Chapter 614: Across the Ocean—America!

After smoothly completing the London negotiations and finalizing the Yingnan sovereignty‑for‑prisoner exchange agreement, Gu Weijun did not pause, and immediately set out for the second leg of his diplomatic tour—traveling far to Washington, United States.

This visit to the United States is South Hua's first formal engagement with a Meizhou great power since its founding; the core mission is clear and critical, relying on a massive reserve of 25 million US Dollars previously retained by Jiang Anguo, they will bulk‑purchase a complete set of advanced industrial equipment, laying the foundation for South Hua to build an autonomous industrial system.

Of this sum, five hundred US Dollars were used by American Luobote to purchase a B‑29 bomber and the flight data for bombing Tokyo.

Twenty million US Dollars of it are a gratuitous loan provided by the Americans to Jiang Anguo.

All procured equipment will be shipped together to Yangon, fully deployed in South Hua's Nan Yuan Sheng, creating the nation's first large‑scale, modern industrial base.

Jiang Anguo has long contemplated the core logic of industrial layout; holding sufficient funds, he could indeed instantly exchange for a complete set of industrial facilities and a rapid‑track industrial system.

But he always upholds a principle: a great nation's foundation is never built on equipment and resources stacked from thin air, but on the ability to generate its own lifeblood and develop independently.

External assets have limits; prosperity propped up by outside support is ultimately fragile. Only an industrial system built and controlled by one's own hands can sustain South Hua's long‑term existence and steady rise.

Without foresight, one faces immediate worries; the same applies to national development. For South Hua to shed dependence and stand in the world, it must end reliance on external shortcuts early and earnestly forge its own path to industrialization.

At the same time, choosing Yangon as the factory site is the optimal solution after comprehensive consideration.

Currently Jiang Anguo's main garrison is in Singapore, coordinating all military and political affairs across Nanyang; he must remain at the central hub to stabilize the situation and cannot shuttle between Singapore and Yangon, being spread too thin.

Moreover, Yangon, having been tempered by war, has long eradicated the hidden dangers of conflict.

Yangon lies in South Hua's deep rear, far from front‑line battlefields; the situation is stable, the hinterland vast, transportation convenient, with a deep‑water port and a well‑developed road network.

It can handle the loading, unloading, and transshipment of massive equipment, and has ample land and labor to support industrial expansion, making it the most reliable and suitable city for deep industrial development at this stage.

At that time, US Dollars possessed tremendous global purchasing power; 25 million US Dollars on the international market was a sum large enough to lever the entire industrial trade system.

It was sufficient to purchase a complete production line covering heavy industry, machinery, metallurgy, military‑industrial support, and precision processing, enough to enable South Hua to leap from a zero base to initial industrialization.

Many people have no sense of this amount; with ten million US Dollars you could buy from Americans 100,000 rifles, 50 million rounds of ammunition, 2,000 rocket launchers, 40,000 automobiles, and the remaining artillery and mortars.

That is the purchasing power of US Dollars.

Of course, it is also because of the American industrial system and the spillover of World War II that the entire country was in a state of war readiness.

From top to bottom, everyone was working for the war.

Armed with this core capital and comprehensive plan, Gu Weijun, upon arriving in Washington, was immediately given high priority by the United States government, with reception standards far exceeding those for ordinary regional regimes' diplomatic visits.

In fact, the money was in the United States; Jiang Anguo asked Luobote to open an account for him there.

The reason senior American officials placed special emphasis on cooperation with South Hua was not merely trade profit, but a clear strategic big‑picture view.

Since the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Japanese Army swept through Southeast Asia, its spear pointing directly at Australia, and the Southeast Asian front once teetered on the brink.

It was South Hua's sudden rise, with its formidable navy and elite army, that firmly restrained and crushed all Japanese main forces in the Southeast Asian region, brutally cutting off the Japanese strategic route southward to Australia.

One could say that without South Hua's blood‑soaked resistance, the Japanese would have fully landed in Australia, the Pacific Southern Theater defensive line would have collapsed completely, and the United States would have fallen into a passive, double‑fronted crisis, paying an incalculable war price.

Therefore, in the eyes of the American side, South Hua is far from a remote, newborn small nation of Nanyang; it is an indispensable key ally on the Pacific battlefield, the core force that stabilizes the Southern Theater and checks Japanese expansion.

Based on this strategic consideration, the United States not only proactively engaged Gu Weijun, but also meticulously inquired about South Hua's industrial construction, military development, and comprehensive civilian infrastructure needs.

It even proactively offered to gratuitously donate a batch of standard‑issue weapons, both light and heavy army equipment, and auxiliary military‑industrial supplies, to deepen bilateral cooperation and solidify the alliance.

Facing the American goodwill, Gu Weijun consistently maintained a calm, restrained, and dignified diplomatic demeanor.

His core objective on this trip was crystal clear: prioritize finalizing industrial equipment procurement, establish the Yangon industrial base, solidify South Hua's civilian and heavy‑industry foundations, with weapon gifts merely an embellishment, not the negotiation core.

In multiple rounds of talks with the U. S. Secretary of State, the Commerce Department, and senior military officials, Gu Weijun articulated South Hua's development plan with clear logic: South Hua is committed to regional peace and stability, deepening construction in Southeast Asia, fully eradicating remaining Japanese forces, continuously sharing the burden on the Pacific battlefield, and seeking an equal, mutually beneficial, long‑term stable partnership with the United States.

After several rounds of intensive negotiations, both sides formally concluded the U. S. -South Trade and Industrial Cooperation Treaty, completing signatures and seals, establishing a long‑term cooperation mechanism.

The treaty's provisions cover several core clauses, fully supporting South Hua's industrial start‑up: first, the United States lifts export restrictions on industrial equipment, granting South Hua access to a complete set of mature production lines for civilian heavy industry, metallurgical forging, mechanical processing, power equipment, automobile manufacturing, and building‑material production, with no technology bans or export barriers.

Second, the American side offers the best market‑price discount to deliver all procured equipment to South Hua, handling packaging, sea transport, and basic installation guidance throughout, ensuring the equipment lands smoothly in Yangon.

Third, the United States gratuitously donates to South Hua a batch of standard army firearms, artillery, logistical medical equipment, and military‑industrial consumables, helping South Hua perfect its defense capabilities.

In addition, the treaty adds a talent‑cooperation clause: the United States agrees to receive South Hua‑selected young technical trainees to study industrial manufacturing, machinery operation and maintenance, and power engineering in America, cultivating South Hua's first batch of homegrown industrial technical talent.

From equipment, technology, and talent, the treaty comprehensively assists South Hua's industrialization.

Throughout the negotiations, Gu Weijun held the line, refusing any unequal addenda, insisting on bilateral equality and reciprocity, rejecting any terms that would damage South Hua's sovereignty or interfere with its internal affairs; the final treaty is a wholly equal, mutually beneficial, two‑way win‑win cooperation model.

The American side gained a solid Southern‑Theater strategic ally and eased pressure on the Pacific battlefield, while South Hua secured the coveted ticket to industrialization.

After the agreement took effect, the 25 million US Dollars were transferred in order, massive industrial equipment were sequentially registered for shipment, continuously flowing toward Yangon's port.

In the future, all equipment will be installed and put into production in Yangon, Nan Yuan Sheng, relying on the stable rear environment to build South Hua's first complete industrial chain, completely eliminating the predicament of industrial void and reliance on imported supplies.

This diplomatic victory of the United States trip is of extraordinary significance.

Gu Weijun, with his calm and seasoned diplomatic tactics, secured for South Hua the core confidence for industrial rise, and also brought the newborn South Hua into the United States' view, gaining recognition and cooperative endorsement from a world‑class great power.

From the United Kingdom's settlement of territorial sovereignty to the United States' industrial nation‑building, these two pivotal diplomatic contests transformed South Hua from a war‑torn fragmented regime into an emerging nation with legitimate sovereignty, industrial development potential, and a foothold in the Pacific order.

It paved the most solid road for Jiang Anguo's subsequent unification of Nanyang and deep construction of South Hua.