Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 160

This history of industrial development illustrates a trend: the industrial system of the steam engine era may have only required a few million people to establish, but the industrial system of the electric and internal combustion engine era may require ten times the manpower and resources. If the Industrial Revolution continues, the population needed to establish a complete industrial system may be in the hundreds of millions.

Therefore, any nation or people that wants to keep up with the Industrial Revolution must expand its resources and population according to the laws of industrial development; otherwise, they will be forced to stop. If we want Koreans to believe they are entering a new era of civilization, rather than being conquered by Japan, then we must first make them understand what industrial civilization is, and make them part of this industrial civilization, enjoying the benefits brought by industrial development. That's my view…”

When Viscount Shibusawa returned after arranging the banquet, Lin Xinyi finally seized the opportunity to take his leave. Under Ito's questioning, he always felt a sense of unease, as if he had nowhere to hide. Lin Xinyi excused himself by saying that he had an appointment with Mu Zi that evening. Although Ito felt that Lin Xinyi was being too submissive in front of a woman, he ultimately did not try to stop him.

After Lin Xinyi left, Ito Hirobumi, as always, got completely drunk at the banquet prepared by Shibusawa Eiichi. However, this time Ito left much earlier than usual. As he departed, Ito even jokingly invited Viscount Shibusawa's second wife, Mrs. Kaneko, to dance a Western dance. This left Mrs. Kaneko, who was known for her cheerful and generous nature, somewhat at a loss. In the end, it was the proprietress of the ryotei (traditional Japanese restaurant) who came to entertain the guests who stepped in and coaxed Ito into the carriage, thus ending the lively evening at Asukayama.

On the carriage, Suematsu Kensuke was still worried that Ito had drunk too much, but halfway there Ito slowly sobered up and asked him, "What do you think of this young man, Hayashi Shin-yi?"

After hesitating for a few seconds, Suematsu Kensuke replied, "He is full of vigor, but seems a bit too arrogant. If he can learn from this experience, he could become a pillar of society."

Hidden in the shadows of the carriage, Ito remained silent for a long time before exhaling a breath of alcohol and saying, "Arrogant? I think he's too restrained. What a miscalculation. If I had known he could consolidate the Navy's power so quickly, I shouldn't have let him join the Navy. Now Saigo has benefited from this."

Suematsu Kenjiro's eyes widened. He was a little confused about what his father-in-law meant. If this was what Lin Xinyi was called restrained, then what would Lin Xinyi be like if he was not restrained?

Before Suematsu could react, Ito continued, "Go see Hirata and ask him to convey a message to Yamagata: after Katsura Taro steps down, is he willing to hand over power to the Seiyukai? Otherwise... the Seiyukai will have no choice but to side with the Navy..."

Chapter 561

When Akiko Hiratsuka, who was greeting them at the door, saw the young man alighting from the carriage, she was momentarily stunned. She did not recall inviting any man today, and she did not seem to have seen this dashing young man before.

However, the man quickly helped Miss Muko down from the carriage. After exchanging a few intimate words, the man said gently to Akiko Hiratsuka, "Miss Akiko, I'm entrusting Miss Muko to your care today."

Mingzi suppressed her curiosity and returned the greeting. She quickly realized that this must be Muzi's fiancé. She had heard at school that Muzi had a lover. Although some classmates expressed disdain for Muzi's promiscuity, most of them were still curious about Muzi's ability to freely pursue a relationship.

After all, they attended girls' schools, and under the strict discipline of the school, it was impossible for them to date men. However, for the noblewomen who had abandoned the old moral concepts of the Edo period, love was no longer a sin, but rather an extremely sacred and beautiful existence. This was also a consequence of the introduction of European literature to Japan. Love and adultery were finally distinguished. The former was beautiful and sacred, while the latter was a sin of indulging in lust.

Women in the Edo period generally received little education, and their social interactions were mostly limited to relatives. Therefore, daughters of samurai families were still expected to adhere to Confucian moral values. However, the Meiji Restoration abandoned Confucianism and introduced a great deal of advanced Western civilization. In this era, anything Western was considered a symbol of civilization.

The Rokumeikan period was the most Westernized era for the Japanese upper class. While the lower classes could not make up for the tax deficit by selling their children, the upper class would eat steak and hold Western dance social events at Rokumeikan. In the eyes of the lower and middle classes of Japanese, such dances were immoral and a place for men to openly hunt for women.

The nighttime escape on April 20, 1887, even became the catalyst for Inoue Kaoru's resignation as Foreign Minister. That evening, Ito Hirobumi hosted a masquerade ball at the Prime Minister's official residence in Nagata-cho, which lasted until 4 a.m. the next morning. At this moment, Rokumeikan diplomacy, which was primarily aimed at revising unequal treaties, had clearly deviated from its diplomatic purpose and become an excuse for the upper class to indulge in pleasure.

An article in the newspaper sparked heated discussions among the public. The article stated that a countess had fled the Toranomon gate in the middle of the night, barefoot. Rumors circulated that the countess was Toda Kikuko, known as the "Flower of Japan," and the second daughter of Iwakura Tomomi. The article claimed that the countess fled because Prime Minister Ito, disguised as a Venetian nobleman, had made advances toward her.

This scandal devastated Rokumeikan diplomacy and disrupted the official Western-style social activities of upper-class Japanese women. However, women's right to education continued to expand, as education was a valuable asset for women of Chinese descent in the Meiji era. However, lacking a Western-style social environment, female students abandoned the social etiquette taught in Western education and instead developed a fondness for romantic love stories of knights and princesses.

The love story of Miss Muzi, which happened among these Chinese female students, naturally attracted their great attention. However, before Lin Xinyi returned to Japan, everyone thought it was a tragic love story, or that Lin Xinyi would not be able to return, or that after returning, the bond between the two would be severed by the Ichiro family because of their mismatched social status.

However, Lin Xinyi's return disrupted the tragic love story. Hiratsuka Akiko couldn't help but compare him to her lover, Morita Sohei, and realized that her own love seemed to be the more tragic one. After all, Morita already had a wife, and she was from a wealthy family that couldn't be divorced, while Akiko seemed to have a happy ending.

Seemingly sensing that Mingzi was feeling down, Muzi couldn't help but advise her friend, "If something is going to end without a result, it's better to end it as soon as possible."

Akiko felt even more saddened, so she changed the subject and asked, "Is your wedding with Lin Jun coming soon? Will you be leaving Tokyo after the wedding?"

Looking down at the steps, Mu Zi replied cheerfully, "I probably won't leave Tokyo. Lin Jun plans to settle down in Tokyo, but he asked me what I want to do in the future, and I haven't decided yet."

Akiko asked with some surprise, "Doesn't he plan to have you stay home and do the housework?"

Mu Zi shook her head and said, "He said he hopes I can find something I like to do. Even if I get married, I will still be Mu Zi, not someone's wife or someone's mother. I like that very much."

Mingzi pursed her lips, thinking to herself: Who wouldn't want to continue being themselves after marriage? But is Lin Jun just saying it, or does he really mean it? Muzi shouldn't be fooled.

While Lin Xinyi was being secretly criticized by Hiratsuka, he was sitting in his carriage reading today's news. Almost all the front pages of today's newspapers reported on one thing: Foreign Minister Komura and Count Witte officially signed the Russo-Japanese Armistice Agreement yesterday, finally bringing the long Portsmouth Conference to an end.

However, this peace talks led by the United States had essentially lost their original significance. Although the Japanese had defeated the Russians in the Far East, the peace in the Far East still needed to be decided by the whites, which was the significance of the Portsmouth Conference.

However, the Chita Uprising and the outbreak of the financial crisis in the United States thwarted the British and American plans to exclude China from the peace talks. The Russians were unable to end the war, and the United States lost its ability to influence the war with money. The alliance between the Chinese and the Chita rebels rendered the peace talks held in the United States meaningless.

Even President Roosevelt, who wanted to make peace in East Asia one of his achievements, lost interest in intervening in East Asian peace as the domestic economic crisis worsened and the Far East issues became more complex. Although this president invented the "big stick" theory, Roosevelt was actually very cautious about using the American big stick; at least he was well aware that the American big stick could not yet be wielded in the Pacific region.

After defeating the Russian navy, Japan actually possessed the capability to threaten the west coast of the United States. Compared to Japan's expansion on the East Asian mainland, it was more concerned about the security of the Hawaiian Islands and the Panama Canal. It was precisely because of Japan's rising threat to the United States that Roosevelt wanted to preserve Russia's power in the Far East to keep Japan from focusing on the Pacific.

However, the entry of the Chinese put Roosevelt in a dilemma. In theory, provoking conflict between China and Japan was a long-term goal of the United States. Just as Britain needed to support Japan to hinder Russia's expansion into East Asia and monitor China's development, the United States also needed an Asian country that could restrain Japan in order to ensure the security of the United States' West Coast.

It was precisely because of this mentality that Roosevelt allowed Japan to accept Russian interests in Manchuria, in order to create a confrontation between Japan and China. However, the United States was unwilling to side with Japan and become a target of Chinese hostility, as this would undermine America's plans for expanding its influence in Asia. After all, with Russia's defeat, only Japan and China remained as major powers in East Asia. If both countries were to become enemies, America's Asian plans would have no chance of being realized.

Consequently, American media attention to the Portsmouth Conference steadily declined. Compared to the war between Japan and Russia, the American public was now more worried about their jobs and savings. Count Witte quickly realized this; delaying tactics were becoming increasingly disadvantageous for Russia, because the Russian people no longer cared about the outcome of the Portsmouth Conference—it would all be bad anyway. What they cared about now was why they had lost the war and whether the Tsar should be held responsible for the defeat.

To borrow a Chinese saying, the Portsmouth Conference became a double-edged sword for Japan, Russia, and the United States—too good to discard, but too bad to continue. Conversely, the multilateral coordination conference held in Beijing gradually gained the upper hand in ending the war. The reason why the Japanese and Russian representatives were still wasting time in the United States was mainly because Nicholas II and the Japanese government wanted to save face and attempt to sign an agreement that appeared favorable to themselves.

However, after the workers' and soldiers' uprising broke out in Moscow, Nicholas II finally abandoned this unrealistic idea. After quelling the uprising in Moscow, Nicholas II once again reiterated his call to invite all countries to hold a peace conference. In essence, this was a genuine admission of defeat on the East Asian issue, and he prepared to turn the empire's energy to domestic reforms, thus seeking to establish peace with neighboring countries.

Although Katsura Taro has taken power in Japan, he cannot continue to delay under the combined pressure from Britain, France, the United States, and Germany. While he can continue to postpone the peace talks, the daily expenses of the army and navy stationed abroad cannot be stopped. If the talks continue, Japan will not only fail to gain more benefits, but may also exhaust its power to intimidate China and Russia.

However, the front-page coverage of the signing of this agreement in major newspapers today is clearly not in support of the government. Aside from the official newspapers simply stating the news of the signing, privately-run newspapers have all criticized the content of the Portsmouth Armistice Agreement.

The main points of the criticism are: first, the government waived its claim for war reparations from Russia; second, Russia only relinquished its special interests in Manchuria, not transferred those interests to Japan. Furthermore, Russia refused to relinquish sovereignty over any territories other than Sakhalin, because Japan had no grounds to claim other regions.

This armistice agreement did not reflect Japan's victorious position in the war. As its name suggests, it was an armistice agreement, not a defeat agreement. In other words, Russia never acknowledged its defeat; it merely suspended the war. Japanese intellectuals noticed Russia's arrogance and were angered by this contemptuous attitude. This is why newspapers so vehemently criticized the armistice agreement, as if Komura had signed a surrender document.

From the perspective of Japan's intellectual class, this war was the greatest achievement of Japan's Meiji Restoration. Having embarked on the path of reform, Japan, after nearly 40 years of struggle, finally defeated the white race—a truly inspiring story. It was precisely because of this victory that many liberals and democratic rights advocates turned to nationalism, becoming supporters of this new Japanese empire.

Unlike the general Japanese public who wanted compensation from Russia, the defeated nation, the Japanese intellectual class was more concerned with white people recognizing Japan as a civilized nation because Japan had defeated the white supremacist power, the Russian Empire.

However, the Russian actions shattered the dreams of these intellectuals, making them realize that even if they defeated the white supremacists, these white supremacists could refuse to acknowledge Japan's victory, thus denying Japan's right to stand with them. The anger of Japanese intellectuals towards white supremacy ultimately transformed into criticism of the current government.

Lin Xinyi put down the newspaper in his hand. He was now even more certain that the Katsura Taro cabinet was beginning its countdown. Before, he hadn't quite understood why the Japanese were so angry about the Portsmouth peace treaty, or how the citizens of Tokyo had organized such a large-scale demonstration and broken through the police and army's blockades to cause the Hibiya burning incident.

These newspaper articles made him truly understand that the reason this incident broke out was because the leaders were the intellectual elite of Japan, not a few people and ordinary citizens. What angered the elites was not the amount of reparations in the agreement, but that the agreement did not reflect Japan's treatment as a victorious nation. Katsura Taro was now taking the blame for the arrogant attitude of the great powers.

Stepping off the carriage and into the courtyard of the Wanchao Daily newspaper office, Lin Xinyi discovered a scene of chaos. Several well-dressed men were shouting for the editor-in-chief, Hei Yanleixiang, to come out. Lin Xinyi stopped an editor to inquire about the situation. It turned out these men were there to collect debts from Hei Yanleixiang. Apparently, Hei Yanleixiang had lost a lot of money in the stock market, and these men were either people who had lent him money to run the newspaper or business partners of Wanchao Daily. They were worried that Hei Yanleixiang would go bankrupt, so they had come to collect their debts.

Upon hearing this, Lin Xinyi immediately flew into a rage, saying, "This is outrageous! President Hei Yan wouldn't have embezzled the advertising money, would he? No way, I have to make him return the advertising fees first..."

The editor, who had originally planned to have Lin Xinyi, the naval representative, persuade the creditors to grant him a few more days, was dumbfounded. He realized that he had done something stupid, so he took advantage of Lin Xinyi walking towards the president's office, and after checking that no one was paying attention to him, he secretly slipped away.

For Kuroiwa Ruika, this was an unexpected disaster. In fact, he hadn't lost much money on stocks, but this expansion, supported by the Navy, had really put him in a lot of debt. However, thanks to the large advertising contracts provided by the Navy, he wasn't worried about his finances at all.

The problem is that these creditors and business partners don't believe him. They insist that Heiyan settle the accounts. Heiyan wouldn't make things difficult if it were just one or two people, but with so many people coming to settle accounts, he really can't do anything about it. After all, newspapers are a business, and a business is inevitably a cycle of money constantly flowing. If the cash flow is cut off, can the business continue?

However, the biggest blow came from Lin Xinyi. Faced with Wan Chaobao being pressured to pay its debts, the young man not only failed to persuade the creditors who came to collect the debts, but instead shouted that Hei Yan should return the advertising fees first, otherwise he would find someone to sue Wan Chaobao. This further aroused everyone's fear, and even a few people who had been persuaded by Hei Yan returned to ask for their accounts to be settled.

When Heiyan was in a state of utter distress, Lin Xinyi finally spoke up and suggested that it would be better to organize a debt committee to sort out Wanchaobao's debts, so that no one would suffer losses and everyone should advance and retreat together. This prevented the creditors' debt collection actions from turning into a violent confrontation with Heiyan.

While the group was electing members of the debt committee, Lin Xinyi had a private conversation with Hei Yan, demanding that Hei Yan either relinquish control of Wanchao Daily or return the advertising fees to the Navy.

Hei Yan was quite resentful, believing Lin Xinyi's suggestion was unreasonable. Since the Navy and Wanchao Daily had signed a contract, how could they forcibly demand the return of advertising fees? Lin Xinyi looked at him and said, "The Navy invested in advertising for Wanchao Daily before the scandal broke. However, your personal debts have already affected Wanchao Daily's image. In other words, whether Wanchao Daily can still be trusted by the citizens is now a question. Therefore, past advertising naturally doesn't count. After all, the price we offered for advertising included the social influence of Wanchao Daily."

Hei Yan wanted to argue with Lin Xinyi, but he quickly realized that in this situation, the Navy's position was more likely to be supported by the court. He couldn't possibly sue the Navy. So he turned to pleading with Lin Xinyi, arguing that he had always been friendly to the Navy and that the Navy shouldn't kick him when he was down.

Lin Xinyi calmly pointed out to Hei Yan, "Merely asking you to relinquish control of the Manchao Pao is a sign that the Navy is showing you respect. Otherwise, we could have simply bankrupted the Manchao Pao and then acquired it, which would have reduced the Navy's expenses considerably. In fact, with so many people causing trouble, even if we took over the Manchao Pao, we wouldn't be able to use that name anymore. We've already done you a great favor. From now on, let's continue to operate in a capitalist manner. After all, isn't Japan currently pursuing capitalism...?"

Kuroiwa Ruika ultimately decided to accept Hayashi Shin-yi's suggestion and relinquish control of the Mancho News. Hayashi Shin-yi, in his capacity as chairman of the debt committee, then secured the Mancho News's assets and officially began the merger process with other tabloids. Abe Isoo was invited to handle the merger affairs of these newspapers and to establish various systems for the new newspaper group.

Chapter 562

As soon as the Portsmouth Accord was published in the newspapers, people began to take to the streets in places like Hibiya Park that afternoon to express their dissatisfaction with the signing of the armistice agreement. These speakers were mainly patriotic students and radical right-wing intellectuals.

However, by the morning of the following day, members of the Peace Issue Comrades Association began joining the mass rally against the current government, and the situation began to spiral out of control. The Peace Issue Comrades Association was actually the pre-war Anti-Russian Comrades Association. This organization had very close ties with the Black Dragon Society. The Tokyo land price crash dealt a blow to both the Black Dragon Society and the Anti-Russian Comrades Association, but the latter survived because it had the protection of the nobility, including Konoe Atsumaro.

However, with the death of Konoe Atsumaro, the Anti-Russian Comrades Association was temporarily disbanded. But as the war entered its final stages, these politicians and ronin reorganized the Peace Comrades Association, attempting to gain an honor in this great war and thus win public attention and support.

After Ito publicly declared his willingness to compromise with Russia, the Peace-Seeking Comrades Association changed its name to the Peace-Related Issues Comrades Association, indicating its firm stance on this issue and its opposition to compromise with Russia and China. Although the Peace-Related Issues Comrades Association had close ties with the Black Dragon Society and also had connections with hardliners in the army and navy, its core members were essentially members of the Kuomintang who opposed factional politics.

This so-called "People's Party" did not represent ordinary citizens; rather, it referred to the factions of Itagaki Taisuke of the Tosa Domain and Ōkuma Shigenobu of the Saga Domain, who were forced to withdraw from the Meiji Restoration government after their political defeat. The "people" in this context refers to the common people as opposed to the government, not to the general populace. Although the overthrow of the shogunate was a joint effort by the four powerful domains, Satsuma and Choshu ultimately triumphed in the internal power struggles within the Meiji government, ousting the Tosa and Saga cliques from power.

Itagaki Taisuke and Ōkuma Shigenobu then shifted their support to freedom and civil rights, advocating for the convening of a parliament to curb the Satsuma-Chōshū government. However, this parliament was not convened for the common people, but rather for the samurai and landowners who had lost in political struggles—in other words, the Japanese landowning class. Therefore, while the People's Party led by Itagaki Taisuke and Ōkuma Shigenobu opposed the feudal system, it did not oppose militarism's outward expansion; their opposition was only to the Satsuma and Chōshū governments' monopoly on governmental power.

When Tokyo citizens staged protests against Prime Minister Ito, these politicians were still observing, believing that the Ito cabinet, which had just led Japan to victory, would be difficult to overthrow due to public protests. However, events unfolded unexpectedly, and Ito was ousted so easily. Therefore, when the Katsura Taro cabinet signed a ceasefire agreement that disappointed the people, these politicians couldn't resist using the power of the people to overthrow the Katsura Taro cabinet as well.

However, these politicians and ronin from the peace issue comrades-in-arms association only know how to incite public sentiment, but they don't organize any demonstrations or marches at all, because they can't come up with any specific goals to oppose the government. The goal of the last public demonstration was very clear: to make Prime Minister Ito step down and put the hardliner Katsura Taro in power. This time, although the Democratic Party wants Katsura Taro to fall, it hasn't thought about how to clean up the mess at all. As a result, the aimless demonstration quickly turned into looting and vandalism.

Katsura Taro was also deceived by the orderly citizens' demonstration last time. He thought the protests this time wouldn't be too intense, so he mainly had the police protect the Imperial Palace and the Prime Minister's official residence. However, the out-of-control citizens first set fire to the Minister of the Interior's official residence near the park, then vandalized the National Newspaper that defended the government, and then began a chaotic attack.

Soon, artisans, porters, rickshaw pullers, and other low-level laborers who harbored deep resentment towards the government also joined the sabotage. Their targets became clearer: the police stations and police offices that usually oppressed them, and the Christian churches they disliked. Now, the entire city of Tokyo had lost its social order.

As the riots began to spread to the Yokohama area and it became clear that the situation could spiral out of control, Katsura Taro finally sought instructions from the Imperial Household Agency and declared martial law in Tokyo, deploying the military to maintain order on the streets of Tokyo.

However, the Hibiya burning incident had already caused a stir both domestically and internationally. People across the country rallied in support of the Tokyo citizens' actions and demanded that cabinet members be held accountable. The US Foreign Minister even received a telegram urging him to commit suicide as an apology. Diplomats from various countries in Japan were also shocked by the atrocities committed by the Japanese people, believing that Japan had only outwardly shown submission to European civilization, but was still barbaric at heart.

The Imperial Household was extremely dissatisfied with Katsura Taro's handling of the situation. According to people in the Imperial Household Department, the Emperor believed that Katsura Taro was far less capable than Ito Sukeyuki, and that Count Ito would at least not have handled things so poorly.

This rumor quickly reached Yamagata Aritomo's ears, and he asked his close confidant Hirata Tosuke, "Do you think that if the Seiyukai were to form the next government, it would be more beneficial to the military?"

As Yamagata's political aide, Hirata Tosuke had been cultivating a group of members in the House of Peers to counter the Ito faction. He was well aware that the "military" Yamagata referred to actually meant the Army, not the Army and Navy.

The fact that Yamagata was able to ask this question meant that he was not optimistic about the future of the Katsura Taro cabinet. After thinking for a moment, Hirata said, "Now the public opinion about the navy has improved again. According to popular opinion, although Count Ito proposed to compromise with Russia and China, at least the Count offered to reduce the size of the army as an exchange. However, Prime Minister Katsura not only cannot get any spoils from Russia and China, but also wants to continue to expand the army, which is going too far."

If the navy were to regain power, the plan to downsize the military would likely have to be brought back to the agenda. If negotiations were conducted with the Seiyukai (Political Friends Association), the plan to increase the army's troop numbers might still have a chance of passing. As for the navy and the Democratic Party forces outside of the Seiyukai, they certainly wouldn't cooperate with the military.

Yamagata knew that Hirata was right. Ito's suggestion was actually most beneficial to the army. Although he had always maintained in front of his subordinates that there were no major differences between the army and navy, the biggest problem at present was the contradiction between the military, the government, and political parties. Therefore, the army and navy needed to unite.

However, after witnessing the burning and beating incident in Tokyo, Yamagata became even more certain that the last protest by Tokyo citizens against the Ito Cabinet must have been orchestrated by the Navy. The last protest was far too organized and targeted. Once the goal was achieved, the citizens' emotions stabilized. This time, even with the declaration of martial law, mass rallies continued throughout the country. This seemed more like an expression of the pent-up discontent of the lower classes.

However, the army failed to find the navy's Achilles' heel. No matter how much Yamagata doubted the navy, he couldn't use that doubt to question it. Yamagata had to admit that he was probably really getting old, and no longer had the energy to control the military. Even when Saigo Tsugumichi was in charge, the navy never dared to do such underhanded things to the army.

Thinking about this, Yamagata became quite anxious about Katsura Taro's abilities. He felt that Katsura Taro, as his successor, seemed incapable of continuing the Choshu faction's leadership over the military, or perhaps he should consider the next Choshu faction successor.

After much deliberation, Yamagata finally spoke, "Go and talk to Katsura Taro, and tell him to speak with the Seiyukai himself. Then, please reply to Lord Itō for me: let the next generation handle their own affairs. We old folks should observe from the sidelines; after all, the future of the empire will ultimately be handed over to them..."

After hearing the Marquis Yamagata's reply brought by Suematsu Kensuke, Ito Hirobumi stood in his backyard watching the lively figures of koi vying for food in the pond, shook his head and sighed, "Yamagata is too arrogant. He still doesn't really regard the Navy as his opponent. Does he think I'm taking the opportunity to divide the Army and Navy? It seems the Army will have to suffer more losses before it understands the situation."

Suematsu Kensuke finally asked the question that had been hidden in his heart for a long time, "Isn't the Marquis placing too much importance on the navy? Even if the navy caused the army to suffer a loss this time, Ito and Yamamoto are still no match for Marquis Yamagata, are they?"

Ito gently tossed fish food into the pool, while saying, "Ito is careless about details, and Yamamoto is too focused on them. They also have difficulty trusting each other. Therefore, the Navy is not as good as it was when Saigo was in charge, at least the Navy could maintain a unified voice."

I once told you that the stability of our country's politics depends on two balances: the balance between the military and the government, and the balance between the army and the navy. Saigo's death made the army too powerful, so it was necessary to introduce the power of political parties to balance the military.

My idea in having Saigo bring Shinji into the Navy was that, ten or twenty years later, the Navy would have another powerful figure to balance the Army's power, thus allowing the government to check the military.

I really didn't expect that Shinji would be able to make his voice heard in the Navy so quickly. The trend of the Navy re-coheding into a whole has taken shape. On the Army side, although Yamagata and Oyama are in charge, there is no one below them who can truly unite the Army's people. Even if Kodama hadn't died, it would have been difficult for him and Katsura Taro to unite.

The Navy's proposal to downsize was not for the sake of the country, but to weaken the Army. The Army was only dissatisfied, but did not realize the Navy's purpose behind the downsizing proposal. The Army deserved the loss this time.

My concern now is that if the navy overwhelms the army, disrupting the balance within the military, can the balance between the military and the government still be maintained? I also worry about the extent of the navy's ambitions.

Suematsu Kensuke couldn't help but feel that his father-in-law valued Hayashi Nobuyoshi too much. He said doubtfully, "While Hayashi Nobuyoshi is certainly talented, surely he can't win the hearts of the navy more than the former Marquis Saigo? Besides, he's still so young. Even if he's valued by Count Ito, isn't it a bit too early for him to really sway the will of the navy?"

Ito finally turned to look at his son-in-law and said seriously, "While Saigo's prestige in the navy is certainly not comparable to Shin'ichi's, Saigo has too many things to consider, making his mind too unpredictable. Shin'ichi, on the other hand, is young, but he has too few concerns, and you can't predict when he will take a gamble. This is a very troublesome problem."

Furthermore, do you really think that Ito's smooth resignation this time, allowing Katsura Taro to take the blame, was a natural occurrence? The awful things those people outside are doing now are truly a natural consequence. I just want to remind Shimoyama Prefecture not to underestimate the Navy, lest you fall into another trap.”

Suematsu Kensuke finally fell silent. Compared to the riots against Katsura Taro's cabinet, he felt that the previous citizens' demonstration against Prime Minister Ito was far too peaceful. However, he found it hard to believe that the organizer behind it was Hayashi Shin-yi. Such a conspiracy was too unsuitable for that cheerful young man.

Ito could only shake his head inwardly at Suematsu's refusal to believe him. After all, if he hadn't known about Lin Xinyi's movements in China and India, he wouldn't have become so wary of him so quickly. Although he wasn't entirely clear on what Lin Xinyi had done in India, he knew all too well the immense effort the British Indian government had put in to suppress the Chinese army that had entered India, and how the British had ultimately had to admit defeat.

Based on the information he gathered about the Indian government's suppression measures, he believed that the Indian government's judgments were correct. He even thought that if he were in charge of the Indian government, he might not have been able to consider things so thoroughly. It can be said that the British used all their past successful experiences in the colonies and possessed far superior military strength and logistical supplies compared to their opponents, yet they were still easily neutralized by the Chinese. This, in turn, strengthened the Indian people's confidence in opposing the British Empire.

Therefore, in his view, Lin Xinyi was not a simple soldier, but a politician similar to himself and Yamagata. They all had their own political ideals and would use any means to achieve them, rather than being bureaucrats who simply obeyed orders. No matter how outstanding a bureaucrat is, they cannot break through the constraints of the system to realize their political ideals, but politicians will achieve their political goals by changing the system.

If Yamagata, standing in the open, still can't find a worthy opponent, then suffering another loss is inevitable. Ito understands one thing very well: people like them don't care about differences in rank and status; as long as they can leverage power to achieve their goals, they will definitely act on them. What's blocking Hayashi Shin'ichi now isn't age or rank, but the Satsuma mainstream represented by Navy Minister Yamamoto. Once Navy Minister Yamamoto yields to Ito Sukeyuki, the integration within the Navy will be complete, and after Saigo Tsugumichi, the Navy will once again be united under a single core.

Even Ito wasn't sure how Lin Xinyi would use this power, which is why he sent Suematsu to warn Yamagata, trying to curb the Navy's momentum. After all, Lin Xinyi was only in his early twenties. If he were to gain a foothold within the Navy now, who would be able to control him ten years from now, once the older generation was gone?

Thinking about this, Ito felt a little strange. He had always thought highly of this young man and wanted to mentor him so that he could rise to prominence in the navy as soon as possible, which would also help him control the army and navy. But now, he was the one who wanted to strike first and suppress the other side, because he couldn't tolerate a piece with its own will appearing on his chessboard.

Tossing the fish food into the pond and clapping his hands, Ito Hirobumi said somewhat listlessly to his son-in-law, "Since Lord Yamagata believes this is the responsibility of the next generation, then you should tell Saionji this news. I also want to see how the Navy will respond..."

As social order in Tokyo began to recover following the imposition of martial law, Hayashi Shin-yoshi returned to Nagano with the Ogawa Heikichi family to prepare for the New Year. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan changed its lunar calendar to the Gregorian calendar, and the New Year began on January 1st.

The railway line from Shinbashi in Tokyo to Kami-Suwa in Nagano Prefecture was now fully operational, making it much easier for Hayashi and his group to return to their hometown in Nagano. What used to take four to five days now only took six hours.

Eijiro Ogawa and Nobuo Takeuchi, two close friends from their junior high school days, also returned to their hometown with Shin-Yi Hayashi. The two had just graduated from the University of Tokyo this year, but the former successfully entered the Faculty of Letters at the University of Tokyo, while the latter ultimately chose the Faculty of Law.

While Ogawa Eijiro, Takeuchi, and Hayashi Nobuyoshi were happy to reunite, they also noticed a growing distance between them. This distance wasn't about personal relationships, but rather the breadth and depth of their understanding of society. Generally, university students are obviously more open-minded than soldiers, given the narrower education soldiers receive. However, Hayashi Nobuyoshi clearly didn't share this perspective. When Hayashi Nobuyoshi and Ogawa Heikichi discussed social and political issues, neither of them could get a word in edgewise.

For example, when Ogawa Heikichi discussed the issue of nationalizing private railways, both Ogawa Eijiro and Takeuchi Nobuo expressed their support, believing that nationalization would be more beneficial to the country and facilitate public travel. They argued that privatized railways wouldn't build unprofitable routes. However, Hayashi Shin-yi viewed the issue differently: "Considering Japan's population density and economic development level, most railway lines are actually currently operating at a loss, but land prices in the areas along the railways have increased."

While the nationalization of private railways has objectively benefited the country and even promoted local economic development, the current proposed nationalization plan essentially involves private railway companies selling off loss-making lines to the state while retaining profitable ones. Nationalizing the 17 railway companies' private lines would require issuing at least 5 million yen in government bonds. This plan benefits the railway companies and landowners, but it would be a burden on the public, who would not only have to pay the premiums demanded by the private companies with their taxes but also bear the high ticket prices, as the public has no oversight power over state-owned railway companies. It's not impossible that the national railways will be privatized again in the future due to excessive losses…

Chapter 563

It was dusk when they arrived in Kobe Village, so Lin Xinyi and Takeuchi Noboru decided to return to their respective homes the next day. The opening of the railway had indeed brought a lot of prosperity to Kobe Village, but it did not bring any benefit to the Ogawa family's clothing store. With the opening of the railway, the local young people also began to favor Western-style clothing. After all, Western-style clothing represented civilization and status, and only the conservative old people would stick to tradition.

However, Ogawa Heikichi's success in Tokyo brought other opportunities to the family. For example, knowing the railway route in advance allowed the Ogawa family to purchase land in the area the railway passed through, obtain substantial compensation from the railway company, and start a real estate business around the station.

Therefore, although the clothing store's business was poor, the Ogawa family's life was clearly thriving. The simple longhouse where Hayashi Shin-yoshi and Ogawa Eijiro used to live was demolished and rebuilt into a courtyard-style house, which was even equipped with electricity. In comparison, this place was not much different from Tokyo, since many families in Tokyo still did not have electricity.

After taking a bath, Lin Xinyi was called over by Ogawa Heikichi to have a drink to relax. Nagano Prefecture is located in the inland mountainous region of Japan, so winters are quite cold. Fortunately, the mountains are full of trees, so every family here has a hearth in their room, which is used to boil water in the summer and for heating in the winter.

Lin Xinyi hadn't experienced sitting by a hearth to warm himself in a long time. After all, neither Wuhan nor India had winters as cold as Nagano. However, sitting around the hearth, enjoying the warmth from the burning charcoal and smelling the aroma of wood in the room was indeed quite relaxing.

However, Ogawa Heikichi clearly hadn't simply invited him over for drinks to relax. Before he had even finished his drink, Ogawa couldn't help but bring up the issue of nationalizing private railways that he had discussed on the train earlier that day.

Lin Xinyi glanced at the other person before slowly saying, "Uncle Xiaochuan, do you perhaps want to get involved in the project of nationalizing private railways?"

Seeing that there was no one else in the room, Ogawa Heikichi spoke frankly and said, "Everyone was very satisfied with the nationalization of several private railways in the Tokyo area. If it weren't for the outbreak of war, large-scale railway nationalization would have been fully launched."

What you said during the day was correct. This is a large project of nearly 5 million yen, involving interests and people from both the ruling and opposition parties. Therefore, this project will inevitably be approved. Before the war, the government's annual fiscal revenue was only 3 million yen. 5 million yen is equivalent to half of the government's annual revenue. If we don't get involved, what can we do for the next ten years?"