The conference regarding the Czechoslovakia issue convened in Munich, Germany. Upon arriving in Munich, Li Runshi immediately went to meet French Prime Minister Daladier. The French Prime Minister’s gaze was somewhat evasive, and he lowered his eyes as soon as they met Li Runshi’s sharp, determined look.

Li Runshi cut straight to the point. "Mr. Prime Minister, on my way here, I heard that both Poland and Hungary have made territorial demands on Czechoslovakia. I wish to ascertain France's attitude."

Faced with such a question, Daladier subconsciously bit his lip, as if gathering his courage. It took him a long while to reply, "All parties in France oppose attacking Germany. They believe this would trigger a German attack on France."

Li Runshi asked seriously, "As far as I know, Czechoslovakia has already begun general mobilization and will soon complete it. If Germany attacks Czechoslovakia, they cannot breach the Czech defensive lines within a month or two. Could France use this time to complete its initial mobilization?"

Daladier did not know if Li Runshi was asking something he already knew the answer to, or if he truly believed that under certain conditions the French citizenry would launch an attack on Germany. To help Li Runshi understand the current situation, Daladier explained, "The French people oppose participating in a war. Furthermore, the four nations—Britain, France, Germany, and Italy—have held foreign minister-level meetings. Germany and Italy have clearly stated their willingness to sign an agreement that the four nations will never use war to resolve disputes among themselves."

A sense of absurdity rushed straight to Li Runshi's head, so much so that he had to light a cigarette to quickly regulate his emotions. After calming down slightly, Li Runshi recalled He Rui's words: *As long as you communicate with European leaders, you will find it hard to control your temper.* He Rui’s prediction had become reality; France’s reaction had nearly made Li Runshi lose his temper.

Suppressing his anger, Li Runshi asked in as mild a tone as possible, "Mr. Prime Minister, China has always loved peace. China's pursuit of peace proves that seeking peace through struggle leads to survival, while seeking peace through compromise leads to destruction. I would like to ask you: do the French people currently believe that launching an attack on Germany is seeking peace, or seeking war?"

Daladier was stunned; for a moment, he couldn't grasp Li Runshi's meaning. After thinking for a while, Daladier replied helplessly, "Your Excellency, given your understanding of Europe, I think you should be able to understand French public opinion."

Li Runshi hadn't expected Daladier to be so sincere. In European civilization, there was no genetic code for truly maintaining peace. It wasn't that Europeans were inherently evil, but that Europe's geopolitical environment and level of economic development had not allowed Europe to precipitate a gene for maintaining peace. China not only had the painful experience of division but also ample war experience in how to unify East Asia. Therefore, China's cycle of order and chaos allowed for a full contrast, eventually precipitating a full understanding of peace.

To put it extremely, the Roman Empire did not bring a true unification to Europe on the level of Qin Shi Huang. From then on, Europe fell into a pattern similar to China's Warring States period for two thousand years. Europe's long Warring States era created production methods and relations of production suitable for a Warring States era, which in turn reinforced the division.

In the environment of a Warring States era, concepts of truly looking forward to ending war might emerge, but a concept of maintaining peace did not exist. The French public truly believed that if they went to war with Germany, the goal would be to destroy Germany. At the very least, it would be to destroy Germany's unified government and split the German region once again. With French public opinion as it was, the French people naturally knew how great a price France would have to pay to launch such a war!

Li Runshi could only ask, "If France compromises, the anti-Nazi forces within Germany will suffer a heavy blow. Those who doubt Hitler will think that Hitler's understanding of international politics is correct, and proceed to believe that Hitler's line is correct. Has the French government realized this danger?"

Faced with this question, Daladier did not even answer, only lowering his gaze and sighing. It seemed France no longer cared about the future of the anti-Nazi forces within Germany. Thus, the meeting with French Prime Minister Daladier ended without any results.

Li Runshi’s schedule did not include meetings with Hitler or Mussolini at all. He immediately went to see British Prime Minister Chamberlain. Chamberlain, who had already arrived in Munich, met Li Runshi at his hotel.

Chamberlain had a stern appearance, full of that bureaucratic air typical of the British elite. Li Runshi had little patience for this bureaucratic scent, so he cut straight to the point. "If the British government is unwilling to use acts of war to contain Germany's war actions, it will inevitably lead to a heavy blow against the anti-Nazi forces within Germany. Does the British government recognize such a risk?"

Hearing Li Runshi’s question, the corners of Chamberlain's mouth raised slightly. Just recently, some anti-Nazi German officers led by Lieutenant General Beck had conveyed their views to the British government through secret channels: if Britain and France took military action against the Nazi government, the German officers would cooperate with Anglo-French actions to arrest Hitler and reverse Nazi Germany's course.

Chamberlain was extremely disdainful of such treasonous behavior. At the same time, because of Britain's influence in Germany, he felt the situation was still under British control. for military men like Beck who colluded with foreign powers, they had no choice but Britain. As long as Britain did not actively launch a war, military men like Beck would continue to maintain close relations with Britain. Britain could easily obtain Germany's internal military plans and arrangements, placing Britain in an invincible position.

Since the He Rui government represented by Li Runshi was so firm in its attitude, Chamberlain simply asked in return, "China and Europe have such close trade relations; why would China offer advice that triggers a European war? Although His Majesty's Government does not believe China wants to start a war, has the Chinese government not considered that war would plunge Europe into total chaos?"

This counter-accusation nearly made Li Runshi laugh out loud. Finally, he simply asked, "Mr. Prime Minister, are you speaking from the heart?"

Chamberlain was stunned. Although he very much wanted to maintain the image of an elegant gentleman, he couldn't help but ask in a stern tone, "Mr. Prime Minister, do you know that there are records of diplomatic meetings?"

Of course Li Runshi knew, but Li Runshi didn't care anymore. In Li Runshi's eyes, the British Prime Minister before him either had a problem with his knowledge base or a problem with his comprehension ability. There was another possibility: judging from the experience of China's historical dynastic cycles, the once seemingly insufferably arrogant British Empire had already reached the stage of senile decay. Even the British elite, in this stage before national ruin, had been assimilated into a group of shortsighted insects. Expecting these insects to possess a vision for serious politics was wishful thinking.

So Li Runshi could only lower the level of discourse and ask, "Mr. Prime Minister, what does peace in Czechoslovakia mean for the British Empire?"

Chamberlain had lost interest in continuing the conversation with this powerless hothead. After a moment of thought, he replied in the calm tone unique to a gentleman, "What Czechoslovakia faces is merely an adjustment of border lines. Looking at it now, the Czechoslovakian borders determined at the Versailles Conference indeed have many issues that do not conform to the principle of self-determination. These issues have already triggered world disputes; only by resolving these issues can peace be restored."

Li Runshi sensed the arrogance and stupidity of imperialism from Chamberlain's words. When exchanging poetry with others, Li Runshi had once written, "Monks are foolish but can still be taught; demons acting as ghosts will surely cause disaster." This sentence had been turned into a popular witticism: "Either stupid or bad." Chamberlain's attitude just now was a classic case of "both stupid and bad." To be able to combine stupidity and malice and display them in a dialogue at this level was truly not easy.

Since Chamberlain held such an attitude, Li Runshi stood up to take his leave, ending a meeting that had brought him a wealth of emotions. Li Runshi felt he understood why He Rui was unwilling to come to Munich personally to attend this conference. Everyone coming to attend this conference had already booked their place on the pillar of shame in history. Although He Rui had set the tone and given Li Runshi full authorization, letting Li Runshi come to the Munich Conference was indeed handing him a wretched task.

On September 19th, the second day after Li Runshi arrived in Munich, the conference regarding the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia formally convened. As the initiator of this conference, Hitler spoke: "Distinguished gentlemen, welcome to beautiful Munich..."

Li Runshi swept his gaze over the people in the venue: British Prime Minister Chamberlain, French Prime Minister Daladier, Chinese Special Plenipotentiary Representative Li Runshi, German Führer Hitler, Italian Prime Minister Mussolini. Aside from these five, there were only the five official entourages.

Before Hitler could finish, Li Runshi interrupted him. "May I ask, why are there no representatives from Czechoslovakia?"

Although interrupting Hitler was very impolite in a diplomatic setting, the question Li Runshi raised was more important. Mussolini frowned slightly, not understanding why this Chinese Special Plenipotentiary Representative, barely in his forties, was such a hothead. Was it because he was ten or twenty years younger than the big shots at the conference, and thus didn't know that not letting the Czechoslovakian representatives enter the conference was actually beneficial for this conference?

Hitler's heart skipped a beat. He knew the Chinese representative would definitely oppose partitioning Czechoslovakia, but with the Czech representatives absent, Britain and France already supported the demands of Germany, Poland, and Hungary to change Czechoslovakia's borders together. With China's weak navy, they could do nothing at all. So in the end, they could only compromise. But Li Runshi making a scene now was obviously intended to stop the conference from continuing.

But Hitler didn't think Li Runshi had the ability to do anything, so he simply calmed himself and said, "This is the result of consultation among the four nations."

Li Runshi turned to Chamberlain. "Mr. Prime Minister, such meetings are recorded. So, is what Mr. Hitler just said true?"

Prime Minister Chamberlain was furious inside. After Li Runshi displayed such great rudeness yesterday, he had carefully looked at the file the British Foreign Office had built for Li Runshi. He Rui's family had always been landlords; the event of them acquiring family land was even in 1650, before Britain's Glorious Revolution had even erupted.

He Rui himself had entered a youth military academy from a young age, and after graduating, obtained qualifications for state-sponsored study abroad, completing his studies at the Japanese Military Academy and the Army War College. After graduating and returning, he was assigned by the central government to a post in Northeast China, afterwards inheriting the authority of the military and political chief of the Northeast region, General Zhang Xiluan, and receiving recognition from the Beiyang central government. From the perspective of British tradition, He Rui had walked a perfect aristocratic path, purely a figure who went from a border marquess to becoming the King of England.

Li Runshi came from a rural financial family; his father-in-law's family were important figures in the chamber of commerce and had business relations with Britain. Li Runshi himself graduated from normal school, first working as a teacher locally, then working at China's most excellent institution of higher learning, and later entering the Central Party School—similar to Britain's Trinity College—to complete his studies. From his twenties, he had worked his way up through local government, deputy positions in colonies, minister, chief official of important provinces in the homeland, Vice Premier, and core party leadership. His education and political experience were extremely complete. In the British government, there were many politicians from such gentry families.

Politicians from such gentry families were usually conservative and cautious, especially since Li Runshi was highly regarded by He Rui; he shouldn't be a troublemaker. Since Li Runshi disregarded even diplomatic customs, there was only one possibility left. After forty-eight years of smooth sailing in life, He Rui, nearing fifty, had finally let it go to his head. He thought China could intervene while Europe was embroiled in internal disputes.

Since He Rui was so arrogant, Chamberlain had no intention of indulging him, and immediately replied, "This is the result of consultation among the four nations."

Li Runshi didn't waste words. Dropping a single sentence—"In that case, China withdraws from this conference"—he turned and left the conference hall.

Seeing the Chinese delegation simply leave, Chamberlain felt a wave of relief in his heart. The stick-in-the-mud had automatically withdrawn; Europe could finally discuss Europe's internal affairs.

French Prime Minister Daladier sighed silently. He did not wish for the Chinese delegation to leave. If Li Runshi tried hard to disrupt the meeting, France could also gain room to maneuver. Li Runshi choosing to withdraw from the meeting, although upholding China's stance, was, in Daladier's view, giving up the struggle. France could only agree to Germany's demands.

Hitler and Mussolini exchanged a glance. Seeing Mussolini look relieved, Hitler felt that this fellow Mussolini lacked struggle skills at critical moments. If the Chinese representative had stayed at the conference, Hitler was confident he could make him feel what powerlessness meant. Moreover, through the conference, Hitler could make Britain and France feel more dissatisfaction toward China, which would be very conducive to weakening Sino-French relations and increasing Britain's sense of crisis. After all, Britain's most important colony, British India, was right next to China. If he could use language to guide things so that China expressed even a shred of threat toward British India, it could make Britain stand on the opposite side of China.

A pity! A pity! Hitler felt some regret in his heart.

Hitler quickly organized his mood and began to speak: "Gentlemen, Germany believes that war must absolutely not break out between the four nations of Britain, France, Italy, and Germany. We must confirm this matter once again..."

At this moment, the faint sound of a dispute suddenly came from outside. Hitler frowned. Soon, a German SS Hauptsturmführer responsible for the security of this conference pushed the door open and entered. Before the captain could speak, Hitler immediately asked, "Tell the gentlemen, what has happened outside?"

Hearing the order, the SS captain immediately stood at attention, saluted the heads of state present, and then said, "The Chinese representative demanded to see the Czech representatives in the adjacent room. We stopped them."

Chamberlain looked angry but remained silent. French Prime Minister Daladier shook his head helplessly. The two Czech representatives had been arranged to stay in a room next to the conference hall, strictly guarded by German security personnel. They were just waiting to accept the conference results after it ended. As for the results, they had actually long been discussed; they were just waiting to write them down and hand them to the Czech representatives for them to sign. Although this arrangement wasn't decided by Chamberlain and Daladier, the German side had implicitly informed the British and French delegations, and both delegations had expressed appreciation for the exquisite diplomatic phrasing in the notification.

Seeing the two of them like this, Hitler ordered the SS captain, "Add more personnel and protect the Chinese representative with diplomatic etiquette. You must ensure their safety; they must absolutely not receive any harm."

Seeing that Hitler still paid such attention to diplomatic rules even after the Chinese representative had offended Germany so much, Chamberlain and Daladier's evaluation of Hitler rose considerably. Given the Chinese diplomatic delegation's performance, even if Hitler ordered to "safely escort the Chinese diplomatic delegation out of the country," it would be a completely acceptable reaction. In the view of Britain and France, Hitler was an upstart corporal who used Germany's economic crisis to gain power. Although Germany's economy had been very good in recent years, it was only because Germany started from a low point and had large room for ascent. Hitler himself was irritable, suspicious, and rude—a dictator. But Hitler's current performance was undoubtedly that of a broad-minded, excellent politician.

At this moment, Li Runshi was already certain that he would not be able to see the locked-up Czech representatives no matter what. So he led the Chinese delegation out of the main entrance of the Munich "Führerbau" where the conference was held.

A crowd of reporters was already waiting outside. Seeing the Chinese representative come out, they thought the conference had already reached a result in such a short time, and immediately surged forward to ask.

Li Runshi made a gesture pressing down on the empty air, quieting the reporters. He then said, "Because the Czech representatives are detained in a room nearby and not allowed to attend the conference, the Chinese government has decided to withdraw from a conference that has absolutely no fairness to speak of.

"As China's Special Plenipotentiary Envoy, I hereby announce: The Chinese government identifies with the Czech government's determination to defend national sovereignty and supports the Czech people's actions to defend their country. If the Czech government encounters a shortage of equipment, the Chinese government is willing to provide weapons and equipment support to the Czech government at any time."

Hearing this, the reporters were shocked. If Germany and Czechoslovakia went to war, according to Chinese Envoy Li Runshi's statement just now, China would not terminate arms exports to the Czech Republic as a neutral country. According to the laws of war, since China was providing weapons and equipment support to the Czech Republic, Germany could view China as an enemy state and declare war on China.

Immediately, a reporter shouted, "Is China trying to trigger a war?"

Among the German reporters, someone shouted even more angrily, "Down with Chinese Imperialism! Down with China, the warmonger!"

Since the Nazis came to power, public opinion in Germany had become more radicalized. With someone taking the lead, the crowd of German reporters all shouted the slogan "Down with China, the warmonger!" Some German citizens who were originally waiting for good news heard this and rushed toward them. It was clear that the reporters were just shouting, but these people might very well beat down the Chinese envoy in reality first.

With a burst of footsteps, fully armed SS troops rushed out from the main entrance, surrounding and protecting Li Runshi and the Chinese envoy delegation. Although the SS captain in charge looked unhappy, he still said as politely as possible, "Gentlemen, we are under the Führer's orders to protect your safety. If you wish to go somewhere, please give the order."

Looking at the German masses blocked on the periphery by the SS but still shouting insults at China, Li Runshi said coldly, "To the airport."

Just before Li Runshi arrived at the airport, at the Munich Conference, the heads of state of Britain, France, Germany, and Italy once again confirmed the consensus that military conflict must absolutely not occur between the four nations. Hitler said even more seriously to Chamberlain, "Mr. Prime Minister, apart from the Sudetenland, Germany will never demand a single Czech person more."

Chamberlain greatly appreciated Hitler's guarantee. He said seriously to Hitler, "Mr. Führer, I trust your guarantee."

Five copies of the Munich Agreement document were already prepared. Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, and Mussolini signed and stamped them respectively. Immediately, Chamberlain shook hands with Hitler.

Hitler said, "To peace!"

Chamberlain nodded. Before he could speak, Mussolini already said loudly, "To peace!"

Faced with Mussolini stealing the line, Chamberlain remained unmoved and said calmly, "To peace."

Daladier did not want to speak, but at this moment, he could only say, "To peace."

Soon, the two Czech representatives were brought into the conference hall. As the current global hegemon, Chamberlain took on the role of the speaker. He looked seriously at the two pale-faced Czech representatives and handed the document to them. An entourage member beside him began to read aloud the content of the Munich Agreement.

Just seeing the first article of the agreement, the faces of the two Czech representatives turned even paler.

When the entourage member finished reading the entire agreement, Chamberlain said with a voice full of the dignity of the British Prime Minister, "Gentlemen, this is a verdict without appeal and without modification."

***

Li Runshi did not return to China immediately but went to France. Since the signing of the Sino-French Economic Cooperation Agreement in 1928, the Chinese delegation had been warmly welcomed every time they visited France, accompanied by French politicians throughout their itinerary. However, this time, the only person welcoming Li Runshi at the Paris airport was the Chinese Ambassador to France; there were no French officials or civilians to greet him.

Faced with such a situation, Li Runshi was not only not angry but immediately ordered, "Publish this article in the major newspapers of France and Britain."

This was an article written by Li Runshi, mainly centering on "Ceding land to serve Qin is like using firewood to put out a fire; the fire will not be extinguished until the wood is consumed." At the end of the article, Li Runshi also attached the full text of *The Six States Argument*.

With China's current influence, the article was published the next day. And this time, almost all of Europe was opposing China. Led by Germany and the European right wing, European newspapers launched a fierce critique of China around the theme of "Down with Chinese Imperialism! Down with China, the warmonger!"

Even the relatively moderate centrist newspapers began to question China's purpose in so blatantly interfering in Europe's internal affairs. The left wing was slightly better; they expressed understanding for China's concern and worry regarding Sino-European trade, but the European left believed that China's stance this time was inappropriate.

While Li Runshi was being condemned in speech and writing in Europe, major European newspapers published an article by He Rui. The article was very short, titled *The Four Stages of Europe's Response to Crisis*.

He Rui wrote in a relaxed style: *When European governments encounter problems, their reaction is very bureaucratic, divided into four stages.*

Hitler felt as sick as if he had eaten a fly when he saw this article. He Rui seemed to be mocking the muddling incompetence of the European bureaucratic system, but he was also hinting that Germany would absolutely not respect the agreement. Hitler knew very well that He Rui had hit Germany's sore spot. Hitler was now preparing to fully utilize the agreement reached between the four nations of "Britain, France, Germany, and Italy" never to use war to resolve differences, to fight for room for free activity.

But Hitler had said to Mussolini, "Before long, we will be fighting side by side against Britain and France."

And Goebbels quickly provided a counter-strategy. "My Führer, we must let the whole world know that He Rui is merely a continuation of the traditional Oriental feudal emperors. The world's largest autocratic state is China."