The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Zhang Yinghao stood up and said, "Comrades, today we will first toast to Mr. Yan Fu. Mr. Yan Fu has traveled thousands of miles to come to our rebel lair, completely unconcerned about personal reputation, with only the desire to save the country and the people in his heart. I admire him very much. I wish Mr. Yan Fu good luck in his work and that our university will reopen soon. Cheers."

"Done."

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Yan."

River…""

"This second cup is for the comrades of the committee that organized the university. Without their efforts, there would be no Sichuan University today. Thank you for your hard work. Cheers!"

"You're welcome, Chairman."

"This is what we should do."

"Comrades, I have a request. Don't drink too much, and please don't get drunk. This toast is to you, comrades. We have all worked together in revolution over the past few years, and we have worked hard. Although this is what everyone should do, I want to thank you all here. Come, let's drink this toast and hope that we can overthrow the Qing Dynasty as soon as possible and build a prosperous and strong new China. Cheers."

"Okay, cheers."

"Cheers to the new China."

After three drinks, Zhang Yinghao sat down to continue chatting with Yan Fu. There was wine and meat. Before the drinks, everyone was a little reserved due to Yan Fu's presence, but after three drinks, the atmosphere became completely lively, and the unfamiliarity of the conversation faded. Some of the comrades who could hold their liquor even spoke louder, and the unfamiliarity was gone.

The atmosphere perked up as soon as they drank the wine. Zhang Yinghao wasn't much of a drinker; a little intoxication was the best. That feeling was incredibly comfortable, like a detached, ethereal, immortal being. However, many of the comrades present didn't share that sentiment. Their work was tough, and the chance to drink openly wasn't often available. Getting drunk was a way to unwind.

In his previous life, Zhang Yinghao disliked drinking too much at dinner parties when he was in college. It was always necessary for someone like him, who was more restrained, to clean up the mess, which was a terrible feeling. He often listened to the drunkards' nonsense, which was boring.

"Chairman Zhang doesn't seem to like drinking," Yan Fu said.

"Whether I drink or not depends entirely on the needs of my work. Personally, I never drink unless necessary. A little bit is fine. If necessary, I can get drunk, but I just like the feeling of being slightly tipsy."

"Oh, that's true."

As everyone ate and drank, Zhang Yinghao felt like he was back in a food stall in the future.

At this time, a comrade asked: "Chairman, how long do you think the Russo-Japanese War will last?"

Hearing this question, everyone stopped and looked at Zhang Yinghao. Zhang Yinghao knew that the meal would not be quiet, so he smiled and said, "According to intelligence, Japan has suffered over 60,000 casualties and has not yet captured Port Arthur. The further north they go, the more difficult it becomes for Japan, and Tsarist Russia is not having an easy time either. Japan's mobilization capacity has almost reached its limit, but Tsarist Russia will not give up easily. They will definitely have several more major battles. I have said before that the Western powers will not allow Japan to collapse, and Russia's main strength is in Europe. Therefore, Japan is currently borrowing money to fight the war. If they can no longer fight, it will depend on how the United States and Britain mediate."

"Does the Chairman mean that the Russo-Japanese War will end soon?"

"Not so fast. It depends on how the war develops. Simply taking Port Arthur is useless to Japan. They must secure a sufficient buffer zone, so they must at least fight their way through Shenyang and reach Tieling. Otherwise, Japan's war will be essentially in vain. However, since neither country is fighting on their home turf, they will inevitably resort to mediation. Once they sit down at the negotiating table, if the mediation goes well, a ceasefire could be reached the next day. If the talks fail, it could drag on for several more months. In short, this war cannot last for several years."

"Chairman, what kind of treaty do you think they will sign?"

Zhang Yinghao sneered and said, "They're fighting for the interests of our country's Northeast region, so it must be a treaty to divide the Northeast. What else can we do?"

"Chairman, who will be the winner?"

"If we follow common sense, in the short term there will be no winners. In the medium term, Japan and Tsarist Russia will both be winners. In the long term, the winner will undoubtedly be China."

Yan Fu interrupted and said, "Chairman Zhang, please tell me in detail how the Qing Dynasty became the winner."

"Mr. Yan, the winner I'm talking about is China, not the Qing Dynasty. The real loser in this war is the Qing Dynasty. I say there are no winners in the short term because both Japan and Russia have been depleted through this war. Like two strong men exhausted and drained of energy and in debt, they will soon be unable to fight. Needless to say, the Qing Dynasty was the undisputed loser.

In the medium term, why is it Japan and Russia? It is because the Japanese can obtain huge benefits through the Northeast, replenish the consumption of the war, and eventually become stronger and stronger. Although the Russian Empire lost a section of railway and South Manchuria, the Russian Empire and Japan divided

After the interests were settled and the boundaries were drawn, the conflict between Japan and Russia had a long period of peaceful development, and Tsarist Russia was able to continue to intensify in North Manchuria.

The massive plundering of resources was all for the benefit of China. Tsarist Russia did not lose anything, only some people died.

As for the fact that China will benefit in the long run, it is because the struggle between Japan and Russia in the three northeastern provinces has prevented them from annexing the entire three northeastern provinces alone. As long as China becomes stronger, these lands will still belong to China. However, if Japan or Russia

If one side wins completely, then the three northeastern provinces will be occupied, and there is a possibility of losing the northeastern territory. Of course, this is just common sense, but in the current

China, our Progressive Party and the People's Liberation Army are the biggest variables. As long as we manage well, we will be the ultimate winner. But first, we must be invincible, and then wait for the enemy to be defeated. Therefore, our most important task is to desperately develop industry and strengthen ourselves. Then, naturally, we will have the final say on our territory.

"Chairman, it seems that we can no longer rely on the Qing court in this regard."

Zhang Yinghao listened and said with a smile, "The Qing Dynasty is reliable, but an old sow can climb a tree. We should not place any hope in the Qing Dynasty, or we will be the only ones hurt. China itself is a world, and we can only rely on ourselves from beginning to end."

"Chairman, now that Japan and Russo-Japanese war has begun, our northern and western regions can still relax a bit. If Japan and Russo-Japanese ceasefire, then the pressure on our national defense in the north and west will increase."

Zhang Yinghao glanced at the comrade who had spoken and said, "You're right. We should liberate Mongolia and Xinjiang as soon as possible. There are ongoing conflicts on the Yunnan-Myanmar border, and another on the Tibet-India border. The French are also taking advantage of the situation to provoke us. Didn't we all predict this situation? Our army must be strengthened to the point where it can challenge the entire world. Therefore, from now on, we must be prepared to face enemies on all sides! I wonder if you comrades are mentally prepared for this?"

"Chairman, I'm not afraid. Even if it means risking my life, I'll drag a foreigner down with me."

"Yes, if anyone comes to bully us again, we'll just beat them up. It's not certain who's afraid of whom."

"Comrades, if you have this heart, you should work hard. Let's work hard to build and produce better guns and cannons and send them to the soldiers on the front lines. They are fighting on the front lines, and we must ensure the supply of materials to the front lines. We must never let our PLA comrades fight on an empty stomach."

Upon hearing this, Yan Fu asked, "Chairman Zhang, is the conflict on the Yunnan-Myanmar border very serious now?"

Zhang Yinghao smiled, nodded and said: "It's serious. The People's Liberation Army has entered

After reaching Jiangxinpo and Hugang Valley, the situation became increasingly tense. "It's possible that this conflict could escalate into war someday."

In fact, there are benefits to having a conflict with the British here. The local people will also resist the invasion, which will make it easier for the People's Liberation Army to establish a deep friendship with the local people and accept the Progressive Party and the People's Liberation Army.

"Haha, Chairman, come to think of it, we have been fighting non-stop since the revolution!"

"Now that you put it, it's true. We first overthrew the Qing Dynasty in Sichuan; then there was the first counter-encirclement and suppression campaign; then we sent troops to Shaanxi; then we started fighting the British in Tibet; before we had a few days of peace, we sent troops to Yunnan and Guizhou; then we faced the British on the Yunnan-Burma border again; then there was the second counter-encirclement and suppression campaign; and that wasn't all; we immediately sent troops to liberate Northwest China. We really have never stopped fighting."

"What you said is not enough. We are constantly building railways, roads, water conservancy projects, and reclaiming so much farmland. It's true what the Chairman said: labor creates value."

Listening to what his comrades were saying, Zhang Yinghao's thoughts turned to something else. It might seem like the Liberated Areas were constantly deploying troops, but in reality, Zhang Yinghao was using them with extreme restraint. Each mobilization was almost always in a single direction, not concentrating all of his forces, but concentrating a superior force to launch a full-scale attack that would cripple or even destroy the enemy.

Now that the Russo-Japanese War was in full swing, he couldn't miss this best opportunity. He should seize Wuhan, the Qing Dynasty's heavy industrial base, so that he could be truly invincible. As for the battle plans, they had already been made, and he only needed to make some changes.

The Qing couldn't, like the Kuomintang of previous dynasties, boldly conscript civilians to fill their ranks. Nor could they, like the late Ming, capture civilians to wage war against the Green Camp, using Han Chinese against Han Chinese. While productivity had greatly increased during this era, it couldn't compare to the productivity achieved after World War I. Moreover, unlike Chiang Kai-shek, the Qing didn't have a massive supply of equipment and strong support from the United States. Modern warfare wasn't like ancient warfare, where all you needed was a sword. Without money and equipment, even if the Qing wanted to go all out and assemble a massive army, they would find themselves without where to deploy their strength.

Then there's the issue of the civil service exam. Clearly, there aren't enough cadres right now. If we don't recruit talent through exams, relying solely on personnel from the military and other local sources, it will severely weaken the military's combat effectiveness. However, taking the civil service exam is also a hassle. Chinese people are incredibly passionate about becoming officials, and once the exam begins, bureaucracy will inevitably become something we'll need to resolutely fight against.

However, since the Third Determination, a Talent Reserve Management Committee has been established from the Ministry of Personnel, and with the influx of young people into the liberated areas, this has resolved some of the pressing issues. These are actually urgent matters, but every time new issues arise, new institutions need to be established.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yinghao felt that perhaps a decisive battle with the Qing Dynasty would be the best option. Only by decisively defeating the Qing could he issue his orders to the world, and no one dared to disobey. As for the idea of ​​chaos, that was a joke. How could a revolution be without casualties? Even the Xinhai Revolution, with only a handful of men and guns, dared to revolt. Now that he wielded a force more powerful than the Qing Dynasty, yet he was still proceeding with a measured approach, it was truly a bit unreasonable.

He recalled what Taizu had said: revolution is an uprising, a violent act by one class to overthrow another. Revolution isn't like a dinner party or a painting or embroidery—it's not elegant, leisurely, gentle, respectful, frugal, and modest. He seemed to be taking it easy, but that was problematic. The Qing was mobilizing the landlord class to search the world for hidden members of the Forward Party. Zhang Yinghao knew countless comrades he had sent to establish liberated areas had died in clashes with the local landlords.

Taking advantage of the Russo-Japanese War, when neither country is free to intervene, and taking advantage of the fact that the powers haven't yet armed the Qing, it would be a good option to overthrow the Qing court in one fell swoop. If the Russo-Japanese War ends, all the attention of the nations will immediately turn to the Qing and him. The fact that the powers will fully arm the Qing court to fight him is an inevitable result. The fact that he and the British are still fighting is clear that the British will never allow the Progressive Party to take power. However, considering that the powers in the past armed the Kuomintang and failed to defeat the Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army, it seems that there is something wrong here.

We should think carefully about the next strategic issues.

Zhang Yinghao collected his thoughts, finished his meal, and said, "I'll leave the university affairs to the comrades of the committee and Mr. Yan Fu. We'll strive to reopen the school as soon as possible after the New Year..."

On February 15, 1905, Sichuan University of Technology, Sichuan's first university of science and engineering, officially opened. It was also the first university in China to feature a higher proportion of science and engineering disciplines. Despite Zhang Yinghao's ambitions, finding science professors was difficult in that era. The most pressing issue was the sheer shortage of teachers.

This is a university focused on science and engineering. Despite so much preparation, the faculty is still limited. Many majors have only one professor, and even now, there are still not enough teachers, and the teaching workload is extremely heavy. Furthermore, a university focused on science and engineering requires enormous funding. However, compared to these, many students have little interest in science.

In that era, few people were knowledgeable in science. Before the university was established, they received many applications, but only 270 qualified. The remaining students were transferred from various departments for further study, and finally filled the school's first class.

After the expansion of enrollment, which higher education institution didn't have dozens of students in each class? Now that Yan Fu himself was serving as president, if the first class had only 270 students, it would have been impossible. Moreover, many of them chose to study liberal arts, with only about 30 pursuing subjects like law, business, and medicine. Many people, hearing that the professors taught them factory-based skills, subconsciously adopted gimmicky techniques. Those who truly desired the science and engineering that Zhang Yinghao desired were few and far between, even fewer than the teachers themselves.

But it doesn't matter. The liberated areas also need to send their outstanding comrades to further education. Zhang Yinghao selected outstanding comrades from all over the country to study in the school and set up the school first.

No matter how great the difficulty, it wouldn't make Zhang Yinghao lose confidence. He had always expected difficult situations. Historically, this situation persisted for decades after the Xinhai Revolution in China. How could he change it in a day or two? Zhang Yinghao wasn't worried about lacking students. He had plenty of comrades who needed further education, so if he didn't have students, he could just create them himself.

Chapter 367:

In China today, the primary goal of scholars is still to become an official through academic excellence. Consequently, few are interested in studying science and engineering, and these studies also require a foundational knowledge of science. This significantly limits large-scale enrollment, but some measures must be taken.

"Chairman, don't worry. I've already sent invitations to many international students in Europe and the United States through relevant channels. If that doesn't work out, we can just hire a few foreign teachers. After all, as long as we pay, we'll have no shortage of people."

"it is good."

This is also a way.

China simply lacks faculty in science and engineering. If all else fails, hiring a few foreign teachers is commonplace. There's no need for world-class professors. Chinese universities of science and engineering don't need such formidable figures these days. A person with reasonable skills, who can understand textbook content, conduct experiments, and recite from textbooks, will suffice.

"Principal Yan, the key lies in the teaching materials and experimental equipment. With these, we can slowly explore on our own. Without them, everything will be in vain. I have already incorporated several laboratories into the school, and I hope you can make good use of them."

"Okay. I'll also sort it out and see how the school can be run better."

"Well, Principal Yan, we can slowly gain experience, just like our medical universities and technical schools. As long as each class teaches better than the last, we'll naturally get better and better."

Zhang Yinghao walked out of the campus and turned around to slowly look at the school. Actually, because it was built so hastily, the school building was quite shabby. It was just a large, useless piece of wasteland with a sign hanging in front.

Education—that's the real money spent like water. If Zhang Yinghao didn't control the vast resources of the Liberated Area, even he wouldn't have been able to afford it. However, the results are very clear. In the past few years of compulsory education, some students have studied independently and have been able to skip grades if they pass the exams. They have already trained a group of students who have graduated from elementary school. These students are, after all, much more useful than those who are illiterate or semi-literate. They can become workers, teachers, nurses, and so on.

Educational equity is extremely important. Private institutions cannot afford public education, so they can only provide education on a small scale. The inequality of educational resources will lead to extreme inequality.

No developed country neglects education. The United States has essentially achieved nationwide primary education and is currently developing secondary education. While less than 8% of young Americans hold a postsecondary diploma, over 9% possess a primary school diploma. This is a staggering figure. Only Germany can rival this proportion. Therefore, only the state, with its own power, can develop public education on a large scale. In China, private education is quite developed in provinces like Hunan, Anhui, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but how many people actually receive an education? Truly few.

Many private schools close within a few years due to funding issues. Zhang Yinghao absolutely refuses to allow private sector involvement in education. However, in the future, as the economy develops, more and more people will be able to afford to run schools. At that time, some people will want to give their children the best education and will want to start their own schools. At this time, it is even more important to prevent the impact of this flood of capital on education. Otherwise, social polarization will become increasingly severe, and the consequences of such development will truly prove the saying in the movie: the rich rely on technology, the poor rely on mutation.

Back in the office, Bai Tianlong suddenly ran over and said, "Chairman, the Ministry of Education has developed a plan. We plan to build a university of science and technology, modeled after the Industrial University. We also plan to establish a university of science and technology in each of the newly liberated provinces to help these provinces improve their education systems."

Zhang Yinghao thought for a moment and said, "Building more than six universities at once? I have no objection, but isn't that too advanced? Let's finish building the primary schools first. Besides, it's hard to find university teachers. Money might solve the problem, but what about the teachers? University teachers can't be found with just a few words."

Bai Tianlong smiled bitterly and said, "The Chairman is right. We do have a funding gap, but we can at least start a smaller school and solve the problem of whether there is enough money. There are many overseas Chinese who donate money to support education, so we can still cope for a while. There is no problem with that. But the main problem is that we can't find teachers. There is a serious shortage of teachers right now. Even our school is short of teachers. These teachers hardly have a day off."

Zhang Yinghao nodded, frowned and said: "Minister Bai, have you thought of any other solution?"

"Chairman, the shortage of teachers is getting bigger and bigger. Take primary schools, for example. We've liberated four provinces in a row. If we liberate Guangxi, that'll be five provinces. We simply can't train enough teachers."

Zhang Yinghao smiled. Five provinces were nothing. He was already preparing to mobilize his troops again. However, he didn't say much. Instead, he smiled and said, "This is truly a happy trouble. Don't rush. Let's open a normal school in the provincial capital first! You're asking us Sichuan girls to teach in Gansu in this era of underdeveloped transportation. These things will be easier to solve when railway transportation is improved in the future. There's no need to rush this kind of thing."

"Chairman, to be honest, the Ministry of Education has put a lot of effort into recruiting enough teachers. However, only a few are willing to teach. After all, many comrades already have jobs and are unwilling to give up their current ones to become teachers. However, many departments are now competing with the Ministry of Education for talent, which has threatened the quality of teaching in schools. After all, even an elementary school teacher is much better than an illiterate or semi-literate person. With no other options, I have no choice but to come to you, Chairman."

Zhang Yinghao looked at Bai Tianlong and finally understood what he was talking about. However, Zhang Yinghao did not respond to his question. Instead, he asked, "I heard that many old scholars have been hired now?"

"Chairman, there's really nothing we can do now. We can't do it, and neither can these old scholars. We are desperately short of teachers, but we must complete our teaching tasks. These old scholars are lazy and ignorant, and are becoming increasingly poor and destitute. We can't let them starve to death. It may not be possible to let them teach science, but with a little training, it should be no problem to let them teach courses like Chinese and history."

Zhang Yinghao didn't say anything after hearing this. Instead, he asked, "How about hiring someone like a university teacher with a high salary?"

"No, Chairman. University teachers' salaries are already quite high. Chairman, you also said that one of our priorities now is to buy in cheap labor and reduce the value of expensive labor. There's a limit to how high it can go, right? If university teachers' salaries are too high, conflicts will arise among them, exacerbating social conflicts. And some people's demands are too high, so we've rejected them all. But elementary school teachers' salaries should indeed be raised."

Hearing this, Zhang Yinghao said directly: "It is not my decision to improve the salary of primary and junior high school teachers, and there is no way to increase it now.

The teacher has been allocated a vegetable plot. If feasible, we can increase the subsidy a little bit. We can't do it all the time.

How should the local government allocate its finances? Please make it more detailed and more operational..."

Zhang Yinghao knew that since ancient times, Chinese scholars have always enjoyed superior treatment. Although most of these scholars cursed the Beiyang and Republican governments, they were actually vested interests and members of the ruling class. Before Zhang Yinghao cultivated his own intellectual class, these old scholars had already mastered the

A lot of discourse power, want to eliminate is not a short time to solve this problem. And even in later generations, the Chinese still admire people like Zhuge Liang.

He is a person who can debate with many scholars, instead of praising scientists like Newton and Einstein like the West does.

This is so-called Chinese wisdom, much like the Chinese book "Complete Collection of Wisdom," which focuses on interpersonal skills and methods, teaching people how to be prudent and protect themselves, rather than science and technology. Science and technology are slandered by these scholars as gimmicks and tricks, and naturally they are not taken seriously. Since these scholars hold the power of discourse, even the workers who engage in these jobs are slandered as menial.

During the Republican era, the disparity became even more pronounced. Take wages, for example. Laborers in Beijing and Shanghai were considered fortunate to earn three or five yuan per month, while Peking University professors of the same period received four hundred yuan. While ordinary workers would often have their wages deducted, scholars, professors, and masters were never owed their wages. The government, no matter how difficult their circumstances, would strive to provide them with adequate funding. Professors' and workers' incomes could be as much as a hundred times higher. It was precisely this enormous income disparity that allowed the so-called intellectuals to afford the Republican era's style.

Countless people starved, countless families were broken up, and the money extorted by the government was used for military and consumption, not for construction or to improve people's lives. It can be said that the superior life of the Republic of China was completely built on the exploitation and oppression of countless people, and there is nothing worth showing off.

In later times, if the income gap between university professors and ordinary workers was only three to five times, it was considered respect for knowledge. However, if it reached a hundred times, it would create class hatred, as seen in modern-day income disparities between capitalists, factory owners, and workers. This can only lead to sharp antagonism between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the wealthy are so eager to emigrate. It can be said that the treatment of great professors during the Republican era was extremely outrageous.

Some experts and scholars in later generations have been praising the so-called academic freedom of the Republic of China, and the so-called independence of scholars. They lament the style of the Republic of China and admire the so-called masters of the Republic of China. They may be reminiscing about the sense of superiority of earning a hundred times more than ordinary people and looking down on the suffering of all living beings. Compared with their predecessors, they are really shameful.

However, this respect for masters during the Republic of China period did not bring prosperity to the country, nor did it lead to any development in science and technology. Those professors used huge amounts of funds to study piles of old papers, play with culture, and research ancient books. They were busy writing books. No one used the money on scientific research, and no one produced any military products that could enhance the country's strength.

Cultural pursuits should thrive in prosperous times. After all, there's a saying that goes, "Gold in troubled times, antiques in prosperous times!" However, it's a shame that they flourished during the unique historical period of the Republic of China. At this critical juncture of life and death, it's not that cultural pursuits are unimportant, but to still cling to them is like a woman who doesn't understand the sorrow of a nation's demise.

A group of people who should be severely despised are, because their followers have the right to speak, desperately glorified, elevating some to the altar. However, the countless workers who truly support this country are the technicians who develop aircraft, artillery, tanks and warships for this country, not the so-called literati who sing about the wind and the moon. In fact, even in the age of the internet, there are still people who tout today's civil servants as the literati of ancient times. This is simply a joke.

However, in reality, after their economic development, the backbones of these countries were quickly hijacked by capital. People don't remember these hardworking technicians, but rather the wealthy entrepreneurs, those who aim for billions, or the handsome men and beautiful women in the entertainment industry, or those who use capital to cash out billions. Haha!

Sichuan was now slowly but surely entering the industrial age. While workers' incomes were rapidly increasing, teachers' incomes were correspondingly decreasing. Zhang Yinghao naturally could not tolerate the 100-fold income gap, and as a result, many scholars were reluctant to teach in Sichuan.

Even in later generations, many people wonder why wages simply won't increase. Just like Wanda Wang said, "Only by raising employee wages can China's consumption level rise." Countless people have called for wage increases, but they simply won't. Many blame the capitalists for their lack of understanding or find various excuses, but the criticism is ultimately useless. Others say that except for wages, everything else is rising, with housing prices doubling, a rate of growth far beyond what wages can keep up.

The reason wages can't rise is simple. For example, consider a position offering a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan. As long as there's a sufficient workforce, the salary for this position will never rise. This is because when one person leaves, countless others continue to fill the same position. Only when the 2,000 yuan salary completely loses its appeal, meaning it's impossible to retain employees, will the salary be raised slightly, perhaps to 2,100 yuan.

Then, the position can continue to retain employees. As technology advances and the job becomes easier, the salary may drop again. If the market supply and demand for labor shifts again, the person hired for 2,100 yuan will be replaced, replaced again by a worker earning 2,000 yuan, or even one earning 1,800 or 1,900 yuan. So, in reality, the salary for a position is determined by the supply and demand in the labor market and the value created by the position. Why do minimum wages vary from place to place? For example, in the second decade of the 21st century, the minimum wage in Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province was only 1,300 yuan per month, while in Guangzhou it was 2,100 yuan.

In reality, it's the same everywhere: the minimum wage for workers is barely enough to support themselves. If factories can recruit enough workers at this minimum wage, who would be willing to raise the wage? Only when this wage is insufficient to recruit workers or when turnover is so high that it impacts production, will factories raise wages modestly.

Therefore, for the state and government, they can only determine the lower limit of working people's wages, not the upper limit of their income. They cannot let working people suffer from hunger and cold, that's all. However, civil servants are different. Regardless of their position, their wages are not based on the struggle between supply and demand or the value they create, but are determined by the state. Therefore, civil servants' wages and benefits are generally above average in the local area, and they can all live an enviable petty bourgeoisie lifestyle.

Chapter 368:

Many people say the government should proactively raise wages. Is this feasible? Let's assume that the minimum wage for all workers were instantly raised to 10,000 yuan. What would be the consequences? First, prices would inevitably soar. Wages must be proportional to productivity, and so too must wages be proportional to prices and overall social wealth. Imagine, if productivity remains constant and wages suddenly soar, what would the consequences be if prices didn't? Naturally, the owners of the goods that operate and produce them would suffer the losses. To mitigate these losses, they would inevitably raise prices, which inevitably leads to price increases. However, the wage increase would definitely not be enough to keep pace with the price increase.

Second, farmers, the unemployed, and people in remote areas—that is, all those who were not included in this increased income standard—will instantly become destitute. How desperate will they be? How will they go on with their lives? Will the government give them money to support them? It's certainly possible, but how much money should be used to support them?

Unlike Qatar, Australia, Canada, and other Arab countries, China does not have abundant natural resources. China's per capita resources are basically below the world average. The per capita arable land resources are less than 1.4 mu, which is one-third of the world average. The per capita water resources are only 2400 cubic meters, which is 25% of the world's per capita water resources, ranking 119th in the world and making China one of the 13 water-poor countries in the world. The per capita possession of most mineral resources is less than half of the world average. my country's per capita coal, oil, and natural gas resources are only 55%, 11%, and 4% of the world average, respectively.

How did China, a late-developing industrial nation, develop? It relied on exchanging shirts for airplanes, cheap labor, and the hands of its people. Later, China seemed to be constantly restricted by Western countries, but weren't Western countries afraid of both ends? Without China, how many countries would have shut down? The quality of life of the people in the powerful nations would have plummeted.

Free trade has been advocated in later generations, but is it actually free? In fact, it's not free at all. China cannot acquire certain key technologies, no matter how much it pays. European and American countries prohibit the sale of almost all high-tech products to China, and impose sanctions on Chinese high-tech companies. If trade were truly free, then given the diligence of the Chinese people, China alone would dominate the world, buying up all the world's resources and providing them to its own country. Only then could China perhaps escape its current state of productivity and resource scarcity, and everyone's "real" income and living standards would rise again—without a single problem.

Why is Zhang Yinghao able to purchase so much advanced technology from the great powers? It's actually quite simple. The bulk of trade in this era is machinery and equipment. What goods are available in this era? Electrical appliances? Does China have electricity? Even foreign countries don't have much electricity right now. The world's total steel production is less than what Hebei Province will produce in the future. So what else can be sold? Therefore, trade in this era is essentially just raw materials, primary industrial products, and machinery and equipment.

Regarding the recruitment of some former intellectuals into schools, Zhang Yinghao couldn't just order a complete and draconian decision, nor could he condemn all of them. If these former intellectuals were willing to work, Zhang Yinghao couldn't refuse them. If they didn't riot, Zhang Yinghao couldn't kill them either. He also understood the Ministry of Education's decision to recruit these former intellectuals. After all, they had to find ways to complete their teaching tasks first, and any future problems would be dealt with later.

There are no old intellectuals in the upper echelons of the Progressive Party. After being educated, the comrades understand their ideas very well, and therefore have become increasingly contemptuous of them. Thinking of this, Zhang Yinghao continued, "Minister Bai, there will always be vested interests. If the old intellectuals are willing to follow us, we naturally welcome them. If they are unwilling to serve the working people and still prefer to be high and mighty, there is nothing we can do. However, even without them, we can still run education well."