China's defeat in the Second Opium War of 1856–60 was a wake-up call for the Qing Dynasty. Naval and land military strategies were outdated, both on land and sea and in terms of weaponry. As she was forced to acknowledge that China's agricultural-based economy could not hope to compete with the industrial prowess of the West, Cixi decided China would learn from the Western powers and import their knowledge and technology. At the time, three prominent Han Chinese officials, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, had all begun industrial programs in the country's southern regions; Cixi not only supported their endeavors, but also decreed the opening of the School of Combined Learning in 1862, a school for foreign languages in Beijing. The School of Combined Learning offered the latest Western knowledge in topics such as astronomy and mathematics, as well as the English, French and Russian languages. Groups of young boys were also sent abroad to the United States for studies.