Eagle, I don't want to form an alliance anymore.

In Deng Xixian's eyes, the Great Leap Forward, the People's Commune, and the Cultural Revolution were the root causes of his three rises and falls. At least in his view, developing the economy in a pragmatic manner was the top priority.

"So I've only ever believed in one thing in my life," Deng Xixian said, "development is the only way forward. Let some people and some places get rich first, and make sure we have a stable job before we talk about anything else."

If we can't even afford food, talking about equality, no matter how beautiful the words, is just a pie in the sky. Time is money, efficiency is life—it's a crude saying, but it's a lesson we've already learned.

The two looked at each other without saying a word.

Slava witnessed firsthand how a socialist behemoth, under the banner of prioritizing efficiency, getting rich first, and swiftly eliminating problems, was hollowed out by a small group of oligarchs and crushed by shock therapy, plunging tens of millions of ordinary people into an abyss overnight.

The Soviet Union experienced a precipitous drop in population after its collapse. His insistence that "no one should be forgotten and no one should be left behind" was not something he learned from books, but rather something ingrained in his bones from a catastrophe he could never tell anyone!

He couldn't tell Deng Xixian how China's price reform would fail and collapse in less than two years, how inflation would soar from 10% to nearly 30%, and how a nationwide buying frenzy would erupt; he couldn't even describe what would happen in such a chaotic and politically turbulent society.

He could only watch helplessly as Deng Xixian resolutely walked down the road that he knew was fraught with landmines.

They won't turn back until they hit a brick wall.

"Your views have their own merits, but I still maintain my stance:"

No one should be forgotten. It is reasonable to sacrifice some efficiency for the sake of equality, the realization of communism, and the self-realization of workers, because this was the original intention of the great leader Lenin. We communists overthrew the rule of feudal emperors and the bourgeoisie, wasn't it all for the sake of equality for all?

"If we keep thinking about getting rich and having money in our pockets and choose to temporarily ignore equality, the road ahead will be difficult, and we will easily lose sight of our original aspirations," Slava said softly.

The two men looked up almost simultaneously, their gazes falling on the row of portraits on the wall.

Slava looked up and gazed silently at Lenin.

He was short, and had to tilt his head slightly to look at those eyes that had watched over countless people who followed. All along his journey, the banner in his heart had always been Lenin—he wanted to follow in his mentor's footsteps and find a key from Lenin in 1917, before he was forced to change course by war and famine, to unlock the knot that was binding him today.

Deng Xixian glanced up at the teacher's portrait on the wall, lowered his head slightly, pursed his lips, and then looked up at the portrait again.

He lowered his head slightly, only raising his aged eyes to look at his teacher who had long since passed away—his eyes held respect, pain, and a tangled mess that could never be untangled in a lifetime.

Back then, it was the teacher who denounced the Soviet Union as revisionism, and it is this same teacher who now holds high the banner of the Four Cardinal Principles. But the old man holding this banner knows better than anyone that he is leading this country step by step in the very direction his teacher had most warned against during his lifetime.

One looks up to his mentor, wanting to complete the path his mentor didn't finish; the other looks down at his teacher, carrying his teacher's instructions and walking the path his teacher was most wary of.

For a moment, the room was so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat.

After a long pause, Deng Xixian withdrew his gaze. He picked up the now lukewarm teacup, took a sip, and gently put down the topic that no one could convince anyone else.

"Forget it, forget it, let's just let the foreign trade departments on both sides sit down and talk about that labor issue," the old man said.

Slava nodded.

Some disagreements here cannot be resolved by reasoning; forcing a conclusion will only damage this hard-won harmony.

There were so many real deals waiting to be made on the table, and both of them knew where to stop.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The talks ended in the evening.

The delegations from both countries walked out of the reception room together, facing reporters and cameras from around the world who had been waiting outside. Slava and Deng Xixian clasped hands tightly once again.

The spotlights exploded everywhere.

Joint border disarmament, Mongolian troop withdrawal, the One China principle, the Tumen River estuary, economic cooperation, Far East development... this series of achievements will make the front pages of newspapers around the world the next day.

China and the Soviet Union, two socialist giants that had been separated for more than two decades, joined hands again at a time when the capitalist world had just experienced a financial tsunami.

The entire West will have to face a situation that has never truly emerged since World War II: a united socialist camp spanning Eurasia!

Slava stood beside Deng Xixian, looking at the constantly flashing cameras, a polite smile on his face.

He never let his guard down—and he knew that the old man beside him had never let his guard down either.

Neither of them considered the other a lifelong friend. Slava understood this better than anyone, and Deng Xixian understood it his whole life.

Even after returning to Beijing, this 83-year-old man continued to calculate every step of China's interests, while Slava, remaining in Moscow, continued to meticulously account for every penny of the Soviet Union's assets.

The ice between China and the Soviet Union has melted, but the two rivers flowing separately beneath it have never, and will never, truly merge into one.

Until one side of the building collapses first.

There are no permanent friends in this world, only permanent interests.

Koslava suddenly felt that this statement might not be entirely true. At this moment, the two rushing rivers had at least merged into one place and flowed in the same direction for a while.

How far will this journey take? No one can say for sure. Perhaps at some fork in the river the two rivers will eventually diverge, but at least at this moment, in this crimson landscape of a collapsing Western world, they stand together.

He came back from the world after the end of the Soviet Union's history, and he never just wanted to rewrite the fate of the Soviet Union alone.

May our friendship last forever.

Chapter 85 Americans are not afraid, Americans can endure hardship!

At this very moment, a storm is gathering strength in the United States.

On the morning of November 3, Sprinkler, who was replacing Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve, was facing a difficult decision.

This Fed chairman, a master of Hayek's troops, a staunch monetarist, and a believer that the market will find its own way, is finally resigning after his faith has been shattered.

He made this decision based on principles.

"Ugh...."

He put on his suit in his Connecticut Avenue apartment and looked at himself again in the mirror in the entryway—his hair was completely white, and his cheeks were sunken compared to a month ago.

He believed only one thing his whole life: the market will find its own way.

This is common sense, like water flowing downhill, like the sun rising. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1949, earning his doctorate under Milton Friedman, and every book he read, every course he taught, and every paper he wrote throughout his life spoke to this point!

He applied this common sense to the stagflation during the Vietnam War, to the two oil crises, and to the tax cut debates after President Reagan took office; it never disappointed him.

Now it has disappointed him.

Or perhaps it wasn't that it disappointed him, but rather that the world shouldn't let the market follow its own rhythm!

Why did this sudden crash happen? Free markets aren't like this! You should first let me deregulate and remove intervention, then let the "invisible hand" slowly increase my prosperity. Occasionally, give me some job growth and small stock market gains, then give me an economic boom at specific points in the economic cycle. Finally, in the mysterious equilibrium of "market self-clearing," show me what full employment really means, and I'll nod in agreement to continue with laissez-faire governance. After that, you show me proof of Pareto optimality!

Why did you immediately present me with the Great Depression? Hayek's vision was nothing like this! I don't accept it!

P.S.: Pareto optimality is an economics concept named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. It is defined as a state in which it is impossible to make at least one person better off without making anyone worse off; this state is Pareto optimal. The First Theorem of Welfare Economics states that "perfectly competitive market equilibrium is Pareto optimal," which is one of the theoretical pillars of laissez-faire economics' belief in the market.

Yesterday, as he sat on the Senate Banking Committee hearing bench, a Democratic senator from Michigan pushed the microphone in front of him and asked him, word by word: "Chairman Springkel, please tell the citizens of this country why you did not order the Federal Reserve System to provide emergency liquidity support to the clearinghouse two weeks ago."

He opened his mouth but couldn't say anything.

He wanted to say that the market must bear its own mistakes, otherwise we will never learn from it! He wanted to say that this pain is necessary; if we try to save those algorithmic trading gamblers, we are encouraging the next batch of gamblers!

He wanted to say that this wasn't 1929, it was just a technical adjustment!

But when he recalled the protests and chaos in the streets, and the collapse of the capitalist world edifice, he ultimately said nothing.

He had a premonition that this technical adjustment only had two paths to take: a left turn or a right turn, but given the US's anti-communist tradition, it should be a right turn now.

The story of the free market is coming to an end, but the story of the people who live in the free market is far from over.

But what about his lifelong beliefs? What should he do? What about the millions of American capitalists and the American people? What about the other allies who govern society according to the invincible ideas of Hayek?

Overwhelmed with grief, he cried out, "Our country... (choking back tears) will become... what will it become... (choking back tears)..."

Last night, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff called his home. The person spoke very gently, saying, "Chairman Springkel, the President greatly respects your principles. But we hope you will consider making things a little easier for yourself and for the government at this particular time."

He replied in a low voice, "I understand what you mean."

Springer put his resignation letter in his coat pocket. When he left the apartment, his wife didn't get up to see him off, which he thought was fine.

The corridors of the Federal Reserve building were unusually quiet today.

His secretary stood up, holding a stack of voicemail slips, and looked at him without saying a word. He went into his office, took his resignation letter out of his pocket, placed it in the center of his desk, and then pressed the internal line.

At 10:30 a.m., Springer read his resignation statement in the press conference room of the Federal Reserve building.

"...I thank President Reagan for his trust, and I have always believed in the independence of the Federal Reserve..."

I wish my successor good luck; I will not accept any questions.

After reading the last word, Springer took his speech from the shelf and stepped down from the podium. The crowd was very agitated, with some shouting "Traitor!" "Communist spy!" "You'll go to hell!" Angry people outside the door even threw rotten eggs and tomatoes at him.

That evening, CNN news channel displayed the following text alongside footage of the economic crisis: "Federal Reserve Chairman Resigns Amid Worst Financial Crisis Since the Great Depression"

...

That same afternoon, in the Oval Office of the White House.

Reagan sat behind his old desk, opposite Treasury Secretary James Baker and Chief of Staff Howard Baker.

“Mr. President,” Treasury Secretary Baker began, “we are running out of time.”

Reagan looked up.

"Three clearinghouses may default this afternoon. If they do, at least four of the major U.S. banks will face a run before the New York Stock Exchange opens tomorrow morning!"

We've received a call from the president of the San Francisco bank; he said he only has enough cash on hand until 3 PM tomorrow. We can't let the crisis continue to escalate!

Reagan gestured for him to continue.

"Our recommendation is to close all commercial banks nationwide for 72 hours starting at 8 a.m. tomorrow. The Treasury Department and the new Fed president are looking for a candidate, and a list should be available by tomorrow morning. Over the next three days, we will conduct an emergency assessment of major banks, and only those banks that are solvent will be allowed to reopen."

"Is another bank holiday coming?" Reagan said.

Reagan experienced the Great Depression of 1929, and now the United States is about to experience it again under his leadership.

“Yes, sir.” “If I remember correctly, it was Roosevelt’s bank holiday back then.”

"Yes, sir, you have a very good memory."

Reagan always felt that his secretary's words were a sarcastic remark directed at him.

He sighed and looked at the documents on the table. He had given many speeches throughout his life, and at least twenty of them he had quoted the same phrase:

"The government is not the solution to our problems; the government itself is the problem."

When he said this, the audience laughed and applauded. This sentence made him the governor of California twice, and then the president of the United States!

Now he has to sign a document that will order the U.S. federal government to shut down all commercial banks in the United States.

He only felt pain when the boomerang hit his face.

“Jim,” he looked up at Treasurer Baker, “I want to ask you something—for God’s sake, please tell me honestly, given our many years of friendship.”

"Please speak, sir."

What will happen if we don't do this?

Treasury Secretary Baker worked with Reagan for seven years.

“Mr. President, if we don’t do this, I think more than a thousand banks will fail in the United States by December, and by January the unemployment rate will exceed 12 percent. By spring, we will see what our fathers saw in 1932.”

"As for summer... I think we won't see summer in America anymore."

Reagan nodded and signed the document, then put down his pen and looked at his chief of staff: "Howard, I'm going to speak to the people of this country tonight."

"Yes, sir, the manuscript is ready. You may take a look."

"I'll write it myself."

"Mr. President, we have prepared a draft—"

"Let me write it myself!"

That evening at eight o'clock, President Reagan appeared on television. He was wearing a dark blue suit and a red tie, sitting behind his desk in his office, on which sat a small national flag and a closed Bible.

These are all standard features. He looked at the camera for a short while before he started speaking.

Good evening, my fellow Americans.

He spoke for a long time, explaining the necessity of the bank holiday, saying that this was not 1929 nor 1933, but a moment that the American people had to face together.

He said he believes in the resilience and will of the American people, in their hard work and perseverance, and in the enterprising, hardworking, and dedicated spirit of the pioneers of the American settlers that still runs in the veins of every American!

He quoted Lincoln, he quoted Thomas Paine, but he did not quote Roosevelt.

At the end of the seven minutes, he said, "God bless you, God bless the United States of America."

After the cameras were turned off, he sat behind the table without moving. He was old, and he knew that all the political capital he had accumulated in his life had been used up in those seven minutes.

His successor is Vice President Bush—but Bush will be entering next year's election with the label of "the second Hoover," and it's easy to imagine what the outcome will be!

As he walked out of the Oval Office, he passed Treasurer Baker, patted Baker on the shoulder, and said nothing.

May God bless America.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Trump Tower, New York, 68th floor.