Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 180

Of course, we really should do something about the army now. If we miss this opportunity, it won't be so easy to do anything about it later. On land, the army ultimately has the advantage over the navy. As long as the army is united, it will be difficult for the navy to force them to change their minds. Conversely, the opposite is true; our organization is not as tightly structured as the army's, making us easier for them to manipulate and force us to compromise.

Togo Masamichi glanced at Kawahara, then asked Hayashi Shinji, "So, what do you plan to do?"

Lin Xinyi glanced at the two men and said calmly, "We should be prepared to cut off contact with the army. We should develop contingency plans to independently shoulder the responsibility for national security and safeguard overseas interests."

Kawahara and Togo both paled. After a long silence, Kawahara Yoichi finally spoke, his voice hoarse: "Are you planning to go to war with the army? How can the army agree to exclude it from the national defense policy?"

Lin Xinyi nodded slightly and said, "Therefore, we must prepare early and not wait until the army starts to pressure the navy before we start to consider abandoning the army's responsibility in the national defense policy."

In fact, both Britain and the United States are countries whose defense policies are primarily naval, and I haven't seen any major problems arise in either of them. On the contrary, France and Russia, which implemented continental military doctrine, were almost always in turmoil. The French beheaded Louis XVI, and the Russians killed several Tsars.

Therefore, countries that practice naval supremacy generally enjoy relatively stable domestic politics. Since the British established their nation on the foundation of their navy, there have been no traitors like Cromwell. This is precisely why it is necessary for our country to implement naval supremacy.

Kawahara Yoichi couldn't help but scratch his head before hesitatingly saying, "What you said may make sense, but it probably won't work in Japan right now because the army is still very strong. If the army knew we had such a plan, they definitely wouldn't let it go."

Lin Hsin-yi immediately said, "That's why I advocate making preparations early, and we can't let the situation develop in a direction that is unfavorable to the navy."

Kawahara was at a loss for words, and Togo Masamichi, seeing this, changed the subject and said, "So, Shinji, how do you plan to prepare? I'm afraid there's no way to prepare for this. As soon as we start moving, the army will know."

Lin Xinyi replied seriously, "Yes, so we need to find someone with an army background to represent the navy against the army."

Hearing Lin Xinyi say this, Kawahara and Togo both breathed a sigh of relief. Although this idea was not very good, at least the navy would not have to be at the forefront. Togo Masamichi then said, "There are indeed a few generals in the army who oppose the Choshu faction, but they have all been driven out of the army by Yamagata. Just speaking out against them in public opinion may not necessarily make them oppose the army itself. I don't think it will have much effect."

Lin Xinyi, however, said confidently, "What I mean is not to find a few retired army generals to criticize the army in the newspapers, but to reorganize the Marine Corps under the Navy."

Currently, the Marine Corps' role is to assist warships in launching land offensives, so Marines are almost entirely dispersed across various warships, lacking a unified command system. Since we intend to enter the Southeast Asian region, it is impossible to avoid land-based military operations. Therefore, it is necessary to centralize the Marine Corps and form a unified ground armed force.

The mission of this Marine Corps unit going forward will be to conduct land-based military operations with the assistance of warships, meaning it will be an armed force capable of independently carrying out ground military missions. This is also a necessary condition for the Navy to no longer need the Army to share responsibilities…

Chapter 610

Kawahara was stunned again. After a long while, he said to Hayashi Shin-yi, "You don't mean to try to recruit those army generals who oppose the Choshu faction into the Marine Corps, do you?"

Kawahara's thinking was not without precedent. After all, under the constant advocacy of the naval seminar, the Marine Corps School hired several retired army generals as advisors. This matter was criticized by some people within the army and navy. The navy believed that hiring army generals as advisors to the Marine Corps School opened a window for the army to interfere in naval affairs, while the army believed that the navy was plotting against the army by hiring a group of retired generals who were anti-Chōshū faction as advisors.

However, with the outbreak of the Sino-Russian War, the Army and Navy focused their attention on the war on the mainland, and this issue gradually subsided, preventing a direct conflict between the Army and Navy. Now that Lin Xinyi has proposed establishing a unified command for the Marine Corps, Kawahara naturally thought of the matter of the Marine Corps School advisors again. He felt that Lin Xinyi wanted to use Army generals to create a small Army under the jurisdiction of the Navy.

During the Satsuma Rebellion, in order to deal with Saigo's rebels, the Navy sent some army warships to the rear of the rebels to carry out landing and sabotage operations. Because this military operation was quite successful, the Ministry of the Navy summarized the experience and simply formulated the Marine Corps Regulations in 1886. It stipulated that the gun corps that landed from the fleet or ships to carry out ground combat was called the Marine Corps Gun Corps, and the artillery corps was called the Marine Corps Artillery Corps, and the whole was called the Marine Corps.

It should be said that Saigo Tsugumichi had already begun planning to separate the navy from the army's control when he first became Minister of the Navy. The establishment of the Marine Corps clearly showed his stance, which is also the source of Yamamoto Gonnohyōe's confidence to take a radical stance and declare that Japan, as an island nation, should take the path of a large navy.

However, apart from Saigo Tsugumichi, the other people in the navy did not have such strong confidence that the navy could really suppress the army and establish a British-style large fleet. Even Yamamoto Gonnohyōe only wanted to get rid of the army's dominance on this issue, believing that achieving a balance between the navy and the army would be a success.

Because naval commanders lacked confidence in controlling the army, the Marine Corps established by Saigo Tsugumichi never escaped the name "Naval Marine Corps XX" or, when combined, "Xth Fleet Combined Marine Corps." In other words, it was always compressed into a small scale, completely lacking the ability to operate independently, and naturally, its status was very low.

However, Lin Hsin-yi's current move is to elevate the Marine Corps to a separate operational unit, similar to a standing fleet. This will certainly arouse suspicion within the Army, but it will also cause considerable controversy within the Navy. After all, such a separate unit requires more budget, and under the premise of downsizing, this new unit is essentially consuming the budgets of other units.

What worries Kawahara even more is Hayashi Shin-yi's attempt to bring active-duty army generals into the navy, which is likely to further provoke those navy generals who want to completely decouple from the army.

Lin Xinyi did not mince words on this issue. He frankly explained to Chief of Staff Kawahara: "Since we want to turn Chiba Prefecture into a naval base, then conflict with the army is inevitable."

The Boso Peninsula, as an agricultural region in the Kinki region, has always been a base for the army. The 1st and 2nd Cavalry Brigades were stationed in Narashino, and Chiba Prefecture was the jurisdiction of the Sakura Regiment of the 1st Division. In other words, if we cannot suppress the army forces in Chiba Prefecture, it would be very easy for the army to cause us some damage.

To counter the army's power in Chiba Prefecture and transform the region into a naval base, it is essential to establish a Marine Corps headquarters there, thereby gaining land-based military strength to rival the army. Of course, to prevent direct conflict with the army, the most suitable candidate would be a Marine Corps commander who comes from the army, enjoys a certain prestige within it, and is dissatisfied with its corruption.

We've concentrated so much funding on building a heavy industry center in Chiba Prefecture, not so that the army can reap the benefits. Therefore, to protect these achievements, we must strengthen the Marine Corps.

Kawahara was speechless. Although he was unwilling to engage in a life-or-death confrontation with the army, this was based on the premise of non-aggression between the army and the navy. However, the army's position on defense policy had already infringed upon the interests of the navy, and the Chiba Prefecture heavy industry center was an important part of the navy's plan to dominate the national economy, so it was even more impossible for the army to interfere.

On this issue, Kawahara had no way out. No one would object to letting the army's high command share the economic benefits brought by the construction of Chiba Prefecture. However, if he handed over control of the project to the army, there would inevitably be dissatisfaction within the navy, because it would be tantamount to giving up the navy's future.

Togo was clearly even more unwilling to let the army gain control of the Chiba Prefecture Heavy Industry Center project. He was counting on this project to advance his career, so when Kawahara fell silent, he spoke up and asked, "Since you've brought up this idea, it seems you have a suitable candidate in mind. Why don't you tell us?"

Kawahara didn't object, but instead focused his gaze on Hayashi Nobuyoshi, clearly wanting to hear whether the candidate proposed by Hayashi was suitable. Hayashi Nobuyoshi hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Previously, in order to bring down the Katsura Taro cabinet, I had someone conduct an investigation into the army to see if we could uncover any shady dealings within the army to use in our propaganda campaign..."

Kawahara and Togo both looked somewhat uneasy. Although they knew about the matter, Lin Xinyi's outstanding performance made them uneasy. Being schemed against and being attacked are two different things. With the latter, one can only accept their bad luck, since it's impossible to avoid attacks in politics. But being schemed against is different; it's a matter of personal grudges.

Generally speaking, even though there are significant conflicts between the army and navy, such targeted scheming is actually quite rare. After all, whether it's Satsuma or Choshu, they were all in the same boat at the time. If Saigo Takamori hadn't gone mad and led the old samurai in rebellion, the Satsuma clique would actually be stronger than the Choshu clique. There wouldn't have been a distinction between the Choshu army and the Satsuma navy; instead, it would have been Satsuma fighting against Choshu and other smaller factions within the army and navy.

This is also a new source of resentment that Satsuma harbors towards Choshu. They believe that the Satsuma Rebellion did not have to be turned into a counterinsurgency war. It was Choshu soldiers who wanted to seize power, and thus fueled the flames, leading Saigo Takamori down a path of no return. Only after Saigo's death did the Choshu faction begin to control the army, and Yamagata became known as the so-called father of the army. But even so, Satsuma would not say that Yamagata and other Choshu soldiers schemed against Saigo Takamori, but rather that they were simply dishonest.

However, Lin Xinyi is now scheming against the army. He Yuan and Togo know that this is playing with fire, and if they are not careful, the fire will burn them all.

Lin Xinyi, however, was much calmer than them. He seemed genuinely unconcerned about the possibility of retaliation from the army. Without hesitation, he continued, "...As it turned out, the people I sent to investigate brought back quite a bit of interesting news. Among the generals who transferred to the reserves this year, one was only in his early fifties, and the army promoted him to lieutenant general before his retirement."

I then studied his resume and found that he was not in any physical condition and had not made any major mistakes in the war. However, when he was the commander of the 3rd Brigade, he had a dispute with his division commander, Kawamura Kageaki. As a result, Kawamura sent him to Korea to serve as the commander of the garrison brigade under the pretext of recuperating. However, in Korea, he had a conflict with Hasegawa Yoshimichi. Hasegawa then publicly criticized him, saying that he was just a scholar who was knowledgeable in military strategy and was not suitable to lead troops, and put him in the reserve.

Looking further back in his resume, I found that during the Sino-Japanese War, he was the first staff officer of the army at the Imperial General Headquarters and was deeply trusted by Kawakami Soroku. He was responsible for almost all the major planning of the Sino-Japanese War. However, because he advocated that the army cooperate with the navy in combat, he was not well-regarded in the army.

I had someone interview him posing as a journalist, and I discovered that he was deeply dissatisfied with the rampant power of the Nagasu clique within the army, and also resentful about his forced retirement. If we could persuade him to form the Marine Corps Command, he shouldn't refuse. Furthermore, as the top graduate of the first class of the Army War College, Lieutenant General Hideaki Tojo has sufficient prestige to suppress lower-ranking officers within the army.

In this way, it would be impossible for our active-duty officers, who were requesting the Army's assistance in establishing the Marine Corps Command, to ignore the orders issued by the Ministry of the Navy. Tojo Chusho would be even more proactive than us in severing the ties between these officers and the Choshu faction within the Army, thus turning them into allies in his fight against the Choshu faction.

Kawahara Yoichi had certainly heard of the name Tojo Hideaki. As the only student in the first class of the Army War College who did not graduate from the Officer Training School, yet still achieved the top rank, Tojo Hideaki was once considered the future hope of the army. This is why he became Kawakami Soroku's right-hand man during the Sino-Japanese War. However, due to his dissatisfaction with the factionalism within the military and his advocacy for the army to cooperate with the navy in wartime, Tojo Hideaki was simultaneously viewed with hostility by both the Choshu and Satsuma factions.

Although Kawakami Soroku valued him, Kawakami died a few years after the Sino-Japanese War, so Tojo was removed from the General Staff. At this time, like the Navy, officers in the central ministries of the Army rose through the ranks faster and had more power. In particular, the General Staff had almost seized control of the operational command of the Army and Navy before the Sino-Japanese War. The reason why Tojo Hideaki proposed that the Army should cooperate with the Navy during the Sino-Japanese War was that the Navy General Staff had a low status and it was almost impossible for it to make its voice heard at the General Staff Headquarters.

Although Hideaki Tojo said something correct, it angered a group of people in the army who advocated for the army to take the lead and the navy to follow suit. He didn't gain any benefits from the navy either, because at that time the navy had a lot of resentment towards the army and treated this internal conflict in the army as an internal strife. They just sat on the sidelines and watched the show, without thinking of taking any action.

As a result, Hideaki Tojo, who had a smooth career after graduating from the Army War College, faded into obscurity after the Sino-Japanese War and lost the reputation he had as the future hope of the army.

Thinking of Tojo, Kawahara couldn't help but glance at Hayashi Nobuyoshi. He recalled that when Tojo Hideyoshi was at the height of his power in the army, he was actually quite similar to Hayashi Nobuyoshi now. However, Tojo Hideyoshi was merely a figurehead with no real power base in the army, while Hayashi Nobuyoshi had genuinely gained the support of a group of mid- to low-ranking officers in the navy. Therefore, their situations were vastly different. The Choshu clique could isolate Tojo with little effort, but if Yamamoto, the Minister of the Navy, wanted to touch Hayashi Nobuyoshi, he would encounter many obstacles. However, bringing such a person into the navy meant there was no need to worry about him working for the Choshu clique.

Unlike Kawahara, Togo Masamichi was thinking about a different problem. He said to Hayashi Shin-yi, "Since we want to establish a small army within the navy, what if the army asks us to help it establish a small naval fleet within the army? The army currently occupies the Korean Peninsula and Vladivostok, so it's not like we don't have this need. Aren't we just creating trouble for ourselves?"

Regarding Togo's concerns, Lin Xinyi confidently stated, "If the Army really makes such a request to us, I think it's a good thing. Firstly, we can sell those obsolete warships to the Army and recoup some funds for the technical upgrade of converting warships from coal to oil. Secondly, it will also consume the Army's budget. The Army probably doesn't realize that the cost of maintaining warships is much higher than maintaining a Marine Corps division."

Then, we can help the Army build its fleet and train personnel to operate the warships, but we won't help them establish a logistical support system. In other words, we can teach the Army how to use a warship, but we won't help them establish the logistical support system needed for the warship's navigation and combat operations. These Army warships will have to rely on the Navy's logistical support and maintenance to complete their navigation and combat missions.

In fact, this is also the model I intend to plan for the future Asian Allied Fleet. We support the establishment of independent fleets by the Asian Allied countries, but the logistics, maintenance, and technological upgrade systems of the Allied Fleet should be controlled by the Imperial Navy. In this way, the Allied Fleet will only become an appendage of the Imperial Navy and will not be able to confront it.

If the army is willing to be the first test subject, why wouldn't we be happy to do so?

While Kawahara Yoichi was still pondering whether Lin Xinyi's attempt to use logistics to strangle the army was feasible, Togo Masamichi had already changed his stance and nodded in agreement with Lin Xinyi, "If that's what you think, then it's certainly worth a try."

Togo Masamichi was considering his own future. Since he had accepted the logistics-centric approach proposed by Hayashi Shin-yi, he was naturally interested in this plan to limit the army by utilizing the logistics system. If this experiment could really work, it would prove that logistics-centricism was feasible. Logistics-centricism was not about making the army more powerful, but about how to control the grassroots units of the army from a technical perspective.

Togo could imagine that if the army really fell into this trap, not only would many people in the navy support him, but the Imperial Household Agency would probably also be happy to see it happen, because it would mean that the army could finally be bound by a system, instead of relying solely on the prestige of a group of high-ranking generals to control the army.

Does the Imperial Household not fear the Choshu and Satsuma warlords? If they didn't, they wouldn't have deliberately allowed Choshu and Satsuma to each control the army and navy respectively. The Imperial Household also knows that the Emperor's name is not so inviolable to the military. The mutiny in the Takebashi Incident was launched by troops stationed near the Imperial Palace, living just a wall away from the Emperor. These officers and soldiers didn't hesitate to use guns and cannons, showing no respect for the Emperor whatsoever.

If administrative means could truly be used to make the military obediently follow the orders of civil officials, how could the Imperial Household and the Imperial Household not support him? Therefore, Togo Masamichi ignored the army's dissatisfaction with the navy's establishment of a small army and began to plan how to use this event to promote the acceptance of logistics-centricism within the navy.

Kawahara Yoichi hesitated for a moment, but ultimately could not resist the unanimity of Togo Masamichi and Hayashi Nobuyoshi. After all, his authority as Chief of the General Staff was actually maintained by the three people in this office. He needed Hayashi Nobuyoshi's planning and Togo Masamichi's charging into battle. Otherwise, how could he have created the image of the Chief of the General Staff who could rival the Sea Minister?

He could only nod and say, "We can first sound out the Army's stance. Aren't they here to discuss defense policy with us? Let's see how they want to negotiate. If the people the Army sends are sincere enough, we can go with the flow. Afterwards, the Army can't say that we schemed against them, since they were the ones who came to us first."

Lin Xinyi immediately nodded and clapped his hands, saying, "The Principal is indeed the Principal. If the Army wants to use this negotiation to formalize its national defense policy, then naturally it should give us some benefits. Assisting the Navy in building a small army also proves the unity between the Army and the Navy. Only in this way can we demonstrate that the Army truly has the sincerity to negotiate..."

Togo Masamichi nodded repeatedly and said, "That's right. Since it's a negotiation, we should naturally talk about unity. If the army doesn't even pretend to be united, then what are we negotiating for?"

Chapter 611

Returning to his own office from the Chief of Staff's office, a section chief should not have a private office in principle. However, the Naval General Staff has fewer personnel than the Ministry of the Navy, and the newly built building has many more rooms than the Ministry of the Navy building. Since Shinagawa is a larger place, the section chief does have his own private office. However, the room is smaller than the minister's office, and can only accommodate a desk and a row of filing cabinets, leaving little space.

Although Lin Xinyi's office was on the ground floor, the windows faced a garden, and a row of trees nearby provided shade, making the environment quite tranquil. The transplanted trees outside the window were now lush and leafy, and while they couldn't completely block out the sunlight, they did prevent direct sunlight from shining into the office.

The sunlight filtering through the leaves into the room dappled the air, giving Lin Xinyi a sense of summer's warmth without feeling stifled or oppressed. Unfortunately, he only spent about one day out of every three days in this office, thus missing out on the beautiful view outside the window.

As he sat down to quietly admire the beautiful view outside the window and sort out his conversation with Kawahara and Togo, there was a knock on the office door. He had to abandon his thoughts, turn his chair around, and shout loudly at the door, "Come in."

The person who opened the door was Keiichi Domoto, who was carrying a stack of documents. After placing the documents on the desk in front of Shin-Yi Hayashi, he said, "These are the compiled texts of social survey reports on several factories, including Kawasaki Shipyard, as well as preliminary summary reports. The top one is the report document."

Lin Xinyi reached for the top report and began to look through it, casually asking, "How many people are in each investigation team now? Which teams have done a better job?"

After a moment's thought, Keiichi Domoto replied, "The total number of people in all the investigation teams exceeds six hundred. After deducting the personnel borrowed from various parts of the Navy, there are approximately 400 students and civilians hired from outside. Among the investigation teams, the 17 teams mentioned above are the most outstanding... their investigation reports are the most detailed, and their summaries are generally quite substantial. Of course, while the other teams cannot compare with these 17 teams, they also have their merits, but their overall quality is not comparable to these 17 teams."

Lin Xinyi skimmed the report, quickly turning to the last page. He closed the report, closed his eyes to think for a moment, then opened them and said to Domoto Keiichi, "The conclusions are too general. It mentions everything, but none of it is in-depth enough. Such a report can only be used to understand the situation; it's difficult to use it to formulate relevant policies. I'll go and discuss with Colonel Yamaji and Colonel Akiyama about borrowing a few people from them to reorganize the investigation report and create a template for everyone."

The conclusions of the investigation report should be formulated in two directions: one is from the macro perspective of the government and industry, offering opinions on industry development planning and management; the other should be from the perspective of enterprises, proposing how to reform production processes to improve production efficiency and summarizing market demand.

Domoto Keiichi asked, somewhat puzzled, "Do you mean we need to prepare two reports? Reports prepared from the company's perspective seem meaningless to us. Shouldn't this kind of work be left to the company to summarize itself?"

Lin Xinyi shook his head and asked him, "What conditions do you think are necessary to do something?"

Having followed Lin Xinyi through Tibet, Domoto Keiichi had long been capable of handling things independently after undergoing many trials. Therefore, upon hearing this question, he replied without hesitation: "The most important thing is people. As long as there are people, we can find a way to slowly push things forward. Secondly, it depends on funds and various social resources. The latter two can greatly shorten the time and increase the chances of success."

Lin Xinyi nodded and said, "That's right. That's why I requested that large-scale industrial and social surveys be carried out as soon as the cultural studies department was established, in order to select capable people. Once we have people, we need to consider how to support them and find funding and social resources so that we can do bigger things. Now, how much stipend do we need to pay to these people each month?"

Domoto replied instinctively, "It's estimated to break 10,000 yen this month, but we still have more than 70,000 yen left from the Ministry of the Navy and the funds previously allocated by Prime Minister Ito, which is enough to last until the end of the year."

Lin Xinyi shook his head and said, "We can't just consider supporting people at the current low level. The current allowance standard is used to select people who can do the work. If we really want those capable people to work with us and completely follow the direction we point out, then this allowance standard is obviously inappropriate."

In Tokyo today, the daily expenses for a single office worker, excluding rent and transportation, include approximately 52 yen a day for food alone, even if the meals are slightly better. Therefore, a single office worker who wants to live comfortably should have at least 25 yen in regular monthly expenses. In contrast, the average office worker's monthly salary is only 20 yen, and even a slightly well-known journalist earns only 27-30 yen. As for officials in central government departments, their starting salary is 50 yen.

Therefore, the most desired positions for young people after graduating from university are in the central and provincial governments, followed by journalism. As for being an employee in a small company, it's only a last resort. However, even for employees in small companies, there are only vacancies during the war-torn boom of the past two years. After the war, many small companies will go bankrupt, resulting in many university graduates being unemployed immediately after graduation.

To effectively utilize these educated young people, besides providing them with opportunities, it's crucial to guarantee their living standards. Therefore, I believe a monthly salary at least equivalent to that of a journalist is necessary to genuinely pique their interest in our work.

Do you know exactly what kind of business we're going to pursue upon returning to Japan?

Faced with Hayashi Shin-yi's sudden question, Domoto hesitated for a moment before replying, "Your idea is probably the same as it was in Tibet and India: to reform Japan's current unreasonable system and create a better new Japan."

Lin Xinyi stared at Domoto for a while until he lowered his head. Then, he placed his hands on the desk, leaned forward, and looked into Domoto's eyes, saying kindly, "You're absolutely right."

What I want to do is to continue to push forward the Meiji Restoration. The Meiji Restoration, which was initiated by heroes such as Genzui Kusaka, Shinsaku Takasugi, Takayoshi Kido, Takamori Saigo, and Toshimichi Okubo, has only just begun. It is still far from the new Japan they envisioned.

You and I, along with others who are willing to fulfill the aspirations of these predecessors, should continue along the path they pioneered, instead of stopping like Yamagata, betraying their aspirations, and treating Japan as their private property to be toyed with.

Our cause is continuous innovation, until a new Japan emerges where everyone can be happy. It should not be the Emperor's country, nor the country of the elders and zaibatsu; it should be a home for the people, our home, a country where ordinary people can have dreams and hope. This is the cause I want to work with you on.”

Without any hesitation, Keiichi Domoto stood at attention and replied, "I am willing to follow you to fulfill this dream."

Lin Xinyi nodded, then shook his head and said, "It's not my dream, it's our dream."

Keiichi Domoto immediately corrected himself, saying, "Yes, it is indeed our dream. However, without your leadership, we could not have accomplished it."

Lin Xinyi nodded in satisfaction. He dared to lay his cards on the table at this time because he knew Domoto wouldn't refuse him. When he first returned to Japan, Domoto, while respectful of his former superior, still harbored some wariness. After all, this was Japan, not a foreign country, and Domoto still held Japanese law in awe, so naturally he wouldn't want to follow him in taking any actions against the government.

However, after assisting Kawahara Yoichi in defeating Navy Minister Yamamoto and successfully clearing the way for Kawahara's rise to the position, Domoto had to consider whether he should completely align himself with him. After all, with Kawahara taking over as Navy Minister, Hayashi Nobuyoshi would undoubtedly become a rising star in the Navy for some time to come, and it would be difficult for others to shake his position.

Domoto wasn't stupid. He knew that if he followed Lin Xinyi, he would board the fastest warship. Even if he didn't want to board it, no one would think he had no connection with Lin Xinyi. If Lin Xinyi really lost, he would also be suppressed by the opposing side. There was no reasoning with that.

Therefore, as long as Lin Xinyi doesn't do anything outrageous and doomed to failure, Domoto has no choice but to follow him. After all, the two sides have formed a bond of shared honor and disgrace. There are several others in the same situation as him. These people who returned from Tibet and India can only follow Lin Xinyi unconditionally, since they have already been branded by Lin Xinyi. No one else would be interested in recruiting them.

Of course, Domoto's swift response surprised Lin Xinyi, who had expected to wait a while for a reply. However, the more decisive Domoto's stance was, the more trustworthy Lin Xinyi found him, implying that Domoto had already considered many issues behind the scenes.

After Domoto made his statement, Hayashi Shin-yi continued, "If we want to continue to promote the Meiji Restoration, the manpower we have in the navy is definitely not enough. Therefore, it is urgent to establish organizations and cultivate talents in the civilian sector."

Developing talent requires substantial funding and various resources. For example, as I just mentioned, if we want young intellectuals to work for us, we must at least address their family difficulties. While we can't afford the monthly salaries of provincial and ministerial officials, we should at least offer salaries comparable to those of journalists.

Hiring 1000 people at a monthly salary of 30 yen would require a monthly expenditure of 1 yen, or an annual salary exceeding 400 yen per person. 3 people are far from sufficient for the reform movement we want to promote. However, this budget lacks a fixed purpose; currently, we are only able to provide these people with work through naval grants and subsidies from various companies.

Therefore, in the future, the number of people we employ in the civilian sector will expand dramatically, which means that maintaining a source of funding will become extremely important. Without money and relying solely on enthusiasm, our morale will quickly crumble. To ensure the security of our funding, I believe that in addition to seeking help from the navy and the government, we must also win the support of capitalists.

So why would capitalists give us benefits? Because we can help them solve political and industrial problems. Political problems include whether the laws governing the industry are appropriate and how to obtain preferential policies from the government. Industrial problems include tariffs in foreign trade and shipping security.

Similarly, government officials need to hear the real situation from the ground up; only then can they avoid repeating the mistakes of state-owned enterprises that consistently lose money. Therefore, we need an institution to facilitate communication and consensus among the government, industry, and the public. Only when all three reach a consensus on a matter can that matter proceed smoothly.

Of course, this communication agency can't work for free, so charging 5% of the total project amount is a reasonable fee. The first phase of investment in the Chiba Prefecture Heavy Industry Center reached 5 million yen, so 5% is equivalent to 2500 million yen. With such a sum of money on hand, although some of it just passes through our hands, the rest is enough for us to support the young people who follow us.

What we need to do now is get the government to recognize our investigation report and be willing to pay for it. Therefore, we need to formalize the social investigation team and establish a company that specializes in accepting commissions to conduct full-time social investigations…”

While Lin Xinyi's words made perfect sense, Domoto Keiichi noticed something different: in the past, for government-led projects, contractors were expected to offer bribes to officials—essentially, bribery. Lin Xinyi's proposal to establish such an institution would essentially legitimize these bribes, deducting five percent directly from the project budget and transferring the funds to officials at various levels. This would eliminate direct contact between businessmen and officials, significantly improving the safety of both parties.

However, upon closer examination, Domoto felt that Lin Xinyi's plan could still succeed. On the one hand, the Navy would take the lead in the government and have a great deal of say in commissioned projects for investigation and research. On the other hand, officials also hoped to receive bribes legally and compliantly without having to worry about being exposed.

Domoto nodded repeatedly in agreement, saying, "Your idea is indeed brilliant. Allocating 5% of the budget for preliminary investigations will at least ensure that the remaining 95% of the funds are not wasted on projects. This can reduce a lot of unnecessary investment for the national treasury, which is a great thing. We can also use this institution to train a group of people and lay a solid foundation for our business."

Seeing that Keiichi Domoto truly understood his thoughts, Shinichi Hayashi happily continued, "Therefore, we must come up with a plan as soon as possible to promote the separation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce. The chances of success will be very high if the newly established Ministry of Industry and Commerce is to operate this matter."

Domoto Keiichi suddenly realized, "So that's what you meant by advocating the separation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce. I'll have someone come up with a plan as soon as possible. Should we first put some word on it in the newspapers?"

Lin Xinyi nodded and said, "Okay, first, find professors from the Imperial University to write a few articles on the development of our country's industry and commerce. On the one hand, praise the rapid growth of our industry and commerce, and on the other hand, subtly criticize the Ministry of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry for hindering our development. Also, arrange a meeting between me and President Matsukata of Kawasaki Shipbuilding. We'll sell him the plan to separate the Ministry of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry. We also need him to promise that after becoming minister, all major government projects will require feasibility studies..."

Domoto Keiichi quickly took notes. After he left Hayashi Shin-yi's office, Hayashi Shin-yi stood in the room for a moment, then went out and called Furukawa Shun-ga to his office, asking him about the youth culture work he was in charge of.

Compared to the social research work led by Keiichi Domoto, the work undertaken by Shunga Furukawa was rather unremarkable, as it's difficult to stand out in the work of connecting with young people and spreading naval culture. However, Shunga Furukawa was very patient and did a very solid job in connecting with young people.

Lin Xinyi was quite satisfied after listening to his report. He quickly instructed Furukawa: "Although there are spontaneously established youth groups in various parts of Japan, judging from the current information, these youth groups are very disorganized and have no real ideology. Some youth groups have even become backup forces for gangsters."

We need to rectify the chaos within youth groups, unite youth groups in the Tokyo and Osaka areas that are mainly composed of university graduates, and use these groups as the core to integrate youth group organizations across the country. We should expel those harmful youth groups from the ranks of youth groups, thereby establishing a nationwide youth organization.

The organization's mission is to guide and establish correct values ​​among young people, promote the further development of the Meiji Restoration, alleviate the suffering of the lower classes in Japan, and build a new Japan that is in the interests of all Japanese people.

After the organization is established, a portion of the staff will be selected to participate in the rural survey and reconstruction movement in Chiba Prefecture, in order to cultivate the young talent we need…”

Furukawa Shunga silently recorded Lin Xinyi's instructions, only asking at the end, "So, what's the name of the new organization?"

Lin Xinyi glanced out the window and said, "Let's call it the Japanese New Youth Corps."

Chapter 612

As dusk fell, the lights inside the Hama House began to illuminate the space. In a suite facing the courtyard, Sugiyama Shigemaru and Itō Saemon were talking with Ogawa Heikichi.

Although he stepped down from his position as minister, Ogawa Heikichi is now doing even better. He and Hara Yoshimichi have united the legal professionals who graduated from the Imperial Law School and won over the Toa Dobunkai, which lost the Duke of Konoe. In doing so, they have established a political faction based in Tokyo that includes legal elites and high-level intellectuals.