Han Cuibai, the mayor of Yimen Township, took the small officials from the township office to the village to help the township primary school recruit students.
When they arrived at Linhe Village, Han Cuibai explained their intention to the village chief Li Zhiyong and asked him to gather the villagers.
Village head Li Zhiyong beat the gong and went from house to house to inform.
He called all the families with school-age children in the village and those who could take charge of the matter to the grain-drying field in the center of the village.
Village chief Li Zhiyong, looking at the messy behavior of the villagers, shouted loudly:
"Everyone, please be quiet and listen to Mayor Han's speech."
Li Zhiyong often takes villagers to work and has high prestige in the village.
As soon as he spoke, all the villagers fell silent.
When Han Cuibai saw that the villagers were quiet, he coughed and said loudly: "I have something to tell you.
The Commander-in-Chief Government will build a primary school in our village.
Elementary school is very unfamiliar to you. It is a place where children are taught knowledge.
The function of the primary school is similar to that of the previous private school. You can think of it as a private school run by the commander-in-chief.
If you want your child to study and become a scholar, come to me and sign up."
Before Han Cuibai finished speaking, he was interrupted by the villagers.
"Chief Han, look at our situation, these words are completely in vain.
We all live on grain borrowed from the village. The sweet potatoes are growing very well now, but we don’t know how much grain will be produced in the fall.
How can every household in our village afford to study for their children in this situation?"
"Chief Han, you shouldn't call out all the young and old men, just ask a few wealthy households in the township.
Our ancestors have been farmers for generations. Do you really think that we just want to be farmers because we have no money and cannot afford to study?"
"Chief Han, are you here to entertain us? Our village didn't even have a private school before.
It can be seen from this that even in good times in our village, no one can hire a private school teacher."
Han Cuibai saw that the villagers were talking about one thing: they couldn't send their children to school if they didn't have money.
Han Cuibai also knows that studying is expensive.
For a strong laborer to go to school without work, ordinary small landowners do not have the ability to provide for their children.
Han Cuibai received an order from his superiors to help prepare for the construction of a rural primary school.
He was extremely opposed to it at first, thinking it was a complete waste of money.
It is simply impossible for the Tongling Mansion to provide free education for all children of farmers.
Taking into account normal teaching costs, it would cost more than twenty silver coins to train a scholar, which is twenty taels of pure silver.
There are tens of thousands of students in the whole government, which will cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver coins.
This money is enough to fight a local war.
If you charge money to students, then completely abandon rural students.
At most, they are rich farmers in the countryside. If their children can learn to read, this is cultivating new gentry.
This is incompatible with the current policy of the Commander-in-Chief Government.
Until Han Cuibai fully understood the primary school’s admission policy.
Only then did he admire Commander Su even more. This genius policy perfectly solved the problem he imagined.
Han Cuibai came to his senses and sounded the gong beside him.
The loud sound of the gong made all the villagers quiet.
Han Cuibai saw that the people were quiet, and he continued to explain the primary school enrollment policy.
"Blind daters, don't worry, your children will be admitted to school for free."
After Han Cuibai said that admission was free, the villagers present immediately became excited.
Some villagers cheered in surprise: "It's such a good thing, it's the first time I heard that studying does not cost money."
Some villagers directly questioned it and asked: "Can this be true? Even the former gentry in the village could not afford to provide education for the whole village.
With so many people in charge of the governor's office, how could it possibly be able to provide for so many children to study?
I really can’t believe it.”
Others immediately knelt down in the direction of Hanzhong Mansion and kowtowed repeatedly.
"Commander Su, Su Qingtian, I kneel down for you."
Han Cuibai immediately worked with the village chief Li Zhiyong to calm all the excited villagers.
He felt that the situation was a bit out of control, so he did not try to show off and directly explained the primary school admission policy to the villagers.
The elementary school is a residential school, and all students have room and board in the elementary school.
On every first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, the school will have a day off.
The township will arrange for people to pick up and drop off in a unified manner.
There are a total of five grades in the primary school, but now only the first grade is open. The enrollment age is for school-age children between the ages of seven and twelve.
The tuition fee is one tael of silver coins per year, which is one tael of silver.
Free admission for children of martyrs and half price for military dependents.
For those who have money to pay tuition, students will be free after graduation and can do whatever they want.
For people who have no money, companies will sign contracts with them.
The company provided a scholarship for this person to study.
Most of these enterprises are enterprises run by the governor's office.
Such as department stores, arsenals and steel plants.
A small number of them are well-known companies in Hanzhong City, such as Wang's Medical Clinic and Yuelai Restaurant, and they will also sign a small number of people.
These people pay for the student to finish primary school and provide him with food and accommodation in the primary school.
After students finish elementary school, they must work in this company for five years and receive only a small salary each year.
The penalty for breach of contract is as high as one hundred silver coins.
There is only one option, no penalty.
That is, when I graduated, I was spotted by the relevant yamen of the Tongling Mansion.
His tuition fees are guaranteed by the Commander-in-Chief Government, and he will pay back the borrowed tuition fees gradually after he starts working.
If students don't like these companies, there is one last way.
That is student loans, which are provided by banks.
However, this kind of loan requires repayment of a certain amount of interest.
After Han Cuibai finished his introduction, the villagers present were all pleasantly surprised.
"Mr. Han, you are saying that my child will go to school for free. After completing his studies, he will be able to work directly in the city."
Han Cuibai nodded in approval and said: "That's true, as long as the contract is signed.
These companies must provide students with tuition fees and jobs after graduation.
But he must study for five years and obtain a diploma.
If you drop out of school midway, you need to repay all the money paid by this company according to the contract breach clause."
“The Commander’s Mansion is great, it completely relieves us of our worries.
Children are very good at eating now. Put a child in school, even if he doesn't learn well.
During these five years in school, our family has saved only one person to eat.
After graduation, I can find a good job to support myself."
A villager asked in a low voice: "Chief Han, if we don't have a boy in our family, can a girl also go to primary school?"
Immediately some villagers scolded: "What kind of book does a girl read?
Just raise her for a few more years and let her get married, and it will be just a matter of food."
Han Cuibai glared at the villager who spoke out, and angrily said: "Your statement is extremely wrong, even elementary school girls can go to school.
We provide the same treatment to boys and girls.
A girl who has gone to elementary school will definitely marry a city girl.
Girls who don’t go to school will at most marry someone from the next village.”
The assessment of mayor Han Cuibai is an assessment indicator for girls to go to school.
But he knew that farmers were living very badly now, and it was useless to reason with them.
Only visible benefits can impress them.
Many villagers with girls at home were immediately moved when they heard what Chief Han said.
If your daughter can marry a city man, they can also borrow money and get many benefits.
Han Cuibai persuaded the villagers, and most of them were willing to send their children to primary school.
He introduced the villagers to the company that provided scholarships.
Explain the terms of the contract clearly one by one so that everyone can understand them.
Let the villagers choose which company to sign a contract with for their children.
Han Cuibai took the contract and more than 80 children and returned to Yimen Township in an ox cart provided by the village.
He took the students to an elegant building in front of the township office.
The township office is a mud-brick house that was recently built.
But compared with the buildings in front of us, it is the difference between a palace and a thatched house.
The primary school is a reinforced concrete building with a total of five bungalows. They are classrooms and dormitories.
The building looks very impressive.
In the center of the playground stands the stone statue of Su He.
The playground is a cement floor, very flat.
Han Cuibai saw Liu Xin, the principal of Yimen Township Primary School, who had come out with fifteen teachers from the primary school.
There are only 16 teachers in Yimen Township Primary School. Counting Liu Xin, there are only three female teachers in total.
The remaining teachers are all male teachers, most of whom are very old. The oldest male teacher is now forty-five years old.
At his age, he doesn't have many years left to live.
Most people today can only live to be fifty years old.
Their sixteen teachers have to educate more than 300 children in Yimen Township Primary School.
Han Cuibai was very polite and handed over the student and the contract.
He is just a township head of the ninth grade, and Liu Xin is also the principal of the ninth grade.
"Principal Liu, this is the last batch of students.
On every first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, I will send someone to pick up the students back to the village."
Liu Xin handed the child to another teacher, and she quickly thanked him: "Thank you, Mayor Han, for your support of our primary school. You have worked hard these days."
After Principal Liu Xin sent off Principal Han, she and the teacher comforted the students who were crying because they had just arrived in a strange place.
These students from the village have just left their parents and are very sensitive.
The students sent from the orphanage have become more mentally tough because they suffered various hardships when they were young.
They just came to the elementary school and they didn't cry or make trouble.
Liu Xin rushed to the dormitory with the last group of students.
Let students become familiar with the place where they live as soon as possible.
Whether it is a seven-year-old child or a twelve-year-old child.
They are all first grade students and are taught the most basic pinyin from the beginning.
Primary schools are divided into four subjects: Chinese, mathematics, nature, history, and physical education.
Liu Xin is responsible for teaching mathematics, and now she only needs to teach simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Abacus and accounting need to be taught in upper grades.
Chinese lessons start with Pinyin.
History is not taught by teachers, but by teachers from rural ancestral temples.
Naturally, in this course, the teachers are all students and cannot understand the content in the books, so they can only read according to the textbooks.
Physical education classes are held by the township inspectors, who mainly teach students to practice formation.
…
After a few days of getting used to it, the students all adapted to the accommodation conditions of the elementary school.
Liu Xin checks on the children's lives.
In addition to teachers, the school also has other staff.
Most of them are women, who are responsible for cooking for students and taking care of some younger students.
Liu Xin glanced at the calendar next to her. Today is August 1st, which is the time when all primary schools start classes.
The teachers took all the students to the playground.
"Students, I am your principal Liu Xin. Let us first salute the stone statue of Commander Su.
Everyone follow me."
Liu Xin bowed ninety degrees to the stone statue of Commander Su.
"Thank you, Commander Su."
The children followed his example and bowed like the stone statues in Suhe.
At the same time, he said: "Thank you, Commander Su."
Several students stood there in a daze, forgetting to bow, and the teacher present immediately corrected them.
After the children bowed, the teacher took them into the large classroom.
The classroom is very spacious, with more than 300 children divided into six classes, with more than 50 people in each class.
Liu Xin was on the playground, waiting for her history teacher to be congratulated.
After waiting for a while, she saw a young man with burly hair walking into the school.
"Cousin, I told you in advance that classes would start today. Why did you come so late?"
Liu Guangsheng looked at Liu Xin, his eyes full of endearment.
This is his biological sister, who passed the imperial examination for the sake of the family and became a minor official.
She also vouched for herself, freeing herself from being a statistician in the coal mine and becoming a small blessing at the Yimen Township Ancestral Temple.
He still carries his sentence, but as a teacher, the job is easy and he can get a reduced sentence.
Liu Guangsheng's eyes were still bloodshot, and he said a little tiredly:
"The ancestral temple in the village has just been built, and there are five congratulators in total.
Someone passed away in Linhe Village a few days ago, and because it was too remote, I had to go and host the funeral.
I walked back through the mountains all night, went to the ancestral temple to change my clothes, and then came here."
"Brother, you are suffering, let's go to class quickly.
When we settle down, we will bring my sister-in-law and nephew over and reunite your family."
The two of them walked to the classroom. The room here was very large.
The current students all live in this building close to the dormitory. The other buildings are now vacant and reserved for future students.
They walked to the door of Class 1, where the teacher was teaching Chinese class.
"Everyone, please learn Pinyin from me, open your mouth and read it loudly."
"ah."
There were a lot of "ah" sounds in the classroom.
When Liu Guangsheng heard the sound of Pinyin, he remembered the pain of learning Pinyin before.
Only by learning Pinyin and Simplified Chinese can they get a chance to have their sentences reduced.
At that time, everyone had to work hard to learn this pinyin text after a hard day's work.
They walked to the door of Class 2 and saw the teacher teaching nature, reading the content according to the textbook.
"The place we live in is called Earth.
It's a big round ball.
There are many details in life, and we can see that the earth is spherical.
We stood on a tall building by the river and looked at the sailboats in the distance.
You have to see the sails first and then you can see the hull."
"Brother, I'll go in and teach mathematics, and you should go teach history as well."
Liu Xin and Liu Guangsheng separated and went to class to teach students.
Liu Xin approached the class, and the students immediately stood up and bowed to her.
"Hello teacher."
When Liu Xin saw this scene, she felt that her life had been sublimated.
In the first half of his life, he never felt respected.
The family's request for her is just a tool for marriage.
From this moment, she truly felt that she was a person.
She will spend her whole life teaching every student well.
"Okay, classmates, please sit down."
"Students, open your math textbooks and remember to keep the textbooks.
These textbooks belong to the school and any damage caused by humans will be punished."
"Our first lesson is to learn about numbers."
Liu Xin began to teach students Arabic numerals.
This kind of numbers is easy to recognize and is very suitable for children to learn.
It is recorded in mathematics books that it is one of the treasures left by the extinct ancient Indian civilization.
Liu Xin didn't understand why the things left by ancient Indian civilization were called Arabic numerals.
Liu Guangsheng entered the classroom and picked up the history book.
He didn't know how to give lectures, he just told the students the story of the Yellow Emperor in the way of spreading faith.
…
Su He listened to the report from Zhang Youfeng, Minister of Education.
Zhang Youfeng is a branch of the Zhang family in Hanzhong.
The Zhang family is also a big gentry, but they mainly focus on scholarship and teaching. They also do some monopoly business and do not do many evil things.
Their family's land was confiscated by the governor's office, and more than a dozen clan members were arrested and sentenced to forced labor.
Su He originally thought that this kind of gentry would always be hostile to him.
To Su He's surprise, he completely wiped out the Ming Dynasty army in Baoji County, and many of the remaining gentry in Hanzhong City changed their attitudes.
They sent out ministers one after another.
They have also become aware of current affairs and have always supported the policies of the government.
This time Hanzhong Primary School opened, and the gentry headed by the Zhang family also sent their children to the primary school.
The gentry group in Suhe is very hostile. It is mainly this group that monopolizes land, which is now an important means of production.
He wanted to redistribute land and curb land annexation, and had irreconcilable conflicts with the gentry.
But his enemy was the gentry.
Specific to each family, they only need to accept the land policy of the commander-in-chief.
Since he himself had not done many evil deeds, Su He was willing to accept these gentry.
Since the establishment of the imperial examination system, wealthy families have gradually disappeared.
The reason why aristocratic families can form is that they monopolize knowledge and official channels.
Today's gentry is far inferior in strength and status to the aristocratic families in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
The gentry did not have a large amount of land, so they could not control a large number of farmers.
They could only become nobles who passed down poems and books, aiming to educate officials, and no longer controlled large amounts of land.
In order to increase the value of their family property, some nobles would also invest in industry to promote industrial development.
His subordinates Wang Zhongce, Li Zhisheng and others will also form new gentry.
Su He wanted to ensure that a commoner could become a noble through his own efforts, so that they could become a marquis and become a prime minister.
As long as the common people's upward path is not interrupted.
The entire society will be full of vitality and will not become corrupt.
Zhang Youfenghui reported: “Under President Su, the Ministry of Education recruited thousands of primary school teachers, coupled with the support of ancestral temples and inspections.
We have built at least one primary school in every township.
The three primary schools in Hanzhong City have already started school. According to the plan, primary schools in other townships will also start school today.
Elementary school tuition is much cheaper than that of private schools, and the Tongling Government also provides various benefits to ensure that students can go to school.
People’s participation is very high, and according to our statistics, at least 30% of school-age children have entered primary school.”
Su He heard that 30% of school-age children could go to school.
He praised: "You have done a very good job. Once the primary school is opened, it will provide us with a steady stream of literate talents.
Thirty percent is already very high. When people's lives are better, they will be more active in enrolling their children in school."
Su is now looking forward to how much influence these primary school students will have on society after graduation.
In this era, cultivating a large number of primary school students can already meet society's demand for talents.
Only exceptionally outstanding talents, who stand out from primary school, can learn more profound knowledge.
After Zhang Youfeng finished his report, he left Lingyun Hall.
Su He then also walked out of Lingyun Palace, and primary schools had opened all over the countryside.
He is now going to another school - Hanzhong Military Academy.
Hanzhong Military Academy is located to the west of the Ancestral Temple and next to the department store.
It is Hanzhong City, the third reinforced concrete building.
As soon as Su He walked into Hanzhong Military Academy, the students greeted him.
"Hello, principal."
"Hello students."
Su He responded with a smile.
He is the principal of Hanzhong Military Academy, and these students are the backbone of the military.
Su He would not trust anyone to leave the principal of Hanzhong Military Academy to anyone.
Hanzhong Military Academy is divided into two major departments: the command department and the staff department.
Students in the command department are mainly officers who are currently serving.
Before they were promoted, they came to Hanzhong Military Academy for further studies.
Learn better military command skills.
The students in the Staff Department are very mixed.
Some of them are better-educated soldiers in the army.
After recommendations from military officers, they were allowed to attend military academies.
There are also some who are scholars, especially because there were many failed candidates in the recruitment hall in the past.
They joined the army, and most of them chose the staff department because of the influence of books such as The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Su He walked into the command department classroom and taught the students.
He will take time for a class every three days.
"When I talk about combat this time, we must make full use of intelligence.
Know yourself and your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger."
"In actual combat, use all possible reconnaissance methods.
Take the enemy's situation from reconnaissance into full consideration.
Intelligence is crucial in war, so don't overlook any small detail.
Study the situation of your own army.
Put yourself in someone else's shoes, try to think of the enemy, all their attack routes, and defend accordingly.
Judge the enemy's movements based on your own experience.
Don’t be afraid of failure, no one is a victorious general, we must be good at summing up the experience of failure.”
After Su He finished his lecture, some students meditated and some took notes.
They all gained something.
Su He's class ended today and he came to the Staff Department classroom.
Li Fengming was standing in front of the sand table, constantly placing flags on it.
He taught the students the art of war through the sand table.
The sand table is a teaching prop promoted by Su He in military academies.
His goal is for every general to be able to read the sand table in the future.
The war game is played on the sand table, which is very intuitive.
Su He waited for Li Fengming to finish his class, and the students all left after greeting him.
He walked forward and looked at the sand table in front of Li Fengming.
It is a topographic map around Hanzhong constructed according to a certain proportion.
"Mr. Li, you are still worried about Jianmen Pass."
Su He walked forward and saw Li Fengming placing the flag on the sword gate and closing it.
"This is the most powerful pass in the world, and the Shu Road is very difficult to travel, so heavy artillery cannot be transported.
It was very difficult to defeat it.
Once we enter Sichuan, we will face not only the Ming army in the Sichuan and Chongqing areas.
Zhu Xieyuan was the Minister of the Ministry of War, governor of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Huguang, and Guangxi military affairs and governor of Guizhou.
Once our army enters Sichuan, it will face the Ming army from the five provinces commanded by Zhu Xieyuan."
Su He also agreed: "Zhu Xieyuan is very powerful, especially since he just wiped out the rebellion of She Chongming and An Bangyan.
By training an elite army through counterinsurgency, our battle this time will be very difficult.
But we must enter Shu and huddle in Hanzhong. When the Ming Dynasty calms down, we will be the first to be destroyed."
Su He pointed at the military academy square where the military students were practicing formation.
“Wait until these short-term students, whose duration is half a year, are completed.
After more than half a year of recuperation, the soldiers transformed from a state of malnutrition into an elite soldier.
Especially if we have enough food, then it is time to march.
There is no rush now, we have to lay the foundation first.
Strive to capture the Sichuan and Chongqing areas within a short period of time and do not delay for too long.
Not only are we developing, but the slaves in the Northeast are also developing."
Li Fengming also stared out the window, nodded and said: "Commander Su is right, Ming Dynasty is more anxious than us now.
The Ming Dynasty defenders at Jianmen Pass sent troops to test Jinniu Pass many times.
The reinforced concrete-reinforced Jinniu Pass is coupled with a powerful fort.
The Ming Dynasty's military could do nothing to defeat Jinniu Pass."
Su He looked at the sand table without saying anything. He could see the current situation clearly than anyone else.
They are now short of food and money.
Expenditures on industrial development and education are very large, but these things cannot be ignored.
The earlier it is done, the deeper the foundation will be.
Hanzhong is currently short of food, and the food purchased from Huguang can only sustain daily consumption.
There is more than enough defense but not enough offense.
The elite Ming army in northern Shaanxi was wiped out in one battle.
The Shaanxi Ming Army is now dealing with the insurrectionary army and the invasion of Tatars.
There is Hanyin County in the east, guarding the Han River. The troops from Huguang cannot enter.
There is the Jinniu Pass in the south blocking the Jinniu Road, and the Ming army in the south cannot attack it.
But it was very difficult for him to attack other places.
Northern Shaanxi is now a vast area of bare land. Su Changsheng sent a careful investigation and found that in many places there is no cockcrow for thousands of miles.
To the east is the Huguang Plain, which is completely undefendable and can only be surrounded and suppressed by Zhu Xieyuan's army.
He can only go south and gradually encroach on the Sichuan and Chongqing regions.
This will be a tough battle, and as long as he wins, he will have the foundation to rise.
Su He directly picked up the Great Wall military flag next to him and inserted it into the sword gate and closed it.
His meaning is very clear, he must win Jianmen Pass at all costs.
"Mr. Li, you must make all plans in advance.
Predict defeat before you expect victory, and try to consider the impact of natural disasters and other unexpected situations.”
Li Fengming listened to Su He's instructions: "Commander Su, please rest assured, we still have several months before sending troops.
I will arrange everything during this time."
Su He looked at the sand table and saw another important reason why he must capture the Sichuan and Chongqing areas as soon as possible.
There were fewer caravans between them and the Ming Dynasty, and the price of salt soared.
The artesian wells in Fushun County and the Gongjing wells in Rong County produce salt.
They must master their own salt field.
After the autumn harvest, the food was abundant and the soldiers were well trained to seize the southwest.
