The ringing of the telephone interrupted Li Runshi’s thoughts. Picking it up somewhat unhappily, he heard a rather excited voice on the other end. "It's Cheng Ruofan. Chairman Li, are you free today?"

Hearing that it was Cheng Ruofan, who was currently responsible for the establishment of the World People's Liberation Army, Li Runshi’s mood improved considerably. He immediately replied, "I am. But I can’t go out."

Cheng Ruofan had come prepared. "It’s good that you’re free. I’ll come to pay a visit."

It wasn't clear where Cheng Ruofan was working when he called, but forty minutes later, there was a knock on Li Runshi's office door. Cheng Ruofan walked in briskly, followed by an orderly carrying a food box. Once only Cheng Ruofan and Li Runshi remained in the office, the box was opened to reveal braised pork and other dishes that Li Runshi enjoyed.

Cheng Ruofan opened a bottle of beer for himself and clinked it against Li Runshi’s cup of water before they began to eat and drink. After three rounds of drinks and five courses of food, Cheng Ruofan finally asked, "I wonder what Chairman Li’s views are on this Singapore Conference? Can we make the various nations understand the significance of this war?"

Li Runshi felt that Cheng Ruofan was indeed quite idealistic, though it was understandable that as a General, Cheng Ruofan might not want to discuss military matters. After eating another piece of braised pork, Li Runshi replied, "As I see it, very few people in European and American countries currently genuinely want to understand the political significance of world liberation. Most are still focused on military victory or defeat."

Cheng Ruofan stared at Li Runshi. After Li Runshi had stated his view, Cheng Ruofan drained the little remaining beer in his glass in one gulp. As he poured more, he said, "It seems I really overestimated those people. They don't seem to understand that war is the continuation of politics, and politics is the continuation of economics."

Li Runshi felt a sense of regret. Cheng Ruofan was speaking of the European and American nations, but as a socialist country, the Soviet Union also didn't seem to understand this theory. Or rather, the Soviet economic model caused the Soviet government representatives' understanding of 'politics as the continuation of economics' to differ too greatly from China's.

Lifting his cup to take a sip of water, Li Runshi picked up a piece of green pepper chicken and chewed slowly. The spicy flavor of the green pepper satisfied him greatly, and combined with the rich taste of the chicken skin, the texture was excellent. However, this small delicacy couldn't improve Li Runshi’s mood. During the day, no matter how many times Li Runshi emphasized that the localization of communism was the correct direction for the international communist movement, Molotov’s reaction clearly proved that he believed Li Runshi was opposing the international communist movement.

Seeing Li Runshi deep in thought, Cheng Ruofan simply voiced his own question. "Chairman Li, do you think the Indian region can maintain basic peace after independence? From the news I’ve heard, the Indian Congress Party is very keen to take over the political legacy of the British in India and has already begun to coordinate with the British withdrawal."

Li Runshi had been transferred to handle political work in India, so much intelligence was not reported directly to him. Cheng Ruofan was responsible for the organizational construction of the World People's Liberation Army; determining who was a friend and who was an enemy naturally had to go through him first. However, Li Runshi still asked, "I haven't looked at the reports these past few days. Is it in the report?"

"The report has already come out," Cheng Ruofan replied.

Once he was sure there were no security concerns, Li Runshi asked about the content of the report. Cheng Ruofan recounted another aspect of the situation in India that Li Runshi had guessed at but hadn't had time to focus on. Last year, that is, in 1941, within the various princely states in northern India, the princes and kings feared revolution. Intellectuals of Dalit origin and colonial officials became targets of their suppression. Although Cheng Ruofan still didn't know what He Rui meant by the "April 12th" he had clearly mentioned inadvertently upon hearing this news, Cheng Ruofan guessed it was likely a counter-attack by feudal forces, whose power was based on land control, against emerging progressive forces.

As China rapidly liberated India and explicitly refused to cooperate with the various Indian princely states—striving instead to unite India's progressive forces to launch an Indian people's revolution from the grassroots—the princely states, large and small, turned one after another to cooperate with the emerging Indian forces they had attacked not long before. The Indian National Congress, representing the Indian upper strata, already contained a great many members of the traditional upper class. Lacking its own armed forces, the Congress Party naturally ignored the situation where a large number of its members had recently been killed, and reached a cooperation with the feudal landlord princes.

Hearing this, Li Runshi sighed inwardly and couldn't help but interject, "I actually think that the killing of a large number of Congress Party members from Dalit backgrounds actually facilitated the cooperation between the Congress Party and the feudal princes more effectively."

Cheng Ruofan was stunned for a moment, then slapped the table in praise. "This methodology is excellent! Chairman Li, if you were to write this report, it would certainly be more penetrating."

Li Runshi didn't take up the compliment. When he was the Propaganda Minister and Principal of the Party School, he was responsible for writing articles for the party, and they were always highly rated. If he accepted the compliment now, it would smack of criticizing other comrades for their lack of ability. Li Runshi had absolutely no interest in stepping on others to highlight himself and would never do such a thing.

Cheng Ruofan’s character was also very pure; his previous words were simply heartfelt praise. After speaking, he continued, "At this stage, the Congress Party can basically be considered the largest reactionary faction in India. I believe we must formulate a plan targeting the Congress Party."

Li Runshi had also entered work mode by now. The negative emotions triggered by the dissolution of the Third International were completely banished from his mind. He was about to say something when he saw the bowls and chopsticks in front of him, so he said, "Let's talk after we finish eating."

The two of them swept through the food like a whirlwind, then let the orderly clear away the dishes. They moved to the small conference room next door, and the orderly quickly brought in clear tea. Amidst the aroma of the tea, Li Runshi said, "I don't think the Congress Party's goal in state-building is to let the Indian people continue to suffer under the feudal system. Judging by the Congress Party's current platform, even by Chinese standards, the Indian Congress Party is a political party pursuing national liberation. It cannot be discussed as a reactionary faction."

Cheng Ruofan shook his head. "I think the Congress Party is very clear about the role of land revolution in economics and politics. Since the Congress Party is cooperating with the feudal princely states, they cannot possibly achieve the reorganization of land assets that was completed in East Asia. As long as the Indian people continue to endure the exploitation brought about by private land ownership, even if the new global order led by China helps India solve its security threats, the Congress Party cannot truly solve its economic problems."

Li Runshi thought Cheng Ruofan’s view showed a high level of understanding, but he still explained, "I think the Congress Party truly does not know what price they will have to pay for merging with feudal forces. At such a time, what we need to do is help the Congress Party, not treat it as a reactionary faction. In India, there are too many political forces more reactionary than the Congress Party."

Cheng Ruofan continued to shake his head. "As per the joke the Chairman tells: absolute loyalty means absolute disloyalty is impossible. I believe this 'loyalty' refers to one's attitude towards core concepts. The Congress Party is a party incapable of conducting armed struggle. The staunch revolutionary within the party is Chandra Bose. Chandra Bose is not only a minority within the Congress Party, but his concepts are also resolutely opposed by the Indian Congress Party. Chairman Li, you must be very clear about how Chandra Bose was thoroughly opposed by the Congress Party's upper echelon!"

Li Runshi nodded. In January 1938, Bose was elected President of the Congress Party. Upon taking office, he set about establishing a National Planning Committee, proposing new economic platforms for the Congress Party such as rebuilding India, land reform, and implementing national industrialization. This formed a sharp opposition to the passive economic propositions represented by Gandhi's hand-spinning wheel. This economic proposition of Bose encountered strong opposition from the conservative clique within the Congress Party.

In early 1939, the Congress Party's conservative clique put forward the right-wing leader Pattabhi Sitaramayya as a candidate for the Congress Party presidency, hoping to undermine the passage of Bose’s action plan at the plenary session. The radical faction of the Congress Party again nominated Bose as a presidential candidate. Proposing two presidential candidates at once was a first in the history of the Congress Party. This reflected the irreconcilable nature of the contradictions within the party.

On January 19, 1939, the Congress Party held elections. The result was that Bose was re-elected as Congress Party President by a margin of 203 votes over Sitaramayya. The conservative faction of the Congress Party reacted strongly to Bose's re-election. Gandhi took the lead in opposing it, and the entire membership of the Congress Working Committee, with the exception of one person, refused to cooperate with Bose and resigned en masse.

On March 10, 1939, the Congress Party convened its 52nd annual session. Bose was unable to attend due to illness, and his action plan miscarried. These events left Bose feeling very disappointed. He believed that after losing the support of the Gandhi faction, he would not achieve anything by remaining within the Congress Party. Therefore, in April, he resolutely resigned from the post of Congress Party President. In June of the same year, he organized the Forward Bloc to break with Gandhi's Congress Party and prepared to concentrate all radical factions in India within this group to continue the resolute struggle against the British colonial authorities.

It was also during this stage that Chandra Bose completely turned to cast his lot with China. Prior to this, a large number of revolutionaries in the Indian region had chosen to cooperate with China, but Chandra Bose had always believed that from a geopolitical perspective, China posed a huge military threat to an independent India, and had never decided to cooperate.

Now, Chandra Bose led the radical members of the Indian Congress Party in a successful uprising in Mumbai, establishing a political entity in western India. Li Runshi had heard that the split within the Congress Party had reached almost hostile levels. If one considered that Chandra Bose was prepared to unify the Indian region—or at least unify central and northern India which were not yet independent—through military struggle, it was perfectly understandable why Chandra Bose cared so much about dismantling the backward Dum Dum Arsenal.

Li Runshi emphasized to Cheng Ruofan again, "I still must emphasize, we absolutely cannot view the Indian Congress Party as a reactionary faction. The Indian region has not completed a thorough institutional and economic revolution like China, nor has it crossed the threshold of becoming an industrial nation. Therefore, the Indian Congress Party is not committing a crime knowingly; they truly do not know. This is a discussion of essence: the Congress Party is not reactionary."

Hearing this, Cheng Ruofan picked up his teacup and drank. After savoring the tea for a while, he put down the cup and said, "Alright. Although I have my own views, I am willing to continue the discussion on the basis proposed by Chairman Li."

Li Runshi liked this attitude of Cheng Ruofan very much. Cheng Ruofan’s immaturity was only because he didn't know, or lacked ability. In terms of personal character, Cheng Ruofan was quite pure. Therefore, among the Five Tiger Generals of Baoding, everyone believed that He Rui had always been very "partial" to Cheng Ruofan. And Cheng Ruofan was also the guy who made He Rui worry the most.

The reason He Rui treated Cheng Ruofan this way was genuinely because of Cheng Ruofan’s pure personality, not because He Rui had any intention of cultivating a favorite retainer; those who tried to be favorites had all been ruthlessly kicked out by He Rui.

Since Cheng Ruofan was willing to reserve his personal opinion, Li Runshi continued to explain, "According to what you said, the Congress Party is taking over the legacy left by the British by helping them withdraw. The Congress Party's primary goal right now is to obtain as much political power as possible; cooperation with the British is a means, not an end. Then, among the many British legacies the Congress Party receives, what they lack most is undoubtedly armed forces. The armed forces that the Indian princes can provide will fill the power vacuum of the Congress Party's mainstream faction."

"Allow me to interrupt. Does Chairman Li consider that Chandra Bose no longer counts as a Congress Party member?" Cheng Ruofan asked.

Li Runshi laughed. "Hehe, the relationship between the Beiyang and Northeast governments is the relationship between the Congress Party and Chandra Bose."

This analogy made Cheng Ruofan, one of the fierce generals of the Northeast Government back in the day, understand immediately. "Please continue to deconstruct the problem, Chairman Li."

"The Congress Party will reach an agreement with the forces represented by these military personnel. Will this agreement continue to maintain India's current land policy, or will it adopt a policy of land revolution, or will it seek a balance between the two that both sides can accept?"

Cheng Ruofan frowned involuntarily, thinking for a moment before replying reluctantly, "It will definitely be a compromise agreement."

Li Runshi nodded. "So the Congress Party is not a reactionary political party. Even on policies they know will certainly have problems, they are not insisting on a reactionary stance, they just have no choice but to do so."

Cheng Ruofan sighed somewhat helplessly. "Did I overestimate the Congress Party's ability?"

"It's not that you overestimated or underestimated the Congress Party, Comrade Ruofan. It's that you have never been able to put yourself in the actual mindset of the Congress Party. So you cannot empathize with them, and can only understand and analyze their behavior subjectively."

Cheng Ruofan shook his head, feeling truly regretful about his lack of ability in this area. However, he quickly moved to the next stage. "Does Chairman Li believe there is no need to conduct... no need to establish operations targeting the Congress Party?"

"We are going to liberate India, not to coerce India. The Congress Party seems special only because it possesses organizational power and experience that other regions of India do not, giving it greater appeal. In essence, there is no difference between the Congress Party and the nations in the Indian region that have already become independent. At this stage, everything the Congress Party does is highly consistent with the direction of our efforts. Both are to liberate the Indian region from British rule as quickly as possible. As for the next stage, the Congress Party's policy goals and our goals are actually also highly consistent.

"If we believe there is only one path to liberation in the world, this judgment is very arbitrary. The path the Congress Party is taking is their path of liberation. Any action we take targeting the Congress Party is tantamount to negating our own policy."

After thinking for a moment, Cheng Ruofan replied with regret, "Thank you, Chairman Li, for clearing up my confusion. I just feel the Indian people are very pitiable."

Li Runshi knew Cheng Ruofan’s thoughts very well. He comforted him, "Compared to the colonial period, the Indian people have obtained liberation, so they are not pitiable. In the future, in the country established by the Congress Party, the people will also continue the struggle for liberation. The Indian people have their own choices; one must not mark the boat to find the sword."

Cheng Ruofan shook off his emotions quickly and continued to the next question. "Based on the intelligence so far, we very likely cannot count on the nations in the Indian region to truly become members of the World People's Liberation Army."

Li Runshi shook his head. "I don't think so. Even if the Congress Party doesn't join the World People's Liberation Army, other countries will. At the very least, the Forward Bloc led by Chandra Bose will certainly join. If we look at the problem from the perspective of the various nations in the Indian region, they will certainly hope their country can become a member of this global organization, the World People's Liberation Army. By participating in this organization, they can obtain national benefits. In this era of universal world liberation, there is very important room for cooperation between the interests of these former colonial countries and the new world order. Europe and America simply cannot provide the resources these countries urgently need for nation-building at this stage, while we are genuinely willing to support their construction."

Cheng Ruofan thought for another moment, then sighed. "It seems I am still too emotional."

"I don't think this is the result of being emotional. Comrade Ruofan has always been engaged in work in the military field, without experience in civil administration, and even less experience in colonial liberation work," Li Runshi replied kindly.

Cheng Ruofan waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no, no, it's not that I lack experience, but that I am very clear that I cannot come up with the correct train of thought from the start, so everything I do is wrong. In order not to cause losses to the revolutionary work, I choose directly not to intervene in work in these areas."

Li Runshi appreciated Cheng Ruofan's sincerity and quickly shifted the topic to military struggle. "Comrade Ruofan, what problems do you think the World People's Liberation Army will encounter in the military struggles in the Middle East and Africa?"

As a military expert, with the war having reached its current stage and the strength of Europe and America basically determined, Cheng Ruofan immediately gave an explanation. "Operations in the Middle East and Africa depend on the extent to which we can defeat the regular armies of European and American countries and limit the projection capability of European and American military systems in the Middle East and Africa. At this stage, we cannot capture the Suez Canal in a short time. To solve the British submarine threat and completely seize command of the sea in the Indian Ocean, we must rely on India as a springboard to block the entrance to the Red Sea as soon as possible.

"As long as the European and American submarine threat is solved, our country's transportation capacity can play a decisive role. But once the war enters the southern coast of the Mediterranean, our logistics will turn from an advantage to a disadvantage. This change in the balance of power will make many comrades very unaccustomed to it. I am currently making adjustments regarding problems in this area. In the current war zone, a company commander can call for air support at will.

"Once we reach the southern coast of the Mediterranean, it will be the turn of the air forces over in Europe to demonstrate their power..."