The rapid rapprochement between the Soviet Union and China was a truly major event internationally.

When China, in its capacity as an Allied power, "recovered lost territories" from the Soviet Union, countries around the world believed this would lead to a long-term, comprehensive conflict between the two nations. However, they never expected that the leaders of these two countries would have faces thick enough to pierce the sky. Just after resolving the border issues with swords drawn and bows bent, China's material and personnel aid surged toward the Soviet Union like a tide.

Even more ridiculous was the actual control operations along the border outside of the Sino-Soviet Friendship Treaty. China and the Soviet Union had actually established a "mutual trust system" along the border. Any military movement of a division-level unit within 100 kilometers of the border was to be notified to the other side. Regimental-level movements within 50 kilometers were also to be notified. Looking at this, it seemed China and the Soviet Union intended to establish a long-term posture of military non-confrontation.

Both China and the Soviet Union were great powers. Although they were both a bit weak, they had the foundations of great powers after all. The problem great powers faced was that if they fought on two fronts, they would struggle to attend to both ends due to their vast territories. However, if a great power only had to face combat in one direction, no one would dare to act rashly against them. Two-thirds of the territory of the entire World Island was in the hands of China and the Soviet Union. Although these two countries had not signed any military alliance, the friendly trend displayed so far was itself a posture more terrifying than the military alliances between many small countries.

Receiving a request from the British Minister, Sir Humphrey, to visit the northwestern provinces of China, Zhang Yu was initially a bit unhappy, but his mood quickly changed. He told Sir Humphrey, "You can inquire with the Northwest side."

Britain had rich diplomatic experience. Upon hearing this, Sir Humphrey knew something was amiss, so he discussed it with the staff at the British Legation in China.

"Duan Qirui is a man who loves fame and power; we need to focus on this point." The British Minister to China easily reached a consensus on this. It wasn't that they hadn't dealt with Duan Qirui before. If a comparison had to be made, Duan Qirui's current situation was actually quite similar to when he was in the Beiyang government. There was a leader above him whom Duan Qirui absolutely could not move, and Duan Qirui himself harbored ulterior motives. According to the Chinese saying the British had learned, at this moment, neither the central government of New China nor Duan Qirui wanted to "tear open their faces" (have an open falling out) in the short term, so it was necessary for the British to give Duan Qirui some "face."

For the first time in his life, Duan Qirui received an application letter from a foreigner delivered with an attitude of looking up to him. The British Consul in Xi'an personally delivered the letter to Duan Qirui. There was no longer any arrogance on his face; even if it couldn't be called servile, he was absolutely respectful towards Duan Qirui. Tasting true respect from a foreigner for the first time, even though Duan Qirui knew the British guy harbored ulterior motives, he still felt his heart blooming with joy.

After informing the British Consul that he would consider the matter, Duan Qirui sought out Wang Shizhen to discuss it.

Looking at the look of self-satisfaction that Duan Qirui couldn't conceal no matter how hard he tried, Wang Shizhen simply turned his head away, not wanting to pay any attention to Duan Qirui at all. Having become accustomed to being ignored by Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui was quite immune to it. "Brother, I guess you are thinking that this face wasn't earned by me, and the British aren't trying to give me face, but want to use me as a gun."

Wang Shizhen's expression improved slightly. He asked, "Zhiquan, what do you plan to do?"

"No matter what the British want me to do, I will just ask for an exorbitant price. If the British are willing to give it, they give it; if not, forget it. Anyway, asking me to do anything for them is out of the question." Duan Qirui had long made his own calculations.

Wang Shizhen sneered, "Zhiquan, you still want to play the People's Party and the British in the palm of your hand. Which of these two can you afford to play with?"

Almost at the same time, Wang Youhong, the Chief Executive of the Jiangsu Special Administrative Region, was also holding a meeting with the Jiangsu Assembly. "Members of the Assembly, the British wanting to establish good relations with us is all bullshit. We can do business with them, but we cannot get involved in any other matters. If anyone thinks we can play the British, that is pure delusion."

A cautious Member of the Assembly put forward his opinion, "Governor Wang, if we can get on the British boat now, things will be much better when we discuss matters with the People's Party. We are just borrowing the power of the British, not defecting to the British, so what's the big deal?"

Wang Youhong was nearly 70 years old, but the old man's voice was still resonant. In response to the Assembly Member's query, Wang Youhong's voice contained a kind of extreme contempt. "What the British have their eyes on is that our Jiangsu has been able to stand tall for nearly twenty years. But in these nearly twenty years, when have we ever relied on the British?"

Comparing historically, after Wang Youhong took charge of Jiangsu, he first lost Northern Jiangsu, then Shanghai, and now lingered on, shrinking into the Southern Jiangsu area. However, comparing horizontally, when Wang Youhong became the Governor of Jiangsu, the Manchu Qing, Beiyang, Guangfu Society, Tongmenghui, and other forces were all present. Now the Manchu Qing had gloomily exited the stage of history. The remnants of Beiyang, Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen, were in the Northwest, but the local politics and economy were already controlled by the People's Party. The Guangfu Society had been absorbed by the People's Party. The Tongmenghui, after the slaughter by Beiyang and the Guangfu Society, now only had those few dozen people left in Japan. The members in China had long since abandoned the Tongmenghui.

In comparison, even while constantly facing the heavy pressure of the People's Party, Jiangsu had maintained its independent political and military power. Regardless of what thoughts one harbored, at least the People's Party had not been able to control Jiangsu to this day. Compared to other forces, the Jiangsu led by Wang Youhong could certainly be called outstanding and unique.

The old man's still sharp gaze swept across the faces of the assembly members, and the sarcastic tone in Wang Youhong's voice became even thicker. "The People's Party has said that imperialist countries are never soft-hearted when killing their running dogs. As long as there is enough exchange of interests, imperialist countries never hesitate in the slightest to sell out their running dogs. Why are the British contacting us so humbly now? Naturally, they want us to deal with the People's Party. If we can't deal with the People's Party, the British can just pat their butts and leave. Separated by a vast ocean, the People's Party won't be able to fight over there for a while. But where can our Jiangsu go? I certainly won't go; I will die in Jiangsu. And where do you gentlemen sitting here plan to go?!"

The seated assembly members couldn't figure out for a moment what exactly Wang Youhong meant; there was actually a flavor of disregarding life and death in these words. In reality, the conditions the British offered Jiangsu were very generous. For example, helping Jiangsu build silk factories and establish industries. These were opportunities that Jiangsu could only dream of.

The miraculous rise of the People's Party over the past ten-plus years had made everyone in Jiangsu understand that without industry, there is nothing. It didn't rely on those muddy-legged peasants; the leaders Chen Ke, You Gou, Yan Fu, Qin Tongren, and even Kong Zhang who was recruited away from Northern Jiangsu by the People's Party—which one wasn't a student who had studied abroad? Which one wasn't a great scholar who understood modern science?

If one had to say how the People's Party differed from other forces, it was merely that the People's Party was willing to tighten its belt and squeeze food out of its own mouth to develop education. On this point, even the Jiangsu Assembly had sobered up. Other forces squeezed the common people to death to gather wealth. Only the People's Party cast a long line to catch big fish; once the common people received an education, they could become workers and engage in industry. Once industry developed, the People's Party could resist the Great Powers externally and pacify the warlords internally.

Now that the British were willing to support Jiangsu, this was a great thing, like a pie falling from the sky. Southern Jiangsu was originally affluent, and the atmosphere for studying among the people was strong. As long as there was British support, in a few years, they probably wouldn't be worse off than the People's Party.

Yet Wang Youhong didn't think this was a good opportunity; instead, he thought it was something greatly harmful to Jiangsu. This couldn't help but make the assembly members suspect if Wang Youhong had become senile. The British wanted to use Jiangsu as a gun—didn't Jiangsu know that? Once the machines were in hand, they would be one's own. If the British pushed too hard, couldn't Jiangsu just hide behind the People's Party? As the central government, could the People's Party really allow the British to run onto Chinese soil and bully Chinese people?

Such a simple principle—why couldn't Governor Wang Youhong think of it?

The meeting of the Jiangsu Assembly ended on a sour note. During the recess, the Jiangsu assembly members began a major networking effort, trying to find a way to persuade Wang Youhong.

Wang Youhong returned to his official residence and lay down on his bed. Although he could still hold on in the Assembly, Wang Youhong knew very well that his body couldn't last much longer. During his long military career and his struggle in the turbulent currents of the times, Wang Youhong found that he had truly become "pragmatic" about many things. It was now October, and the weather wasn't too cold yet, but Wang Youhong felt his hands and feet becoming unnaturally cold, and his perception of his body was constantly fading. That wasn't caused by the cold weather; it was very likely a sign of the Grim Reaper's arrival.

At this moment, Wang Youhong did not panic. He immediately sent someone to find the Commander of the Jiangsu Provincial Defense Force, Yu Chen. Yu Chen quickly arrived at Wang Youhong's residence. Hearing the personal guards say Wang Youhong was seriously ill, Yu Chen was surprised to see Wang Youhong slowly drinking tea with a composed expression when he saw him. This couldn't help but make Yu Chen feel strange.

"Commander Yu, sit," Wang Youhong said calmly.

After Yu Chen sat down, Wang Youhong said, "I am very likely about to die."

This gave Yu Chen quite a scare. For over a decade, no matter how Wang Youhong had tried his best to solidify his own power, Jiangsu had been propped up by Wang Youhong after all. If Wang Youhong were to die suddenly at this time, heaven knew what the People's Party would actually do.

Seeing Yu Chen sitting there as if petrified, Wang Youhong laughed. "Commander Yu, everyone dies. The Empress Dowager died, Yuan Shikai died, so many figures who shook the world have died. What does it matter if I'm missing? Rather, after I die, I want to hand over the control of Jiangsu to you. Those people in the Assembly are unreliable. If they are allowed to act recklessly, Jiangsu will be finished in a few years!"

Yu Chen didn't care for the Jiangsu Assembly either, but he didn't expect Wang Youhong's evaluation of the Assembly to be so low. He couldn't help but say, "Governor, even if the Assembly is a bit dull, surely they wouldn't do things that dig their own graves."

"Wouldn't dig their own graves? Heh heh!" Wang Youhong wanted to laugh out loud, but due to a lack of strength, it turned into a sneer. "In the final analysis, they only care about themselves. But the People's Party is now like the sun at high noon, and Chen Ke cares about the world. On this point alone, the superiority of one over the other is immediately judged. If Chen Ke casually digs a pit for them, they will definitely jump in."

Feeling his legs getting colder, Wang Youhong pulled the quilt up a bit. He stared at Yu Chen and said, "These people always feel that if the power in their hands increases, they can protect themselves. But they simply don't understand that how much power Jiangsu has depends entirely on the People's Party's will. As long as they don't understand this, the Assembly will sooner or later fall into the People's Party's trap."

After saying this, Wang Youhong felt his strength failing even more and couldn't help but gasp for breath. Yu Chen stood up abruptly and shouted to the outside, "Quick, call the doctor!"

"No need to call the doctor." Wang Youhong waved his hand at Yu Chen. "If doctors were useful, there wouldn't be any dead people. I'm not in pain right now, what's the use of calling a doctor."

After gasping for a moment, Wang Youhong called Yu Chen to sit in front of him. He grasped Yu Chen's hand and said, "Yu Chen, you have followed me for so long. You know the hardships of our journey. I originally struggled to support Jiangsu because I had the thought of using this place to rise and achieve a great undertaking. Now that thought has long since died. I only want to maintain Jiangsu to prove that I, Wang Youhong, have not completely lost to Chen Ke. After I die, you take charge of Jiangsu. At least continue this undertaking. Do not lose to Chen Ke."