Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 26

After Tian Bangxuan and Cai E left, Zhang Zhidong drank a bowl of plum juice, listened to the cicadas chirping in the courtyard, and then asked the three advisors who were listening nearby, "Do you think what these two men said is feasible?"

Zheng Xiaoxu, seated to the right of Zhang Zhidong, cupped his hands and said, “General Xiang, what these two said is still a bit too radical. The best course of action now is to stabilize the overall situation. Reforms must always be carried out step by step. How can we rush ahead so recklessly? If we really do as they say, I am afraid that one problem will be followed by another, and the matter of the two palaces returning to the capital will be delayed again. This is what the palace is most concerned about.”

Zhang Zhidong nodded slightly, knowing that Zheng Xiaoxu was right. The goal of the reforms was to allow the Empress Dowager to enjoy a few more years of peace, not to let them really turn the country upside down. If the reforms were carried out as Tian Bangxuan and Cai E suggested, they might be very effective, but the court and the gentry might not be very happy, since these reforms had already touched upon their interests.

Zhang Zhidong glanced at the two men on his left and asked again, "Senjia, Hongming, what do you think?"

Tao Senjia glanced at Zheng Xiaoxu opposite him and said calmly, "At least Commander Xiang doesn't need to worry anymore; they are revolutionaries now. If they were revolutionaries, they probably wouldn't have proposed such reform policies. Although it's a bitter pill, it can cure the Qing Dynasty's deep-seated problems. Anyway, I don't see any harm this medicine will do to the Qing Dynasty. Of course, whether or not to take this medicine depends on Commander Xiang's will. But, Commander Xiang, are you promoting the new policies to save the Qing Dynasty, or just to please the Empress Dowager?"

Zhang Zhidong's face froze instantly, and it took him a while to recover. He sighed and said, "I know that the Qing Dynasty's corrupt practices cannot be ignored. The foreigners easily entered Beijing this time, and next time, there might not be a next time. However, this is a terminally ill patient, and treatment must be gradual. If we use strong medicine, I worry that the patient will die before the disease is cured. Perhaps we can select a few suitable measures to try first, and put aside policies such as buying back land, asking the Germans to help establish banks, and improving urban construction?"

Gu Hongming finally couldn't help but interject, saying, "In my opinion, these reform policies they mentioned are all closely linked. If they are implemented as a whole, they will be very effective. If they are implemented separately, they will not only fail to achieve their goals, but will also easily cause unease among those above and below."

Xiang Shuai, if you're going to use people, you should either use them freely or not use them at all. The Self-Strengthening Movement was all the rage back then, but it ultimately failed. Why? Because everyone compromised with those die-hards. Why were the Japanese threats successful? They were single-mindedly focused on changing the country, without any consideration for the bigger picture.

I think either we should do nothing at all, and everyone can watch the Qing Dynasty die peacefully. Doing anything inappropriate will only make the Qing Dynasty's demise even more gruesome.

Zhang Zhidong fell silent once again. Seeing that the atmosphere in the hall had suddenly become tense, Zheng Xiaoxu finally stepped forward to smooth things over, saying, "Why don't you ask Mr. Zhu Jun, perhaps he will have some different opinions?"

Upon hearing the name Zhao Fengchang, Zhang Zhidong's expression immediately relaxed. In fact, he still trusted this former chief advisor the most, only having been forced to step down due to political struggles. Nevertheless, he still gave Zhao Fengchang a sinecure, allowing him to offer advice from time to time.

Zhang Zhidong nodded and said, "Very well, Senjia, send a telegram to Zhu Jun and ask for his opinion..."

Tian Bangxuan brought Cai E back to his residence, where he found Yang Quyun, Bi Yongnian, and Xie Zuantai waiting for him. He went up to them and asked, "When did the three of you arrive?"

However, Bi Yongnian stepped forward angrily and said, "Everyone agreed to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, so why are you advising the Qing Dynasty and promoting reforms? Has your Workers' Party betrayed the revolution?"

Cai E was about to step forward to retort when Tian Bangxuan stopped him, telling him to check the gates and prevent the servants from approaching. Then, he turned to the three men and asked, "What do you three think revolution is?"

Yang Quyun fell into thought, while Bi Yongnian and Xie Zuantai replied: "Revolution is naturally about overthrowing the Qing Dynasty, and overthrowing the Qing Dynasty is revolution."

Tian Bangxuan calmly stated, "Our Labor Party's view of revolution differs from that of the Revive China Society. Our view of revolution is to eliminate all old orders that oppose social progress, and then promote social progress so that people can live better lives."

Xie Zuantai immediately said, "If that's the case, then why are you helping the Manchu Qing dynasty with your strategies? As long as this Manchu regime lives, the country will never make any progress."

Tian Bangxuan looked at him and asked in return, "Then do the people know this fact?"

Bi Yongnian and Xie Zuantai looked at Tian Bangxuan with some confusion and asked, "What?"

Tian Bangxuan then emphasized, "I'm asking, do the people know that the Qing Dynasty is incapable of making the country progress? In my view, ever since Empress Dowager Cixi issued an edict ordering each province to propose reform measures, the enlightened gentry in each province have been overjoyed, thinking that the Qing Dynasty is about to enter a period of enlightenment, just like Japan. At this time, if you say that the Qing Dynasty is incapable of making the country progress, will the people trust you?"

Bi Yongnian and Xie Zuantai exchanged a glance before lowering their voices and saying, "But does your Labor Party really need to go to such lengths to propose such detailed new policies for the Manchus? If the Manchus actually implement your new policies, will the people still support the revolution?"

Tian Bangxuan said firmly, "The purpose of the revolution is to overthrow those reactionaries who do nothing themselves and forbid others from doing anything. If they were willing to do things for the people, then they would not be reactionaries."

What our Labour Party needs to do is to present the right path to the people, to tell them how to walk the road ahead. This path is open, not secret, because social progress cannot be hidden.

Whether it's the Manchus or the Han Chinese governors, gentry, and landlords, if they are willing to move in a progressive direction, they are naturally not the targets of our revolution. But when they are unwilling to continue moving forward and even try to stop the people from moving forward, they naturally become the targets of the revolution.

Someone once told me that it's difficult to get people to fight for rights they've never had. But if you give people hope first, and then take that hope away, then the people will be motivated to fight in order to defend their hopes.

"This is the work we are doing now: to tell the people where hope lies, and when the Manchus try to take away their hope, we will lead them to overthrow them. This is the revolution we are pursuing..."

Bi Yongnian and Xie Zuantai were truly speechless. Their understanding of revolution was still limited to resisting the imperial court, but they didn't really have much of an idea about how to resist the imperial court.

After witnessing so many events in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Wuhan, Yang Quyun gained a deeper understanding of the Workers' Party's propositions. At this moment, he felt that perhaps the Workers' Party's revolutionary principles were the only truly hopeful ones.

He then stopped his two companions and asked Tian Bangxuan, "So, when does the Labor Party believe the time is ripe for revolution? What can we do for the revolution now?"

Tian Bangxuan looked at him and said, "The timing of the revolution depends on whether the people truly understand their own interests, whether they have been organized, and whether they have accepted the theory of revolution."

The new policies will give us an opportunity to connect deeply with the masses. We can use this opportunity to instill revolutionary theories in them, awaken them to the people, and organize them through cooperative production, thus making them the basic force of the revolution.

So when the enemies of the revolution appear before them, the revolution will become a spontaneous and conscious need of the people. We are not the main body of the revolution; the people are. A revolution launched without relying on the power of the people is like a castle on the sand, easily washed away by a single wave…”

Yang Quyun and two others spent nearly an afternoon and evening at Tian Bangxuan's home talking with Tian Bangxuan and Cai E. This conversation was clearly more in-depth than their previous ones. After the conversation, Yang Quyun told his two companions that he wanted to leave the Revive China Society and join the Labor Party, because he felt that the Labor Party's revolutionary methods were much more reliable than aimless uprisings.

Yang Quyun's decision caused a great stir in the Revive China Society when it reached Tokyo. Many members had joined the society under Sun Yat-sen's leadership because of Yang Quyun, but after the merger, Sun Yat-sen, with the support of the Japanese, seized the position of president, which made some people quite resentful. In January of this year, under Sun Yat-sen's strong advocacy, the Revive China Society merged with the Triads and the Gelaohui to form the Revive Han Society, making some members feel that the future of the revolution was worrying.

The Triads and the Gelaohui were both secret societies. Although they claimed to be fighting against the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty, their members were a mixed bag and made a living through shady dealings. As a result, they were involved in prostitution, gambling, and drugs. For the members of the Hong Kong Furen Literary Society, who were mainly intellectuals and property owners, this completely lowered the level of revolution and turned them from revolutionaries into triad members.

Therefore, some intellectuals began to withdraw from the activities of the Revive China Society, and Yang Quyun's departure further caused turmoil within the society. This greatly displeased Sun Yat-sen and other key members of the Revive China Society, and Sun Yat-sen wrote to Yang Quyun several times, trying to win him back. However, Yang Quyun politely declined and began working for the Workers' Party in Wuhan.

Meanwhile, Zhao Fengchang also took Zhang Zhidong's consultation on the New Policies very seriously, and he quickly sent back a long telegram of several thousand words. Since he was temporarily assigned to the Wuchang Telegraph Bureau, sending telegrams was free. In the telegram, he analyzed the current situation for Zhang Zhidong, arguing that utilizing Germany and Britain to salvage some of China's rights and interests, especially the power to set tariffs, was the most urgent matter. If tariffs were completely controlled by foreigners, then the imperial court would truly become a foreigner's court.

Chapter 90 Night Talk

In early August, Kawahara Yoichi received a letter delivered by a special courier from Tokyo. After reading the letter, he sat quietly in his office for an afternoon, and then invited Togo Masamichi to his office for a heart-to-heart talk that evening.

Kawahara Yoichi had prepared a bottle of sake and a plate of shredded squid in his office. As soon as he entered, Togo Masamichi couldn't help but smile and ask, "Does my senior have some good news to tell me today?"

Kawahara shook his head, poured Togo a glass of wine, and said, "It's not exactly a happy occasion. Do you know how I became the principal?"

Togo Masamichi paused for a moment, as this topic was not easy to respond to. Seeing this, Kawahara picked up his wine glass, smiled, and said, "Because I oppose going to war with Russia, and I also oppose the planning of the Six-Six Fleet."

I have always believed that the navy should focus more on its own shipbuilding capabilities. Simply buying warships from Britain or Germany will not make us a true naval power.

However, at the time, Lord Saigo trusted Yamamoto more, so I was transferred from the Naval General Staff to the Naval Academy to avoid hindering the navy's development plans.

Togo Masamichi could only sigh, then picked up his glass and downed it in one gulp to brush off the topic. He then picked up the bottle and poured a glass for Kawahara.

Kawahara looked at the sake in his cup and said with an ambiguous emotion, "I originally thought that Yamamoto had already won. After all, the last ship of the Six-Six Fleet had already been launched. At this point, anyone who still denies the Six-Six Fleet is slapping Saigo in the face."

Furthermore, the Six-Six Fleet, built at such great expense, wouldn't be satisfactory to the public if it weren't used to fight the Russians. Therefore, the Russo-Japanese War was quite logical.

What could Togo Masamichi say? He could only down another cup of wine and swallow the words he wanted to say. Kawahara, however, didn't want Togo to respond. He simply said to himself, "I just didn't expect that, besides Yamamoto, there would be another person in this world who could persuade Lord Saigo. Even make Lord Saigo reject the Six-Six Fleet he supported. So things have suddenly become interesting."

Togo really didn't want to discuss such a dangerous topic with Kawahara. He wasn't going against Minister Yamamoto, and in the long run, he still had a bright future. So he had to interrupt Kawahara's mutterings and say, "Senior, what is it you wanted to talk to me about today?"

Kawahara looked up at him and said, "Lord Saigo believes I am more suited to work in the Military Command, so I will probably be leaving the school in a few months. Lord Saigo wants me to recommend a suitable candidate to take over as principal. So I would like to hear your opinion on the school."

Togo was somewhat taken aback, and blurted out, "Why so suddenly? I'm sorry, senpai, that's not what I meant..."

Kawahara waved his hand dismissively and said, "It's nothing. I was surprised myself. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that many people in the Navy had been transferred to the reserves this time, freeing up a lot of positions, I wouldn't have had this opportunity."

Upon hearing Kawahara's words, Togo immediately realized that the turmoil within the Navy over the "Soldiers' Rescript" had ultimately turned into a team issue. Saigo Tsugumichi, who had already begun to relinquish control over personnel matters within the Navy, suddenly intervened and placed a group of people into the reserves.

This incident not only dealt a heavy blow to the Yamamoto faction, which had already begun to dominate within the navy, but also left other factions at a loss, wondering why Lord Saigo would suddenly start purging the navy.

Togo Masamichi's information channels were still somewhat limited, so he couldn't figure out Saigo Tsurumichi's true intentions. Seeing that Kawahara wanted to discuss this with him, he immediately became interested. After pouring Kawahara another cup, Togo tentatively asked, "What exactly does Lord Saigo mean? Does he really have a problem with Minister Yamamoto?"

Kawahara shook his head and said, "Lord Saigo doesn't really have any opinion on Yamamoto, but he seems to have quite a few objections to the current direction of the navy. The generals who are being transferred to retirement this time are basically of two types: those who support the army's continental policy and those who stubbornly believe that the navy belongs to the Emperor."

Togo frowned and said, "I can understand the part about not supporting the Army's continental policy. After all, if we were to go to war with Russia, the Navy would face far greater risks than the Army. But what does the second point mean?"

Kawahara lowered his voice slightly and said, "The Emperor is the symbol of the Empire, so the Navy must obey the Emperor's command without a doubt. However, this Empire was created by the Army and Navy together, and the Navy must not forget this. Anyone who forgets this will turn the Navy into a vassal of the Army, which is clearly what Lord Saigo wants to avoid."

Togo also solemnly said, "That makes sense. This empire was founded by the navy, so the army can't be allowed to boss the navy around. It seems that the kid has really won over Lord Saigo's heart."

At this point, Instructor Togo suddenly realized something and looked at Kawahara, saying, "Senior, you wanted to talk to me today because you intend for me to continue supporting this kid?"

Kawahara leaned back in his armchair and said, "Support? No, it's more like taking sides. Do you know what this kid's research project is this time?"

Togo Masamichi's lips twitched, and he nodded, saying, "I know. His topic this time is what kind of navy Japan needs. Judging from this, he's determined to be at odds with Minister Yamamoto."

Kawahara got up and walked to his desk, then took out a report from the drawer and handed it to Togo, saying, "Take a look, this is the latest research report."

They initially concluded that the Japanese Navy's control area should be centered on the South China Sea, covering the central Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean regions. Based on this conclusion, the initial concept for establishing the navy was that it needed a light cruiser fleet suitable for tropical waters, a torpedo boat fleet adapted to archipelago waters, and a moderately sized battleship squadron.

According to their view, this meant a regional maritime control fleet combining conventional force, near-shore defense capabilities, and decisive combat power. In other words, it aimed to ensure Japan could maneuver against the main fleet in the South Pacific islands and suppress the opposing colonial fleet.

After flipping through a few pages of the report, Togo understood and looked at Kawahara, saying, "Isn't this just using Britain as a hypothetical enemy? We have to be extremely cautious even with the Russian fleet, yet now we're going to use Britain as our opponent. Only a madman could come up with such a plan."

Kawahara nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, that's what I think too. So I handed the report to Lord Saigo, and then Lord Saigo gave me a reply."

Togo calmly looked at Kawahara, who finally continued, "Lord Saigo believes that although this plan is crazy, it is not illegal to plan it, so let this kid study it."

Togo looked at Kawahara in surprise and said, "Study it? How can we study it when there is such a huge gap in strength? Compared with the strength of the British Royal Fleet, we are like a three-year-old child, completely unable to fight back."

Kawahara nodded and said, "That's what I think too. But now there's a problem: what if this kid actually comes up with something?"

Togo looked at Kawahara with some puzzlement and said, "What do you mean? Even if this kid comes up with something, it doesn't seem to have much to do with us."

Kawahara looked at Togo meaningfully and said, "Without the school's support, what would this kid use to do his research? At his request, the next research project requires offering several special courses to the members of the Naval Research Conference. This is the school's additional support for the Naval Research Conference."

At this moment, Togo finally understood that Kawahara had summoned him today to share the responsibility. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Does the school have to support him? We can't just ignore it?"

Kawahara poured himself another glass of wine, sighed, and said, "But Lord Saigo is still waiting to see the research results. If we ignore it, it will be seen as a lack of concern for the future of the navy. Do you really not care about the future of the navy?"

That's utter nonsense. He's already a Rear Admiral; who wouldn't care about the Navy's future? But Togo only dared to curse inwardly. He knew he had no choice; if he didn't care about the Navy's future, he certainly wouldn't have gotten the position of Commandant.

After a long silence, Togo could only ask, "What are the chances that this kid can get results?"

Kawahara understood Togo's unspoken meaning: if Hayashi Shinji couldn't produce any results, the conflict between them and Yamamoto wouldn't escalate. While for him, the relationship with Yamamoto was beyond repair, so it didn't matter, Togo clearly didn't want to offend the second-generation leader of the Navy.

Kawahara put down his glass and thought for a while before saying, "If it were anyone else, I don't think even giving them 20 years would yield any results. But with this kid, you can never guess what angle he'll look at a problem from. I can only say it's fifty-fifty."

Togo picked up his sake glass and downed it in one gulp. He then gripped the glass tightly, pondering for a long time before finally saying, "Nanyang, they advocate the Southern Expansion theory. No wonder the old Tokugawa faction is active again; aren't they the main supporters of this theory? How can we possibly infiltrate the areas occupied by America and Britain? But I'm still willing to take the gamble. If they really do manage to research something, the navy can't just ignore it..."

Kawahara raised his glass to Togo and said, "At least, it's not a bad thing for the Navy."

Chapter 91 Change

When Abe Isoo was approached by a representative from the Naval Academy, he initially thought the representative had come to the wrong person, since he had no connection with the military and his research was of no use to them.

But when the other party explained their purpose and expressed their desire to invite him to give a lecture at the Etajima Naval Academy, he finally looked at them in shock and said, "Has the Navy made a mistake? I have always advocated that all humans are brothers and sisters. To achieve international peace, we must first abolish armaments."

The representative's eyes were somewhat fixed, but he still said firmly, "The Navy wants to hear your thoughts on this topic. Professor Abe only needs to go to Eta Island for one or two days each month to give lectures. The Navy will reimburse your round-trip travel expenses. As for the lecture fee, we can also discuss it. The Navy is willing to sign a lecture contract with you until the end of the year."

Abe Isoo was still somewhat undecided, because he didn't know what the navy was really up to. But then the navy representative said, "Don't you have a student named Hayashi Shin-yi?"

Abe Isoo nodded subconsciously and said, "Yes, I taught him German. I heard he has already been admitted to the Etajima Naval Academy?"

The representative said with a sigh of relief, "Then that's it. Your students recommended you to the school, believing that your scholarship could bring about some new changes to the school."

Abe Isoo looked at the other person in disbelief and said, "He's just a freshman, right? When did the atmosphere at the Naval Academy become so free that students can choose their own teachers?"

The representative's expression was somewhat blank, but he still defended the school, saying, "Our school naturally does not pursue a free academic atmosphere, but we do not hinder students' free pursuit of knowledge..."

Abe Isoo eventually agreed to the Naval Academy's request, because he really wanted to see what his student had been doing at the Naval Academy that had managed to get the school to invite him, a pacifist, to give a lecture.

On the morning of August 3, Abe Isoo arrived at Etajima. After the school arranged for him to stay, someone soon knocked on his door to visit him. Upon opening the door, he saw Hayashi Shin-yi, dressed in a white military uniform, standing outside. After looking him over, he said, "You do look quite spirited. It seems the food at the Naval Academy is pretty good. Come in and talk."

Lin Xinyi thanked him and followed Abe Isoo into the room. The two sat down and chatted for a while, mainly about why Lin Xinyi had chosen to attend the Naval Academy. Lin Xinyi couldn't reveal the promise he made to Saigo, so he attributed it to his sister's wishes.

Just as Abe Isoo was expressing his regret, believing that his personality was not suitable for the military, Hayashi Shin-yi changed the subject, saying, "The reason we invited the teacher here through the school is actually for the members of the naval seminar to give lectures."

Seeing that Lin Xinyi had gotten to the point, Abe Isoo immediately became serious as well. "Speaking of classes, I'm still completely clueless. I don't even know what we're going to talk about. And speaking of which, what kind of organization is this Naval Seminar?"

Lin Xinyi briefly explained the origins of the naval seminar to Abe, and then sincerely said, "These people have nothing but war and honor in their minds; they know absolutely nothing about the reality of the world. I think it is a terrible thing for Japan to let such people control the military. The navy is Japan's symbol to the outside world, and I think naval officers should be made aware of the most basic operating rules of this world. We can't let them think that warships and cannons can solve all problems."

Upon hearing this, Abe Isoo fell into deep thought. After a long while, he said, "Your idea is good, but is it really feasible? The military sets up schools to turn these people into obedient killers. Would they allow me to preach pacifism here?"

After thinking for a while, Lin Xinyi said, "In my opinion, the Japanese are inherently weak. That's why they like to show their strength in front of the weak, but advocate pacifism in front of the strong."

The military doesn't dislike pacifism; the important thing is who you talk to about it. You see, among the British, there isn't a single true warmonger in the navy—such people only exist in the Edo period when people knew nothing about foreign countries.

Inviting a teacher to explain socialism, from a certain perspective, means how to compete with a powerful enemy under the guise of pacifism. If the teacher adheres to this viewpoint when explaining socialism and pacifist ideas, at least some people will listen, and others, even if they don't, won't vehemently oppose it…

While Hayashi Shin-yi and Abe Isoo were discussing how to explain socialist ideas to the members of the naval seminar, the situation in China underwent new changes.

The German Consul General in Hankou met with Zhang Zhidong's representative no less than ten times in July and August, and also reported to the newly appointed German Minister, Mummer, several times by telegram. In the telegram, he told Mummer: "Unlike the Shandong officials and gentry who are wary of our country, a group of intellectuals who are close to Germany has emerged here. If we can make good use of these Chinese intellectuals, then Germany will undoubtedly have a solid group of supporters in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, which will be of great benefit to the Empire's cause in the East."

Besides the changing perceptions of German diplomats towards Wuhan, Deutsche Bank, the German commercial bank with the closest ties to both financial and industrial capital, also showed increasing interest in the city. This was because the Governor-General of Huguang had proposed a comprehensive plan for the urban redevelopment and industrial development of Wuhan, seeking assistance from German banks and industrial capital.

At this time, Deutsche Bank was controlled by the Siemens family and had been expanding overseas markets for German industrial capital. Deutsche Bank's presence could be seen in the steel industry in the United States and in the major railway project connecting Hamburg, Berlin, Constantinople and Baghdad to the Persian Gulf.

As early as the initial outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion, Deutsche Bank had actually received a proposal from Wuhan regarding cooperation on the construction of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge and the renovation of the Hanyang Ironworks. However, because Wilhelm II and the army were looking forward to a war to conquer the East, Deutsche Bank had no choice but to shelve the project. After all, in Germany, the army was the true master.

However, as the war in the East reached a stalemate, General Waldersee, though serving as the supreme commander of the Allied forces in the East, found the war nearing its end by the time he arrived in China. His subsequent expedition from Beijing into the heart of Shanxi also ended in a shameful failure, though this defeat was not reported in German newspapers.

However, there is no doubt that the German military recognized the problem: it was clearly impossible to conquer a continental country with hundreds of millions of people in the East with only tens of thousands of men. The Boer War, launched by the British, had lasted for nearly three years, and the British had occupied all the Boer towns, but the war showed no signs of ending. The Germans obviously should not get bogged down in an even bigger quagmire in the East.

As a result, German newspapers began to tone down their rhetoric, shifting from the initial narrative of a war to conquer the East to a war to defend Germany's honor. In essence, they had abandoned their plans to conquer China in the same way they had conquered Africa.

At this point, German capitalists finally had the opportunity to speak on Eastern policy. Of course, this opportunity was also due to the fact that the East was slow to sign a peace treaty. If the Chinese had signed as readily as before, the German capitalists would not have had time to manipulate public opinion to advocate for their own interests.

At this point, General Waldersee, in order to defend his own and Germany's honor, stubbornly limited the reparations to 15 billion gold marks. However, after seeing the new proposal put forward by the Governor-General of Hubei and Hunan, German capitalists became less interested in the punitive reparations from the Chinese, because the reparations were not entirely for Germany, but were to be shared among eleven nations. In other words, Germany's insistence only benefited other countries, while it bore the brunt of Chinese anger.

However, the new plan proposed by the Governor-General of Huguang, while requiring all countries to reduce their indemnities, involved China placing orders with Germany and Britain for 9000 to 1 million taels of silver for industrial goods and machinery. This was clearly more beneficial to German industry. Furthermore, the Chinese hoped that the German financial sector would help China establish a central bank to manage national debt and develop its domestic industry.

German bankers and industrial capitalists immediately sprang into action, launching a massive propaganda campaign. On one hand, they accused the Russians of disgracing the civilized world in this operation, claiming that they had not only robbed innocent Chinese people but also adopted a policy of massacre against the innocent, namely the Hailanpao Incident and the Sixty-Four Villages East of the River Incident.

German newspapers used the crimes committed by the Russians to cover up the crimes committed by the Germans in China, and said in the newspapers: "The actions of the Russians make the Allied forces look less like they are punishing Chinese thugs and more like a group of robbers breaking into someone's house and ransacking it, trying to rob the Chinese of their meager property. Germany should not follow the Russians and degenerate into another robber."

On the other hand, German industry began to recount the friendly gestures of the southeastern provinces of China towards the Germans, and pointed out that not all Chinese were ignorant; there were also intelligent people among them who aspired to the civilized world. For example, the Governor-General of Huguang hoped to establish closer relations with Germany, allowing German civilization to blossom into industry in the Far East.

The decade from 1890 to 1900 was a period of rapid industrial development in Europe. The two main countries that received European industrial exports were Russia and the United States. However, as the industries of Russia and the United States continued to develop, their markets gradually closed to foreign countries. Meanwhile, the scale of European industrial capacity was nearly one-third larger than it had been ten years earlier, which led to an industrial crisis in Western European countries.

German industry naturally wouldn't let go of this opportunity of China proactively opening its market to German industry. Under the lobbying of capitalists, Wilhelm II's attitude also began to change, and he no longer tried to make punishing China the target of war.

Chapter 92 Change

The political changes in Germany quickly reached China. The German military commander Waldersee, who had previously held the power of negotiation, had to hand over the negotiation power to diplomats. German Minister to China, Mümmer, was finally freed from military interference and began to readjust the negotiation methods in accordance with the calls of the German business community and industry.

In a private meeting with Li Hongzhang in mid-August, Mümmer put forward Germany's new negotiating position: "...Our people are disappointed with the current relationship between Germany and China, but there are still some in our country who are trying to maintain the good relationship between Germany and China and prevent it from being damaged by the death of Minister Ketteler."

Li Hongzhang welcomed Minister Mummer's new stance, expressed his apologies once again for Minister Ketteler's death, and asked the minister how he could reverse Germany's negative perception of China.