Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 49

What exactly is the difference between this so-called new army and the old army? They've changed the name and the weapons, but personal connections and nepotism still permeate the military. It's just old wine in new bottles.

Why are you suddenly contacting me? What urgent matter do you have to discuss?

Wu Luzhen pondered Tian Junyi's assessment of the new army for a moment before clarifying his thoughts and saying, "I just want to ask, what is the Party's opinion on sending troops to Tibet? Tibet is of great significance to our country. Even a Manchu like Xiliang can see that. The Party won't really stand idly by, will it? Today, besides Hubei, there is no one else who can send troops to rescue Tibet."

Tian Junyi didn't speak, but continued walking unhurriedly until he walked out of the city gate and stood on the stone steps of the dock. Only then did he stop and look at Wu Luzhen, saying, "The Party hasn't made a decision yet, but it's not advisable to disperse the Party's strength. I think you should understand that if we want to send troops to Tibet, we need at least a complete town, which means that the main force of the Hubei New Army will have to be transferred away."

If Russia were to launch an attack in the north, and the imperial court were to march south, followed by the Beiyang Army, whose Hubei would it truly belong to? Have you considered this? What would happen to the Chinese revolution if Hubei were lost? If China were to perish, could Tibet still be preserved? Contradictions have primary and secondary aspects; we cannot address everything at once. Only by resolving the primary contradiction can we have time to resolve the secondary ones.

Wu Luzhen sighed deeply. He knew in his heart that Tian Junyi was right, but he just couldn't let it go. He felt a lot of resentment and after a long time, he finally said, "So, you are against sending troops?"

After a moment of silence, Tian Junyi said, "No, I haven't decided yet. If there is a way to strengthen our forces without diluting them, then I will not object."

Wu Luzhen shook his head and said, "There's no such thing as a perfect solution..."

In the activity room of the Marine Corps School, Lin Xinyi looked at the Indian Ocean map that the Navy had painstakingly dug out. The inland area was almost blank, and he could only see the locations of a few famous cities. The clearest things were a few railway lines, at least the railway routes could be collected through public channels.

Lin Xinyi, who was summarizing experiences with cadets at the Marine Corps School after a guerrilla tactics exercise, suddenly received a telegram from China. This time it was an official telegram from the Governor-General's Office of Huguang. Although the Japanese understood the contents of the telegram, they were rather indifferent, as they did not believe that students in Japan could come up with any effective military plans to contain the British invasion of Tibet.

However, the Japanese army used this as a pretext to further urge the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to accelerate the alliance with Britain, because China was too weak at the moment, which meant that Russia might not be able to wait for the Trans-Siberian Railway to be completed before taking action, so Japan had to put the date of the operation on the agenda.

So although the telegram was addressed to Chinese students, it had already spread throughout the Marine Corps School. Lin Xinyi simply set the telegram as an urgent topic for the naval seminar, asking members of the Marine Corps School to propose a feasible combat plan for the British invasion of Tibet.

This was clearly an over-the-top task, given their limited access to theater data and the tight timeframe. However, judging solely from news reports, the British forces had gained a complete advantage, and the Chinese army had virtually no home-field advantage in Tibet.

According to the members and special advisor DeWitt, Tibet was not connected to the mainland by telegraph, but it was connected to India. It took at least 100 days to travel from Sichuan to Tibet, during which time it was said to have to cross several high mountains, making travel quite inconvenient. However, the British controlled key points bordering Tibet, such as Gurkha, Dhemenxiong, and Bulubak, with the fertile Ganges Plain behind them. The shortest and best route from China to Lhasa was to detour through India to the Yadong border crossing.

If we further consider the vast gap in national power between Britain and China, and the threat China currently faces from Russia, then abandoning Tibet might be the most reasonable choice for China.

Japanese members viewed this topic merely as a topic, without any real empathy. In their view, challenging a first-rate power like Britain was unrealistic even for Japan, let alone for China in its current state.

As for the North Korean employees, they could only express sympathy for the Chinese employees. Although this matter had little to do with North Korea, they could feel the helplessness and bitterness in the hearts of the Chinese employees, because this was precisely the emotion that North Koreans often felt.

The Chinese members, upon reaching this conclusion, weren't as indignant as the North Koreans had imagined. They merely exchanged silent glances and calmed down. An Minggen, somewhat puzzled, asked a close Chinese member beside him. The man looked at him calmly and said, "Our purpose in studying military affairs isn't to get promoted or make money, but to learn how to fight. Just because China is weak and Britain is strong, should we abandon our fighting spirit? If so, we've already lost. We will let the British know that China is not lacking in warriors."

While the members were whispering among themselves, DeWitt turned his gaze from the map and shrugged at Lin Xinyi, saying, "Give up. The disparity in strength between the two sides is too great, and the terrain is advantageous to India. There's nothing left to discuss militarily. Diplomatic compromise may be the best solution."

Lin Xinyi shook his head and said, "I don't think this is an unsolvable problem. The highest stage of guerrilla tactics is people's war. The British can't win."

DeWitt looked at the young man in front of him with a puzzled expression. After a year of contact with him, he had forgotten about the man's skin color. Even he had to admit that there was no difference in intelligence between yellow and white people.

He had to remind the other party, "This is Tibet, a plateau region surrounded by mountains. Even if every Tibetan is brave and skilled in battle, there won't be 20 soldiers. But British India has at least 3.4 million people and 20 troops. If the British want, they can recruit soldiers from India continuously. Not to mention, the British also have cannons and Maxim machine guns. Not everyone can become an Afghan."

Lin Xinyi suddenly took a few steps forward, stopped beside the map, turned to look at DeWitt, and tapped the location of the Indian subcontinent with his finger, saying, "The people's war I'm referring to is the war of the Indian people. The British can go to Tibet, so the Chinese can go to India. To both the Chinese and Indians, Britain is an aggressor. This is not only a war of the Chinese people, but also a war of the Indian people."

Even if the road from India to Tibet is easier than the road from Sichuan to Tibet, this is a comparison between the two sides, not that the road from India to Tibet is truly smooth. Therefore, after the British mobilized such a large army to invade Tibet, they could not leave many British officers and loyal British auxiliary troops in Sikkim and Nepal.

Once we break through Sikkim, the Bengal plains below will be a smooth road. We only need to incite the Bengalis to rebel against the British. If we could just have a revolt like the Indian uprising against British colonial rule from 1857 to 1859, the British wouldn't have time to worry about Tibet…”

Although English is a compulsory course at the Marine Corps School, many Chinese cadets are still relatively weak in this area. When they heard Lin Xinyi suddenly talking to DeWitt, some of them didn't understand at first and asked the people around them.

When asked about it, Ahn Jung-geun, who had learned English from American missionaries since childhood, replied with a somewhat subtle expression, "Senior Lin meant something like starting a popular uprising in India, which would force the British to give up their greed for Tibet..."

DeWitt was not unaware that Britain was a colonizer in India, but he naturally wouldn't think about why the Indian people would rebel against the British, just as black people in Africa would rebel against white rule. However, he couldn't deny that it was indeed a good starting point. Judging from Britain's rule in South Africa, this colonial empire could not possibly win the love of the colonized people. In fact, no colonized person would love the mother country, even if they were a native-born white person.

He remained silent for a long time, but then shook his head and said, "Who can do such a miracle? I don't think anyone in this school can do it, or maybe you could do it yourself. But it's not worth it. This isn't the Japanese war."

Lin Xinyi pondered for a moment, then nodded to Dwyane and said, "You're right. Alright, that concludes this seminar. Sun Wu and Chen Jingcun, I have some questions for you both. Let's talk over there..."

DeWitt frowned as he watched Lin Xinyi walk out of the activity room. He felt that the other man hadn't given up; rather, he seemed to have made some kind of decision. However, he shook his head, thinking that this young Japanese man shouldn't be so foolish as to abandon a bright future to do something so rebellious. He wasn't completely ignorant about Lin Xinyi; he naturally knew that this young man was becoming a rising star in the Japanese Navy.

Chapter 168 Prologue

On the afternoon of January 18, another meeting was held at the Governor-General's Office to discuss the issue of sending troops to Tibet. This time, the military finally came up with a plan, or rather, supported a plan.

The plan is as follows: First, the weak and incompetent Resident Minister in Tibet, You Tai, must be replaced and a pro-war faction must be put in charge; the Tibetan people's anti-British struggle and anti-British armed forces must be unified; a small force mainly composed of officers should be sent into Tibet to prolong the war until this year; then, a new army should be formed in Sichuan within this year and sent into Tibet to provide support next year.

This plan required minimal investment from Hubei and allowed Sichuan to share the responsibility, naturally gaining the approval of the Hubei New Army. For Duanfang, it was indeed a feasible plan, although it differed slightly from his initial ideas. Nevertheless, he sought opinions from the crowd. Liang Dingfen said, "This plan is indeed feasible. As long as we can delay it through this year and then another year, the court can negotiate with the British to find a solution."

When Duanfang turned his gaze to Tian Junyi, the young man who controlled Hubei's purse strings frowned and pondered for a long time before speaking: "The key is whether the court will replace the Resident Minister in Tibet. If they don't replace You Tai, all the efforts will be in vain. So, if the court replaces him, I will support it. If they don't, then I will only support sending a batch of military equipment to Tibet. The production lines at the Hanyang Arsenal are already running normally. I can allocate funds to the Hanyang Arsenal to allow it to continue expanding production."

Duanfang was initially hesitant, feeling that whether or not to replace the Resident Minister in Tibet was the prerogative of the imperial court, and not something a group of Han Chinese could demand. However, Tian Junyi's proposal received support from the military. Officers below Zhang Biao believed that if the court did not replace You Tai, wouldn't they be sending someone to Tibet to their deaths?

It takes at least two months for news to travel between Tibet and Sichuan. This means that once they enter Tibet, the resident minister in Tibet, You Tai, will be in charge. If he continues the policy of surrender, then everyone on the plateau will truly be left to die.

Duanfang could only send a telegram to the imperial court, reporting the Hubei plan. This plan immediately gained the support of Zhang Zhidong and Yuan Shikai; the former felt it preserved Hubei's vitality, while the latter militarily endorsed it. Even the leaders of the Qingliu faction, the Grand Councilors, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs...

Qu Hongji also felt that using diplomacy to protect Tibet was at least the safest option.

Although the Manchu nobles were unhappy with the Han Chinese interference in Tibetan affairs, this land, which was originally the Manchus' private territory and had always been ruled by the Manchus and Mongols, was powerless to resolve the Tibetan issue and had no other solution to submit. They could only complain to Empress Dowager Cixi.

Empress Dowager Cixi, still clinging to a last glimmer of hope, summoned Qu Hongji, Zhang Zhidong, and Yuan Shikai to question them about the possibility of a diplomatic solution to Tibet. Foreign Minister Qu Hongji honestly replied to Cixi: "The British envoy maintains that this is a conflict between the Indian and Tibetan governments, and that the British Empire and the Qing Dynasty should not intervene at this time. Negotiations between the two countries should only take place after the negotiations between the two sides have concluded."

Zhang Zhidong remained silent. This matter involved Huguang, and whatever he said would arouse Empress Dowager Cixi's suspicion. Therefore, it was enough to express his attitude; there was no need to say anything more.

At this time, Yuan Shikai really wanted to revitalize the country. Although this plan failed to solve the Hubei problem, it at least solved the Tibet problem. Therefore, he earnestly pointed out to Empress Dowager Cixi: "The British are trying to separate Tibet from our country and regard it as a protectorate like Korea and Vietnam. If the British succeed, the Russians will surely follow suit and attack Outer Mongolia. This matter cannot be ignored."

Furthermore, the safety of the Dalai Lama is crucial to the morale of the Mongols. If the British were to occupy Tibet, and the Dalai Lama were to believe that the imperial court was powerless to protect Tibet, then Mongolia itself would also face problems. In any case, the imperial court needs to send envoys to Tibet to appease the Tibetans, at least to prevent them from believing that the court has abandoned them; otherwise, Tibet will surely be lost.

Thinking of the ferocious Russians in the north, Empress Dowager Cixi finally nodded and said, "Whatever you say goes. This old woman just wants a few days of peace and quiet. Just don't cause any trouble. Since Youtai isn't suitable, then recommend someone else who will, so this old woman can take a look..."

The three ministers looked helpless upon hearing this. Had they really caused this turmoil in the nation? This wasn't like decades ago, when if the Qing Dynasty didn't cause trouble, the foreigners wouldn't cause trouble either. Now, the more the Qing Dynasty tried to avoid trouble, the more the foreigners wanted to cause trouble, because there was profit to be made.

However, although the Empress Dowager had relented, it was still very difficult to find a suitable candidate for the Resident Minister in Tibet. There were not many talented people among the Manchus, let alone someone who was now going to take over the mess in Tibet. Hearing that they would be going to fight against the British, even the Manchus who were eager to become officials were hesitant.

Ultimately, under the strong insistence of several Grand Councilors, Empress Dowager Cixi had no choice but to agree to establish an Assistant Minister to oversee specific affairs in Tibet. Thus, on January 25, the new Resident Minister in Tibet was appointed as Lian Yu, the Prefect of Ya'an, with the additional title of Deputy Commander-in-Chief, and ordered to enter Tibet as soon as possible to hand over affairs with You Tai. The Grand Council also appointed Zhang Yintang as the Assistant Minister.

Zhang Yintang, a scholar who passed the imperial examinations, was dismissed from his post for allegedly participating in the "rebellious party" of the reformists. However, due to his good family background, he was eventually pardoned after many years and was originally scheduled to be reinstated as a circuit intendant in Zhili. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs needed personnel to go to Tibet, and since he had previously worked in the Ministry, he was appointed as the assistant minister on the recommendation of Tang Shaoyi.

After the naval seminar at the Marine Corps School that day, Lin Xinyi had an in-depth conversation with Captain Saito Shichigoro, the principal of the Marine Corps School. He suggested that the principal send a telegram to the Naval General Staff to support the Marine Corps cadets in a live-fire exercise to prove the value of the Marine Corps School.

Saito Shichigoro was initially resistant. He didn't want to take such a big risk by offering advice, because decision-making was something for the higher-ups to consider, and they, as soldiers, only needed to obey orders.

The military actually resents nothing more than subordinates telling them what to do. Of course, private suggestions are a different story, as the latter wouldn't undermine military orders. However, later on, the soldiers stopped even offering private suggestions. They found it much easier to take direct action and force their superiors to ratify their decisions afterward. These military bureaucrats were afraid of taking responsibility, so they would never publicly say that the military had lost control of the troops.

Lin Xinyi sincerely told him, "The Marine Corps School was originally my suggestion, and it was quite by chance that it was approved. The purpose of establishing the Marine Corps School was actually to incite resistance among the people in the colonies of the European and American powers in order to advance the southward strategy."

In other words, if the Marine Corps School is only responsible for educating Marines, then its establishment is meaningless, and the Army will not tolerate it competing with them for the Army's educational authority. That is to say, the Army currently needs the unity of the Army and Navy, but after the Russo-Japanese War, the Army will certainly not tolerate this anymore.

Therefore, the Marine Corps School needs to prove its worth beforehand; it is a military academy with special significance that cannot be replaced by the Army NCO School or the Army University. Only then will your experience as principal truly shine, rather than being idle for several years.

Currently, there are only two suitable places for a Marine Corps school to prove its value: the Dutch East Indies and Tibet. I believe the latter is much more suitable than the former, because the latter will not expose us, while the former would easily make it obvious that we are the ones causing trouble.

These are just my humble opinions; I hope the principal will approve them.

Saito Shichigoro admitted that Hayashi Shin's words had moved him. Of course, he wanted to achieve something. Could he really become the first and last principal of the Marine Corps Academy? If so, it would be difficult to get a good position next.

However, he still had reservations and said, "But will the Naval Ministry approve this report? Aren't we discussing an alliance with Britain right now? This plan of ours is just causing trouble for the cabinet."

Lin Xinyi confidently stated, "It doesn't need to go through the Navy Ministry. This is a training plan, and the Naval General Staff has the authority to approve it. We need to consult the Navy Ministry because we need their support, but the Naval General Staff currently has an extra-budgetary budget, so we don't need their support. The Naval General Staff also profited quite a bit from dealing with the Genyosha this time; they shouldn't be unable to come up with a mere one million yen. The most important thing right now is to secure military supplies such as sniper rifles, binoculars, radio equipment, and explosives. These can only be obtained after approval from the Naval General Staff..."

Saito Shichigoro ultimately heeded Hayashi Nobuyoshi's advice. After all, he knew that the other party had close ties with the Military General Staff, and the so-called report was merely using his name. As long as it wouldn't harm his own interests, he naturally wouldn't strongly oppose it.

Sure enough, Saito Shichigoro's report was approved in less than three days. He then notified the Naval Research Society branch within the Marine Corps School, allowing Chinese students to graduate early and return home, and volunteers to enjoy the same treatment.

Meanwhile, Lin Xinyi also spoke with his squad leader, Captain Yamada, asking if he was seeking a position as a fleet staff officer, to which Yamada tacitly agreed. Yamada knew his student was quite capable, but he was hesitant to ask for help, preferring to try his own abilities first.

Lin Xinyi then said to him, "Squad Leader, the position you sought has been secured, and I congratulate you in advance. Now, Squad Leader, could you do me a favor?"

Hearing that his plan had succeeded, Yamada was naturally in a good mood. He then asked, "Is there anything else I can help you with? Oh, next is the arrangement of your sea training. I think even if I don't do anything, your destination will be arranged very well."

After a long silence, Lin Xinyi said, "I hope to be assigned to the Yangtze River Fleet of China. I heard there are some clerical jobs there that don't require going aboard ships. I wonder if I can be scheduled for that next month?"

Yamada was somewhat confused by Hayashi Shin-yi's thinking. He asked, "Why go to China? Going to a capital ship is your best option, and it will affect your career development in the navy. Besides, if you really don't want to go to a ship, staying in the Naval General Staff is better than going to China."

Lin Xinyi smiled and said, "The Navy's southward strategy is closely related to China. I will not feel at ease if I cannot see the situation in China in person. The Army Officer School has a big trip before graduation, which I think is a very good system. Only by going abroad to see for yourself can you know what the world is like."

Yamada said somewhat helplessly, "I don't have the authority to assign you to a main warship or the Naval General Staff, but assigning you to China is no problem. It's just that next month might be a bit early, since people usually board ships in April or May."

Lin Xinyi replied with a smile, "I've already spoken to Vice Minister Togo; it's just a matter of going through the motions. Vice Minister Togo's idea is that I'll stay at the Military General Staff Headquarters as soon as I return from China."

Seeing that Lin Xinyi had already arranged everything, Yamada had no objections. Some people are just different from others.

Chapter 169 Prologue II

To Lin Xinyi's surprise, in addition to the Korean and Japanese volunteers, Christian Rudolf DeWitt also joined the volunteer team. When Lin went to the Marine Corps School for a farewell party, DeWitt asked him with some confusion when they were alone: ​​"This is a battle between yellow people and white people, are you going to participate too?"

DeWitt glanced at him and said, "That butcher is in India, and I don't want to miss this opportunity."

It took Lin Xinyi a while to realize that the butcher DeWitt was referring to was Horatio Herbert Kitchener, the inventor of concentration camp tactics, a true fascist bandit, who was now serving as the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army.

He could only say to DeWitt, "You'd better change your name and your hairstyle. Your family is still in South Africa. Given the British way of doing things, they won't let your family off the hook just because you're white."

DeWitt held his glass in silence for a moment before saying with some sadness, "I don't have many family members left, but thank you for reminding me anyway. More than that, I'd like to see what you can do."

After thinking for a few seconds, Lin Xinyi replied, "It should be about what the Indian people can do. We are not here to save them. On the contrary, the Indian people are our saviors."

DeWitt glanced up at the young man beside him, finding the sunlight shining on him a bit too bright, and quickly looked away, saying, "I hope you're not overestimating the strength of the Indian people."

Upon returning to school, Lin Xinyi immediately took his graduation exams. He was about a month and a half ahead of his classmates, and the school gave him a small favor.

However, the core members of the Akazakura Society were somewhat puzzled by his actions, because no matter how you looked at it, it would greatly lower his graduation ranking. Faced with Inoue and the others' questions, he simply laughed and asked, "I wonder if the Shogunate asked Takasugi-kun about his educational background when he participated in the anti-shogunate movement?"

Seeing the others speechless, Lin Xinyi continued, "Academic qualifications are indeed very important for those within the system, but are they really that important for those aspiring to transform Japan, Asia, and the world? What we need is knowledge, not academic qualifications. Of course, this is just my personal opinion and should not be taken as your reference..."

Inoue Tsuyomatsu watched Lin Xinyi leave for the exam and couldn't help but say, "Does he have some new plan again? This time he's not even going to tell us."

Takano Isoroku sighed and said, "Touki Takasugi-kun, what a pity."

Shigetaro Shimada looked at Lin Xinyi's retreating figure with envy and said, "To be able to live so freely, such a life must be very interesting."

Koichi Shiozawa shook his head and said, "Even geniuses need to follow the rules. I don't think his reckless behavior is a good thing."

After glancing at everyone, Hori Teikichi said somewhat listlessly, "I think we should end this sooner rather than later. Lin was right about one thing: this is his choice, and others can't follow suit..."

On February 11, Lin Xinyi packed a few pieces of luggage and left the school around breakfast time. This time, he didn't say goodbye to anyone and left quite quietly. On the evening of February 13, Lin Xinyi arrived in Tokyo, found a hotel near the station, and stayed there for the night. The next morning, he went to the Naval General Staff building inside the Naval Ministry building.

Vice Minister Togo was very pleased with his arrival and personally went to the entrance to welcome him into the building. On the way, he couldn't wait to say to him, "Once the Shinagawa building is completed in August, we won't have to put up with the Navy Ministry's attitude anymore. I will arrange a private room for you then."

"But are you really going to intern with the Southern Qing Fleet? Commander Taketomi Kunimitsu is a Yamamoto faction member; I'm worried he won't give the Naval General Staff any face and might make things difficult for you. Alternatively, you could stay in Tokyo; Akiyama would be very happy to have you as his assistant."

After thanking Togo for his kindness, Lin Xinyi said, "Whether we advance south or north, China is an unavoidable issue. We can't draw any useful conclusions without seeing it for ourselves. As long as Commander Wu Fu doesn't assign me to work as a boiler operator, I don't mind him leaving me stranded on the shore."

After a hearty laugh, Togo said, "I don't think Colonel Taketomi would go that far. If he really did, send a telegram back and I'll transfer you. However, the army is currently very active in pushing for an alliance between Japan and Britain, so the southward advance strategy will probably have to be put on hold for a while."

As Togo spoke, he pushed open the door to his office. Following him inside, Lin Xinyi glanced around; it was indeed far inferior to the principal's office in Etajima. No wonder Togo was so eager to move to Shinagawa. He casually replied to Togo, "The southward expansion strategy doesn't actually need to be shelved, because contacting overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and cultivating nationalists throughout the region still takes time. It's just that these things can't be done in a high-profile manner..."

As Lin Xinyi entered the Naval General Staff building, Vice Minister Saito reported the Naval General Staff's movements to Minister Yamamoto, and casually asked, "Now that Lin Xinyi has gone to China, should we try to win him over? Or perhaps we could bring him to our side? Many mid- to high-ranking officers in the Navy are now paying close attention to the Naval Research Conference, believing that future naval talent should emerge from it. If we leave it unchecked, the Naval General Staff will gain considerable influence."

Yamamoto Gonnohyōe leaned back in his chair and pondered quietly for a moment before saying, "But we don't have a position for him here. If we want someone like him to come, we can't sway him without offering him a core position. But if we give him a position, the morale of his subordinates will really crumble. Do you really think he can accept being trained step by step? If that were the case, he wouldn't have raised the issue of the vacancy of the Navy Elder in front of Senior Veteran Saigo in the first place."

Saito Minoru fell silent. Yamamoto Kaisho was telling the truth. Hayashi Shin'ichi could have taken an enviable, smooth road, just like Zaibu Hideyoshi, but he refused that path. In fact, it was precisely because of this that Hayashi Shin'ichi was highly regarded by the high-ranking officers of the Navy. After all, not everyone liked the clan system.

While Saito was thinking, Yamamoto suddenly said, "Tell Taketomi not to pay any attention to him, but don't provoke him either. Just let him enjoy his vacation in China."

Saito was somewhat taken aback. Wasn't this supposed to be a way of excluding the other person? Marine trainees who couldn't board ships would ultimately have to take the administrative route. But then he thought about it again and realized it made sense. With the Naval Research Institute as his backing, Lin Xinyi already wielded considerable influence. If he were to become even more active within the fleet, the very nature of the navy would indeed become questionable.

Downstairs, after meeting with Vice Minister Togo, Lin Xinyi went to pay his respects to Chief of Staff Kawahara. This meeting was mainly to maintain good relations, as there wasn't really anything worth discussing. Like Togo, Kawahara was concerned about Lin Xinyi's purpose in wanting to go to China for an internship, and then instructed Togo to make the necessary arrangements, saying that other matters could be discussed after Lin Xinyi returned from China.

With the support of the Minister-General and Vice Minister, Vice Minister Saito of the Ministry of the Navy was also eager to get rid of this troublesome matter as soon as possible. Therefore, Lin Xinyi quickly received his dispatch certificate and ship ticket, as well as two travel allowances. One was a standard allowance from the Ministry of the Navy, and the other was a special subsidy from the Naval General Staff. This made Lin Xinyi much more financially secure. He had left the 10 marks that Krupp had given him last time with the Tokyo branch of the Workers' Party for the purpose of starting a newspaper.

After leaving the General Staff Headquarters, Hayashi Shinichi declined Togo's accommodation arrangements and went to visit Ogawa Heikichi. Ogawa Heikichi, as the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, did not forget his fellow countryman and younger brother, and directly took Hayashi Shinichi to drink with politicians from Nagano all night. Hayashi Shinichi only remembered the Minister of Justice, Hara Yoshimichi, and did not leave any impression on the others.

The next day, Lin Xinyi slept until noon before finally meeting with his two good friends, Ogawa Eijiro and Takeuchi, who had already entered No. 1 High School. The three hadn't seen each other for a long time, and the day passed quickly. On the morning of the third day, Lin Xinyi visited Kotoku Shusui, who took him directly to a meeting of the Socialist Association, where Lin Xinyi also met Katayama Sen and others. The association's office was Katayama Sen's residence.

Previously, Katayama Sen, Kotoku Shusui, and others had formed the Social Democratic Party, but it was ordered to dissolve by the government on the day of its establishment, and thus had to return to the Socialist Association, a loose academic research organization.

When Lin Xinyi attended the meeting, the association was discussing what to do next. Most members advocated that a political party should be established to carry out a legal struggle. Katayama Sen said: "The biggest problem in our country at present is the problem of the form of government. As long as we do not change the form of government and let the working class hold power, then this reactionary government will use the name of the law to suppress the legitimate demands of the working class."

It can be said that as long as the working class does not hold political power, workers' demands for reduced working hours, increased wages, unpaid wages, and access to medical and pension benefits are all illegal. So-called legal struggles ultimately amount to nothing more than surrendering to the bourgeoisie…

However, Katayama Sen's proposals received very little support. Most people believed that the struggle against the bourgeoisie should be conducted while maintaining social order, because disrupting social order would only make people hate the workers' movement and give the government a pretext to slander and suppress the working class.

Looking at Lin Xinyi, who was listening intently, Xingde Qiushui couldn't help but ask him, "Xinyi, what are your thoughts on this issue?"

Only Abe and a few others were familiar with Lin Xinyi, so the others were curious about why Kotoku Shusui was asking such a young man, and all turned their attention to him. Lin Xinyi, however, calmly closed his notebook, stood up, and addressed the people in the room: “I believe that Japan’s socialist path is not just a matter for Japan, but also part of the world’s socialist path. If Japan moves towards socialism while the world remains unchanged, then Japan’s socialism will fail; if the world moves towards socialism, then Japan’s capitalism can no longer suppress the enthusiasm and expectations of the working class for self-liberation…”

Chapter 170 Farewell

Apart from Kotoku Shusui and Katayama Sen, the others either disagreed with or thought that Hayashi Shin-yi's idea of ​​uniting with foreign working classes to fight against their own government was unrealistic.

Those who disagree mostly hold the idea that outsiders shouldn't interfere in their own affairs, while the unrealistic ones feel that the Japanese working class can't even guarantee their own livelihood, so how can they support the proletariat in foreign countries?

Therefore, after the meeting adjourned and everyone left, leaving only Kotoku Shusui and Katayama Sen, Hayashi Shinichi bluntly told them, "The idea of ​​establishing a party for the Japanese working class, then relying on the support of the working class to become members of parliament, and thus transforming the country, is, in my opinion, unworkable. Of course, relying on the votes of the working class to change one's social class is one path. So, if you want to establish such a party, it will only end up being filled with a group of political egoists."

Kotoku Shusui remained silent. The others only knew that Hayashi Shin-yi had translated the Communist Manifesto, but he knew that the man was also a naval academy student and the driving force behind recommending Abe to become Prime Minister Ito's secretary. If even such a person didn't believe in legal struggle, then it meant that this path truly offered little hope, because only by taking this path would the party become Hayashi Shin-yi's staunch political supporter.

Although it was the first time Katayama Sen had met Hayashi Shin-yi, he felt a sense of kinship with him. He said with emotion, "After returning from the United States, I felt that Japanese intellectuals were too far removed from the working class. They hoped to use the working class to transform the country, but they also strongly opposed the workers' movement exceeding the limits allowed by law."

This wavering in conviction has caused Japan's intellectual circles to constantly oscillate between nationalism, patriotism, and democracy, thus dividing workers and farmers. If this continues, I believe Japan's intellectual circles will eventually lose the trust of the people, thus losing the battle of public opinion to the government, the feudal domains, and the financial cliques. In that case, Japanese workers and farmers will become blind followers of the government, no longer fighting for their own interests.

Lin Xinyi nodded to Katayama Sen, having also realized this point, which is why he felt there was no point in staying in the navy. Without a worker-peasant alliance that believed in socialist ideals, the navy could not possibly change course. The reason the navy was willing to accept some socialist ideas was simply because these ideas could be used for external expansion.

"Mr. Katayama's views coincide with my own. Therefore, I believe that in order to launch a workers' and peasants' movement in Japan, we must first establish a vanguard of the working class with firm beliefs, organizational discipline, and a constant influx of new blood. However, Japan does not have the conditions to build such a force because the power of the feudal lords and zaibatsu in Japan is too great. They not only have a powerful army and navy, but also use the Emperor as a rallying cry to confuse and divide the people."

In Japan, we can shout "Down with the feudal domains and zaibatsu!" but we can't shout "Down with the Emperor!" Yet, the Emperor is the ultimate representative of the feudal domains and zaibatsu; without overthrowing the Emperor, we cannot overthrow the feudal domains and zaibatsu. Therefore, as long as the Japanese people cannot abandon their fascination with the Emperor, the feudal domains and zaibatsu can never be completely overthrown. At most, the people will only resort to assassinating a few shogunate officials to vent their anger, much like at the end of the Edo period…

Hearing Lin Xinyi directly point the finger at the Emperor, Katayama Sen felt a strong sense of sympathy. Kotoku Shusui, on the other hand, hesitated to speak. His feelings towards the Emperor were quite complicated. After all, he was not Katayama Sen. He had lived abroad for a long time and was completely free from the Emperor's influence. In Katayama Sen's view, Japanese people could survive without the Emperor, but for the vast majority of Japanese people in this era, they did not know how to live without the Emperor.