"The Soviet comrades haven't implemented general mobilization either," He Zudao, the Vice Chairman of the Military Commission in charge of military administration, implicitly presented the military's view at the Politburo meeting. He Zudao had always been considered one of the people in the army most loyal to Chen Ke. Of course, the entire Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was loyal to Chen Ke. Other comrades might have their own interest groups, but the army did not involve economics. While factional struggles certainly existed, the concept of interest groups did not. The only interest issue for the army was requesting more military budget and more new equipment—the most common issues.

Lu Huitian knew very well that He Zudao's words completely represented the army's view. It was the army that bore the burden of war, and in China, the group most opposed to war was probably the army itself. It wasn't that he hadn't considered persuading the comrades in the army, but the problem was that the army was an organization that heavily emphasized seniority. Chen Ke, the creator of the People's Army, was still alive. As long as Chen Ke didn't choose a militaristic path, there was no hope that the army would stand up to negate Chen Ke. Even if Chen Ke chose militarism, as long as the thousands of senior commanders loyal to Chen Ke were there, no one in the army would dare to challenge him.

On the matter of loyalty to Chen Ke, Lu Huitian himself had no intention of replacing him. Not just Lu Huitian alone; within the entire People's Party, while there might be people with the impulse to replace Chen Ke, there wasn't a single person who, after considering the idea realistically from a materialist perspective, could persist in putting that idea into action.

What Lu Huitian hoped for was to realize his own ideas. The People's Party had developed to a point where it was stepping onto a critical juncture. As one of the early leaders of the People's Party, in terms of seniority, Lu Huitian was only a few months behind He Zudao and had joined the revolution even earlier than the retired Shang Yuan. Yet now he was only at the position of Vice Chairman of the People's Congress. Lu Huitian knew very well that the reason he couldn't attain a higher status was entirely due to the issue of state governance guidelines.

Many who leaned towards Lu Huitian believed that Chen Ke was a man who "selected scholars," while Lu Huitian was a man who "selected officials." Apart from obeying the Party Committee, Chen Ke did not believe that any organization was irreplaceable. Lu Huitian, on the other hand, believed that officials and authority were the decisive existence. In this regard, Lu Huitian actually quite agreed with the model of the Soviet comrades: a leader can exist, but what the leader directly commands are officials, or rather, the institutionalized party organization of officials. So this time, many comrades who previously even had heavy conflicts supported total war; one of the reasons was the hope to reverse the current situation in China through such a model.

The comrades' thoughts were not necessarily all out of selfishness. When private enterprises continued to exist, and some well-run private enterprises earned quite high incomes—for example, a reputable restaurant owner could earn hundreds of thousands a year—a department-level cadre with an annual income of only ten thousand would certainly not be very happy deep down. A system with more planning, more power, and more distributive justice was also the sincere hope of many comrades. Since such a foundation existed, Lu Huitian unknowingly became a banner-waving figure.

When He Zudao mentioned the Soviet Union, Lu Huitian felt a bit unhappy. The Soviet army also had 3 million troops. While this number was only half of China's regular army and one-third of the total volume under China's military system, calculated per capita, the Soviet Union's investment in the military was far higher than China's. China's per capita military spending was probably only slightly higher than that of the United States. Among the world powers, it had always been in the bottom ranks. Even so, Lu Huitian could not question the combat capability of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. If Lu Huitian dared to do so, it would be equivalent to standing directly on the opposite side of the army.

"Since the Soviet comrades haven't mobilized, there is even less need for us to implement general mobilization. The enemies we face are either very weak or are enemies that need powerful naval and air forces to resolve," He Zudao explained.

In the Politburo, there were not only the total mobilization faction but also a section of comrades who supported Chen Ke, and another section who couldn't judge the southward strategy. He Zudao's speech was directed at these comrades. As Chen Ke's staunchest supporter, He Zudao understood clearly what he had to do. It was neither to argue with those comrades who had different guidelines nor to paint the war plan in extravagant colors, but to realistically introduce the current situation. To reach a realistic conclusion within the Politburo.

He Zudao continued to introduce, "We have already received intelligence that Britain has strengthened its troop deployment on the border of Burma and Siam. This is the only new problem encountered recently. Other army movements are mainly strengthening the landing operation preparations of the Marine Corps."

"Is it really impossible for Britain to implement large-scale maritime transport in the Indian Ocean direction?" That section of comrades without a specific stance raised this question.

He Zudao smiled. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's battle to liberate the Dutch East Indies used a total of over forty thousand troops. Transporting these troops from the mainland coast to Lanfang Province, then from Lanfang Province across the sea to the Dutch East Indies, including equipment and the fuel consumed by the navy and air force during combat. Just in terms of fuel, every commander and fighter consumed over a ton of fuel. In 1938, China's crude oil production exceeded 30 million tons. Over forty thousand tons of fuel seemed negligible, but processing crude oil into usable fuel required equipment and manpower, all of which were huge investments.

"Given the British strength, their most cost-effective way of war at this stage is to use the Indian Army." He Zudao avoided giving an overly exaggerated evaluation of this material allocation. "If Britain mobilizes hundreds of thousands of troops into the Asian theater, Europe will be left wide open. According to the intelligence we obtained, Germany is preparing to attack Poland. Poland is an ally of Britain, so this is equivalent to declaring war on Britain. When large numbers of British troops are committed to Asia, if France in the European theater can hold off Germany, Britain might still have the spare energy to maintain the war in Asia. If France fails, then the British homeland will be completely empty, and the Germans will be able to do whatever they want. We must note one thing," during the First World War, Britain mobilized a large source of troops from its colonies into the European theater. India was an important source of troops for Britain. If Germany starts a war in Europe, we can foresee that Britain will not have enough strength to protect India. Once India is lost, the losses Britain suffers are fundamentally not something Britain can bear."

The British homeland was over ten thousand kilometers away from China. It wasn't wrong for Chinese comrades to open their eyes to the world, but everyone's gaze only fell on the Western Pacific region; this was already the limit for the vast majority of comrades in the People's Party. Asking them to cast their sights on the entire world was indeed too much to ask. Chen Ke's greatest advantage was that in the era he lived in, due to the existence of the hegemon, the United States, China had to cast its sights on the entire world. This was also the essence of the natural difference in strategic outlook. Chen Ke stood on the shoulders of giants.

The representative of the neutral faction, or rather the representative figure in the Politburo who "pretended to be a neutral faction," was Ren Qiying. Among the first generation of People's Party members, Ren Qiying was considered one of the youngest. She was just 49 years old now. As an excellent bureaucrat, Ren Qiying's way of life was not to get involved in trouble. Since Ren Qiying had never attempted to push a line of her own, she had absolutely no need to get involved in disputes. As long as she followed Chen Ke and completed the work that needed to be done, that was enough.

At this time, Ren Qiying, currently the Director of the Statistics Bureau of the SASAC, asked: "Then when do we plan to go south?"

Lu Huitian couldn't help but frown after hearing this. Ren Qiying's level of playing political tricks was very interesting. If she asked clearly when to go south to Australia, He Zudao could immediately answer that the troops were already moving south. As long as the troops didn't complain, there was fundamentally no necessity to push for general mobilization. And the result of Ren Qiying doing this was equivalent to disguised support for Chen Ke unless Lu Huitian and those comrades demanding total war forced the neutrals to choose a stance. But this matter would basically end here. Of course, no one in the People's Party had ever dared to do that. Even Chen Ke had never forced the Party Committee to make any decisions. At most, the comrades of the People's Party didn't know whether they should agree with Chen Ke's views, and in the absence of any better choice, they agreed to Chen Ke's plan.

When the southward plan hadn't encountered any problems yet, Lu Huitian had neither Chen Ke's rallying power nor a reasonable excuse. No matter what he thought, he had to let the current plan continue.

With Ren Qiying's lead-in, He Zudao immediately gave a brief introduction to the current plan. The navy was now split into two; one part entered the Indian Ocean for operations with the coordination of the air force, and the other part began to move south. In fact, while fiercely pursuing the British, Australian, and Dutch fleets retreating towards Australia, the People's Navy had already captured Darwin Port.

"Oh? We've already attacked into Australia?" Most of the comrades in the Politburo who hadn't heard this news were very surprised.

"Although Darwin Port is Australian land, the geographical situation of this country, Australia, is very terrible." He Zudao began to disseminate knowledge about Australia's geography.

Australia's area is close to 8 million square kilometers, but the geographical conditions are not very good. The terrain of this Commonwealth member is quite unique. Mountains in the east, plains in the center, and plateaus in the west. The country's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, is 2,230 meters above sea level. Near the sea, there are narrow beach slopes that gently slope westward, gradually becoming plains. The coastal areas are full of wide sandy beaches and verdant vegetation. The terrain there is varied: there are the cliffs of the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, the tall, beautiful, and eroded volcanic necks of the Glasshouse Mountains north of Brisbane, and the south coast west of Adelaide is a flat plain.

Most of this country's land, about 70%, belongs to arid or semi-arid zones. Most of the central region is unsuitable for habitation. Australia has 11 large deserts, which account for about 20% of the entire continent's area. Due to low rainfall, more than one-third of the continent is covered by deserts. Australia is the flattest and driest continent in the world. The central depression and the western plateau are both deserts with a dry climate. Lake Eyre in the center is the lowest point in Australia, with the lake surface 16 meters below sea level. The land available for animal husbandry and farming is only 260,000 square kilometers. The coastal zones, especially the southeast coastal zone, are suitable for habitation and farming. Here, hills undulate, water sources are abundant, and the land is fertile. Except for the south coast, the entire coastal zone forms a "Green Belt" surrounding the continent, and it is precisely this green belt that nurtures this country.

This peculiar terrain made Darwin Port, which the People's Navy had already occupied, very "interesting." Because Australia's core area is in the southeast region, Darwin Port, located in the northwest region, is truly just a port city. There are absolutely no railways or highways leading to Sydney in southeast Australia.

Not only that, the salinity of Australia's groundwater is higher than that of the human body. Drinking it not only fails to "quench thirst" but conversely makes one "thirstier the more one drinks." So attempting to open up a railway or highway connecting Australia in a short time using a large amount of manpower to maintain transport is also a completely unrealistic plan. Even a country like China, with abundant manpower and experience in massive engineering projects, couldn't do it. To take down Australia, one could only rely on the navy.

"This also involves another issue, which is maintenance after occupation. Australia's domestic industrial level is very backward. Although there are now some steel plants and they mine their own coal, and Australia's high-quality iron ore also lowers Australia's costs, the core problem of this country is its small domestic market and low scale of production. Thinking of completely occupying Australia cannot be a short-term war; the entire time will likely take two or even three years." He Zudao calmly elaborated on the Military Commission's view. "Of course, we can establish a series of strongholds in the unmanned areas of western and northern Australia. This is very easy. Because those places can basically be considered unmanned areas. Everything there needs to be built by ourselves."

Looking at the map, one couldn't see Australia's problems; such a large piece of land couldn't help but make people envious. The comrades' impression of Australia was that it "abounds in wool." Since it produced wool, it must be a country dominated by vast grasslands. Regarding the issue of undrinkable groundwater, it was introduced in junior high school textbooks. However, everyone felt that these things should be surmountable. But after listening to He Zudao's introduction, the originally enthusiastic mood was constantly lowering.

"The biggest reason we want to seize Australia is that Australia is determined to fight China to the end. Although this country has only 7 million people, we cannot let the United States treat Australia as a base for attacking China. If the huge industrial capacity of the United States is really used to fight us, we will inevitably fall into a long war. Only after completely cutting off the United States' thought of moving against China can we speak of peace." He Zudao made the concluding remarks.

Ren Qiying listened very seriously. When He Zudao finished, Ren Qiying asked: "If at this stage we only want to resolve Australia's organized resistance, rather than completely seizing Australia, how long will it take? Listening to Commissar He's introduction, Australia only has 7 million people. If we only solve some strongholds along the coast of Australia, instead of building Australia into a base capable of resisting a possible American attack, how long will this take?"

"About 9 months." He Zudao answered this question.

The Politburo members who were originally a bit worried about the two to three years proposed by He Zudao all breathed a sigh of relief. If it only took 9 months to resolve Australia's organized resistance, there was indeed no need to implement general mobilization in the Chinese mainland.

Ren Qiying waited slightly, as if thinking for a while, and then said: "If that's the case, I feel that proceeding according to the current plan is very good. Moreover, there are so many islands in the Pacific. It will definitely take a period of time between driving the British forces out of these islands and turning these islands into bases where China can resist foreign invasion. Everything must be completed step by step."

Ren Qiying's view was approved by the majority of the comrades. In the subsequent vote, the comrades all agreed to continue the southward plan and simultaneously agreed to restrictions on the supply of civilian gasoline and diesel. But they did not advocate the system of total war. With the war plan determined, the direction of this meeting's discussion turned to the specific scope and intensity of domestic control.

At this point in the meeting, Lu Huitian understood that the total war he hoped for was seemingly impossible to pass. However, Lu Huitian was not too disappointed. If Chen Ke said the United States was very likely to intervene, then the possibility of US intervention was very high. There would be plenty of opportunities later.

Moreover, the part Lu Huitian hoped for the most, which was the implementation of controls on the domestic economy, was established. At this stage, since it didn't make people feel he was challenging Chen Ke, Lu Huitian had ample opportunity to mobilize more "allies" within a more moderate scope. Since it wasn't about overthrowing Chen Ke, or even making Chen Ke a figurehead, China's various interest groups might not necessarily refuse some of Lu Huitian's proposals.

As a probe, Lu Huitian proposed the view of "practicing strict economy," suggesting certain restrictions on the catering industry. The People's Party had never fully nationalized the catering industry. Although the share of the state-run catering industry was not low, the purpose of this part of the state-run catering industry was firstly to expand employment and secondly to try to suppress prices. After all, with state-owned enterprises stirring things up in the mix, they could forcibly suppress some prices.

The subsequent development was about the same as Lu Huitian imagined; the vast majority of comrades expressed approval. Although Chen Ke did not come out directly to oppose it, he still felt some unease in his heart.

The People's Party strictly forbade eating, taking, blocking, and asking for bribes. The control of the discipline inspection department was also only powerfully implemented in some very core departments and departments very relevant to people's lives. Moreover, most of these implementations were in cities, in big cities. At the grassroots level, the phenomenon of getting some perks from the private catering industry was not rare. Chen Ke had no good feelings for capitalists, but this didn't mean he thought this practice was correct.

What Chen Ke couldn't see clearly now was which comrades in the Politburo genuinely believed that restricting the private catering industry could "save costs," which comrades simply believed that "restricting a bit" could play a role in lifting the people's spirit, and which comrades had other ideas.

It was just that Chen Ke knew that this was absolutely not the time for him to speak. Because it is impossible for humans to make correct judgments about things that have not happened; being able to correctly summarize things that have happened is already a very remarkable thing. Since history ascends in a spiral, the processes that must be walked cannot be skipped in the slightest. Even though after every spiral ends, many people will definitely be eliminated.

This is very ruthless. This is very necessary.