Chapter 12 Encouraging Learning

  Tan Yanqing could naturally see Flinse's thoughts, and he "thickly" told Flinse: "This new type of rifle and its various application technologies have now been patented in Germany, not only in Germany, but also in England and France. There is not only one arms manufacturing company in the world, I attach so much importance to your factory because of my respect for the founder of your factory, I hope you can carefully consider it, I look forward to your final reply. Of course, my expectation is also very limited, considering the long distance between China and Germany, I can wait for a year, this drawing can be taken back to Germany by the two of you, maybe it can help you convince your boss..."

  After hearing this, von Hanneken also had to give up his own efforts. He couldn't understand why the young Chinese in front of him was so confident in the firearms he designed, after all, his opening price wasn't low. Although his opponent Tang Yueliang's opening price seemed even lower - for every new rifle produced, there would be a patent usage fee of three marks, plus assistance in setting up a factory to produce smokeless powder and another factory to produce the new rifles, with certain preferential treatment in production machinery.

  However, after being introduced by Schmidt, Flynns realized that this new rifle would completely replace the 1888 rifle they were producing to become an important land armament for the German military. The buyout price of two million marks he offered seemed not low, but how many German troops there were, one rifle per person, three marks each, wanting to exceed his own two million marks was not suspenseful at all. However, this also had some benefits for the Mauser weapons factory - after all, the Mauser factory's strength was not very strong in this era, and it was also difficult to take out two million marks at once. This was already the highest price authorized by the boss himself.

  Von Flinss was very appreciative of Tan's business acumen, and if he himself had been clear about the value of this rifle, he would not have accepted 2 million marks for it. What's more, this young man was the third son of the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, so his family probably wouldn't be short of 2 million marks. It's easy to understand why there were additional conditions attached. Those two factories must have had political purposes. However, business is business, and Schmidt didn't care about these things. After all, in this era, the concept of "technological monopoly" hadn't appeared yet, and while technological secrecy was important at the current level of scientific and technological development, it hadn't reached the heights of later times. The large warships built by Western powers for China and Japan were a case in point - Western powers hadn't yet imposed a technology blockade like they would in later times.

  Fleiss and Schmitt, who had stayed in Fuzhou for half a month, could only leave reluctantly, but they took away Tan's drawings and promises. Although no agreement was reached, Tan left a deep impression on them. For the Mauser rifle factory, this rifle was undoubtedly a must-have - except for the slightly higher patent usage fee of three marks per gun, the other two additional conditions were not a problem for Mauser, which was exactly what Tan needed most.

  Wanting to do something for one's own country, it seems that now must be done in foreign affairs. In this era, apart from opium, the profits of foreign industries are the most abundant, and the military industry is not possible for individuals to operate, and must rely on a certain minister to do so. At this time, Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong are the best choices, both of whom have the ability to do such things. Tan Yankai's identity is very advantageous in doing this - he himself is the third son of the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, without relying on Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong, and can be done with the support of Tan Zhonglin.

  Tan Yanqing firmly believed that the Mauser arms manufacturing plant would definitely agree to his offer, even if they made concessions again on patent fees, as long as they could get smokeless powder and machinery capable of producing 98-style rifles. Although he had the Fujian-Zhejiang Governor's card, he still did not plan to do it himself, choosing instead to form an alliance with powerful domestic political forces to open up the military industry, which meant making a choice between Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong.

  This is a very difficult choice - Zhang Zhidong and Li Hongzhang are sworn enemies, although he knows that Zhang Zhidong is now vigorously developing modern industries in Hubei, including a steel mill that was eventually transferred to Sheng Xuanhuai due to severe losses after several years. Sheng Xuanhuai and Li Hongzhang have a very close relationship, but what they thought about this transaction, he didn't know, lacking historical knowledge. However, he knew that neither of them is easy to mess with now, offending either one would not be beneficial to himself. Fortunately, the key to firearms lies in technology, Li Hongzhang has complete military production equipment, and Zhang Zhidong is also intensifying the construction of the Hubei Arsenal, which will soon become famous for producing box cannons and 98-style rifles. Of course, they still need to procure new mechanical processing equipment for this purpose.

  It was difficult to choose who to cooperate with, but in the end, Tan Yankai chose Zhang Zhidong - Li Hongzhang's good fortune was about to come to an end. The First Sino-Japanese War destroyed the Beiyang power, which was the foundation of Li Hongzhang's foothold in Qing politics. He himself also became notorious at home for signing the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Tan Yankai did not dare to draw a clear line with Li Hongzhang and confront him directly, but he also could not get too close to him, offending Zhang Zhidong would not be beneficial to his future - after all, Zhang was the Governor-General of Hubei and Hunan, and Tan's hometown was under his jurisdiction!

  Out of a psychology that neither side would be offended, Yan Kui handed over the design drawings of the Boxer gun and the 98-style rifle to Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong respectively. However, the bullets fired by these two firearms were smokeless powder, which they could manufacture guns but had to import bullets from abroad. To thoroughly solve the problem, they still had to wait for a response from the Mauser weapons factory. He also explained this point in his letters to both of them. Although he chose to cooperate with Zhang Zhidong on smokeless powder, Li Hongzhang was free to try to produce it himself if he wanted to, and Li Hongzhang could figure out how to get the production equipment and technology for smokeless powder by himself.

  In 1892, Tan Yankai passed by in a hurry. According to the traditional Chinese way of counting years, Guangxu 18th year still had two months to go before it was over. He knew that China at this time was bullied and oppressed, so he didn't think about going out to take a look. Except for the detoxification center and the governor's guard training camp, he rarely left the governor's mansion. However, in Fuzhou City, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, his hometown of Hunan, and even nationwide, there were not many people who knew Tan Yankai's name. Due to the factor of the detoxification pill, he was able to become famous nationwide at the age of 15, and even Empress Dowager Cixi praised in the palace that Tan Zhonglin had a good son, who was the pillar of the future Qing Dynasty. This was something he never thought of.

  The person most satisfied with Tan Yanqing was his father, Tan Zhonglin. His son's academic progress and praise from teachers made him proud. Although Tan Yanqing handled many affairs, he rarely left the governor's mansion and didn't socialize with outsiders, which suited Tan Zhonglin's intentions. It seemed that everything about his son was developing as expected, even surpassing his imagination, making him believe a worthy successor had finally appeared in their family.

  "The changes of the present day are not only unprecedented in the Spring and Autumn period, but also unmatched since the Qin and Han dynasties to the Yuan and Ming dynasties. ... Scholars within the empire are filled with indignation and clench their fists. Those who seek to save the times speak of new learning, while those who worry about harm cling to old learning, without a unified understanding. The old is abandoned due to its narrowness, while the new is lost in diversity. The old does not know how to adapt, while the new does not know its foundation. Not knowing how to adapt means lacking the tactics to respond to changing circumstances, while not knowing one's foundation means having a shallow and superficial understanding of moral teachings. As such, the old becomes more ill-suited for the new, while the new becomes increasingly dissatisfied with the old. They mutually reject each other, leading to the emergence of heretical theories that confuse the minds of the people. Scholars are in disarray, without a clear direction, and false teachings spread rampantly across the land. ... I have thus outlined the general trends of the times, examined the root causes, and written twelve treatises to inform scholars in Fujian and Zhejiang. Gentlemen throughout the empire who share my aspirations will not be kept in the dark."

  This day was the third day of the twelfth lunar month in the eighteenth year of Guangxu, and Tan Yanqian finally completed his magnum opus "Exhortation to Study" in twelve chapters. Without a doubt, this was his pirated plus original work - pirating Zhang Zhidong's "Exhortation to Study" from history, although it was pirated, but this was also Tan Yanqian's original work - he only knew that the "Exhortation to Study" by Zhang Zhidong in history had a total of twenty-four chapters, with the central idea being "Chinese learning for fundamental principles and Western learning for practical application". Apart from these two aspects being pirated, the content of "Exhortation to Study" was indeed original. This was also due to Tan Yanqian's solid academic foundation before being possessed by Feng Wengu, and after being possessed, his memory and understanding ability increased greatly, with Feng Wengu's insight and knowledge of later historical events, writing these twelve chapters of "Exhortation to Study" did not have too much difficulty.

  "Chinese learning is internal, Western learning is external. Chinese learning governs the body and mind, while Western learning responds to worldly affairs. It's not necessary to exhaustively search for it in classical texts, but it must not contradict the meaning of the classics. If one's heart is like that of a sage, their actions are those of a sage, with filial piety, brotherly love, loyalty, and trustworthiness as virtues, and respecting the ruler and protecting the people as governance, even if they operate steam engines in the morning and ride trains at night, it will not harm being a disciple of the sages. If one is benighted, without ambition, speaking empty words about the origin and application, isolated and unenlightened, doing very little to change, causing the country to be overturned and the sacred teachings to be extinguished, then even if they wear Confucian hats, speak elegant language, annotate commentaries with their hands, and discuss nature and principle with their mouths, all under heaven for ten thousand generations will curse and revile them, considering them guilty of the crimes of Yao, Shun, Confucius, and Mencius."

  "Good! Good! Good!" Tan Zhonglin exclaimed while reading the manuscript in his hand.

  Although Tan Xiang was very busy, Tan Zhonglin never relaxed his academic standards. Every few days, he would personally come to ask about his son's studies, and the number of essays and characters that his son had to hand in was always the same. The only thing that made Tan Zhonglin slightly dissatisfied was that his son's poetry skills had not improved significantly, and the poems he wrote were still the same as before. However, considering his son's age, he let it go. But today, when he came to ask about Tan Xiang's studies as usual, he did not expect his son to hand him a thick manuscript - "On Encouraging Learning". This really shocked him, and after hastily opening and reading it, he highly praised "On Encouraging Learning" and lavishly praised his son. The brothers standing beside him looked somewhat embarrassed, and the elders had gloomy faces.

  Tan Yanxin, as a "junior" member of the family, gradually gained Tan Zhonglin's appreciation with his intelligence and talent. Now, Tan Zhonglin's behavior is increasingly showing that he wants to pass on the position of head of the family to Tan Yanxin. The elders in the family have seen this, but they can't do anything about it. After all, the third son's actions are also under their watchful eyes. Looking at their own sons, these people are really infuriating!

  "The substance is Chinese learning, the function is Western learning; mainly using Chinese learning, supplemented by Western learning... The questions of Chinese and Western learning originally have their own gains and losses. For the sake of the Chinese people, we should take Chinese learning as the body and Western learning as the application... Where Chinese learning is insufficient, use Western learning to supplement it; where Chinese learning has been lost, use Western learning to restore it; using Chinese learning to encompass Western learning, cannot be replaced by Western learning surpassing Chinese learning..."

  In order to make his "Exhortation to Learning" acceptable to the people of this era and those who have insight, Tan Sitong evaluated the Chinese and Western academic systems in a very conservative manner in the text. He clearly stipulated the main and secondary relationships between Chinese and Western learning in general terms, emphasizing that Chinese learning is higher than Western learning, greater than Western learning, and "encompasses" Western learning. Moreover, he specifically pointed out the profound meaning of "the origin of Western learning": the various strengths of Western learning are nothing but what Chinese learning originally had but lost, and today it is only returning to its old home. In Tan Sitong's own view, this dialectical argument vividly reveals the contradictory state of traditional Chinese culture in dealing with the achievements of modern Western civilization - a mix of rejection and absorption, admiration and arrogance. This is precisely the common mentality of those who still hold on to "China-centricism" and advocate for "Chinese substance and Western function".

  First and foremost is "acceptance", which can maximize the "seeking of common ground while reserving differences". Although this body belongs to Tan Yanxian, his thoughts are those of Feng Wengu. Feng Wengu's personality dominates this physical form. In contrast to the approach of "fierce winds and heavy rains", Tan Yanxian prefers the strategy of "gentle breezes and fine rains" or "silently entering the night, nourishing things without a sound". Although some of the words in this manuscript make even Tan Yanxian himself feel somewhat disgusted, it doesn't matter. As long as they can be accepted by the majority of people in this era, especially by the ruling elite of the late Qing dynasty, that is enough for him.

  The Beiyang Fleet, although not a single ship was made by China itself, stood firm in its position as "Asia's first and world's sixth" due to its scale. Tang Shaoyi knew that during this period before the First Sino-Japanese War, not only Japan but also many Western powers looked at the Beiyang Navy with some trepidation towards China, and it was extremely unwise to use violence to solve Chinese problems, both domestically and internationally. Moreover, Tang Shaoyi did not have any "revolutionary ideas" and wanted to do something for this land, in his opinion, the only way was to do some practical work - at that time, another fashionable term was "Yangwu".

  Tan Yanxian wrote "Quan Xue Pian" is actually for the purpose of "Yangwu", which also subtly reveals a hint of "Bian Fa". For the late Qing politics, through Tan Zhonglin's indoctrination, Tan Yanxian now has a very clear understanding of this, although it cannot be distinguished as clearly as in later generations' textbooks between "Yangwu Pai" and "Qingliu Pai", but it can also be done. "Quan Xue Pian" is not only speaking for the Yangwu faction, but more importantly, it provides a theoretical basis for the development of "Yangwu" from Confucian classics, to the maximum extent that everyone can accept this point of view, and enable open-minded officials who are willing to carry out Yangwu to reduce political risks in public opinion.

  "In the 11th year of Xianfeng, Feng Guifen wrote in 'Protest from the Studio of Corrected Omissions': 'China's moral teachings and social norms' as the foundation, 'supplemented by the techniques of other countries' wealth and strength.' This may be the earliest expression of 'Chinese learning for fundamental principles, Western learning for practical application'. Zong'an, your 'Exhortation to Study' explains this concept most clearly, but you can't publish this book at this time!" Tan Zhonglin stroked his beard and said with a smile.

  "Father, why is this?!" Tan Yanqin asked respectfully.

  Tan Zhonglin waved his hand, and the others in the hall were all driven out. Tan Yanke's "elders" and brothers were somewhat unwilling, but facing the old man's authority in this large family, they had to retreat. Tan Zhonglin was extremely clear about what could be publicly discussed and what could only be talked about privately, even with his family members. This was what he had always respected in governing his household and being an official. In Tan Zhonglin's eyes, there was no distinction between "legitimate" and "illegitimate" among Tan Yanke's brothers; each son received the same education, and he gave them all the same opportunities to hone their skills. Whether they could do well depended on their individual abilities. Tan Yanke stood out among his brothers in handling political affairs, far surpassing his siblings. This was due to his talent, without any favoritism.

  Tan Zhonglin has been through ups and downs in his official career for decades. Although his path to success seems very smooth to ordinary people, whether they admire or envy him, it is all due to his own abilities. Having been an official for decades, he knows better than anyone the cruelty of the officialdom. If his son has talent, he can cultivate and promote him, but if he doesn't have enough talent, there's nothing to say, and he can only stay at home as a rich man. Not even donating to become an official is possible, otherwise, the officialdom is treacherous, and it's hard to avoid standing on the wrong side and bringing disaster to the whole family together.

  Perhaps Tan Zhonglin's idea is extremely extreme, but from being born into a poor old intellectual family to becoming a high-ranking official, the hardships along the way told him that only the most excellent people can take the path of being an official! Tan Zhonglin has come to believe that his mission is already accomplished, and what remains is to defend his achievements. As for opening up the future, it's up to his descendants to do so. He himself is also a master of knowing when to advance and retreat, and as a Confucian scholar, he doesn't feel compelled or have any lingering attachments.