region was only a few million, and China could easily annex the local areas. Yet He Rui insisted on letting the two regions establish independent states. Although everyone had heard some explanations, after a few years, everyone really wanted to hear He Rui give a detailed explanation on this matter.

He Rui immediately answered, "Comrades, let me ask a question. Where is Yuan Shikai from?"

Hearing this, many people were stunned because they didn't know. Wu Peifu was from the old Beiyang faction, so he answered, "Yuan Shikai is from Henan."

He Rui asked again, "Where am I from?"

The comrades at the meeting knew He Rui was from Shandong, but they didn't know why He Rui asked this, so no one dared to answer.

He Rui continued, "What I actually want to ask is, can you imagine the future leader of China being someone from the Myanmar region, or someone from the Assam region?"

For a moment, everyone was stunned, not understanding what He Rui meant.

He Rui waited for a moment, and seeing no one answer, he explained, "On Chinese soil, when anyone becomes a leader, the first thing people care about is not where this person was born. Because in China's thousands of years of history, there does indeed exist a blood relationship of the Chinese nation. It is precisely based on such blood relations that there is a cultural consensus that 'a hero is not asked of his origins.'

"I can be certain that if a few people born in the Myanmar or Assam regions joined our organization and took China's interests as their highest pursuit, their becoming leaders would not trigger any prejudice. However, comrades, a region is not the same. The Myanmar and Assam regions are not China in the traditional sense. Even if we annexed them, the first thing would be a cultural transformation lasting decades or centuries. In these decades or centuries, how would Upper Myanmar and Assam view the fact that no Chinese leader would emerge from among them?

"I will emphasize one more time, just now many comrades didn't know where Yuan Shikai was from, because it doesn't matter. Whether it's Yuan Shikai or everyone here, no one thinks there's anything to discuss about Henan producing a leader, nor would they think there's anything surprising about Shandong, Guangdong, or Hunan producing China's leaders. But Myanmar and Assam are different. Annexing the two places means giving the people of those regions Chinese treatment. At this stage, this cannot be achieved. Since it cannot be achieved, we have absolutely no reason to do it."

Wu Peifu listened blankly. He hadn't expected He Rui to view the problem from such a realistic perspective, and to make judgments in such a cold manner. Wu Peifu felt he could completely accept this way of judgment.

After He Rui finished speaking, someone immediately asked, "Chairman, Myanmar and Assam are very valuable to us."

He Rui immediately replied, "The output and geographical location of these two regions are very valuable to us. And the value of the geographical location is more of a value as a departure point for combat. That is to say, who do you think our enemy is? Why must we launch military strikes against the enemy? If there is no war objective, the value of the geographical location of these two places does not exist."

This time, no one asked questions for the moment, because He Rui's rhetorical question hit on the point everyone cared about most. Everyone present felt that Britain was China's enemy, but as to *why* Britain was China's enemy, no one could come up with a very systematic explanation for a while. Of course, the lack of a systematic explanation didn't affect everyone's view of Britain. But if they wanted to ask more questions, they had to first answer the question He Rui had raised.

As Commander of the Southwest Theater Command, the combat objectives set by Yu Cen were mainly directed at Britain. Yu Cen had considered He Rui's question many times. Seeing no one speak, Yu Cen asked, "Chairman, the output of these two regions is also of great value to us."

"If it is an economic problem, there are naturally economic solutions. So far, the economic and trade system we have established is proceeding very smoothly in these two regions. Whether it is the tropical crops of Upper Myanmar or the specialty black tea of the Assam region, they all take the trade system dominated by China as their main trading partner. We have smoothly obtained the crops we hoped to obtain, and the people of these two places have also seen their incomes increase greatly and their societies develop rapidly through economic and trade cooperation. This is much more advanced and civilized than the colonial system."

Yu Cen did not refute, because He Rui was right. The economic and trade cooperation between the Southwest region and Upper Myanmar and Assam was very flourishing. Because the policies of minimum wage and maximum working hours for laborers, as well as guaranteed minimum prices for agricultural product purchases, were implemented locally, the income of many well-run farms was even significantly higher than that of ordinary Chinese in the Southwest region. This also led to many Chinese going to Upper Myanmar and Assam to open farms or work on farms. This also forced the Southwest Theater Command to divert some manpower to prevent illegal border crossings.

However, not refuting did not mean complete agreement. Because Yu Cen felt that China was being a bit too good to these two regions.

At this time, He Rui spoke again. "Comrades, Europe and America levy exorbitant taxes in their colonies, completely disregarding the life and death of the colonial people, let alone caring about the development of the colonial people. It looks majestic, it looks satisfying, but in reality, this is a very inefficient method. With exploitation and plunder reaching such a level, the economic operation mode existing in the colonies is bound to be very low-end. Low-end operation modes are destined not to have any high returns. That is to say, the more they plunder, the poorer the colony. The poorer the colony, the less return there is. This is a very realistic economic problem, and it is also the fundamental reason why colonialism is bound to collapse."

Hearing He Rui say this, Wu Peifu immediately asked, "Chairman, the colonialists have grabbed so many things, how could they collapse? They will only get richer and richer."

He Rui looked calm. "Rich? Even adding the Soviet Union, Europe's population now is less than 500 million. With such a large piece of land, and having engaged in colonialism... why is the population so small? I will tell you a number. From 1925 to now, in eight years, our Chinese population has increased by nearly 200 million. If Europe were truly wealthy, their population should be at least double what it is now. How do you prepare to explain this situation?"