Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 35

After repeated discussions and deliberations, Tian Junyi, Cai E, and others decided to accept everyone's opinions and temporarily shelve the rural revolutionary route. They established Hankou as the revolutionary center, spreading revolutionary theories, building revolutionary forces, and awaiting the arrival of the revolutionary opportunity. Rural work shifted to focusing on economic development, dismantling feudal superstitions, and accelerating the construction of production cooperatives.

From the beginning of the year to July, the Labor Party established more than 4000 production cooperatives in Hunan and Hubei, with more than 30,000 farmers participating, and each household investing an average of 3.5 taels of capital.

The rapid development of production cooperatives was mainly due to the fact that they did not involve changes in production relations, but rather sought to reintegrate rural resources to reduce production costs and increase productivity. Therefore, they were naturally more readily accepted by the gentry and landlords. Furthermore, the establishment of production cooperatives coincided with the New Policies and garnered support from a group of reformist gentry and landlords, thus enabling this new concept to spread quickly.

For the Labour Party, changing the rural production environment first through production cooperatives and then using these institutions to engage with farmers was far more efficient than relying on individual efforts to work haphazardly in rural areas. Therefore, they strongly advocated that the focus of rural work should be on production cooperatives, followed by rural primary school education, using these two pillars to transform rural areas.

The meeting lasted until late at night. Yang Quyun left an invitation for Tian Junyi, which was from William Siemens inviting him to meet the next day. After washing up the next morning, Tian Junyi went to the German Concession first.

Inside the villa rented by Siemens, Wilhelm Siemens introduced Fritz Krupp to Tian Junyi and explained, “Although Siemens also operates in the steel industry, Krupp possesses more comprehensive technical capabilities. If we want to build the Yangtze River Bridge, Krupp’s involvement will bring more benefits, including the Yellow River railway bridge to be built on the Luhan Railway. We will also be able to put more pressure on the Belgians.”

What truly impressed Fritz Krupp wasn't the sight of Chinese workers building the dike; that merely demonstrated the competence of the Chinese workforce and didn't necessarily mean Krupp had to invest in China. What truly moved him was the concept of industrial standards proposed by the Chinese. If Chinese industrial standards were formulated according to Krupp's standards, then American and British steel companies could withdraw from China.

Chapter 119 Lin Xinyi's Academic Performance

Lin Xinyi was actually at a disadvantage when he returned to Etajima from Tokyo. Because he missed nearly a month of classes, his ranking in the grade dropped to the middle and lower ranks. Although he didn't care about this, the students ranked ahead of him were very worried.

Given Lin Xinyi's demonstrated abilities at the naval seminar, everyone knew that unless he retired voluntarily, he was destined for greatness. So what about those ranked ahead of him? According to the regulations of Yamamoto, the Minister who invented the hammock, once someone reaches a position of fleet command or higher, those ranked higher in the hammock who cannot be elected must make way for those ranked lower, to prevent disputes over command.

In the past, people didn't have much of an opinion about hammock numbers. For the military, which was controlled by the warlords, arranging positions according to hammock numbers was already considered quite fair. Based on the education they received from childhood, everyone believed that as long as they studied well, they would naturally be more capable. If they were still inferior to students ranked lower, they would be willing to admit defeat and accept the survival of the fittest.

However, when Lin Xinyi, this monster, appeared at the school, everyone felt that the hammock number was quite unreasonable, because Lin Xinyi, who had not yet joined the navy, had already demonstrated his abilities, but his studies in his professional courses could not be considered diligent.

According to Hori Teikichi, who consistently ranked in the top three in the 32nd class: "In terms of artillery firing skills, I can give him an extra cannon. In terms of ship handling skills, I can also give him an advantage with one hand. But what's the point? Unless he's on the ship, we simply can't defeat him."

Lin Xinyi, a member of the Naval Academy, is now widely recognized by his alumni as not being best suited for a warship. After all, he was the one who defeated his instructors in a war game simulation—not in the simulation of the combat capabilities of new warships, but in the replay of the Sino-Japanese War, where Lin Xinyi represented Ding Ruchang in command of the Beiyang Fleet after the Battle of the Yellow Sea.

No matter how you look at it, the Beiyang Fleet was already beyond saving. However, after the outcome of the Battle of the Yellow Sea, Lin Xinyi directly ordered the remaining fleet to move south to Mawei Port in Fuzhou, leaving only the army to guard an airport.

Lin Xinyi's relocation of the Beiyang Fleet immediately deprived the Japanese fleet of its target. Although the entire Bohai Sea region was now open to the Japanese navy, this was of little significance to them. As long as the Beiyang Fleet existed, the Japanese navy could not claim control of the sea. Furthermore, if the Qing government moved the imperial court to Xi'an, the army would face a major crisis.

The naval fleet had to monitor the southward-bound Beiyang Fleet while also protecting the army's maritime supply routes, thus depriving the Japanese navy of the numerical advantage of its capital ships accumulated from the victory in the Battle of the Yellow Sea. Furthermore, while obtaining supplies from the Japanese mainland and then attacking Weihaiwei and Lushun was quite convenient, attacking Fuzhou port in southern China presented a problem, as the Japanese navy's supply capabilities were not as robust.

When Lin Xinyi further dispersed the main warships of the Beiyang Fleet to coordinate with the Taiwanese army in counterattacking the Japanese army, the Qing Dynasty regained the initiative on the Taiwan battlefield. With Taiwan as a base, the defensive range of the Japanese navy expanded once again, because it meant that the Beiyang Fleet could use Taiwan as a base to attack the Japanese mainland.

The dispersion of Japanese naval forces allowed the Beiyang Fleet to regain the initiative on the battlefield, ultimately leading to Japan's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War due to the massive losses of its merchant ships. However, this is a somewhat deceptive explanation, as this tactic would have resulted in the complete annihilation of the Japanese army on the mainland, rather than Japan suing for peace due to excessive merchant losses.

However, after the simulation was completed, Lin Xinyi denied the victory, arguing that "given the internal conflicts between the North and South and between the Manchus and Han Chinese, the Beiyang Fleet would only be detained by the Minister of the Southern Seas if it went south, rather than being allowed to continue participating in the war. Therefore, this simulation only has military significance and little political significance."

But isn't wargaming just about simulating military possibilities? It's not that no one could have come up with Lin Xinyi's later moves, but the key issue was that the first move was truly unexpected—that's a habitual blind spot. The Beiyang Fleet abandoning its long-established stronghold and moving south is a problem most people wouldn't consider.

However, after the Battle of the Yellow Sea, this was indeed the best response, because the Japanese army had already gained land superiority, and the Beiyang Fleet could not defend its old base that it had built up over many years. But after the Beiyang Fleet went south, even though the south did not have the strong defenses of Lushun and Weihaiwei, it gained the right to act freely, thus revitalizing the overall situation, which was indeed hard to have thought of.

This simulation completely shattered the hopes of the 32nd cohort of trainees to compete with Lin Xinyi. Their thinking was never aligned; Lin Xinyi's ideas always defied logic yet proved effective. As a result, Lin Xinyi earned the nickname "The Invincible General at Sea."

However, the students of the 32nd cohort reached a consensus: Lin Xinyi shouldn't be ranked alongside them, as it would be unfair to those ranked ahead of him. Because of this, the school began to formally consider incorporating the Naval Seminar points into the school ranking system; previously, it was just an idea, but now it was a real plan.

However, Lin Xinyi remained the same, methodically arranging his studies and life. While Saigo Tsugumichi's death certainly deprived him of a powerful supporter in the Navy, after Togo Masamichi accompanied him to Tokyo, he no longer treated him as an ordinary cadet, but rather as a closer junior.

This meant that Lin Xinyi's life at school was not significantly affected, and he could still freely access and contact the outside world. However, the research project at the naval symposium had recently stalled.

Because the theory of southward expansion involves so much related knowledge, everyone is frantically absorbing information from various Southeast Asian countries. This information mostly comes from supporters of the theory, such as the president of the Colonial Association, who...

So Lin Xinyi spent several months quietly in school until one day, while looking at the newspaper, he noticed a news item and couldn't help but sigh. Inoue Tsunetatsu, seeing this, asked him, "Is there some bad news in the newspaper?"

Lin Xinyi replied without looking up, "Yes, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Liu Kunyi, has passed away. The pillar of the Qing Xiang Army is gone, which breaks the balance of power between the north and south of the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty is going to have a lot of trouble again."

Inoue Tsunomatsu said dismissively, "What does this have to do with Japan? I thought it was some bad news."

Lin Xinyi smiled but remained silent. The changing political landscape of the Qing Dynasty meant a need for diplomatic readjustment. Previously, Liu Kunyi had been a staunch advocate of not compromising with Russia, but also opposing an alliance with Japan against Russia. With his death, the pro-Russian and pro-Japanese factions could no longer maintain harmony, and he now found it difficult to assess the new developments in Sino-Russian-Japanese diplomacy—undoubtedly bad news.

Just then, Instructor Yamada came to call him, asking him to go to the principal's office. Lin Xinyi had no choice but to put down his newspaper and leave the activity room. Once inside the principal's office, Togo Masamichi handed him a telegram, saying, "It's from Vice Minister Kawahara. Take a look."

Lin Xinyi took the telegram with some confusion, only to find several names written on it. It turned out that the General Staff had finally won against the Navy Ministry and obtained the power to establish an intelligence analysis department, but it was only a squad.

The squad leader was Lieutenant Katsuyuki Yamanashi, a member of the 25th Marine Class; the deputy squad leader was Lieutenant Shinjiro Yamamoto, a member of the 26th Marine Class; the squad members were Lieutenant Shiro Furukawa, Lieutenant Asamasa Kikukawa, Lieutenant Nobumasa Suetsugu, and Lieutenant Osami Nagano.

Clearly, Kawahara meant that he had accepted his suggestion and taken control of the intelligence analysis department. The telegram also subtly conveyed good news to Lin Xinyi: the trend of the new warship entering the design phase was already very obvious, and if it really became combat-ready, then he might be able to receive a medal before graduation.

Of course, this was only good news in Kawahara Yoichi's opinion, and Hayashi Shinichi didn't take it to heart. However, Principal Togo waited for him to finish reading the telegram before taking it and lighting it, and then gave him some truly good news: "The school is preparing to hand over the student club to the naval seminar for use and management, but some space will be reserved for senior students."

This time, Lin Xinyi genuinely thanked Dongxiang, saying, "That's wonderful. The naval seminar will definitely make good use of it. As for the senior students, there aren't many who didn't join the seminar, and we won't exclude them."

Hearing this, Togo could only laugh and cry. The student club was actually a club for seniors, because it was difficult for freshmen to organize any activities in front of the seniors. But now, things were different. The naval seminar, which was mainly composed of freshmen, was starting to encroach on the seniors' territory, and the seniors found it difficult to object, because the naval seminar was no longer a purely student group, and no senior would challenge such a group.

Togo quickly changed the subject, saying, "Are you really not going to respond to Vice Minister Saito's request? Minister Yamamoto is standing behind him."

Lin Xinyi shook his head and said, "The Naval Symposium is just a student group. Why should it accept guidance from the Ministry of the Navy? Even if it is Minister Yamamoto's idea, it is a bit too much. If Minister Yamamoto could really issue an order, I would have nothing to say. But to ask me to voluntarily hand over the Naval Symposium is absolutely out of the question. The Naval Symposium is not just mine, and I will not go against my own principles."

Hearing this answer, Togo also found it rather uninteresting. He felt that Saito had gone a bit too far; for a vice minister of the Navy to put pressure on a cadet at the Naval Academy was far too much of a bullying tactic. Of course, he also understood that what Saito really wanted wasn't the naval seminar, but rather Hayashi Nobuyoshi himself. If Hayashi Nobuyoshi made such a gesture, it meant that he had become a reserve force for Yamamoto's faction, making it difficult for the Naval General Staff to provide him with any further support.

Recalling his previous trip to Tokyo with Lin Xinyi, he knew the latter was caught in the vortex of power struggles within the navy, something he couldn't interfere with. He could only shake his head and change the subject, saying, "In another month, the Marine Corps School in Gushan will open. The naval seminar can be attended by students from there, but the school wants the topics for the seminar to be tiered; only topics approved by the school will be released to them..."

Chapter 120 The Main Theme of the Marine Corps School

When Captain Saito Shichigoro went to the Etajima Naval Academy to report to Principal Togo Masamichi on the construction of the Marine Corps School, he really didn't expect to encounter such a speechless situation.

Principal Togo wasn't the only one in Masamichi Togo's office, which wasn't surprising. The Marine Corps School was essentially an affiliated unit of the Naval Academy, hence the principal's appointment of a captain like him. Strictly speaking, high-ranking officials at the Naval Academy could actually offer opinions on the Marine Corps School's construction and management.

However, when Captain Saito saw the people Togo introduced him to, he still felt a bit annoyed. "This is Captain Saito Shichigoro from the 20th Marine Class, the person in charge of the Marine Corps School personally selected by Vice Minister Kawahara... This is Hayashi Nobuyoshi from the 32nd Marine Class, the chief of the Naval Research Conference, and the idea for establishing the Marine Corps School came from his. Get to know each other, you may have to deal with each other often in the future."

Although he didn't know exactly how Lin Xinyi had turned his ideas into reality, Captain Saito still found it incredibly absurd to have a military academy cadet who hadn't even graduated yet discussing the construction of the Marine Corps School with him. He hadn't been to the military academy in so many years; when did even the rules change? Were juniors now allowed to instruct their seniors?

Saito Shichigoro had suffered a lot from the senior-junior system at school and in the Navy, but he still couldn't help feeling angry at juniors who challenged this system, seeing it as a challenge to himself. Although he cursed them inwardly, under Togo Masamichi's gaze, he still stiffly returned Hayashi Nobuyoshi's greeting.

As Principal Togo just said, he was chosen by Vice Minister Kawahara. The fact that Principal Togo said this to his face means that the other party is also one of Vice Minister Kawahara's people. Based on this, we can infer that this student, Lin Xinyi, is also a member of Kawahara's faction. Judging from Principal Togo's solemn introduction, this person's position in the faction is not low.

After Count Ito, the Minister of the Naval General Staff, became a senior elder, Vice Minister Kawahara, who was close to Count Ito, immediately became a new faction in the Navy. Kawahara Yoichi was a classmate of Yamamoto Gonnohyōe and Hidaka Takanojo, but he was suppressed by Minister Yamamoto early on, so he gradually became a marginal figure in the Navy.

No one expected that Kawahara Yoichi would have a chance to make a comeback. Soon after returning to the Naval General Staff, he gained the trust of Minister Ito and orchestrated the Naval General Staff's solo trip incident. Subsequently, Minister Ito was promoted to elder statesman. As a result, the Kawahara faction immediately emerged in addition to the Yamamoto and Hidaka factions within the Navy. Although the Kawahara faction was smaller in number, with the support of Elder Ito, it was no longer inferior to the other two major factions.

Captain Saito, who was handpicked by Kawahara, naturally wouldn't challenge Vice Minister Kawahara's authority. No matter how resentful he was, he could only sit down with juniors like Hayashi Nobuyoshi, who hadn't even graduated yet, to discuss serious matters.

Lin Xinyi could sense Saito's dissatisfaction; after all, his facial expression was rather stiff. He had seen too many seniors like this at the Naval Academy. Dealing with such people was actually quite easy: intimidate them with power, subdue them with ability, and if they still wanted to resist, simply isolate them. The more someone values ​​hierarchy, the less capable they are of independent survival. Losing their social status would be more painful than death for them.

Therefore, Lin Xinyi didn't care much about Saito's feelings. He only cared about whether the other party could fulfill his vision. After Togo finished his introduction, he bluntly said to Captain Saito: "Even if you establish a school, you must have a purpose. Without this purpose, no matter how well the school is run, it is a failure for the founder."

The purpose of establishing the Marine Corps School was not to train naval personnel in how to fight ashore; that was merely a secondary objective. The primary reason for establishing the Marine Corps School was that the navy's expansion required land support. The British Empire's ability to dominate the seven seas did not rely on an invincible Royal Navy, but rather on ensuring the Royal Navy's unparalleled global network of naval bases. Without these bases, the Royal Navy could not have achieved its invincible record.

The Japanese Navy's current operational range is based on ports in Japan, using the voyage of its capital ships fully loaded with coal as a reference. Estimating the round-trip distance and combat costs, the Japanese Navy can only conduct decisive battles within 1000 nautical miles of ports, and the actual control patrol range would be halved.

In other words, we could engage the enemy fleet in a decisive battle in the waters north of Guangzhou, but the only area we could fully monitor was the waters north of the Yangtze River estuary. This is why, should the Russo-Japanese War break out, the prevailing opinion in the navy was to engage in a decisive battle in the East China Sea. Beyond the Yangtze River estuary, we would lose track of the enemy fleet, and beyond Guangzhou, the Japanese fleet would lose its advantage of resupplying from its homeland.

If the Japanese navy wants to expand into the wider oceans, it must acquire supply ports and naval bases with the capability to repair warships in China, Southeast Asia, and the islands of the South Seas. Japan cannot replicate the British approach of establishing naval bases globally, nor would Britain and other major powers allow it to. Therefore, if the Japanese navy wants to expand beyond its home islands, it must adopt a different strategy and cooperate with local powers.

The Marine Corps School was founded for this purpose. Therefore, its primary curriculum should be anti-colonial education, followed by pro-naval education, and finally military training. We need to cultivate not mindless pro-Japanese elements, but realists and nationalists with independent thinking abilities, thereby providing a foothold for the navy's overseas expansion.

Captain Saito's head was spinning. While the first part of Hayashi Nobuyoshi's speech was very tempting—expanding the navy's sphere of influence, which, for Kawahara's new faction, established its theoretical banner—the latter part was somewhat perplexing. He had to ask in return, "The school recruits students from Korea. Are we supposed to teach anti-Japanese ideas to Korean students?"

Lin Xinyi shook his head and said, "The Navy has never advocated annexing the Korean Peninsula; that's the Army's idea. From the Navy's perspective, as long as Korea is willing to defend freedom of navigation in East Asia with Japan, then Korea's existence is better than being merged into Japan. What the Navy opposes is that Korean nationalists are extending their resentment against the Army to the whole of Japan."

Captain Saito asked, bewildered, "If we don't annex the Korean Peninsula, why would the Koreans hand over their resources to Japan to develop its navy? In their pursuit of independence, the Korean navy will surely become a rival to the Japanese navy once it is established."

Lin Xinyi shook his head and said, "Senior Saito, your thinking is outdated. This is no longer the 19th century, an era where building a few ships doesn't constitute a navy. New technological developments have made the navy a reflection of a country's industrial capabilities rather than its financial resources. This is why the Qing Dynasty failed, because the Qing Dynasty only had ships but no navy."

If North Korea wants to develop its navy, it must first achieve the complete modernization of the peninsula, which is exactly what Japanese industry needs. If North Korea wants to remain stagnant and use the navy we helped build to protect the backward and corrupt society of the Korean Peninsula, then this navy will first overthrow the Joseon Dynasty.

Therefore, North Korean nationalists will soon realize that if they want to defend the country's independence and autonomy, they must first eliminate the stubborn conservatives within the country. To eliminate these stubborn conservatives, they have to rely on external forces, and cooperation with the navy is their most realistic option.

Yes, we may cultivate a group of anti-Japanese elements, but these elements will certainly choose to cooperate with us rationally. The navy's role is to weed out the irrational anti-Japanese elements. We do not seek North Korea's stagnation, nor is that in the navy's interest. For the navy to grow strong, it needs the support of a powerful industrial system. If North Korea cannot become part of this industrial system, then annexing North Korea will only become a money-making opportunity for certain conglomerates, and will not promote the navy's development at all.

Captain Saito was ultimately persuaded by Hayashi Nobuyoshi, or rather, by the power of the system. Since Hayashi Nobuyoshi could openly state these things in front of Togo Masamichi, it meant that his ideas had already gained the approval of Vice Minister Kawahara.

As a new member of the faction, one cannot reject the ideas supported by the faction leaders unless one leaves the faction.

Togo Masamichi wasn't as calm as Captain Saito appeared. After Captain Saito left, he immediately asked Hayashi Shin-yi anxiously, "Do we really need to train anti-Japanese elements in Korea at the Marine Corps School? Won't this cause us trouble?"

After a few seconds of silence, Lin Xinyi looked at him and asked in return, "What does the Commander-in-Chief think is the naval path currently advocated by the General Staff?"

Without hesitation, Togo replied, "Of course, it's to strengthen the navy."

Lin Xinyi shook his head and said, "No, it's a redistribution of interests. Currently, the interests within Japan have already been distributed. Although the Navy also has a share, this share is not in the hands of the Naval General Staff."

Therefore, if the Naval General Staff wants to take the lead, it needs to redistribute domestic interests. So who will be our supporters? The vested interests in the country are all our opponents, and even within the Navy, there is a large group of people who support maintaining the status quo.

Therefore, if the Military General Staff wanted to change the way benefits were distributed, it could only seek supporters who wanted to change the status quo. Anti-Japanese elements in Korea, and nationalists in China and Southeast Asia, were the forces most eager to change the status quo. If the Military General Staff didn't seek such allies, did it expect the army and others to voluntarily hand over the power to distribute benefits to it?

Togo Masamichi remained silent. Lin Xinyi always managed to tear away the glamorous rhetoric and expose the sordid reality at the bottom. Indeed, if the Military Command wanted to change the status quo, it had to do something first. It was like how many in the navy shouted "Naval supremacy, land supremacy," but these people only knew how to shout slogans. They only thought the army would voluntarily relinquish power for the greater good, but they wouldn't try to challenge the land-dominated, naval-subordinate system, because they knew that challenging it would truly hurt them.

Hayashi Nobuyoshi gained the approval of Saigo and Ito because he didn't just make empty promises; he was actually implementing a plan step by step to reverse the land-based dominance and naval subordination. Previously, Togo might have thought Hayashi Nobuyoshi was a bit arrogant, but after seeing the establishment of the naval seminar and the Marine Corps School, he felt that this young man was actually more suitable to be the Minister of the Navy than Yamamoto Gonnohyōe.

Chapter 121 Progress

On November 1st, Christian Rudolf de Wait arrived in Hiroshima. As a racist, he didn't particularly enjoy interacting with people of color. But who told the Boers to lose?

Although he vehemently opposed signing the Treaty of Frenishin with the British, because the British had destroyed everything the Boers had, the war eventually ended. After the war, he continued to oppose cooperation with Britain and naturally could not participate in the construction of the new colonies.

At this time, he received an invitation from Japan. In order to rebuild his farm, he decided to accept the Japanese invitation, but he only signed a one-year contract. DeWitt's arrogance displeased the Japanese who received him, and in the end, Lin Xinyi had no choice but to go and meet this arrogant Boer general in person.

When Lin Xinyi came to visit, DeWitt became even more impatient. He waved his hand at Lin Xinyi and said, "Go away, go away, let your parents talk to me. I'm not going to talk about teaching issues with a kid who hasn't even grown a beard yet."

Lin Xinyi had no choice but to kindly remind him, "Mr. DeWitt, did you carefully read the contract before signing it?"

DeWitt stared at him, frowning, and said, "What are you trying to say?"

Lin Xinyi looked at him sincerely and said, "According to the contract, if you are unable to perform your teaching duties, you should return all your remuneration and compensate the school and students for any losses incurred as a result. I am here to communicate with you because I do not want such a problem to occur. Of course, you can continue to ask me to leave, but you will have to pay the price for your actions afterward."

DeWitt's face flushed red, and he stood up abruptly. As he walked towards Lin Xinyi, he glared at him and said, "Kid, are you trying to threaten me? The Oranje people never fall for that."

Lin Xinyi sat there quietly, looking at him, and said, "The British would be very happy to see you embroiled in a lawsuit, so as long as we let you fight this case here for a few years, I believe the British will definitely not stand up for you. Are you really going to put yourself in such a predicament?"

DeWitt finally stopped, returning the payment and paying the damages. Although this would worsen his financial situation, it wouldn't force him to submit to a person of color. However, being dragged into a legal battle in Japan for years would be a nightmare, and not impossible, given that the other party had a nation behind them.

DeWitt's expression changed several times before he finally lowered his head and said to Lin Xinyi, "Alright, what exactly do you want me to teach you? I don't think our war will be of any use to Japan unless you plan to attack the southern islands. Or is that what you invited me for? Then you are challenging the British, and with Japan's strength, it's like throwing an egg against a rock."

Lin Xinyi interrupted him, saying, "That's just your guess. We have enough respect for the power of the British Empire. Unless the British Empire gives up on itself, we can't go south. What we're worried about now is Russia. The vast Siberian region, like South Africa, is full of no-man's-lands. We need to learn some guerrilla tactics to guard against the Russians using such tactics against us."

However, Mr. DeWitt, according to the confidentiality agreement we signed, you cannot disclose the content of our activities or teaching in Japan over the past year. We are unwilling to let the Russians obtain this information in advance.”

DeWitt was silent for a moment, then returned to his seat and complained, "This world is truly insane, war after war, as if everyone's participating in some kind of carnival. I have no interest in your conflict with the Russians; I will keep my promise. Let's talk about the course structure..."

After his conversation with Hayashi Shin-yi, DeWitt finally toned down his behavior, which relieved Saito Shichigoro. Having won the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese felt they had escaped their status as a bullied small nation and become one of the great powers. Therefore, they were extremely resentful of foreign arrogance. If DeWitt continued with this arrogant attitude, it would inevitably cause an uproar among the teachers and students at the school. He would rather have DeWitt fired than keep such a ticking time bomb around.

On November 16th, the Marine Corps School quietly opened, with no other naval officers present except for Masamichi Togo. This was because the Navy didn't want the Army to think it wanted to take over land-based duties. If the Army were to follow suit and establish an Army Naval Corps School, the Navy would be equally unhappy.

Lin Xinyi and several other members of the naval seminar accompanied Principal Togo to the opening ceremony of the Marine Corps School. The first cohort consisted of 135 students, including 80 from Japan, 20 from North Korea, and 35 from China. After the ceremony, the naval seminar members briefly introduced themselves to the students and informed them that they could apply to join the seminar.

While introducing the students to the Marine Corps school, a Chinese student, taking advantage of the others being out of sight, quietly said to Lin Xinyi, "Senior Songpo asked me to give you his regards."

Lin Xinyi looked at him and asked, "Were you sent from Huguang?"

The other person nodded and added, "I am a member of the Labour Party, Deng Yulin."

Lin Xinyi glanced around before continuing, "How many Labour Party members are there?"

Deng Yulin honestly replied, "There are ten in total. Comrade Songpo said that once we get here, we will obey your orders."

Lin Xinyi thought for a moment and said, "Alright, then my first order is that all members of the Labour Party must not reveal their identities, nor can they contact me proactively. I will contact you if anything comes up. Also, do not spread the Labour Party's doctrines on campus, and maintain the principle of silence while on campus."

Deng Yulin looked at Lin Xinyi with some astonishment and asked, "Why? Didn't we come to Japan to learn how to make a revolution?"

Lin Xinyi looked at him expressionlessly and said, “Not all Japanese people sympathize with revolutionaries. For some, they support the Qing government’s rule. You are here to learn military affairs, not to spread revolutionary theories. That is not your task. If you feel that you are more suited to propaganda work, you can drop out of school and apply to the organization for a job transfer. But here, do not do anything that is unrelated to your current task.”

After a few moments of silence, Deng Yulin nodded to Lin Xinyi and said, "Understood. I will convey your message to the others."

On the way back to Etajima, Lin Xinyi, standing at the bow of the ship, watched the fiery red sunset in the west, wondering how the Labor Party members were doing back home. He hadn't had time to talk to Deng Yulin much earlier, otherwise he really wanted to ask about the recent situation of Tian Junyi, Cai E, and others.

At this time, Tian Junyi was actually troubled. In the previous three months, he had a very pleasant conversation with Wilhelm Siemens and Franz Krupp. Franz Krupp was very concerned about the formulation of Chinese industrial standards and had also joined the battle for the Luhan Railway.

Luhan Railway borrowed £450 million from Belgium. William Siemens and Franz Krupp agreed to jointly establish the China Railway Construction Corporation, with a total capital of 1 million marks. Hubei-Guangdong Railway would hold 51%, while Siemens and Krupp would hold 49%. However, Tian Junyi had to guarantee that the electrified railway standards developed by the China Railway Construction Corporation would become China's national standards. The company's capital would be raised in Europe by Deutsche Bank, and Hubei-Guangdong Railway's 51% stake would be pledged to Siemens and Krupp.

Furthermore, the restructuring of Hanyeping Steel Company has reached a critical juncture. Siemens and Krupp are willing to assist in the restructuring and construction of Hanyeping Steel Company, expanding it into a steel plant with an annual output of 10 tons of crude steel. The 8000 million marks of government bonds required for the restructuring will also be issued with guarantees from the two companies.

Everything was progressing smoothly. The Belgians were clearly unable to withstand the pressure from the Germans and were already planning to let China redeem the railway construction rights, because Belgium's industry and finance could not support such a large project. In fact, the Belgians sought financing from France and Russia, with the Russians being particularly active.

When China proposed setting railway standards and requiring electrification, the Belgians had already decided to withdraw; they simply lacked the industrial capacity. Currently, the world's two largest exporters of electrical products are the United States and Germany. Since the Germans helped the Chinese set the railway electrification standards, it was clear they didn't want them to build the railways.

While Beijing was wary of Germany's potential involvement in the Luhan Railway, the threat from Russia was far greater. When the Hubei and Hunan provinces presented Russia's support for the Belgians, Beijing had no choice but to agree to their proposal for redemption. After Russia occupied Manchuria and refused to withdraw, Beijing considered Russia its primary enemy, believing it harbored ambitions to conquer all of China, unlike other powers that merely sought to carve up China.

The death of Liu Kunyi, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, was bad news for Huguang (Hubei and Hunan provinces), but in the short term, it wasn't so bad, because Zhang Zhidong acted as Governor-General of Liangjiang, thus securing control of the customs revenues in Shanghai and Wuhan, the two largest cities in the country. This year, China's total imports should exceed 3 million taels of silver, and total exports should exceed 2 million taels. Based on the adjusted tariff rates, this year's total customs revenue should reach around 2 million marks.

These customs duties are now held by the newly established Central Bank. Beijing can use about 3%, while the remaining 7% should be managed by the Governor-General of Huguang and the Governor-General of Liangjiang, as agreed upon by Huguang in the Boxer Protocol. Of course, this money does not belong to Huguang, but is a loan for implementing the new policies. Five years later, the customs duties will be returned to Beijing's control.

Because the Governor-General of Huguang held such a windfall, the Germans and British began to generously borrow money from Huguang. In addition to Germany, Huguang also borrowed 500 million pounds from the British. 200 million pounds were used for urban construction in Hankou. The long dike, known as Zhanggongdi by the people of Hankou, was funded by urban construction bonds. The other 300 million pounds were loans for water conservancy, used to repair the dikes of the Han River and the Yangtze River, and to build water conservancy facilities throughout Huguang.

But at this point, Franz Krupp suddenly locked himself in his room and refused to see anyone. This put Tian Junyi in a very difficult position; if Krupp withdrew midway, the redemption of the Luhan Railway, which was already on the agenda, would fall through. This forced Tian Junyi to visit Krupp several times, but he was unable to see him. He also couldn't get an answer from Wilhelm Siemens. So he stopped Krupp's private secretary and asked him what Mr. Krupp's plans were.

Chapter 122 Scandal

When confronted by the Chinese man who stopped him from asking questions, Artoni Cohen was actually trying to keep Mr. Krupp's secret. In fact, if Mr. Krupp hadn't gradually forgotten about that unpleasant incident over the past few months through his work, he wouldn't have had any conversation with the Chinese man at all.

But now, he was completely powerless to help Mr. Krupp, who was in trouble. He was still hoping that the Chinese could do something to divert Mr. Krupp's attention so that he could recover. Therefore, he ultimately went against his principles and told Tian Junyi in veiled terms that Mr. Krupp was currently embroiled in a public opinion storm that could ruin his reputation, which was why he refused to meet with outsiders.

Upon hearing that it was merely a matter of reputation rather than financial, Tian Junyi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "If it's just a matter of reputation, then Mr. Krupp can certainly take them to the authorities to file a lawsuit. Isn't Mr. Krupp on good terms with His Majesty?"

Artoni Cohen could only stammer out a little more: "Those who slandered Mr. Krupp fabricated some evidence. If His Majesty intervenes, it will also embroil His Majesty in a media storm. So there's nothing we can do now. We can either wait quietly for things to calm down on their own, or we can only resort to prosecution as a last resort."

Tian Junyi wasn't concerned about the public opinion storm Krupp was embroiled in. He simply asked with a keen eye, "So, until this matter is over, Mr. Krupp won't be able to get back to work? How long will that take? A week? Two weeks? Or a month? We'll be having formal consultations with the Belgians soon, and without Mr. Krupp's support, this will be very difficult."