It took Wu Youping less than a minute to decide how to utilize the internal contradictions of the Beiyang clique.

When the Central Committee formulated its plans, it had not made specific arrangements targeting Beiyang. This was not to underestimate Beiyang; Japan received the same treatment.

The plan for the liberation of all China was divided into domestic and foreign components. Externally, the goal was to seek an international environment free from foreign intervention and to find ways to end the war as quickly as possible while minimizing China's losses.

Under the guidelines for domestic and foreign affairs, specific issues were analyzed specifically. After exhaustively analyzing Soviet Russia, Britain, France, and Japan, arrangements were made based on the geopolitical situation of each country. If the analysis at the time had concluded that Japan would absolutely not intervene in the Chinese civil war, the Northeast Army would have entered the Pass in 1920.

Inside the Pass, Beiyang was not the only separatist force. The strategy formulated by the Central Committee was "Unify China," meaning all separatist forces had to be resolved to achieve unification. The plan had never singled out Beiyang as a separate option from the beginning. It was only during the execution phase that Beiyang was discussed alongside other separatist forces.

Even Zhang Xiluan's proposal was considered an "unexpected situation." As for the few "traitors" whose names Wu Youping had never even heard of, they were even less of an issue. Wu Youping decided to "watch and wait." Beiyang's internal contradictions could certainly be used to strike at Beiyang at certain times, or even serve as a means to break a deadlock. But the time to utilize them had not yet arrived.

The train sped directly towards Jinzhou. As he neared his destination, Wu Youping changed into the student uniform from his school days. The workload had been heavy these past years, and the completion rate of tasks was high. With the rapid development of the Northeast's industrial and agricultural strength, Wu Youping, like many cadres, had developed "overwork obesity."

A big meal was very effective at relieving psychological pressure. With a busy schedule, irregular rest, and an environment with ample food supply, it was easy for people to overeat, leading to drastic weight changes.

Fortunately, work in the Northeast had been regularized. The Civilized Party's education was in place, and problems were addressed immediately upon discovery. Wu Youping's weight quickly dropped again. Putting on the student uniform from seven years ago, the fit—neither tight nor loose—gave Wu Youping the feeling of returning to campus.

As soon as the train stopped, Wu Youping immediately headed to the cadre school established in Jinzhou. Wu Youping had assumed the cadre school would be full of young people, the vast majority male, with a few females. But upon arriving at the venue, the proportion of women was higher than he had imagined. Nearly ten percent of the young students had women of similar age standing beside them, and some of the women were even carrying children.

Wu Youping hadn't expected so many students to bring their families along, and he felt somewhat moved. It was easy to understand that young students concerned about the country would come to the Northeast inspired by the victories. But bringing their families represented their trust in the Northeast Government. In the current situation, it could even be called excessive trust.

His purpose in coming to the Jinzhou Cadre School was to point out the future to these young students, and at this moment, Wu Youping wanted to show that future to them even more.

Stepping onto the podium and standing before the microphone, Wu Youping saw confusion in their eyes. Presumably, the students couldn't figure out what a man in a student uniform was doing at the microphone.

Wu Youping began by introducing himself. "Students, welcome to the cadre school. My name is Wu Youping, I am 29 years old this year, and I am the Chief Executive of the Northeast Government. I am responsible for the administrative work of the Northeast. Once you complete your training at the cadre school, you will enter the Northeast Government to work."

The hundreds of trainees were silent at first, then began to whisper. Once everyone understood Wu Youping's words, various sounds of amazement erupted from the crowd. Even when Wu Youping raised his hand to signal for quiet, it took quite a while for the noise to subside.

"Students, I joined the Siping government in 1915. If any of you know the history of the Northeast Government, you will know that in 1915, Chairman He Rui took up the post of Military Governor of Siping. That was also the year I decided to join the Siping government."

Another wave of sighs went through the crowd. These sighs didn't last long, and Wu Youping continued, "Some of you must think, 'Wu Youping, you became the Chief Executive of the Northeast Government before you were thirty, it must be because you were lucky and had a bit of foresight to join early.' I can tell you, that is not the case."

The students didn't dare to make a sound, though some made noises of disagreement. Wu Youping was very satisfied with this reaction; the students' response was much more enthusiastic than he had imagined. Moreover, a significant portion of the students actually understood what Wu Youping was saying and were interested in the content.

Based on Wu Youping's work experience, even opposition was far better than indifference. Especially in a situation like this where everyone was actually concerned.

"I know you don't believe it. I am not here today to lecture you, but to speak as someone who has been through it, to tell you what I have been learning, doing, and experiencing over these years. To give you a preliminary understanding of the Northeast Government. In 1915, after I met Chairman He, I proposed that I wanted to work in the Siping government. I imagine you all did the same thing recently."

Laughter rippled through the students. Hearing that the first thing Wu Youping did was the same as them, the students immediately felt a sense of intimacy.

Wu Youping continued, "The second thing was, after a discussion, I was told I had to undergo a political review. You must have all gone through this as well."

At the mention of the political review, many students stopped smiling. The Northeast Government had adopted a policy of "welcome to all" for those coming directly to the Northeast. But those selected for the cadre school had all undergone political vetting. Many people's impression of the political review was not pleasant.

Wu Youping didn't dwell on this issue, as it couldn't be explained clearly right now. These trainees selected for the cadre school didn't know the Northeast Government's plans for them. Once the war to liberate China began, the Northeast prepared to dispatch a million cadres south. These highly educated cadre school members, if they performed well in practical work, could very likely become county magistrates.

The army's job was to sweep away obstacles to policy implementation; implementing policy, managing the country, and providing social services was the government's job. Where would government staff come from? They would come from the cadre schools.

Wu Youping continued recounting his experiences. "Initially, I started working as a grassroots probationary staff member. Back then, we didn't have the full-time cadre schools you are in now; we worked while we learned. I worked in the municipal government, then went to the local level to participate in land reform, and then started working in the countryside. During your classes, you will learn about rural work content. That material was written by our comrades in the Party School while they were learning; it's probably in its fifth edition now. Through visiting villages and understanding the rural situation, we had to organize elections to select three village heads and three militia captains. We assigned them work and organized their studies..."

Details of the work would naturally be covered in the curriculum. Wu Youping started from a general overview of the work, clearly describing where the Northeast Government began, how it built a rural cadre team, how it trained these cadres, what policies were to be executed in the countryside, and why these policies had to be executed.

He was telling Wu Youping's story, but in reality, he was telling the story of the Northeast Government's construction.

Since it was his own experience, Wu Youping spoke clearly and briskly, with no lack of humor. The trainees hadn't expected to hear the history of such a big figure and were afraid of missing a word. More than half an hour seemed to pass in an instant for them, yet it also felt like a long time.

Many clear-minded trainees already had a vague image forming in their minds of a Northeast Government with complete systems and strict organization. At least in their current impression, compared to the governments elsewhere built on background and personal connections, the Northeast Government felt closer to the wise and capable government young people looked forward to.

The Northeast Government demanded neither personal loyalty from its civil servants nor that they extort the common people. Every sentence Wu Youping spoke landed on organizing production and developing productive forces.

Wu Youping gave two examples from his work. How long does it take a farmer to walk from his home to the field to start working? For urban youth, this is just the distance from the house to the edge of the field. But do they have a sickle? Is the sickle sharpened? How are the children arranged? How is the wife arranged? How are meals arranged? Organizing production is not simply about working; in a sense, it is organizing life.

For single young men, this was a relatively abstract concept. For the young men who brought their wives and children to the Northeast, this was their lived experience.

Another issue was how crops grow. Seeds are planted in the ground, watered and fertilized; the seeds grow into crops, bear fruit, mature, and are harvested. Regarding the issue of watering, is it left to the mercy of the heavens, or are reservoirs built to provide water for irrigation? The difference between the two is heaven and earth. Any youth with land at home knew that fully irrigated land was top-grade land, while land dependent on the weather was low-grade. The price difference between top-grade and low-grade land could be tenfold.

Of course, the trainees didn't know that Wu Youping, in order to accommodate the students' limited knowledge base, didn't talk about industrial production, let alone the industrial layout he was currently mainly responsible for.

Seeing the atmosphere was quite good, Wu Youping made his concluding remarks. "The Northeast is not small; there is a vast world for you students to display your talents. But China is much vaster, and the world even more so. I look forward to you completing your studies and displaying your talents to your heart's content in the world you look forward to. On behalf of the Northeast Government, I welcome you all once again."

Amidst warm applause, Wu Youping, dressed in his student uniform, stepped down from the podium and left the cadre school. The Jinzhou Municipal Committee was ready to report on their work, but the train Wu Youping was on was already continuing towards Shanhaiguan. Some guests had already arrived at Shanhaiguan, and the special train carriage was prepared for their return trip.

At this time, He Rui, Cheng Ruofan, Zhou Yinshan, and Zhao Tianlin were holding a meeting in Shenyang. Zhou Yinshan asked, "Since we still want to strive for the least possible impact from the war, should we drop a hint to Wang Shizhen and Yang Du?"

Cheng Ruofan and Zhao Tianlin both looked at Zhou Yinshan. Even though Cheng Ruofan held a higher position than Zhou Yinshan, facing his instructor, he decided to keep quiet. Zhao Tianlin had no such concerns. He said, "In my view, the Beiyang Government currently treats the two hundred thousand troops in their hands as their bargaining chips. We are looking at China's interests; I'm afraid there is no basis for discussion."

Hearing this, Zhou Yinshan nodded. But there was a look of disappointment on his face. Perhaps seeing Zhao Tianlin's expression, Zhou Yinshan sighed, "I was just speaking out of emotion, seeing how the Beiyang center has degenerated to such a state."

Seeing Instructor Zhou so sentimental, Cheng Ruofan felt this unexpected discussion could end. He looked at He Rui; as long as He Rui said the matter could be closed, Cheng Ruofan wanted to hurry up and discuss military affairs.

They heard He Rui say, "For our reception team, I plan to add Morrison."

Hearing this, everyone immediately understood that He Rui had no expectations for Beiyang. They all expressed, "Understood."

When Morrison was invited over, he hadn't expected to be assigned this task. He had brought a proposal, regarding trade development that he had noticed after the outbreak of the war.

As an Englishman, Morrison wasn't that focused on the Russian market. After the war broke out, trade between the Northeast and Japan surprisingly didn't stop. American trading companies flying the US flag continued to transport goods to the Northeast under the banner of international trade. On the contrary, trade between the Northeast and Britain and France was somewhat affected. In comparison, without mutual investment, trade between Russia and the Northeast had come to account for a little over 50% of the Northeast's foreign trade.

As the Director of the China Merchants Bureau, Morrison had already compiled a report. But trade with Russia itself had too many unpredictable factors, so Morrison prepared to discuss it with He Rui. If He Rui could accept such risks, Morrison very much wanted to expand investment in Russia. So many raw materials, including iron ore and coal, were exactly the raw materials the Northeast needed most right now.

Quoting Wu Youping, the Chief Executive of the Northeast Government: "Our industrial layout must be positioned not only domestically but also abroad. With China's development, our demand for raw materials will increase several times or even dozens of times over. Foreign raw materials and markets are of significant importance to China's development."

After sitting down, Morrison listened to He Rui tell him the news that the Beiyang delegation was coming and asked Morrison to join the reception group. The work content Morrison had prepared was cast aside, and a feeling of gratitude arose spontaneously.

Six years ago, Morrison had offered advice and provided consultation for Yuan Shikai's efforts to unify China.

Now, what He Rui was doing was not only seizing China's central political power but also starting the grand process of unifying China with international geopolitics as his entire field of vision. Morrison, this failure, was once again entrusted with a heavy responsibility. The emotion in Morrison's heart was beyond words. Facing He Rui's political trust, Morrison decided to do his utmost to complete this task.

"I will go back and prepare," Morrison replied. After speaking, he felt this didn't give He Rui a proper account, so he added, "Thank you."

He Rui smiled. "This is a small matter. I saw Director Morrison was so excited when he came in; presumably, there is important business to discuss. What is it? I'm getting a bit impatient."

Morrison steadied his mind and took out his plan. He saw He Rui reading it, his expression returning to a state of contemplation. And He Rui's face was not pleased; he likely had concerns about this bold plan.

"Chairman, Russia's commercial credit is actually not that bad," Morrison explained.

He Rui put down the plan. "In terms of industrial complementarity, Russia at this stage is like our country; both need complete sets of equipment to rapidly increase various production capacities. We currently import complete sets mainly from the United States, and I believe the United States will also become Russia's main importer of complete sets of equipment."

Morrison was long accustomed to He Rui's economic perspective. Hearing He Rui's analysis, Morrison discovered that the reason for his own unease might be just that. In exchanges with the Russian side, Morrison had indeed noticed that Russia had expressed views on importing complete sets of equipment. However, the Russian representatives clearly didn't think China could provide complete sets of equipment that caught their eye, so they hadn't discussed it in depth.

"In other words, we are satisfied with the current trade volume?" Morrison asked.

He Rui thought for a moment longer, then smiled. "I support Director Morrison's suggestion about sending a delegation for exchange. Perhaps we just don't understand Russia's needs well enough."

Seeing his suggestion approved, Morrison rose to take his leave. He Rui, however, pondered Morrison's suggestion. Could it be that he was taking things for granted in this matter? He Rui was also somewhat curious.

Comrade Lenin was a great revolutionary, but not an economist. He Rui had always been unwilling to say things that would damage Comrade Lenin's image. If one views Marxism itself as a school of economics, then starting from Comrade Lenin, expanding with Comrade Steel [Stalin], the trend of dogmatizing and theologicalizing Marxism became extremely serious.

Once any theory is linked to morality, it changes tune. Ensuring fairness and justice can be accomplished by utilizing social systems. Problems encountered in social development can be solved through development. A simple example: for a time, China's agricultural output value was less than 5% of China's GDP, yet it caused over 50% of social antagonism. Abolishing the agricultural tax became imperative.

In a country where agricultural production accounts for 50% of national tax revenue, no normal person, not even a humanist among Marxists, would dare to abolish the agricultural tax.

Once things are linked to morality, it spells trouble. Leaving aside the fundamental question of "whose morality," even generalized moral views will intensify problems. Agricultural tax is either moral or immoral. It must either exist for all eternity or not exist at all. Turning it into this completely deviates from seeking truth from facts.

The Russian nation is very young; in a hundred or so years, it has not been able to master these things. The All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) led by Comrade Lenin would certainly be able to understand international trade from a moral perspective. But as for whether they could understand international trade through economic laws and harness it to benefit the people of both China and Russia, He Rui really didn't have much confidence.

Of course, He Rui didn't push all the responsibility onto Soviet Russia. If China had strong industrial power at this time, it would easily become Russia's main importer of complete sets of equipment. Then a trade model where Russia sold resources and China sold equipment and industrial products would be easily established. Historically, Russia was quite accustomed to such a trade model.

So He Rui called Zhuang Jiaxiong, the Director of the Department of Industry, and asked him to prepare a report on the Northeast's complete sets of equipment.

Less than ten minutes after hanging up, Zhuang Jiaxiong called back. "Chairman, we are preparing to develop tires for use in high-cold regions. I wonder if I can report this to the Chairman?"

"Proposed by Russia?" He Rui smiled.

Zhuang Jiaxiong didn't hide it. "Yes. The Russian side found that current tires inevitably have problems at temperatures of minus twenty-some degrees. Especially since Russia has a particularly large demand for trucks, the requirements for tires were also raised."

He Rui's mood involuntarily lightened a lot. It seemed the Russian comrades were not as detached from reality as imagined. He Rui even hypothesized a possibility, knowing full well it was wishful thinking: had the Russian comrades' evaluation of China's R&D capabilities increased?

Undoubtedly, He Rui's judgment about his wishful thinking was wrong. At the CPSU Central Committee meeting, trade with the Northeast was being discussed. The CPSU Central Committee had previously decided to guarantee imports and exports during the war between the Northeast and Japan, allowing the Northeast Government to have more ample supplies to fight Japan.

Even without a keen strategist like Comrade Lenin to explain, the Central Committee members could fully figure it out. The war between the Northeast and Japan would free Soviet Russia from worrying about the security of its eastern frontier for several years.

At this meeting, the Russian commissar responsible for foreign intelligence raised a question: where did the Northeast Government's rubber come from?

"We have already imported tens of thousands of tons of rubber from the Northeast this year, greatly alleviating the pressure on domestic factories. But such quantities force us to worry whether there is a private agreement between the Northeast and Britain, France, and the United States."

For a moment, the Commissar of Defense Industry looked somewhat nervous. If the Northeast had some special secret treaty with Britain, France, and the US, then after the unification of China, a more dangerous enemy would appear in Russia's east.

The Foreign Intelligence Commissar continued, "The industrial products the Northeast provides us now, in both quantity and quality, do not match the industrial strength of the Northeast as we understand it. According to the report from the Ministry of Defense Industry, including soda ash, too many chemical products produced in the Northeast are of comparable quality to similar British and French products, or even have advantages. We cannot explain these facts."

Hearing these unquestionable realities, the expressions of the CPSU Central Committee members became even more grave. Until Comrade Lenin broke the silence, "Is this the entire reason we suspect the Northeast Government?"