On November 16 at 9:00 AM, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, Commander of the British Singapore Theater, led a group of British officers out of the city. The officers' drinking water had not been affected by the supply interruption, and their steps were relatively stable. But the Commonwealth soldiers behind them had cracked lips and dark circles under their eyes, looking extremely unhealthy.

Zheng Silang, waiting for the surrender outside the city, watched quietly as the British officers walked towards him, feeling only a burst of boredom in his heart. Zheng Silang was also a bit surprised by his feeling. He originally thought he would be very excited, or at least relatively excited. But he just felt bored. Since he couldn't figure it out, Zheng Silang planned to ask He Rui for advice.

At this time, the British officers had arrived in front of the Chinese surrender acceptance representatives led by Zheng Silang. Lieutenant General Arthur Percival initially failed to distinguish who was a general and who was an ordinary soldier among a group of Chinese soldiers wearing the same camouflage uniforms. These camouflage uniforms were exactly the same style. When a group of people stood together, different patterns intertwined, making it hard to even distinguish bodies clearly, let alone find officers among them.

It was not until he got close that Lieutenant General Arthur Percival saw clearly the rank insignia on Zheng Silang's shoulder. China did not have brigadier generals. Seeing three stars on the Chinese general's shoulder, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival looked Zheng Silang up and down and saw that this general, who graduated from the Baoding Military Officers School, was a bit bow-legged, highly similar to the leg shape of British cavalry generals who were good at riding horses.

Zheng Silang looked back at Lieutenant General Arthur Percival. The sense of shame brought by surrender made Lieutenant General Arthur Percival avoid Zheng Silang's gaze. But it concerned the life and death of 200,000 Commonwealth soldiers and civilians. Lieutenant General Arthur Percival finally looked back at Zheng Silang and saw that this Chinese general looked indifferent, neither complacent nor pretending to be deep. This famous general under He Rui was just waiting calmly, as if this were just a simple job. This rational attitude reduced Lieutenant General Arthur Percival's sense of shame a lot.

"I hereby surrender to the National Defense Force of the Republic of China. I ask your army to abide by the Geneva Convention." Lieutenant General Arthur Percival's voice was a bit difficult.

Zheng Silang replied, "We are the glorious Chinese National Defense Force. I guarantee to the Lieutenant General and the surrendering Commonwealth troops that all prisoners of war will enjoy their due rights in accordance with the Geneva Convention."

Hearing Zheng Silang make a guarantee on behalf of the National Defense Force, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival drew his military sword and handed it to Zheng Silang. Zheng Silang took the military sword and said with a smile, "General, drinking water has arrived. We have set up water stations on the road to the temporary prisoner-of-war camp. Please order the British troops to drink in an orderly manner."

Lieutenant General Arthur Percival was stunned. He didn't know if Zheng Silang's words were sarcastic. But the British troops were indeed short of water now. Given the thirst level of the British troops, they would inevitably scramble when encountering water points. The Lieutenant General finally nodded and stepped back without saying a word.

Zheng Silang had absolutely no thought of humiliating the British. This was already the second time China had defeated Britain. Zheng Silang was considering how to quickly solve the British and Dutch colonies in the Pacific. The reason for saying such a sentence was simply because Zheng Silang, as a soldier who had followed He Rui for nearly 30 years, had an instinctive kindness towards soldiers.

After completing the ceremonial work in the surrender ceremony, Zheng Silang immediately rushed back to the frontline headquarters. The war did not end here. There were still millions of square kilometers of land in the vast Southeast Asian region that needed to be liberated from British and Dutch colonialists. After that, there were Australia and New Zealand to be liberated. The arrows on the map showed that the Chinese National Defense Force would cross the Strait of Malacca and enter Sumatra, thereby completely controlling the Strait of Malacca.

The news of Singapore's surrender spread rapidly within the Asian Alliance. The people of the Alliance had just seen the news that He Rui believed Singapore would be solved within a week. As a result, only three days later, Singapore surrendered obediently. The countries of the Asian Alliance were all gratified by He Rui's modesty and prudence, as well as the powerful strength possessed by China.

On the flight from Shanghai to Beijing, passengers discussed this campaign one after another. Zhao Tianlin was on this flight. He didn't want to participate in the discussion, just listened quietly. He heard a chubby passenger say loudly, "I remember that when we fought Japan in '22, it was also General Zheng Silang who led the vanguard. What was that prefecture called?"

"Kwantung Leased Territory," a passenger reminded.

"Right, right, right, Kwantung Leased Territory." The chubby passenger remembered the name and continued, "Speaking of which, the location of that Kwantung Leased Territory is quite similar to Singapore. Both are located at the tip of a peninsula."

Many passengers hadn't compared this matter and immediately became interested. The chubby passenger said angrily, "If you ask me, those few newspapers are blind. This is a war ordered by Chairman He, and the Five Tiger Generals are in their prime; how could they fail!"

Zhao Tianlin heard other passengers follow suit to criticize the Shanghai newspapers, but he didn't care in his heart. Several newspapers with some influence in the Shanghai business community had published some not-so-optimistic evaluations. Although Zhao Tianlin didn't like such content, he felt there was no need to crack down on it. The opponent in the war was the world hegemon Britain, and the battlefield was thousands of kilometers away. There would always be people worried about setbacks in the war. Such newspapers were like trash cans, undertaking the function of containing negative emotions. But the trash can itself did not need to be paid attention to.

The passengers were all happy about this victory, and most believed that the subsequent war would be smooth sailing. Some passengers also talked about their relatives or acquaintances' sons being conscripted into the reserves, wondering if these reserves would have the chance to go to the battlefield to fight.

Zhao Tianlin just listened. Arriving at Beijing Airport, a car immediately picked up Zhao Tianlin and went straight to No. 7 Renmin Road. He Rui was waiting for Zhao Tianlin in the official residence. After the two met, He Rui asked, "How is the situation in Shanghai?"

Zhao Tianlin replied, "Many people opposed this war because of their own interests. After taking Singapore, the situation is much better."

When Britain declared war on China, many traders in Shanghai had mixed feelings. Seeing so many countries declare war on China, these export traders naturally saw trade interrupted. Merchants whose own interests were damaged were naturally unhappy to see such a situation, and various strange remarks came out. Among them, some merchants who were originally dissatisfied with the socialist system mocked the He Rui administration for provoking the Eight-Nation Alliance just like the Qing Dynasty.

From October 25 to November 16, the Chinese National Defense Force seized the entire Indochina Peninsula in three weeks. Especially after inflicting heavy losses on the British Navy and Air Force in Singapore and Burma, many merchants doing business with India and African colonies immediately changed their attitudes. They originally thought the business was completely ruined; although they didn't suffer losses, their previous operations went down the drain. Now they began to look forward to the Asian Coalition liberating India and Africa, completely sweeping away the monopoly of colonial countries on colonies. Dealing with the British colonial government was far inferior to dealing with colonial countries liberated by China.

The voice opposing the He Rui administration's war was not loud originally, and now it appeared even more insignificant. Zhao Tianlin asked He Rui, "Chairman, will anyone take action against these merchants?"

He Rui shook his head. "Clowns, just a few flies buzzing. But regarding Brother Zhao going to the United States, will it affect the operation of the Asian International Court of Justice?"

Zhao Tianlin shook his head: "We have gone to collect judges of various skin colors; the number of black judges is particularly scarce. However, the Asian International Court of Justice is not suitable for extensive use of Soviet judges either. We can only invite more lawyers to serve as judges."

"As long as they are not people like Gandhi," He Rui said, the corners of his mouth rising slightly, his expression a bit disdainful.

Zhao Tianlin sighed. "Chairman, we have tried our best to save Indian scholars, but local reactionary forces carried out cruel killings against these scholars. We didn't save many."

Since joining the Civilization Party, Zhao Tianlin had been considered a "moderate," which plainly meant he was not very interested in class struggle. So hearing "reactionaries" from Zhao Tianlin's mouth showed that the massacre of intellectuals by Indian reactionary forces indeed gave Zhao Tianlin a huge shock.

In his heart, He Rui compared the September 18 Massacre in India with the April 12 Incident in China. The time and space were different, the countries were different, but the class attributes were exactly the same. Both were massacres of the emerging intellectual class by reactionary landlords.

"Brother Zhao, the development of productive forces often brings social chaos, especially in politically loose areas. India received a lot of capital transfer and industrial transfer during World War I. Although far from comparable to China, it has indeed changed the local economic structure of India. Those reactionary landlords certainly will not accept the impact caused by the development of emerging industrial industries, because the two compete for the same land and population. This kind of contradiction only has a difference in sooner or later occurrence, not a question of whether it will occur."

Zhao Tianlin sighed helplessly again. He studied law and had seen the chaos of the Beiyang era. Before seeing this massacre, the local tyrants and evil gentry Zhao Tianlin saw were just oppressing the common people in the countryside. Beiyang still knew to respect intellectuals superficially, and the He Rui administration beat the landlords violently.

After seeing this massacre, Zhao Tianlin understood that the evaluation that "the reactionary nature of the landlord class is very strong" turned out to be true. The landlord class joined hands to massacre the intellectuals of the entire country. This was a scene that Zhao Tianlin, who studied law, dared not imagine at all.

Seeing Zhao Tianlin's expression, He Rui explained, "Brother Zhao, there is no life-or-death contradiction between us and the United States. Roosevelt insists on going to war with us not because Roosevelt himself is crazy. On the contrary, Roosevelt understands very well that the United States must compete with China for discourse power and definition power. If we win, Beijing can decide what is right and what is wrong in the future world. Washington has to participate in the world economy according to the rules defined by Beijing, China. If the United States loses, it will be Washington's turn to decide what is right and what is wrong.

"Of course, neither China nor the United States can manage the world with the power of one country. It is inevitable to establish an institution participated in by countries around the world, as well as associations for different fields, to solve contradictions between each other and reach consensus through meetings and consultations."

Zhao Tianlin's thoughts were still on India at this time. Hearing He Rui suddenly talk about the United States, even knowing that the purpose of being called by He Rui was to go to the United States as a special envoy of China, he couldn't change his line of thought immediately in a short time.

He Rui continued, "The same is true for India. For two hundred years, above these princely states was only the colonizer Britain. Now a group of Indians who popped out from nowhere appeared. Just by attending schools opened by the British, they received the protection or appointment of the British government, had money to open factories, and could hire farmers who originally paid taxes to the princes.

"These people also controlled newspaper public opinion, became judges, and mastered the power of definition. This shook the foundation on which the princes relied to maintain their power from the root. If Brother Zhao can understand why the United States wants to go to war with China, you can understand why Indian princes want to kill these Indian intellectuals of ordinary caste or even low caste origin."

Zhao Tianlin had not connected and compared the Indian September 18 Massacre with the very likely war between China and the United States. After listening to He Rui's evaluation, Zhao Tianlin followed He Rui's line of thought and unexpectedly felt suddenly enlightened.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Tianlin sighed again. "Indeed. It seems that the Indian princes having no India in their hearts really has something to do with their history!"

He Rui nodded in agreement. "In the process of liberating India, we must never accept the defection of princely states, especially not the armies of Indian princely states. Accepting these people is destroying the cause of liberation. What India needs is a thorough revolution, not a half-hearted state-building."

Zhao Tianlin did not answer immediately. Zhao Tianlin just didn't support the class struggle theory very much, but it didn't mean he opposed recognizing class contradictions. From the perspective of a legal expert, class contradictions surrounding the ownership of means of production naturally existed, but class contradictions were not always at a life-or-death level. Zhao Tianlin believed that such contradictions could be suppressed and resolved through legal means.

After the He Rui administration came to power, the bourgeoisie scolded the government for disregarding the life and death of industries, but desperately invested in production to make money. Workers scolded the black-hearted capitalists for exploitation, but with the "Labor Law" and judicial protection, workers also got employment and wages. Class contradictions were suppressed by strong government operations.

Legal experts believed that human nature was evil. As an outstanding legal expert in the He Rui administration, Zhao Tianlin never had the monk's mentality of "sweeping the floor for fear of hurting ants' lives, cherishing moths by covering the lamp." regarding those black-hearted capitalists, Zhao Tianlin always advocated arresting those who should be arrested and fining those who should be fined. It didn't matter if civil liability was pursued until the capitalist went bankrupt. Only by strictly punishing violators could the cost of crime for black-hearted capitalists be increased, deterring these capitalists who lived on exploitation.

Having seen a strong central government eliminate the landlord class, and accustomed to a strong central government making capitalists bow their heads and obey orders, Zhao Tianlin really didn't expect that when these exploiting classes became reactionary, they could be so thorough.

Collecting his mood with difficulty, Zhao Tianlin looked at He Rui. "Chairman, I agree with your view. The struggle for power is indeed very cruel. Those reactionary landlords must never become members of the leadership of future Indian countries."

He Rui nodded. "I think in the face of such a cruel reality, revolutionaries in various Indian countries will recognize the situation clearly. And I believe Brother Zhao also understands the contradiction between China and the United States. I look forward to Brother Zhao being able to convey our attitude clearly to the US upper echelon after arriving in the United States."

After thinking for a while, Zhao Tianlin asked, "Chairman, do the Great Powers really not believe in the power of colonial people?"

He Rui chuckled. "Britain has seen the power of the Upper Burma National Defense Force, but the British believe that most officers and soldiers in the Upper Burma National Defense Force are disguised by our Chinese National Defense Force. I even suspect that when the World People's Liberation Army liberates Britain, Britain will not be able to give up this view."

When Zhao Tianlin was young, he also agreed with the view that "China became a colony." However, during his work in the Asian International Court of Justice later, he communicated with scholars from various countries and found that scholars from various countries believed that China's situation was like France occupied by Germany after the Franco-Prussian War, or at most the level of Germany hit by the Versailles system after World War I.

Both France and Germany were recognized as Great Powers in Europe and even the world, yet they had suffered such humiliation and loss. Another European-recognized Great Power, Russia, saw its Tsar commit suicide after losing the Crimean War. The things China encountered didn't count as much in Europe.

Zhao Tianlin didn't say much more; he asked, "Chairman, what must we emphasize to the United States?"

"Tell Roosevelt that we will not actively declare war on the United States. And Roosevelt is already in his third term, and 1944 is another election year. Leaving aside whether Roosevelt will ask for a fourth term, even if Roosevelt wants to run for a fourth term, he will face overwhelming inquiries from American voters, demanding Roosevelt to answer directly whether to participate in the war. We in China can certainly survive this year or so. Whether to declare war depends on Roosevelt's own choice. There is not much time left for Roosevelt."

Zhao Tianlin nodded. In terms of frankness, He Rui had always been frank. Zhao Tianlin didn't know if Roosevelt would declare war immediately after hearing these words, or get sick from anger. Based on Zhao Tianlin's understanding of the United States, if the United States actively declared war, it must give the American people a very clear promise of benefits. Roosevelt might not necessarily be able to afford it.

Just after talking with He Rui, the business representative of the Rockefeller Consortium in China visited Zhao Tianlin in person at the hotel where he stayed the next day. Zhao Tianlin didn't know if this news was released by He Rui's order, or if the Rockefeller Consortium's connections in the Chinese government were already so deep. But going to the United States was not secret information; the Rockefeller Consortium would know sooner or later.

Warmly inviting the Rockefeller business representative into the room, as soon as the door closed, the special envoy asked, "Professor Zhao, are China and the United States really going to war?"

Superficially, this question was asked out of concern leading to confusion. What kind of person was Zhao Tianlin? Of course, he couldn't be misled by such a sentence. He answered calmly, "Judging from the current situation, the US government has been pushing for a declaration of war on China."

China announced the news of capturing US Air Force personnel in the Singapore air battle. As long as they were Americans who were not completely unconcerned about political news, they could roughly know the attitude of the US Roosevelt administration. The business representative of the Rockefeller Company did not take up this topic; he asked, "I wonder what the purpose of Professor Zhao's trip to the United States is?"

Zhao Tianlin asked the business representative to sit down, adopted a comfortable sitting posture himself, and then answered, "It is to communicate with the US government, hoping that the US government can understand that war is not a good thing for either China or the United States. China does not want war."

Those who could be business representatives for the Rockefeller Consortium were smart people. Hearing this, the business representative had roughly guessed that China would definitely not go to Washington to express obedience. He probed again, "Our company has always been proud of being a long-term partner of China. Our Rockefeller Company has cooperation projects with Chinese counterparts all over the world. So I would like to ask Dr. Zhao, will China avoid going to war with the United States?"

Zhao Tianlin couldn't answer directly. He didn't dodge either, but said sincerely, "I think your company should use its influence to ask Washington for the answer."

The business representative's expression dimmed. After a pause, the business representative stood up. "Thank you, Dr. Zhao. I take my leave."

When Zhao Tianlin saw him to the door, the business representative of the Rockefeller Consortium couldn't help saying, "Can peace between China and the United States only be prayed for from God?"

"I am a materialist," Zhao Tianlin replied. "In China, this is called 'human effort can achieve anything' (it depends on human effort)."