Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 4

Ito was speechless at Ogawa's antics. Clearly, this guy was a bookworm from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Law—the kind who only cared about the literal meaning of laws and ignored national affairs. While such people were well-suited for bureaucratic positions—after all, they could execute laws well as long as they had them to follow—they rarely had creative ideas. Without superiors, they always managed to make a mess of things.

But this was not the time to criticize Ogawa. Ito could only suppress the dissatisfaction rising in his heart and said, "Although Ogawa studied domestic law, he should occasionally learn about international law. It is not enough for Japan today to only focus on domestic affairs."

Although he didn't know what Ito meant, Ogawa could only sit upright and answer with a "yes." Only then did Ito continue, saying, "The balance of power in Europe is a British national policy. Since the Napoleonic Wars, the British have regarded the balance of power in Europe as the foundation for maintaining the British Empire's world domination. This is common knowledge that every bureaucrat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must understand."

Of course, knowing Britain's policy toward the balance of power in Europe is one thing; being able to use this balance of power to predict the government decisions of Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States is quite another. Diplomacy is a profession that requires imagination; if diplomacy is conducted solely based on national power or personal connections, then such diplomacy is nothing more than mediocre diplomacy.

Cardinals during the reign of Louis XIV, Talleyrand during the Napoleonic era, and Metternich of Austria-Hungary were all imaginative diplomatic geniuses. Their strength lay not in the power of their own countries, but in their ability to balance relations between nations. Therefore, what you perceive as mere speculation might actually be the most valuable part of this novel. I'd like to see the next section immediately, is that alright?

Of course, Ogawa Heikichi wouldn't say no to Ito Hirobumi when he became serious. However, just as he was about to leave with Ito's secretary, he thought of something else and turned to Ito, asking, "Sir, so, is it not suitable for this novel to be published for the time being?"

Ito thought for a moment and said, "Whether it can be published or not depends on me reading it. However, judging from the content of the first few chapters, this novel is not suitable for publication. Of course, if your fellow countryman has any financial requests, you can tell Ito, and he will try his best to meet them."

Ogawa had no choice but to confess: "Actually, I had already given a copy of the manuscript to the Tokyo Hiragana Illustration Newspaper. If it can't be published, I'll need to negotiate with the newspaper, but..."

Ito nodded and replied, "Understood. I'll have someone handle this. You don't need to worry about the newspaper. Harada, after you take Mr. Ogawa home, go to the Tokyo Hiragana Illustration News and retrieve the manuscript..."

Chapter Eleven: First Encounter

When Tian Bangxuan, Cai Genyin, and Qin Dingyi stepped down from the carriage, they attracted considerable attention from the residents of Kobe Village, as foreigners were rarely seen in this place. However, the three also sensed that the Japanese here were quite simple and honest, much like those in rural China, unlike the Japanese in big cities such as Yokohama, Osaka, and Tokyo, who, despite their victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, held a condescending attitude towards them, the Qing Dynasty people.

Therefore, the three of them received very helpful directions when they asked for directions, which led them to the location of Ogawa Gofuku Shop. Although Ogawa Heikichi had taken Lin Xinyi's manuscript back to Tokyo, he was unwilling to get involved with Lin Xinyi financially. After all, a lawyer who was about to enter politics should protect his reputation. So he gave Lin Xinyi's address directly to the newspaper so that the newspaper could send the manuscript fee directly to Lin Xinyi.

The Ogawa kimono shop was quite easy to find in Kobe Village, so the three of them got out of the car and asked around. A kind person even led them to the street where the shop was located. After thanking the kind passerby, Tian Bangxuan couldn't help but sigh to his two companions as he watched the kind person leave, "The people here are as simple and honest as my hometown. I feel like I've come home."

Cai Genyin and Qin Dingyi ignored his sigh and searched for the sign of Wufu Store. Soon, the two of them excitedly pulled Tian Bangxuan toward the only clothing store on the street.

Upon entering, the waiter quickly came forward to greet them, but upon seeing the three Qing Dynasty people, he was at a loss for words. Tian Bangxuan, however, politely inquired of the waiter, "We are here to visit the writer Lin Xinyi. We wonder if he is here?"

The waiter replied somewhat blankly, "We don't have any writers here, only Manager Xiaochuan and his family. This is the Xiaochuan family's ancestral home..."

Tian Bangxuan, Cai Genyin, and Qin Dingyi were startled, thinking the newspaper staff had given them a fake address. But just then, Xiao Chuan, the shopkeeper who was calculating in the inner room, said, "There's no writer here, but Lin Xinyi lives in the back. Are you sure you want to find him? He's just a middle school student. Do you know him?"

Tian Bangxuan quickly waved the newspaper in his hand and said, "We are looking for the author of the article 'Kameyama's Diary' published in the newspaper. If he published this article in the magazine, then he is the one we are looking for."

The waiter seemed to understand what he meant and casually added, "Shin-yi did write about a man named Kameyama Jiro, who wrote some letters while traveling in China."

Qin Dingyi was overjoyed and said, "Yes, that's the one we're looking for."

However, after their initial elation, the three found themselves in an awkward situation. How could they be looking for a student who hadn't even graduated from middle school? No matter how talented he was, he couldn't possibly know more about China than they did.

Just as the three were caught in a dilemma, the shopkeeper warmly invited them to wait in the backyard, saying that Lin Xinyi would be back from school soon. Seeing the neighbors gathered at the shop entrance to look at the foreigners, Cai Genyin was the first to react. He thanked the shopkeeper for his kindness and followed the waiter into the courtyard. As he pulled his two companions inside, he said, "Since we're here, we might as well make the best of it. Anyway, even if we want to go back to Tokyo, we'll have to wait for tomorrow's carriage."

The two, who had initially been somewhat hesitant, exchanged a glance and finally followed the enthusiastic waiter into the inner courtyard. It wouldn't be good to stand in the shop and obstruct others' business. The waiter led the three to a small courtyard, told them this was where Lin Xinyi was staying, asked them to wait there briefly, served them tea, and then left.

The three glanced around the Japanese-style room they were in and found it filled with books, though not many. Many of the books were textbooks, so it was indeed a student's study. The two side rooms were obviously bedrooms, but the three were too embarrassed to go in and look, so they just sat there chatting.

Qin Dingyi said disappointedly, "This really looks like a student's place. It seems we've come to the wrong place. This long journey has been a waste."

Tian Bangxuan, still unwilling to give up, said, "Even if this novel wasn't written by this student, this student must have a close relationship with the author, otherwise they wouldn't have left their address with the newspaper. It's just a matter of asking again; it can't be considered a wasted trip."

Cai Genyin said thoughtfully, "I also feel that this trip was not in vain. The Yokohama, Osaka and Tokyo we saw before are not the whole of Japan. The Meiji Restoration lasted for nearly 40 years, but it only created some big cities. The transformation of the countryside was not significant. We still have a chance to catch up, as long as we defeat the Later Party."

Tied up by Cai Genyin's words, Tian Bangxuan's attention was also diverted. He nodded in agreement, saying, "Matsupo is right. After leaving Tokyo, the Japanese countryside is not much different from our country. However, we saw schools everywhere we went, and we didn't see any older children or beggars on the streets. In these two respects, it can't be said that the Japanese countryside is no different from our country..."

While the three were discussing their new understanding of Japan, Lin Xinyi and Ogawa Eijiro returned to the kimono shop. Seeing the shopkeeper and the staff looking at him strangely, Lin Xinyi touched his face and asked in confusion, "Is there something on my face?"

The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "It's nothing, but Kobayashi, you did write an article that was published in a Tokyo newspaper?"

Ogawa Eijiro, who was standing nearby, immediately became excited and said to Lin Xinyi, "Xinyi, your article was really published! Uncle Pingji is indeed very trustworthy. Dad, where is the newspaper? I want to see it too."

The shopkeeper gently tapped his son's head with a ruler and said, "We don't subscribe to newspapers, so where would we get a newspaper? In that case, those three Qing people really did come to visit you, Xiao Lin."

"What Qing Dynasty people?" Lin Xinyi and Yingjiro asked curiously. The innkeeper told them to go to their own courtyard, saying that Goro had already taken the guests to their courtyard.

Lin Xinyi, filled with questions, walked towards the inner courtyard with the curious Eijiro. Behind them, the shopkeeper and his assistant began praising him again. The shopkeeper said to his assistant with no small amount of pride, "Since Heikichi, our family has produced another scholar like Lin. In that case, Eijiro won't be too bad off in the future. Our family is truly a blessed place..."

As Lin Xinyi approached his house, he suddenly stopped. Several Mandarin speakers with different accents came from inside, stirring a mix of emotions within him. He hadn't heard Chinese for years; even if it wasn't his native tongue, it was still his familiar accent. Eijiro, standing beside him, excitedly said, "They really are Qing Dynasty people! Xinyi, your novel is a great success! Otherwise, they wouldn't have come all this way to visit you."

Lin Xinyi calmed down, reached out and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Yes, Eijiro, you have to work hard too. Next time it will be your turn to have your novel published."

With his confidence greatly boosted, Eijiro clenched his fist and said, "Since you were able to succeed, I think I can definitely succeed too."

The conversation between the two outside the door finally alerted Tian Bangxuan, Cai Genyin, and Qin Dingyi inside the house. The three of them got up and walked to the door of the wooden house. Looking at the two boys standing at the bottom of the steps, they looked at each other with wry smiles. Clearly, this Lin Xinyi was indeed a boy.

The two sides stared at each other for a moment at the door. Tian Bangxuan was the first to react and stepped aside to say to the two boys, "We are students from the Qing Dynasty. We read Mr. Lin's novel about the Qing Dynasty in Tokyo, which gave us some questions. So we took the liberty of visiting you. May I ask which one of you is Mr. Lin?"

Lin Xinyi finally regained his composure. He calmly stepped forward and greeted them in Chinese: "I am Lin Xinyi. It is my honor to be able to communicate with the three of you. Let's go inside and talk."

Eijiro, standing to the side, looked at Lin Xinyi with some surprise, not expecting that the other could speak Chinese. However, the three opposite him were even more surprised, because Lin Xinyi spoke remarkably standard Beijing Mandarin, even more so than the three of them. Now they were beginning to believe that this young man might indeed be the author of the novel, or perhaps he had an extremely close relationship with the author.

After the five men entered the house, they sat cross-legged on the straw mats. Cai Genyin was the first to speak. He introduced the names, hometowns, and backgrounds of the three men, and then bluntly said to Lin Xinyi, "We are the reformers mentioned in Mr. Lin's novel. Mr. Lin, you asserted in your novel that the reformers were doomed to fail and had no future in China, but you seemed to have left something unsaid. I would like to know where you got this conclusion? Although the reform failed, it was not the reformers who lost the hearts of the people."

Tian Bangxuan gave Cai Genyin a reproachful look. He felt that asking such a sharp question right from the start was obviously not in line with the status of a guest. However, seeing that Qin Dingyi was also staring at the young man opposite him with a serious expression, he swallowed his words.

After waiting for a while, seeing that Lin Xinyi remained silent, Qin Dingyi finally couldn't help but ask, "Is Mr. Lin unable to answer this question, or is he unwilling to answer it?"

Lin Xinyi finally snapped out of his daze. He glanced at the three of them before saying, "I just think that if we were to delve into this issue, it might take a long time to discuss."

Just as Tian Bangxuan was about to say something, Cai Genyin stepped in front of him and said to Lin Xinyi, "We came all the way from Tokyo to Kobe Village, so we won't be stingy with a few hours. Mr. Lin, just say whatever comes to mind, and we will all listen attentively."

Lin Xinyi pondered Ogawa Heikichi's complaints about the arduous journey back from Tokyo, and how the three men appeared before him after reading the newspaper article. He began to understand their eagerness. These three might have been reformers in the past, but they were no longer necessarily supportive of reform. Faced with Chinese people of this era who wanted to change China, Lin Xinyi couldn't help but want to say something, even if it couldn't change anything, at least to give the three men some new insights.

Chapter Twelve: First Encounter II

"I recall an old Chinese saying: 'By learning from history, one can understand the rise and fall of dynasties.' I've also heard a prominent figure in your country say: 'Today's era is a great transformation unprecedented in three thousand years…'"

Cai Genyin was indeed somewhat surprised. He had asked this question to test Lin Xinyi and see if the novel was truly written by him. But after Lin Xinyi spoke, he began to believe that the author of the novel was indeed the Japanese boy opposite him, because few foreigners knew these two sentences, and even ordinary people in their own country had only heard the first sentence at most.

The fact that the other person could casually quote these two sentences as the beginning of a conversation showed that they had at least a sufficient understanding of Chinese history, which also proved their ability to analyze the current situation in China. Cai Genyin immediately put away his contempt for the young man and began to listen attentively, as did Tian Bangxuan and Qin Dingyi.

Meanwhile, Eijiro quietly shifted back, unable to understand what Lin Xinyi and the Qing people were saying. Lin Xinyi, meanwhile, continued speaking, searching for his own train of thought, “…Therefore, many of the problems China currently faces cannot be found in ancient Chinese history, but rather we must look at the history of other countries and learn from their experiences to solve China’s problems. For example, the Meiji Restoration in Japan, which has a similar history to China’s. I wonder if the three of you have any knowledge of it?”

Cai Genyin immediately replied, "Of course we know about Japan's Meiji Restoration. It is precisely because we have seen the success of Japan's Meiji Restoration that we hope to emulate Japan's reform and strengthen ourselves."

Lin Xinyi then said, “Then why don’t the three of you tell me what you know about the history of the Meiji Restoration in Japan, and then I will tell you what the Meiji Restoration in Japan is from my perspective? If you compare the two, you may understand why the Meiji Restoration in China failed, while Japan succeeded.”

The Chinese understanding of Japan's Meiji Restoration is that a group of patriots, with the support of the Four Wise Men of the Southwest, defeated the shogunate's punitive army, and finally launched a counterattack on Edo, forcing the shogunate to dissolve and return power to the emperor. The emperor then signed the Five Articles of the Constitution, and from then on, Japan embarked on the path of reform and strengthening.

After listening to the three men's opinions, Lin Xinyi felt that their understanding of the Meiji Restoration in Japan was only at the level of a middle school student in later generations—they simply knew that such a thing had happened. With such a superficial understanding of the Meiji Restoration, how could they possibly succeed in guiding China's own reform movement? Lin Xinyi thought to himself with this thought.

However, he also knew that this was not a problem with these Chinese reformers, but rather a matter of historical limitations. You can't expect a group of Confucian scholars who have been taught the principles of ruler-subject and father-son relationships since childhood to lead a bourgeois revolution, because they have no idea what a revolution is.

Lin Xinyi had no choice but to start with the Black Ships incident. He tried to omit some details and only talked about major historical events, continuing until the Southwestern War in 1877. By then, it was getting dark, and the host sent someone to invite the guests to dinner, so the conversation was temporarily suspended.

Although the host was very hospitable, Tian Bangxuan and the other two had no appetite for food and drink. After finishing their meal quickly, they pulled Lin Xinyi aside to talk. Yingjiro, on the other hand, ate his meal slowly, unwilling to join in the fun, because he couldn't understand anything.

After the candles were lit in the room, Lin Xinyi did not continue talking about historical events. Instead, he introduced the three of them to the various forces involved in the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate and the opposing forces in the Southwest War.

Finally, he concluded: "Those who overthrew the shogunate were not all reformers, and the reformers were not the main force in overthrowing the shogunate at the beginning. The real main force in overthrowing the shogunate was actually the peasants in various domains who were dissatisfied with the status quo, which is what Takasugi Shinsaku, a samurai of the Choshu Domain, called the force of the common people."

Leading the various domains in their resistance against the shogunate were the anti-foreign faction, who opposed the opening of the country to foreign influence. Their reason for opposing the shogunate was their unwillingness for it to open the country. A representative figure among them was Saigo Takamori, who was defeated by the imperial court during the Satsuma Rebellion.

But why? Ultimately, the reformers who advocated for opening the country seized power, suppressing both the peasants who wanted equal land ownership and the anti-foreign faction who wanted to maintain the country's isolationist policies.

Tian Bangxuan couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

After speaking, he couldn't help but feel a little ashamed. At this moment, he had forgotten Lin Xinyi's age and truly regarded him as a teacher from whom he could learn. However, he glanced at his two companions beside him and found that they were also looking at Lin Xinyi with serious expressions. Obviously, they had also listened to Lin Xinyi's explanation of the history of the Meiji Restoration in Japan and wanted to hear more.

Lin Xinyi didn't keep them in suspense. He organized his thoughts and continued, "The samurai class in Japan is different from the scholar-official class in China. Although both have the privilege of holding official positions, the samurai class in Japan receives a fixed salary."

During the Sengoku period and the early Edo period, some samurai in feudal domains could directly manage land, but by the late Edo period, the samurai class could hardly manage land directly anymore and could only receive a fixed annual salary from their lord.

The Chinese scholar-official class was different. Although they also received salaries from the emperor, almost none of them supported themselves on these salaries. Their livelihoods came from the produce of the land they owned and they avoided paying taxes to the state through various privileges granted by the emperor.

Therefore, in Japan, the real landowners were feudal lords and some farmers. For samurai, changes in land ownership did not affect their own interests. Thus, samurai like Takasugi Shinsaku could unabashedly promise farmers that land would be redistributed after the shogunate was overthrown, thereby gaining the support of Japanese farmers. Like China, Japan was an agricultural country, and before the Meiji Restoration, farmers made up 90% of the total population. When the farmers sided with the reformers, the shogunate's defeat became inevitable.

However, when the shogunate was overthrown and the emperor returned power to the emperor, the feudal lords and landowners could not possibly fulfill their promises to the peasants. They overthrew the shogunate to maintain the old Japan, not to distribute land to the peasants. Although the shogunate did relinquish a lot of land, it was not enough to distribute to all the peasants in Japan. Therefore, each domain also needed to contribute its own land for distribution.

So, before the ink was even dry on the shogun's abdication edict, the anti-shogunate army broke its promise to the peasants and began suppressing those who had previously sided with them. However, although the anti-shogunate army suppressed the peasants who wanted land, established a new Japan led by the emperor, and issued the Five Articles Oath, it did not solve the fundamental problem that led to the shogunate's downfall: the peasants' inability to survive.

It was under these circumstances that the anti-foreign faction lost control of the government, while the opening-up faction gradually came to the forefront. How did the opening-up faction solve this problem? No matter how many policies were formulated by Okubo Toshimichi and Kido Takayoshi, they all essentially revolved around two points: first, redistributing land; and second, pursuing industrialization.

The redistribution of land aimed to reduce peasant discontent, while industrialization absorbed landless farmers to mitigate rural instability. This was the essence of the policy of returning land ownership to the people, abolishing feudal domains and establishing counties, and vigorously developing industry…

Therefore, Japan's so-called Meiji Restoration did not initially establish a clear goal; it was merely a matter of chance that brought together a group of righteous people who persisted to the end.

Upon hearing this, Cai Genyin couldn't help but say, "Looking at it this way, Dr. Sun Yat-sen's idea of ​​equalizing land ownership is indeed the right approach."

Tian Bangxuan then asked Lin Xinyi, "What is the path to industrialization? Our country also invested heavily in industry before, but the products we produced were expensive and of poor quality, completely incomparable to foreign goods. Why was Japan able to sustain this, while our country's industry only got worse?"

Lin Xinyi thought for a moment, then asked the three men, "What is a nation?"

“Isn’t the country just…” Tian Bangxuan’s words were on the tip of his tongue, but he found that he couldn’t describe it. His two companions just looked at him, and it seemed that they couldn’t explain it either, so they simply remained silent.

Upon seeing this, Lin Xinyi spoke up, saying, "Some say that a nation is territory, people, and power; others say that a nation is the product of irreconcilable class contradictions. I support the latter view."

Upon hearing this, Cai Genyin asked again, "What is class?"

Lin Xinyi could only continue to popularize political terminology. After explaining the meaning of class to the three people, he continued, "China and Japan are both agricultural countries. Why has Japan achieved success in developing industry while China has made little progress? I think it's because Japan overthrew the large landowner class and established a production relationship that is similar to capitalism."

The industries established in Japan were not for the benefit of the landlord class, but for the benefit of capitalists. Therefore, any obstacles to the development of capitalism were first eliminated by the state apparatus. This is why it is said that the state is a product of irreconcilable class contradictions, because policies that are unreasonable but beneficial to the ruling class will be passed with the support of state violence.

In China, although many industries have been established, the country remains essentially a regime that protects the interests of the landlord class. Therefore, if the development of industry hinders the interests of the landlord class, the state apparatus controlled by the landlord class will use violence to suppress it.

The failure of the Reform Movement in China was essentially due to the fact that both the imperial faction and the empress dowager's faction, both the reformers and the conservatives, were trying to protect the interests of the landlord class. The difference was that one side wanted to maintain the status quo, while the other wanted to maintain the interests of the landlord class through reform.

In my view, it was only natural that the conservatives won, because their proposals were more in line with the interests of the landlord class. The reformers lost because they couldn't gain the support of either the landlord class or other social strata; ultimately, they were just playing a game of make-believe…

Chapter Thirteen: First Encounter

Lin Xinyi's words still angered Tian Bangxuan and Qin Dingyi. As disciples of Liang Qichao, they had deep feelings for the seven gentlemen, including Tan Sitong, who were killed. Therefore, they could not accept that Lin Xinyi regarded this great reform as a child's game. It would be too tragic for the reformers who died.

Furthermore, both Tian Bangxuan and Qin Dingyi came from gentry backgrounds, and almost all the reformers came from landlord families, because only landlords could afford to send them to school. Tian Bangxuan, in particular, came from a well-known landlord family in Cili. Their support for the reformers was actually driven by a simple patriotic sentiment; they felt that if China didn't save itself, it would face extinction like the Native Americans.

The deaths of Tan Sitong and the other seven gentlemen further enraged them, leading them to see the Empress Dowager's faction as an obstacle to the nation's prosperity. In order to overthrow the Empress Dowager's faction and allow Emperor Guangxu to regain control of the government, they were willing to try anything. That's why, in a moment of impulsiveness, they came to this unfamiliar rural area to consult a novelist who could analyze the Chinese political situation.

Their impulsive behavior reveals that these reformers had lost their way and were desperately trying anything. However, they didn't realize that a night-long conversation with a Japanese boy would not only negate the blood shed by the reformers but also turn their own families into a force to be eliminated.

Such shocking words were naturally difficult to calm down, but fortunately, Cai Genyin remained clear-headed. He pulled his two companions out of the room and then bid farewell to Lin Xinyi, saying, "It's really too late today, I think we should stop here. They were just acting impulsively in the heat of the moment, and I apologize on their behalf..."

After returning the greeting, Lin Xinyi said, "There is a hotel near where you got off the bus. Although the conditions are average, it is clean enough. You can go there to rest."

After seeing the three off, Eijiro turned to Lin Xinyi in front of him and asked, "Why did those Qing people get angry all of a sudden?"

Lin Xinyi looked at the sky. The moon was obscured by dark clouds, and only the starlight could be seen. He couldn't help but sigh and said, "Oh, I just told them the truth, and they seem to have some difficulty accepting it."

Eijiro frowned and said, "Since we can't accept the facts, then let's not talk to them. Anyway, we won't have any connection with these Qing people. But speaking of which, your Qing language is really good. Teach me sometime."

Lin Xinyi turned to look at him and said, "Okay, but wait until you get into the top high school. You don't have time to learn Chinese now..."

Although Japanese junior high schools have a five-year system, there's not much new content in the fourth and fifth years. After all, this era has only just entered the electrical age, and the age of chemical breakthroughs hasn't arrived yet. After more than three years of recovery, the most difficult part of the junior high school textbooks for Hayashi Shin-yi was Japanese history.

It's not that Japanese history is too complex, but rather that it's filled with so many myths and legends that one can't help but suspect that later Korean history books are simply products of the Japanese colonial era. Even after experiencing such a miraculous event as time travel, Lin Xinyi still found it difficult to study myths as real history, making his learning quite painful.

Therefore, he's actually quite relaxed at school now. While others are diligently studying, he can read books unrelated to the lesson, and the teachers almost never give him a hard time. He's only called on by the teacher when other students can't answer a question. For him, it's a good opportunity to sort out what he actually learned in his previous life.

The conversations with three ancient figures from the Qing Dynasty, though less than a century removed from the modern era, felt to him like a dialogue between the ancients and the modern world. These conversations were beneficial, as some previously learned concepts suddenly became clear. This made him vaguely realize that what he had studied in the past was essentially a kind of "dragon-slaying technique" useless in peacetime.

Some people, fearing the people won't resist, force-feed them the skills to slay dragons, only to be called brainwashed by public intellectuals; others, fearing the people will resist, won't even let you take a fruit knife out in the street, yet they are hailed as saints—he thinks these should be the saints of bureaucrats. Thinking of this, he feels some people must be very lonely when they leave this world, because the people never truly know who they are.

Just as Lin Xinyi and Yingjiro reached the street near Ogawa's clothing store, three people walked over and stopped them. They were the three Qing Dynasty people who had parted on bad terms with them the night before. The three men had dark circles under their eyes and bowed deeply to them to apologize for what had happened the night before.

Lin Xinyi glanced at the onlookers around him and said to the three of them, "If you have something to say, why don't you go inside and talk? The street is not a place to talk. If you do this, the police might come knocking on your door in a little while."

Hearing that Lin Xinyi was still willing to continue entertaining them, Tian Bangxuan and the other two breathed a sigh of relief. After settling into the inn last night, the three of them hadn't slept well, as they had been thinking about their conversation with Lin Xinyi all night. When they got up this morning, the three of them argued for a long time about the conversation they had had the night before. The core of the argument was whether the landlord class had to be eliminated in order for the country to be saved.

The three did not realize that they had begun to use class to distinguish social strata in the country. On this issue, Cai Genyin thought Lin Xinyi was right, but he could not convince Tian Bangxuan and Qin Dingyi. After all, Cai E came from a poor landlord family and only returned to the class of scholars through his own talent. He had more empathy for what Lin Xinyi said.

Tian Bangxuan and Qin Dingyi initially supported the reformists to protect their own interests. After all, once foreigners opened the country's doors, the self-sufficient rural economy began to disintegrate. Farmers who could not survive began to flee the land, and the monetary value of grain decreased. In the past, foreign ships only brought foreign yarn and cloth, but now almost all goods could be imported from overseas, and they were even better than local products. This greatly increased the importance of currency.

Before the arrival of foreigners, land and grain were more valuable assets than silver. This was because only with land could agricultural production be carried out, and missing a few meals would lead to starvation. Before other industries could accommodate landless peasants, they either became beggars or starved to death. This was also the most powerful weapon landlords used to control tenants: if you don't work hard, I will drive your whole family out of my land and let them starve to death.

When survival is at stake, exploitation is no longer an issue. Therefore, peasants had no choice but to endure rent exceeding half their harvest and usurious loans with interest rates exceeding 50%, because the landlords were the gods who determined their lives and deaths.

However, after the arrival of foreigners, the villages near the treaty ports were the first to find a way to survive. Compared to the exploitation by landlords who practically exploited their laborers, the foreigners were at least willing to pay according to their ability to work. As a result, farmers who could not make a living went directly to the port cities to work as laborers, and a newly established city was always short of manpower.

Not only were fields in the countryside beginning to fall into disuse, but the imports of goods, rice, and flour from overseas by foreigners were also disrupting the business practices that landlords had become accustomed to. Soon, the landlords discovered that their land was worthless because no farmers were cultivating it, and the grain they had stockpiled had lost its exorbitant profits from hoarding under the pressure of imported rice and flour. Even farmers preferred to borrow money from foreigners at high interest rates. They could no longer live the way they had before.

Landlords felt they could no longer live the way they used to, so they naturally had to find the reasons and then solve them. The conservatives thought it was the foreigners who were bad, and that if they drove the foreigners out of China, everything would return to normal. The reformers, on the other hand, felt that we should also learn from the foreigners, manufacture our own machines and ships, and prevent foreign department stores from continuing to disrupt our lives.

Just as Lin Xinyi concluded last night, whether it was the reformers or the conservatives, their goal was actually the same: to protect the interests of the landlord class. This conclusion really hurt Tian Bangxuan and Qin Dingyi. These reformers had risked their lives to protect the country and its people, only to find out they were no different from those corrupt conservatives. How could they accept this?

However, after discussing it for a whole day, they realized that without this conclusion, the reformers could find no way out. But as long as they accepted this conclusion, a new path would appear before them, yet they dared not step onto it. According to Tian Bangxuan, "If our goal is to eliminate the landlord class, then are we still reformers? Even the revolutionaries did not put forward such a radical goal; they only demanded equal land ownership."

Unable to understand, the three eventually returned to Lin Xinyi. After listening to their argument throughout the day, Lin Xinyi pondered for a moment and said, "Whether or not the landlord class is eliminated is not important. What is important is what kind of China you want? Only by first outlining the blueprint for the future of China can we discuss how to achieve it. Without this blueprint, even if you overthrow the old landlord class, nothing will change, because a new landlord class will soon emerge from the ground. The numerous peasant uprisings in Chinese history have all proven this point."

Regarding the future of China, the reformers actually shared a consensus: the best outcome would be like Europe, and the worst outcome would be to become like Japan. In other words, they aimed to defend national sovereignty and build a strong and prosperous nation.

After listening to the three men's ideas about the future of China, Lin Xinyi told them about how, after the successful overthrow of the shogunate, the new government almost went bankrupt by issuing public bonds in order to reclaim the lands held by the feudal lords. Because the currency depreciated too quickly, some samurai were living worse than during the shogunate era, which led to the Satsuma Rebellion.

He concluded, "If Japan hadn't ultimately won the First Sino-Japanese War and obtained a massive indemnity of 2 million taels from China, the new Japanese government would have collapsed, and you wouldn't have seen any successful example of the Meiji Restoration. Looking around China, there wasn't a single country that could extract such a huge indemnity from China. Even if you had defeated Japan, the Japanese government would have preferred to collapse rather than pay any indemnity. And apart from Japan, the most inferior of the great powers, China couldn't defeat anyone..."

Chapter Fourteen: First Encounter (Part Four)

That evening, Lin Xinyi mainly discussed the economic reasons why the landlord class could not lead China to prosperity and military strength. He used the Meiji Restoration in Japan, the Glorious Revolution in England, the French Revolution, and the establishment of the German Empire as examples to illustrate the experiences of these countries in transforming the landlord class during the process of enriching and strengthening their nations.

Tian Bangxuan, Qin Dingyi, and Cai Genyin left with heavy hearts. They were extremely exhausted that night, too tired to even speak when they returned to the inn. After a quick wash, they went to sleep. However, the next day, having regained some energy, the three reviewed their conversation from the previous night.