On November 2, the new British battleship *King George V* docked steadily at the berth in the port of Washington, D.C. British Prime Minister Attlee led some cabinet members onto the deck. The oncoming cold wind made Prime Minister Attlee tighten the collar of his coat.

The coats of other cabinet members were all buttoned tight. The warm Atlantic current made winter in Western Europe relatively warm, with London's winter temperature mostly above 0 degrees Celsius. The temperature of this current dropped greatly during its journey to the east coast of North America, and winter temperatures in New York and Washington, D.C. were mostly below 0 degrees Celsius.

Even lower than the temperature in Washington was Attlee's mood. In warm India, the British Navy stationed in India suffered heavy losses. The fleet centered on three "King George V-class battleships" was annihilated by the Chinese Aviation, shaking the British Navy. The battleships with heavy guns and thick armor that once dominated the oceans were so vulnerable in front of small aircraft, forcing the British Navy to admit that the era of battleships had begun to end.

In the tropical Singapore theater, the Chinese Army advanced wildly under air cover, with vanguards reaching Kuala Lumpur in Malaya and the vicinity of Singapore respectively. having experienced the failure of the British Army in the Western European campaign, although Britain was greatly shocked domestically, at least there was no panic like last year.

Prime Minister Attlee stood on the high deck, watching the US presidential motorcade stop beside the battleship. He had to suspect in his heart whether he really couldn't compare to former Prime Minister Churchill. On June 4 last year, 1940, when former Prime Minister Churchill delivered his "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech in the House of Commons, he blatantly shouted to the United States, "until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."

At that time, Attlee also held the determination to fight to the end, but he had qualms about relying on the United States. Later, after the Anglo-German peace and Churchill was ousted, Attlee once thought that Britain's most dangerous time might be over. What had happened now proved that Churchill had more strategic vision. If Attlee had chosen to cooperate more with the United States in the Southeast Asian region at that time, perhaps the United States would have already declared war on China.

"It's not too late now." Attlee cheered himself up in his heart. At this time, the US presidential motorcade stopped steadily. Several US naval officers lifted Roosevelt's wheelchair from the car. Without putting down the wheelchair, they carefully carried Roosevelt and the wheelchair onto the British battleship *King George V*.

Warships were considered an extension of a country's inherent territory. Attlee and his party arrived in the US capital, Washington, but the meeting was held on a battleship, which meant holding such an important meeting on British territory. This could be considered a tribute to the former British hegemony.

When Roosevelt and his wheelchair were steady on the deck, Attlee stepped forward to shake hands cordially with Roosevelt, and then with Secretary of State Hull and other important personnel accompanying Roosevelt. While shaking hands cordially with Roosevelt, Attlee noticed that Roosevelt didn't look cordial. Even though he had permanently lost the ability of his legs due to disability, the feeling Roosevelt gave Attlee was still like a towering giant.

Attlee was in no mood to exchange pleasantries with these people and said directly, "It's cold outside, please come in." After speaking, he took the lead to guide the way.

The main purpose of this meeting between the British and American leaders was to sign the *Atlantic Charter*, the content of which had basically been determined. Since He Rui launched the *Pacific Charter* first, the *Atlantic Charter* looked very similar to the *Pacific Charter*. This was inevitable; both China and the United States advocated global free trade. Global free trade required ending the monopoly of colonial empires on colonies, and the demands of China and the United States in this regard were no different.

As the world's largest colonial empire, Britain didn't need to make any complicated decisions now; Britain only needed to consider whether to be eaten by China or by the United States. Choosing the lesser of two evils, the British upper class chose the United States. China's *Pacific Charter* opposed fascism, colonialism, and racism. If China became the next world leader, Britain would not only lose its colonies but also face trial. Compared with China's clear-cut attitude, the United States' seemingly high-minded "self-determination" was actually very empty, with a lot of room for manipulation.

The meeting began naturally with a dialogue between the heads of state. Only Attlee, Roosevelt, the British Foreign Secretary, and the US Secretary of State were in the room. Attlee put forward a suggestion that the British Cabinet expected Roosevelt to agree with: "Mr. President, when targeting China, this enemy of the free world, can we add the modifier 'white world'?"

Roosevelt shook his head. "Mr. Prime Minister, the purpose of the *Atlantic Charter* is to build a better world, not to divide the world in two."

Attlee did not agree with Roosevelt's view. "Mr. President, China has built an anti-white alliance through anti-colonialism. If China wins the war, the achievements of civilization spread by the white world in the past 500 years will be destroyed in one day. Are you willing to see such a result?"

Roosevelt did not agree with this attitude. He beat Attlee, "Mr. Prime Minister, the job of a politician is to point out the future direction, not to engage in demagogic propaganda."

Attlee felt that Roosevelt was truly hypocritical. British intelligence showed that the US upper class was using religious and racial topics to build hatred against China through guidance. The main support areas of the US Democratic Party were the southern states. The background color of these areas was far-right, and those engaged in propaganda were even more unscrupulous.

In far-right propaganda, China was the enemy of the white world, an atheist who did not believe in God, an evil aggressor who delusionally wanted to promote the Chinese lifestyle to the whole world, and an enemy of Christ. The war against China was a holy war. Victory over China would be the final victory of white people and followers nurtured by white civilization in the world!

In reports obtained by the British Cabinet, these views were very capable of moving ordinary Americans, especially when pastors shouted loudly to believers, "Defeating the Chinese is the task entrusted to us by the Lord!" The believers listening to the sermon would all cheer. The pastors would then lead the believers to sing the battle hymn "Hallelujah," looking very united.

But Attlee knew that Roosevelt's definition of a politician was correct. He changed his wording. "Britain suggests adding content against retaliation."

Hearing this, Roosevelt's evaluation of Attlee dropped a lot. Attlee was not unintelligent, but too petty. His mind was full of British interests, but he ignored the status quo. Britain was no longer the former world hegemon, but a completely passive party. In this regard, Attlee was inferior to Churchill. Churchill at least clearly recognized Britain's current situation, so he frankly pointed out the fact: "until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."

Attlee proposed the white world one moment and opposed retaliation the next. Wasn't his purpose to become the advocate of the "white world" concept and thereby gain a voice that Britain shouldn't possess?

This was the behavior of the weak, only the weak who did so were not self-aware. The last one to do this was Wilhelm II, who proposed the "Yellow Peril." Britain was still very powerful at that time and did not echo Wilhelm II.

Seeing Britain decline to this extent with his own eyes, Roosevelt was not happy. Compared with the current British Prime Minister, He Rui's vision was so high that one had to look up to him. Roosevelt had to suspect: could this teammate Britain really help in the future? When facing difficult choices, would Britain stab him in the back?

Seeing that Roosevelt did not answer, Attlee thought his view had moved Roosevelt. He continued, "Mr. President, we both believe that it is necessary for Britain and the United States to build a better human world. But this process must never be violent or destructive. China, however, uses some tragedies in the early stages of civilization spread to incite hatred and encourage killing. This practice is barbaric. As the civilized world, we must fight against this barbarism."

Roosevelt couldn't deny Attlee's words, but he doubted Attlee's reliability even more. What this person said was the result, and he did not grasp the root cause. The American upper-class elites certainly knew what the United States had done in history. The Roosevelt family was once one of the few large slave-trading families in the United States, and the Roosevelt family also engaged in the business of selling opium to China. But the conclusion reached by the American elite academic layer analyzing China's retaliatory mentality believed that these messy things were not the root of China's impulse for revenge.

The fundamental reason for China's anger was the extreme arrogance of industrial countries in the past hundred years. This arrogance made European and American industrial countries treat non-industrial countries with arrogant contempt. For the great civilization of China, arrogant contempt was the part China could tolerate least.

The US management layer believed that if He Rui was a great politician, a large reason was that He Rui was the first industrial country leader who respected non-industrial countries and was willing to treat non-industrial countries equally. There were already very many cases to prove this: Korea, Ryukyu, Upper Burma, Assam. These countries, which were once trampled underfoot by industrial countries with contempt, gained independence with China's help and received equal treatment.

The He Rui administration did not order these countries roughly, nor did it believe that these countries did not have the ability to understand and realize industrialization. The He Rui administration helped these countries establish education systems and straighten out political and economic relations. It accepted a large number of international students from these countries and cultivated them seriously. Through education, it helped these countries understand what their advantageous projects were, and allowed these countries to obtain their due share of pricing power in advantageous fields within the Asian Economic Community.

It seemed that Attlee must be replaced. Roosevelt made a decision. After making the judgment, Roosevelt said coldly, "The United States will not modify the content of the *Atlantic Charter*."

Attlee was rebuffed and felt very disappointed. But now Britain was begging the United States, and he no longer had the ability to refuse the US President. Since Roosevelt had made a decision, Attlee could only stay silent.

Seeing that Attlee had no more suggestions, Roosevelt's idea of replacing Attlee became firmer. In Roosevelt's vision of the war, even if Britain and the United States could defeat China, the final solution would be to let China join the world order formulated by Britain and the United States. If Britain and the United States could not defeat China, the United States would choose to negotiate with China and seek a position for the United States in the order formulated by China.

And everything Attlee expected required the United States and China to fight to the death, to the last soldier, or even until the whole people died in battle. Roosevelt's goal was to strive for a brighter future for the United States, not to let the United States die. From this perspective, Attlee might be a qualified British Prime Minister, but not a qualified American partner.

During the signing of the *Atlantic Charter*, there was little communication between the heads of state of Britain and the United States. They just signed the document with straight faces and ended it hastily. As soon as Roosevelt got off the ship, he said to Secretary of State Hull beside him, "If Churchill were Prime Minister, it might be better for Britain."

Hull was stunned. Even if Britain had declined, the United States did not have the ability to directly manipulate British internal politics now. But since Roosevelt said so, Secretary of State Hull had to consider the feasibility.

After Roosevelt got off the ship, Attlee looked as if he had lost a battle. Signing the *Atlantic Charter* was only the first stage. US President Roosevelt's attitude made Attlee feel difficult to understand. Singing high praises for things like national self-determination was fine. But given the population and racial situation in the United States, did Roosevelt not realize that once defeated, the United States might split?

If Roosevelt was really so idealistic, he shouldn't cooperate with Britain but should cooperate with China. Since Roosevelt chose to cooperate with Britain with a realistic attitude, he had to propagate alliance values to unite allies. White world, common religion, crusade against heathens, holy war—these were the most effective means in white history.

Attlee thought gloomily alone for a long time, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind: Did Roosevelt think the United States could easily defeat China? He immediately wondered if his thought underestimated Roosevelt! No way, no way, did those Americans led by Roosevelt really think the United States could easily defeat China?

Thinking for a while longer, Attlee felt it really had the style of Yankees. These guys who claimed to be the City upon a Hill often had unusual self-confidence.

Attlee underestimated Roosevelt here. Roosevelt's cabinet had been assessing China's national strength and concluded that it was not easy for the United States to defeat China. However, the United States was vast and sparsely populated. People ran to a corner to live alone; as long as they had guns in their hands and could protect themselves, they could live a relatively relaxed life.

Life relatively superior to other countries in the world led to American isolationism, not because they thought they would be defeated and thus did not participate in the war. Everyone in the United States believed that the powerful national strength of the United States could achieve victory, but the American people were unwilling to sacrifice their own interests for the victory of others. If the Roosevelt administration showed even a tiny bit of attitude that they could not win, this attitude would be seized by opponents and infinitely magnified.

According to the assessment made by the Roosevelt administration based on a large amount of data, the United States would have to pay a huge price to defeat China independently, so the Roosevelt administration needed unity and cooperation even more. What unity and cooperation needed was definitely not reasons like race and religion, but a truly beautiful future. Only a beautiful future could unite true allies and make the people willing to fight for this future.

The opponent the United States encountered now was the strategist He Rui. He Rui's actual actions in the past twenty-plus years had shown countries that, to date, what He Rui had said was what he pursued.

China had no burden of colonialism and stood on the moral high ground under He Rui's leadership. British Prime Minister Attlee's utilitarian choices instead fell into the moral trap set by He Rui. Facing a god-like opponent like He Rui, with a pig-like teammate like Attlee by his side, Roosevelt suddenly had the urge to back out. Perhaps the United States should continue to wait and not enter the war now.

Back at the White House, a group of cabinet members were already waiting in the Oval Office. Seeing Roosevelt return, Army Chief of Staff Marshall immediately reported, "Mr. President, the current war situation has reached the point where we must enter the war within three months."

Spreading out the map, Marshall's finger pointed directly to the Strait of Malacca. "MacArthur's telegram requested putting more air forces into the Strait of Malacca. China's Army is approaching Kuala Lumpur and will soon control the entire Malaya region. Shot-down American pilots are very likely to fall into Chinese hands. At that time, we must seriously consider how to deal with diplomatic issues.

"If China occupies the Strait of Malacca and annihilates the main force of the British Singapore Theater, the Dutch cannot hold the East Indies. In at most three months, China will occupy the entire Southeast Asia. Any of our counterattacks will pay a huge price."

Roosevelt did not answer immediately; he knew there was not much time left for him. At this stage, Roosevelt had to make a decision. The news brought by other cabinet members was fairly good. The military industry and mobilization system that the United States began to build in 1938 had basically been completed by this time. As long as Congress agreed to declare war, the United States could immediately launch a war of unprecedented scale with China.

After the report, Roosevelt invited the Democratic Senate Whip to dinner. The Whip was responsible for party discipline and knew the attitude of Congressmen best. Listening to Roosevelt talk about possible military conflicts, the Whip understood immediately. He gave his own suggestion: "Mr. President, if we suffer... active declaration of war or shameless sneak attack by a certain country, Congress can pass a war resolution. If a military conflict breaks out, it depends on the object and severity of the conflict. Based on my understanding of the Senate, I think the Senators all have the determination to maintain world peace."

The next day, Roosevelt invited the Democratic Whip of the House of Representatives. Now the Democrats were the majority party in both the Senate and the House. The view of the House Whip was surprisingly similar to that of the Senate. "Mr. President, China's image in the United States is very poor. Have you seen recent movies?"

How could Roosevelt go to see movies during this time? He shook his head. The House Whip could guess it too, so he smiled and said, "Mr. President, in the last two years, the most popular movies are the series *Sherlock Holmes vs. Dr. Fu Manchu*. Did you know that the actor playing Fu Manchu said in an interview that he didn't know a single Chinese person and had never contacted Chinese people? But he knew Americans very well, so he could play the Chinese person in the minds of Americans. Don't you think this is ridiculous?"

Hearing this, Roosevelt also smiled. This was of course a bit ridiculous, but Roosevelt didn't think it was funny, and he felt that the House Whip didn't think it was funny either. The reason why this shrewd old guy said this was to let Roosevelt understand in a riddle that only by inciting the emotions of the American public could the expected result be obtained.

That evening, the head of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) came to the White House as a guest. As soon as he sat down, Roosevelt told the SAG head seriously, "The public is so interested in movies that demonize the image of Chinese people; the Screen Actors Guild bears a great responsibility. You know, this will cause a very unfavorable impact on Sino-US relations!"

The SAG head's first feeling was a bit puzzled. The reason why movies treating Chinese as bad guys were popular in the United States was entirely because the American public loved watching such movies. Seeing high box office returns, the Screen Actors Guild would naturally follow up. Who would have trouble with money?

Regarding the President's puzzling question, the SAG head quickly thought based on some news he knew, and soon found that although the President looked serious, the President's real question was why the public liked watching movies with Chinese as big villains.

The guy was a sophisticated person. He had participated in seminars of professional institutions such as film academies, and also participated in seminars of some university sociologists interested in this matter. Since the President was very likely interested in this, the SAG head immediately explained to Roosevelt, "Mr. President, there are also many movies showing US-China friendship now. Moreover, the Screen Actors Guild cannot censor movie content; that is the work of the Ethics Committee."

Clearing himself first, the SAG head then introduced the reason why the American public loved Chinese villains. "America needs enemies, Mr. President. The former enemy was Britain. The American public is now very clear that Britain no longer poses a threat to the United States. This enemy falls on China, which is more powerful than Britain..."

Seeing that what he said was listened to by the President, the SAG head was delighted in his heart and analyzed even more vigorously from race, religion, and history, revealing the inevitability of China receiving attention from the American public. This attention was curiosity about a completely different human group. Moreover, as Sino-US trade grew larger and larger, the American public clearly felt China's influence on the United States and came into contact with increasingly high-quality Chinese industrial products, so they wanted to know what kind of people the other party was even more. In this stage, vigilance against China was the mainstream.

Roosevelt really didn't expect this SAG head opposite him to have such profound views, quite different from the impression of a superficial actor. So Roosevelt asked, "Have you seen *Legend of Maoshan Slaying Demons*?"

Hearing this unavoidable topic, the head of the Screen Actors Guild nodded somewhat helplessly. *Legend of Maoshan Slaying Demons* was a fantasy movie with a Chinese traditional religious Taoist cultivator as the protagonist. It could be considered a counterattack by the Chinese film industry against *Sherlock Holmes vs. Dr. Fu Manchu*, and it received great acclaim worldwide.

In the movie, a Chinese Taoist named "Fangshi" traveled to the United States as a railroad worker during the era of railroad construction in the United States. He encountered Lincoln, Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, and Jefferson, who were originally vampires, werewolves, necromancers, and ghouls. These were the four famous American presidents on the Mount Rushmore statues ordered to be built by Coolidge in 1927.

Suffering such ridicule, the angry Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) analyzed *Legend of Maoshan Slaying Demons* frame by frame. When the analysis meeting ended, although MPAA members all expressed various criticisms, they felt more admiration in their hearts.

This movie shot by Chinese people was a fantasy movie that looked like individual heroism, but its background was complete American history. The movie's consultant must know American history very well; every major American historical event was included. It was extremely rich in detail.

For example, in the movie, vampires, werewolves, necromancers, and ghouls had different appearances and abilities, but they all shared "blue blood." Blue blood was a special term used by Americans to refer to the American upper class. If one hadn't studied the United States seriously, one would definitely not know this detail.

As for the origin of vampires, werewolves, necromancers, and ghouls, in the final battle of the movie, the protagonist Fangshi used the Spirit Summoning Spell to invite the Monkey King Sun Wukong from Chinese legends to project his presence in the decisive battle space. The mountain peaks in this decisive battle space borrowed from the Seven Heavens described in Christianity. When the Monkey King Sun Wukong saw the vampires, werewolves, necromancers, and ghouls, he sneered, "You were just experimental subjects used for experiments in the city of Atlantis back then. I didn't expect you to survive after the destruction of Atlantis."

Unlike American movies, *Legend of Maoshan Slaying Demons* shaped an enemy image, not a clown image. Atlantis was a famous legend of the origin of civilization in Europe, and the English name of the Atlantic Ocean came from Atlantis. As soon as this noun came out, the style was immediately elevated.

The Chinese protagonist Fangshi, who defeated the powerful enemies originating from the legendary civilization of Atlantis, also appeared more powerful with the setting of powerful enemies.

This detailed research, rich details, and extremely high pattern were indeed heights that American movies had not yet reached. Although the MPAA cursed Chinese filmmakers verbally, they admired them in their hearts. Moreover, references and even plagiarism of *Legend of Maoshan Slaying Demons* could be seen in many subsequent American movies.

But the SAG head dared not say these words to the President.

Seeing the embarrassed look of the SAG head, Roosevelt smiled. "I have seen this movie. I feel that American movies just write about justice defeating evil. But justice does not fight evil to defeat evil. Justice fights evil for a better future. What do you think, Mr. Chairman?"

How could the SAG head not know Roosevelt's thoughts? He hurriedly pandered, "Mr. President, your words enlightened me. If you were a director, you would definitely shoot the greatest movie in the world."

Roosevelt smiled. "The United States has plenty of directors who can shoot great movies. You must have heard the radio program *The War of the Worlds*. I think Orson Welles is such a genius."

Orson Welles was the director of the radio drama *The War of the Worlds* which caused panic across the United States in 1938. That radio drama scared at least one-tenth of American households with radios into believing that Martians were really attacking the Earth, triggering a great panic in the entire United States.

Roosevelt specially invited Orson Welles to the White House as a guest afterwards and praised Orson Welles, "I really hope to become a great director like you."

Combining the current trend in the United States, how could a sophisticated person like the SAG head not know Roosevelt's mind? He immediately talked along Roosevelt's line of thought. There was no longer the seriousness of talking about "humiliating China" at the beginning between the host and the guest, but an appearance of a capable subordinate describing his ambitions to his superior.

The two ate and drank, talking until very late.