Chapter 547: Blueprint of the New World

"These are some reports we collected from neutral‑country observers, including records from Swiss and Swedish Red Cross personnel. Yes, there were civilian deaths and property loss, but the Scale is far smaller than Yingguo's propaganda figures. More importantly, the Faguo army also carried out a scorched‑earth policy during its retreat, and the Russian army committed even more severe looting on the Eastern Front—yet these rarely appear in Yingguo and Meilika newspapers."

Wilson picked up a document and skimmed it quickly. His brow furrowed ever tighter.

Lansing attempted to rebut: "But that does not deny that Deguo used poison‑gas bombs, which violates the Hague Convention!"

"As far as we know, Yingguo and Faguo also have records of producing and using poison‑gas bombs," Wang Wenwu answered calmly. "In April last year, at Ypres, the Faguo forces used chlorine for the first time. It was only because the wind shifted that the gas blew back onto their own lines, and the incident was then concealed."

He looked at Wilson: "Mr. President, I'm not defending any side's actions. War itself is immoral; it makes people do things they wouldn't normally do. What I mean is, if we get tangled in questions like 'who first violated international law' or 'whose methods are more brutal,' we will fall into endless bickering and forget the truly important issue."

"What is the truly important issue?" Wilson put down the document and readjusted his glasses.

Chen Feng reclaimed the floor: "The truly important questions are: How will this war end? What will the world look like after it ends? What role does Meilika want to play in that world? And—most critically—what kind of ending best serves Meilika's interests?"

He paused, leaving the questions hanging in the air.

"Let me be more direct. Mr. President, if you think Meilika Entry into War helps Yingguo and Faguo utterly defeat Deguo, then what? Deguo would be dismembered, forced to pay astronomical reparations, and sink into total poverty and chaos. Ten or twenty years later, an angry, revenge‑seeking Deguo would rise again, and the next war would be even more brutal."

"That's the worst‑case scenario," Lansing said.

"But that outcome is highly plausible," Chen Feng said, looking straight at Wilson. "History has already shown it—Deguo's harsh reparations to Faguo in 1871 planted the seed of today's war. If the victors this time are even harsher to Deguo, then the next war is already brewing."

Wilson's fingers stopped tapping. He leaned back in his chair and fell into thought.

The room was silent for a full minute.

On the treetops outside, a bird sang, its sound muffled and distant by the thick glass.

Finally, Wilson broke the silence: "Mr. Chen, you have painted a bleak future. But if we do not stop Deguo, if they win the war, Europe will fall under the militaristic rule of the German Emperor—wouldn't that be an even worse outcome?"

The question returned to the starting point, but the tone had changed—not a moral proclamation any more, but genuine confusion and a search for answers.

Chen Feng knew the critical moment had arrived.

"Mr. President, let's conduct a thought experiment," he said, interlacing his hands on the table. "Assume Deguo indeed wins the war and controls the Western European continent. Then what? They would need to rebuild the war‑ravaged regions, address internal contradictions and fatigue, and assimilate the newly occupied territories. That process would take at least ten years, perhaps longer."

"What will happen in those ten years?" he continued, "Yingguo's colonies may begin to shake—India, Egypt, South Africa, independence movements are already brewing. Faguo's colonial empire will collapse even faster. The entire world's colonial system will face a massive power vacuum."

Wilson's eyes lit up; he had grasped something.

"And on the other side of the ocean," Chen Feng's voice grew stronger, "Meilika will become the world's capital safe haven, New York will fully replace London as the international financial hub. Meilika industry can export worldwide, no longer facing European competition. Meilika's values—democracy, liberty, capitalism—will become the template for post‑war world reconstruction, because only Meilika has the power to promote them."

He looked at Lansing: "Secretary of State is an economist by training, so he should know better than I do. A European war, if prolonged moderately but not expanded, what does it mean for Meilika? It means a continual influx of European capital and talent, it means Meilika products monopolize the global market, it means Meilika shifts from a debtor nation to a creditor nation, it means… the twentieth century becomes a true Meilika century."

Lansing's Adam's apple rolled slightly. He offered no rebuttal.

Chen Feng turned to Wilson: "And now, some people want America to abandon this bright future and plunge into a bloody war. Sacrificing hundreds of thousands of young lives, spending billions of dollars on military expenses, forging a generational hatred toward Deguo— for what? To save that waning empire of the sun that never sets? To maintain a colonial system destined to collapse?"

His words hammered the table like a hammer.

"Mr. President, Meilika does not need to win the world through war. Time is on Meilika's side. Europe is consuming itself, while Meilika steadily grows. Why interrupt this process? Why use Meilika youths' blood to water the withered trees of the old European empire?"

Wilson took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his hand. The gesture revealed his fatigue and struggle.

"Mr. Chen, what you said… is very persuasive. Yet you overlook a key issue: political reality. Meilika citizens have seen the Zimmermann Telegram, have seen merchant ships sunk, have seen reports of European atrocities. They demand the government act, and congressional pressure is mounting. As an elected president, I cannot ignore that."

"The public's sentiment can be guided," Wang Wenwu said softly, "Mr. President, if you show the people an alternative path—a way for Meilika to lead the world without sacrificing lives—if they understand the cost of entering the war, perhaps their views will change."

"Cost?" Wilson chuckled wryly, "They have already seen the cost. Every month news comes of Meilika merchant ships being sunk."

"So we need more comprehensive information," Chen Feng continued, "not Yingguo‑filtered propaganda, but real, complete data. What is the true cost of war? What is the cost of a family losing a son? What is the cost of a nation drowning in debt? If Meilika people knew that the Britain they would be saving might not even afford interest after the war, would they still be so eager?"

Lansing shook his head: "That's too cynical."