Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 207

Chapter 679

Chapter 679

　The Akashi mentioned by Katsura Taro is Colonel Akashi Motojiro. Even among the many eccentrics in the Army General Staff, Colonel Akashi is a rather unusual eccentric. Only a few people, such as Nagaoka Gaishi and Fukushima Yasumasa, can appreciate Akashi's abilities.

Without the strong recommendations of Nagaoka and Fukushima, Colonel Akashi would not have had the opportunity to serve as a diplomatic attaché to Russia, and thus would not have been able to incite a revolution within Russia that shone brightly during the war. Yamagata's initial agreement to send Akashi to Russia wasn't based on genuine trust in Akashi's exceptional abilities, but rather on Akashi's linguistic genius; he was fluent in seven foreign languages ​​and could communicate skillfully with the locals, something other personnel couldn't do.

The 100 million yen in activity funds proposed by Akashi later was only approved under the strong advocacy of Nagaoka. Yamagata's consideration at the time was that no matter what Akashi could do, whether it was to inquire about Russian military intelligence or to stage one or two strikes to delay Russia's transport of supplies or troops to the Far East, it would be more valuable to Japan than 100 million yen.

After all, compared to the investment in this war, 100 million yen wouldn't even be enough to cover the costs of a single division-sized battle. Compared to the massive resources consumed daily by the war, 100 million yen seems quite small. Of course, this is the feeling of an army leader of Yamagata's caliber, not the feeling of an ordinary person.

Whether it was due to his ability or luck, after Akashi obtained the funding, a democratic movement against the Tsarist government indeed broke out in Russia. For Yamagata, the one million yen was clearly well spent. Regardless of whether it was due to Colonel Akashi's ability, at least he could claim that the Russian civil unrest was an army operation, since the army really did spend one million yen, and Colonel Akashi was also inciting Russian revolutionaries.

Without Colonel Akashi's achievements, the army would have only fought desperately in this war. Apart from a few highlights such as the surprise attack on Jinzhou, Shuangchengzi, and the capture of Vladivostok, the army had almost no decisive victories like the Battle of Cam Ranh Bay against the navy. However, with Colonel Akashi's achievements, the army could boast about its strategy of subduing the enemy without fighting. Therefore, Colonel Akashi's achievements must be real.

Moreover, the navy now has Lin Xinyi, who led an expedition to India. Although this is a feat the navy cannot publicize, the naval high command doesn't mind discussing it privately. In Yamagata's view—no, in the army's view—the navy's purpose in discussing Lin Xinyi privately is to suppress the army. Compared to Lin Xinyi single-handedly suppressing the British Empire and forcing them to sue for peace, the army, facing the Russian Empire, which is inferior to the British Empire, has spent so much manpower and resources without gaining any benefits. Therefore, the navy taking the lead and the army following seems perfectly correct.

Yamagata originally wanted to promote Colonel Akashi, after all, he was an army hero who could barely compete with Hayashi Shin-yi of the Navy. He knew that if the two were in different positions, Akashi would definitely not be able to do what Hayashi Shin-yi did, but Hayashi Shin-yi might be able to do what Akashi did, so it could only be said that they were barely equals, not truly equals.

Colonel Akashi was indeed an eccentric. When summoned by Yamagata, he actually urinated right there. Fortunately, it was at the General Staff Headquarters and not at his private residence; otherwise, Yamagata could hardly imagine continuing to entertain guests in the tea room where Akashi had urinated. Faced with Akashi's genuine nature, Yamagata abandoned the idea of ​​recommending him to His Majesty, as Akashi's image would certainly not be approved by the court.

However, after listening to Colonel Akashi's report on his work in Russia, both Yamagata and other high-ranking army officers became extremely wary of those Russian extremists. This was because the crimes that these extremists accused the Tsarist government of were even more egregious than those of the Japanese government. In other words, if the Japanese were to hear the remarks of these Russian extremists, they would probably rise up against the Emperor.

Therefore, Yamagata, Katsura Taro, Terauchi, and others finally realized the danger of Russian extremism. In the past, they regarded the extremist ideology and liberal democratic speech in Russia as equally harmful, both being opponents of the warlord politics. The only difference was that the extremists demanded democratic politics, while the liberals demanded political freedom and freedom of speech, and behind freedom was also democratic politics.

In the past, Yamagata Aritomo and others thought that these two democratic systems were the same. However, after seeing the actions of the Russian extremists, they realized that they seemed to be quite wrong. The so-called democratic system of the Russian extremists meant that after overthrowing the Tsarist rule and the nobles and capitalists, a popularly elected government would be established. The democratic system demanded by the liberals, on the other hand, was that the people in power would give up some of their power and grant the property owners the right to participate in politics. They did not intend to overthrow the current regime.

Having understood this, Yamagata and others naturally abhorred the Russian extremists' propositions, because the other side not only wanted to overthrow the feudal system, but also intended to take away their status and property. Simply put, if the extremists took control of Japan, then Japan would truly be a nation on the verge of collapse.

Therefore, even though the army is currently divided by internal factions and has many conflicts with the government and navy, Yamagata, Katsura Taro, and Terauchi still believe that preventing the radical theories from spreading in Japan is the top priority.

At this point, Katsura Taro couldn't help but complain, "The Russian radicals are actually supporters of socialist ideology. In our country, it is people like Kotoku Shusui who are advocating socialist ideology. Previously, Kotoku Shusui used newspapers to attack Mrs. Shimoda's privacy, trying to smear the image of the Imperial Household and thus damage the image of the Emperor. He was hated by the Imperial Household, so they ordered the closure of Kotoku Shusui's newspaper. However, it is said that the Navy intervened and transferred most of the staff of the newspaper to newspapers supported by the Navy. The Navy is feeding man-eating tigers."

Terauchi was clearly not well-informed on this matter. He only just learned that the Navy had actually sheltered socialists like Kotoku Shusui, who opposed the Imperial Household Agency. He exclaimed in surprise, "Is the Navy doing this to disregard His Majesty? Can't they investigate this matter?"

Terauchi's intention was quite clear: he was trying to use this incident to create a scandal for the Navy. Yamagata Aritomo didn't comment on it, but he was watching Katsura Taro, wanting to know his response. Yamagata usually didn't pay much attention to such trivial matters, so he didn't know more than Terauchi, but he knew that Katsura Taro definitely knew about it, otherwise he wouldn't have said it.

Sure enough, Katsura Taro sighed and said, "The Navy didn't directly intervene in this matter. Instead, it handled it through the Oriental Culture and Arts Foundation. This foundation not only has the support of celebrities from all walks of life, but it is also a major source of profit for the Imperial Household Agency. Many people in the Imperial Household Agency have received substantial art subsidies through the foundation. If we were to investigate the foundation, we would first incur the resentment of the Imperial Household Agency. This matter cannot be investigated."

Terauchi Masatake, of course, understood what Katsura Taro meant by "the investigation couldn't continue." It simply meant the Imperial Household Ministry would never allow the Army to investigate the foundation's accounts. Continuing the investigation would only force the Imperial Household Ministry to completely side with the Navy, making it a mortal enemy of the Army. Don't be fooled by the high status of the Imperial Household Ministry officials; aside from a few who live comfortably off their family fortunes, most rely solely on their salaries. The Imperial Household Ministry's desire to overthrow the current system and advocate for the Emperor's direct rule stems from the belief that only then would they have the power to interfere in government affairs. Otherwise, they would be like the former court officials, living on meager stipends.

While the Meiji Restoration government was established under the guise of restoring imperial power, in reality, it was not much different from the old shogunate. Aside from the absence of a shogun, the emperor still could not interfere in government affairs, although nominally all government policies were issued in the emperor's name. In addition to the initial period of the Meiji Restoration when the emperor moved to Tokyo and distributed considerable land to the court nobles, the subsequent "Kazū-e" (Edict on the Protection of the Noble Class) transformed both court nobles and samurai into nobles, and the system of imperial rewards to the nobles was standardized. As a result, the wealth gap among the nobles became quite astonishing.

For example, in 1876, the Shimazu family alone received over 132 million yen from feudal lords through the purchase of their territories using gold-backed bonds. The Maeda family received over 119 million yen, the Mori family over 11 million yen, and the Nabeshima family over 600,000 yen. As a result, in 1876, five of the top ten highest-income families in Japan were from samurai or noble families, and 11 of the top 21 were from samurai families.

In comparison, the Nijo family, also known as the Maeda family, received slightly more than one percent of the Kinroku public bonds. Therefore, after the establishment of the Meiji Restoration government, the court nobles continued to live on borrowed money, only now they were borrowing from banks and zaibatsu instead of from feudal lords and wealthy merchants.

In an effort to change this predicament, numerous noble families and courtiers advocated for the Emperor's personal rule and attempted to engage in politics. For example, the recently deceased Duke Konoe did not spend his 1.5 yen debt on personal enjoyment, but rather on political activities such as the East Asia Cultural Center and the research association for establishing the House of Peers.

Similarly, Yanagihara Yoshiko's father, Count Yanagihara Maekami, was once Ito Hirobumi's number one supporter in the House of Nobles. He also relied on loans to maintain his political influence. Therefore, in order to inherit the political legacy left by his father, Yanagihara Yoshimitsu planned to marry his divorced sister, who had returned home, to a coal tycoon in Kyushu for money.

These noble families who were able to borrow money were actually considered to be doing relatively well, because they still had value, so people were still willing to lend them money. The Nara noble families, who couldn't even maintain their dignity, even voluntarily relinquished their titles due to economic problems. The Nara noble families were poor because most of them were abbots of royal temples. After the rise of Shintoism, their influence over the Emperor generally declined, and naturally, no one was willing to invest in them.

Therefore, the Imperial Household Department was essentially the place where the noble families of the past had been entrenched. Although many meritorious noble families joined it, it could not change the economic problems of most people. Because of their generations of intermarriage with the Emperor, they had great influence in the palace. Even if they could suppress the elders in the palace, they would not easily offend these people.

Katsura Taro's investigation into this matter was indeed intended to cause trouble for the Navy, but after discovering the Foundation, he dared not continue. That's why he brought it up today, wanting to gauge Yamagata's reaction. Although Yamagata looked down on the people of the Imperial Household Agency, he refused to comment on this issue. He really didn't want to make any more enemies, as the Army already had enough.

So Yamagata simply skipped over the foundation issue and said, "The Imperial Household Agency is definitely not involved in this matter. They can't possibly oppose the Emperor; without the Emperor, they are nothing. However, there must be radical supporters within the Navy. This matter should be thoroughly investigated. The current antagonism between the Army and Navy may very well be the result of these radicals instigating it."

Terauchi disagreed with Yamagata's comments. He didn't believe there were any radical factions within the Navy, and the conflict between the Army and Navy was clearly not due to any extremism, but rather a question of which side should take the lead in national defense. Of course, he only disagreed in his mind; he wouldn't say it to Yamagata's face.

Katsura Taro seemed to understand Yamagata's meaning. After thinking for a few moments, he said, "Perhaps Colonel Akashi could be in charge of this matter. He is more knowledgeable than others when it comes to gathering this kind of intelligence."

Yamagata nodded and said, "Then let Akashi investigate and find out the radical faction within the Navy. This is also for the sake of saving the Navy, and I believe His Majesty and the Navy will understand."

Yamagata has decided to conduct a secret investigation into the Navy, but the Army still faces its current difficulties, which are clearly not problems that can be solved by investigating the Navy, at least not until the investigation results are available. However, faced with this problem, the three of them racked their brains but could not come up with a satisfactory solution.

This explanation was not only for the palace and the navy, but also for the supporters of military expansion within the army. If any party was dissatisfied, they would be in trouble.

Katsura Taro could only state his position in the end: "Kikoshi cannot take the blame. He is one of our men. If he accepts the government's proposal, the army will think that we betrayed the army, and our control over the army will be over."

Kikoshi is the Minister of the Army in this cabinet and a close confidant of Katsura Taro. Katsura Taro certainly cannot allow Kikoshi to approve of military downsizing, as this will inevitably be blamed on him. After pondering for a while, Yamagata said, "Then we can only let Tamura take over, and let Fukushima take over as Chief of the General Staff."

Katsura Taro didn't actually want Fukushima to take over as Chief of the General Staff, but neither he nor Terauchi could conveniently assume the positions of Chief of the General Staff and Minister. After all, they were the core of the Choshu faction, and if they were to assume the positions of Minister or Chief of the General Staff, the decisions in the Army would inevitably fall on them, not others. People weren't stupid; they wouldn't think that a single Minister or Chief of the General Staff could make such a decision.

After much deliberation, Katsura Taro realized he couldn't voice a stronger objection than Yamagata, so he could only nod in agreement. Although he had to yield to the alliance between the Navy and the Imperial Household, Katsura Taro still insisted: "Regarding the current defense policy meeting between the Army and Navy, I believe we should re-coordinate with the Navy and demand that they pay more attention to the meeting, and not bypass the consultation meeting to submit a report to His Majesty privately."

Yamagata understood Katsura Taro's meaning. In the past, the Army had merely used the Army-Navy Consultative Conference as a pretext to submit its defense policy proposals to the Imperial Court and then force the Imperial Court to accept the Army's proposals. This approach was clearly no longer feasible. Because the Imperial Court now favored the Navy's defense policy, the Army's continued use of such tricks would no longer gain the Imperial Court's approval.

Forcing the Navy and the Imperial Household Agency to accept the Army's defense policy will only lead to further suppression of the Army by both sides. This time, the joint pressure exerted by all parties on the Army, forcing it to abandon its organizational structure, shows that everyone's patience with the Army has come to an end. The primary issue facing the Army now is to dismantle this alliance against it and get the Navy back on the same side as the Army.

After careful consideration, Yamagata agreed with Katsura Taro's proposal. The army could no longer afford to be too forceful; otherwise, the escalating conflict between the army and navy would become more widely known, and the Kuomintang might exploit this to disrupt the current power transition in Japan. Yamagata couldn't accept allowing those forces ousted from the court to return to the political center through Kuomintang politics; their first act upon return might very well be to purge the Choshu clique.

Terauchi Masatake's vision was not as broad as Yamagata's and Katsura's; he could only focus on the size of the army's territory. Therefore, he argued: "Even if we accept the military downsizing, we should retain the opportunity to rebuild the army. The possibility of rebuilding the army lies in the Korean issue. I think we must take the position of Governor-General of Korea as compensation for the army's acceptance of the military downsizing."

"If we gain control of North Korea, we can use its resources to support a group of retired soldiers, and we can also rebuild our forces by taking advantage of the war crisis triggered by the North Korean issue. North Korea is a true lifeline for the army."

Yamagata Aritomo agreed with Terauchi's assessment. Without a region facing a war crisis, especially one requiring the army to respond, the army could not possibly recover from its current predicament. He nodded, adding, "I don't think Ito has any lingering attachment to Korea anymore. Persuading him to resign and having the army take over as Governor-General of Korea shouldn't be too difficult..."

Chapter 680

Chapter 680

At Ogawa's new house in Akasaka, Ogawa Heikichi is hosting a grand banquet for guests, both to celebrate moving into his new home and to celebrate his new job.

Akasaka is located on the outskirts of Edo Castle, south of Yamanote, and occupies a key transportation route leading to Edo Castle from the west. Therefore, during the Edo period, it was a concentrated residence of hatamoto (local chieftains) to serve as a barrier to the west of Edo.

After the Meiji Restoration, the Emperor moved from Kyoto to Tokyo, and the samurai residences in this area were allocated to court nobles and families of meritorious officials. As a result, Akasaka was a place where the powerful and wealthy gathered, both during the Edo period and the Meiji Restoration.

For ordinary elites, being able to build a mansion in Akasaka means that they have entered the upper class.

By setting up his new home here, Ogawa Heikichi was essentially declaring that he had finally made something of himself.

Although Ogawa was a local elite and his father-in-law had connections within the Imperial Household Agency, he could only be described as doing well in Tokyo; he was still some distance from truly making a name for himself.

However, after serving as a minister in the Ito Cabinet, Ogawa finally gained a foothold in Tokyo's political circles.

Even so, moving to Akasaka was still a bit too conspicuous for him. After all, the Ito cabinet had appointed a large number of new people, which was a helpless move. The Navy and Ito himself did not have a strong political foundation. If they wanted to win over the old guard to the cabinet, they might be sidelined by the old guard.

For example, in the cabinet of Saionji Kinmochi, in an attempt to gain the support of the most powerful Choshu and Satsuma cliques, Saionji invited both factions into the cabinet, resulting in a situation where the cabinet was controlled by the Choshu faction. Even if Kinmochi did not resign, cabinet policies would be difficult to pass in cabinet meetings if they did not have the approval of the Choshu faction.

The Ito Cabinet's bold appointment of political newcomers, while making it difficult for the Choshu faction to accept the cabinet's policies, effectively stabilized the unified understanding within the cabinet.

The reform plan promoted by the Ito Cabinet was at least able to gain unanimous approval at the Cabinet meeting. The criticism it faced in parliament and politics was only due to external pressure, not to the point that a reform plan could not be introduced.

Therefore, people generally do not think much of the ministers in the Ito Cabinet, but they do remember some of the reform policies issued by the cabinet. From a certain perspective, this cabinet was a rare example of collective leadership, rather than an individualistic cabinet where ministers each used their own abilities and reputations.

Therefore, although Ogawa Heikichi served as a minister in the Ito cabinet for one term, his political talent was not fully recognized. In other words, without Ito, he might not have been able to make it onto the ministerial candidate list.

However, in this cabinet formation by Yamamoto Gonnohyōe, he once again served as a minister, and even as the Minister of Home Affairs, which is considered the most important of all government agencies. This means that his resume is now complete, and he will become one of the regular candidates for minister. When non-Chōshū faction members are given the order to form a cabinet, Ogawa becomes a candidate that can be considered.

Therefore, Ogawa Heikichi's lavish housewarming banquet was no longer a ostentatious act, but a political declaration befitting his status, representing the formal establishment of his own banner within political circles. The guests attending the banquet were mostly political and economic elites from the Kanto region, and their backgrounds indicated the formation of a Kanto political and economic circle centered on Shinshu, Koshu, and Tokyo.

The two people accompanying Ogawa were key figures in this political and economic circle: one was Yoshimichi Hara, Ogawa's close friend and fellow student, and the other was railway magnate Yoshiichiro Nezu. After acquiring Tobu Railway, Yoshiichiro Nezu had effectively become the leader of the Koshu Zaibatsu, meaning this new force had gained the full support of the Koshu Zaibatsu.

Of course, Nezu Kaichiro, who was standing next to Ogawa with a wine glass in hand, was not actually as cheerful as he appeared. Although he and Ogawa had a good relationship, having met through Ogawa's father-in-law, Nezu Kaichiro was not only a businessman but also highly accomplished in tea ceremony and calligraphy, which enabled him to interact with the imperial court and high society through these arts.

The Koshu zaibatsu were a new bourgeoisie that developed under the umbrella of the Shibusawa group. Although they originated in Koshu, most of them made their fortunes in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and their rise to power was closely related to the new industries promoted by the Shibusawa group, such as the electric lighting and railway businesses. However, once the Koshu businessmen accumulated a certain amount of capital, the Shibusawa group's influence began to wane.

Shibusawa Eiichi was, after all, a former retainer of the Tokugawa shogunate, and the Tokyo capital he represented was by no means a direct descendant of the Choshu and Satsuma cliques. Although Ito Hirobumi supported Shibusawa, he only treated the Shibusawa Group as his own money bag; he did not support Shibusawa wholeheartedly.

In fact, as soon as the Shibusawa Group's new investments show any signs of success, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and other zaibatsu will seize control of these new industries with the support of political forces in Choshu and Satsuma.

The Choshu and Satsuma elites, who controlled politics, shared a tacit understanding on this matter: they would not allow the local forces in the Tokyo area to grow to the point of threatening them. After all, Choshu, Satsuma, and the Kyoto court nobles who represented the Emperor were all outsiders. If the local forces became the mainstream, they would inevitably exclude their status.

Koshu merchants, led by Kaichiro Nezu, realized this, which is why they tried to establish contact with Ogawa Heikichi and the Ministry of Reiji Miyauchi, attempting to sever their political ties with the Shibusawa Zaibatsu by aligning themselves with Miyauchi.

However, the support that Koshu merchants envisioned for the political forces represented by Ogawa, as envisioned by Kaichiro Nezu, was clearly not the situation we see today.

In Nezu's vision, Ogawa Heikichi should become the political spokesperson for the Koshu Zaibatsu. They would provide Ogawa with funds, and Ogawa would have to obey their orders. The relationship between the two parties would be one of master and servant, not cooperation.

However, Ogawa Heikichi, who served as minister for two terms, was no longer a political figure that could be controlled by Koshu merchants. Moreover, Ogawa, who served as Minister of Home Affairs, had the support of Hara Yoshimichi, who was also Minister of Justice. Apart from the major zaibatsu, other merchants had no ability to protect themselves in the face of such power.

The merchants of Koshu were clearly among them. At most, Kaichiro Nezu would hold a tea party for Hirobumi Ito and receive him. To think that he would receive Marquis Ito's unwavering protection was wishful thinking.

Therefore, the relationship between the Koshu merchants and the political forces represented by Ogawa Heikichi has been reversed. Now, Ogawa is in charge, and the Koshu zaibatsu are subordinate. This is obviously not an ideal situation for Nezu Kaichiro.

While entertaining the guests, Ogawa suddenly stopped, said a few polite words, and left to greet the new guests. Nezu Yoshiichiro looked in the direction Ogawa left and found a young couple chatting with Ogawa's wife. He didn't recognize them at first, so he asked Hara Yoshimichi, who was standing next to him, out of curiosity.

Hara Yoshimichi, who was holding a wine glass, also wanted to leave, but since Ogawa didn't call him when he left, he couldn't show too much affection for Lin Shin-yi.

After all, Xiao Chuan could still reconnect with Lin Xinyi on a familial level. If he went too far, people would think he was currying favor with Lin, which would obviously damage his reputation.

When Nezu asked him, he seemed a little distracted and replied, "That's Nobuyoshi. The woman next to him is his newlywed wife. The Ogawa family's investment has really exceeded their returns."

Nezu Yoshiichiro sensed a hint of bitterness in Hara Yoshimichi's tone, but he wasn't surprised. Even brothers don't necessarily have any affection when dividing their inheritance, let alone Hara Yoshimichi and Ogawa Heikichi, who were just close friends from the same school.

In fact, he himself felt that in terms of ability, Hara Yoshimichi was obviously much stronger than Ogawa, but Hara Yoshimichi lacked background, so it was difficult for him to obtain Ogawa's resources.

Therefore, Nezu Yoshiichiro quickly focused his attention on the young man talking to Ogawa. He had heard of Hayashi Shin'ichi before, naturally from Ogawa Heikichi and Hara Yoshimichi. He actually knew that Ogawa's change of stance on the railway nationalization case seemed to be due to Hayashi Shin'ichi's judgment.

This matter actually greatly damaged his interests. After all, he had spent a lot of money to smooth things over in order to promote the nationalization of railways. The reason he was so enthusiastic about the nationalization of railways was that he had invested in fifty or sixty private railways. He hoped to recover part of his investment through the nationalization of railways and to consolidate some of the more profitable lines in his possession.

However, the introduction of the Chiba Prefecture Heavy Industry Center project delayed the railway nationalization plan. Compared to the railway nationalization plan, which allowed a few people to make money, the Chiba Prefecture Heavy Industry Center project, which gave everyone a chance to participate, was obviously more likely to receive public support.

If Yamamoto Gonnohyōe hadn't re-employed most of the members of the Ito cabinet in his cabinet reorganization, Nezu Kaichirō would have almost parted ways with Ogawa. After all, Ogawa Heikichi had taken his money but cut off his source of income, which was clearly a violation of the rules.

However, when Ogawa Heikichi was appointed minister again in the Yamamoto cabinet, and as the most important Minister of Home Affairs, Nezu Kaichiro immediately forgot about the losses in the National Railways case and recalled his close relationship with the Ogawa family. How could money be more important than human relationships?

Although Yoshiichiro Nezu adjusted his mindset and maintained his close relationship with Heikichi Ogawa, the name Shinji Hayashi left a deep impression on him. He had always wanted to meet this young man who could influence Ogawa's stance. Today's meeting left Yoshiichiro Nezu with the initial impression that he truly was a young man, not just an adjective.

In fact, the "young people" referred to in political circles are political newcomers like Heikichi Ogawa and Yoshimichi Hara, who are around forty years old. Genuine young people like Nobuyoshi Hayashi, who appear to be only in their early twenties, are not considered individuals with significant opinions within political circles. It was only during the turbulent late Edo period that such incidents of young samurai using assassination to exert political influence—often referred to as "gekokujo" (overthrowing superiors)—occurred.

Forty years have passed since the Meiji era began, and the current political center in Japan is dominated by a group of old men in their sixties and seventies. Even someone like Makino Nobuaki, who is close to fifty, can be called a young and promising figure. This shows that Japanese politics has almost returned to the late Edo period, which is a politics of the elderly, and young people have no chance to rise to prominence. This is why Hayashi Shin-yoshi was able to leave a deep impression on Nezu Kaichiro on their first meeting.

Soon, Ogawa Heikichi brought Lin Xinyi over and introduced his nephew to his inner circle. This was the first time Ogawa formally introduced Lin Xinyi to his political faction. Of course, in the past, Ogawa did not have a faction, only a group of political allies with similar interests.

Factions require financial support and political subservience to be established. Compared to politically allied small groups, factions share more common interests and are more likely to be perceived as a single group and attacked.

Hayashi Shin-yi already knew the original Yoshimichi and others, so there was no need for Ogawa to introduce them. The people who needed Ogawa to introduce them were actually several Koshu merchants, represented by Nezu Kaichiro.

When Nezu Kaichiro shook hands with him, he did so with great force, which reflected his early experience serving in the army. However, from his conversation, Hayashi Shin-yi found that this man did not have the straightforwardness of a soldier or the stubbornness unique to the army. Instead, he was like a cultured person who was good at beating around the bush.

The banquet was a Western-style buffet, which is very popular among the upper class because it is very suitable for socializing.

So after socializing with Nezu Kaichiro and others for a while, Ogawa Heikichi and Hara Yoshimichi went to another place with Hayashi Nobuyoshi for a private meeting.

At this moment, Ogawa Heikichi and Hara Yoshimichi were most concerned about the internal developments of the navy and how the navy would deal with the army's expansion plan. After all, if these two issues were not resolved, the current cabinet would not be able to continue, which would be a tragedy rather than a happy event for them.

Lin Xinyi also reassured the two, saying, "This cabinet should be able to stick to the idea of ​​establishing a new East Asian order based on Japan-China cooperation. This diplomatic plan has already been approved by the Imperial Household Agency. The Army cannot continue to insist on it, as that would put it at odds with everyone's political stance. Given the Army's current situation, it is impossible for the Army to reach a consensus on this issue."

The insistence on expanding the army was merely to maintain the Choshu faction's control over the army, because reducing the army would inevitably trigger personnel struggles within the army.

However, if the army angers all sides, it may lead to all sides joining forces to completely purge the Choshu faction's position in the army. After eliminating the Choshu faction, the army will still have enough positions to accommodate officers of the troops that have been reduced or disbanded.

Therefore, the Choshu faction, led by Yamagata Genro, would not take such a political risk. They would eventually compromise, simply finding a general from another faction to take the blame.

Therefore, we can now consider pushing for the implementation of a series of policies in Chiba Prefecture. Only by taking control of Chiba Prefecture's political, educational, and cultural undertakings can we prevent the achievements of land reform and economic development from being seized by other forces.

With this revelation, both Ogawa Heikichi and Hara Yoshimichi breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the current cabinet could maintain its current status, they could use the policies implemented by the current cabinet to completely solidify their faction and no longer fight alone in politics.

After thinking for a moment, Ogawa Heikichi said, "There are no problems in other aspects of promoting the implementation of Chiba Prefecture's policies. However, some people in the Imperial Household Department have expressed that they also want to contribute to the development of Chiba Prefecture. But it seems that we don't have any benefits to share with them right now. If this matter is not handled well, it may add some obstacles to the implementation of our policies."

Lin Xinyi knew that the people Ogawa was referring to in the Imperial Household Agency were actually government officials with little power. These people had little influence in the government, so when the government was promoting the Chiba Prefecture Heavy Industry Center project, they did not receive any effective intelligence at the beginning. By the time the project was actually implemented, they could no longer even get a share. As for the powerful figures in the Imperial Household Agency, they had already secured their own benefits.

After a moment's thought, Lin Xinyi said, "They definitely can't get involved in the heavy industry center. They might be able to handle tea ceremony and calligraphy and painting, but asking them to do industrial construction would be a disaster. As for the land interests, everyone is watching now, and there's no reasonable point of entry. Not only will we be dragged into it, but it could also lead to a redistribution of the entire project's profits. So we can't give them the land and let them make a fortune on their own."

Hara Yoshimichi nodded in agreement, saying, "Shin-yi is right. The relationship between the army and the government is so strained right now. If the army finds a weakness in us, I'm afraid they won't let the opportunity to attack the government slip by."

Ogawa frowned and said with difficulty, "These people have a good relationship with my father-in-law, and they have considerable influence in front of His Majesty. If we just refuse them, I am worried that these people will speak ill of the government in front of His Majesty every day, which would be a very troublesome matter."

Lin Xinyi nodded and said, "Uncle is right. We can't just refuse so bluntly. We have to give them some hope and keep them interested. We can't let them think that we don't intend to play with them, or they will become our enemies."

In fact, the development of heavy industry still needs the support of education and cultural undertakings.

The former provides technical personnel for heavy industry, while the latter meets the spiritual needs of the emerging working class. Therefore, I plan to promote the establishment of two universities in Chiba Prefecture, one a university of science and engineering and the other an arts university. There are many people in the Ministry of Miyauchi who have some expertise in traditional arts, and they can be hired as professors after the universities are established.

We can also obtain relatively inexpensive land through universities, and then build new cities around the universities, which is a win-win solution.

However, I advocate that these two universities should be established under the leadership of an arts foundation. This would give us a greater say in matters concerning the development of the schools. Without schools providing fresh blood, the current political factions cannot be stabilized…”

Chapter 681

Chapter 681

In this cabinet formation, Yamamoto Gonnohyōe retained three members of the Ito cabinet: Ogawa Heikichi, Hara Yoshimichi, and Makino Nobuaki. The new ministers are Abe Isoo, Wakatsuki Reijiro, Yamanouchi Ichiichi, and Takahashi Korekiyo. The remaining minister is Matsuda Masahisa.

The list of personnel in the Yamamoto Cabinet reveals that the main pillars of this cabinet are twofold: one is the Satsuma younger generation represented by Makino Nobuaki and Yamanouchi Ichiichi, and the other is the new technology bureaucrat group formed during the Ito Cabinet. Ogawa Heikichi, Hara Yoshimichi, Abe Isoo, Wakatsuki Reijiro, and Takahashi Korekiyo were all appointed as ministers as experts and scholars, which is significantly different from the previous old bureaucrat group, which prioritized background and then ability.

As for Matsuda Masahisa, everyone can see that he was appointed by Yamamoto to establish contact with the Seiyukai. Obviously, Yamamoto was telling the Seiyukai in this way that the two sides were not enemies, but partners who could cooperate.

For Japanese political circles, the formation of the Yamamoto Cabinet essentially inherited the political legacy of the Ito Cabinet, continuing the trend of political development towards enlightenment. This not only rejected the clan politics upheld by Yamagata, but also differed from the party politics advocated by the Democratic Party. Through these two cabinet formations, the Navy truly established its political orientation: populist politics and governance by experts.

Before the Ito Cabinet, the people only knew about the Choshu-Satsuma regime or Saigo Takamori and Okubo in the early Meiji Restoration. In other words, the people did not have a deep impression of the navy. When the navy argued with the army about whether the navy should be the primary force or the army should be given equal importance, the people did not really feel anything. They simply regarded the navy as a pillar of the Choshu-Satsuma regime and did not think that the navy had its own political inclination.

However, after the Ito cabinet, the public began to realize that the naval cabinet and the Choshu-Satsuma administration were not the same thing, and the list of cabinet members that Yamamoto formed again further reinforced this view among the public.

Of course, this cabinet list was not entirely based on Yamamoto Gonnohyōe's wishes. As the outside world perceived, this was the Navy's cabinet, not Yamamoto's personal cabinet. Simply put, the Imperial Household Agency did not appoint Yamamoto Gonnohyōe, the Minister of the Navy, because they believed he could quell the current domestic political situation, but rather because they believed the Navy had the capability to do so.