The Navy Ministry Building in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo, is a heavy building built with red bricks. The Navy Ministry Building fully embodies the "civilization" of the Japanese Navy. Just like the Naval War School, the entire building is entirely British style.

The red bricks were wrapped piece by piece and shipped from the UK on warships. The original price was 0.2 yen. In the years when the Navy Ministry Building was built, a carpenter’s daily wage was only 0.1 yen. After shipping to Japan, it was converted.

A piece of red brick costs more than 1.5 yen. It can be said that the bricks of this building alone cost a warship. Although it is a waste, the Japanese think it is worth it. Let alone the building, even the bricks are full of bricks.

It has the flavor of the world's number one naval power.

Perhaps it is these red bricks that have blessed the Japanese Navy's repeated victories. Although the Navy Ministry Building is two stories high, it has another one and a half floors underground, so it is often mistaken for a three-story building.

The Admiralty of the Admiralty's Office is located on the second floor after entering the gate, with the windows facing the atrium. Located on the same floor are the Adjutant's Office and the Clerk's Office.

Vice-officer of the Navy Rear Admiral Kantaro Suzuki and Chief of Military Affairs Rear Admiral Akiyama Shinyuki met with Navy Minister Rokuro Yashiro in the minister's office. The Navy Minister sat on a chair behind a rosewood table, with a pin on the collar of his first-layer military uniform representing the rank of general.

emblem. There was no one else in the office. The empty office looked very simple, far from the so-called "British luxury". However, this was also a change that only occurred after Yashiro Rokuro became Lord of the Navy - the British luxury

The desk, sofa, and paintings were moved out of the Admiralty's office.

It can be said that in order to save the reputation of the Navy, Yashiro Rokuro made every effort, but even so, the reputation of the Navy is now in jeopardy. It took decades, relying on the complete victory in the Battle of Tsushima, for the Navy to turn from the

The second child has climbed up to the point where he is almost on an equal footing with the big brother of the Army. In addition to having a Chief of Staff who is nominally the "Emperor's Chief of Staff", the Army has nothing better than the Navy. The Navy's reputation coupled with its beautiful military uniforms,

In addition, men's innate longing for machinery has always been what young people yearn for, but now, the navy is a place where corruption is rampant.

It can be said that since he became the Navy Minister, Yashiro Rokuro, the "fire-fighting" naval minister, has been extremely uncomfortable. On the one hand, he has to work hard to restore the reputation of the navy, and on the other hand, he has to "deal with" everyone in the navy. The reason is very simple

As Prime Minister, he does not have much authority in the navy. To put it bluntly, he is far from being able to obey.

"Kato Yusaburo refuses to go to Qingdao!"

When Yashiro Rokuro spoke, his small eyes widened, and the beard under his nose swayed restlessly. At the same time, he handed over the telegrams from the First Fleet Commanders Kato Tomosaburo and Kato Nobuyoshi to Suzuki Kantaro and Akiyama Shinyuki respectively. Read

After those two telegrams, Suzuki Kantaro raised his head and asked the minister.

"So what does Minister Shimamura mean?"

At this time, the attitude of the Military Command is very important. If the Military Command agrees with Kato Nobuyoshi's suggestion, the problem will be easier to solve.

"Minister Shimamura means to respect the fleet's decision."

Yashiro Rokuro replied helplessly.

"The First Fleet is vigilant in the direction of the Bohai Sea. This is also the combat plan of the Military Command."

Yes, it is the plan of the Military Command, but...

"At this time, just as Commander Kato is worried, if the Navy cannot make a difference, if the Qingdao attack is unfavorable, it will have a serious impact on the Navy."

While speaking, Yashiro Rokuro looked solemn and pale.

"I have already conveyed this to the Military Command and the First Fleet..."

But they wanted to make the army look embarrassed. There was no need for Yashiro Rokuro to explain. Suzuki Kantaro and Akiyama Shinyuki both knew the meaning of his unspoken words.

The current decline of the Navy is not as simple as the "Siemens incident" and the anti-corruption incident. In fact, the real reason is the dispute between the Army and the Navy. The Army only used the Siemens incident as a tool to attack the Navy, and the root cause of the dispute between the Army and the Navy is

military spending.

After the Anti-Japanese War, the Army proposed the idea of ​​establishing fifty divisions for military expansion, while the Navy proposed the Eighty-Eight Fleet. When the Navy desperately wanted to become a "maritime country" and the Navy wanted to become an "ocean-going navy"

, the army wants to become a "continental country", and the army wants to become a "continental army". To achieve this goal, military expansion is required, and competition in military expenditures has become fundamental.

After Yamamoto Gonbei, the first navy prime minister, came to power, in order to promote the expansion of the navy, military expenditures were tilted towards the navy. Several reform measures were taken that violated the interests of military and political elites. This even led to the downfall of Gonbei Yamamoto.

main reason.

In his inaugural speech when he first came to power, Yamamoto Gonbei put forward the view that "national defense is not something that is monopolized by the military", thus canceling the requirement that the Minister of War and the Minister of the Navy must be "active military attachés" in the cabinet. This "active military attache system"

" is the most powerful weapon for the army to control the government. According to this regulation, the person who serves as the Minister of Army and Navy must be an active Army or Navy lieutenant general or general. In this way, as long as the army is dissatisfied with the government, it only needs the Minister of War to resign and refuse to appoint a replacement minister.

The government has no choice but to resign due to vacancies in the positions of important ministers. The new prime minister, even if he has been nominated by the emperor, will not be able to form a cabinet as long as the army does not appoint a prime minister. Therefore, only those who are favored by the army or who act in accordance with the army's wishes can become the prime minister.

Become prime minister or remain prime minister.

Theoretically speaking, the Navy can also do this, but the Navy has not taken any action, and is also dissatisfied with the Army's domineering behavior. More importantly, Yamamoto Gonbei, who is familiar with the relationship between the Army and the Navy, is also afraid that the Army will do the same to him.

In this way, I will strike first and stop the army from thinking about it - if Prime Minister Lu dares to resign, I can just grab someone to be the minister of the army.

And this is an unforgivable act of betrayal that must be punished in the eyes of Yamagata Aritomo, the oldest soldier in the army. It happened that Yamagata Aritomo was thinking hard about how to solve this problem, which is not only in the Japanese Navy, but also in all Japan.

When Yamamoto Gonbei was driven out of office in despair, a Siemens incident fell from the sky, giving Yamagata Aritomo an excellent opportunity.

In the opinion of Yamagata Aritomo, the oldest member of the army, this is an unforgivable act of betrayal that must be punished. It happened that Yamagata Aritomo was thinking hard about how to deal with this, and Yamamoto, who was very popular not only in the Japanese Navy but also in the whole of Japan,

When Gonbei was forced to step down, a Siemens incident fell from the sky, which gave Yamagata Aritomo an excellent opportunity.

No one can provide evidence that the Army planned this conspiracy, and Yamagata Aritomo himself did not come forward. However, all the members of Congress who attacked the government are very close to the Army. This is also a well-known fact.

And more importantly, there is another coincidence: Lieutenant General Akashi Hara Jiro, who was the governor of North Korea at the time, was called back to China to report on his duties at this time. For Lieutenant General Akashi, a genius spy who could disrupt the Russian Empire, the masses were out of "righteous indignation"

Taking to the streets to protest seems too simple.

In the parliamentary cabinet, Shimada Saburo is impeaching Yamamoto, and locally he is also opposing Yamamoto Gonbei and trying every means to oust him. On the surface, Yamamoto cannot be seen, but in fact, the thorn in Yamamoto's side is Yamamoto, the navy!

And now, while the aftermath of the "Siemens incident" is still lingering, if it is revealed that "the Qingdao strategy suffered a disastrous defeat due to the navy's retaliation for making things difficult", it will deal the most fatal blow to the navy whose position is in jeopardy.

"The First Fleet must go to Qingdao!"

Akiyama Shinyuki, who had been silent all this time, spoke directly after thinking about the pros and cons in his mind, and Kantaro Suzuki said even more straightforwardly.

“Not only must I go, but I must go to Qingdao now!”

"Now the Military Command is unwilling to come forward, so it seems..."

Looking at Suzuki Kantaro and Akiyama Shinyuki in front of him, Yashiro Rokuro spoke.

"It seems that the only option is to pay a visit to the two old marshals and ask them to come forward!"

At this time, only two marshals, Navy veterans Inoue Yoshikazu and Togo Heihachiro, could come forward to ask the Military Command to agree to this matter.

"Confused!"

Shen shouted, and Inoue Liangxin's face was full of anger.

"Shimamura, I really don't know what's going on in your mind!"

After Yashiro Rokuro and Suzuki Kantaro visited him, he heard about the "dirty" things within the navy. He could hardly believe his ears. He was even more shocked by the bold actions of Kato Yusaburo and others. Even the military order in front of him

Minister Hayao Shimamura, deputy commanders Gentaro Yamashita, Tetsuta Sato, Yaman Yamashita, and Isamu Takeshita all supported Kato Tomosaburo's decision to give the "Army" some color.

"Hi!"

Shimamura Hayao, who was kneeling on the tatami, did not argue. A subordinate cannot argue in front of a superior.

"Not to mention that the Qingdao strategy is related to the future of the empire for twenty years. The current situation alone can allow the navy to act so recklessly?"

Asked in reply, Inoue Yoshika took a deep breath. Deep in his heart, he also supported giving the Army some color. After the Siemens incident, in order to save the disgraced Navy, Yamamoto Gonbei and Saito Minoru were incorporated into the reserve force.

, this finally calmed down the anger of the parliament and the people, and the army completely ruined the reputation of the navy.

If it happens again... Just thinking about it makes Inoue Ryoxin feel chills running down her spine.

"The army plan for the Qingdao attack was formulated by Akashi Genjiro. If the Qingdao attack fails, Kamio Mitsuomi will definitely shift the responsibility to the navy in order to shirk responsibility, and Akashi Genjiro will shift the responsibility to the navy. With Akashi's

Character, when the time comes, this matter will have a greater impact than the Siemens incident. This is not a small matter like corruption!"

Inoue Ryoxin's tone became extremely serious. If it weren't for Yashiro Rokuro's analysis, he wouldn't even realize that in the Qingdao strategy, if the navy didn't try its best at all, even if it was in the eyes of outsiders, it would be a waste to the navy.

Fatal. Knowing the character of the Army well, he knew that Yashiro Rokuro was not an alarmist. The Army was good at shirking its responsibilities. They would put all the responsibilities on the Navy.

"In the eyes of the people, the navy will become a traitor and a military curtain. At that time, the entire country will be ignited with unprecedented anger. Not only will it lose the trust of the people, but it will even lose the trust of the emperor. The navy may even be taken over by the army.

, If all this really happens, you are all sinners of the Navy! Sinners of Japan!"

Ryokan Inoue's lecture only made Shimamura Hayao's forehead sweat break out from time to time. He even became restless while kneeling on the tatami. He opened his mouth and wanted to explain, but no sound came out.

"Did you think the Army wouldn't do that? During the Siemens incident, didn't we think the Army would show its favor? In the end, if the Emperor hadn't intervened, would the Army have ended it?"

What a bunch of guys without vision. She sighed in her heart, and Inoue Ryoxin forgot that she also agreed with Kato Yusaburo's decision in the beginning.

"Okay, now, immediately issue a military order to Kato Tomosaburo, order him to go to Qingdao, do his best to cover the Army's landing, and stop cherishing the body tube. As long as you have money, you can buy a new one if the body tube is scrapped. But if the Navy's

If independence is gone, what’s the use of being in charge?”

Then Inoue Liangxin added.

"Yashiro has already gone to Oka Ichinosuke to discuss with him the First Fleet's protection of the Army. I guess we should be able to get the Army to make some concessions in the future!"

"Add another ten million!"

At the official residence of Okaichi Nosuke, Yashiro Rokuro said seriously that because former Prime Minister Yamamoto Gonori came from the Navy, he gave priority to the interests of the Navy when formulating the budget. When he became Prime Minister, he ignored the wishes of the Army and did not do anything.

Considering the appropriation for the army's increase in divisions, the navy's budget has increased significantly. In the budget for the third year of Taisho he passed, in addition to maintaining the previous year's budget of 84 million yen, an additional 70 million yen was added.

In addition, it reached as much as 154 million yen, and now the Okuma cabinet intends to reduce naval military expenditures. Now Yashiro Rokuro is using the First Fleet as a bargaining chip to "beg for military expenditures" from the Army.

"110 million is already the final bottom line!"

Okaichi Nosuke shook his head and said.

"The economic situation of the empire has not improved yet, so it is already good to get 100 million yuan in military spending!"

The news coming from Qingdao was not optimistic, and Yashiro Rokuro came to the door and expressed his willingness to send the First Fleet of the Yellow Sea Guards to Qingdao to provide support for the army. Naturally, he would not object, but on issues of principle, he was unwilling to do so.

Although he did not make concessions, he appropriately agreed to increase military expenditures by several million for the Navy, and this was also an agreement reached within the Army. Thinking about it, it is impossible to cut off 70 million, but the Navy's military expenditures will be reduced no matter what.
To be continued...