Chapter 368 Xi'an
I won't go into details about receiving the award. The process was similar to the previous two times. The only difference was that Zhang Xingjiu and Tang Feifan held a press conference after the award ceremony. They announced a lot of evidence of the Japanese invasion of China, revealing their greedy and brutal true face to the international community. It caused a certain response in the international community, but its effect was still limited at the moment.
When he returned to China, he also brought a group of European and American scientists and journalists. In addition to academic exchanges, he allowed them to witness with their own eyes the damage caused by the Japanese devils to China, and won some international support.
In the following two years, Zhang Xingjiu continued to teach at Tsinghua University. Thanks to the efforts of him and many of his colleagues, the quality of teaching in science, engineering, and medicine at Tsinghua University achieved rapid development, with very gratifying results.
Feeling that all work was on the right track and that Tsinghua would continue its current development momentum even if he let go, Zhang Xingjiu resigned from the post of dean of the School of Science and Technology, while retaining the title of honorary president of Tsinghua. He officially left Tsinghua University and prepared to lead some outstanding teachers to the northwest and southwest regions.
When he left, the train station was once again crowded with people seeing him off. Although Zhang Xingjiu had been in Peking for only a little over two years, he had brought profound changes to Tsinghua University, and many teachers and students were reluctant to see him leave.
After getting on the train and settling into the compartment, a student asked curiously, "Teacher, I feel that Tsinghua's current situation still has a lot of room for improvement. Why don't we stay for a while longer? Even one more year can bring more changes to Tsinghua."
Zhang Xingjiu sighed, "I know that, but the current situation makes it impossible for me to teach with peace of mind. I went to Xi'an, Chongqing, Chengdu and other places this time. In name, it was to balance the development of higher education in China and improve the teaching quality in inland provinces, but in fact, it was to prepare for a rainy day."
"Teacher, what do you mean?" The expressions on the students' faces suddenly became serious.
"It's not just me who thinks so. The Nationalist government also knows that the north is now very unsafe! Have you forgotten what happened last year?" Zhang Xingjiu reminded, feeling helpless at the same time. They had already judged that the Japanese would continue to attack, but they just didn't prepare well.
"Are you talking about the migration of cultural relics from Peking to the south?" A student immediately remembered.
In January last year, the Nationalist government decided to move the cultural relics of Peking to the south, which aroused strong opposition from various public groups in Peking. The porters went on strike, but it still failed to prevent the move. In February, the first batch of more than 2,000 boxes of cultural relics from the Peking Palace Museum arrived in Nanjing. After that, several more batches of cultural relics went south. In a few years, these cultural relics will be moved again.
"Yes, they also feel that it is not safe to keep these cultural relics in Peking. If this is the case for cultural relics, how much more so for universities? Considering that the Japanese navy is far stronger than that of the Republic of China, the coastal provinces, including Shanghai where our Aurora University is located, will become very unsafe, so we must prepare in advance. Xi'an, Chongqing, Chengdu and other places are separated by natural barriers, so it is not easy for the Japanese to break in, so they are suitable for being rear bases."
"So we have a heavy burden on our shoulders now. Not only do we have to lay a solid foundation for establishing higher education in the local area, but we also have to prepare for the future transfer of universities in coastal areas and northern areas! Moreover, this matter cannot be made public, so as not to cause panic among the people. The Nationalist government has no ability to deal with the Japanese devils, but it is very easy to deal with us. By then, catching us is a small matter, but delaying preparations is a big problem!"
"Students will remember this!" The teachers and students in the box all had serious expressions and took their journey to the west more and more seriously. Along the way, they were exchanging information with their companions and checking maps to find a suitable location for building a school.
When the train arrived in Xi'an, the locals gave them a high-level reception. Even several senior officials from the provincial and municipal governments came. They surrounded a bearded man and greeted Zhang Xingjiu on the platform.
After getting off the car, Zhang Xingjiu finally understood the reason. These officials were probably not here for his sake, but to show their support to the long-bearded man. When the long-bearded man saw Zhang Xingjiu, he hurriedly stepped forward and took the initiative to greet him. "Teacher, I happened to be working in Shaanxi. When I heard that you were here, I hurried over to greet you. We haven't seen each other for several years, right?"
"Bo Xun, there's no need to be so polite. The last time we met was in Nantong, right? Time flies so fast. It's been more than four years in the blink of an eye." Zhang Xingjiu said, holding his hand.
The visitor was Yu Boxun, a veteran of the Guo Party. He came to Shanghai to study at Aurora University shortly after it was founded. In fact, he was a real student of Zhang Xingjiu. As for the last time they met in Nantong, it was to prepare for the private Nantong University founded by Zhang Jian. Yu Boxun was invited to serve as a school director and Zhang Xingjiu assisted in running the school. Since then, the two of them were busy with their own things and had not seen each other for several years.
"When Dean Yu heard that Mr. Zhang was coming to Xi'an, he was very happy. He said that he would invite Mr. Zhang to taste Xi'an's delicious food. Now the Xi'an Restaurant has prepared a banquet, so please come, Mr. Zhang." After they finished their greetings, several senior officials also came over to join in the fun.
Yu Boxun's qualifications are so long and he has a huge reputation in the northwest region, so even if Zheng Sanfazi is unhappy, he has to give him enough respect. Now he holds the high position of the President of the Supervisory Yuan, and wherever he goes, officials from all over the country treat him as a guest of honor.
"Sorry to bother you!" Zhang Xingjiu definitely didn't like them, but if he wanted to run schools in various places in Shaanxi, he couldn't do without their support, so he dealt with it with a smile.
After arriving at Xi'an Restaurant and tasting local specialties such as Gourd Chicken, Fish in Milk Soup, and Golden Thread Oil Pagoda, Zhang Xingjiu also talked about his plans for this trip. "Nowadays, higher education in China is characterized by strong south and weak north, rich east and poor west. Shaanxi is located in the northwest and can be said to be both weak and poor. It is extremely difficult for students in Shaanxi and even the entire northwest region to go to university."
"Who said it wasn't true? I also traveled thousands of miles to Shanghai to get the opportunity to go to university. Now that the teacher is willing to set up a school in Shaanxi, I will definitely support it wholeheartedly." Upon hearing this, Yu Boxun, who was born in Shaanxi, immediately thought of his own experience of studying back then and was filled with emotion.
Promoting education is politically correct in any era, and since Yu Boxun has spoken, they naturally have to follow suit. "The government's account is indeed not well-off now, but if it is for the purpose of running schools, we have to come up with money even if we have to tighten our belts."
"I haven't saved much over the years. Even if I did, most of it was spent on running the school. Now I can be said to be short of money. But it doesn't matter. My calligraphy is still worth a few dollars. Tomorrow I will sell my calligraphy in the newspaper and give all the money to the teacher to run the school!"
(End of this chapter)
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