Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 239

In fact, China is currently promoting and implementing these two policies. Tibet and Shannan are exemplary regions of ethnic autonomy, as Wuhan simply lacked the capacity to directly govern these areas. Meanwhile, the National Assembly in Beijing serves as a democratic decision-making body uniting Wuhan and various provinces, which has effectively maintained domestic stability and prevented a situation of warlordism.

Lin Xinyi's suggestion was essentially a summary of the previous series of policies in Wuhan. Tian Junyi believed that this experience could be applied to the French Indochina Federation. After all, the French claimed to be a republic, but their rule in overseas colonies had not actually escaped the colonial route of imperialism. Therefore, the various ethnic groups under the rule of the French Indochina Federation were angry with the French colonial rule.

Tian Junyi quickly turned to the issue he was most concerned about at the moment: "Promoting the democratization movement in Asia seems to be different from the continued revolution advocated by Comrade Trotsky, the representative of the Russian Social Democratic Party. Comrade Trotsky's theory of continued revolution is still very influential among young students."

In this timeline, Trotsky did not propose the theory of perpetual revolution, but rather the theory of continuing revolution. Lin Xinyi analyzed the content of Trotsky's theory of continuing revolution and even communicated with him personally. He realized that the Russian Social Democratic Party was not yet confident that it could overthrow the Tsarist government and seize power, so it proposed the theory of continuing revolution, that is, to overthrow the autocratic rule of the Tsarist government through continuous struggle.

The theory of continuous revolution matured after the October Revolution. At that time, Trotsky believed that the success of the Russian Revolution could not change the disadvantage of the European proletariat over the bourgeoisie. Relying on Russia's strength would only establish true socialism. Therefore, it was necessary to march into Western Europe. Only by liberating the proletariat in Germany and France could socialism completely overwhelm capitalism. This was the world revolution goal of the theory of continuous revolution.

Trotsky's theory of continuing revolution gained support among young students in Wuhan because the Chinese proletariat had not yet completed the task of unifying the country, and this theory resonated with their ideal of establishing a complete national regime. However, Trotsky's theory did not address the exploration of cultural and democratic systems after the establishment of a proletarian dictatorship. He primarily emphasized unifying the country through violence and then establishing a proletarian dictatorship, which differed from the post-founding exploration of cultural and ideological aspects of revolution by teachers.

After thinking for a long time, Lin Xinyi replied to Tian Junyi: "Comrade Trotsky's theory of continuing revolution cannot be said to be wrong at the current stage of the Chinese revolution, but he paid too much attention to the internal environment of China and ignored the influence and changes of the external environment."

If we only focus on China's internal social environment, then I can say that the targets of the current Chinese revolution are at their weakest point. However, this weakness is not caused by their own problems, but by the previous rule of the Manchus and the invasion of imperialism. We can indeed unify China in form, but we cannot expect the proletariat's power to expand rapidly after unifying the country. In reality, only the size of the party, government and army will expand.

In other words, the overt struggle between the enemy and ourselves will turn into a struggle over the line within the organization. I do not believe that the Chinese proletariat can win every struggle over the line because, like the Japanese proletariat, the Chinese proletariat appeared too late, is too small in number, is too politically immature, and is unable to resist the enemy's attacks from within the organization in terms of ruling methods.

Why do we need the support of the Asian Democratic Revolutionary Alliance and European socialists? Because it is actually very difficult for us to completely transform the huge landlord class and the peasant class with small-peasant mentality on our own.

The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was a relatively backward organization among the social democratic parties in Europe, but even so, its members were theoretically strong enough to suppress the socialists in Asia. Their only problem was that the capitalist forces in their country were too strong, so they could not win the revolution in social practice.

The reason we were able to defeat the reactionary forces within the country was that the corruption of the Qing Dynasty was intolerable even to enlightened gentry and emerging capitalism. However, they lacked the courage to resist the Qing system, which allowed us to seize the opportunity to establish our regime. But our inherent weaknesses remained unchanged; both the size of our proletariat and the research into socialist theory were our weak points.

Therefore, our primary task at present is to expand the proletariat and enhance the research on socialist theory, rather than hastily unifying the country. The current external environment is one of confrontation between two major camps in Europe, with the great powers unable to attend to overseas regions. Therefore, we have absolutely no need to provoke the great powers to turn their attention overseas.

I believe the best time for China to unify was on the eve of a war in Europe, not now.

After thinking for a long time, Tian Junyi also felt that Lin Xinyi's proposal was more in line with his own views, but he quickly asked: "Then is it possible to organize a debate within the Alliance to refute Comrade Trotsky's theory of continuing revolution?"

Lin Xinyi immediately shook his head and said, "Even if Chinese and Japanese socialist theorists were all together, they probably couldn't be a match for Comrade Trotsky. After all, their research on socialist theory predates ours by several decades. The only one who can suppress Trotsky is Comrade Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks. I think we should invite the Second International to hold a conference in Wuhan and, incidentally, invite Comrade Lenin over to strengthen our education in socialist theory..."

End of this chapter

Chapter 757

In mid-November 1909, German Minister to China, Thomas Müller, engaged in formal negotiations with the Chinese government regarding the hostile actions against Germany during the Yellow Sea military exercises.

Just when governments around the world thought this was a diplomatic tactic by Germany to sow discord between China and Japan, two weeks later, on December 1, China and Germany suddenly announced a consultation agreement on issues such as Jiaozhou Bay and the Jiaoji Railway.

The agreement stipulated that Germany would relinquish its leased territory of Jiaozhou Bay, China would pay 1.1 million marks to redeem the German government's investment, including the Jiaoji Railway, and promised that Shandong would not be opened to the sphere of influence of other powers; the German East Asian Fleet could still obtain the right to repair and station in Qingdao.

On the same day the agreement was announced, German Minister to China, Momm, also declared that the German government supports the Chinese government and other countries in revising the treaty to reclaim national sovereignty, including consular jurisdiction and tariff autonomy, and that Germany will reconsider its national development strategy in Asia.

The swift reconciliation between China and Germany surprised major powers such as Britain and France, because based on their previous diplomatic experience, such diplomatic issues would usually take at least several months of wrangling to reach an agreement, even in Europe. It was clear that China and Germany had been conducting secret diplomacy all along, but both Germany and China denied this suspicion.

What puzzled the British even more was the Japanese attitude. It was clearly the Japanese who conducted the military exercises targeting Germany, but during the Sino-German negotiations, the Japanese did nothing and showed no intention of intervening in the negotiations between the two countries. This was obviously very unreasonable. The British did not believe that the Japanese were willing to offend Germany for the sake of the Chinese without wanting any benefits.

However, the swift compromise between China and Germany had a significant impact on the great powers. The German government expressed its support for China's treaty revision to abolish consular jurisdiction and tariff autonomy. This shifted Chinese public opinion from Germany to the great powers. The nationalistic sentiment that had previously arisen due to Germany's occupation of Jiaozhou Bay now dealt a heavy blow to the great powers. Germany, on the contrary, extricated itself from this quagmire and became a Western friend in the eyes of the Chinese.

U.S. diplomat John Rockhill was among the first to sense something was amiss. As a sinologist and Tibetologist, Rockhill's long tenure in China gave him a direct understanding of the recent changes in this ancient country. He had previously warned the U.S. State Department that since the Chinese defeated the Russian invasion, Chinese nationalism had been on the rise. Given the U.S. Chinese Exclusion Act, a visit by the U.S. fleet to China at this time would not be respected by the Chinese, but would instead be seen as a threat, which would greatly damage Sino-U.S. relations.

Although the Chinese Exclusion Act enacted by the United States was the only law in the world that openly discriminated against Chinese people, while European countries also discriminated against people of color, none of them legally recognized such discrimination. However, most Chinese laborers who went to the United States came from southern China, mainly Guangdong and Fujian. Therefore, the Chinese people from these two regions were the most resentful of the Chinese Exclusion Act. As for people from other parts of China, because the distance between China and the United States was too great, the United States had far fewer misdeeds in China than other powers, so its bad reputation was not as widespread. Furthermore, the Qing Dynasty's attempt to use the United States to contain European powers also helped maintain a relatively positive image for Americans in China.

However, with the establishment of the Wuhan government, which was characterized by strong nationalism, the Chinese Exclusion Act began to be widely publicized in China. This act, along with the "No Chinese or dogs allowed" slogans in the Shanghai concessions, was presented as evidence of the oppression of China by the two major imperialist powers. This propaganda stimulated anti-imperialist and anti-colonial sentiments among young students, but also severely damaged the reputation of the United States among Chinese intellectuals.

The Chinese children sent to the United States and the educational subsidies for Chinese students studying in the US once fostered a favorable impression of the US government among Chinese intellectuals. Even though the US government never repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act, these Chinese intellectuals believed that this was a problem with the US democratic system rather than the US government. It was under their idealization that the US image in China was always different from that of European powers, and freedom and democracy were the image that Chinese intellectuals portrayed for Americans.

However, this aura of progressivism has now been stripped away by Chinese nationalism, leading to the exposure of a series of historical events, from the Chinese Exclusion Act to the American slave trade and the massacre of Native Americans. Rookie believes that this persistent smear campaign against the United States' national image must be organized, and that the backers behind it are likely a country on the western Pacific coast.

Rookie made this judgment because after defeating the Russian Far East Fleet, Japan had been trying to expand its influence in the Asian continent and the Pacific. However, Japan's expansion in the Asian continent was blocked by the Chinese. Therefore, Japan could only seek expansion in the Pacific. Japan's opponents in the Pacific were actually Germany and the United States. Now that Japan had joined forces with China to expel Germany's influence in Asia, it was only natural for Japan to incite the Chinese to oppose the United States.

At this time, the US president was William Howard Taft. In the previous Far East war, he supported Japan in opposition to Russia's expansion in the Far East. However, with Russia's disastrous defeat in the Far East and even the loss of control over the territory east of Lake Baikal, Taft had changed his friendly stance towards Japan. He believed that, judging from the Panama Canal incident, Japan's attempt to control the Pacific Ocean was an obvious ambition.

Taft agrees with Rocky's assessment that the rising anti-American sentiment in China in recent years is clearly not a spontaneous act, and that Japan's ability to profit from it must be the work of the Japanese. His dislike for the Japanese is growing stronger.

Because he had previously signed an agreement with Katsura Taro as Roosevelt's representative, the United States would not oppose Japan's annexation of Korea, but Japan should not support anti-American forces in the Philippines. However, the Japanese obviously did not keep their promise. The anti-American actions of the Philippines remained at a certain intensity, neither to the point of causing the Americans to take a major action, nor low enough to be ignored.

These anti-American actions by Filipinos made the US Congress increasingly impatient with maintaining colonial rule in the Philippines, as the US had not benefited from such colonial actions and began to doubt Taft's achievements in the Philippines. Of course, the US cannot be said to be innocent on the Korean issue. While the US government officially did not deny Japan's annexation of Korea (since the US was unlikely to project its power onto the Korean Peninsula), it adopted a sympathetic stance towards anti-Japanese actions in North Korea at the grassroots level, and North Korean exiles received asylum in the US.

Concerned about Japan's expansion in the Pacific, both Roosevelt and Taft believed that the United States needed to find an ally in East Asia to oppose Japan. This ally could only be China, because Russia was no longer a force to be reckoned with in East Asia. Moreover, the war potential shown by China in this war made the Americans realize that supporting Russia's return to the Far East would only lead to a further alliance between China and Japan, which would further damage American interests in East Asia.

Therefore, after the Far East War, the United States has been trying to develop comprehensive cooperation with China, making China a cornerstone of American interests in the Far East. However, initially the Americans followed the British and supported the Beiyang clique in controlling China. But after Taft became president, he changed this strategy because the Americans found that the Beiyang clique was too close to the Japanese, and supporting the Beiyang clique could not make China a defender of American interests in East Asia.

This can be seen from the situation in the southern Manchuria region controlled by the Beiyang government. The interests of the United States and Britain were squeezed out by the Japanese. The main reason was that although the Japanese returned the South Manchuria Railway and the Kwantung Leased Territory, they also put forward an additional condition: prohibiting other countries from investing in the South Manchuria Railway and the port of Dalian. Through private agreements signed with the Beiyang government, Japanese merchants gained an advantage in southern Manchuria.

In order to balance the power between the north and south of China, the British tacitly approved of Japan's actions in southern Manchuria. After all, the British were well aware that they could no longer spare the resources to help the Beiyang Army fight against the military attack from Wuhan. Therefore, they ultimately had to rely on Japan to prevent Wuhan from unifying northern China. The British gave up the interests in southern Manchuria in exchange for Japan not seeking special interests within the Shanhaiguan Pass.

However, for the United States, the existence of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was itself a threat. Now that Britain and Japan had reached a compromise on the South Manchuria issue, continuing to support the Beiyang government would be tantamount to doing the work for others. Therefore, the United States decisively changed course and moved closer to Wuhan. After all, Wuhan's free investment and development policies in North Manchuria and Outer Heilongjiang were beneficial to American capital.

The essence of the 1907 financial crisis in the United States was actually domestic market saturation and overproduction, which led to a stagnation of capital investment, causing a stock market decline and the withdrawal of foreign funds from the US stock market. However, the war crisis in Europe was not conducive to capital repatriation, and most of the funds began to flow to Russia, India, China, and Argentina.

However, with the development of the automotive industry, a new investment cycle began in the United States, and the domestic economic situation started to improve. Nevertheless, for American capital, expanding into overseas markets remains a crucial way to address current economic problems. The development of Wuhan in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River has greatly benefited Germans, thus already provoking discontent among American capital.

What American capital was dissatisfied with was that the principle of unity among the great powers implemented by American diplomats in East Asia actually turned American diplomacy into a mere echo of Britain and France. It not only failed to bring benefits to American businesses, but also greatly stimulated Chinese boycotts of American goods. Germany's opposition to the principle of unity among the great powers, however, made German capital a highly cooperative partner in Wuhan.

An American journalist, after visiting and investigating Wuhan's industry and economy, said: "Everything here is of German standard, especially the power facilities. British and American systems have been completely phased out of the market because they are difficult to adapt to Chinese standards. The regional power grid established in Wuhan connects various local power plants, and unified regulations have become the best solution to reduce costs and accidents. This standard comes from Siemens."

The U.S. Congress therefore questioned the U.S. State Department, arguing that given the current diplomatic distance between the U.S. and Wuhan, if Wuhan were to eventually become the ruling city of China, and China adopted German standards as the unified Chinese standard, how would American goods enter China?

Therefore, when Wuhan promoted the development of northern Manchuria and Outer Northeast China, American capital expressed its desire to establish cooperative relations with Wuhan, introducing American agricultural technology and experience to China. In reality, this was an attempt to seize the power to set standards for agricultural machinery in China. Although Germany was an industrial powerhouse, the United States actually had a cost advantage in agricultural machinery because American agricultural machinery had already largely transitioned to the internal combustion engine era, matching its abundant oil resources. Meanwhile, the Germans were still trying to develop steam engines because Germany lacked oil resources.

At this time, the anger of the Chinese people over the leased Jiaozhou Bay was directed at the great powers. Rocky warned: "Under these circumstances, the visit of the Great White Fleet to China next year will not be regarded as a friendly act, but as a deterrent action against the Chinese people, which will greatly stimulate anti-American sentiment among the Chinese people."

Rocky's warning was taken seriously by the Secretary of State, but Taft believed he had no authority, nor could he, to order a change in the Great White Fleet's itinerary, lest Japan develop disrespect for the US government. On the Secretary of State's advice, Taft ultimately decided to support the Chinese government's treaty revision efforts to sever ties with the European powers.

After the US minister, following the German minister, expressed support for China's treaty revision, Japanese Foreign Minister Makino made a statement, expressing not only support for China's revision but also Japan's demand for the complete abolition of unequal treaties. The Japanese Foreign Minister's statement received a response from China. Consequently, China and Japan began contact on the treaty revision issue and adopted a principle of concerted action.

By this time, there was a growing momentum for an alliance between Japan and China, and the British government began to question Japan, demanding that it explain whether Japan and China intended to form an alliance and who that alliance would be directed against.

The British were not without reason. The last brief alliance between China and Japan was precisely to counter Russia, and Britain certainly did not want the Far East to become a separate power, thereby breaking the balance of power in East Asia.

While international public opinion was drawn to the news of the Sino-Japanese alliance, Germany took steps to integrate its various Asian colonies, announcing that it would establish a federation of islands in the Pacific, independent of Germany, with autonomous military, diplomatic, and domestic powers, with the German Emperor as the nominal head of state. The German Reichstag approved the government's proposal and announced that Germany would provide economic subsidies to the federation for ten years, after which it would no longer assume any obligations.

European countries found the German government's actions quite natural. After Japan and China took action against German influence in Shandong, Germany had effectively lost a strong naval base in Asia. Although the German Pacific islands controlled vast sea areas, they were simply not enough to support an East Asian fleet. If war broke out in Europe, this region would inevitably be occupied by the Allied Powers.

Germany's push for independence for its Pacific islands is essentially a strategy of mitigating losses. If it wins the war in Europe, Germany will retain suzerainty over these islands; if it loses, the region will be irrelevant to Germany. Of course, Germany's actions have spurred France into preparing for war, as the abandonment of its overseas colonies clearly indicates Germany's genuine readiness for conflict.

The French responded to the Japanese Foreign Minister's call and expressed their willingness to renegotiate the treaty with Japan. In fact, after the Russo-Japanese War, all countries knew that revising the treaty with Japan was inevitable. However, everyone was trying to postpone the revision time and try to get Japan to make greater concessions in the negotiations. But now the trend of Sino-Japanese cooperation has made the powers with weak foundations in Asia think that they may not be able to keep their privileges in East Asia.

Germany's concessions in Shandong actually foreshadowed the danger in French Indochina. Although Shandong was already within Chinese territory and thus caught between China and Japan by land and sea, French Indochina was also caught between land and sea and was similarly caught between China and Japan. As long as China and Japan remained united, the security of French Indochina would be difficult to guarantee.

If the French were to emphasize the sanctity of treaties at this point, they would become even more passive in the Franco-German conflict, since the Germans had also occupied Alsace and Lorraine through treaties. While the royalist forces in France were stubborn, the French upper class was not a bunch of fools; they clearly understood that Germany's concessions were essentially making France a target for China and Japan.

The British might still be able to deter China and Japan from being too provocative by virtue of their status as maritime superpowers, but the special interests of other countries in Asia will be squeezed out by the joint efforts of China and Japan. This is because these powers simply do not have the ability to protect their own interests in the East. They originally seized their current privileges by taking advantage of the British and the technological gap created by the backwardness of the East.

After the Franco-German conflict intensified in Europe, the unified action of the great powers in the Far East was broken. Britain and France faced a difficult choice: either push China and Japan to Germany, or back down to China and Japan to maintain peace in East Asia first and deal with the Far Eastern issues after the war. The French government had initially been observing, but now it could no longer remain indifferent. After informing London, the French minister to China informed China that France was willing to negotiate treaty revision with China.

At the end of December 1909, Japan and China respectively began negotiations with other countries to revise their treaties. Japan indicated to Britain that it had no intention of forming an alliance with China, and naturally had no specific target.

However, in January 1910, the Chinese government issued a public invitation to representatives from various Asian regions to hold consultations in Wuhan on issues of peace in Asia and colonialism in the region. The Japanese government immediately expressed its support. Subsequently, the Republic of Chita and the Pacific Federation, which was then being established, announced their participation in the conference.

French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies opposed the conference, while the American Philippines remained on the sidelines. However, all the countries were well aware that the conference was clearly detrimental to the colonial activities of the great powers in Asia. The British also felt betrayed by Japan.

End of this chapter

Chapter 758

Although Makino Nobuaki sensed the British suspicion and dissatisfaction with Japan, Japan could not back down with the Asian Union about to be established. To withdraw now would be tantamount to handing the Asian Union over to the Chinese, which would completely ruin Japan's image in the eyes of Asian nations and block Japan's peaceful path southward.

The Asian Alliance was able to gain the support of Makino and other Japanese politicians because it was Japan's only path of expansion that allowed it to use rules to counter rules. Without the Asian Alliance, the Japanese navy's attempt to make its voice heard in the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean would have been an attempt to break the old order established by the great powers in those regions.

With the name of the Asian Alliance, Japan became a force protecting the interests of local indigenous peoples, demanding only change, not a complete overthrow, of the old order. For a colonial power already waning, compromise was the best option. When the Chinese invaded India from Tibet, the British, refusing to compromise, almost lost the entire Bengal region. If it weren't for the strength of the Royal Navy, the Indians probably wouldn't have compromised with the British.

This Indian national movement left a deep impression on both the British and Asians. For the British, it meant they were beginning to realize that the indigenous peoples of their colonies were uniting, and they could no longer afford to defeat them piecemeal as before. For the Asians, it was the first time the British had acknowledged defeat. Although the British had experienced numerous failures in their invasions of Afghanistan and Africa, these failures were largely attributed in British public opinion to the incompetence of their generals or the barbarity of the local indigenous peoples, who firmly believed that European civilization would inevitably conquer such barbarity.

Only in this Indian national movement did the British lose moral support. Even the British themselves felt that what the British army did in Tibet and India could not be called civilized, and was simply the devil's behavior, just like the Belgian king's rule in the Congo.

The reason British public opinion voiced such a call for reflection was because the Chinese and Indian armies allowed British soldiers to expose the incompetence and brutality of British officers, which was then publicized through newspapers in European countries and the United States. The British could not deny the actions of these officers, nor could they admit that these actions were not the work of monsters, so they had no choice but to reflect.

The British were also keenly aware that they could not defeat a united nation. India and China had clearly begun to develop a genuine national consciousness, and continuing to pressure this national consciousness would subject Britain to endless attacks in Asia. Asia accounts for two-thirds of the world's population, and China and India account for two-thirds of Asia's population. If Britain considered these two nations as adversaries, then it didn't need to worry about other places. This was the fundamental reason why Britain admitted defeat.

While other Asian peoples did not understand the fundamental reasons for the British concessions to China and India, the victory of the Indian national movement inspired their national consciousness and made them realize that national independence required struggle rather than prayer.

After the Russo-Japanese War, Japanese pan-Asianists produced a large number of war documentaries and toured them throughout Asia. Although Europeans criticized these poorly made films as worthless, believing that apart from the real Japanese people in the films, everything else was fabricated and was just propaganda to promote the bravery of the Japanese army.

However, these poorly made Russo-Japanese War films not only aroused great repercussions in Southeast Asia, but even in Egypt. In particular, the films depicting the Japanese navy's naval battles received high praise, and even Europeans rarely praised them as outstanding films.

Unlike other films about the Russo-Japanese War, this film was praised by Europeans because it did not emphasize the bravery of the Japanese navy, but rather denounced Russia's long history of aggression against the people of Asia, and showed the desire of both Japanese and Russian soldiers at the grassroots level to survive the war.

This is also the only film about the Russo-Japanese War that was allowed to be shown in Russia. Although the Russians deleted the historical record of Russia's expansion in Asia at the beginning of the film, they showed the second half of the film as it was, because the content of the second half absolved Tsar Nicholas II of responsibility for the war and shifted the responsibility for provoking the war to the Russian Far East leadership at the time.

Nicholas II felt that using a Japanese-made film about the Russo-Japanese War to absolve himself of responsibility was better than having a film made to defend him. However, the film's release in Russia further exacerbated public discontent with the entire aristocracy, as the targets of the Japanese criticism were almost exclusively Russian noble officials.

Because the colonized peoples throughout Asia were experiencing an anti-colonial movement fueled by the Far East wars, the Japanese leadership saw the establishment of the Asian Union as a golden opportunity to expand Japan's influence in Asia. Hayashi Nobuyoshi successfully secured support from China and Germany for the Asian Union plan, virtually clearing the way for its establishment.

While Makino Nobuaki held a conservative stance on the Asian Alliance plan, he wouldn't refuse a plate of eel rice placed before him. Moreover, Britain had few remaining means to deter Japan. After the Russo-Japanese War, any major power threatening Japan with war would have to seriously consider the consequences, and the world's superpower, Britain, was no exception.

While the leading European powers considered Japan's strength to be insignificant, they acknowledged that the vast distance between Europe and Asia was Japan's greatest defensive advantage. Even Russia, a power with a considerable navy, suffered near-total annihilation when it went to Asia to fight the Japanese. Almost all of Russia's new warships were lost, and although the remaining old and weak warships returned in time, Russia had effectively lost its status as a leading European naval power.

Although the British and German navies had previously belittled the Russian navy, Russia remained one of the four strongest navies in Europe. When Anglo-German relations were close, the purpose of the alliance between France and Russia was to counter the British navy. The British were once very wary of the expansion of the French and Russian navies, believing that the continuous shipbuilding by the French and Russian navies had given them a chance to surpass the number of warships in the Royal Navy.

The outcome of the Russo-Japanese War was truly unexpected by European nations. They began to realize that people of Asian descent, with modern warships, could indeed defeat white navies, unlike the incompetent Turks. However, most Europeans believed that the long sea routes between Europe and Asia had reduced the Russian navy to a fraction of its former strength.

However, this result was enough to deter navies around the world. Even the Royal Navy remained wary of the Japanese navy's strength, attempting to confine Japan's maritime power to the Yellow Sea region north of Shandong, and not wanting the Japanese navy to patrol the East China Sea and the South China Sea. However, with the Royal Navy continuously shrinking its overseas forces and focusing on protecting its homeland, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean, the British intimidation of the Japanese did not have the desired effect.

After Yamamoto Gonnohyōe formed his cabinet, the navy restrained the army's expansion plans in Korea and Manchuria, giving Japan sufficient resources to push forward its southward expansion plan. The development of Chiba Prefecture's heavy industrial center also stimulated the growth of Japan's maritime shipping industry. Japan lacked sufficient raw materials and markets to complete this plan, and the construction of this heavy industrial center was specifically for the Asian region. Without the navy's southward expansion, the Chiba Prefecture heavy industrial plan would have failed.

Japan's economy and politics both demand the establishment of an Asian alliance, so naturally Japan's diplomacy can only serve this goal. The warnings from the British through diplomatic means were ignored by Foreign Minister Makino.

However, as the results approached, unexpected situations often arose. For example, Makino was troubled by one issue and had to consult with Prime Minister Yamamoto. Makino's problem was that the Chinese believed South Korea must send a representative to the conference because North Korea would send a representative. If Seoul did not send a representative, they would assume that the representative from North Korea represented the Korean people.

Yamamoto Gonbei was naturally dissatisfied with the claims made by the Chinese. He asked Makino, "Don't you object to the Chinese? What right does North Korea have to send a representative? According to the Japan-Korea agreement, Korea's diplomacy is handled by the Empire."

Makino replied with a headache: "Because the basic principle of the Asian Alliance is to oppose colonialism, if Korea is not allowed to send a representative, then the alliance will fall into a moral dilemma. At that time, European and American countries will use the Korean issue to question the alliance's motives for its establishment, and the alliance will lose its voice on the issue of colonialism in Asia. The Chinese believe that if Korea is not allowed to send a representative, then the alliance cannot be established, and they will not endorse Japan's colonial rule over Korea."

Yamamoto Gonnohyōe fell silent. He felt only a sense of honor towards the Korean Peninsula, considering it a spoil of war for Japan, and losing it would be intolerable for Japan. However, as a naval leader, he valued the Asian alliance more than the Korean Peninsula. He was well aware that the alliance was the future of the Japanese navy's expansion, and the Korean Peninsula could only provide the navy with value for homeland defense.

After thinking it over carefully, Yamamoto asked, "What is your opinion?"

Makino replied frankly, "We already have actual control over the Korean Peninsula, only nominally retaining its independence. This doesn't significantly harm the Empire's actual interests, but it does hinder the Empire's plan to annex the Korean Peninsula. As for the Asian Alliance, the Navy has high expectations for it, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also believes that the establishment of the Asian Alliance will greatly expand Japan's diplomatic space, enabling us to intervene in Southeast Asian and Central Pacific affairs. This is something we cannot give up."

Yamamoto naturally supported Makino's views, which were indeed his own. Although he had considerable disagreements with Hayashi Nobuyoshi's proposed new naval route, Yamamoto did not deny that Hayashi Nobuyoshi's new naval route had indeed found a passage to the south for the Japanese navy, a route they had not been able to find before and were still considering increasing the number of warships to force the great powers to make concessions in the region.

When Hayashi Shin-yi pushed the nearly impossible Asian Alliance to near completion, frankly speaking, Yamamoto Gonnohyōe could not back down on this issue. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to claim that he was the protector of the navy's interests. After all, the navy now unanimously regards the establishment of the Asian Joint Fleet as the navy's current goal, and the Asian Alliance is a prerequisite for the establishment of the Asian Joint Fleet.

Thinking of this, Yamamoto could only sigh and say, "In the end, I still have to face Elder Yamagata."

Makino also believes that this is the only obstacle to the current problem. The annexation of the Korean Peninsula is a long-term plan of the army. Although it was previously interrupted by the resistance of the Korean people, the army does not intend to give up its mainland plan. Therefore, if they agree to allow the Koreans to send representatives to the conference, the first thing they will face is the anger of the army.

After much deliberation, Yamamoto finally said, "For the sake of the Empire, we can only seek the Emperor's judgment. I will go to the palace and request the Emperor to make a decision on this matter, and then the army will lose its reason to oppose it."

Makino looked at Yamamoto in surprise and said, "Sir, shouldn't you talk to Elder Yamagata first? Isn't it inappropriate to ask the Emperor for permission directly for this kind of thing? It will offend the Army to death."

After a few seconds of silence, Yamamoto said, "It is impossible for Elder Yamagata to accept Korea's independence. My communication with him will not yield any results, but will instead give the army time to respond. At that time, the Emperor will be in a difficult position. Before Elder Yamagata and the army realize this, let the Emperor issue the order first. Then, even if Elder Yamagata and the army oppose it, they will not be able to do anything too drastic."

Once Yamamoto Gonnohyōe made up his mind, he acted quite swiftly. Emperor Meiji was also very concerned about the Asian Alliance plan. After listening to Prime Minister Yamamoto's request, he first consulted Ito Hirobumi and asked Ito Hirobumi to persuade Yamagata to accept the order he was about to issue.

The news brought by Ito Hirobumi naturally angered Yamagata Aritomo, who couldn't help but question his old friend: "You should know very well that Korea is an important step for the Empire to step onto the mainland. If we cannot bring Korea into the Empire's territory, then when China recovers in the future, Korea will still separate from the Empire. How can we let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and continue to retain the independent name of Korea?"

Itō Hirobumi had also analyzed and considered the Korean issue and the establishment of the Asian Alliance for a long time. His willingness to accept the Emperor's request to persuade Yamagata Aritomo meant that he had already acknowledged that the Asian Alliance was more important to Japan.

Therefore, in the face of Yamagata's questioning, Ito Hirobumi calmly analyzed to his old friend: "Since the First Sino-Japanese War, our country has been seeking a union with Korea, but as you should have seen, both the upper and lower classes of Korea oppose a union with the Empire. They used the power of the Empire to break free from the control of the Qing Dynasty, and then tried to use the power of Russia to break free from the control of the Empire. Now they have turned to China again."

If we continue to try to annex the Korean Peninsula, then the Koreans will become the biggest destabilizing factor within the empire. In addition, China has emerged from its low ebb and is rapidly becoming a modern nation. Given China's size, Japan simply cannot implement any continental plans anymore. It can maintain its maritime dominance in Asia and become the Great Britain of Asia. This is our best option now.

Don't forget that during the Hundred Years' War between England and France, although the British occupied many territories in France, they ultimately lost them. Only when Britain completely abandoned the European continent did it become the British Empire we know today. The relationship between Japan and the East Asian continent is even worse than the relationship between England and France back then, because Britain wasn't facing a unified Europe, while the continent we face is essentially comprised of only one country.

The British couldn't even handle France back then, so how could we possibly surpass them and make the Chinese recognize the legitimacy of our occupation of the mainland? Annexing Korea would lead to direct confrontation between the empire and China. Preserving Korea, at least, allows us to treat the Korean Peninsula as a buffer zone, ensuring the security of the archipelago without excessively provoking China.

Yamagata simply wouldn't listen to Ito Hirobumi's analysis. Ito Hirobumi's analogy of the Hundred Years' War between England and France to the current situation made it even more unbearable for him. During the Hundred Years' War, England was famous throughout Europe for its longbowmen, but afterwards all that was left was the honor of the Royal Navy. Didn't that mean the army could be disbanded? How could the army accept such an outcome?

Ito and Yamagata's talks ended badly. Although Ito reluctantly took his leave, he also said before leaving that he would support the Emperor's decision and would not allow the army to question the Emperor's decision.

Although Yamagata Aritomo refused Ito Hirobumi's offer, he was well aware that unless he used force to compel the Emperor to change his mind, he had virtually no way to counter the Cabinet and the Navy. A show of force was clearly out of the question; Yamagata knew that Emperor Meiji's health was deteriorating, and any show of force at this time would likely only provoke greater suspicion from the Emperor. He didn't want to end up like Saigo Takamori, a traitor to the nation.

Yamagata Aritomo summoned his confidants and Army Minister Tamura to inform them of the cabinet's actions. Katsura Taro, Terauchi Masatake, and Hasegawa Yoshimichi all opposed allowing Koreans to participate in international conferences, believing it would strengthen Koreans' sense of national independence. Oyama Iwao remained silent on the issue, stating he would not question the Emperor's judgment. Tamura shared a similar stance, telling Yamagata, "Things have developed to this point; the Navy cannot abandon its Asian alliance plan, otherwise it would be tantamount to handing over the leadership of Asia to the Chinese..."

Chapter 759

The army's top brass ultimately concluded that they opposed sending Koreans to participate in the conference on Asian colonial issues. However, these army leaders also discovered an extremely awkward problem: apart from verbal opposition, they had no other means to stop the navy and cabinet's actions, because almost all political factions were currently on the side of the Asian alliance.

The Choshu faction, led by Yamagata Aritomo, didn't even dare to mobilize lower-ranking army officers to protest to the Emperor. This was because the internal conflicts within the army stemmed from anger towards the Choshu faction over the downsizing plan, which was even greater than the anger directed at the naval cabinet that had proposed it. This situation arose because the Choshu faction had used the downsizing plan to include a large number of officers from outside their faction on the layoff list, and these officers were now working for the State Grid Corporation, a company established by the cabinet.

For these dismissed officers, the cabinet's downsizing plan was not aimed at the army, because the navy was also reducing its size and suspending its shipbuilding program. However, the navy's downsizing plan was much fairer than the army's. The navy did not downsize its troops according to factions, but rather based on criteria such as years of service, physical condition, and knowledge level. After announcing the standards, the navy conducted a unified screening of its troops. Some naval officers even voluntarily requested to retire. This was completely different from the army's downsizing plan, which had no standards and was based solely on the wishes of the Choshu faction.

Therefore, these army officers who re-employed at the power grid company became the most steadfast anti-Choshu faction, and their remarks greatly influenced the rank-and-file soldiers in the army. As a result, the anti-troop reduction sentiment within the army turned into a collective consciousness against the Choshu faction. After all, the cabinet's troop reduction at least had the pretext of serving the greater good of the country, while the troop reduction plan put forward by the Choshu faction was just engaging in factional struggle.

Yamagata Aritomo and other core members of the Choshu faction are now using their power and the Emperor's prestige to intimidate the opposition within the army. If they allow officers and soldiers to directly express their dissatisfaction to the Emperor, then this fire is very likely to spread to the Choshu faction.

Through this meeting, Tamura Itsuki and Souzen saw through Yamagata Aritomo's bluster and cowardice, and Oyama Iwao also abandoned his path of closely following Yamagata, showing that his obedience to the Emperor was his primary consideration. This also shows that Yamagata Aritomo had begun to lose control of the Choshu faction.

After the meeting, Tamura told his adjutant Nagata Tetsuzan, "The rise of the navy is unstoppable, while the army is now truly caught in a vortex of division. If the army continues like this, I think the navy's policy of 'sea-centric, land-subordinate' will really become a reality."

By this time, Nagata Tetsuzan had already proven his abilities in his work and gained Tamura's appreciation, thus becoming a confidant of the Minister of the Army. The reason he was able to be taken as a personal confidant by Tamura was because the Choshu faction's exclusion and wariness of non-Choshu generals forced Tamura to cultivate confidants from among these young officers.

Nagata Tetsuzan was already dissatisfied with the fact that the Choshu faction occupied important positions and prevented capable young people from rising to power. The reason why Tamura, who was not from the Choshu faction, was able to rise to a high position was because in the era in which Tamura lived, the Choshu faction did not have absolute power, and the army still had to face war. Therefore, capable overseas returnees like Tamura could rise to prominence.