Spy Wars: Return of the Red Luan

Chapter 113 A small gathering before the conference

The two big bosses, Prince Hiroyuki and Togo Heihachiro, were very happy to see Aoki Takashi coming in exhausted, and asked the maid to lead him to his seat.

The banquet culture in Japan is really not something I am used to. You have to sit on your knees, each person has a small area, and there is a maid who is responsible for pouring wine. The most important thing is that if you sit for a long time, your legs and buttocks will not be able to bear it.

Several naval generals who had never seen Aoki Qiao were very curious about this young man in plain clothes who broke in, or rather, a child who was too young. They were all looking at Prince Bo Gong, waiting for an answer.

Because this was a secret meeting of the "Fleet Faction" of the Imperial Navy, normally no one other than their own people could enter at all, and it was impossible for outsiders to even enter the gate. But this young man, who was obviously not from the navy, was actually let by His Excellency the Prince to welcome him in!
"Do you find it strange? Haha! I won't introduce it first, what do you think?" Prince Bo Gong smiled and looked at the old guys with questioning expressions.

"Hey! I think I know who it is!"

"Yo! I thought of that too!"

"Hey! You two old guys thought of it but didn't say it. Do you think I can't think of it? This little friend, our Shimazu God of War!"

"Hahaha! Come on, everyone, have a drink!"

"Qingxuan, let me introduce you to this, the commander of the Yokosuka Naval Base, the general of security."

Kato Kanji started to introduce him, but if you only mentioned "Security General", I still don't know! Of course, a position is enough, and it's okay to ask about it later when we go out.

"Hello, General Anbao!" Chen Jiehua was already accustomed to this kind of scene. He raised his glass to toast calmly and gracefully.

"Not bad, kid!" An Baoqingzhong had a good first impression of Chen Jiehua. He was neither humble nor arrogant, and was calm and composed. He was indeed a young hero. No wonder he was able to KO the treaty faction in the cabinet.

"This is General Taniguchi, commander of the Wu garrison."

"Hello, General Taniguchi!"

"The one opposite is Vice Admiral Okaku, Commander of the Imperial Navy's Second Fleet."

"Hello, General Dajiao!"

They are indeed the top forces of the fleet faction.

"But, Qingxuan boy, how did you know we were drinking here?"

"In reply to Grandpa Kato, Qingxuan had no idea that the generals were gathering here. It was just a coincidence!"

"I returned to my father-in-law's house that evening, and the butler informed me that His Majesty the Emperor had called an internal meeting at the Imperial Palace tomorrow to discuss the London Naval Treaty and my appointment as a naval commander. So I rushed to see His Excellency the Prince to report that night."

"Awarded a naval rank? Didn't you disagree with joining the navy? Just the day before yesterday, we agreed to serve as an army rank and stay firmly in the army." "Isn't there a new change? The day before yesterday, when I went back, my father-in-law hinted that His Majesty the Emperor was thinking of giving Aoki the rank of Army Major General. First, as compensation, and second, in exchange for my concession on the naval treaty. He just wanted me to stop making trouble!"

"Awarded the rank of Army Major General! Such a young Army Major General?" Shibayama Masao in the corner was very jealous and shouted in surprise!
But what he shouted was also true. We don't know whether there has been such a case in Japanese history, and we are not sure whether there will be one in the future, but in this era, there is definitely no army major general under the age of 30.

"Qingxuan also took into consideration his youth. If he accepted the rank of major general at this time, it might trigger strong opposition and attacks from the treaty faction, and might also cause dissatisfaction among many middle and lower-ranking soldiers in the army."

"Most importantly, it might cause many people to think about what happened the day before yesterday, and in turn, lead even more uninformed people to intervene in the London Treaty incident. If this disrupts the plans of the prince and grandfathers, it would be an even more unforgivable crime."

"So my father-in-law and I proposed that we discuss with His Majesty the Emperor whether to temporarily not award him the title of Army Major General and replace him with a naval commander. Everyone would be able to accept this. As long as the navy is willing, there would be no reason for others to interfere. Dual ranks would be more beneficial to Aoki's future actions."

"Hahaha, you are really smart, this is a genius idea! But why didn't you say it the day before yesterday?" Prince Bo Gong agreed with this proposal very much.

"The day before yesterday, I drank a little too much and my head was a little foggy. I didn't expect that the wine at His Excellency the Prince's house was so delicious!"

"Hahaha, come on, everyone, fill your cups and toast to the good wine that Aoki brat mentioned!"

"Aoki-kun, are you here just to discuss this? This is a minor issue, and it's beneficial to both of us. There's no reason to disagree. Tomorrow, when Duke Fujiwara initiates it, we will support him."

"Thank you, Your Excellency!" Chen Jiehua raised his glass and toasted again.

Aoki Takashi, with such a young figure and a rank below general, could easily navigate a gathering of such powerful figures. He was indeed a formidable opponent. In the corner, Shibayama Masao silently thought to himself, "The key is that he actually voluntarily gave up the rank of major general that was within his grasp!"

Aoki Takashi's arrival and the issue of his military rank were just a small episode tonight. At present, the more important thing for the fleet faction led by Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi and Togo Heihachiro tonight was to agree on tomorrow's strategy in advance. According to the usual practice of the Japanese Navy, even the order of speaking had to be agreed upon.

Last time, it was Aoki Qiao, a young and ignorant man, who accidentally broke in and beat the master to death with random punches. Otherwise, according to the style of both sides and the cabinet, this matter would not have reached the emperor's attention without three or four rounds of argument.

At present, the unexpected incident is a pleasant surprise for the fleet faction, and the effect is surprisingly good. More grassroots naval officers support the fleet faction after knowing the ins and outs of the matter. Even the grassroots army officers stationed in Tokyo are gathering to support the fleet faction's ideas and decisions.

The main problem now is how to resolve the conflict between fleet expansion and financial constraints. Since the signing of the Washington Treaty in 1922, naval spending has been reduced year by year, gradually declining from 31% of total fiscal expenditure to less than 20% now.

The leaders of the fleet faction are not fools. They also know that the navy's military budget cannot be increased a lot suddenly. After all, the impact of the global economic depression is huge. The focus now is how to force the treaty faction to gradually give way and push the fleet faction up one by one.

When talking about these things, Chen Jiehua had no chance to get a word in and just listened carefully. These happened to be his weak areas. Damn, these big guys talked about this without avoiding me. I should really be laughing!
The main reason for being able to enter this circle was actually not because of his performance at the Cabinet Naval Meeting the day before yesterday, but because of Aoki Aoki's identity. He was the grandson of Aoki Nobuzumi, a relative of the Shimazu family, and a true native of Kagoshima Domain.

The navy officers were very xenophobic, especially those from the Choshu clan, who found it difficult to join the navy. However, they were very tolerant of those from the Kagoshima clan.

"Aoki boy, after hearing so much, do you have any suggestions?" Togo Heihachiro has been paying attention to his nephew in the corner and Aoki Qiao. Seeing that Aoki Qiao has been listening attentively, he wants to test him to see if he really has the ability or if it was just an accident.

(End of this chapter)