The main building complex for the conference was designed to accommodate thousands of participants, with several annexes provided for hundreds of jurists and experts. To meet these requirements on such short notice, the Chinese Engineering Corps followed the design concepts of domestic experts. The main frames utilized welded steel, while the walls were constructed from a vast quantity of compressed bamboo boards shipped from China, along with white palm ropes made from sisal, a specialty of Southeast Asia.

From the outside, the main building was an octagonal structure, while the annexes were mostly irregular rectangles. Although the painted color palette was neither complex nor gaudy, the completed site gave off a sense of refreshing grandeur. The use of fresh construction materials, combined with the presence of air conditioning, ensured the air inside was crisp and clean, completely free of the musty odors common in the tropics. This made for a very comfortable environment for the attendees.

"The existence of colonies has its own historical context. If we recognize the legitimacy of colonial retaliation, it will not only fail to solve any problems but will plunge the world into even greater turmoil."

Inside the main hall, just as the French expert finished his speech, a chorus of boos erupted from the left-wing intellectuals attending the public discussion. This was particularly true for the former members of the International Brigades who were auditing the session; the sliver of hope they had recently built up for the colonial powers evaporated instantly.

The colonists had carried out far too many retaliatory massacres and manufactured countless tragedies in their colonies. Now that they were being driven out, they suddenly began to argue that retaliation should be forbidden. In the eyes of the world people's liberation army (WPLA) left-wing members, such a demand was profoundly wrong.

The French expert did not show any sign of displeasure at the boos; he had known long before speaking that he would face opposition. Ignoring the jeers, he continued to elaborate on his philosophy. "The non-retroactivity of law is a universally recognized fundamental principle of jurisprudence. Until new laws are formulated, many actions must still be measured against the legal principles of the old era. If we break this principle, this conference will no longer be a legal assembly but an act of war carried out under the banner of law. I trust that the experts present can distinguish between judicial action and military aggression."

These words triggered another round of boos from the leftists. However, this time, security personnel tasked with maintaining order stepped forward and issued low-voiced warnings. "Gentlemen, please do not interfere with the proceedings. If you cannot observe discipline, we will be forced to ask you to leave the hall."

Among the jeering leftists were Frenchmen themselves. Hearing this, one stood up to argue. "In the debates of the French National Assembly, this level of expression is considered quite restrained. If the law does not apply retroactively, why can we not express our own attitude?"

The security personnel remained calm. After listening to the rebuttal, one replied politely, "The current session is for academic presentations, not a debate or a vote. The scenario you described does not apply here."

Faced with such a well-reasoned response, the leftists realized they were somewhat in the wrong. Furthermore, they did not wish to lose their auditing privileges. Still, the bitterness in their chests was hard to swallow, leaving them momentarily deadlocked.

Fortunately, other leftists provided a way out. One stood up to pull his defiant comrade back into his seat while apologizing to the security staff. "Please forgive our impulsiveness. For the remainder of the session, we will strictly observe discipline."

The security personnel, of course, understood the emotions of these leftists and even sympathized with their position in their hearts. However, they had a duty to perform. Since the other side had backed down, the guards nodded to the auditors and turned to leave.

Inside the hall, Reichenau found it difficult to tell whether the security guards were from mainland China or were overseas Chinese. He felt that China's organization of the conference was quite exceptional. There were enough translators for all participants, and every seat was equipped with headphones providing real-time translation in the wearer's native language. Those who did not wish to be in the main hall could choose an annex, which was equipped with loudspeakers and live projections for synchronized viewing.

Reichenau had little interest in these legal matters. If law actually worked, what would be the need for an army? He was merely listening in while waiting for word on whether his request to visit Northeast China would be approved.

The Fascist bloc's declaration of war on China was largely intended to break the British blockade and restore normal global trade. A smaller reason was the antagonistic stance He Rui's government had taken toward Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. If China agreed, Germany would be perfectly happy to "jump ship." In the view of the German General Staff, as long as China had its own designs on Siberia, Germany might still have an opportunity.

Reichenau's application carried this flavor of testing the waters. Currently, British and Soviet newspapers were reporting on his participation in this conference as a "private scholar." If China allowed him to go to the Northeast, it would serve as proof of China's attitude toward the Soviet Union.

The French jurist's speech was filled with various legal theories that Reichenau found incredibly tedious. Turning a deaf ear to the presentation, he began considering plans for an invasion of the Soviet Union.

At this stage, the German General Staff could already estimate roughly how many troops China could mobilize. Through his observations, Reichenau had also developed a clear analytical method for estimating the number of former colonial troops China could call upon. In his assessment, once Germany launched its offensive against the USSR, if the Soviets turned to China for aid, China could dispatch two million troops to participate in the conflict.

Under such circumstances, if Germany were to launch an attack, it would have to capture Yekaterinburg within six to eight months and cut the Trans-Siberian Railway to prevent the two nations from joining forces. If they failed in this, Germany would have to endure even if the Soviet Union posed a massive threat to eastern Germany.

While strategists considered strategic arrangements and jurists discussed legal theories, soldiers continued to fight and die on the battlefield. After the U.S. forces resolved their aviation fuel issues, the air battle over Midway, which had been suspended for two days, resumed. The U.S. Pacific Fleet was relentlessly searching for the position of the Japanese Combined Fleet. After sacrificing dozens of brave reconnaissance pilots, the Americans determined that the Japanese fleet was cruising in an area roughly 600 to 800 kilometers from Midway. This region was supported by land-based naval aviation from several islands. If the U.S. launched an attack, they would be met by a number of Japanese fighters far exceeding their own. There was essentially no chance of victory.

Yet, the U.S. Pacific Fleet could not simply ignore the Combined Fleet and launch an attack on Wake Island, as the Japanese fleet was positioned to provide immediate air support to the island at any time. For now, the only viable solution seemed to be a continued war of attrition at Midway, until Japan's war potential was exhausted.

In Western Australia, General Zhong Yifu, Commander of the Australian Theater, had arrived at Darwin, the designated theater headquarters. Outside the port, there were more than a dozen long floating piers, and engineers were working feverishly to build permanent docks to allow Chinese convoys to unload cargo more efficiently.

Zhong Yifu inspected the port before heading straight to the headquarters. Inside, the sand table was ready, and the completed offensive plan was clearly marked. After exchanging brief pleasantries with his comrades, Zhong stepped up to the table.

Since the U.S. was determined to hold the Solomon Islands and there were a large number of American submarines active along the eastern coast of Australia, this plan did not utilize a sea route. Instead, the troops would depart from Darwin and strike southeast, crossing Queensland with the ultimate goal of capturing Brisbane.

Looking at the journey of over a thousand kilometers, Zhong Yifu felt a "headache" just thinking about the logistics. The staff officers had been very diligent; in constructing the sand table, they had clearly painted the yellow representing deserts and wilderness, and the green representing grasslands. The vast stretch of yellow along the march route was unmistakably clear, visually demonstrating the logistical pressure.

However, this route was not without its advantages. Australia's total population was currently only 7.5 million—roughly equivalent to the population of Shanghai. Furthermore, the population was concentrated on the East Coast; the population along this march route was very sparse, perhaps only a few hundred thousand.

Seeing Zhong Yifu's look of helplessness, the Chief of Staff explained, "Commander Zhong, we plan to have Japan dispatch 200,000 army troops to control the Australian villages within 200 kilometers of both sides of the march route. This will ensure absolute security for the line of march."

Before coming to Australia, Zhong Yifu had already familiarized himself with the geography. As a Chinese soldier, he had heard Zheng Silang—who had liberated the Northwest—speak of regions where no soul could be seen for hundreds of miles. Now that he was facing a similar theater of war himself, he realized that such environments, while seemingly easy, were actually terrible. This was because Australia's groundwater had a high salt content and was unsuitable for human consumption. During the liberation of the Northwest, Zheng Silang's greatest pain had been logistics, especially water supply. Now, Zhong Yifu had to face the same issue.

Fortunately, the Chief of Staff was well-prepared. He introduced the plan to utilize Australia's abundant groundwater and mass-produced Chinese solar-powered equipment to prepare fresh water. "Commander, based on our assessment, the fresh water produced along the route can meet the needs of 200,000 troops. As long as the Japanese forces can control the villages, we can ensure the equipment will not be sabotaged."

Hearing this, Zhong Yifu's brow relaxed slightly. After a moment of thought, he said, "I order a readjustment of the proportions of Allied soldiers used. Japan, Korea, and the four Southern nations must each dispatch troops."

Noticing the Chief of Staff's confusion, Zhong Yifu explained, "We must let the liberated people understand that they are truly participating in an anti-colonial war. Also, Burma and Upper Burma should dispatch troops, but the scale should be limited to one regiment. We must also avoid excessive retaliatory tendencies."

The Chief of Staff knew that Zhong Yifu had served as the Director of the General Political Department several times, so this arrangement was quite politically sensitive. He accepted the order immediately.

Zhong Yifu's gaze returned to the long transportation line. This expedition route of nearly two thousand kilometers did not seem to conform to military principles in any way. However, under the current conditions of military equipment, it actually adhered to a significant degree of military logic.

For a moment, Zhong Yifu even felt like complaining to Zheng Silang, the Commander of the Southeast Asian Theater. If Zheng Silang had dealt with the U.S. forces in the Solomon Islands, the Chinese convoys could have simply followed the coastline, avoiding a great deal of trouble.

As it stood, this military plan was actually helping Zheng Silang solve his problems. Once the Chinese army reached the East Coast of Australia, the U.S.-Australian Command would be forced to concentrate a massive number of troops on Australian soil. Given America's shipping capacity, the personnel, equipment, and supplies deployed to the Solomon Islands would be greatly reduced or even cut off.

Once Zheng Silang captured the Solomon Islands, the U.S. transportation lines to Australia would be under the threat of Chinese aviation and submarine forces. America's ability to transport supplies to Australia would be severely compromised, and the attrition of their transport convoys would skyrocket.

At this time, the Japanese forces were still engaged in a war of attrition with the Americans in the Hawaiian Islands. Although American national strength was immense, the next major "surge" in U.S. equipment would not arrive until 1943. If China could liberate Australia and New Zealand before July 1942, they could launch a full-scale offensive on the Hawaiian Islands and liberate them.

By that point, while the Pacific War would not necessarily be over, China would hold all the advantages. The difficulty for a U.S. counteroffensive would be astronomical. As long as China did not encounter internal problems, the possibility of a successful American counterattack through its own strength would be extremely low.

As for He Rui's suggestion of exhausting American strength in Australia to promote the split of the United States, Zhong Yifu himself felt there was no need for such a move. Moreover, as the Commander of the Australian Theater, Zhong Yifu could formulate plans according to battlefield needs until He Rui's idea was formally issued as a Central Military Commission order.

After some discussion, Zhong Yifu approved the plan developed by the Australian Theater comrades.

While the bloody war continued to advance, the participants were all among the world's handful of great powers. Even Britain, relatively weak among them, had sufficient capability to censor the news. As long as there was no large-scale government propaganda about losses, the war remained very distant in the eyes of ordinary people.

As a member on the front lines, General Montgomery, the British Commander in India, felt a glimmer of hope amidst his despair. The British government had finally "persuaded" the Iranian government to allow British troops to be dispatched into Iran to meet the forces retreating from India. Furthermore, the vanguard of the British Indian Army, which had departed from Delhi and marched on foot to the Iranian border, had actually been rescued.

Although Montgomery was certain that the British Indian Army would at least avoid the infamy of total annihilation, he knew that the majority of his forces would never leave India.

According to reports, of the two British regiments that had marched over a thousand kilometers, only 35% of the troops remained by the time they reached the Iranian border. The rest had fallen behind for various reasons and remained unaccounted for. Even those who had reached the border and were met by the British relief force could no longer be called an army; they were gaunt and haggled, having lost almost all their weapons. From their appearance, they were nothing more than a group of refugees who had successfully escaped.

Even if the Chinese army did not pursue them, if the main British force in India had the marching capability of these two regiments, 65% of them would still fall behind. Furthermore, it was impossible for China to simply watch and allow the main British force to leave unhindered. At this moment, Montgomery could only try his best to arrange for the British forces to depart; even if many couldn't make it, saving even a few more was a good thing.

In London, the Churchill government had already begun preparing for the shock that the collapse of British rule in India would bring. However, the British Foreign Secretary brought new news: "Prime Minister, the Soviet government demands an explanation for our move into Iran!"

Churchill's rotund face trembled slightly. While the UK, US, China, and Japan were fighting desperately, the Soviet Union—much like the Fascist bloc—was a classic example of making a fortune in silence. At this stage, Britain did not want to add unnecessary complications and thus had no desire to provoke the Soviet Union.

In Churchill's view, the diplomatic demand raised by the Soviets was excessive. As far back as the Tsarist era, the Tsar had spoken of "washing his boots in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean," and thus had always harbored ambitions for Iran. Was the Soviet Union now trying to take advantage of the fire, using Britain's dire straits to demand control over Iran?

As an Anglo-Saxon, Churchill was annoyed but not surprised. Had Britain and the Soviet Union swapped places, Britain would certainly have chosen such a traditional, offensive diplomatic model. After all, once Britain withdrew from India, it would be unable to hold Iran anyway. Iran was like a ripe fruit, ready for the picking.

On second thought, however, Churchill felt this situation might be exploitable. Even now, he did not believe that He Rui's government had no interest in global expansion. If China intended to expand, Iran could be used to sow discord between China and the Soviet Union.

But having reached this point, Churchill abandoned that line of thought. The immediate priority for the British government was to extract their forces from India; they had no strength left to consider provoking Sino-Soviet relations. Even if Britain ever regained the capacity for such maneuvers, it would have to wait until after the shock of losing India had passed. Whether the Churchill cabinet would even exist by then was an open question.

Molotov, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, soon reported the British Foreign Office's reply to a meeting of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Normally, such a matter would not warrant a report in such an important venue. However, the members of the Central Committee viewed the issue with great importance.

On August 31, 1907, Britain and Russia had reached a secret agreement dividing their respective spheres of influence in Iran. This included northern Iran—incorporating Tehran, Tabriz, and Mashhad—as a Russian sphere of influence, while the southeastern corner of Iran (north of the Arabian Sea) was a British sphere. In this regional game, Tsarist Russia clearly gained more benefits, as its sphere included eleven of Iran's twelve major cities and seven of its eleven trade routes. Britain's considerations, however, were not commercial but strategic. For years, Britain had feared a Russian advance toward the Sistan region and the Indian Ocean; with the birth of the 1907 agreement, that fear had been resolved.

Just as Churchill suspected, the Soviet Politburo indeed wanted to use Iran as a buffer zone. At this stage, the Soviet Union had no intention of annexing Iran, but that did not mean the Politburo was not considering their neighbor as a Middle Eastern buffer.

Thus, Molotov proposed his view: "At this stage, we can attempt to reach an agreement with Britain. We will not interfere with the British withdrawal, but to ensure Iran's independence, we must dispatch personnel to ensure that Iran's sovereignty is not violated."