Those classmates who shared Xu Chengfeng's temperament gathered one after another in his dormitory. Xu Chengfeng, who had already returned, seemed not to notice them entering and continued to sit in a daze. His classmates wore equally gloomy expressions, making the atmosphere in the room exceptionally oppressive.

The silence was finally broken. "That fellow surnamed He, just because he graduated from a foreign military academy, he only knows how to boost the enemy's morale and dampen our own spirit!"

With this emotional breach opened, other students immediately chimed in. "I think that He guy is just exaggerating! He opens his mouth and talks about hundreds of thousands of cannons—are there really hundreds of thousands of cannons? Those are just baseless claims!"

Xu Chengfeng felt that this explanation made him feel a little better. But as he listened to everyone expressing their opposition to He Rui one after another, he slowly began to feel something was amiss.

Even if he didn't like He Rui, Xu Chengfeng could sense a kind of candor from him. He Rui had indeed described the military strength of both sides on the European battlefield, but it was clearly not to show off; he was simply describing what kind of war was taking place in Europe.

Xu Chengfeng didn't like what He Rui had said, but he felt that He Rui might not be lying.

*How can I prove whether He Rui is a liar or not?* Xu Chengfeng stood up.

Seeing Xu Chengfeng walking away quickly, one of the classmates shouted at his back, "Chengfeng, where are you going?"

Xu Chengfeng didn't answer and went straight to the classroom where He Rui was conducting interviews. Pushing the door open, he saw the classroom was empty, with only He Rui sitting alone at a desk, writing something.

The final rays of the setting sun shone through the window onto He Rui, dyeing him in a layer of golden-red color. Just then, Zhong Yifu caught up. The two of them walked toward He Rui together.

He Rui stopped writing and sized up the two young men before him. One had delicate features, while the other looked lean and capable. Beneath their gloomy expressions lay intense emotions.

"Do you two students have business with me?" He Rui asked.

Xu Chengfeng suddenly realized that his behavior was quite rude, so he hurriedly introduced himself. "Regimental Commander He, my name is Xu Chengfeng. This is my classmate, Zhong Yifu. We have come presumptuously, but we absolutely do not intend to offend."

He Rui had not been afraid to begin with and couldn't help but chuckle softly. He wrote down their names before replying, "What have you two come for?"

"May I ask, Commander He, regarding Europe..." Xu Chengfeng asked. When he reached the critical point, he found it difficult to breathe again.

Beside him, Zhong Yifu asked loudly, "Since Commander He is so clear about affairs in Europe, where exactly does the gap between China and Europe lie?"

"As I see it, the distinction lies in the fact that Europe has accumulated effective capabilities for *policy formulation* and *policy execution*. This is the greatest gap between China and Europe at present."

Xu Chengfeng had never heard anyone put it this way and for a moment didn't know how to follow up.

"Sit," He Rui commanded.

Xu Chengfeng and Zhong Yifu sat down. The fine dust floating in the air began to scatter lightly due to their movements, dancing in the sunlight that enveloped He Rui.

"I have heard of 'saving the nation through science and technology,' 'saving the nation through industry,' and 'saving the nation through education.' Of course, there are also sayings like 'saving the nation through republicanism.' Have you heard of them?"

Hearing the words "saving the nation," He Rui saw the eyes of the two young men opposite him light up. They answered simultaneously, "We have." "We've both heard of them."

"Policy is proposed to solve reality's problems and must have clear goals. If we call the above sayings 'policies'—for example, saving the nation through science and technology—is the policy goal ultimately to develop technology, or is it to save the nation?"

Xu Chengfeng answered immediately, "Naturally, it is to save the nation."

"If saving the nation is the objective, one must be clear: from whose hands are we saving China?"

"Naturally, from the hands of the Great Powers."

"What kind of policies have the Great Powers formulated that force us to the point where we must save China?"

Xu Chengfeng and Zhong Yifu were stunned. After thinking for a while, they replied, "They force us to sign various treaties, forcing us to cede territory and pay indemnities."

"Those are actions taken in the execution of their policies, not the policies themselves. Let me give you an example: the Opium War. Before the Opium War broke out, China earned more silver from the British each year than the British earned from China. The British cannot excrete gold or piss silver; their gold and silver became less and less the more they used it. The more they traded with China, the more they lacked precious metals for transactions. Such a reality violated Britain's economic policy.

"Britain didn't just want to sell opium from the start; they tried various commodities. They finally discovered that the opium trade could earn massive amounts of silver, so they began dumping opium on China. China did not accept Britain doing this, hence the destruction of opium at Humen and the ban on opium. In the end, war broke out.

"The British support for the opium trade was in obedience to Britain's economic policy. In order to execute this policy, the British government would not hesitate to wage war. However, just a few years ago, for the sake of their commercial interests and health policy, Britain signed the *Sino-British Opium Suppression Treaty* with China, prohibiting the comprehensive trade of opium. have you heard of this?"

Xu Chengfeng and Zhong Yifu both knew about the Opium War and knew that Britain dumped opium on China. But they had not heard of the *Sino-British Opium Suppression Treaty*. For a moment, they didn't know whether to believe He Rui's words.

However, looking at He Rui's candid expression, both were inclined to believe he was not lying.

Zhong Yifu was so angry he didn't know what to say, finally squeezing out a sentence: "The British are truly shameless."

"Discussing things that don't exist is meaningless. The British are indeed shameless, because Britain never considers the matter of 'face' to begin with. But the British have the capability to formulate policy, and they have the capability to execute policy. This is the reason why China is currently inferior to the Great Powers.

"The Great Powers of the world are strong because they have, through their own development, acquired **policy capability**. China is weak because it lacks policy capability. Therefore, we often mistake the objective for the means, and the means for the objective."

"Commander He, what degree of policy capability does China possess?"

"Probably to the degree of 'taking things for granted'..."

"Commander He, then what is the policy capability of the Great Powers like?"

"Which aspect of policy capability are you asking about?"

...

Unknowingly, more than an hour passed in questions and answers. The light in the room gradually dimmed until the fine dust in the air was no longer visible. As night fell, Xu Chengfeng and Zhong Yifu could no longer see anything clearly in the room.

Even sitting in the dark, Xu Chengfeng and Zhong Yifu's enthusiasm did not diminish in the slightest. The two of them gradually discovered that if they looked at the world according to the line of thinking He Rui proposed, the world was still the same world, and the Great Powers were still those same Great Powers, but things were no longer ambiguous and unclear. They were gradually able to understand where the true strength of the Great Powers lay.

Just then, He Rui opened his pocket watch. The radium hands indicated the time in the darkness. He Rui said, "I still have to return to my residence to finish today's work. Let's end here for now."

Although Xu Chengfeng and Zhong Yifu wanted to continue chatting, they felt they couldn't delay He Rui's official duties. As the three of them exited the classroom door, a gust of night wind blew past, and Xu Chengfeng shivered.