When Comrade Belkov visited Chen Ke for the second time on June 1, 1919, his attitude appeared much more composed than last time.

Comrade Lenin had already publicly shouted to China, unilaterally and permanently abolishing all unequal treaties imposed on China by Tsarist Russia after 1896. This attitude bore great pressure within the Russian Communist Party. As a member of the great powers, Russia knew the principle of consistency among the powers very well. Once concessions were made to a member of the Entente Powers, it would inevitably lead to a series of chain reactions.

Although Comrade Lenin tried his best to persuade his comrades that it was necessary to reach a good relationship with China and pry China, this unstable member of the Entente Powers, off the chain of the Entente Powers. But after the bitter battles of 1918, the Russian Communist Party already had certain confidence in dealing with European and American powers, and the comrades did not approve of making such large-scale concessions to a weak Eastern regime at this time.

The intelligence about China brought back by Comrade Belkov was valued, but when the newborn Soviet regime faced the disaster of total destruction, what intelligence was not worth valuing?

With the task of trying every means to get China's bottom line, Comrade Belkov once again went through a long trek and finally sat in front of Chen Ke.

Chen Ke did not intend to add any difficulty to Comrade Belkov's task. When Belkov asked where China's bottom line was, Chen Ke took out a map, which had already marked China's demands.

This was a map of the northern border that the Manchu Qing Dynasty once possessed. Belkov was speechless for a moment after reading it. In the western section, China entered Central Asia; in the eastern section, China restored the border line of the Treaty of Nerchinsk, simply including the vast area including the Trans-Siberian Railway directly. If China completed its goal, the north of Russia would be completely placed on the ice field.

Belkov didn't want to refute anything. Comrade Lenin was almost commanding the Russian Communist Party to fight bloody battles alone. Chen Ke in front of him was just like Comrade Lenin, almost restoring China from a declining Eastern country to its current appearance by his own strength alone. In that case, jumping, roaring, and cursing should be useless to Chen Ke. Comrade Belkov asked calmly: "May I ask Comrade Chen Ke, what is the purpose of your making this map?"

"The places I drew are all places the Manchu Qing Dynasty once reached. If in a more distant era, Russia didn't even exist. Such a border is meaningless to our two countries." Chen Ke said while pointing to the Trans-Siberian Railway in the eastern section of the map, "Since Russia built this railway, we are willing to recognize Russia's ownership of this railway. On the basis of recognizing Russia's ownership, negotiate a treaty for the joint use of this railway."

Comrade Belkov felt sincerity in Chen Ke's tone, so he particularly didn't understand what Chen Ke's attitude was. Frowning, Belkov asked: "Comrade Chen Ke, I want to know what you think this border line you drew means?"

"I think once this border is determined, then this border will represent peace. I very much hope that our two countries can have no troops stationed on this border. And considering the long term, I also hope to reach a mutual trust mechanism of notifying each other when both sides mobilize battalion-level troops within 50 kilometers of the border. Also friendly policies such as visa-free free travel for border personnel." Chen Ke answered very seriously.

Comrade Belkov was really speechless. He felt that playing dumb must have a bottom line, especially since a character like Chen Ke had no reason to be silly. Comrade Belkov had to remind Chen Ke, "Comrade Chen Ke, what I want to ask is, why do you think our country will accept such a border line?"

Chen Ke replied calmly: "Because in the territorial contention war that will inevitably break out later, you will find that the Chinese army you face is not an imperialist army. Our purpose is not to be hostile to the Soviet regime, nor to destroy Russia. What we want to take back is only the land we lost. I know that when Comrade Lenin fought against the Entente troops in Europe, by propagating the essence of imperialist war and propagating the fooling of their country's armies by the imperialist ruling class, he made those Entente troops give up their fighting will to fight with you..."

Listening to Chen Ke's calm narration, Comrade Belkov's expression was not calm. Chen Ke indeed very clearly elaborated on many key policies adopted by the Russian Communist Party, and policies that played a huge role. This showed that Chen Ke knew the Russian Communist Party very well, and there might even be people in the Russian Communist Party providing intelligence to the People's Party.

"...Comrade Belkov, there is a very interesting logical problem here. I also hope you can clarify it to Comrade Lenin after returning to Moscow. If the Russian Communist Party believes that it is just for you to inherit the Chinese territory seized by Russia through war, then relatively, it is also a kind of justice for us to retake our lost land through war. So in the future war, you will find that our soldiers of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army are different from those troops of the Entente Powers. We have no hostility towards Russia, and we are not even interested in the territory already occupied by Russia. What we want to retake is only the territory lost by our China. And our comrades of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army will also be very clear that you and we both believe in communism." Chen Ke continued his elaboration.

Comrade Belkov listened to Chen Ke's calm elaboration with mixed feelings in his heart. His biggest doubt was whether Chen Ke was an imperialist or not. Undoubtedly, Chen Ke was absolutely a nationalist, but his attitude was very different from ordinary nationalists. That was, Chen Ke seemed not to have a disparagement of other nations because of nationalism. This was a very strange place. Chen Ke's nationalism was built on a very reciprocal attitude. Since Chen Ke admitted his own nationalism, he would equally respect others' nationalism. A mainstream nationalist admits that the nationalism he identifies with is correct, and at the same time will invariably think that other countries' nationalism is wrong.

"Then is there a possibility of avoiding such a war?" Comrade Belkov was unknowingly overwhelmed by Chen Ke's attitude, and he began to try more flexible methods.

Chen Ke replied: "The method is for your side to recognize this border line. We will not only not have a war with your side but will also immediately start to establish friendly relations with your side. War is a very expensive thing, especially for social systems like yours and ours, and the geographical location of this area. War will inevitably be a bottomless pit. Apart from devouring human lives and funds almost endlessly, the meaning of war may only be to determine a border line."

"Comrade Chen Ke, then why does your side insist on this border line?" Comrade Belkov still wanted to try his best to persuade Chen Ke.

Chen Ke replied: "This is the land we lost. These lands are not lands we voluntarily gave up, but lands lost under your side's bayonets. So we want to retake these lands. This is China's problem, not our personal problem. This is also our difference from those imperialists. The imperialists besieging Russia now have ideas about the Russian Communist Party and Russia. But we China only have ideas about our China's own problems. So I hope Comrade Belkov can tell Comrade Lenin and those comrades of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party my attitude clearly. Even if war breaks out between our two sides, I also hope this war is clear, not a meaningless war mixed with various lies and propaganda. After all, no matter how the war ends eventually, I hope to be able to start restoring friendly relations with your country after the war ends. War may exist for a long time, but everyone hopes for peace."

Comrade Belkov knew that there was no need to continue talking. Chen Ke was either telling a big lie or telling the complete truth. But anyway, one thing has been confirmed now: the People's Party wants to march into Russian territory like other imperialist countries.

"Comrade Chen Ke, how about we establish liaison agencies with each other?" Comrade Belkov asked.

Chen Ke answered very simply: "Okay."

As soon as Comrade Belkov left the meeting room and had not even walked out of the gate of the Central Committee of the People's Party, Chen Ke continued to discuss the specific execution of the foreign war with the comrades of the Military Commission.

The Paris Peace Conference has now proved that China has probably temporarily got rid of the crisis of foreign invasion, but China is still expanding its military and preparing for war. The Military Commission plans to expand the size of the army from the current 3 million to 5.5 million. A newly formed 10th Group Army will be stationed in Laos, and the 11th and 12th Group Armies will be stationed in Northern Vietnam. Complete control of the local areas as soon as possible, and complete the work of incorporating the local areas into China as soon as possible.

In the north, the scale of the railway corps is vigorously expanded. Now the railway corps troops are building the railway to Urga (Kulun) like crazy. Russia has the Trans-Siberian Railway, and the Republic is also planning to build an east-west grand railway from the Northeast to Xinjiang. Once this railway is completed, China will obtain sufficient mobility in the north. However, it is estimated that the completion of this railway will take at least five years.

"The Paris Peace Conference is almost over. Should those comrades withdraw the medical teams in Europe quickly?" Chen Tianhua asked.

"Withdraw the Chinese medical personnel in Britain to France temporarily first. At the same time, make a request to the United States to charter ships, hurry up." Chen Ke replied. War requires a large number of logistical medical personnel, and the Chinese side indeed needs these comrades who have been trained abroad.

"Then do we want to sign the final agreement? There is no issue regarding China's recovery of sovereignty in the agreement at all." This was what the comrades cared about most.

"Let them sign. As long as there are no treaties harming China's interests, we will sign these treaties. Sometimes one has to be able to endure." Chen Ke replied.

Soon, the Chinese delegation received domestic telegrams. Shang Yuan and others set up embassies and consulates in various European countries and tried their best to discuss and sign trade agreements with various European countries.

Italy's work efficiency was too low. Prime Minister Orlando bragged extravagantly, but actually, progress was very limited. For European reconstruction work, steel was once in short supply. Plus Italy thought China was easy to fool, and actually offered an astronomical price; the price of each ship was twice that of similar American ships.

Shang Yuan had to tell this Italian Prime Minister very bluntly, "One cannot be too greedy."

Heaven knows how this Prime Minister bragged to that bunch of ship manufacturers in Italy. After being politely refused by Shang Yuan to close the deal at an astronomical price, the Italian Prime Minister immediately sent a harshly worded telegram to Shang Yuan, accusing Shang Yuan of "having no commercial credit."

"Fuck his daddy's egg!" After reading the telegram, Shang Yuan was so angry that he cursed in his hometown Henan dialect. He originally thought that although the imperialist powers Britain and France engaging in hegemony were extremely hateful, at least Britain and France did business with some minimum commercial ethics. If the People's Party was stricter and didn't get fooled, basic business could still be done. Italy didn't even talk about minimum commercial credit now. This was really weird enough.

Zhang Yu advised: "Poor mountains and evil waters produce unruly people. If Italians worked diligently and steadily, wouldn't they have become a world power like Britain and France long ago? Trusting Italians is our own fault; let's adjust the strategy."

Shang Yuan knew Zhang Yu was right, but he never expected that even when the situation was so bad, no one in Europe was willing to do business with China seriously. It seemed that the only ones who could truly cooperate were probably the two old imperialist countries, Britain and France. This couldn't help but make Shang Yuan feel extremely frustrated. He said angrily: "Given the current situation, we are very likely to return empty-handed from Paris."

"Aren't we here to pave the way? Returning empty-handed is definitely out of the question." Zhang Yu continued to advise. Although advising, Zhang Yu was also very surprised by the bad situation. At the Paris Peace Conference dominated by Britain and France, if the comrades hadn't resisted strongly with the attitude of "dare to touch China's things, we will fight you desperately," let alone getting some soup while others ate meat, even the things in the People's Party's own pot would have almost been scooped away. If they had held even a tiny bit of illusion about the Paris Peace Conference before departure, China would probably have suffered a big loss.

Currently at the Paris Peace Conference, China has had a lot of dealings with countries around the world. What should be said has been said, and what should be bragged about has been bragged about. However, will things really bring significant benefits to China as Chen Ke expected? The comrades dared not be unconditionally optimistic.

Facts also proved that this worry was not superfluous.

US President Wilson tried hard to sell his concept of the "Fourteen Points" in Paris. Moreover, the United States possessed strong industrial strength. On the naval issue crucial to the world, through the efforts of US President Wilson, the United States finally obtained a level to contend with Britain.

And US President Wilson could be considered to have "taken good care" of China. Any proposals and agreements harmful to China, with Wilson's help, were dragged until after the Paris Peace Conference for separate discussion by relevant parties on the grounds of "unilateral agreement."

So although Europe and many regions completed the framework of the so-called "Versailles Treaty System" with various treaties, with the help of the United States, China still skillfully avoided the possibility of being restricted by the Treaty of Versailles.

However, the trouble finally appeared in the United States itself. President Wilson found that although he struggled to promote his personal "idealism" abroad, the US Congress did not buy it. The Congress rejected the proposal for the United States to join the "League of Nations" in two votes. Such a result directly led to the fact that the Americans, who were most active at the Paris Peace Conference, happened not to become a member state of the "League of Nations," the core part of the Treaty of Versailles.

On the contrary, China, because of Chen Ke's instructions, formally became a part of the "League of Nations" as a signatory state, despite many conditions that were actually not very favorable to China.

When the "Treaty of Versailles" was finally signed, Saionji Kinmochi, the head of the Japanese delegation, finally had a separate meeting with Shang Yuan. After Japanese Foreign Minister Makino Nobuaki was insulted to his face by Chinese Propaganda Minister Zhang Yu, he resolutely refused to have any contact with the Chinese delegation again.

Important leaders of two major countries in the Western Pacific sat together. The content of the discussion was about the issue of "racial equality" proposed by Makino Nobuaki on the Japanese side.

Japan's plenipotentiary representative, Makino Nobuaki, prepared for the psychological preparation of being the bird that sticks its head out, calling for the inclusion of abolishing racial discrimination and advocating racial equality in the League Covenant. In prior negotiations, the United States and Britain proposed that it could be accepted under the premise of modifying several clauses. However, Australia publicly rejected this proposal. The People's Party had absolutely no enthusiasm for this proposal but simply voted in favor.

After the committee officially started, the United States, which had the same problem as Australia, and Britain, the suzerain state of Australia at that time, both changed their previous positions and clearly expressed opposition. Later, Japan proposed a more compromise plan, that is, adding "agree to equality of all nations and fair treatment of citizens of all nations" in the preamble of the League Covenant. The voting result was that 11 out of 17 countries agreed. But the chairman, US President Wilson, declared the proposal invalid on the grounds that "such issues require unanimous passage to take effect."

Makino Nobuaki suffered such a setback, so he made such a speech at the conference: "I am worried about the future of the League of Nations. Only when there is a chance, I will definitely raise such issues again." After the meeting ended, British Prime Minister Lloyd George walked to Makino's side and shook hands with him, saying: "I admire Japan's attitude very much."

Saionji Kinmochi found that although the People's Party voted in support of this proposal every time, its attitude was obviously cold. However, the United States, considered by all countries as China's ally, resolutely opposed this proposal, but China did not mean to echo the United States at all. The subtle feeling in between made Saionji Kinmochi risk being insulted again to have a talk with Shang Yuan, who looked quite steady in the People's Party.

Shang Yuan laughed: "Mr. Saionji, Australia and the United States are very xenophobic. It is impossible for you to ask them to vote in favor of this matter. You know that the 'Chinese Exclusion Act' in the United States has not been cancelled yet."

Saionji of course knew about the "Chinese Exclusion Act," which was also the most confusing thing for the Japanese side. Why could China endure such humiliation and still collude with the United States? After Makino Nobuaki was greatly insulted by Zhang Yu, he returned to the station of the Japanese mission and couldn't help cursing loudly, "The United States is China's sugar daddy!"

Looking at Saionji's suspicious expression, Shang Yuan couldn't help laughing: "Equality is a noun, an evaluation. What we pursue is de facto equality. Shouting anything with the mouth is useless."

Saionji Kinmochi still couldn't quite understand Shang Yuan's meaning and continued to look at Shang Yuan with suspicious eyes. Shang Yuan didn't have any illusions about the Japanese's strength and mentality either. He stood up, picked up a pen, wrote a sentence, and handed it to Saionji Kinmochi.

A gentleman is ashamed if his cultivation is not refined, but not ashamed if he is seen as dirty; ashamed if he is not trustworthy, but not ashamed if he is not trusted; ashamed if he is incompetent, but not ashamed if he is not used.

Shang Yuan's brush calligraphy was quite excellent. After writing, he handed the paper to Saionji Kinmochi, "I hope Mr. Saionji can encourage each other with me!"

This was Shang Yuan's heartfelt words!