Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

It was indeed a big blow to these officials. The Qing Dynasty originally gave relatively little salaries to court officials, but there was still a folk saying that "three years to clear the magistrate, one hundred thousand snowflakes and silver", which can be seen in the officials in other places. corruption.If there is no other corresponding policy introduced, if you withdraw and change the currency system rashly, you really don't know what troubles will happen, so Guan Xuqing decided to give civil servants all over the country a salary increase while withdrawing from the monetary policy!Lijin is directly cancelled.

Guan Xuqing used a method that seemed very simple and clear. The Bank of Great Qing withdrew banknotes of ten silver dollars, twenty silver dollars, fifty silver dollars, one hundred silver dollars, five hundred silver dollars, and one thousand silver dollars.

Common people can use silver to exchange banknotes at the Bank of Great Qing in various places, and the conversion ratio is based on one tael of silver for ten silver dollars.The copper plates previously circulated on the market are also no longer usable, and are replaced by newly minted one-yuan coins.

Because the common people had a lot of broken silver when they went to the Bank of Great Qing to exchange banknotes, Guan Xuqing made one-yuan coins according to the ratio of one cent of silver and nine cents of lead.

With the UK's 1000 million pounds as foreign exchange reserves, the currency reform has also been quite successful.With the new currency system, a single currency circulation market can be formed in the country. It is no longer necessary to use cents in one province and half coins in another province as before.A unified currency has a great effect on business development, and can better integrate the domestic market, and the country has the right to issue currency, and it has a stronger ability to regulate the national economy.

The country has introduced banknotes, and the people pay taxes with banknotes, so there is no need to charge more money under the pretext of "fire consumption".After the introduction of this policy, it aroused the sympathy of the people across the country, and there were runs on the Bank of Qing Dynasty in all provinces.Overnight, mountains of silver were piled up in the banks of the provinces, and the banknotes printed were all the rage all over the country.

However, the communication channels at that time were too single, except for the notices at the gate of the yamen, and various newspapers.There is no radio, let alone television, and many rural areas do not know such things as issuing banknotes, and some still use silver.Or some people don't know that one tael of silver can be exchanged for ten silver dollar banknotes, and their fellow villagers exchange ten taels of silver for ten silver dollars.

There were some troubles in some places, but overall, this cargo reform has achieved certain results.The common people have also seen that the government is doing practical things for them, and sometimes the common people are easily satisfied.

At that time, as long as we had enough food and warm clothes, there were no other requirements.

But in Guan Xuqing's view, this is far from enough.What he needs may be... even... the whole world! !

In the political and economic reform of any country, the inherent social ideology is always the most difficult to change, and it is also the root cause of obstructing reform measures.

In short, it is people's will that determines the success or failure of reform.Before the Meiji Restoration in Japan, Yoshida Shoin, Nagai Masaku, Takasugi Shinsaku and others had made ideological preparations for the Japanese people for more than ten years. Although Japan's Tokugawa shogunate was also civilized by adopting the policy of "closing the country", they also exceptionally advocated the Western knowledge brought in by the Dutch. The Japanese gentry class used Dutch to study modern European astronomy, geography, medicine, etc. It is no wonder that the Meiji Restoration came naturally.

Looking back at the Reform Movement of [-] in Chinese history, it was only the small group of people at the top who really had a sense of reform, and they did not yet have a dominant position, and the people were still ignorant, so it was no wonder that it was like a farce. end.

The same was true for the later Xin Revolution. From Lu Xun's "The True Story of Ah Q" and other literature, it is not difficult to see that this was another revolution of the upper class, so it failed to change China.

In fact, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Sun Yat-sen and others all knew that social change must be based on ideas. The publication of books such as Yinghuan Zhilue is not inspiring.

But they miscalculated their own difficulties. From some historical materials handed down from later generations, it can be seen that whether it was Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, or Sun Yat-sen, they all had traces of learning from the Japanese, and most of the reform measures were compared with Japan. How big is Japan and how big is China? Japan may only be able to wake up with the help of more than ten years of teaching by people of insight, but it may take at least a hundred years for China to turn into spring wind and rain, not to mention that China is at the peak of the feudal system. The country, China's feudal education is also the most complete and thorough in the world.

This makes it even more difficult to promote national awakening through cultural thoughts.Many people in later generations found sadly that it is almost impossible to set off an enlightenment movement in China like that before the French Revolution.

There are too many people in China, so it is even more difficult to be united. It is difficult to have one thing that everyone pays attention to. The final conclusion is that the only way to make the Chinese people consciously awaken is to rely on war to force them to face The situation of life and death.If there were no decades of continuous wars such as the Northern Expedition, the Agrarian Revolution, the Eight-Year War of Resistance, and the War of Liberation, the people's consciousness would not have been as high as when New China was founded.

This is the so-called inferiority of this nation.

However, this also reflects one of the advantages of this nation, that is, its identification with the country. This nation whose cultural thought has never been broken for thousands of years has never appeared.The identity of the country is beyond the imagination of any foreigner.

In Western countries, many outstanding talents are employed by other countries, and sometimes even make enemies of their own country, which is forgivable in their eyes.They are even praised for their professional integrity, but such a thing would never happen in China. "Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world" is perhaps the best portrayal of this nation.

The policy adopted by Guan Xuqing is slightly different from the conclusion.After all, the cost of conducting such a subversive war is too high.Guan Xuqing only needs the people to feel the sense of crisis.The real awakening is still accomplished by the education promoted by the state machine.

Change to any other feudal emperor.No one is as keen on the awakening of the people as Guan Xuqing is.They always put the consolidation of their own rule first, and "the superior is wise and the inferior is stupid" is the classic they believe in.

It is precisely because Guan Xuqing's special experience cannot be replicated.Therefore, his reforms cannot be replicated. Even if history repeats itself, without the appearance of such a person, China would not be able to miraculously rise.

Compete in East Asia Chapter 100 Five-Year Plan

In December of the 12th year of Guangxu, at the request of Guan Xuqing, the cabinet headed by Prince Gong handed over the "Five Years of Zou Yizheng for Overall Planning". Appeared systematically, for the first time.Therefore, historians of later generations also regarded this memorial involving politics, economy, military affairs, culture and other fields as the initial document of "Guangxu Reform", although it can only be counted as a five-year plan.From this year onwards, China officially entered the "Guangxu New Deal" period.

Therefore, in the first five-year plan, in addition to the implementation of six-year compulsory education, like the 13th year of Guangxu next year, the provinces that accept the six-year compulsory education will expand to nine provinces, namely: Vietnam, Vietnam, Myanmar, Taiwan, Henan, Shanxi, In Shaanxi, Jilin and Heilongjiang, there is also a reduction in the adult illiteracy rate.This Guan Xuqing intends to implement it close to the graduates of Tsinghua University in a few years, and take the opportunity to expand the mass base and influence of Tsinghua University.

Guan Xuqing's plan is to increase the literacy rate to 30% within five years and complete the popularization of basic compulsory education in all provinces of the country.For this reason, he even insisted on increasing the proportion of education funds in the national fiscal expenditure to more than 20%, and he insisted no matter what happens.Education expenditures cannot fall below this ratio.

The local provincial, government, and county finances must also strictly follow this ratio, and the Ministry of Officials will include the promotion of education in the scope of evaluation of officials.Education is the foundation.I believe that this will never become obsolete no matter which dynasty, but after batch after batch of college students from Tsinghua University graduated, they were planted like spring seeds in various provinces, hoping that they would bloom everywhere in the future.Only with the improvement of the national quality can the country have inexhaustible talents.

In terms of increasing investment in education, Guan Xuqing also thought of some methods for later generations.Such as the establishment of non-compulsory education cost sharing mechanism and loan mechanism; restructuring of tax categories, collection of education tax; issuance of educational lottery; development of various types of private schools and private schools.What Guan Xuqing intends to adopt is the first and fourth.Of course, this is not to say that the second and third measures are bad.

The collection of education taxes has long existed in the West. For example, 28 states in the United States have set up education taxes with 12 types of taxes, and several sources for many.This is not only conducive to the full collection of education fees, but also conducive to the steady growth of education funds year by year.But in China.Under the influence of thousands of years of private ownership culture, the common people do not have a high understanding of taxation. In their view, a benevolent king is one who pays lightly and pays lightly.

Those who impose heavy taxes are tyrants, and it will not take a day or two to change the misunderstanding of tax land.In China, it is necessary to maintain national cohesion.

The ruler's personal prestige is a very important thing, especially when the people have begun to wake up, Guan Xuqing does not intend to destroy the government's image that has finally been re-established for the sake of education taxes.

In the same way, the issuance of educational lottery tickets may only be a reflection in the mirror and a moon in the water for the time being.Although under the background of insufficient investment in education and great financial pressure in the whole country, issuing educational lottery is a feasible investment channel.

像后世英国每周彩票售额已达1亿英磅，美国仅德克萨斯州的年彩票销售就达到32亿美元。美国有13个州部分或全部把彩票收入投入到教育中。加利弗尼亚1美元的彩票就有34分用于教育。发行专门地教育彩票。能更好地吸收利用社会闲散资金。发展教育事业。是远比那种希望工程要好的多。

Therefore, Guan Xuqing can only pin his hope of expanding education investment on the other two measures. Fortunately, these two measures are very suitable for China's national conditions.

The establishment of a non-compulsory education cost-sharing mechanism and a loan mechanism means that the state puts the main investment in compulsory education, and non-compulsory education, under the condition that the state bears a certain amount of training costs, follows the principle of "who benefits, who bears" and cost sharing. charge in principle.

Considering the high cost of higher education, ensuring the principle of equal educational opportunities and the actual affordability of the common people, Guan Xuqing finally set the tuition and miscellaneous fees of universities within the range of 5% to 65% of the total cost of training a student.

For those with special difficulties, the state has established a diversified funding system such as student loans and scholarships to ensure that talented but poor students can successfully complete their studies.This is exactly the international practice.For example, the United States implements "tuition fee discounts" to provide educational assistance to those students who cannot afford full educational expenses.

Since 1989, Australia has officially implemented the "Higher Education Contribution Program" student funding policy and Australian study grants.

In addition to increasing investment in education, education planning is also the top priority of this five-year plan.

First, there is the issue of determining the allocation of educational funds.Generally speaking, changes in the allocation of international education funds are in line with changes in economic and educational development.Countries with low levels of economic and educational development focus on compulsory education (generally referring to primary education and the junior high school stage of secondary education).

With the development of the economy, the development of secondary and higher education is gradually shifted, and the allocation of education funds is also adjusted accordingly.Zeng Manchao pointed out in "Research on Education Costs in Developing Countries": "Public funds for primary education in developing countries account for half of the total funds, and secondary education accounts for 13 and 15. The distribution of public education funds in this way is to stabilize national investment and mainly use it for popularization. Compulsory education, annual compulsory education accounts for 59% of the total funding, and private schools are opened. Private financial resources are gathered to realize it. This is not without reference for China, which is short of all education funds and pursues a "catch-up strategy".

Since taking office, Guan Xuqing's investment in education has mainly focused on building universities.This kind of "elite education" is inseparable from Guan Xuqing's desire to quickly gather a group of useful talents to carry out socio-economic and political reforms.

However, Yung Wing, who was reused by Guan Xuqing, was very disapproving of such an education policy. In his opinion, this may quickly transform some educated people into new talents, but without basic education, it is tantamount to cutting off the source of these talents. .This is tantamount to counteracting the growth of seedlings, and in the end it will not be worth the candle.

Therefore, under his auspices, the education plan put forward by the Ministry of Rites listed the six-year compulsory education as the "top priority" of education funding.

Educational funds should be tilted toward compulsory education.Further strengthen the government's responsibility and behavior in the burden of compulsory education funding.The Ministry of Household Finance should increase support for compulsory education in rural areas.It is necessary to increase the proportion of compulsory education in the total education expenditure, but also to increase the average level of funding for students.

Finally, this plan stipulates that primary education accounts for about 70% of the total education funding, and funding for non-compulsory education.Gradually establish a reasonable sharing mechanism for the government, society, families and individuals.Higher education expands the sharing of education costs by students and parents, and increases the proportion of self-financing in colleges and universities.

If the first item comes from Guan Xuqing's original wish to attach importance to education, and cabinet officials who are proficient in Confucianism can accept it, the second item is undoubtedly military planning.

Since the seven years of Guangxu, military investment has accounted for more than 50% of the fiscal revenue of the Qing Dynasty. This is rare in any country in the world. this ratio.There is also the current precarious international situation.

The cabinet ministers under Guan Xuqing have different personalities and morals, and selfishness is not ruled out, but in terms of ability, they can be said to be a temporary choice, especially when dealing with foreign powers.All experienced.

Now Britain, France, and Russia have been completely offended, although they have taken advantage of it in the short term.But it's really hard to say what will happen in the future. Germany and the United States can be relied on, an army that is invincible in the world.However, it is trapped by the heroes of Europe, and it is still unable to extend its tentacles to the distant Far East, while the other has the world's number one industrial strength, but has no matching military strength.Also can't help at critical times.So only when you are strong, you can be proud of the world.

Therefore, the military planning can be said to be the most detailed in this memorial.

The first is to add another 100 million reserve soldiers in addition to retaining the current 100 million regular professional soldiers.Domestic males aged 18 to 20 will serve in the military for a period of two years.Those who are particularly outstanding can turn into professional soldiers. This reserve army is responsible for the second-line defense of most cities in the inland.For a country as deep as the Qing Dynasty, it should be relatively stable if there are two lines of defense.

For this reason, the number of military academies will be increased to five on the basis of the original, namely Yunnan Armed Forces Academy, Northwest Military University, Whampoa Military Academy, Baoding Non-commissioned Officer Academy and Jingshi Army Academy.

Among them, the Jingshi Army Academy will move to Fengtian, Shangjing because it is not convenient for military training near the capital (mainly artillery training often frightens the officials in the city and arouses heated discussions).As for the naval academies, one will also be added. In addition to the original Fujian Shipbuilding Academy and the Jiangnan Naval Academy in Wusong, Tianjin Beiyang Naval Academy will be added.In addition, the plan also expects to imitate the West and formulate the first "Military Service Law" during this period to formally determine the compulsory military service system.

In addition to the improvement of the military system, the construction of national defense facilities is also one of the important contents of this plan.

In terms of coastal defense, the Beiyang Fleet of the Qingshui Division will focus on the Bohai Strait. The two naval bases of Yantai in Weihai and Dalian in Lushun will be expanded. The fort in Lushun alone is expected to add more than 200 Krupp coastal defense guns.

After the expansion, the two bases will become the leading fortresses in Asia and even the world.In this way, two fists were formed to protect the heart, before these two fists were defeated.No fleet dares to go deep into the Bohai Sea to attack the heart of Beijing.

In fact, as long as the army defending the forts does not make the stupid mistake of fleeing without fighting like the Sino-Japanese War, or is isolated and helpless like the Russian army, these two fortresses are almost invincible.In addition, the Qingshui Division also got the Zhenhai Fort, which originally belonged to the Nanyang Navy, and it will become the training base for the Qingshui Division's ocean operations.