"What I need to give to the Qing people is the same impression. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info" Okuma said, "However, we ourselves can't have countless hearts. Japan's reforms are not yet complete! With Japan's current national strength, it simply can't afford a war! ”

Shigenobu Okuma's words reminded Hirobumi Ito of the past when he and Shigenobu Okuma worked together to deal with monetary reform, and he couldn't help but feel emotional.

As early as July of the Meiji 2nd year, Western ministers proposed to the new Japanese government how to deal with the problem of bad currency at the end of the Edo period and how to introduce a Western-style currency system to integrate it with international standards. At the beginning of the Meiji era, the interests of merchants from various countries in Japan were seriously damaged as a result of the severe currency chaos (at that time, Japan was also a "hundred ghosts" in terms of currency circulation, and unlike China, the circulation in China was "good money", while Japan was "bad money" and "counterfeit money"), so countries continued to put pressure on the Meiji government.

At the end of the Edo period, due to the serious outflow of gold and silver, the shogunate was forced to mint gold and silver coins in poor condition to replenish the number, and as a result, foreign merchants were forced to sign a tax reform treaty, agreeing not to continue to reduce the quality of gold and silver, and to introduce a Western-style currency system in the future, but with the outbreak of wars such as Seicho and Boshin, the shogunate and other feudal domains were forced to continue to mint inferior gold and silver coins to pay for war expenses and weapons purchases. The Shogunate also minted low-quality gold and silver coins to pay for their expenses. In addition, each feudal domain had a tradition of minting bad coins in the past. So bad money is running rampant. The imitation of bicents of gold is particularly powerful (there are those who cast gold on the outside and silver in the middle, and those that are cast with copper and a layer of gold on the outside, and so on, up to twelve or thirteen). After the Restoration, the new government secretly continued to mint bad coins that violated the tax reform treaty due to various circumstances that caused the financial foundation to be unstable. The British side was extremely annoyed when they found out about the new government's behavior, and demanded that the new government must reform the currency system. At that time, Japan's own economy was also severely hit by the rampant bad currency. Merchants at home and abroad suffered huge losses. In Meiji 2, British Minister Parks and ministers from France, the United States, Italy and Germany issued an official statement, demanding that the new government immediately come up with a plan to expel bad currency and put an end to all kinds of things that harm the interests of foreign businessmen on the grounds that the Japanese Civil War had ended. The new government was taken aback by the statement and hurriedly began to organize the negotiating team. At that time, it was Okuma who was in charge of the negotiations.

However, the problem that Okuma faced at this time was not only from abroad, but also from within the country. In order to defuse Parks' offensive. On February 5, Meiji 2, Okuma and Foreign Governor Date Munejo conspired to send a statement to Parks, claiming that the government would issue a statement on February 5 regarding the future issuance of new currency. Parks was furious when he saw through Okuma's delaying tactics. Immediately, a strongly worded statement was issued demanding that the new government explain what had happened. In desperation, Date Sojo issued a signed statement to the five countries on February 30, in which Date acknowledged that the new government was making bad money and promised to put an end to it. The statement also formally promised that the government would issue a sufficient amount of new currency, and that the new currency would be convertible to the banknotes issued at the time. It is strictly forbidden for any private or feudal person to mint gold or silver coins other than the government itself. Date's statement temporarily calmed the doubts of Western countries. But it immediately sparked a fierce infighting. The first resistance came from the Satsuma and Tosa feudal lords. The Satsuma and Tosa feudal domains were the main contributors to the Restoration, and they were powerful within the government. Therefore, I have been privately minting inferior gold coins, and no one dares to ask. Seeing this, the other feudal clans turned a deaf ear to the government's ban and kept minting gold and silver coins. As a result, Japan's economic turmoil intensified, and the Meiji government was questioned and faced a great crisis.

The Meiji government ordered Okuma to prepare a plan for dealing with bad and counterfeit money. Okuma's plan was largely based on Date's statement. However, the power of the Satu and other feudal lords to take the lead in announcing the "return of the copyright" has greatly increased, and their arrogance is monstrous. The feudal faction, led by Okubo Ritsu, vigorously opposed Okuma's plan. On 30 March, the conflict heated up. Okuma and the others had just received an order from the Taisei to announce their approval of Okuma's move, and even the "flying feet" (the person in charge of postal delivery) were sent out. As a result, Flying Foot was captured by Okubo Ritsu's people (no one wanted their cake to be cut). Okubo Ritsu directly wrote to the Imperial Governor Minoru Sanjo, accusing Okuma and others of being "businessmen" and "shallow in knowledge", and insisting that any monetary reform be stopped. The reason why Okubo Ritsu is like this is for the selfish interests of a feudal clan. Because Satsuma has benefited a lot from minting bad coins. Therefore, Okubo was afraid of losing his financial resources. In fact, this naked intention to harm the public and private interests split the Japanese government, and the fear of a split in the government would lead to the failure of the Restoration. As a result, Kido Takayoshi decided to mediate between the two factions, and Kido's presence and the promise that the feudal faction would benefit even after the currency reform. In the end, both sides agreed to give in. So Okuma's plan was finally approved. Kido Takayoshi appreciates Okuma very much. Therefore, at Kido's behest, the government announced that Okuma would be promoted to full-time accountant and vice-governor for the purpose of negotiation, and on July 6, the Ministry of Finance was established. Due to the collapse of the previous Yuri justice due to the problem of the Taizheng official book. Okuma was chosen as a substitute for Daisuke Daisuke. Officially became the Senior Minister of Finance of the Ministry of Finance. Okuma's promotion kicked off what became known as the "Okuma Fiscal Reform."

When the infighting subsided, Okuma began issuing a series of proclamations and passing several new laws on April 6, successfully stabilizing the financial order and heralding the beginning of monetary reform. On the other side, however, British Minister Parks became more pressing on the Japanese government. Now that the economy is stable, Parks believes that the government's monetary reform should also be on the agenda. And Parks had heard about Okubo's approach. Therefore, Parks was afraid that the Meiji government would use the excuse of the return of the copyright (the copyright was still on June 17). This was because the feudal clans not only produced counterfeit money, but also borrowed a lot from foreign countries. Satsuma, in particular, purchased large amounts of arms and borrowed money from Britain during the end of the Edo period in order to raise armaments and war expenses. If the Meiji government had paid off its debts on the grounds that the copyrights had been returned, many British merchants would have gone bankrupt. So Parks, together with the ministers of the four countries, jointly demanded that the government must come up with a solution immediately. In order to negotiate the details, on July 10, a delegation headed by Secretary of Foreign Affairs Nobuka Sawa, with Shigenobu Okuma as the chief representative, and Hirobumi Ito as the deputy representative, set out for the negotiations, and the negotiations began in earnest on July 12.

It was at that time that Okuma and Ito formed a fighting friendship.

The negotiations were very difficult, and the issue focused on two issues: how to compensate for the losses and how to reform the currency system. In the end, because of Okuma's efforts, the Meiji government did not pay a large amount of money for the bankruptcy of the infant Meiji government due to the demand for compensation. Okuma's diplomatic skills were able to save the government from a financial crisis caused by external pressure. In particular, he formulated the first monetary reform plan in the Meiji period, and he attracted attention as a leading figure of the reform faction. Kido Takayoshi appreciated Okuma very much, thinking that Okuma was a rare talent, so he let Okuma be the leader of the Young Zhuang faction to unify the Young Zhuang faction bureaucracy. At that time, Okuma built a new home in the Tsukiji area of Tokyo, and because of his hospitality, Okuma often hosted banquets at home. As a result, a large number of young Zhuang bureaucrats frequented Okuma's home. Hirobumi Ito is also a frequent visitor to the Okuma family.

The Meiji government survived a fierce war and became recognized as the legitimate government. However, many factors caused this government to stumble during the initial period, and it could disintegrate at any time. Even a small thing can split the government. One of the biggest problems is the dire fiscal situation. It's almost a crisis. In the early days of the government, the old rules were followed, and taxes in kind were collected. But with the evolution of the times. The tax system in kind is riddled with flaws. And because of the devastation of the long war and the expenditure of war expenses. Real income is significantly reduced. Especially at that time, the government did not have enough strength to suppress the feudal domains. As a result, government rent can only be collected from the municipalities directly under the central government. The government's real revenue accounts for only a quarter of the country's land rent. Moreover, the printing and distribution of non-convertible banknotes actually exacerbated the poverty of the people, so that the Japanese economy was in chaos in the early years of the Restoration (this is the truth of the "Meiji Restoration Myth" that later generations of indignant young people talked about, thinking that as long as the "Restoration" was completed, the transformation would be successful overnight).

In order to stabilize the financial base, Okuma took an active part in the "return of copyrights" program. Prior to the Restoration, Japan was a feudal system, and the four islands were divided into nearly 300 feudal states, large and small. Each vassal had independent financial and legal rights over its own territory. Japan is not actually a unified country. In the early years of the Restoration, the government was temporarily unable to eliminate these feudal states, so it established a three-fold system of feudal prefectures. Prefectures were divided into prefectures within the government's control, while feudal states were retained. This was due to the fact that the government could not collect taxes from the territory controlled by the feudal states. In order to solve the financial problem, it had to temporarily raise taxes from its own territory to solve the problem. However, after the war, the economy in the government-controlled areas was chaotic, and the tax hike could not collect any money and was not popular with the people. Forced by financial difficulties, the government was struggling to abolish the feudal states, unify politically, and build Japan into a centralized state as the consensus of all factions within the government. At this time, Shigenobu Okuma, together with Hirobumi Ito, and others, enumerated the economic and political benefits that might be brought about by the return of the manuscript, and submitted it in an abridged version. This is the "National Unanimity on Jianbai".

In this Kenhaku, Okuma directly points to the feudal system as the primary obstacle to the construction of a new Japan. The proposal of the "four major unifications" of the modern state (military unity, educational unity, judicial unity, and financial unity) was the first time that the reformers openly proposed a reform of the political and economic system.