The Republic of China was an era of many talents, with countless legendary figures, such as Yuan Shikai, Song Jiaoren, Sun Wen, etc. No matter how future generations evaluate them, one is beyond reproach, that is, they all left a deep mark in this era. In addition to the above three, there are also Jiang Zhiqing, Wang Zhaoming, Feng Yuxiang and others in the original history, who are all great figures who are galloping in the storm. When it comes to these people, of course, we cannot ignore the other one who has always stood firm in the Chinese political arena since the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and established the Republic of China, and he holds the power to rule one side. He is Yan Xishan.

Yan Xishan, whose courtesy name is Baichuan, was born in 1883. He was a graduate of the sixth class of the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer. After returning to China, he served as an imperial examination officer of the Qing army, an associate academy, and a member of the Tongmenghui. He is currently a KMT party member, a member of the KMT board of directors, and a senator. During the Revolution of 1911, Yan Xishan organized and participated in the Tai*yuan Uprising. After the Qing Dynasty was discharged from the army, he became the governor of Shanxi and became the only local emperor in Shanxi. A few years ago, the central government began to reform local military and civil affairs and civil affairs. Yan Xishan voluntarily resigned from the position of governor of Shanxi and became the governor of Shanxi. He issued a statement expressing his support for the decision of the central government, and with his promotion, the reorganization of the Shanxi National Defense Forces was carried out very smoothly. Today, Fang Zida welcomed a guest, who was no one else, but Yan Xishan, who was nicknamed Yan Laoxi.

"Brother Baichuan has worked hard all the way. Where can I live? If I haven't found a place to stay yet, why don't I ask someone to help Brother Baichuan arrange it at the Six Kingdoms Hotel?" Fang Zida greeted him politely and quietly looked at the person who had been famous for the long time but had met for the first time.

"I'm sorry, Brother Jung Ming is concerned. Xishan is called the governor and is actually a public servant. It's just a public service to come to Beijing to report his work. Xishan dares not spend state-owned assets for his own enjoyment. Besides, Xishan bought a small courtyard in Beijing ten years ago. He usually asked relatives to help him watch it. Although this courtyard is far less luxurious than the Six Kingdoms Hotel, it is relatively quiet. It is enough for Xishan to collapse in a few days." Yan Xishan replied with a smile, and took the tea cup handed by Fang Zida with both hands and sipped the tea, and praised it a few more words.

He smiled and nodded. Fang Zida expressed his agreement with Yan Xishan's noble character, and talked to him about the recent situation in Shanxi and asked about the progress of Shanxi's industrial and commercial development.

In Fang Zida's opinion, Yan Xishan is known as the number one "farmer" in the Republic of China. Just like some online novel plots, Yan Xishan began to "farm" desperately since he obtained the position of Shanxi Governor in his original history. He developed industry and commerce in Shanxi, promoted education, cultivated talents, built new military industry, and trained the army... This series of actions reflects his old actuary and steady style, and is also a distinct representative of the "farming party" faction advocated by later online novelists.

Unfortunately, Yan Xishan's abacus was good, and he seemed to have good farming, but he was always unlucky. He participated in the battle for the world several times in history and returned in failure, and was still in a corner until the Sino-Japanese War began. Finally, under the attack of the Japanese army, his base camp Tai*yuan was trapped in the hands of the Japanese and almost escaped from Shanxi in a mess. From this point of view, Yan Xishan is a complete tragic figure, and a typical failure of farming theory. But it cannot be denied that although Yan Xishan seems smart and practical, he has short-sighted eyes and has all kinds of problems, Yan Xishan is still the best among many figures in the Republic of China, especially the measures he implemented in Shanxi to encourage industry and commerce, build water conservancy, and compulsory education, which have brought many benefits to the people of Shanxi.

As early as 1912, Yan Xishan, who served as the governor of Shanxi, began to implement a compulsory compulsory education plan in Shanxi, ranking education and military service and tax payment, and ranked first. During the implementation of the compulsory education plan, Yan Xishan specially sent someone to print a booklet called "People's Instructions". It personally wrote: "All people in Shanxi, regardless of wealth or poor, must have four years of schooling in the age of seven to thirteen, have to go to school within seven years, which is called national education; anyone who has been to school has a high knowledge and a strong body. No matter how poor parents are, they always have to go to school. It is the obligation of parents to their children, also called compulsory education; state laws stipulate that if people do not go to school, they must be punished and still have to go to school, also called forced education..."

Under the strong promotion of Yan Xishan, the entire Shanxi compulsory education system has ranked first among all provinces in the country, and the highest proportion has reached more than 61% of administrative expenditure. From 1912 to the present, Shanxi has built nearly 60,000 new primary and secondary schools, adding more than 65,000 teachers in schools, and enrolling more than 1.6 million students... This achievement is amazing, not to mention the early days of the Republic of China, even after a hundred years. The famous educator Tao Xingzhi praised Yan Xishan's move, saying, "There is only one Shanxi who truly implements compulsory education in the country."

No matter how future generations view Yan Xishan, a warlord and "counter-revolutionary", he cannot deny his outstanding achievements in compulsory education in China's national compulsory education. Moreover, his efforts and achievements in compulsory education with the strength of a province are unprecedented in Chinese history. Fang Zida especially admires him and highly praised him.

"Although Zida and Brother Baichuan were just the first meeting, Zida admired his achievements in promoting compulsory education!" After chatting for a while, Fang Zida and Yan Xishan gradually talked about Shanxi's compulsory education system and immediately sighed a few words.

"Brother Zheng Ming is too good. Xishan just did something he should do. Education is a century-old plan. Why has China become weak in the past century? In the final analysis, education is not as good as people. The people are ignorant. How can we talk about development and strength? Xishan always believes that the more people are educated, the higher the population; the higher the population, the stronger the political ability. To successfully realize constitutionalism in China and promote the prosperity and strength of the country, we must rely on education. National knowledge is the foundation of democratic constitutionalism, and education must be popularized."

"Okay! Well said!" Fang Zida praised with his hands, humbly asking Yan Xishan for his experience in compulsory education. Yan Xishan did not refuse. He immediately talked about his in-depth view on education, and explained his views on "village-based politics" and "family education" that he summarized, which attracted Fang Zida to nod and praise him repeatedly.

"I'm not hiding Brother Baichuan, I talked with Brother Dunchu about his achievements in Shanxi a few days ago, and I was particularly amazed. Brother Dunchu even sighed, if the rulings in various provinces have the same mind as Brother Baichuan, how can China not rise?"

Yan Xishan shook his head in a low-key manner and laughed and said wherever he was. At this time, Fang Zida suddenly made a suggestion to Yan Xishan, hoping that he could come to the central government to serve as the chief education director and be fully responsible for the national compulsory education plan.
Chapter completed!