Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 87

Treating Russian prisoners of war well, preventing the Russians from harboring resentment towards China, was also a condition for maintaining harmony between the two countries and conducting peace negotiations as soon as possible. Even now, Yuan Shikai has not given up the idea of ​​making peace with Russia. He truly has no intention of using force to expel the Russian army from Manchuria. In his view, being able to hold onto Shanhaiguan and the Great Wall line was the greatest victory for the Beiyang Army.

His actions earned him international acclaim, and the Russians remaining in Tianjin expressed only disappointment at the battle rather than anger towards the Beiyang Army. Although officers from various countries observing the battle at Shanhaiguan issued warnings of the "Yellow Peril," no one took these warnings seriously. In their eyes, China was still the weak China that had been powerless to resist the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

Even the Russians themselves believed that the Russian army's defeat was not due to the Chinese becoming stronger, but rather to the incompetence of the generals commanding the Russian army. Major General Kastalinsky was reportedly relieved of his command by the Governor-General of the Far East, and was to be arrested and interrogated about how he had ruined His Majesty the Tsar's loyal and brave soldiers.

The Russians indeed suffered heavy losses in this battle. In addition to more than 800 wounded, there were about 1,000 prisoners of war, which means that nearly 2000 Russian soldiers had been captured by the Chinese. In addition, with the more than 3,000 corpses already counted, the Beiyang Army estimated that the Russian army had lost at least 7,000 men. The Russian army had basically lost its ability to fight.

The Beiyang Army's conclusion was actually quite accurate: the Russian army collapsed under the Beiyang Army's counterattack and withdrew from Shanhaiguan. They only began to regroup at Qian Suo, and then withdrew directly to Suizhong, almost completely severing contact with the Beiyang Army. After pursuing them to Qian Suo, Feng Guozhang did not continue to exert pressure, but only sent a small number of troops to search forward, while his own army established a defensive line at Qian Suo.

The Russian army reported the following losses to Shenyang: "Four Cossack companies were completely annihilated. Only one company and the regimental commander of the 8th Infantry Regiment of Eastern Siberia escaped. The 5th, 6th and 7th Regiments were severely damaged. At least seven infantry battalions were completely incapacitated. The remaining nine infantry battalions also lost some combat capability. All sixteen artillery pieces were lost. The total loss of personnel was about 6000."

Although the battle results tallied by the Beiyang Army and the Russian Army differed somewhat, their conclusions were consistent: the Russian troops who had retreated to Suiyuan were unable to continue fighting. Without the addition of new blood, the Russian army could not regain its offensive capabilities. This was also the reason why Yuan Shikai allowed his soldiers to relax their guard, because there would be no fighting in the short term.

However, he was surprised when he reached the Southern Army's camp to the north. The defenses there were far from relaxed, lacking the complacency often seen in the Beiyang Army after their great victory. While the Beiyang Army hadn't allowed civilians to enter their camps, the laxity of the guards was unavoidable. But here, Yuan Shikai saw the guards meticulously performing their duties, showing no signs of slackening due to the victory. This prompted him to say to Wang Yingkai and others beside him, "Everyone says our Beiyang Army is disciplined, but I think the Southern Army's unflappable discipline is even more worthy of our emulation..."

Wang Yingkai could only smile bitterly and apologize to Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai was lenient and humane, so his military discipline was naturally worse. However, this was not compared to the old armies such as the Green Standard Army and the Eight Banners, but rather to other Beiyang armies.

Feng, Duan, and others advocated Western military law, especially emphasizing class in the military. Therefore, they dealt with those who defied their superiors extremely severely. Regardless of whether the officers caused the problem, it was a serious crime for soldiers to dare to resist. As a result, the soldiers did not get close to the two men. However, Wang Yingkai still retained some of the old army's local customs and sentiments, so he could reason with them outside of military law. As a result, the soldiers naturally thought that "Fatty Wang" was a good person.

After receiving the guard's report, Fu Cixiang quickly came out of the camp to greet Yuan Shikai and his entourage. Yuan Shikai was not displeased that the guard had stopped him; in fact, he praised Fu Cixiang. However, after glancing at the officer beside Fu Cixiang, he couldn't help but ask, "Where is Zhang Nanxian? Isn't he in the camp?"

Fu Cixiang said, "Oh, didn't the lord distribute rewards before? We discussed it and thought we could use the money to build a school for the residents of Shanhaiguan who have moved here. He is currently leading people to build the school building."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shikai's expression changed slightly, and after a long while, he said, "Running schools is certainly important, but it's not good to wrong the soldiers. After all, it's the reward money they earned with their lives. Are the soldiers really not upset about donating it like this?"

Fu Cixiang immediately replied seriously, "Sir, you are wrong. If it were for money, why would we have joined the army? Hubei's economy has developed very rapidly in the past two years. If we really wanted to make money, being a worker or doing some small business would be better than being a soldier. We are here only to defend our homeland. If we want to defend our homeland, we must also build it up. How can we build our homeland without education?"

This answer was somewhat unexpected by Yuan Shikai, but Wang Yingkai, who had never had a good impression of these Southern Army soldiers, couldn't help but take a few more glances at the other party and suddenly felt that the other party was not so cold-hearted after all.

Chapter 305 Different Armies

Yuan Shikai had initially thought that after such a fierce battle, these southern soldiers might need to vent their emotions, after all, they had truly faced the main force of the Russian army's charge. Those who had survived such a life-or-death battlefield wouldn't feel truly alive without some catharsis. Therefore, he felt that even if the southern army brought a few prostitutes into the camp, it would be acceptable. However, seeing the southern guards calmly standing guard in the camp, he realized he might not see those lucky survivors venting their emotions.

However, he still couldn't quite accept what was happening in the Southern Army camp. "...I did curse Comrade Li Gensheng's mother during the battle, and I apologize to Comrade Li Gensheng hereby..." A junior officer, who should be a captain, was publicly apologizing to his subordinates, while the other soldiers sat quietly on the ground listening.

"What are they doing?" Wang Yingkai asked, helping Yuan Shikai voice his doubts. Fu Cixiang frowned slightly before replying, "They are conducting a post-war review and some self-criticism."

Wang Yingkai exclaimed in surprise, "Post-battle review, and the officers have to apologize to the soldiers? And to me, there's nothing to apologize for. Soldiers who disobey orders on the battlefield are executed. Do they have to apologize for cursing? Are the soldiers below us soldiers or fathers?"

Fu Cixiang was also not very satisfied with some of the practices of the soldiers' committee. He believed that some soldiers' complaints against officers were completely unreasonable. He thought that it was okay to be undisciplined on the battlefield, but enemy bullets would not give you any reason.

However, the members of the Party's Central Committee, especially Lin Feng, took a very clear stance on this issue: "Since we say that this country belongs to the workers, then the armed forces, such as the army and police, which represent the state's violent organs, must be composed of the people. What are the people? Class consciousness is paramount."

We must always make the people aware that this country belongs to them, and therefore they must have clear and unquestionable leadership over the state's organs of violence. Admittedly, the army and police are armed forces that must be organized and disciplined; an unorganized and undisciplined mob cannot accomplish the task of suppressing class enemies.

However, if these armed forces only know how to obey orders, then there is a threat that they will become detached from the masses and turn into mere violent machines. An army and police force without class attributes cannot maintain the dictatorship of the proletariat; they will only become tools of the regime. In that case, it would be very easy for the bourgeoisie and reactionaries to overthrow the proletarian regime. They only need to seize power and then use the violent organs attached to that regime to suppress the proletariat.

…Therefore, it is essential to ensure the soldiers' committees' supervisory power over the army, and the task of the Party organization is to guide these committees to obey the organization and discipline of the proletariat, rather than veer towards petty-bourgeois liberalization and anarchism…The commanders of the proletarian army must study military work while also conducting political work.”

The first principle of the People's Army is the equality of officers and soldiers in terms of human dignity. Officers can criticize soldiers for mistakes in discipline and military skills, but they are not allowed to beat or scold soldiers. To be honest, this is actually very difficult to achieve. After all, even the students who studied abroad in the new army at this time believed in the ironclad rule of unconditional obedience of subordinates to superiors. Simply put, "a soldier's duty is to obey orders."

However, although political work in this kind of people's army was extremely difficult, the morale of this army was much higher than that of the old army, and the old army like the Green Standard Army was simply not worth mentioning. For example, the training of the Beiyang Army was actually very solid, and its shooting and tactical movements were better than those of this new army. This can be seen from the fact that the Beiyang artillery could accurately carry out covering fire according to the pre-determined grid area.

However, the Beiyang Army had a major weakness: it was a puppet army entirely controlled by its officers. Once it lost command or if officers led the desertion, the army would immediately collapse, regardless of whether it retained any fighting strength. This flaw stemmed from the overly strict enforcement of hierarchical rules within the army, which made soldiers appendages of their officers. They fought not for themselves, but for their superiors. Therefore, once they lost orders, the soldiers felt they no longer needed to participate in the war.

In the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, every soldier knew why they were going to the battlefield. They could criticize their superiors for mistakes and inappropriate orders, but they rarely retreated on their own. Even if an officer was injured and unable to command, members of the soldiers' committee would step forward to take over the officer's responsibilities and continue to complete the mission. This kind of initiative was something that the Beiyang Army and even the Russian Army lacked.

This explains why Fu Cixiang was able to establish inverted triangular circular fortifications, while the Beiyang Army could only dig traditional long trenches. Because circular trenches are difficult to distinguish in terms of front and rear, if the soldiers lack motivation, the density of firepower is actually lower than with traditional long trenches. Furthermore, the junior officers of the Beiyang Army needed to supervise their soldiers in combat; they couldn't allow their subordinates to hide in places they couldn't see, as this would cause them to lose control of the battlefield situation.

Faced with the Beiyang generals' questions, Fu Cixiang regained his composure and calmly replied, "To officers, there's no difference between a soldier and a father. On the battlefield, only your father would willingly take a bullet for you, wouldn't he? How many sons would take a bullet for their fathers?"

Fu Cixiang's answer made Wang Yingkai blush and speechless for a moment. Seeing this, Yuan Shikai interrupted their conversation with a smile, saying, "Shanhaiguan is, after all, under the jurisdiction of Zhili. As the Governor-General of Zhili, I can't let you southern soldiers use your own reward money to run a school. Here's what we'll do: Dou Zhan, give Fu Biaotong another reward. Consider this school a donation from me, Yuan Shikai. Go and check on the school for me, see what it's lacking, and make sure it's provided..."

After inspecting the Southern Army's camp, the Beiyang generals, including Yuan Shikai, felt uneasy and hastily offered their condolences before preparing to leave. However, before departing, Yuan Shikai politely asked Fu Cixiang a question, "Commander Fu, what do you think is the best course of action for us next?"

Fu Cixiang thought for a moment and then said, "The heart of Russia is in Europe, not Asia. Just like how the Qing Dynasty was able to destroy the Dzungars in the past, it was because Galdan took the main force to Outer Mongolia, not because the Qing army defeated the Dzungars in the Ili River Valley. If Galdan had always kept the battlefield on the northern route of the Tianshan Mountains and then circled around the Central Asian steppes with the Qing army, then the military expenses alone would have dragged the court down."

Today, our confrontation with the Russian army is similar to the confrontation between the Dzungar Khanate and the Qing Dynasty. In terms of national strength and military combat capability, the Russians are stronger. However, this land does not belong to Russia. As long as we force the Russians to stop obtaining supplies from Manchuria, the first thing the Russian Far East army will do is to destroy Russia's financial sector.

We can win this war simply by outliving the Russian Empire's finances. Therefore, I still advocate for layered defenses, step-by-step resistance, and then mobilizing the people of Manchuria to refuse cooperation with the Russians. We should send elite troops to arrest and eliminate those traitors who collect taxes and grain for Russia. After that, it will just be a matter of who outlasts whom…”

Yuan Shikai left thoughtfully with Fu Cixiang's answer. After getting far away from the Southern Army's camp, he suddenly stopped and asked the Beiyang generals beside him, "What do you think of Fu Biaotong's suggestion?"

After a moment's thought, Wang Yingkai said, "As the ancients said, 'Use the orthodox to engage, and the unorthodox to win.' I think that's roughly the principle..."

Although others couldn't articulate the reasoning behind it, they felt that Fu Cixiang's proposal was most beneficial to the Beiyang Army. After all, if they were to attack the Russians, facing hundreds of thousands of Russians in Manchuria would make anyone nervous. But if they were to defend Shanhaiguan like this, everyone felt that they could manage it if they put in the effort.

After parting ways with his generals and returning to his lodgings, Yuan Shikai couldn't help but ask Ruan Zhongshu, who was accompanying him, "Dou Zhan, have you ever heard of Fu Cixiang and Zhang Nanxian before?"

After thinking for a moment, Ruan Zhongshu said, "I have heard of Fu Cixiang. I remember all the Chinese students who entered the Army Academy. I originally thought he might be useful to our Beiyang Army. But I have never heard of Zhang Nanxian."

After thinking for a moment, Yuan Shikai nodded and said, "So you're a student from the Army Academy. Help me win you over; it's not a good thing if such talent is left to wander outside the Beiyang government..."

The outcome of the Battle of Shanhaiguan was also quite shocking for the Japanese Army. Five days after the Battle of Shanhaiguan ended, Yamagata Aritomo and Oyama Iwao discussed the situation in Manchuria in the map room of the General Staff Headquarters building.

Although the Deputy Chief of Staff was Tamura Iyozo, he had recently fallen seriously ill, so Nagaoka Gaishi took over most of his work to allow Tamura more time to rest. At this time, Nagaoka Gaishi was responsible for explaining the General Staff's assessment of the situation in Manchuria: "The Russians use Tieling as the dividing line between North and South Manchuria."

The deployment of its troops in South Manchuria was as follows: the East Manchuria Detachment of more than 30,000 men was established along the Yalu River; the Kwantung Leased Territory Cluster of about 50,000 men was established with the Lushun Fortress as its center; the South Manchuria Cluster of more than 40,000 men was established between Shengjing and Liaoyang; the Westward Detachment of about 20,000 men was established west of Jinzhou; and the garrison troops in other areas of South Manchuria totaled about 10,000 men; the total number of troops was just over 170,000.

In northern Manchuria, centered on Harbin, there were over 50,000 troops stationed, with approximately 40,000 troops distributed along the railway lines; in the coastal region, centered on Vladivostok, there were slightly over 20,000 troops; and in the Amur and Transbaikal regions, there were approximately 30,000 troops. The total number was approximately 140,000.

In other words, the total number of troops mentioned above, plus those in Outer Mongolia, is between 32 and 33, which is the total military strength of the Russian Empire in the Far East, excluding the navy.

In the Battle of Shanhaiguan, the Russian army suffered approximately 5000 to 7000 casualties, which is only about 1.8% of its total forces in the Far East. Therefore, we believe that this is far from enough to damage Russia's strength in the Far East.

To bring the Russian military's defenses in the Far East to a critical point, at least 7 troops would need to be mobilized to attack North China. If the mobilized force exceeded 10, significant vulnerabilities would appear in its Far East defenses. However, we believe the Qing government could not withstand an attack by more than 15 Russian troops…

Chapter 306 Identity Exposed

The General Staff concluded that if the Russian army moved more than 7 troops to Hebei, it should be prepared to intervene at any time; if the Russian army moved more than 10 troops to Hebei, it must intervene to prevent Beijing from suddenly making peace with Russia.

However, the General Staff is still debating whether to proceed as planned by capturing Vladivostok, advancing on Harbin, and cutting off the main logistics line in southern Manchuria, or to cross the Yalu River directly into southern Manchuria to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Russian Manchurian Army.

The original plan could have yielded greater results, but a major problem arose: in order to drive the Russian army from the Far East to west of Lake Baikal, they would have had to acknowledge China's ownership of Manchuria. Without Chinese support, the Japanese army could not obtain supplies from Manchuria, nor could it station troops in Chita, so far from the coastline, under the joint hostility of China and Russia.

Therefore, encircling and annihilating the main Russian forces in southern Manchuria, forcing Russia to abandon its ambitions in Manchuria, became the opinion of some military personnel who wanted to adhere to the continental policy. In fact, this was the initial plan. However, at that time, the Japanese army was not sure if it could defeat the Russian army, but believed that it could severely damage the Russian army's power in southern Manchuria, thereby enabling China to regain control of Manchuria and thus secure the Korean Peninsula.

This time, when the plan was brought up again, the soldiers' stance had shifted from protecting Korea to vying for Manchuria. In other words, the Japanese military believed that they had a high chance of achieving victory over Russia by joining forces with China, and thus were considering the post-war Northeast Asian order. Whether to take over Russian territory in the Far East or to succeed Russia as the master of Manchuria, a decision now had to be made.

Nagaoka Gaishi was a supporter of the latter opinion. His reasoning was that "...Russia is too big and too vengeful. They occupy large tracts of land in Poland and the Ottoman Empire, which have historically invaded them. If we seize Russia's Far East, it will be tantamount to making an enemy of Russia. In order to deal with a Russia that is always looking for revenge, we will have to maintain friendly relations with China, and then the continental policy will come to nothing."

Taking advantage of today's meeting, Nagaoka Gaishi once again formally put forward his own proposition, which made everyone in the map room turn their attention to Commander-in-Chief Oyama Iwao and Marshal Yamagata Aritomo, and everyone was waiting for the two to make a decision.

The reason why Oyama Iwao had never expressed his opinion on these two opinions in the past was because he felt that Japan's primary task was to defeat the Russians rather than to consider the post-war situation. What was the point of considering the distribution of post-war interests if victory had not yet been achieved?

However, now that the Sino-Russian war has begun and the Chinese have repelled the first wave of Russian attacks, it means that the time for Japan to join the war is fast approaching. At this point, it is indeed necessary to clarify the issues of warfare. Continuing to hesitate will only leave the subordinates at a loss and prevent them from grasping the hem of the goddess of victory.

After thinking for a moment, Da Shanyan said, "The road conditions are not only good for our army to advance from Korea to South Manchuria, but we can also requisition supplies along the way. From the perspective of combat conditions, it is suitable for our army."

If our army cannot control the railway line from the North Korean ports and coastal areas occupied by the Russian army to Harbin, then it will be almost impossible for our army to launch a large-scale advance from North Korea to North Manchuria.

In my personal opinion, our army actually has a higher chance of winning a decisive battle against the Russian forces in southern Manchuria. While a successful surprise attack in northern Manchuria would bring enormous benefits, the uncertainty is too great; a slight misstep could lead to a stalemate. I think there's a Chinese saying that's quite apt at this point: "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

"Lord Yamagata, what is your opinion?"

Yamagata Aritomo snapped out of his reverie. Since he was always expressionless, no one had noticed his absent-mindedness. Just as Yamagata was about to say something, he suddenly realized that Tamura Iyozo seemed to be just as absent-minded as he was. So he changed his mind and said, "Vice Minister Tamura, why don't you share your thoughts? After all, you were the one who drafted the Northern Expedition Plan."

After a long silence, Tamura Iori said to Yamagata Aritomo, "Actually, I've been collecting information on the Hubei New Army's Tibet Detachment recently."

Although Vice Minister Tamura's answer was somewhat irrelevant, Yamagata pressed on with interest, "Oh, so what conclusion did you draw?"

Tamura Iyozo remained silent for a moment before saying, "I think I could never have planned such a battle. So I was thinking, what would Mr. Lin and Mr. Wu do if they were to command our army against the Russians?"

After a moment of silence, Yamagata Aritomo asked, "Have you come to a conclusion?"

Tamura Isoya shook his head and said, "Hayashi-kun and Wu-kun have too few past battle examples. They haven't commanded such a large-scale, legion-level battle, so I can't draw any conclusions. But..."

This piqued Tamura's interest, and he pressed on, asking, "But what?"

Tamura said with a grave expression, "But once we become hostile to the Chinese, we will inevitably have to confront Lin Jun and Wu Jun sooner or later. These two dared to challenge an army of several thousand with only a few hundred men, and they were even able to invade the Indian plains and challenge the world's number one power. So far, we haven't heard any news of their defeat. So if they return to China and take over the Chinese army to fight against our army in Manchuria, who can say with certainty that they can defeat them?"

Nagaoka Gaishi opened his mouth but ultimately kept it closed. Although he was willing to die for Japan, he didn't really have the guts to make any grand pronouncements here. Everyone knew that no one in the army believed they could accomplish the feat of Hayashi and Wu's expedition. In fact, if they put themselves in the shoes of the Chinese besieged by 3 million Indians on the Indian plains, they would all feel that they could do nothing but commit seppuku or fight to the death.

However, the strange thing was that, despite being at a significant disadvantage, the Chinese had been on the Indian plains for almost three months, yet the British were still reporting victories every day. This created the illusion that it wasn't the Chinese fighting in India, but rather the British fighting in China.

After all, based on the total number of Chinese killed by the British army, it was almost close to the size of a brigade. Even the British newspapers were no longer willing to report the results of the British victory, since they had already reported Lin Feng being killed twice and captured once in the newspapers.

The map room was silent, but Tamura Iyozo did not stop there. He spoke again seriously: "The idea that we defeated the main Russian force in southern Manchuria, forcing them to abandon Manchuria and allowing our army to take control of it, is actually based on the premise that China has no room for resistance. Now, let's not even talk about the strength of the Hubei New Army. Even Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army was able to wipe out five or six thousand Russian troops at Shanhaiguan. What makes us think we can force the Chinese to accept the fact that our country occupies Manchuria?"

Russia and China are the two major powers in Northeast Asia. Currently, Russia is dominant, which is why China has joined forces with Russia to counter it. However, please don't forget that China initially commissioned the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway to counter my country's dominance. In other words, if my country becomes too assertive, China and Russia will likely align themselves once again.

The South Manchuria Operation Plan is good, and its success rate is higher than that of the North Manchuria Operation Plan. However, the idea that implementing the South Manchuria Operation Plan would advance the mainland policy, allow us to make peace with Russia, and enable us to focus on dealing with China is nothing but a pipe dream.

I think a more likely outcome is that we've developed enmity with Russia, yet failed to gain China's friendship, ultimately leading to a complete Sino-Russian alliance against our country. That's my opinion.

Tamura Iyo's words were no longer a discussion about the future of the continental policy, but rather a question of whether the policy could even exist at all. This touched upon the army's grand strategy, and naturally, no one dared to utter a word. However, abandoning the continental policy would mean the continental army had reached a dead end, and an alliance with China against Russia would mean the army would shift to a defensive posture after the war.

Faced with the silence of the army generals, Yamagata Aritomo knew that if he didn't say something, everyone's confidence in the continental policy would really waver. The reason why the Choshu faction was able to control the army was because it kept pushing the continental army plan. Although this was like drinking poison to quench thirst, because Japan's national strength would eventually be unable to support the size of the army, Yamagata was not planning to relinquish his power at the moment.

He coughed lightly and said, "There's no need to consider Lin Feng's problem; that's the Navy's problem."

When Yamagata said this, the generals in the map room were stunned. Although there were two commanders of the Tibet detachment, even the British admitted that the most despicable one was Lin Feng, because he never fought according to common sense and was a villain without any gentlemanly manners. Although Wu Luzhen was steady in his military tactics, the British could still accept him.

According to a commentary in The Times, if the Tibetan contingent had been led by Wu Luzhen, the Chumbi Valley would have been the furthest the army could have reached. The empire would not have lost Sikkim and Darjeeling, the Kingdom of Nepal would not have rebelled, and the Chinese would not have appeared on the Indian plains. Lin Feng violated all the principles of engagement, so he was a villain who could not enjoy honor.

The reason British newspapers were so vehemently criticizing Lin Feng was that his popularity among Indians was growing. Some Bengal farmers even used his name to attack landowners and police stations, which actually intimidated the local police and garnered their support. The British were forced to smear Lin Feng in their newspapers, which ironically increased his notoriety.

An officer immediately asked, "If we can get rid of Lin Feng, then Wu Luzhen will indeed be much easier to deal with. But how will the navy deal with Lin Feng? Did they receive information that Lin Feng is going to sail back to China? Wouldn't attacking a civilian ship directly cause an international dispute?"

However, some argue, "If we could actually take him down, it would be worth it even if it caused an international dispute. The problem is, could the navy be absolutely certain he was on board? If we fail to eliminate him and it triggers an international conflict, then in the long run, it would be a net loss..."

Yamagata hadn't expected that his casual remark would lead these officers to this conclusion. After considering it for a moment, he finally revealed, "According to the Black Dragon Society's investigation, Lin Feng is Lin Xinyi, a student of the 32nd class of the Naval Academy. He was the first naval student to receive a medal while still in school, and also the first to be awarded the rank of lieutenant upon graduation..."

Chapter 307 Cherry Blossom Seeds of the Himalayas

After the Chinese Tibet Detachment defeated Younghusband's Tibetan Expeditionary Force, the British ordered an investigation into the key personnel of the force. However, the British investigation of the Chinese was like scratching an itch through a boot; they could not grasp the key points at all and could only find some publicly available information.

The Anglo-Japanese alliance, coupled with the fact that the Tibetan detachment had crossed the British bottom line and advanced from the Tibetan Plateau to Darjeeling, forced the British to intensify their investigation of the unit. In particular, Sir Charles Cleveland, head of the intelligence department of the British Indian government, personally dispatched a subordinate to China to investigate the matter, but he was still unable to figure out Lin Feng's background, so he had to ask the Japanese for help.

The Japanese Army was much more proactive than the Navy on this issue, because the Army believed that the Hubei New Army would become its opponent sooner or later. The Army also used the Black Dragon Society's power. After being wiped out by the Navy in Japan, the Black Dragon Society had to move its headquarters to Korea, and its dependence on the Army became even deeper.

If only the army or the Black Dragon Society investigated separately, they would probably find it difficult to connect the navy with this matter. However, the Black Dragon Society, which had always harbored resentment towards the navy, quickly discovered the navy's perfunctory attitude in this matter. Logically speaking, the navy should not have acted this way, after all, the navy was the pro-British faction in the country.

So the Black Dragon Society investigated the Navy personnel in Wuhan and discovered the problem. The Marine Corps School's operations in Wuhan could not be concealed, and it was even stranger that the Navy had sent all these volunteers to Southeast Asia. The Army quickly tracked down these volunteers through the post office and successfully found the suspicious points.

It's indeed difficult for the Japanese to investigate Chinese people, but it's much easier for them to investigate Japanese people. The army uncovered the truth the navy was trying to hide by starting with the investigation of the missing graduates of the first class of the Naval Landing School. Upon receiving this result, Yamagata Aritomo couldn't believe it at all and demanded a review of the investigation.

Similarly, the army generals who had just heard the news were also filled with doubt. Some were so shocked that they forgot their respect for Yamagata and directly questioned him, "Are you sure? This Lin Feng is Japanese?"

Yamagata glanced at the general and said expressionlessly, "It's confirmed."

An uproar erupted in the map room. The crowd wasn't happy that Japan had produced such a figure, but rather expressed widespread dissatisfaction with the navy's actions. As Nagaoka Gaishi uttered, "What exactly does the navy want to do? Is it trying to destroy the Empire?"

"Thump." Oyama Iwao slammed his hand on the conference table, making a loud noise that finally silenced everyone. He then said angrily, "Did I tell you this news just to hear you complain about the Navy? I'm ashamed of you. At least a newly graduated lieutenant in the Navy can do something this big, while all you do is complain. Do you think the enemy facing the Army is stronger than the enemy this Navy lieutenant faces?"

Nagaoka Gaishi could only stand up and apologize to Yamagata and Oyama, but he still said uneasily, "If the British find out about this, can we still launch an attack on the Russian army? Shouldn't we be on the defensive?"

Nagaoka Gaishi's reaction was merely an instinctive, reactive one; no one present saw anything wrong with it. After all, if the British Army couldn't handle Lin Feng, it wasn't impossible that they would send the Royal Navy to Tokyo Bay in retaliation. If the Army had just set foot on the Korean Peninsula when the Royal Navy fleet arrived, things would be in serious trouble.

Oyama Iwao was also troubled by this situation. Seeing that Vice Minister Tamura was still deep in thought, he casually asked, "Tamura, do you have any thoughts? If so, please share them."

Upon hearing Chief of Staff Oyama's question, Tamura Itsuki briefly came to his senses before replying, "I think the Navy actually has its reasons for doing this."

Yamagata Aritomo and Oyama Iwao both looked at Tamura with doubt, but Tamura calmly said: "Just as the continental policy was born after the Qing Empire's hegemony in East Asia, not before, the biggest problem with the southward expansion policy is not that Japan's national strength is insufficient, but that the British Empire's maritime hegemony has not yet collapsed."

Therefore, the prerequisite for implementing the southward expansion policy was the collapse of the British Empire. With the world without a ruler, Japan could then choose one to occupy. The naval symposium established by the navy was an organization set up to promote the southward expansion policy. I have always thought that this organization was established a bit too early and probably wouldn't achieve much, because you can't stop a chariot with your bare hands.

But I truly didn't expect the navy to have such a bold plan—to instigate war between China and Britain, and to dismantle this empire from India. If the navy succeeds, then the southward expansion policy will face no obstacles, and the construction of a large navy will become necessary. I'm just really curious, who exactly is leading this plan within the navy?

The map room fell completely silent. Their anger, while not unfounded, was based on the navy's incompetence. But if this was indeed a naval plan, then there was nothing to complain about, as the army had clearly been factored into the navy's calculations. Currently, the army couldn't even openly oppose the navy's plan, as that would only provoke the British to direct their resentment towards the entirety of Japan.

After a long silence in the room, Oyama Iwao finally broke the silence, saying, "Minister Yamamoto and Prime Minister Ito would not have such courage and intelligence. If they did, the navy would not have remained dormant until now."

The army generals present fell silent, because they felt the Chief of Staff was right. If the navy had such far-sighted talent, the army wouldn't have been able to gain the upper hand over the navy after the Satsuma Rebellion. In the last ten years or so, Japanese politics had essentially been an internal struggle within the Choshu faction, with the Choshu civilian faction, represented by Ito, suppressing the military faction led by Yamagata.

Yamagata agreed with Oyama's view, "Indeed, this layout reminds me of Kawakami and Arao. If they were still here, we wouldn't be led by the nose by the navy."

Tamura then said, "Looking at it this way, choosing the northern attack plan is probably the most suitable for the Navy. It can prevent the deterioration of relations between Japan and China, and at the same time, it can redirect resources to the southward expansion policy after the war. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone."

Nagaoka Gaishi slammed his fist on the table and said angrily, "Fortunately, we learned of the Navy's conspiracy before the war started, otherwise we would have really fallen into their trap. So what do we have to choose now? Of course, we can only execute the South Manchuria Operation Plan. We can't let the Navy have their way, can we?"

Tamura remained calm and said, "I have already analyzed it. Implementing the South Manchuria Plan may force China and Russia to unite. In that case, the army will still have to abandon Manchuria and retreat to Korea. As a result, resources will still have to flow to the navy because we need to ensure that China and Russia cannot threaten the Empire from the sea. This is the navy's open strategy. The navy has already secured victory in this war."

Nagaoka Gaishi was dumbfounded, realizing he couldn't refute Tamura, and could only sit back down helplessly. Yamagata thought for a moment and then said, "Send a telegram to Kodama to come back. We need to at least find out who's targeting the army. We've been going on for so long and still don't know who's targeting the army, so what's the point of continuing this discussion?"

Yamagata's words finally brought the meeting to a fruitless end. However, after everyone else left, when only Yamagata, Oyama, and Tamura remained in the map room, Tamura suddenly said, "Now that I think about it, the Navy's help to Lord Itō in cleaning up the Genyosha was probably premeditated."

After the Genyosha was expelled from Tokyo, we seemed to have become like the Navy, lacking eyes and ears in Tokyo. However, Ito took over as Prime Minister and took control of the Metropolitan Police Department, so the Navy regained its eyes and ears in Tokyo. Now, only the Army is without eyes and ears.

If things continue like this, and the army fails to ascend to the position of prime minister, then a situation may arise where it is jointly suppressed by Ito and the navy. With one side gaining power and the other losing it, a situation of the navy dominating and the army subservient will be formed.

Yamagata Aritomo didn't say anything, only nodded slightly to indicate that he had heard Tamura's opinion, and then got up and left. As Ōyama and Tamura escorted Yamagata to the courtyard downstairs, and the adjutant went to fetch the carriage, Yamagata suddenly listened intently, then looked at the nearby woods and sighed, "Enduring a whole winter, only to have a summer to sing freely—that's the cicada. Looking at it this way, the Navy now is just like that cicada; they've finally waited for their summer. We need the Navy's patience too..."

After Yamagata left in the carriage, Tamura, who was returning to the building with the Chief of Staff, suddenly saw Chief of Staff Oyama stop and turn around to ask him seriously, "Do you think the person behind the Navy might be Lin Feng from India?"

Tamura looked at Oyama with some surprise and asked, "Why does the Chief of Staff have such an idea? Do you have any leads?"

Dashan turned and continued upstairs, saying slowly, "No, it's just that kind of feeling."