The Soviet Ambassador to the UK, Banganov, had a round face that made him look quite young. British Foreign Secretary Edward Wood felt extremely displeased the moment he saw that face. Banganov’s diplomatic conduct was incredibly aggressive.

"Has the Soviet Union already defected to the Chinese bloc?" Foreign Secretary Wood asked in a mocking tone.

He deliberately emphasized the words "defected to China." From the British perspective, the Soviet Union's opportunistic actions clearly suggested possible collusion with China. Without China's tacit approval, the Soviet Union would never dare to threaten Great Britain.

Ambassador Banganov feigned an expression of surprise on his round face. "Secretary Wood, are you willing to take responsibility for your statement just now?"

Hearing this, the muscles on Edward Wood's face twisted involuntarily. By diplomatic rules, what Wood had said was indeed somewhat excessive, bordering on an outburst of anger. Such a loss of composure only proved that the Soviet actions had indeed inflicted pain upon Britain.

Calming himself, Wood continued, "We do not understand the Soviet side's demand to send troops to supervise the British withdrawal."

In Ambassador Banganov's view, the customs of war within international rules were completely at odds with Foreign Secretary Edward Wood's irrational arguments. Since Edward Wood was still posturing as a world hegemon, Banganov was willing to play along.

Coughing once to clear his throat, Banganov said, "As a sovereign nation, Iran allowed British forces to enter its territory to carry out combat missions against China. This change means that Iran's stance of neutrality up to this point must be discussed.

"Iran is a very important neighbor to the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union is paying close attention to the drastic changes currently occurring there. Our special envoy has already met with the Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi. The situation described by the Shah is clearly different from your account, Mr. Secretary.

"Shah Pahlavi believes that all of Iran's actions were merely unavoidable measures taken to avoid war. Therefore, the Soviet government believes it has an obligation to ensure that the sovereignty of the Iranian government is not violated. The best method is to dispatch personnel into Iran."

Banganov's round face looked young, and his tone was soft when stating the Soviet government's attitude. However, his words represented an extremely harsh interrogation. This attitude could completely be taken as a prelude to military conflict.

Hearing this statement filled with the style of imperialism, Secretary Edward Wood felt extremely unpleasant!

Although he didn't say anything extreme out loud, Wood had already mocked the Soviet Union several times in his heart. Like other European countries, Britain considered Russia a barbaric nation, and an untrustworthy one at that.

Even though China and Britain were currently in a state of war, many in the British upper echelons trusted He Rui's government far more than they trusted the Soviet Union. Although the He Rui government was extremely tough, at least He Rui operated according to a self-consistent logic. The reason the British upper class couldn't accept it was that Britain was the party whose interests were being sacrificed, and He Rui's thinking was too unconstrained. Even if his logic was sound, he walked a path no one had ever trodden before. So, amidst their anger and confusion, the British elite also felt a sense of awe.

The Soviet approach, however, was purely the European brigand style they understood perfectly, only the Russians' barbaric style was cruder than the Europeans', making it even more repulsive to Secretary Edward Wood.

If Britain were doing this, at this stage they would naturally be discussing the division of spheres of influence. But the Soviet Ambassador Banganov sat opposite him, deliberately interrupting the process. This made it easy for Secretary Wood to feel that the Soviet Union was trying to wait for Britain to actively prepare for more concessions.

Since the opponent was a barbaric Russian, Wood chose an attitude suitable for dealing with barbarians: clearly stating that Britain would never back down. Wood replied calmly, "The Soviet view is baffling and completely disrespects the facts. Iran and Britain have a traditionally good relationship. Therefore, in Iran's choice to contribute to humanitarian causes, it was not subjected to any coercion. On the contrary, the Soviet view is a disruption of world peace! Britain absolutely cannot accept the Soviet attitude."

Although Britain had suffered heavy blows at this stage, its strength in the Middle East still exceeded that of the Soviet Union. At times like this, the Soviet Union had to be made to understand that if they really wanted to solve problems through war, Britain was confident in dealing with a Soviet offensive.

In fact, Secretary Edward Wood's judgment was not wrong; the Soviet Union was merely testing Britain's attitude at this stage.

In 1921, Reza Khan, an officer of the Qajar dynasty's Persian Cossack Brigade, used the brigade to support a coup against the Qajar government. By suppressing rebellions and maintaining order, Reza Khan established himself as the most powerful figure in the country. A constituent assembly convened in 1925 deposed the last ruler of the Qajar dynasty, Ahmad Shah Qajar, and appointed Reza Khan as the new Shah.

Reza Khan had ambitious plans to modernize Iran, including the large-scale development of industry, the implementation of major infrastructure projects, the construction of a trans-national railway system, the establishment of a public school mechanism, the reform of the judiciary, and the improvement of healthcare. He believed that a strong, centralized government led by intellectuals could implement these plans.

Reza Khan sent over a hundred people to study in Europe, including his son. During the sixteen years from 1925 to 1941, Reza Khan's development plans urbanized the country, public education progressed ideally, and a professional middle class and working class emerged.

Now, the attitude of the Iranian Pahlavi dynasty was very clear: their most urgent need at this stage was to ensure security. The Soviet Union had sent people to see the Shah, but the conversation was not actually as friendly as Banganov described. Shah Pahlavi, after all, was a military representative who had come to power through a coup. He explicitly stated, "Whoever can guarantee Iran's independence, Iran will stand with them."

Although Shah Pahlavi did not publicly mention China, his words implied that if China could guarantee Iran's independent security, the Pahlavi regime would not mind cooperating with China.

In the Soviet view, there was a high probability that the He Rui government would reach an agreement with Iran on independent security. So while appearing to pressure Britain, what the Soviet government truly expected was to carve up spheres of influence in Iran *with* the British government.

Moreover, the Soviet government was also working on multiple fronts. In several regions, members of the Third International (Comintern) who obeyed Moscow's commands had arrived in liberated colonies and were beginning to make contact with Soviet nationals who had joined the World People's Liberation Army even earlier.

Among all the liberated colonies, the Socialist Republic of Champa (Vietnam) had a very large number of foreign personnel. Among the four southern countries, Champa's economy was developing the best, and it hosted the largest number of foreign volunteers. March in the Soviet Union was still freezing cold, but in Saigon, the capital of the Champa Republic, the dry season had arrived. The average temperature was around 28 degrees Celsius. As the rainy season had ended, the air was humid but without that feeling of being wrapped in steam.

China's aid to the four southern countries was roughly similar; all their capitals had airports, and the Central-South Railway passed through three of the countries, excluding Laos. As an important station on the Central-South Railway, Saigon saw a large volume of trains passing through, making the city appear quite prosperous.

The arrival of comrades from the Third International gave the former Third International members who had joined the World People's Liberation Army a joyful feeling of meeting old friends in a foreign land. The group held a dinner party in Saigon. The government of the Champa Republic was also happy to see more foreign volunteers coming to help with the country's construction and proactively provided a very good venue.

The dinner was buffet-style. The Foreign Minister and the Minister of Economy of the Champa Republic spoke successively before the meal officially began. The next speaker was an advisor to the Champa Ministry of Finance, a German named Maximilian. Maximilian's identity was interesting; he was a member of the German Communist Party (KPD) and a classmate of the German economic expert Hjalmar Schacht. He had once worked in the German economic sector. When Nazi Germany persecuted the Communists, Maximilian first fled Germany to France, and then went to China to seek support along with German members of the International Brigades in Spain.

Maximilian had a cheerful personality not often seen in Germans. He first recalled everyone's unease upon arriving in China, and their surprise when China made inquiries. "...Comrades, when the Chinese comrades asked me if I was willing to continue engaging in economic work, the first image that came to my mind was of me, who could only speak German and English, working in an office with a group of Chinese economic talents who could only speak Chinese. At that time, I felt I wouldn't be able to do anything.

"Now, I know that many Chinese comrades can actually speak English. However, I did not expect to be working in Saigon with comrades who can only speak the local language. Furthermore, I can proudly say that the work my comrades and I have done has been very successful. We have truly contributed our abilities to the progressive cause of the people of the world!"

The members attending the dinner nodded one after another, and some enthusiastically applauded and cheered.

The Third International members, shouldering secret missions, looked around the room and found that those expressing agreement were not only revolutionaries and leftists from Europe and America; the people of the Champa Republic held the same view. People of all races expressed the same view on their cooperation, making the atmosphere extremely harmonious.

This harmony made the Third International members feel somewhat uncomfortable because the positions held by members of the World People's Liberation Army in the Champa Republic were varied, covering every field of the Champa Republic.

The speaker, Maximilian, was an advisor to the Ministry of Finance. Before departing, the assessment report received by the Third International Committee stated that the KPD member Maximilian and China's Lin Fengshan were the *de facto* leaders of the Champa Republic's financial work.

Besides Maximilian, the Chief of Surgery at the Saigon Medical College Affiliated Hospital was Norman Bethune, a Canadian. The principal of the Saigon Medical College, James Debon, was English, a graduate of the University of Edinburgh Medical School, just like China's late former Minister of Commerce, George Morrison.

Since producing a figure like Morrison, the University of Edinburgh Medical School had been very interested in China, establishing good academic relationships with several Chinese medical schools and engaging in much exchange work. Now, within the medical circles of the four southern countries, quite a few graduates of the University of Edinburgh Medical School with leftist stances were employed by these governments, taking up various teaching and medical positions.

This was something that the Third International found both surprising and very displeasing. After liberating the colonies, China did not turn these countries into Chinese satellite states by providing experts to control their core positions, thereby achieving control over these nations.

China merely provided advisors in various professional fields and helped these countries with training. China was also happy to recommend professionals among leftists willing to dedicate themselves to world revolution to take up these technical posts. As a result, in these liberated countries, the number of non-Chinese experts among the foreign advisors approached half.

Politically, this did not look like a plan to control other countries at all. Because among these leftist revolutionaries, a significant number detested big powers controlling small countries. The reason these people had broken away from the Third International was their dissatisfaction with the Soviet Union turning the Third International into a tool under Soviet leadership.

China used these people so boldly to provide advisory work for the liberated colonies. Unless these people were only against Soviet chauvinism but not Chinese chauvinism, then China truly was not engaging in chauvinism/hegemony.

The revolutionaries were not pretentious. Maximilian's speech wasn't long; after recalling the past and looking forward to the future, the meal began. The aroma of food filled the venue, and the food being prepared on-site attracted the Third International personnel with their secret missions. They saw lobsters the size of a forearm being split in half with a single knife cut and placed directly on the iron grill to roast. For Europeans, this was a delicacy that could only be enjoyed on the dining tables of top European aristocrats.

Even though they felt in their hearts that this treatment was excessively good, the Third International representatives couldn't help but line up to get the large prawns. If they only looked at such gourmet food without getting to eat it, they would feel great regret.

Queuing together naturally led to conversation. Faced with such luxurious, giant green lobsters, the Third International members discussed the current treatment of these revolutionaries with Maximilian.

Maximilian showed not the slightest unease regarding this question; he even explained with some pride. Among the foreign volunteers who came to participate in the construction of former colonial countries, not all were necessarily revolutionaries. Many were technical experts who came seeking employment opportunities because of economic depression in their home countries, hoping to gain work experience and good remuneration through their achievements.

The governments of these countries would provide salaries equivalent to those in their home countries based on the nature of their work, ensuring the principle of payment for labor. At the same time, as the inviting party, the Chinese government would also provide a subsidy based on these people's income, bringing their income standard up to the level of ordinary wages for similar work in China.

The Third International comrades had plenty of saliva in their mouths [from the smell of food], so their articulation was quite clear and fluid. "If you put it that way, doesn't it deviate from the revolutionaries' philosophy of being content with poverty?"

Maximilian felt some contempt for these bumpkins. Indeed, European revolutionaries knew very well that the revolutionary cause they engaged in would inevitably subject them to poverty. Moreover, Christian culture also advocated being content with poverty; especially for those pursuing morality, being content with poverty was even more important. In this regard, both Chinese and Western cultures shared similar views.

Maximilian explained, "Since no one lives in a vacuum, one naturally has to live. There is a view in China: if those who do good deeds do not receive sufficient returns, then who will be willing to do good deeds? Giving them sufficient income is respect for labor. As far as I know, among these volunteers, many donate their income and have done a lot of work for the local people. We are very moved by this. These comrades are truly of noble character."

These words were simply a shock, leaving the Third International representatives unsure of what to say for a moment. But a bigger shock was yet to come. Maximilian added one more sentence, "Comrade, poverty is not socialism."

After saying this, Maximilian patted the Third International representative on the shoulder, took the plate with his grilled prawn, turned to the dining table, sat down, and began to eat.

The prawns grilled quickly, and the Third International representatives soon received their portions. This type of prawn was called the Ornate Spiny Lobster, also known as the Green Dragon. The Ornate Spiny Lobster might have been called the "Divine Shrimp" in ancient times. In the *Taiping County Annals*, there was such a description: *In the first year of the Tiansheng era of the Northern Song Dynasty, a fisherman caught one in the sea. It was over three *chi* long, its front two pincers were about two *cun*, with red whiskers over a *chi* long at the end. Its head was like a vessel holding several *sheng*, appearing like a painting. It had two eyes, twelve legs, and patterns like a tiger or leopard. Generally, it possessed all five colors, and its imposing shape was especially strange. The imperial commissioner Wu Zhonghua painted its image to report it, and by imperial decree, it was named the Divine Shrimp.* According to this description in the county annals, the appearance of the "Divine Shrimp" had similarities to the Ornate Spiny Lobster, which was called "Green Dragon" in China.

The meat of this lobster was delicious, and they were very abundant in Southeast Asia. As for the Third International representatives, they had never seen one before. Although their moods had suffered a great shock, the entrance of the delicious lobster meat still attracted their appetite and attention.

The Soviet probing included not only these former Third International members; the Soviet Union itself was very much looking forward to establishing the strength of the Third International in the liberated countries.

Therefore, in the capital [Beijing], the Soviet representatives preparing to meet with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also preparing how to convey the CPSU's thoughts to the Chinese government. Stalin hoped that the Chinese government could accept the Soviet Union's mention [of this issue]. In the independent countries, except for racist parties, all political parties should be protected by law and possess the right to vote and to be elected.

In short, besides establishing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and not engaging in various hostile actions against the Soviet Union, the political systems of these newly established countries must not persecute Communist parties and party members. Once Communist party members in these countries obtained positions such as members of parliament through elections, they could not be deprived of their positions.

If possible, the Soviet representatives hoped even more to discuss this matter with Chinese Civilization Party leaders like Li Runshi. But Molotov also knew that in any case, it was impossible to bypass He Rui on such a major matter. In China, things that He Rui did not agree to simply had no way of passing.