The road rights of the Guangdong-Hankou Railway were recovered, but the project was too large and the procedures were cumbersome, so Zheng Guanying was appointed as the person in charge of the specialized Guangdong-Hankow Railway land purchase company.
Zheng Guanying was one of the four major compradors in the late Qing Dynasty and served as the general manager of the Steamship Merchants Bureau.
But he was full of ups and downs, and after experiencing the two major defeats of Sino-Japanese War and Gengzi, he was exhausted mentally and physically. In his later years, he finally understood the corruption of the Qing court and began to pay attention to education.
Lin Zexu is known as "the first person to see the world with open eyes", then Zheng Guanying is the "first person to see the world comprehensively" in the late Qing Dynasty.
His most famous work is "Warnings in a Prosperous Age".
This book had a great influence on modern Chinese history. The reformers, Zhang Zhidong, Cai Yuanpei, and the early leaders of our party were all influenced by this book.
Especially since this book was published in 1894, just before the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War.
What followed were two defeats that could be described as national disasters, which made everyone realize that what Zheng Guanying said were "alarming words" and not "sensationalism."
The two words "prosperous age" in front are also very ironic.
Zhang Zhidong spoke very highly of this book, "If you use it to help the world, it can be a good medicine; if you use it to store talents, it can be like a golden needle."
If you go to the local officials in Guangzhou, I'm afraid the favor fee will be more than twice the land price.
Even in the 21st century, developed countries, especially immigration countries like the United States and Canada, still have a great ability to attract talents from developing countries, and a large number of outstanding graduates will choose to stay in the United States and Canada.
Huang Feihong said: "When the school is successfully established, I will definitely send my son to study."
In total, it totals 130 acres and costs 6,500 taels. Cen Chunxuan doesn’t charge any fees, so it’s quite cheap.
At that time, he also wrote a poem to express his inner resentment: "The prime minister has the power to cede the land, but the lonely minister has no power to return to heaven. I went to be a barbarian in a boat, but I look back on the rivers and mountains with a sad feeling."
Zheng Guanying said: "If it is run by someone like the Imperial Master who truly understands Western learning, I think it will be an extremely excellent school."
——Almost all the various tariffs that can be mortgaged have been mortgaged. If we dare to cede land again, all places will really stop doing it.
Li Yu also understood the key and gave Zheng Guanying some money to fund his activities. Fortunately, Cen Chunxuan was very aggressive in anti-corruption and could not spend too much.
It means that Prime Minister Li Hongzhang has the power to cede territory.
The location of the store is quite good. It is located in the bustling Beijing Road Pedestrian Street in Guangzhou. The owner is good at management and very innovatively made it the earliest music restaurant in Guangzhou. Later during the Republic of China, a nightclub and dance hall was even built on the second floor. How can it not be popular?
Liu Yongfu said: "Master Zheng is of course a good doctor, but if the patient does not take the medicine if the prescription is correct, there is nothing you can do."
Li Yu said: "So we must vigorously build education so that there will be more Zhan Tianyou."
Zheng Guanying said: "I have such an idea, so today I heard that the emperor's master had arrived in Guangzhou and had the idea of starting a school. I was very grateful and decided to come to the banquet in person."
Huang Feihong said: "Don't just talk about things. The food in this restaurant is excellent. There are not only Guangzhou fried steaks, but also foreign fried steaks. Paired with foreign wine, it tastes very good."
Zheng Guanying said: "The emperor's teacher is far away in the capital, but he goes to Guangzhou to run a school. It really makes us local people in Guangzhou feel quite ashamed and surprised."
However, without the support of the Qing court, they were ultimately outnumbered and defeated.
Huang Feihong's son is not very old now, only five years old, and is indeed almost old enough to go to school.
Li Yu then told Zheng Guanying about the land he had already spotted and the locations of the two abandoned schools, "I hope Master Zheng can help introduce Mr. Cen Chunxuan, the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi."
Zheng Guanying waved his hand: "I will no longer be an adult. I have long been tired of officialdom. My official title as the person in charge of the Guangdong-Hankou Railway Land Purchase Company was only accepted at the strong request of the gentry and merchants from the three provinces."
Li Yu said: "If you don't believe me, you can ask Ms. Xie from the United States."
It is said that Emperor Guangxu even ordered two thousand volumes to be printed and sent to his ministers for reading.
Cen Chunxuan said: "This is the best."
In fact, according to the official system of the Qing Dynasty, the highest official in Guangdong and Guangxi should be the Guangzhou general, whose status is higher than the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
Xie Yuxi said: "In Western-style schools, students must do physical exercise so that they can develop in a balanced way."
Li Yu said: "Education should be a major matter for the country."
Li Yu, Xie Yuxi, Huang Feihong, and Liu Yongfu arrived at the hotel early, and soon Zheng Guanying also came over in a hurry.
Qiu Fengjia admired Li Yu very much. He had fought with the Japanese and understood the power of Japan. He also knew that Japan was once a backward country. It relied on constitutionalism and education to get to where it is today.
It is indeed too common among the revolutionary parties in Guangdong nowadays, and haircut is a symbolic action.
It is said that the Thirteenth Aunt in later movies has not yet met Huang Feihong. Calculating that the prototype of the Thirteenth Aunt, Mo Guilan, was only eleven years old at this time.
This man's name is Qiu Fengjia, a famous patriot, patriotic poet, and educator who fought against Japan and defended Taiwan.
Zheng Guanying said: "I would like to go into seclusion in the mountains and write books, but the current situation forces me to escape."
Zheng Guanying was not very sure about the quality of going abroad and asked: "Do you have to study abroad?"
Zheng Guanying took Li Yu and Xie Yuxi into the Governor's Mansion.
Although Liu Yongfu was still in charge of the Black Flag Army, he had long "obeyed the orders of the Qing court and not the propaganda" and promised not to suppress bandits at all. After all, he himself was a rebel.
Li Yu said helplessly: "Master Taiwan, you will not become a revolutionary party by learning new knowledge. These are two different things."
Cen Chunxuan said: "When I was in Shanxi, I also ran a school and I know the pros and cons, but I thought that if we only opened a large school without a new-style primary school, we would have to use the large school as a small school to teach, which is not appropriate.
"
Huang Feihong stood up and said: "Master Zheng!"
Zheng Guanying also found a person to assist Li Yu in handling school-related matters.
It is a pity that after the Reform and Reform, although Zhang Zhidong still tried his best to recommend this book to the Qing court, the Qing court was unable to adopt it. After all, the Aisin Gioros at this time were already broken and could not think of much else to govern the country except treason.
way.
Li Yu brought out Timothy Richard, who had a good relationship with Cen Chunxuan: "The Taiwanese must have met Bishop Richard Timothy, just like him."
Li Yu said: "I am only here to provide education. If I were a revolutionary party, how could I still teach Western courses to the emperor?"
Zheng Guanying said: "The emperor has traveled all over the world. Since you said so, I feel relieved. For example, Zhan Tianyou, the chief engineer of the Beijing-Hankou Railway, I really want to recruit such talents to build the Guangdong-Hankou Railway, but he is the only one
People are really incapable of doing many things. You can imagine how lacking of talents we are now. There are very few people who know how to build roads."
Huang Feihong introduced him: "This is Mr. Li Yu, the emperor's master and scientific giant."
But there is still room for education, especially when it comes to new learning.
Premier Zhou and his wife held a wedding banquet here.
——
Cen Chunxuan said: "It turns out that this is how the new school is run. It just so happens that you are from the United States. You can set an example by running it, so that the governor can continue to implement it."
Although betraying the country did allow the Aixinjueluos to secure their position for several more decades, it was really coming to an end and there was nothing left to sell.
Li Yu also hoped to let the children of these celebrities come over, so as to increase his popularity, so he said: "I will definitely live up to the love and support."
As the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Cen Chunxuan respects his deeds in protecting Taiwan. Three years later, he will promote him to the position of inspector of the Guangdong and Guangxi Academic Affairs Office and supervisor of the Guangzhou Fuzhong School. This is a new position, which is actually in charge of the affairs related to the new schools in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions.
So it seems to be an equilibrium state.
"Sports?" Cen Chunxuan said, "I'm confused. Are you running a liberal arts school or a martial arts school?"
Zheng Guanying had been in the officialdom, and he doubted: "I'm afraid there will be intrusion from revolutionary ideas, and what if I don't come back after I go out?"
Cen Chunxuan was dubious: "You can't be a scholar without cutting your hair?"
Xie Yuxi said: "Dear Sirs, it is indeed true. The new school teaches many subjects and also has physical education courses, so it must occupy a large area."
When young children studying in the United States were recalled before, some openly defied it and stayed in the United States to continue studying.
Li Yu said: "The land of China is so big that there are outstanding talents everywhere. I can only build schools in a few provincial capitals and spread them around as much as possible. By then, they will all have the opportunity to enter the university hall I established, and they will also
There are opportunities to study abroad.”
There are currently no concessions in Guangzhou, and land prices are much lower than those in Shanghai and Tianjin. Moreover, the area has not been developed much, only 50 taels per mu.
Cen Chunxuan said: "In this case, I have no reason to refuse, but you must remember that if you preach about revolution, I will not turn a deaf ear."
Zheng Guanying said: "Don't worry, Imperial Master, I will definitely convince Cen Zitai to allow enough time."
But in fact Li Hongzhang is also a chess piece.
Cen Chunxuan said: "Do you need more than one hundred acres?"
Cantonese food is indeed quite good in taste. After all, Cantonese people can also eat it. Most Chinese restaurants abroad also focus on Cantonese food.
After Qiu Fengjia returned to Guangzhou, he began to focus on education, first in Shantou, and just came to Guangzhou this year.
Li Yu explained: "I want to open a relatively large school so that it can benefit more people and provide more talents for the country."
Zheng Guanying clasped his fists and said, "I have admired the name of Imperial Master for a long time. I am so lucky to see you today!"
Li Yu said: "It is precisely because of this concern that I want to make the primary school larger so that we can provide more students."
With the seal of the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi, the following matters will be much easier to handle. Although Li Yu and Xie Yuxi are not good at dealing with officialdom, Zheng Guanying has been an official and can handle these things.
This store has been passed down to later generations and is a century-old brand.
Li Yu hurriedly praised: "The Taiwanese leader is concerned about education and is doing it to benefit the country and the people."
Li Yu said: "It is very common for foreign schools to have schools of this size, because there are many facilities used to run the school, and it is not just about studying in the classroom."
After the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War, the Treaty of Shimonoseki not only paid compensation but also ceded the island to Japan. Qiu Fengjia refused to accept it and organized a resistance on the island.
Within two days, Zheng Guanying came to tell Li Yu that he could go to the Governor's Mansion to meet with Cen Chunxuan, the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
However, since the Opium War, the decadent combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners Army was exposed, and the official order it carried also fell apart. The status of the Guangzhou generals declined day by day. By the beginning of the 20th century, they were no longer comparable to the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi.
"I heard Master Zheng say that you want a piece of land to run a school. This is a good thing. I agree, but the land is too big, right?"
Li Yu said with a smile: "If you don't want to bear the child, you won't be able to trap the wolf. After all, someone is willing to return to the country and serve."
Cen Chunxuan thought about it and it was indeed true. After all, Lafayette didn't say anything, so he didn't need to ask more questions.
There is no way to talk about the establishment of a constitution. The Qing government could not make up its mind until the day before its demise, so there was no hope.
Li Yu said: "If everyone just gives up, the situation will probably get worse."
Zheng Guanying sighed: "Master Huang understands pharmacology, but my medicine is still a bit weak after all."
Zheng Guanying defended him: "The Imperial Master is now a foreign academician of the Royal Society of England, with a transcendent status. In order to adapt to the requirements of the Royal Society and participate in international scientific research, he naturally has to behave like a foreigner in all aspects."
Li Yu said: "I have also read Mr. Wang's "Warnings in the Prosperous Age", which can be regarded as a good medicine to alert the world."
Cen Chunxuan was still very loyal to the Qing court. He had always been grateful for Cixi's "favor of knowing someone", so he said: "You are not a revolutionary party, are you?"
Li Yu said: "Of course! If you want to learn something real, you must study abroad."
However, there is no need to criticize this kind of thing. After all, it is a free environment. As long as someone is willing to come back, it can be beneficial to us.
Zheng Guanying said: "The general is right."
Zheng Guan responded: "What the Emperor Master said is absolutely true."
Game, it is the most cold-blooded game of international relations. If you don’t benefit the other party, how can they let your students in?
He knew "Water Margin" anyway, but fortunately his fate was much better than that of the Liangshan heroes.
Huang Feihong chose the now famous Taipingguan Hotel in Guangzhou. The owner of this restaurant was very skilled in cooking. He had worked as a chef in a foreign restaurant before, and he was good at cooking local Cantonese cuisine. He combined Chinese and Western cuisine, and his business was extremely good.
Liu Yongfu added: "I have seen through the current situation and have the intention of returning to seclusion."
"Hello, Master Cen!"
"Is this true?" Cen Chunxuan asked again.
Cen Chunxuan was a little dissatisfied when he saw Li Yu cutting his hair: "Why does the emperor look like a foreigner?"
According to the current estimates of most people, it will take at least one generation of education to grow up before it can compete with Japan. As for the European and American powers, it is not within the scope of thinking.
In other words, most people now feel that the great powers are unimaginably powerful and invincible.
But the country around us, Japan, used to be a dependent country, a small country of Japan. Even though Japan is now strong, the Qing court sent overseas students to study, and many institutions are learning from Japan, but they are still not convinced, especially the scholar class.
Of course, people who have been to Japan, such as Zhang Jian, have a clearer understanding of the gap in strength between the two and are much more rational.
Li Yu did not expect that Zheng Guanying would directly find such a capable person. If he was not in Guangzhou in the future, Qiu Fengjia would be a good candidate to take charge of school affairs.