Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 569 From Literacy Campaign in the Garrison to Military Academy

Liu Huai's days have been a little more comfortable these past few days.

But it was only a little bit.

After the autumn harvest was stored up, the people in various places were not idle. They were organized by officials to perform corvée labor, and the newly established garrison troops were also not idle. They were organized by generals to carry out military training.

The people naturally had complaints, but the main theme of the year was still development, and the main focus was still on repairing water conservancy facilities. So when the people saw that they received a small amount of reward money and were provided with meals, they had no complaints.

In addition to training, the garrison soldiers were also tasked with conducting literacy education during this rare gathering of young men.

This matter sounds simple, but it is far too difficult to carry out.

The first to be affected were school teachers.

There were quite a few poor scholars in Shandong, but not all of them were that poor. Especially under the rule of the Loyal Army, people's livelihoods were relatively stable. At worst, they could find a job as an accountant. Why bother working in the army?
Therefore, although Liu Huai improved the salaries of teachers, there was still a shortage of dozens of teachers.

Left with no other choice, Liu Huai could only use the promise of merit and promotion as an incentive to get a group of clerks in the army to do the job, which was how the operation was barely put into operation.

Of course, Liu Huai could say he had the final say at the beginning, but how things would actually develop under the collective wisdom and effort of everyone was anyone's guess.

These elite soldiers are adept at fighting on the battlefield, but they are truly hopeless at writing; their learning speed is astonishingly slow.

However, they were not the kind of uncouth people who called scholars "meng'er"; they also knew the importance of knowledge.

Those who retired from the army and were literate often got good government jobs, while those who were illiterate could only receive a small reward and return home to be small landlords. These were things they had seen with their own eyes and could not be faked.

Knowledge is such a wonderful thing!

Even if I learn very slowly, I want the next generation to learn!

Soon, many teenagers infiltrated the literacy campaigns in various military units. Most of them were the sons and nephews of officers and soldiers. The older ones were already fifteen or sixteen years old and about to become adults; the younger ones were only five or six years old and were still little kids running around with snot running down their faces.

At first, these children simply held a wooden stick and listened attentively to a plate of yellow sand. But Chinese society had one advantage: it treated those who were eager to learn with special consideration, and this consideration came from all walks of life, including the government, landlords, powerful families, and ordinary people.

Soon, this situation was reported to the Jiedushi's office by officials from various regions.

Liu Huai, of course, did not hesitate and immediately allocated a batch of money and grain, and set out the rules.

All children who attend the classes will be provided with one meal. The top ten students who excel in the exams within ten days will receive two meals a month and a reward of one hundred coins.

The order was quickly compiled and issued by Li Tong, but this fellow was even more meticulous, stipulating that before meals, the officers of the garrison must lead these teenagers to shout three times, "Thank you for the kindness of Lord Wei! Thank you for the kindness of Lord Liu!"

These students need to know who provided them with this meal and educational opportunity.

It can only be said that he fully revealed his treacherous and wicked nature.

The story doesn't end here.

Hearing that meals were provided, people from all over the country were naturally eager to participate.

Of course, it's going too far for adults to try to freeload, but sending children here can always save the family a meal.

If the child is diligent and achieves excellent grades, bringing home a hundred coins every ten days, then we should really thank God.

Because the training was conducted in various garrisons, and the garrison commanders were all Liu Huai's confidants, many of whom had served as Liu Huai's personal guards, these generals quickly joined in, whether they agreed with their commander's ideals or wanted to make a name for themselves and gain attention.

Their educational level was only average, but their martial arts skills were superb, and they began to teach the children martial arts without any reservations.

Shandong people are known for their fierce and martial arts-loving nature. Most children have learned a few farming skills from their fathers and brothers, so they don't mind learning martial arts. Therefore, it is common for them to practice martial arts and military formations for half an hour after studying cultural knowledge in the afternoon.

After all, it was a military environment, and the children's fathers and brothers were all elite soldiers who also participated in the drills. Soon, the children's military training was on track, even faster than learning to write.

After hearing the reports from various places, Liu Huai was somewhat amused and exasperated.

It's truly unexpected that the mass literacy campaign in the garrison could eventually develop into the prototype of a military academy.

Moreover, Liu Huai clearly realized that this was not simply a matter of making money or popularizing literacy, just like establishing maritime trade, but rather the rise of a new political faction.

These children, educated in the garrison, would later become officials, merchants, or warriors, and would naturally band together and form factions based on their previous educational experiences.

The rise of political factions has the disadvantage of vying for power and profit, but it also has its advantages. After they became the political representatives of the garrison troops, the garrison troops were not allowed to fall into the same situation as the hereditary soldiers of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

Let's wait and see; the emergence of a new force is always a good thing.

At this moment, Liu Huai was thinking this.

But the development of history is ultimately created by the people, not by the decisions of powerful figures.

Qushan County, Haizhou.

"Commander, Commander!" a boy shouted, "I've found out everything!"

The boy, addressed as Commander Qu, shook his tattered sleeves and shouted, "Little Sun, don't call me Commander Qu! Have you forgotten the rules here? Call me Hou Anyuan!"

Xiao Sun nodded repeatedly, appearing quite fearful.

After the garrison opened its doors to allow children to participate in literacy programs, the wandering knights of Qushan County also joined in to earn a living.

These people were all beggars before. After the Loyal Army occupied Haizhou and implemented a series of policies to restore people's livelihoods, these beggars either became apprentices or workers, or went to the countryside to be allocated land and become farmers, or joined the army as logistics grooms. In general, the original beggar groups have been greatly reduced.

Of course, there are some people in this world who don't want to live a peaceful life and are afraid that the world is not chaotic enough, such as Hou Anyuan, the leader of this group of beggars.

Hou Anyuan, who had led a group of beggars to kill Gao Wenfu, the prefect of Haizhou in the Jin Kingdom, with stones, originally had a promising future. However, he was a dissolute man who only accepted many rewards. After distributing them to the beggars under his command, he continued to lead a group of delinquent youths astray.

He has the makings of a new generation of gangster boss.

However, the government naturally had its own rules, especially since the newly established regime of the Loyal Army was politically transparent and the county magistrate, Gao Chang, was an upright official. Under his crackdown, Hou Anyuan dared not commit any crimes, and the gang leader of that generation fell from grace, with his meals becoming less and less available each day.

With no other option, Hou Anyuan could only take a few trusted followers and a few teenagers and search for a way to make a living.

Then they heard that the garrison provided meals, so they went there under the pretext of studying. Once there, they discovered, "Wow, this place is great! It's a place to make a fortune!"

"Xiao Sun, please continue."

Seeing several troublemakers huddled together behind a tent, a garrison officer frowned, fearing they might cause trouble. He quietly followed behind them, hiding behind the tent and listening intently.

Sure enough, a moment later, whispers could be heard.

“Brother, I’ve found out everything. The Zhang family are merchants. They have no literary reputation or official status, they just have plenty of money. Their son is extremely stupid.”

"As for Zhao Tisi's grandson and Wang Yuanwai's second son, they are not a threat. We can deal with them with ease."

"Good!" Hou Anyuan's voice came, filled with undisguised excitement: "They're all fools, it's our turn to make this windfall."

The officer listening nearby was somewhat speechless.

Trying to kidnap the children of wealthy families and officials in a military camp? You really don't know the meaning of death!

Who's the idiot here?!
Just as the officer was about to catch them red-handed, Hou Anyuan said, "In this month's final exam, the top ten will not only receive a hundred coins, but I heard that the wealthy people in the city have specially pooled together a sum of money, and each person will receive a full five hundred coins. Moreover, this will become the norm in the future!"

"We are determined to get this money!"

"Here!"

Several teenagers cheered quietly at the same time.

The officer was even more speechless and turned to leave.

So all you kids are doing this for is to get good grades!

Being so secretive, like you're about to commit a crime, is just ridiculous!
Hou Anyuan was unaware that he had been spared a lot of torment. The next day, he walked into the examination room with high spirits.

Although it was the first time Hou Anyuan had picked up a proper calligraphy brush, his training with wooden sticks on the yellow sand for many days had enabled him to accurately master the posture of holding the brush. Although his writing was not very good, he could still write some characters clearly.

For these novice illiterates, the questions were not difficult; they were simply a matter of writing a few short essays and doing some math.

Hou Anyuan was naturally somewhat prepared for this.

In fact, he estimated that with his and his brothers' limited intelligence, they could only squeeze into the top ten at most in the first month. After that, there would be real academic geniuses who had been buried in the wilderness. At that time, how would Hou Anyuan compare his grades with these people?
It's a one-off deal, I'm going all in!
And as he expected, in the first competition, Xiao Sun took first place, while Hou Anyuan took third place, and two others made it into the top ten, which was a great victory.

"Hahaha!" Hou Anyuan laughed loudly below the list, his arrogance boundless: "Two and a half strings of cash, enough for all of us brothers to buy a proper winter coat!"

Little Sun wiped his drool and said, "Brother, I need to buy some more good food. Eating porridge and salted radish strips every day is getting so bland."

Hou Anyuan said with exasperation, "Eat, eat, all you know is how to eat! Didn't we give you all the fresh fish from the other day? You ate all those big pieces of fish, and that wasn't enough?!"

As he said this, Hou Anyuan looked at the pleading expressions on the faces of the others and sighed, "Then it's your decision. We can eat as much food as we save."

“Please, sir.” A boy who had been listening for an unknown amount of time spoke up at this moment: “In that case, I can take out the wealth I have obtained this time, and not only treat you all, but also all the children studying here to have a good meal.”

Hou Anyuan looked at the boy, who appeared to be only thirteen or fourteen years old, and asked arrogantly, "Who are you?"

"My name is Shi Wang, and I come from Ganyu County." The young man bowed respectfully, like a little adult. "I ranked second this time."

Hou Anyuan looked at the other person's clothes, clicked his tongue, and said, "Heh, looks like you're not short of money either. Why bother hanging out with us poor folks?"

Shi Wang waved his hand and said, "We're all classmates who studied together, why make such a distinction?"

Xiao Sun swallowed hard and said, "But with so many people, is there enough money?"

Shi Wang smiled and said, "That's easy. I see that among the ten people on this list, besides you all, there are three others that I know. Their families are not short of money, so I'll have them all contribute money as well."

After deducting your winter clothes, we'll save three strings of cash. We can then buy a few pigs, stew them with radishes, and steam a large pot of millet rice—enough to share!

Those who came to study here were not only ordinary people, but also many officials, wealthy merchants, and landlords who keenly perceived the potential of the garrison school and sent their sons and nephews here for military education.

Even if you don't learn anything useful, you can at least become a familiar face to your classmates.

Although there weren't many of these children of officials, most of them had already started their education at home and could easily handle basic test questions. It can only be said that the other six children from commoner backgrounds were truly intelligent.

As the son of a wealthy merchant family in Ganyu, it was perfectly normal for Shi Wang to want to befriend them, as they would inevitably attract the attention of the Loyal Army.

Shi Wang was no pushover either. If history had unfolded as it should have, eight years later, he would have launched another uprising against the Jin in Haizhou. However, like Zhang Wang and Xu Yuan, he would have ultimately failed and his entire family would have been killed.

The group of teenagers solemnly discussed and agreed on the matter, and then quickly took action after the money was distributed.

Two other people in the top ten, unable to refuse, also wanted to contribute money, but Shi Wang sternly refused.

These two are ordinary people; their money has a great purpose and shouldn't be wasted here.

The officers and soldiers of the garrison watched this scene with amusement, and many of them even joined in to help butcher the pork.

Before long, the simple cooking was ready. More than 700 children, some still with snotty noses and others already looking like adults, were all gathered together without looking out of place. They were all holding bowls in front of the big pot, waiting eagerly.

Watching Hou Gaoyuan and Shi Wang divide the meat, General Fu Gongyuan of Haizhou Garrison smiled and said to his confidant beside him, "Shouldn't we divide them into large, medium, and small groups according to age? Otherwise, won't these kids always take the reward?"

The confidant laughed as well: "Let's write it down and submit it to the military governor's office as a formality. These kids bullying a five or six-year-old child is really outrageous."

Just as Hou Anyuan had expected, this was essentially a trial period; once it was over, it was over.

If things had gone according to plan, after this meal, Hou Anyuan and his gang of troublemakers would either have left the garrison or settled down to start their education peacefully and then continue their misdeeds in the local area.

Gangsters either die or repent and start a new life.

But what happened next changed Hou Anyuan's life forever.

(End of this chapter)