The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 560: The Beginning of the Reform
After obtaining the unit number issued by the Preparatory Office of the Ministry of the Army, it was Teng Yuzhao's own business.

Although the pay and equipment of his vanguard troops were provided by Zhili itself, they were not allowed to increase the numbers at will.

The addition of troops must be approved by the Preparatory Office of the Ministry of the Army.

In other words, this time the imperial court is not simply training a new army. The imperial court is taking the opportunity to, to a certain extent, control the military power of various local troops. And this may even be just the beginning.

However, the numbers of the thirteen towns of the vanguard army were still decided by Teng Yuzhao himself.

Teng Yuzhao's arrangement was that the numbers of the original vanguard army's first to sixth regiments remained unchanged, Cao Futian's independent detachment was changed to the seventh regiment, Li Jinyu's eighth regiment remained unchanged, and Liu Bingyi's guard regiment was changed to the ninth regiment.

The commander of the Military Police Brigade was Hu Daqiu, and the commander of the Imperial Guard Brigade was Xu Ting.

Because only the vanguard army in the country had town-level artillery units, and the Army Preparatory Office only issued the numbers of three artillery towns, the sequence of the three artillery towns remained unchanged.

Cavalry Town. Currently, only the Vanguard Army has a town number in the country.

In addition, the generals of Gansu, Qinghai and Yili each had a cavalry brigade under their command.

The cavalry town of the vanguard army does not have a town commander for the time being. Su Xilin serves as the co-director of the cavalry town. Xu Wangcai serves as the associate commander of the Marine Corps brigade.

This Xu Wangcai was also the student rescued by Teng Yuzhao in the "Beiyang Military Academy" last year. He previously served as a flag commander in Liu Yuzhi's army.

At the same time, some adjustments were made to the troops stationed in various places.

After the adjustment by Teng Yuzhao, Pan Jinshan's Sixth Regiment was stationed in Guangdong and Fujian, Li Xianze's Second Regiment was stationed in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Hu Dianjia's Third Regiment was stationed in Shandong and Anhui, Liu Shijiu's Fourth Regiment and Cao Futian's Seventh Regiment, Liu Yuzhi's First Regiment, and Liu Bingyi's Ninth Regiment were stationed in Luanzhou, Chengde, Zunhua, and Lutai. After waiting for the Russian army to retreat, Hu Dianjia, Liu Shijiu, and Liu Yuzhi would be stationed in Fengtian, Jilin, and Heilongjiang respectively, and Liu Bingyi's Ninth Regiment would stay in Tianjin to guard Zhili.

The Marine Corps brigade is stationed in Yantai.

Wu Peifu's Fifth Regiment, Li Jinyu's Eighth Regiment and the Cavalry Regiment were stationed in Zhangjiakou and Duolun respectively, and Wu Peifu was temporarily in charge of the Cavalry Regiment.

The three artillery regiments, the Imperial Guard Brigade, and the Military Police Brigade under the Military Police Command were stationed around Tianjin.

Ten days after Teng Yuzhao regained his numbers from the capital, the above-mentioned troops had already begun to march to their respective bases.

The three battalions that Yuan Shikai dispatched to assist the northern provinces in training new troops were not able to set out until twenty days later.

For this reason, the Preparatory Office of the Ministry of the Army and the Grand Council also issued documents to commend Teng Yuzhao for his diligence in state affairs.

This was not because Yuan Shikai was slow or deliberately delaying, but because the Wuwei Right Army needed to prepare food, wages and ammunition for the three battalions of the new army.

Although there are only three battalions and not many troops need to be mobilized, Gansu is vast and poor, and it is difficult to raise food and wages locally. Even the troops stationed in Xi'an cannot expect to be provided by Shanxi.

During Cixi's hunting trip to the west, she stayed in Shanxi and Shaanxi and had already emptied the treasury silver of these two provinces.

In particular, Sheng Yun, the governor of Shaanxi and temporary governor-general, repeatedly wrote to the emperor to firmly oppose the training of new troops. He believed that training new troops in various provinces at this time was tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst and would bring endless disasters.

Given Sheng Yun's attitude towards training a new army, it would be absolutely impossible for him to obtain local funding in Shaanxi.

Therefore, Yuan Shikai had to wait for the arrival of the expedition funds specially approved by the imperial court and purchase the corresponding military supplies before he could set out.

The troops under the Military Police Command sent a military police sentry to each of the Second, Third and Sixth Towns to accompany them to the garrison.

In addition, a battalion of military police was stationed in Baoding to maintain order in Southern Zhili.

The court did not make big economic reforms, mainly advocating officials and businessmen to establish industrial and commercial enterprises. It was even formulating the "Qing Dynasty Commercial Law", "Chamber of Commerce Charter", "Simplified Railway Charter", "Charter of Rewarding Chinese Business Companies", "Mining Charter", "Company Registration Charter", "Trial Bank Charter", etc.

In terms of educational reform, another important part of implementing the New Deal was to abolish the imperial examination system, set up new-style schools, and begin to study and send students abroad.

He ordered that academies in provincial capitals be converted into universities, prefectures and autonomous prefectures be converted into middle schools, counties be converted into primary schools, and more kindergartens be set up.

The abolition of the imperial examination system was ultimately a joint memorial submitted by Zhang Zhidong and Yuan Shikai. After nearly two months of debate, the court finally decided to hold the last imperial examination this year and abolish the imperial examination system thereafter.

Although Yang Shixiang and Cai Shaoji, the general manager of Beiyang University, repeatedly suggested that Teng Yuzao take the lead in advising the court to abolish the imperial examination system and promote new studies, Teng Yuzao ultimately did not agree. He only said that he fully agreed with their suggestions, but he would not submit a memorial in person.

However, Teng Yuzao also said that he would arrange for the Ta Kung Pao to publish an article suggesting the abolition of the imperial examination system and the establishment of new schools.

As expected, this news attracted the attention of Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai had rejected a joint memorial with Zhang Zhidong and Liu Kun asking the court to implement a constitutional monarchy, and he felt a little embarrassed. So he contacted Zhang Zhidong about abolishing the imperial examination system. The two hit it off and immediately submitted a joint memorial to the court, which the court finally agreed to.

However, this decision of the imperial court caused an uproar in the government and the country.

Especially the literati and scholars, who criticized Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong and attacked them in public opinion, as if they had stirred up a hornet's nest, which made them the target of the literati and scholars' attack for a while.

Seeing this scene, Yang Shixiang couldn't help but admire Teng Yuzhao, while Cai Shaoji just smiled bitterly and shook his head without saying anything.

Teng Yuzhao knew the thoughts of Cai Shaoji, the school director who was a former student studying in the United States, and was somewhat disdainful of Cai Shaoji's cunning behavior, so he had to tell Cai Shaoji patiently.

He admired Zeng Guofan's words "be soft in words and firm in deeds". Zhili was just promoting Westernization under the guise of promoting Westernization. In fact, he wanted to do his utmost to promote comprehensive Westernization in all fields except culture. Now Zhili and himself, who represented Zhili, could not be put in the spotlight and become the target of public criticism. What Zhili needed to do most now was to concentrate on doing things and do them instead of talking.

Teng Yuzao told Cai Shaoji that he was going to change the name of "Beiyang University Hall" to "Beiyang University" and make himself the first president. Except for the setting of subjects which had to be approved by him, all other decisions about the university would be made by him alone. If he needed funds, he could just submit his demand plan to him.

Teng Yuzao's only request was that Cai Shaoji turn Beiyang University into a comprehensive science and engineering university with a strong academic atmosphere like his alma mater, Yale University in the United States, and make it the most famous and accomplished university in China and even in Asia.

At the same time, he will also report to the court to appoint Cai Shaoji as the Taotai and serve as the general manager of the Beiyang New Education Office, overseeing the establishment and operation of universities, colleges and primary and secondary schools in Zhili, and under the leadership of Yang Shixiang, the new education in Zhili will be fully implemented as soon as possible.

After this conversation, Cai Shaoji, who had suddenly realized something, immediately devoted himself to the reform of Zhili's education system. He really put his head down to work, did more and said less, or even said nothing.

In theory, reforming the official system is one of the most important contents of the New Deal, and the court did say so in its decrees. The contents of the reform include cutting redundant offices, reducing civil servants, and stopping donations.

In other words, the imperial court wanted to abolish government offices that had little significance, such as government offices and agencies that had little impact on the national economy and people's livelihood.

Reducing bureaucracy means cutting redundant staff in various government offices, streamlining the work force and improving efficiency.

As for stopping donations, it naturally means stopping the sale of official positions, allowing some people who have no ability but are rich to become officials by spending money.

In terms of law, the court expressed its intention to refer to the laws of various countries, carefully examine them, and make appropriate proposals.

Finally, the imperial court proposed to reform Mongolia and proposed to "establish provinces in Mongolia in the same way as in the interior" in order to strengthen border defense.

It should be said that these reform measures are even more profound than the Reform Movement of 1898. If they can be truly implemented, they will undoubtedly be of great benefit to the country.

But the most crucial thing is that the court merely announced these measures and then there was no further follow-up, which made Teng Yuzhao stunned.

After enduring for nearly a month, and seeing that the court seemed to be content with just announcing these reform decrees, Teng Yuzhao finally lost his patience and wrote a lengthy memorial of over ten thousand words.

In his memorial, Teng Yuzhao first emphasized his firm support for the court's call for reform and constitutional change, while also putting forward some of his own ideas.

For example, the three most critical points are: first, cutting redundant government offices and reducing clerical staff. The more streamlined the better. Instead, everything must be based on the premise of improving government efficiency. Streamlining cannot be done for the sake of streamlining. In areas concerning the national economy and people's livelihood, some government offices and staff are not redundant, but rather they do not exist or are too few.

Second, when learning advanced things from the West, we cannot completely abandon our own culture. We must strongly advocate this in Chinese studies. When learning Western knowledge, we must not throw away the essence of Chinese studies.

Third, such a reform initiative sweeping the whole country must be implemented with caution. It is suggested that it should be implemented in one province first. If any deficiencies are found, they can be corrected and improved in a timely manner to avoid major mistakes. If it is proven to be completely feasible, it will not be too late to implement it nationwide.

Fourth, in order to promote the national quintessence and keep pace with the international community, Teng Yuzhao also suggested that the court adopt the principle of parallel use of Chinese and Western calendars, accept the Western calendar, and set January 1 of the Western calendar as New Year's Day, and the first day of the first lunar month as the Spring Festival, and this day should become a legal holiday.

Teng Yuzao also said that he did not care about personal gains and losses, and Zhili was willing to be the province for this trial verification.

This time, Teng Yuzhao did not choose to keep a low profile. Instead, while submitting the memorial, he also published his ten-thousand-word letter in the Ta Kung Pao, which had already moved its office to Tianjin.

Before the imperial court had any reaction, Teng Yuzao's ten thousand-word letter immediately caused a strong response in the country as soon as it was published in the newspaper, and almost instantly received unanimous praise from people from all walks of life. Many people published articles in newspapers that were becoming more and more widely circulated, praising Teng Yuzao.

Even some scholars who were most opposed to the Reform Movement praised Teng Yuzhao's memorial as a mature and prudent statement of statecraft.

Although they were still dissatisfied with the Reform Movement of 1898, they greatly appreciated Teng Yuzao's remarks on upholding Chinese traditional culture. They even praised Teng Yuzao for his intention to formally designate the Spring Festival, which was celebrated by the Han nationality and many ethnic minorities, as a legal holiday, which forced them to express their support for him.

The first provincial governor to express support for Teng Yuzao's proposal was still the Governor-General of Huguang, Zhang Zhidong. Following Zhang Zhidong's statement, other local governors and governors-general successively issued documents or submitted memorials to support Teng Yuzao.

Amid the growing public support for Teng Yuzao, Cixi, who had remained silent for several days, finally sent a telegram asking Teng Yuzao to rush to the capital immediately to present his suggestions in person.

After seeing the telegram, Teng Yuzhao rushed to the capital early the next morning. After several hours of debate with court nobles and important officials in front of Cixi, he not only gained the support of the "culprits" headed by Zai Yi, but also the support of Ronglu and Wang Wenshao.

Cixi immediately announced that she would follow Teng Yuzhao's advice and carry out a pilot reform in Zhili first. All new laws, as long as they did not violate the state system, could be implemented first after Teng Yuzhao reported it. If there were any omissions or inappropriateness, they could be corrected in time.

After obtaining Cixi's approval, Teng Yuzhao hurried back to Tianjin that evening. After careful planning and preparation, he began drastic reforms in Zhili at the beginning of the year.

Now, half a year has passed in the blink of an eye. Not only has Zhili's new legal reform been completed and run for several months, but the results achieved are also gratifying. Now that we are already in the middle of the year, we must sum up our experience and see what shortcomings exist so that we can make timely improvements.

At the same time, Teng Yuzao was somewhat worried about the situation of the troops stationed in various places. After discussing with Wei Jinghai, Li Yulin, Yang Shixiang, Xu Shichang, Yang Shiqi and others, Teng Yuzao decided to summon all relevant military and political personnel from Zhili and Shandong to gather in Tianjin at the end of June to listen to relevant reports.

The meeting was held in the newly completed Beiyang Minister's and Zhili Governor's Office. In the morning, a meeting of senior Zhili and Shandong army and navy generals was held, and in the afternoon, a joint military and political meeting of Zhili and Shandong was held.

The Beiyang Minister's Office and the Zhili Governor-General's Office are located in the north of Central Street in Tianjin's new city.

Central Avenue was the first road built in Tianjin New City. Not only that, in accordance with Teng Yuzhao's requirements, Huang Chujiu gathered all the construction teams that could be mobilized, even including construction workers from Shanghai and Guangzhou, as well as designers and supervisors hired from abroad, to first build this Central Avenue and the related buildings on both sides.

Central Avenue is a straight street that runs from north to south and is temporarily ten miles long. It is fifty meters wide and has a ten-meter-wide road hedge and lawn dividing strip in the middle. Tall and straight ginkgo trees have been planted on both sides of the sidewalks on both sides of the road, and street lamp poles have been erected on the roadside.

The entire road is paved with cement, wide and flat. It was just completed ten days ago and has now become a landmark road in Tianjin New City.

Compared with this beautiful street, the Beiyang Minister and Zhili Governor's Office on the roadside is even more magnificent.
(End of this chapter)