Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 18

After gently biting Lin Xinyi's chest, Lin Muzi finally spoke, "My only responsibility was to bring you here; that was the whole deal. This isn't a deal anymore. If you say that, I might just get up... um..."

Lin Xinyi suddenly rolled over and pinned the girl beneath him, kissing her passionately. At first, the girl was a little nervous, but gradually she relaxed. After a while, the girl suddenly cried out in pain. Lin Xinyi was startled and was about to stop, but the girl grabbed his shoulders tightly, her voice tinged with pain as she said to him, "Don't stop..."

At the Ito residence in Tokyo, Ito Hirobumi quickly invited Saigo Tsugumichi, who had come to visit, into his study and then asked him the purpose of his visit that evening.

Saigo Tsurudo didn't mince words and said directly to Ito, "I came here tonight for one thing. I've taken a liking to a talented person and want him to join the navy. I hope Lord Ito can help me out."

Ito asked curiously, "What kind of person do you value so much? How can I help you?"

Saigo Tsurumi said earnestly, "The navy doesn't have any capable people to lead it right now. If this continues, the navy will no longer be a land-based master and a sea-based servant, but a land-based master and a sea-based servant. That's why I came to ask you for help. Lord Ito, what do you say, will you agree or not?"

Ito laughed and said, "You haven't changed your temper at all. You do things without thinking. You have to give me a name before I can consider whether to agree or not, right?"

Seeing that Ito refused to budge even after his death, Saigo knew that arguing was useless. He thought for a moment and then said, "Then I'll be frank. Lin Xinyi applied to the Naval Academy, and I hope you won't try to sway him. It's nothing serious."

While pondering who Lin Xinyi was, Ito Hirobumi quickly realized what was going on and looked at Saigo with an unfriendly expression, saying, "If he really did get into the Naval Academy, what are you going to say to me? It seems that his trip to Hiroshima this time was your doing...you instructed Tomiyama Mitsuru to do it, right? Don't you think that's going a bit too far?"

Chapter Sixty-One: Persuasion

Saigo Tsurumi silently thought to himself, "Ito is indeed not senile." However, he added that the other party was indeed old and lacked energy, which was why he was fooled by Toyama Mitsuru.

Saigo thought this to himself, but he said respectfully, "Our country's annual fiscal revenue is only a little over 200 million yen, while the army and navy's military expenditures account for more than 20%. Although the navy's military expenditures exceed 10 million yen, the cost of building one Mikasa has already consumed the navy's annual military expenditures."

Lord Ito, an army can recover from a single defeat, but a single naval defeat can destroy decades of hard work. The Qing Dynasty's Beiyang Fleet, since its destruction by our country, has shown no signs of improvement; it is a prime example we should learn from.

Therefore, the navy needs a leader capable of guiding it forward to ensure it doesn't go astray. This is for the navy's sake, and also for Japan's. Without a navy, Japan cannot protect its own survival.

Saigo's words were not without reason, but they were not enough to convince Ito, since he also needed a successor to carry on his political ideals.

But Saigo didn't stop there. He changed the subject and said, "Lord Ito wants him to enter the Imperial University, which can only be done through the judicial or diplomatic channels. But in my opinion, he can't take either of those paths. Because he's not from Choshu, nor is he from a prestigious family. With your support, he can certainly soar to great heights, but without a foundation, once you're gone, he'll be abandoned by everyone. Isn't that why you want to get rid of the clan politics?"

Ito was truly speechless now, because Saigo was telling the truth. These former lower-ranking samurai had spared no effort in overthrowing the shogunate and the rule of the higher-ranking samurai, but once they gained power, these elite lower-ranking samurai who had been ostracized by the higher-ranking samurai quickly became corrupt.

Today's Choshu and Satsuma factions are nothing more than a re-enactment of the past rule of the shogunate and upper-class samurai. The descendants of the meritorious officials of the Meiji Restoration will inevitably occupy high positions. Although some positions are left for the lower-level elites, these positions are becoming increasingly rare.

Why do those members of the Kuomintang so despise the politics of the regional warlords? Isn't it because the private circles established by these warlords hinder the upward mobility of ordinary elites? And why is the army so eager to wage war? Isn't it because they hope to rise above their station through war?

Therefore, Saigo was absolutely right. While Hayashi Shinichi would undoubtedly rise rapidly through the ranks after entering the Imperial University under Saigo's patronage, he would either become a member of the powerful clans and compromise his principles, or be ostracized by them and ultimately become a marginalized figure. This was precisely the problem he was worried about, only Saigo had pointed it out to him.

After pondering for a while, Ito said, "Lord Saigo, doesn't the navy already have Yamamoto?"

Saigo Tsurumi didn't mince words, saying, "Yamamoto is indeed very good at handling specific tasks, but he's too timid and lacks the drive to succeed at anything. If he leads the navy, it will eventually become subordinate to the army. Although Hayashi Shinji is young, he has that drive. If he leads the navy, it can balance the army's dominance. I believe this is what Ito-sama wants to see."

Saigo's statement was true. After the Sino-Japanese War, with the biggest threat to Japan's periphery gone, domestic politics began to deteriorate. The root cause of this instability lay in the overwhelming power of the army that had defeated Qing China, which disrupted the domestic political balance. Even Ito Hirobumi, who came from Choshu, found it difficult to tolerate this abnormal situation where the army had long controlled national policy.

Saigo's assessment of the current Navy Minister Yamamoto is also incisive: Yamamoto is essentially a bureaucrat with a naval background. He can do a good job within the system, but when conflicts arise between the system and the navy, Yamamoto will always choose to back down. To put it nicely, he is considering the big picture; to put it bluntly, he lacks his own opinions.

In other government departments, upholding the dignity of the system would naturally be the top priority. However, for the military commander, constant concessions would cause the military to completely lose its direction. Although the military is established to defend the country, it is also an institution that needs a goal to move forward. What is the point of building more ships if there is no goal? Lin Xinyi at least put forward the definite goal of confronting the British Navy.

After thinking for a long time, Ito looked at Saigo and said, "What you said doesn't make no mistake, but isn't it a bit too confident of you to think you can just snatch someone from me like this?"

Saigo breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and immediately said, "No, I had no intention of taking him from Lord Ito. I simply wanted to strengthen the connection between the Navy and Lord Ito. With him in the Navy, Lord Ito's trust in the Navy, or the Navy's trust in Lord Ito, would increase. Isn't that obvious?"

After considering it for a moment, Ito finally said, "So, is Lin Xinyi willing to join the Navy? I hope it's his own choice. If we force him to go to the Navy, you'll just end up with another naval lieutenant, which won't help the Navy at all."

Ito pointed to his head and said, "His value lies here, not in where his body is. Even if you force him to go to the naval academy, if he can't open his arms, the navy will still gain nothing and will only ruin a talent."

Saigo, however, said with great confidence, "I have already asked Kawahara to persuade him. As long as he can face reality, he will surely accept the Navy's suggestion. A person with desires can always be persuaded."

Hirobumi Ito looked at Saigo with a strange expression, but he quickly said, "As long as you don't use violence to persuade him, I naturally have no objection. However, I don't want the Navy to isolate him from the world. Even if he enters the Naval Academy, he should know what changes have taken place in the world."

Saigo hesitated for a moment, then nodded in acceptance, saying, "Such a request isn't unreasonable. I believe Kawahara will handle it well..."

The Kawahara mentioned by Saigo is none other than Kawahara Yoichi, the current principal of the Naval Academy. Indeed, the task Saigo assigned was nothing more than a simple task in Kawahara Yoichi's eyes; he was just a talented young lad who could be easily seduced by a beauty to Miyajima, and whether he was polite or not was entirely up to him.

However, Kawahara soon discovered that this kid was a real handful. After letting the kid enjoy himself with the beauties at the Miyajima Onsen Inn for three days, he sent a set of white military uniforms from the Naval Academy to the military police. The kid obediently changed into the white uniforms and followed the military police onto the ship to Etajima School.

Kawahara thought he had completed his mission, but Lin Xinyi, who had been at the school for less than a day, immediately participated in a group fight—or rather, instigated one. This was unprecedented in the history of the Naval Academy, after all, it was a military academy. Kawahara had no choice but to personally intervene to prevent the situation from escalating.

The instructor and supervisor of the Marine Academy, Masamichi Togo, also rushed over upon hearing the news. Outside the instructors' office, seventy or eighty students were lined up on both sides of the road, with more on one side, about fifty or so, and less on the other, about twenty or so. Kawahara could tell that the side with fewer students were probably second or third-year students, while the side with more were newly enrolled students. None of them could be considered official students of the school yet, as the opening ceremony had not yet taken place.

He immediately asked the instructor who was dealing with the matter, "What exactly happened?"

After bowing to him and Togo, the instructor said, "According to our investigation, this appears to be a conflict between a freshman and a senior student..."

But at that moment, a young voice suddenly interjected: "Reporting to the principal, I disagree with the instructor's statement that he is trying to smooth things over; merely describing it as a conflict is biased."

Upon hearing this voice, the senior students glared angrily in one direction, but due to school rules, although their foreheads were bulging with veins, they ultimately dared not utter a sound. The instructor who had been interrupted was also annoyed, looking at the freshman who had stepped forward, and immediately reprimanded, "Lin Xinyi, do you even know the rules? Who gave you permission to speak?"

Lin Xinyi replied calmly, "Reporting to the instructor, you said before that anyone who wants to speak must first ask permission. I am currently asking the principal for permission to speak. As for the school rules, I'm sorry, I haven't officially registered yet, so I don't know what the school rules are."

The instructor was even more furious, saying bluntly, "With an attitude like yours, I don't think there's any need to register you as a student..."

However, Kawahara suddenly interrupted him, saying, "Let's keep things separate and get this straight first. Lin Xinyi, right? You say this isn't a conflict, then what is it? Did they bump into things to get those bruises on their faces?"

Chapter Sixty-Two: The First Incident

Lin Xinyi replied calmly, "That is the respect of the younger generation for their seniors who are disappointed in us. As the younger generation who will soon become members of the navy, we are astonished that our seniors have forgotten the original aspirations of the navy. Therefore, on behalf of the founders of the navy, we ask our seniors to reflect on their mistakes."

Kawahara Yoichi wondered if he was dreaming. How could he hear such outrageous words at the Naval Academy? Togo Masamichi, who was standing next to him, finally couldn't help but speak up, "The Navy's original aspiration? Tell me, what exactly is the Navy's original aspiration?"

Lin Xinyi quickly replied: "In the third year of the Bunki era, the British fleet bombarded Kagoshima; in the first year of the Genji era, the combined British, French, American, and Russian fleets occupied the Shimonoseki fortresses. Our country then realized that without a navy, there is no coastal defense. From the Emperor to the common people, everyone tightened their belts to purchase warships and build a navy, so that our Empire could compete for supremacy on the high seas. This is the original intention of the navy. I wonder if I have said something wrong?"

Instructor Dongxiang stared at Lin Xinyi for a long time, then turned to the older students and picked one out to ask, "Mine, is what he said true?"

Mina looked at the instructor speechless. As is the tradition of the naval academy, second-year students teach the freshmen the rules of the school and teach them to respect their seniors. That's what they gathered the freshmen for today. But this is the first time that the seniors have been taught a lesson by the freshmen. He really has no face to tell the truth.

However, under the watchful eyes of Instructor Togo and Principal Kawahara, Mitsumasa Yonai could only loudly reply: "We went to teach the freshmen about the spirit of the navy, but freshman Shinichi Hayashi jumped out and questioned us, saying that the spirit of the navy should be about challenging strong enemies, not blindly obeying superiors and seniors. Naotaro Ominato said that Shinichi Hayashi should be punished for disobeying his seniors' teachings. So Shinichi Hayashi beat up Ominato and incited the freshmen to rebuild the school's spirit. That's the situation."

Upon hearing this, the instructor from Dongxiang immediately asked, "Did Lin Xinyi just shout and the freshmen immediately start fighting?"

Mitsumasa Yonai could sense the coach's distrustful gaze, but what he said was indeed the truth. If that simpleton from Tokyo Prefectural No. 1 Middle School hadn't jumped out to respond to Lin Xinyi first, those freshmen wouldn't have rushed forward.

Of course, Minee wouldn't reflect on the fact that the seniors had already incited public anger by slapping the freshmen, but because the freshmen didn't know each other, no one dared to stand up against the organized seniors. Lin Xinyi was merely the one who ignited the freshmen's anger and became the one to speak out.

Instructor Togo ultimately could not tolerate such insubordination. The tradition of senior students educating junior students was not unique to Japan; it was also a custom brought by the British. The Naval Academy was originally established with the help of a group of active-duty officers from the British Royal Navy. Although the school no longer had British instructors, it still maintained ties with the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. Therefore, the school was quite proud of this tradition originating from the Royal Naval College.

He glared at Lin Xinyi and shouted, "As a freshman, how dare you lay a hand on a senior? Do you think that just because you're not registered, the school can't punish you?"

The new students beside Lin Xinyi all lowered their heads under Togo's gaze, but Lin Xinyi met Togo's eyes without flinching and said, "Marshal Saigo once said to Sakamoto Ryoma: 'What you said the day before yesterday is different from what you said today. How can you trust me like this? As a renowned scholar, you must have unwavering conviction!'"

To uphold one's beliefs, one would even draw a sword against the shogunate, let alone merely throw a punch at a senior. This is the code of the samurai. As a Japanese, have you forgotten even the spirit of the samurai?

"Damn it!" Instructor Togo was so angry that he forgot his own status and was about to attack Lin Xinyi when Kawahara grabbed his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Calm down, Togo. There are so many students watching. Do you have some kind of grudge against Marshal Saigo?"

When Togo Masamichi finally came to his senses, if word got out that he was hitting Hayashi Shin-yi at this moment, people might not think he was dissatisfied with the students, but rather that he was dissatisfied with Saigo Takamori.

The name Saigo Takamori was absolutely taboo in the eyes of the upper echelons. Although Saigo Takamori was pardoned for treason ten years after the Satsuma Rebellion by being reinstated to his official position, it is noteworthy that the Emperor did not directly exonerate him. From a certain perspective, the pardon of Saigo Takamori was merely a reflection of the upper echelons' fear that the lower classes would use Saigo's name to rebel against the court.

This explains why Yamagata Aritomo of the Army served as Prime Minister several times, while Saigo Takamori of the Navy repeatedly declined invitations to form a cabinet, thus placing the Navy below the Army. From this perspective, no matter how much Yamagata or anyone else sympathizes with Saigo Takamori's plight, they clearly don't truly feel that way inside.

For the navy, Saigo Takamori's stains had essentially become their own stains, which was the root cause of the army's suppression of the navy after the Satsuma Rebellion, because the emperor found it difficult to trust the navy. But the more this was the case, the more people in the navy, especially the veterans, felt indignant on Saigo Takamori's behalf. They could not tolerate any remarks that slandered Saigo Takamori within the navy; in their eyes, it was blatant betrayal.

Although he had stopped Togo's rampage, Kawahara was now in a dilemma. Punishing Lin Xinyi wasn't out of the question, but if such a punishment didn't convince the students, it would be seen as a sign of incompetence by those in power. As the principal, the most effective punishment he could deliver was expulsion, but that was precisely the option he couldn't implement. He now regretted not having met the boy first when he enrolled.

Glancing at the students watching, Kawahara didn't want this rude kid to have any chance to play with words. He immediately and decisively ordered the instructor next to him, "Instructor Yamada, take this freshman to solitary confinement. All the other freshmen present, go to the playground and run 15 laps. No rest until you finish."

He Yuan glanced at Lin Xinyi's motionless feet, paused, and then said, "The senior students who participated in the fight will be punished by running 30 laps and reciting the Five Provinces. Reflect on your actions."

Seeing Lin Xinyi finally move his feet and follow the instructor, He Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. However, faced with such punishment, the freshmen who hadn't participated in the fight were completely bewildered, while the upperclassmen who had participated looked helpless. Only the freshmen who had participated in the fight were invigorated; they really hadn't expected the punishment to be so lenient.

After making his decision, Kawahara pulled Togo away. On the way, Togo asked with some dissatisfaction, "Why only give him confinement? Such a black sheep should be kicked out of Etajima immediately."

Kawahara glanced around to make sure no one was watching before turning to Togo and saying, "This won't do. This is a talent that Lord Saigo ordered to stay in the navy. If you fire him, who will explain it to Lord Saigo?"

Togo said with some surprise, "The top scorer in this year's naval academy entrance exam isn't Lin Xinyi, is he? Whose son is he anyway?"

Kawahara shook his head and said, "He's no one's son. He wasn't the top student; he entered as the fifth-ranked student. But didn't we just see his talent? Who can lead a group of freshmen to beat up upperclassmen on their first day of school? This should be the first time since the school was founded, right? Didn't you almost get caught up in his tricks just now? He doesn't just casually mention Marshal Saigo."

"He's trying to provoke me? What good would that do him?" Togo was a little confused, but he quickly realized what was going on, stopped and looked at Kawahara, saying, "He wants to be fired?"

Kawahara looked at his colleague and nodded helplessly, saying, "It seems he has a prejudice against the Naval Academy. This is my fault. I shouldn't have brought him here so easily. If I had talked to him first, perhaps this speechless situation wouldn't have happened today."

Togo said indignantly, "Lord Saigo wants such a scoundrel to join the navy? I really don't know what he's after."

Kawahara agreed with Togo's assessment. He couldn't understand why Marquis Saigo valued such a young man so much, even more than his own nephews and nieces. The navy wasn't lacking in nobles seeking to gain experience, but Lin Xinyi's antics were truly unprecedented. However, to call it mere absurdity was an understatement, given his abilities.

Meanwhile, the graduating students who had gathered to watch dispersed and began discussing this rare scene. An Dongchang ran back to his dorm and saw Nagano Osamu lying on his bed reading a book. He couldn't help but remark, "Nagano, it's such a shame you didn't go out today..."

Chapter Sixty-Three: The Principal's Office

To be honest, the solitary confinement cells at the Naval Academy were quite nice. Apart from being completely empty—no furniture, no dust—you could lie on the floor because of the wooden floor.

After being locked in the solitary confinement cell, Lin Xinyi lay down on the floor and quickly fell asleep. Soaking in a hot spring was indeed a very energy-consuming thing, not to mention that he had just gotten into a fight with someone.

Although the freshmen outnumbered the seniors, they simply couldn't compete with the seniors in terms of physical strength and fighting skills. If the instructors hadn't arrived in time, the freshmen, who outnumbered the seniors by more than double, would have been overwhelmed. Lin Xinyi was quite prepared, but he still took several heavy kicks. However, being young, the pain had mostly subsided by the time he was woken up.

Instructor Yamada, who released him from the confinement room, was also somewhat surprised by his composure and couldn't help but say, "How can you sleep under these circumstances? Don't you think about your future? If you get expelled from the Naval Academy, you can forget about going to any other school."

Lin Xinyi replied frankly, "If someone comes to a naval academy and can't uphold their beliefs, how can such a person command a warship worth millions of dollars? I think the people will definitely worry about the future of the navy."

Instructor Yamada stepped aside and said to him irritably, "Come out now. I hope you'll still be this sharp-tongued later."

Lin Xinyi walked out of the room and was about to head towards the gate when Instructor Yamada stopped him. "Where are you going? I told you to come out, not that you're fine. The principal wants to see you and announce your punishment. This way."

"Yes, Instructor." Lin Xinyi was quite obedient at this moment, following closely behind Instructor Yamada. The two went up the stairs to the second floor, then to the innermost office. Yamada knocked on the door and reported, "Trainee Lin has been brought in."

A deep voice came from inside the door, telling Lin Xinyi to come in by himself and that Instructor Yamada could go about his business. Yamada opened the door and let Lin Xinyi in, then closed it again.

Lin Xinyi walked into the office and glanced at the room's decor. He could only say that the principal's office was indeed very grand. The dark red oak flooring and wainscoting, along with the bookshelves that covered the entire wall behind the principal's desk, were quite in line with the aesthetics of 19th-century Britain. It was dignified yet elegant, with a sense of historical weight.

Kawahara Yoichi was the only one in the office. He sat at his desk, looked at Hayashi Shinichi for a moment, and then said, "Sit down."

Lin Xinyi obediently found a seat and sat down. Looking at Lin Xinyi sitting on the sofa in the reception area, He Yuan suppressed his anger and tapped the table in front of him with his finger, saying, "It's this way."

Lin Xinyi then got up and walked to Kawahara's desk, finding a chair to sit down. Kawahara stared at him silently for a while before speaking, "Do you really hate the Naval Academy that much? You're causing trouble on the very first day?"

Just as Lin Xinyi was about to cross his legs, looking at Kawahara's gaze, he put them down again, straightened his posture, and said, "Disgust? No, I've never thought that way. I just don't want to spend my retirement in the navy and waste my life."

"Ha, haha." Kawahara Kaname laughed a few times, leaned back, and said, "Joining the Navy to retire? Wasting your life? You're not just showing disgust, you're looking down on the Navy, aren't you?"

Under Kawahara's cold gaze, Lin Xinyi replied calmly, "Back in Tokyo, I explained this issue to Lord Saigo in person. If the principal has any questions, he might as well ask Lord Saigo directly. Because I'm not sure if I can give you the answer."

Kawahara initially thought Hayashi Shinji was exaggerating, but seeing the other man's serious demeanor, he eventually became skeptical. As someone who had witnessed most of the events of the Meiji Restoration, he had seen far too many strange and unusual things, and the young man before him didn't seem to be lying.

He could only believe that Saigo's desire to bring the boy into the Navy was probably related to the boy's conversation. Although curious about the content of the conversation, Kawahara did not want to reveal this to the boy.

After a moment of silence, he sat up straight again, placed his hands on the desk in front of him, and said sincerely to the boy, "The Navy is definitely not a place to retire. I don't know where you got that misconception from."

But we're not going to talk about that today. We're only talking about your enrollment. What exactly are you dissatisfied with about the school? I need to know the reasons for your dissatisfaction before I can consider how to give you an answer.

Lin Xinyi pondered for a long time before finally saying to He Yuan, "The Naval Academy is merely an affiliated unit of the Navy. Even if you get first place in the Naval Academy, you still have to serve in the Navy in the end. Otherwise, it's like wasting three years. So the future of the Navy is the future of the Naval Academy. And today's Navy is far inferior to the Army in terms of conviction. Therefore, its future is predictable."

Kawahara burst into laughter again upon hearing this. "The Navy's conviction is inferior to the Army's? Where did you get that idea? You can't just spout nonsense."

Lin Xinyi calmly replied, "The Army's claims of the Korean Peninsula as a lifeline and Manchuria as a line of interests are essentially just the Army's intention to achieve its goals even if Japan is destroyed. But what beliefs has the Navy ever put forward besides asking the people for money to build ships? This is precisely why I think the Navy has no future."

Kawahara couldn't help but shake his head and retort, "What do you children know? Japan's most powerful fleet, the Sixth Fleet, is no match for even a single British colonial fleet. There's nothing we can do but endure it, or Japan will truly perish. Targeting Britain is just inviting humiliation."

Lin Xinyi immediately replied, "This is precisely what puzzles the people. If Britain cannot be considered a naval adversary, then what is the purpose of building so many ships? If the goal is to conquer the continent, wouldn't an army be sufficient? Since the navy lacks the conviction to develop even at the cost of Japan's demise, it naturally has no future. This is why I wish to withdraw from the academy. I wonder if Principal Kawahara can grant my request."

Kawahara laughed angrily and retorted, "According to you, the navy must have the conviction to develop the navy even if it means the destruction of Japan. But if Japan is already destroyed, what's the point of having a navy?"

Hayashi Shin-yi replied crisply, "If Japan could exist without a navy, wouldn't that be a sign that the navy has no future?"

Kawahara finally gave up on trying to persuade Lin Xinyi. He asked Lin Xinyi, "Let's be honest, what do you really want? Dropping out is impossible. Our school has many other ways to punish students besides dropping out, and I don't think you want to try them."

Lin Xinyi weighed the matter in his mind several times before finally saying, "Then please send a telegram to Marquis Saigo. I hope he can spare some time to see me. I will never accept being left on Eta Island like this."

Kawahara looked at him and asked, "You think you can see Saigo Marquis just by sending a telegram? Aren't you being too naive?"

Lin Xinyi then said, "Of course, the Marquis of Xixiang can refuse to see me, so the navy would be meaningless to me. Therefore, I don't understand, is it really worth it to make me stay here for three years?"

Despite the boy openly declaring his intention to spend three years in the Navy, Kawahara felt no anger. Through their conversation, he had learned that the young man's rejection of the Navy wasn't out of rebellion, but rather stemmed from his own set of ideas. With someone like that, it was impossible to retain them without addressing their underlying concerns.

He was still confused about Saigo's decision, so he wanted to see how Saigo would respond to the kid so he could better understand his own position. He gestured for Lin Xinyi to leave, but instructed him not to cause trouble until Saigo sent back his reply, otherwise he would have to keep him in solitary confinement.

Lin Xinyi was unwilling to suffer a loss at this moment, so he readily agreed. However, before leaving, he paused and turned to Kawahara to ask, "Principal, I would like to know if my female companion who went to Miyajima with me has returned to Tokyo yet?"

Kawahara looked up at him and said, "If you can keep a low profile these next couple of days, I might be able to inquire about it for you."

Lin Xinyi bowed to Heyuan before saying, "Understood, student takes his leave."

Chapter Sixty-Four Graduation Ceremony

The naval academy is actually not very large. Before the First Sino-Japanese War, it only enrolled 30 to 50 students each year. After the war, although it received indemnities from the Qing government and made a fortune, it still did not enroll more than 200 students each year.

This year, the 32nd class of the Marine Corps enrolled 193 students. Including the students and teachers from the previous three classes, the entire school has just over a thousand students, roughly the size of a prefectural junior high school. However, with the adjacent vocational school, the Etajima naval base becomes quite large.

So Lin Xinyi left the instructors' building and quickly found his dormitory. Seeing his name on bed number five, he knew that he had ranked fifth in his entrance exams.

The consequence of getting into a fight with the upperclassmen was that Lin Xinyi suddenly became a celebrity among the freshmen. When he entered the dormitory building, many people gathered around to greet him. The most enthusiastic among them were the freshmen from Tokyo Prefectural First Junior High School and Nagano Prefecture, who all felt that Lin Xinyi was one of their own.

Lin Xinyi also expressed his gratitude to the freshmen, since they were the first to respond to him. However, he was most impressed by a freshman named Takano Isoroku. This freshman was neither from his hometown nor an alumnus, yet he actually started fighting at Lin Xinyi's command. Therefore, Lin Xinyi expressed his sincere gratitude to Takano Isoroku.

However, Takano replied, "No, I should be the one thanking you. The way those upperclassmen bullied the freshmen was infuriating, but if you hadn't been the first to stand up, I probably would have just kept putting up with it. But, are you alright?"

Takano's question also caught the attention of the other students in the dormitory. They felt that although it was cool for Lin Xinyi to be such a pioneer, it would be a huge loss if he were expelled from school for it. After all, being expelled from the Marine Academy would ruin his future if word got back to his hometown.