"Chairman, only if you speak up will anyone truly dare to investigate."

Hearing Wu Youping speak to He Rui like this to his face, Li Runshi was somewhat surprised. Both within the Civilization Party and the government, Wu Youping was considered He Rui's close comrade-in-arms. Yet, answering like this on this matter seemed inappropriate. Moreover, this matter was first raised by Wu Youping, so he certainly wasn't just speaking idly.

Sure enough, Wu Youping asked, "In the current constitution, there is no clear regulation regarding the Chairman's re-election. At present, anyone who isn't confused knows that the restoration of the monarchy is impossible; Yuan Shikai ruined his reputation over this very issue back then. If there are still people talking like this now, I assume most people care not about proclaiming an emperor, but about the stability of leadership."

Li Runshi actually thought the same. Hearing Wu Youping say it out loud, he looked at He Rui. He saw He Rui simply reply, "I know. But the urgent task right now is still to grasp domestic education and accelerate the establishment of economic order."

After saying this, He Rui turned to Li Runshi. "Secretary Li, I invited you here this time to inquire about the situation in Shaanxi."

After stepping down as Minister of Propaganda, Li Runshi had been appointed as the Party Secretary of Shaanxi Province. Seeing He Rui ask him, Li Runshi immediately began his report. Wu Youping unexpectedly did not leave, but stayed to listen to the report, which made Li Runshi feel that this treatment was somewhat too high.

Shaanxi's economy had developed rapidly in recent years, and Li Runshi had precisely grasped the key points. Shaanxi's economic development in recent years had relied more on state investment, especially in areas with soil erosion. The agricultural model relying on silt dams had indeed greatly improved life in the extremely impoverished local countryside.

However, resistance to local industrial development in Shaanxi was significant. The area lacked water sources and transportation was not convenient; solving these problems would require massive investment. After recounting these specific circumstances, Li Runshi sighed, "Chairman, at a provincial meeting a while ago, the Party Secretary of a poverty-stricken county asked for support. The mayor of their city said, 'Tighten your belt.' That county secretary replied, 'Please aid us with a belt.' This is the status quo in Shaanxi. Wanting Shaanxi to solve its problems on its own is impossible in the short term."

He thought that after saying this, he would be criticized by He Rui. Unexpectedly, He Rui asked in a peaceful tone, "How are the fertility rates across Shaanxi? Does Secretary Li know?"

Li Runshi thought for a moment and immediately recounted the approximate fertility rates of various cities in Shaanxi. Li Runshi had not been sitting in an office in Shaanxi for the past year, but had traveled almost all over the province, gaining an understanding of the situation. Combined with the research data, he was by no means ignorant of the grassroots situation.

When Li Runshi finished, He Rui said, "Wherever there is an industrialized area, the birth rate is low; wherever it is a traditional rural area, the fertility rate is high. This is absolutely not just a matter of family planning propaganda and access to contraceptives; it is more a problem of the population in Shaanxi entering an industrialized life. As long as they receive a certain amount of education and then work in industrial zones, they will naturally enter an industrialized life. In an industrialized life, no one wants many children. Coupled with family planning propaganda and convenient access to contraceptives, only then will there be a spontaneous demand to adopt family planning measures.

"In the national industrial plan, Shaanxi also has its planned position. We can give Shaanxi more procurement orders, but the fertility rate can also be seen as a testing standard."

Li Runshi's brows furrowed unconsciously. He Rui's view was too cold and ruthless, shocking Li Runshi deeply.

Wu Youping, watching Li Runshi's reaction from the side, felt somewhat curious. Everyone could tell that He Rui cared very much about Li Runshi. Even if He Rui felt he was trying not to show it, such things couldn't fool anyone. Although He Rui's talent was indeed stunning, his talent for concealing himself was truly very ordinary. Now the requirements He Rui was raising were not ordinarily high; Wu Youping felt that for Li Runshi, this test was truly huge.

Silence persisted. He Rui did not speak, but picked up a document and started reading. Wu Youping lamented again in his heart that He Rui's partiality toward Li Runshi was truly excessive. If it were any other provincial secretary, they would probably be sweating profusely by now from He Rui's relentless questioning.

"Chairman, when will such a lifestyle enter the next stage?" Li Runshi spoke, breaking the silence.

He Rui put down the document and tossed Li Runshi a cigarette. "Fairness and efficiency cannot be achieved simultaneously. When social efficiency has already greatly affected social fairness, the existing distribution model must be thoroughly changed. So in the current process of pursuing efficiency, we must teach the essence of society to the people. With such mental preparation made, when adjusting the structure of fairness and efficiency, we can minimize ideological confusion as much as possible."

"Can't we really consider a more balanced method?" Li Runshi asked after lighting the cigarette. If it were just logic, or the Central Committee's arrangement, Li Runshi could completely understand. But when facing reality, the contradictions therein tortured him.

"Never think you can create something out of nothing. Since the world is in motion, and motion requires energy, then any social behavior requires energy called 'cost'. The way the bureaucratic system fools people is to tangle various contents that have no necessary connection together, forming a giant ball of hemp that looks like pulling one hair moves the whole body. Ancient Chinese literati, intentionally or unintentionally, propagated such methodology. Why are science and engineering men more reliable? Because if science and engineering men thought about engineering problems in such a way, they would never produce any results."

Li Runshi took a deep drag on his cigarette before saying, "As long as there is a little more initiative, many things aren't impossible to make better."

"'The village honest man is the thief of virtue,'" He Rui replied using the words of a literati.

Li Runshi was not unhappy upon hearing this; instead, he fell into thought. Wu Youping, seeing this scene, couldn't help but recall when he was with He Rui in the Northeast, asking He Rui for advice whenever he encountered problems. At that time, He Rui also answered Wu Youping's questions with such a straightforward attitude. Recalling himself back then, he was also often made unhappy by He Rui's views, but after some practice, Wu Youping had to admit that He Rui's views indeed hit the key points.

Li Runshi pondered for another while before speaking. "In other words, social progress is built on the foundation of massive waste."

"That is called cost. We humans are a species with memory, and China is a country that pays exceptional attention to historical records. The reason we feel that seeking solutions from history books often leads to specious results now is very simple: the industrialization we are undergoing is something never experienced before. 'Carving the boat to seek the sword'—we must not do that."

After He Rui finished, feeling his tone might have been overly harsh, he added a sentence. "Of course, speaking for myself, I feel that the old brother who carved the boat to seek the sword was actually just expressing the helplessness caused by losing a sword. Perhaps that brother was also a wonderful person; he didn't shout and scream, didn't cry to the heavens. He just used the performance art of carving the boat to relieve his emotions. After all, a sword wasn't cheap in that era. Think of Ji Li hanging his sword; a sword back then was worth a thousand gold."

Wu Youping followed He Rui's train of thought and suddenly felt He Rui made a lot of sense. Before, he had just followed the book, treating *Ke Zhou Qiu Jian* as a satirical story. But He Rui analyzing it from an economic perspective made Wu Youping feel it was closer to the facts.

Li Runshi knew He Rui was easing the atmosphere, because the topic the two had just discussed was actually very heavy. The pain contained within was the pain felt by millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions of Chinese people as their lifestyle underwent a huge change. Moving from an agricultural society to an industrial society, China was enduring an incomparably huge shock. In Shaanxi, too many contradictions caused by social change had appeared, as well as the tragedies caused by these contradictions.

From the perspective of humanistic care, such tragedies were simply impermissible. But what He Rui saw was content on another level; He Rui was looking at this unfolding great change completely from the level of a new era. Therefore, He Rui's views appeared exceptionally sharp and cold. Li Runshi felt he could keep up with He Rui's train of thought, but his ability to endure didn't seem as robust as He Rui's.

Li Runshi overcame the resistance in his heart and pulled the topic back to reality. "Chairman, such development will encounter a situation of 'draining the pond to get the fish'."

"How to achieve balance is the government's job. One of the core jobs of the government is to achieve good distribution. Good distribution does not equal egalitarianism, nor does it equal a welfare society. Secretary Li, what do we rely on to drag the people into industrial society as quickly as possible?"

Li Runshi answered decisively, "Education."

This answer satisfied He Rui greatly, so he continued the discussion on this basis. "After the whole people receive education that allows them to enter industrial society, a brand-new situation will emerge: the gap in wealth distribution will change drastically. This gap does not come from capital gains, but more from technical gains. That is, the technical professionals represented by the petty bourgeoisie, as pointed out in your analysis report on Chinese social strata. If it were simply capital gains, we could still resolve the contradictions by raising the minimum wage, limiting maximum working hours, and using tiered taxation. But how should we deal with the gains made by people with strong professional skills through their own legal labor? Do we have to levy heavy taxes on this group?"

"...The industrial age, what a high cost!" Li Runshi stubbed out his cigarette butt and sighed. After speaking, he took out his own cigarettes, handed one to He Rui, and after both lit up, Li Runshi asked, "Is it really impossible to utilize the wasted costs more effectively?"

"Conducting technology diffusion and providing the most advanced technology to society is the government's job. Any failed assets should be auctioned off as soon as possible. In the industrial field, those who can survive to the next round must inevitably adopt more efficient methods. And the industrial capital of the future society is destined to be much larger than the current scale. Do you think that from a long-term perspective, this is a waste of cost, or a saving of cost?"

Li Runshi nodded quickly. "Indeed. And from this perspective, the government's job is to execute policy. Execute policy firmly and effectively. Smash feudalism, smash monopolies, prohibit bureaucratic capitalism. In short, all behaviors utilizing privilege must be prohibited."

"We want to unite the people, and what is the best way to unite the people? It is to provide the people with truly complete education, to point out to the people what the facts are, and what the true path is. Don't just bury your head in pulling the cart; you must also lift your head to look at the road. Secretary Li, according to ancient parlance, you are a person of deep virtue and noble character. According to the modern explanation, you have talent, you understand logic, you have a methodology based on logic, and you can solve specific problems realistically with a dialectical attitude. Then, even if ordinary people cannot reach your height, if ordinary people have heard these truths and received training, giving them the chance to form a tangible physical sensation—this is the direction of future China."

Speaking of such a future, He Rui was also somewhat emotional. He knew how hard this was. To become the social mainstream, two conditions were inevitable: "Someone to teach, and being able to afford to lose." In human history, the only one to teach the "dragon-slaying arts" of understanding the essence of human society to all citizens without reservation was New China. In ancient China and foreign countries, these true dragon-slaying arts were knowledge monopolized by the upper privileged class.

He Rui even had a greater ambition: these dragon-slaying arts should not only be taught in China but also scattered to the world. And the Chinese people would receive even more complete education.

This was difficult; it was even contrary to the animal nature of humanity, but He Rui just wanted to try. The suffering of the human world was too deep; He Rui felt that if he didn't try, he would definitely regret it very much.

Li Runshi felt that He Rui's view fit very well with his own. If it was such a path, Li Runshi felt he must try. He asked, "Limits exist for some things. Can the power of progress really cross such large obstacles? 'Fighting with heaven is endless joy,' but we still need to 'control the mandate of heaven and use it.'"

Hearing this, Wu Youping couldn't help but frown. He guessed Li Runshi was probably talking about the natural environment. The Northwest lacked water and was arid; to increase production capacity, the demand for water would be very large. But how could the millions of square kilometers of water-deficient areas in the Northwest be solved so easily?

He Rui also felt Li Runshi was talking about the natural environment, but he was not troubled in the slightest. Because He Rui had seen the state invest in cheap desalination technology after new energy sources appeared. This process naturally wouldn't be that relaxed, perhaps even extremely difficult. But when technological breakthroughs appeared, China, the country with the most policy endurance in the world, would be able to withstand the huge pressure and persist.

It was precisely based on the extremely high level of civilization reached by Chinese civilization that the artificial irrigation system He Rui saw with his own eyes existed. And China also gained benefits from perseverance; besides gaining millions of square kilometers of brand-new fertile land, it also made the world better by exporting technology.

Because he was somewhat excited, He Rui said, "As long as I..."

Speaking to here, He Rui felt he had gotten a bit carried away and almost said, "As long as I can live another 30 years." This couldn't be said, not because He Rui feared he couldn't achieve it after saying it, but because the issue of the leadership election system had already triggered some fluctuations; He Rui's words might very likely be misunderstood.

"As long as we work together, these problems can definitely be solved." He Rui switched back to a proper statement.

However, both Li Runshi and Wu Youping were smart people; they both guessed what He Rui probably wanted to say. Neither Li Runshi nor Wu Youping felt there was any problem with He Rui continuing to lead China. Although both were anti-feudal, they were both republicans.

Democracy relies on votes, republicanism relies on selection. Li Runshi and Wu Youping had long been very clear on these most basic concepts of political systems. Under a republican system, it is very common for a leader to govern for a long time. If He Rui really wanted to proclaim himself emperor, both would firmly oppose it. But if He Rui governed for a long time, neither felt there was any problem.

So hearing He Rui's words, Li Runshi even looked forward to the words He Rui didn't say. Seeing He Rui was very close to him, Li Runshi smiled. "Chairman, I have a cousin named Li Geng. Once when I discussed ideals and -isms with him, he said a sentence. If current technology cannot support infinite energy, he supports imperialism. If infinite energy appears, he supports communism."

Before He Rui could speak, Wu Youping took over the conversation. "Oh. Listening to this meaning, Li Geng is a patriot."

He Rui didn't pick up this thread. In the 21st century, there were plenty of people in China with such views. And He Rui knew Li Geng; he was currently a Colonel in the General Staff Department, considered a brilliant future star. Although one couldn't say the General Staff was full of such patriotic nationalists, there were at least seven or eight out of ten. Compared to soldiers in those European and American countries, this was already very good.

"Secretary Li, I heard you have walked all over Shaanxi. Then go ahead and do it freely. The Secretary manages personnel. Whether you are afraid or not, you will offend people." He Rui voiced his support.

Hearing this, Li Runshi knew the talk for today ended here, so he stood up. Unexpectedly, He Rui also stood up and proactively extended his hand. Li Runshi grasped He Rui's powerful large hand and shook it firmly. "Chairman, I understand."

"One more thing. Amidst your busy schedule, write more articles. Go on." He Rui finished and also shook Li Runshi's hand firmly.

After Li Runshi left, Wu Youping asked, "Chairman, the urbanization rate has skyrocketed recently, and the number of police needs to be increased. Will this expenditure come from national tax or local tax?"

He Rui answered decisively, "From the national tax. These are rigid expenditures. At this stage, relying solely on legal education is not enough; we must strengthen the security forces. Heh heh, last week, an economist from the Morgan Consortium wrote an article, 'Who Will Feed China'. Have you read it?"

Wu Youping was busy to death every day and didn't have much reading time. He answered frankly, "I haven't read it. Could the Chairman tell me about it?"

"After investigating our new agriculture, the Morgan Consortium believes China lacks water and has very few large plain areas. Desperate reclamation on the American Great Plains and uncontrolled extraction of groundwater have already led to the Dust Bowl in the United States. China's agricultural endowment is worse than America's, and it is walking the old path of the United States. Moreover, China's population is increasing rapidly. By 1950, it might increase to 1 billion people. At that time, China will fall into a state of national starvation."

After listening to He Rui's retelling, Wu Youping had already decided to find time to read this article. The vision of the Morgan Consortium's economists was very sharp and indeed poked at China's pain point. China, undergoing rapid industrialization, was indeed creating massive wealth, but the foundation of this wealth was the faster consumption of resources. The popularization of new agricultural technologies in China, achieving dense planting and high-yield seeds, indeed allowed China to avoid falling into a state of starvation at this stage. China didn't lack coal; current thermal power generation could still keep up. But the consumption of water resources was truly beyond imagination. If the situation continued to develop, the analysis of the Morgan Consortium's economists would probably become reality within twenty years.

But China couldn't not develop. Even if it was 'draining the pond to get the fish' at this stage, it had to be done. Thinking of this, Wu Youping asked, "Chairman, can the population problem really be solved? The population is growing too fast now."

"To solve the population problem, we must rely on industrialization. To lower the birth rate and raise the education level now, we must liberate the population from the rural squire model. In the cities, those young people will naturally have fewer children. But in the countryside, productivity is low. Insufficient employment opportunities and pressure from the village will also force people to have children," He Rui answered.

Wu Youping also knew these problems, so he asked, "Chairman, do you want to write an article?"

He Rui shook his head. "No need, I hope someone else will write it."

Wu Youping felt he understood He Rui's mind, so he didn't ask more. Time passed quickly, and two months went by in the blink of an eye. Perhaps because Wu Youping intentionally paid attention to the situation in Shaanxi, or perhaps because the changes in Shaanxi were quite large, the Shaanxi Provincial Committee made major adjustments to leading cadres in those two months. Many cadres with relatively senior qualifications left their positions as top leaders and went to the Party School to study. Their work was taken over by many young cadres.

Wu Youping looked at the list and had some impression of many names on it. In terms of loyalty to the revolution, these cadres had no problems. But in terms of the cadres needed at the current stage, these comrades indeed hadn't been able to get on the new track of thinking.

Moreover, Li Runshi's article on the population issue made Wu Youping care very much. This was an analysis targeting the population issue and the new lifestyle of the industrial age. It was written extremely well. If He Rui had written this, it would probably have appeared too academic. The same content written by Li Runshi was lively and grounded.

Li Runshi started from the consumption of an ordinary young person after entering the city. Initially, after paying rent from their wages, the remaining money was enough to maintain their life. At this time, because there was no life pressure, they lived very comfortably. But after the young person gradually stabilized in the city, expenditures for parents' homes and various traditional relationships began to appear. If they bore such expenditures, the young person's life pressure increased greatly. When the young person prepared to get married, the expenditure became even larger.

If starting from the traditional lifestyle, this article would easily turn into an accusation against the industrial age, accusing the industrial age of breaking the so-called "warm and tender" nature of the traditional farming era.

But the first part of Marx's *The Communist Manifesto* had already described such social transformation. So Li Runshi also explained this matter from the perspective of social transformation. The content involved was quite profound, yet it very cleverly avoided touching the boundaries that triggered hatred.

After reading the article, Wu Youping lamented greatly. Li Runshi was truly too kind, belonging to that category of heroes who truly held the people in their hearts.

He Rui was also kind, but He Rui's difference lay in that he seemed to have quite a barrier against the old era, belonging to those who could not integrate into the old era no matter what. In terms of bridging the new and old eras, Li Runshi was obviously much stronger than He Rui.

No wonder He Rui attached such importance to Li Runshi. If discussing candidates who could challenge He Rui's position, Li Runshi would inevitably be a strong candidate in the future.