From the beginning of February to the end of March, He Rui did not appear in public once. The joy among the members of Roosevelt's cabinet reached an almost indescribable level.

In the reports Roosevelt saw every day, the first item mentioned was whether He Rui had shown his face in public that day. By April 15th, there was still no news of He Rui appearing. Although the news of New Zealand being "liberated" by China was extremely disheartening to the Roosevelt cabinet, the high probability that He Rui was critically ill offset this frustration.

On April 16th, during a meeting in the Oval Office, Secretary of State Cordell Hull made a suggestion to Roosevelt. "Mr. President, I believe we can soon propose sending a special envoy to meet with Li Runshi."

As the Chinese proverb goes, "A new Son of Heaven brings a new court." English has a similar saying: "New king, new followers." If He Rui was no longer able to hold power, China's leaders would inevitably select a new leader, and a new leader would surely bring new policies.

As he watched Secretary of State Hull eagerly describe the diplomatic maneuvering with China's next leader, Li Runshi, Roosevelt did not voice his own opinion. He had heard of Li Runshi and had read many of his articles. *On Protracted War* had left a very deep impression on Roosevelt. In *On Protracted War*, Li Runshi spoke from the height of a strategist about how a backward but vast nation should handle the challenge of a powerful, medium-sized country. This was not just aimed at the Soviet Union; it was an effective methodology suitable for various strategic considerations regarding foreign aggression.

Facing such a new opponent, Roosevelt did not feel relieved. The selection process for the next leader in a unitary, centralized state like China was completely different from a federal election system like that of the United States. The power structure in the United States was bottom-up; the feudal forces within each state were extremely powerful, and a new leader had to gain the support of these local feudal lords to take office. Therefore, while the American electoral system was very stable, it was actually very inefficient when pursuing a clear future. The policies of two consecutive presidents would inevitably swing significantly.

Under China's cultural traditions and political model, policies would inevitably possess a high degree of continuity. At the very least, China's next leader would always strive to complete the goals set by the previous one.

Secretary of State Hull quickly sensed Roosevelt's attitude. He stopped talking and ceased describing his beautiful visions for the future.

Roosevelt's gaze fell upon the face of the new Army Chief of Staff, Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur immediately spoke up: "Mr. President, should we enter Canada first at this stage?"

The operational plan for entering Canada had been completed during Marshall's tenure, and the upper echelons of the United States all agreed with this military plan. Since the American Revolutionary War, gaining complete control over Canada had been a long-held ambition of the U.S. government. It just had never been achieved.

MacArthur firmly believed that if they couldn't deal with China, couldn't they at least deal with Canada? As long as he could effectively annex Canada, MacArthur could win a historical status that surpassed his father, Arthur MacArthur.

"Mr. President, the Army Staff judges that China will likely not directly attack our territory, but will instead choose to attack Canada. If they directly attacked our territory, China would have to achieve enough results to answer to its domestic audience. That is an impossible task. By attacking Canada, the difficulty of their operations would drop several levels. Furthermore, if they attack Canada and we send troops, we would be fighting abroad. China can also greatly reduce the difficulty of its operational objectives."

MacArthur did his best to describe various reasons for occupying Canada to Roosevelt, attempting to get Roosevelt to make a decision.

Roosevelt felt some internal resistance toward the direct annexation of Canada. This was not to say that Roosevelt himself didn't want to fulfill America's long-standing ambition—the Roosevelt administration had already tried many times to gain the consent of Winston Churchill's cabinet. But while Churchill was willing to make various deals with the United States on the grand strategic direction, he absolutely would not accept giving up Canada.

It wasn't just Churchill who disagreed; the members of Churchill's cabinet were even more adamantly opposed to a substantive American annexation of Canada.

The Roosevelt cabinet was not surprised. The British Empire, having completely lost the Indian region, had been thoroughly emasculated. Before losing India, Britain was a world power with a home population of over 40 million and 400 million Indian subjects. Now, Britain was just an ordinary power with 40 million people at home and nearly 20 million white colonial subjects.

Of those 20 million white colonial subjects, Canada accounted for about 12 million. Now that the 8 million white residents of Australia and New Zealand had been captured by China, if they lost another 12 million Canadians, Britain would be reduced to a European power with only 40 million white people at home and a vast, empty African colonial empire.

The People's Liberation Army of the World, led by China, was continuously liberating Africa. Once Africa was completely lost, Britain might not even maintain full sovereignty over the British Isles. The Irish autonomous government, which held a blood feud with Britain, had long ago stated that if Northern Ireland could be recovered, a complete Republic of Ireland would be restored on the island.

All that would be left for Britain was Great Britain (which had annexed Wales) and the United Kingdom after the union of Great Britain and Scotland. Even without losing Northern Ireland, the land area of this United Kingdom was 244,100 square kilometers (including inland waters). Britain was divided into four parts: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, with London as its capital. England was 130,400 square kilometers, Scotland 78,800 square kilometers, Wales 20,800 square kilometers, and Northern Ireland 14,100 square kilometers.

A United Kingdom of such tiny proportions could only be described as weak. Whether it was China or the United States, either could easily destroy it.

Facing such a future, the British cabinet could never allow the United States to annex Canada; even if it meant a complete rupture with the U.S., Britain would not hesitate.

The members of the Roosevelt cabinet were well aware of this. At least before there was a possibility of China landing in North America, the Roosevelt cabinet did not want to push Britain too hard. However, the current situation was completely different. As MacArthur said, China might very well land on the Canadian west coast, thereby creating a scenario for the United States to fight a war outside its borders.

To protect their own territory from invasion, the various states of the U.S. could still reach a consensus. But for the sake of Canadian independence, the states might not necessarily be willing to fight to the end with heart and soul. To enable the United States to keep fighting, the annexation of Canada became the best reason for war for the Roosevelt administration.

Roosevelt also could not be certain of his choice. The fact that He Rui was seriously ill might weaken China's centripetal force, but it also weakened the United States' judgment regarding the credibility of China's future.

Li Runshi, after all, was not a Chinese leader with the immense influence of He Rui; in China, no one could be mentioned in the same breath as He Rui. Therefore, China's future would likely be one where Li Runshi had to accommodate the sentiments of the entire nation, and the current sentiments of the Chinese public were not complex. According to America's understanding of China, the current thinking of the Chinese people was singular: no matter what domestic changes occurred in China in the future, the current Chinese government must achieve the goal of Chinese world hegemony.

Originally, the Chinese people firmly believed that He Rui could achieve this goal. Therefore, even those who opposed He Rui ideologically or politically were willing to support him in achieving world hegemony.

As long as Li Runshi could achieve the goals planned by He Rui, he would gain support. And if Li Runshi were to achieve this goal, it would run counter to American interests, and the two sides would inevitably continue a war to the death.

Roosevelt could not determine the simple yet unchangeable state of affairs, so he simply asked Secretary of State Hull, "What is the situation with the Soviet-German War?"

Up to now, the United States had not declared war on the Soviet Union. However, the Soviet side had cut off all official contact with the United States and clearly told the Roosevelt administration: "The Soviet Union will not engage in official communication with a U.S. government that fully supports Nazi Germany."

This could not be said to have completely closed the door to Soviet-American communication. The Soviet requirement was clear: the United States must cease all trade, technology, and other interactions with Germany that impacted the war. If the United States continued to help Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union would not restore official relations with the U.S. government.

Secretary of State Hull understood what Roosevelt cared about and proceeded to describe the Soviet Union's current predicament. Based on intelligence gathered by the U.S. from the Allies, the American side reconstructed the battlefield situation as accurately as possible.

On January 17, 1943, the Soviet Red Army recaptured Kalinin, north of Moscow. By early February, the counter-offensive in the western strategic direction was complete. The exhausted German forces had retreated 100 to 250 kilometers. Thirty-eight German divisions, including 15 panzer and motorized divisions, had been heavily damaged. The assault group attacking Moscow was routed, throwing the German army into panic. Hitler demanded that every settlement be held to the death, without a single step back, until the last man.

Due to a lack of experience in conducting large-scale offensive operations and a shortage of mobile formations, the Red Army failed to fully complete the task of encircling and destroying the main forces of Army Group Center. In early February, German reinforcements from Western Europe (12 divisions and 2 brigades) and the northern wing of Army Group Center launched counter-attacks, and the Red Army's situation deteriorated. The Stavka (Soviet High Command) ordered the forces in the western direction to transition to defense and withdraw units operating on the exterior, and the battle ended there.

By April 1943, the German forces attacking Moscow had suffered 500,000 casualties and had been driven 100 to 350 kilometers away from the city. The Soviet Union paid a heavy price with over 700,000 killed, wounded, or captured, but secured the final victory in the Battle of Moscow.

The German army, however, endured the most difficult defensive phase and did not experience a collapse like Napoleon's. Furthermore, under a new generation of front-line leadership, a group of brilliant "commoner" generals emerged in the German army, such as Manstein, Model, and Rommel. These generals, seen as commoners by the "red stripes" of the German General Staff, fought a series of stunning campaigns and held off the Red Army's counter-offensive.

Now, from Hitler down to the generals and soldiers, Nazi Germany optimistically believed that once the Soviet Union lost the help of the winter, it would be soundly defeated again by the German army in 1943.

However, after finishing this, Secretary of State Hull informed Roosevelt of a new piece of news. "Mr. President, according to our reports, Field Marshal von Reichenau, commander of Army Group South, seems to have died of illness. Germany has not yet released this news."

Although Roosevelt recognized the name Reichenau, he was not familiar with the Field Marshal. He only knew that Reichenau was a loyal believer in Nazism and possessed considerable military capability.

Hearing Hull mention this, Roosevelt asked, "Does Reichenau's successor not possess his abilities?"

Hull immediately replied: "At this stage, Germany has not decided who will succeed Reichenau. According to our judgment, two people are most likely. One is the former Chief of Staff of Army Group South, Colonel General Manstein. The other is the current acting Chief of Staff, Colonel General Paulus."

Roosevelt, hearing these complex names, had no interest in understanding them. To Roosevelt, these people were but minor characters who could not fundamentally affect America's strategy. He replied, "Hull, tell me once there is news."

At this time, Manstein, whom the Americans considered very likely to succeed Reichenau, was preparing for the breakout from Demyansk. After nearly four months of desperate fighting, Manstein knew very well that the only unit capable of taking on the heavy responsibility of the breakout was the 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf."

The bravery and fighting prowess of this unit were unmatched among the SS units. Besides the extraordinary mental state of the Totenkopf Division, its commander, Eicke, was the primary reason the division continued to perform so exceptionally.

Eicke was the original head of the "death camps." Politically, he was an extreme believer in Nazism, loyal to the point of complete self-abandonment.

In this state of self-abandonment, Eicke—who looked like a melancholy executioner—firmly believed that only by possessing the highest military skill could he better serve the Führer, Hitler, and the Nazi cause. If Eicke's own military ability was insufficient, it would inevitably lead to meaningless losses for the SS in battle.

Therefore, this man born in 1892, after the age of 45, devoted all his energy to studying military knowledge and training the Totenkopf Division into a unit with extremely high combat capability.

Manstein himself was a top-tier student and military scholar, outstanding in both strategy and tactics. Thus, Manstein found that Eicke would never become a strategist in this lifetime. However, through his diligent study, Eicke had acquired what could be called excellent tactical proficiency.

After discovering this, Manstein deliberately assisted Eicke. To Manstein's surprise, Eicke did not refuse to learn even though he was already 51 years old in 1943. Based on his infinite loyalty to Nazism and the Führer, Eicke did his utmost to learn the knowledge Manstein taught him.

This learning process caused Manstein to question his own long-held beliefs. In the past, Manstein felt that military talent was highly dependent on innate personality. Eicke's rapid progress in learning forced Manstein to admit that the power of human internal drive was so strong that it could potentially allow a person's aptitude to achieve breakthroughs that were theoretically impossible.

Of course, such a miraculous change required extremely harsh conditions. Eicke had been active in areas of intense combat almost every day for the past several months. Moreover, Eicke himself had worked hard for several years.

Even so, for Eicke—who just a few years ago was merely a "jailer" in a death camp—to become an excellent division commander with rich combat experience and a firm will was something Manstein could never have imagined.

Therefore, after the plan for the Demyansk breakout was approved by Hitler, Manstein immediately ordered the Totenkopf Division: "The Totenkopf Division must open a withdrawal corridor through the Soviet lines within two weeks!"

After issuing this order, Manstein gave the Totenkopf Division no further instructions. Because during the Battle of Demyansk, the elite Soviet Red Army had consistently applied immense pressure on the encircled 16th Army. The Totenkopf Division was simply the best-performing unit in the 16th Army, and every unit in the entire 16th Army, surrounded by Soviet forces on the frozen Soviet soil, had shown incredible fighting power.

Now Manstein had to command the entire 16th Army to break through the encirclement and link up with German forces 70 kilometers away. Since Commander Eicke possessed an aptitude worthy of Manstein's trust, Manstein gave Eicke the highest respect, which was to no longer interfere with Eicke's command.

The Totenkopf Division was well aware of the fight to the death it was about to face, and the entire division felt no fear because of it. Eicke only ordered the division to conduct a "clearing" of the breakout area to ensure no news would leak during the process.

After receiving orders on April 17th, the Totenkopf Division immediately sprang into action. They had long ago determined the distribution of Soviet villages in the breakout area. From April 17th to April 19th, the Totenkopf Division carried out a total massacre in the 68 villages of the region. Regardless of gender or age, all were executed.

During three days of inhuman slaughter, a total of 39,481 Soviet civilians were murdered.

On April 18th, the Totenkopf Division regrouped. The breakout operation began immediately.

On the first day of the breakout, the German attack was quite difficult because the Soviet side was also putting up stubborn resistance. After the artillery strikes, there followed horrific close-quarters combat. In hand-to-hand fighting, the outcome was either you die or I do, causing both the Soviet and German sides to lose a large number of troops.

After the battle, when the Soviet Union interrogated a soldier of the SS Totenkopf Division, they saw the following entry in his diary: "After we ran out of bullets, we grappled with the Soviets. I used my teeth to bite him. The Soviet planes also bombed indiscriminately, not distinguishing between friend and foe... We quickly gained the upper hand. The Soviets seemed afraid of us; they had never seen us so crazed. Even I felt my comrades beside me were strangers."

The members of the Totenkopf Division continued the tradition of "human bombs." When encountering areas that could not be breached, they used individual soldiers to charge in and perish with the enemy. On the third day, they successfully opened a gap four kilometers wide and forty kilometers long. A large number of German troops fought a brutal battle with the Soviets to consolidate this "lifeline." The Totenkopf Division, leading the way, suffered immense casualties but maintained the flow of the "lifeline." Meanwhile, German forces on the exterior also fought with the Soviets and moved toward them step by step. By April 22nd, the breaking-out German forces linked up with the German forces waiting outside. From that moment on, all the efforts the Soviet Union had put in were declared a failure.