Master Yuan, start!

Although Yuan Shikai only gave a different interpretation of the Theory of Social Conduct, he undoubtedly pointed out a clear path for the confused scholars of the late Qing Dynasty.

That is, "China is not lagging behind because its ideas are inferior to those of the West, but because it has learned the wrong ideas. As long as we can rediscover the ideas of ancient sages, there is hope for the country's revitalization!"

These ideas really gave a shot in the arm to the young scholars in China. After Yuan Shikai supported the backbone of China in military affairs, the East Asian scholars also enabled the Chinese to look directly at the West in culture.

Not only Chinese scholars, but also Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and other regions deeply influenced by Confucianism were shocked by this article written by Yuan Shikai under the pseudonym "East Asian Scholar".

Even the ministers in the court looked at him with suspicion.

During his daily lectures at the Hanlin Academy, Weng Tong said to the Hanlin scholars, "This article is truly a wild fox in the classics. I am astonished."

Sun Jianai commented on the East Asian scholar in the newspaper: "He is very talented, but unfortunately his academic work is not well-behaved."

But most young people did not think so. Kang Youwei, who had gained some fame by publishing the International Gazette in Shanghai, felt that some of the views of the East Asian scholars coincided with his own, so he took the opportunity to submit a memorial to the central government and inform the Qing court of his reform ideas.

The letter strongly pointed out that after the Sino-French War, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Japan and other countries coveted the Qing Dynasty, and called for "becoming lawful, understanding the situation below, and being cautious of the left and right."

However, due to the intentional obstruction of the Qing court ministers, the petition was not delivered to the emperor.

However, Emperor Guangxu, who was about to get married, was already aware of the growing enthusiasm for reform among the people. At the same time, he saw this memorial from the East Asian scholar while reading a newspaper, so he kept it in mind.

However, the criticism of this article by officials and the public has just begun: "I thought that the East Asian national scholar was a capable minister who governed the country, but I didn't expect that he was also a traitor to Seoul.

His writings, such as "Survival in Japan" and "Rebirth in Germany," may indicate a deep understanding of Eastern and Western countries, but the publication of this Confucian pseudo-scripture is sufficient to prove that he is not Chinese at all. Our Great Qing has its own national conditions. If the scriptures are completely false, wouldn't the 300 years of the Holy Dynasty's education become a joke?

"The Confucian pseudo-classics are examined and the errors and omissions are exposed, forcibly combining the opinions of many schools. This is truly heresy."

There were even officials who wrote letters to impeach the article as "absurd" and "unwise and lawless", and even wrote to Yuan Shikai to demand that this "East Asian national scholar" be found and assassinated, and that he be brought back to Beijing and severely punished for his disrespect!

"I've noticed that every time they publish, their articles are first published in the East Asia Times. I suggest that Lord Yuan Xiangcheng take good care of the Korean literary world and not be so lenient towards scholars. This group of people, when they get angry, actually say such disrespectful words to the emperor and their fathers. It's really a laughing stock."

Of course, the East-Asia Times did not tolerate these corrupt scholars and ministers, and with Yuan Shikai's tacit approval, it also engaged in a debate with newspapers that supported traditional scriptures.

Although there are winners and losers in the debate, the real results cannot be faked. After all, in recent years, it is clear who has done well and who has done poorly.

Supporters cited the example of Yuan Shikai's promotion of Western methods in Korea in recent years, pointing out that he was able to achieve three victories in just a few years: first defeating the French army, then defeating Japan, and then politically defeating Russia.

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Opponents also have something to say, saying that Japan was a small country and Yuan Shikai relied entirely on the national strength of the Qing Dynasty to crush it and win, which had nothing to do with his so-called New Deal in Korea. Yuan Shikai was completely conservative and followed the Westernization Movement of Li Hongzhang and others.

As for the defeat of the French army, it was because of the hot weather that the French could not bear the long journey, which led to Yuan Shikai's successful surprise attack.

If this war can be boasted about, the fact that the Taiping Rebellion, at its peak, spanned several provinces and had more than 100,000 troops, does this prove that the Hunan Army that broke through Tianjing could defeat the British and French?

Although the debate was currently only taking place in the press, everyone knew that the East Asian scholars were still holding back. Inspired by the debate, the scholars took advantage of this trend to launch a new trend of ideological change in the country, widely establishing Western-style societies and participating in discussions on new studies. For a time, new studies seemed to be overwhelming official studies.

You know, official schools are related to the imperial examinations. The fact that students choose not to study official schools and are interested in new learning shows how sad the scholars are about the deteriorating situation.

Besides this, the scholars who were unable to go to Seoul last winter due to weather conditions were influenced by the articles of East Asian scholars and also boarded the ship to Seoul, vowing to go to Korea to find a future for Confucianism!

Chapter 102 Conference Affairs and Education

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After a winter of renovations at the beginning of the year, the Incheon Port expanded more than three times. Although it cannot be compared with major national ports like New York, it is already the second largest port in China at this time, second only to Shanghai.

All this is thanks to the good internal and external environment that Yuan Shikai created for Korea. The continuous increase in trade volume made officials in Seoul very concerned about the expansion of Incheon Wharf.

The abundant labor force brought by the people from Guandong also provided rich human resources for building the docks.

Incheon Port, lacking numerous artillery batteries, was a completely civilian port, leaving it virtually defenseless against invasion by foreign warships. However, as the saying goes, "A mountain's strength lies in its virtue, not its terrain." As time progressed, the benefits of erecting fixed defensive artillery batteries in the port declined.

If airplanes appear in the future, these artillery batteries that cannot attack the air will be completely useless, so the limited funds should be invested in military expansion or economic development at present.

It is far better to be proactive than to be defensive.

Of course, Yuan Shikai is not worried about being invaded now. He now focuses his work on internal affairs.

During this period, he would give speeches at Gyeongbokgung Square whenever he had the chance, and today he was communicating with a new batch of students who graduated from the Korean Academy.

If you want to win the hearts of the people, you must not only achieve military victory, but also be diligent and love the people politically, at least on the surface. The people's hearts are not only the hearts of ordinary people, but also the hearts of intellectuals.

What's more, Yuan Xiangcheng also learned a lot about the youth thoughts unique to this era through communication.

It is a great honor for a governor of a place to communicate with students face to face every week, so every time this happens, Gyeongbokgung Square is packed with people.

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"Classmates, you are all talented people who have learned both Chinese and Western knowledge, and you all want to serve your country, but serving your country does not mean you have to become an official.

The country is weak now and needs to develop industry and build more railways to boost its national strength. Even if you work as a factory worker or make a musket, you are making a contribution to the country.

No matter how big or small your contribution is, remember this!"

The young people present seemed to understand, but most of them nodded, because the fire of serving the country in their hearts had not yet been extinguished.

At this moment, a voice came: "Excuse me, Mr. Yuan, what do you think of the increasingly fierce debate over political reform in China? Do you also think that it is time for China to reform?"

Everyone looked towards the person who spoke, and a blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigner raised his hand in the crowd and asked.

"Who are you?" Yuan Xiangcheng asked.

"My name is Arthur Morgan, and I'm a reporter for the North China Herald. After hearing that North Korea has become a holy land for new scholars, I came here specifically to interview." Arthur from the United States replied.

"Whether to reform or not is a decision made by the ministers at the central level. As a local official, I have no power to make such a decision.

But I think that in order to protect China from being bullied by other countries, it is indeed necessary to let all citizens know what a country and a nation are. Only when they know shame and then become brave can the country have hope of becoming stronger.

That is why I promote Western-style education in North Korea today, so that the people know why they were born and why they fight.”

In front of so many people, Yuan Shikai couldn't say that he strongly supported the fight between those who supported and opposed the reform within the Qing court, so he could only change the subject.

Arthur Morgan was obviously not satisfied with the answer and wanted to ask more questions, but Yuan Xiangcheng indicated that he had something else to do and left the square.

Arthur Morgan stared at Yuan Xiangcheng who was going away, wondering what he was thinking.

...

Yuan Xiangcheng rushed to his residence to decide another major issue that would affect China's development in the next hundred years.

"Chief Instructor, I have consulted more than a dozen students from new-style schools to compile the textbooks you asked me to do before, and they have basically been completed," said Ma Xiangbo, who was in charge of ideological education within the Red Confucian Society.

After accepting Yuan Xiangcheng's explanation of the new Confucianism, Ma Xiangbo worked with Yuan Xiangcheng to manage the new army and played a major role in promoting grassroots political instructors in the early Jiashen Right Army.

However, as the political instructor system was gradually implemented, he intended to resign from the position of political instructor within the Red Confucian Society and wanted to hand the position over to Qu Nan. As for himself, he was more keen on starting an educational career.

Seeing that his attempt to retain Ma Xiangbo failed, Yuan Xiangcheng had no choice but to comply with his wishes. However, the Minister of Education of the new Korean government was Kim Yun-sik, so it was not easy to arrange an education-related government position for Ma Xiangbo.

So they set up a position in charge of education within the Red Confucian Society and asked him to take the position.

At present, the scale of the Red Confucian Society has gradually expanded. Even after careful selection, there are already thousands of members. Therefore, a major adjustment must be made to the organizational structure within the society. We cannot hold a general meeting every time we hold a meeting. This is unrealistic and not economical.

So after discussing with everyone, Yuan Xiangcheng decided to set up more departments in the Red Confucian Society to take charge of the increasing party and government affairs.

The current top leader is still Yuan Xiangcheng, who is still called the chief instructor, representing the Red Confucian Society and in charge of the society's affairs.

The Central Committee of the Red Confucian Society, consisting of more than 1000 people elected from more than 50 members of the Society, remained unchanged, but a Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Red Confucian Society was added, temporarily consisting of Yuan Xiangcheng, Ma Xiangbo and Xu Shichang.

During the recess of the Central Committee, the Standing Committee is in charge of the affairs of the plenary session and manages the affairs of the conference currently spread throughout Korea as well as in Northeast China, North China, and South China.

The Central Committee of the Red Confucian Society consists of three departments: the General Affairs Department, the Conference Affairs Department, the Finance Department, the Propaganda Department, and the External Relations Department. At the same time, the Military Department and the Agricultural and Industrial Department were newly established.

Ming Ye, Director of the General Affairs Department, Ma Xiangbo, Director of the Conference Affairs Department, Han Bei, Director of the Finance Department, Xu Shichang, Director of the External Relations Department, Qu Nan, Director of the Propaganda Department, Yuan Xiangcheng, Director of the Military Department, Deputy Ministers Duan Qirui and Sheng Fei, and Kuang Chunhua, Minister of the Agriculture and Industry Department.

Now, in order to accommodate Ma Xiangbo, it is necessary to set up another Ministry of Education so that Ma Xiangbo can focus on promoting the educational cause under the control of the Red Confucian Society.

"Brother Mingqian, since you have made up your mind, I will no longer insist, but please do not refuse the position of Minister of Education. Since you are determined to promote the development of education, the position of Minister of Education in the Red Confucian Society belongs to you." Yuan Xiangcheng advised.

Seeing this, Ma Xiangbo had no choice but to take on the responsibility of Minister of Education and at the same time expressed his idea of ​​running a school in Korea.

North Korea’s current education system can be said to be just castles in the air without a solid foundation.

Private schools are still everywhere in the countryside of North Korea, and only in urban areas are there primary schools to cultivate computing and economic talents. However, the purpose of attending primary school is mostly to learn a skill and then make money, rather than to pursue further studies.

Ma Xiangbo wanted to reduce the scale of new-style schools and focus on promoting Western-style primary schools, middle schools and even universities, but this required consulting Yuan Xiangcheng's opinion.

Although Yuan Xiangcheng generally agreed, he also had his own thoughts: "Brother Mingqian, six years of primary school, three years of middle school, and nearly four years of university after middle school is too long. We currently need a large number of talents in various industries. If we can only harvest them after more than ten years, it will be too slow to meet the urgent needs."

"So what does the chief teacher mean by opening more new-style schools?" Ma Xiangbo did consider this issue, but he believed that modern education must always be spread, and we cannot always rely on new-style schools to cultivate some "half-way monks"

Yuan Xiangcheng handed a stack of reports to Ma Xiangbo for him to read, and then said: "My original intention was not this. After all, the new-style school is only a temporary measure. The students in the school are of different ages, from teenagers to over thirty, and their educational levels are also different.

Most students in the new-style schools received six months to a year of training before entering various factories, businesses, railways, and machinery bureaus. Some also joined the Jiashen Right Army.

It was okay for those who joined businesses and the army, but most of the students who joined industrial and mining enterprises were told by their subordinates that they lacked basic knowledge and had poor hands-on skills. They were completely unable to complete the work independently and could only serve as assistants.

But these people are still arrogant and think they have received Western education. Relying on the fact that they have attended a few of my classes, they call themselves my disciples, which has caused a lot of conflicts.

Therefore, it is necessary to have a complete Western education path, but the duration needs to be shortened.”

Ma Xiangbo carefully read the reports submitted by Incheon Machinery Bureau, Pyongyang Coal Mine and Pyongyang Iron Works one by one, and couldn't help but sigh twice.

"Alas, Chief Instructor, since ancient times, scholars, or rather, literati, have been superior to others. Although they briefly studied Western learning, they still harbored ambitions of becoming officials.

They probably thought they could become managers after graduation, but they ended up just being hangers-on. Now you're sending them to learn under craftsmen, so naturally they're not happy about it."

Yuan Xiangcheng sneered at this, and waving the report in his hand, he said to Ma Xiangbo: "If these new-style students can pass the imperial examinations, why would they come to Korea and try their luck with me?

Isn't it because he has no hope of a career in the government that he hopes to learn new things and take unconventional paths so that he can become an official?

If they don't want to, it's better for them to leave so as not to spread negative emotions everywhere."

It was not that Yuan Xiangcheng was unwilling to give these scholars who graduated from new-style schools an official position, but there were not so many positions at the moment, so he could only let them go to the grassroots level to carry out work.

Unexpectedly, some of the older scholars were quite resentful, and several even left without saying goodbye, which made Yuan Xiangcheng a little angry.

Ma Xiangbo had some different opinions on this issue, but he did not refute Yuan Xiangcheng, but just listened quietly.

"Mingqian, my idea is to pursue two parallel routes.

Primary schools must be built, but they will be 5 years long, middle schools 4 years long, and universities 4 years long. If students have outstanding grades in middle school, they can enter university early, but this does not solve the immediate problem.

At the same time, I also plan to establish various vocational schools, which will be converted from new-style schools.

If you have a certain academic foundation, you don't have to start from elementary school. You can directly participate in the academic level test. After passing the test, you can join a vocational school. After graduating from a vocational school, you can choose to go to university or take the North Korean Western Examination. If you have a high school diploma, you can also work in the new North Korean government.

If you are not sure about joining the Western-style, you can also go to the grassroots industrial and mining railway departments for five years, and then you can be given some low-level positions."

Although Yuan Shikai's plan was to cultivate talents himself, he could not only focus on the future and ignore the present. His current lack of Western-educated talents was also a problem, so he had to walk on two legs.

"If so, that's fine. For now, we'll open three primary schools and one middle school each in Seoul, Pyongyang, and Incheon. At the same time, each of the North Korean Construction Corps on the Sino-North Korean border will also have a corresponding primary school.

As for the university, President, I would like to build it in Seoul."

"Okay, has the name been decided?" Yuan Xiangcheng asked.

"Please give me a name, Chief Instructor!"