As the Northeast gradually became rich, Zhang Hanqing began to come up with a plan that seemed ambitious: education.

His plan was to establish a relatively complete education system: the government would introduce five-year compulsory education in all three eastern provinces, and each township would need to have at least one primary school universal. At the same time, due to the limitation of economic capacity, the school hours of large, middle and ordinary schools have been shortened, and vocational skills schools have been widely set up to train relevant vocational and skilled personnel; It will focus on preparing for the construction of more than 10 colleges and universities such as Northeastern University, Jilin University and Harbin Institute of Technology, and expand the scale of Northeast Normal University. In order to illustrate the sustainability and difficulty of talent training, Zhang Hanqing also put forward a slogan "Ten years of trees, a hundred years of people", which has become a famous saying in the history of education in the 20th century.

For the people of Fengtian, who were already accustomed to his endless new ideas, this was nothing more than another unexpected move by the young marshal. However, for the high-level officials of the Feng department, especially the high-ranking members of the army, it was like a whirlwind.

This is because if there is a lot of investment in education, the intensity of the military will inevitably be dwarfed. Many commanders and generals thought that it would be better to take advantage of this opportunity to raise more troops, so that they could freely make their voices heard. After all, education is a long-term process, and the results are slow, and it is far less meaningful than using these funds to buy guns and guns.

They can't blame their poor vision, but they are limited by their thinking, they don't believe in the so-called "power of knowledge" at all, and they don't believe that the incomprehensible mathematics, physics and chemistry can be transformed into the guns and cannons they desperately need, or even more powerful than guns. They believe that if you have an army, you have everything.

Zhang Jinghui said to Zhang Zuolin: "I don't approve of the idea of the young marshal. Dashuai is engaged in education, and he can't say that it's wrong, but it's not right now. Many of our troops don't even have decent artillery, so how can they fight again! My opinion is that universities should do something if they want to do it, after all, the armament can be used. But what kind of compulsory education is forgotten, right? How can there be a reason that you don't need money to go to school! ”

But Zhang Hanqing firmly said no.

I know from the history textbooks of my previous life that from now until the end of the 20s, China should have the most great opportunity for development. During this period, the whole world was generally war-weary, and the atmosphere of international peace was extremely favorable to China. The strength of a small division does not have a major impact on the strength of the Feng department, but investing in education can create a steady stream of stamina for the great development of Northeast China. And through his efforts, the current Feng system is much stronger than in the official history.

Since the beginning of modern history, there has not been a modern industrial power that has not made its fortune through education. The literary revolution in Europe put the people of other countries on the fast track of development, and Japan, which was just a corner away, became the first-class country in Asia because of the universal compulsory education.

Given China's current national conditions, it is already very difficult for ordinary people to use limited money to let their children go to school. Reading has always been the preserve of the gentry in ancient times, and a limited number of nobles from poor families cannot improve the quality of all the people as a whole.

Zhang Hanqing is convinced that knowledge changes fate, and also agrees with the assertion that science and technology are the primary productive forces as stated by Taizong in later generations. If we want to rejuvenate the country with science and technology, it is very difficult for a large number of citizens who have received basic education to occupy a place in this world of the jungle. The reason why China was able to become a manufacturing power in later generations was the contribution of generations of well-educated (at least high school students) who supported the sky of the Chinese dream.

After the crossing, Zhang Hanqing boldly recruited student troops in the guard brigades (divisions) and trained a large number of student officers, which greatly changed the atmosphere of the army. Different from the temptation, deception, and forced conscription of other armies to "serve as soldiers and eat the emperor's food", the student officers of the Guards Division and the First Division all took the initiative to join for the sake of the ideal of a strong China, and this motive determined their degree of hardship, ideals, and loyalty in the army, which were slowly but surely transformed into combat effectiveness. After being tested in actual combat against bandits, they handed in a perfect answer sheet, and even Zhang Zuolin was surprised.

And the role of those "cultural" people recruited by Zhang Hanqing is no less than that brought to him by the army. Wang Yongjiang, Liu Shangqing, Mo Dehui, Wang Shuhan, Wu Jiaxiang, Zhang Huilin, Zhu Guangmu, Han Shuxiu... They were all hand-picked by Zhang Hanqing or personally excavated; Yang Wenkai, Yu Aozhou, Xue Guangsen... They are all the pillars of his foothold in the northeast to counter the situation in Kannai.

So when Zhang Hanqing talked to him about the need to build universities and technical colleges in order to reserve a large number of talents for the development of Northeast China, the father and son became together. In fact, when it comes to the role of knowledge, the old man Zhang Zuolin's understanding is not much more than Zhang Hanqing's, but more radical.

Two years ago, Zhang Zuolin, who was only the commander of the 27th Division in Fengtian City, wrote to the then president Yuan Shikai, pointing out the various shortcomings of Fengtian education, and proposing measures to rectify the school, suggesting that the management of the school should be strengthened. At that time, the central government's control over the army was extremely good, and although he had a heavy army, it had nothing to do with education in any case.

Based on the opinions of several strategists, Zhang Zuolin first pointed out in the article that there are two major drawbacks in running schools in Fengtian: first, the cost is too much, and the gains outweigh the losses; The second is that professors are not able to be others, they only sit on a false reputation, and lack practical talents. In addition, he mentioned that the emphasis on higher primary schools and the neglect of primary schools make normal graduates reluctant to teach in junior primary schools. There is a lack of good teachers in junior primary schools, and graduates are unable to go on to higher education.

Zhang Zuolin's statement has aroused great attention from the Ministry of Education, the State Council, and even the president, who affirmed that all the points referred to in the article are the crux of the problem, and the president ordered the State Council to transfer the article to the Ministry of Education for verification.

Regarding Article 1, the Ministry of Education replied that "on February 19 of this year, it has ordered all provinces to consider their local financial resources, observe the living conditions of the people, and make every effort to be auster, so as to put an end to hypocrisy." Regarding the second article, the Ministry of Education commented: "Now the primary school must be rectified, and it is urgent to do so." The method of rectification should start with the efforts to reduce expenses and strictly determine the qualifications of teachers and administrators. As a result, incompetent teachers and administrators can be eliminated, and there is hope for clarification in the future of education. On April 9, 1915, the Ministry of Education instructed the provincial civil governors to do the same. The educational circles rejoiced when they heard this, but they did not know that this instruction originated from the initiative of a warrior in the northeast who was known as a "bandit".

The level of education outside the Kansai is equally worse than that in the Kannai, which is due to the times. Think about the Manchu Qing Dynasty was still in a state of stubbornness before entering the customs, and the art of war of its chieftain Huang Taiji and others only drew knowledge from the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", and the next two hundred years were basically wasted, while the customs had five thousand years of glory.

Until the beginning of immigration, the education level of the Northeast was far inferior to that of Kannai, this is because the people who can move over are basically people who are too poor to survive to "break through the Kanto", and the real family of poetry and books will not live to this point. The lack of congenital foundation makes the road of education outside the customs even more bumpy.

The more this is the case, the more determined Lao Zhang is to put the money on the blade. He dropped out of school after only three months of schooling as a child, because he had to go home to collect firewood and help his mother with cooking and chores. He is coarse in writing and ink, and it is inevitable that he will make mistakes and say the wrong things. Sometimes, however, these mistakes, while making jokes, often become a story that will last forever.

It is said that in the past, there was a wooden sign in front of the communication room of the Marshal's Mansion, and when he entered it, he often only looked at the military appearance and discipline of the guards, and did not pay much attention to other places. One day, for some reason, he suddenly saw this sign, frowned, and felt very unhappy. After getting out of the car, he said to the adjutant in a serious tone: "Even if we win and the Northeast is reunified, we can't be proud, you see that on the door of my marshal's mansion, only the plaque of 'governing the country and protecting the people' is hung, and I am not hung with the three words Zhang Zuolin." Then, he turned around, pointed to the communication room in front of him, and continued: "Look at our brother again, a small communication room, all have his Fu Lianbao's name, what kind of system is it?" The adjutant looked at it and almost laughed out loud, it turned out that the chief regarded the communication room as Fu Lianbao and a personal name!

made a joke, Zhang Zuolin didn't think it was wrong. However, he thought that if the officers and soldiers on the battlefield made these famous names and conveyed the mistakes of military orders, it would be a matter of victory or defeat. Therefore, on the education of Zhang Xueliang and others, he has always given priority treatment, not only let Zhang Xueliang learn fashionable English, recruited many tutors to cultivate his multi-faceted talents, but also arranged for Fengtian Confucian Jin Xihou to be his full-time teacher.

In the Republic of China, the old-style education of private schools has been replaced by new-style schools, but Fengtian lacks teachers who can teach and educate people. What to do? So in January 1917, Zhang Zuolin sent a personal telegram to the Ministry of Education, requesting the establishment of a higher normal school to train teachers. However, the Ministry of Education replied that it was "related to the national school plan" and did not approve it. At that time, the national strength was limited, and the state set up a number of national normal schools in various provinces, and Mukden was not included in the list at all.

Undeterred, Zhang Zuolin sent a message to the Minister of Education in March, further emphasizing the need to establish a higher normal school in Mukden Province. As a result of Zhang Zuolin's active efforts, the Ministry of Education tentatively agreed to set up the last planned National Higher Normal School in Mukden.

This is the only normal university hall in Northeast China at that time, that is, the later Liaoning Normal University, which is a historical fact.

After Zhang Zuolin became the governor, he did not forget his original intention, and at the beginning of his tenure, he gave instructions on an education article: "Academic affairs are the most important place to cultivate talents and the foundation of revitalizing the country." Mukden is in a special position, and if we don't start with the rectification of education, there is no hope. Seeing that the governor attached so much importance to education, the Mukden Provincial Council, which had been suspended for more than two years, immediately reconvened to study the issue of education in Mukden.

The shortage of education funds has always been the main factor restricting the education exhibition in various provinces. In this regard, Zhang Zuolin realized that it is necessary to grasp the issue of education funding as the most important matter. To this end, on October 28, 1916, he instructed the governors of each province to reaffirm the provincial decree and severely reprimanded the governors of each prefecture to increase their educational expenditures, requiring each prefecture to account for 40% of the total annual education expenditures of the prefectures, and making this standard one of the contents of the evaluation of the performance of the governors of each prefecture. Two years later, in December, he reiterated this ratio, saying that "in the future, if the governors of each prefecture still do not handle it, they will be abolished and punished in accordance with the regulations on the establishment of local schools."

In fact, he is far more than the only one who understands people. Xie Yinchang, a celebrity in Fengtian's education circles, strongly agreed with Zhang Hanqing's request. He has been engaged in education in Feng for many years, won the trust of Zhang Zuolin, and was appointed as the first director of education in Feng Province. He has said many times: "In order to make the Northeast prosperous and strong and free from foreign aggression, it is imperative to set up universities to train talents in all fields." Now that the financial situation has improved slightly, he hastened to echo.

In order to cultivate more talents, the training of normal students is the top priority. On December 1, 1918, the Fengtian State Higher Normal School was officially established. At the opening ceremony, Shi Jichang, director of the Fengtian Political Affairs Department, went to read out Zhang Zuolin's congratulatory speech.

To this day, students in teacher training colleges are exempt from tuition fees and receive monthly subsidies. However, few people know that as early as the time of Zhang Zuolin, Fengtian Normal School was exempted from tuition fees, and food expenses were also paid, all of which were paid by the Fengtian Provincial Government. It is often said that "there is no such thing as a free lunch", but the Fengtian Normal School not only provides three free meals, but also the standard is not low. For example, in Fengtian Provincial No. 1 Normal School, students eat rice porridge and pickles for breakfast; At noon, rice, four dishes and one soup, two meat and two vegetables; Dinner is four dishes and one soup, all of which are vegetarian dishes. On Saturdays, lunch will improve the meal, including altar meat, mushu meat, roasted yellow croaker, stewed sea cucumber, etc. Others, such as Fengtian Higher Normal School, also have a very rich meal.

Most of the generals of the Feng army were born and died with Zhang Zuolin, it is easy to fight, but it is difficult to study, where do they know Zhang Zuolin's ambition? There is a way to govern the country with martial arts, and in Zhang Zuolin's view, there are few capable Wenchen under his hands, and he is just a grass king in his life.

As a big warlord who relies on force to fight the world, it is really impressive to be able to allocate a large amount of money from the money spent on the purchase of guns and artillery to run education. Although Zhang Hanqing contributed the most, no matter what, Zhang Zuolin still understands the relationship between education and the national economy and people's livelihood, which is one of the reasons why Feng Jun can become stronger and stronger under his leadership.

In fact, the reason why Zhang Hanqing put forward this idea still has an economic basis. Relying on the sale of surplus grain and the integration of various funds, the Feng Department completed the primitive industrial accumulation. In addition, the economic foundation of the Northeast is indeed the best in the country, and the land is vast and rich in mineral deposits.

Moreover, Zhang Hanqing knows very well that from now to a long time in the future, the general trend of the whole world is to transform towards peace. As World War I drew to a close, the European and American powers, which had recovered from their strength, re-intensified their attention to China, posing considerable challenges to Japan's ambition to monopolize China. This is the reason why he dared to invest a lot of money in industrialization and slow output education, although there were also bullying and insults, but it bought him time, didn't it?

The most important thing to lack now is time. Ancient China is gradually rejuvenated in the Northeast, and it is subtle but real. At the beginning of 1919, the government had a surplus of 150 million (silver) dollars, achieving an unprecedentedly good year.