Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 190

The Satsuma-Choshu politics before the Satsuma Rebellion, and the Choshu-Satsuma politics after the Satsuma Rebellion, were both driven by the military. Makino Nobuaki, as a member of the Satsuma clique, rejected military politics, which made it difficult for him to gain the approval of the older members of the Satsuma clique.

British politics is actually based on civil service government and gentry co-governance. However, after the Cromwellian Revolution, the British gentry had long since abolished the power of feudal lords. Japan, on the other hand, does not have a gentry class. The British gentry were actually formed by self-cultivating farmers and small landowners resisting aristocratic rule. Although the Tokugawa shogunate, which represented feudal autocracy, was overthrown in Japan, it only restored the monarchical autocracy represented by the emperor. The Satsuma Rebellion also eliminated the samurai class that opposed the monarchical autocracy. As a result, modern Japanese society consists only of the landlord class, the peasant class, and the big bourgeoisie who support the monarchical system.

The British-style politics that Makino admired simply couldn't find a strong interest group to support him within Japan. Therefore, while everyone felt that Viscount Makino had indeed learned something abroad and wasn't just indulging in a life of debauchery, his ideas were far removed from the realities of Japan. Perhaps Japan would need these ideas in the future, but it was clearly not yet ready to implement such political philosophies in present-day Japan.

This difference in political ideology led even members of Okubo's faction to believe that Makino needed further refinement and that it was best to let Matsukata continue leading the way. Meanwhile, the political and economic philosophies that Hayashi Shin'ichi presented to Makino had even captivated Matsukata Masayoshi's second son, immediately revealing the difference in their abilities.

Makino Shingen now understands why Matsukata Kojiro dared to align himself with Hayashi Shinji behind his father's and brother's backs. In this plan, Matsukata Kojiro no longer needs to rely on the Matsukata family name to intimidate others. As long as the plan can be implemented, Kawasaki Shipyard and Matsukata Kojiro will become a powerful pillar of the empire's economy and politics. Even Matsukata Masayoshi cannot easily criticize his son.

Even Makino himself felt that this plan was indeed very promising. If the four of them could really implement this plan, then the empire's political and economic resources would be concentrated on them. In that case, let alone unifying the Satsuma clique, the political and economic power formed around the construction of the heavy industry center would suppress the current clan cliques and the people's party.

Because Japan is a small country, it lacks the capacity to promote other projects while focusing on developing heavy industry centers and collaborating with China, India, and Japan. For example, if the military's budget is larger, the budget for civilian spending will be reduced, and the government's power will be constrained by the military; the reverse is also true.

How could Makino Shinji still regard Hayashi Shinji as a junior member of the Satsuma clique who could be won over? He could only acknowledge that the other party was an equal partner. In fact, he deliberately ignored the fact that the Navy had basically completed its internal integration, which was obviously closely related to the plan proposed by Hayashi Shinji.

It's not that Makino was completely unaware of this possibility, but rather that he refused to consider it. If this were true, then it wouldn't be about him negotiating cooperation with the other party, but rather about how the military, political, and business forces of the Satsuma Clique would converge around Lin Xinyi and then rebuild the Satsuma Clique's influence.

The reason everyone wanted to reintegrate the Satsuma clique was because after the Satsuma Rebellion, the Choshu clique became the dominant force in the government. Those who lost in subsequent political struggles then made a comeback through the Kuomintang (KMT) system, using the Choshu clique as a representative of domain politics. Frankly, the Satsuma clique felt quite wronged. After the Satsuma Rebellion, they had been suppressed by various factions, and finally, taking advantage of the struggle between the Choshu clique and the anti-shogunate factions like Tosa, they managed to separate the navy from the Choshu clique, thus preserving a core base of support.

The Tosa and other anti-shogunate factions failed in their political struggles and then transformed into the People's Party to fight against the so-called domain cliques. In reality, these people were just failed domain clique politicians, but they still regarded Choshu and Satsuma as representatives of domain clique politics. The Choshu clique, with the protection of bigwigs like Yamagata and Itō, did not suffer much loss in this struggle, but the Satsuma clique lost a lot of its position in the government.

Therefore, the Satsuma clique's political power gradually merged with that of the Imperial Household, and they became a minority in the government. The Satsuma clique in the political arena was clearly dissatisfied with this situation. Ito's cabinet formation gave the Satsuma clique an opportunity to revive in the political arena, and everyone saw that the unity of the Satsuma clique did indeed have benefits, which led to today's grand wedding.

In short, the Satsuma clique's truly stable territory lies in the navy. Outside of the navy, the Satsuma clique is declining, which makes those outside the navy want to find a powerful ally to rely on. This is why the calls for unification within the Satsuma clique are growing louder.

However, unifying the Satsuma clique is not a matter of mere formalities; it requires a collective interest that encompasses the interests of the majority, ensuring that all factions submit to the greater good. Otherwise, a situation reminiscent of the Satsuma Rebellion, where Saigo's army and Okubo's government fought amongst themselves, ultimately benefiting the Choshu clique, could occur.

Aside from the period of the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Satsuma clique lacked a truly unified goal. Even Makino Nobuaki merely wanted to win over Hayashi Nobuyoshi to find a supporter within the navy. Unable to figure out how to gain the navy's support for his interests, he could only hope that someone like Hayashi Nobuyoshi, who was favored by many naval commanders, would become his supporter, thus allowing him to exert influence over the navy through Hayashi Nobuyoshi.

This method of influencing a group by winning over individuals is not actually out of touch with traditional Japanese politics. After all, it was unlikely that there were any common interests in feudal Japan. Everyone was a lord who maintained their rule by land and population. If my territory was larger and my population was larger, it would naturally make the neighboring lords feel nervous.

Lin Xinyi, however, created a shared economic and trade entity, making everyone a community of interests. Mu Ye was no fool; he naturally realized that as long as Lin Xinyi implemented this plan, everyone would naturally gravitate towards him. It was something that personal relationships couldn't influence. Personal feelings could never dictate the distribution of political and economic benefits.

Makino Nobuaki would certainly not admit that Hayashi Shin-yi had demonstrated the ability to unify the Satsuma clique, so everyone should abandon their prejudices and support him. The instinctive reaction of a politician unwilling to be mediocre is to acknowledge Hayashi Shin-yi as an equal collaborator and to increase their own influence in the plan.

After adjusting his mindset, Makino Nobuaki said to Hayashi Shinichi, "I roughly understand your idea; it is indeed a good plan. But how do you plan for us to implement this plan?"

Lin Xinyi was somewhat surprised that Makino could figure things out so quickly. He had originally thought that the other party would at least put up some resistance, such as making some demands to make things difficult for him, thereby seizing some control. Of course, he didn't care about Makino's little schemes. As long as the other party followed his plan, even the most difficult problems could be solved.

Moreover, his purpose in promoting this plan was not to seize power for himself, but to concentrate Japan's political and economic resources so that they would not flow to the military and military industry, thereby delaying the expansion of the military's power. The expansion of the military's power would inevitably lead to the implementation of the continental policy, which was exactly what he wanted to delay.

To completely curb Japan's ambitions for external expansion, it depends on whether China is like Prussia or the Ottoman Empire. You can't expect a hungry wolf to live next to a flock of sheep, and for the wolf to refrain from hunting the sheep because of its neighbors. Lin Xinyi naturally wouldn't engage in futile anti-war propaganda; he directly took a radical approach.

When the economies of China, India, and Japan are deeply intertwined and China's national strength rises rapidly, Japanese militarists will lose their desire for military adventures. Even if there are some madmen, after experiencing one or two failed wars, the Japanese will wake up and purge the militarists.

Therefore, as long as the plan can be implemented, he doesn't mind giving up some power. When Makino seizes power, he will also be standing on the opposite side of militarists. At that time, Makino will only move closer to the navy, otherwise he will have difficulty even protecting himself.

Therefore, Lin Xinyi was genuinely surprised that Makino could shift to a cooperative stance so quickly, which made him somewhat embarrassed. Many of the traps he had laid for Makino now seemed unnecessary. After regaining his composure, Lin Xinyi frankly told Makino, "The implementation of the specific plan, I believe, should be promoted from three aspects: politics, economics, and transportation..."

636

After listening to Hayashi Nobuyoshi's detailed plan, Makino Nobuaki realized that it was indeed necessary for the other party to bring Kojiro to the meeting. Building the Chiba Prefecture heavy industry center was not difficult, but how to maintain its normal operation was a huge problem.

While domestic demand for steel in Japan is constantly growing, Japan's steelmaking technology is not particularly advanced. Therefore, many high-end steel products still need to be imported, such as the high-quality steel used in warship manufacturing, which cannot be produced domestically. However, for low-end steel, domestic production is generally sufficient.

Therefore, if Japan continues to develop its steel industry at its previous pace, it is highly unlikely that it will experience a steel overcapacity situation. However, the current heavy industry center construction plan advocated by the Navy is not actually based on the growth needs of the domestic steel market, but rather on the steel production capacity of major Western countries.

Given Japan's iron ore resources and steel demand, it is essentially unable to support such an aggressive heavy industry development plan. Although Japan's coal mines are barely sufficient, they can only meet the initial needs. Once the heavy industry center develops to the second or third phase, Japan's coal mines will also be insufficient to cope with this massive steel development plan.

When Makino Nobuaki was studying in Europe, he was astonished by the vast amount of steel equipment used in European countries. Compared to Japan, steel was used almost as extensively in Europe as wood was in Japan. It was only after the establishment of the Meiji Restoration government that Japan began to systematically study steel smelting technology. Initially, the Japanese attempted to build modern steel plants using domestic iron ore as raw material. However, once the plants were operational, they discovered that the charcoal they had planned to use for half a year was consumed in less than a week.

This lack of understanding of modern steelmaking technology demonstrates that Japan's steelmaking technology was quite backward before the Meiji Restoration, and steel was a relatively valuable material. Even after introducing European steelmaking technology, the Japanese had not truly considered that steel could become cheaper than wood.

Therefore, the Navy's heavy industry center plan gained support because it was believed that the Chinese and Indian markets could be developed and overseas raw materials could be used. However, although this consensus had been reached, no one had yet been able to propose a concrete plan for implementing cooperation among Japan, China, and India.

Now, Lin Xinyi has presented a concrete plan. In diplomacy, he aims to promote peace in East Asia and establish an Asian economic and trade alliance on the basis of that peace. This gives Makino the opportunity to lead foreign policy.

Economically, the establishment of an intra-Asian settlement currency would circumvent the international gold standard and ensure that Japan, China, and India could share the same economic and trade interests. This would prevent the great powers from breaking up or destroying the alliance. Mishima Yataro took office as the governor of the Bank of Japan to resolve policy obstacles to this intra-Asian trade settlement issue.

Regarding the management of the heavy industry center, it was Kojiro's responsibility to push for the splitting of the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce into the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and the Ministry of Industry, Forestry, and Commerce, thereby ensuring that the heavy industry center would not be seized by other political forces. Hayashi Nobuyoshi, on the other hand, represented the navy and provided protection for the security of trade among the three countries.

The four people present had each found their place, which was far better than empty promises. Makino Nobuaki only thought for a moment before realizing that he couldn't refuse Lin Xinyi's proposal. If he missed this opportunity, he would find it difficult to have so many people supporting him in leading diplomatic affairs again.

Economics, diplomacy, military affairs, and politics are all now centered around a common interest, so Makino is well aware that if he takes the lead in diplomatic work, he will not be looked down upon by others as before. Previously, the elders and the military were skeptical of the European-style diplomacy led by these returned students, believing that a mere agreement could not constrain the nation's interests.

Although the elders and the military held a peculiar sense of admiration for European civilization, they actually harbored considerable wariness towards European culture. On the one hand, they believed that Europe's powerful ships, cannons, and military system were good, but on the other hand, they believed that European culture and religion were eliminating Japan's uniqueness.

Moreover, Japan itself was a victim of unequal treaties between the East and the West. To this day, Japan has not fully regained its tariff autonomy and has not been able to completely abolish the Ansei Five Power Treaty. Therefore, how could the elder statesmen and the military dare to let a group of students lead foreign policy? They were more worried that these students, who had eaten too much bread, would allow the great powers to gain more benefits in Japan.

Because Japan itself was seeking to abolish the unequal treaties signed with the great powers, how could the Japanese believe that a single agreement could make other countries cede benefits to Japan?

Japan signed two agreements with North Korea today, bringing North Korea's diplomatic power under its control. However, the North Korean people's resistance continues unabated, showing no intention of accepting the treaty or acknowledging their fate. Is the international community helping Japan suppress the North Korean people's resistance? It is only because the military is suppressing the North Korean people's resistance on the Korean Peninsula that Japan has barely maintained its dominant position there.

Therefore, the elders and the military were not very interested in European-style treaty diplomacy, believing that Eastern peoples did not have this Western custom. They believed that treaty diplomacy could only gain respect among civilized countries, and that among Eastern peoples, only force was recognized. The fact that the Manchu Qing Dynasty was able to occupy China for more than 200 years was the best proof of this.

Komura Jutaro's capitulation to the military, subordinating diplomacy to the military's defense policy, was essentially a rejection of European diplomatic practices. It acknowledged that among Eastern peoples, only military conquest was possible, with no room for negotiated diplomacy. The series of agreements with Korea and China, while not recognizing each other's spheres of influence and establishing peaceful relations, were preparations for war.

A glance at the treaties signed between Japan and Korea reveals why Britain and the United States were so wary of Japan after the war. Every new Japan-Korea agreement essentially undermines Japan's previous commitments. In this respect, Japanese treaty diplomacy and European-style treaty diplomacy are completely different. While European treaties are often characterized by great power arrogance, at least the major European powers are willing to honor their commitments. With the exception of Russia, most European countries, once they sign an agreement, do not attempt to change the status quo.

Russia is not considered a European country because it never honors its promises. When facing adversity, it offers the most generous terms for peace, but as soon as it escapes its predicament, the peace is quickly torn up by the Russians themselves.

Therefore, Europeans were almost always skeptical of Russia's promises. For example, the Franco-Russian agreement stipulated Russia's obligation to assist France, but after Russia turned to the Far East, the Franco-Russian agreement was practically on the verge of collapse. If it weren't for the major setbacks Russia suffered in the Far East, the Russian monarch and the German monarch would have almost formed an alliance again.

In fact, an alliance between the Russian and German monarchs had been established, but due to the opposition of the Russian government, the agreement signed by the two monarchs failed to become a legally binding document. This was a great shock to the French, but they were powerless to do anything about it. After forcing the Russians to abandon their alliance agreement with the German Emperor, the French government had no choice but to export capital to Russia in order to help Russia recover from the chaos of defeat as quickly as possible.

The Russians' fickleness was also the root cause of the Anglo-French agreement being reached. The French, in fact, did not abandon their diplomatic policy of competing with Britain for overseas colonies. They considered the Franco-Prussian War a disgrace, but did not believe France was inferior to Germany; they simply believed that Napoleon III was too incompetent.

It can be said that France at that time was still an ambitious great power. It not only wanted revenge against Germany, but also dreamed of competing with Britain for the position of world power after defeating Germany. Therefore, the initial target of the Franco-Russian agreement was not only Germany and Austria-Hungary, but also an attempt to confront Britain.

However, Russia's expansion in the Balkans was thwarted, and it began to focus its attention on expansion in the Far East. The common interests between Russia and France almost disappeared. Meanwhile, Germany, due to problems such as insufficient domestic market caused by rapid industrialization, also urgently needed to redistribute the world market. This made the French suddenly realize that France was no longer a first-class country. The foreign policy that France had envisioned, which was to deal with Germany on one hand and compete with Britain on the other, had become an unrealistic fantasy.

In fact, even if Britain did not side with Germany, the mere fact that Russia did not abide by the Franco-Russian agreement would have led to another invasion of France by German troops, making another Battle of Sedan highly likely.

It was precisely because the French recognized the unreliability of the Russians and realized that their own national strength could no longer sustain France's great power diplomacy that the French chose to conclude an agreement with the British, thus proving themselves to be a second-rate nation. The situation in Europe would become increasingly dire, ultimately because the Russians betrayed the French, attempting to negate the Franco-Russian agreement, thereby stimulating nationalist sentiments in Germany and France.

At this juncture, Japan's ugly behavior towards Korea led Britain and the United States to tacitly agree that postwar Japan could include the Korean Peninsula within its sphere of influence. However, Britain and the United States did not support Japan's outright annexation of the Korean Peninsula. This expansionism by Japan effectively turned it into the Russian of the East, and Britain and the United States began to worry that Japan would continue to provoke continental wars, squeezing the interests of others out of East Asia and creating a situation of Japanese monopoly.

This shows that the Japanese understanding of European-style entente diplomacy and the European understanding of entente diplomacy are not the same thing. Makino Nobuaki was aware of this difference, but he could not correct the views of the elders and the military, nor could he stoop to serve the military like Komura Jutaro. As a result, Makino's diplomatic ideas lacked a firm support group.

Now that Hayashi Shin-yi had presented him with an opportunity, if he missed it, it would be difficult to advance his diplomatic ideals. Makino wasn't particularly concerned about peace or war in East Asia; what he cared about was establishing order in East Asia through treaties, thereby solidifying Japan's interests through those treaties.

The biggest disagreement between Makino and the military was that he felt Japan was already at its most glorious period in history and that what Japan needed to do now was to solidify this glory, while the military believed that Japan could have even greater honors and should not be limited to its current status.

Unfortunately, most Japanese people agree with the military's position that Japan needs to continuously expand outwards to provide living space for its fifty million people. There is currently no interest in Makino's advocacy of establishing an East Asian order. Later, some may attempt to solidify Japan's sphere of influence on the western Pacific coast, east of the Strait of Malacca, under the guise of building a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, but no one else will accept such a Japan existing in the world.

While Lin Xinyi's diplomatic philosophy may not have been consistent with that of Makino, the diplomatic policy proposed by Lin Xinyi gave Makino the opportunity to put his own diplomatic philosophy into practice, which he naturally could not refuse.

Moreover, just by looking at Mishima and Matsukata beside him, Makino could tell that the two had already been tempted by Lin Xinyi's plan. If he refused Lin Xinyi's proposal, he would be the only one left out in the end. Although Mishima supported him, this support obviously required a return on investment. If he couldn't offer greater benefits, then Mishima might not continue to support him.

The meeting finally ended, and Lin Xinyi said he had a few guests to meet and went downstairs first. Although Matsukata Kojiro was not unfamiliar with Makino and Mishima, they were not actually that close politically, so he simply left with Lin Xinyi.

Mishima and Makino saw the two downstairs. Standing at the top of the stairs, Mishima watched their backs and couldn't help but say, "Kojiro is being far too respectful to Lieutenant Colonel Hayashi. Logically, he should be closer to us. Does he not understand the difference between close and distant relationships?"

Makino was silent for a few seconds before replying, "If someone could arrange a ministerial position for him, I don't think what he did would be anything special. Even Matsukata Genro could only support his eldest son; he couldn't possibly help Kojiro sit in the position of minister."

Mishima thought about it and realized that Makino's words made sense. Neither of Matsukata Genro's two sons were outstanding figures. In fact, Kojiro was better than his brother, and it wouldn't be difficult for people to accept him as a minister. However, this would inevitably provoke Matsukata Genro's dissatisfaction, so Matsukata Genro would not do so.

It was precisely because neither of Matsukata's two sons were outstanding figures that Mishima chose to join the younger generation led by Makino. Without Matsukata's support, the Matsukata faction would have been difficult to maintain, as their interests were not aligned and there was no leader.

Thinking about it, Mishima could only sigh, "I never expected that Kojiro, who is usually so quiet, would have such great ambitions. But will Lieutenant Colonel Hayashi's actions provoke the Matsukata family's resentment? Matsukata Gen might not like his younger brother becoming a minister."

Makino glanced back at Mishima, thinking to himself that Mishima and Matsukata Iwao had something in common on this issue. After all, they were both eldest sons and neither wanted to see their younger brother be too outstanding in order to inherit the family business.

However, he concealed his thoughts, saying, "Elder Matsukata probably won't allow Matsukata Yan to criticize Kojiro's appointment as minister. After all, this is a major event concerning the Satsuma clique. If the Matsukata family stands in the way, it will only cause resentment, not prevent Kojiro from becoming minister. However, to think of bringing Kojiro over, Hayashi Nobuyoshi is truly a top-notch politician in the navy. The Matsukata family is now tied to the navy's war machine. We'll have to be careful of this Lieutenant Commander Hayashi from now on; he's not a pure soldier..."

637

After leaving the Mishima family's study, Matsukata Kojiro felt that the investigation report he had bought for 100,000 yen was indeed well worth the price. The Naval General Staff's Cultural Division launched an investigation into naval-related industries, which Matsukata initially thought was an attempt by some people in the navy to profit from it.

Even if his father was Matsukata Masayoshi and he had established a relationship with Saito Minoru, Kawasaki Shipyard and Mitsubishi Shipyard still could not be compared, because Mitsubishi's own shipping business could provide Mitsubishi Shipyard with a large number of orders, while Kawasaki Shipyard did not have a large shipping business to support its shipbuilding business.

Therefore, the Navy's orders are actually much more important to Kawasaki Shipyard than to Mitsubishi Shipyard. However, Kawasaki Shipyard's technology is not actually stronger than Mitsubishi Shipyard's, because Mitsubishi Shipyard's predecessor, Nagasaki Shipyard, was established earlier and had more technical backbone.

Kawasaki Shipyard's ability to secure orders for large naval warships is primarily due to personal connections. However, the Navy is not a weak department; it is a powerful, independent branch of government, merged with the Army and called the Military Department. While Matsukata may be respected, it doesn't mean the Navy needs to be subservient to him. Ultimately, Matsukata represents the political and business power of the Okubo faction, while the Navy has always been Saigo's territory.

When Matsukata Masayoshi held great power, he sold two major state-owned shipyards to the Mitsubishi and Kawasaki zaibatsu. The navy did object, but in the end, the navy retained its Yokosuka Shipyard, which has continued to develop into the shipyard with the strongest shipbuilding technology in Japan today. The Japanese Navy's battleships were built at Yokosuka Shipyard.

Therefore, although the upper echelons of the navy respected Matsukata, the navy did not have a good impression of him. This was because the navy believed that Matsukata sold the state-owned shipyard to Mitsubishi and Kawasaki entirely for personal gain, rather than because the national funds were insufficient to sustain the shipyard and private capital was needed to take over.

The criticism of Matsukata Genro by the Navy was not unfounded. After the Nagasaki Shipyard was handed over to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu in 1884, the Navy began a large-scale shipbuilding program in 1885 to prepare for the Sino-Japanese War. In other words, if it had been just a few months later, the government-run shipyards would have survived. In 1885, even small private shipyards like Ishikawajima Shipyard and Onohama Shipyard received orders for four gunboats. It was precisely because of these Navy orders that the Mitsubishi zaibatsu overcame its financial difficulties in its confrontation with Kyodo Transport Company.

Therefore, Matsukata Kojiro never took naval investigations lightly, because he knew that although his family had influence over the navy, it wasn't that deep. If the navy developed any prejudice against Kawasaki Shipbuilding, his father and brother would most likely blame him rather than go after the navy, because that wouldn't work.

This is not the first time the Navy has investigated civilian shipyards. In fact, the Navy keeps a close eye on the technical capabilities of various civilian shipyards in order to expand its ability to repair warships. However, this investigation is larger in scale and more extensive in content, which has caused many civilian shipyards to feel overwhelmed.

In the past, the navy would usually send only one or two people to collect information about the shipyard's equipment and personnel before heading back. As long as the shipyard treated them well, these officers would almost always give them a slightly better evaluation.

However, with so many officers involved in this investigation, the shipyard felt at a loss as to how to win them over. There were simply too many officers, and bribing one or two would obviously not work. If they tried to bribe them all, the shipyard couldn't handle it, and they worried that if word got out, it would become a scandal, which would ultimately harm the shipyard.

Various private shipyards have also used their connections with the Navy, hoping that the Navy could reduce the number of investigators and the duration of the investigation so as not to interfere with the normal operation of the shipyards. In particular, when the Navy investigation team negotiated with the shipyards on the workers' working hours and welfare benefits, it aroused the dissatisfaction of the owners, who believed that the Navy investigation team had exceeded its authority.

Saito Makoto completely ignored these protests. Some other high-ranking naval officers initially expressed their intention to correct the investigation team's work, but soon these people refused to meet with their old friends.

Matsukata Kojiro knew more about the situation than the shipyard owners. He knew that the investigation was being led by Lieutenant Commander Hayashi Nobuyoshi, a rising star in the navy. Even his father had warned him not to interfere with the navy's investigation team, because the investigation might be a power struggle between Chief of Staff Kawahara and Minister of the Navy Yamamoto.

Matsukata Kojiro was not very satisfied with the naval investigation team's investigation. After all, as the president of Kawasaki Shipyard, even though he was usually suppressed by his father and brothers and had no say in the major policies of Kawasaki Shipyard, he was still the undisputed leader in the shipyard. This was his territory, and now someone had entered his territory and interfered with his power. How could he feel comfortable with this?

However, Matsukata Kojiro was also highly educated; otherwise, he wouldn't have been appointed as the president of Kawasaki Shipyard. There were many other positions available to maintain the Matsukata family's influence over Kawasaki Shipyard, so there was no need to give him a president position that required him to be responsible for daily operations.

After setting aside his dissatisfaction with the naval investigation, Matsukata Kojiro quickly discovered that, due to the compromises made with the navy, the shipyard had made minimal adjustments to workers' working hours and benefits, but worker efficiency had increased and material waste had decreased. According to the comparative data, the shipyard had actually benefited.

In retrospect, the naval investigation team wasn't causing trouble for the shipyard; rather, it optimized the shipyard's labor organization and improved its management capabilities. It was then that Matsukata Kojiro began to gravitate towards Hayashi Nobuyoshi, recognizing him as a true talent within the navy.

To his surprise, the Naval Culture Division presented the investigation report and offered to sell it to Kawasaki Shipyard, along with a ministerial position. Frankly, spending 100,000 yen on an investigation report was absurd, but if considered as a form of entertainment for the Navy, then 100,000 yen wasn't an unacceptable price.

According to Matsukata Kojiro's own understanding of the corruption within the navy, the officers responsible for procuring warships had enormous appetites. For example, the navy insisted on importing the materials for warships, and these imported materials were ordered by the navy itself. Naval officers openly demanded commissions from shipyards, which were then included in the material prices. Special steel that originally cost eight or nine hundred yen per ton was purchased by shipyards for around one thousand yen.

There were also warships ordered from foreign shipyards. For a 3000-ton warship, the shipyard quoted a unit price of 850 yen per ton, totaling 255 million yen. However, the navy would inflate the budget to 300 million yen, with the 45 yen difference ending up in the pockets of the officers. The corruption within the navy was almost notorious in the industry.

Therefore, Matsukata Kojiro did not see the 10 yen bribe demanded by the Naval Cultural Affairs Department as a problem. The problem was whether the Naval Cultural Affairs Department was worth the price. After all, shipyards mainly dealt with the Ministry of the Navy and the Naval Construction Headquarters in the past, and the Naval General Staff had no control over shipbuilding.

If cultural studies courses don't bring any benefits to Kawasaki Shipyard, then it's hard for Kawasaki Shipyard to decide to spend 100,000 yen to buy a survey report that has no real need. After all, Kawasaki Shipyard is basically aware of the content of the Navy's survey, and even without this survey report, the shipyard understands what problems exist in the shipyard.

Of course, the reason for demanding such a high price for cultural courses is that the report claims to include analysis and suggestions on these issues at the end. 100,000 yen is actually cheap, and Kawasaki Shipbuilding will certainly be able to obtain more profit from it than 100,000 yen.

Matsukata Kojiro scoffed at the Cultural Studies Department's argument. If their analysis and suggestions were truly so important, then those people in the Cultural Studies Department should just start their own companies. However, he couldn't afford to underestimate Hayashi Shin-yoshi, the head of the Cultural Studies Department. He knew very well that Shin-yoshi would inevitably become a powerful pillar of the Navy in the future. Just because Shin-yoshi was in the Cultural Studies Department now didn't mean that Shin-yoshi wouldn't eventually sit in Saito's or Yamamoto's positions. If Shin-yoshi held a grudge about what happened today, he would be digging his own grave.

Out of fear of Hayashi Shinichi, and also quite tempted by the position of Minister of Culture offered by Hayashi Shinichi, Togo Masamichi stepped forward to guarantee the work of the Cultural Affairs Department. Matsukata Kojiro naturally no longer took Hayashi Shinichi's promise as mere empty talk. With a skeptical attitude, he purchased the Cultural Affairs Department's investigation report. The shares of Kawasaki Shipyard did not belong to him. Strictly speaking, Matsukata Kojiro was only acting as the president of the shipyard on behalf of the Matsukata family. The shares of the shipyard belonged to the Matsukata family, specifically his older brother Matsukata Iwao.

If spending 100,000 yen could truly secure him a ministerial position, Matsukata Kojiro certainly wouldn't hesitate to spend that money. In fact, under the feudal system, ministerial positions could be bought with money. For example, an ordinary ministerial position could be obtained for around 500,000 to 600,000 yen. Of course, this required connections; without connections, one couldn't obtain a ministerial position.

Although the army was controlled by the Choshu faction, the position of Minister of the Army required not only Choshu people but also necessary public relations funds. The power struggles within the Choshu clique were no less intense than the struggles against external forces.

In its foreign military campaigns, the army's embezzled military funds were no less corrupt than the navy's. For example, during the invasion of Beijing by the Eight-Nation Alliance, the army looted the Ministry of Revenue's treasury and numerous wealthy Chinese families. However, the accounts reported by the army to the cabinet did not even include the amount of silver stored in the Ministry of Revenue of the Qing Dynasty. No one dared to inquire where this money ultimately went.

As the commander of the Japanese army in the Eight-Nation Alliance, Yamaguchi Motoomi was criticized by Japanese newspapers for the large amount of wealth he brought back from Beijing. However, under the protection of Katsura Taro, the matter was quickly dropped. According to rumors, the army's high-ranking officers received spoils of war brought back from Beijing as gifts from Yamaguchi.

Therefore, while the position of Minister of the Army and Navy may seem unattainable with money, in reality, becoming one requires substantial public relations funds; even connections from Choshu and Satsuma alone are insufficient. For Hanakawasaki Shipbuilding, 100,000 yen could secure a ministerial position—a very worthwhile deal indeed.

Although Matsukata Kojiro had paid the money, he still felt uneasy. It wasn't that he regretted the 100,000 yen, but rather that he was anxious about whether the position of minister would actually fall into his hands. He knew very well that unless something unexpected happened, he would never be able to become a minister, and if the Matsukata family had such an opportunity, it would be his elder brother Matsukata Iroha's opportunity.

However, during today's meeting, Matsukata Kojiro finally felt that the position of minister was indeed beckoning him, which completely dispelled his suspicions about Hayashi Shinichi. After getting away from Makino and Mishima's sight, Matsukata Kojiro took the initiative to express his distrust of Makino and Mishima to Hayashi Shinichi, "Will Makino and Mishima tell my father and brother about this? Makino is a very scheming person, and Mishima is known for being opportunistic. They may not be on our side."

Lin Xinyi could understand Matsukata Kojiro's concerns. After all, among the four, his position was the easiest to be replaced, since Matsukata Iwao, as the eldest son of Matsukata Elder, was more representative of the Matsukata family. For Makino to become the leader of the Satsuma clique after Matsukata Elder, gaining the support of the Matsukata family was far more important than gaining Matsukata Kojiro's support.

However, this is precisely why he chose Matsukata Kojiro. Someone who can represent the Matsukata family is more likely to collude with Makino and Mishima, because they share more common interests. Matsukata Kojiro is different. Although he has the background of the Matsukata family, without his own support, everything he has now will be taken away by the Matsukata family. He will eventually become a puppet put forward by the Matsukata family, just like his current position as president of Kawasaki Shipbuilding. He has no real power, but he has to bear the responsibilities of a president.

This is a common problem in Japanese political families: those in power often prefer to retreat behind the scenes and find a puppet to assume responsibility in the public eye—a system known as dual power. This system was most prevalent during the Tokugawa Shogunate, likely because the Tokugawa family learned from the lessons of the Oda and Toyotomi families. The head of the family held too much prestige, resulting in the successor being unable to inherit the power of the previous head after his death, ultimately allowing outsiders to seize power.

However, in its later stages, this dual-power system became a means for those in power to shirk responsibility. That is, retired generals wanted to retain their power as generals but did not want to take responsibility for decision-making. Thus, the nominal generals became puppets of those in actual power.

Following the Satsuma Rebellion, this dual political system prevalent during the Tokugawa Shogunate revived. After all, Saigo Takamori raised his army under the pretext of opposing the government, but in reality, he had included the Emperor in his campaign. After the Satsuma Rebellion, Ito further opposed the Emperor's direct rule, fearing that the Emperor's prestige would be damaged and peasant uprisings would become uncontrollable.

Matsukata Kojiro chose to cooperate with him in the hope of getting rid of his status as a puppet of the Matsukata family. To put it more bluntly, Matsukata Kojiro had little confidence in his older brother. While Matsukata Masayoshi was alive, he would not easily give up on his son, but once his brother had complete control of the family power, the probability of him being thrown out as a scapegoat would greatly increase.

Therefore, he was not surprised by Matsukata Kojiro's use of "we" to refer to himself and "them" to Makino and Mishima; this was exactly the outcome he wanted. However, he did not intend to actually cause internal strife within the Okubo faction, and thus he appeased Matsukata Kojiro.

"It's not impossible, after all, Makino's relationship with your brother is definitely closer than his relationship with you. However, in this plan, the decision-making power lies with us, not Makino and Mishima."

For example, promoting peace through diplomacy doesn't necessarily require Makino Nobuaki's abilities, and the Bank of Japan doesn't necessarily need Mr. Mishima to resolve settlement issues in intra-Asian trade. If Viscount Makino were reasonable, he would know that the Navy, not him, is in charge of this matter…”

Matsukata Kojiro understood Hayashi Nobuyoshi's words and knew that Hayashi Nobuyoshi would firmly support him. He expressed his gratitude, saying, "I will never forget Nobuyoshi-kun's friendship. If you ever need anything from me in the future, I will definitely do my best..."

The Japanese of this era were truly direct. When Lin Xinyi heard Matsukata Kojiro's confession, his mind wasn't elsewhere; rather, this thought popped into his head. For him, observing the differences between this era and later generations was far more interesting than speculating about the hearts of people in this era. People from different eras were almost always concerned with the same two things: fame and fortune. The difference lay in how they treated fame and fortune—different eras had different approaches.

However, Lin Xinyi understood that the straightforward nature of the Japanese during the Meiji era was inseparable from the Five Articles Oath. When the Meiji government replaced the Five Articles Oath with the Imperial Constitution and imposed controls on speech, the Japanese became increasingly unwilling to speak the truth. Some people in major powers believe that the Japanese's duplicity is a national characteristic, but in reality, it is merely a national character shaped by the Meiji Constitution and speech control.

A mere glance at the ignorance and apathy of the Chinese people under the Qing Dynasty, and the bureaucratic deception and cover-ups, reveals the distorting effect of feudal autocracy on human character. A nation's moral decline is not due to the people losing their moral standards, but rather to the bureaucracy forcing them to abandon morality. The more a society loses its sense of humanity, the more its upper echelons tout themselves as saints and virtuous men—this was true of Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong, and also of Emperor Showa. This is a common ailment of human society, not something unique to the Japanese national character.

638

For Lin Xinyi, this day was incredibly long. He devoted almost all his energy to people related to the future development of the navy, neglecting not only his girlfriend's relatives but also his own colleagues and contemporaries.

Meanwhile, things weren't easy for Ichiki Kiko either. Some of Ichiki's relatives originally thought that the wedding was just to find an heir for the Ichiki family, so the wedding would naturally be focused on the bride. Most of these relatives were not closely related to the Saigo family, so they didn't realize that the relationship between the Mishima family and the Saigo family was not that close. If it was just the Ichiki family marrying off their daughter, the Mishima family might not have lent out this mansion.

However, at this wedding, the groom's side not only outnumbered the bride's side, but also held a much higher status. The fact that high-ranking naval officers attended the wedding as groom's guests rather than bride's guests already indicated that the wedding was primarily groom's affair. Furthermore, the bride's representative, who was registering the gifts, saw gifts from many important figures who were not present, such as the elder statesman Ito Hirobumi.

So, the bride's relatives, who had been polite but cold to Lin Xinyi, the son-in-law of the Ichira family, before the wedding, suddenly became close to Ichira Muko. As the adopted daughter of the Ichira family, these relatives had not treated Muko as a true relative in the past, but rather as a tool to win people over. Muko herself could sense this, after all, she had lived in geisha houses and ryotei since childhood, and had long understood the coldness and warmth of human relationships.