Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 16

Just as Lin Muzi was secretly sipping a drink, the door was suddenly pulled open. Uchida Hana and her adopted daughter looked at each other, both of them quite surprised. It took Uchida a while to react. She rushed over with small steps and slapped her hard on the back several times, scolding, "You're even drinking in broad daylight now?"

Lin Muzi shielded the wine bottle, dodging her foster mother's slaps, and defended herself, saying, "It's your fault for walking so quietly. If you had made even the slightest sound, I would have hidden the wine sooner..."

Uchida ultimately couldn't bring herself to really hit her, after all, Lin Muzi was gradually becoming a favorite at the Hama family, and might soon become the family's mainstay. After hitting her for a while, she finally sat down on the tatami, panting, and then glanced at the wine glass. Lin Muzi immediately sat up obediently and poured a glass for her foster mother.

Uchida calmed down after drinking a cup of sake and asked his daughter, "How was your day?"

Lin Muzi tilted her head and thought for a long time before saying, "I met him today. But I think he's a strange person. He seems to know a lot about things in other parts of the world, but he just doesn't know how to please the girls around him. I don't think he'll be a customer that the older ladies like..."

After listening, Uchida got up to leave, but before leaving, he looked at his daughter and said, "Don't be curious about him, it's just a test. Invite him to a trip to Hiroshima in three weeks. Also, Mr. Tomiyama has found you a place to stay. Pack your things and stay there for the next three weeks. Don't drink secretly anymore."

Lin Muzi sat upright, bowed to her mother, and replied, "Yes, Mother."

The next morning, when Lin Xinyi entered the Imperial Library's reading room, he discovered that someone was already sitting there before him, right across from his usual seat. It was the female student who had asked him to find the book the day before.

Although the other person didn't bother him, Lin Xinyi couldn't concentrate all day. He kept glancing up at the other person, and not only him, but the other men in the reading room were also attracted to him. Just when Lin Xinyi thought the other person had probably forgotten about him and was about to pack up and leave for lunch, Lin Muzi ran up to him and said happily, "What are you doing here? Thank you so much for yesterday."

Looking at the sincere-looking girl, Lin Xinyi couldn't help but smile wryly and say, "I've been here all along. It seems my face is rather ordinary, which is why you didn't recognize me sooner. I'm truly sorry."

Lin Muzi said apologetically, "I'm quite focused when I'm reading, so I didn't notice what was happening around me. How about I treat you to lunch to make up for it?"

As Lin Xinyi hesitated, Lin Muzi had already helped him tidy up the things on the table, and looked curiously at the draft on the table, saying, "Are you writing a novel? The international gold standard..."

Lin Xinyi quickly covered the manuscript on the table and said, "It's not a novel, just some notes. I know a tempura place nearby that's pretty good, can you eat there?"

Lin Muzi brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and said with a smile, "I love tempura the most..."

For the next two days, Lin Muzi appeared in the reading room early each morning and naturally sat down next to Lin Xinyi. The two gradually became familiar with each other, and Lin Xinyi realized that they were actually the same age—referring to their bodies, of course. However, on the fifth day, Lin Muzi did not appear, which left Lin Xinyi somewhat dazed all day.

It happened to be Mr. Abe's German class in the afternoon. Seeing that Lin Xinyi was always daydreaming, he finally sighed, put down his textbook, and said to the student, "You look preoccupied today. You won't be able to study effectively in this state. I think you could tell me what happened, or we could just end the class today."

Lin Xinyi looked at the teacher, feeling embarrassed, and said, "There was a girl who didn't say hello today, which worried me. I wondered what happened to her. I'm very sorry..."

After hearing this, Abe simply laughed and said to him, "What's there to apologize for? You're just lustful and yearning for young women, you're just going through puberty..."

Chapter 54 Declaration

Lin Xinyi could only acquiesce to Abe's opinion, because he also felt it was true. Otherwise, why would he be interested in a girl he had only known for a few days?

On the morning of the sixth day, the girl still hadn't appeared. Lin Xinyi looked at the article he had written, which was more than half finished, and suddenly felt completely lost. He finally sighed and left the library early for the first time.

After wandering aimlessly through the streets for half a day, Lin Xinyi asked Abe in his dormitory that afternoon, "Teacher, please let me translate the Declaration of the Communist Alliance."

Abe looked at him with some surprise and said, "With your current level of German, you're probably still a bit short of translating the declaration. But that's not the key issue. Many of the contents of the declaration are considered treasonous by our bureaucrats. I don't think it's the right time to translate it until the people's civil rights consciousness has been awakened."

Lin Hsin-yi confidently stated, "I'm looking for some challenging work right now, and I think the declaration is perfect for that challenge. Also, I don't plan to translate it into Japanese. You're right, translating the declaration into Japanese now would probably cause trouble, but I can translate it into Chinese."

Professor Abe, I don't think it matters much whether communist ideology spreads to China or Japan first; the important thing is to spread it out first. Given the current situation, perhaps the Chinese will be more receptive to it than the Japanese. Once the Chinese begin studying communism, we can use the pretext of studying China to reintroduce communism into Japan, and the bureaucrats won't be so resistant.

Abe frowned, looked at Lin Xinyi, and then said, "Communist propaganda targets the working class. Even in Japan, I don't think many people can accept it. Given China's closed-off and backward nature, how many people can understand it?"

Lin Xinyi immediately objected, saying, "I don't think communism is only for the working class; it's just that the working class is more likely to accept this idea. The core of communism is actually only one thing: the abolition of private ownership."

As long as people agree on the abolition of private ownership, they can accept it. China may not yet have a class that can accept the abolition of private ownership, but the current situation in China already has the conditions to make a portion of the Chinese people accept the idea of ​​abolishing private ownership.

Because only by eliminating private ownership and concentrating all resources can contemporary China defeat imperialism and establish a new, independent nation. I call this a wartime communist system. What the Chinese need is not to understand communism, but to learn how to utilize it.

Abe hesitated for a moment before saying, "While I believe communism is a better social system, I think it is impossible to completely eliminate private ownership. I think communists are too radical on the issue of eliminating private ownership."

Lin Xinyi thought for a moment and said, "Communism is an ideal, not a solution. Whether or not one agrees to the abolition of private ownership is precisely the irreconcilable contradiction between communists and those who attempt to revise communism. Professor Abe, I believe that there can be no compromise on this issue, otherwise revisionists will inevitably destroy communism."

After thinking for a moment, Abe shook his head and said, "We can discuss this issue later, but you can try translating it. If the translation is not good, I will not agree to you spreading it."

Hayashi Shin-yi accepted Abe's request. Although his German was indeed poor, he had an advantage that was hard for others in his time to match: he had seen the best version of the manifesto in later generations.

Before the afternoon session ended, Lin Xinyi had translated eight hundred words. Abe took it and read the first sentence: "A specter, the specter of communism, is haunting Europe..."

Having received a classical Chinese education, Abe naturally understood it. He couldn't help but exclaim to Hayashi Nobuyoshi with great admiration, "Just looking at this one sentence, I think your translation is quite remarkable..."

Inspired by Hayashi Shin-yi's translation, Abe suggested that Hayashi stay in his dormitory and translate the entire text with him, as he now also had a passion to translate the declaration into Japanese.

Lin Xinyi accepted Abe's invitation and asked a restaurant errand boy to deliver a note to Ogawa's house informing him that he was temporarily staying at Abe's place. With Abe's assistance, the translation of the declaration was expedited. After Abe translated it into Japanese, Lin Xinyi revised it into Chinese based on his memory.

The two worked for three days and three nights, finally translating the declaration into both Japanese and Chinese. Lin Xinyi took the Chinese version of the declaration to bid farewell to Professor Abe, returned to the Ogawa residence to wash up and rest, and after waking up, he copied it again and sent it to Cai E.

After a busy morning, there was no need to go to Professor Abe's place today. Just as he was thinking about where to go, a public carriage stopped in front of him. Lin Xinyi glanced at the route and saw that it was heading towards the Imperial Library. He eventually got into the carriage.

At the entrance of the reading room, Lin Xinyi carefully scanned the area but did not find the person he was looking for. He felt both disappointed and somewhat relieved. However, at that moment, a footstep suddenly stopped behind him. He turned around and saw Lin Muzi standing behind him.

Their eyes met, and neither spoke for a moment. Under the girl's adoring gaze, Lin Xinyi felt a little overwhelmed and blurted out, "I saw you weren't inside, so I thought you weren't coming today..."

Before Lin Xinyi could finish speaking, the girl suddenly ran over quickly and threw herself into his arms, whispering in a tearful voice, "I haven't seen you for several days. I thought you weren't coming."

What could Lin Xinyi say at this point? He could only gently hug the girl back and sincerely say, "I've been waiting for you too. You haven't come for two days, and I didn't know where to look for you. Mu Zi, I think I might be falling for you..."

"You bastards, what are you doing? This is a sacred library, not a place for you to flirt!" An angry male voice rang out behind the two.

Lin Xinyi turned around and saw a young man in his thirties standing at the entrance of the reading room, staring at him fiercely. There were also more than ten men in the reading room looking at him with hostility.

Lin Muzi was quite obedient; she bowed and apologized to the people in the reading room while pulling Lin Xinyi away. Once they reached the small garden downstairs, Lin Xinyi, panting, said, "I think they're just jealous of me."

Lin Muzi looked at him without saying a word, and then the two of them looked at each other and laughed. Lin Xinyi felt like he had suddenly become a man with a girlfriend; he hadn't even reacted yet. But looking into Lin Muzi's affectionate eyes, he felt it was only natural.

Over the next week, Lin Muzi began openly accompanying him to the library to read and also went with him to see Professor Anbe. She also helped Lin Xinyi organize his daily reading notes and essays, which enabled Lin Xinyi to quickly complete an article that he had been unable to finish before.

Seeing Lin Xinyi finish writing an article and then take out another piece of paper to write something, Lin Muzi asked in surprise, "Didn't you just finish one? Why are you already thinking about writing another one?"

As Lin Xinyi wrote, he replied, "No, this is a letter to my sister. I haven't had a chance to reply to her before, but I just remembered it and decided to write it down."

Hearing it was a letter from home, Lin Muzi initially didn't want to read it, but after glancing at it, she asked with some surprise, "Are you trying to persuade your sister's in-laws to let her go to school? But isn't she already married?"

Lin Xinyi said without looking up, "Yes, but marriage and studying don't conflict. My sister had excellent grades when she was in school. If she hadn't gotten married, she might have been able to go to university."

Although Japanese women have gained a lot of freedom since the Meiji Restoration, they have always been educated to be good wives and mothers. University is an unattainable goal for women, and Lin Muzi was very surprised by Lin Xinyi's idea.

Chapter 55 Progress

In response to Lin Muzi's question, Lin Xinyi replied without hesitation: "A Chinese person once said that women hold up half the sky. Therefore, it is naturally beneficial for women to study."

Lin Muzi asked in surprise, "Which Chinese person said that? I've never heard of it before?"

Lin Xinyi was momentarily speechless, then picked up a piece of paper and handed it to her, changing the subject: "I recently heard about the Russians' massacres in Manchuria, China, and I wrote a song. Could you help me compose the music? I think the melody should be something like this: 'Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves…'"

Lin Muzi's attention was indeed diverted, and she hummed along with Lin Xinyi's tune. That day, Lin Xinyi took Lin Muzi home for the first time. In the living room, he saw an enlarged photograph of a man. "Ah, your father is in the navy."

Lin Muzi felt her heart beat slightly faster, but she still replied naturally, "Yes, he serves at the Etajima Naval Academy..."

In November, under the united pressure of the great powers, Germany was the first to change its mind and abandon its attempt to partition China. After losing Germany as a supporter, Russia also fell into a predicament of being unable to support itself alone, and ultimately had to accept the opinion of preserving China, which was led by Britain, Japan, the United States and France. In order to prevent Russia and Germany from going their own way on the Far East issue, the British and Americans put forward the principle of unity among the great powers.

The Japanese government, which had initially gained a certain voice on the China issue, had this voice cleverly stripped away by the British, who exploited the principle of unity among the great powers. Because within the diplomatic corps, the Japanese never received support from the other powers, making them an outlier. Yamagata was therefore greatly disappointed with Ito's diplomatic approach, believing that this situation ultimately stemmed from Japan's insufficient military strength, which prevented it from gaining support within the diplomatic corps.

However, Yamagata did admit in private meetings with Choshu officials that Japan's moderate approach in the Qing Dynasty incident had won the favor of Britain, the United States, and China, which meant that Japan was not as isolated in the international order as before.

Following the Sino-Japanese War, Japan's exorbitant demands for war reparations led to its international isolation. This made the Japanese leadership extremely wary of any agreement reached between China and Russia that could threaten Japan's position in Korea.

When the great powers reached a consensus on preserving China, it was precisely after Empress Dowager Cixi fled to Xi'an that the spontaneous resistance against the invaders by the people in various parts of North China was at its most intense. Although Waldersee had already arrived in China with the German expeditionary force, and Britain had also transferred troops from India to Tianjin, apart from Russia's nearly 20 troops in Manchuria, the total strength of the allied forces in North China was only slightly over 4. After occupying Tianjin and Beijing, they had no spare mobile forces.

However, when Empress Dowager Cixi ordered the Chinese government troops to cease resistance, Liu Chengxiang led the Boxers to continue resisting the invading army in the suburbs of Tianjin, Zhou Laokun, the leader of the Boxer Rebellion, led his troops to persist in fighting in the mountains, and Guo Fengchun, the leader of the Boxers, fought against the invading army and government troops in Guangchang. Armed resistance broke out in many other parts of North China, and some government soldiers scattered by the invaders joined these civilian resistance forces. This forced the Germans, who had initially attempted to suppress the Chinese by force, to abandon their plans to conquer China by force.

Waldersee wrote to his friends back home, saying, "Once we leave Beijing, our massive army is like a small boat adrift at sea. We have no idea where our enemy is, because everyone here could become our enemy. To make the Chinese submit, we would have to transfer at least half of our troops from Europe to here, which is clearly unwise."

It was precisely because Germany saw that it could not benefit from an expanding war, and might even lose the fruits of its victory, that the Germans embraced the British principle of great power unity, attempting to maximize the preservation of their gains under this principle. The Anglo-German agreement, reached between Germany and Britain, divided the sphere of influence in the Yangtze River basin and indeed achieved Germany's minimum objective of sending troops.

The compromise between Britain and Germany made it possible for the Allied forces and the Qing government to cease hostilities and negotiate peace. In November, based on the results of consultations with the Allied forces, the Qing government ordered General Zhuohabu of Heilongjiang, General Zengqi of Fengtian, and General Changshun of Jilin to negotiate with the Russian commander in the Northeast and take over the three northeastern provinces respectively.

Although Russia was forced to accept the principle of unity among the great powers in diplomacy, the Russian army was unwilling to give up the benefits it had gained. Taking advantage of the fact that Zeng Qi dared not personally go to Lushun to negotiate, but only sent an official to discuss the withdrawal of troops, the Russian commander-in-chief took the opportunity to force the official to sign the Provisional Regulations for the Handover of Fengtian.

The treaty nominally returned the three northeastern provinces to China from Russia and restored the title of General of Shengjing, but in reality, it placed the General of Shengjing under the control of the Russian governor and his military and political forces. Furthermore, Article 9 explicitly stipulated that in case of disputes over the first eight articles, the Russian version would prevail. This clearly indicated a prelude to amending the treaty.

The disclosure of this charter caused an uproar both domestically and internationally. Faced with protests from both Chinese and foreign governments, the Russians remained silent, realizing that there was no force in East Asia that could force them to back down. Japan's show of weakness in this incident emboldened Russia.

Ito devoted all his energy to dealing with the North Qing Incident, and with the formation of the New Party, he had no time to pay attention to Hayashi Nobuyoshi. On the other hand, Saigo's shift from the army's perspective to view the Manchurian issue further confirmed Hayashi Nobuyoshi's judgment: if a war broke out between Japan and Russia over Manchuria, then in addition to Nicholas II, the Japanese navy would indeed be among the losers.

The Russian army mobilized 17 troops in such a short time, and this seems to be more than the maximum capacity of the Far East Military District. This action alone shows that if a war were to break out between Japan and Russia, the scale of the war would inevitably exceed that of the Sino-Japanese War. Because in Manchuria, the Russian army has nothing to be spared in terms of destruction.

Even if Japan defeated Russia, in order to occupy such a vast territory as Manchuria, the army would inevitably have to increase its division size. In contrast, even if the Japanese navy, allied with Britain, increased its warships, what would it target? The British had the strongest navy in the Pacific.

Is the Navy targeting the Chinese Navy, which lacks capital ships, or the US Navy, which focuses its main forces on the Atlantic coast? Targeting China only reinforces the legitimacy of the Army's continental policy; targeting the US, the Navy still hasn't figured out its purpose.

Fears of a US naval invasion of Japan are a mere excuse to fool the ignorant masses; the US Navy did not demonstrate such deterrent power during the Spanish-American War. Without British support, the US Navy would never have been able to engage the Spanish in the Philippines, as it lacked supply ports in Asia.

However, the Japanese leadership also recognized that driving out the Americans from the Philippines would not cause any damage to the United States, but would only lead to a confrontation between the two countries. Furthermore, Japan's strength was insufficient to attack the US West Coast.

This created a delicate situation where Japan held an advantage over the United States in Asia, but could not benefit from defeating the US because the British would not allow Japan to take over the Philippine Islands after the Americans left. The Japanese navy could raise the issue of the American threat, but this was merely an excuse to increase naval spending.

Submitting to the army-led continental policy was essentially the navy's tacit acceptance of reality when there was no other way out. But now that Lin Xinyi has pointed out to Saigo that Britain's power has passed its peak and will begin to decline, starting to shrink its influence globally, even Saigo, who doesn't know much about the navy, can understand that the navy's way out has finally appeared.

Therefore, the Russians' actions in Manchuria only reinforced Saigo's impression that British power was beginning to decline, and he naturally focused some of his energy on getting Hayashi Shin-yi into the naval academy.

After confirming Lin Xinyi's exam results, he gave instructions to Tomiyama Mitsuru, telling him to prepare to send the man to Hiroshima. To prevent any mistakes, Saigo added a special instruction to Tomiyama Mitsuru: "Make sure he goes to Hiroshima willingly, preferably directly to Etajima Island."

This was indeed a confusing instruction for Mitsuru Tomiyama, so he could only call on Hana Uchida and Kazuko Hayashi to inquire about the progress of the matter.

Chapter Fifty-Six: Preventing the War

When Lin Muzi sat down in front of Tomiyama Mitsuru and Sugiyama Shigemaru, she once again became the impeccably polite Nishikawa Kimai. When Tomiyama Mitsuru asked her a question, Lin Muzi thought for a moment before replying, "I can sense that he likes me, but not to the point of infatuation. Regarding the Navy, Mr. Lin seems indifferent, but because of my position, he hasn't made any comment on the Navy. Mr. Tomiyama, I would like to ask you for a favor."

Although her foster mother kept giving Mu Zi meaningful glances, Mu Zi remained steadfast in her gaze towards Tomiyama Mitsuru. Tomiyama glanced at the two women in front of him, nodded without changing his expression, and said, "You speak."

Lin Muzi took a piece of paper from her pocket and placed it on the tatami mat in front of her. Then she said to Tomiyama Mitsuru, "I hope to use this to exchange for my graduation exam."

Tomiyama frowned but didn't speak. Sugiyama Shigemaru, who was standing next to him, finally spoke up: "Miss Kimai thinks that a single page like this can exempt her from the graduation exam? This is not what we agreed on before."

Muko bowed her head to Tomiyama Mitsuru in apology, but still insisted, "I think this page is worth as much as my graduation exam. If Mr. Tomiyama insists that I continue with this graduation exam, I can't guarantee that I will pass. Nobuyoshi is not a fool who can be easily manipulated by a woman, and I can't persuade him to enroll in the Naval Academy."

Tomiyama Mitsuru remained silent, while Sugiyama Shigemaru got up, walked over to Hayashi Muko, picked up the page, and returned to his seat. As he looked at the page, Sugiyama Shigemaru said, "You don't need to persuade him to enroll. That's just the perfect requirement. You'll be qualified as long as you bring him to Etajima."

Lin Muzi gritted her teeth and said, "But if I can't be perfect, then I can't admit that I passed the graduation exam, and I can't accept the name Nishikawa Chizō. I've been practicing since I was a child, and until today, I've been striving for perfection. I can't accept an imperfect version of myself."

Sugiyama Shigemaru sighed, put down the paper in his hand, and said coldly to Lin Muzi, "Compared to your feelings, I only care about whether you can complete this mission. You're right, this page of paper is indeed equivalent to your graduation exam, but it still can't compare to this mission."

"How about we make another deal? Give me the entire text of this article, and after this task is completed, you'll gain complete freedom, true freedom. We'll no longer interfere with your life. What do you say, Miss Dance?"

The proprietress of the restaurant, Uchida Hana, wanted to say something upon hearing this, but Tomiyama Mitsuru gestured to her, and she finally kept quiet. Kneeling on the tatami mat, Lin Muzi was bewildered. These past few days with Lin Xinyi, she truly didn't want to continue this charade. Each encounter with him brought her a sense of novelty; Lin Xinyi's mind was always full of whimsical ideas, which often made her forget her own identity and discuss the possibilities of these ideas with him, such as machines that could fly into the sky.

However, faced with the temptation offered by Sugiyama Shigemaru, Lin Muzi finally surrendered. She promised Sugiyama that she would memorize the second half of the article as soon as possible, and she also promised Toyama that she would take Lin Xinyi to Etajima Island in a week.

Just as Lin Muzi stiffly stood up to take her leave, Sugiyama Shigemaru suddenly asked her again, "Lin-kun, did you write anything else? If so, please write it down as well."

Lin Muzi thought of that song, but she quickly shook her head and said, "No, he only wrote this one piece."

Watching the two women leave, Tomiyama Mitsuru asked Sugiyama Shigemaru, "What is it that you care about so much?"

After a moment of silence, Sugiyama Shigemaru said, "This article is about what would happen if China imposed huge reparations on various countries."

Tomiyama asked curiously, "What is it?"

Sugiyama Shigemaru stated, "China, as a major silver-based economy on Earth, will completely lose its ability to formulate monetary policy. The global gold standard has finally achieved a complete victory. In the coming period, the gold-to-silver ratio will continue to rise, and China, the US, and Japan will all be victims..."

"...The British Empire's hegemony consisted of three parts: the international gold standard, the British Royal Fleet, The Times, and the Encyclopedia Britannica. These elements constituted the British Empire's monetary, military, and cultural hegemony...If China loses the power to set monetary policy, it means that silver will depreciate more rapidly, and this depreciation will severely damage the United States, the world's largest silver producer..."

As a developing country, Japan, despite joining the gold standard alliance, lacks sufficient domestic gold reserves and manufacturing capacity. This means that rising gold prices will increase the interest payments on Japan's foreign debt, and importing machinery from gold standard countries like the US and Europe will significantly increase costs…

In his study, after reading the article aloud, Ito Hirobumi looked at Inoue Kaoru and Matsukata Masayoshi sitting opposite him and asked, "Do you think the analysis in this article makes sense?"

After thinking for a while, Matsukata Masayoshi said, "Theoretically, that's true, but our country's losses in trade shouldn't be too great, because we can transfer the losses from the appreciation of gold by importing raw materials from China. However, our current foreign debt interest is a real problem. If gold prices rise, we'll have to export more raw silk, but it shouldn't jeopardize the normal operation of our finances."

Hirobumi Ito then asked, "So, if the government decides to go to war with Russia, how much money do we need to prepare to support this war?"

After considering for a moment, Matsukata said, "We raised 2 million yen for the Sino-Japanese War. I think we should multiply that by five, which would be about 10 billion yen in reserves for the Russo-Japanese War. In that case, we would have to borrow at least 5 million yen. However, as long as we win this war, we can still fill this gap by using the reparations from Russia."

Ito Hirobumi shook his head and said, "Russia will cede Manchuria, but it won't pay reparations. If we had won the naval battles but lost the land battles in the Sino-Japanese War, do you think we would have paid reparations to the Chinese?"

Matsukata and Inoue were both stunned. In that case, Japan certainly wouldn't pay reparations, because the Chinese would lose their ability to land in Japan. At most, Japan would just acknowledge that Korea still belonged to China. Thinking about it this way, it was indeed impossible for the Russians to obediently pay reparations, because Russia's territories in the Far East were all seized. If they lost a war, they would at most give up a little land, how could they possibly pay a huge sum in compensation?

However, this put Japan in a dilemma. Although winning would give them control of Manchuria, it would also leave them with a huge amount of foreign debt. The appreciation of gold would further increase the foreign debt, and the people would probably find it difficult to accept this outcome.

While the two remained silent, Ito continued, "Even if we defeat the Russians, Manchuria may not necessarily fall into our hands."

Inoue dismissively said, "Since the Chinese couldn't defend Manchuria from the Russians, and we drove the Russians away, then Manchuria should naturally belong to Japan. Do you think the Qing people wouldn't dare ask the Russians for it back, but would they dare ask us for Manchuria?"

Matsukata nodded in agreement, but Ito said with a wry smile, "If Japan borrows money under the pretext of competing with Russia for Manchuria, even if it manages to get the money, the interest rates will be outrageously high. Only by declaring war on Russia from the standpoint of maintaining order in East Asia can Japan prevent France from siding with Russia, and only then will Japanese government bonds not face resistance in the international financial market."

You're right. The Qing Dynasty didn't have the guts to demand the return of Manchuria, but the great powers wouldn't tolerate our occupation of Manchuria in this way. It would mean a major reshuffling of all colonies, and the foundation of international law would cease to exist. In the eyes of the British, we were just another disruptor of the global order.

Then you should think about the Triple Intervention and the return of Liaodong. If another multinational intervention were to occur at that time, would the Chinese pay to ransom Manchuria back?

Neither Inoue nor Matsukata were speechless. After a long while, Matsukata finally spoke up and asked, "So, what exactly does Lord Ito mean by summoning us here?"

Hirobumi Ito sighed, looking at the two earnestly, and said, "To prevent the government from escalating tensions with Russia, Japan cannot fall into this trap..."

Chapter Fifty-Seven Plan

Under the illumination of an incandescent light bulb, Matsukata Masayoshi and Inoue Kaoru, who were sitting in the study, both had solemn expressions. Although they were allies with Ito Hirobumi, they also had their own groups to take care of, or rather, they were representatives of the interests of certain groups. Preventing the Russo-Japanese War was not something they could do at will.

Inoue Kaoru bluntly told his old friend, "Of course, it is our wish to stop this war, but whether we can stop it is another matter. Once the whole country has formed the atmosphere of wanting to fight that existed before the Sino-Japanese War, we will not be able to stop this war. Russia's actions in Manchuria have already made the people feel fear, and I'm afraid it is not something we can stop just because we want to."

Although Matsukata Masayoshi did not speak, he nodded slightly in agreement. Ito Hirobumi, who was sitting opposite the two, took out another piece of paper and placed it on the table. He then said to the two of them, "You are right. So I have another plan here. See if it works. You should be more professional than me in this area."