In the autumn and winter of November 28, 1913, the Western economy was affected by the economic crisis and languished, and the economic pressure made the competition for raw material producing areas and commodity dumping places by the European powers even more intense, and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Britain, France, and Ottoman Turkey were all making final preparations for the coming big war, and even China and the United States, which were far away in the Pacific Ocean, smelled the smell of gunpowder on the European continent. Germany and Austria-Hungary, Great Britain and Russia, Russia and Ben??? Almost all the great powers are pulling together all the resources at their disposal to increase their strength in future wars.

Since the Meiji Restoration, the economy has developed considerably, but the people of Europe have not felt the benefits of economic development and are still poor. Exports were not smooth, and the country's development potential was tapped to the limit, and the head of Saionji Kokio stepped down in the face of a weak economy, and Yamamoto Gonbei, known as the father of the Tsumoto Navy, appeared on the recommendation of the Political Friends Association, and for the first time, a man from the navy sat on the throne of the Prime Minister.

The rise of Yamamoto Gonbei was inseparable from the First Sino-Japanese War, and during the planning stage of the First Sino-Japanese War, there was a fierce confrontation between Yamamoto Gonbei Daisa, the official director of the Ministry of the Navy (equivalent to the chief of office), and Vice Admiral Kawakami Yoroku, the deputy chief of staff.

At the meeting, Kawakami Kailiu opened his mouth to carry forward the hard kung fu within 200 meters, and the bayonet was red, and hit the Zhili Plain of the Qing State, where he fought a decisive battle with the Qing army or something, and the bureaucrats from the army were enthusiastic, and they wished to destroy Li Hongzhang in one day, and then enter Yanjing City and occupy the whole of China.

Just when Kawakami was talking about it, and Wang Po was selling melons and boasting about herself, she was unexpectedly guarded by Yamamoto Gonbei: "Does the army have excellent engineers?" ”

Kawakami didn't understand what he meant, and said casually, "The engineers of the Imperial Army are very good. ”

Yamamoto Gonbei made a relieved expression: "That's good, let's build a bridge between Kyushu and Busan from now on, otherwise the army won't be able to cross the sea." ”

Kawakami was dumbfounded, and the army noticed that their battle plan was fundamentally flawed, and it did not consider sea supremacy in the slightest??? This mistake is too amateurish!

Seeing that the army shut up, Yamamoto Gonbei began to systematically expound the main points of the battle, he believed that it was necessary to defeat the Beiyang Naval Division at sea in order to have the possibility of victory, and if the combined fleet was defeated and the army had lost its material replenishment, no matter how great the results were achieved, it would be difficult to escape the fate of defeat. It was the first time that Lieutenant General Kawakami and Marshal Oyamaiwa had heard this kind of argument that sea power was the first. Yamamoto Gonbei was only a navy commander at that time, and Kawakami was a lieutenant general, and he was the second person in the army after Yamayama Senseo, and his status was much higher than Yamamoto Gonbei, but he didn't think it was angry at all, and humbly accepted Yamamoto Gonbei's suggestion.

Gonbei Yamamoto, who was only a big commander at the beginning of the war and did not participate in specific war planning and war command, taught the army a lesson in sea power with a concise analogy. As the war progressed, Yamamoto Gonbei showed extraordinary foresight in the relocation of his base camp overseas and the intervention of the Three Kingdoms in the return of Liao, which was taken seriously and began to rise in the political and military circles.

Gonbei Yamamoto is a native of Kagoshima and was born in the Satsuma Domain. At the age of eleven, he participated in the Sa-British War, and helped carry cannonballs at the Benten Fort, along with Togo Heihachiro, and the gunner was none other than the earliest marshal Oyama Iwa. It was from this battery that the captain and deputy captain of the British fleet flagship Yuriales were sent to God. His outstanding talent, coupled with the special relationship between Yamamoto Gonbei and Marshal Oyama Iwa and General Heihachiro Togo, quickly became a hot figure in the political and military circles.

As a lieutenant general of the army, the battle plan carefully formulated by a group of staff officers under Kawakami was also full of loopholes, and they all made extremely low-level mistakes. Of course, the navy was not much stronger than the army, and it was not possible to determine whether the combat formation was a column or a horizontal formation until the Battle of Dadonggou in the Yellow Sea. After the Battle of Dadonggou in the Yellow Sea, the Beiyang Naval Division fled east to Lushun in panic, but Ito Youheng, commander of the Combined Fleet, pursued him south??? Fools know that only Lushun has the ability to repair ships in the Beiyang Naval Division.

The British Far East Naval Commander, who was watching the battle at the time, commented on this: the victor was frightened by the cannons of the huge ships of the losers!

It is such a group of people, such a level, but they can defeat the Qing Dynasty and Russia one after another, and replace the resource-poor Yueben into the position of the first power in Asia??? In the Meiji era, outstanding politicians and diplomats were like morning stars, and the speed at which they learned and advanced was staggering. A group of rookies have become the world's top outstanding figures in a few years, and it has to be said that it is absolutely inseparable from the relaxed political atmosphere at that time.

After Gonbei Yamamoto became prime minister, he carried out a drastic reform with force from the power in hand, and he changed the stipulation that the minister of the army and navy must be an active officer to a reserve force to also serve as a reserve, thus breaking the army and navy's coercion of the political axe to a certain extent. Reforming the civilian appointment system, Yamamoto Gonbei expanded the scope of officials who could be appointed freely by himself to include vice-ministers of provinces other than the Ministry of the Army and Navy, as well as the Director-General of Police, the Director of the Legislative Affairs Bureau, and the Director of the Police Security Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The power of the political axe has been greatly strengthened, and the ability of the military to intervene in politics has been greatly curtailed.

At the same time, the Yamamoto Gonbei cabinet reorganized the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, cut more than 10,000 officials and employees, and cut administrative expenses by 66 million yen from the beginning of his tenure. He also reformed the Privy Council, the base camp of Yama Youpeng, and reduced the number of Privy Counsellors from 38 to 24, weakening the power of the Privy Council.

The government and the opposition praised his reforms, and many exclaimed that Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito had returned to the Sho Restoration, which was undergoing the Taisho Restoration following the Meiji Restoration??? Comparing Gonbei Yamamoto to the dead Hirobumi Ito and comparing his reforms to the Meiji Restoration is a very high evaluation of him.

After the Meiji Restoration, the economic and military power of this country once again embarked on the fast track of development!

In the Shanghai Public Concession, a magnificent three-story Western-style house is located in the southern section of Tibet Provincial Road, with a plaque of "Dongying Yuebao" hanging high at the door, and a few people with two knives in their waists at the door, holding their hands on their chests as guards, they all have hideous faces, and their arrogance is undoubtedly revealed, but they are more deferential than pugs to the staff and the literati who come to contribute.

Relying on the advantages of detailed content and low price, "Dongying Yuebao" quickly gained a firm foothold in Shanghai, and the social, political and economic sectors spoke sharply, sneering at high-ranking officials in the political arena of the country, and did their best to do what they could to make a show, and the entertainment version was enough to gossip and satisfy people's dark psychology.

The newspaper founded by Koji Yano is rich and powerful, and the treatment of editors and contributors is very generous; under normal circumstances, an article with a large amount of tofu is usually paid one silver dollar in the poster office, and "Toei Yuebao" gives three yuan, which instantly raises the author's net worth by three times. The intellectuals living in Shanghai have opened columns in the "Dongying Yue Bao" one after another, and many people in their own countries are also contributing to this newspaper; not only have they contributed a large number of articles, but also personnel from other countries, including Chinese, have also collected news and submitted articles to the "Dongying Yue Bao" because of their rich remuneration.

The early winter in Shanghai is cold and damp, but the office of Koji Yano is as warm as spring, and the delicate copper furnace carves a variety of flowers, birds, fish and insects with animal charcoal, silently burning in the furnace, sending the aroma of fruit charcoal to every corner of the house.

Koji Yano was dressed in a Tang suit inlaid with gold thread, lying comfortably on a white Western chair, and two maids knelt at his feet and massaged his legs. Sitting opposite him was Kita Yihui, who had just taken office as the chief writer of the "Dongying Newspaper".

Bei Yihui is now changing shotguns, he is also wearing a luxurious tribute satin dark silk Tang suit, carved petals, peony wrapped in stems, it is a special technique only in the Qing Dynasty, this high-grade hand-embroidered palace satin, the price of a foot is more than a dozen silver dollars, supplemented by the tailoring of the top craftsmen, even a layman can see that this dress is worth a lot. This Tang costume alone requires 700 silver dollars, and even the rich people of this book may not be able to have one. Of course, this will not be bought by Kita Ikki himself, but a gift from Koji Yano to him, and the grade is even more expensive when worn by Koji Yano himself.

Kita Kazuki's unkempt hair was also carefully trimmed, and the Stankang hair wax bound each strand of hair, the oily water was so smooth that flies could fall on their heels, and the half-blind eyes were covered by a pair of carefully polished gold-rimmed eyes??? Bei Yihui's poor and sour appearance has disappeared without a trace, and has been replaced by wealth and dignity throughout his body.

Kita Kazuki, who is at the end of his rope, has no other emotions and thoughts except for being grateful to Koji Yano.

"President, this is the latest issue of the manuscript, the comic book of "Clever Ikyu", which is very popular with readers, and the reader's letter request can speed up the serialization." Kita Ikki said respectfully.

Yano Koji half lay down and half sit, squinted his eyes and said: "No, you can't easily satisfy readers, only when they are half-starved, they will be more faithful, and a well-fed person will not have ** for the delicacies of the mountains and seas." ”

"President, you're so right!" Kita Yihui said with sincere admiration.

The entertainment version of "Dongying Newspaper" is the most popular comic strip, and "Clever Ikyu", which has been serialized since the first issue, is even more obsessive to readers. Monk Ikkyu is a well-known figure, but most of the legends about him have a strong Buddhist flavor, and he is portrayed as an elderly monk who has attained enlightenment. And Ikkyu, who was serialized in the "Toei Newspaper", is a seven or eight-year-old brilliant child, who is full of tricks to play with Ashikaga Yoshimitsu Shogun on applause, which makes readers feel very enjoyable. Readers can't wait to see more of Ikyu's schemes, and Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu becomes a complete villain, and the more embarrassed he is by Ikyu, the happier the reader becomes.

The comic strip of "Clever Ikyu" has spread to the native of the book, and it immediately set off a frenzy of pursuit, and the Harlequin of Osaka also created a new drama based on this comic book, and every time the audience gathers, the "Toei Newspaper" has also become a hot publication, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Yokohama have sub-printing points, and every morning at four o'clock, the newsboy is waiting for the freshly baked newspaper at the door.

Readers enthusiastically snapped up the "Toei Newspaper" and were very happy that Ikyu teased Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, but they also had questions, why was the powerful Ashikaga Yoshimitsu so tolerant of Ikyu? Is there any special relationship between them?

Yano Koji knew in his heart that of course the relationship between the two of them existed, and it was very special, but it was not yet time to solve the puzzle, and when the circulation of "Toei Newspaper" was large enough to cover the entire story, it would be the time to uncover the mystery. At that time, the myth that Emperor Taisho is a direct descendant of Amaterasu will be blown up, and the emperor is actually a descendant of a harlequin villain like Ashikaga Yoshimitsu??? This is the real mission of Qian Lao Er, who is known as Koji Yano.

Chai Dongliang gave him the task of first trying to discredit the wise ministers in the political arena and make them fall into disgrace, and then find a way to mythologize some careerists and political madmen, and it is best to let the political madmen who hate Europe and the United States come to power, and at the same time sow discord between the political and military circles, the navy and the army, so that they can fight with each other, so that they cannot concentrate all their efforts on dealing with China.

Cutting off those wise and wise ministers is the time to concentrate firepower on attacking the emperor's legitimate surname, and when the time comes, throwing out the bombshell that the emperor is a descendant of the rebellious Ashikaga Yoshimitsu should be able to collapse the political and military circles in an instant.

"President, your telegram." A native scribe sent an undeciphered telegram from the telegraph room.

In this era, it was common for merchants to have their own private telegraph offices, and it was very common for them to use secret telegraph to each other in order to keep the secrets of their speculative business from being revealed. The local branch of the newspaper in the city of Dongying also used a secret telegram to communicate with him, and a telegram would not attract anyone's special attention.

Yano Koji took it casually, Kita Yihui retreated knowingly, and the two maids also retreated backwards and exited the room.

Yano Koji glanced at it with a solemn expression, immediately locked the door, took out the codebook from the safe, and cracked the contents of the secret message one by one. As the code is cracked one by one, the cluttered content becomes clear.

The secret telegram came from the Anqing Military Advisory Office, and the content was extremely simple, with only one sentence??? Smear the new Prime Minister Yamamoto Gonbei and let him step down!

After a while, another secret telegram was sent to Yano Koji's desk, the same password as the agreed one, also from the Anqing Military Advisory Office, and the same contents.

Yano Koji looked at it, locked the codebook again, and then struck a match to burn the secret electricity, and watched the Bering paper turn to ashes, his brow locked.

Two ciphered telegrams with the same content came in one day, and they were both so concise and to the point, the clearer and simpler the order, the more it shows that Chai Dongliang attaches great importance to Yamamoto Gonbei, and it also shows Chai Dongliang's jealousy of Yamamoto's reform.

Once the reform is successful, the strength of the book will grow by leaps and bounds. If the reform of Yamamoto Gonbei is successful, the control of the Satsuma Domain over the navy and the Choshu Domain over the army will be greatly weakened, then the navy and army will be truly transformed into the national army of the Tsuruma Domain, and the political axe will once again have control over the army after Ito Hirobumi. The phenomenon of changing the term of office every three to five months will also be greatly alleviated.

The evidence is stable and will become a clenched fist, which is too great a threat to China!

However, it is not easy to discredit the Benquan Guard, whose prestige in his country is quite high, and the people generally believe that he is a figure who can pinch and calculate, and regards him as a national hero.

Suddenly, Koji Yano had an idea, Yamamoto Gonbei was born in the Satsuma Domain, and was a leading figure in the navy, and it was an open secret that the Navy and Army were not in harmony, especially the reform of Yamamoto Gonbei, which touched the common interests of both the Navy and the Army, that is, the active military attache system of the Minister of the Army and Navy, which would inevitably make the bigwigs in the military circles indignant.

Reformers have never had a good end, Shang Ying, who was divided by five horses, Zhang Juzheng, who was exhumed and whipped, and Tan Si, who was beheaded by Cixi, were equal to six gentlemen??? The consequences of cheese that touches vested interests are generally the same.

Although it is said that after the Meiji Restoration, there will be no beheading of reformers, but it is probably the common idea of the navy and army bigwigs to step down, right?

The corners of Yano Koji's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but sneer, in the political and military circles of Yuben, there should be a large number of Chai Dongliang's allies, and everyone has the same idea??? Destroy Yamamoto's reforms and let this guy fuck off!

Those with vested interests are always friends of enemies, and there is no exception in ancient and modern China and abroad!

The "Toei Newspaper" made concerted efforts, and the Osaka, Tokyo and other bureaus spared no effort to collect information about Yamamoto Gonbei and the navy, and did not miss the slightest clue, and one report after another and newspaper clippings were sent to Shanghai and placed on Yano Koji's desk.

Koji Yano carefully read through all the content about Yamamoto's reforms, as well as his biographical information, and finally, an inconspicuous piece of news caught his eye??? Got his point!

(To be continued)