Li Runshi returned to Beijing on May 7 to report to the Central Committee. He was responsible for the state-building of the four southern countries. With the publication of the *Pacific Charter*, the Central Committee hoped to get a clearer understanding of the work in these four countries.

The report lasted for two days, and the results were quite satisfactory to the members of the Central Committee. To date, the trade between China and both Upper Burma and Assam had largely met China's demand for tropical crops and greatly satisfied the Soviet Union's demand for tea.

Transportation in the four southern countries was much more convenient than in Upper Burma and Assam. China had not adopted colonialist methods, nor had it adopted imperialist ways. Except for Laos, where inconvenient transportation limited trade growth, Vietnam, Champa, and Cambodia all had ports, allowing Chinese fleets to trade freely. Although the consumption power of the people in these regions—where crops ripened at least twice a year—was not high among the more than 30 million inhabitants, it was not non-existent. The large backlog of cheap industrial goods inventory was digested in the blink of an eye.

After the meeting, Xu Chengfeng and Cheng Ruofan invited Li Runshi to dinner. Li Runshi declined other invitations and attended this meeting.

After three rounds of drinks and five courses of food, Xu Chengfeng frankly put forward his view. "According to the intelligence we have obtained, Germany is very likely to launch an attack on the Soviet Union. And the *Pacific Charter* might ease the conflict between Britain and Germany, thereby preventing the outbreak of the Soviet-German war. Secretary Li, do you think such a change is more beneficial to China?"

Seeing that Cheng Ruofan seemed somewhat disapproving of this question, Li Runshi raised his evaluation of Cheng Ruofan a bit. Although Cheng Ruofan probably couldn't analyze the linkages of international politics like Xu Chengfeng, Cheng Ruofan was naturally aloof and disdained engaging in overly dark schemes. Li Runshi believed that this spontaneous righteousness itself was quite valuable.

After a moment of thought, Li Runshi asked back, "Commander Xu, do you think it is most beneficial for us to take advantage of the Soviet Union's predicament of being invaded?"

"The Soviet Union has already received numerous warnings that Germany will invade, and we have not exploited this matter," Xu Chengfeng disagreed with Li Runshi's implication.

Li Runshi shook his head. "In diplomacy, coincidentally bumping into each other and intentional exploitation are two different things. The Soviet Union can analyze this matter clearly. I think publishing the *Pacific Charter* before the Soviet Union is invaded is a very good timing choice. This avoids various unnecessary diplomatic misunderstandings. If Germany does not launch an attack on the Soviet Union because of this, it would instead allow the Soviet Union to make their choice. Will they stand with the fascists and colonialists, or will they stand with the vast number of oppressed peoples?"

The reason Xu Chengfeng sought out Li Runshi was that he believed Li Runshi's current influence could persuade He Rui to adjust some strategic steps. Xu Chengfeng believed that a world battered to pieces would be very favorable for establishing a new order led by China, and He Rui's choice undoubtedly avoided such an opportunity.

Speaking like this lacked vision and appeared too dark. Xu Chengfeng was the future commander of the coalition forces, and he would have to bear the pressure within the coalition. Among the Chinese military leaders, there were guys like Cheng Ruofan who did not lack brightness. But the views of the military leaders in Japan and Korea were much darker than Xu Chengfeng's.

Thinking of this, Xu Chengfeng simply put forward the views of the Japanese and Korean military leaders. "Is the declaration of Chinese soldiers not important?"

Li Runshi immediately replied, "A just cause attracts much support, an unjust one finds little. The Chairman's decision seems to have given the white people a common enemy, but the Chairman's decision also gave those among the white people who hope to see a new order a clear direction. The *Pacific Charter* mentions colonialism and fascism in the same breath; it is a very brilliant political manifesto. Because this is reality. If we only opposed fascism, we would give the colonialists a chance to whitewash themselves. When the standard between enemy and friend is distinct, it is actually easier to solve problems.

"The reasons for the enemy's unity now are just those few: religion and white supremacy. In the final analysis, it is driven by interests. Their unity precisely subjects their reasons to the test of war! The so-called white world must admit that they want to support fascism, support racism, support colonialism, and support imperialism.

"In reality, the ordinary people in the so-called white world only bear the cost of promoting these things and do not truly gain benefits from them. When not facing a powerful opponent, false propaganda can still fool the ordinary people in the so-called white world. When these people face fierce war, endure the cruelty of war, and live in a precarious state every day, they will definitely ask one question: Why?

"The *Pacific Charter* gives precisely the reason. This will prompt the awakening of ordinary people in the so-called white world. If we fail to let these ordinary white people figure out the reason for the war, they will think that China is the aggressor, a cruel aggressor who wants to destroy their lives.

"As long as ordinary white people figure out who they are truly fighting for and what kind of world order they are fighting for, under the coercion of death in war, there is a high probability that they will choose to resolutely refuse to sell their lives for a fascist and colonialist war. At that stage, we can win the global liberation war with a very small price.

"So in my opinion, open and aboveboard means can actually reduce our casualties."

Just as Li Runshi finished speaking, Cheng Ruofan slammed the table and praised, "Well said!"

Seeing Cheng Ruofan support Li Runshi so firmly, Xu Chengfeng felt very helpless. This guy Cheng Ruofan had strong emotions in pursuit of beautiful things, and Li Runshi happened to be able to provide satisfaction in this regard, so Cheng Ruofan and Li Runshi were getting closer and closer.

Although Xu Chengfeng also agreed with part of Li Runshi's view, Xu Chengfeng knew very well how cruel war was and how dark the human heart was. From a realistic perspective, there was absolutely no need to play the hero. However, Xu Chengfeng couldn't refute it either, because a revolution had indeed occurred in Japan in reality; the Japanese people eliminated the old upper class, obtained liberation, and joined China's side. But would the white people in Europe and America really become China's allies and oppose the white world together with China? As a realist, Xu Chengfeng dared not make such a judgment.

The conversation reached a point where it couldn't go on, so Xu Chengfeng stood up to take his leave. Cheng Ruofan wanted to chat with Li Runshi for a while longer, but out of consideration for his friendship with Xu Chengfeng, he also stood up to leave and departed with Xu Chengfeng.

Li Runshi did not leave immediately. He picked up another slice of fatty meat and ate it slowly, sorting through the process of state-building in the four southern countries again. This work experience had given Li Runshi great gains. After personally contacting various people in the colonies, Li Runshi found that the greatest consensus in the colonies was not necessarily to gain independence. Hundreds of years of resistance had never succeeded, leading the colonial people to have no special cognition of gaining liberation. They did not dare to expect to live a good life; they just didn't want their lives to be too painful.

Just like after the independence of these four countries this time, they didn't know what life they would lead after liberation. Fortunately, the liberation operation led by Li Runshi was not just about taking over the four countries and organizing them to gain independence. It also involved sending a large number of cadres to help the four countries establish a new social system and distribute means of production.

After China easily made the former "French masters" submit, the colonial people turned their awe towards the "Chinese masters." When China established new trade and the colonial people found their income greatly increased, a portion of them immediately moved closer to China. When Chinese cadres began to lead the local people in land reform and the people received land and means of production, the colonial people's enthusiasm and closeness to China directly approached the influence of religion in the local area. The intellectuals who had originally looked on coldly turned to join China, allowing China's work to unfold fully in the local area.

Such a result was precisely what He Rui expected. Previously, Li Runshi expected the colonial people to join the vigorous global struggle against colonialism with enthusiasm. Now Li Runshi understood what it meant to "join the vigorous global struggle against colonialism." The colonial people actually didn't know what colonialism was; what they pursued was just a better life.

In this southward operation, the mobilized army included a brigade of Upper Burmese troops and a regiment of Assam troops. Before entering the four southern countries, the officers and soldiers of these two armies had completely strengthened their ideological education, so they performed very well in the operation. They showed absolutely no arrogance as a servant army towards the ordinary people of the four southern countries, and there were even cases of sacrificing themselves to save the people.

These officers and soldiers from Upper Burma and Assam knew very well that they came to the four southern countries to protect the better life they had obtained. If they couldn't drive the colonialists out of their periphery, it was entirely possible for them to be enslaved by the colonialists again. The miserable life of the past had ended only fifteen years ago; instead, these people who had experienced two different lives truly understood what it meant to be colonized and what colonialism was. These people were truly willing to wage war against the colonialists.

Slowly finishing the fatty meat, Li Runshi asked the waiter to pack the other dishes to take away. Because Cheng Ruofan was there, today's meeting made Li Runshi feel very good. Moreover, since the *Pacific Charter* could make a comrade of Xu Chengfeng's level so excited, foreign rulers would inevitably be even more stimulated.

What Li Runshi said was what he thought. To bind colonialism, white supremacy, and fascism—things sharing the same bloodline—together would draw a dividing line that severed history. From then on, world civilization would have a standard for the new era. Although the final victory or defeat could not yet be determined, Li Runshi was very confident.

On the way back, Li Runshi considered the Soviet Union's choice. If things really went as Xu Chengfeng said—that because of the British-German compromise, the Soviet Union was not attacked by Germany—the Soviet Union's domestic political philosophy would prevent the Soviet Union from joining the colonialist and fascist camp. It was not easy to establish a nationwide political philosophy, and it was equally difficult to completely deny a certain political philosophy. If Stalin wanted to follow the old path of Russia, he would have to become a Tsar. This was something the CPSU could not accept.

Europe and America might currently think that the Soviet Union was a threat to China, but once the war situation became unfavorable for Europe and America, a neutral Soviet Union would become their nightmare. So Li Runshi actually looked forward to things developing in the direction Xu Chengfeng deduced. Li Runshi even looked forward to things quickly developing to the stage where the so-called white world united.

At this time, Rudolf Hess had been sent from the Duke of Hamilton's home to London. Rudolf Hess himself was not a pilot. When he flew the plane alone and landed near the Duke of Hamilton's estate, a crash occurred, and Hess suffered minor injuries.

But Hess himself didn't care about such a small matter at all. After talking with the Duke of Hamilton who came to meet him, Hess waited to be taken away. Soon, the people sent by the British government arrived. Hess immediately handed over the written letter and declared the purpose of his trip again.

"I came to Britain to carry out a humanitarian mission. The Führer does not want to conquer Britain but wants to achieve an armistice. The Führer believes that Germany will quickly win the war, and I personally firmly believe that this unnecessary bloodshed must be stopped. I suggest that Germany and Britain jointly discuss a feasible peace plan. Moreover, I am conveying the Führer's peace conditions. The King of England has the obligation to guarantee the safety and free will of my actions."

It could be seen that when the British officials and officers opposite him heard this, their expressions were full of dissatisfaction. But they still transported Hess to London by car and took him into custody. Although Hess was not satisfied with the current situation, he noticed that Britain did not use imprisonment measures against him. For this point alone, Rudolf Hess felt that his action was very valuable.

British Prime Minister Churchill was currently plunged into a major choice in his life. For Churchill, the most important thing in the world was the British Empire. Although there was no longer a British Empire now, but the United Kingdom.

Like other British upper-class figures, Churchill believed that a Sino-British war was very likely to break out. But Churchill didn't expect that He Rui would express his willingness for war in the form of the *Pacific Charter*.

In British politics, Churchill was one of the few people at this stage with similar seniority to He Rui. In 1910, Churchill served as Home Secretary at the age of 35, and in 1911 he became First Lord of the Admiralty, participating in World War I in that capacity.

In the early stages of the war, due to Churchill's improper command, the British army suffered repeated setbacks on the Western Front. In order to break the stalemate where the British and French Entente forces were deadlocked with the German army on the Western Front, Churchill proposed a new operational plan, advocating sending a powerful fleet into the Dardanelles Strait controlled by the Ottoman Empire to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula, forcing the Ottoman Empire to submit, thereby striking the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany from the rear. To this end, hundreds of thousands of British troops successively crossed the ocean to the Gallipoli Peninsula from February 1915, but they failed to open up the situation, and elite troops including those from Australia and New Zealand suffered huge casualties.

In May 1915, Churchill was removed from the post of First Lord of the Admiralty and was ousted by the upper echelon. Churchill, who was squeezed out of the political circle, decided to resign and rushed to the French front to serve as a battalion commander of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, personally participating in the war. It was also at this time that He Rui returned to China after graduation and went to Siping in the Northeast as a Lieutenant Colonel Regiment Commander.

In May 1916, Churchill, who fought desperately on the front line, gave up his identity as a Lieutenant Colonel Battalion Commander and returned to run for parliament. It was also in this year that He Rui took over as General Zhen'an from Zhang Xiluan and became the head of the Northeast Government.

Contrasting such history, Churchill couldn't quite figure out what He Rui, who was 16 years younger than him, actually wanted. Starting from the Munich Conference, He Rui had been doing his utmost to prevent the outbreak of the European war. If He Rui succeeded and the European war ended in a short time, would He Rui still have produced the *Pacific Charter*?

If one said that He Rui saw the division and decline of Europe and thus produced the *Pacific Charter*, that was not reasonable either. Considering China's shipbuilding plan starting from 1937, He Rui had been preparing for war with Europe and America since 1937. Churchill thought this possibility was too small.

Churchill didn't necessarily have to dwell on these areas, but because he couldn't figure this out, it was hard for him to make a judgment. There was no need for He Rui to launch a war immediately after publishing the *Pacific Charter*; he could have dragged it out. But Britain now had to make a judgment immediately: whether to treat Nazi Germany as Britain's greatest enemy, or to treat the Asian countries joining the Pacific Charter and the traitor Free France as the greatest enemy.

Churchill puffed incessantly on his strong cigar, pacing back and forth in the room like a trapped beast, dragging his obese body due to the agitation in his heart. The *Pacific Charter* itself was sharp and revealing, but Britain surprisingly had no way to respond immediately in the short term.

Especially since He Rui had constructed a good geopolitical environment around China through a series of diplomatic means over the past twenty-plus years. Britain could not find any force that could directly contain China in the short term. To date, the United States had the ability to contain China; with its size and strength, the United States was indeed the best pawn to contain China. But American politics was no longer controlled by Britain, and isolationist sentiment in the United States was extremely high. The American people expressed, "We will never join a dirty war started by Europeans." Even Roosevelt, who intended to join the war, was forced to state, "I will not start a war."

Churchill suddenly felt that he understood the feelings of the high-level officials of the Imperial Japanese era back then. Faced with He Rui's seemingly understated actions, the high-level officials of the Japanese Empire surprisingly didn't have a single way to crack them. For such a situation, there was an old Chinese saying that described it: "Victory is determined in the court!"