Eighteen, Education

  The Russian Pacific Fleet ran all over the world after the Battle of the Yellow Sea. The Poltava and three other battleships returned to Port Arthur, while the Tsesarevich and a destroyer and an auxiliary vessel escaped to Qingdao, where they were disarmed by the Germans. Two destroyers fled to Zhifu (Yantai), the cruiser Pallada ran all the way to Manila, where it was detained by the Americans, and the heavily damaged Retvizan and the cruisers Askold, Diana, and two destroyers escaped to Shanghai.

  According to the neutrality treaty, the Qing government had the right to request that the Russian naval vessels taking refuge in Chinese ports leave within a time limit or be disarmed and detained. However, considering that the Russian naval vessels which took refuge in Yantai harbor were forcibly towed away by Japanese warships after being disarmed, as the Qing government could not provide effective protection, Russian Minister to China Alexander Izvolsky was worried that the same thing would happen to the Russian naval vessels which escaped to Shanghai. He immediately sent a note to the Qing Foreign Ministry requesting that the Shanghai authorities handle the matter in accordance with the neutrality treaty, and at the same time telegraphed instructions to Consul-General in Shanghai Nikolai Kulikov to negotiate with Shanghai Circuit Intendant Yuan Shuxun as much as possible, ensuring the safety of Russian warships.

  Yuan Shuxun of Shanghai Dao felt a headache again. This kind of thing, dealing with foreigners, if done well, would get the attention of the imperial court and quickly lead to promotion, but if it caused controversy, he would be removed from office soon.

  After several Russian warships arrived in Shanghai on the 12th, Yuan Shuxun immediately requested that the Russian ships leave within 24 hours according to international conventions. Otherwise, they would be disarmed and detained by the Qing government in accordance with the neutrality treaty.

  But Russian Consul Gavrailov replied on the 13th that, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the neutrality regulations promulgated by the Qing government, he refused to dismantle the military equipment and stated that the Russian warship was not subject to the 24-hour restriction due to its entry for repairs after being damaged, and only agreed to exit within 24 hours after the repair of the Russian ship.

  Regarding the Russian side's proposal to allow warships to be repaired and then exported 24 hours later, Japan strongly opposed it, believing that if China allowed Russian ships to be fully repaired, it would restore their combat effectiveness, which was contrary to the neutral rules allowing belligerent ships to only sail to the nearest port. Japanese Consul-General Kodama Kenjiro, on behalf of the Japanese government, notified Yuan Shuxun and proposed the following solution: either order the Russian warships to leave immediately, or if they were unwilling, not allow them to be repaired, and unload all military equipment, ammunition, and important machinery, anchoring in the harbor until the end of the war. It was stated that if China could not choose one of the above two options, Japan would take appropriate measures to resolve it on its own, and any consequences arising from this would be the responsibility of China. On the 19th, Japan again sent a note to the Shanghai authorities, requesting that the Russian ship repair period be reduced to two days, pointing out that if China allowed the Russians to fully repair their ships, Japan would take appropriate measures to resolve it on its own.

  Under pressure from Japan, the Russian government finally agreed to disarm the guns on the warships and have them detained by China in accordance with the neutrality treaty.

  Throughout East Asia, there are only five shipyards that can accommodate a 13,000-ton warship for repairs. Two of them belong to the Russians, one in Port Arthur and the other in Vladivostok, but both are currently under Japanese blockade. The other two newly built 15,000-ton docks belong to the Yokosuka Shipyard and Kure Naval Arsenal under the Japanese Navy Ministry. Another shipyard with such a dock is the Shanghai East Shipyard founded by Lin Zexu, while the Qingdao Shipyard established by the Germans has not yet completed its planned 15,000-ton floating dock.

  The Japanese are fully supporting the development of heavy industry, and their steel and shipbuilding industries not only enjoy tax-free benefits but also receive government-funded subsidies. Under this national system support, Japan's heavy industry has made great strides, with its annual steel output approaching 200,000 tons, far surpassing that of China.

  Although the Qing government also realized the importance of encouraging industrial and commercial development, it was aimless, lacking in purpose and planning. Lin Xue had no choice but to do his best to narrow the gap between the two countries' development as much as possible.

  What slightly comforted Lin Zong was that at least no one would hinder him from opening mines and running factories, and the imperial court also stipulated that domestically produced steel rails from Hanyang Ironworks should be given priority for railway construction.

  After the Russian warships were disarmed, the Russians made efforts to negotiate under the terms of neutrality, and the Japanese reluctantly agreed that the damaged Russian ships could be repaired in the dock. The war did not know when it would end, and if the heavily damaged Russian ships were not repaired, they would be left at the dock, exposed to wind and rain, and there was still a good chance that they would become unusable.

  The British company Yarrows secured the repair contract for the Russian cruiser Askold and destroyer Gromoboi, but they were unable to accommodate the Lettish Mannerheim as their largest dock could only hold a 6,000-ton vessel.

  Hudong Shipyard successfully secured the repair contract for three Russian ships, including the Lettivia and Diana Huntress, with a total repair cost of 670,000 silver dollars. Of this amount, 40,000 dollars would be paid as a kickback to the Russian consul, Kulikov. After deducting labor and material costs, it was estimated that the shipyard could net around 250,000-260,000 dollars, which would be enough to build another large dock with a capacity of 20,000 tons.

  Lin Chao took over four old passenger-cargo ships from Mai Bian Yanghang while buying the Huishan Dock, as well as three transportation routes in the hands of this foreign firm: Shanghai to Hankou, Shanghai to Tianjin and Shanghai via Xiamen, Hong Kong to Singapore. In comparison, Lin Chao attaches more importance to this international route.

  This inevitably had to compete with other foreign shipping companies, but fortunately, Ma Bian Yanghang had reached a freight agreement with Taikoo and Butterfield & Swire at the beginning. However, due to the small scale of Ma Bian Yanghang, the backwardness of its ships and the inability to update them led to its defeat. After Lin Xiang took over, the profit of the Nanyang route was relatively stable at first, but recent signs showed that the ambitious Japanese Mail Steamship Company would join the competition in the Nanyang shipping industry after the Russo-Japanese War.

  As a precautionary measure and also because the Hudong Shipyard had been underutilized since its production, Lin Zuoming decided to build two new 5,000-ton passenger-cargo ships on his own.

  As China had no experience in building 5,000-ton ships at all, Lin decided to start by introducing foreign technology. The Vulkan shipyard, which provided the dock and facilities for construction, was responsible for designing the two ships, for which Hudong Shipyard would pay a design fee of ￡5000.

  The order for a shipyard facility worth several hundred million silver dollars solved the funding problem to a large extent for the Vulkan Shipbuilding Company, which was in the process of setting up a new factory in Hamburg. The contract from the East was therefore highly valued, and a small group consisting of excellent designers and engineers was immediately dispatched to China.

  Of course, Lin Xuan had to pay for all the expenses during this period.

  A tree takes ten years to grow, but a person takes a hundred years. The prosperity of modern nations can never be separated from education.

  Technology is the primary productive force, which has been recognized as a universal truth in later generations.

  The development of national industry requires science and technology, and it needs a large number of talents trained from new schools.

  Modern education in China began with the establishment of the Fuzhou Shipyard School by Zuo Zongtang and Shen Baozhen in 1866, followed by Li Hongzhang's founding of the Beiyang Naval Academy in 1880. In 1895, he also founded Beiyang University, which was China's first modern university. After the Boxer Rebellion, Empress Dowager Cixi realized that the old imperial examination system could no longer meet the needs of a strong nation and began to implement "new policies", encouraging localities to establish new-style schools to cultivate talent proficient in modern science and technology.

  With the support of farsighted high-ranking officials such as Zhang Zhidong, Liu Kunyi and Yuan Shikai, abolishing the imperial examination system had become an irresistible trend. In January 1904, the Qing government officially promulgated the "Imperially Endorsed Regulations for Schools" drafted by Zhang Baixi, Minister of Education, thus laying the foundation for China's modern educational system.

  In 1903, Zhang Zhidong founded the first normal school in China, Tongzhou Normal School, with Lin Shu's strong support. The school was of secondary normal nature and mainly trained primary school teachers. The curriculum included: Chinese literature, moral education, education, ethics, arithmetic, physics, chemistry, history, geography, museum studies, drawing, handicrafts, physical education, etc., which basically met the needs of high and elementary primary school teaching. Later, according to the needs, simple courses, surveying and mapping courses, sericulture courses, agricultural courses, and civil engineering courses were added. In addition, the school also established workshops for industrial arts, agricultural science, farms, museums, and surveying and mapping departments. These facilities exceeded the scope of a general secondary normal school and had the basic scale of a specialized school.

  Zhang Zhidong attached great importance to normal education. From the perspective of patriotism, he clearly pointed out: "If you want to wipe out the shame (national shame) without emphasizing learning, there is no capital; if you want to seek knowledge without seeking universal education for the people, there is no one to follow; if you want to educate the people universally and do not seek teachers, there is no guide. Therefore, establishing schools must start from primary school, especially from normal school."

  Afterwards, Lin Qi founded the Shanghai Higher Industrial School and at the same time as the opening of the Hudong Shipyard, he set up the Shanghai Merchant Marine College in the northern part of the Yangshupu Shipyard to cultivate engineering talents.

  The army was naturally the foundation of his future career. After Lin Rong took over the Dong Army, he established the Dong Army Military Academy on Chongming Island. Most of these military officers were from the Dong Army and the new Chu Army who had retreated from Taiwan, as well as some students recruited from Jiangnan.

  In this era, various provinces began to establish military academies, but the real military groups that could dominate the future Republic of China's political arena were either graduates from the Beiyang Military Academy or those who studied in Japan. At this time, Dong Xianguang had not yet joined the Beiyang clique, and Lin Xiangqian could only maneuver in the provinces south of the Yangtze River, squeezing out a few places on the list of military students sent to study in Japan from each province's military academy.

  The first batch of 12 excellent students selected from the Dongjun Military Officer Academy were scheduled to go to Japan in 1904, but due to the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, they could only stay in the country. After Dongjun went north to Luanzhou, these students moved to Shanghai Merchant Ship School to study Japanese. During this period, many domestic students who studied in Japan also gathered at the school because Shanghai Merchant Ship School provided free food and accommodation for students studying in Japan.

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