Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that SAIGO might have resentment and antagonism toward the incident that a policy of placing a great importance on 'military buildup' mainly with the warrior class, which he had fostered during his early days in Tokyo for two years from his comeback to the central government in 1871 until he left the government, was defeated by a policy of placing a great importance on 'national enrichment' by Takayoshi KIDO and Shigenobu OKUMA, which emphasized the equality of all people and the abolition of feudal domains and establishment of prefectures.
その一方で明治4年（1871年）に中央政府に復帰して下野するまでの2年間、上京当初抱いていた士族を中心とする「強兵」重視路線が、四民平等・廃藩置県を全面に押し出した木戸孝允・大隈重信らの「富国」重視路線によって斥けられた事に対する不満や反発が西郷の心中に全く無かったとも考えられない。