Chapter 578: With the Army

At the same time, the Army Ministry.

The atmosphere is completely different from that of the Navy Ministry. Not excitement, but anger; not hope, but humiliation.

The office door of Army Minister Gang Shi Zhi Zhu is shut tight, yet the staff in the corridor can hear roars and the sound of things being thrown from inside. No one dares approach; even the tea‑serving secretary stands trembling ten meters away, tray in hand, caught between advancing and retreating.

Inside, Gang Shi Zhi Zhu paces like a raging lion. He is fifty‑five, broad‑shouldered, with a thick moustache, and a scar runs from his brow bone to his chin—a wound from the Russo‑Japanese War. At this moment the scar flushes red with fury. (In these times ministers are swapped often; Gang Shi was reinstated as Army Minister in 1917, and some cabinets last only a few months before being reshuffled.)

"Shameless! Despicable! Sordid!" With each insult he grabs an object and hurls it to the floor—first a teacup, then a pen holder, then a file rack. The clatter of breaking porcelain, snapping wood, and scattering paper intertwines.

The office floor is a mess.

Standing aside are three Army Major Generals—Chief of Operations, General Staff Yu Du Gong Tai Lang, Education Director Da Dao Jiu Zhi, and Armaments Bureau Chief Wu Nei Jun Er Lang—each bowing his head, his complexion ashen.

"With the Army's blood, paint the Navy!" Gang Shi Zhi Zhu finally stops, both hands braced on the desk, his chest heaving, "Fifty divisions, one million men! The lives of these youths are worth only four wrecked ships?!"

"Minister, calm yourself," Yu Du Gong Tai Lang says cautiously, "The contract's specifics are still unclear, perhaps…"

"Unclear?!" Gang Shi Zhi Zhu whirls around, eyes bulging like copper bells, "When that bastard Yamamoto announced it at the Navy Ministry, my men were outside listening! Every word! One hundred million dollars, four battleships, technology transfer—on the condition of fifty divisions! And the command must be handed to Lanfang!"

He grows more furious, slamming a fist onto the table:

"What is this? Treason! Treating the Imperial Army as merchandise, selling it to Lanfang as cannon fodder! And all the money goes damn well to the Navy!!" (I'm angry, I'm angry, I'm very angry, I want to hack that Yamamoto bastard with my saber!)

Da Dao Jiu Zhi lifts his head, his voice heavy: "Minister, the problem now is that the contract has already been signed. Prime Minister Xi Yuan Si and Minister Shan Ben both have full authority, their signatures and seals give it legal force. Our opposition may not change the outcome."

"Even if we can't change it, we must oppose!" Gang Shi Zhi Zhu roars, "I will expose this conspiracy at the cabinet meeting, in front of everyone! I will make Your Majesty Tianhuang know that the Navy, for a few ships, sold the entire Imperial Army!"

Wu Nei Jun Er Lang forces a wry smile: "But Minister, the Navy will surely argue that this serves the Empire's long‑term interests. With a strong navy, the Empire can secure a better post‑war standing. That line of reasoning is quite persuasive."

"Nonsense!" Gang Shi Zhi Zhu spits, "Without the Army, what good is a strong navy? Can battleships go ashore? Can cannons seize land? The Empire's survival and expansion depend on the Army! On soldiers' bayonets and courage!"

He steps to the map on the wall, his finger pointing at XX and the Cao County Peninsula:

"Look at these places! The minerals of XX, the grain of Cao County—these are what the Empire needs! Not some Pacific hegemony! The navy folk spend all day dreaming of rivalry with Meilika and Yingguo, without even weighing their own worth!"

Yu Du Gong Tai Lang and the others remain silent. They understand Gang Shi Zhi Zhu's anger, yet they also know the matter isn't that simple.

The Empire indeed needs resources and living space. But without the navy safeguarding the supply lines, the Army's gains cannot be defended. The Russo‑Japanese War is an example—had the Combined Fleet not annihilated the Russian Baltic Fleet in the Tsushima Strait, even if the Army won at Fengtian, the war might not have ended.

Yet this reasoning makes no sense in the current atmosphere.

"The afternoon cabinet meeting," Gang Shi Zhi Zhu says more calmly, though his gaze remains fierce, "I will raise three questions. First, does handing the command of fifty divisions to Lanfang infringe on Imperial sovereignty? Second, does offsetting battleship costs with division labor fees amount to buying the navy with the lives of Army soldiers? Third, who truly benefits from this deal— the Empire or the Navy?"

He pauses, his voice growing colder:

"I also want to ask Prime Minister Xi Yuan Si: when signing this contract, did you consider the young men about to be sent to the front? Their parents, wives, children? How many of the one million will return alive?"

The air in the office solidifies. The question is so heavy it suffocates.

Indeed, one million. Even a ten‑percent casualty rate means a hundred thousand. What if it's twenty or thirty percent?

That would be the Empire's greatest disaster since the Meiji Restoration.

"Minister," Yu Du Gong Tai Lang finally speaks, "I support you raising doubts at the meeting. But… the approach may need careful consideration. Prime Minister Xi Yuan Si is a veteran, and Minister Shan Ben enjoys strong navy backing. If the clash becomes too fierce, it could split the government."

"Splitting is splitting!" Gang Shi Zhi Zhu retorts unyieldingly, "It's better than watching the Imperial Army being sold off with our eyes wide open!"

He moves to the window, watching the soldier training ground in the Army Ministry courtyard. A squad of recruits practices stabbing, rifles fitted with bayonets thrust repeatedly at a straw man. Their movements are still clumsy, but earnest.

They are all eighteen or nineteen, their faces still youthful. They may hail from farms or fishing villages, perhaps driven by a simple desire to serve the nation.

Some of them may later be shipped to the European front, dying in French trenches, on Belgian plains, on foreign soil.

"I will speak for them," Gang Shi Zhi Zhu whispers, as if to himself, "Even if everyone opposes, I will still speak for them."

The three Major Generals exchange glances, their eyes complex. Deep down they all understand the Army won't oppose selling people, provided the money goes into their own pockets, not the navy's!

They know the afternoon cabinet meeting will be a storm.

Two p. m., the cabinet meeting room.

Around the rectangular rose‑wood conference table, twelve cabinet members are seated. Prime Minister Xi Yuan Si sits at the head; to his left are the Foreign Minister Jia Teng Gao Ming, the Finance Minister Ruo Qi Li Ci Lang and other civil officials; to his right are Army Minister Gang Shi Zhi Zhu, Navy Minister Shan Ben Quan Binge and other military ministers.

The atmosphere is unusually solemn. No one speaks, not even a glance at each other. The civil officials bow their heads, leafing through the documents before them—though they have read them countless times; the military officers sit upright, eyes fixed ahead, as if awaiting orders to go to war.

Xi Yuan Si glances at the wall clock, clears his throat:

"Everyone, let's begin. First, Minister Shan Ben, please report the results of the Borneo mission."