Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 171

Lin Xinyi said this: "In fact, according to the Navy's investigation, the reason why the smelting efficiency of various steel mills in Japan is low is because of the lack of standardization."

Although there are so-called high-grade iron ore imported from overseas, the grade varies greatly due to different origins. In addition, the trace elements contained in the ore also differ. Therefore, almost every batch of steel requires an experienced master craftsman to correctly judge the firing temperature.

The lack of standardization stems from Japan's small-scale steel production and limited coal and iron resources. Currently, Japan can only address the issue of having steel mills; it cannot yet refine the selection of ore and coking coal to ensure consistent trace element content in every batch of molten iron. Therefore, for Japan to rapidly increase its steel production capacity, seeking overseas coal and iron resources is inevitable.

If India's high-quality iron ore and China's coking coal could be linked to Japan's steel industry via sea transport, Japan's steel industry would gain an opportunity to continuously increase its production capacity. This need for ore transportation would, in turn, stimulate the shipbuilding industry, forcing them to build larger cargo ships…

Inoue Kakugoro expressed doubt about whether China and India possessed such abundant coal and iron resources, especially given the abundance of high-grade iron ore in India, which he found even more hard to believe. However, he was indeed persuaded by Lin Xinyi. If a maritime ore transport route could be established, then the location of the steel mill in Muroran would be irrelevant; placing it in the easily accessible Tokyo Bay would indeed offer greater potential for growth.

Lin Xinyi didn't harbor any ill will towards Inoue Kakugoro; he was willing to tolerate those who wanted to get things done. Therefore, he even wrote him a letter of recommendation, telling Inoue that he could go to Wuhan to find representatives of the Indian People's Committee, who would take him to visit several large iron ore mines in the Bengal region of India.

Upon arriving in Tokyo, Inoue Kakugoro, having parted ways with Hayashi Shin-yoshi, went directly to visit Matsukata Masayoshi. He reported to Matsukata on his conversation with Hayashi Shin-yoshi, stating, "Lieutenant Commander Hayashi seems quite insistent on the navy leading the construction of heavy industry, and therefore rejected the plan to build a steel base in Muroran. However, he is unsure which part of Tokyo Bay the new heavy industrial center should be located in. Kanagawa and Chiba are both possibilities."

After pondering for a moment, Matsukata Masayoshi said, "No rush. We'll meet with Ito at the foundation's founding ceremony tomorrow. The Navy will have to give us an answer then..."

Chapter 588

The first Russian Duma opened on April 27. Although the Tsarist government had previously suppressed the workers' and peasants' movement, the Octopus Party still supported the government on this issue because they needed orderly reforms rather than a bloody revolution that would disrupt social order.

After the Duma officially convened, the Constitutional Democratic Party, Menshevik, and Social Democratic Party members in the Duma actively tried to demonstrate to the workers and peasants that they could force the Tsarist government to reform through bloodless parliamentary struggle, thereby enabling the Russian people to live a happy life.

Of course, this was merely wishful thinking on their part. After the government suppressed worker and peasant uprisings across the country, the Russian landowning class immediately hardened its stance. They resolutely opposed the "Proposal No. 104" proposed by the left wing, which demanded that all land be distributed equally to peasants. At the same time, they were equally dissatisfied with the right wing's proposal to buy some of the land from the landowners at a so-called "fair price" and then lease this land to peasants for long-term use.

With the support of the landowning class, the first State Duma was dissolved in early June, and Interior Minister Stolypin concurrently served as Prime Minister. Stolypin's formal assumption of power further eased tensions in East Asia. On June 11, Japan, China, and Russia formally signed a peace agreement in Beijing.

Although the agreement contained many ambiguities, it at least established the basic order in Northeast Asia. Russia relinquished all special rights and most-favored-nation status in China and the Korean Peninsula; and paid a total of 7600 million rubles to China and Japan to cover the living expenses of Russian prisoners of war and their return travel costs to Russia.

Territorially, Russia recognized Japan's possession of Sakhalin Island, while China gained the area north of the Tumen River and south of the Chinese Eastern Railway, and reclaimed Hailanpao, the Sixty-Four Villages East of the River, and Miaojie. The Primorsky Krai, the Trans-Amur region, and the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk north of the Shantar Islands, including the Kamchatka Peninsula, were designated as areas with undetermined status. The Trans-Amur region was to be jointly administered by China and Russia, while the other areas were to be jointly administered by the three countries. A referendum would be held in the local population after 25 years to determine their ownership.

Russia has reservations regarding China's proposed compensation of 790 million rubles for civilian losses. Until China and Russia reach a consensus on this compensation agreement, China will freeze the 110 million rubles in reparations owed to Russia under the Boxer Protocol and take over all Russian state assets within China, including the Chinese Eastern Railway.

The heated debate between China and Japan over the Kwantung Leased Territory, the Korean Peninsula, and Vladivostok has come to an end. Japan, on the condition of relinquishing its claims to the Kwantung Leased Territory and the South Manchurian Railway, demanded Vladivostok and the Ussuri River Railway, as well as that Dalian be opened as an international port and that Lushun not be used for military purposes. Finally, China was prohibited from supporting anti-Japanese organizations in North Korea.

It's clear to anyone with eyes to see that this peace agreement did not resolve the issues between the three countries. Russia was forced to concede most of its interests in the East due to domestic and international circumstances, but the Russians are merely retreating to lick their wounds and wait for an opportunity to make a comeback; they do not truly intend to give up their interests in the East.

As Russia withdraws its influence from Northeast Asia, tensions between China and Japan are escalating around the Korean Peninsula issue. Although the Chinese government has pledged not to support anti-Japanese organizations in North Korea, this pledge was made by the State Council under the Beiyang government; the National Assembly under the Wuhan government does not support such a unilateral commitment.

The name of the Republic of China was determined, but its political system remained undecided. Tang Shaoyi and other American-educated individuals, along with the Guangdong Tongmenghui led by Sun Yat-sen, advocated for a responsible cabinet system, while the constitutionalists in Jiangsu and Zhejiang supported a presidential system. However, the Wuhan faction and Yuan Shikai tacitly wanted to maintain the status quo.

For Yuan Shikai, Sun Yat-sen and others' implementation of a responsible cabinet system was clearly undermining his authority. He did want to establish a presidential system similar to a monarchy, but he knew that Wuhan would definitely not agree. Therefore, the current State Council system was actually quite good. After the emperor abdicated, he, as the chairman of the State Council, was essentially the de facto monarch. As long as he did not seek the titles of emperor or president, he could basically implement his decrees as long as he reached an agreement with Wuhan, without having to consider the reactions of others.

Those dissatisfied with the status quo are actually the old constitutionalists and the new constitutionalists. The former are mainly composed of old gentry, while the latter are mainly composed of students who have studied abroad. Under the current system, the former have lost the gentry power of the Qing Dynasty, while the latter have not entered the new ruling center. Therefore, both sides have launched a media attack on Wuhan and Beiyang on the issue of constitutionalism.

As for Wuhan, the power of the current parliament is not in the large parliament, but in individual committees. These committees, which are specifically set up for a certain department or matter, are much easier to control than the general assembly. The Labour Party has a dominant position in almost all the major committees. They can use the committees to restrain the work of the various departments of the State Council, and they can also use the committees to suppress dissenting voices within the parliament.

Although the Labour Party only controlled one of the three seats in Parliament, it consistently gained majority support in the general assembly discussions thanks to the resolutions of various committees. Members who were not on the committees found it difficult to unite the majority against the Labour Party, while those who were on the committees worried about being kicked out of the center of power by the Labour Party. As a result, the Labour Party firmly grasped the leadership of Parliament.

It was under these circumstances of confrontation between the government and the parliament that Yuan Shikai's government, although it signed a peace agreement, did not receive full approval from the parliament. The same problem arose with Japan and Russia; although their governments signed peace agreements, both countries' parliaments felt the agreements were too detrimental to their own countries and therefore expressed their disapproval.

Of course, the three governments didn't concern themselves with such minor details; they all shifted their focus from external matters to internal ones, acknowledging the validity of the peace agreement through concrete actions. The only ones truly dissatisfied were the North Koreans. Due to Japan's insistence, the negotiations, originally intended as a four-power peace agreement, ultimately became a three-power agreement, with North Korea excluded from the agreement.

Although the people of China, the United States, and the Republic of Chita are dissatisfied with Japan's attempt to annex Korea, no government at the national level has protested against Japan's actions. Even Chinese government officials, who are extremely wary of Japan, only advocate that Japan should retain the independent status of the Korean Peninsula, rather than demanding that Japan withdraw from the Korean Peninsula.

Although the government did not publicly condemn Japan's colonial actions on the Korean Peninsula, both China and the United States criticized Japan's atrocities in suppressing the people in Korea. However, the US government suppressed such opinions, since the US did not do much better than the Japanese in Cuba, Panama, and the Philippines, and the US government did not want to cause conflict between the US and Japan.

On the Chinese side, Yuan Shikai wanted to coexist peacefully with Japan, so he prohibited Koreans from anti-Japanese activities in southern Manchuria. However, the territory controlled by the Beiyang government was limited, and both northern Manchuria and the Primorsky Krai adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards Korean anti-Japanese organizations, only prohibiting Koreans from attacking Japanese civilians locally.

Both Russians and Chinese harbored resentment towards the Japanese occupation of Vladivostok and the Ussuri Railway. However, both sides understood that once the Japanese occupied the military stronghold of Vladivostok, they could not easily drive them back to the sea. The Japanese exchanged Vladivostok for concessions on the Kwantung Leased Territory issue because they knew they could maintain their foothold in Vladivostok.

However, the Japanese army was unable to penetrate deep into the interior to challenge China and Russia. Thus, with the support of China and Russia, armed resistance movements became active in northeastern Korea. Unlike the righteous army organizations in southern Korea, the righteous army organizations in northeastern Korea were mostly composed of self-cultivating farmers and tenant farmers. They not only opposed the Japanese invasion of Korea, but also advocated for land reform modeled after Wuhan, the implementation of democratic politics in Korea, and the abolition of the Yangban and social class systems.

Therefore, the armed anti-Japanese organizations in northeastern Korea were more resilient and courageous than the righteous soldiers in the south, whose backbone was composed of Confucian scholars. Although the righteous soldiers in the south had a large following, they could be defeated as long as the Japanese army deployed regular troops. After their defeat, the righteous soldiers would almost all scatter and go home, and would not reorganize and continue to fight the Japanese army. However, the anti-Japanese armed forces in the northeastern region hid in the mountains and villages. Although they would not actively attack the towns where the Japanese army was stationed, they often disrupted transportation and attacked small groups of military and police officers who came to the countryside. If the Japanese army launched a large-scale attack, these armed elements would cross the border and escape into China, which made the Japanese army feel very troubled.

However, these undercurrents could not change Japan's annexation of Korea. Ito Hirobumi, the Resident-General of Korea, used his official position to win over the landlord class in Korea and constantly bribed merchants and peddlers to gather intelligence on the righteous army for the Japanese army. In addition, the army launched military campaigns, and the situation in southern Korea gradually came under the control of the Japanese.

For the Saionji Cabinet, although the situation on the Korean Peninsula was not yet completely stable, the signing of the trilateral peace agreement between Japan, China, and Russia, and the tacit approval of Japan's annexation of Korea by various countries, indicated that Japan's diplomatic predicament had been alleviated. With the army withdrawing from the mainland and the Imperial General Headquarters being disbanded, the military was finally unable to resist the government's orders under a wartime state, so the time had finally come to deal with domestic issues.

The establishment ceremony and first fundraising event of the Oriental Culture and Arts Foundation can be seen as a declaration to the nation that a peaceful era has officially arrived. Therefore, Kinmochi Saionji personally attended the ceremony.

The ceremony was held at the Imperial Hotel, located east of Hibiya Park. It was a Western-style building, quite similar in appearance to the nearby Rokumeikan, both symbols of the European era. However, unlike the Rokumeikan, which had been abandoned by the imperial elite, the Imperial Hotel remained Tokyo's best hotel and the Japanese government's first choice for receiving foreign dignitaries. Its only drawback was that its facilities were somewhat outdated and its space was not large enough.

Hayashi Nobuyoshi arrived with Minister-General Kawahara and Vice Minister Togo. Upon entering, they encountered Makino Nobuaki, the Minister of Education, who was much more cordial to Hayashi this time. Makino introduced a young man to Hayashi, saying, "This is Yoshida Shigeru, the diplomat who will be marrying my daughter. You are about the same age, so you can keep in touch..."

However, the conversation was cut short after only a few words were exchanged when Ito Sukeyuki summoned Kawahara and the others, forcing the conversation to end. Watching Hayashi Shin's departing figure, Yoshida Shigeru couldn't help but say to his future father-in-law, "Isn't this guy too young? A lieutenant commander under 30 in the navy? What prestigious family does he come from?"

After graduating, Yoshida Shigeru went to China to work as a trainee consul. He returned to Japan this time to arrange a blind date with Makino's eldest daughter, Yukiko, so he was unaware of Hayashi Shin'ichi's situation. However, since Makino Nobuaki had chosen Yoshida as his son-in-law, he naturally wouldn't hide this information from him.

Looking in the direction Lin Xinyi had gone, Makino Nobuaki said calmly, "He's not from a prestigious family, but speaking of which, Ito and Yamagata weren't from prestigious families before they rose to prominence either. Just remember, if nothing unexpected happens, he'll be the next Ito and Yamagata."

Yoshida Shigeru looked at his father-in-law with some surprise. To be honest, Yoshida considered himself to be outstanding among young people. Not only was he born into a good family, but he was also much smarter than others. Otherwise, Baron Makino wouldn't have chosen him as his son-in-law. But even he couldn't possibly receive such high praise from Baron Makino.

Seemingly sensing Yoshida's surprise, Makino looked away from his son-in-law and said, "This is not my evaluation, but what Lord Yamagata said to Prime Minister Saionji."

Yamagata-no-Marquis said, "If he hadn't been born so late, he would have been another Katsu Kaishu." However, Inoue-no-Marquis said, "Katsu Kaishu lacked the decisiveness to break the deadlock. If Lin Xinyi were in Katsu Kaishu's position, there would never have been a bloodless surrender. He's more like the likes of Kusaka Genzui and Takasugi Shinsaku; if he hadn't died, he would surely have achieved great things."

Therefore, you should cultivate a good relationship with him. You can't go far in politics without the support of the military; at least for now, everyone believes the future of the navy belongs to him. If you can gain his support, your political career will proceed much more smoothly.

Yoshida Shigeru thanked his father-in-law for his guidance, but his inner feelings weren't as submissive as they appeared. His father-in-law's words only piqued his interest in Hayashi Nobuyoshi, making him want to observe this rising star in the navy closely. Incidentally, his father-in-law, Baron Makino, was now considered a young leader of the Satsuma clique, but he seemed rather old in Hayashi Nobuyoshi's presence.

Meanwhile, Lin Xinyi finally sank into the quagmire of social interaction. The man who could organize all sorts of affairs with remarkable clarity was now feeling dizzy and overwhelmed by the constant stream of new acquaintances and interactions. The newly rich who rose to prominence after the Meiji Restoration had, over the past forty years, built a vast network of connections, no longer the group of country bumpkins who had entered Edo.

Ito Sukeyuki, Matsukata Masayoshi, and Shibusawa Eiichi kept calling him around, urging him to get acquainted with their networks. While this was a sign of their high regard for him, it also left him feeling genuinely exhausted. He felt more tired than when he crossed the Tanggula Pass. Only after the ceremony officially began did he finally have a chance to rest for a while.

However, this break was soon interrupted. When the ceremony ended and the auction and fundraising began, Ito Sukeyuki quietly called him to a lounge for a talk. Inside the lounge sat three elders: Ito Sukeyuki, Matsukata Masayoshi, and Inoue Kaoru, as well as Shibusawa Eiichi and Baron Makino.

After the door to the lounge was closed, Matsukata Masayoshi said to Hayashi Shinichi, "I called you here because I wanted to hear your specific ideas on strengthening heavy industry. Now that Japan's external situation has finally stabilized, it's time to address domestic issues. However, opinions are very divided on how to develop heavy industry. Some advocate government-run enterprises, while others advocate supporting private companies. So, what is your opinion?"

Lin Xinyi raised his head slightly, quickly glanced at the expressions of the five people in the room, and then said, "In my opinion, before discussing how to develop heavy industry, we should first set goals, both long-term and phased. Then, we can formulate plans and contingency plans to prevent unforeseen events based on these goals. If everyone agrees on the same goal, there will naturally be less conflict. Or, even if there is conflict, it can be resolved through negotiation under the common goal."

Matsukata Masayoshi nodded and said, "Setting a common goal is indeed a good idea. So, do you have any specific ideas? The Navy's long-term goal is to improve the country's technological level and scale in heavy industry. So, what are the Navy's phased goals?"

After a moment's thought, Lin Xinyi said, "The Navy's initial goal is naturally to complete the construction of the industrial base, and the second is to gain the support of the local people. If these two goals cannot be achieved, then we cannot consider how to improve the level of heavy industry technology and expand the scale of industry."

Inoue Kaoru nodded in agreement, saying, "What you said is very good. Therefore, I believe we should strengthen the expansion of existing heavy industrial plants, such as the heavy industrial zones in Osaka, Kobe, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, and Kitakyushu. This would not only save a lot of infrastructure costs but also yield quick returns..."

After listening, Lin Xinyi calmly replied, "I have already inspected many of the places you mentioned. However, I think these places are fine for expanding one or two factories, but if we want to build a heavy industrial base that can meet the needs of Asia, then either the space is too small, the transportation is inconvenient, or the land price is already too high..."

Chapter 589

After commenting on the drawbacks of the diversified investment proposed by Inoue Kaoru, Lin Xinyi sincerely said: "...Furthermore, supporting or not supporting any of these private enterprises will cause great controversy. Considering the controversy caused by the Hokkaido government-owned enterprises, I believe that in order to minimize the controversy, everyone should be given a chance. A separate heavy chemical industry group should be established to absorb private capital, so that everyone can benefit from it. Meanwhile, the state can guide the direction of the industry and not be swayed by private capital."

Furthermore, while the Army had previously made concessions on strengthening its heavy industry base, times have changed. With the Army's withdrawal from the mainland, its dilemma has been resolved. Therefore, if the development of heavy industry encounters controversy in its early stages, the Army might propose a re-evaluation of its industry-first development strategy. This would complicate the situation again.

Lin Hsin-yi's words made everyone present fall into deep thought. However, everyone felt that Lin Hsin-yi's wariness of the army was not without reason, considering that the army was not involved in today's meeting.

While the development path prioritizing heavy industry and the previous policy of promoting industrialization were consistent, they were not entirely the same. The purpose of promoting industrialization was to enrich the country and strengthen its military, which essentially meant making money to build a powerful army to defend the nation. Therefore, national defense was always the government's primary policy objective, and all other objectives were subordinate to the goal of national defense and security.

However, prioritizing heavy industry has lowered the priority of national defense and security. All resources are tilted towards heavy industry, and establishing a complete heavy industry system is the government's primary goal. Under this goal, the military must also make concessions for the development of heavy industry, which is why the army and navy have frozen their expansion plans.

This approach naturally aligns with the government's interests. If this approach can suppress the military's expansionist desires, it will undoubtedly bring the Japanese government a significant step closer to becoming a civilian government. This is something most government officials dream of, and it is also the basis for Inoue and Matsukata's willingness to support the naval approach.

However, this approach actually marginalized the army in the decision-making level. Given the nature of the army, it was obviously impossible for them to accept this situation of weakening themselves. However, the army had already lost hope of winning in the war on the mainland. Continuing to confront the government, navy, party, business community, and media would only make it more difficult for them to withdraw from the mainland unscathed.

Yamagata, Ōyama, Katsura, Terauchi, and the deceased Kodama, among other high-ranking army officers, had all come from the late Edo period. They knew how Japan had grown from weak to strong, and they also knew how the seemingly powerful Qing Dynasty had declined. Therefore, they would not persist in a war with no hope of victory just to save face.

When the Army was pushed to the brink by the Navy and the government, it did not choose a fight to the death, but instead opted to back down. However, this retreat could not be permanent. It was precisely because of the fear that the Army would intervene that everyone was eager to take a bite out of the pie, thus creating a stalemate.

If Inoue, Matsukata, Shibusawa, and others could reach a compromise, why would they formally invite the Navy to offer their opinions? They would naturally present a complete plan to the Navy and have it accepted, since these bureaucrats and industrialists are the experts in developing the economy.

Inviting the Navy to offer its opinions only indicates that the government and the business community are unable to reach a compromise on their respective proposals. That's why they need the Navy's support. After all, the Navy is the one that proposed this approach and should have a say. The Army, on the other hand, doesn't receive this treatment. Everyone knows that the Army is the opponent of this approach, so their support is not a concern.

Aside from Hayashi Nobuyoshi, it was indeed difficult for the other naval personnel to discuss economic development with these bureaucrats and industrialists. After all, few military personnel understood economics, and even those responsible for naval logistics had to be recruited from Tokyo University; the navy couldn't train its own. This was why Hayashi Nobuyoshi was able to speak on behalf of the navy once again. At the last meeting of elder statesmen, he essentially represented only the Ito-Kawahara faction, and Yamamoto Kaisho only refrained from opposing his proposed plans due to circumstances.

However, today, Hayashi Shin-yi is standing here truly representing the Navy as a whole. Although Minister Yamamoto is not present, he was aware of this beforehand and expressed his approval. This is because Hayashi Shin-yi's propositions today genuinely represent the interests of the entire Navy, which means that Hayashi Shin-yi has earned the right to participate in the discussion. At the last meeting, he could only explain the proposal itself.

Inoue Kaoru and Matsukata Masayoshi were fully aware of this, and therefore knew that Hayashi Shin's words were not merely his personal opinion, but also represented a warning from the Navy. If their decisions led to a reversal of fortune for the Army, the Navy would not stand by their side.

Inoue Kaoru and Matsukata Masayoshi didn't actually want to locate the heavy industry center in Tokyo Bay because they weren't purely Japanese; they still had a strong sense of belonging to Choshu and Satsuma. In their view, Tokyo had always been the stronghold of the old shogunate. Even though the emperor moved to Edo and renamed it Tokyo, the majority of the population was still the local people from the Tokugawa shogunate. They still missed the elegance and prosperity of the old Edo period. The current prosperity of Tokyo had little to do with the local people; the beneficiaries were the court nobles of Kyoto and the newly powerful families of Choshu and Satsuma in the Kansai region.

During the Tokugawa Shogunate era, the shogunate amassed wealth from across the land to support the people of Edo. However, now all the wealth of the land has flowed into the pockets of the Kansai people, and even the land of Tokyo has become the Emperor's. Not only do the former shogunate officials have no chance of advancement, but some of their retainers have even starved to death because they could not find a livelihood. The dissatisfaction of the native Tokyo residents with Choshu and Satsuma is nothing new; it is a problem that has existed since the establishment of the Meiji Restoration government.

Because of the regional conflicts between Kanto and Kansai, and the dissatisfaction of the old Edo residents with the Meiji Restoration elites, the Satsuma and Choshu regions prioritized development in the Kansai area, especially the Osaka and Kobe areas. Tokyo's industrial development mainly relied on private capital, coupled with the agglomeration effect of being the capital.

However, as the generation that established the Meiji Restoration government grew up, they had broken away from their local consciousness and began to put the nation of Japan before their hometown. Tokyo was no longer a foreign land to them, but the capital of Japan and the spiritual home of the Japanese people. The fact that the economy of the Tokyo area lagged behind that of Osaka caused dissatisfaction among many people. How could the capital be worse than the local area?

This Japanese mindset was exploited by the old shogunate faction led by Shibusawa, who naturally advocated that the country should concentrate its resources in the Tokyo area, and that Kyoto should naturally develop into the number one city in the country, otherwise why should it be called the capital?

However, the proposal put forward by Hayashi Nobuyoshi on behalf of the Navy made the two hesitate. Hayashi Nobuyoshi was right. The army, which had already withdrawn its troops to Japan, no longer had any weaknesses that the government could use to blackmail it. Therefore, the army, which was fully engaged in dealing with the domestic situation, was not something the government could handle on its own. The Navy had to share the burden of the army with the government. After all, only the army could fight back. Using an imperial edict to demand that the army obey one's will would be a second Tokugawa shogunate.

Moreover, even if the heavy industry center were located in Kansai, Inoue and Matsukata could not reach an agreement because both advocated supporting private enterprises. However, they each had their own calculations regarding which private enterprises to support. Such policies involving huge interests could not be compromised because strengthening one side meant weakening the other, and the strong would become stronger. This meant that compromise at this time would be political suicide.

Therefore, if they do not accept the Navy's suggestion to start building a heavy industrial center from scratch, they will start fighting among themselves, and others will inevitably take this opportunity to intervene, especially the Army, which reluctantly agreed to prioritize economic development.

Matsukata Masayoshi hesitated for a moment before saying to Lin Xinyi, "It seems you still advocate finding a place in Tokyo Bay to build a new heavy industrial center. However, there isn't much space in the coastal area of ​​Tokyo. It's either near Kanagawa Prefecture or the coastal area of ​​Kanagawa Prefecture, or the area of ​​Chiba Prefecture that borders Tokyo Bay. But the latter has almost no ports. Kanagawa has a few ports, but the land there doesn't seem to be very cheap."

Inoue Kaoru frowned upon hearing this. If this were in Kanagawa Prefecture or the Tokyo area near Kanagawa, the land there had appreciated significantly since the Yokohama-Tokyo railway was built. Much of the land was controlled by conglomerates like Shibusawa, and getting them to sell at a low price would be extremely difficult. Wouldn't that mean the conglomerates would reap all the benefits, leaving the inconsolable? Would they really have to sacrifice their own interests for the country without complaint?

Lin Xinyi calmly said, "I have already stated that the benefits brought by industrial development should be shared by everyone, and we cannot allow a few people to put all the benefits into their own pockets."

In the countryside, land used for growing grain costs about 150 yuan per dan (a unit of area in Taiwan), but after being transformed into an industrial zone, the land price can increase more than tenfold. And when people gather together to build a commercial district, the land price can even increase a hundredfold or a thousandfold.

For example, before Shanghai opened as a treaty port, the price of one mu of land was only twenty or thirty taels of silver, but today even in remote places like Jing'an Temple, one mu of land costs more than 2000 taels of silver, which is exactly a hundred times.

Is this high land premium due to the land's intrinsic value? Of course not. It's because the British invested heavily in infrastructure development, factories, and population growth within the concessions, leading to soaring land prices. Therefore, when a country invests heavily in industrial development in a particular area, it inevitably triggers an increase in surrounding land prices.

At times like these, it's rather shameless for landlords to claim this as their rightful wealth. The government should develop industry, but it should also distribute wealth rationally, so that the people don't think our construction efforts are a pretense for transferring benefits.

Once such dissenting voices emerge, those who haven't benefited from industrial development will inevitably rise up against industrial construction, and this sentiment will certainly be exploited by the army. Therefore, Chiba Prefecture and Kanagawa Prefecture are not the key issue; the key issue is which local landowners are more willing to share their wealth with the people. This is the best way to quell public discontent.

Kanagawa is out. Inoue and Matsukata had this thought almost simultaneously. Inoue even subconsciously glanced at Shibusawa Eiichi's expression, but the other party's expression was very calm, and he couldn't see any reaction.

The reason both elder statesmen immediately felt Kanagawa was excluded was because the construction of the Yokohama-Tokyo railway made it extremely convenient for many newly wealthy individuals to buy land along the railway line, whether for investing in businesses or building residences. If you were to ask these newly wealthy individuals whether they were willing to share the land's appreciation with the general public, the answer would naturally be no.

Even if Inoue and Matsukata join forces, they still can't make these newly rich reap what they've sown. They wouldn't do something that would incur public wrath, as they are now both powerful and influential, and can no longer afford to offend people recklessly like they did in their youth. As for Chiba Prefecture, while other parts of Tokyo have main streets leading to other areas, Chiba Prefecture is like an orphan forgotten in a corner.

Chiba Prefecture, situated on the Boso Peninsula, borders the Pacific Ocean on one side and Tokyo Bay on the other. However, the Tokugawa Shogunate's policy of isolation transformed this peninsula, which possessed excellent maritime transportation advantages, into an agricultural region. Aside from supplying agricultural products to Tokyo and guarding against dangers from the Pacific region, it served no other purpose.

Even the newly rich who moved to Tokyo after the successful overthrow of the shogunate were unwilling to settle in this rural area. On the contrary, many landowners from Chiba Prefecture abandoned their businesses and came to Tokyo to develop their careers. Therefore, if pressure were to be put on Chiba Prefecture to make the landowners hand over their land and share the profits with the public, the resistance would not be very great.

The reason they initially ruled out Chiba Prefecture was precisely because Chiba Prefecture had almost no development. If they were to start building ports and infrastructure from scratch, it would undoubtedly take a long time, and it was uncertain who would ultimately receive the investment. Therefore, everyone was striving to compete for investment by leveraging existing industrial areas.

However, Lin Xinyi reminded them that if they continued arguing like this, the industrial development plan might be ruined by the army before it even started. If the army were to disrupt the plans, no one would get anything. It would be better to listen to Lin Xinyi's suggestion and come up with a plan that shared the benefits. If all parties joined forces, even the landowners of Chiba Prefecture would have to admit defeat.

There was only one question that made Inoue hesitate. He asked Hayashi Shinichi, "There are quite a few places in Chiba Prefecture suitable for building a port. Which area does the Navy think is more suitable?"

After a moment's thought, Lin Xinyi said, "What I mean is to clear up all the land in Chiba Prefecture. This will clarify the ownership of land in Chiba Prefecture, allowing us to reserve enough land for future plans and to build Chiba Prefecture's road and water conservancy systems, thus reducing many troubles in the future."

Inoue Kaoru stared wide-eyed at Lin Xinyi and asked, "How big of a heavy industrial base does the Navy plan to build? They actually want to use the entire land of Chiba Prefecture. Even if the Navy has such ambition, the government doesn't have that much financial resources."

Lin Xinyi shook his head and said, "No, no, I am asking for a property rights review of all land in Chiba Prefecture, not that I want to use all the land in the prefecture for industry."

Inoue asked curiously, "What's the difference between the two?"

Lin Xinyi countered, "Lord Inoue must have read the reports on the land issues discussed in the first Duma of the Russian Empire, right?"

Inoue nodded and said, "The members of the Russian Duma wanted to fight for the interests of the peasants, but the Duma was dissolved by order of the Tsar. This shows how deep the gap was between the Tsar and the peasants."

Lin Xinyi ignored Inoue's remark and continued, "After reading the reports about the Russian Duma meeting, I thought of something. Minister of the Interior Stolypin took advantage of the Duma's dispute over land issues to request the Tsar to dissolve the Special Council, thus resolving the issue of Count Witte."

I think we could also learn from Prime Minister Stolypin's approach, such as stirring up a debate on land issues to create conflict between farmers and landlords. Then, while everyone is engrossed in the land issue discussion, we could propose a pilot land ownership reform policy in Chiba Prefecture, consolidating all the land in the prefecture and distributing a portion to rural landlords, a portion to self-cultivating farmers, and a portion to tenant farmers. As for areas suitable for industrial development and areas that need to build transportation roads and water conservancy facilities, we could keep them in our hands.

In this way, we can distribute the land premium resulting from the transfer of land ownership, and while everyone's attention is focused on land reform, we will also resolve the issues of industrial and infrastructure land. I believe that the tenant farmers in Chiba Prefecture will always stand by us, so we won't have to worry about the problem of landowners in Chiba Prefecture resisting orders…”

Chapter 590

Inoue Kaoru, Matsukata Masayoshi, and others were far more adept at inciting agricultural protectionists to debate national policies than Hayashi Nobuyoshi. After all, since the establishment of the Meiji Restoration Government, they had been fighting against the landlords and suppressing their advocacy for agricultural protection.

While land reform aimed to protect agriculture, this protection contradicted the interests of the landowners. The landowners wanted agriculture to be the foundation of the nation, meaning they wanted to protect agricultural prices to ensure land revenue. Industry became subservient to agriculture, providing necessary industrial goods. This was essentially the path taken by Russia and China, except that both were continental countries with vast territories. They could meet the job needs of their growing populations through small-scale farming, and as long as they didn't go to war with industrialized nations, they could maintain stable rule.

As a small island nation with limited land, Japan, no matter how much it developed its small-scale agricultural economy, could not meet the job shortages caused by its growing population. Therefore, Japan, with agriculture as its foundation, inevitably needed to expand outwards to seek new land to meet the land resources required for population growth. This was one of the driving forces behind the Army's Continental Policy and the root cause of the Meiji Restoration government's eagerness to conquer Korea as soon as it was established.

The reason why veterans like Ito Hirobumi and Yamagata Aritomo suppressed the agricultural faction was not because they had any understanding of absorbing surplus agricultural labor through industry, but because they believed that Japan could not expand outward without developing industry. They regarded industrial development as the material basis for outward expansion. The industrial faction of Ito and Yamagata was actually based on the ideology of small-scale peasant economy.

The true purpose of land reform was to completely transform agriculture into an appendage of industry, thereby forming a large-scale industrial structure. Both Germans and Americans embarked on this path, but the Junker landowners in Germany were far more powerful than the Native American landowners in the United States. Therefore, the American land reform was more thorough, and the landowning class in the United States was almost entirely confined. As a result, American agriculture became the raw material supplier for large-scale industry and the consumer market for industrial products.

The development plan for heavy industry inevitably led its supporters to favor land reform; this is the two sides of the same coin. Before this heavy industry development plan, Inoue and Matsukata, although opposing the theory of an agrarian nation, would not have promoted land reform, because there was not enough incentive for them to fight to the death with the landlord class.

However, now that the heavy industry development plan is in place, they are naturally unwilling to make any concessions to the landlord class for the sake of huge future profits. Moreover, their opponent is not the landlord class of all of Japan, but only the landlords of Chiba Prefecture. This weak opponent has no deterrent effect on them.

So Lin Xinyi only made a preliminary mention, and Inoue Kaoru and Matsukata Masayoshi had already basically figured out the entire framework of the plan. They would let the agriculturalists stir up controversy, then incite the landlords to raise public opinion in support, and then the government would take the opportunity to launch a land reform plan. In that case, the landlords would be shooting themselves in the foot. After the two sides fought for a while, the government would separate Chiba Prefecture as a pilot area for the land reform policy, and then the landlords in various places would breathe a sigh of relief.

After this small meeting, the dispute between Inoue Kaoru, Matsukata Masayoshi, and Shibusawa Eiichi regarding the heavy industry development plan almost disappeared. After Hayashi Shinji, Ito Sukeyuki, and Matsukata Masayoshi left, Inoue couldn't help but ask Shibusawa Eiichi, "The Navy's plan is indeed very thoughtful, taking into account the interests of all parties. However, with such a large sum of money invested, can we really recoup it?"

Inoue Kaoru, being a member of the Satsuma clique, didn't have a particularly close relationship with the Navy. Therefore, while he supported the heavy industry priority plan, he still had some doubts about how to recoup the investment costs. Since it wasn't convenient for him to directly question the Navy, he naturally turned to Shibusawa Eiichi, with whom he had a closer relationship, for advice.

Shibusawa Eiichi understood why Inoue Kaoru had asked him this question. He had always supported building a heavy industrial base in Tokyo Bay and had hardly hesitated on this issue. Inoue Kaoru naturally guessed that he and the Navy had reached some kind of agreement.

However, now that things have come to this point, Shibusawa naturally won't hide the subsequent industrial plans any longer. After all, Inoue has already boarded this ship. After a moment's thought, he explained: "European and American countries have two main uses for the coal and iron industries: railway construction and shipbuilding. However, after decades of construction, European and American countries have perfected their domestic railway networks, and the shipbuilding industry has stagnated because the growth rate of international trade cannot keep up with the growth rate of shipbuilding."

Therefore, Europe and America needed to export steel to meet the needs of their domestic steel industries. This export was either for investing in railway construction in underdeveloped agricultural countries or for manufacturing artillery and warships to compete for a share of world trade. As a lower-ranking power, Japan had no advantage in either of these export methods, meaning it could only rely on domestic steel consumption.

The experiences of Germany and the United States in steel development show that the larger the scale of the steel industry, the lower the cost of steel can be, thus providing a large amount of cheap steel for domestic economic development. Therefore, Japan must find new steel consumption markets to ensure that its steel costs can be reduced to a level that is internationally competitive.

Lieutenant Colonel Hayashi Shin-yi advocated developing agricultural machinery and automobile manufacturing, and establishing a merchant fleet composed of supercargo ships powered by fuel oil. Agricultural machinery was intended to improve the efficiency of agriculture on the plains of China and India, while automobile manufacturing would address areas inaccessible by rail transport, such as short-distance and mountainous routes. Supercargo ships of 10,000 tons or more would primarily serve the international trade of bulk raw materials such as ores, coal, and oil.

As long as China and India retain their ambition for self-reliance, they will certainly not reject Japan's proposal for a business alliance, since currently only the Japanese navy in the East can provide maritime protection for Sino-Indian international trade…