Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 21

Naotaro Ominato suddenly stood up and directly rebuked Lin Xinyi: "Are you crazy? As a marine cadet, how dare you slander the Navy like this?"

Naonori Fujita also stood up and said, "Cadet Lin, isn't your topic a bit off-topic for the purpose of the naval seminar? The future of the navy should not be built on criticism of the current navy."

Lin Xinyi glanced at the senior students who stood up to refute him, and calmly replied, "The topic of the seminar is not necessarily to study the determination of the topic, but also to study the negation of the topic."

If you, my seniors, can refute the data and examples I have presented with data and examples, that would be even better. Based on the development history of the Royal Navy, I believe you, my seniors, understand better than I do the fact that every instance of the Royal Navy's strength has been built upon a rejection of its past.

Therefore, I feel that while the criticisms from my seniors are intended to protect the Navy, they lack genuine care and concern for it. I refuse to accept your objections.

At this moment, some of the freshmen couldn't help but speak up in support of Lin Xinyi, "I think what Lin said is correct. The 66th Fleet, which cost so much money to build, should be evaluated. What's the point of just touting the strength of the 66th Fleet to the public? Isn't the 66th Fleet's target for defense against other naval powers, rather than those countries without navies?"

The senior students were in a dilemma. They were not clueless freshmen. The Six-Six Fleet was the masterpiece of the current Minister of the Navy, Yamamoto Gonnohyōe. To deny the Six-Six Fleet was to deny Minister Yamamoto's achievements, and they did not want to be remembered by Minister Yamamoto for such a thing.

Of course, this kind of thing can't be said out loud. It was originally just a student club activity. If they steered the activity in a political direction, the school would definitely suspect their political leanings.

Hearing the growing murmurs of discussion among the new students, Fujita Naonori knew that if he didn't change the subject, the discussion about the Six-Six Fleet would really become a public opinion issue. So he changed his tune and said, "Cadet Lin, the topic you raised is hardly worth discussing. After all, we are not the parties involved in a first-class naval power. Everyone has their own opinion, so no one can convince anyone else, because there is no standard for victory or defeat."

Lin Xinyi smiled and replied to the seniors, "I have considered your concerns. Without standards, it is indeed difficult to reach a unified conclusion. Therefore, whether the 66 Fleet is an expensive toy fleet or not, the final standard we need to judge is where the 66 Fleet's main ships stand in the fleets of first-class naval powers."

For a naval power, there are three capital ships: one on the high seas, one on the slipway, and one on the blueprints. What we need to do is take the strongest battleship in the Sixth Fleet, the Mikasa, and then, from the perspective of the Royal Navy, comprehensively evaluate the combat capabilities of this warship, and then deduce the combat capabilities of the entire Sixth Fleet…”

Chapter 72 Bet

Lin Xinyi's answer was indeed impeccable. The Mikasa was the last battleship of the Sixth Fleet, and it was only announced that it had been launched this year. It is said that it is already quite close to the performance of European capital ships.

The only question raised by senior students like Naonori Fujita was, "The performance of the Royal Navy's current and future capital ships is verifiable, but how do you estimate the performance of the Royal Navy's capital ships based on the design drawings? You can't just randomly fill in some numbers for comparison, can you?"

Lin Hsin-yi responded to this question by saying, "The seniors are right. Therefore, we will conduct a series of deductions to arrive at a more logical conclusion. If we cannot reach this conclusion, it means that this research topic has failed. As the proposer of the topic, I will take a break during the next topic selection and discussion and only do service work for the community."

Ominato immediately settled his words, saying, "You said it yourself, so let's wait and see how you deduce a logical paper battleship."

Lin Xinyi immediately replied, "So, seniors, do you mean you're planning to take over the performance comparison work between active capital ships?"

While Ominato hesitated, Fujita nodded and said, "We can do this comparison; we have courses on warship performance anyway. But don't get your hopes up. Even in the Royal Navy, the Mikasa would be considered a second-rate battleship. The difference in warship performance between the two sides isn't as big as you think."

Lin Xinyi disagreed, saying, "It is precisely because the British were willing to help the navy build the Mikasa that I am certain that the British must have a brand-new design to improve the performance of battleships. Exported warships must be at least two or one generation inferior to their own warships, otherwise wouldn't they be funding their rivals?"

Fujita was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Since you're so confident, why don't we make a bet? If you can complete this project, then your offense against your seniors will be forgiven. But if you fail, then you should formally apologize to your seniors in front of the whole school."

The new members all looked at Lin Xinyi, while Lin Xinyi looked at the other senior students and asked, "Does Senior Ominato think so too?"

After thinking for a moment, Ominato said, "What the seniors say is as good as their word, they won't go back on their word. But if you try to renege on your debt after losing, don't blame the seniors for being impolite."

Ignoring Ominato's threat, Lin Xinyi walked up to Fujita, extended his hand, and greeted him, "Then please guide me, senior."

Fujita remained silent for a few seconds before finally extending his hand to shake hands with Lin Xinyi, thus establishing their agreement. The club then divided into two groups: one led by the senior members, comparing the performance of existing British and Japanese main warships and estimating the performance of new British warships; the other led by Lin Xinyi, focusing on the design direction and performance estimation of Britain's latest generation of main warships.

Although the freshmen knew that following Lin Xinyi's group probably wouldn't yield any results, none of them wanted to put up with the seniors' bad temper. So Fujita readily said, "In that case, these people can all join your group. We seniors are fewer in number, so we can just find a place to meet up. This activity room is yours. However, if you don't produce any results, it would be a real shame to let your seniors down..."

With the group assignments completed, the morning's assembly came to an end, and the senior students left. Inside the activity room, Inoue then asked Lin Xinyi, "Xinyi, are you confident? If we bow down to these seniors, our future will be difficult."

The other freshmen looked at Lin Xinyi with concern, but seeing this, he immediately smiled and said, "Don't worry, I already have an idea. Let's take advantage of the Lunar New Year holiday and copy down all the information in the library, from sailing ships to ironclad ships..."

As the senior students left the activity room, Ominato said to Fujita with some concern, "Were we too lenient with these freshmen? What if that Hayashi guy actually manages to get the stuff out? Wouldn't we be embarrassed?"

Fujita Naonori stopped and turned to look at Ominato seriously, asking, "You don't really think he can do it, do you?"

Naotaro Ominato really wanted to say that this kid didn't seem nervous at all, so he might actually be able to do it, but suddenly he noticed that the other senior students were looking at him strangely, so he immediately shut his mouth.

Fujita Naonori then added, "If this kid can deduce the design blueprints for Britain's next generation of main warships, then he shouldn't be studying here; he could be an instructor here."

Ominato then realized why his companions were looking at him strangely. Clearly, they didn't think this was a task that a freshman could complete. No, even among the school's instructors, there wasn't anyone with such talent.

As Lin Xinyi and the other freshmen walked out of the activity room, they suddenly felt a chill on their faces, and someone next to them exclaimed with delight, "It's snowing!"

Hearing such excited shouts, the students from the north all showed disdainful expressions. Could such snow pellets really be called snow? It was an insult to their northern snow. However, Lin Xinyi reached out to catch some falling snow pellets, wondering how Takenouchi and Ogawa would scold him for suddenly ending up at the naval academy.

In fact, it was someone who was cursing Lin Xinyi, namely Ogawa Heikichi. He had only let Lin Xinyi go out to relax, but this person ended up being sent to the Naval Academy, which greatly disrupted Ogawa Heikichi's plan.

On August 25, Hirobumi Ito published the declaration and platform of the Seiyukai (Constitutional Seiyukai), announcing the establishment of the party. The formation of this political party broke down the clear-cut boundaries between the feudal clans and the people's party, making the Seiyukai a combination of bureaucrats and elites, and thus gaining the support of the Mitsui zaibatsu (conglomerate).

Realizing the unstoppable power of the Constitutional Seiyukai, Yamagata immediately approached Ito, expressing his desire to step down as Prime Minister and requesting Ito to succeed him in forming a cabinet. Yamagata's strategic retreat was also related to the cabinet's diplomatic stance on the North China Incident. Although, under Ito Hirobumi's intervention, Japan adopted a stance of showing weakness and morally protecting China, this exacerbated tensions between Russia and Britain.

However, the fact that Russia had seized Manchuria was already established, and the Russians were not content with just Manchuria; they were also unwilling to concede anything regarding the Korean Peninsula. This placed Yamagata Aritomo in a very awkward position. According to his own lines of interest and sovereignty, he could not make any concessions to the Russians, but Japan was not yet ready to go to war with Russia.

Although Yamagata himself has always had a tendency toward military adventurism, such adventures only begin when there is hope of victory, rather than acting blindly when there is no hope at all.

Yamagata was well aware that the Russians knew he was a hardliner on Russia, and therefore, as long as he was in office, Russian vigilance towards Japan would be at its highest. At this time, Japan needed a prime minister who advocated for a more conciliatory approach to Russia to ease Russian suspicion and facilitate Japan's war preparations. Ito was clearly the most suitable candidate to succeed him as prime minister.

In October, Yamagata resigned as prime minister, and Ito Hirobumi quickly received an imperial edict from the Emperor ordering him to form a cabinet. In November, Ito began organizing the new cabinet, and Kato Takaaki became the new foreign minister. For the Constitutional Seiyukai party, there couldn't be better news; having just formed a new party, their president had become prime minister, instantly making them the ruling party.

This is where the problem arises. The party system in Britain and the United States has an inherent problem: the "official hunting" system. When the opposition party becomes the ruling party, the president has to hand over key government positions to powerful party members, which is what Americans call "spoofing."

The problem was that Ito's appointment to form a cabinet at this time was not based on party support, but on his status as a veteran of the feudal clan. If he were to hand over key government positions to party members who had not contributed significantly, it would inevitably provoke dissatisfaction among the elite bureaucrats. Thus, the Rikken Seiyukai (Constitutional Political Friends Association), barely a few months after its founding, began to embroil itself in internal strife because of Ito's cabinet formation. Perhaps this was also Yamagata's purpose in advising Ito to form a cabinet: to warn him not to place too much importance on party politics.

Ogawa Heikichi was also a party member trying to secure a position in this environment, but it seemed Ito hadn't reserved any place for him, which made him regret letting Hayashi Shin-yi go out to relax at this time. However, initially, he didn't want to rely on Hayashi Shin-yi's channels to communicate with Ito, as he felt he had his own channels.

Chapter 73 The Meaning of Alliances?

To Ogawa Heikichi's surprise, Ito Hirobumi formed a political party, but it still operated under a hierarchical, top-down feudal system. Within the party, he demanded that everyone obey him as the president and established the following rules:

"The selection of ministers is based on the Emperor's supreme power, and their cabinet should not be opposed on the grounds that they were selected from outside the party."

"The Cabinet is the office that assists the Emperor and is also the office that is responsible for politics. Although party members are elected by ministers, they should not have any say in the matter."

"Our goal is to select capable personnel for various administrative departments and reform administration. We should select them fairly from outside political parties, and not seek appointment based on party affiliation."

"When opinions on current affairs are publicly expressed by party members, the president shall make the decision."

The formulation of this series of party regulations all illustrate one thing: the Constitutional Political Friends Association is just a new faction disguised as a political party. Members are required to be infinitely loyal and patriotic to the party, but they have no right to discuss the party's political ideology or express their opinions outside the party. Even for members who aim to get promoted and make money, whether they can get promoted and make money is not determined by their own contribution to the party, but by the president's idea.

Therefore, Ogawa Heikichi's plan to contact friends and family to support his rise within the party ended before it even began. This also means that his social interactions within the party over the past six months have been a complete waste of time, because the selection of party members has nothing to do with their recommendations, but only with their proximity to President Ito.

This greatly disappointed ordinary party members like Ogawa. Their purpose in joining the Constitutional Political Friendship Association was to promote their own people, not to continue serving as fodder for politicians with vast political resources. Simply put, they needed a pathway for political novices to enter politics, not to continue being lackeys of the party's upper echelons at the bottom.

However, compared to the anger and dissatisfaction of other ordinary party members, Xiao Chuan was frustrated because he originally had another path, but due to his momentary pride, he didn't have time to use it, and now the navy had cut it off. At first, he really didn't understand why Lin Xinyi would go to the Shanghai Naval Academy, until he received Lin Xinyi's letter.

Ogawa Heikichi could only complain about the navy while writing a letter to comfort Hayashi Nobuyoshi, urging him to be patient. He also took the opportunity to visit Ito Hirobumi. However, Prime Minister Ito did not receive him personally, but instead had his secretary, Mori, meet with him. Mori expressed that he would pay attention to Hayashi Nobuyoshi's decision to attend the Shanghai Naval Academy, but then offered Ogawa the position of Vice Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, hoping that he would refrain from commenting on Hayashi Nobuyoshi's matter for the time being.

Ogawa Heikichi immediately understood; the Navy must have reached some kind of deal with Ito. He suddenly realized that perhaps Hayashi Shinichi's value was greater than he had imagined. During this conversation, Ogawa accepted Ito's offer, but he didn't attribute it to Ito; instead, he saw it as payment for keeping him quiet.

As for Ito Hirobumi, who had just successfully formed a cabinet, he certainly couldn't afford to concern himself with such trivial matters at this moment, because British diplomacy had undergone changes unseen in decades. This led both Ito Hirobumi and the newly appointed Foreign Minister Kato Takaaki to focus their attention on this astonishing event.

On November 12, 1900, the Marquess of Salisbury, devastated by the death of his wife and his own health condition, announced his resignation as Foreign Secretary, and the position was taken over by the War Secretary, the Marquess of Henry Lansdowne.

After taking office, Lansdowne presented the Ito cabinet with a great gift. In a private conversation with Hayashi Takashi, the Japanese minister to Britain who came to congratulate him, he proposed a plan for a trilateral alliance between Britain, Japan and Germany to stabilize world peace.

The Japanese were overjoyed, ecstatic, and even moved to tears by the suggestions made by the newly appointed British Foreign Secretary. Kato Takaaki immediately sought an audience with Ito Hirobumi, congratulating the Prime Minister and saying, "At the time of Your Excellency's cabinet reshuffle, the British Foreign Secretary's release of such encouraging news to our country is not only an affirmation of our nation's standing but also a testament to Your Excellency's respect..."

Ito Hirobumi, however, wasn't as overjoyed as Foreign Minister Kato appeared. After all, Kato Takaaki was only in his early forties, a true young man in the political world, and it was normal for him to be unable to hide his emotions. But even Ito Hirobumi himself, though outwardly pretending to be nonchalant, had mistakenly signed the wrong name on the document he was signing.

From burning down the British consulate in his youth to witnessing the new world after going to Britain, Ito Hirobumi's life was essentially dedicated to one thing: ensuring Japan was no longer prey for the great powers. The British proposal for an alliance can be seen as fulfilling a goal he and his comrades had set for themselves in their youth.

"...Britain has a long-standing diplomatic tradition of glorious isolation, yet it has now proposed an alliance with our country, demonstrating the great success of our Meiji Restoration..."

Kato Takaaki was excitedly telling Ito Hirobumi how glorious this shift in British foreign policy was for Japan when Ito Hirobumi couldn't help but interrupt him, saying, "To deal with the First French Republic, the British formed two anti-French coalitions; to deal with the First French Empire, the British formed five anti-French coalitions; in the Crimean War, the British allied with France and the Ottomans. Therefore, Britain's foreign policy has never been about gloriously isolating itself, but rather about gloriously isolating its enemies."

Just as Kato Takaaki was getting carried away, this cold water was poured on him, leaving him somewhat confused about Ito's attitude. So he couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you interested in the olive branch extended by the British?"

Ito closed the document in front of him and set it aside. Then, he placed his hands on the table and looked at the Foreign Minister sitting opposite him, saying, "Not interested? No, I'm very interested. But what interests me is why Britain would propose the Anglo-Japanese-German Alliance at this time? Who exactly is the target of this alliance? Do you know?"

Kato Takaaki replied without hesitation, "The Marquis of Lancedon's intention in establishing the Tripartite Alliance is naturally to counter the Franco-Russian Alliance."

Ito stared at the other man in silence for a long time. He felt that perhaps Hayashi Shinichi was more suitable to be his foreign minister. A Japanese foreign minister who believed whatever the British said was really not suitable to lead Japan's diplomacy.

He could only shake his head and say, "If it's just about dealing with the Franco-Russian alliance, then Britain only needs to join the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy; there's no need to add Japan."

Kato also attempted to defend British foreign policy, stating, "But the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy couldn't drive the Russians back to Europe from the Far East, nor could it help the British Empire safeguard its interests in the Far East."

Ito sighed and shook his head, saying, "Once the Franco-Russian alliance is defeated, Russia won't even be able to protect its homeland. What power will it have left to expand into the Far East? Is trying to drive Russia back to Europe really to defeat the Franco-Russian alliance, or to maintain a balance of power in Europe between the Franco-Russian alliance and the Tripartite Pact (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy)?"

Kato was speechless. Itoh then continued, "The Anglo-Japanese-German Tripartite Pact proposed by the British appeared to be aimed at Russia, but its actual purpose was to dismantle the Tripartite Pact of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy; to have Japan fight Russia in the Far East in place of Britain, thereby forcing Russia to continue its development in the Balkans and fight the Germans to the death; and finally, the British set their sights on the United States."

"The United States? How could the Tripartite Pact be related to the United States?" Kato was somewhat confused. In his eyes, the United States was actually in a similar position to Japan, both outside the European sphere. It was just that the United States was a white country, so it was more recognized by Europeans. However, the United States had almost no major conflicts with Europe because the United States was even more geographically distant than Japan and could not interfere in the affairs of Eurasia.

Hirobumi Ito calmly stated, "Once the Tripartite Alliance takes shape, Russia will be forced to focus its main efforts on confronting Germany in Europe. This means that the balance of power in Europe will be restored, leaving the United States as an outsider. If Britain doesn't seize this opportunity to suppress the United States, does it want to wait for the balance of power in Europe to be disrupted again, allowing the United States to stab it in the back?"

Therefore, the true target of the Tripartite Pact between Britain, Japan, and Germany was actually the United States. For Japan, this alliance was undoubtedly the best option; if war broke out, the eastern and western parts of the United States could be divided into two countries, creating a balance of power on the American continent. This would guarantee the security of both Britain and Japan.

Our goal should be a tripartite alliance between Britain, Japan, and Germany, leading to war between Britain and the United States and the dismemberment of America. We shouldn't be celebrating a worthless Anglo-Japanese alliance…”

Chapter 74 Ito's Diplomatic Philosophy

Kato Takaaki was completely stunned by Ito Hirobumi's words. Although he was a top student who graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo, he did not follow the path of an elite bureaucrat. Instead, he joined Mitsubishi Corporation, then transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but soon entered the Ministry of Finance. As the son-in-law of Iwasaki Yataro, he was Mitsubishi's representative in the political world, and his political leanings were closer to those of Okuma Shigenobu.

Ōkuma Shigenobu had two main political stances: domestically, he pursued a steady democratic movement; internationally, he dedicated himself to revising unequal treaties to abolish extraterritoriality and establish tariff autonomy. To achieve his goal of revising these treaties, Ōkuma advocated an alliance with Britain and accepted British protection—this was Ōkuma's diplomatic policy.

Kato Takaaki had lived in Britain for several years, both as a representative of Mitsubishi Corporation and as a diplomat, so he had a deep affection for Britain and naturally believed that the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was a great thing for Japan. However, Ito's attitude was difficult for him to accept, yet he had no way to refute it.

Seeing the somewhat dazed look in the eyes of the Foreign Minister, Ito Hirobumi could only sigh inwardly. Indeed, Kato Takaaki was not actually suitable to serve as Japan's Foreign Minister at present. However, there was only one suitable candidate for the position: that young man who was not qualified to serve in office.

Kato is the most suitable candidate among those unsuitable for the position of Foreign Minister, and Ito had no other choice but to select him. This is because Kato is at least not a hardliner on Russia. Currently, there are only two types of diplomats in Japan: those who are wary of Russia and those who are hardliners on Russia, as well as Ito, who is afraid of Russia. Pro-Russian figures simply do not exist among diplomats.

Because Tsarist Russia had been constantly nagging about the status of the Korean Peninsula since the Sino-Japanese War, any diplomat advocating for Japan-Russia friendship would be politically eliminated by Tsarist Russia. Therefore, after the Triple Intervention and the return of Liaodong Peninsula, there were no more voices advocating for Japan-Russia friendship in Japan. Even veteran figures like Ito Hirobumi who tried to ease Japan-Russia relations were branded as Russophobic by the public; no one else dared to speak of pro-Russian positions.

In addition, after the Constitutional Seiyukai established ties with the Mitsui zaibatsu, Ito was unwilling to completely break with the Mitsubishi zaibatsu. Therefore, nominating Mitsui's son-in-law as foreign minister was also a kind of political compromise.

Of course, the reason Ito Hirobumi believes there is no qualified candidate for foreign minister in Japan right now is because his perspective has broadened. If it were a year ago, he wouldn't have thought Kato Takaaki was unqualified. Back then, even he himself didn't fully understand what Japanese diplomacy was.

Ultimately, Japan and Qing China were like brothers in misfortune in international diplomacy. Japan simply remembered what it felt like to be beaten, while the Qing Dynasty, relying on its larger size, didn't seem to care about being beaten by the great powers several times and didn't take diplomacy seriously until after the Sino-Japanese War.

However, Japan's understanding of the international situation and international order remained at the level of "respecting international law, respecting international law, respecting international law." It wasn't until Hayashi Shin-yi's several analyses of the international situation that Ito Hirobumi truly understood how the current international situation had changed.

To put it simply, Japan's current diplomacy should follow the assessment that the British Empire's power is beginning to decline and play both sides to gain the greatest benefit in diplomacy that stabilizes or undermines the international order, instead of continuing to blindly study how to abolish unequal treaties using the international law of nations.

When Hirobumi Itō viewed global events from the perspective of the British Empire's declining power, a clear diplomatic framework suddenly emerged. What he couldn't understand before about why different countries conducted their diplomacy in such a way became readily apparent.

Having reached this level of understanding, Ito Hirobumi was naturally dissatisfied with Kato Takaaki's complacency regarding the meager bait offered to Britain. However, he patiently offered some guidance, sharing his diplomatic strategies and hoping Kato would mature and assist him in handling diplomatic affairs effectively.

Kato pondered this deeply, but he still found it difficult to understand Ito Hirobumi's sudden shift in diplomatic philosophy. It was completely different from the diplomatic approach Ito had taken when he formed his cabinet last time. He could accept arguing with Ito about countermeasures against Russia, but he genuinely could not accept this completely unpredictable diplomatic plan.

Kato could only say to the Prime Minister, "Your Excellency, the differences between Britain and the United States are much smaller than those between Britain and Germany. It is also common for British nobles to marry American millionaire heirs. I find it hard to believe Your Excellency's bold conjecture. No matter how you look at it, Britain should unite with the United States to attack Germany, not the other way around. There is absolutely no reason for this."

Hirobumi Ito simply stared at him and said, "Just look at the number of battleships the Americans have on their slipways and the annual investment they make in naval construction, and you'll know that the size of the US Navy has exceeded its self-defense needs. So what is the purpose of their continued investment in building up the navy?"

Think about it again. Last June, the Germans passed the Second Naval Act, and today the British have proposed the Anglo-Japanese-German Tripartite Pact. What does this mean? It means that the British want to prevent Germany from developing its navy because Britain cannot tolerate a naval race among the great powers.

You believe the differences between Britain and the US are smaller than those between Britain and Germany? That's because both sides are tolerating each other. Why are they tolerating each other? Just think about why Yamagata is tolerating the Russians now, and you'll understand. If it's not preparation for war, then there's no need to tolerate other countries.

Kato's mind was in turmoil, but he finally nodded and said, "In any case, forming a tripartite alliance with the British will at least prevent the Russians from doing whatever they want in the East, which is a good thing for Japan."

Ito Hirobumi sighed and said, "I said that a tripartite alliance between Japan, Britain, and Germany would be the best outcome, but it might not come to pass. So we must strive for that outcome."

Kato was surprised again. He looked at Ito and said, "Well, it seems that Germany hasn't given any reply yet. Why are you so sure?"

Ito Hirobumi said, "Because of the current situation in Qing China, Russia has become a challenger to the established order. In the eyes of the Germans, the Anglo-Russian conflict has become greater than the German-Russian conflict, so the Germans have no expectations for this alliance at all. The Germans have finally waited for Russia to turn its power eastward, so why would they ally with the British to draw Russia's attention back to Europe?"

Kato felt even more confused and didn't bother to think about the international situation anymore. He simply asked Ito, "So, if Germany doesn't join the alliance, will Britain still ally with our country?"

Ito shook his head and said, "If Germany does not join the alliance, and we ally with Britain, it means we will have to fight Russia alone and take on the task of driving Russia back to Europe. However, in that case, Anglo-German relations will become tense, Anglo-American relations will ease, and our country will not gain any benefits from the Anglo-Japanese Alliance."

We should seize this opportunity to cultivate closer ties with Germany, maintain friendly relations with Britain but not form an alliance, and then force Britain to support Qing China, thereby drawing Russia's attention. Our country will then assess the intensity of the war between Russia and Qing China before deciding whether to intervene.

Kato finally had something to say about this deduction: "Let Britain support Qing China? That probably doesn't serve our interests. Whether Russia annexes China or China defeats Russia and becomes strong again, it means that a powerful continental power has emerged next to Japan. What should Japan do then?"

Ito nodded and said, “Yes, the strength of Russia or China in the East would exclude other countries’ special interests on the East Asian continent. But don’t forget, the Indian subcontinent is right next to China and Russia, which means that when this situation arises, the British, not us, will feel the most threatened.”

To counter this rising land power, Britain loosened its grip on Japan, allowing my country to project its power into Southeast Asia and the South China Sea. For us, this was a matter of survival against all odds. If the East Asian mainland had remained dominated by the invincible Qing Dynasty, why would the British have allowed Japan to extend its influence into Southeast Asia?

The treatment of a "watchdog" is based on the level of threat they pose, not on their loyalty to their master. The Anglo-Japanese Alliance was merely a shackle restricting Japan's actions; who would willingly wear it?

Kato fell silent. He longed to wear this shackle, or rather, many Japanese people outside this office wanted to wear it too. But he had to admit that Ito's words did indeed make a lot of sense.

Chapter 75 The British Minister's Ideas

After entering 1901, the situation in China became more complicated. British Minister to China, Sir John S. Satow, realized that although the Allied forces had driven the Qing government out of Beijing, the North China region, now free from government control, had become even more xenophobic.

Because Japan and the United States widely reported on the Allied Forces' killings and looting in Beijing and other places, it became known both in China and abroad that the Allied Forces' actual behavior was no different from that of bandits. Some Chinese intellectuals who had originally criticized the Boxers' ignorance from a civilized perspective began to sympathize with the people who participated in the Boxers and believed that this incident was caused by the church's interference in China's judiciary.

Meanwhile, the Southeast Protection Conference, composed of a group of Chinese social elites, began to unify public opinion in the South. These Chinese, citing the Southeast Mutual Protection Agreement, demanded that Britain and other countries fulfill their promises and not involve the southern provinces that had not participated in the Boxer Rebellion in the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion.

In fact, when the various countries were discussing the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion, the plenipotentiary ambassadors of Britain and Qing China were in agreement: to use a large indemnity to block Germany and Russia's claims to partition China. This was because, apart from Germany, Russia, and Japan, which had designs on Chinese territory, almost none of the other participating countries had much interest in Chinese territory.

Some of these countries have little interest in Chinese territory because they know they cannot hold onto it even if they do, since they do not have a strong army or navy that can be permanently stationed in China.

Britain was not interested in dividing China's territory because its interests extended across almost the entire country, and partitioning China would actually diminish those interests. The French, facing the threat of Germany, were unwilling to allow Russia to shift its focus eastward for the sake of a piece of Chinese land. The US Navy at that time dared not even operate freely in the Atlantic, let alone cross the Indian Ocean to defend its interests in China.

Even among Japan, Germany, and Russia, which harbored ambitions for Chinese territory, Japan naturally shifted to a self-preservationist stance due to Russia's occupation of Manchuria and its covetousness towards Korea. As for Germany, while it had designs on Chinese territory, its insufficient naval power hampered its ambitions. The Germans had just passed the Second Naval Law to protect their interests in the Far East, but until their navy was fully developed, their focus remained on consolidating their sphere of influence in Shandong, rather than expanding their colonies.

Ultimately, only the Russians had designs on Chinese territory and attempted to realize them. However, regarding the Russians' inescapable occupation of Manchuria, Sadao felt the Chinese deserved it.

In the past few years, Britain has been trying to support the Qing government in its confrontation with Russia. Although the Qing lost a war against Japan, the British believed that China, with its size, could not possibly be more cowardly than the Ottoman Empire. They believed that as long as the Qing rallied and learned from the Ottoman Empire to implement new policies, it would not be a problem for it to become an Ottoman Empire in the Far East that resisted Tsarist Russia.

However, the Qing government actually went so far as to flirt with the Russians and even signed a secret Sino-Russian treaty granting the Russians the right to protect railways on Chinese territory. This foolish diplomatic move of inviting trouble left the British bewildered. Now, Russia is using the Sino-Russian treaty as leverage, arguing that the Manchurian issue is a matter between China and Russia, unrelated to the Boxer Rebellion, and therefore should not be interfered with by any other country.

Sadao clearly understood that the Russians were so tough not only because they had some secret Sino-Russian treaty, but more importantly because the Boer War not only made the British Empire lose face on the battlefield, but also created a moral rift.

Unlike the indigenous people the British had dealt with in the past, the Boers this time were actually descendants of Europeans in South Africa. As the Germans said, "This is a war between Europeans and Europeans, with the British bullying the weak."