On the day of the vote counting for the November 1940 election, Roosevelt sat quietly in his wheelchair. One moment, he felt a hollowness in his heart, worried about the war that would inevitably erupt during his third term; the next, he felt a surge of excitement, firmly believing he could lead the United States out of North America and onto the world stage.

Soon, Roosevelt realized that his mood swings stemmed from changes in his heart rate. But he could not control his emotions, because he saw that in the not-too-distant future, terrible dark clouds were gathering, and behind those clouds, a hurricane was strengthening with each passing day.

The American public, however, could not see such a future. What they saw was that after the campaign in Western Europe ended, Germany did not continue to launch large-scale land wars. China's aircraft carrier formations had completed their evacuation mission and returned to China. Nations around the world had settled down following France's surrender.

Most Americans believed that "America must not get involved in the Europeans' dirty war." Americans with a bit more historical knowledge viewed the war so far as a "Second Franco-Prussian War," rather than a Second World War.

Roosevelt did not see it that way. His cabinet reported the progress of U.S. military equipment production every week. The United States now possessed 7 aircraft carriers and 14 battleships. The Air Force had expanded from its original 30,000 personnel to 300,000, with 24,000 aircraft and 30,000 pilots. Across the Pacific, the East Asian Economic Community had 6 aircraft carriers and 9 battleships. And on the slipways of both the United States and the East Asian Alliance, new aircraft carriers and battleships were under construction.

Even if Roosevelt had not been elected, as long as the United States completed its military buildup, it would join the war at some point. Because the root crisis that triggered this war had not been eliminated, and the world economy was being torn into several blocks by the war. Even if the war ended, every country would want to occupy a more favorable position in the new world trade. To achieve their goals, countries had no choice but to go to war.

Roosevelt desperately wanted the American people to understand this. If the American people understood, Roosevelt could easily possess the power to wage war. In this way, the United States could launch a war at the most favorable moment for America. But this required Roosevelt to successfully win re-election first.

On the other side of the Pacific, He Rui also instructed his secretary to inform him immediately upon receiving the U.S. election results. History had changed; China's industrialization had caused tremendous changes in the entire global landscape. Even without Hitler, China would have launched a war. In the current situation, Roosevelt had become an interesting variable. He Rui felt that without Roosevelt, China would defeat the United States even faster. Roosevelt's strategic vision was quite formidable; he could see the global structure clearly. Moreover, Roosevelt possessed immense determination and did not fear war. He Rui believed that when the situation began to turn comprehensively in China's favor, Roosevelt would declare war without hesitation. If Roosevelt were compared to Cao Cao, other American politicians would be roughly at the level of Yuan Shao—cherishing their own safety when facing major events, and forgetting their lives at the sight of petty gain.

It was another sleepless night. He Rui was processing documents regarding the recognition of the "Free France Movement." The combat faction of the French army led by de Gaulle had arrived in Indochina, numbering about 7,000. Accompanying the Free French forces to Indochina were over 70,000 other French citizens, most of whom were French Communists and their families.

The Chinese government did not recognize the Petain government, and the former Chinese Embassy in France had already withdrawn to China. De Gaulle and his people could not obtain Chinese visas, so they had to go to Indochina. Apart from these people, there were about 200,000 French citizens who had obtained Chinese visas and entered Chinese territory.

After these people arrived in China, careful screening revealed over 20,000 Jews who had entered China with forged documents. These fake documents were not fake passports, but various fake academic credentials and recommendation letters.

These Jews knew that China accepted French citizens with professional skills. They were also well aware that if they stayed in France, they would be persecuted by Nazi forces. To qualify for entry into China, these Jews utilized their forgery skills, relying on fake diplomas and fake recommendation letters to obtain eligibility. According to China's previous arrangements, these Jews were settled in the Jewish residential area in the Saigon region.

He Rui was handling these major issues. The procedural design document for the independence of the Indochina region was also delivered to him. What interested He Rui more was not this, but the monthly trade figures between the Indochina region and China submitted by Li Runshi.

After China took over the Indochina region, it immediately launched grassroots work. In particular, preparations for land reform began. The greatest effect of land reform was to solve the employment problem through asset restructuring, which had played a very good role in China, Japan, Korea, Assam, and Upper Burma.

In China's long history, the prevalence of refugees would inevitably lead to the collapse of national governance. The reason for the prevalence of refugees was often that people lost their means of production and became unemployed. Whether in an industrial society or an agricultural society, once large-scale unemployment occurred, social contradictions would immediately intensify to an unprecedented level. War would break out.

Although there were cases of unemployment caused by large-scale production interruptions due to super-large-scale natural disasters, in Chinese history, there had really never been a case of national subjugation caused solely by large-scale natural disasters. On the contrary, almost every dynasty in China had implemented policies of large-scale land equalization, the purpose of which was to provide employment opportunities.

The transaction data provided by Li Runshi satisfied He Rui greatly. Because the management department led by Li Runshi purchased goods from the Indochina region at normal prices and sold a large amount of goods purchased from China at normal prices, the more than 36 million people in the Indochina region created a significant market, even if each adult bought only one piece of clothing and each family bought two iron farm tools—small amounts accumulated to make a lot.

These data had been analyzed according to China's economic model, and the analysis report made He Rui quite satisfied. In northern China, even having land could not guarantee that people would not starve to death, but people in the Indochina region, which had three harvests a year, could survive as long as they had their own land. As long as there was no exploitation by imperialism and the local rentier class, the consumption power of the people in the Indochina region, which was in the agricultural era, was even at the upper-middle level among agricultural regions.

Moreover, the Indochina region was suitable for growing tropical crops. The Chinese interim administration took over the French plantations in Indochina, which produced tropical products such as sugarcane, palm oil, rubber, and sisal. Based on China's experience in Upper Burma, as long as the system was reasonable, local laborers working in the plantations would soon be able to shake off poverty.

Given the size of the Chinese market, any amount of tropical crops produced in Indochina could be fully absorbed. The future local government could also obtain substantial revenue through import and export tariffs on these tropical crops.

Several months had passed, and the locals in Indochina had not launched any struggles against the Chinese interim administration. The greatest feeling among the local Indochinese was confusion. They accepted the management of the Chinese government, but they did not know what new rules the Chinese, who had returned to Indochina, would establish.

Several hours passed in the blink of an eye. After finishing the report on Indochina, He Rui basically finished reading the Defense Force's report. The report contained good news; the base construction of the Defense Force was progressing smoothly, and naval and air force patrols had begun. Having mastered the Indochina region, a part of the Chinese Navy that used Hainan Island as an anchorage moved their anchorage to Cambodia, pushing the Chinese Navy's starting point 3,000 kilometers south.

3,000 kilometers meant that even if a warship traveled at 60 kilometers per hour, it would take 50 hours. One knot is 1.852 kilometers per hour, which equates to a speed of 32 knots.

In recent months, British, Dutch, and American warships frequently appeared near the new anchorages of the Chinese fleet. Although the Defense Force did not drive them away, it dispatched ships to sail alongside them, and the Air Force also sent planes for surveillance flights. Although Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States did not lodge protests, the behavior of the warships of both sides, especially the American warships and planes, became increasingly aggressive.

Looking at the name of MacArthur, the Commander-in-Chief in the Philippines, He Rui felt that with this brother's irritable personality, he would cause trouble sooner or later. Although He Rui was not afraid of MacArthur causing trouble, he did not wish to fight the United States right now.

The aircraft carrier formations that went to Europe for the evacuation of expatriates proved in their long-distance operations that the design of various types of Chinese naval vessels was reasonable and the manufacturing was exquisite. They also summarized a large amount of experience that the Chinese fleet had no opportunity to summarize before. At this time, the only shortcomings of the Chinese Navy lay in the insufficient number of ships and insufficient training. Starting a war now would be most favorable for the United States, which temporarily possessed a numerical advantage.

If the United States wanted to go to war with China, He Rui would of course choose to fight immediately. If the United States did not initiate war, He Rui believed that the time to start the war would be when all 36 aircraft carrier formations were inducted into active service. Since this condition had not yet been met, He Rui was not happy to make a decision to go to war with the United States.

After reading the materials through the night, He Rui attended two meetings in the morning. At noon, He Rui didn't even want to eat; he only hoped to fall asleep immediately until he was woken up by hunger pangs.

Just as he was walking towards the bathroom, his secretary answered the phone. Not long after, the secretary caught up and replied, "Chairman, Roosevelt has succeeded in his succession."

He Rui had felt something weighing on his mind, but upon hearing this news, he felt a sense of relief throughout his body and replied, "I'm going to sleep. Do not disturb my sleep."

The secretary agreed and withdrew. He Rui stood under the shower; the warm water made him feel comfortable, and his mood became pleasant. In this election, the U.S. Republican Party focused on the tone that "choosing Roosevelt is choosing war." The Republican presidential candidate told voters, "Roosevelt's accession to power means that your sons, husbands, and lovers will be sent to the battlefield. Only we Republicans are anti-war!"

Roosevelt did not come out directly to respond to such attacks. Instead, Eleanor Roosevelt came forward to soothe the voters' unease. She told American voters, "We in America have an excellent conservative stance. Respected conservatives, what the current situation needs most is policy stability!"

In He Rui's view, even if the Republicans were elected, the United States would eventually be dragged into the war. However, Roosevelt's election meant that the war in Europe had greatly stimulated the American public, allowing Roosevelt to be elected for a third consecutive time. This was enough to prove that the American people had great confidence in themselves and that their acceptance of war was actually quite high.

After taking a bath, He Rui lay on the bed, feeling relaxed all over. Since Roosevelt was destined to wage war, it couldn't be considered a bad thing; at least it eliminated a great deal of uncertainty. This allowed for a good sleep.

After waking up from this sleep, he still felt sleepy, so he went to the toilet and came back to continue sleeping. He seemed to wake up two or three times in between. When he woke up completely, he saw that the sky was dark, and the luminous hands on the clock face pointed to 6:10.

He still felt a bit dizzy while getting dressed, but by the time he walked out of the bedroom, he felt completely awake. He saw Guangzi preparing a meal in her loungewear. He Rui sat at the dining table and asked, "Is it 6 a.m. or 6 p.m.?"

Guangzi looked at He Rui sympathetically, "Darling, how long has it been since you got up at 6 a.m.?"

"...Seems like a long time." He Rui also couldn't recall when he last had a normal biological clock routine. The normal biological clock he could remember clearly was when he was in military school.

"Congratulations, it is now 6 a.m.," Guangzi said as she brought the freshly scrambled eggs to He Rui.

"Congratulations to us both." He Rui only then felt that his body was very weak, obviously the weakness caused by a lack of food, but he just didn't want to eat a proper meal. Finally, He Rui took a bottle of yogurt and slices of bread from the refrigerator, ate them, and went straight to the study to continue working.

At 8 a.m., He Rui attended a meeting. The meeting ended after 10 a.m. Premier Wu Youping did not leave immediately but pulled He Rui into a small conference room nearby. "Chairman, Roosevelt's continued re-election this time proves that the United States really intends to go to war with us!"

Seeing that Wu Youping did not really want to have Roosevelt as an opponent, He Rui asked, "The United States has an unusual obstinacy regarding their Constitution and system, which can be seen as 'the laws of the ancestors cannot be changed.' Do you think Roosevelt represents a reform in the United States? Of course, Roosevelt is not the first reformer; the last reformer was Lincoln."

Wu Youping rarely considered such problems spanning large timeframes. As Premier, Wu Youping spent the vast majority of his time dealing with work that required results within a few months. Hearing He Rui's explanation, Wu Youping felt that he really didn't want to engage in thinking that he wasn't good at, so he said, "Chairman, don't expect me to think up the result myself. Just tell me the deduction process directly."

He Rui felt great sympathy for his old friend and comrade-in-arms, Wu Youping. Although Wu Youping was not yet 50 years old, he had long borne an overly heavy workload. If it weren't for good nutrition and Wu Youping's doctors and family almost forcing him to exercise, Wu Youping's body probably wouldn't be able to hold up.

Moreover, Wu Youping had expressed to He Rui several times that as soon as the war ended, he would retire. Even without a pension, Wu Youping wouldn't do it anymore. Seeing that his old comrade had lost even the desire to challenge mental activities, He Rui sympathized and stopped guiding him. Instead, he narrated, "Since it is a reform, it might fail. The Qing Dynasty was completely negated because it failed completely; for the Manchu civil and military officials of the Qing Dynasty, even breathing was wrong. I thought I was persisting in a path of peace and moderation, but thinking of the Qing, I still feel disgusted.

There is nothing unique about the Chinese people; what China feels, other countries will feel too. Roosevelt has been elected president three consecutive times. If the United States suffers a huge defeat, Americans will think the reform was wrong! They will want to pull the United States back to the system before the reform."

Wu Youping said he didn't want to think, but hearing He Rui speak to this point, he shook his head. "That shouldn't be. Shouldn't the United States find a new path?"

He Rui felt that Wu Youping might be simply substituting Chinese thinking for American thinking, so he explained, "We completely negated the Qing Dynasty, which was actually also a return to the past. If returning to the Tang and Song Dynasties doesn't work, then return to the Qin and Han, eras that perished due to strength. In American history, the time before 1929 was the 'Good Old Days.' Eleven years have passed from 1929 to now, and American reflection no longer views 1929 as an evil era, but believes that 1929 was not wrong; what was wrong was that the United States was too indulgent at the time. As long as regulations are enacted against evil capitalists and evil bankers, the United States can return to the Good Old Days. Do you think that American 'Good Old Day' is favorable to China?"

This time, Wu Youping only thought for a moment before answering, "If it's the United States of that era, it was actually quite nice. But I'm afraid the American people have misunderstood something."

Seeing that Wu Youping's understanding was still slightly off, He Rui continued to correct him, "So, Roosevelt's election is not a bad thing for us. Roosevelt and the minority elite around him understand that the root of the American economic crisis comes from America's lack of a world market. After understanding this, this group decided to take advantage of the current major changes in the world situation to become the main force guiding the new world order.

As for what the American people think, I don't think we can say their thoughts are wrong. Just like that joke: during the Great Depression in the United States, two beggars were huddled together sleeping on the cold roadside. Suddenly, a beggar came and shouted loudly, 'Great news! The President has ordered to save the economy at all costs!' The young beggar who was lying down was overjoyed and asked, 'Really?' But the old beggar beside him said calmly, 'What is there to be happy about? The President is saving the economy; *we* are the cost.'"

Wu Youping had actually seen this joke and couldn't help but smile. But he heard He Rui continue, "The American people's thinking is not wrong; they *are* that cost. Roosevelt's New Deal determined that the U.S. federal government would have the capacity to raise an army of over ten million and engage in a brutal war with foreign countries for several years. If this army of over ten million Americans dies in battle, where is the legitimacy of this federal government? Youping, the United States is a federal country, not a centralized country like China!"

Hearing this, Wu Youping was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood. It turned out that what He Rui sought was not even the defeat of the United States, but the collapse of the American order. If a central government that caused the deaths of over ten million American people could continue to exist, that would be too untraditional for America.