Xu Shichang took pride in his origin as a *Jinshi* [successful candidate in the highest imperial exams], but not in his status as a Manchu Qing official. Facing his former colleague Chen Baochen, Xu Shichang only felt slightly ashamed for 'bullying a child,' but didn't think he had done anything wrong.

To Xu Shichang's surprise, Chen Baochen didn't say much about this matter. Instead, he asked, "Brother Xu, if the Emperor goes abroad to study, is it better to go to Japan or Britain?"

Xu Shichang didn't know that Pu Yi had received an invitation to study in Japan; he thought Pu Yi was preparing to study abroad. In Xu Shichang's view, Pu Yi staying in the country was a disaster, and he would inevitably be used by others if he went abroad. For a moment, he didn't know how to answer.

Looking at Xu Shichang's appearance, Chen Baochen was actually very angry in his heart. Although he was angry at Xu Shichang for acting mercilessly, he was more angry at the people around Pu Yi for deliberately playing dumb.

Any official of the Great Qing would understand upon hearing Xu Shichang say 'moving the capital' that the other party was waiting for Pu Yi in the palace to immediately request to leave the imperial palace. Chen Baochen didn't believe that the people around Pu Yi didn't know; they pretended not to know just thinking they could drag it out. The result was being kicked out of the Forbidden City without any dignity.

And Xu Shichang had also made a decision at this time. He stood up and said, "Brother Chen, I am preparing luggage for going south, so I really can't chat more with Brother Chen. As for which country to study in, why don't we talk while walking?"

Chen Baochen could only stand up and follow Xu Shichang out. Xu Shichang said, "As long as the Emperor completes his studies abroad on time and returns to the country afterwards, going to either Japan or Britain is fine. It just depends on whether the cost of studying abroad can be afforded."

At this time, the two had already walked to the door, and Chen Baochen bid farewell to Xu Shichang. Walking on the road back to his residence, Chen Baochen felt that this suggestion was truly insightful. If Pu Yi stayed in the country, he certainly wouldn't learn any real skills; only by going abroad could he receive the best education in the world. But if Pu Yi still stayed abroad after completing his studies, he would be used by others.

But Chen Baochen himself didn't want to go abroad to study with Pu Yi, nor did he know how the people around Pu Yi would instigate Pu Yi after leaving China. But on second thought, Chen Baochen felt that He Rui might not agree to Pu Yi studying abroad. Then he felt he was worrying too much.

Chen Baochen indeed worried too much; He Rui had never had any interest in Pu Yi himself. On New Year's Eve, He Rui received 40 young people from Burma.

Among this group of Burmese youths, 11 were monks, and 29 came from various places. Local men in Burma would become monks in their teens, and after a period of time, they would return to secular life. Over time, becoming a monk became something like a coming-of-age ceremony locally. Many locals tacitly agreed that only those who had become monks could be considered adults.

The origins of this group of people varied, most of them from the central plains of Burma, and all had received education. They knew that a revolution had broken out in China, defeated Japan, and hanged a large number of foreign invaders within China.

Before arriving in Beiping, these Burmese revolutionary youths went to Shanghai and visited two former British warships being repaired at the Jiangnan Shipyard after being captured by China.

After meeting He Rui, the first question the Burmese youths asked was, 'Is China willing to support the Burmese revolution?'

In 1885, France and Burma signed a secret treaty of cooperation against Britain, making Britain determined to destroy Burma. Britain launched the Third Anglo-Burmese War, sent troops to capture the Burmese capital Mandalay in December 1885, captured King Thibaw and the Queen of Burma, and announced on January 1, 1886, that Upper Burma was incorporated into British India, completing the annexation of the entire Burma.

Up to now, Burma had been annexed by Britain for 39 years. Although the Burmese royal family perished, the resistance of the Burmese people was not eliminated but became more intense due to Britain's direct colonial oppression.

Hearing the Burmese youths' question, He Rui answered decisively, "We will definitely support the just struggle of the Burmese people."

These Burmese youths were full of joy. They had met with Southwest Bureau Committee Member Zhong Yifu before coming and received the same answer. But on the way to Beiping, seeing that China was so vast, their expectations for China became stronger.

The background of these Burmese youths was not low; they also came from families with status locally. While the youths were happy, some people's expressions showed uneasiness. Finally, someone raised the second question, "What happens after the Chinese army enters Burma to fight?"

After the question was asked, the venue immediately became silent. Although the Burmese youths knew that this question was actually very impolite, they were indeed worried about this matter. Before coming, the youths had discussed various possibilities. One situation everyone was somewhat worried about was whether China would annex Burma like Britain after driving away the British. So even knowing it was impolite, they had to raise this question in front of the Chinese leader.

The participating Chinese officials felt very unhappy after hearing this question. Sending troops to Burma to help locals drive away the British required huge investment, yet they were thought by the Burmese to be taking the opportunity to annex Burma. What kind of thing was this?

But seeing a smile appear on He Rui's face, the comrades felt they might be worrying too much. He Rui wasn't angry, so there was even less need for them to be so agitated.

He Rui was really not angry. That the Burmese youths dared to ask this showed that they were indeed prepared for comprehensive cooperation with China. Since the other party's attitude of cooperation was so sincere, He Rui laughed, "We are going to help Burma restore independence. Once the Burmese people drive away the British colonialists, we will withdraw our troops. Everyone doesn't need to worry about China invading Burma. I can tell everyone clearly now that China will not change the Sino-Burmese border line."

Most Burmese youths breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that some people were still uneasy, He Rui continued, "China will spend its own money to help the Burmese people drive away the British colonialists. Everyone doesn't need to worry about us making any monetary demands on Burma. Because helping Burma is helping China. We will require the Burmese Revolutionary Army to cooperate with us, and both sides should get along in a friendly manner. We will not require the Burmese Revolutionary Army to fight under our command."

Hearing what He Rui said, the doubts in the hearts of the Burmese youths were answered. Saya, the leader of these 40 people, stood up immediately. He was still a monk at this time, wearing a monk's robe. Saya held up one hand and greeted He Rui with a monk's salute, "Respected Your Excellency Chairman He, we are willing to fully cooperate with the Chinese troops to fight the British!"

Other Burmese youths also stood up hurriedly to pay respect to He Rui. He Rui invited the youths to sit down and talked about building training camps on the Chinese border. "...We hope that Burmese revolutionary youths can help us complete the transportation line together to ensure that Chinese supplies enter Burma from the Yunnan border and are sent to the plains through the mountains. You will cooperate with the comrades of the Southwest Bureau on these tasks. Also, if everyone has considerations for the future of Burma, you can send people to work in our government in Yunnan, China, to see how we govern the country."

Hearing this, only Saya and two other Burmese youths seemed very interested. The focus of other youths was on future military struggles.

The conversation time was not very long. After all, the purpose of He Rui inviting these Burmese youths was to have a face-to-face talk on major issues. Specific issues were naturally the responsibility of the Southwest Bureau.

After the meeting ended, He Rui ordered people to send a telegram to the Southwest Bureau, '...Strengthen the education of Burmese revolutionary youths, especially education on organizing local Burmese governments. If Burmese revolutionaries only know how to fight but not how to build a government, even if they drive away the British, it will only plunge Burma into civil war. At that time, if the British counterattack, Burma is very likely to be ruled by Britain again. And our efforts will be wasted.'

After receiving the Burmese revolutionary youths, He Rui went to various departments in Beiping that continued to work on New Year's Eve. Army, police, fire, electricity—he visited them all. This was an annual routine inspection that started as early as the Northeast period.

Like before, seeing He Rui come personally, these frontline staff members were very excited. Comrades rushed to shake hands with He Rui, and the atmosphere was very warm.

During the New Year, one naturally had to rest. The government was on holiday until the 7th day of the first lunar month before starting work. He Rui didn't have so much rest time. Because Jiangxi and Sichuan were liberated, and huge raw material production areas besides the Bayan Obo Mine in Inner Mongolia were obtained, new production processes naturally had to be built. He Rui had only seen relevant processes and could only dictate them. Even so, he was busy enough.

He Rui had always admired the attitude of the older generation of Chinese scientists, such as Mr. Xu Guangxian, the father of the rare earth purification process. In the 1970s, Professor Xu Guangxian created the cascade extraction theory and established the optimization parameter calculation method for the rare earth cascade extraction process. Combined with computer technology, he also established the static parameter design and dynamic simulation calculation technology for the cascade extraction process, realizing the 'one-step scale-up' from process design parameters to industrial-scale production applications.

It was the development of this set of technology that made China gradually become the world's most advanced rare earth production power. And this set of technology could be fully realized even in the present of 1925.

Of course, current rare earths could not be applied to the semiconductor industry because the world's most advanced laboratories could not smelt the monocrystalline silicon needed for semiconductors. Even though He Rui invited German experts, the progress was still slow. However, the application field of rare earths was not only the semiconductor field; one very important field was rare earth permanent magnets.

The application of rare earth permanent magnets in 21st-century China was various electric vehicles. In 1925, rare earth permanent magnets were of great significance to current internal combustion engines and had to be prioritized. He Rui could only race against time to popularize these half-understood technical processes. The rest depended on whether China's current R&D departments had the ability to execute according to the brand-new R&D system model.

It wasn't until the 4th day of the first lunar month that He Rui finished the meetings. As a result, he received a report that day that Japan invited Pu Yi to study in Japan.

He Rui didn't care at all after seeing this news; he just replied, "Pu Yi is now a citizen of the Republic; he has the right to study abroad."

After speaking, He Rui put this matter behind him.