Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 203

The land reform pilot program in Chiba Prefecture was essentially an event in which a group of elites who originally advocated for another reform movement turned to cooperating with the government.

The reason these elites shifted their stance was that they believed Japan was not on the verge of collapse. After defeating Russia, Japan had at least truly become a member of the great powers, and its international status had greatly improved. To prevent Japan from falling back into the ranks of the great powers, maintaining domestic stability became their primary task.

At this critical moment, Lin Xinyi suddenly proposed three reform tasks, which naturally gave a great shock to these officers who wanted to reform the navy.

But once they came to their senses and thought about it, they realized that what Lin Xinyi said was very logical. The reform of the military, the country, and the international order became three complementary rather than separate tasks.

For those who had originally only focused their reform efforts on the navy, Hayashi Shin-yi's words were like throwing them from the calm Seto Inland Sea into the turbulent depths of the Pacific Ocean. Those who had not felt any danger in the reform mission before now deeply felt the enormous risks behind the reform cause.

Soon, some people asked with doubt: "Wouldn't formally establishing such an organization attract interference from above? Can such an independent organization be established within the military?"

However, some people also saw the huge opportunities behind the reform cause. If these three tasks could be completed, they would surely enjoy the honors of the reformers.

Why were veterans like Ito and Yamagata able to maintain control of national politics for so long? It was because they were the heroes of the Meiji Restoration. The reforms they were now undertaking were not much less ambitious than the goals of the Restoration, which meant that the rewards afterward would be quite high.

Therefore, someone quickly retorted: "Doesn't the military also oppose private factionalism? But when has the phenomenon of factionalism ever stopped in the army and navy? The Choshu clique has controlled the army for decades. The army only knows about Yamagata Genro. Do they even know that they are the Emperor's army? As for the navy now, does anyone really care what we are doing?"

The latter argument clearly resonated more with the public. With the naval leadership locked in a power struggle, who would bother to care about a gathering of these young officers?

In fact, before Kawahara became Minister of the Navy, he turned a blind eye to the alliance of the reformists in the Naval General Staff, since the reformists supported him.

Since the naval leadership did not obstruct the formation of the reformist group from the beginning, then to obstruct the reformist reorganization now is to be at odds with everyone, rather than acting out of any public interest.

If that's the case, is it still necessary for everyone to care about the opinions of the higher-ups? As Lin Xinyi said, these higher-ups are precisely the kind of people who should be reformed.

Hearing the increasingly unanimous opinions of the officers present, Sato knew that his obstruction of Lin Xinyi had come to an end.

He immediately changed his stance, saying, "I agree with the three reform tasks proposed by Section Chief Lin, and I also support the reorganization of the reformist group to achieve these three tasks. After all, we cannot be comrades with those who do not truly agree with the reformist ideals."

Sato's reason for hindering Hayashi Nobuyoshi was that he felt the other party should not overstep his bounds. However, the reform cause was also his cause. Without the support of the reformist group, he would just be a mouthpiece used by the higher-ups to advocate the theory of naval expansion, and he would not be able to make a name for himself in the navy. Comparing the two, he naturally had to make maintaining the reform cause his top priority.

Moreover, Sato genuinely endorsed the three reform missions. He felt that the three reform missions resolved the long-standing issue of the reformists' lack of a unified direction. Everyone agreed that the navy needed to be reformed, but each person had their own ideas about how to reform, and a unified consensus had not been formed.

It was precisely because of this ideological difference that, after the change of the Minister of the Navy, the reformist faction also faced internal factional struggles within the Navy, with each faction supporting one side.

However, the three reform tasks proposed by Lin Xinyi now do indeed encompass the needs of the majority. The minority who oppose them are not actually opposing the three tasks, but rather opposing the self-interest of their own faction.

For the reformist group, these officers who put factional interests above all else were clearly unsuitable to remain in the group; their presence would only exacerbate conflicts.

Therefore, Sato had no choice but to change his mind and support Hayashi Nobuyoshi to demonstrate his support for the Meiji Restoration, and then try to gain a position within the Restoration faction. Of course, his statement was seen by others as an admission of weakness to Hayashi Nobuyoshi, and like Akiyama Saneyuki, he gave up on debating with Hayashi Nobuyoshi on theoretical research.

Sato Tetsutaro's statement forced Arima Ryotachibana to clarify his own stance. He and Sato were allies among the reformists, forming two factions with the Akiyama-Rin faction.

Sato and Arima were more inclined to improve the navy's immediate combat capabilities when it came to reform, which meant they focused more on reforming naval equipment, technology and personnel training systems. This was quite different from Akiyama Saneyuki and Hayashi Nobuyoshi, who focused more on reforming naval theory.

The others were mostly weighing the two sides, thus forming a centrist.

Therefore, after Yamaji Kazuyoshi, a centrist, made his stance clear, and Sato and Arima chose to support Hayashi Nobuyoshi's propositions, the core members of the reformist faction almost no longer had any small groups opposing Hayashi Nobuyoshi's propositions. The sporadic individual opposition was mainly out of respect for the naval system, rather than their inability to agree with this almost illegal self-organized behavior.

Lin Xinyi then reiterated the significance of reorganizing the reformist group: "Whether it is reforming the navy, reforming the national system, or reforming the Asian order, our individual strength is not enough. Only by putting our strength in one place and then through legal channels can we transform our will into the force of reform. This is why it is important to reorganize the reformist group."

Only by reorganizing reform groups can we cooperate and divide responsibilities to promote the establishment of an Asian security mechanism and an Asian joint fleet. The Asian joint fleet and the Asian security conference will be our official institutions for reforming the navy, reforming national politics, and reforming the Asian order.

Without a disciplined organization, how can we be sure that the members we elect will not betray our reformist ideals once they are granted these positions of power?

Chapter 670

Chapter 670

One characteristic of Confucian cultural circles is that groups that are originally established for a certain ideal will eventually abandon their own beliefs in order to maintain the existence of the group.

The Donglin Party members of the late Ming Dynasty, the Shi Party of Joseon Dynasty, and the Meiji Restorationists in Japan were all almost the same, and the reformers now facing Lin Xinyi were no exception.

Although there were few voices openly supporting the reorganization of the reform group, others simply agreed with the three reform tasks, and a few more mature individuals even expressed opposition to the idea of ​​establishing a political organization within the military.

As Lin Hsin-yi said, the reformists were just a loose political salon in the past. Although the group held regular meetings and discussed the issue of reforming the navy, the group did not impose any mandatory discipline on its members. Therefore, people did not consider it a formal organization, but only like-minded comrades.

Because the reformist group lacked the discipline of a typical organization, people didn't feel that joining it violated military regulations. According to Japanese military regulations, no organization or individual could exist within the military, as the only object of loyalty to the Japanese army was the Emperor.

Strictly speaking, the Choshu and Satsuma factions within the military are illegal organizations, but because these groups wield too much power, their existence is generally accepted as legitimate.

Breaking away from these warlords to form their own small groups and attempting to seize control of military personnel was clearly an act of rebellion.

In fact, the reformist members' previous ideas for reforming the navy all involved changing the status quo of the navy through high-level personnel, which they considered the only legitimate channel for reforming the navy.

This is why Hayashi Shin-yi was able to be at the core of the reformist faction, because his influence over the naval leadership was even greater than that of Arima, Sato, Akiyama, and others.

It's not that the reformists couldn't think of a reform path led by themselves, but rather that they dared not even consider it and didn't believe they could do it. Only someone like Lin Xinyi, who didn't care about naval rules and the national system, would consider such a thing, and only Lin Xinyi's past influence over the naval leadership could make people think he could do it.

If someone else said such a thing, others would either think he was too arrogant or that he was planning a rebellion, so naturally not many people would agree with such a statement.

However, since Lin Xinyi's benefactor, Director-General Kawahara, has successfully become the Minister of the Navy, it means that Lin Xinyi cannot be labeled as a traitor. Therefore, people can naturally disregard this factor and consider whether Lin Xinyi's proposals are feasible.

However, with just a little consideration, everyone would come to the same conclusion: if Lin Xinyi could take the blame for organizing an independent group within the military, then the establishment of this military organization would obviously be beneficial to everyone, because they would no longer need to consider which faction they belonged to in order to get promoted. They could simply strengthen the reformist group and then advance by relying on the group.

Furthermore, Lin Xinyi first proposed the idea of ​​forming an Asian Joint Fleet. This meant that if the Asian Joint Fleet plan succeeded, the reformist group would essentially have its own territory and wouldn't need to depend on other factions at all. Lin Xinyi was actually quite frank: he wanted to use the Asian Joint Fleet as an official organization to amplify the voice of the reformist group, thereby urging naval reform, national political reform, and the reform of the Asian order.

The very act of amplifying the voice of the reformist group signifies Hayashi Nobuyoshi's intention to use this group to effectively control the new Asian Joint Fleet. This new organization is not accountable to the Minister of the Navy or the Emperor, but only to the Asian Security Conference, meaning the Joint Fleet faces relatively few restrictions. Unlike in the Naval General Staff, where the reformists needed the Chief of the General Staff's name to disseminate their proposals to the entire military, the reformists no longer needed to do so.

Therefore, everyone quickly accepted Lin Xinyi's proposal to reorganize the reformists, and even the veteran officers who had voiced their opposition to Lin Xinyi did not choose to withdraw.

Their opposition was only within the group. Once the group's will had made its decision, they considered themselves a real part of the group and had no choice but to accept the group's will.

The reformist reorganization was in line with Japanese tradition, which was that everyone believed a council should be established to lead the entire organization. The council is also a tradition in Japanese politics. During the Sengoku period, daimyo relied on councils formed by their retainers to control the country, and the retainers also used councils to restrain the behavior of the daimyo.

However, Hayashi Shin-yi rejected the idea that the Reform Society's purpose was to be loyal to the Emperor. He frankly stated, "If it's just about being loyal to the Emperor, then there's no need for us to establish a Reform Society, because the Emperor doesn't need a disobedient voice in the army."

The reformists have only one goal: to defend the Japanese nation established by the Five Articles Oath. We cannot abandon our ideals simply because of an imperial edict. Once this group is established, and political reforms have progressed to a certain point, our political opponents will certainly use the Emperor's name to demand that we abandon the task of political reform. At that time, will we simply accept our fate?

In that case, it would be better if everyone did not form this Reform Society, so as not to become traitors in the Emperor's edict.

I hope everyone understands this point: our predecessors broke the Emperor's support for the Shogunate and rebuilt Japan with the Five Articles Oath. If we want to accomplish the same thing as our predecessors such as Kusaka Genzui, Okubo Toshimichi, and Saigo Takamori, we must understand that their courage lay in their adherence to the truth, not in their support for the Emperor's authority.

The Emperor certainly doesn't make mistakes, but he is easily misled. The fact that this country needs us to organize reform groups to reform the army and national politics shows that the Emperor is easily misled.

Whether the Emperor's decision is beneficial to the country and the people depends on who instills in the Emperor the understanding of the country and the world, not on the Emperor's own decision.

Therefore, the Reform Society cannot simply pay lip service to the Emperor; what we need to be loyal to is the new Japan described in the Five Articles of the Oath, a Japan where all people are equal. This is where the Emperor's true righteousness lies.

When the Emperor backs down on this crucial issue, we must push him forward; this is the fundamental goal of the Reform Society. If we lack this awareness, then I believe the Reform Society should not even exist.

Faced with Hayashi Nobuyoshi's blunt remarks, the officers present fell silent. The three names Hayashi Nobuyoshi mentioned were all pioneers of the Meiji Restoration, but they were also the three reformers whom the government was unwilling to publicize, because all three of them denied the authority of the Emperor.

Hisaka Genzui ordered the cannons to be fired at the Imperial Palace, breaking the inviolable sanctity of the Imperial Palace. Although the emperor had been vulnerable since the Warring States period, the common people still pretended that the emperor was sacred. Hisaka Genzui's actions broke this unspoken rule, thus causing the shogunate to lose its legitimacy in controlling the emperor.

To the common people, the gates of the shogunate and the imperial palace were no different, both representing the sanctity of the emperor.

After all, the Shogun also obtained the power to govern the country from the Emperor, so opposing the Shogunate and bombarding the Imperial Palace were essentially the same thing.

It's not hard to understand why the Emperor supported the Shogunate in the early stages of the overthrow of the Shogunate. Although the Shogunate was arrogant, it still nominally represented the Emperor in ruling the country. It was uncertain whether these country bumpkins from the southwest would obey the imperial court's orders after they overthrew the Shogunate.

Hisaka Genzui's bombardment of the Mikado Gate truly shook the very legitimacy of the imperial system, which was a major reason why peasants from various regions joined the anti-shogunate forces afterward. The peasants were not opposing the shogun, but rather the imperial court system that represented the emperor's rule over Japan.

It was precisely because of Kusaka Genzui's heroic act of bombarding the gate that the common people felt that this was not a rebellion by local daimyo against the Tokugawa shogunate, but a revolution against the imperial court.

As the war against the Tokugawa shogunate drew to a close, the powerful lords of the southwestern domains that had launched the war realized that they had lost control of the anti-shogunate coalition, because the anti-shogunate army, which had gained the support of the common people, was no longer a private army of the domains, but a civilian armed force.

This is also the fundamental reason why the powerful southwestern domains that won the war against the Tokugawa shogunate lost their own countries, because the anti-shogunate army had been taken over by the bandit forces that Takasugi Shinsaku mentioned.

Okubo seized this opportunity to overturn the initial plan of combining the interests of the court and the military, which had been accepted by the powerful domains, thus bringing the samurai era to a complete end.

Although Saigo Takamori was a representative of the old samurai class, he actually opposed the reconstruction of the feudal system. He advocated that the lower-ranking samurai should elect a new government to achieve a kind of samurai democratic government.

The Emperor certainly didn't have a good impression of these three people. Even though Okubo chose to defend the Meiji Restoration government during the Satsuma Rebellion, he was still not a good person to the Emperor.

The Satsuma clique was suppressed after the Satsuma War, which was something the Imperial Household was happy to see. It was only because the Choshu clique showed a tendency to monopolize military and political power that the Imperial Household had no choice but to support the Satsuma clique in retaining a piece of its own territory.

Although the naval officers didn't know much about politics, they were quite familiar with this period of Meiji Restoration history because they were also witnesses to it. Although the Satsuma Rebellion had ended long before they grew up, most of their families had experienced the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate and the Satsuma Rebellion, and naturally they would pass on their experiences to their children.

Aside from the fact that Kusaka Genzui died too young and his deeds are not well known, the deeds of Okubo and Saigo are almost universally known to the Navy, which is dominated by the Satsuma clique.

The navy generally sympathized with Saigo Takamori's fate and respected Okubo. This is why the court could only passively wait for history to cover up the two men's past and could not actively denigrate their achievements. At least the court did not hide its criticism of Kusaka Genzui. It was because Kusaka died too young that no subordinates spoke up for him.

Lin Hsin-yi specifically named these three people as role models. In the eyes of true conservatives, they are almost equivalent to traitors. Those who cheer for traitors are of course accomplices of traitors. What else are accomplices of traitors but traitors?

However, the officers who were sitting here were themselves dissatisfied with the current system. There were no staunch loyalists among them, so they could accept Hayashi Nobuyoshi's statement that the Emperor would not make mistakes, but was easily misled.

If the Emperor isn't misled, their advocacy for reform would be seen as opposing his own decisions, which naturally wouldn't be an act of loyalty to the Emperor. Therefore, Hayashi Nobuyoshi's words simply pointed out whose reforms everyone was actually pushing, so they shouldn't use the Emperor's name to cause trouble for themselves.

Even Akiyama Saneyuki, who was the most loyal to Emperor Meiji among them, was accustomed to following the political leanings of his elder brother, Akiyama Yoshifuru. Yoshifuru was an absolute supporter of Emperor Meiji, so Akiyama was also a supporter of the Emperor. Although he did not agree that the monarchical system was a superior political system, he actually preferred the republican system after studying in the United States. This was also the reason why Akiyama was popular with his subordinates, because he did not have the sense of privilege and hierarchy that the Japanese military officers had.

However, Akiyama Saneyuki also did not oppose Lin Xinyi's proposition. The comrades of the Reform Society put forward loyalty to the emperor first, which was actually to give themselves a righteous name. If the military investigated the Reform Society, they could use this as an excuse.

But what Lin Xinyi said was also very realistic. As long as this condition was added, the Reform Society would not be able to advance its goals, because anyone could openly oppose reform in the name of loyalty to the Emperor.

Rather than having the Reform Society ordered to disband by an imperial edict, it would be better to reject this clause from the beginning. This way, when people join the Reform Society, they won't have to worry about whether the reform mission conflicts with loyalty to the Emperor.

If even Akiyama Saneyuki, whose loyalty to the Emperor was the purest, didn't raise any objections, then naturally no one else would have the desire to stand up and oppose him.

Although Emperor Meiji's prestige soared after the war, and he truly became a wise and benevolent ruler in the eyes of the people, this aura was clearly not so secure in the eyes of naval officers.

After all, the victory in this war relied on the efforts of the navy itself, the army and Foreign Minister Komura's insistence, and the emperor did not initially support going to war with Russia.

At Hayashi Nobuyoshi's insistence, loyalty to the Emperor was removed from the organizational principles of the Reform Society, replaced by a firm commitment to upholding the new Japan established by the Five Articles Oath. By reversing the direction of two consecutive meetings, Hayashi Nobuyoshi effectively declared his true core position within the Reform Society, no longer merely a channel for advising higher-ups as previously believed.

Therefore, in the council of the Reform Society, Lin Xinyi was supported by the majority to become the convener of the council. However, Lin Xinyi declined at this time, advocating that Akiyama Saneyuki should serve as the convener, and that it would be enough for him, as a council member, to express his opinions.

Lin Xinyi's concession somewhat appeased the discontent of some officers. After all, he was indeed too young in terms of seniority. For the Japanese army, which valued seniority, even if they supported Lin Xinyi as the convener, it didn't mean they had no lingering resentment.

Lin Hsin-yi's concession on this issue did not actually damage his position in the Reform Society, but it did change everyone's perception of him personally. Akiyama Saneyuki declined twice, but ultimately accepted the nomination, because no one could find a more suitable candidate. Everyone else had to deal with Lin Hsin-yi, but Akiyama did not, because Akiyama had always been Lin Hsin-yi's supporter.

The council has six members: Hayashi Shin-yi, Akiyama Saneyuki, Sato Tetsutaro, Arima Ryotachi, Yamaji Kazuyoshi, and Yamaya Toto.

Representatives from all four departments of the Military Command were present, which meant that the core of the Reform Society was the members of the Military Command. Although there was no difference from before, this organizational structure was established.

After the council was established, Lin Xinyi put forward his first suggestion: "Although the brain of the Reform Society has been established, it is still not a qualified organization without a body and limbs. Therefore, I suggest that senior members Arima, Yamaji, and Yamaya formulate a plan for the core departments and grassroots organizations of the Reform Society, and then everyone discuss and implement it."

Secondly, I would like to ask Senior Akiyama and Senior Sato to formulate a preliminary plan for the joint Sino-Japanese military exercises and the establishment of the Asian Joint Fleet, so that we can promote its implementation through a plan.

As for me, I went to persuade Vice Minister Togo and Minister Kawahara to support our military exercise plan and the establishment of the Asian Joint Fleet, thereby laying the foundation for international cooperation for the navy's southward expansion..."

Lin Xinyi's suggestion was unanimously approved without any obstacles. Compared with the shocking remarks Lin Xinyi had made before, his first speech after the formation of the Reform Society's council was quite proper and without any outrageous remarks. Everyone believed that these were the things that the Reform Society should do after its establishment.

Their only concern was whether Hayashi Nobuyoshi could persuade Vice Minister Togo and Minister Kawahara. After all, neither military exercises nor the establishment of the Asian Joint Fleet could be accomplished without the unanimous approval of the entire navy, and Minister Kawahara's authority did not seem to be enough to make the navy obey unconditionally.

However, no one voiced these concerns, since if they couldn't be done, Lin Hsin-yi would be responsible. This was no longer the old reform group where people could just talk about things without actually taking responsibility. Now that Lin Hsin-yi had reorganized the Reform Society, he naturally had to shoulder his responsibilities; otherwise, what he said today would be a joke.

Compared to concerns about whether Hayashi Shin-yi could persuade Minister Kawahara, everyone was more concerned about what changes the establishment of the Reform Society would bring to themselves and the navy.

Of course, some people were still confused about the outcome of the meeting. For example, someone asked Yamaji Kazuyoshi why he supported Lin Shin-yi and whether the Combined Fleet really had a future. Yamaji replied, "I don't know if the Combined Fleet has a future, but I know that Lin has a plan for the Combined Fleet, while others have no plan at all. If I don't support Lin, who should I support?"

Chapter 671

Chapter 671

When he took over as Minister of the Navy, Kawahara Yoichi tried his best to remain calm, but he still felt a sense of elation. He really never thought he could sit in this position. Even before he was transferred from the central ministry to serve as the principal of the Naval Academy, he never thought he would sit in the position of minister, because he knew that he was not the talent that Saigo had in mind and was not among the core members of the Satsuma clique at all.

Kawahara knew that his ability to rise from retirement to ministerial rank within a few years was not due to his own efforts. If Saigo hadn't given him a good student, none of this would have happened.

Kawahara had even heard that his nickname circulating within the Navy was now "Kawahara Tsunayoshi," meaning the fifth shogun who favored young men. Kawahara wanted to laugh at such talk. He didn't want to use only young men, but in his decline, what veteran naval officers still supported him? In fact, even Togo Masamichi had kept his distance from him back in the Naval Academy, unwilling to get too close to him in private. Wasn't Togo doing this back then because he was afraid of being branded with Kawahara's name?

However, compared to others, Togo Masamichi was already a rare gentleman, because after he was transferred from the central government, everyone else treated him like a washed-up old man, and didn't even bother to maintain daily social interactions. So, it wasn't that he favored young people, but rather that the older generation in the navy simply didn't want to serve him.

Besides, compared to the young people around him, there weren't many veterans in the navy who impressed him. Of course, Kawahara also admitted that after spending so much time with Hayashi Nobuyoshi, it was impossible to find any talent in anyone else. Hayashi Nobuyoshi's actual ability to command warships seemed inferior to that of the other veteran naval officers. Of course, Kawahara thought that letting Hayashi Nobuyoshi command a warship was a waste of time, since neither Saigo no Marquis nor Yamamoto no Kaisei had any experience commanding warships.

Judging from Lin's experience in Tibet and India, his ability to command warships wouldn't be too bad. After all, no one in the Japanese army or navy thought they could fight the British head-on. It was only after Lin Xinyi's achievements in Tibet and India were reported back to Japan that the navy's awe of the British diminished considerably.

If the Japanese Navy were to truly confront the British Royal Navy, there would be no more suitable commander than Hayashi Nobuyoshi, for he had a record of defeating the British, even on land, far superior to those Imperial Navy officers who trembled at the mere mention of the Royal Navy's name.

This wasn't just Kawahara's opinion; not only Ito and Yamamoto shared this view, but the Imperial Court, after reviewing the secret report submitted by the Navy, also believed that Hayashi Nobuyoshi was a safeguard for the Empire's national defense. Of course, the Imperial Court also completely abandoned its plan to transfer Hayashi Nobuyoshi to the position of adjutant, fearing that the exposure of Hayashi Nobuyoshi's identity would incite British discontent towards the Royal Family.

Therefore, Kawahara believed that these rumors circulating in the military were actually intended to sow discord between him and Hayashi Shin-yoshi, hoping to make him dislike Hayashi Shin-yoshi and thus create a rift between them. Having been expelled from the central government once, Kawahara understood why these people wanted to do this. As long as Hayashi Shin-yoshi was aligned with him, any attack on him would inevitably provoke a retaliation from Hayashi Shin-yoshi. Compared to him, an old man, Hayashi Shin-yoshi could at least serve in the navy for another twenty or thirty years. If they provoked a retaliation from Hayashi Shin-yoshi, those who instigated the war would have no place in the navy in the future.

That's why people spread these rumors, hoping to make him dissatisfied with Lin Xinyi, since no one in power wants to be a puppet. And indeed, a large part of what Lin Xinyi is doing now is being promoted in his name, and he really doesn't know much about the details.

Kawahara felt that these people probably didn't understand his situation at all. It was true that Lin Xinyi had done a lot of things in his name, but it was precisely these things that made him sit in the positions of Chief of Staff and Minister. In other words, he was the direct beneficiary of these things. Why would he complain about such things? It was obviously impossible for him to succeed in doing these things on his own, and naturally he would not have been able to reach his current position.

Another point is that his rise to prominence actually coincided with the time when Lin Xinyi began to make a name for himself in the navy. Lin Xinyi quickly became a leader among the younger generation in the navy, and he also rose to the positions of Chief of Staff and Minister of the Navy in just a few years. People only saw Lin Xinyi's youth, but they did not see that his promotion was also extraordinary. It can be said that his promotion in the past few years has nothing to do with his previous positions.

Therefore, Kawahara Yoichi also had a headache: there were too few capable people, or more precisely, too few trustworthy and competent individuals. Even a junior colleague like Togo Masamichi, whom Kawahara had to rely on to manage the daily operations of the Military General Staff, demonstrated the scarcity of capable people at his disposal.

Figures like Yamamoto Gonnohyōe and Saitō Minoru were the core of the faction from the beginning, so they were able to gather a group of people to work for them. They were oblivious to the lack of talent. Therefore, Yamamoto and Saitō's personnel decisions were mainly aimed at promoting their own people and ousting others. However, for Kawahara, even if he ousted others, he couldn't recommend anyone of his own caliber. Therefore, Hayashi Nobuyoshi was, in fact, his only reliable confidant.

These people in the army regarded him as the fifth shogun, but Kawahara didn't feel any real unease. Tokugawa Tsunayoshi made Makino Narisada and Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu successful, but Hayashi Nobuyoshi didn't need to rely on him to wield power. After leaving him, Hayashi Nobuyoshi remained a rising star, but he was unlikely to become Minister Kawahara.

Kawahara Yoichi quickly proved his suspicions correct. Before he could even settle into his ministerial position, Saito Makoto, Togo Heihachiro, and Shibayama Yahachi began targeting him. Clearly, they were taking advantage of his lack of influence within the Navy Ministry, which was why they launched this campaign. As for the excuse of standing up for Hidaka, Kawahara refused to believe it. It was Yamamoto, not him, who had driven Hidaka out of the Navy, yet everyone was blaming him. What else could it be but a desire to remove him from office?

The loyal subordinates who had been surrounding him all the time offered almost no useful advice in the face of this thorny situation. Instead, they kept whispering in his ear about who had secretly met with Saito, and even Togo Masamichi was said to still maintain close ties with Shibayama.

Therefore, Kawahara was full of anticipation for Lin Xinyi's return, hoping that this good student could help him dismantle the current conspiracy within the Navy to unite against him. However, Kawahara still maintained some restraint and asked Togo Masamichi to bring Lin Xinyi to see him after he reported for leave, instead of sending someone directly to the train station to pick him up.

Togo Masamichi was clearly aware of his eagerness, so he did not wait until the next day at work to meet him in an official manner. Instead, on the night after Lin Xinyi returned to the country, he hosted a private banquet at his home under the guise of entertaining Lin Xinyi and his wife, and invited Kawahara to his home as a guest. In reality, he wanted to give the three of them a more private space to talk.

Although Kawahara Yoichi didn't discuss official business at the banquet, he finally couldn't help but complain to Hayashi Nobuyoshi during the subsequent tea room conversation: "Transferring Hidaka to the reserves was a hasty decision made by Yamamoto Kaiju before his resignation. Although he informed me, he didn't consult me ​​at all. Now, people within the Navy are saying that I conspired with Yamamoto Kaiju to expel Hidaka from the Navy. This is truly a false and slanderous statement..."

Lin Xinyi listened quietly to Kawahara Yoichi's complaints, then asked calmly, "So what are the principal's thoughts on this matter? Does he intend to retaliate against these people's false statements, or does he intend to maintain stability, compromise, and satisfy their wishes by transferring Hidaka-senpai back to active duty?"

Although Kawahara repeatedly claimed that the expulsion of Hidaka had nothing to do with him, after hesitating for a long time when questioned by Hayashi Shinichi, he still said, "In the current situation, even if I transfer Hidaka back to active duty, Hidaka will not be grateful to me. On the contrary, if those people unite around Hidaka to oppose me, wouldn't that be a repeat of the situation when we opposed Yamamoto, the Minister of the Navy? Compared with Yamamoto, I have almost no influence over the Ministry of the Navy. I think it is unlikely that I can leave the scene peacefully like Yamamoto."