Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 158

As for the illegitimate sources of income, they were quite serious. The special funds he received from Prime Minister Ito did not require reporting, and he also controlled the advertising expenses paid by naval-affiliated companies to newspapers. In the past two weeks, he had obtained nearly 25 yen. After deducting the 15 yen he had already spent, he still had nearly 10 yen left in his account.

It should be said that the yen was quite valuable at that time. After all, the daily wage of an ordinary female worker was only 30-35 sen, which was already considered a high wage. The "100-yen female worker" was a slogan used by textile factories to attract women from poor rural families. Generally speaking, only skilled female workers who had worked in textile factories for seven or eight years could earn this amount. 100 yen could buy about 10 acres of land in a relatively remote rural area. The price for rural women to be sold to brothels was only 100-150 yen.

Of course, not all of the 15 yen was spent on naval affairs; a portion of the funds was used to divert attention from socialists targeted by the conquered forces. Just as Hayashi Shinji had warned, the government indeed took action against the People's News Agency. The trigger for this action was Ishikawa Sanshiro's "A Message to Elementary School Teachers." The government considered the essay to constitute a crime of disrupting the constitution (infringing upon the fundamental institutions of the state's existence), decided to ban the publication of the People's News Agency, and prosecuted the editor and publisher Nishikawa Kojiro and the printer Kotoku Shusui.

After receiving the court's notice, the socialists who had been trying to confront the government in a legal manner finally came to their senses. On the advice of Hayashi Shin-yoshi, Christian socialists led by Abe Isoo withdrew from the People's News Agency and severed ties with Kotoku Shusui and others. This was both to protect the reformists and to prevent anyone from cooperating with the government in the upcoming confrontation.

While figures like Kojiro Nishikawa and Shusui Kotoku, already registered with the Metropolitan Police Department and the Ministry of Home Affairs' Police and Security Bureau, couldn't escape government scrutiny, lesser-known socialists in various regions could essentially disappear from police sight simply by changing locations and jobs. After all, Japan hadn't yet established a Special Higher Police (TAT) specifically targeting social and ideological trends. Once Nobuyoshi Hayashi obtained the Metropolitan Police Department's surveillance data on socialists, the names of these lesser-known socialists effectively vanished from police viewpoints, unless they became active again and attracted police attention.

In fact, Lin Xinyi suggested that Xingde Qiushui and the others simply travel abroad to avoid government charges. The government only wanted to shut down the People's News Agency, not to physically eliminate socialists. Therefore, as long as Xingde Qiushui and the others chose to travel abroad, the matter would be dropped, and the People's News Agency could take the opportunity to move abroad and go underground in the country.

Kotoku Shusui and others only accepted half of the suggestions. It was acceptable for the People's News Agency to move abroad, but Kotoku Shusui said that he would stay and fight to the last moment and would never yield to the government's atrocities. In addition, he also hoped to take this opportunity to expose the hypocrisy of the Meiji Constitution and let the people know that the government did not make the constitution for the people, but made it to maintain its own power. When the people's criticism of the government violated the government's authority, such criticism was not protected by the constitution.

Hayashi Shin-yi was powerless to persuade these idealists, but fortunately, this was only a warning from the government to the socialists. The government's main focus was on international politics, and the persistence of Kotoku Shusui and others would not lead to a devastating blow to the entire Japanese socialist community, so he stopped trying to persuade them.

At that time, there were approximately three thousand socialists in Japan, an estimate based on regular subscribers to the Heimin Shinbun (People's Daily). Excluding reformists who left the Heimin Shinbun, those who severed ties with it, and those who planned to relocate overseas, only a few dozen people in the Tokyo area would ultimately be affected by government lawsuits.

When Lin Xinyi returned to his residence in Akasaka that evening, Abe's expression had improved considerably. Being able to pull his relatives, friends, and students back from the brink of danger had clearly put him at ease. Abe did not oppose confronting the powerful clans and financial cliques, but he simply could not accept the radicals' call for the violent overthrow of the government. This would turn his relatives, friends, and students into criminals, which was something he could not tolerate.

For Abe, the current situation was the best possible outcome. It avoided a complete break with his former comrades while allowing him to continue pushing forward with a gradual approach to government reform. Naturally, his relationship with his student, Hayashi Shin-yi, became even closer. With Abe's support, Hayashi Shin-yi also gained the support of a portion of the intellectual community. The detailed specifications of the Tokyo development plan alone came from Abe's connections at the university.

Although Meiji politics was still in the hands of the feudal domains, the bureaucratic training provided by these domains could not compare with that of university education. Tokyo University, founded by Ito Hirobumi, Waseda University, founded by Ōkuma Shigenobu, and Keio University, founded by Fukuzawa Yukichi, had begun to become centers of imperial elites, with almost all ministerial and ministerial officials graduating from these three universities.

The reason why the feudal clique politics has been increasingly attacked by public opinion is that the feudal cliques' principle of prioritizing regional advantages in personnel appointments has harmed the interests of these university-graduate elites. This has led to the growing rejection of bureaucrats from the feudal cliques by elite bureaucrats from university backgrounds. Meanwhile, the process of industrialization has also increased the power of technocrats and professional bureaucrats. For example, the urban planning of Tokyo, if entrusted to bureaucrats who have risen through the ranks by personnel, would take one or two years to complete. However, if an outline is drawn up and handed over to professional elites, a rough framework can be produced in one or two weeks.

From this perspective, the end of the feudal clique politics was indeed near, because the personnel management system of the agricultural era was no longer suitable for Japan's rapidly industrializing society. Therefore, in order to seize power in the government, it was necessary to first obtain the human resources support of universities; otherwise, it would be impossible to make the country function.

This is also why Lin Hsin-yi wants to separate reformists from socialists. Getting entangled with the two will only severely damage reformists as well. Ultimately, reformists will abandon their progressive ideals and join the conservatives, which means the government will completely side with the conservatives, and no progressive policies will be able to be implemented.

Abe handed the manuscript to Hayashi Shin'ichi, who had just returned, and said, "At the Imperial Conference this afternoon, Yamagata-sama's defense policy did not receive the Emperor's support. Prime Minister Ito has decided to publish a peace proposal in tomorrow's newspaper. Please take a look at this proposal and see if there are any problems."

Lin Xinyi took the manuscript and said with a smile, "Wasn't this already finalized? Are there any other questions?"

After a moment's hesitation, Abe said, "East Asian peace and focusing on domestic economic development—aren't these policies beneficial to the common people? Do you really think the people will be angry and oppose Prime Minister Ito because of this?"

While looking at the manuscript in his hand under the lamplight, Lin Xinyi replied casually, "The people are not angry because of peace and Prime Minister Ito's promises, but because of the past government's deception of the people, and because they are worried about whether the government can fulfill its promises in the future."

In the past, the government said that Russia threatened Japan's security. If Russia could not be driven back, it would invade the Japanese mainland. After defeating Russia, Japan could not only gain hegemony in East Asia, but also obtain more reparations from Russia than in the Sino-Japanese War. The people's temporary forbearance for the war would be rewarded.

However, the current peace initiative is tantamount to breaking the pre-war promise to the people, namely to recover more war compensation from Russia to repay the people's sacrifices, and even to make the people continue to bear the principal and interest payments on the debts increased due to the war. Can the people still believe the government's new promise that developing the economy will bring them benefits?

Of course, what will bring down the current government will not be the anger of the people, but rather the ruling class that uses that anger to attack the government. The ruling class of the empire is actually composed of landowners, tycoons, and bureaucrats. To make up for the funding gap in infrastructure investment, we advocate raising the personal income tax rate from a maximum of 3% to 15%, raising the maximum inheritance tax rate (currently under revision) to 45%, and also advocating that the government have the right to expropriate land needed for national construction, half of which can be paid for with national debt, etc.

The only real beneficiaries of these plans are the bureaucrats, while the landlords and zaibatsu (financial conglomerates) suffer losses. Therefore, once the economic development plan is released, the public opinion controlled by the landlords and zaibatsu will inevitably target the current government. Katsura Taro's report is, in effect, ammunition we provided to them; it is the landlords and zaibatsu who will use this ammunition.

Therefore, not only can the people not rationally accept peace initiatives, but even the army cannot calm them down through self-discipline, because the landlords and tycoons will not allow the people to think calmly…”

In the days that followed, the situation developed exactly as Hayashi Shin-yi had predicted. When Prime Minister Ito published his peace initiative, the only opponents were newspapers close to the army, and in fact, the public reaction was not significant. However, after Prime Minister Ito published his outline for postwar economic development, criticism of the peace initiative suddenly intensified.

On November 27, the Jiji Shinpo, a newspaper closely associated with the Keio University, published an interview with Army Minister Taro Katsura in a newspaper that held a pro-war stance during the war. Although the article did not criticize Ito Sukeyuki by name, it denounced the government's development program as extreme socialism, consistent with the claims of the Russian mob, and aimed to undermine the foundation of the Emperor system.

Following this, major newspapers unanimously reported on Minister Katsura's experiences and key statements, and in an instant, Minister Katsura became not only the representative of the army but also a staunch leader of the pro-war faction. At the same time, some newspapers that were originally close to the navy also published articles expressing dissatisfaction within the navy regarding the peace initiative, and Prime Minister Ito suddenly became isolated.

On the morning of November 29, thousands of Tokyo citizens gathered in Hibiya to protest a peace initiative document. Within just two hours, the rally attracted tens of thousands of participants. Around noon, the protesters decided to proceed to the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Kasumigaseki to petition Prime Minister Ito, demanding that he retract the peace initiative document.

Wearing a short furisode with arrow feather patterns, paired with a brownish-yellow handon-hakama, her hair tied in a ponytail with a ribbon, and Western-style boots, this was the most fashionable school uniform at the Chinese Girls' School. However, Mu Zi, dressed as a female student, stood anxiously at the window on the second floor of Songyuanlou, looking westward. The marching crowd was chanting slogans as they marched towards Xiaguan, just across the street. Hearing those angry slogans, she knew that something big was likely to happen today.

She turned to Lin Xinyi, who was standing by the window on the other side of the corridor, and said, "A lot of people have gone to Kasumigaseki. I hope Lord Ito will be alright? It's a good thing you didn't wear your military uniform today. Those people seem to have a lot of opinions about the navy."

Lin Xinyi watched the birds flee in terror, holding a few grains of rice in his hand, trying to lure them back. He then addressed Mu Zi, saying, "What could possibly happen to Lord Ito? The Prime Minister's residence is so close to the Imperial Palace. If things really get bad, he only needs to run into the palace. Would those people still dare to storm the Imperial Palace then? These poor little birds are so scared they won't even eat. The view from Matsumoto-ro is indeed quite nice. No wonder commoners aren't allowed up there; it turns out you can see the palace from here..."

In stark contrast to Nobuyoshi Hayashi's relaxed and carefree demeanor at the Matsumotoro, the Ministry of the Army was in complete chaos. Katsura Taro never imagined the fire would reach him. Although he opposed Prime Minister Ito's peace proposal, he had no intention of openly challenging him. A peace treaty was inevitable, a fact even Yamagata Genro wouldn't oppose. However, this peace was being forced upon Japan by the great powers, and therefore not in Japan's best interest. To avoid being coerced by the powers, the government should further expand its military and strengthen national defense after signing the peace treaty.

The army naturally cannot accept Prime Minister Ito's stance of choosing peace and reducing military spending. However, even if the army were to oppose it, it would only retaliate after the peace agreement is signed, that is, after Prime Minister Ito has taken responsibility, and then oust him from office before restoring order and strengthening national defense. But this series of reports has completely disrupted the army's plans, and worse, the public has been swayed by public opinion.

Yamagata Aritomo, who was originally at home, rushed to the Ministry of the Army after receiving the news. He did not ask Katsura Taro what he was doing, but instead asked the Metropolitan Police Department whether they had dispatched troops to disperse the demonstrators.

Katsura Taro's response deeply worried Yamagata. The incident had occurred suddenly, and the Metropolitan Police Department lacked the manpower to disperse the assembled citizens. Furthermore, Prime Minister Ito had instructed the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Metropolitan Police Department to prioritize the safety of the Imperial Palace and avoid excessively provoking the protesters. In Yamagata's view, while Ito's order was selfless and perhaps even disregarded his own safety, it was still incredibly irresponsible.

However, what made the army even more furious was yet to come. The protesting citizens surrounded the Prime Minister's official residence. Prime Minister Ito came out to explain, but the crowd did not accept it. Although the citizens did not further storm the Prime Minister's official residence, it is said that the crowd's chants for Prime Minister Katsura overwhelmed Prime Minister Ito's explanations. Prime Minister Ito had no choice but to bow to the crowd and retreat back to the official residence.

Upon hearing this, Yamagata silently got up and walked towards the door. When he was almost at the door, Yamagata turned back to Katsura Taro and said, "You need to be prepared. The army has been ambushed this time."

Chapter 557

After leaving Miyakezaka, Yamagata Aritomo immediately went to the Privy Council within the Imperial Palace, mainly to discuss with Speaker Itō Hirobumi whether he could persuade Itō not to resign.

Although Ito focused his main energy on the matter of supplementing the Imperial Household Law, he was still quite concerned about most of the government's problems at the time. In response to Yamagata's request, he replied dismissively: "If you and Ito were in each other's shoes, would you not resign to show your true feelings at this time? It's not a question of whether Ito wants to or not, but whether he wants to do it or not."

Yamagata could only say, "I don't think Ito has any intention of shaking the national system. This is just speculation by some people with ulterior motives who are trying to force the government to collapse in order to achieve their ulterior motives. If Ito were to resign now, wouldn't that just satisfy these people's desires? The country is still in a state of war, and replacing the government at this time would probably harm the national interest. For the sake of the greater good, I think Ito should stay in office."

After thinking for a few moments, Ito shook his head and said, "The problem is that the people believe that Ito's continued tenure would be the greatest harm to the national interest. They hope, no, they should say that they already have someone who can protect the national interest. If Ito insists on not resigning, it will only provoke even greater anger from the people."

Yamagata fell silent. A cool breeze blew into the room through the open window. Ito wrapped his coat tighter and looked at the shade of the trees outside the window, saying, "You think someone is behind this? Who could it be? If we can find the culprit, there might still be a chance."

Yamagata fell into an even longer silence. Finally, he reached for the teacup in front of him, took a small sip of the now-cold tea, and said calmly with his head down, "I don't know who it is yet, but it certainly can't be someone from the Navy."

"No, this is absolutely right. It's an excellent use of language." Ito thought to himself. He didn't continue the discussion, but instead sat quietly with Yamagata, waiting for the situation to develop further.

What happened next was exactly as the two had expected. Ito Sukeyuki quickly submitted his resignation to the palace, stating that he was incompetent and unfit for the important position. Emperor Meiji naturally disagreed and sent a trusted aide to persuade Ito to withdraw his resignation. However, Ito was determined to leave and refused the emperor's offer to stay, moving out of the Prime Minister's official residence with his family.

Emperor Meiji was forced to write to three elder statesmen, Yamagata, Itō, and Inoue, to inquire about Itō's resignation. Inoue was quite dissatisfied with the army's actions and believed that the army should be the one to resolve the matter.

He replied to the Emperor, saying: "Ito had already proposed this at the Imperial Conference before issuing the postwar reconstruction plan. At that time, although Yamagata opposed it, everyone else was in favor. The army is being too arrogant, disregarding the great cause of the Empire for its own selfish reasons."

However, when Ito met with the Emperor, he was quite tactful, stating that Ito's resignation was irreversible and that only the army could end the war, therefore no one else was suitable to form a cabinet.

Yamagata told the Emperor that the public's impulses should not be allowed to interfere in national policy. He stated that the army supported the Ito cabinet and had not interfered in the matter. Therefore, even if the Ito cabinet resigned, the army should not form a new cabinet; doing so would only solidify the army's reputation for conspiracy.

Emperor Meiji was momentarily at a loss, so he ordered an investigation to determine if there was any hidden agenda behind the incident, and whether, as Yamagata claimed, someone was deliberately sowing discord between the army and navy to achieve their own ulterior motives. Yamagata's accusations were essentially directed at political parties; he seemed to want the Emperor to believe that the incident was orchestrated by political parties to damage the reputation of the army and navy and thus allow them to seize power.

As Prime Minister Ito announced his resignation, the demonstrators in front of the Prime Minister's official residence finally began to disperse. Hayashi Shin-yi accompanied Muko as they left Matsumoto-ro, ending their date for the day. Before leaving Hibiya Park, he met with Domoto Keiichi, who was overseeing things there, and instructed him: "Tonight, you personally oversee things and make sure all the relevant people are on the ship. They must not be allowed to return to Japan for at least a year. As the Chinese saying goes, 'The last leg of a journey is the hardest.' Only by getting them on the ship can things be truly resolved."

Domoto Keiichi nodded seriously and agreed, "Don't worry, I've made all the arrangements. I'll send them to Yokohama tonight. They'll be on the Hinomaru ship in Zamboanga at midnight. I've also arranged for people to meet them in the South Seas, so they won't be allowed to wander off."

The following morning, the Imperial Household Agency announced its acceptance of Prime Minister Ito's resignation. This news brought a sigh of relief to both Kawahara Yoichi and Togo Masamichi; regardless of who formed the cabinet, at least Ito's reputation as a veteran official was preserved. The mere announcement of a peace treaty without reparations had already ignited public anger. While the newspapers had stirred up public sentiment, the public's anger was genuine, indicating that if the peace treaty had actually been signed and then announced, Prime Minister Ito would likely have had a very difficult time recovering politically.

For Kawahara and Togo, the current Ito Genro is the biggest pillar of the Military General Staff faction. Once Ito Genro loses his political influence, the Military General Staff will be the first to be suppressed by Yamamoto Kaisho. Therefore, it is good news that Ito Genro has been able to retire unscathed. As for the public's anger, it will soon shift after the new government signs the peace agreement, and they will no longer hold a grudge against Ito Genro.

That afternoon, when Lin Xinyi returned to the Shinagawa Building to report on his work, Kawahara called him to his office. On the one hand, he wanted to ask if there were any oversights in the final work, and on the other hand, he told him: "The staffing for the cultural courses has been approved, and they can be officially established next week. However, you can't decide the staff entirely. You can only get 5 out of 9 positions. The other 4 will need to be arranged by the personnel bureau."

Lin Xinyi thought for a moment and asked, "So, can the personnel temporarily borrowed from various places this time be retained in the future? Also, has the Personnel Bureau approved the plan to recruit personnel from the community for the cultural subjects?"

After thinking for a few seconds, Kawahara said, "I can help you retain the personnel you've borrowed from various places, but they won't have official positions. You'll have to persuade them to stay yourself. Also, the number can't be increased any further. The total number of personnel you've borrowed is more than the number of personnel in the first division, which is obviously against the rules. As for the plan to recruit personnel from the public, the Navy Ministry doesn't care, but it also won't provide a budget."

After a few moments of silence, Lin Xinyi suddenly changed the subject, saying, "Principal, don't you think we're in danger right now?"

Kawahara paused for a moment, then lowered his voice and asked, "Didn't you just say you cleaned up the mess perfectly, that everyone's on the ship? Are you worried about the people around you...?"

Lin Xinyi interrupted Kawahara's unfounded speculation, "No, what I'm worried about isn't someone betraying the Navy, but rather the internal conflicts within the Navy, which may erupt soon. The reports in the newspapers about dissatisfaction within the Navy regarding the downsizing plan weren't unfounded. Seeing that Ito, the elder statesman, stepped down for advocating for a peace treaty without reparations, the discontent within the Navy may be amplified as a result. After all, Ito's reputation will likely suffer in the short term."

Upon hearing Lin Xinyi's concerns, Kawahara Yoichi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Oh, are you worried that the younger officers of the fleet will be dissatisfied with the downsizing plan after returning to Tokyo? I don't think this is a big problem. In any case, Elder Ito has already retired safely. If the younger officers of the fleet really strongly oppose the downsizing plan, we can back down first. As long as we get through this period, with Elder Ito's support, we can always turn the situation around."

Hayashi Shinji couldn't help but laugh at Kawahara's naiveté, and soon he said, "When I was in China, I read a lot of Chinese history and learned a lot."

For example, in Chinese history, talented generals who surrendered to their enemies often managed to save their lives, and some even became founding heroes. However, it seems that only Liu Shan, the last emperor of Shu Han, managed to lay down his arms and die a natural death…

While Kawahara was still pondering why Hayashi Shin-yoshi was bringing up Chinese history, he heard the other party suddenly change the subject, saying, "Actually, our proposal of a new naval strategy is to compete with the Yamamoto Kaisho faction for the future of the navy, similar to the wars in Chinese history for control of the world."

Ito, the elder statesman, can abandon his support for the new naval policy, but can the principal, Vice Minister Togo, and I really abandon the new naval policy without being purged by Minister Yamamoto? To prevent anyone from supporting the new naval policy and opposing his own expansionist policy, Minister Yamamoto probably wants to bury us and the new naval policy together, so that no one will dare to stand up against the expansionist policy in front of him.

Therefore, I feel that this is the most dangerous moment for the Principal, Vice Minister Togo, and me. If Elder Ito develops any intention to back down, can you really withstand Yamamoto Kaisō's retaliation, Principal?"

Kawahara's expression finally changed. After a long silence, he spoke softly, "Elder Ito won't abandon us, will he? Yamamoto Kaisō, he really will try to wipe us out..."

As Kawahara spoke, he lost confidence. He suddenly recalled Yamamoto Gonnohyōe's two personnel reforms, which were truly ruthless and unreasonable. If Yamamoto really seized the opportunity, he would probably really wipe them out.

Seeing Kawahara's hesitant and silent expression, Lin Xinyi knew that Kawahara's heart was wavering. After all, he was telling the truth. He reached out and picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip to moisten his throat, and then continued, "If you back down once, you'll do it again."

If Ito, a senior member of the fleet, abandons his support for the downsizing plan due to protests from the younger officers, then I think he will most likely also give up when Yamamoto, the Minister of the Navy, further targets us, because Yamamoto's momentum has already increased.

Therefore, the principal must make a decision sooner rather than later, before starting to think of a solution when the younger officers of the fleet start causing trouble.

Kawahara pondered for a long time, but his final conclusion was not much different from what Lin Xinyi had said. Although Ito had stepped down, he could not be said to have been unscathed. At least before the army signed a peace agreement, the people would certainly not understand Ito's peace proposal.

During this period, Ito clearly needed the support of the navy as a whole to avoid being completely abandoned by the people before the opportunity to turn the tide arrived. Even if the people resented the government that signed the treaty, it would be difficult to bring him back to the political center. Furthermore, the young officers of the fleet faction had just won the war, and any conflict with them would only further damage the people's goodwill towards Ito, which was clearly something Ito did not want to see.

But if Ito didn't step in to suppress the younger officers in the fleet, could he really do it? Kawahara was suddenly unsure. However, he quickly turned his gaze to Lin Xinyi, who was sitting on the sofa sipping tea, "Then what decision do you think I should make to stop these younger officers in the fleet from opposing the downsizing plan?"

Lin Xinyi held his teacup and thought for a long time before shaking his head and saying, "I really don't have a solution, but I do have determination."

Kawahara asked with some surprise, "Determination? What determination?"

Lin Xinyi put down his teacup and looked at him, saying, "In this situation, it's naturally a matter of either the fish die or the net breaks. If Minister Yamamoto is willing to accept the new direction for the future of the navy, then we can still consider the bigger picture. If he firmly opposes the new direction, then we can only let the navy choose whether to keep a minister who has betrayed the navy by uniting with the army, or to let us stay. I don't think there's any other way to choose."

Kawahara was taken aback. Although he knew that Hayashi Shinichi was very bold, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to go to India, but he was still startled by Hayashi Shinichi's words. He asked somewhat helplessly, "Do you have evidence? Is there collusion between Yamamoto Kaisho and the army?"

Lin Xinyi shook his head and said, "I didn't. Even if Yamamoto Kaisho really had private connections with the army, he wouldn't have given himself away for us to catch. However, there is something called subjective judgment in this world. For the masses, what they feel is what they feel is, and what they feel is not what they feel. Whether there is evidence or not is not important."

The Army opposes downsizing, and so does the Navy Minister; the Army opposes Ito Genryu, and so does the Navy Minister. If they weren't colluding, why would they be so united? We just need to inform the Navy officers and soldiers of this consensus; they'll decide the rest themselves. But before that…”

Kawahara hesitated for a moment, but finally suppressed his unease and asked, "What happened before?"

Lin Xinyi looked at him seriously and said, "Before this, the principal and I must be prepared to be expelled from the navy if we fail. Without such mental preparation, we probably won't be able to fight a desperate battle."

Kawahara thought for a while before understanding what Hayashi Shin'ichi meant. Without the determination to fight to the death, not only might Togo Masamichi surrender to Yamamoto Gonnohyōe, but even Ito Sukeyuki might have to force him to back down temporarily for the sake of naval unity. But as Hayashi Shin'ichi had just said, did he really have a way out?

After a long silence, Kawahara stared at Lin Xinyi, who looked calm and collected, as if they were discussing something ordinary rather than preparing to confront the number one man in the Navy. After hesitating for a while, Kawahara finally spoke up: "I don't care. After all, I'm almost that age. Retiring from active duty is just going back to retire. Is it worth it for you to take such a risk?"

After pondering for a moment, Lin Xinyi said seriously, "When Marquis Xixiang persuaded me to join the navy, I told him that if I joined the navy, it might not be a good thing for the navy. Today, my thoughts have not changed. If the navy cannot become what I want, then it is better to leave sooner rather than later. At least I can consider what else I can do."

Faced with such an honest young man, Kawahara was at a loss for words. The things he had calculated in his heart seemed unimportant to the young man, while the other man valued highly what he had already discarded. He could only console himself that the young man hadn't yet tasted the bitterness of setbacks, hence his idealism. Once the young man had experienced the taste of power, he wouldn't be so reckless.

However, despite his inner thoughts, Kawahara's emotions suddenly surged. A direct confrontation with Yamamoto Gonnohyōe was a possibility he had never even had the chance to attempt before, and now that opportunity was before him. It was hard for him not to want to give it a try. But at the last moment, he still asked earnestly, "How much of a chance do you think we have of succeeding?"

Lin Xinyi thought for a moment and then replied, "When Lord Shimazu was promoting the steel industry in Satsuma Domain, he once said a famous saying that I deeply agree with: They are human beings, and so are we."

"If Navy Minister Yamamoto can lead the navy forward, why can't we? Aren't we all human? I believe our new naval strategy is far better than Minister Yamamoto's mindless expansion plan. If Minister Yamamoto truly prioritizes the future of the navy, then he should listen to us..."

Kawahara nodded slightly. Indeed, nothing could be more fitting than Shimazu Nariakira's words. Why should he be the one to back down, instead of Yamamoto Gonnohyōe considering the bigger picture?

Chapter 558

By issuing a warning to Kawahara Yoichi, Lin Xinyi was also trying to prevent the Chief of the Naval General Staff from backing down in front of Yamamoto Gonnohyōe and Ito Sukeyuki. Although he was not afraid of those two, the only one who could stand up to them was Kawahara Yoichi. If the three of them held a closed-door meeting, he would have no room to implement his ideas no matter how many he had.

If Kawahara can withstand Yamamoto Gonnohyōe's direct pressure, then they have a good chance of winning the internal struggle within the Navy surrounding the new naval direction. However, if Kawahara's attitude at the top softens, then this struggle over the direction will be tantamount to Yamamoto Gonnohyōe winning in advance, and other factions will not stand in for Kawahara to shield him from Yamamoto Gonnohyōe's gun.

If Kawahara can hold firm to his bottom line of adhering to the new naval policy, then other anti-Satsuma, anti-Yamamoto, and anti-Naval Ministry forces will naturally rally under the banner of the new naval policy, attempting to shake up the old structure within the navy and fight for their own interests.

Without this banner in hand, why would anyone support Kawahara? At that time, the struggle between Kawahara and Yamamoto was a personal power struggle. Even if Yamamoto stepped down, the internal structure of the Navy would not change. It would just be that Navy Minister Yamamoto was replaced by Navy Minister Kawahara, which would not benefit the non-mainstream faction in the Navy.

If he doesn't provoke conflict between the non-mainstream and mainstream factions, and doesn't change the old power structure of the navy, then Lin Xinyi's return would at most result in a slightly higher position. He wouldn't have the opportunity to expand his own power within the navy, because every power has already been allocated. If he tries to touch other people's power, it will inevitably cause public anger. Only by disrupting and redistributing the power in everyone's hands can he avoid worrying about others uniting to resist him.

Moreover, what Hayashi Shin-yi wants now is not just a redistribution of power; he also wants to use this to weaken the navy's subjective consciousness as the Emperor's army. According to the Meiji Constitution, the army and navy are the Emperor's private armies, not the national army. Therefore, the military is not responsible to the people; they are only responsible to the Emperor. After decades of this Emperor's army mentality, the military has come to regard any government transgression of its command authority as a heinous crime. Ultimately, the military has relied on violence to turn the government into its own logistical unit.

This is the reason he requested the establishment of cultural courses upon his return. Without counter-indoctrination of the navy, even if he rose to the position of Minister of the Navy, it would be useless, because the officers and soldiers below him were all loyal and brave soldiers of the Emperor; how could they obey a minister who was not loyal to the Emperor? And to counter-indoctrinate the naval personnel, a new naval policy had to be established, and the old militaristic policy of fighting for the Emperor had to be overthrown.

Therefore, the power struggle between Lin Xinyi and Yamamoto Gonbei is irreconcilable. However, he is not qualified to confront Yamamoto Kaisho directly at present, so he can only keep explaining the pros and cons to Kawahara Yoichi, hoping that he will not back down in the face of battle.

Hayashi Nobuyoshi's warning did indeed have an effect. Kawahara, who had originally pinned his hopes on Ito's support, finally began preparing for the bad situation of Ito relinquishing control. This preparation consisted of two parts. One was that Kawahara contacted various central government departments, naval districts, and fleet officers to further explain the benefits of the new naval strategy to them—a diplomatic maneuver to build relationships at the top. The other was the launch of the Namibō, an internal naval publication sponsored by the Cultural Affairs Department, to explain to lower-ranking officers and soldiers the purpose of the new naval strategy, why Prime Minister Ito had proposed downsizing, and why the army opposed downsizing.

With journalists like Kinoshita Naoe who had been withdrawn from the civilian news agency, the resources of the tabloids integrated by the cultural department, and the distribution channels already established by the naval seminar within the military, the Naniwa newspaper launched by the cultural department was quickly distributed to various departments of the navy.

Unlike the monthly naval intelligence published by the Naval Symposium, the Naniwa newspaper mainly reported on the lives of naval officers and soldiers and promoted the image of the navy. Therefore, although it was an internal naval newspaper, it was also allowed to be subscribed to by naval families, which was actually a disguised form of sales to the public. Although Yamamoto Gonnohyōe and Saitō Makoto were the admirals in the navy who paid the most attention to naval propaganda, they never thought of starting a naval newspaper of their own, because of the suspicion of leaking secrets.

This conservative mentality actually originated from the samurai class during the feudal period. The samurai lords did not want commoners to discuss national affairs, so the commoners began to care about the lords' romantic affairs. As a result, the lords even forbade the commoners to discuss their romantic affairs. This led to the emergence of a very prosperous underground market for pornographic pamphlets during the Edo period. Even the samurai lords enjoyed reading them. These pornographic pamphlets were even accompanied by exquisite illustrations. Before he became famous, Katsushika Hokusai was known for drawing pornographic illustrations.

Although it is now the Meiji era and nearly 40 years have passed since the Meiji Restoration, the conservative atmosphere in the military has not changed much. However, the navy is still more enlightened than the army. At least the army would not have organizations like seminars, nor would it allow seminars to publish any naval intelligence publications.

With the influence of the Naval Symposium on the naval atmosphere, the resistance from conservative forces within the navy was relatively small when the Cultural Department published the Naniwa newspaper. However, Lin Xinyi felt that he should still thank Navy Minister Yamamoto. Without Navy Minister Yamamoto's two personnel reforms that eliminated most of the stubborn forces in the navy, he might not have been able to create the Naval Symposium.

While Hayashi Shin-yi was busy publishing the Naniwa newspaper to advocate for the new naval roadmap and downsizing plan, the collapse of the Ito cabinet, triggered by the citizens' demonstrations, was also coming to an end. After investigation, the Imperial Household Ministry quickly gave Emperor Meiji a reply, concluding that no one was manipulating the incident. However, Prime Minister Ito's resignation did boost the business of entertainment venues like Shinbashi, and politicians were all calculating who would be in charge of the next government.

On the morning of December 1st, Meiji summoned Ito Hirobumi and questioned him again about the choice of prime minister. Ito insisted that the army was needed to end the war, and that no one else could force the army to end the war. In the afternoon, Meiji had Tokudaiji deliver an imperial edict to Army Minister Katsura Taro. Although Katsura Taro wanted to refuse, Tokudaiji refused to reply on his behalf and insisted that Katsura Taro accept the edict.

Katsura Taro appealed to Yamagata for help, and Yamagata replied, urging him not to disappoint His Majesty's high expectations. Yamagata did this out of necessity, because Ito had written to him saying that if Katsura Taro refused to accept the imperial order, then he would have no choice but to invite the elder statesmen to petition the Emperor to allow Yamagata to form a cabinet, since, apart from the army, no one else could gain the people's acceptance of peace.

Yamagata weighed the consequences and felt it was more appropriate to let Katsura Taro take the lead; at least with him there, the army wouldn't collapse. Meanwhile, under his orders, the army indeed found nothing wrong. The newspapers opposing the Ito cabinet were genuinely supportive, and there was no trace of manipulation behind them. According to Tanaka's analysis, the main problem was that Ito's economic policies had angered the zaibatsu and landowners, leading to a joint attack by newspapers controlled by the Kuomintang.

Because there were so many voices attacking the Ito cabinet, even if there were people with ulterior motives, the army couldn't find them. After all, the interview with Katsura Taro wasn't fabricated by a reporter; it was Katsura Taro himself who said it, and the interview was completed before Prime Minister Ito issued the proclamation. Unless the navy had planned it all along, no one else could have created such a meticulously planned scheme.

Yamagata neither confirmed nor denied this analysis, and warned Tanaka: "Judging from the current situation, it is the Navy's prime minister who will step down, and the Army will benefit the most. Treating the Navy as a conspirator will only make people think that the Army is taking advantage of the situation, and no one will think that the Navy has a reason to do so."

Outsiders couldn't see that the peace agreement the government was about to sign didn't meet the people's expectations. In fact, apart from the unsatisfactory reparations, we had already secured the control of the Korean Peninsula that we had wanted before the war. Therefore, everyone felt that the government leaders who won the war would reap enormous honors, and there was no need for the navy to relinquish its command.

The Army has stolen the Navy's honor and is trying to portray itself as a victim, which only breeds disgust. Even the Navy won't understand our thinking. A split between the Army and Navy is imminent, and political parties will gain immense power. The Army cannot bear the consequences of doubting the Navy; it's better to let Katsura Taro suffer some reputational damage to maintain the unity of the Army and Navy.

Go and contact the Navy to discuss post-war defense policy. The Army and Navy should reach a consensus on defense issues so that they won't hinder each other on post-war military expansion…

Although Yamagata said this to Tanaka, he was actually quite dissatisfied with the Navy. However, now that the Army was under public scrutiny, he had to be careful with his words to avoid further escalating the conflict between the Army and the Navy. Nevertheless, he wrote to Oyama Iwao and Kodama Gentaro in Manchuria, expressing his concerns about anti-Army forces within the Navy.

At this time, Kodama was a radical in the Manchurian army who advocated not withdrawing from Manchuria. His proposed emergency plan for army preparedness was intended for a long-term military presence in Manchuria. Nogi Maresuke, Terauchi Masatake, and Tamura Iyozo were moderates. They believed that Japan should take a break and recover from the losses of the Russo-Japanese War before considering the Manchurian issue. Therefore, Japan should seek its postwar interests from Korea and Russia, rather than engaging in direct conflict with China, and they opposed further military expansion after the war.