As a politician born of elections, Truman's rhetoric could deceive the average American, but it could not fool Molotov. Facing Truman's claim that both the U.S. and USSR were threatened by China, Molotov replied calmly: "The United States has consistently supported Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, while China has consistently helped us. Your view, Mr. Senator, is clearly divorced from reality."

A politician like Truman would never retreat just because he hit a snag; in their mouths, butter wouldn't melt. Even though Molotov was so blunt, Truman still sensed the CPSU's internal needs. If the CPSU weren't seeking cooperation with the U.S., Truman wouldn't have had the chance to stand before Molotov.

"Mr. Commissar, both Germany and the Soviet Union are paying a massive price for this war. The only one profiting is China. If the USSR and Germany can restore peace, this massive loss can end. Precious resources could be used to improve national well-being. Peace is very beneficial for the Soviet Union."

Truman's view did indeed align with Soviet interests, so Molotov inquired: "The Soviet Union believes Germany must withdraw from our territory and pay reparations."

"The United States believes restoring the pre-war borders is necessary. However, the matter of reparations requires discussion between the Soviet Union and Germany. Furthermore, Mr. Commissar, I believe a pragmatist diplomatic philosophy is the foundation for stabilizing the current situation."

Hearing the American attitude Truman brought, Molotov was slightly moved. Stalin's obsession with a massive counter-offensive was driven by the desire to restore pre-war borders and re-utilize the population, minerals, and industrial capacity of the Soviet Union's western heartland.

If they could truly achieve this goal, the CPSU wouldn't mind feigning cooperation with Germany. As long as their strength was sufficient, the Red Army could attack Germany again at any time. As for so-called neutrality, the Red Army was so powerful it wouldn't be constrained by Western nations. Once they recovered their strength to pre-war levels, they could fight whenever they pleased.

But Molotov didn't believe Truman's pitch represented the full extent of the American view. If it were merely to let the USSR profit from the war, the U.S. would never be so "fond" of the Soviet Union. Molotov asked: "What other requirements are there?"

Truman immediately stated the other American demands: "The Soviet Union must terminate its alliance with China and firmly oppose Chinese expansion in Eastern Europe, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean."

At first glance, Molotov almost thought this was reasonable. But after a moment's reflection, he decided it didn't quite suit Soviet interests. If peace were restored with Germany, the USSR could simply end the alliance aimed at Nazi Germany anyway.

The Soviet Union had long-held ambitions for Eastern Europe and had always wanted control of the Black Sea. Excluding China from those regions also aligned with Soviet interests.

However, an alliance represented national policy. If the USSR followed Truman's suggestion, the result would be a cooling of Sino-Soviet relations. While it might not lead to open enmity, it would at least become very cold. If Germany attacked the USSR again, China would have no reason to support them. This was the norm for relations during a period of estrangement.

Molotov himself believed Allied hostility toward China currently far exceeded their hostility toward the USSR, so once Germany retreated to the pre-war border, a new offensive was unlikely in the short term. But the USSR truly had no reason to let relations with China turn cold right now.

As for opposing Chinese expansion in Eastern Europe: at present, Germany controlled Eastern Europe. Opposing Chinese expansion there meant either supporting Germany against China or using Soviet power to drive both Germany and China out.

Since Truman proposed a ceasefire and peace, the implication was that the USSR should not restart the war with Germany. Thinking of this, Molotov asked: "The Soviet Union cannot support a German presence in Eastern Europe."

Hearing this, Truman smiled. "Haha, if Germany cannot hold Eastern Europe, I believe the Allies would expect the Soviet Union to become the guardian of the region. As long as it is not China mastering Eastern Europe, the Allies do not mind who does."

Molotov was speechless for a moment. The Allies were promising too much!

Of course, these promises also contained a massive trap. Once the USSR blocked China from Eastern Europe, it would be seen as standing on the side of Europe. There was another possibility: the USSR could consult with China and obtain a promise of control over Eastern Europe.

But there was deep-seated resentment within the CPSU regarding acting only after obtaining Chinese approval. The Soviet Union should not be a Chinese vassal; it had to possess the capacity to decide its own strategy. Otherwise, it would be equivalent to returning to the status of the Golden Horde before China.

Molotov soon ended the meeting with Truman and immediately reported to Stalin. Stalin's expression didn't change much, but Molotov could tell he was truly interested.

Sure enough, after silently smoking a pipe, Stalin asked: "Did the Americans clearly state they can decide Germany's strategic judgment? Or did Germany authorize the U.S. to convey its attitude?"

Although both questions were skeptical, to a diplomat like Molotov, Stalin's desire for a rapid ceasefire was becoming impossible to hide. Molotov replied: "Judging by the American representative's words, this is the American view, and Germany does not oppose a ceasefire. However, Germany will surely make other demands, which will inevitably be based on unilaterally satisfying German needs."

In Molotov's view, if Stalin didn't want a ceasefire or hoped to overwhelm Germany, he would have refused further talks. But Stalin smoked his pipe for another while before finally ordering: "Find out the bottom line of all the American representative's demands. At the same time, make him understand that the Soviet Union will not cede a single centimeter of territory. As the commissars shouted during the Battle of Moscow: the Soviet Union is vast, but we have nowhere left to retreat."

As Molotov and Truman continued their negotiations, both sides came to understand each other's bottom lines frankly.

At this time, Ribbentrop had also returned to Hitler's headquarters, the Wolf's Lair, in East Prussia. Ribbentrop had been worried that Hitler would be unwilling to exit the war, yet when he informed him of the American suggestions, he saw no anger on Hitler's face. Because he was thinking, the Führer's expression held only a hint of regret.

Ribbentrop looked toward Propaganda Minister Goebbels, Secretary and Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess, and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring. All three were silent, appearing pensive.

Standing beside Hitler with his hands behind his back, Goebbels—who had just finished a propaganda tour of Germany—saw Hitler's expression and understood something. In late February 1943, after the German army had finally stabilized its lines following a command shake-up and was enduring the winter war, Hitler—having finally relaxed a bit—had said to Goebbels: "If I had known the Soviet Union could mobilize so many troops, I never would have chosen to invade."

At that time, Hitler had just relaxed from a state of extreme tension and worry. Based on Goebbels's understanding of the man, those words were heartfelt. And as the Führer, Hitler naturally didn't want to fight a war with no chance of victory.

Now, while the hope for peace was slim, it was at least not impossible as before. Goebbels believed it was only natural for Hitler to seriously consider peace.

This subtle silence lasted for some time before Hitler asked Ribbentrop: "Does the Soviet Union realize they are fighting for China's global hegemony?"

Ribbentrop felt an immediate relief. Since his conversation with Secretary Hull, he had reflected repeatedly on how to persuade the USSR. The best angle was undoubtedly "the Soviet Union is using its own flesh and blood to nourish Chinese hegemony."

This was not a fabricated reason. The reasons for the outbreak of the Soviet-German War had nothing to do with China, but having fought this far, both sides had paid a massive price. Through the cruelty to date, both the USSR and Germany realized that neither could achieve their pre-war goals.

During the war, China—no longer worried about potential Soviet pressure—had fought the Allies with all its might and achieved a series of startling victories. If the USSR continued to fight Germany, its strategic effect would merely be to tie down Allied forces in Europe for China's benefit.

China had indeed stopped demanding payment for aid supplies after the war broke out and might not seek repayment in the future. But for aid valued at less than $10 billion, they had achieved such a massive strategic goal—China had made a fortune.

Besides sharing China's strategic pressure, the USSR had been severely weakened in the bloody struggle with Germany. Even if the Soviet Union emerged as the ultimate victor of this great war, it would lose its ability to check China due to excessive casualties. It was effectively trading the Soviet future for Chinese victory.

Since Hitler asked so directly, Ribbentrop laid out his planned logic in full. Not only did Hitler nod slightly, but even Goebbels, Hess, and Göring showed a rare look of appreciation.

Ribbentrop felt a surge of emotion. As Foreign Minister, he had put enormous effort into the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the Anglo-German Peace Treaty, yet he had endured endless disdain for being seen as a "social climber." Now, his views were being accepted by the Nazi high command, but only because they were facing an unprecedentedly powerful enemy in China and the situation was turning grim—making the high command temporarily set aside their prejudices.

Hitler, having finished his reflections, spoke: "Ribbentrop, contact the Americans and see if you can have direct contact with the Soviet side. Simultaneously, the Wehrmacht and the SS must intensify their offensive. Once Stalin feels the pressure starting to decrease, he will develop many unrealistic ideas. Furthermore, we must be careful; Stalin will likely use ceasefire negotiations as a means to turn the tide. That is exactly what the Russians did with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

"The reason the Soviet Union chose to cooperate with China was also because He Rui applied enough pressure at the time. It was not that the USSR chose peace with China out of the goodness of its heart."

Seeing Hitler's thinking remain clear and rational, the Nazi high command felt reassured. It must be said that a Soviet-German ceasefire, or even peace, held a massive attraction for all present. They all found themselves eager to facilitate this peace.

Only after hearing Hitler's cold and realistic logic did their wishful thinking receive a shock, and they all calmed down.

The Nazi high command were not the only ones whose wishful thinking was shocked; the upper echelons of the He Rui government, who attended He Rui's first meeting after his return to work, were also shaken. He Rui's approval of the bombing of U.S. West Coast industrial zones made some who had hoped for a peace initiative feel that peace was going to be much harder to achieve.

He Rui explained calmly: "From 1840 to the present, not a single Western war has ended because of goodwill. They all ended because financial collapse made them unsustainable. Furthermore, judging by development after wars, while there is civilian hatred, on the level of interest, normal commercial and personal exchange between countries is not affected. In other words, the more violently we strike the United States and the more miserably they are defeated, the greater the 'goodwill' the U.S. will actually have toward China."

This sentiment could be summarized as "The barbarians fear might but do not respect virtue; they have small manners but no great integrity." But He Rui disliked such incomplete sayings and chose a description with ample historical support.

Hearing He Rui prepare to expand the war, some high-level officials—while not opposing him—felt that even after a brush with death, He Rui's judgment remained full of edge and void of fear.

Of course, officials like Li Runshi, who knew that nuclear weapons had been miniaturized and made practical, believed He Rui had, as always, avoided the detour of a Mongol-style government. Even at this stage, He Rui remained calm and restrained.

Since the decision had been made at the highest level, on July 23rd, Chinese bombers—covered by 700 jet fighters from the southern carrier task force—launched an attack on the oil-producing regions of California on the West Coast.

Simultaneously, all 540 fighters capable of taking off from Chinese airbases in North America scrambled to attack the U.S. forces at the front. Under this pincer attack from north and south, all 1,600+ American jet fighters capable of taking off on the West Coast also scrambled to meet them.

For a time, the skies over the North American west coast were filled with fighters darting, circling, and diving as a fierce air battle between China and the U.S. unfolded. Under the cover of one Chinese fighter group, six formations of four J-9 advanced trainers used their low-altitude performance to penetrate the West Coast at maximum speed, following aeronautical maps to several locations with obvious surface landmarks.

The J-9s, suffering zero losses, each carried only two oddly shaped bombs. Reaching their landmarks, they all climbed rapidly to an altitude of over 4,000 meters before releasing one of the strange bombs and accelerating away.

These objects, appearing to be bombs, auto-glided for ten seconds before their tails erupted in flames. Aided by the tail propulsion, their trajectories shifted from a diagonal glide to a vertical drop. As they accelerated, massive parachutes deployed from their tails.

The enormous drag of the parachutes caused long, sharp rods to spring from the front of the objects. The middle and rear portions then separated from the front, which fell dozens of meters further before the rods pierced deep into the soil. Momentum caused the objects to slide forward slightly, dissipating some of the impact.

Once these strange devices stabilized, the transmitters inside began emitting radio signals. The signals from 24 different locations were received by signal collection devices equipped with large-scale electronics on the ground, at sea, and in the air. Computers rapidly calculated the latitude, longitude, and relative distances of the 24 devices according to pre-set programs.

The results were then passed to the Air Force, which was asked to perform a relative position comparison with the locations of oil facilities in California.

The United States was one of the few great powers remaining, and it was the only one at this stage with the capacity to "wrestle" with China in the field of electronics. These extraordinary radio signals were soon discovered by the Americans, and orders were issued to nearby U.S. troops and the California National Guard to "search for the Chinese small units invading the American mainland."

However, when the nearest National Guard unit reached one of the devices, they found only a charred, ruined cylinder hanging from a metal rod in the ground. The components inside were blown to bits, and the surrounding parts were shattered into countless fragments. It was impossible to tell what it had been for.

Beyond their surprise, the National Guard felt the Chinese "commando team" must have withdrawn. They had no idea there was no "commando team" at all. Controlled by integrated circuits, the devices transmitted telegrams and then self-destructed automatically—no human control was required. These devices worked for only 45 minutes before self-destructing as their power ran out.

Just before the Chinese fighters withdrew from North American airspace, devices broke through the sky over California—the former Lone Star Republic—and came shrieking down. The DF-2 missile had a range of 1,500 kilometers, just enough to strike from Vancouver to San Francisco. Since the Air Force was still present, they could observe the impact points.

In a span of 15 minutes, a total of 15 DF-2 missiles landed. Four were lucky enough to hit oil extraction points directly; 1,200 kilograms of high explosives created circular shockwaves on the ground, instantly toppling surrounding drilling rigs as if they were made of paper. The other equipment and workers near the rigs were reduced to fragments.

The impact points of the missiles that missed were also recorded. The Chinese Air Force then immediately withdrew, breaking off the engagement and heading back before suffering heavy losses.

News of repelling a massive Chinese air raid and damaging or downing over a hundred Chinese fighters was immediately sent to Washington, giving the Air Force Chief of Staff a quiet sense of satisfaction.

However, starting in the afternoon, the Chinese military launched a total of 120 DF-2 missiles. Their targets were either oil extraction plants or refineries.

The U.S. military had long ago prepared a powerful defensive system on the West Coast to prevent a Chinese landing. But while these systems could counter the Chinese Air Force, they had no way to counter missiles falling from the sky at supersonic speeds. From the moment U.S. radar detected the signal, the missiles landed in just a dozen breaths. There wasn't even time to sound an alarm.

The one feeling the greatest pain was Rockefeller himself. As he headed toward a destroyed refinery, he was still 20 kilometers away when he saw the rolling black smoke piercing the sky. Over 14 hours had passed, yet the fire at the destroyed refinery still hadn't been extinguished. Millions of dollars had vanished just like that.

And it wasn't just one refinery or oil field; in this single round of attacks, the Rockefeller group had lost $20 million.

Rockefeller's face was ashen. He knew that these losses were only the beginning.

That night, as a weary Rockefeller returned to a nearby hotel, his secretary brought him a brief message. It came from the Chinese side and consisted of only a single line: "Is it worth paying so much for White Supremacy?" 州。