Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 165

The announcement of the Japan-Korea Protection Agreement finally calmed the Chinese people, who were still debating how to establish a republican system. After a secret meeting between Yuan Shikai, the leader of the Beiyang government, and Qin Lishan, the representative in Wuhan, the two sides finally reached a basic consensus: to first ensure the integrity of the country, with the Beiyang government leading the government and Wuhan leading the parliament, which would form the power foundation of the new nation.

While the radical faction in Wuhan was quite disappointed, they hoped to achieve a complete victory in one fell swoop, taking advantage of the end of the Qing Dynasty to throw all reactionary forces into the dustbin of history, and then establish an ideal new China on a vacant lot. However, faced with Japan's undisguised annexation of Korea, the radicals had to admit that continuing to pressure the Beiyang government might trigger more rebellions in the border regions.

Besides the Manchus in Xinjiang attempting to establish an independent state, the Mongol princes also established the Mongol Princes' Union after Emperor Guangxu abdicated, demonstrating their desire to establish an independent state.

The main leaders of the Mongolian Princes' Union were Prince Gonsangnorbu, Prince Yunduanwangchuk, and Prince Shakdurjab, among others. These Mongolian princes were divided into two factions: the old faction, which argued that Mongolia's loyalty was to the Qing Emperor, and since the emperor had abdicated, Mongolia could naturally become independent; and the new faction, which believed that the Mongolian people had been oppressed by the Manchu Qing dynasty, and now that the Qing dynasty had been overthrown, the Mongolian people had the right to independence.

Of course, besides these ostensible reasons, these princes were also afraid of the revolutionaries' treatment of the princes and nobles of Outer Mongolia. In particular, Prince Sotnamlabdan, the leader of Xilin Gol League, was executed by the Mongolian People's Committee on charges of counter-revolution because he went to Outer Mongolia to support the Hutuktu Living Buddha and tried to unify Inner and Outer Mongolia into a Greater Mongolian State.

Although Yuan Shikai quickly appointed a new Prince Sotnamlabdan in his capacity as Chairman of the State and wrote to the princes that dealing with the Outer Mongolian rebels was none of the princes' business in Inner Mongolia, how could such words reassure anyone? After all, Cai E was still stationed with a large army in Outer Mongolia and Shanxi, and Inner Mongolia was completely threatened by this army that called itself revolutionary.

As a new-style prince, Gonsangnorbu was among the first to promote new policies, establish new schools, and build a new army. He even accepted an invitation from the Japanese to visit Japan to study its politics, economy, military, and education, and visited the "Industrial Exposition" held in Osaka, which greatly broadened his horizons. After the Japanese army entered southern Manchuria, he once convened various princes in Rehe to try to seek Mongolian independence.

Previously, the Beiyang government did not want conflict with the Inner Mongolian princes, partly due to concerns about Japanese actions and partly because it feared that Wuhan would follow the example of Outer Mongolia, directly suppressing the Inner Mongolian princes by force and then taking control of Inner Mongolia. However, now that the Inner Mongolian princes and the Japanese army were getting closer and closer, and Japan had announced protection of Korea, thus establishing a land border between Japan and China, Yuan Shikai found it difficult to tolerate the emergence of a Mongolian state supported by the Japanese behind southern Manchuria. In that case, the Beiyang government would be caught in a pincer movement, first and foremost by Mongolian separatism and then by the Japanese army.

So when Wuhan showed goodwill by making concessions, Yuan Shikai immediately ordered Gonsangnorbu to go to Beijing to accept a new appointment. Yuan Shikai's judgment was quite accurate. Among the Mongol princes, apart from Gonsangnorbu, the others were all stubborn and corrupt old princes. They had no ability to confront the central government at all. They just wanted to use the slogan of independence to try to retain their privileges in the new country. Only Gonsangnorbu was truly trying to revive the Mongol nation.

When Yuan Shikai issued the order to transfer Gungsangnorbu, Qin Lishan, in the name of the Provisional National Assembly, also severely criticized the so-called Mongolian Princes' Association. He believed that the Mongolian princes were also part of the old Qing system that oppressed the Mongolian and Chinese people. They were trying to whitewash their past history after the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and transform themselves into representatives of the Mongolian people, inciting the Mongolian people to fight against other ethnic groups. This behavior was a counter-revolutionary act.

Qin Lishan demanded that the Mongol princes earnestly reflect on their past crimes, sincerely apologize to the Mongol people, respond to their wishes, and live in harmony with all ethnic groups. If they did so, the people would not hold their past transgressions against them and would accept their reformation in the new era. Those who continue to be stubborn and unrepentant will surely face the angry judgment of the people.

Under combined pressure from the Beiyang government and the Wuhan government, Gonsangnorbu disbanded his army and fled to Beijing with his family. Meanwhile, the Mongolian princes quickly issued a joint statement: "...In terms of the Chinese system of government, a monarchy is more suitable than democracy. However, since the people of the whole country now uphold a republic, and many nobles also support this, what reason do we have to oppose it? We will now leave the matter entirely to the National Assembly. If a republic is decided, Mongolia will naturally join the great republic..."

Since Wuhan and Beiyang had reached a compromise on the establishment of the new state system, the voices of other forces were immediately suppressed. Therefore, Qin Lishan urged the State Council to issue an ultimatum to Japan in the name of the National Assembly, demanding that the Japanese army provide a timetable for withdrawal.

Thus, the Saionji Cabinet encountered diplomatic difficulties shortly after taking office. Saionji replaced Foreign Minister Komura Jutaro with Kato Takaaki because Komura was too close to the army and both advocated expansionism. Saionji, on the other hand, hoped to curb the power of the military and prevent the government from becoming a subordinate agency of the military.

Although Kato Takaaki opposed the military, his diplomatic philosophy was almost identical to that of Komura Jutaro. Both were supporters of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and advocated for a unified foreign policy, meaning that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be solely responsible for foreign affairs, and the elders and the military should not interfere. However, Komura Jutaro was much more flexible in implementation. He would proactively cooperate with the military to avoid direct military interference in diplomatic affairs, while Kato Takaaki would simply refuse to communicate with the military and the elders.

The army was naturally dissatisfied with the Chinese government's ultimatum to withdraw its troops, but the army's leadership also knew that it would be unwise to confront China at this time, because the Japan-South Korea protection agreement had been met with strong resistance from the North Korean people after its announcement.

The Seoul-based newspaper *Hwangseong Ilbo* published an editorial entitled "On This Day, We Weep Loudly," condemning the crimes of the Japanese invaders and their traitorous government, and calling on the people to rise up in resistance: "My twenty million compatriots, enslaved by men! To live or to die? Has the national spirit of four thousand years since the beginning of time suddenly perished overnight? How painful! How painful! My compatriots, my compatriots!"

For days, Seoul residents held rallies to denounce traitors like Yi Wan-yong and vowed to oppose the treaty's protection. People across the country also rallied to protest the treasonous treaty. Chinese newspapers and some foreign newspapers expressed sympathy and support for the North Korean people, further intensifying their resistance.

　Patriotic officials and Confucian scholars such as Li Xiangyu, Li Yumian, Song Bingzan, Min Yonghuan, and Zhao Bingshi submitted memorials denouncing traitors and opposing the protection treaty. Zhao Bingshi, Min Yonghuan, Hong Wanzhi, Kim Bong-hak, and Li Mingzai, among other officials and scholars, committed suicide in protest. Sporadic attacks on Japanese residents began to occur in various southern provinces, while conflicts against Japanese troops were also increasing within China.

　Unlike the righteous war movement in Korea during the Sino-Japanese War, which was mainly based on the slogan of respecting the king, the slogan of the Korean people this time was mainly about protecting the country and the people. Therefore, the people who participated in the anti-Japanese movement included people from all walks of life and were not just Confucian scholars.

　Faced with the rising anti-Japanese sentiment among the North Korean people, even Ito Hirobumi privately admitted to his confidants that he had misjudged the North Korean people's resistance to the Japan-South Korea protection agreement, and that North Korea was no longer the ignorant feudal dynasty it once was.

　The military leadership also had differing opinions on the situation on the mainland. Here, the military leadership mainly refers to the army, which still kept a large number of troops on the mainland. The lower and middle ranks of the army stationed in China generally developed a war-weary mentality. This was because before the army participated in the war, it was publicized that Japan was fighting to defend itself and to stop the Russians from enslaving the East Asian peoples. This righteous banner did inspire courage in the Japanese army, which suffered heavy casualties in the battle against Russia.

　However, as the Russian army admitted defeat and the Korean and Chinese people became hostile towards the Japanese army, the Japanese officers and soldiers felt both dissatisfied and frustrated. Many officers and soldiers believed that the best way to clarify the facts was to withdraw from the mainland as soon as possible. After all, the Russians had been defeated, and they really had no reason to stay on the mainland any longer.

　However, the announcement of the Japan-South Korea protection agreement dealt a heavy blow to these enraged army officers and soldiers. They realized that their government did indeed intend to annex Korea, rather than coming to liberate Korea and China as claimed before the war. Although these officers and soldiers did not oppose the Japan-South Korea protection agreement, they began to worry that the Chinese would go to war with them, and therefore the idea of ​​retreating became even stronger.

　However, the Japanese military leaders stationed on the Manchurian front and those stationed in Korea and Japan had different ideas. The Japanese generals on the front generally felt that they could not withdraw without gaining anything, after all, they had shed so much blood and spent so much military expenditure on this land, so they had to get some compensation from the Chinese before they could withdraw.

　The Japanese generals stationed in Korea hoped that the Japanese troops on the front lines would withdraw to Korean territory as soon as possible, so as to help them suppress the precarious situation in Korea. As for the upper echelons of the army in Tokyo, they did not want to take responsibility for achieving nothing, nor did they want to provoke the dissatisfaction of the great powers such as Britain and the United States. So they pushed the problem to the government. On the one hand, they argued that Japan should not withdraw completely, and on the other hand, they said that in order to ensure Japan's advantage on the mainland, the plan to increase the number of troops should be passed as soon as possible.

　Kato Takaaki opposed the military's interference in diplomacy, yet he also argued that Japan should obtain special interests in China and should not have paid so much blood and money for nothing. However, he also stated that Japan's decision should not shake the mutual trust in the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. In other words, Kato Takaaki set himself an impossible diplomatic goal, which also provoked the elder statesmen and the military.

　Yamagata Aritomo openly threatened: "If the cabinet believes that the elders have no right to interfere in foreign affairs, then there is no need to consult the elders on political matters in the future, and the government can govern according to its own ideas."

However, without the endorsement of the elders, the policies formulated by the government simply could not be implemented, because many interests were tied to the elders. If the elders did not support the government, lower-level interest groups could openly resist government decisions, and the government would have almost no recourse. Could the government really confront the elders directly?

It's clear to everyone that Kato Takaaki's days are numbered. Kato represents the will of the Constitutional Party, the second largest party in the House of Representatives. If Foreign Minister Kato resigns from the Saionji Cabinet, then this united cabinet will be effectively bankrupt.

Meanwhile, for the benefit of the Seiyukai, Hara Takashi began to actively replace local officials and promote the nationalization of private railways after taking office as Minister of Home Affairs. These two policies not only infringed on the interests of the Constitutional Party, but also caused losses to the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu, the financial backer of the Constitutional Party. As a result, after Foreign Minister Kato clashed with the elders and the military on diplomatic issues, he also formed a confrontation with Hara Takashi over the private railway nationalization plan.

As for the Seiyukai party led by Kinmochi Saionji, it enjoyed considerable public support before forming a government, as people hoped that the party would lower taxes to improve their lives. However, Saionji's attempt to unite the military and the Democratic Party meant he had to satisfy both the military's expansion plan and the public's desire for tax cuts, which was clearly impossible. Coupled with Takashi Hara's nationalization plan for private railways, it was no longer possible for this government to fulfill its promise of tax reductions.

Thus, less than a month after its formation, the Saionji Cabinet was already teetering on the brink of collapse. As Saionji Kinmochi struggled to navigate the diplomatic and domestic predicaments and attempted to maintain the current government, a cultural seminar was held at the Tokyo Commercial Law Conference Center, not far from the Imperial Palace.

The Tokyo Commercial Law Council was established in 1878. It was initially set up as a public opinion body to represent merchants in expressing their opinions on national policies. However, with the establishment of the Diet, the Commercial Law Council quickly transformed into a cross-industry association of merchants.

On the afternoon of March 9th, a cultural seminar unrelated to business was held at the Commercial Law Conference Center, which was already surprising enough. What was even more surprising was that the seminar actually sold tickets, and the prices were quite high: 50 yen for first class, 20 yen for second class, and 10 yen for third class. In other words, even a third-class ticket was equivalent to a month's salary for an average worker.

However, the promotional posters did state that the ticket revenue would be donated to the Oriental Culture and Arts Foundation. Although people were still unclear about what the Oriental Culture and Arts Foundation did, at least they no longer expressed any dissatisfaction with the ticket price for this cultural seminar, since it wasn't going into personal pockets.

As a venue for business gatherings, the Commercial Law Conference Center naturally has many large conference rooms. For example, the lobby can even accommodate hundreds of people, making it almost indistinguishable from the National Diet Building. The conference room borrowed by the Cultural Seminar is not small, enough to seat more than a hundred people for a meeting. Before entering the Commercial Law Conference Center, Muto Sanji, the representative sent by Zhongyuan Textile Company, originally thought there wouldn't be many people, but when he saw the second-floor corridor packed with people, he realized that his judgment was wrong.

After he squeezed through the crowd and entered the conference room, he realized why so many "culture-loving" businessmen had gathered there. The first-class seats at the front were occupied not only by zaibatsu tycoons such as Eiichi Shibusawa, Zenjiro Yasuda, and Kihachiro Okura, but also by political veterans such as Sukeyuki Ito and Masayoshi Matsukata. The ticket was indeed not expensive.

Such cultural seminars have actually lost their true purpose of discussing culture and have become gatherings for political and economic figures. Although those who buy third-class tickets may not be able to speak with these political and economic bigwigs, just sitting with them and listening to cultural lectures is more than enough to make the ticket price worthwhile. Moreover, most of the cultural figures who take turns speaking on stage are from the Imperial Household Agency, which is an excellent opportunity to build connections with the Imperial Household Agency.

As a member of a samurai family in Gifu Prefecture, Muto Sanji studied Chinese classics from a young age and was well-versed in ink painting and calligraphy. Therefore, his attendance at this conference was indeed driven by his hobbies. The tickets were purchased by Mitsui Bank and then given as gifts to various companies under its name. Some people received tickets but did not want to waste their time. However, if they knew that these political and business tycoons would be present at the conference, they would probably have put aside other matters and come over.

As Muto Sanji walked through the crowd in the corridor, he heard people asking for tickets. Even third-class tickets were being sold for 30 yen. However, to his surprise, although many people in the company who had tickets did not come, the meeting room was still packed. It was clear that the organizer had sold more tickets than allowed. This method of making money was really bold.

At this moment, however, he wasn't concerned with who was trying to profit from this. He focused all his attention on the first-class seats, observing the interactions among these political and economic heavyweights. Such opportunities to observe the relationships between these bigwigs up close were rare indeed. As for what the people on the stage were saying, he didn't care much. The others seemed to share similar thoughts; everyone was concerned about whether they would have the chance to go to the first-class seats and greet the bigwigs. Who cared about culture?

The bigwigs didn't seem to pay much attention to the cultural lecture on stage until near the end, when a young man in Western-style clothing walked onto the stage. Suddenly, many of the bigwigs in the first-class seats fell silent. This caught the attention of Muto Sanji. While he was trying to figure out which bigwig the young man was related to, he was captivated by the content of the young man's speech.

Chapter 574

Although the businessmen below focused their attention on the important figures in the first two rows and did not pay much attention to his youthful appearance, Lin Xinyi did not feel discouraged. After going on stage, he shook his suit and said, "I believe everyone can see that the outfit I am wearing is not traditional Japanese clothing. Many of you here today are wearing similar clothes. In the eyes of Tokyoites, such Western-style clothing should be commonplace."

However, in our neighboring country, just seven or eight years ago, Chinese people wearing such Western-style clothes walking the streets of Beijing were called "fake foreign devils" by the locals. Back then, the Boxers called Chinese people wearing Western clothes "second-rate devils," believing that only by killing all these "second-rate devils" could they preserve the Qing Dynasty. What do you all think of how such Chinese people should be evaluated?

“Ignorant.” “Backward Qing slaves.” The small businessmen at the back of the conference room, trying to get the attention of the bigwigs in the front row, couldn’t wait to respond to Lin Xinyi’s question. The businessmen sitting in the middle also nodded slightly at these answers. Although they didn’t need to be in such a hurry to show off, they almost agreed with the derogatory view of the Chinese. After all, after defeating the Russians, the upper and middle classes of Japan believed that they could now look down on their former teacher.

After the Sino-Japanese War, rickshaw pullers in Tokyo frequently mocked Chinese students, especially their queues (pigtails), as if this proved Japan had become a major power that had defeated China. While Japanese intellectuals despised such behavior from ordinary citizens, small business owners were among the first to embrace this idea of ​​upward mobility for the urban population.

During the Edo period, Japanese society was strictly divided into social classes according to the samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Even among merchants, there were layers of hierarchy. Generally speaking, the top-ranking merchants had almost the same power as ordinary daimyo, and even ordinary samurai dared not offend them. However, if a merchant at the bottom of the social class was killed by a samurai, it would almost be a pointless death.

For merchants seeking to expand their businesses and rise in social class during the Edo period, it was extremely difficult. In contrast, becoming the adopted son or son-in-law of a wealthy merchant was a relatively easier way to climb the social ladder. This resulted in the top-tier merchants having lifestyles and educational levels similar to the samurai class, while the lower-tier merchants resembled commoners, being crude and cunning.

During the Edo period, these lower-class merchants had little influence on society, as they could barely make ends meet even after a lifetime of hard work. However, after the Meiji Restoration, these lower-class merchants, like lower-ranking samurai, gained opportunities to rise in society. In particular, the introduction of industry allowed commerce to move away from the agrarian model of hoarding and speculation and into an industrial production model that exploited labor. Many unscrupulous merchants, after becoming wealthy, began to influence traditional Japanese business ethics.

The idea that any means are acceptable in the pursuit of wealth began to spread in the Japanese business world. This was a reflection of the moral decay of the Meiji society, which was criticized by traditional Japanese intellectuals, and also formed the ideological foundation for the rise of the National Essence Movement. The Tokyo Commercial Law Conference served as a gathering place for Tokyo's business community, but it was not controlled by large conglomerates such as Shibusawa, Mitsui, Yasuda, and Okura. Instead, it was controlled by a group of small and medium-sized businessmen. This was because large conglomerates could communicate directly with the political world, while small and medium-sized businessmen needed to band together to negotiate with the government.

Although Shibusawa Eiichi was the founder of the Tokyo Commercial Law Conference, he eventually relinquished his position as head of the conference in the face of the selfishness of small and medium-sized businessmen, and focused on managing the Tokyo Bank Assembly Hall. As a council of banking professionals, the Tokyo Bank Assembly Hall obviously had more highly qualified personnel who would not be as concerned with personal or immediate interests as these small and medium-sized businessmen.

Because the nouveau riche dominated the Tokyo Commercial Law Conference, it was not surprising that they blurted out derogatory remarks about the Chinese in response to Lin Xinyi's questions. After the businessmen quieted down a bit, Lin Xinyi suddenly retorted, "Why is it that as Japanese people, we regard wearing Western clothes as a sign of civilization, while Chinese people regard wearing Western clothes as treason?"

It was this very question that caught Muto Sanji's attention, making him suspect that the young man's rise to power might not have been due to connections. As he pondered this, the merchants behind him began to speak up, saying, "Because the West invented trains and steamships, wearing Western clothes makes one appear civilized..." "The Chinese are stubborn and conservative. Defeated by Western warships and cannons, they refuse to acknowledge Western civilization, which is why they see wearing Western clothes as the mark of a fake Westerner. This is the arrogance of an old empire, already outdated by global trends..."

This time, Muto Sanji inwardly agreed with the businessmen's answers. Although their previous contempt for the Chinese was quite rude and nouveau riche-like, their current answers were not problematic. However, the young man on stage clearly did not agree with this mainstream social view.

"Yes, trains, steamships, and Western-style clothing are all outward manifestations of civilization. As the Book of Changes says: 'Observe the heavens to understand the changes of time; observe human affairs to transform the world.'"

If civilization is the person inside this garment, then culture is the garment itself. The purpose of culture is to make people accept the lifestyle it represents. Therefore, culture is essentially the acceptance of a way of life, and it is the standard by which different civilizations distinguish themselves from one another.

The Boxers viewed Chinese people wearing Western clothes as fake foreign devils and wanted to physically eliminate them. In essence, they did not recognize the civilization behind Western clothes. This situation also existed in Japan before the Boshin War, and there was also a mainstream social perception in Korea before the Sino-Japanese War that opposed the Enlightenment Party.

In short, this rejection and acceptance of Western clothing is essentially a clash of values ​​between two civilizations. But which two civilizations are they clashing with? I think it's incorrect to simply view it as a competition between Western and Eastern civilizations. I have some pictures here for you to see.

Lin Xinyi paused for a moment, then had someone bring up enlarged posters. Pointing to the clothing on the posters, he addressed the crowd below who had been drawn to his work: "These are the clothes from medieval Europe. From these clothes, we can see that the clothing of medieval European nobles and Eastern nobles were actually similar in style—ornate, with intricate details, and unsuitable for manual labor. Meanwhile, the clothing of the lower classes was similar to the everyday clothing of the lower classes in the East—simple but suitable for manual labor."

While everyone was still confused, Lin Xinyi finally explained: "If the Western-style clothes I'm wearing today appeared in medieval Europe, they would also be considered strange clothing by Europeans of that era, representing a different way of life from a different civilization. Therefore, the so-called backwardness of Eastern civilization compared to Western civilization is actually just that agricultural civilization is backwardness compared to industrial civilization."

The statement that Western clothing represents civilization is correct in its literal sense, but Western clothing does not represent progress. The traditional clothing of Japan, Korea, China, and other Eastern ethnic groups does not represent backwardness. It can only be said that these traditional clothing have not yet undergone the transformation of industrial civilization to make them suitable for the labor of the industrial age.

So-called European civilization was not born as an industrial civilization. Like other parts of the world, it initially emerged as an agricultural and commercial civilization. The invention of the steam engine enabled European civilization to transition from an agricultural to an industrial age. Therefore, they modified their culture to suit industrial production.

Why is industrial civilization more advanced than agricultural civilization? Because industry can support a larger population than agriculture. After the Industrial Revolution, according to statistics from the British government, the British Isles had a population of only 610 million in 1760, but by 1830 the population had grown to 1310 million. This does not include citizens who emigrated overseas.

Britain is not an exception. Every country in the world that transitions from an agricultural civilization to an industrial civilization experiences a period of population explosion. Germany is the most obvious example of this. As a late-developing power, Germany had fewer overseas colonies, so its population growth relied on its domestic industrial development to support it.

Japan's learning from the West focuses on the transformation from an agricultural to an industrial civilization, and the economic, population, and national power growth of Japan over the past 40 years demonstrates the effectiveness of this learning. In the foreseeable future, Japan will become a country where industrial output surpasses agricultural output, thus becoming a part of industrial civilization.

But now a new question arises: is European culture entirely suitable for industrial civilization? If the culture that industrial civilization is compared to is uniform, then all European countries today should speak English, read British literature, use British law, and eat terrible British food.

However, European countries clearly did not entirely copy British culture. They embraced industrial civilization but retained their own unique cultures and customs. Therefore, when we travel to Europe today, we will not see a uniform British style. France, Italy, Germany, Russia, and Austria each have their own proud history and culture.

The Japanese succinctly describe the cultures of these countries as Western culture and enthusiastically introduce them to transform Japanese culture. However, European and American countries disdain Japanese culture. Even the finest raw silk imported from Japan is only used as material for stockings and lace to conform to Western aesthetics. They only have a sense of curiosity about Japan's finest brocades and kimonos, collecting them rather than using them in daily life.

What I want to talk about today is the connection between culture and commerce. I want you all to think carefully about this: if the three major Eastern countries all regard Western clothing as a symbol of advanced civilization and consider their own traditional clothing as outdated, then even if the three major Eastern countries successfully transition from agricultural civilization to industrial civilization, they will eventually become another kind of raw silk trade, becoming raw material providers for advanced industrial countries, and will never be able to become a member of advanced industrial countries.

The Meiji Restoration did achieve its goal of strengthening the military through opening the country to the outside world, but it was still far from achieving the goal of national wealth. In present-day Japan, rural residents make up three-quarters of the total population, and among them, owner-farmers account for 32.7% and tenant farmers for 45.5%. This means that nearly one-third of Japan's population still lives in abject poverty.

However, my country's annual cotton yarn production has exceeded one million bales, and the amount of exported cotton yarn far exceeds the amount of imports. This means that the domestic market for cotton textiles is nearing saturation. If Japan's cotton textile industry wants to continue to expand, it must find overseas markets; otherwise, a harsh winter is fast approaching for the industry.

The cotton textile industry is the sector that absorbs the most rural female labor force. Once the growth of the cotton textile industry stagnates, it means that the rural economy will decline, more farmers will lose their land, or be forced to sell their children into prostitution. The stagnation of industrial growth will severely impact the countryside, not the cities, and the unrest in the countryside will trigger more riots.

If you are still reveling in the glory this war brought to Japan, then I must remind you that Japan has exhausted the benefits of the Meiji Restoration. If it cannot set new goals for the Japanese economy, then a precipice lies ahead.

Muto Sanji was deeply shocked. Although he didn't care much about politics, he devoted all his energy to the textile industry. The Zhongyuan Textile Company was facing increasingly fierce competition in China, so it had set its sights on the Chinese market long before the Boxer Rebellion broke out, importing cotton from northern China and then exporting cotton cloth to northern China.

Muto Sanji could understand most of what Hayashi Shinji said about economics, because they had already encountered and begun to verify these things in the company's daily operations. However, the theory of linking culture and business behavior was truly refreshing, yet he found it very reasonable.

Representatives from other textile companies shared Muto Sanji's interest in this theory, and soon someone asked Hayashi Shin-yi, "Are you saying that we should compete with Western culture, which will increase the competitiveness of Japanese businesses overseas? But, is this feasible?"

After a few moments of contemplation, Lin Xinyi spoke: "Civilization transcends race, skin color, and nation. As long as humanity wants to survive, it must choose one of agricultural, commercial, or industrial civilizations. However, culture is influenced by geographical, racial, national, and ethnic distinctions, so culture has boundaries."

Historically, regions such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ganges, Yellow River, and Yangtze River have all had their own indigenous civilizations, which gradually evolved into Christian culture, Islamic culture, Buddhist culture, and Confucian culture.

As the birthplace of Buddhist culture, the Indian subcontinent, constantly conquered by various civilizations, eventually lost its original culture and became a colony of the British Empire in the 19th century. Today, when we discuss Indian culture, can we still find any unique products that incorporate elements of Indian culture?

When Confucian culture was dominant, silk, tea, porcelain, and cotton were all best-selling commodities worldwide. However, with China's decline, would our country still regard Chinese silk, tea, porcelain, and cotton as treasures? In fact, my country's raw silk, Britain's high-end cotton and porcelain, and India's tea are all blocking Chinese products in the international market.

This shows that a dominant culture produces dominant products, or vice versa; dominant products represent a dominant culture. A weak culture cannot create popular products, and similarly, behind every popular product lies a dominant culture.

Some Japanese people today say that learning from Western civilization means abandoning Asia and joining Europe, and some even think that Japanese women should marry white people to improve the Japanese race. In my opinion, this shows a lack of understanding of civilization and culture. They mistakenly believe that learning from industrial civilization means surrendering to Christian culture, but this is actually a very absurd argument.

The Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi satirized such people with the story of the man from Handan who tried to learn how to walk from scratch. He argued that while we should learn from industrial civilization, we don't need to start from the ground up and learn how to walk again. Ultimately, they were not only ridiculed by the people of Zhao, but they also couldn't return to the state of Yan.

We should learn from industrial civilization, but we cannot completely copy Western culture. Instead, we should transform Eastern culture to suit the needs of industry, just as European countries transformed their own cultures to create the Western culture we have today.

Transforming Eastern culture involves not only reforming traditional Japanese culture but also the entire Chinese cultural sphere, thereby propelling the transformation of the entire Chinese cultural sphere from an agricultural civilization to an industrial civilization. Strictly speaking, in this process, we are not competing with Western culture, but rather reviving the Chinese cultural sphere itself.

The opening line of the letter from Empress Suiko and Prince Shotoku to Emperor Yang of Sui reads: "The Emperor of the Land of Rising Sun respectfully writes to the Emperor of the Land of Setting Sun." This demonstrates that Japan and China occupy central positions within the Chinese cultural sphere, distinct from other countries and nations within it. Now that China is in decline, Japan should shoulder the responsibility of reviving Chinese culture…

Lin Xinyi's speech attracted great attention from Japanese business people. After defeating Russia, Japanese society had lost its way, but the idea of ​​reviving Chinese culture gave some business people a new goal to move forward.

Chapter 575

After the meeting, Muto Sanji originally wanted to get to know Hayashi Shin-yi. In his opinion, there was still much room for discussion on business aspects in Hayashi Shin-yi's speech today. These details were not omitted because Hayashi Shin-yi was unaware of them, but because of time constraints and the topic. However, for business people like them, these details were the most important things.

Many people share the same idea as Muto. After all, most of the best talents in Japan nowadays want to study law and become officials or politicians, and there are not many outstanding talents who study business. Therefore, when they see a young man like Lin Xinyi with a clear business mind, the representatives of large companies can't help but want to get to know him and see if they can recruit him for their own use.

However, these people were quickly disappointed. After the meeting, Lin Xinyi was summoned to the side by big shots such as Ito Sukeyuki, Matsukata Masayoshi, and Shibusawa Eiichi, without giving them any chance to get acquainted. Nevertheless, Lin Xinyi's composed demeanor in front of these bigwigs left a deep impression on Muto Sanji.

The purpose of this cultural and commercial symposium held at the Commercial Law Conference was to establish a legitimate connection between the navy represented by Ito and the political and business faction represented by Matsukata, and to bring the power of the Ministry of the Imperial Household Agency and the Tokyo business power represented by Shibusawa into a new political and business circle, in order to end the fragmented Satsuma clique situation after the Satsuma War.

The successive deaths of Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi led to a split within the Satsuma clique, which was ultimately held together by the personal connections between Saigo Tsugumichi and Matsukata Masayoshi. However, after Saigo Tsugumichi's death, the personal connection between Yamamoto Gonnohyōe and Matsukata Masayoshi became less close.

Meanwhile, the Satsuma faction within the Navy believed that its bureaucrats, weakened by the combined suppression of the Choshu clique and the rise of the Kuomintang, were no longer a force to be reckoned with. Therefore, they tended to ally with the Army against the government, meaning the conflict between the military and the government began to outweigh the conflict between the Choshu and Satsuma factions. The Satsuma faction within the Navy and the Satsuma faction within the government had become increasingly estranged, their political interests rarely aligned.

This situation was not limited to the Satsuma clique; the Choshu clique also experienced a similar trend of separation. Ito, representing the government, and Yamagata, representing the military, drifted apart due to power conflicts between the two. Although Inoue Kaoru was a staunch ally of Ito, he also tried to maintain the unity of the Choshu clique, ultimately finding himself caught in the middle between Yamagata and Ito.

After defeating Russia, if no new national goal is proposed, the military and the government, having lost their external enemy, will further antagonize each other in their struggle for dominance over the country. The government will then have to rely on public opinion to counter the military's strength, which is the basis for the rise of the Democratic Party.

However, after Hayashi Nobuyoshi proposed the political goal of a naval shogunate, Ito Sukeyuki's faction abandoned its political line of confrontation with the government and instead sought to control the government in order to marginalize the army. Shibusawa Eiichi's side supported Hayashi Nobuyoshi's faction of retainers of the shogunate and business forces that were trying to create a greater Tokyo economic zone, while the Imperial Household Agency utilized the connections of Ogawa Heikichi's father-in-law.

The Imperial Household Ministry was actually a faction of royalists left behind by Sanjo Sanetomi. This faction advocated for the Emperor to rule personally, but under the combined suppression of the Satsuma and Choshu cliques, the Emperor eventually became the highest state organ, a symbol of the state that ruled but did not actually govern.

After Sanjo's death, the head of the Imperial Household Department was Duke Konoe Atsumaro. Because his mother was Sadahime, the adopted daughter of Shimazu Nariakira, the lord of the Satsuma Domain, the duke also had the support of the Satsuma bureaucrats. From Meiji 25 to Meiji 37, he held the important position of Speaker of the House of Peers, established the Doshikai (School of Comrades) within the House of Peers, and supported the people's party forces in criticizing the domain government.

In 37, there were calls to form a cabinet. If Atsumaro Konoe had actually done so, it would have meant that the court nobles, with the support of the Democratic Party, had established the first non-feudal government, potentially leading to the Emperor's direct rule. However, the Duke of Konoe suddenly died. His death was timely; had he not died, it could have caused a constitutional crisis, and the Meiji era established by Choshu and Satsuma would have come to an end.

While the timely death of the Duke of Konoe resolved the crisis between the Choshu and Satsuma cliques, it was nothing short of a major blow to the power structure within the Imperial Household. Without the Duke of Konoe as its leader, the Imperial Household lost its channel for external communication, making the path to the Emperor's personal rule impossible.

Heikichi Ogawa established a connection with the Ministry of the Imperial Household through his father-in-law's connections, and quickly gained the attention of the Imperial Household forces. Although Ogawa's father-in-law had passed away last year, the Ministry of the Imperial Household still quickly established a close relationship with Ogawa based on mutual interests, and showed great interest in the Oriental Culture and Arts Foundation. This meeting was a tentative contact.

Overall, today's meeting was satisfactory to all parties. The focus was on culture and business, avoiding politics, which minimized potential conflicts. Furthermore, Hayashi Nobuyoshi's suggestion that certain buildings and ancient trees within the Kyoto and Tokyo Imperial Palaces should be protected as objects of traditional cultural arts provided the Imperial Household Ministry with a route for transferring benefits, thus satisfying the Ministry's representatives.

However, after Ogawa Heikichi left with the people from the Ministry of Reiji, Hayashi Shinichi finally got to the point with the remaining people in the room: Ito Sukeyuki, Matsukata Masayoshi, Shibusawa Eiichi, and Makino Nobuaki.

"Judging from the Hibiya arson incident, the gap between the rich and poor in the country has reached an unbelievable level, so much so that even the citizens of Tokyo are filled with resentment. If we do not take into account the post-war economic problems, then such riots will only continue to occur."

Under these circumstances, both the military's proposed expansion plan and the Seiyukai's proposed privatization of national railways are clearly inappropriate. The former increases the risk of war and attempts to prioritize national defense spending, but a three-year-old cannot wear heavy armor. Today's Japan should first consider raising this child, rather than building armor for him to use only after he reaches adulthood.

While the latter plan could stimulate the economy, most of the profits flowed into the hands of capitalists, leaving ordinary people with little benefit and having to pay interest on the nationalization plan. To put it bluntly, isn't this like making beggars pay for the feasts of the rich? The Seiyukai's promotion of such a policy is essentially using the blood and flesh of the people to feed capitalists and reaping profits in return; the Navy cannot condone this…”

Matsukata Masayoshi's expression changed slightly. As a leader in the business world and among the Chinese elite, the nationalization of private railways would also be of great benefit to him. Hayashi Shin-yi's words actually included him as well, but he glanced at Ito Sukeyuki beside him out of the corner of his eye and noticed that Ito's expression remained unchanged, while Shibusawa on the other side showed no reaction. After thinking for a moment, he calmly asked, "So, how do you plan to stop the nationalization of private railways?"

Lin Xinyi glanced at Song Fang. This was the first time he had a formal conversation with this elder of the Satsuma clique. However, he paid more attention to Makino Nobuaki, who was sitting to the side. As the second son of Okubo Toshimichi, he had gradually accepted the political legacy left by his father and had become a rising star in the Satsuma clique.

While Matsukata Masayoshi was more senior than Ito, he was politically unremarkable, a far cry from his benefactor, Okubo Toshimichi. Of course, the Satsuma clique was indeed far inferior to the Choshu clique in terms of political talent, because the Satsuma clique's personnel were almost entirely self-taught, unlike the Choshu clique which had theoretical mentors like Yoshida Shoin. Okubo Toshimichi's talent stemmed primarily from his own innate abilities, while Ito, Yamagata, and others advanced based on the political ideas pioneered by Yoshida Shoin.

Therefore, after Okubo Toshimichi's death, the Satsuma clique fell apart, with no one able to reach a consensus within it. This was because the Satsuma clique lacked a political ideology for overthrowing the shogunate and was blindly advancing under the leadership of Okubo and Saigo. Consequently, Kuroda Kiyotaka's decision to sell off Hokkaido's colonized assets at a low price to Godai Tomoaki's company, despite public opinion, sparked strong public discontent with the clan politics.

Matsukata Masayoshi had been operating in the Ministry of Finance for over 20 years, solving the government's thorny inflation problem. In reality, the solution ultimately relied on the huge indemnity from the First Sino-Japanese War. However, when he took on the important task of forming a cabinet, he actually interfered in the election of members of parliament on a large scale. He and Kiyota Kurotaka were like equals.

Therefore, after Saigo Tsugumichi's death, Matsukata Masayoshi was unable to maintain the Satsuma clique at all, because his political prestige was too low, and he could only rely on seniority to maintain his position. However, he did make good arrangements for his two sons: the eldest son became the president of the National 15th Bank, and the second son became the president of Kawasaki Shipbuilding.

The National 15th Bank, also known as the Chinese Bank, was established to ensure the preservation and appreciation of the Chinese community's assets. It also managed the treasury of the Imperial Household Department. Initially, the Chinese community intended to invest in railway construction, but they did not understand whether the railway project could be profitable. They were eventually dissuaded and thus established the bank, which then began lending money.

The nationalization of private railways was certainly beneficial to Bank No. 15, as many private railway companies had borrowed money from it, and the bank had also purchased a significant number of railway company shares. However, another key business of Bank No. 15 was its investment in Kawasaki Shipbuilding, which, in turn, leveraged Matsukata's connections to establish ties with the navy, managing to secure a warship construction project despite being a private shipbuilding company.

Lin Xinyi didn't believe that Matsukata Masayoshi's outright rejection of his suggestion stemmed from this. He was now representing the Navy in proposing a plan to stop the nationalization of private railways, which Matsukata would have to consider regardless, otherwise Kawasaki Shipyard would be in trouble. On the contrary, Makino Nobuaki was the one truly worthy of his attention, because the Navy had no weaknesses against him, and as a rising star of the Satsuma faction, Makino had his own political convictions and wouldn't easily bow to the Navy.

Faced with such a political figure with a good family background, personal reputation and ability, Lin Xinyi naturally would not take it lightly. So he followed up on Matsukata Masayoshi's question and said: "Rather than saying that the Navy wants to stop the nationalization of private railways, it is more accurate to say that the Navy believes that the urgent task for the current government is not the nationalization of private railways."

The navy believes that a powerful navy is built on a solid industrial foundation. Previously, the navy's adversaries, the Qing Dynasty and the Russian Empire, lacked an industrial base or had weak industrial capabilities. Therefore, the navy was able to develop its own navy by leveraging the advanced industries of Europe and America, hoping to destroy the enemy's fleet in one fell swoop and thus gain control of the sea in a short period of time.