Less than a year after the founding of the Republic of Australia and the Republic of New Zealand, the third wave of deportations for "traitors" had already begun. Previously, Australia and New Zealand had held their first round of independence referendums, in which 80% of the local colonists voted against independence. This 80% was immediately subject to deportation, loaded onto specially constructed ships—vessels that resembled livestock transports—and sent to labor camps in Africa to work on road construction and other infrastructure projects.

However, the colonial mindset was not so easily eradicated. Among the remaining 20% of the population in the two republics, excluding the Māori, there remained a strong colonial sentiment.

Australia and New Zealand had already passed the *Anti-Colonialism Act*. Under its provisions, eventually, approximately 9 million colonists out of a former population of nearly 10 million were deported. By now, the remaining white population numbered fewer than 200,000.

Yet, this massive population loss did not adversely affect the industrial or agricultural production of Australia and New Zealand. In less than a year, over 15 million overseas Chinese and immigrants from various regions had entered Australia, quickly bringing local production back to full operation and even sparking rapid economic growth.

As February arrived, the autumn harvest in Australia and New Zealand was completed. Bulk commodities from the Southern Hemisphere—grain, fodder, and minerals—began to be transported on a massive scale to Asia and Africa. Australia had become a hive of activity to facilitate the transport of hundreds of millions of tons of logistics annually.

Hundreds of major engineering projects were launched. To raise funds, the two nations took out massive loans from China, providing the Chinese Ministry of Finance with ample opportunities for high-quality bond issuance.

The Chinese Ministry of Finance also produced promotional films to introduce the people of China to Australia and New Zealand.

He Rui had been watching television more frequently of late. With a discerning eye, he watched one such promotional film. As the program began, a soft, deep male voice introduced: "Australia possesses a diverse geography, with vast plains and rainforests in the north, snowfields in the southeast, and deserts in the center. The fertile lands suitable for farming are primarily concentrated in the southeastern and southwestern coastal regions. The nation is highly urbanized, with major cities concentrated along the eastern coast. The capital is Canberra, and the largest city is Sydney; other major cities include Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide..."

He Rui waited patiently as he watched. Soon, the "meat" of the program arrived.

As dark beetles appeared on the screen, the narrator’s baritone became more engaging.

"...The scientific name for the dung beetle is the scarab. Adult dung beetles are black, slightly glossy, and about 3.5 centimeters long. They prefer to inhabit animal waste. The dung beetle is the strongest insect on Earth; they can push objects 250 times their own body weight—the equivalent of a human pushing five heavy trucks. Thus, their ability to transport manure is formidable; it can be said their ancestors survived on this very skill. If you have ever lived in the countryside or a pastoral area, you will have noticed a phenomenon: manure dropped by livestock on the first day will completely disappear by the second. This is the contribution of the dung beetle."

These scenes were quite interesting, especially the introduction to the vast pastures of Australia with their herds of cattle and sheep. He Rui felt that, given the Chinese people's love for land, they would certainly appreciate these expansive territories.

However, propaganda required a specific methodology. If one simply told the Chinese people, "Pick up a gun and go to Australia to kill the white men and take their land," it might work, but it did not align with China's current cultural traditions. Cutting in from a grounded perspective like the dung beetle made the message far more intriguing.

The promotional film was skillfully crafted. Why did Australia need to import large quantities of Chinese dung beetles? Was it because Australia had no dung beetles of its own?

Not at all. Australia had hundreds of native dung beetle species. However, the traditional "flavor" for Australian dung beetles was the waste of kangaroo and koala. In the 18th century, British colonists brought cattle and dairy cows to Australia, but the native dung beetles disliked cow manure because it was too wet. Compared to the dry waste of marsupials, cow manure was viscous and difficult to clean; the water-logged dung balls were heavy and difficult to roll.

The pastures were piling up with unwanted cow manure, and Chinese dung beetles were brought in to solve the problem perfectly.

In the documentary, the narrator's voice remained filled with an almost childlike infectiousness. Over images of Chinese dung beetles quickly resolving the manure problem, the narrator continued: "If you have ever lived in the countryside or a pastoral area, you will have noticed a phenomenon: manure dropped by livestock on the first day will completely disappear by the second. This is the contribution of the dung beetle."

Had someone not arrived, He Rui might have finished the documentary. But the visitor was Wu Youping, so He Rui had his secretary turn the television volume to the lowest setting before inviting him in.

Wu Youping had come to bring He Rui a report on the economic situation in Africa. The changes in Africa over the past year had been even more dramatic than those in Australia, especially in the field of infrastructure. The local Africans' assistance in the utilization of investment had been very, very significant.

"The population of liberated Africa has exceeded 100 million. The life patterns of these local Africans have been highly bound to the local colonial economy. They are either indigenous people completely detached from modern life or proletarians at the bottom of the production chain. Regardless of which they are, is there a possibility that a period of 'madness' might occur following a major economic fluctuation at this stage?" Wu Youping spoke directly, giving He Rui no time to read the documents.

Hearing Wu Youping’s final sentence, He Rui wanted to ask whether this view was proposed by Li Runshi or some other research team.

A "major economic fluctuation" did not merely refer to the economy turning sour or the people being left destitute. An economy developing at a super-dynamic, high-speed pace also constituted a major fluctuation. It was just that the probability of such a fluctuation was far lower than that of economic recession and destitution, so people rarely considered it in those terms.

Furthermore, for human beings, whatever best situation they had witnessed would be regarded as the "natural" or "normal" state. Thus, few people would consider economic recovery after a great collapse to be a "major fluctuation"; instead, they would see it as merely "taking back what was lost."

But once one reached the state of an old man like He Rui, one no longer thought that way. The world was in flux; there was no such thing as an eternal standard. Regardless of how an individual perceived it, the world was fluctuating.

Seeing that He Rui did not answer, Wu Youping probed, "Does the Chairman think there is a problem with this line of reasoning?"

He Rui shook his head. "The reasoning is fine. I was just thinking of our own country. At this stage, the changes at home and the changes in Africa are in the same phase."

Wu Youping shook his head. "We in China have, at the very least, several thousand years of history involving cycles of order and chaos. Consequently, various corresponding systems have emerged within Chinese culture. Chairman, you and I are both 'Old Conservatives' (Old-Guards). But this conservative attitude and the instinctive reaction toward maintaining order is not something the African people can achieve. They have not seen these things, nor do they know this history."

He Rui sensed that what Wu Youping was about to say was not simple content. He asked, "Do you already have an idea of what kind of historical culture to export to Africa?"

Wu Youping nodded slowly. "We must erase the colonial historical view in Africa. This presents a troublesome issue: once the colonial view is removed, what kind of historical view do we import? This requires Africa to have a foundation capable of carrying such a view. We are not optimistic about this."

Hearing this, He Rui felt even less optimistic. He had considered this problem before, though his initial purpose had nothing to do with Africa's troubles, but rather a discussion from his original timeline regarding the so-called "Chinese population decline."

In that timeline, He Rui had lived reasonably well, and his circle of friends were birds of a feather. Because of his work, he had to study and research these issues. Naturally, everyone enjoyed bragging and "brainstorming" on these topics.

Thus, at one gathering, while gnawing on garlic-scented spare ribs, a colleague from the petroleum sector had said: "Solving the problem of China's population decline isn't difficult. You just need to re-attract the Chinese people from the areas historically radiated by the Chinese population and open various channels for them to naturalize in China. As the Chinese population continues to decrease, a gap of over 100 million might appear in the next decade. Absorbing this population wouldn't pose a problem for China. People from Southeast Asia, Vietnam, and other places can be absorbed. Combined with China's economic radiation, a path to 'digest' these regions would emerge..."

Now, hearing Wu Youping mention the idea of exporting culture and history to Africa—especially after hearing his words—He Rui felt that something was very wrong.

Sure enough, Wu Youping said, "I believe that in addition to having African armies participate in the war to sweep away colonialism—and allowing them to achieve significant results and gain sufficient honor—we must also help Africa create an 'external input.' We should create some content using a somewhat racialized approach. For example, the population left behind in Africa when Zheng He sailed to the Western Oceans."

Hearing Wu Youping actually say this, He Rui could not help but sigh.

Previously, in his "group," those brothers had indeed mentioned this issue. Although China in the original timeline eventually surpassed the United States and restored its position as the world's number one power, when it came to the matter of "genetically identified Chinese people in Africa," the conservatives in the group all stated that such a thing could not be done! It was entirely inconsistent with China's cultural traditions and had no corresponding cultural foundation in China.

Furthermore, if such a thing were actually done, it would lead to opportunistic Africans trying to come to China to "claim relatives."

He Rui then said, "If many West African blacks come to China to claim relatives, how do you plan to handle it?"

Wu Youping was aware of He Rui's conservative tendencies. Hearing this question, he replied, "I believe there are ways to solve these problems."

Hearing this, He Rui could not help but snort in derision. "After all is said and done, you're still dumping the work on the comrades at the grassroots level. How should I put this... the grassroots is not for that. We can keep them busy so they have no time to look for trouble; we can execute a batch every once in a while; but we cannot burden the grassroots with things they cannot handle."

As the head of the State Council, Wu Youping was responsible for managing the grassroots. Hearing He Rui speak this way, he felt somewhat offended and said unhappily, "The grassroots at this stage has the capacity to complete such work."

"I don't think so," He Rui immediately expressed his opposition. "At this stage, we still cannot have the staff take simple responsibility, because they cannot afford it. Let me tell you, currently, just a household registration adjustment involves dozens of stamps. This kind of thing cannot be solved until the future networked era. Otherwise, all sorts of things will definitely go wrong."

These words were not He Rui intentionally making things difficult for Wu Youping; he had truly experienced it. When He Rui was young, he had followed his parents to handle a household registration transfer. At that time, the grassroots police stations had not yet implemented networked offices, so a single matter required over a dozen trips.

At that time, He Rui had seen many jokes online and felt those jokes were correct. However, after graduating from university, He Rui handled a household registration transfer himself. He had prepared himself to make a dozen trips, but he did not expect that the police station had already popularized integrated office equipment. He didn't even need to travel between the two stations. The staff at the destination station had He Rui submit photos, ID photocopies, and the property deed, then had him perform an electronic signature on the transfer application and take a photo at the integrated machine.

All this took less than fifteen minutes. After paying the processing fee for the household register, a brand-new register with the relevant information printed by the machine was complete.

The time spent in the office was actually much shorter than the time spent traveling to it, which had greatly surprised He Rui.

When he mentioned this to his parents upon returning home, they had simply said, "Now that there is a network, the grassroots personnel can truly take responsibility."

These words had been a sudden realization for He Rui. What had changed was not the system or the personnel; government employees were also human beings. As humans, there were all kinds: good ones, bad ones, but most were just normal, ordinary people. In an era where China's economic development reached a point where income was sufficient for everyone to get by, there weren't many truly bad people. Thus, most government personnel were just there to work and earn money.

Being a civil servant was just a job; if someone made a mistake at work, they were punished, and that was no big deal. But civil servants could not accept bearing all sorts of "responsibilities," because in the government, many matters that wouldn't weigh four ounces on a scale can weigh a thousand pounds once they are "on the scale."

To be responsible was not wrong, but because people could not afford the responsibility, situations where people "floated through their duties" (bureaucratic inertia) occurred.

He Rui and his parents had made a dozen trips for a household transfer not because the civil servants were intentionally difficult, but because the civil servants could only ensure their own work was error-free, so at that time, there couldn't be a single mistake.

Similarly, He Rui had handled it in one trip not because the civil servants no longer cared about responsibility, but because the upgrading of hardware and the emergence of large databases meant that civil servants no longer had to verify work time and again. The civil servants only needed to complete the equipment operation and provide procedural guidance; many things that originally had to be done manually were now handled by computers.

However, what Wu Youping was describing clearly exceeded what the civil servant system could bear. He Rui even wondered: could it be that the victory was so great that even a fellow like Wu Youping was starting to "drift" (become overconfident)?

With this suspicion, He Rui asked again, "Youping, why do you think Africans truly want to rely on themselves?"

Wu Youping answered decisively: "Anyone who has the ability to rely on themselves will actively choose to cooperate with us. I know that most Africans certainly want to rely on us. But, it is necessary for us to let them rely on us."

He Rui immediately shook his head. "I don't think that's realistic. We cannot open that door."

"Chairman, we have killed so many of the old African upper class; at this stage, we must quickly instill new things. In the field of ideas, if the East Wind doesn't prevail over the West Wind, then the West Wind will prevail over the East Wind. If we are picky and choosy at this stage, Africa will soon be occupied by new ideas. Even if the current ideas are wrong, we should do it first and talk later."

He Rui did not want to agree with this view, yet he felt that Wu Youping was truly not just imagining things or acting blindly. Just as he was considering how to express his thoughts, he heard Wu Youping continue: "Chairman, the fact that we can do whatever we want to do right now—isn't that the full range of possibilities brought by our status as the world hegemon? I know that such possibilities will inevitably lead to ultimate failure, but at a time like this, we instead need to be more transformative!"

Hearing this, He Rui's initial suspicion vanished completely. Wu Youping was not "drifting"; he had truly accepted the reality that China was about to grasp world hegemony. And he had truly accepted the mindset of holding world hegemony.

World hegemony was just like this: since the hegemony is mine, I can do whatever I want.

Some would say this is wrong; the sages summarized experiences through various failures, believing that one should be extremely cautious and careful when in such a high position.

However, reality was quite dull; everyone just wanted to live a life where "I can do whatever I want." None of those empty platitudes; let’s enjoy ourselves first.

Seeing his old comrade Wu Youping enter the world-hegemon mindset so quickly, He Rui smiled. "Youping, when did you realize that China is no longer that country that gets bullied, but a powerful nation?"

Wu Youping was taken aback. "Chairman, you could tell?"

"Does it even need telling? Back when we met in '15, you wouldn't have spoken like that. Haha," He Rui said nostalgically.

"I nearly died that time, and I felt very uncomfortable during the recovery process," Wu Youping recalled with some emotion. "Then one day, my secretary brought me many letters of condolence—all from foreign countries. Most were from countries established in the colonies we liberated. I looked at the names of those countries and couldn't recall them for a moment. I couldn't remember the names of those national leaders either. At the time, I felt very disappointed—had I become so ill that I had lost even my basic work capacity? Then, I suddenly realized something: those national leaders were only sending condolence letters out of courtesy; they didn't care who I was. Whoever was the Premier of China, they would offer their condolences. From that moment, I finally realized that China had truly become powerful. And not just ordinarily powerful. Thus, things like 'Ten Thousand Nations coming to Court' and the 'Air of the Celestial Empire'—as long as China is strong enough, they follow naturally."

"Heh. Speaking that way... it is indeed so," He Rui laughed. Wu Youping's reaction did not disappoint He Rui; on the contrary, it made him very happy.

In 1943, they could beat the global Great Powers; it was only fifty years since China was beaten by those same powers. And since 1924, through the efforts of He Rui and his comrades, China was already a globally recognized Great Power.

It seemed that realizing "the Great Power is actually myself" in 1924 had a somewhat different effect than realizing it in 2024. At the very least, compared to 2024, the year 1924 had a hundred fewer years of an oppressed mindset. Restoring the mindset of being world number one was much easier.

After He Rui finished laughing, he asked seriously, "Youping, the question I want to ask has changed. That is: does the comrade who proposed that view realize that he must be responsible for proposing such a line of reasoning?"

Upon hearing the word "responsible," Wu Youping's expression instinctively turned solemn. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Chairman, do you think this proposal is not serious enough?"

"I think the proposal is actually very serious, and research was truly conducted. But China has its own stability; the Chinese people do not accept China becoming an immigrant nation. This is China's cultural foundation. I do not believe the current situation is sufficient to support such a fundamental change. And that view—its core is global integration—is too far ahead of its time." He Rui gave his explanation calmly.