Chapter 24

The education of the people is the foundation of a century-long plan. After the military training and agricultural work in the territory gradually entered a stable phase, Zhengliang began to consider the educational issues of the territory. More specifically, the education of children.

Why only the education of children? The current primary task of the territory is to deal with the threat of bandits and ensure the basic living standards, which means that the young adults in the territory have no spare time for education. Additionally, these young adults already have formed thoughts, and even if Zhengliang were arrogant, he couldn't be arrogant enough to believe he could change their minds in a short time. Therefore, the target of education had to be the children, whose thoughts were still in the budding stage.

Children are the future main force of the territory. Zhengliang decided to start with these children, instilling in them some necessary loyalty and love for the clan. Initially, Zhengliang planned to teach them subjects like Chinese, mathematics, physics, and chemistry, as in the future world. However, after careful consideration, he realized this approach didn't fit the current situation of the territory. First, he couldn't watch over these children all day, and second, could these children really learn so many things at once? Therefore, the final curriculum only included basic literacy and clan education.

First, there was the literacy education. Although he had been here for nine days, Zhengliang still wasn't used to speaking Japanese. Moreover, he intended to form an independent culture in the territory, so he decided to promote simplified Chinese characters. He spent nearly two nights organizing a Chinese pinyin chart (using a water pen and notebook from his backpack) and then spent another night copying several copies. For the simplified Chinese characters, Zhengliang didn't know the "Thousand Character Classic," so he compiled a "Three-Character Classic" with over a thousand characters, also copying several copies. The teaching venue was a vacant lot in front of his small house. The blackboard was made by piecing together several wooden boards, which were then painted white (the villagers already knew how to make simple white lime from limestone caves at the foot of the mountain) and using charcoal as a writing tool. After each use, the white lime was scraped off and reapplied to dry. Three blackboards were made for rotation.

Second, there was the singing of the clan song. Directly discussing topics like loving the territory and the Luo clan with children would be hard for them to understand, so Zhengliang adapted some songs from the future world into clan songs. The purpose was to instill in these future mainstays of the territory the idea that the lord is supreme and they are part of the Luo clan, and to love the Luo clan.

Finally, there was the morning exercise for boys aged eight to fourteen. The boys in this age group were gathered and required to do morning runs according to military training standards. After the run, they practiced formations and drills.

After a day of preparation, on the 10th day of Zhengliang's arrival, the formal education of the territory's children began.

Every morning at seven, the fourteen boys aged eight to fourteen gathered and ran four laps around the teaching area (about 800 meters). After the run, they practiced standing at attention and formation drills (mainly left and right turns and marching in step). Zhengliang divided them into two groups (seven in each group), with a fourteen-year-old boy as the leader of each group to lead the training. This was to increase competition and accelerate learning.

At around 8:30 AM, after the formation drills, the other children aged six and above also arrived. There were a total of 35 children (22 boys and 12 girls). They began singing the clan song in both Japanese and Mandarin:

The white eagle flag flutters in the wind,

The victory song is so loud and clear,

Singing of our dear territory,

From now on, it will prosper and grow strong.

The white eagle flag flutters in the wind,

The victory song is so loud and clear,

Singing of our dear territory,

From now on, it will prosper and grow strong.

Crossing the mountains,

Crossing the plains,

Crossing the rushing rivers,

The vast and beautiful land is our dear territory.

The people of the territory have risen,

We are united, friendly, and strong as steel.

...

Gradually, the morning songs became a unique feature of the territory.

After singing the clan song, the formal literacy lessons began. Zhengliang first explained the lesson on a small whiteboard, then distributed the prepared pinyin and character charts to the children, who practiced in groups of four to five. Since the territory was poor, there were no chairs or tables, and no paper for writing. To improve learning, Zhengliang had people make several simple wooden stools from trees. For paper, they used the ground, and small branches as pens to write and draw on the ground.

The process was not smooth. First, the villagers didn't understand. In most families, twelve- or thirteen-year-olds were already the main labor force. When the lord said their children had to attend a "school" they had never heard of, everyone was initially unwilling. But under the lord's authority, they had to send their eligible children to the "school." To address this, Zhengliang announced some policies.

Policy one: Considering the actual situation of the territory, Zhengliang set the teaching time to the morning, with the afternoon as free time. This reduced the villagers' complaints, as the children could still participate in the territory's collective labor in the morning. Policy two: Zhengliang announced that the two best-performing children each month would receive a reward of one dou of mixed grains. This reward was very attractive to the villagers, so they gradually reduced their resistance to their children attending the school, and some even began to actively support the lord's educational policy, secretly urging their children to study hard. Of course, this policy inevitably led to another complaint from Tōgō Heijirō. Although he ultimately agreed with the lord's policy, his expression when he left suggested he was still inwardly lamenting, "What a wasteful lord..."

After resolving the villagers' issues, another challenge arose. It was difficult to gather the children and keep them focused, especially the younger ones, who were very active. Finally, Zhengliang came up with a solution. He took out many small toys made from wild grass (a hobby from his childhood) as rewards for the best listeners and performers of the day. Children have a natural love for toys, especially new and unique ones, so the children were immediately motivated. When Zhengliang offered the last piece of chocolate from his backpack as the reward for the best performer of the month, all the children drooled, especially those who had tasted the chocolate given by Tami. This problem was ultimately resolved.

Thus, the teaching work gradually proceeded in an orderly manner. Overall, girls had an advantage in language talent and diligence, and most of the daily toys were won by girls. What surprised Zhengliang the most was that the two best performers of the month had a special relationship with him.

One was Tami. By age, Tami was not yet six and didn't need to attend the school. Later, this little girl learned about the school from her friends and pestered Zhengliang again. With her big eyes and a cute voice, she begged to join. Zhengliang couldn't resist her innocent and adorable gaze. Since she was just there for fun and might get bored and leave, he agreed. However, this little girl not only persisted for a month but also surprised Zhengliang by ranking second in the monthly evaluation. Was he encountering a prodigy? Of course, Zhengliang believed more that she was motivated by the chocolate.

The other was Kikuhime, whose full name was Tōgō Kikuhime, Zhengliang's betrothed wife. In the Sengoku period, girls could marry at twelve, and Tōgō Heijirō had already raised the issue of Kikuhime's marriage several times, hoping Zhengliang would marry her soon. To be honest, Zhengliang wasn't unaffected. From his modern perspective, Kikuhime was a beauty. Her innocent, long-lashed eyes were like two crystal grapes. Her rosy cheeks and white ears were like a piece of art. Her flaxen hair flowed like a waterfall, her nose was delicate, and her lips were like cherries. She exuded a gentle, reserved, and elegant beauty, especially with her unique aura, which made people respect her. Such beauty and aura would make any normal man's heart flutter.

However, Kikuhime was only thirteen, which was too young. Zhengliang found it hard to accept a thirteen-year-old girl as his wife. Moreover, he felt this was a political marriage. In the Sengoku period, women had low status and relied on men. Even the daughters of daimyos, though well-provided for, were ultimately political tools. While Zhengliang didn't oppose such marriages, he preferred to let things take their natural course. Therefore, he agreed to marry Kikuhime after the territory stabilized, temporarily delaying the matter.

Of course, Zhengliang also gained some special insights during the teaching process. On the third day of formal teaching, after the morning session, Zhengliang was about to leave when he heard several calls, "Lord, Lord..."

Zhengliang turned around and saw six or seven children who participated in the morning exercises.

"Lord, please allow us to join the ashigaru training," the two oldest children said in unison. The others behind them echoed the request.

Zhengliang looked at the two leaders, who were the captains of the morning exercise teams he had appointed.

"Ashigaru training? Why?" Zhengliang was puzzled.

Hearing Zhengliang's question, the children became nervous, thinking he would refuse. The two oldest children knelt and said:

"Lord, I want to avenge my brother!" one said, his voice choking.

"Lord, I want to avenge my father!" the other said, tears streaming down his face.

Zhengliang scanned the six or seven kneeling children. Clearly, they all had blood feuds with the bandits, and their families had no other able-bodied men. They were determined to take on the responsibility of avenging their families.

"Hmm, what are your names?" Zhengliang frowned and asked.

"Saburō," "Kizō," ... "Alright, Saburō, Kizō," Zhengliang repeated their names.

"Do you think you can defeat the ashigaru now?" Zhengliang asked, changing the subject.

The children were stunned. Clearly, they knew they couldn't defeat the ashigaru.

"But the ashigaru can't defeat the bandits either. If you go to war, you will only be killed by the bandits. If you die, what will happen to your families? Who will avenge your loved ones?" Zhengliang continued.

The children were silent.

"So, train hard and study well. Starting tomorrow, I will add bamboo spear training to the morning exercises. The best performers will be promoted to my page," Zhengliang said.

"Page?" The children were puzzled and looked at the lord for an explanation.

Zhengliang didn't answer immediately but continued walking forward, saying, "As a page, you will follow the lord into battle..." It was like a pillow for the sleepy. What did Zhengliang lack the most? Loyal samurai. These children gave him a new idea: to cultivate them into his loyal force.

Hearing the lord's final words, the six or seven children looked at each other, seeing determination in each other's eyes.

From that day on, several children in the training team trained diligently, even "risking their lives." Under their leadership, the entire team's training atmosphere improved significantly.

To encourage these children, Zhengliang formed a village patrol team, with these children as the patrol members, responsible for daytime patrols. With only fourteen members, they were divided into two teams, alternating daily. Thus, a small patrol team with bamboo spears and整齐的步伐 became another unique feature of the village, and a goal for more children who hadn't yet qualified to join the patrol team.

---

End of the chapter.