Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 185

Yamagata had no choice but to summon his trusted confidants Hirata Tosuke and Kiyoura Keigo from the House of Nobles to the Tsubakiyama Villa in Mejirodai, and ask them about the possibility of obstructing the bill in the House of Nobles.

Faced with Yamagata's question, Hirata Tosuke and Kiyoura Keigo both fell into a long silence. After waiting for a long time, Yamagata finally urged impatiently, "Do you think the members of the tea party would agree with the nonsense that Japan will enter a peaceful period in the next ten years? The Koreans' resistance against us has not subsided yet, while the Chinese are advocating the development of the Far East and trying their best to invite British, American, German and French capital to participate. Isn't the purpose of the Chinese doing this just the old trick of using barbarians to control barbarians?"

After the Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese brought Russians to Manchuria to build the Chinese Eastern Railway, which resulted in hostility between the Empire and Russia, and was the cause of this war. Now that the Russians have finally been defeated by the Empire, they are trying to bring in British, American, German and French capital, still hoping to use these powers to counter the Empire's continental policy.

Therefore, war between Japan and China is inevitable due to the Far East. We need to separate Manchuria and Mongolia from China, while China wants to drive us from the peninsula into the sea. Whether Japan can become a continental power and whether China can regain its dominant position in East Asia depends on this war. Talking about East Asian peace at this time is digging the grave of empires.

If, during the Nagasaki Incident, the Qing Dynasty had chosen war instead of appeasement, my country's development would have been disrupted, and the glorious victory in the Sino-Japanese War would never have been possible. How is the current situation any different? If the Chinese are given time to develop, will we still be able to defeat Manchuria, which has been developed and strengthened by the Chinese, ten years later?

Hirata Tōsuke and Kiyōra Keigo were not actually from Chōshū, but they both rose through the ranks of bureaucrats in the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Ministry of Home Affairs was known as the bureaucracy within the bureaucracy, and was the stronghold of centralized bureaucrats. These bureaucrats were naturally close to the powerful clan politics and opposed party politics that restricted state power. Therefore, Hirata Tōsuke and Kiyōra Keigo became close to Yamagata Aritomo and became representative figures of the Yamagata faction of bureaucrats.

Kiyoura Keigo entered the Ministry of Home Affairs after the establishment of the Meiji Restoration government, so he held a lower position towards Yamagata and was unlikely to have any independent opinions. Hirata Tosuke, on the other hand, came from a pro-shogunate bureaucracy and was a talent sent by the shogunate to study abroad. Although the shogunate no longer existed when he returned, it did not prevent him from becoming a builder of the Meiji Restoration government. He was close to Yamagata but would not place himself in a lower position.

Faced with Yamagata's probing questions, Kiyoura Keigo was terrified, while Hirata was much calmer. He spoke frankly and said, "The passage of the bill to develop heavy industry in the House of Representatives means that the financial and economic communities have endorsed the plan."

The House of Lords and the House of Representatives actually have a certain tacit understanding: the House of Lords makes decisions on political matters, while the majority decision of the House of Representatives should be respected on economic matters. If a bill passes by a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, a veto by the House of Lords will not cause much dissatisfaction. However, if a bill passed by a majority in the House of Representatives is vetoed in the House of Lords, it can easily lead to a situation of confrontation between the two houses.

Once a situation of bipartisan conflict arises, the country will be mired in infighting. The House of Peers can veto a bill passed by the House of Representatives, and the House of Representatives can also refuse to submit any bill to the Army. Although the Emperor's supreme command is inviolable, the military budget cannot be directly allocated by the Emperor.

Therefore, without a chance of victory, I think it's best not to easily provoke a war between the two houses. Moreover, even if we organize a tea party to obstruct the bill, we might not be able to stop it from passing in the House of Peers, because Elder Ito and the Navy both support the plan, and Prime Minister Saionji represents the Imperial Court's position. The Army alone would likely find it difficult to withstand the combined forces of these three parties.”

Yamagata listened to Hirata's analysis. Hirata's concern was not whether he could stop the bill from passing, but what the army would do after starting a war. If there was no countermeasure, then such obstruction would be meaningless, because other parties would take action against the army until the army gave up its obstruction.

Yamagata thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a solution. He lost his temper and cursed in front of his confidants, "These navy idiots are completely out of their minds. Do they think that by joining forces with the government to suppress the army, the navy can dominate defense policy?"

Although Hirata remained silent, he felt in his heart that the navy might indeed be capable of this. After all, no matter how much the Chinese military prepared for war, they couldn't conjure a large fleet out of thin air. Therefore, the navy wouldn't have any psychological burden regarding peace. If a war broke out on the mainland, it would be the army, not the navy, that would suffer. If the army lost the Korean Peninsula as a result, wouldn't the navy then have the final say in defense policy?

Of course, it is inappropriate to view the issue from only the perspective of the Navy rather than the Empire, and the Navy would never admit to having such thoughts. Therefore, Hirata would not say it to provoke Yamagata and further exacerbate the confrontation between the Army and the Navy.

Yamagata quickly regained his composure. After calming down, he looked at the two people sitting to the side and finally asked in a calm tone, "Hirata, do you think there's any other way to resolve this?"

Hirata was somewhat confused. He looked at Yamagata and asked, "What do you mean, sir? Are you still going to stop the bill from passing?"

Yamagata waved his hand, as if driving away something unpleasant, before saying, "No, what I mean is to remove the judgment of peace from the bill, or to create some problems to delay the discussion of the bill."

Hirata Tosuke thought for a long time before shaking his head and saying, "It would be difficult to remove the 'peaceful assessment' from the proposal, because heavy industry construction requires a large amount of capital investment, and this capital needs to be borrowed from abroad. Only under the 'peaceful assessment' can we obtain overseas loans at lower interest rates; otherwise, we will have to pay high interest rates, which is clearly not in the national interest."

Delaying the bill is not a big problem. After all, the construction of the heavy industrial center requires a lot of funds, and how to allocate these funds will bring huge benefits. Everyone needs to get a share of the pie, so bargaining is inevitable. It's just a matter of us setting a higher price and then having more discussions.

However, this delay seems unnecessary. Whatever bills the army wants to pass in the future, our opponents will do the same, and we'll have to offer additional compensation, ultimately leading to a split within the House of Nobles.

Yamagata Aritomo lowered his head and pondered for a long time before finally speaking and deciding, "Let's delay for now. At least until the negotiations with the Navy are completed, the proposal cannot be passed. Otherwise, it will be even more difficult to negotiate with the Navy. If the Empire's defense policy cannot be released as soon as possible, the Army will be in a situation where it is controlled by the government, which will cause the military to lose its independence."

Hirata Tosuke was at a loss for words. The military's independence was fundamental to the clan politics. A military completely controlled by the government could not check the government, which meant the demise of clan politics. After all, the essence of clan politics was power. The military personnel who controlled the armed forces used the military's independence to interfere with the government, making the government dance to the tune of the military. And these bureaucrats were able to resist the government elected by the People's Party with the support of the military. This was the basis of their mutual dependence.

Chapter 623

After much deliberation, Hirata Tosuke said to Yamagata, "I understand your meaning, but if the Army and Navy cannot reach a consensus as soon as possible, delaying the bill will be harmful to us. Everyone will feel that the Army is blocking their way, and it will be more difficult for the Army to gain the support of other factions in the future."

Although Yamagata Aritomo remained silent about Hirata's words, he still bumped into Oyama Iwao after seeing the two off, inquiring about the issue of negotiations between the army and navy. Oyama Iwao held a positive view on establishing a negotiation mechanism between the army and navy. As a Satsuma native, although he sided with the army and adopted a suppressive stance towards the navy, he did not advocate for confrontation with the navy.

Oyama said to Yamagata, “It is still necessary to establish a consultation mechanism to mediate conflicts between the army and navy. We didn’t distinguish between the army and navy back then; we all came from the anti-shogunate army. Therefore, even if there are any differences between the army and navy, we can always sit down and negotiate. But the people below were recruited after the army and navy were established. They only have the army or the navy in their eyes and do not have a unified military consciousness. When we were here, we could mediate between the two armies. When we are gone, who will mediate between the army and navy?”

Yamagata Aritomo actually has a positive view on the discussion of the Army-Navy consultation mechanism. He said to Oyama, "It is indeed necessary to establish a mediating mechanism between the Army and the Navy. But what I am worried about is the Navy's motives behind its enthusiasm for this consultation mechanism. What do you think of the Navy's proposal to transfer personnel from the Army to assist the Marine Corps Command?"

After pondering for a while, Oyama Iwao cautiously said, "This proposal does have some problems, but we cannot question it before the Navy indicates that it wants to establish an army under its control. Moreover, the Navy has also agreed that we can establish an inland fleet on the mainland, so it seems to be on an equal footing."

Yamagata, however, disagreed, saying, "The Inland Fleet is nothing but gunboats. No matter how much we build it, it will never be able to go to sea and confront the navy's large fleet. Besides, even if the navy asked us to build a large fleet, the army couldn't afford to support it. The navy's suggestion is like making cakes out of stones; they look delicious, but they're completely inedible."

Oyama Iwao was at a loss for words. Yamagata Aritomo was certainly right. The cost of establishing a marine corps for the navy and the cost of establishing a fleet for the army were completely different matters. The navy could easily save enough to form one or two divisions, while the army would have to eliminate the budget of an entire regiment to purchase a decent warship. This seemingly fair proposal was, in fact, the greatest unfairness in terms of the use of funds between the army and navy.

However, after much deliberation, he finally reminded Yamagata, "Even so, if we refuse, it would be tantamount to blocking the path for the Navy to advance and retreat together with us. If we refuse the Navy's proposal, it will certainly be seen by the Navy as the Army's malice and will be widely publicized. Then, it will be very difficult for the Army and Navy to reach a result on the Empire's defense policy."

Yamagata Aritomo and Oyama Iwao sat facing each other for a long time, but ultimately failed to come up with a feasible solution to the problem. Yamagata realized that the army's weakness was not only due to government restrictions on funding, but also because, under the principle of unity within the military, the army could not allow the navy to become its adversary. Otherwise, the military's attempt to use strategy to counter the political strategy would be a joke.

Faced with a dead end, Yamagata chose a very traditional approach: delegating the difficult problem to his subordinates. If they did well, everyone would be happy; if they did poorly, he could dismiss the subordinate to silence the criticism. To be fair, Yamagata rarely did this, given his reputation in the army for protecting his subordinates, but that doesn't mean he hadn't done it before.

Chief of the General Staff, Yoshizo Tamura, soon received instructions from Yamagata to expedite the establishment of a coordination mechanism between the Army and Navy. Other issues could be handled independently, as long as they did not harm the Army's interests. However, the Imperial Defense Policy had to be formulated as soon as possible.

Tamura was quite helpless about Yamagata's instructions. The statement that it would not harm the interests of the army was too vague. This meant that if anyone in the army had doubts about his handling of the matter, he would have to bear the responsibility for those doubts and could not transfer his resentment to Yamagata.

Tamura had to consider his own way out. At this time, Togo Masamichi also arranged a meeting time through an intermediary. Although in principle, Kawahara Yoichi, the Chief of the Naval General Staff, was Tamura's equal talk partner, Kawahara was busy preparing to take over as Minister of the Navy and naturally would not come to Tamura to discuss issues of mutual understanding between the army and navy.

Of course, as the actual person in charge of the General Staff, Togo Masamichi had enough authority to talk to Tamura. In fact, Togo was less restricted than Tamura because Ito and Kawahara would not interfere with the coordination between the army and navy. This approach was promoted from the bottom up by Hayashi Nobuyoshi, so Togo really didn't need to consider who he was responsible to.

Inside the ryotei (traditional Japanese restaurant) in Shinbashi, Tamura Itsuki had a private meeting with Zao and Togo Masamichi. At the beginning of the meeting, Tamura pointed out directly: "Although the plan to establish a national power grid is beneficial to the military, the Navy is probably thinking of using this method to reduce the resentment of the officers and soldiers being laid off regarding the downsizing, right?"

Togo Masamichi did not deny this. He smiled at Tamura and said, "Yes, the plan for the state-run power grid is indeed intended to quell the discontent of the officers and soldiers who are being laid off. But then again, does that mean we don't need to care about the future of retired officers and soldiers if we don't lay off troops?"

As far as I know, most of the army's officers and soldiers come from rural areas. In the army, they know nothing but how to kill. After serving in the army for so many years, are they really willing to be sent back to farming after retirement and live a life of hunger and cold again?

The best pretext for us to demand control of the state-owned power grid is to resolve the issue of the future of the demobilized troops. Why would the government offer us such a good deal if there were no demobilization issues? This is a win-win-win situation; would the army simply refuse because it's linked to demobilization?

Tamura Yoshizo had to admit that even if Togo Masamichi wasn't the brains of the Navy, he was still worthy of the title "Oni Togo." His frankness made it impossible for Tamura Yoshizo to continue accusing the Navy of plotting on this issue.

After a moment's thought, Tamura frankly said, "Since Vice Minister Togo has made it so clear, then I won't hold back either. The government is naturally happy to see the military downsizing, but isn't it self-destructive for the military? It is the military, not the government, that protects this country. Weakening the military will ultimately weaken the country once again. I think you should understand that this world is a dog-eat-dog world, and a weak country cannot survive."

Togo was not swayed by Tamura's words, even though Tamura spoke of the military's consensus. Before the Russo-Japanese War, the army and navy shared the same idea: the country must be strong in order to prevent Japan from becoming prey for the great powers.

However, after the war, the navy generally accepted Hayashi Shinji's view that there were many contradictions among the great powers, and Japan did not need to worry about the security of its surrounding areas in the short term. Rebuilding the East Asian order became Japan's most urgent demand, because only a stable East Asian order could stop the great powers from continuing to expand into East Asia after resolving their internal contradictions.

“This world is indeed a world where the strong prey on the weak, so Japan must become stronger.” Togo nodded in agreement with Tamura, but then changed the subject, saying, “However, a strong Japan needs comprehensive development. Without strong industry and agriculture and advanced technology, a so-called strong army and navy is nothing but empty talk.”

In this war, without the arms supplies from Britain and the United States, could we really have defeated the Russians? Russia was only one of the weaker European powers, and its strength in Asia was less than a third of its true power, yet it had almost defeated both Japan and China. If Britain, the United States, and Germany hadn't stood behind Japan and China, we would have been forced to admit defeat halfway through the war due to ammunition shortages.

Therefore, Japan's strength cannot rely solely on the number of divisions and warships. Japan's strength also lies in whether its national power can support these divisions and warships in long-term combat, and whether its weaponry can compete with that of the great powers. Therefore, the navy believes that the military is part of the nation and needs national support; it cannot develop itself without restraint, leaving the nation unable to develop. A Japan that does so will ultimately fail.

Tamura finally understood the difference between the Navy and the Army. The Army advocated that the military and the government were equal, which in effect meant that the military was an entity independent of the country. This is also why many people prefer to call the Army the Imperial Army rather than the National Army.

Before this war, the army officially referred to itself as the National Army, only occasionally referring to itself as the Imperial Army. However, during the war, to boost soldiers' sense of honor, the title "Imperial Army" began to become popular within the military. Especially after the Hibiya Incident, many lower-ranking officers and soldiers began to resent the government's attempt to seek peace, believing that their sacrifices had been betrayed by the nation. Therefore, they began to abandon the title "National Army" and insist on the title "Imperial Army" to show that they were not fighting for a government that betrayed the army, but for the Emperor.

However, the navy clearly did not think that way. The navy believed that the government's decision was correct, and that peace was far more important to Japan than reparations. This was because the navy relied entirely on its equipment for combat, and even the bravest naval officers and soldiers could not fight battleships in sampans. Faced with the economic blockade imposed on Japan by Britain, the United States, and France, Japan naturally needed to reach a peace agreement with Russia as soon as possible in order to gain the trust of Britain, France, and the United States.

Moreover, the government that issued the peace declaration was led by Navy veteran Sukeyuki Ito. Ito's decisions represented the views of many in the Navy, and even if some younger officers and soldiers were dissatisfied, they could not shake the overall direction of the Navy. After the Navy's new policy gained acceptance throughout the Navy, the idea that the military would exist independently of the government became a minority opinion within the Navy.

Tamura didn't really agree with Yamagata's advocacy of strategic and political equality, but he did support equality between the military and the government. Ultimately, he needed to protect the interests of the army and prevent the government from interfering in military affairs at will. If he opposed this, he would not be able to gain the support of the army.

The reason why Tojo Hideaki was driven out of the army by the Choshu faction was not only because of the position of the opposing faction, but also because Tojo Hideaki was exposed to war theory during his studies in Germany and highly admired it.

In *On War*, Clausewitz revealed the fundamental nature of war as subordinate to politics, arguing that war is a continuation of politics through another means. To the army, Tojo Hideaki's views were tantamount to traitors within the army, government spies planted within its ranks.

To be honest, some non-Chōshū officers also supported the Choshu faction's decision to expel Hideaki Tojo from the army. They felt that Tojo had lost his military stance, so how could Tamura possibly oppose the mainstream military view that the military was independent of the government?

However, Tamura was in a dilemma when faced with the Navy's differing opinions on this issue. If he continued to insist on the Army's mainstream view, then today's meeting would be pointless, because there would be no basis for consensus between the two sides. Even if he wanted to feign compliance, he could not hide his views on specific issues.

After much deliberation, Tamura said to Togo, "Of course, the military cannot ignore the development of the country, but if the military loses its independence, it will also be dangerous for the country's security. Has the Navy not considered this factor?"

The Navy has certainly considered this factor, which is why it wants to lead the nation's development path. Togo Masamichi thought this to himself, though he knew he couldn't say it aloud. Therefore, he replied, "The problem you're worried about certainly exists. That's why we hope to establish a state-owned company like the National Power Grid."

Only by controlling industries vital to the national economy—such as energy, steel, chemicals, and shipbuilding—can the military question the government's development direction through these large enterprises, thereby correcting any erroneous policies. This is why the military should not remain outside the government; we must intervene before the government formulates policies.

As for how to interfere with government decision-making through these large corporations, Togo didn't explain clearly, but for Tamura, such a hint was enough. If large corporations could be controlled by the military, then government decisions would inevitably be influenced by the military. After all, most government decisions are made by the financial and economic sectors. Once these large corporations align themselves with the military's propositions, it means that the military can control the economic sector through these large corporations and exert influence over the financial sector, which also means that the government loses its voice in economic affairs.

This approach, which cuts off the government's resources, is indeed much better than Tanaka Giichi's idea of ​​a strategic-political parallel confrontation. In the latter case, the government could still resist the military by refusing to cooperate, since the budget allocation still needs to be handled by the government. However, if the military directly controls the nation's economic lifeline, then the military can fund itself without needing the government to distribute it.

Tamura's stance began to waver. He suddenly realized that if he rejected Togo Masamichi's proposal for cooperation, he would inevitably be forced to resign over the issue of troop reduction and would also have to bear the resentment of the dismissed soldiers on Yamagata's behalf. However, if he accepted Togo Masamichi's proposal, although the army would still shift the blame for not being able to stop the troop reduction onto him, the dismissed soldiers might not hold him responsible, because he had given them a way out.

Although this action may incur the displeasure of Yamagata and others in the short term, in the long run, the resentment towards the Choshu faction in the army is likely to be even greater. From this perspective, being disliked by Yamagata is not necessarily a bad thing.

Disappointed with the prospects of internal struggles within the army after Kodama's death, Tamura finally conceived the idea of ​​distancing himself from the Choshu faction. After a moment's hesitation, he asked Togo, "Is the Navy's plan to establish a Marine Corps Command merely a temporary necessity, or is it preparation for the future?"

This issue was somewhat unexpected. Togo Masamichi hadn't anticipated that Tamura would discuss it with him, as it was a sensitive topic for both the Army and Navy. The Army's high command, being the passive party, should be even more reluctant to discuss it. Therefore, Togo believed that this issue should be handled quietly, with negotiators discussing it during a coordination meeting, and the higher-ups pretending not to know about it.

After a long pause, Togo finally responded, "The Navy established the Marine Corps Command naturally because of practical needs; the Marine Corps' performance in this war was not satisfactory..."

Hearing Togo use an official tone to brush him off, Tamura interrupted him bluntly, saying, "What I mean is, if the Navy doesn't mind, I actually have two suitable candidates to recommend to you. They are both top students from the first class of the Army War College, only in their early fifties, and fully capable of meeting the Navy's needs."

Togo subconsciously replied, "You mean Tojo Chu... Ah, if there is such a candidate, the Navy would certainly be happy to accept him."

Togo Masamichi had discussed the matter with Hayashi Shinichi so many times that he had memorized the name Tojo Hideaki. So when Tamura suddenly struck him, he couldn't help but blurt out Tojo's name.

Tamura raised an eyebrow. As expected, the Navy wasn't making baseless accusations; they had indeed set their sights on the recently retired Tojo Hideaki. This meant the Navy did indeed have some designs on the Army, which was probably the biggest achievement of Tamura's meeting today. However, this idea from the Navy was good news for Tamura, who was already planning to break away from the Choshu faction. Without external pressure, he couldn't possibly resist the Choshu faction.

Chapter 624

Although Togo Masamichi accidentally revealed the Navy's plans against the Army to Tamura, Tamura did not turn against him. Instead, he believed that the matter was feasible, and the atmosphere of the talks between the two became much more harmonious.

In order to avoid the negotiations breaking down and Tamura revealing his words, Togo made many concessions in the following talks and promised to communicate more with Tamura on coordination matters between the Army and Navy.

After his meeting with Togo, Tamura held a closed-door meeting with Vice Minister Fukushima Yasumasa and Minister Matsukawa Toshitane, who was in charge of consulting with the Navy on the Empire's defense policy, to discuss the cooperation and coordination mechanism between the Army and Navy. He quickly came up with a plan and reported it to Yamagata Aritomo.

Yamagata Aritomo did not have much of a plan to petition His Majesty to establish a Military Advisory Council to provide important military advice under the emperor's command. Although the Marshal's Office had already covered the work of assisting the emperor in military decision-making, it could not coordinate the issues between the army and the navy. On the contrary, in order to gain the emperor's support, the army and navy generals in the Marshal's Office were completely opposed to each other.

Although the army held an absolute advantage within the Marshal's Office, this did not force the navy to yield to the army. This time, he used the Marshal's Office to influence the Emperor, forcing the navy to sit down and negotiate the empire's defense policy. However, the navy used various excuses to delay the process, which shows that the navy was very dissatisfied with the army's unauthorized decision.

After Saigo Tsugumichi's death, the Navy lacked a powerful figure who could keep the Navy in check. Neither Ito Sukeyuki nor Yamamoto Gonnohyōe could match Saigo Tsugumichi's prestige within the Navy. While this was a good thing for the Army, it was not conducive to the coordination between the Army and the Navy.

In the past, as long as Yamagata reached an agreement with Saigo Tsurumichi, there was no need to worry about any problems arising on the Navy's side. However, now there is no one in the Navy willing to take responsibility, not to mention that Yamamoto Gonnohyōe is a Navy Minister who is extremely opposed to the continental policy, making communication between the two sides even more difficult.

Therefore, Yamagata also believed that an organization was needed between the Army and Navy to coordinate their relationship. However, he did not want the Army to be subject to others' control, so he modified Tamura's plan. Tamura's plan was that the Military Council should first decide on a plan and then submit it to His Majesty for confirmation. However, Yamagata believed that multiple plans could be submitted to His Majesty for selection, which essentially preserved the possibility that the Army's opinion could be submitted to the Emperor directly without adjustment.

Tamura was speechless at Yamagata's intentions. Although Yamagata was considering the interests of the Army, such obvious selfishness was tantamount to telling the Navy that the Army was not sincere in establishing a consultation mechanism between the two sides. If everyone could not reach a consensus in the Military Council and submit their respective proposals to His Majesty, then what coordination ability would the Military Council have?

Yamagata's actions further solidified Tamura's resolve to break away from the Choshu faction. When Yamagata questioned the mobilization of army generals to support the establishment of the Marine Corps Command, Tamura did not hesitate to defend himself, saying, "I think the navy is making such a request because they want to use it as an excuse to criticize the army's lack of unity in front of His Majesty, thereby shirking responsibility for the army and navy's inability to reach an agreement on the imperial defense policy."

I don't believe the Navy truly intends to heavily rely on Army generals to build the Marine Corps Command. After all, since the Navy separated from the Army's command structure, its biggest concern has been Army interference in its internal affairs. Judging from the Navy's requirements—no serving officers above the division level, no officers above the rank of colonel in the General Staff, and healthy lieutenant colonels or above who have retired within the last three years—it seems the Navy simply wants a few capable Army officers, not those who meddle in naval affairs.

Therefore, the establishment of a Marine Corps Command by the Navy is a practical necessity, not something that can be canceled simply because we oppose it. Furthermore, even if we reject the Navy's request, it's not necessarily impossible for the Navy to establish a Marine Corps Command, given that the Navy possesses personnel capable of commanding land-based operations.

I think responding to the Navy's request isn't a problem; on the contrary, it allows us to see the Navy's true purpose in establishing the Marine Corps Command and to make an accurate assessment of its combat capabilities. If we remain as unclear about the Navy's internal affairs as we are now, then I think we'll suffer the same losses at the Navy's hands again in the future.”

Yamagata Aritomo was getting old, and although he still understood many things, his memory was not as good as before. For example, he knew that Tojo Hideaki had been forced to retire. If he had some time to think about it, he could still figure out what the Navy wanted to do. However, he had too many things to think about and often prioritized the interests of the Choshu faction. Therefore, it was difficult for him to see through the Navy's intentions as quickly as Tamura did.

As for Katsura Taro and Terauchi Masatake, they are now busy preparing for the issue of military downsizing and the political development of the army. They have also lost the close ties with Yamagata that they had before the war. After all, Yamagata’s attempt to bypass the second generation and directly appoint Tanaka Giichi as the third-generation core of the Choshu faction greatly stimulated these second-generation leaders of the Choshu faction, making it difficult for them to submit to Yamagata.

Yamagata Aritomo was able to control the army not because he was particularly idealistic, but because of the strength of the external enemies. Before the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, Japan had no chance of winning. The Japanese military leadership entered both major wars with a gambling mentality.

Because of the formidable adversary, the army was forced to submit to the Choshu faction, which in turn had to obey pro-war leaders like Yamagata Aritomo and Ōyama Iwao. However, the victory in the Russo-Japanese War suddenly relieved external pressure on Japan. Although China showed signs of recovery, for a China that had not yet truly achieved political unification, the army's upper echelons felt only vigilance, not fear. The officers and soldiers in the middle and lower ranks regarded defeating the Qing Dynasty as the standard for measuring the Chinese army's combat strength and did not believe that the Chinese would suddenly become brave.

With this postwar mentality, not only were the non-Chōshū factions in the army dissatisfied with the Chōshū faction's monopoly, but the second-generation leaders of the Chōshū faction, such as Katsura Taro and Terauchi Masatake, were also dissatisfied with Yamagata Aritomo's clinging to power. If Kodama had not died, he would also have opposed Yamagata's continued control of the army.

In short, Yamagata's eyes and ears were blocked by his subordinates. Although he was still the spiritual leader of the army and the leader of the Choshu faction, his subordinates were no longer willing to tell him the truth. The only one who could report the true situation of the army to him was Tanaka Giichi. However, Tanaka was not a resolute person. This can be seen from his agreement with Yamagata's opinion on the equality of military and political strategies. In fact, Tanaka would only say what Yamagata wanted to hear and would not say anything in the army that might anger Yamagata.

As a result, during Tamura's conversation, which deliberately veered off-topic, Yamagata indeed overlooked the Navy's scheming thoughts about the Army. He had indeed been wary of this before. When Yamagata focused his attention on how to get the Navy to agree to the Army's defense policy and on promoting the Navy and Army to negotiate their defense policies as soon as possible, he naturally felt that although there were hidden dangers in assisting the Navy in establishing the Marine Corps Command, the problem should not be too big.

Yamagata ultimately handed the decision-making power over to Tamura, instructing him to consider it carefully before proceeding. As long as the army and navy could maintain a semblance of unity and the imperial defense policy could be reported as soon as possible, other issues could be temporarily ignored.

Yamagata's decision did not surprise Tamura. Yamagata's resignation as Chief of the General Staff before the war was completely over was a sign of declining energy. The mental processing and memory of an elderly person made it difficult for Yamagata to think things through thoroughly. Although Yamagata could still grasp the key points in the general direction, he was unwilling to relinquish power. This meant that Yamagata would be unable to attend to everything due to excessive thinking. This was precisely why Tamura dared to boldly divert Yamagata's attention.

After leaving Chinzan-sou, Tamura did not return to the General Staff Headquarters at Miyakezaka, but instead visited Tojo Hidenori. Forced into retirement, Tojo Hidenori was initially filled with resentment. For him, joining the army was not merely about high rank and salary, but about achieving merit on the battlefield and changing his family's reputation.

As a family of Noh performers in the Nanbu Domain, Tojo Hideaki's father did not obtain samurai status until then. Therefore, Tojo Hideaki cherished his samurai status very much. Although the tumultuous era of the Edo Shogunate came soon after, and the samurai era ended with the fall of the Edo Shogunate, Tojo Hideaki still considered his family to be samurai, not commoners.

It makes sense when you think about it. The samurai status that the Tojo family had worked hard for generations to obtain might have been just a symbol of a decadent era for those Meiji Restorationists, but for Tojo Hideaki, it represented the struggle of generations. He couldn't treat the struggle of generations as a joke, which is the root of his joining the army to try to prove that he was a true samurai.

Hideaki Tojo not only demanded this of himself, but also of his son. His worship of the samurai class made his education of his son quite speechless. After all, after the Meiji Restoration, everyone was trying to erase the traces of the samurai from their bodies in order to show that they were civilized and enlightened Meiji people, and those who continued to retain samurai customs were regarded as stubborn and unyielding.

However, this blow from the Choshu faction shattered Tojo Hideaki's dreams, making both the Choshu faction and the army even more hateful than the Russians. Because few spoke up for him when he was forced to retire, Tojo Hideaki extended his resentment to the entire army, not just the Choshu faction. This caused him to become extremely depressed in the immediate aftermath of his retirement, indulging in drinking and debauchery almost daily.

Tamura had previously been unwilling to approach Tojo Hideaki because he disapproved of Tojo's self-destructive behavior and felt that the man's ability to withstand pressure was far too weak. Although few in the army spoke up for him, not everyone was standing idly by. Otherwise, how could Tojo Hideaki have been able to become a lieutenant general before retiring?

However, now that the Navy is trying to use Hideaki Tojo, he has to come and check on the other party's condition in person. Although he doesn't mind exchanging some benefits with the Navy, he doesn't want to send a mad dog to the Navy to bite the Army. After all, he is loyal to the Army. He just feels that the Choshu faction can no longer lead the Army forward, not that the Army is beyond saving.

To Tamura's relief, Tojo Hideaki did not show any resentment or doubt during his unexpected visit. The Tojo he saw was also neatly dressed and did not reek of alcohol or appear dazed, which was quite different from the resentful woman he had heard about. It seemed that Tojo had passed through her depression and regained her composure.

Tamura was invited to Tojo's study for a talk. Looking at the piles of manuscripts in the room, he couldn't help but pick one up and read it, asking, "Are you writing a book?"

Tojo Hideaki remained calm, though his posture was impeccable, making him appear like a soldier without a uniform. He answered Tamura's question without hesitation, saying, "Yes, the Toyo Keizai Shimbun is very interested in the formation of the army, especially the stories of Takasugi and Ōmura. They feel that the current accounts of these two figures are either overly fantastical or completely obscured, which is truly regrettable. To ensure the public truly understands how the army was built, they invited me, an unemployed person, to write something to set the record straight. I thought it was a good thing, so I agreed."

Tamura read through a few pages of the manuscript and felt that the content didn't intend to denigrate the Army, but it seemed to slightly elevate the image of Takasugi and Ōmura, to the point that it made one feel that the title of "Father of the Army" should belong to these two, not Yamagata Aritomo. However, this level of praise or criticism would only displease Yamagata's confidants and wouldn't anger others in the Army, since Takasugi and Ōmura did have supporters within the military.

Tamura put down his manuscript, feeling that Tojo Hideaki still harbored resentment, but at least the other party was still rational and hadn't amplified his resentment towards the Choshu faction; otherwise, he would have found it difficult to tolerate Tojo's return. If it was only targeting Yamagata, then he could accept it, since without Yamagata's support, Terauchi Masatake and Hasegawa Yoshimichi wouldn't have been able to go so far.

The Choshu faction broke the rules first; can't they at least let someone vent their frustrations through a book? Tamura quickly shifted his attention from the manuscript to Tojo sitting opposite him, sized him up for a moment, and said, "I've taken the liberty of visiting you today to ask if you're still interested in working in the military?"

Hideaki Tojo looked at Tamura in silence for a long while before saying, "You know I didn't retire voluntarily. Even if I can't let go of my work in the military, what can I do? Isn't the army now dominated by the Choshu faction? Even if you are now the Chief of Staff, you still can't interfere in personnel matters, so why bother me?"

Tojo's words hurt Tamura quite a bit. Although he knew Tojo was right, he really couldn't touch personnel matters; otherwise, Yamagata wouldn't have let him accept the position of Chief of the General Staff so easily. Personnel in the army were the Choshu faction's stronghold, and trying to touch that was tantamount to starting a war with the Choshu faction.

But Tamura still felt something cracking inside him. He forced himself to suppress these emotions and said to Tojo, "Although I can't send you back to the army immediately, there's an opportunity for you to join the navy. In a year or two, I'll find a way to transfer you back to the army. What are your thoughts?"

Hearing Tamura's words, Tojo couldn't help but think of the young man who had sat in Tamura's seat yesterday and talked to him so eloquently. He was quite grateful to the Toyo Keizai Shimbun, after all, they had given him something to do, which helped him calm down.

Without anything to do, he couldn't calm down. He realized that his self-abandonment was actually the most reassuring outcome for the Choshu faction. To make the Choshu faction pay the price for destroying his cause, he needed to create an opportunity. The only thing he hadn't expected was that this opportunity would come so quickly, and he only learned yesterday that the Toyo Keizai Shimbun was actually created by the Navy, merely passing through the foundation.

Although Hideaki Tojo maintained a neutral stance on the navy, as a proponent of war theory, he believed that while strategy should be subordinate to politics, the army and navy should be integrated. Sometimes resources should be allocated to the army, and sometimes to the navy, depending on the country's strategy and who Japan's enemies were.

However, as a member of the army, he also opposed the navy's plan to establish an island empire. But after being expelled from the army, he became less opposed to the navy's proposed island empire plan. Given the army's partisan nature, wasn't it only natural that the navy suppressed it?

Hayashi Nobuyoshi's views on strategic issues were similar to his. He also advocated that strategy should be subordinate to policy and believed that the military could not exist independently. The difference between the two was that Hayashi Nobuyoshi believed that the military should be completely subordinate to the government, while Tojo believed that the government should be subordinate to the military on the issue of national defense.

Chapter 625

As Tojo Hideaki was recalling his conversation with Hayashi Shin'ichi, the sudden silence brought him back to his senses. Seeing the puzzled look in Tamura's eyes, he quickly confessed, "If I could return to the military, I would certainly be willing to give it a try. After all, I've spent my whole life in the military, and I'm really not good at anything else. But, can I really go to the navy? Would those Choshu people let me transfer back to active duty?"

Tamura Iyo didn't think too much about it. During their conversation, Tojo was completely unaware of his plans to join the Navy, and his sudden visit showed Tojo focused on writing rather than preparing to return to the military. Therefore, he assumed the Navy hadn't yet contacted him. After all, Tojo had spent most of his life in the Army and had no connection with the Navy; how could he possibly be won over by the Navy in just a few words?