Yes, Prime Minister of Japan

Because Queen Charlotte and Queen Shang Qiujia were about to give birth, and the US-Japan aircraft carrier agreement required his personal attention to its implementation, Li Xinghe temporarily suspended the filming of his own scenes and asked the theater to bring over Sasaki Toya, whose physique was most similar to his, to serve as his stand-in.

It's said that filming is progressing very quickly. Although Sasaki Toya's acting skills are lacking, as a print model, he's more experienced in posing and striking poses than Li Xinghe, making him a stunt double that Misato's mother really likes.

In the royal hospital's lounge, Queen Shang Qiujia and Queen Charlotte were falling asleep in each other's arms.

Li Xinghe sat outside, looking at the numerous government documents in his hands, pondering how he should issue his instructions.

As she was pondering, a graceful lady in a blue trench coat entered the room. She stroked her slightly plump belly, which already bore Li Xinghe's genes, crossed her legs, and gazed at the sleeping little queen.

"I heard you've already gained control of several western Ukrainian provinces?"

Duchess Olympia gracefully declined the red wine offered by the nurse and inquired about Li Xinghe.

Li Xinghe nodded and tapped his pen:

"No, we've only gained control of one state, along with the right to requisition grain from farmland managed by asset management groups in several states. We cannot cross borders to control other states for the time being; this is the power distribution structure in Kyiv."

It's called a distribution of power, but in reality it's more like a territorial division under a spoils-sharing model.

The Chinese control one state, Europeans control five states, Poles control one state, Hungary and Romania also interfere in two states, Russia controls six states, and Ukraine, though seemingly a single country, is actually fragmented.

Olympia is now in charge of European affairs, and she's more interested in Europe's reaction:

What was the Europeans' reaction?

Li Xinghe frowned slightly; he thought Europeans were all out of their minds.

"It's hard to say. The Poles are simultaneously cursing Ukraine for condoning the Nazis, cursing me for not selling them grain from western Ukraine, and ordering me not to sell western Ukraine grain to Poland. As for Germany, the Afd female party leader who studied in China seems to have been sidelined, and the democratic parties in Germany are launching a major purge, sending all the right-wing members of the Alternative for Germany to prison."

Although it may seem like a split personality, it is actually quite reasonable.

Those who need food are the urban middle class in western Poland, who have received direct European investment and whose work and life are relatively comfortable.

However, the poor farmers in East Poland had been suffering for years because of the invasion of cheap Ukrainian grain. They resolutely refused to accept Ukrainian grain, thinking that the rich people in West Poland were shameless, preferring to eat the Ukrainian people's garbage wheat rather than buy the good wheat from East Poland.

But the wealthy in West Poland were deeply resentful of the curse upon East Poland. What common interests could the impoverished people of East Poland, east of the Vistula, possibly have with the middle class of my West Polish cities of Warsaw, Szczecin, and Gdansk? How could I afford to eat when you sell grain at such exorbitant prices?

What's fascinating is that this political landscape is inextricably linked to geography. If you overlay a map of Poland's current political divisions with a map of Germany and Poland before World War II, you'll find that economically developed western Poland mainly comprises the regions Germany reparated for Poland, including Pomerania, East Prussia, Danzig, Silesia, and the capital Warsaw—essentially Poland's Prussian resurrection zone.

East Poland, an economically impoverished region, comprises impoverished and conservative areas such as Little Poland, Greater Poland, Lublin, and Carpathia, primarily the former territory of the Polish Parliamentary Kingdom.

The conflict between the two regions has been deeply rooted since Poland’s economic reforms, and it is quite intense.

Olympia reached out and smoothed the furrows on Li Xinghe's forehead, comforting him:

"In this world, everyone thinks they are normal. But in the eyes of others, they are all fools."

As for her purpose in coming here, she asked:

"Is it necessary to start instigating the division of Poland? The contradictions between Western Poland, supported by European capital, and Eastern Poland, which is conservative under the Catholic Church system, have long been severed; this is an open secret."

Li Xinghe naturally agreed.

He snapped his fingers and said:

"Europeans will have to pay for the next world war. If we don't squeeze them dry of their economic interests, there's no need for the US, Russia, China, and us to engage in direct confrontation."

Therefore, Poland must also pay the price for its economic contradictions.

The partitioning of Ukraine is underway.

The partition of Poland is a past event, but it is a future one.

As I said before, Mr. Ou will foot the bill for all the conflicts.

"Then I'll go and get back to work."

Duchess Olympia stood up; she still had to rush to the Green Mountain Command to discuss with Ayman and Maria the matter of expanding the intelligence department in Europe.

But Li Xinghe grabbed her hand and blinked.

"Really...you're not a child anymore."

Duchess Olympia took off her high heels, knelt down in front of Li Xinghe, and enveloped his large lips with her rosy lips, her tongue entwining with his. Opposite her lay the sleeping Queen Charlotte.

The nurses in the corridor blushed and ran away, but they had already prepared a cup of water for Olympia to rinse her mouth.

……

A few days later.

Just as Li Xinghe was preparing to resume filming, the United States reluctantly handed over the Enterprise and dispatched an escort fleet to Yokosuka Port under the pretext of 'escorting this unnamed ship to serve in the U.S. military stationed in Japan'. The Enterprise, whose nuclear reactor had already been started, was then transported to Yokosuka Port.

A 10-ton aircraft carrier, 337 meters long, slowly appeared on the horizon.

As the last 'masterpiece' of the US shipbuilding and military industry, its design naturally adheres to the principle that bigger is better, and better is better equipment. It boasts a flat deck, a bottle-shaped deck configuration, a rear-mounted bridge, four elevators, four smoke deflectors, and three catapults, capable of carrying over 75 fifth-generation carrier-based fighter jets and early warning aircraft. (The last sentence appears to be unrelated and possibly a separate comment: "You Lin, I'm here, are you in the air...?")

Compared to it, the Tamamo-no-Mae, which is docked at Yokosuka for major repairs, looks rather old and worn.

This is a true supercarrier.

It slowly cleaved through the waves, and the American officers on board looked ashen-faced as if they were mourning.

Of course, considering that it still has that old American clothesline-style mast, it gives people a strange and ugly feeling of a max-level boss wearing a newbie helmet.

Li Xinghe, along with many generals and his family, participated in a welcoming ceremony for new recruits at the port.

Old Wu, who had specifically secured a good spot, stood next to Li Xinghe and teased him about Li Xinghe's masterful rhetoric:

"You've made everyone incredibly envious. That's the Enterprise, a nuclear-powered aircraft with an electromagnetic catapult! How did you manage to bring it home? Are your rhetoric maxed out, or are your persuasive skills simply masterful?"

"There's no way around it, this era is a time for big shots to fight each other, and for underlings to play both sides."

Li Xinghe shrugged, indicating that this was fate.

If it were China and the United States talking, there would be no point in talking anymore.

But Li Xinghe could negotiate; that's how convenient it is for a medium-sized power to be able to play both sides in this era.

Meanwhile, the port was packed with people eager to see the aircraft carrier. As the Enterprise slowly docked, crowds surged forward to get a close look at America's last magnificent warship.

When boarding the ship, the American soldiers wanted to conduct a check.

As a result, a group of Chinese people started spouting nonsense at the American soldiers standing at the door:

“Ashiba, bagayalou.”

"Damn, the Japanese are really something!"

There were also people singing Peking Opera with the accent of a Japanese colonel from Tangshan:

"The one leading the group is that Jie Zhenguo."

The person behind them sang along:

"Jie Zhenguo is my most trusted nemesis and a source of great trouble."

"They sent men to arrest him, but they were caught instead."

The Americans looked at so many strange people with bizarre expressions, unreadable eyes, and a half-smile, some singing and some babbling nonsense. They couldn't tell whether it was performance art or just idiots sent by Li Xinghe to amuse them.

Finally, they were all put up.

From time to time, one could hear young officers acting erratically in the crowd.

"Hehehe, Enterprise-chan, once you're in our hands, you'd better not resist!"

Then someone asked:

"Where did this stupid anime/manga fan come from?"

Next, the Enterprise will undergo its final outfitting at Yokosuka Port and is expected to be launched together with the Musashi in Nagasaki and the Yamato at the Kobe Koyaki Factory.

The company not only wants to complete the project in Yokosuka Port, but also to carry out a comprehensive transformation and upgrade here.

In particular, they removed that ridiculous clothesline and replaced it with modern radar and paint scheme.

Li Xinghe strolled leisurely on the deck, while the American officers, seeing this, were furious but could only suppress their anger.

While the Enterprise is serving Li Xinghe in Yokosuka, it will still fly the American flag, which is the last bit of tenderness Li Xinghe leaves for his American big brother.

Of course, in a sense, this is more like the Enterprise ship girl wearing a wedding photo with the United States on her chest, but forced by various real-world pressures to sleep with Li Xinghe, the richest tyrant in the global village and the head of the Asia-Pacific Alliance. The fact that she's being used while touching her American ID in the dead of night adds a twisted, NTR-like feel to the story.

……

San Diego, USA.

The Mexican front has now gradually become the focus of the world's attention.

At the headquarters of the 2nd Division of the 1st Army, which was gradually being reorganized into the 2nd Army, Division Commander Wallace was furious and exchanged insults with the logistics command over the phone:

"No money? Holy crap, what am I supposed to do if I have no money?! One of my regular soldiers only gets $3600 a month. Tell me, what can $3600 buy in Los Angeles? A mere 18 hamburgers! What kind of soldier can live on such a meager pay?"

Even so, after a significant pay raise and the introduction of many new supply chains, everyone was barely able to make ends meet in the military.

The logistics command expressed its helplessness.

If you're broke, you're broke. If the soldiers die, you can just recruit more.

Commander Wallace slammed down the phone, gritting his teeth in anger.

Outside the headquarters, the canteen was cooking instant noodles for lunch, served with decades-old luncheon meat.

The new recruits were still complaining:

"White Elephant Instant Noodles? Eight Treasure Porridge? Hot Pot Canned Food? Why is it all in Chinese? I can't understand it."

The so-called logistics department of the division headquarters was piled high with all sorts of cheap food imported from China. Most of it was discounted goods nearing or even past their expiration date, still with labels on them. The good news was that it was really cheap, priced by the ton, helping the country export a large amount of unwanted secondhand goods.

Veterans lecture new recruits:

"Stop complaining. This is much better than the days when we ate junk food every day. Although Chinese canned food is a bit... burp... a bit salty. But okay, I think it's pretty good, it gives me a taste of Orleans French cuisine."

I don’t know where braised canned food is similar to French cuisine, but at least for these soldiers who eat 18 hamburgers a month, the various canned foods distributed for free in the barracks bring them a kind of fantastical pleasure, like opening a blind box.

Whenever I eat a delicious canned food, I always remember the Chinese characters on it so that I'll eat it again next time.

The cooks were boiling large pots of instant noodles, throwing in luncheon meat and bread slices, and lecturing the new recruits:

"You're lucky you can eat instant noodles now. Think back to the old days. If it weren't for our logistics system being built in East Asia, you would be eating rotten bread and luncheon meat, scones and egg wash, just like other American soldiers."

The morale of the Second Division has dropped significantly.

Brother, if you don't provide enough military funds, what am I supposed to do?

Seeing this situation, Commander Wallace had no choice but to resort to unorthodox methods. He called back to Tokyo and asked his friends in the Allied Forces:

"Boss, do you want the Baja California Peninsula? We can sell it, we'll sell anything."

The Baja California Peninsula is hardly a wealthy place. Although located by the sea, the combined pressure of the California Current and the subtropical high pressure system results in an average annual rainfall of less than 250 millimeters for this long peninsula that plunges deep into the ocean. And this is just the west coast; the east coast receives less than 100 millimeters of rainfall annually, not much different from the vast desert.

This vast coastal desert, spanning 14.37 square kilometers, is shaped like a chopstick, yet it has a population of less than 300 million. Li Xinghe has no use for it.

The coalition forces expressed little interest.

So Wallace then proposed:

"How about I lease you Ensenada, a good port near Santiago?"

Ensenada Port is located on the US-Mexico border, close to Tijuana, San Diego, and Mecilica, and is considered one of the best natural deep-water ports in the region.

This served as a reminder to the coalition officials.

Keep smuggling!

No, it should be called trade.

It's sold with zero tariffs!

It's just that this land, which originally belonged to Mexico, is now occupied by the US military, and because the US military is really short of money, it leased the port to the Asia-Pacific Consortium with zero tariffs.

tariff?

If they didn't say so, then they didn't.

Meanwhile, they quickly tried to calm Wallace down:

"Then can you ask around for me? Besides China, or rather, which country in East Asia is interested in the Baja California Peninsula? This poor place has less than 300 million people, and the vast majority of them are still in Tijuana and Mesilica. We really can't squeeze any money out of them."

This topic sparked a major discussion among the coalition forces and their fraternal units who were visiting the USS Enterprise.

This peninsula is indeed extremely poor; I'm not criticizing it, it's just that it's genuinely poor.

However, its location is truly unique. It stretches 1223 kilometers south along the west coast of the United States into the ocean, as thin and long as a chopstick. The vast majority of its population lives at the northern end, where it borders the United States. It has a deep-seated conflict with the United States over the issue of water usage on the Colorado River.

The only truly remarkable part of the island is the Colorado River estuary where Mesilica is located. This area has agriculture, livestock, brewing, and processing industries, and its GDP per capita is close to that of China, so it still has some economic benefits.

Upon hearing this, Li Xinghe humorously remarked: