Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 181

This faction's power continued to grow as Ogawa Heikichi and Hara Yoshimichi became deeply involved in land reform and heavy industry center plans, thereby gaining the support of industrialists in the Tokyo and Osaka areas, as well as some agrarians.

Although Ogawa Heikichi and Hara Yoshimichi have not yet formed a party, the political faction they represent has transcended party affiliations and formed a political alliance with common interests. This emerging faction is indeed full of vitality compared to the old Democratic Party, to the point that even Hara Takashi has begun to be wary of it.

Unlike the old Democratic Party, this new political faction did not attempt to win over local luminaries to retain local votes. Instead, it focused on gaining the support of industrialists and businessmen, i.e., urban votes. For rural elections, it advocated abolishing tax restrictions and that all male citizens aged 25 and above should have the right to vote, meaning that men who could serve in the military could have a voice in national politics.

Although the old Democratic Party used the slogan of opposing the feudal cliques and fighting for political democracy and freedom, in order to win over local luminaries, it opposed the implementation of unconditionally granting male citizens the right to vote. Although the urban population of Japan had exceeded one-quarter of the total population in 1908, the rural votes still outnumbered the urban votes.

Because land in Japan is not concentrated in the hands of a few large landowners, while urban wealth is almost entirely controlled by zaibatsu (financial conglomerates), the number of small and medium-sized landowners far exceeds the urban middle class. Furthermore, a significant amount of land in Japan is owned by villages, meaning that votes are won through shared land ownership—a situation not present in cities.

Although Yamagata Aritomo amended the election law to allow one representative to be elected for every 3 people in cities with a population of over 3, while in rural areas it would take 13 people to elect one representative, meaning one urban resident is equivalent to four rural residents, local luminaries remain an unshakable backbone in the election of representatives, because rural elections are entirely based on bribery rather than individual votes.

In the first general election in 1890, the election cost for a member of parliament was about 1000 dollars, but by the seventh general election in 1902, the cost had risen to about 5000 dollars.

How did these election fees come about? Let's take the 1904 Mie Prefecture assembly election as an example. Local prominent figures M, Y, and K proposed to Osaka capitalist Oi Bokushin that a single vote here costs 1.5 yen, so 4,000 votes would cost 6000 yen. Add to that a debt of 3000 yen owed from a previous assembly election loss, plus another 3000 yen for election campaign expenses, totaling 12,000 yen. They said that as long as you paid the money, you were guaranteed to be elected.

Ooi Boku was thus successfully elected as a new councilor in Mie Prefecture that year. Local luminaries openly sold rural votes at fixed prices, truly a case of honest dealing. Therefore, the Democratic Party had no choice but to court local luminaries if it wanted to win rural votes, thereby securing council seats through these individuals.

However, while local luminaries can help the Democratic Party gain votes, these same local luminaries are also local conservatives who actively demand the protection of the interests of landowners and their hometowns. Therefore, the Democratic Party inevitably has to adjust its political stance to avoid conflict with these local luminaries.

From this perspective, the bureaucratic politics represented by Ito and Yamagata was not actually that backward compared to the party politics that was influenced by local luminaries. The former upheld the tradition of shogunate officials and prioritized the interests of the system over the local area, while the latter retained the tradition of local villages opposing the government, advocating local autonomy and opposing outsiders interfering in village affairs.

Although the political factions represented by Ogawa Heikichi and Hara Yoshimichi did not wield significant influence in rural areas, they formed a political alliance with substantial social resources by uniting upper-class intellectuals and industrialists in the surrounding areas. While local luminaries could manipulate rural elections, they were also inseparable from the wealth flowing out of the cities; without the influx of urban wealth, they could not establish a rural alliance of interests.

Sugiyama Shigemaru's presence here with Ito Soemon was not merely to mediate the conflict between the Kyushu coal mining tycoon and Ogawa Heikichi's close nephews. He also recognized the potential of the Ogawa Heikichi-Hara Yoshimichi political faction and wanted to establish a close relationship with them.

As a disciple of Yamaoka Tesshu, Sugiyama Shigemaru held a higher political position than Ogawa Heikichi. He had already been elected in the first parliamentary election, while Ogawa Heikichi had only recently become a lawyer. Although the two were only six years apart in age, they were undoubtedly from two different generations in politics.

However, today, Sugiyama Shigemaru can no longer regard Ogawa Heikichi as a junior, because the power behind Ogawa Heikichi is no less than that behind him, and this power is much purer than his background.

Yamaoka Tesshu, a former retainer of the shogunate, became closely associated with Saigo Takamori due to his role in facilitating the bloodless surrender of Edo. He later served as Emperor Meiji's tutor and close attendant, thus holding a very high political position. He effectively represented a model of loyalty from the Edo region to the imperial family. The renaming of Edo to Tokyo was, in essence, a symbolic act by the Meiji government to unify the imperial residence and the shogunate's capital, achieving a spiritual unity between the court and the military.

However, Yamaoka Tesshu was ultimately just a symbol. As the three active members of the shogunate in the new government, they were almost all in name only without real power. Therefore, as a disciple of Yamaoka Tesshu, Sugiyama Shigemaru could only go to the Genyosha and rise to prominence with the help of the Genyosha's resources. Only then did he join the Souyou Club, a small group formed by Itō Hirobumi, Katsura Taro, Kodama Gentaro, Gotō Shinpei, and others.

It was after joining the Xiaoyao Club that Sugiyama Shigemaru gradually began to distance himself from the Genyosha's activities and truly enter the core circle of imperial politics. Compared to his benefactor, Toyama Mitsuru, Kodama Gentaro was his true political ally. Both he and Kodama supported Itō Hirobumi in opposing Yamagata's autocratic politics. However, Kodama's sudden death rendered Sugiyama Shigemaru's plans futile.

Itō Hirobumi trusted Kodama, not him, and with Kodama's death, Iō's connection with him quickly faded. Sugiyama Shigemaru certainly wouldn't go back to following Toyama Mitsuru. Even if the Genyosha hadn't been suppressed by the government, this group of mainland ronin was essentially doing dirty work for the political world; who would want to spend their days in the cesspool?

Sugiyama Shigemaru rose to power by utilizing the resources of the Genyosha, but he could not escape his history of entanglement with the Genyosha. This is why he could not stand in the limelight like Ogawa Heikichi. He always needed to rely on a politically influential figure in order to exert his political talents. Since he could not get ahead with Ito Hirobumi, he could only look for another target.

Ogawa Heikichi was one of the targets chosen by Sugiyama Shigemaru, and also the one that interested him the most. After all, Ogawa Heikichi's background and family history were quite clean, and the two sides had connections within the Imperial Household Agency and the East Asian Cultural Association. Even from the perspective of Ito Hirobumi, the two sides maintained a relatively close relationship.

However, in Sugiyama Shigemaru's view, Ogawa Heikichi was actually quite politically inexperienced and unlikely to shoulder the responsibility of a faction leader, even though Hara Yoshimichi was more capable of organizing things. Yet, Ogawa Heikichi was able to firmly grasp the leadership of this emerging faction, and Hara Yoshimichi had no objections, which was a rare situation in the political arena.

Of course, he knew very well that this was not due to Ogawa Heikichi's personal charisma. In fact, after the Genyosha was suppressed by the government, he also investigated the background of the matter. In the end, he realized that this was not a matter of the army and navy cleaning up the mess, but rather that someone was taking the opportunity to attack the Genyosha and try to drive the Genyosha's forces out of Tokyo.

This person was none other than Hayashi Shin'ichi, the beloved nephew of Ogawa Heikichi. Hayashi Shin'ichi could be considered a scholar supported by the Ogawa family. This custom, a remnant of the Edo period, did not decline in the early Meiji period, but instead flourished. It was not until the university system was gradually improved that this custom of powerful and wealthy people supporting scholars gradually subsided.

The relationship between the scholar and his master was similar to that of a retainer, but without a clear master-servant agreement. Ultimately, it was an extremely close relationship. Ogawa Heikichi, with the help of Hayashi Shin'ichi, was someone even Hara Yoshimichi, a fellow Nagano native, couldn't say anything about. The only thing that puzzled Sugiyama Shigemaru was why Hayashi Shin'ichi would target the Genyosha, making a move that was almost a fatal one.

To be honest, Genyosha had not actually offended Hayashi Shin-yi. Although Toyama Mitsuru was somewhat unconvinced that this young man could gain the favor of Ito and Saigo, he did not dare to offend him and even sent away the future pillar of Hama no Ie. Hayashi Shin-yi's move was really a bit like blindly making enemies.

However, although Sugiyama Shigemaru found this information, he did not tell Toyama Mitsuru and the others. For the Genyosha, this government strike was indeed a crippling blow. At least the Genyosha's forces in Tokyo were almost completely wiped out. It was not until the outbreak of war that the army needed the Genyosha's intelligence network on the mainland, which allowed the Genyosha to return to Tokyo, but its influence was far less than before.

However, this was not necessarily a bad thing for Sugiyama Shigemaru. Although he was using the resources of Genyosha, he also felt that the mainland ronin within the guild were of mixed quality, and many of them were ruining Genyosha's reputation. However, Toyama Mitsuru and others were loyal and refused to rectify the bad habits of the mainland ronin. In fact, they couldn't rectify it anyway, since the mainland ronin were a very complex group. Apart from a few samurai with mainland ideals, many ronin were just trying their luck abroad because they couldn't make it in the country.

Nominally, Mitsuru Toyama was the leader of the Genyosha, and everyone listened to him. But in reality, many ronin used the name of the Genyosha to extort Japanese trading companies abroad. It wasn't that these Japanese ronin didn't want to extort foreigners, but they were completely clueless about the world abroad. Some of them couldn't even speak Korean or Chinese and could only survive in Japanese circles. How could they extort Koreans and Chinese?

On the contrary, those trading companies overseas, thanks to the immense reputation of the Genyosha, allow the ronin to extort some money from them. Koreans and Chinese can go anywhere in their own country, but these Japanese merchants, though they can run away abroad, can they really run away from their homeland? For our 80,000 Genyosha warriors, taking down a mere merchant is far too easy.

Therefore, the Genyosha was not only infamous abroad, but also had a bad reputation among its own people. Apart from the military, no respectable Japanese person would think that the mainland ronin were good people. How could Toyama Mitsuru, the nominal leader of the Genyosha, possibly control these mainland ronin, since he didn't pay them any money?

The government's crackdown on the Genyosha has certainly dealt a heavy blow to the organization, but it has also driven some opportunists away. In the past two years, the Genyosha's mainland ronin have become much more obedient. For the Genyosha's leadership, this has reduced the negative impact.

If it weren't for Hayashi Nobuyoshi being confined to the naval academy, Sugiyama Shigemaru would have long wanted to see this young man again. He truly hadn't expected that upon hearing Hayashi Nobuyoshi's name once more, the young man would pull off another major move that brought down the army cabinet. At this moment, he finally understood why the other side had expelled the Genyosha from Tokyo; without the Genyosha gathering intelligence for the army, the army would be completely unaware of the movements of the civilian population.

However, Sugiyama Shigemaru didn't believe that Hayashi Shin-yi had already planned to target the Army Cabinet today when he initially intended to deal with the Genyosha. He thought the other side was just lucky to be able to use their previous foreshadowing. However, he did feel that Hayashi Shin-yi clearly harbored some kind of antagonistic sentiment towards the Army, otherwise he wouldn't have targeted the Army so repeatedly.

However, with the sudden death of Kodama Gentaro, the close ties between him and the Army were severed. At this point, he naturally wouldn't try to curry favor with Yamagata Aritomo based on his own speculations, but rather preferred to first make contact with them to see if any cooperation could be reached. Even if Lin Xinyi's actions were due to luck, his luck was simply too good; the Army had fallen into the trap without any struggle, and naturally, he wanted to take advantage of Lin Xinyi's good fortune.

After all, he had been working in the House of Representatives for so many years, and he dared not say that he was confident in deciding the fate of a minister. However, Hayashi Shin-yi easily put Ogawa Heikichi and Hara Yoshimichi on the ministerial throne. Obviously, if the Navy were to form a cabinet next time, these two would still be considered. This is because the Navy itself does not have many suitable political candidates, and Ogawa Heikichi and Hara Yoshimichi, who have had successful cooperation with the Navy, are naturally the first choice.

During his casual conversation with Ogawa Heikichi, Sugiyama Shigemaru couldn't resist probing, asking, "...The Diet will reconvene at the end of August, and the focus will be on land system reform. I heard you're advocating for pilot programs in a few prefectures first?"

The Imperial Diet usually begins in late December and ends in late March of the following year. However, this year, due to the war, the Diet has been extended. Apart from a temporary recess in the summer, the Diet will continue to convene this year. Of course, the focus of the discussion is no longer how to end the war and obtain war reparations, but whether or not to reform the land system.

Originally, reforming the land system had always been a demand of the Kuomintang, and it was a call from a smaller group. The feudal bureaucrats, represented by Yamagata, opposed any reform of the land system. It was rare for the major parties in the Kuomintang to partially support the bureaucrats' proposals on this issue. Of course, they still hoped that the proposal to reduce taxes could be passed.

However, the army was politically embroiled in a crisis due to the lack of war reparations, and its voice on land reform naturally became less vocal. While the landlord class representatives on the Democratic Party's side opposed land reform, industrialists, businessmen, and intellectuals generally believed that the chaos in the countryside needed to be addressed, and that the best way to do so was to promote land reform. After all, many peasant uprisings were due to desperation, not a demand to overthrow the current government.

At this time, the Navy suddenly broke away from the Army and expressed support for land reform independently, which naturally greatly enhanced the voice of the land reform faction. Sugiyama Shigemaru felt that the Navy's support for land reform was not so simple, so he naturally wanted to find out the Navy's position from Ogawa Heikichi.

Ogawa Heikichi respected Sugiyama Shigemaru, a political senior, and hoped to bring him into his faction. This way, their Nagano-Tokyo clique would truly become the third largest force in the parliament. Even if they couldn't compete with the Constitutional Seiyukai, at least they wouldn't be ignored.

He then leaned closer to Sugiyama Shigemaru and lowered his voice, saying, "This is exactly the kind of thing we need your support for, senpai. A full-scale rollout of land reform is clearly unrealistic, so we plan to establish a pilot reform area in Chiba Prefecture. Why don't you join us, senpai…"

Chapter 613

When Lin Xinyi stepped into the room, he immediately recognized Sugiyama Shigemaru sitting next to Ogawa Heikichi. He had seen this strategist next to Toyama Mitsuru when he first met him. However, at that time, the high-ranking members of Genyosha regarded him as a young man who could be won over, and they did not guard against him instigating Saigo Tsurumichi to take action against Genyosha, directly severing the overt connection between the Navy and Genyosha.

Hiraoka Kotaro was forced to commit suicide as a result, and his assets were confiscated by the Navy. The Genyosha was severely weakened, and a deep-seated hatred was formed between the two sides. Naturally, he could not let his guard down against the Genyosha. However, in this war, the Army needed the Black Dragon Society's intelligence network on the mainland. Only then could Toyama Mitsuru and Uchida Ryohei return to Japan under the name of the Black Dragon Society. The name of the Genyosha gradually faded away, and the former Genyosha members split into organizations such as the Black Dragon Society and the East Asia Tongwen Guan.

From this perspective, the Genyosha no longer exists openly, and the entanglement between the Genyosha and the Navy can be considered resolved. The Navy has no reason to continue pursuing organizations that branched off from the Genyosha, such as the Black Dragon Society and the East Asia Tongwen Guan. Furthermore, the Army, the Imperial Household Agency, Pro-Asian activists, and nationalists are all trying to use these former Genyosha members in their schemes. The Navy obviously cannot treat everyone as an enemy at once, and therefore will not dwell on the historical issues of the Genyosha.

However, Lin Xinyi was not at ease with these mainland ronin. Even though they had abandoned the Genyosha banner, their political ideology was still militaristic and completely incompatible with the Japanese democratic politics he wanted. Sooner or later, the two sides would still clash, so he would not hesitate to weaken the other side when he could.

The only people in the old Genyosha who truly caught his attention were Mitsuru Toyama, Shigemaru Sugiyama, and Ryohei Uchida. Mitsuru Toyama was the spiritual leader of the Mainland Ronin, and as long as he was around, he could organize the Mainland Ronin into a group. Ryohei Uchida was Toyama's carefully cultivated agent, responsible for the specific affairs of the Black Dragon Society. Shigemaru Sugiyama was the liaison between the Mainland Ronin, the Army, the Zaibatsu, and the Democratic Party.

The fact that Sugiyama Shigemaru was able to bring Ogawa Heikichi to this gathering shows how strong his interpersonal skills are. If you can't completely destroy someone like that, you have to be careful of his counterattack at all times. So Lin Xinyi naturally wouldn't dare not remember what this person looks like. It's just that he doesn't have enough people at his disposal right now, so he can't monitor Sugiyama Shigemaru.

Lin Xinyi quickly withdrew his gaze from Sugiyama Shigemaru and greeted Ogawa Heikichi, who had stood up to greet him, warmly: "Did Uncle ask me to come here today to introduce me to some good friends? I wonder how I should greet these two seniors?"

Ogawa Heikichi said cheerfully, "This is Mr. Itō Sōemon, the coal mining magnate of Kyushu. He seems to have some misunderstanding with you, so he asked me to invite you here today to clear things up. As for Mr. Sugiyama, he's a senior member of the House of Representatives; he was elected in the very first session of the Diet..."

At this moment, Sugiyama Shigemaru interrupted Ogawa's introduction and said, "Actually, I've known Nobuyoshi for a long time. Back then, at Hama no Ichi, Mr. Tomiyama and I hosted you."

Ogawa Heikichi seemed to remember something, while Hayashi Shinichi replied to Sugiyama Shigemaru with an unchanged smile, "Oh, how has Mr. Toyama been lately? Miss Muko is still very grateful to him."

Sugiyama Shigemaru was taken aback. Ever since Kiko was adopted by the Ichiki family, the Hama family had had to sever ties with them. They didn't have the ability or the courage to use the Ichiki family's adopted daughter as a spy. However, Sugiyama originally thought that Kiko would keep her relationship with the Genyosha to herself, rather than confessing to Hayashi Shinji, the Genyosha's target.

He could only say evasively, "Mr. Tomiyama now lives almost entirely in seclusion in the countryside and rarely goes out. It's quite surprising that Miss Muzi still remembers Mr. Tomiyama."

Lin Xinyi nodded slightly after hearing this and said, "It's truly enviable that Mr. Tomiyama can enjoy the quiet life in the countryside. But if I had Mr. Tomiyama's abilities, I would probably also enjoy the peaceful life in the countryside. Not everyone has the ambition of Mr. Ito, right, Mr. Ito?"

Although it was Ito Saemon's first time meeting Hayashi Shin'ichi, he already sensed that this young man was not easy to deal with. Hayashi Shin'ichi was neither a rigid soldier nor a newly rich man who was arrogant because he had achieved success at a young age. However, he was not a slick person who put human relationships first. Apart from being younger, he had an air of authority that was not questionable, which was not much less than that of Admiral Kodama or Admiral Yamamoto Kaisho.

At this moment, he finally understood why, despite Lin Xinyi's young age, few people in the navy were willing to step forward to mediate for him. The powerful figures in the navy were not worried about offending Commander-in-Chief Kawahara, but rather unwilling to lose face in front of Lin Xinyi. Clearly, none of the relationships he cultivated in the navy could suppress this young man.

People with such an imposing presence are generally very opinionated and capable of standing on their own, because those who are submissive cannot cultivate this decisive and assertive aura. Even Sugiyama Shigemaru, whom he respects, is merely a venomous snake lurking in the shadows. Even if Sugiyama were to be exposed to the light of day to push something forward, he wouldn't possess the same imposing presence that Hayashi Shinichi has now.

Having only entered the room and exchanged a few words, Ito had already focused his attention on Lin Xinyi, considering the intentions behind Lin Xinyi's words. This undeniable power made him feel a deep sense of pressure, something he had never imagined before.

Ito Saemon could neither agree with Hayashi Shinji's view that Toyama Mitsuru should live in seclusion and not concern himself with worldly affairs, nor could he say that he was truly ambitious. Therefore, he would continue to insist on the marriage with the Yanagihara family.

Just as Ito Saemon was caught in a dilemma, Sugiyama Shigemaru spoke up and helped him out of his predicament, "Ito isn't ambitious; he's suffering from the King of Chu's illness. Speaking of which, I heard that your wedding with Miss Muko is approaching. I wonder when it will be?"

Sugiyama Shigemaru's interruption made Ogawa Heikichi realize what was happening and quickly asked Hayashi Shin'ichi to sit down and talk. He was willing to speak up for Ito Saemon because he felt that there was no major conflict of interest between the two sides. At most, it was just that both sides had their eyes on the beauties of the Yanagihara family. Although the Yanagihara family was not bad, they were just a family with a good reputation but no outstanding people. So he naturally did not think it was a big deal.

To be honest, among the old court nobles, only Iwakura Tomomi and Sanjo Sanetomi were truly talented. However, Sanjo Sanetomi lacked political acumen, while Iwakura Tomomi possessed political talent, but he belonged to the lowest-ranking half-family among the court nobles. Although the status of the court nobles rose significantly after the establishment of the Meiji Restoration government, they still relied on the feudal lords for their livelihood and could not compare with the status of the new nobles of the Restoration.

Therefore, the anecdote about the beauty of the Liuyuan family being fought over by Lin Xinyi of the newly rich faction and the nouveau riche coal tycoon of Kyushu was just regarded as a romantic affair. People also mocked the Liuyuan family for their lack of integrity, but few people stood on the side of the Liuyuan family to refute the audacity of the two men.

Of course, this was also due to the palace's suppression of some information. Ordinary people had no idea that Yanagihara Yoshiko was actually the Crown Prince's cousin, and only considered her to be an ordinary noblewoman. Ogawa Heikichi was the one who knew, which is why he didn't want the two sides to continue arguing, ultimately causing the imperial family to lose face as well. As for the Yanagihara family's reputation, he didn't care.

Lin Xinyi was simply trying to make Ito and Sugiki aware of his stance, preventing them from using Ogawa to curry favor with him, thus avoiding a lot of trouble for himself. When it comes to personal relationships, Japan and China, and indeed the three East Asian countries, are quite similar. They all come from Confucian circles, favoring relatives over principles; kinship is far more effective than superior-subordinate relationships.

If he were to first establish a relationship with Ito and Sugiki through Ogawa Heikichi, it would be unreasonable for him to refuse their requests. However, if he made his position clear first, and they still dared to make demands, it would be like they were asking him to do something unreasonable. The three people in the room were all seasoned veterans in this kind of situation, and naturally they could understand the implication in Lin Xinyi's words.

So after sitting down, Ito Saemon thought it over and over again, and then raised his glass to Hayashi Shinji to apologize, saying, "Miss Yanagihara is so opposed to this marriage, I can't force her. Please convey my apologies to Miss Yanagihara..."

Lin Xinyi glanced at him and said calmly, "I am not Miss Liuyuan's protector. I am only responsible for the New Women's Newspaper. The foundation's investment in the New Women's Newspaper is to guide women in the Empire to better shoulder their responsibilities as women in the new era. That is why I had to stop Count Liuyuan from forcibly taking Miss Liuyuan away. As for Miss Liuyuan's marriage, it is naturally up to her to decide. This decision is not in Count Liuyuan's hands, nor is it in mine. Mr. Ito really doesn't need to explain to me."

Ito Saemon frowned, unsure of Hayashi Shin'ichi's intentions. However, Sugiyama seemed to understand Hayashi Shin'ichi's meaning, though he wouldn't explain to Ito on this matter. After all, he wasn't Ito's babysitter and couldn't take care of everything. In fact, Hayashi Shin'ichi meant that the New Women's Newspaper was under his protection, and neither Yanagihara nor anyone else should try to make it a laughing stock. This wasn't some gossip about him and Ito competing for her affections.

Whether or not Ito understood Lin Xinyi's words, he had at least achieved his goal for the day. He and Lin Xinyi had cleared up their misunderstanding, and neither would seek revenge on the other for the sake of Miss Yanagihara. The banquet then reached its climax when Ogawa Heikichi introduced Sugiyama Shigemaru's connections within the House of Representatives to Lin Xinyi, implying that Sugiyama Shigemaru was indispensable for gaining control of the House.

Lin Xinyi was well aware of Sugiyama Shigemaru's role in the House of Representatives. He might not be able to accomplish anything significant, but he certainly had the ability to cause trouble, which was why he was willing to accept the invitation. However, he disagreed with Ogawa Heikichi's idea of ​​directly bringing the other party into their camp, as this would only give Sugiyama the opportunity to sabotage their side from within.

So he changed the subject and asked Ito Saemon, "Mr. Ito, since you are a coal tycoon, what are your views on the thermal power generation business? What are your company's plans for the development of mechanization and electrification in your coal mines?"

After sitting there for a long time, Ito Saemon finally heard a topic he was familiar with. To be honest, he had actually studied the issue of thermal power generation. In East Asia, coal is mainly used as a power source for ships. Its market for industrial power, gas production, domestic fuel, and coke for steelmaking is still too small and cannot keep up with the growth rate of coal production capacity in various parts of Asia.

Especially in Japan, where the coal market is essentially saturated, and neighboring China still has a large amount of cheap coal available for mining, it is imperative for Japanese coal mine owners to explore new coal markets. Coal for power generation represents a completely new market for coal mine owners. If electricity can replace kerosene as a source of lighting or become a provider of industrial power, the demand for electricity will reach an astonishing figure.

However, after a period of research, Itō Saemon realized that it was too difficult for illiterate mine owners like them to develop thermal power generation. First of all, they would have to rely entirely on outsiders for the technology. Not to mention that the power equipment required a large investment, the construction of the power grid alone would cost a lot of money, and other power companies would not allow them to use their power grids.

Once a power company has already laid out a power grid in a certain area, it becomes difficult for the latter to compete. This is because the pioneer can force the latecomer to make it difficult to guarantee costs by lowering electricity prices. The more users the power grid has, the lower the cost per user. Unless the latecomer invests huge sums of money to compete, it is difficult to catch up with the pioneer. Thus, the other party can force you into operating at a loss by using an extremely low price.

Another significant problem is that Japan's power transmission system can only guarantee power transmission over relatively short distances. As a result, apart from major cities such as Osaka, Tokyo, and Kobe, other small and medium-sized cities and rural areas can only maintain small power plants due to their dispersed populations. These small power plants are very suitable for small hydropower generation. Given the geography of the Japanese archipelago, which has many small rivers, small hydropower plants can be built almost everywhere, which puts thermal power plants in an extremely disadvantageous position.

Therefore, Ito Saemon could only work with his friends on the power grid near the coal mines. As for large-scale investment in thermal power plants, they all felt it was too difficult and abandoned the idea. Regarding the mechanization of coal mines, he explained to Hayashi Shinichi: "Kyushu coal mines rarely have thick coal seams, so mechanization isn't very suitable for Japanese coal mines. Besides, manual labor is much cheaper than installing machines for coal mining. At least we can't repair the machines ourselves, but if there are problems with the workers, we can recruit more..."

Lin Xinyi did not criticize the theory that humans are cheaper than machines. This is almost an instinctive way of thinking for capitalists. Machines will only become popular when labor is more expensive than machines. This is why Watt's steam engine did not sell well at first. However, the Napoleonic Wars led to a large number of British people fleeing to the New World, and thus the situation of humans being more expensive than machines appeared in Britain. This is the root cause of the popularity of the steam engine.

To persuade these capitalists to modernize coal mines, it would probably be necessary to first complete the laying of power grids and usher in a large-scale industrialization era in East Asia, leading to rising labor costs and falling transportation and electricity prices, thus prompting them to seek machines to replace manual labor.

Therefore, he then asked: "If the government acquires the construction of the power grid and the various power companies sell electricity to the grid in the future, while the state-owned grid sets the agreed price and quantity of electricity each year, purchases electricity from the various power companies, and then sells it to the public and factories, do you think thermal power generation can develop?"

Ito Saemon paused for a moment, then quickly realized what was going on and said, "If the government can purchase electricity at the agreed price, then even with a lower profit margin, people will still invest in thermal power plants, because as long as they produce electricity, they won't lose money. However, the official interest rate for domestic loans is currently 7-8%, so the agreed price for electricity would have to be at least 12% higher than the cost for anyone to be interested in investing in thermal power generation..."

Lin Xinyi did not continue the discussion with Ito Saemon, but turned his gaze to Sugiyama Shigemaru and said: "Mr. Sugiyama, if Japan wants to improve its industrial development, it must realize the electrification of Japan. As Mr. Ito just said, the current power companies in Japan are almost only concerned with whether they can make money, and have no interest in building a power grid that encompasses the entire territory of Japan."

I believe that the establishment of a nationwide power grid should be led and promoted by the government. This company's business model is simple: to lay the power grid throughout Japan, allowing every Japanese citizen to enjoy the technological advancements of electric lighting. Building a nationwide power grid will inevitably require many construction workers, and I think the personnel laid off from the army and navy after the war could be perfectly placed in such a state-owned company.

"Would you be willing to advise the Army to work with the Navy to push the government to improve its operations? Currently, Osaka and Tokyo have two different power supply systems. I think it would be better to establish a Kanto-Kansai power grid centered on Osaka and Tokyo. The Navy could manage the Kanto power grid, while the Army could manage the Kansai power grid. This would benefit both sides."

Sugiyama Shigemaru was still pondering how Hayashi Shin-yi had steered the conversation towards the Army, but he couldn't deny that Hayashi's suggestion was actually beneficial to the Army. Given the current situation, downsizing the Army was inevitable; the only questions were how to downsize and who to transfer to the reserves.

Chapter 614

Suddenly, Sugiyama Shigemaru realized that Hayashi Nobuyoshi's tone in proposing the establishment of a national power grid was too firm. It wasn't a question or a test, but rather an attempt to offer benefits to the army. However, Hayashi Nobuyoshi was just a junior officer in the navy. How could he make this decision for the navy? Only Minister of the Navy Yamamoto or Vice Minister Saito could make such a promise. Even Chief of Staff Kawahara couldn't make this decision for the navy because it was an administrative matter.

Sugiyama Shigemaru had investigated Hayashi Nobuyoshi's background and knew that he was a favorite of Ito, a senior member of the Navy, and Kawahara, the Minister of War. However, he was opposed to the faction of Yamamoto and Saito. For Hayashi Nobuyoshi to say such a thing, it meant either he had gained Yamamoto's approval, or Yamamoto was about to step down. Both outcomes indicated one thing: a consensus had been reached within the Navy, and Hayashi Nobuyoshi was clearly on the winning side, which was why he could boldly make suggestions to the Army.

This was Sugiyama Shigemaru's biggest gain at the banquet. After Hayashi Nobuyoshi arrived, Ogawa Heikichi's attempts to win him over were interrupted. Clearly, Hayashi Nobuyoshi also wielded considerable influence within the Ogawa Heikichi-Hara Yoshimichi political faction. Sugiyama Shigemaru realized that he had underestimated Hayashi Nobuyoshi.

Although Sugiyama Shigemaru already valued Hayashi Nobuyoshi highly, a talent who was noticed by Ito Hirobumi and Saigo Tsugumichi while still in high school was naturally a promising star. Hayashi Nobuyoshi's rapid rise in the Navy was obviously due to this powerful background. Although Sugiyama knew that Hayashi Nobuyoshi had gone to China after graduating from the Marine Academy and made great contributions, he did not know what those contributions were. He thought they were similar to the achievements of mainland ronin in intelligence work, so he attributed Hayashi Nobuyoshi's rapid promotion to his background.

Mitsuru Toyama and Ryohei Uchida helped the army investigate the connection between Shin-Yi Hayashi and Feng Hayashi, but apart from reporting to the army's high command, they did not mention it to Shigemaru Sugiyama. This was because Shigemaru Sugiyama was not investigated in the incident of the Genyosha being purged from Tokyo, which made both of them feel that Shigemaru Sugiyama's loyalty to the Genyosha was questionable, so they were unwilling to let him participate in or know some things and information.

Although Kodama Gentaro knew about this, he only learned of it on the Chinese battlefield and had no opportunity to discuss it with Sugiyama Shigemaru. This resulted in Sugiyama Shigemaru having very incomplete information about Hayashi Nobuyoshi. However, this banquet corrected his misjudgment of Hayashi Nobuyoshi. Hayashi Nobuyoshi was now clearly not just a naval officer with a powerful background, but a figure who could truly stir up waves in the naval and political circles.

At this moment, Sugiyama Shigemaru could only lament that Kodama's death was too ill-timed. If Kodama were still alive, he could have used Hayashi Nobuyoshi's olive branch to the army to greatly establish Kodama's authority within the military, thereby truly replacing Yamagata Aritomo's control over the army. Establishing a state-run power grid to resettle demobilized soldiers was indeed a brilliant move. It could both demonstrate Yamagata and others' failure to protect the army and establish Kodama's care for the soldiers by resettling them. Could there be a more ingenious strategy that killed two birds with one stone?

However, Kodama's death prevented him from maximizing the benefits of this brilliant plan. Nevertheless, he could still use this suggestion to make deals with certain individuals within the army, which was precisely his forte. Therefore, although this banquet did not forge a closer relationship between him and Ogawa Heikichi, it was still quite fruitful.

The next day, when Shinpei Goto came to visit him, Shigemaru Sugiyama briefly mentioned his opinion of Shinji Hayashi, and then said to Goto, "The army is currently in an uproar over the issue of downsizing, but the navy seems to have calmed down. It seems that budget cuts for the army and navy are inevitable, and the heavy industry center construction project led by the navy is more likely to succeed because of the unity within the navy."

Goto Shinpei was a bureaucrat discovered by Kodama Gentaro. He had already discussed with Kodama the possibility of developing Manchuria into Japan's base on the mainland after the war. Sugiyama Shigemaru, as Kodama's ally in the political arena, naturally had a close relationship with Goto Shinpei.

During his administration of Taiwan, Goto conducted in-depth research on colonial governance and studied various theories of overseas colonization from different countries. He particularly admired a German economic paper titled "The Nation and Character." This paper argued that the greatest beneficiary of the conflict between Germany and France was the United States. Therefore, in addition to preparing for war, Germany should also address the economic war with the United States and advocated for an alliance with France to counter the American commercial invasion of Europe.

Based on this paper, Goto argued that the rivalry between Japan and Russia would ultimately be determined by economic strength. If Japan wanted to win the final victory over Russia, it would have to acquire the wealth of Manchuria and eliminate Russia's economic influence in the Far East by managing Manchuria.

Goto translated the article and sent it to Kodama, who approved of it. This was the root cause of Kodama's insistence on preserving Japan's interests in Manchuria. However, Russia suffered a crushing defeat in the war, while China showed signs of resurgence. Consequently, the Japanese political elite's vigilance towards Russia greatly decreased, and their focus on the China issue began to rise.

The Manchurian issue had a significant impact on Japan's efforts to establish a postwar East Asian order. While those advocating for Japan-China friendship opposed the forced occupation of Manchuria, those wary of China did not support going to war with China over Manchuria, as they were not confident of victory. With Kodama's death, the military forces insisting on occupying Manchuria lost their leader. Yamagata, Katsura Taro, and Terauchi Masatake reached a consensus to withdraw troops and assimilate the Korean Peninsula, thus declaring Goto's Manchurian management plan a failure.

Although the army still occupied Vladivostok and the Ussuri Railway, some army generals thought that the Primorsky Krai could be developed. However, Goto had little interest in it because the population of the Russian Primorsky Krai was too small and the infrastructure was too poor. If Japan wanted to develop the Primorsky Krai, the investment would probably be no less than the cost of fighting a war against Russia. Meanwhile, the Chinese had Manchuria, which was easier to develop. If the Primorsky Krai was developed, it was hard to say who would benefit in the end.

Just then, a plan to downsize the military and develop a heavy industry center was proposed in China. This plan overlapped significantly with Goto's plans for managing Manchuria. Goto simply withdrew from Manchuria and focused on getting involved in the heavy industry center plan.

However, Shinpei Goto also knew that there would be no one in the army who would support his business plans as unconditionally as Kodama. Even though Taro Katsura and Kaoru Inoue valued him highly, they weren't doing it to help him realize his political ideals, but rather to have Goto amass wealth for them. That's why he needed to ally with Shigemaru Sugiyama, leveraging Sugiyama's connections in the political world to obtain a wealth of political intelligence, in order to avoid being used as a scapegoat by Taro Katsura and Kaoru Inoue.

After listening to Sugiyama Shigemaru's assessment of the internal situation within the Navy, Goto Shinpei finally made up his mind and said, "It seems that we must side with the Navy on the issue of land reform in Chiba Prefecture. Although the Navy's interests are not entirely aligned with ours, the Navy's plan has indeed been thoroughly investigated and researched. If the land in the heavy industrial center is not managed properly, the rapidly rising land prices will inevitably lead to disorder in the surrounding villages. Only through land reform, by putting the land in the hands of the government and then fairly distributing the land premium, will the local people not harbor resentment towards the construction of the industrial center."

Sugiyama Shigemaru also agreed with Goto Shinpei's views on land issues. In 1889, Mitsubishi Corporation bought 15,000 tsubo (approximately 1,333 square meters) of land in Marunouchi for 11.11 yen per tsubo, while in Kojimachi, the area with the highest land prices in the Tokyo area, the price was only 2.34 yen per tsubo. However, with the completion of the Tokaido Main Line, land prices in Ginza rose to 300 yen per tsubo today, and land prices in Marunouchi also increased several times over. If the Tokaido Main Line and the Tohoku Main Line were connected, and Tokyo Station were built in Marunouchi, then land prices in Marunouchi would skyrocket.

Previously, everyone thought Mitsubishi Corporation's purchase of the Marunouchi land was a losing proposition. However, now everyone believes that Mitsubishi Corporation colluded with the government to buy the land at a low price because Mitsubishi Corporation knew the government would build a train station in Marunouchi. Therefore, the railway connecting the Tokaido Main Line and the Tohoku Main Line has been consistently obstructed by conglomerates such as Mitsui and Yasuda, who fear that the land Mitsubishi Corporation purchased in Marunouchi will become its most valuable investment.

This is still in Tokyo, right in front of the Imperial Palace. These zaibatsu (financial conglomerates) are already willing to obstruct railway projects that would benefit the people of Tokyo in their struggle for profits. If they were to set up an industrial center in Chiba, where there is little upper-class influence, who knows what shocking and heinous things the zaibatsu and powerful figures might do in pursuit of exorbitant land prices.

Therefore, although discussing land reform has infringed upon the interests of all upper echelons in Japan, in order to prevent the land premium brought about by the development of heavy industrial centers from falling into the hands of a few, the land reform plan can now be discussed. What everyone is actually discussing is not a reform plan for rural areas, but a plan for the distribution of benefits from the surrounding land brought about by industrial development.

When the Navy first proposed the land reform plan, Sugiyama Shigemaru thought that the Navy people really didn't understand politics. He thought that developing heavy industrial centers might get a lot of support from political and economic figures, but submitting the land reform plan would only force the landowners to jump out and oppose it. However, he now realized that he had underestimated the Navy's calculations.

The land reform plan proposed by the Navy not only quelled the debate over whether to build a heavy industrial center, but also made those political and economic forces who originally thought that heavy industrial centers were irrelevant to them suddenly realize their points of interest. They could not do heavy industry with huge investments, but who could not do the business of buying land at low prices and then selling it at high prices?

The land reform plan not only fractured the consensus between rural tenants and landlords but also revealed its potential benefits to politicians and tycoons, thus accelerating the development of a heavy industry center. During the summer recess, members of various factions gradually reached agreements through private contacts, and the pilot areas for land reform were expected to be approved soon after the session resumed. This marked a significant step forward for the navy in its pursuit of dominance over the country.

Shinpei Goto and Shigemaru Sugiyama both approved of the naval plan from both economic and political perspectives and attempted to further participate in it in order to reap the rewards for themselves.

Meanwhile, after the dinner, Ogawa Heikichi questioned Hayashi Shin-yi's obstruction of his actions, saying, "Senior Sugiyama is a veteran with profound political influence. Bringing him into our ranks would greatly enhance our voice in the House of Representatives. Why did you just try to stop me from trying to win him over?"

Sitting swaying in the carriage, Lin Xinyi replied bluntly, "Uncle, what do you think is the main factor that enables a political party to be established?"