In 1918, the roar of machines was not a description but a statement of fact. Factory production required power. Russia adopted steam power, where large boilers as power sources stood tall, emitting a rumble to drive various transmission devices. Centralized supply of steam power was considered very advanced technology. In enterprises with backward technology, almost every large and medium-sized equipment required an independent steam drive device.

Amidst the earth-shattering roar, in the humid environment full of scorching steam, and with various furnace fires visible everywhere, let alone concentrating on work, maintaining normal psychological and physiological states was already extremely difficult in such an environment. Industrial workers faced extremely harsh working environments and crazy exploitation by capitalists. If there were really no other way to make a living, who would be willing to be a worker?

So after entering the factories of the People's Party, Belkov clearly felt that the machines in the People's Party factories were also roaring, but compared with Russian factories, it was like a small wizard meeting a great wizard. Comrade Belkov was surprised to find that most of the factories of the People's Party used electricity as a power source. Even in heavy industrial enterprises like the Wuhan Iron and Steel Plant, although the trains pulling ore from the riverside to the factory were steam-driven and some large equipment also used steam power, small and medium-sized equipment had been switched to electric motor drive.

Compared with heavy steam power equipment, electrically driven equipment was significantly smaller in volume and weight. The direct result of reduced self-weight was a greatly increased operating speed of the equipment. For example, cranes in steel mills, if powered by steam, could not be so light and handy while possessing sufficient power. Lifting bundles of steel bars, several stacked steel plates, and rolls of rolled steel sheets, the cranes could easily lift them and then use the rotation of their own arms to move them. The movements Belkov saw in Russian steel mills were basically completed by rail vehicles for transportation.

Originally, Belkov thought that the strength displayed by the People's Party should be large industrial clusters stretching for several kilometers or even more than ten kilometers. Even such industrial clusters were not completely absent in Russia; such clusters existed in Moscow and St. Petersburg. After seeing the enterprise production of the People's Party, although Belkov did not yet understand its internal technology, he intuitively understood that this was a powerful force beyond Russia's current industrial level.

Not only enterprises like steel mills, but also military factories producing guns and bullets, and enterprises producing various civilian equipment, the People's Party had almost fully implemented electrification. Of course, the result of electrification was frequent breakdowns. In just a few days, large-scale production interruptions caused by power failures that Belkov witnessed with his own eyes occurred more than a dozen times. Small problems were as numerous as the hairs on an ox; Belkov didn't even want to bother counting them.

The intelligence of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) recorded that China had a population of 400 million. If there were hundreds of cities like Wuhan, China would possess industrial strength almost capable of completely overwhelming Russia. Reaching such a conclusion required only simple arithmetic skills, not even a very high level of political understanding.

After visiting the Wuhan Industrial Zone of the People's Party, Belkov also visited the Wuhan New City residential area, which mainly consisted of four-story buildings. Between the residential area and the industrial area, there were civilian rapid transit railways and buses, and a large number of Chinese workers rode bicycles to work. Inside the residential area were kindergartens, schools, hospitals, post offices, gardens and green spaces, squares, and entertainment facilities. The residential buildings in the community were deserted during the day, but the schools and kindergartens became very lively every once in a while. Especially, kindergarten teachers often took children to play on the green space. Large groups of little ones followed the male and female teachers closely, some screaming, some laughing happily, and some crying inexplicably.

Belkov was not married yet, let alone having children. Seeing such large groups of little babies, he just couldn't help but smile.

After the day shift ended, the community became lively. People came and went; the sound of stir-frying came from the kitchen windows of every household, wafting out the aroma of various meals. The shops selling steamed buns always had the most people crowding in front of them. After eating, adults and children walked outside. Many people gathered in front of the radio in front of the shop, listening to the broadcast while chatting and playing cards.

When it got later, lights lit up in the windows of every household. The children running wild outside went home one by one under the calls of their parents, and the streets gradually quieted down. Even later, the lights of the entire city gradually went out. There was some movement when the workers on three shifts went to and off work; most workers returning late would eat something at the night snack stalls before going back to sleep. Apart from this, Wuhan's night was shrouded in the silence of dreamland, and would not become active again with the crowd going to work and school until dawn.

During the visit, Belkov noticed one thing: in this bustling city of Wuhan, there were no rich areas or slum areas. The living environment was almost exactly the same, and all shops provided services to everyone equally. Even the few foreigners in Wuhan bought various goods in shops opened by Chinese people. Of course, there were also a small number of shops with exotic styles opened by foreigners, and these shops were also open to Chinese people.

There were no prostitutes soliciting customers, nor beggars. This Chinese city in 1918 looked very ordinary, and this sense of equal ordinariness surprised Belkov the most. The style of this city was very much like the feeling the People's Party gave Belkov: very calm, very composed, and at the same time full of vitality. In this city, one would involuntarily give birth to a wish to live happily and steadily.

After the visit, Comrade Belkov also gave birth to a wish that the People's Party, which could build such a city, might be able to coexist peacefully with Russia. Regarding Comrade Belkov's sincere plea, Chen Ke also gave sufficient respect, "Comrade Belkov, I think peace based on the Treaty of Nerchinsk is a very good choice for both China and Russia. We are willing to establish a completely good-neighborly and friendly relationship with Russia based on the Treaty of Nerchinsk." After saying this, Chen Ke sincerely wished that the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) headed by Comrade Lenin could achieve a comprehensive victory in the Russian Liberation War as soon as possible. Then he asked Zhang Yu to see Comrade Belkov off.

Comrade Belkov understood that facing the communist party of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), Chen Ke finally revealed his true colors as a nationalist. According to Belkov's judgment, Zhang Yu, who was responsible for receiving the representative of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), should be an important figure in the People's Party. Therefore, Comrade Belkov discussed with Zhang Yu the nationalist tendencies and even imperialist tendencies of the People's Party.

Zhang Yu answered quite simply, "Comrade Belkov, as far as we know, the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) is also negotiating a truce with Germany now, and is very likely to accept extremely harsh truce conditions from the German side. Then I cannot help but ask a question: why does your side adopt such a method towards Germany? This is really a very puzzling thing."

Hearing Zhang Yu's threat-filled words, Belkov felt that continuing to negotiate with the People's Party at this stage was pure nonsense. The People's Party seemed to have made up its mind to attack Russia. This practice of hitting someone when they are down made Comrade Belkov's heart boil with strong patriotic righteous anger and deep hatred for the reactionary thoughts of the People's Party.

After sending Belkov away, Zhang Yu unexpectedly received an invitation from the British Consulate. As the de facto Foreign Minister, Zhang Yu could only take his secretary to attend the diplomatic ball at the British Consulate. At the meeting, the British Minister to China asked if the People's Party was going to make Wuhan the capital.

This was also a matter discussed internally by the People's Party. The model of a mobile central government created by Chen Ke a few years ago largely solved the troubles encountered by various provinces at that time. The troubles of that time were solved, but this brought new troubles. The People's Party argued endlessly about where to establish the capital. Wuhan was built very well now, but the comrades found that Chen Ke showed no intention of making Wuhan the capital. Zhang Yu didn't want to worry about this either. He laughed: "Is Mr. Minister not used to the climate in Wuhan?"

"That's not it," the British Minister laughed, "but building an embassy in your country's capital is also something we need to do."

"Can you wait temporarily until we complete domestic unification?" Zhang Yu laughed, "Or does Mr. Minister not trust us?"

The British Minister certainly knew Zhang Yu was joking. Although he actually looked forward to the failure of the People's Party's unification war in his heart, the British Minister still laughed loudly: "Minister Zhang speaks very interestingly."

After talking about recent trade issues for a while, the British Minister introduced the person who walked up to them, "I think Minister Zhang must have met the Russian Minister."

Zhang Yu had certainly met the Russian Minister, but this Minister now felt somewhat unworthy of the name. After the Russian February Revolution, the Romanov Dynasty collapsed. The October Revolution overthrew the Kerensky Provisional Government that came to power after the February Revolution. However, the Russian Minister in front of him was still the Minister to China appointed by Tsar Nicholas II, whose whereabouts were unknown now. It was only because the attitudes of Britain and France in the Entente Powers were still quite ambiguous, and the collapsed Russian Kerensky Provisional Government had no time to pay attention to China's problems when it was in power, that this gentleman could continue to be called "Russian Minister."

Since the task of introduction was completed, the British Minister excused himself to talk to the Belgian Minister, leaving Zhang Yu and the "Russian Minister" aside.

Zhang Yu's foreign language was not very good, and he basically relied on translation for foreign affairs. The Russian Minister also knew that Russian was not the main language for China's foreign exchanges. When the two and their entourage arrived at a secluded place, the Russian Minister simply started speaking French. Zhang Yu's translator listened carefully to the Russian Minister's words and translated them in time, "I heard that your country provided some drugs to Britain and France. I wonder if your country is willing to uphold the obligations of an Entente member and also provide these drugs to our side."

Using unscrupulous means for victory was completely within Zhang Yu's acceptance range, but like the comrades of the People's Party, Zhang Yu believed that the applicable scope of "unscrupulous means" should be on "cultivating internal strength," not getting some drugs of unknown origin to eat and then erupting with "combat power" under the effect of drugs.

In fact, the internal attention of the People's Party to the "Divine Body Protection Pill" was also after Chen Ke recommended this drug to Britain and France. However, this drug, as Chen Ke "predicted," was strongly addictive. Comrades who volunteered to use these drugs for experiments were all strong-willed comrades, but they still encountered great difficulties when quitting. The prisoners who tested the drug almost used the method of treating mental illness, binding and even electric shock, to achieve physical withdrawal, but still encountered huge problems in psychological dependence.

Of course, the effect of this drug was indeed terrifying. Comrades who tried it created a record of continuous work of copying, exercising, and even massive data calculation without sleeping for three consecutive days. Foreign devils flocked to this drug, which Zhang Yu could fully understand. If the side effects of the drug were not considered, every time Zhang Yu imagined the scene of millions of drugged foreign devils killing their way into China, his heart indeed felt a little creepy. Facing such a terrible demon drug, Zhang Yu felt more of a heartfelt fear of Chen Ke's "chemical genius."

"Does your side want to use this drug?" Zhang Yu asked.

"I hope to purchase a part of this drug using Russia's property in China as collateral." The Russian Minister said urgently.

Zhang Yu was somewhat stunned by this. This "Russian Minister" actually did not have the right to dispose of Russia's property in China. Offering such completely unrealistic conditions was really inconsistent with the identity of a Minister. However, Zhang Yu quickly figured it out. If the "Russian Minister" could send this drug back to the country as quickly as possible to please the Russian forces fighting the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) government, there was a great possibility of continuing to be the "Russian Minister."

But this thought was quickly overturned by Zhang Yu himself. If this drug was needed, Britain and France could have recommended it to the Russian side. Russia was famously poor, and it would not be a heavy burden for Britain and France to distribute a part of the drugs to Russia. But why did the British Minister take a detour to let Zhang Yu contact the "Russian Minister" who heaven knows how long he could still work?

So after expressing agreement "in principle" to reach a sales intention, Zhang Yu left the Russian Minister and found the British Minister. The British Minister was talking with the Dutch Minister at this time. Hearing Zhang Yu seemingly casually ask what the Entente Powers thought of the several current governments in Russia, the British Minister said with satisfaction: "Does your side know that the Moscow government is negotiating with Germany?"

"Uh?" Zhang Yu knew that Chen Ke had predicted this matter. When the British Minister provided more accurate news, Zhang Yu could only play dumb and say, "I don't know yet."

"Then you know now." The British Minister said seriously, "The Entente Powers absolutely do not accept this action taken by the Moscow government, nor do they accept the choice of the Moscow government to withdraw from the Entente Powers."

"That means the Entente Powers do not recognize the Moscow government?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Yes, the Entente Powers do not recognize the Moscow government, nor is it possible to establish diplomatic relations with the Moscow government." The British Minister said very seriously.

Although he didn't know if the British side heard any rumors, the first thought in Zhang Yu's mind now was that even if they joined the Entente group, the People's Party Chinese government was also a second-rate character that needed to be guarded against in the eyes of Britain and France. The next thought was that he needed to see if anyone inside had leaked news to the Entente Powers.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yu nodded slightly while saying to the British Minister: "I understand."