"Governor." Xu Chengfeng and Cheng Ruofan raised their hands at the same time. They looked at each other, both wanting the other to speak first.

Seeing both becoming restrained, the others at the meeting were a bit surprised. Seeing Cheng Ruofan not fighting him for it, Xu Chengfeng asked, "When do we start conscription? When do we start building the arsenal?"

"There's no rush to expand the army; restoring the original Garrison Regiment organization is enough. We are not facing a serious military threat for the time being, so we don't need a large army for protection in the short term. Siping's finances haven't been straightened out yet, and we have to provide public products and services to the people of Siping. We need to invest massive resources in civil administration and the economy. Expanding the army now would squeeze out resources. The immediate priority is to rectify Siping as soon as possible, clear obstacles, and prepare for the rapid development of industry and agriculture that follows. When industrial construction begins, the defense industry will be the focus and core of the first phase of the industrial plan. Everyone need not worry."

Cheng Ruofan then asked, "Then next is education."

He Rui knocked heavily on the table, reminding everyone to pay special attention. "Education policy is a National Policy; it is the top priority for the future. I will write a special report. Remember, this is no longer just a policy, but a National Policy. It must be executed in all work."

Everyone present knew the importance of education. Even if they didn't know before, He Rui's second step in forming the team was recruiting cultural instructors, so the attendees all understood the importance He Rui attached to education.

"Regarding specific execution methods, Germany is a shining example before us; we just need to learn from them. German education policy has several main points: first is compulsory education; second is prohibiting privately run schools; third is targeted state financial investment; and fourth is the systematization of adult vocational re-education. This fourth point, in particular, is exceptionally important and must be resolutely implemented. Our number of teachers is seriously insufficient, and we have to rely on this method to solve it."

The young comrades were all very clear about the reality of the teacher shortage, especially the cultural instructors. Everyone originally thought their job was just to eliminate illiteracy for a platoon of soldiers. Unexpectedly, after arriving in Siping, they became officials and cadres first. Before teaching others, they had to learn knowledge themselves.

When discussing privately, everyone found that even if they wanted to learn, there were no teachers to answer their doubts. Except for He Rui, the old officials of Siping were truly unreliable. But there was only one He Rui, and he was busy enough. Hearing that He Rui was about to state the solution, they all listened attentively.

"The idiom *Lan Yu Chong Shu* [^1] refers to a few unqualified members mixing into a group of hundreds. I'm afraid right now we can't pick out a few qualified ones from hundreds. Therefore, the overall number of teachers must be greater than the number required for lectures. Teaching will adopt a rotation system. Teachers must go to the Normal School for centralized training and vocational re-education every two months. Based on the work experience they have already gained, their level will be improved upon that foundation. Not only schools must do this; every department must establish training institutions and implement the re-education policy."

Xu Chengfeng had proposed to He Rui to go to the Baoding Military Academy and Tianjin to continue recruiting, but He Rui refused. Hearing the re-education method now, he felt it was a solution.

He Rui knocked on the table again. "Re-education cannot be isolated; it needs to coordinate closely with the archives management system. We will definitely encounter outstanding talents. The so-called 'outstanding' is actually a matter of public consensus. Can everyone understand?"

Xu Chengfeng responded with a folk saying, "Whether it's a mule or a horse, pull it out for a walk."

"But most people are ordinary people. Standards must be set for their evaluation. Work performance scores, number of times participating in re-education, content of re-education received, scores in various exams during re-education, evaluation by the re-education institution, and work performance scores after returning to the post. Only with such an evaluation system can we select qualified talents as fairly and objectively as possible. Xu Jia, the Statistics Section not only has to work itself but also must establish this archives management system in every department. Your work is very important, and the workload is very heavy. Outstanding talents will be prioritized to supplement the Statistics Section."

Xu Jia showed no fear of difficulties; instead, he answered happily, "Yes."

Although everyone felt the Statistics Section was being given special care, they also understood the content of the Statistics Section's work, and no one objected. They were just quite envious.

Zhong Yifu asked, "Governor, in that case, how many people should we recruit?"

"First determine how much tax can be stably collected each year. Based on policy priority, determine tax distribution; this is the fiscal budget system. Each department should arrange personnel scale and budget quota based on workload and work content, living within its means. Comrades, go back and calculate your respective work, and formulate the budget declaration for each department. We will hold a special budget meeting to organize a collective review. We just arrived in Siping and temporarily do not have the capacity for a deficit, so comrades must prepare departmental budgets with a rigorous and pragmatic attitude. Meeting adjourned."

***

Wu Youping returned home and recounted the content of his conversation with He Rui to his father, Wu Qingshan, in detail. Wu Qingshan was not moved by his son's impassioned emotions; he asked from time to time about the specific issues in the conversation that could be implemented.

When his son finished speaking, Wu Qingshan remained calm, only sighing, "Governor He seems like someone who does serious business."

"Governor He graduated first from the Japanese Army War College..."

"Yuan Shikai is also the President." Wu Qingshan poured a bucket of cold water mercilessly. Seeing his son's awkward expression, Wu Qingshan added, "Don't look at what they say; look at what they do. People change."

Father and son fell silent. After a while, it was Wu Qingshan who broke the silence first. "Have you decided what position you want to seek under Governor He?"

"That depends on how Governor He arranges it," Wu Youping replied.

"Mm. Watch more, listen more." Wu Qingshan gave his son advice.

The next day, Wu Youping waited excitedly until the afternoon before someone came to invite him to the headquarters. Entering the headquarters, there were surprisingly few people inside. He was led into an empty room with only one table and three chairs. Two people sitting opposite the table stood up.

One of them was short and stout, wearing a Second Lieutenant rank badge. He stepped forward to shake hands with Wu Youping. "Hello, I am Xu Jia, Chief of the Statistics Section. I have a few questions to ask."

Xu Jia's voice was deep and steady; just hearing it made Wu Youping feel at ease. Before choosing to defect to He Rui, Wu Youping had carefully investigated the practices of He Rui's team, so he probed, "Is this a political review?"

Xu Jia just smiled slightly and didn't answer. After the three sat down, the political review began. As Wu Youping knew, the political review started with family circumstances: whether he was married, parents' names, ages, and information on other family members.

These were quite similar to the entrance survey of the Shanhaiguan North China Railway Official School, giving Wu Youping a sense of nostalgia.

But the subsequent questioning made Wu Youping uncomfortable. The people Wu Youping had associated with and some of the more famous things he had done were all included in the inquiry. Wu Youping had even forgotten many things, only suddenly remembering them when asked.

Seeing Wu Youping's face look bad, Xu Jia smiled. "Don't worry. *We* have all undergone such political reviews."

"We?" Wu Youping was somewhat sensitive to this word.

Xu Jia nodded. "Of the three people in the room now, the two of us have accepted full political reviews. You are currently accepting a political review."

Wu Youping was silent for a moment, understanding Xu Jia's meaning. Only the core members of He Rui's team wore rank badges. Only by completing such a political review would there be a chance to become a core member of He Rui's team.

To endure such unhappiness, or to be excluded from the core circle? Wu Youping made his decision immediately.

***

[^1]: *Lan Yu Chong Shu* (滥竽充数) - "Pretend to play the Yu (flute) to make up the numbers." An idiom meaning incompetent people filling positions to make up the quota.