Xu Chengfeng frowned when he heard that the person sent by his father was asking to see him outside. Xu Chengfeng had been corresponding with his family for the past two years, but he found his parents' attitude increasingly unacceptable.

It wasn't that their attitude was hard to understand; rather, it was because he understood it too well that Xu Chengfeng truly didn't know how to communicate with parents who lacked any concept of the nation. Xu Chengfeng would rather go to the grassroots level and hold democratic life meetings with the soldiers than discuss these matters with his parents. At those meetings, while there were naturally many frustrating issues, he could at least witness the troops' progress in ideological construction.

The officers and soldiers had discussed changes in their families, and everyone was beginning to accept the need for equality, democracy, and harmony. The old system of man oppressing man had to be eliminated.

The content of his parents' letters was either direct or beat around the bush. In short, the core message never changed: they expected Xu Chengfeng to gain status and master privileges to serve himself and the clan.

However, after thinking it over, Xu Chengfeng finally called in the person sent by his family. It was a clan cousin of Xu Chengfeng's, who looked grief-stricken upon seeing him and said, "Brother, your father is in poor health. He sent me to ask you to go back."

For a moment, Xu Chengfeng even suspected these words were false. But looking at his cousin's expression, he felt this guy wouldn't dare lie. He asked what was wrong with his father's health. The cousin rambled on about many things, and Xu Chengfeng felt that his father was indeed ill, but it was a chronic condition. He had intended to let his cousin take some money back, but on second thought, he said, "There are many good hospitals in the Northeast. You go back and tell my father to come to the Northeast to see a doctor."

The cousin hadn't expected such a solution, but he frowned and asked, "Brother, are those doctors really any good?"

Xu Chengfeng's square face darkened. "Even Chairman He sees those doctors when he's sick. You tell me if they're good."

"Chairman He? Brother, are you saying Marshal He!" the cousin exclaimed in surprise, then asked joyfully, "Are they imperial physicians then?"

Xu Chengfeng really couldn't be bothered to explain, simply replying, "Better than imperial physicians!"

With the main business concluded, Xu Chengfeng chatted with his cousin about the current situation in Henan. It was similar to what the Northeast Government's intelligence system had collected: the economies of Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, and Hebei were all in bad shape. The few water conservancy projects built in the Qing Dynasty had long fallen into disrepair, and the Beiyang government, lacking financial resources, only cared about excessive taxation. As a result, even minor floods or droughts could cause many commoners to go bankrupt. The population of the Northeast had exploded, and most of those immigrants came from these four provinces.

Xu Chengfeng's family was from Zhoukou, anciently known as Chenzhou, a fertile land with abundant water sources. Precisely because of this, the struggle between the warlords and the Xu family was intense. Xu Chengfeng's refusal to return home, or even to contact his family, was largely due to this reason.

His cousin tried every way to persuade Xu Chengfeng to return to their hometown. Xu Chengfeng finally got angry and shouted, "Old Six, let me tell you. Take a message back to my father. If my father really thinks I'm capable, better than him, then listen to me. Hurry up and sell all the land at home. Take the money out and let the family members go to school and study. We have carried out land reform in the Northeast, and when we get to our Zhoukou, there will be land reform just the same. When the land is distributed, you will have nothing. Sell it quickly now, and at least you can earn something. Alright? That's all. You go back."

After speaking, Xu Chengfeng stood up and ordered his guard, "Buy him a ticket and make him go back immediately."

The cousin watched Xu Chengfeng leave in a huff and dared not say anything more.

While Xu Chengfeng's anger had not yet fully dissipated and he was gloomily preparing for the exercise content, Cheng Ruofan came in excitedly, "Commander, good news. It is said that a group of retired personnel from various bureaus of the German General Staff are coming to our Northeast. They will help us put forward comprehensive suggestions based on the model of the German General Staff. I think we're just going to copy it."

Only then did Xu Chengfeng finally cheer up a little. The German General Staff was illustrious. Although they were defeated in this war, the reason for the failure was not a failure of military command, but because they were exhausted by the Allied Powers, whose national strength was several times that of Germany. Purely in terms of war command, the German General Staff should still be the strongest in the world.

Amidst the joy, he heard Cheng Ruofan continue, "Also, that Professor Karl is going to open a training class for our high-ranking military officers to lecture on Geopolitics."

Xu Chengfeng couldn't help frowning. "I heard that the training Professor Karl conducted at the Party School almost angered the attendees to death."

Cheng Ruofan replied enthusiastically, "I wrote to Xu Jia and Chief Administrator Wu, and they both rated it very highly. They said that after listening to this class, they actually began to shed their victim mentality and felt a sense of broadening horizons."

"Victim mentality?" Xu Chengfeng savored the term. He Rui had said similar things, but the Party School's education in the last three or four years had focused on ideology, social systems, political economy, organizational models, and democratization education. A large part of it was also struggling against the old ideas of the old era. It was truly a multitude of tasks. Matters like victim mentality were mostly dealt with as psychological processes of how to communicate with people in work.

Professor Karl taught Geopolitics, addressing macro issues between nations. Even facing a military exercise, Xu Chengfeng's interest was piqued.

A few days later, Professor Karl finally arrived. A group of senior officers were preparing for a paper exercise, so they didn't have to make a special trip. Seeing the unremarkable Professor Karl, Xu Chengfeng felt that the scholarly air about this man outweighed his military aura.

Facing the soldiers, Professor Karl did not adopt the teaching method he had used with the civil officials previously. He asked a question right at the start, "What do you gentlemen think Europe's view of Chinese civilization is?"

A single question captured the attention of the senior officers. The senior officers of the Northeast Army were well aware that their mission was to fight the Japanese army and create what He Rui called a 'strategic window of opportunity'. More bluntly, it meant defeating the Japanese army head-on so that they could resolve the separatist forces across China without looking back over their shoulders during the war to liberate the whole of China, and reunify the country.

To completely defeat the Japanese army with only a few years of construction in the Northeast... although the senior officers poured great enthusiasm into it, they were still unconfident deep down. Under such circumstances, apart from mavericks like Xu Chengfeng, no one would consider how foreigners viewed China. Let alone how foreigners viewed 'Chinese civilization'.

Professor Karl had simply adjusted his entry point based on the different audience. He naturally knew that these soldiers actually didn't know how Europe viewed Chinese civilization. He didn't keep them in suspense but spoke frankly, "Europe is the strongest region in the world, so it naturally considers European civilization to be the most superior. However, in the eyes of European countries, China is a civilized country. A civilized country with backward technology. But China possesses a power that Europe finds incredible. Even declined to such a state, even having undergone such tremendous changes, the civilization of China itself has surprisingly not collapsed. It has not been torn apart, and the provinces have not become independent countries. The powerful figures in power, without exception, all aim to restore unity. Such resilience is truly an unimaginable power."

Listening to the translator convert Professor Karl's content into Chinese, Xu Chengfeng's first feeling was, *Isn't this just nonsense!* Dynasties change in China, and warlords rise together in troubled times. This is already the era Chinese people hate the most. If one didn't try their best to restore unity, would they still be Chinese!

But displeasure aside, a question arose in Xu Chengfeng's mind. Just as he was about to ask, Cheng Ruofan asked it first, "Professor Karl, is the unity you speak of a unity of national territory, or a restoration to the unity of centralized power?"

As soon as this question was asked, not only did Professor Karl's gaze immediately sharpen, but the expressions of the senior officers also changed slightly. Xu Chengfeng looked at Chief of Staff Cheng Ruofan, feeling that this guy had changed tremendously. Cheng Ruofan's problem used to be missing the main point, striking here and there. He seemed mentally agile, but often skirted around trivial details.

This time, Cheng Ruofan raised the distinction between 'unity' and 'centralization'. Just this one question made Xu Chengfeng feel enlightened, raising the level of discussion.

Professor Karl first asked for Cheng Ruofan's name before saying, "Major General Cheng, many European countries also seek unity when the country is divided, but unity only means the borders of the country have not changed. When the borders are restored to the original boundaries, unity ends. In a unified country, centralization can never be established. Culturally, there is only one outlier in Europe, and that is France. But France's centralization cannot be compared with China's in terms of intensity, nor can the degree of identification with centralization within France be compared with China. This is also the reason why European civilization holds China in awe. Not only do the warlords dividing the country attempt to rebuild a centralized state polity, but even ordinary Chinese citizens expect to be under the management of a central government."

The senior officers of the Northeast Army all harbored patriotic passion and held hostility towards European countries, though the intensity of the hostility varied. But listening to Professor Karl describe China from a European perspective, even though translated, they couldn't help but feel their horizons expand, even feeling suddenly enlightened.

Professor Karl continued to share his views with passion, "Ten years ago, I visited Japan and was already amazed by the national centripetal force of the Japanese people. But Japan's dynasty has not changed for a thousand years; this could still be called a national habit. My visit to Northeast China this time is not my first; I am revisiting an old haunt. I have traveled to Northeast China before and met many people. Chinese dynasties have changed many times, but regarding centralization as the form of state organization in Chinese civilization... even an illiterate person in China builds their cognition of the state based on centralization. They believe such a polity can bring fairness and justice. To establish a centralized polity requires paying a huge price, enduring immense pain and sacrifice. But Chinese civilization does not fear such sacrifice and dedication. At least I, personally, am full of respect for Chinese civilization."

Xu Chengfeng looked at Cheng Ruofan and saw that although Cheng Ruofan was listening seriously, he didn't seem moved. This surprised Xu Chengfeng even more. Five years ago, Cheng Ruofan at the military academy was a guy who supported Germany. If he had heard a German scholar and retired Major General speak of such respect for Chinese civilization back then, Cheng Ruofan would probably have been moved to tears.

But five years later, Cheng Ruofan listened to a speech that even truly moved Xu Chengfeng as if nothing had happened. Xu Chengfeng couldn't figure out what kind of situations Cheng Ruofan had experienced.

After Professor Karl explained Europe's view of Chinese civilization, or rather his own view, he paused for a moment to observe the senior officers of the Northeast Army.

The Treaty of Versailles stipulated that the number of German troops could not exceed 100,000. Now the number of troops in the Northeast Army already exceeded that of present-day Germany. Compared with the remaining elite German officers, the Northeast Army officers before him were unusually young. And compared with the remaining German officers centered on Junkers, the reactions of these young Chinese officers were also unusually full of vitality.

Young Major General Cheng Ruofan, who could distinguish the difference between unity and centralization, had handsome features. With a European face, he would look only twenty years old. Even if Cheng Ruofan was thirty, he possessed political understanding superior to a German Major General. Perhaps this was the inner strength of Chinese civilization.

As for the leader of these young officers, He Rui, Professor Karl was more willing to view He Rui as a statesman rather than a soldier. He Rui's understanding of geopolitics and his views on the international situation made Professor Karl marvel.

The two had held two private conversations, using a mix of Japanese, English, and French. He Rui indeed had the desire to overthrow the world order established by Britain and France, and He Rui also had ideas for resolving the surrounding geopolitics. This was also the reason why Professor Karl was willing to provide Geopolitics lessons for He Rui.

If He Rui unified China and completed China's industrialization in the short term, Germany would be saved. An industrial country of 500 million people, even if the per capita industrial output value was only one-third of Britain's, due to China's population being twelve times that of Britain, its national power would be four times that of Britain, enough to crush the British Empire.

Moreover, He Rui's judgment of Britain was very precise. Britain's foundation was not the British mainland, but India. Once Britain lost India, the British Empire would instantly become just a country on the edge of the European continent. A Britain consisting only of the British Isles would have no power to carry out the Continental Balance of Power policy.

Germany's shackles would be completely shattered. As for France, Germany was not afraid of France at all. Since the Franco-Prussian War, the balance of power between Germany and France had irreversibly changed. The pattern of a strong Germany and a weak France could no longer be altered.

Adjusting his mindset, Professor Karl began to continue his lecture. He did not intend to deliberately induce these young people, nor did he think of misleading them. Doing so would be neither meaningful nor efficient.

As long as he could broaden the horizons of these young people and let them see the world from a global perspective, these young people would never accept the current world order. If these youths could follow He Rui to complete China's industrialization, they would proceed without hesitation towards the direction of dominating the world.

At that time, Germany could fully borrow the drastic changes in the world pattern to seek Germany's interests. And this would be in a situation where there was absolutely no worry about suffering backlash from China.

Professor Karl spoke for a while, and Xu Chengfeng asked a question, "Professor Karl, you said China needs to shed its victim mentality. Why is that?"

"Victims think the whole world is targeting them. This mentality is neither realistic nor objective. Victim mentality is a delusion. If one falls into such a mentality, for ordinary people, it is the beginning of tragedy. For an army, for soldiers, it is a disaster. Can a soldier who cannot view the battlefield with a realistic perspective win victory?"

Xu Chengfeng nodded after listening, feeling that the uneasiness in his heart had been resolved.

Professor Karl then wrote down the names of several Chinese wars and analyzed, "From a military perspective, in these wars, the Qing Dynasty used all kinds of petty tricks. But they were just petty tricks, not true strategic arrangements. Due to the lack of specific data, I cannot figure out the reasons why those people did so. But what is understandable is that the Qing Dynasty treated other countries as fools. Of course, this was certainly not the true thought of the Qing rulers at the time. But judging from the results, they expected others to be fools who would pay a price far exceeding the benefits for benefits that did not match. This is very unserious."

When the translator spoke the word 'unserious', a burst of laughter erupted in the classroom. The young soldiers had all been criticized, and many had done very unserious things and viewed problems from a very unserious perspective. Hearing a foreigner say such a phrase, everyone was truly amused. And they determined not to repeat the same mistakes.

Of course, some people were quickly recording Professor Karl's course. One copy would be handed over to a special review department. This was the system, and He Rui had also particularly emphasized paying attention to Professor Karl's course.

Because He Rui had heard that Karl Ernst Haushofer, the German Army Major General and master of geopolitics, had passed his geostrategic thoughts to Hitler, who was serving time in Landsberg Prison, through his student Rudolf Hess. This was vividly reflected in the chapter on Eastern Policy at the end of *Mein Kampf*.

He Rui believed that fascism, whether German fascism, Italian fascism, or the United States with its deep fascist tradition of hundreds of years of genocide, were all enemies as long as they were fascist regimes.

However, when a country faces a crisis, extreme nationalism is an effective means to cohere the nation. The comrades in the Northeast Army had passed political review, filtering out those who joined the organization for personal crazy desires. It was precisely because of this that special attention needed to be paid to such tendencies.

The Northeast Army must never be an army of extreme nationalist fascism. That would only drag China into greater disaster and abyss.

Although Professor Karl did not know He Rui's thoughts, he had no such intentions either. At this moment, Professor Karl described the reasons for the several wars around 1840, "Britain and France did not target China, but chose China as a strike target for profit. This was precisely because China, as the world's largest consumer market, played an irreplaceable role."