Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 225

So after meeting the five yakuza leaders selected by Domoto, Lin Xinyi got straight to the point and said to them, "I called you all here today because I think the cooperation between us in the past has been quite good, so I want to talk to you about your future development."

The five yakuza leaders, though unaware of Domoto's naval background, knew from their cooperation over the past year that Domoto had powerful connections with conglomerates and the government. This man didn't care about money and could effortlessly get his people out of the police's clutches. To them, who were struggling to make a living on the streets, he was an incredibly powerful figure.

Their presence here is not only driven by a desire to further strengthen their ties with the background represented by Domoto, but also by a fear that disobeying him would result in devastating consequences. Over the past year, gangs of equal or greater strength have been eliminated under his orchestration.

Therefore, when Lin Xinyi spoke, everyone maintained a respectful attitude. No one questioned Lin Xinyi's authority to plan their development, after all, they were only in an employer-employee relationship, not a superior-subordinate one. However, faced with the difference in strength, their chivalrous spirit was still restrained, and they showed subservience to Lin Xinyi.

Lin Xinyi didn't care what these people were thinking. He paused for a moment, and seeing that no one objected, he continued, "Since everyone thinks that there is still a need for our relationship to develop, then I will first share my opinion."

I believe that your organizations have too many shortcomings. Firstly, they are involved in too many criminal activities, which could potentially damage the social image and safety of our partners. Therefore, if we want to continue our cooperation, your organizations must undergo a thorough overhaul. Does anyone have any objections?

The yakuza leaders exchanged bewildered glances, unable to understand what the young man was saying. Frankly, if a yakuza organization doesn't operate on the fringes of the law, can it still be called a yakuza organization? They were originally a band of marginalized people rejected by normal society. If they could be accepted by normal society, why would they be involved in yakuza?

After exchanging glances, the youngest among them, prompted by a look from his companion, had no choice but to speak up and ask, "What do you mean by 'rectification'? We're just trying to make a living on the streets; we can't survive without it."

Lin Xinyi glanced at him and asked, "You are Kuramochi Naokichi of the Sumiyoshi family. How does your Sumiyoshi family usually make a living?"

Although Kuramochi Naokichi was a gambler by trade, he was actually very cautious. He was also the lowest-ranking among the five, which is why he was pushed out to be questioned. When asked by Lin Xinyi, he honestly replied, "The casino is my main business. In addition, I am also responsible for maintaining market order and resolving disputes between merchants."

Lin Xinyi nodded to him and said, "The development I'm talking about is focusing our main business on maintaining order and resolving disputes. Of course, our goal is not just one market or one neighborhood, but the entire Tokyo area, or even the entire Kansai region."

The social order in Japanese cities is currently chaotic, with various crimes occurring frequently. Isn't this a problem for people like you who make a living on the streets? Citizens won't go to unsafe places for entertainment or spending money.

Therefore, maintaining urban order is in your interest. For us, the order of a market or a street is not very meaningful; it is the order of a region or a city that brings economic benefits.

This is what we all need to do, but we can't expect a group of criminals to maintain social order, so we must eliminate those criminal activities. Do you understand what I mean now?

Finally, someone couldn't help but ask, "But isn't maintaining social order the police's job? If we were to do that, would the authorities allow it?"

For these yakuza groups, maintaining market order is actually just to ensure the flow of customers to casinos. After all, casinos depend on the market for their existence, and a depressed market obviously cannot make casinos prosperous. Therefore, the yakuza groups maintain market order only out of a sense of morality and do not actually gain much benefit. Now, Lin Xinyi is asking them to focus on maintaining social order, which is obviously difficult for them to accept because it seems like a thankless task.

Lin Xinyi calmly replied, "The police can only maintain superficial order. They can only punish crimes after they occur. However, many crimes can actually be stopped beforehand, but the police do not have the power to do so. Therefore, we need another social order to deal with them, and that is the underground order we want to establish."

Seeing this, Kuramochi Naokichi couldn't help but ask, "But if we only focus on adjudicating disputes, how will we make a living on a daily basis? Without money, there will be no people, and without people, no one will obey our judgments."

Without hesitation, Lin Xinyi said, "We'll set rules for each marginal industry. Those criminals who have been separated from the industry will be managed and charged management fees, and they'll also have to pay tribute regularly. If they don't obey our rules, they'll be expelled from that industry. That way, even if the police come knocking, you won't bear too much responsibility."

Therefore, my suggestion is to establish a management company, with profits distributed according to shareholding. We will handle government-related issues, and you will handle social issues. As for the staff, if they violate company rules, they should be replaced immediately. If you cannot resolve the issue, then we will be responsible for the final solution. Of course, it's best to keep things under your control; if it becomes our responsibility to handle it, the situation will become quite unpleasant.”

Lin Xinyi spoke casually, as if it were as simple as drinking tea, but the five men immediately fell silent. They actually knew how Domoto had resolved the situation. Although there were quite a few desperados among the yakuza, compared to the men Domoto sent, any desperado would become a dead man. These men didn't care about rules at all; they went straight for killing.

For yakuza members, the purpose of killing is to gain benefits and to make a name for themselves, so they almost always know who their enemy is before they take action. But for Domoto, killing is just to clear obstacles. Those yakuza leaders didn't even understand who their enemy was before they died in various attacks.

Faced with such a figure and the organization behind him, people can't even find a target for revenge, so why risk their lives? At most, those seeking revenge will target the yakuza group that comes to take over the territory, never considering that there are other people behind it. But for Domoto, this kind of infighting between yakuza groups is basically indifferent. If one group can't hold the line, then they'll find another. Anyway, there are plenty of yakuza members who want territory, after all, this is an era in which large numbers of bankrupt farmers are flooding into the cities.

Therefore, the final solution Lin Xinyi mentioned was clearly physical elimination. Before knowing how much power the other side could mobilize, they naturally only felt fear. At least, the power that Domoto had shown in front of them was something they could not contend with.

A brief silence fell over the room. Seeing this, Domoto immediately spoke up and reprimanded, "Lin-kun specifically set aside time to meet with you during his New Year's shrine visit. Can't you even make a decision?"

Lin Xinyi gestured to stop Tang Ben, and looked at the five people in the room with a smile, saying, "If you feel uncomfortable, you can pretend that you never attended today's meeting and get up to leave the room. Of course, once you leave this room, you should forget everything that happened here. If I hear any rumors outside, I won't be lenient."

Lin Xinyi's tone seemed gentler, but the five people felt even more terrified. Although Domoto's words were stern, he still wanted them to do things, while Lin Xinyi's attitude was indifferent. This meant that they had no value to him, so if they really left the room, it was hard to believe that Lin Xinyi would simply pretend that nothing had happened.

The cautious Kuramochi Naokichi was the first to express his obedience to Hayashi Shin-yi. He had figured it out: even if he held onto Shibaura's territory, he might not be able to hold it. If Hayashi Shin-yi really wanted to carry out a yakuza ruling, then the Sumiyoshi family would have to face a choice sooner or later. So it was better to surrender now and choose a better position first.

Chapter 721

Author: Fuchun Mountain Residence Number: 5001 Comments: 0 Update Date: 2023-08-30 13:04:37

Although Lin Xinyi cannot exert influence over the entire state apparatus, his influence over the police system controlled by the Satsuma clique and the judicial system controlled by the Tokyo University bureaucrats is enough to completely crush these yakuza members. This is why politicians treat these yakuza members like chamber pots. In the face of the state apparatus, these so-called violent groups are just a bunch of lambs.

Over the past year, Domoto has demonstrated his influence over the police and judicial systems. Therefore, although these yakuza members do not know what organization he is backing, this naval-trained figure clearly has a strong official background. Their presence here already shows their respect, so they will naturally accept Lin Xinyi's suggestion; they just want better treatment.

Lin Xinyi's suggestion wasn't bad; at least it gave them enough autonomy and an opportunity to break away from the underworld and separate themselves from criminal activities. Although it left these gangsters somewhat bewildered, since these were the only ways they knew how to make a living, giving them up would naturally cause a stress reaction. But once they calmed down, they realized that this was actually beneficial to them in the long run.

After all, the idea that once you become a yakuza member, you can never leave the yakuza world is not some yakuza belief, but a social reality. Normal society simply does not accept yakuza members returning to normal life. For ordinary people, staying away from yakuza members is the best way to protect themselves. They don't bother to discern whether these yakuza members truly want to repent.

Therefore, once a yakuza member's past is exposed, he cannot live in normal society. Legitimate companies will not hire him, his small shop will not be patronized by his neighbors, and he will not be invited to participate in neighborhood events. In a society like Japan where personal relationships are important, an individual cannot survive alone. So, in the end, yakuza members can only return to the yakuza world.

However, Lin Xinyi's suggestion gave them a possible way out in the future. Even if they themselves could not climb out of the quagmire, their children could integrate into normal society. So after calming down, the five of them finally accepted Lin Xinyi's suggestion and promised to reform the gang and rebuild the organization under Tang Ben's guidance.

After finishing his sentence, Lin Xinyi got up and left. He had no interest in sitting down to eat with these people because he really didn't need to win them over. To him, these selected gangsters were just a facade, not his true confidants. If he were to treat them as subordinates he could rely on, he would be being too naive.

So after leaving the restaurant, Lin Xinyi, walking down the street, once again instructed Domoto Keiichi beside him: "These people are just a facade we put on the stage. We can use them to attract attention, but don't let them interfere with intelligence gathering and control of force. These two things must be firmly in our own hands. That way, even if this organization runs into problems, we can change our appearance and rebuild the organization."

Furthermore, intelligence analysis must be separated from intelligence gathering. The foundation's social investigation team will henceforth assume the primary function of intelligence analysis. This way, even if some of them are intelligent, they won't know what we've done with the intelligence because they won't understand the compiled information. Without knowing, they can't retaliate against us.

Kishida's security company can now apply for establishment. I will first entrust some of the foundation's security work to the company, and then I will ask the banks that cooperate with us to entrust their security business to this company.

The company selects retired personnel from the Navy and Army to join its ranks, and divides its staff into three levels: ordinary employees, senior employees, and elite employees. Ordinary employees are only responsible for normal company security operations, senior employees serve as the periphery of the intelligence team, and elite employees are the core members of the intelligence team.

…In this way, we can at least have some ability to protect ourselves in the Tokyo area, and not be helpless when subjected to arbitrary investigations.”

Domoto Keiichi naturally supported Hayashi Shin-yi's proposal. For these people who had returned from India, they were extremely vigilant about their own safety and had little trust in the system, which was completely different from other personnel in the navy.

For other personnel in the navy, even naval commanders who oppose Yamamoto, they must ultimately obey the organization's decision. In other words, if the Navy Minister Yamamoto uses the organization to ask him to retire, even if he believes that this is Yamamoto's personal grudge against him, he cannot confront the organization directly. He can only accept the decision first and then wait for the organization to correct the mistake itself.

However, for those who followed Lin Xinyi to India, if the organization made a mistake, then correcting that mistake was an inevitable action, not simply accepting the wrong decision without doing anything. The trip to India deeply instilled the idea of ​​questioning and correcting organizational mistakes into these people's minds, because not questioning and correcting organizational mistakes was tantamount to watching the organization die.

The difference between these two ideas lies in the fact that the former believes that everything they have is given to them by the organization, so they should unconditionally obey the organization's decisions, while the latter believes that they are the creators of the organization, and if problems arise, they should of course correct them. If they don't correct them, then who else can they expect to correct them? After all, the core of an organization is people, and it is people who make decisions. An organization without people does not exist.

After returning to Japan, although Keiichi Domoto enjoyed the care and protection he received from the powerful Navy, he still found it difficult to completely entrust his safety to the Navy. In fact, the Navy's care and surveillance of them depended entirely on the change of stance of one or two high-ranking officers. This meant that no matter how loyal they were to the Navy, if they displeased the higher-ups, their loyalty would not be rewarded.

For someone accustomed to organizational management in India, returning to the navy after his return home always brought a sense of being an outsider, a dependent. Even though Domoto had admired the navy since childhood, it was difficult for him to offer his loyalty to it as readily and without hesitation as before. He believed that his loyalty should be rewarded, and any suggestions beneficial to the navy should be adopted, rather than allowing the navy to become the private property of one or two high-ranking officials.

Under this shift in thinking, although the independent intelligence organization proposed by Hayashi Shin-yi was illegal, Domoto felt that this proposition was actually beneficial to their safety, and naturally became an active promoter. In fact, some people in the Navy and the Satsuma clique were also opening the door for their operations. These people were not unaware of their intentions, but for the sake of the benefits that would follow, they pretended not to see anything.

Since the country's top leaders are all so selfish and self-serving, Domoto naturally wouldn't even think about whether Lin Xinyi's intelligence organization would have a negative impact on the country. After all, the country's top leaders would pretend not to see it, so why should he worry about it?

Once his mindset and stance changed, Domoto naturally placed even greater emphasis on the rigor and security of the intelligence organization. He found Lin Xinyi's suggestions to be extremely pertinent. He never imagined that these suggestions were actually aimed at and meant to warn against the entire state apparatus, or rather, he simply didn't want to think about this issue.

After completing his New Year's shrine visit, Hayashi Shin-yi's leisurely home life came to an end. Next came the time for social interactions. Although the invention of postcards saved a lot of trouble in visiting people's homes for New Year's greetings, for important relationships, Japanese people still wanted to visit in person to show their respect and maintain the relationship.

Although Lin Xinyi didn't have any relatives in Tokyo, he did have quite a few important relationships to maintain. However, one of them gave him a hint before the New Year, asking him to visit during the New Year. This person was the elder, Ito Hirobumi.

In the past, Ito Hirobumi left Hayashi Shin-yi to his own devices. In Ito's view, no matter how much Hayashi Shin-yi acted, he could not escape his control. After all, this country was established by them, the elders. So, if Hayashi Shin-yi wanted to get ahead, he would naturally have to rely on them. Since middle school, Ito had been sponsoring Hayashi Shin-yi, so Hayashi Shin-yi naturally bore his mark.

Although Saigo Tsugumichi forcibly brought Hayashi Shin'ichi into the navy, Ito Hirobumi believed that Hayashi Shin'ichi's support was more important for him to rise to prominence in the navy. However, once Hayashi Shin'ichi emerged from the navy and moved into politics, he would have to rely on his own strength. If Hayashi Shin'ichi couldn't reach that point, then Hayashi Shin'ichi would be of little use to him. This was Ito Hirobumi's mentality of letting Hayashi Shin'ichi grow up unsupervised.

However, this time, Lin Xinyi led the navy to give the army led by Yamagata a humiliating defeat, which made Ito Hirobumi finally realize that this young man he had always admired had actually slipped out of his control. At least a young man who could lead the navy could not be easily manipulated by him, because the navy could not accept Ito ordering his core personnel around.

The Meiji Restoration government was, after all, established by a group of samurai, so it was deeply marked by the military. The military's independent thinking, even considering itself the subject of the nation, has remained unchanged. The navy is also part of the military, therefore it does not allow an outsider to have too much influence over its leaders, even if that person is the elder statesman Ito Hirobumi himself.

The disagreements between Ito and Yamagata mostly stemmed from Ito's tendency to side with the government when conflicts arose between the military and the government. This led the army generals, led by Yamagata, to gradually exclude Ito from the army's circle, completely forgetting that Ito was also a member of the Kiheitai (Special Forces).

Therefore, if Ito wanted to keep Hayashi Nobuyoshi under his control, he had to publicly acknowledge Hayashi's status as his protégé before Hayashi became a true naval leader, thus preventing Hayashi from severing ties with him later by using the navy as a backer. If it came to that, all his investment in Hayashi would be wasted.

If it were anyone else, Ito Hirobumi might have generously let go, or simply allowed them to lose the Navy's support. It all depended on whether the other party genuinely wanted to break free from his control or was forced by circumstances. However, he was reluctant to let go of Hayashi Shin-yi because none of his subordinates and juniors could match Hayashi Shin-yi's overall perspective. The only difference was that Hayashi Shin-yi lacked legal knowledge, since he attended a military academy rather than the University of Tokyo's law department.

However, these top students from the University of Tokyo around Ito Hirobumi could only draft laws according to his ideas. Asking them to analyze the international situation left them completely clueless. Ito Hirobumi felt that if he were gone, the Ito faction would likely disappear, because even his closest assistants...

While Ito Miyoji had some sound views on domestic political struggles, he was also a mess when it came to international relations.

Frankly speaking, Ito is suited to doing administrative work under a leader with strong opinions, and he's also quite good at handling factional relationships. However, when it comes to international affairs and government policy goals, Ito hasn't demonstrated any leadership abilities. Therefore, while Ito could assist him in establishing the Seiyukai (Political Friends Association), he refused to join due to concerns about the Choshu faction's stance, ultimately leading to the Seiyukai falling into the hands of Hara Takashi and Matsuda Masahisa.

Although Saionji Kinmochi was Ito's representative chosen to control the Seiyukai, Ito knew that Saionji was not actually capable of handling the party's daily activities. If Ito joined the Seiyukai as Saionji's deputy to handle party affairs, the Seiyukai would become the foundation of the Ito faction. However, Ito was unwilling to break away from the seemingly powerful Choshu faction and refused to allow the Ito faction to become independent, thus losing this opportunity.

In contrast, Lin Xinyi, in the navy, decisively severed the superficially maintained harmonious relationship between the army and navy, and brought down the military, which was controlled by the Choshu faction. The Choshu faction was powerful because the military represented the unity of the army and navy. Yamagata Aritomo had been trying his best to maintain the appearance of unity between the army and navy, thereby forcing the Imperial Household and the government to make concessions to the military. Although the navy forced the army to make concessions on military spending and internal affairs, the army monopolized all the political benefits.

After Lin Xinyi destroyed the facade of unity between the army and navy, the military's political authority greatly declined. This was actually something the palace and government were happy to see. For them, the political pressure of unity between the army and navy was too heavy. For example, in the case of the war against Russia, neither the palace nor the government wanted to take such a big risk, but because of the military's unity, the palace and government were ultimately led by the nose by the military to the battlefield.

This also explains why, after the Hibiya Incident, the Imperial Household and the Imperial Household expressed their dissatisfaction with the military, turning to support political parties and the navy while suppressing the army. Everyone felt that if the military continued to act independently, they would never have a peaceful life, and that the military would only keep provoking foreign wars in order to obtain military funding and power.

After the navy shattered the facade of unity between the army and navy, it reaped enormous political benefits, allowing Lin Xinyi to solidify his position within the navy. Previously, the navy had not realized that conflict with the army could yield political gains. Lin Xinyi provided the navy with a direction for progress, naturally elevating his own status within the navy significantly.

Comparing Hayashi Nobuyoshi and Itō Miyoshi, the latter, apart from his seniority, is completely incomparable to the former in terms of political acumen. Or rather, the latter is too conservative in politics, only thinking about protecting the assets of the Itō faction, thus appearing inactive. The former, on the other hand, is bold and daring, and has instead established his own territory in the navy.

Ito Hirobumi was naturally unwilling to give up such a valuable talent. Although Hayashi Shin-yi could not accept the Ito faction due to his naval background and age, he could at least maintain the political influence of the Ito faction with Ito. What Ito was worried about was that after his death, with the collapse of the Ito faction, the laws he had established for Japan would vanish, which was a future he could not accept.

To maintain the political influence of the Ito faction behind him and ensure that the laws he established become social consensus over time, so that his current efforts would not be in vain. Hayashi Shin-yoshi has become a crucial pillar for the Ito faction to maintain its political influence in the future, and Ito naturally cannot continue to allow him to remain unchecked.

During this time, Ito Hirobumi stayed at his villa in Oiso, which was much milder than the cold of Tokyo Bay. Although the winter temperatures were similar, Tokyo Bay was windy, while Oiso had little wind. So, as long as the sun was out, even in winter, Oiso was warm and perfect for taking walks. This is why politicians like Ito built villas in Oiso.

Because of the Tokaido Main Line, returning to Tokyo would only take one night. However, the climate here is very suitable for the elderly, and most of the politicians from the early Meiji era are now old. This wasn't Lin Xinyi's first time here, but he still had to admit that, in terms of enjoying life, these political elites were quite adept at choosing places.

Inside the Canglang Pavilion, Ito Hirobumi received Lin Xinyi in a very formal manner, without making him sit on the sidelines for too long. No matter the time, there was never a shortage of guests who came to see Ito, but most of them could not actually see Ito himself, or even his son. They could only exchange a few words with Ito's secretary.

Lin Xinyi was able to see Ito Hiromoto immediately upon arrival, which was already considered treatment as if he were one of their own. Lin Xinyi didn't feel much about it; he didn't care much about Ito's closeness or distance, because he knew that the relationship between them depended on Ito's thoughts, and he could only passively accept it.

Trying to appeal to Ito's emotions is unwise. After all, even Yamagata couldn't change Ito's political views, let alone a junior who has been promoted. What emotional connection does he have to talk to Ito about?

Chapter 722

Author: Fuchun Mountain Residence Number: 5014 Comments: 0 Update Date: 2023-08-31 12:25:49

Inside the Japanese-style room of Canglang Pavilion, Ito Hirobumi carefully examined the young man sitting in front of him. To be honest, apart from their first meeting, he had never looked at the other person so seriously since.

After carefully examining the other party, he did see many things he had overlooked before. Compared with the past, Lin Xinyi had shed his naivety. His composure in front of him was no longer a pretense, but a genuine maturity. Apart from a few of Ito's long-time confidants, almost no one among the younger generation could truly maintain such composure in front of him.

Ito Hirobumi knew very well that these younger men were so insecure in front of him not only because of his power and status, but also because of the aura of the Meiji Restoration hero surrounding him. Under the shadow of this aura, even the most talented young people would lose their footing and reveal their flaws, allowing him to see their true character.

Although Lin Xinyi behaved well when they first met, he still sensed the other's awe towards him. This awe made him feel that Lin Xinyi was just a talented young man, but had not yet reached the level of a true hero. As a founding father of the Meiji Restoration, Ito Hirobumi had seen too many outstanding people. The two great masters of the Matsumon era and Katsura Kogoro were all outstanding people who emerged at around the same age as Lin Xinyi. In fact, they were more outstanding at Lin Xinyi's age, but they were limited by their experience, so they could not analyze the international situation as accurately as Lin Xinyi.

However, if placed in the same environment as Hayashi Nobuyoshi, Ito Hirobumi believed these men could do even better than Hayashi, because they had already proven themselves superior to their contemporaries, while Hayashi's influence was limited to the navy. But Ito also had to admit that Hayashi was the only young man in recent years he could rival the heroes of the Meiji Restoration, because Hayashi was never bound by the existing system, a characteristic most prominent among the Meiji Restoration leaders.

The reason why the heroes of the Meiji Restoration were heroes was that they were able to break free from the heavily restrictive system of the time, and ultimately overthrow the old system and create a new one. These heroes may not have been much more talented than ordinary people, but their willpower was beyond the reach of ordinary people. For example, Katsu Kaishu was recognized as the most talented person in the late Edo period, but he could not break free from the constraints of the shogunate system, and his achievements were ultimately lower than those of the disciples he had taught.

Therefore, Hirobumi Itō believed that willpower is more important than other talents. Without willpower as a foundation, even if one has ten talents, one may not be able to utilize even half of them, because one will spend most of their energy on interpersonal relationships and will not be able to focus on their main profession. In contrast, those who are less talented but have strong willpower can fully utilize their talents and naturally overwhelm those who seem to have more outstanding talents.

So when he saw Lin Xinyi, he felt that the other party's willpower was just ordinary. Even if he was forcibly taken away by Saigo Tsurudo, it would only be a pity for him, not annoyance. At that time, he did not regard Lin Xinyi as the future pillar of the Ito faction. He just felt that a good diplomatic talent had slipped through his fingers. However, it was not a loss to exchange it for the influence on the navy.

However, he did not expect that Lin Xinyi could continue to improve his willpower, and even more so that when he was about to graduate, he resolutely gave up a bright path and turned to a path with almost no hope of success, which was really unexpected.

For Ito, what he valued was not actually the achievements that Hayashi Shin-yi had made in Tibet and India, but rather that, despite having the legacy of Saigo Takamori, Hayashi Shin-yi was able to abandon the bright path that Saigo had paved for him and forge his own unknown path, a path that most people would not choose.

For Ito, who stood at the pinnacle of imperial power, no matter how talented the people in the country were, they were not to be feared. As long as they chose to defend their own interests, their choices were transparent to him. This was the reason for his disappointment with Ito, because Ito, for the sake of some immediate interests, rejected a better option for the Ito faction. Although separating from the Choshu faction would greatly reduce the Ito faction's power, the Ito faction would undoubtedly have more room for development after becoming a political party. After all, within the Choshu faction, the Ito faction could no longer develop; its upper limit had been determined.

However, Ito is getting old, and he usually entrusts the affairs of the faction to his confidants. These confidants are unwilling to leave the Choshu faction, and there is nothing he can do about it. After all, he cannot do everything by himself. The Ito faction has developed to the point where it is no longer a group that Ito calls the shots, but a political group with Ito's name on it. Ito can do nothing about what others are unwilling to do.

Yamagata Aritomo was in the same boat. Ito Hirobumi was actually quite well-informed; he knew that Terauchi's resignation wasn't at Yamagata's behest. However, after Terauchi's actions became a fait accompli, Yamagata had no choice but to endorse him, otherwise the Choshu faction within the army would have collapsed immediately. It's quite ironic, really. These elders, who in their youth had worked tirelessly to break free from the shogunate system that bound them, found themselves trapped in the very clan politics they had built in their old age.

Therefore, Ito Hirobumi naturally paid more and more attention to a young man who could break free from the constraints of the system. Moreover, Hayashi Shin's talent could indeed support his adventures, which made it even more important for Ito to keep a close eye on him.

However, Lin Xinyi was like a bamboo shoot in spring; he could grow to an astonishing height in the blink of an eye, leaving Ito in a dilemma about how to deal with him. Although he summoned Lin Xinyi to his door to assert his connection with him, Ito also understood that those around him would find it difficult to acknowledge Lin Xinyi as the successor of the Ito faction. Without a successor, Lin Xinyi could not identify with the Ito faction, and the relationship between the two sides would only be effective while he was alive.

Although Ito Hirobumi invested a lot of money in Hayashi Shin-yi, money is easy to repay. To make Hayashi Shin-yi inseparable from the Ito faction, it is necessary to support Hayashi Shin-yi in his career or ambitions, so that Hayashi Shin-yi himself feels that he cannot move forward without the Ito faction. Only in this way will Hayashi Shin-yi identify with the Ito faction from the bottom of his heart.

However, whether it's his relationship with the navy, the Shibusawa zaibatsu, or the political circle represented by Ogawa Heikichi, Hayashi Shin-yi doesn't need the Ito faction to intervene at all. In fact, at times, the Ito faction needs Hayashi Shin-yi's connections to gain political assistance. In other words, Hayashi Shin-yi is now capable of establishing an independent faction in politics. Although he doesn't seem to be in power yet, he can already make his voice heard in politics.

Therefore, Ito Hirobumi was extremely troubled by Hayashi Shin-yi's arrangements. He couldn't keep him, but he was also unwilling to let go. In fact, he couldn't do it. If he wanted to ensure that the Ito faction could continue to exert influence and defend the constitution he had drafted, then someone needed to maintain the political balance of the Ito faction. Ito felt that only Hayashi Shin-yi could grasp this balance, and that others were far from being able to do so.

Thinking of the constitution, Ito Hirobumi suddenly had an idea and finally broke the silence to ask, "I heard that the Navy has replaced the Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Marines with the Five Articles of Oath as part of the morning training for officers and soldiers. Is this your suggestion?"

After a moment's thought, Lin Xinyi readily admitted, "The Five Articles of the Oath are the foundation of the nation. Soldiers should know what kind of country they are defending, rather than blindly obeying orders. If soldiers only know how to obey orders but do not know the Five Articles of the Oath, then wouldn't the cause of overthrowing the shogunate become treason? After all, the shogun represents the army commanded by the emperor. What is the difference between opposing the shogunate and opposing the emperor?"

Ito Hirobumi frowned slightly. He wasn't particularly interested in the Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Soldiers. After the Satsuma Rebellion, Yamagata Aritomo had overemphasized the Emperor's supreme authority in order to quickly establish central authority. This led to the Emperor, who was originally just a symbol of the state, becoming the legal ruler of the country. While this allowed the Meiji Restoration government to weather the chaos following the Satsuma Rebellion, it also greatly increased the power of supporters of the Emperor's personal rule. As a result, even the usually powerless court nobles had politicians like the Duke of Konoe who attempted to form a cabinet.

Although the Allied Forces placed courtiers such as Sanjō Sanetomi in positions of government leadership during the anti-shogunate period, these courtiers were actually quite reasonable. Although they were nominally the leaders of the government, they never demanded that the Emperor rule personally. Instead, they obeyed the various decrees issued by the Allied Forces in the name of the Emperor.

Duke Konoe was the first court noble to attempt to challenge traditional Japanese politics and to make the emperor's personal rule a reality. Of course, this illusory legal basis for the emperor's personal rule was established by him and Yamagata and others. What was once an emergency measure has now brought them great changes, especially at a time when the public generally dislikes the feudal system and there are more voices advocating for the emperor's personal rule.

This is actually one of the main reasons why Ito Hirobumi tried to move towards party politics. He realized that he was no longer able to balance the Emperor's ruling faction and the feudal clique politics. If the stalemate continued, once he and the elders like Yamagata passed away, another war against the feudal clique politics would break out, and the probability of that was too high.

While Yamagata Aritomo shared the same sentiments, he disagreed with Yamagata's solution. Instead, Yamagata believed it was necessary to further strengthen the military's independence, thereby using force to maintain domestic political balance. Ito felt that Yamagata probably hadn't realized that he too would grow old and die, and that he too would eventually lose control of the military. Whether the military would still be able to maintain domestic political balance at that time was clearly an unknown.

The political upheaval triggered by Terauchi's resignation was precisely the future Ito Hirobumi had feared. However, he hadn't anticipated that domestic politics would already be somewhat out of control while these veterans were still around—much earlier than he had predicted. Of course, Ito knew this was caused by a certain individual stirring up trouble within the navy, but he still felt it had happened too quickly.

Therefore, even though he was full of concerns about the political power of the Emperor's personal rule, Ito Hirobumi still could not accept Hayashi Nobuyoshi's questioning of the legal basis of the Emperor's personal rule, because this was the foundation of the Meiji Constitution, and the Meiji Constitution was the culmination of his life's work. He hoped that the Meiji Constitution, like the Napoleonic Code, would become the institutional cornerstone of a country.

It was the promulgation of the Napoleonic Code that freed France from the internal strife following the French Revolution, transforming it into a formidable power on the European continent. To this day, the French people remain united on the consensus forged by this code, and the brutal struggle between royalists and republicans has failed to tear French society apart.

What Ito Hirobumi wanted was a Japan where Japanese society reached a consensus on the Meiji Constitution, thereby eliminating the revolutionary foundation for the republicans' opposition to the Emperor system. Hayashi Nobuyoshi's dissatisfaction with the Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Soldier was understandable. Although the Rescript to Soldiers and Soldier emphasized the army's obedience to the Emperor, in reality, this obedience was not to the Emperor, but to the commander-in-chief who represented the Emperor in leading the army.

For these elders, it was essential to distinguish between the supreme spiritual authority and the actual power holder. This was a fundamental principle of political balance. Once the supreme spiritual authority was questioned, the entire country lost its legitimacy to exist. However, if the actual power holder had problems, it was simply a matter of replacing him. This is the root cause of why the Qing dynasty could not continue to rule China after the Manchu emperors lost their authority.

Although Empress Dowager Cixi was able to seize state power through political maneuvering, she destroyed the people's awe of imperial authority. An emperor who could be imprisoned, even by the empress dowager, was infringing upon the dignity of imperial authority. How could an imperial power without dignity rule over a country with 400 million people?

Confucianism elevates monarchical power to the level of faith. Only when monarchical power maintains its inviolable sanctity can the social hierarchy established by it be sacred and inviolable. However, since the imperial power that endows the social hierarchy has been proven to be vulnerable to bullying, what right do these feudal scholar-officials have to swagger over ordinary people? They are nothing but a bunch of deceitful swindlers.

The collapse of the Qing Dynasty was not actually the collapse of a foreign regime, but the collapse of the imperial authority that had lasted for thousands of years, and the collapse of the Confucian social system doctrines. It was precisely the collapse of these doctrines and traditions that had imprisoned the Chinese people that allowed foreign ideas of republicanism, nationalism, and democracy to spread rapidly in China.

The tradition of Japanese politics is to establish the Emperor as the spiritual embodiment of the nation, but the actual political power is held by individuals. This is the root cause of the Meiji Restoration's rapid gain of recognition from the various feudal domains after the fall of the Shogunate. After witnessing the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, Ito Hirobumi became even more convinced that the Emperor could not rule personally, because if the Emperor were questioned, the entire country would not be able to survive.

It's understandable that Ito Hirobumi would question the Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Soldiers. As long as Hayashi doesn't publicly deny the legitimacy of the Emperor's rule, such questioning actually proves he's a competent Japanese politician. However, Ito Hirobumi finds Hayashi's praise of the Five Articles Oath unacceptable. Although he was one of the signatories of the Oath, it essentially questions the existence of the Emperor system.

The subsequent rebellions of peasants and samurai in various regions, especially the outbreak of the Satsuma Rebellion, were actually based on the third clause of the Five Articles of the Oath: "Officials and soldiers, as well as commoners, shall each fulfill their aspirations, and the hearts of the people shall not tire." The rebellions of the gentry and peasants stemmed from their belief that the reformed government had violated the oath and failed to protect their interests, thus forcing them to take up arms to defend them.

This led to Yamagata Aritomo's request for the Emperor to issue the Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Marines after the Satsuma Rebellion, and Ito Hirobumi's belief that a constitution should be drafted to replace the Five Articles Oath, ultimately shaping the system in place since the tenth year of the Meiji reign. At a time when most people had largely forgotten the Five Articles Oath, the navy's sudden re-emphasis on it to educate officers and soldiers is quite strange.

However, due to the need to prepare for war, the army had tacitly approved of the navy's actions, and it was difficult for others to interfere in military affairs. In order to avoid a direct conflict with the military, this matter did not become a political incident.

However, with the Navy forming a new cabinet and gaining immense prestige among the people, it was hard for Ito not to pay attention to the Navy's advocacy of the Five Articles Oath. He also used this matter to clarify Hayashi Nobuyoshi's views on the Meiji Constitution. After all, what he needed was a successor who could uphold the Meiji Constitution, not an opponent who opposed it.

So Ito Hirobumi directly asked Hayashi Shin-yi, "What is your opinion on the current constitution? Can't the constitution replace the Five Articles Oath?"

After thinking for a moment, Lin Xinyi replied frankly, "The constitution is of course good. Apart from not allowing people to speak, there is basically nothing to question. As long as you, Lord Marquis, are watching over it, this constitution will be able to maintain the normal operation of the country without any problems."

Ito Hirobumi looked at Lin Xinyi with some displeasure and said, "The constitution doesn't allow people to speak. Do you have some grievance against the constitution?"