He Rui's stance on joining the Allied Powers did not surprise Sir John Jordan, the British Minister to China. Given He Rui's background as a graduate of the Japanese Army War College, having such an international vision was a performance consistent with his education. In the end, Jordan only sighed, "If only those people in Beiyang could understand this."

The counselor nodded slightly. Thinking that just one letter could persuade the Minister to give He Rui some benefits would be underestimating these "China Hands."

However, the counselor still suggested, "Why don't you send a congratulatory telegram to He Rui, Minister?"

Jordan thought this was feasible. But on second thought, he replied, "Wait until He Rui sends us a telegram; we can congratulate him in passing when we reply."

The counselor smiled, feeling this was indeed a very clever way to handle it.

What Jordan didn't know was that the printing presses in London were printing the latest issue of *The Times*, which prominently featured an article titled "A New Supporter of the British Empire: He Rui, Chief Executive of Northeast China."

Morrison was nominally the Far East contributor for *The Times*, submitting articles every month. This article naturally concerned Morrison's own interests, but it wasn't a fabrication by Morrison either. The content was indeed written based on Morrison's understanding of He Rui. Among Chinese political figures who explicitly and publicly supported the victory of the Allied Powers, He Rui was the first among local leaders, if not the very first. This kind of support and cooperation was exactly what Britain needed most right now.

With the influence of *The Times*, He Rui's name quickly gained the attention of Allied politicians interested in the Far East. The report clearly stated He Rui's resume, and soon, British politicians went to the Japanese Embassy and the Chinese Embassy to seek verification.

MP Churchill left the Chinese Embassy in the UK and went to the office of the British Secretary of State for War, Lloyd George. Lloyd George frowned slightly upon seeing Churchill. When this young MP was in office, he first joined those shortsighted bastard MPs in seizing the battleships that should have been given to the Ottoman Empire, and then promised Russia rewards including Constantinople after the war, directly leading to the evil consequence of the Germans enticing the Ottoman Empire to join the Central Powers with two battlecruisers.

That was January 1915. Churchill was still the First Lord of the Admiralty. He looked down on the Ottoman Empire completely and forcefully pushed for the Dardanelles Campaign [Gallipoli], trying to force the Ottoman Empire out of the war. However, the Ottoman Empire, considered the "Sick Man of Europe," fought bravely under the leadership of Kemal, and the war result was the complete opposite of what Britain thought.

In the Battle of the Dardanelles, about 500,000 Allied troops participated, including 410,000 British (including Commonwealth troops) and 79,000 French, with a total of 252,000 casualties. The Ottoman Empire had 500,000 participants and also 250,000 casualties. The number of participants and losses on both sides were similar.

Leaving aside the failure of the campaign, the fact that the Anglo-French forces lost to the Ottoman Empire was a heavy blow to the confidence of the Allied Powers. And seeing the British cabinet member, the Russian ambassador immediately put on a sour face.

Because the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, coupled with the failure of the Dardanelles Campaign, Russia's transportation lines were completely cut off, and it had to deal with the war on its own strength.

Although Churchill was only the representative of that group of MPs and didn't make the strategic decision willfully alone, Churchill still had to resign as First Lord of the Admiralty and MP. He ran to the French front line to be a battalion commander for a year and only recently returned to London as a war hero, getting re-elected as an MP.

With this prior record, Secretary of State for War Lloyd George braced himself and mentally prepared for MP Churchill's visit.

"Your Excellency, this person is very interesting and can become an aid to the British side." Churchill finished speaking straightforwardly and placed *The Times* in front of Lloyd George.

Secretary of State for War Lloyd George looked at the report; he had an impression. The title of the report was exaggerated, but the content was quite substantial. And most importantly, Churchill finally proposed suggestions to unite allies instead of making enemies everywhere, which made Lloyd George feel that Churchill had learned his lesson.

But Lloyd George was not swayed by this petty profit. He asked calmly, "Then where does the MP think the value of this Chinese local administrator lies?"

Churchill looked cold. "We don't need to give him anything; we just need to give this person a hint, and the rest depends on his performance."

Lloyd George couldn't help frowning slightly. Even in Britain, Churchill was a recognized hard-line imperialist. In Churchill's view, the interests of the British Empire were paramount. To maintain Britain's interests, Churchill could do anything. This political attitude was appreciated by many upper-class figures, which was why Churchill could return to British politics despite bearing such great responsibility politically.

Anyone can make mistakes, but the political stance cannot be wrong. As long as the politics are firm, there is a chance to return to the center of power.

But this approach didn't please Lloyd George. Since He Rui was an elite figure with an international vision, and the friendly attitude He Rui showed was beneficial to the British Empire, he should receive due respect. Churchill's approach lacked respect. As far as Lloyd George guessed, Churchill's purpose in doing this was to restore his own reputation.

"I will talk to the Foreign Secretary..." Lloyd George looked at the newspaper, "...about this man He Rui."

Churchill knew he was still in the eye of the storm. Although he had regained his MP status, Parliament would form an investigation team to investigate the Dardanelles Campaign. At this time, he had to serve with all his might and deal with the investigation carefully. Since he had already expressed his attitude to Secretary of State for War Lloyd George, he should withdraw obediently.

Although unwilling in his heart, Churchill still politely bade farewell to Lloyd George.

***

He Rui didn't know he was recommended by Churchill, but even if he knew, it wouldn't affect He Rui's mood. At this time, He Rui was discussing the diplomatic work about to be carried out in Fengtian with Xu Jia, Hu Xiushan, Zheng Silang, and Zhong Yifu.

Zhong Yifu was now the Commander of Beizhen, responsible for reorganizing the 28th Division. Zhong Yifu finished introducing the reorganization process. Only more than 4,000 men in the 28th Division could truly be considered soldiers. After screening, those willing to go home to farm were disbanded. The problematic officers and soldiers had been controlled, leaving less than 1,000 usable men. About 4,000 more men were conscripted in the land reform areas of Shenyang [Fengtian], forming two regiments.

After talking about work, Zhong Yifu probed, "The Governor seems to be striving to get recognition from the Great Powers now."

"Mm. When I was young, I had a misconception, which was anthropomorphizing nations," He Rui answered frankly.

The issue of anthropomorphizing nations had been discussed in Party classes, so Zhong Yifu and other officers understood He Rui's meaning.

"So as long as that country's policy is hostile to China, I feel everyone in that country is a bad person. Those who directly confront China are enemies we must kill. If someone expresses goodwill towards China, that must be a well-trained spy, needing to be eliminated as soon as possible."

Hearing this, Xu Jia couldn't help smiling. But Zhong Yifu still looked serious. "Chairman, I don't think there's anything wrong with thinking that way."

"There is indeed nothing wrong with thinking so, but it is not seeking truth from facts, and the perspective is too low. Yifu, if China were not so weak now, but the strongest in the world, more powerful than all other countries combined—if I ordered you now to take troops and kill everyone outside China, would you obey the order?"

Zhong Yifu raised his eyebrows, appearing ready to express willingness to obey the order, but a moment later he sighed and lowered his gaze.

He Rui continued, "Since we are part of the world, we must look at China with a global perspective. We must let the whole world know our stance and believe in our stance. This is the diplomatic work to be done now."

Zhong Yifu raised his line of sight. "Chairman, I don't think we need to be so nice to foreigners."

"Being nice to whoever we cooperate with is a view that often appears in immature periods of diplomacy. The foundation of cooperation is interest, and the foundation of interest is demand. It's just that previously, the Great Powers forced their demands on China, and China, unable to resist, could only give whatever was asked. Let alone you, when I think of this past, I also burn with anger."

Hearing this, the Party members, including Zhong Yifu, nodded repeatedly.

"So we Party members clarified this matter through internal study. Our position of cooperation with the Great Powers absolutely does not equal selling out our interests, but achieving interests through taking what we each need. Precisely because of this, our stance needs to be very clear. But for things like a stance, there is no need to sell out anything; just explaining it verbally is enough. This is the main content of diplomacy next."