The German portion of the Nuremberg Trials completed its qualitative phase on December 3, 1945. With Germany’s war crimes, crimes against humanity, and colonial crimes formally defined, a vast number of arrested Nazi party members were sentenced. Due to Germany’s limited colonial history, those specific charges were the fewest in number among all the convictions.

While the sentences for war crimes and crimes against humanity were exceedingly heavy, the majority of the German people felt as if a great weight had been lifted. Whatever sentences the millions of detained soldiers and Nazi members faced, their families finally knew what the future would look like.

The German General Staff, identified as the fountainhead of the war, was dissolved, and its senior officers were held accountable. The regular Wehrmacht was identified as an accomplice to war crimes and crimes against humanity, yet the ordinary soldiers who had not participated in massacres began to be released. These men formed the majority of the military; their return solved the shortage of robust labor, yet it caused the unemployment problem to deteriorate.

While the Administrative Committee worked to address these issues, Marshal Cheng Ruofan found his attention drawn to developments in America. Eleanor Roosevelt had been impeached by the congressmen who still adhered to the "USA," demanding her resignation.

According to American law, a President could not be tried during their term. So long as Eleanor did not resign, she could remain in office. However, things had reached a point where even the most stubborn individual would feel a degree of responsibility. When the resolution for her impeachment passed unanimously, Eleanor Roosevelt announced her resignation.

The seventeen states remaining within the USA were all Republican strongholds. The Republicans clung to the Constitution; they first elected Thomas Dewey as Speaker of the House. Eleanor’s Vice President succeeded her, waited for Dewey’s election as Speaker, and then resigned. According to the system, Dewey then became President of the United States.

Upon taking office, Dewey immediately dispatched negotiators to the four northwestern states while simultaneously pushing a Civil Rights Act through both houses of Congress. Although the Republican Party was under immense external pressure, the act still nearly failed within their own ranks.

It was only after the Northwest issued a second proclamation, declaring the four states to be an inseparable part of the United States, that the Republican-controlled Congress passed the Civil Rights Act by a narrow margin.

The act mandated that within the USA, all citizens were equal. Regardless of color, race, or faith, all enjoyed identical civil rights, including the right to vote and stand for election.

With the passage of this law, though it made no specific mention of Black people, the era of racial oppression within the Union was effectively over. Theoretically, Black citizens were now equal to whites, capable of electing representatives and even a President.

On December 6th, the USA convened its Congress. Media from around the world descended upon Washington. When eight Black senators appeared before the Capitol, the flashes of the photographers’ cameras were constant.

The Senate served as America’s Council of Elders; regardless of population, every state was represented by two senators. Their six-year terms—three times longer than those of the House—were intended to shield them from the whims of elections, allowing them to exert their influence and represent their states' demands within the legislature.

President Dewey’s primary task was the restoration of American unity. The USA, which had shrunk to seventeen states, recovered to twenty-one thanks to the Republican compromise, achieving a reunification of the North rather than being squeezed between the West and South.

That day, both houses of Congress unanimously passed a resolution refusing to recognize the Confederate States of America (USB) and granted President Dewey war powers.

Had matters only reached this stage, Cheng Ruofan would not have been surprised. When He Rui had predicted the three-way split of America, he had also emphasized the immense power of the unifying force within the country. Had the Republican congressmen not so thoroughly rejected the Southern attempt to transform the Constitution into a confederation, the South might never have seceded.

On December 8th, Cheng received intelligence available only to his rank: the Dewey administration had dispatched an envoy to China to discuss the status of Alaska and Hawaii.

Finishing the report, Cheng let out a short laugh. "Heh!"

It was not a laugh of mockery toward Dewey, but rather a realization that the move had come far too late. Had Eleanor Roosevelt been frank enough to discuss the two territories with Beijing, the South might have found it difficult to initiate its independence movement.

Setting the report aside, Cheng refocused on European affairs. Even if Dewey were moving in the right direction, there was no guarantee his administration possessed the clarity to reach a deal.

China’s current stance was not one of control over Hawaii and Alaska, but of support for their peoples to regain their independence. The question for America was merely whether to recognize that independence.

If the US agreed, China’s next requirement would be a demilitarized border between the USA and the five northern indigenous nations.

This would be a bitter pill for America to swallow. Yet the current split in the nation gave Dewey a genuine opportunity to resolve these issues. Whether he chose the path of peace remained to be seen. China’s attitude was consistent and unyielding.

Throughout December, Cheng was busy and content. West Germany was faring well. The referendum in Alsace and Lorraine was held under UN supervision, free from violence or interference. The inhabitants voted overwhelmingly to join France.

On December 16th, the day the results were announced, the West German SPD government recognized the outcome. France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg signed the Paris Agreement, declaring that all border and territorial disputes between the signatories were resolved.

On the 17th, the same nations signed the European Coal and Steel Community Agreement, effective for fifty years. With this, the political landscape of Western Europe was essentially settled.

On the 18th, France and Germany signed an agreement to open their borders and restore normal trade. France was rich in agricultural products, while Germany possessed a significant industrial advantage. The agreement finally ended Germany’s economic isolation.

January 1, 1946—New Year’s Day in Europe, the Start of the Year in China. The nations of Europe finally enjoyed a peaceful holiday. On January 7th, Marshal Cheng Ruofan received the statistical reports. They showed that Germany, by importing grain from France, had temporarily closed its domestic food gap. German industrial exports to France, meanwhile, ensured the trade balance remained stable.

But the German economy currently possessed two "hidden" pillars. The first was reconstruction. Other European nations were industrial powers that had conducted their own large-scale infrastructure projects. Every time they did so, they claimed to be building for the next several decades. Thus, when Germany claimed its reconstruction was based on a fifty-year standard, the rest of Europe heard the boast but did not believe it.

Everyone exaggerated; why should Germany be the exception? Furthermore, most Europeans who had seen the country believed the cost of such a project was beyond Germany’s current means. In this atmosphere of universal skepticism, the reconstruction remained a "hidden" pillar.

The second pillar was exports to South America and Africa. These regions had increased their exports to China and were now holding significant reserves of Chinese Yuan. But as the currency of a new hegemon, the Yuan's influence currently lagged far behind China's military might. Consequently, South and Central America were eager to spend their CNY as quickly as possible.

The West German government emerged as the European regime that most firmly supported the Chinese Yuan. In its trade with Latin America, it even prioritized the currency.

Cheng was so moved by this section of the report that he rose and began pacing the room.

Years ago, after He Rui won the war against Japan, those comrades who no longer feared the Japanese had shouted for them to be driven out of Korea. He Rui had smiled and told them: "No need to fight. We shall win Japan over. For Japan will become China's most valuable asset."

From the 1926 revolution until today, He Rui's words had been proven true. And now, Germany had suddenly become another such asset.

For Germany, accepting CNY allowed them to access the raw material channels China had established. They were not sacrificing themselves for Chinese interests; they were prioritizing CNY for their own benefit.

But for China, Germany—a nation with a century of industrial trade ties around the Atlantic—was a vital contributor to the global circulation of the Yuan. The nations of Latin America trusted Germany more than they trusted China. So long as the Yuan could be used without restriction to buy German goods, their willingness to hold the currency surged.

Only a trade that benefited both sides could endure. Germany was indeed destined to become one of China's most important assets—not through Chinese coercion, but through its own choice.

As his excitement cooled, an image flickered in Cheng’s mind: him telling He Rui of this latest realization. He had always done so after understanding the Chairman's ideas. And every time, He Rui would scratch his head and offer sincere praise: "Well done. You’ve finally understood. Keep working, keep progressing."

Cheng knew it was only his imagination. Yet the scenes were so vivid they felt as if they were truly happening. His nose stung, and he almost wept.

Now that no new memories could be created, Cheng suddenly realized that he had never been treated as a subordinate or a tool. His exhaustive service to the nation had been his own choice, not a stepping stone for He Rui's glory.

He Rui was the same with everyone. He never believed he could "save" anyone; he merely did his utmost to provide the environment where others could utilize their abilities and progress through labor.

A truly great cause was always the result of the collective efforts of countless individuals. He Rui had understood this long ago. He was never high and mighty; he had leaned down so that those willing to move forward could step upon his shoulders.

Marshal Cheng Ruofan stood in a daze, letting the memories and realizations wash over him. Finally, with a sigh, he returned to the report.

With his perspective shifted, he saw things more clearly. Most hard-working Germans were unaware of their status on the national stage and would likely never understand it. Cheng was much like them; his only difference was that he had learned from a mentor how to understand the struggles of states and had been granted the opportunity to work at that level.

Even so, the German laborers continued to move forward, working without cease. It was upon the hard work of these millions that Cheng, as the supreme commander in Europe, could exercise his diplomatic and political skill.

In his heart, his conviction was reaffirmed: even if he did not feel gratitude toward the laborers, he had to respect them. Only by standing with the workers could one possess genuine power.

In the capital, global data was being synthesized into a report for Li Runshi. Li was also filled with emotion. By his own sense of finance, he had not believed the funds for China's massive urbanization would be available. Yet the report showed that the 1946 funding was secured—so long as the State Council did its job, trillions of CNY would be in place.

China's future development was based on every family owning a private car. Currently, the urban population had reached 70%, and the industrialized population was near 80%.

Every urban community featured a kindergarten, a primary school, and a middle school. The high school enrollment rate had reached 50%, with others attending technical schools. These were astronomical sums, yet the 1946 requirements were met.

If every year could be like this, even the most seemingly impossible grand plans would eventually become reality.

Li Runshi was no longer excited by such a future. As President, his job was to utilize his insight into the future to constantly adjust the nation's course and turn these grand plans into reality. It was his work, and his duty.

The future world, in Li's eyes, was still filled with upheaval and even suffering, yet he could see that humanity was continuing to move in the direction he believed in.