On March 24, 1944, after more than a day of internal struggle, Mrs. Roosevelt finally overcame her hesitation and called President Wallace. "Please come to my residence for a discussion."

President Wallace immediately set aside his meetings and took a car to Mrs. Roosevelt's estate. The desolation of the streets along the way filled him with intense unease.

The United States was already vast and sparsely populated, and most of the time the streets were not crowded. But the current emptiness was different; it felt as if a vast number of houses were empty. The industrial zones of the cities were still producing, but even the smoke billowing from the chimneys seemed thinner.

This was no illusion. Before the war, the Roosevelt government had truly prepared a manpower pool of 22 million through social surveys and other means. With the war continuing to this point, the United States had already lost over 9 million troops.

Because the number of casualties was so large, statistics could no longer be accurate to the nearest ten thousand; it was only roughly estimated that about 3 million officers and men had been killed. More were wounded or captured. However, the entire 22-million-man pool had already been conscripted. Women already made up more than half of the civilian labor force supporting the United States.

While the men were at the front, the women were either in factories or on farms. The elderly, with the children, naturally stayed home and didn't venture out. Even with a population of over 110 million, the US labor force had inevitably entered a state of exhaustion.

Wallace no longer cared about so-called prestige. He had become President of the United States only because he had been Roosevelt's Vice President and Roosevelt had died in office. Therefore, Wallace didn't mind being the president who negotiated peace with China, even if it meant his death.

The desolate scenes he saw along the way only strengthened his resolve. Arriving at the Roosevelt family estate in New York State, he saw several of Roosevelt's sons already waiting at the door. When President Wallace stepped out of the car, Roosevelt's eldest son immediately stepped forward to greet him, while the youngest son hurried back into the house to report to Mrs. Roosevelt.

Soon, Mrs. Roosevelt personally came out to invite Wallace into the house. The Roosevelt family was part of the American "blue-blooded" elite, where the blood in their veins was surely of the purest blue. Although Roosevelt had only inherited a million dollars in 1910, through two generations of Roosevelt presidents, the family estate exuded an air of noble refinement amidst its simplicity. Moreover, no one dared to attempt a tally of the Roosevelt family's wealth.

Wallace had not come to discuss such trivialities. After taking a seat, he first asked, "I wonder what decision Mrs. Roosevelt has made?"

"I am willing to serve as your Vice President and run for election with you," Mrs. Roosevelt replied straightforwardly.

Wallace had roughly guessed her decision but continued to advise: "Do you want to consider it further?"

Mrs. Roosevelt shook her head firmly. During her previous deliberations, she had several times wanted to refuse because of the terror of American politics. But whenever she thought of her husband Roosevelt dying in his mistress's arms, she felt the status of American women was too low—so low as to be inferior even to a mistress. If she, as a woman, could become Vice President of the United States, it would be an unprecedented inspiration for American women.

President Wallace, however, did not want Mrs. Roosevelt to make a decision based on impulse. He said: "Mrs. Roosevelt, I have already decided that once I am elected, I will seek peace negotiations with China. At the very least, there must be an armistice. I think you can understand what kind of malicious criticism this will bring. I personally am prepared to accept such a fate because every day, thousands of American soldiers die at the front. I cannot accept this continuing. Therefore, I hope you will think about it seriously once more."

Hearing this, Mrs. Roosevelt not only didn't hesitate but was actually somewhat moved. Joining the political arena was one of the channels for the children of the American elite; these scions were tempered by war and formed deep friendships on the battlefield, which would be very beneficial for their futures.

However, tempering was not the same as being crushed. The current casualties of the US military were unprecedented. Every day, the children of the American elite were dying at the front. Three direct descendants of the Kennedy family had already died in battle, to the point where the Kennedy family now met the US military regulation that disallowed all male siblings of a family from serving at the front.

The Sino-American war was a meat grinder of flesh and blood. China refused to stop, and American tradition also made the US refuse to stop. The commanders on the front line faithfully executed the wills of both China and the US, and every minute, countless lives, thrown into the grinder like beans, were crushed and flowed out as chaff.

Many families in the United States lived off the military, with generations serving. In China, such families were called "military households." Mrs. Roosevelt knew of several extreme cases. In some Southern military households, because of early marriages, a male might become a father before age 20, a grandfather before 40, and a great-grandfather before 60.

There were cases of a great-grandfather who reached the rank of colonel, a grandfather who was a major, and a father who was a junior officer. Over a dozen males from these three generations were fighting on the battlefield and had died one after another. Finally, there remained only a 16-year-old uncle who had just enlisted, and four infants or toddlers at home.

The US Joint Chiefs of Staff had even held a meeting for this purpose, allowing that sole 16-year-old boy to be discharged and sent home. This was the reality of the war: if it continued, the United States would shed its last drop of blood.

Looking at President Wallace's martyr-like expression, Mrs. Roosevelt replied firmly: "Please rest assured, I have made all necessary preparations."

Hearing her speak this way, the faces of Roosevelt's sons changed. But with one look from Mrs. Roosevelt, the young men didn't dare say a word.

President Wallace couldn't help but say: "Thank you, Mrs. Roosevelt. In the future, your name will surely be left in American history! Not just as Mrs. Roosevelt, but your own name."

Mrs. Roosevelt gave a bitter smile, but after a moment, she nodded. "Then please announce this as soon as possible."

On March 25, 1944, Wallace announced his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election and revealed that Mrs. Roosevelt would be his vice-presidential pick. This news immediately shocked the entire United States. American women had gained the right to vote in 1920. Before gaining the legal right to vote, the first female member of Congress, Jeannette Rankin, appeared in 1917. However, this was the first time a woman had been nominated for Vice President, which made many conservatives feel a sense of being insulted.

After the entire United States was shaken, by April 4th, major American newspapers conducted polls. The polling data for President Wallace from most newspapers was very low, less than 45%. Only the New York Times produced a different poll, where his support rate was as high as 71%.

Such an exaggerated figure was naturally questioned by peers. On April 6th, the New York Times published their polling method. While other newspapers habitually interviewed men, 40% of the respondents in the New York Times poll were women.

"In current American society, women already possess the right to vote. Furthermore, in present-day America, women are the backbone of social labor. To ignore the attitude of these women is to ignore the reality of America," the editor of the New York Times wrote at the end of the article.

After reading the New York Times article, other newspapers immediately conducted new polls. This time, the polls were quite consistent, with Wallace and Mrs. Roosevelt generally polling between 60% and 70%. The Southern states were already the stronghold of the Democratic Party, yet the polls showed that the further north a state was—the traditional territory of the Republican Party—the more people supported the Wallace presidential ticket. This was because the proportion of women entering factories was higher in the northern states, and Mrs. Roosevelt had been engaged in social activities for years, giving her significant influence among northern women.

China naturally received this news. Although Li Runshi very much wanted to see if the US would have a female Vice President, he felt that the US likely wouldn't have the chance. This was because China's grain and logistics in the Southern Hemisphere had truly been completed, and at this stage, the North American theater already possessed the conditions to launch a large-scale offensive.

Furthermore, although He Rui's health had not recovered, it hadn't deteriorated either. As long as He Rui remained, the morale of the Chinese people and the National Defense Army remained as solid as a rock.

Although nearly a million Chinese officers and men had been killed and over 3 million wounded, the 18 million soldiers prepared before the war—at least junior high school graduates—had all been conscripted. But China's advantage was established. Among the people of other oppressed nations and ethnicities outside of China, 20 million had joined the army to liberate the world.

From theoretical data, even if the Western countries decided to fight until their entire populations were dead, China and the liberated peoples of the world could conscript another 18 million Chinese soldiers and 20 million foreign soldiers. With an army exceeding 76 million, they would completely smash the Western nations!

As the saying goes, "with great wealth, it's easy to be a good merchant; with long sleeves, it's easy to dance well." With such a factual basis, Li Runshi felt that doing anything became easy. Moreover, from the current stage, the 38 million already conscripted troops were sufficient to resolve the Western nations.

Li Runshi sent an order to the North American theater: "Currently, the primary target for strikes is Britain, the core colonialist nation. Britain is already the weakest among the European nations continuously fighting China. Crushing Britain will cause the Allies to lose an important connecting center. This will help the Western nations see the situation clearly, change their positions, and minimize the losses of the war."

After reading the CMC order, Hu Xiushan immediately and completely understood their view. Originally, during the stalemate period, Hu Xiushan had some opinions about not launching operations within US territory. Now that the war situation had finally become favorable for China, this approach of maintaining a baseline for the US undoubtedly gave the US a reason to withdraw from the war.

However, to make the US withdraw, they had to continue to fiercely annihilate US forces in Canada. As long as the US forces in Canada were completely wiped out and a devastating blow was dealt to the US Great Lakes industrial zone, the US would very likely withdraw from Canada. At that point, Britain, left to face the Chinese army alone, was destined to completely collapse.

The plan Hu Xiushan had previously formulated used exactly this line of thought. At this moment, Hu Xiushan was in no hurry; instead, he focused all his energy on the specific campaign.

In North Africa at this time, General Rommel felt the pressure of a colossal wave. In March, three enemy armies—the 11th, 12th, and 13th—withdrew, replaced by three new armies—the 27th, 28th, and 29th—to maintain the offensive. In early April, the WPLA committed three more fresh armies—the 34th, 35th, and 36th. Even though Britain had strengthened the British African Corps to 280,000 men and the German army had rotated its troops for rest—with all 11 original armored divisions, which had suffered extreme losses, withdrawn to Italy for refitting—Rommel had five newly sent armored corps, a total of 15 divisions. Yet the Anglo-German Allied forces, totaling 800,000 men, could still only barely hold on.

The offensive of the Black army seemed endless, reminding Rommel of scenes from the Soviet-German war, where combat never ceased for even a single day. Moreover, the Black army was well-trained, far better equipped than the Soviet Red Army, and their combat will was no less than that of the Soviets. To avoid being driven out of North Africa, the Anglo-German forces had to continue fighting.

On the battlefield, for every Black man who died, a white man had to be sacrificed. This made Rommel increasingly desperate; the Black population also numbered in the hundreds of millions. If the fighting continued like this, the German population would sooner or later be exhausted. Once the European men were all dead on the battlefield, were women to be relied upon to protect the country?

Amidst such torment, time moved to June. The Black army opposite Rommel had been rotated twice due to the attrition of fierce warfare. Now maintaining the offensive were the 51st through 60th Armies of the WPLA—a total of ten full armies.

The units of the Anglo-German forces had also been rotated twice. From April to June, the Allied forces suffered 700,000 casualties and replaced 1.6 million troops. Rommel, as a senior general not from the General Staff, had an average relationship with the General Staff as a whole. Only the Luftwaffe maintained good relations with him. Based on conversations between Luftwaffe Field Marshal Kesselring and many Luftwaffe officers and Rommel, the acting Chief of the General Staff, Manstein, had firmly held back a group of stupid generals who still looked down on the Black army, preventing them from launching a move to strip Rommel of his command.

The more seasoned and prudent marshals in the German General Staff, such as Field Marshal Rundstedt, believed there was no need to continue maintaining the North African front. This was because Germany could not afford a war of attrition. Once the consumption continued and the number of elite, experienced German troops fell below 2 million, Germany's own security could not be maintained.

As commander of the Afrika Korps, Rommel agreed with Field Marshal Rundstedt's view. At the current rate of consumption, by October of this year at the latest, German casualties in North Africa would exceed 3 million. And this was under conditions where the German Afrika Korps was already very familiar with the tactical methods of the Black army opposite them.

If the General Staff truly sent a new commander who believed that launching a decisive offensive could annihilate the Black army, commanding 600,000 German Afrika Korps troops in a surprise attack against over a million Black soldiers, Rommel believed the North African situation would likely collapse immediately. The Afrika Korps likely wouldn't even have a scrap left.

Field Marshal Kesselring also relayed Reichsmarschall Göring's view. Göring no longer believed Germany could win the North African campaign and was considering whether to withdraw from North Africa to establish a European defensive line. Göring had even thought of a name for the line: "Fortress Europe."

Given that Göring was a close comrade of Hitler, his views could largely be seen as some of Hitler's own thoughts.

Rommel, however, didn't particularly want to withdraw from North Africa. Withdrawing would mean Europe would lose its last shield, and the European homeland would be completely exposed to the enemy.

Fighting in the vast North African desert, it was still a clash of army against army. Once the Black army entered Europe, there would be no such clear demarcation line, and by then, Europe would surely face total destruction.

While Rommel was agonizing over the war, he unexpectedly received a request from the General Staff regarding the United States. The Americans wanted all information in the hands of the Afrika Korps regarding the 11th, 12th, and 13th Armies of the WPLA.

Rommel was puzzled and asked Major General Helein, who had come to deliver the General Staff's order. Major General Helein said helplessly: "It seems China has transferred these three armies to fight in North America. The appearance of these Black soldiers on the battlefield has caused mass surrenders among the Black soldiers in the US military. And the Americans have also begun implementing measures against Black people within their own military."

At this point, Major General Helein lowered his voice and said: "I heard that a view has emerged within the United States that with white casualties so high, the proportion of the Black population in the US will increase significantly. This is very unfavorable for America."

Hearing this, Rommel felt a wave of disgust. But he also knew this was inevitable. Just as he was now fighting bravely against the Black army—how much of his purpose was out of expectation of defeating the opponent, and how much was out of fear of Black rule over Europe? Such a proportion was hard to say.

Ultimately, Rommel had the materials prepared for Major General Helein. The amount of material was significant; a simple military transport plane likely couldn't carry it all, and it involved a great deal of copying work, which was quite troublesome.

Back in the United States, how to deal with Black people had indeed become an important domestic issue. Discrimination and oppression against Black people in America were systemic. Systemic racism was rooted in the history and reality of American racist society, with a rich theoretical and empirical basis involving the surface and deep structures of racial oppression. It included a series of complex anti-Black actions, political and economic privileges obtained by whites, persistent inequality between races, and a racist framing created by whites aimed at maintaining and rationalizing their privileges.

It encompassed the attitudes, ideologies, emotions, images, and behaviors of white racists, manifested in all American institutions. Systemic racism theory pointed out that American society was a racist organism, with racist oppression permeating its complex, interconnected, and interdependent social networks, organizations, and institutions. White economic dominance, racial hierarchy, the white racial frame, and the struggle and resistance of people of color together constituted the system of oppression, where each element was interconnected, interdependent, and worked together.

Since it was systemic, it covered all aspects. But the core was white dominance. In the American population ratio, Black people currently made up only about 10%, unable to influence the 90% white majority. But the war had changed the American population ratio. How to continue maintaining white dominance was currently the thing many white people were most anxious about.

At this time, a thought emerged within the United States: what if Black males were all made to die on the battlefield...