Before the penultimate line of defense, the Soviet Red Army had attacked fiercely for three days without success. Just as the Red Army troops were exhausted, they faced a counterattack from the White Guards. As in the Polish campaign, the Red Army was forced to retreat.

Northeast Army observers witnessed the entire battle firsthand. In their reports, these observers did not stint on their praise for the Red Army's combat effectiveness. Even when facing near-suicidal odds, the Red Army launched attacks that nearly collapsed the White Army's battle line.

However, flesh and blood are, after all, only flesh and blood. The White Guards relied on a well-prepared defensive system to withstand the Red Army's offensive. Moreover, as the weather grew colder, the hardness of the log-built fortifications increased, causing significant trouble for the Red Army's artillery.

The Northeast Army Headquarters took these reports seriously, but not with undue alarm. The problems the Red Army encountered during their offensive had already been considered by the Northeast Army. So far, the Red Army had not demonstrated any performance that defied the laws of physics.

Therefore, the Northeast Army Headquarters conducted an in-depth discussion on a previously debated issue. This discussion had no "pro" or "con" sides. Regarding the frequency of troop rotation and rest, there was no room for debate. After contracting their defenses, the White Guards only maintained five divisions on the defensive line.

The entire 500,000-strong White Guard force could fully replenish and rotate this force of less than 100,000 men. Any unit that suffered 10% casualties could immediately withdraw to the rear for rest and refitting. Although the White Guards had various problems, after implementing this rotation model, the morale of their frontline troops remained at a very good level.

In contrast, although the Red Army's morale was high, the impact of sustained combat was real. Even if filled with soaring fighting will, once a unit's losses exceeded 20%, a fully rested and fully equipped White Guard unit could still pierce through that Red Army unit's battle line.

This reality made the Northeast Army's political commissars very unhappy, but reality is reality. The commissars had to admit that spiritual power could not simply and cleanly override material force.

Because the commissars felt this problem so intensely, He Rui had to convene a meeting with them. At the meeting, He Rui spoke directly about their work: "Knowing who you are fighting for is not a one-sided act of self-satisfaction. Combat itself is based on equipment. Only when the equipment basis is equal can we consider the influence of ideology on combat. Our future Chinese People's Liberation Army must be an army armed to the teeth as much as possible. Injecting the power of ideology into such an army is to achieve the goal of having 'plenty of steel and plenty of spirit'."

The commissars savored these words, unsure for a moment how to respond. He Rui simply used the development of New China in another timeline to directly clarify the issues worrying them. "If the speed of industrial development in the Northeast and liberated China fails to meet expectations, the people will not be able to accept the pain brought by industrialization. Many comrades perhaps have a misunderstanding, thinking that industrialization itself is a broad, open road lined with exotic flowers and rare herbs, and that the road itself is incomparably smooth, leading straight to the other shore of happiness. What I can say is that such a view is wrong. Looking at the industrialization process in Europe and America, for the people swept up in it, industrialization is painful and helpless—a process where one simply does not know what will happen ahead."

The commissars busily took notes. He Rui's words were not empty rhetoric; the materials cited in their political courses all reflected the terrifying impact brought by industrialization. In the slavery of the American South, every slave had to pick hundreds of kilograms of cotton daily. In the industrial competition between Britain and Sweden, 30% of child laborers in Sweden died in the factories, while in the British textile industry, workers on the production lines did not live more than three years.

This was the known process of human industrialization, and it was also the path the Northeast Government strove to pass through in the shortest time and at the lowest cost.

He Rui continued to expound on war. "In the era of line infantry tactics, soldiers could fire blindly, their life and death left entirely to fate. Now, in our army's combat mode, troops must brave the enemy's concentrated fire and press forward to destroy the enemy, knowing full well what lies ahead. Officers and soldiers naturally know that moving forward brings a high probability of death. At such times, how to maximize survival rates and let the officers and soldiers understand *why* we fight—that is the purpose of political work. This political work is not about creating an image of an undying superman, but helping the officers and men recognize clearly what they must do and how to overcome the laziness brought by the flesh itself. Thereby increasing the survival rate and thoroughly destroying the enemy."

He Rui was not afraid of the commissars feeling discouraged. If there were political officers who felt that way, it would be better for them to get out quickly. Political work required people with their feet on the ground—neither the top-down political officers of the Soviet Union nor the chaplains of Britain and France who only knew how to use empty, useless rhetoric to numb the soldiers' fear.

The mountains of corpses and seas of blood in World War I were definitely not because the military chaplains of European countries had the ability to talk the dead back to life, but because every participating soldier believed they were not fighting for themselves alone, but for their entire country.

In the future war between China and Japan, both sides would step onto the battlefield holding the same conviction. At that time, how to keep soldiers calm in combat and maximize their combat effectiveness would be the key to victory. This was exactly what political officers needed to do.

While He Rui was conducting study and training with the political staff, the Soviet Red Army sent personnel over again to purchase more artillery shells. The person in charge was no longer Commissioner Joffe, who had returned to Moscow, but a Red Army cadre with considerable seniority. He called himself "Katrev." He Rui had no intention of inquiring about the real name of this Red Army cadre, who obviously had rich combat experience. Facing the cadre's request, He Rui asked a single question.

"Does the Red Army know the White Army's disposition?"

Comrade Katrev was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "We are very clear about the White Army's arrangements."

He Rui fired off a series of questions like a cannonade. "Comrade Katrev, can you tell me the unit designations of the White Army forces recently engaging the Red Army? Who are their commanders? What are their combat characteristics? How long have they been in combat?"

These were the questions He Rui posed to mid-and-high-ranking commanders of the Northeast Army during exercises. By now, the intermediate officers of the Northeast Army no longer needed to be told; they knew this was what combat required.

Modern warfare had not become a myth because of the use of more advanced weapons; modern warfare was simply the more efficient execution of the essence of war. Tracing it to its source, it was not significantly different from the wars of the past few thousand years.

Clearly, Comrade Katrev did not fully understand this. He Rui also saw the Red Army's problem in this senior cadre. In history, the Chinese Red Army fulfilled all the requirements He Rui proposed during the war, and their degree of completion far exceeded what He Rui casually mentioned. That was why the Red Army and the Eighth Route Army, which lacked sufficient equipment to even fight regiment-level battles, were able to survive in incomparably arduous warfare and grow stronger with every battle.

That glorious yet rugged experience was the foundation for He Rui's groping forward. He Rui would never let those experiences, condensed from fresh blood, be wasted.

Comrade Katrev thought for a moment and asked, "Chairman He Rui, do *you* know that intelligence?"

He Rui found this strange. "Shouldn't this be the first priority to achieve on the battlefield? The Red Army has captured so many White troops; you should have confirmed this intelligence long ago. Even if the White Army is a group composed of many warlords, this information isn't hard to obtain."

Comrade Katrev hesitated for a moment before replying, "We have obtained quite a bit of the intelligence you asked about, but the speed of the White Army's reorganization exceeds our imagination. And their equipment has been comprehensively strengthened with the support of the Northeast Government."

He Rui paid no mind to the accusation in these words. The Northeast Government had no reason to make unilateral sacrifices for the interests of Soviet Russia. This remark really was full of the *Maozi* style—simple, barbaric. He Rui smiled. "Then, is Comrade Katrev here to inquire about the White Army's equipment situation?"

It must be said that Comrade Katrev really hadn't thought that way. He came to He Rui's place to know if He Rui would continue to support the White Army. The combat ferocity of the White Army had already exceeded the Red Army's imagination. More importantly, the Red Army commanders wanted to resolve the war within the time expected by Commissar Trotsky; no matter what, Kolchak's armed forces had to be destroyed within this year.

But given the combat effectiveness the White Army had displayed so far, it would be difficult for the Red Army to complete the mission. Within the Red Army, there were indeed people who believed He Rui had continued to provide support to the White Army.

Seeing that Comrade Katrev remained silent, He Rui could understand the predicament of these Red Army cadres. In the Northeast Headquarters' wargames, the White Army could clearly hold out until after next spring. Because the White Guards still had a hope: that Britain and France would give them massive material support, just as Britain and France had given the Polish army unrestricted weapons and equipment.

As long as an army still has hope and enough manpower, it can persist. On this point, there was no difference between the White Army and the Red Army.

Seeing He Rui not speaking, Comrade Katrev could only continue, "Chairman He Rui, can we receive your ammunition support?"

"Please have Moscow contact the Northeast Government regarding this matter," He Rui gave a direct and clear reply. Regardless of whether such a rude request came from a hint by Moscow or the spontaneous action of a frontline commander, He Rui could not possibly accept it.

The news quickly traveled back to Moscow. This matter was nothing to the Bolshevik Central Committee; for victory, for the survival of the Soviet regime, far worse things had happened. Such a small probing attempt was completely not worth mentioning.

The only thing of value was that He Rui was well-versed in organizational structure; even the Bolshevik government was unable to cause this shrewd fellow to make the slightest misjudgment. He Rui would never try to curry favor with anyone just to gain a so-called face-saving victory.

And an obsession with "face" was precisely one of the deepest impressions left on Tsarist Russia by the negotiating officials of the Qing government.

Comrade Lenin did not criticize Commissar Trotsky's supporters for this. For the interests of Soviet Russia, any attempt was valuable. Especially since He Rui himself was an outstanding politician and wouldn't mind these little tricks.

Since so much preliminary preparation had been done, Comrade Lenin had also made a decision to conduct a frank negotiation with He Rui, this local power. Although the Bolshevik government was already the regime of Russia, negotiating with a local regime did not conform to diplomatic rules.

Negotiating with He Rui as the future leader of China avoided such diplomatic problems. What the two sides were to sign was not an "agreement" or a "peace treaty," but a document titled a "Memorandum." In the memorandum, there was a clear timeline. If He Rui could complete the tasks within the time described in the memorandum, this memorandum would become a "Secret Treaty." If He Rui could not complete them, this memorandum would just be a document that didn't need to be known by anyone.

He Rui actually hadn't expected this matter to come so quickly. When Director Zhou of the Foreign Affairs Department, who was responsible for receiving the Russian envoys, informed He Rui after the meeting that Soviet Russia wanted to sign a memorandum with the Northeast Government, He Rui was momentarily unsure whether to have Director Zhou handle the matter.

But ultimately, He Rui decided to let the young comrades handle it. Before the negotiations proceeded, He Rui held a meeting with the comrades of the Foreign Affairs Department to explain the diplomatic key points.

The saying "the Communist Party has many meetings" became "many study sessions" with He Rui. There was an exam after every meeting, so the answers from this group of Foreign Affairs Department cadres were perfect. After all, those who couldn't pass the exams couldn't obtain civil servant qualifications.

Seeing that everyone's answers were fine, He Rui asked, "How many times has the negotiation rehearsal been conducted?"

Director Zhou immediately replied, "Three times completed."

"Demonstrate it for me," He Rui requested.

The Foreign Affairs Department personnel immediately divided into groups and began the demonstration. After watching, He Rui felt there were some issues with the details, so he raised a question: "Why are the comrades responsible for the demonstration so aggressive?"

Director Zhou immediately replied, "Report to the Chairman: We feel that the Russians still look down on us Chinese. In this negotiation, we suspect the Soviet Russian representatives will split hairs with us on many matters to obtain maximum benefit."

"...Alright. Then practice it again in a more gentle manner." He Rui couldn't really refute that. The biggest problem with the Qing and the Republic was that they didn't understand international politics, so they were easily hoodwinked by foreign diplomatic missions.

In reality, the diplomatic missions sent to China by various countries were just a group of low-ranking civil servants; there was no need to take them seriously. If one wanted to screw with them, one could just nitpick using diplomatic protocol and rules. If one wanted to ruin these diplomats' reputations, it was even simpler. Send an official document directly to the foreign Ministry of Foreign Affairs questioning the competence of these diplomatic officials, publicly stating that these personnel had no ability to fulfill their diplomatic mission and that their political judgment was a mess.

Sending such a document to those countries' foreign ministries would be enough to get such diplomats kicked out of the diplomatic world forever.

Unlike the Qing and the Republic, New China's diplomatic system was very clear about such methods, they just didn't use them often. But there were exceptions—for instance, the former US Secretary of State Pompeo. Because his diplomatic ability was proven to be a mess, it directly caused his value to plummet. A dignified Secretary of State couldn't even complete the most basic "revolving door" transition in the US; after ending his term, absolutely no large companies were willing to offer former Secretary of State Pompeo a well-paid position.

However, He Rui didn't nitpick overly much; small trees eventually grow up. As long as they didn't go down the wrong path.

Leaving this matter to the Foreign Affairs Department, He Rui continued to the grassroots for inspection. In the rural areas, the grain harvest was already complete. This year's harvest was truly encouraging. Despite the disaster situation, the grain yield in the entire Northeast and Inner and Outer Mongolia exceeded 15 billion *jin*, and meat production reached 400,000 tons.

The stock of livestock had exploded. Although these livestock were mainly breeds that ate green fodder, the livestock in Inner and Outer Mongolia were primarily cattle and sheep anyway. Both could eat green fodder.

Of course, there were problems. The development of Inner and Outer Mongolia directly led to a labor shortage, and quite a few tribes reverted to the tradition of kidnapping people. That is, snatching men from the border regions. As long as no one was paying attention, they just grabbed people and left.

Such actions caused great indignation in the local governments of the agricultural regions. Complaint letters were written directly to the provincial level. Some who had channels delivered letters to He Rui's office.

Time was fast approaching November, just when the Northeast Government's Assembly was due to convene. He Rui had his office reply to these government officials that such matters should be raised directly by the assemblymen at the Assembly.

The Assembly convened on November 3rd. The local assemblymen, holding back a bellyful of anger, submitted the Inner and Outer Mongolia kidnapping cases as their first proposal, and it received support from a sufficient number of assemblymen.

The Assembly almost immediately turned into a struggle session. The assemblymen from Inner and Outer Mongolia hadn't expected this at all. Most of the Mongol assemblymen were leaders recommended by small herdsmen tribes, and they absolutely refused to show weakness on such a matter.

When some Mongol assemblymen expressed the response that "Mongolia has its own Mongolian characteristics," the assemblymen from the agricultural regions immediately exploded. A crowd of assemblymen almost jumped up, impatiently indicating they wanted to speak.

The Speaker was an old man from the old Northeast government. He had only mixed his way into this position because he was steady and prudent in his work and well-versed in the ways of the world.

Seeing this posture, the old man understood that the meeting could not continue like this no matter what. The Assembly was indeed a place for arguments, but it was absolutely not a place to engage in internal ethnic strife.

Especially with this matter, the old man knew very well that if he let both sides go on, not only would the problem not be solved, it would intensify the conflict. If not restrained, it would become a full-scale confrontation between Hans and Mongols.

The old man didn't hesitate; he swung the Assembly Chairman's gavel and began to hammer the sounding board fiercely. The loud noise stunned the assemblymen, and the old Speaker shouted into the microphone, "This issue is suspended temporarily. Hand it over to the Party Caucus for a proposal."

As for the Party Caucus, so far, there was only the Civilization Party. Among the Northeast local people's assemblymen from the agricultural regions, quite a few were not Civilization Party members. But in the Northeast Government Assembly, only one-third were not Civilization Party members.

If the Party Caucus made the proposal, this matter would become a standoff between the Civilization Party, the ordinary assemblymen, and the Mongol assemblymen. And the Civilization Party itself possessed immense influence.

Immediately, some non-Civilization Party assemblymen shouted loudly, "The Speaker is biased!"

With this shout, many assemblymen joined in the clamor. The Speaker was quite calm, completely ignoring the assemblymen's noise as if he heard nothing, and repeated into the microphone, "Please return to your seats, all assemblymen! Please return to your seats, all assemblymen!"

There was no lack of young and aggressive members among the Civilization Party assemblymen, but under the signal of the Party Committee's senior cadres, everyone sat back in their seats one after another. Just when the other assemblymen still refused to behave, the Speaker shouted, "Please ask the Assembly Guards to come and maintain order."

Using the Assembly Guards was the Speaker's power. Even if assemblymen broke the law, it had to be submitted to the Assembly of that level to first strip them of their assemblyman status before they could be handed over to the public security organs. This was the right of an assemblyman.

Under public circumstances, with one order from the Speaker, the Assembly Guards could be used to restore order. If the Assembly Guards, armed with clubs, beat disobedient assemblymen in the Assembly, it was judged as law enforcement. Theoretically, the Assembly Guards didn't need to take responsibility.

Seeing these fiendish-looking police appear, those assemblymen immediately returned to their seats. Even the most mischievous assemblymen only dared to shout objections from their seats, not daring to be unruly again.

It wasn't as if no foolish assemblymen had ever been beaten. And after assemblymen who disrupted order were beaten, they were stripped of their status afterward.

He Rui was never soft on guys who broke discipline.

The Speaker knew his duties and didn't attempt to create anything on his own initiative. His gaze turned to He Rui, and He Rui felt he had indeed learned some things. Sharp contradictions were not suitable for resolution in the Assembly, because not only would the matter not be resolved, it would intensify the conflict.

When the day's Assembly content ended, He Rui immediately called the regional assemblymen involved in this matter together and said straightforwardly, "How do you prepare to handle this?"

Seeing there was no chance to be prickly, the assemblymen all behaved. An assemblyman from the agricultural region immediately stated, "We ask Chairman He to provide a plan."

He Rui looked at the assemblymen from Inner and Outer Mongolia. "To what extent has the division of pastures in Inner and Outer Mongolia proceeded?"

This question made the Mongol assemblymen reveal looks of difficulty. The pasture division had too many problems; content that should have been finished according to the plan was still riddled with issues.

He Rui slammed the table. "If the local areas can't solve it, we will send troops to take charge of solving it!"