Li Runshi had already prepared for the inevitability that Nazi Germany would resist to the bitter end. Consequently, he had instructed his secretary to deliver any news regarding the Soviet response to him immediately.

Aside from China, the only other nation on Earth with a burning desire to see Germany utterly defeated was likely the Soviet Union. While France theoretically shared this goal to wash away the humiliations accumulated since the Franco-Prussian War, Li saw it differently.

In his view, the First World War had not truly redeemed France, as German troops had still occupied a significant portion of French soil until the moment of surrender. But France no longer possessed the same spirit; they truly did not expect to defeat Germany through their own strength alone.

From a rational perspective, this was a wise choice. France was no longer willing to sacrifice millions of lives to fulfill an old ambition. This was the hallmark of a middle power. A great power like China would achieve its goals at any cost, whereas middle and small nations were subject to forces beyond their control—the price of their ambitions was simply more than they could afford.

What surprised Li Runshi was that the Soviet Union had yet to propose a joint operation against Germany. In Li’s estimation, if the Soviet leader were He Rui instead of Stalin, He Rui would have cast aside all concern for "face" and actively sought a combined effort to crush the Reich.

To address this, Li convened a discussion with the Military Commission and the Foreign Ministry. The meeting was held in the newly renovated Military Commission building.

Previously, all civilian construction had been halted to prepare for the war. For the Civilization Party to finish renovating several major buildings while the nation was ostensibly pouring every resource into the conflict seemed like an invitation for public backlash.

However, once the war entered 1944, He Rui had personally authorized the commencement of real estate development. With massive construction projects erupting across the country, the completion of a few government buildings became negligible—just a handful among hundreds of thousands of new urban structures.

The most significant change was the installation of the latest elevators in the previously empty shafts. Comrades no longer had to squeeze into crowded lifts or climb stairs. Carpets now lined the tiled corridors, muffling the sound of footsteps.

The interior décor remained largely unchanged. Marshals Xu Chengfeng, Zheng Silang, and Zhong Yifu took the special elevator from the second basement directly to the third floor with ease. Stepping out, they found Li Runshi already seated in his office, smoking.

Once the doors were closed, the meeting began. It wasn't just Li who was puzzled by the Soviet silence; many shared his confusion. When it was his turn to speak, Zheng Silang smiled. "I don't have any specific intelligence, only my own analysis. The Soviets are likely waiting—waiting for us to wear down Germany, and then they will strike suddenly."

Xu Chengfeng, widely considered the foremost of the "Five Tigers of Baoding," was skeptical. He asked, "Silang, do you think the Soviets don't understand that if they strike, we will treat the Red Army as a threat?"

Zheng Silang was amused. "Haha, Chengfeng, if the Red Army moves, would you truly dare order your troops to open fire on them? And if you don't, will you use your strength to guard against the Wehrmacht or the Red Army?"

The methodology and internal logic of this statement was centered on a certain "shamelessness," yet Zheng was not wrong. If the Red Army truly acted this way, China would indeed find it difficult to produce an immediate counter-strategy.

Zheng was not one to mince words. Seeing the grim expressions of his colleagues, he added, "The Soviets do have a baseline: they are an extremely important trade partner for China. To this day, we cannot strategically define them as an enemy. So, what reason do they have *not* to take advantage of the situation?"

Zhong Yifu tended to agree with Zheng’s assessment, yet he voiced a doubt: "Surely the Soviets wouldn't be *that* unprincipled?"

Zheng Silang shook his head. "It's not about being unprincipled. Poland has always had internal restoration organizations. After we took Britain, the Polish government-in-exile was captured but did not surrender. Yet the restoration factions within Poland have not contacted us once. The Baltic states were forcibly annexed by the USSR, then seized by Germany. To this day, have they sent anyone to talk to us?

"Even Norway and Sweden have sent official personnel to meet with us. Is it truly harder for the Poles and the Balts to reach us than it is for the Scandinavians?"

Seeing that his words were sinking in, Zheng cracked a joke. "Perhaps I've just dealt with the Mongolian tribes too much. In their view, they would think we are too cowardly—that we dare not challenge the majesty of their model. If China is perceived as cowardly, we shouldn't blame those with a 'Mongolian' mindset for trying to test us!"

Li Runshi felt inspired by this. He asked directly, "Marshal Zheng, what do you think we should do?"

Zheng Silang chuckled. "Heh. I believe the best and most direct method is to demand a redrawing of the borders with the Soviet Union. If we do that, they will truly begin to believe in our strength."

No one replied. Whether or not Zheng’s judgment was correct, the demand to redraw borders deviated sharply from the policy toward the USSR that the He Rui government had maintained for years. Although they considered themselves "New China," the "New" referred to social relations of production, not the fundamental model of the centralized state.

The Chinese tradition of centralism required that diplomacy and the military remain firmly in the hands of the Center. Any major shift in diplomatic policy required a full discussion at a Central Committee plenum. It could not be changed by a single remark from Zheng Silang.

The issue was set aside, and the Commission moved on to the recent developments in the US and Germany. They quickly aligned with Li Runshi’s view that the United States was a more important nation than Germany. In this world, far more countries wanted to see Germany dead than the US.

When Li Runshi reported the Commission's conclusions to He Rui, he relayed this view. He Rui was indifferent. Having seen the world of 2030, he believed China had two choices: either pursue total expansion or no territorial expansion at all. Considering that a nation requires external pressure to remain vital, he did not believe China *needed* to dismantle the US or the USSR.

However, He Rui noticed something Li had clearly overlooked and felt compelled to remind him. "Comrade Runshi, we have already established a seismic monitoring network targeting Germany. We have seismic stations in Spain and Britain. If Germany tests a nuclear bomb, what do you intend to do?"

Li Runshi was momentarily speechless. If Germany obtained nuclear weapons, his choices would be drastically limited. Based on their performance thus far, the Nazis would not hesitate to use them.

To prevent massive casualties among the Chinese and WPLA forces, China would be forced to resolve the German issue immediately and completely. The method for doing so would be simple: destroy Germany’s nuclear sites in a very short time and rapidly annihilate the Wehrmacht and the SS.

From a political standpoint, these were not optimal solutions.

Guessing that He Rui wanted a definitive answer, Li replied with a note of resignation, "If Germany completes a nuclear test, we will have no choice but to use nuclear weapons against them."

He Rui felt a heavy weight in his heart upon hearing this. Although he harbored his own share of anti-human tendencies, he did not truly wish for the destruction of mankind.

Yet, to protect humanity, nuclear weapons might have to be used. Only through their use would the world realize that the risk of nuclear weapons destroying civilization was a very real one.

In hindsight, nuclear weapons were merely an effective tool for destroying the cities of an industrial nation and a massive strategic threat. In the nuclear age, national leaders hiding in the rear could no longer escape the threat. This would be the true reason they would become unwilling to start wars—the price was simply too high!

Having made his assessment, He Rui spoke: "If you make the decision to use nuclear weapons, I will support you."

With such explicit backing from He Rui, Li Runshi felt he should perhaps say thank you. But a decision of this magnitude was no grounds for gratitude. Ultimately, he only sighed. "We will increase the intensity of the bombing of Germany."

The Nazi leadership could not have imagined that their destruction was being negotiated in such a manner. In the first four "Thousand-Bomber Raids," the Chinese Air Force dealt crushing blows to the Luftwaffe's fighter units. Germany possessed some 2,200 jet fighters in early January 1945; by early February, that number had plummeted to 800.

On February 14, 1945—Valentine's Day in the West—China launched its first "Ten-Thousand-Bomber Raid." The remaining 800 German fighters did not even dare to challenge the formation.

The flight paths from Italy to Britain were so thick with aircraft that they set a record for aerial density in German airspace—a record that would remain unbroken for over a century.

A single ten-thousand-plane raid carried over 100,000 tons of bombs, nearly equal to the total tonnage dropped in all previous raids combined. Every German industrial zone was transformed into a sea of fire amidst the tremors. German power plants, in particular, were devastated.

Previously, Germany had sent telegrams to the WPLA and the Chinese government, stating that they had placed large numbers of captured Chinese pilots in industrial facilities to deter the bombing.

While the high commands of the Chinese Air Force and the WPLA cursed the Nazi tactics, they made no official response. As the massive raid commenced, air units received open-frequency telegrams from Germany once again, informing them that Chinese and WPLA prisoners were being used as human shields.

The pilots were furious, and many found their hands trembling at the controls. But every wing commander, without exception, issued the orders as agreed in their prior briefings: "The Nazis' words cannot be trusted. Even if they are true, are we to be manipulated by them?! Execute the mission immediately."

Over the cities, German anti-aircraft fire blazed desperately. Near the bombers, shells blossomed into black and white puffs—the flowers of death.

This was war. Even at ten thousand meters, there was no safety. Every position on the battlefield was a place where one could die at any moment. The only way out was the total annihilation of the enemy.

With a will of destruction, the bombs fell from the sky, raining death upon the soil of Germany.