Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 32

Instructor Yamada pointed to the three pairs of students who were sparring and said, "The pair on the far left, the one defending is student Lin Xinyi, and the one fighting him is student Takano Isoroku."

Following Instructor Yamada's instructions, Togo Masamichi carefully observed Hayashi Shinichi's fight. Although Hayashi Shinichi was being pushed back by Takano Isoroku, his steps were very firm. It was clear that Hayashi Shinichi was not truly defeated, but was intentionally avoiding his opponent's attacks, preventing him from using his full strength.

Instructor Yamada commented to Togo, "Cadet Lin Xinyi's kendo style is to defend and wait for an opportunity to counterattack. Apart from a few senior students with abundant stamina and kendo instructors, it is difficult for others to break through his defense in one go, and they will eventually be successfully countered by him. In this respect, he is very inconsistent with the combat style of the Naval Academy."

Togo Masamichi knew what the Naval Academy's combat style was: "Attack, attack, and attack again."

The purpose of starting kendo and judo classes at military academies is not to improve the combat skills of these students, but to cultivate their aggressiveness and transform their mindset from that of civilians to that of soldiers. Lin Xinyi is clearly an exception.

By this time, the other two matches on the field had ended, and the offensive tactics naturally yielded a clear winner, leaving only Lin Xinyi and Takano Isoroku still battling it out. Faced with the sudden silence around him, Takano Isoroku finally lost his composure. He tried to settle the score with Lin Xinyi as quickly as possible, so he increased his pace in his attack once again. However, this time Lin Xinyi did not dodge; instead, he took a step forward and counterattacked.

Seeing this, Gao Ye knew he was doomed. His movements had been too large, slowing his sword strike, so Lin Xinyi's sword would definitely hit him first. Sure enough, before he could finish his thought, he was struck heavily on the mask and fell backward. Lin Xinyi's strength was actually no less than his, but he always avoided direct confrontation.

After seeing the result, Togo Masamichi ignored the fallen student and simply had Yamada call Hayashi Shin'ichi over. Hayashi Shin'ichi removed his mask, first helping Takano Isoroku up and completing the closing ceremony with him, before walking up to Togo Masamichi with his mask still on and greeting him.

Looking at Lin Xinyi, who barely broke a sweat, Togo Masamichi shook his head slightly in his heart, but said calmly, "Get ready, we're going to Tokyo tomorrow."

Although somewhat doubtful, Lin Xinyi agreed without asking any questions. Early the next morning, he boarded a destroyer with Togo Masamichi bound for Yokosuka Naval Base in Tokyo. Sailing at this time of year was actually quite pleasant. The sea breeze almost completely dispelled the heat on the warship, though this only applied to the decks; below deck, it remained unbearably hot and stuffy.

After boarding the ship, Togo Masao barely spoke to Hayashi Shinichi. It wasn't until they were almost at Yokosuka Naval Base that he asked him, "What are your thoughts on sitting on a warship?"

After thinking for a moment, Lin Xinyi said, "Coal-fired ships are a bit dirty, and white military uniforms get dirty easily. Switching to oil-fired ships should be much better."

After hearing this answer, Togo Masamichi stared at him for several seconds before abruptly ending the conversation he had initiated, because he simply couldn't keep up with the other person's train of thought.

It was only after landing in Yokosuka and en route to Tokyo that Hayashi learned of Saigo Tsugumichi's illness from Togo Masashi. His return to Tokyo was also due to Saigo's request.

Shortly after Togo Masamichi entered the Ministry of the Navy, Army General Staff Vice-Minister Tamura Iyozo also received the news. He then went to report to Oyama Iwao and Yamagata Aritomo, saying, "According to our intelligence, Togo Masamichi only visited Etajima once on his way from Tokyo to Korea. Now that Lord Saigo is seriously ill, this Togo Masamichi has been immediately summoned to Tokyo. Perhaps this Togo is the one who gave Kawahara Kaname the idea."

Yamagata Aritomo nodded slightly and said, "If Togo Masamichi is indeed the mastermind behind this plan, then summoning him to Tokyo at this time clearly means that Saigo wants to settle his affairs. It seems that things aren't so harmonious within the Navy."

"Does Saigo hope that Yamamoto Gonnohyōe and Togo Masamichi will cooperate, or does he intend to support Togo's rise to power? Let's continue to observe. Once Saigo goes, the Navy will fall into chaos for a period of time. We must grasp the Navy's situation to ensure that it can carry out our plans. We cannot allow the Navy to fall into internal strife now."

Tamura Ichiyo understood Yamagata's meaning: if internal strife broke out in the Navy after Saigo Tsurumi's death, the Army would have to intervene, and Togo Masamichi might be someone who could be won over. He had no objection to this; from the Army's perspective, while the Navy couldn't be on equal footing with them, it at least needed to maintain stability to implement the national policies led by the military.

Chapter 109 New Veterans

When facing Saigo, Lin Xinyi was somewhat speechless, because Saigo Takamori's intention in summoning him to Tokyo was to adopt him as his son, which, in a sense, meant designating him as the Saigo family's heir in the navy. Although Saigo Takamori had several sons, he was unable to pursue a career in the military due to his reputation as a traitor.

As for Saigo Tsugumichi's son, Saigo Tsugunori, he was a member of the nobility with a deep interest in garden art, and he was clearly unsuitable to inherit the Saigo family's prestige in the navy. As for Saigo Tsugumichi's nephews, they died in the Satsuma Rebellion, which is why Saigo supported Yamamoto Gonnohyōe in taking over the Saigo family's influence in the navy.

However, after meeting Hayashi Shin-yi, Saigo Tsugumichi felt that Yamamoto Gonbei was not good enough, so he wanted to make some adjustments to his affairs after his death while he still had breath.

In Lin Xinyi's view, Saigo Tsugumichi's prestige only existed while he was alive. After his death, the Saigo family's influence over the Navy would be limited because the Navy would no longer be able to obtain protection from Saigo Tsugumichi. Therefore, bearing the title of Saigo Tsugumichi's adopted son would not be of any help to him.

On the contrary, because he was not from the Satsuma Domain, yet Saigo Tsugumichi designated him as the third core of the Satsuma Domain, he only incurred the resentment of the Satsuma faction. The Satsuma faction was even more xenophobic than the Choshu faction. Tsuboi Kozo, who was from Choshu, was the proposer of the single column tactic for battleships, but after the Sino-Japanese War, he was kicked out of the central leadership and ultimately did not even become an admiral.

In this respect, the Satsuma faction was indeed less magnanimous than the Choshu faction. After all, army generals from the Satsuma Domain, such as Kawakami Soroku and Ōyama Iwao, eventually became core figures of the Choshu faction. Therefore, Saigo Tsurumichi's wishes were good, but the Satsuma faction he led did not have such a broad mind; otherwise, the navy would not have been suppressed by the army for so long.

Of course, under the watchful eyes of the Satsuma elders, Lin Xinyi couldn't simply refuse Saigo, as that would only cause him more trouble. He only thought for a moment before calmly saying to Saigo Tsurudo, "It would be better to discuss this matter after you have fully recovered. Isn't it inauspicious to bring it up now?"

Lying on the hospital bed, Saigo looked at Lin Xinyi with a smile and shook his head, saying, "At this point, what's the point of talking about good or bad luck? Can't you see? I'm making my final arrangements."

Upon hearing this, the naval veterans in the ward all looked solemn. Those who had originally wanted to offer some advice now fell silent. Seeing this, Lin Xinyi had no choice but to speak frankly: "If Your Excellency wishes to make arrangements for your affairs after death, then I believe that the matter of adoption is a minor one. Your Excellency should prioritize the more important matters."

Saigo Tsurudo looked at him curiously and asked, "Besides choosing a successor, what important things can I do?"

Under the watchful eyes of others, Lin Xinyi calmly looked at Saigo Tsurumi and said, "Of course, the most important thing right now is to recommend a senior member of the navy to the palace. If Your Excellency is truly unfortunate, then the navy will lose its voice before the emperor. Once such a situation arises, how can we talk about changing the situation of the land being the master and the navy being the servant?"

Faced with Lin Xinyi's irresponsible remarks, the upright Kawamura Jun'yori couldn't help but rebuke him, saying, "Do you even know what you're saying? The elders assist the Emperor; this is His Majesty's absolute power to decide, and no subject is allowed to interfere."

Although Lin Xinyi did not recognize the old man sitting beside Saigo Tsunedo, he knew from the fact that the old man was sitting so close to Saigo that he must be a powerful figure in the Satsuma faction. However, being a man without desires or ambitions, he had no reason to fear the other party and replied bluntly, "Isn't the position of advisor precisely for this purpose? Whether or not His Majesty will use Saigo Marquis's advice is His Majesty's decision, but whether or not to speak is Saigo Marquis's problem."

Kawamura Junyoshi was silenced by these words, and at the same time he noticed that everyone else by the bed was keeping an eerie silence. He glanced at them and realized that his naval colleagues actually agreed with the suggestion of the boy in front of him.

After all, if Saigo were to leave, the Navy's influence within the Imperial Household would be significantly diminished. It's truly difficult to say whether the Emperor would then select a Navy member to advance to the position of Elder. Furthermore, it would be difficult for the Navy to probe the Emperor's intentions regarding appointing an Elder, but if Saigo were to use his final suggestion to test the Emperor now, the Emperor would have no choice but to give a clear answer.

This is a major matter concerning the overall interests of the navy. At this time, naturally no one would care about Lin Xinyi's rudeness. On the contrary, they felt that it was appropriate for this young man to bring it up, because if anyone else brought it up, they might be suspected of having ulterior motives. But for a young man who had not even officially joined the navy, it could just be a joke. However, if the palace really took it as a joke, the navy would not stand for it.

Saigo finally came to his senses and looked at the boy, saying, "Do you think that if I speak to His Majesty now, the Navy will gain another elder statesman?"

After pondering for a moment, Lin Xinyi said, "Your Excellency puts public interests before private ones and is willing to risk offending the emperor to offer advice for the sake of balance between the army and the navy. His Majesty is a wise ruler, how can he ignore this advice? Wouldn't that dampen the navy's loyalty to His Majesty? Besides, the army has no reason to oppose the navy's request, and Lord Ito also needs a new naval veteran to balance the army's overly dominant position. This is a suggestion that benefits all three parties, and I hope Your Excellency will consider it carefully."

Saigo Tsurudo remained silent for a long time, then nodded gently to Lin Xinyi and said, "I understand what you mean. Then go out for a walk and let us old men chat for a bit."

Lin Xinyi bowed to Saigo Tsurudo, then turned and left the ward without a word, showing no sign of lingering. Watching him leave, Hidaka Tsuneo smiled and said to Saigo, "Lord Hou's judgment is indeed excellent. I think this lad has quite a character and won't tarnish the Saigo family's reputation."

Kawamura Junyoshi then looked at Saigo Tsurumi and said, "Are you really going to speak to His Majesty? If so, I don't think I should stay any longer."

Saigo Tsurumi understood what the other party meant. As Prince Hirohito's chief tutor, Kawamura Sumiyoshi was no longer in a position to express his opinion on political issues, otherwise he would be attacked by all sides.

He struggled to sit up straight, then nodded to the other person and said, "Please take good care of yourself."

Kawamura Junyoshi silently returned the bow, then stood up and said, "Take care of yourself, and see you again someday."

After Kawamura Jun'yoshi left, only Kabayama Sukenori, Yamamoto Gonnohyōe, and others remained in the room.

Several people were present: Ito Sukeyuki, Inoue Yoshikazu, Togo Heihachiro, Samejima Kaname, and Hidaka Tsunenojo. Saigo Tsurumi turned his gaze to Kabayama Sukenori and asked, "What do you think?"

Kabayama Sukenori quickly waved his hands and said, "I can't do the job of assisting the emperor. I'd be lucky if I didn't have to make His Majesty clean up my mess."

Hearing this, Saigo could only shake his head and smile wryly. Kabayama Sukenori, with his record of speaking out of bravado, was indeed unsuitable to be a senior elder, and the public's impression of him was really bad. He looked at the second-ranked Yamamoto Gonbei, but quickly shook his head again. This man's qualifications were really not suitable to be a senior elder. In the end, his gaze settled on Ito Sukeyuki.

Saigo looked at it for a long time, and finally nodded and said, "Everyone else go out. Let Ito stay and help me draft a message to His Majesty."

Kabayama Sukenori bowed to Saigo without hesitation and turned to leave. Yamamoto Gonbei hesitated for a moment before departing. The others, however, readily accepted Saigo Tsurumichi's choice. Apart from Kabayama Sukenori and Ito Sukeyuki, they knew they were not qualified. In fact, without Saigo's recommendation, it was questionable whether these two would have even become elders.

Samejima Kaminori walked into the corridor, looked at his subordinates, and then glanced at Hayashi Shin'ichi, who was standing there talking to Kawahara. He couldn't help but put on a stern face and said to his subordinates, "Sakamoto, I used to think you were doing a pretty good job, but now I think you're not working hard enough. Others can become veterans with just a word. When are you going to let me become a general?"

Sakamoto Toshitsu, the president of the Ocean University, was momentarily bewildered. He wondered what kind of joke his old superior was playing on him. What did it mean to create an elder with just one sentence? Could elders be created so easily?

Compared to Sakamoto Toshitsu's confusion, the army was truly out of touch with the navy. Yamagata Aritomo was still waiting for internal strife in the navy, but news had already spread from the palace that Saigo's final recommendation was to Ito Sukeyuki as a senior member.

In Oyama Iwao's view, this was an extremely rude thing to do. If Saigo Tsugumichi hadn't been dying, he would have gone to Saigo's house and given him a good scolding. Was this something a subject could decide? Even Ito Hirobumi, who had set many rules for the Emperor, would only give hints on the matter of appointing elder statesmen, instead of making such a blatant recommendation. This was far more serious than infringing on the authority of the commander-in-chief.

Yamagata Aritomo shook his head and said, "Saigo really seized the opportunity. His Majesty will not reject his final petition, because this is not only Saigo's personal opinion, but also the collective will of the Navy. It seems that the Navy can smoothly transition through the post-Saigo era. We were just worrying for nothing. Togo Masamichi is a really interesting person."

When Oyama Iwao told his deputy, Tamura Iyozo, about the news, Tamura was stunned for a moment, and like Yamagata, he exclaimed, "What a devilish Togo! This move was brilliant! If it weren't for the current situation, His Majesty wouldn't accept it, the army wouldn't tolerate the navy's arrogance, and Lord Ito wouldn't allow the navy to act so recklessly."

But precisely at this moment, no one stepped forward to stop Saigo, and the navy seized a golden opportunity. In this way, the navy's voice at the Emperor's court was preserved, but we were no longer able to offer guidance on naval affairs.

The army's view was correct. With neither the army nor the cabinet intervening, the palace quickly responded to Saigo's suggestion, and also issued an edict elevating Ito Sukeyuki's rank from viscount to count. Three days later, on July 15th, Ito Sukeyuki received another edict granting him "preferential treatment as a meritorious official."

Chapter 110 The Navy's Secret Meeting (Part 1)

When the imperial edict promoting Ito Sukeyuki to count was issued, Saigo Tsugumichi knew that his final recommendation had been a success. Compared to his attempt to recruit Hayashi Nobuyoshi to maintain the Saigo family's influence in the navy, this recommendation of a senior member actually gave the Saigo family greater influence within the navy. This was because this action would make the entire navy grateful to him, rather than thinking that he only appointed Satsuma's cronies.

Just like the anti-Chōshū faction voices that kept emerging in the army, there were also anti-Satsuma faction voices in the navy. However, the navy was not very large, so Saigo was able to easily suppress these voices and prevent it from turning into a farce of a struggle between the mainstream and non-mainstream factions in the army.

However, Saigo Tsuruga knew that his ability to suppress discontent with the Satsuma faction within the Navy did not mean that the Navy's Satsuma faction could continue to suppress anti-Satsuma forces in the future. This was because the Satsuma faction that had overthrown the shogunate and the Satsuma faction within the Navy were actually two completely different groups. The former's influence extended across the military, political, and financial spheres, while the latter could only survive by relying on the Navy.

Yamamoto Gonbei could at best lead the Satsuma faction within the navy, but his leadership was insufficient to inherit the power transformed from the entire Satsuma Domain. In this respect, the Satsuma faction he led was far less stable than the Choshu faction led by Yamagata and Itō.

This was also the biggest reason why he wanted to adopt Hayashi Shin-yi. He felt that under Hayashi Shin-yi's leadership, the Satsuma faction, both inside and outside the Navy, could reunite instead of drifting apart after his death.

However, at the last minute, he prioritized maintaining the Saigo family's influence in the navy, abandoning any hope of preserving the old Satsuma faction, which made Saigo himself feel quite ashamed. So, after Ito Sukeyuki's decree as Count was issued, he summoned Hayashi Nobuyoshi for a private conversation.

He frankly told the boy, "My last petition was approved by His Majesty, but from now on, I can no longer submit petitions to the palace, otherwise it would make me, Saigo Tsurumi, appear too arrogant and domineering. I need His Majesty's approval to adopt you, so I can no longer bring this up."

"To be honest, I brought you into the Navy, but I couldn't offer you much protection. Instead, I received a lot of good advice from you. Now I'm leaving myself, and I feel quite sorry for you. Do you have any requests? While I'm still here, why don't you tell me?"

Lin Xinyi gazed at the old man lying on the hospital bed, who didn't have much time left. The illness of just over half a month had caused the originally robust Saigo Tsurudo to become rapidly thin. He didn't think the other man had any more time to fulfill any wishes for him, nor did he intend to think so.

After pondering for a long time, Lin Xinyi bowed deeply to Saigo Tsugumichi and said, "I remember when we were in Tokyo, the Marquis asked me a question: how to make the navy more promising. After studying for this period of time, I feel that I can barely try to answer this question. If the Marquis has the energy, I would like to go back and prepare, and then give you a brief report."

Saigo Tsurumi stared at Hayashi Shinichi for a long time before saying weakly, "You're really arrogant, aren't you? You haven't made any personal demands of me yet? Fine, I've seen too many people these past few days. Let me rest for a couple of days to recover my strength. Come report to me in the afternoon of three days from now. I'll bring Yamamoto and Ito along too. Since it concerns the future of the Navy, they should all be able to hear it..."

Lin Xinyi bowed to Saigo once more, then took his leave. After watching Lin Xinyi leave, Saigo invited his older sister, Ichira Kotoko, over and asked her, "Sister, I'd like to ask you to adopt a daughter..."

At noon on July 15th, Ito Sukeyuki, who had already received the imperial edict granting him "honorary honors," and Yamamoto Gonnohyōe arrived together at Saigō Tsugumichi's hospital room. Yamamoto Gonnohyōe glanced at the radiant Ito Sukeyuki, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him. The emergence of a new veteran to replace Saigō Tsugumichi was excellent for the Navy, but quite detrimental to him. It meant that he, who had always nurtured him as the core of the Navy, could no longer consider the Navy his personal property.

Meanwhile, Kawahara Yoichi and Togo Masamichi were carrying a blackboard up to the floor where Saigo Tsurumi's ward was located, while Hayashi Nobuyoshi followed behind them with a stack of documents. A patient in the naval hospital lobby saw this scene and silently left the hospital, then found a phone outside and made a call to the Army General Staff Headquarters.

Army Vice Chief of Staff Tamura quickly ran to report to Yamagata and Chief of Staff Oyama, saying that Togo Masamichi and Kawahara Kaname had carried a blackboard upstairs. After a moment of silence, Yamagata said, "Didn't Yamamoto and Ito just go to the hospital? Is the Navy planning a secret meeting?"

Tamura said with some regret, "Unfortunately, the naval hospital is too heavily guarded against us. The floor where Saigo is located is completely sealed off, so we can't openly inquire about Saigo's condition. Otherwise, we could have found out what Togo was going to report to Saigo and the others."

Yamagata felt that the Navy's current situation was very strange. When Saigo was healthy, the Navy was well-behaved, but now that Saigo had some health problems, the Navy started acting strangely. First, they recommended the elders, and now they are holding secret meetings. Yamagata couldn't grasp the Navy's thinking at all, which made him very uncomfortable.

Oyama Iwao chimed in from the side, "I heard that Saigo once considered adopting a son, but ultimately changed his mind and petitioned His Majesty to appoint a veteran for the Navy. He probably didn't intend to adopt Togo, did he? Then Togo's sacrifice for the Navy this time is truly immense; such a person is indeed not to be underestimated."

Yamagata could only calmly say, "Whatever the Navy wants to do, they'll have to take action eventually. Saigo is doomed. If he himself couldn't do it, how could his men possibly do it? Let's observe for now. I doubt the Navy can really turn the world upside down..."

At the naval hospital, outside Saigo Tsugumi's ward, Togo Masamichi looked at the tightly closed door and couldn't help but complain to Kawahara in a low voice, "What is this? We worked so hard to bring the blackboard up, and we don't even have the right to listen in? Isn't this too much?"

Kawahara Yoichi was in a good mood. It was like a windfall for him that Ito Sukeyuki became a senior member. This meant that Ito would no longer be an obstacle to his promotion, but would instead become his biggest supporter.

The seniority of Ito Sukeyuki means that he is qualified to form a cabinet. Saigo Tsunemichi had previously declined the order to form a cabinet several times because of Saigo Takamori's influence, but Ito Sukeyuki did not have these burdens. Therefore, the position of Minister of the Naval General Staff had already fallen on his shoulders in advance.

He then teased Dongxiang beside him, "Why don't you go in and replace Lin Xinyi? As long as you can give the same report as him, you won't have to stand outside with me as punishment."

Upon hearing this, Togo felt embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Minister Ito now has the qualifications to form a cabinet. Our navy is finally going to have a chance to shine!"

Kawara Kaname nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, not only is the Navy about to rise to prominence, but our Naval General Staff is also a completely different entity now. Have you thought it through? Do you want to come to the Naval General Staff?"

Upon hearing the invitation, Togo Masamichi fell silent once again. It seemed that the position of Vice Minister of the Military General Staff was indeed becoming more sought after, but was this position really something that Kawahara could offer him?

Leaving aside how conflicted Togo was outside the door, Lin Xinyi was already explaining his plan to Saigo Tsurudo, who was lying on the hospital bed, and the Minister of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Affairs sitting beside him.

After hanging a world map on the blackboard, he said to the three of them, "After more than a year of study and discussion with the members of the naval seminar, we have come to a preliminary conclusion: whoever controls Eurasia controls the world."

The key to controlling the Eurasian continent lies in controlling the following points: the North Sea, the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, the Black Sea Straits, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Malacca, the islands of Southeast Asia, and the islands of the central Pacific Ocean.

Britain controlled these key points, thus establishing the hegemony of the British Empire. As an East Asian country, Japan, if it wanted to have a place at sea, had to seek control of the South Pacific islands. Without the South Pacific islands, the Sea of ​​Japan would be a public sea where the fleets of the great powers could enter and exit at will, with no security whatsoever.

To borrow a phrase from the army, the South Seas are Japan's lifeline, and the Pacific Ocean is Japan's interest line. Without controlling the South Seas, Japan cannot secure its security; without controlling the Pacific, Japan cannot become a maritime power. Therefore, the future of the navy hinges entirely on whether the South Seas are under our control.

Upon hearing this, Yamamoto Gonnohyōe finally couldn't help but say, "Isn't this the same viewpoint as the Southern Expansion Theory? But if the Empire wants to advance into Southeast Asia, it has to challenge the Western powers. Apart from the Dutch, whose power is not strong, Britain, France, and the United States, which have significant interests in Southeast Asia, are not major powers that Japan can challenge. At least, Japan does not have the strength to challenge them now."

Ito Sukeyuki remained silent. No matter how outrageous Hayashi Shin-ichi's suggestion was, he would listen carefully because he had already received a favor from Hayashi Shin-ichi. Although Saigo Tsurudo nominated him as a senior member, Saigo Tsurudo would not have taken such a big political risk to make such a request without Hayashi Shin-ichi's suggestion. So from a certain perspective, the favor Hayashi Shin-ichi gave was greater than that of Saigo Tsurudo.

Lin Xinyi nodded to Yamamoto Gonnohyōe and said, "You're right. This is the core idea of ​​the Southern Expansion Theory. However, I think the direction of the Southern Expansion Theory is not wrong. The problem is that the Southern Expansion Theory does not propose a specific implementation method. As long as the implementation problem of the Southern Expansion Theory is solved, then the Southern Expansion Theory can become the ideal solution for the Navy."

Yamamoto Gonnohyōe asked in surprise, "You think we can defeat the combined forces of Britain, France, and the United States in the South Seas? How large a fleet do you plan to build to achieve this goal?"

Lin Xinyi calmly replied, "Building a sufficiently powerful fleet is indeed essential for the navy. However, we cannot only consider strengthening our own power; we must also think about how to weaken the enemy's power and how to utilize their strength..."

Chapter 111 The Navy's Secret Meeting Part Two

"...Some may argue that the cornerstone of the British Empire was its powerful navy and the international gold standard. But in my view, the foundation of the British Empire was essentially the global colonial system it established, and the Royal Navy and the international gold standard were powerful weapons created to defend this system."

Without this global colonial system, the British Royal Navy and the international gold standard would lose their masters and their very reason for existence. No fleet expands for its own sake; their expansion is always driven by the needs of the masters who created them.

To challenge the hegemony of the British Empire by targeting the Royal Navy would be a misguided choice. In Greek mythology, there was a giant named Antaeus, son of Gaia, the goddess of the earth, and Poseidon, the god of the sea. As long as his feet were on the ground, he was invincible. Hercules discovered his secret, lifted Antaeus into the air to prevent him from drawing strength from Gaia, and finally strangled him.

The Royal Navy is such a giant that as long as the British Empire exists, no one can defeat it. It can always draw enough resources from its global colonies to keep fighting. In this colonial system, it is impossible for a country that is at a disadvantage to defeat such a giant.

Therefore, to challenge such a giant, one must first deprive him of support from the British Empire, that is, to destroy the current global colonial system. Once this system is destroyed, the first to want to eliminate the Royal Navy will be the members of the British Parliament, because the British Isles' finances cannot support such a global navy.

If the Royal Navy loses its ability to maintain global order, Britain's primary concern will be its own security, namely maritime power in the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, followed by maritime power in the Mediterranean. In this scenario, the United States would prioritize maritime power in the Atlantic, France would focus on the Atlantic and Mediterranean, Russia would attempt to gain access to the Mediterranean and North Sea, and Germany would similarly demand control of European waters.

For these Western powers, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean were their lifelines, the Indian Ocean their interests, and the Pacific and the islands of Southeast Asia were secondary interests. Therefore, once the British Empire's global order collapsed, a window of opportunity would appear in Southeast Asia and even the central Pacific, presenting the chance for the Japanese navy to seize the region. This was also the implementation plan for the "Southern Expansion" strategy.

Ito Sukeyuki felt that although the boy's ambitions were somewhat high, the idea wasn't entirely without merit. At least it represented a significant step forward from the previous, haphazard southward expansion theory, providing a starting point for Japan to establish a presence in Southeast Asia. The previous southward expansion theory, like the continental policy, advocated a direct, forceful approach, first occupying the Philippine Islands and then attacking the Southeast Asian islands—in short, brute force was the only solution. This clearly failed to convince rational Japanese people.

Yamamoto Gonbei also felt that for a cadet who hadn't even graduated from the Marine Academy, it was quite impressive to be able to speak so insightfully. However, he just couldn't stand the other person, so he nitpicked and said, "Even if your analysis is correct, the key is how to overthrow this global colonial system. What do you plan to use to overthrow it? You can't just talk nonsense."

After a few seconds of contemplation, Lin Xinyi said, "Indeed, words alone are not enough to overthrow the current global colonial system. The key to overthrowing this system lies in overthrowing colonialism. What is colonialism? It is the advocacy of the great powers to coerce backward countries or regions into signing unequal treaties under the guise of free trade, thereby exploiting and oppressing the people of the colonies."

Therefore, to overthrow this global colonial system, the first step is to oppose colonialism itself. Looking at the global landscape, only Britain, France, and Russia truly supported colonialism, as they were the genuine beneficiaries of this system. Later powers—Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, the United States, and my country—while providing partial support to colonialism, only received scraps under this system. Overthrowing it would have been far more beneficial than supporting it.

Therefore, on the united front against colonialism, the people of the colonies and the rising powers could be said to be able to stand on the same side. Once Britain, France, and Russia suffered a major defeat, a wave of independence movements might emerge among the colonies worldwide, similar to the South American liberation movement.

Yamamoto Gonbei thought Hayashi Shinichi was being delusional. If the colonists could resist their mother country, would they still be colonies? So he smiled and asked, "How do you think the colonists should overthrow their mother country?"

Lin Xinyi glanced at the expressions of the other two people in the room before nodding slightly and replying, "This Boer War represents the correct way for the people of the colonies to resist powerful nations."

Colonial populations don't need to defeat the armies of the great powers; they only need to prevent the powers from plundering their resources. The essence of colonialism is to plunder resources and wealth from underdeveloped countries, not to wage war against them.

In other words, as long as the powers cannot recoup the costs of wars waged against their colonies, they will consider compromise. This is because those who wage war do not create wealth; the people of the colonies and the people of their own country are the ones who pay the bills for the war. If they cannot obtain sufficient benefits from the colonies, it means that they will have to increase their exploitation of their own people, because the upper class who waged the war is unlikely to lower their living standards to make up for the war losses.

The prevailing socialist ideology in Europe has divided European countries into two opposing classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Therefore, if a colonial war is lost, the class contradictions within the colonies will intensify, which in turn will encourage the colonists to wage even more resolute struggles. Under this repeated cycle of mutual stimulation, the current colonial system will collapse.

What Japan needed to do was, on the one hand, encourage the people in the colonies to persist in their struggle and help them gain experience in military organization to conduct a proper struggle against the colonial governments; on the other hand, it needed to conduct propaganda within the great powers, exposing the defeats of their armies in the colonies, thereby stimulating the division between the two classes within the great powers' countries.

Ito Sukeyuki silently picked up the water glass beside him and took a sip. The tone of voice felt strangely familiar. Hmm, it was very similar to the plan Kawahara Yoichi had submitted to the army—sending others to their deaths while he himself reaped the benefits. The army liked this kind of plan, and so did the public. Who wouldn't like a war where they could reap the rewards without lifting a finger?

Yamamoto Gonbei genuinely disliked it, but not the plan itself; rather, he disliked Hayashi Shinichi as a person. He couldn't help but ask, "The Navy can win just by fanning the flames? Don't you take war too lightly?"

Saigo Tsurudo glanced at Yamamoto, then said to Hayashi Shinichi, "What Yamamoto said makes sense. Why don't you tell us your specific plans, such as how we should deal with the Russians? The army has come up with a very good idea. Ito, you should talk to him about it."

Ito Sukeyuki put down his water glass and calmly explained the army's plan to Hayashi Shinichi. Hayashi Shinichi naturally understood that this was the excuse he had given Kawahara. However, he didn't say it aloud, but nodded and calmly said, "The army's idea is good. A Sino-Japanese-Korean alliance will lure Russia into invading China. Then, at the right moment, we will attack Russia's Chinese Eastern Railway and Trans-Siberian Railway, cutting off Russia's connection with the Far East and Europe. We can then win this war without fighting."

However, besides forming an alliance with China, I think we should also take a slightly more proactive approach and control the pace of the war, rather than the Russian army. For example, we need to spend money in Russia to find an influential newspaper that promotes Slavic nationalism, touting Russia's conquest plans in the Far East, the weakness and incompetence of the Chinese and the invincibility of Slavic warriors, and claiming that one Slav is equivalent to 100 people of East Asian descent, and so on.

Thus, having 2000 Russian troops in the Far East would be equivalent to having 20 million Chinese troops. It would be unreasonable to show weakness to the Chinese or Japanese when possessing such military power. When Russian public opinion leans towards resolving the Far Eastern issue by force, then the Russians have a very high chance of initiating the use of force.

Secondly, we should also promote a plan that would allow Russia to achieve a swift victory, such as sending troops from Irkutsk through Outer Mongolia to attack Inner Mongolia and Shanxi, sending troops from Shengjing to attack Beijing, and then launching a naval attack on the Yangtze River estuary from Lushun to cut off the connection between the north and south of China. In that case, the weak Chinese government would surely surrender to Russia as quickly as it did in the Northern Qing Incident.