Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 219

If he doesn't want to listen to Sun Yat-sen's slogans, he can also choose to break the deadlock by force.

After all, history has shown that the emperor is the one with the strongest army and the most powerful troops.

With the secret societies and armed forces that Sun Yat-sen mobilized, how could they possibly compete with the Beiyang Army for control of the country?

Therefore, even though Yuan Shikai knew that the British did not want him to get too close to the Japanese, he still eagerly accepted the olive branch extended by the Japanese.

Although Britain is undoubtedly the global hegemon from a global perspective, it has too many other places to focus its efforts on, and it cannot concentrate all its resources on East Asia.

In particular, the outcome of the Tibetan War caused Yuan Shikai to lose confidence in the British Army, making Japan a better option in comparison.

As long as Japan does not demand sovereignty over Manchuria, Yuan Shikai would not mind exchanging some economic benefits for Japan's support.

After all, Japan was the biggest supporter of the Beiyang Army before the war, and the number of Japanese army advisors in the Beiyang Army far exceeded the number of personnel sent by other powers.

After Germany sided with Wuhan, the biggest obstacle to the relationship between the Beiyang Army and Japan disappeared. Yuan Shikai was unwilling to choose sides between Japan and Germany, so he never fully used Japanese weapons to arm the Beiyang Army.

However, Germany's strong support for Wuhan and the obstacles encountered in obtaining loans for purchasing German arms—the Germans were unwilling to offer preferential loans, while Britain and Japan were unwilling to lend money to the Beiyang government to purchase German arms—ultimately led Yuan Shikai to gravitate towards the Anglo-Japanese alliance.

This time, Japan's proposal for East Asian peace further strengthened his trust in Japan.

Faced with British skepticism about Sino-Japanese reconciliation, Yuan Shikai convened a meeting of the Beiyang military and political leaders. In the end, everyone agreed that relations with Britain needed to be maintained, but the suggestions made by the British should not be treated as gospel.

Duan Qirui bluntly stated: "It is Wuhan, not us, that wants to protect Korea. We have no ambitions for the Korean Peninsula. As long as the Japanese do not covet Manchuria, then Sino-Japanese peace will naturally be in our favor."

"Moreover, after the reconciliation between China and Japan, Wuhan can no longer incite the public to force the central government to antagonize Japan."

"Although Wuhan occupied northern Manchuria, the most suitable routes for Japan to attack China from the Korean Peninsula and by sea were on the Liaodong Peninsula."

"In other words, with the deterioration of relations between Japan and China, southern Manchuria will inevitably become the main battlefield. Isn't this just using our losses to increase the popularity of Wuhan?"

"Therefore, I support reconciliation between China and Japan. As for the British, they're always trying to make us yellow-skinned people fight amongst ourselves so that we'll submit to them. We'd be fools to listen to them completely..."

Duan Qirui's speech received unanimous approval from the Beiyang Army, whose soldiers were unwilling to fight the Japanese. They felt that it would be most advantageous for them to let Japan and Wuhan fight each other.

As for government officials, the diplomatic system led by international students does not entirely agree with the military's opinion.

They believe that the current international order is a British-led Eurocentric system, and that Japan has no say in the international order. They argue that Japan is going against the British instructions to get closer to Japan, and what if Japan can't withstand the pressure from the British and gives up on reconciliation?

Interior officials, represented by Xu Shichang, adopted a compromise between the two sides. Xu Shichang argued that "openly opposing the British proposal is obviously not advisable, because we cannot be sure which side Japan will take."

"But if the British are only making suggestions privately, then we don't have to obey them completely; we can wait and see how things develop before making a decision."

"Therefore, regarding the Japanese proposal for peace in East Asia, we must first determine how much the Japanese are willing to sacrifice for peace; at the very least, it cannot be just a slogan. Secondly, we need to determine the intensity of the British opposition. If the British cannot publicly state their position, then naturally we do not need to respond publicly..."

Xu Shichang's suggestion was obviously the one that Yuan Shikai liked the most. However, although they were observing the situation, the general stance of the Beiyang government was still that they hoped to achieve Sino-Japanese reconciliation in order to eliminate the risk of conflict between China and Japan.

In the eyes of the Beiyang clique, even though this war against foreign powers had achieved some victories, it was not actually a victory for China. Without the support of Britain, the United States, and Japan, how could China alone withstand the combined attack of the Russian army and navy?

Therefore, the Beiyang government did not take the national consciousness aroused by the Chinese people because of this victory to heart. They still held the mentality of the late Qing Dynasty, that national affairs and the will of the people were irrelevant and depended only on the decisions of those in power.

However, regardless of the circumstances, the upper echelons of the Beiyang government finally reached a consensus, and thus the Beiyang government, unusually, aligned itself with public opinion and showed great expectations for peace in East Asia.

The positive response from the Chinese government and public opinion towards peace in East Asia has, in turn, greatly boosted the Japanese people's expectations for peace in East Asia.

705

With China's positive response, Japanese public opinion holds high hopes for Sino-Japanese reconciliation to resolve the North Korean issue, and consequently, public support for the military reduction bill has been expressed. According to some Japanese political and business elites, if East Asian peace can be achieved, reducing military spending from 30-33% of government expenditure to below 25% would significantly boost the economy.

Excluding war expenditures, the daily expenses of the army and navy have reached around 200 million yen, more than double the 80-90 million yen of ten years ago. However, the increase in military spending is for the purpose of protecting Japan's national defense and security. Under pressure from Russia, the people, while enduring high taxes, have no choice but to accept the reality of continuously increasing military spending.

The public simply attributed the pain of enduring high taxes to the Russians' threatening actions against Japan, rather than seeing it as the army and navy using the threat of war to increase their own budgets. However, Japan suffered enormous casualties and material losses in this war against Russia, yet the Russians refused to acknowledge defeat and provide compensation in accordance with international norms. This caused even the most ardent supporters of the war to lose faith in the idea of ​​using war to sustain the war effort.

In fact, some army generals vigorously advocated fighting Russia before the war, making empty promises to the people that they would get Russia to sign an agreement similar to the Treaty of Shimonoseki. However, in the later stages of the war, they talked about seeking peace through victory. Such inconsistent statements did indeed break the hearts of many people who supported the army.

The navy has always been cautious about this war. After all, the navy is not confident in fighting the Russian navy. There is no geographical advantage at sea, and if the navy suffers too many losses in the war, Japan will not be able to replenish the losses, whether it is skilled ship operators or warships. This is a clear disadvantage for Japan against the great powers. Although Russia is not famous for its navy in Europe, Russia is still one of the great powers.

Therefore, both before and after the war, the navy's attitude towards the war was to accept the gains and withdraw. Driving Russian naval power out of East Asia was the navy's greatest objective, a far more realistic goal than the army's boasts. However, the public clearly preferred the army's grand pronouncements and thus never truly supported the navy's stance. Ultimately, their high expectations of the army were shattered by its actions.

Therefore, after the Hibiya Incident, the Japanese people's aversion to war began to rise rapidly. Some people believed that the army was full of empty promises and liars. They said that the army sent the sons of ordinary families to the battlefield, claiming that they would give them a rich reward, but in reality, the army was only concerned with its own honor. In order to ensure that the victory would not be taken back by the Russians, the army chose to end the war to preserve its honor, leaving the people with only a letter of condolence and a long-term temporary tax.

Therefore, after the Hihiya Burning Incident, public concern shifted from domestic affairs to Japan's international standing. In other words, the public's focus moved from national honor to improving their own lives. The collapse of the Saionji Cabinet further fueled public discontent with the army, causing its reputation among the people to decline steadily.

When Tamura Yoshiyuki took over as Minister of the Army, apart from the lower and middle-ranking officers in the army who had little contact with the outside world, the army's high command had already felt that the public's dissatisfaction with the military, especially the army, was constantly rising. This was the main reason why Yamagata and others believed that the military downsizing plan could not be opposed any longer, because the army could not confront the government without the support of the people.

Of course, to appease the discontent of the dismissed officers and soldiers, the person who accepted the downsizing plan naturally had to take the blame for betraying the army. As the first Chief of the General Staff of the Army who was not from Choshu, Tamura was indeed quite suitable to take the blame.

On the one hand, Tamura's past reputation was enough to suppress the dissatisfaction of junior and middle-ranking officers and prevent a mass incident from occurring; on the other hand, the Choshu faction could take the opportunity to purge some mid- to high-ranking officers who were not from Choshu, thus preserving the positions of officers from the Choshu faction.

Of course, Yamagata Aritomo and Katsura Taro were prepared. They felt that Tamura might not be willing to accept such an outcome and might try to resist, such as delaying the military downsizing plan or unilaterally announcing his resignation. However, just as they were figuring out how to get Tamura to accept the Choshu faction's will and help the army overcome this crisis, Tamura's reaction was unexpected.

Tamura did not attempt to delay the government's proposed military downsizing plan, nor did he try to shirk responsibility. Instead, he approached the plan with an overly positive attitude. This positive attitude meant that Tamura tried to persuade the army to accept the government's demands, and he invoked the influence of two senior figures in the army, Takasugi and Ōmura, in an attempt to persuade army officers and soldiers to accept the needs of the nation in addressing the military downsizing plan.

As for the results, they were actually much better than everyone had imagined. The scene of public outrage that Yamagata and Katsura Taro had envisioned did not erupt. Although Tamura's efforts to persuade the army to accept the military downsizing plan were unpopular and many army officers were dissatisfied with Tamura's actions in private, there was no sign of officers banding together to cause trouble in public. Although a few individuals stood up to question the military downsizing plan, no atmosphere of confrontation formed within the army.

Such signs are indeed quite surprising. If the opposition to the military downsizing plan is only this level, then Terauchi would not have needed to take such a drastic stance. Compromising with the government and appeasing the military would obviously be more beneficial to maintaining the political image of the Choshu faction.

However, Yamagata, Katsura Taro, and others forgot that the first thing they would be questioned about in leading the troop reduction plan was not the reduction itself, but the Choshu faction's self-interest. If the troop reduction was a fair reduction in personnel, then the officers and soldiers would not be unable to understand it, but would simply find it difficult to accept reality. However, if the Choshu faction led the troop reduction but only reduced personnel outside the Choshu faction, it would naturally provoke double discontent, making it easier for the laid-off officers and soldiers to band together in resistance.

Although Tamura was a member of the Choshu faction, his public conflict with Yamagata during the First Sino-Japanese War was known to most of the army. Therefore, when Tamura took over as Minister of the Army and tried to persuade everyone to accept the military reduction plan, he did not represent the will of the Choshu faction, but rather a soldier speaking for the government. From this point of view, protests against Tamura himself were actually ineffective, because they could not change the government's decision. If someone else had taken over, they would still have to implement the military reduction plan, and they might not have been as correct in their stance as Tamura.

Then, Tamura was the only high-ranking army official who was willing to openly discuss the military downsizing plan. Although Terauchi Masatake had previously protested the military downsizing plan to the government by resigning, Terauchi had not expressed his position on the military downsizing plan at any army meeting. His resignation was a personal decision, not a collective judgment made after discussions within the army.

Judging from Terauchi's actions, his resignation was actually an act of escaping responsibility and avoiding making a decision. While Tamura's decision did not conform to everyone's wishes, he at least did not shirk his responsibilities as minister. He demonstrated a responsible attitude towards the army, which made it difficult for lower-ranking officers to attack Tamura personally, because Tamura was fulfilling his duties as minister. Their resistance could be seen as insubordination.

Although the army doesn't actually take insubordination very seriously, it does place considerable importance on such incidents in practice. At the very least, the mastermind is held fully accountable. Since the Takebashi Mutiny, Yamagata has been focusing on enforcing military discipline by investigating such cases. Soldiers who disregard officers' orders and junior officers who show disrespect to their superiors will be severely punished.

Thus, the opponents also faced the same dilemma as Terauchi Masatake: whether they were willing to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of everyone. The conclusion was that there really was no such person. Even those who were willing to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of everyone, under Tamura's argument of making necessary sacrifices for the country, accepted Tamura's statement.

Therefore, those who prioritize personal interests are less likely to openly challenge Minister Tamura's stance, while military personnel who prioritize national interests are easily swayed by Tamura's rhetoric emphasizing national interests. Of course, discussing accepting military downsizing and actually implementing the plan evoke different feelings in soldiers. During discussions, there's at least a glimmer of hope that they might not be affected by the downsizing, but once the plan is implemented, the resentment of those being laid off rises rapidly.

Therefore, although Yamagata and Katsura Taro were somewhat surprised by the current atmosphere in the military, they still felt that everyone was in a wait-and-see phase. Only when the specific terms of the military downsizing plan were implemented would the officers and soldiers who were to be laid off show their dissatisfaction.

After Tamura persuaded the army, he did not immediately begin to push forward the military downsizing plan. Instead, he first raised the issue of the treatment of retired army personnel and disabled veterans after their discharge and made a request to the government to resolve it. Tamura's petition received the support of the navy, which aroused the expectations of some army officers and soldiers who were about to retire.

It should be said that the navy-led government responded promptly to this matter. Soon, the Yamamoto cabinet proposed to establish an electricity grid company to resettle some of the officers and soldiers, and decided to give the officers and soldiers who were laid off two options: one is to provide them with job positions; the other is to provide them with education funds or skills training subsidies so that they can find employment on their own.

The soldiers were generally interested in the government-provided jobs. Naval soldiers and some junior officers valued the latter more, while mid- to high-ranking officers obtained the establishment prospectus of the power grid company from Tamura and learned about the future prospects of this state-owned company. They also received a promise from Tamura that as long as they responded to his military downsizing proposal, they would be given priority for positions in the power grid company.

Those who are not from the Choshu faction, or are on the fringes of it, are actually quite interested in the positions offered by the power grid company. This is because, following the victory in the war against Russia, they share the same perception that Japan is unlikely to launch another major war in the near future, which means their current positions are practically at their limit.

There aren't many lucrative positions in the army. Even junior officers at the regimental commander level actually live a very frugal life. It's not that junior officers' salaries are too low, but rather that they need to spend a large portion of their salary on socializing and subsidizing their subordinates. Lieutenant officers, on the other hand, almost always have more income than expenses. Unless they give up, they have to borrow money to make ends meet.

A humane superior will naturally address the livelihood issues of their subordinates; otherwise, they can't expect their subordinates to risk their lives for them on the battlefield. In the army, the regimental commander is the mid-to-high-ranking officer with the closest ties to the rank and file. Officers above the regimental commander level rarely have much contact with the lower ranks, making the regimental commander position the one that spends the most money.

Therefore, those who are most opposed to the issue of troop reduction are almost all officers at the regimental commander level, because the reduction of the military structure means that all their previous expenses have been wasted, and the connections they have built in the military will be of no use in society.

Tamura has essentially given them a new way out. With military downsizing inevitable, securing a position in a state-owned enterprise is better than being swept out of the army entirely. At least they can bring some of their subordinates into the company, thus maintaining their network. In Japan, lacking connections is practically tantamount to being abandoned by society and becoming truly isolated.

Suddenly, Tamura, who was feeling uneasy, discovered that he had suddenly gained more support from mid-level officers. Although they had made many personal demands regarding the conditions for retirement, their mindset had changed. They had gone from completely resisting the military downsizing to accepting it conditionally. At this point, dealing with the army's military downsizing was no longer an unsolvable problem, but rather a more troublesome one.

This greatly relieved Tamura. He knew that he had barely survived this ordeal, and that Yamagata and Katsura Taro's schemes would be difficult to achieve. As long as the issue of military withdrawal could be resolved smoothly, the Imperial Household's trust in him would be elevated to a new level, and they would no longer regard him as a disposable military man.

However, while relieved, Tamura also felt deeply wary of Hayashi Shin-yi's ability to manipulate people's hearts, because he also discovered a problem: the power grid company actually had another side, namely, the navy was using it to force zaibatsu and other political forces to hand over a portion of their profits, which was a blatant conspiracy under the guise of military contraction.

Without the military downsizing case, it's clear that the zaibatsu and other political forces would never have relinquished their power grid business. Several power companies even engaged in violent incidents in their struggle for the Tokyo electricity market. Even high-ranking officials in the army and navy found it difficult to force these zaibatsu and political forces to back down. After all, the areas where the power grid was laid were essentially monopolistic markets, and such interests could not be easily won over by personal power alone.

However, now, in order to get the army to accept the military downsizing, both the court and the public believe that the zaibatsu should make some sacrifices. Furthermore, since the Yamamoto cabinet came to power, it has repeatedly criticized the violent incidents between power companies, believing that their behavior has greatly affected the security of Tokyo and hindered the electricity needs of ordinary people. This has led to a consensus that it is a good thing for the state to establish a power grid company and deprive power companies of their self-built power grids.

Therefore, the navy actually benefited the most from this incident. They reduced the army's size, dealt a blow to the zaibatsu and the political forces behind them, and successfully established the image of a people's government in the eyes of the public. Although the Saionji Kinmochi cabinet claimed to be a union of the Kuomintang and bureaucrats, partially representing the will of the common people, Saionji himself was a high-ranking nobleman. This so-called government representing the will of the common people did not actually favor the people in its policies.

During the two successive naval cabinets, the Ito cabinet, while focusing on war preparations, still proposed many policies to maintain social fairness, such as limiting the working hours of workers and attempting to formulate a minimum wage law and social welfare guarantees. Although most of these policies were forced to be interrupted due to the outbreak of war, the Ito cabinet was seen by the common people as a rare government that was willing to take care of the people, rather than simply shouting about national interests.

Yamamoto Gonnohyōe's immediate push for military downsizing upon taking office, along with his wresting of the power grid business from the zaibatsu (financial cliques), undoubtedly demonstrates a similar governing philosophy to the Ito cabinet, both placing a high priority on issues concerning people's livelihoods. This approach is effectively diminishing the navy's association with powerful clans and connecting it more closely with ordinary citizens.

Tamura was worried about this. In fact, there was a voice within the army that believed the army should be the representative of the people, not the emperor's army. He argued that emphasizing the emperor's army would essentially put the army and the people in opposition, which would cause the army to lose the support of the people. The army's personnel came from the people, and if the people did not support the army, it would be difficult for the army to gain a voice in national policy.

While these voices were rebuttals to Yamagata's theory of an imperial-led military, the military personnel making these pronouncements weren't necessarily truly opposed to the idea; they were simply dissatisfied with the reality of the Choshu faction, led by Yamagata, controlling the army. However, this was undoubtedly a way out for the army. Now, the navy had taken the lead, which naturally worried Tamura. If the public accepted the navy as their representative, what would become of the army?

However, Tamura also knew that he still needed the support of the navy and wanted to consider the issue of the relative positions of the army and the navy. This required him to first overcome the suppression he faced from the Choshu faction and be able to truly lead the army. Now was not the time to argue with the navy.

706

Inside the main residence of Eiichi Shibusawa in Asukayama, prominent figures such as Kaichiro Nezu, who monopolized Tokyo's electric lighting industry, were complaining to Viscount Shibusawa about the Yamamoto Cabinet's interference in the construction of the power grid. They felt that this was an arrogant act of using power to interfere in business operations and a destruction of good commercial freedom.

In response, Eiichi Shibusawa simply listened without offering his own opinion. Although he had once come out of retirement to support the navy during the Ito cabinet, Shibusawa did not actually want to return to the center of power. His willingness to support the navy was to establish relationships with the next generation of Japanese politicians he favored, in order to ensure the continued development of the capitalist enterprise he had pioneered.

The next generation of Japanese politicians that Shibusawa Eiichi envisioned certainly did not refer to figures like Ito Sukeyuki and Yamamoto Gonbei. Although they could be considered second-generation politicians compared to those of the early Meiji era, they were not capable of becoming the future decision-makers of Japan. This was because they were too close to the politics of the early Meiji era, making it impossible for them to overshadow the politicians of the Meiji Restoration. They could only inherit the will of these politicians and could not deviate from the path set for Japan by these first-generation politicians.

The next generation of politicians who will determine Japan's future will inevitably be those who take power after the passing of the first generation of politicians. And these politicians are currently just a group of young people who are fresh out of school. To be honest, they all look pretty much the same. Before they have been tested by time, no one can guarantee that they will reach the final position.

However, Hayashi Shin-yi was clearly an exception. This young man had unintentionally left his peers far behind, leading Shibusawa to believe that if he survived, he would inevitably become one of the most outstanding political figures of the next generation in Japan. That's why Shibusawa placed his heavy bets on him. While cooperation with the navy was beneficial to the Shibusawa Group, Shibusawa was most optimistic about cooperation with Hayashi Shin-yi.

For Shibusawa, at his age, money and power are no longer so important. His greatest desire now is to preserve and further develop his career and ultimately leave a place in history.

Nezu Kaichiro and other investors in the electric lighting industry could understand Yamamoto Gonbei's dissatisfaction. After all, they were all businessmen. Seeing money that should have been in their pockets being forcibly taken out by officials using their power was even more hateful than officials forcibly demanding bribes from them. After all, there is a limit to bribes, and when an industry is controlled, commercial development is restricted.

However, the unrestricted commerce in Japan has only existed for a few decades since the Meiji Restoration. During the Edo period, merchants were subject to numerous restrictions, so Shibusawa felt that these young merchants were making a fuss over nothing. Merchants neither held political power nor military force, yet they attempted to amass all the wealth in the world, naturally attracting the envy and resentment of officials, soldiers, and commoners. The merchants' way of protecting themselves was nothing more than self-imposed restrictions and using money to bribe powerful figures in exchange for protection.

Eiichi Shibusawa was well aware of this, which is why he relinquished many of his newly developed industries and went to great lengths to maintain his relationship with Hirobumi Ito. Because the Shibusawa Group was never among the top tier, its reputation was far better than that of large conglomerates like Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Yasuda. When the public vented their dissatisfaction with the conglomerates, they rarely listed the Shibusawa Group as their primary target.

Yamamoto Gonbei's decision to separate the power grid business from the various power companies was, in Shibusawa's view, a rather mild approach. If Ito or someone else had been in charge, they probably would have directly suppressed the power companies and then supported one of their own to take over their businesses.

Moreover, the Yamamoto Cabinet won public support on this matter. Electricity had been introduced to Japan for nearly twenty years, and now the Japanese people know that electricity is a good thing, providing brighter light at night and powering machinery. However, this beneficial thing still cannot be widely adopted in Japan because electricity is too expensive. Therefore, the public has always been more critical of the greed of power companies.

Especially after the implementation of state-owned power utilities in Wuhan, the low-price strategy for industrial electricity directly led to a large influx of capital into Wuhan. Even some Japanese businessmen moved their factories from Shanghai to Wuhan.

These Japanese businessmen told domestic reporters that while Wuhan could not grant special privileges to foreigners, it did not discriminate against them either. Compared to Shanghai, where electricity and public resources were controlled by the British, Japanese businessmen in Wuhan were actually better able to compete with European businessmen. Furthermore, the low electricity prices in Wuhan significantly reduced their production costs, greatly offsetting their expenses on worker wages.

In fact, Wuhan's advantages in attracting a large amount of foreign investment go beyond this. Although the wages of workers in Wuhan are higher than those in Shanghai, they are still lower than those of European workers. Moreover, because Wuhan workers have received standardized skills training, their overall quality is actually much higher than that of workers in Shanghai.

Moreover, the Shanghai market was actually a market of disorderly competition. In other words, you didn't have any fixed customers when you sold goods in the Shanghai market. The compradors were just monopolizing the sales of foreign companies' goods. The compradors' sales in the interior were not fixed, because the sales situation was closely related to local agricultural production. If the agricultural harvest was poor, even landlords would reduce their consumption.

Therefore, foreign trading companies always had a vague understanding of the Chinese market. Although the country's population was comparable to that of the entire Europe, its purchasing power was even less than that of India. Apart from the arms trade conducted with the government, other trade was unstable and fluctuated considerably. For industrial production, the Chinese market was by no means an ideal one, as industrial production requires a stable sales market to allow for continuous expansion.

However, the Wuhan regime provided foreign merchants with an ideal market. The reason why German capital strongly supported the Wuhan regime was because the Wuhan regime could provide German capital with a stable increase in sales volume, which allowed German capital to continuously expand production according to plan, thereby maintaining the continuous appreciation of capital.

For Tokyo, a city with a much larger population than Wuhan and a longer history of development, the power industry has been developing for over twenty years and is still in a state of disorderly competition. More than half of the city's residents have not yet enjoyed the benefits of electric lighting. Shibusawa felt that there was nothing wrong with nationalizing the power grid, so that everyone could focus on building power generation facilities without having to compete with their peers for customers.

Therefore, he had no intention of standing up for them, despite the complaints from Yoshiichiro Nezu and others. Of course, when pressed by them, he gave a vague response, saying, "While the cabinet's current policies do indeed seem to interfere with commercial freedom, public discontent is the most important thing. If the people are on the government's side, then as businessmen, we should comply with their wishes and make corrections. After all, businessmen depend on customers to survive..."

Yoshiichiro Nezu could sense Eiichi Shibusawa's perfunctory attitude towards this matter, which was quite different from Shibusawa's previous stance. In the past, Shibusawa had always been averse to government intervention in commercial competition. He had always emphasized that the strength of European commerce lay in the freedom of European commerce, and that the government should not use its public power to interfere with free commercial competition in order to maintain the healthy development of commerce.

However, he himself wasn't as indignant about the matter as others. Although he was also a victim, he was gradually moving towards becoming a rising political figure.

The Tokyo-Nagano faction is converging, so they know that this matter is actually being spearheaded by Ogawa Heikichi and others. Being too active in this matter will cause Ogawa to change his opinion of them.

If it were the old Ogawa Heikichi, Nezu Kaichiro would naturally not have paid any attention to him. Although Ogawa had connections with the Imperial University's law department, these connections were not enough for Ogawa to confront the Koshu-Tokyo merchant power he controlled. After all, without financial support, one cannot gain the support of local luminaries in politics.

But now, Yoshiichiro Nezu had to show a certain degree of respect to the Tokyo-Nagano faction led by Ogawa, because this faction had established ties with the Navy and received financial support from large financial conglomerates. Compared to them, their circle of small and medium-sized businessmen had become the weaker party.

However, in order to maintain harmony within this circle, Nezu Kaichiro had to step forward to seek a solution to the incident. Even if he couldn't resolve it, he had to put on a show to avoid giving the impression that he couldn't take responsibility, otherwise the circle would collapse. Nezu Kaichiro understood his own limitations; without the support of the businessmen from Koshu, he was practically powerless to resist the attacks from large conglomerates like Mitsui and Yasuda.

The reason they came to Shibusawa to complain was that they were actually outsiders to the Shibusawa Group. The Tokyo Electric Lighting project was initiated by Shibusawa. Although Shibusawa later withdrew from the business, the two sides still maintained a lot of personal friendship and supported each other at times to resist pressure from the government and other large conglomerates.

Seeing that Shibusawa was unwilling to step forward this time, Nezu Kaichiro had no choice but to ask, "So, what do you think, Mr. Eiichi, should do in the future regarding the power industry? Will the government go too far and nationalize the power generation industry as well?"

This question finally brought silence to the room. It was clearly the most pressing concern for everyone. Losing the right to build the power grid was only an economic loss, but people worried that this was just the beginning. If the government's ultimate goal was to nationalize the entire power industry, then everyone would naturally have to prepare early.

After glancing at everyone, Shibusawa finally replied resolutely, "That would indeed be going too far. I will definitely stand with everyone to condemn the government's inappropriate actions. The power generation industry requires technology and management. Judging from the past state-owned enterprises, the government has only lost money in industrial development. This is clearly a wrong decision that is detrimental to the country, and I believe many people do not want to go back to the old ways..."

While Shibusawa Eiichi's reasons were insufficient, his stance was at least clear: people weren't actually concerned about why state-owned enterprises were only losing money; what they were concerned about was whether the government would seize their assets. Shibusawa's statement reassured everyone, indicating that the zaibatsu, including Shibusawa, would oppose the government's increasingly demanding actions and the appropriation of their personal property into state ownership.

Relieved to receive Shibusawa's assurance, the visitors breathed a sigh of relief. This was their bottom line for the day; their fear was that if the government adopted a political strategy of suppressing the zaibatsu (financial conglomerates), they would become cannon fodder used by these conglomerates to quell disputes. Only above this bottom line did they hope Shibusawa would stand up for them and stop the government's plan to nationalize the power grid.

However, it was clear that Shibusawa was only willing to guarantee the bottom line and had no interest in preventing the nationalization of the power grid. He then looked at one of them and asked, "Fujioka, tell me, is the nationalization of the power grid really that detrimental to the development of the power industry?"

As one of Japan's first electrical engineers, Ichisuke Fujioka even had personal connections with Thomas Edison. Therefore, his Tokyo Electric Corporation effectively became a technical supporter of the Kanto power industry. Compared to him, the others present were merely investors in the power industry, lacking expertise in actual operations.

Faced with Shibusawa's question, Fujioka Ichisuke thought it over and over again before honestly explaining his views: "If the government's nationalization of the power grid is indeed based on the needs of the people, then I think it is beneficial to the development of the power industry. I am just worried that after the government nationalizes the power grid, it will only buy low and sell high electricity, and will not be willing to use the funds for power grid construction. Then this is definitely not a good policy for the power industry."

After listening, Shibusawa Eiichi finally nodded and said, "Fujioka's words are fair. The key now is for the government to provide a planning scheme after nationalizing the power grid so that the Diet can supervise it, rather than simply opposing nationalization. Therefore, everyone should focus on the Diet's design of a government planning scheme for the power industry, rather than opposing the nationalization of the power grid. Only in this way can we gain the support of the people..."

Shibusawa's words failed to convince the crowd. After all, the idea of ​​parliamentary oversight of government plans seemed somewhat hollow, and whether they could truly be implemented remained uncertain. However, it was certain that everyone's interests were being harmed. But Shibusawa quickly added, "Of course, relying solely on parliamentary oversight of the government isn't enough. Our various power companies should also sit down and talk. Attacking each other like in the past is detrimental to everyone. It's better to sit down and negotiate, setting clear production standards and product prices. This way, the competition between us won't be seen by the public, and the government won't use public opinion to suppress market competition..."

Shibusawa's proposal was actually a concern model. After a period of intense free competition, the domestic market in Japan was already approaching saturation. The victory in the war against Russia finally gave Japanese goods the opportunity to expand overseas. Therefore, Shibusawa believed that free competition should be restricted. He argued that Japanese capitalism should expand into overseas markets while maintaining production, and gradually improve the living standards of workers, thereby sharing some of the profits with the workers and easing domestic social tensions.

This idea did not originate with Shin-Yi Hayashi, but Hayashi's economic policies for improving worker welfare during the Ito Cabinet period did stimulate Shibusawa's reflection on the current social contradictions in Japan. Although Shibusawa did not agree with the economic theory that centers production on workers, he did indeed shift from the past capital-centric view to the idea of ​​giving equal importance to capital and workers.

This is also the ideological basis for Shibusawa's recognition of Hayashi Shinji's proposed Asian economic cycle model, which is that Japan replaces the great powers as the industrial and technological provider for Asian countries, while also representing Asia in exporting primary industrial products to Europe and the United States, thereby preserving as much profit as possible for Asian nations to improve their lives, and Japan will also benefit from this international trade model.

Shibusawa's idea was strongly supported by those who had studied abroad, such as Fujioka Ichisuke. They had seen capitalism abroad, knew the gap between Japanese and European capitalism, and believed that Japanese capitalism was still too weak and needed to be continuously strengthened in order to resist the attack of European capital.

However, for those old businessmen who have transformed into capitalists, they are quite unwilling to hand over their businesses to others to manage. Even if their management skills are not good, at least they want to have complete control over the company and not be subject to others' interference. To be honest, this unified management model is not much different from nationalization; it's just a difference between transferring the industry to the state or to an individual.

Even a visionary businessman like Yoshiichiro Nezu, while acknowledging his control over competitors' companies, opposed outsourcing the management of his social circles. Therefore, Shibusawa's proposal ultimately failed to garner a response from these individuals.

In Shibusawa's view, the electric lighting industry, as an emerging sector, coupled with the government's push for the nationalization of the power grid, made it the sector most likely to reach a consortium agreement. However, the self-interest of these businessmen shattered his illusions. Naturally, his interest in them diminished, and he was unwilling to continue socializing with them.

After the meeting, Shibusawa decided to start with his confidants and establish a model for a consulate as an example. Only when this model could bring greater benefits to the company would those narrow-minded small businessmen abandon their outdated insistence.

707

As Kawahara Yoichi gradually solidified his position as Minister of the Navy, the internal struggles within the Navy finally eased, and Hayashi Shinji began to focus his energy on reorganizing the internal structure of the reform group.

Although, under Lin Xinyi's advocacy, the reform group established a hierarchical organizational structure of general council and sub-conference councils, which violated the rules of the military, the council, as a discussion meeting, did not have a binding force on its members. It could only expel members who disobeyed the meeting's decisions. The degree of centralization of this organization was still within the tolerance range of the upper echelons of the navy.

Of course, once the organization was established, its authority naturally followed. Although the reform group claimed to be a discussion meeting where like-minded people gathered together, and not a real political group, everyone knew in their hearts that the decisions made at the meeting still had a certain binding force on the members, because if you did not accept them, it was equivalent to leaving the organization automatically.