"I can't help but ask, is this a problem with the system? I have fallen into deep contemplation."

Back when Chen Ke was fighting online as a "self-funded 50-center," he would feel a wave of uncontrollable nausea whenever he saw this phrase. Perhaps it was some form of retribution, but in 1928, Chen Ke frequently fell into deep contemplation, and what he was considering was indeed the problem with the system.

There was no problem with the socialist direction, but the socialist system definitely needed constant modification. Whether crossing the river by feeling the stones or operating from a strategically advantageous position, to quote a sentence Chen Ke learned from a foreign bank executive: "Can we not bring up such a hurtful topic as trust?"

Feudal systems relied on rule by man. Even though ancient China developed the imperial examination system, which eliminated hereditary nobility to the greatest extent, it still couldn't escape the problem of interest groups forming. It wasn't about whether there were conspirators; conspirators didn't just appear out of thin air. If a slave owner were to travel to the 21st century, no matter how shrewd and capable he was, no matter how well-versed in the politics of the slave era, no matter how proficient in the art of enslaving people, it would be useless. The general environment not only didn't support slavery, but it also comprehensively opposed slavery within its institutions.

In theory, the pinnacle of the capitalist system was equality before capital, but among all the capitalist countries Chen Ke had seen, not a single one could achieve this. Even the most capitalist American system retained a large amount of feudal remnants. Not to mention scientific socialism, which holistically transcended the capitalist system.

By July, after Chen Qianru went on summer vacation, seeing her old man always sitting alone in the study without saying a word after coming home every day, she couldn't help but snuggle up to Chen Ke to try and cheer him up.

Chen Ke also had a headache from thinking, so he patted Chen Qianru's shoulder. "Let me tell you a story."

"Okay, okay!" Chen Qianru loved listening to Chen Ke tell stories the most. She moved a stool and sat next to Chen Ke. Seeing her daughter and husband talking together, while her son had run out to play with his classmates, He Ying also brought half a watermelon over, cutting it up for the father and daughter to eat.

Chen Ke began, "I only heard this, it's not recorded in the history books. When that bastard Qianlong went down to Jiangnan to mess around..."

He Ying was unhappy as soon as she heard this. "What kind of language is 'bastard'? What is 'messing around'? As the Chairman, how can you speak so unreliably? You're going to lead the child astray!"

Chen Ke never argued at home. He laughed, "I'm in a bad mood, let me vent a little."

He Ying simply moved a stool and sat next to the father and daughter, supervising Chen Ke to make sure he didn't say anything else unreliable.

"During this trip to Jiangnan, he happened to be discussing official business with a minister. The two talked enthusiastically until noon. Qianlong said, 'It's noon, let's eat together.' Then he asked the minister, 'Did you eat breakfast?' The minister said, 'Your subject ate four eggs.' Qianlong was furious and said to the minister, 'How can you be such a corrupt official? I heard from others that eggs cost ten taels of silver each. You spent forty taels just for one morning.'"

He Ying's eyes went wide upon hearing this. What nonsense was Chen Ke spouting?!

Chen Qianru, on the other hand, showed a slightly surprised expression, then couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Chen Ke looked at his daughter and asked with an expression that was outwardly stern but actually doting, characteristic of a father, "Qianru, if you were that minister, how would you answer?"

Chen Qianru frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and replied, "The eggs I ate are different from those ten-tael-a-piece ones. The ones I ate were all cheap eggs with cracked shells, just a few copper coins each."

Chen Ke couldn't help but laugh heartily. He Ying, however, couldn't help but shake her head. People said a nephew resembles his uncle, and that looks skip a generation. Chen Qianru looked like her father, but in many ways, she resembled He Ying's aunt, He Qian. She didn't resemble He Ying all that much. And Chen Qianru's cleverness and astuteness were exactly the same as He Qian's. Sometimes when He Ying thought of her aunt's misfortune, she couldn't help but worry that her daughter Chen Qianru must not follow her grandmother's old path.

Chen Ke didn't think that much of it. He asked, "Why?"

Chen Qianru replied seriously, "Qianlong was clearly being cheated. What does it matter if he's cheated one more time? Moreover, if this lie were exposed, how many people would suffer along with it? If I were that minister, I couldn't do something that breaks the rules."

Hearing this, He Ying got angry. "What nonsense are you two talking about?"

Chen Qianru was educated by Chen Ke, and on one point she was truly her father's daughter. Neither of them had any beautiful fantasies about human nature, possessing an attitude that largely disregarded the so-called principles of the world. He Ying came from an official's family and wasn't entirely ignorant of the various tricks officials learned. But He Ying genuinely disliked these things. She actually believed that her aunt He Qian had learned too many skills from He Ying's grandfather, which had ultimately harmed her.

Chen Qianru, however, was extremely adept at handling situations. She grabbed her mother He Ying's arm and said coquettishly, "Mom, I wouldn't say this outside. I'm just chatting with Dad. Don't be angry!"

He Ying was unmoved. She kept a straight face and said, "Qianru, you're a girl, why are you learning these things? You're studying in the mathematics department now and also taking courses in the philosophy department. Later, become an engineer or a teacher. Your father is in politics, but you know your father doesn't want you to go into politics."

Chen Qianru was still young. Being scolded by her mother like this, she felt unhappy inside and couldn't help but argue back a few words. "If you don't understand these things, you'll suffer losses. Mom, do you think things are easy at school right now? Classmates are all fighting to get ahead, fighting to get ahead. My grades are among the best in the class, but even if I don't want to fight with them, they won't let me off! Joining the Party, student work—even if I don't fight with them, they still want to fight with me!"

He Ying became very unhappy hearing this. "Joining the Party is to serve the people. What are you fighting for?"

Chen Qianru's view on this was completely different from her mother's. "Is it that easy to serve the people? The opportunity to serve the people isn't that easy to fight for. Many classmates are using all sorts of methods now just to be able to take over the reins..." Just as she said this, Chen Qianru stopped speaking. She knew she was too relaxed at home and couldn't help but say things she shouldn't have.

However, Chen Ke's expression had already changed. He asked, "Wait! Who did you say wants to take over the reins?"

Chen Qianru was so scared she didn't dare make a sound. She knew her old man Chen Ke was a smart person; for some topics, one only had to mention the beginning and Chen Ke would immediately know the ins and outs. Just this one sentence she shouldn't have said was equivalent to selling out her classmates.

He Ying wasn't an expert in politics. Seeing Chen Ke's attitude suddenly become so severe, she immediately couldn't help but worry about her daughter.

Chen Qianru saw that her father was serious, so she cleverly decided to be honest. "Dad, everyone in the school knows now that being a civil servant isn't easy. It's fine if you want to do technical work, but if you want a future in politics, you have to be a Party member. To join the Party, they look at performance. Whether you can get into the Student Union has a big impact. I'm currently the logistics committee member of the Student Union. The lower-level ones want to build connections with me, and the higher-level ones want to form cliques with me. I don't want to screw people over, and I especially don't want to be used as a gun by others, but there are too many people who want to use me as a gun. Those with poor grades are trying every possible means."

"What's this about taking over the reins?" Chen Ke cared about this the most. The examples of "if the father is a hero, the son is a good man" had left too deep an impression on Chen Ke. Hearing this term mentioned in a university, Chen Ke couldn't help but tense his nerves.

Things were indeed roughly as Chen Ke had thought. University students whose fathers or relatives were officials at home naturally wanted to rely on their connections and academic qualifications to "take over the reins of the revolution." These people knew that the biggest threshold was Party membership. And joining the Party was now a very serious issue, especially for the Party committees in schools.

Hearing that the gate to Party membership was at least being guarded, Chen Ke finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Chen Tianhua's Party work was done well. It was normal for young people, especially those from good backgrounds, to want to take over, but thinking they could take over just because they wanted to—that was abnormal. Without sufficient testing, a bunch of silly students who had only read books joining the Party—that would be too ridiculous.

After listening to the situation Chen Qianru described, the resolve Chen Ke originally couldn't make was finally made. At the Politburo Standing Committee meeting, Chen Ke proposed the suggestion of "Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside."

When You Gou heard that all university students were to go to work on the toughest front lines, she was a bit dumbfounded. "Chairman Chen, I'm waiting to use people. If you make them give up their majors and go up to the mountains and down to the countryside after graduation, that disrupts the plan."

Chen Ke replied, "Then we might as well promulgate a system. Any university student who wants to go into politics must have experience going up to the mountains and down to the countryside. After civil servants pass the exam, no matter who you are, you have to go work at the grassroots level for a few years. You might even have to work at the grassroots level for a lifetime. University students who want to go into politics must go to the hardest places."

You Gou wanted to say more, but Zhang Yu interrupted, "Comrade You Gou, didn't you come out of 'up to the mountains and down to the countryside' yourself? For the university students in our wave, how could the environment back then be as superior as it is now? If they count as suffering, what did we count as back then? Going to hell?"

What Chen Ke worried about was people wanting to "take over." He knew that in his own timeline, many old revolutionaries forced their own children to take the lead in going down to the countryside, which actually resulted in many inappropriate outcomes. Chen Ke didn't dislike young people who had ambition, a desire to enter politics, and a wish to inherit the glory of their fathers. But this path had to have a cost, a price. Explicitly stating the hardships of the path before they chose was actually more humane.

You Gou quickly understood as well. This wasn't about sending all university students to the countryside, but only making those young people with lofty ambitions accept tougher tests. You Gou had walked this path herself back then. If one only wanted to be a technical pass, they could very well stay in the comfortable cities.

After arranging the system issue, Chen Ke praised Chen Tianhua's work. Chen Tianhua gave a bitter smile. "Everything comes at a cost. Right now, the total number of Party members and probationary Party members is 3.6 million. Based on the population, that's roughly one in two hundred. The ratio is too small."

Chen Ke shook his head. "3.6 million isn't small. As long as they can reach the level a Party member should have, pulling 3.6 million people out could build a country, or destroy a country. But if the system is unreasonable, that's when things become unmanageable. Additionally, I want to discuss a question with everyone. Should we prepare for war?"

The Politburo Standing Committee wasn't surprised. Actually, Chen Ke had spoken about a more comprehensive war more than once, but exactly how comprehensive it would be was the question.

"The goal I'm personally considering might be a bit imperialistic. My greatest hope is to turn a part of the foreign colonies in Southeast Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand, into Chinese territory." Chen Ke seriously stated his thoughts.

This goal was indeed imperialistic enough. These lands exceeded ten million square kilometers in area. China already had over ten million square kilometers of land. If these places became Chinese territory, then China would be the world's largest country with an area exceeding twenty million square kilometers. From close to the Arctic Circle in the north to close to the Antarctic Circle in the south.

"This is putting our lives on the line against the British!" Zhang Yu exclaimed in admiration. "Do we have enough naval power?"

Chen Ke naturally knew the current quantity of military equipment was completely insufficient. "So, before the war starts, the number of frontline Air Force pilots must exceed fifty thousand, and naval vessels must exceed a thousand. The Army's frontline field troops should prepare for eight million, and the reserves must exceed thirty million. Without land, sea, and air forces of this scale, as well as the matching logistics and projection capabilities, there's no need to fight this war; it would be very hard to win."

You Gou calculated in her mind for a while, her voice trembling rarely. "This year we expect steel production to exceed 17 million tons. If such a war is to be fought, I estimate annual steel production will have to exceed 50 million tons. Now that we have many large laboratories, and the control mode for scientific research work is at least a laboratory-production-R&D feedback system, if we want to expand capacity that much, the investment in technology will have to be at least three times greater—no, five times. Do we have that much money?"

Hearing You Gou's euphemistic objection, Zhang Yu continued, "If you build a gallows, if you don't hang someone else, you'll hang yourself. Once the bow is drawn, there's no turning back. Once this decision is made, there's no way to turn around."

Chen Tianhua followed up, "There's no need to speak blindly in politics. This isn't liberating Australia; this is annexing Australia. That can only rely on inciting nationalist sentiment, and I don't think that's very easy to manage. And the aftereffects, I fear, will be too many."

Chen Ke had repeatedly considered these things the comrades were saying, but the result of his consideration was only two options. Either sit and wait for the world to move in a completely unknowable direction, or use the future Chen Ke still knew to take a final gamble. The result of the gamble was hard to predict, but this was the only opportunity Chen Ke knew of to annex new territories that could be accepted internationally. And Australia's resources were a strategic temptation Chen Ke found hard to resist. If China wanted to confront the entire world with its own strength, then it had to obtain Australia.

At this point, Chen Ke didn't want to think about this problem alone anymore; it was time for the Party Committee to make a decision. Dragging over a map, Chen Ke began to recount the reasons why he had such strategic thinking.

Originally, the comrades in the Politburo were sure that Chen Ke had traveled around the developed capitalist countries of Europe and America, but they hadn't expected Chen Ke to be so familiar with a god-forsaken place like Australia. One could know the geographical advantages by looking at a map, but the comrades hadn't expected Chen Ke to be so familiar with the endless mineral resources Australia possessed.

Chen Ke spent several hours recounting this plan that had been stifled in his heart for over twenty years. After finishing, he suddenly felt extremely relaxed. Looking at the frowning and silent Standing Committee members, Chen Ke said comfortably, "Before starting the revolution, I had already planned this project. This counts as my ultimate strategic concept. If this strategic concept can be realized, China won't have to worry for thousands of generations. As long as no internal problems arise, maintaining a lead over the world for another hundred years or so will be no pressure. But countless so-called leaders were blinded by these so-called long-term interests. As a result, they made wrong judgments, leading to the abandonment of all previous efforts. In this matter, I resolutely obey the Party Committee's resolution."