Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 260 Five Oceans Festival

Inside the Naval Academy, the tall and upright Liu Haoxing was reviewing the curriculum of his new school—in order to determine whether he, at his age, could handle it.

The Naval Academy’s current main courses are physical training, marine geography, world humanities, and six dialects.

The Zhenhan dynasty unified the entire continent and carried out cultural unification; therefore, both the Indian subcontinent (coastal cities) and the Abbasid Caliphate (secular city-states) established a system of writing using Chinese characters. However, the pronunciation of Han scholars in these two places was very different from the standard pronunciation of the Celestial Empire, not to mention the dialect of Shu (Sichuan) on the mainland. Xuan Chong: The dialect of the people of Eastern Shu is comparable to Wenzhou dialect.

Compared to the physical education atmosphere at the Army Academy, the Naval Academy is more academic.

Xuan Chong learned from the memories of his predecessor Liu Haoxing that at Lu Shi's place, there were only four cultural classes per week; and after the training camp ended, they would start playing Cuju (ancient Chinese football) and discuss which tavern to go to for some fun.

Now, after entering the naval academy, he found himself surrounded by a densely packed curriculum and endless exams, with about 30% of the students wearing glasses. Looking around after enrolling, Xuan Chong saw only well-mannered and refined junior students.

Six days after enrolling, Xuan Chong discovered that the naval curriculum was quite difficult, which was a lot of hard work for a thirteen-year-old child, but it was just right for him, a "time traveler".

Xuan Chong majored in navigation. One of the questions involved using a star chart, where students had to calculate the latitude and longitude within ten minutes. This left many of the new students, a few years older than Liu Haoxing, scratching their heads in frustration.

When Xuan Chong was doing these kinds of problems, he memorized a full fourteen-page data table so that he could calculate directly with pen and paper without having to look up the table.

After doing more calculations, you can do mental calculations without a pen. — Xuan Chong recounts: This isn't about mathematical talent; it's just about becoming familiar with a table hundreds or thousands of times.

The naval academy's strict teachers softened their attitude after confirming that "Liu Haoxing" had no problems with mathematics, and began to use "Liu Haoxing" as a whip to punish those unfortunate students.

The teacher, dressed in a sailor shirt (long gown), said: "Look at you! Even those younger than you can calculate clearly; are you wasting your time on dogs?"

Receiving such public praise made Xuan Chong feel "ashamed," realizing that he had actually cheated.

Xuan Chong directly used the line-drawing function of a "pencil box tool" to create a surveying and mapping tool that spanned five kilometers; the scale of the knob on it was extremely precise. Through multiple measurements, the circle was precisely locked in with each measurement. The result could be determined in approximately three measurements.

Whenever I encounter this type of problem, I simply expand this "calculation system" that only I can see and read the value.

Just as Xuan Chong was worried that he would be singled out for not fitting in because he was being singled out by the teacher to reprimand other students.

A few days later, Xuan Chong realized he had overthought things; the approach to cooperation in the navy was different from that in the army.

Because of his exceptional calculation skills, Xuan Chong was recruited into the naval academy group due to this particular talent.

When these classmates praised Liu Haoxing, saying, "Young man, you have a talent for mathematics!" and subtly tried to find out if Xuan Chong's elders were accountants in a bank.

Xuan Chong smiled wryly, because this was just like how the white people in his previous life thought East Asians were good at math. Oh, what's so great about math? It's just the endless practice of doing countless problems at a desk—plus the white people's brains being numb from taking drugs.

…After June, the waves subsided…

"Today is the Five Oceans Festival, everyone please wear formal attire this morning!" After the course ended, the colonel-ranking instructor addressed everyone with these words.

Then everyone began to prepare.

The "Five Oceans Festival" is the festival commemorating the founding of the Han Navy, specifically the sacrificial day before Emperor Taizong established the dynasty's large fleet and set sail. During those three voyages, the Han Navy recaptured the lands of the southern peninsula and reintegrated the territory of Vietnam, Myanmar, and Thailand into its territory.

Xuan Chong and many of his classmates took out their formal attire from the storage area; Xuan Chong thought to himself, "In short, it's a solemn day, so I'll just go with the flow."

This system was modeled after old-fashioned pawnshops, where students would deposit their cotton-padded clothes in the spring and redeem them in the winter—essentially renting cotton-padded clothes. The Han army's ceremonial uniforms had gold and silver thread patterns, making a complete set extremely expensive; many students naturally couldn't afford them and could only pay a deposit to retrieve them from the storage facility.

Xuan Chong's squad belonged to the reserve officer corps, and all members were required to wear brocade dress uniforms. The uniforms were embroidered with azure scales, the tail of the Azure Dragon of the East. The current Han emperor had declared that every ship was a dragon scale of the dynasty, hence the naval reservists were permitted to wear such uniforms. As for why only the dragon's tail? —Only emperors possessed dragons; to grant naval officers even a scale or a claw was already a divine favor.

Speaking of which, next to the naval academy is the Seamen's Academy. The Seamen's Academy is an accelerated program; all on-campus courses combined take only three months, followed by seafaring internships. There are no single rooms at the Seamen's Academy; all rooms are shared dormitories with bunk beds.

They wore blue cloth clothes with two symmetrical pockets on their chests, resembling crab claws. There were eight functional pockets on each side, like the eight legs of a shrimp or crab, hence the nickname "shrimp soldiers and crab generals."

Liu Haoxing's classmates were either nobles or elites from poor families who had studied hard; fleet command required both intellect and access to high-level resources.

Needless to say, the minds of those selected from among the best of the poor through hard work and study are exceptional. And what are the resources available to those at the top?
The maintenance and operation of a fleet requires shipyards, docks, and complex industries! In short, it requires a whole system. How can the current bureaucratic system of imperialism possibly supervise and ensure that such a military force, which integrates vast resources and has a complex supply chain, operates without error?

The founding emperor of the Han Dynasty gave the standard answer: just stuff nobles onto the naval ships.

The army's practice of patronizing nobles is the root of all evil, because the army is prone to complacency; as long as there is no war, when carrying out long-term stationing missions, who can tell that they are swimming naked?
But on naval ships, the nobles all knew that if the ship sank, they would be gone; there was no way to escape by donkey cart. So even when nobles retired from frontline positions and returned to military academies to select new recruits, they focused on tactics and technical skills; even if their own disciples lacked the ability, they would still suppress those who considered themselves superior and make them bow to technical positions.

Furthermore, the navy does not have the problem of not going to sea to collect military pay.

The navy exists to maintain hegemony, and hegemony requires tributes from various sources. And it is precisely because of the power of the nobility that, over the past century, resources for the navy, from sails to iron-ribbed wooden hulls to battleships, have been delivered in an orderly manner.

The students recruited by the sailors' academy outside were much more diverse, as long as they were loyal! Interestingly, these days even "loyal butchers" were worth their price in the imperial court.

…Dragons coil in the indigo ocean, shrimps and crabs peck at the sand…

Three months after enrolling, Xuan Chong witnessed the lives of the sailors, some of whom displayed impressive martial arts skills in the competition. One of the bosuns hurled a rope from the dock towards the ship, then, like walking a tightrope, reached the ship's side in three breaths. Clearly, they all possessed internal strength.

Xuan Chong initially understood it this way: Since warships are such high-value equipment, the security of some of their internal facilities is comparable to that of the Imperial Palace. It seems they need to recruit some gang members to cooperate.

In this world of martial arts, there are many who break the law with their martial arts. Sometimes, they wield two Mauser pistols, leap across rooftops and into the interior of warships, and single-handedly tear apart Japanese soldiers, causing a warship to explode in the process—that would be truly shameful.

Therefore, elite sailors need to focus on physical fitness and combat skills at sea. When necessary, they must know how to board ships.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong of this dynasty, a fleet was assembled to sail to the Western Ocean, and the "giant whale gangs" along the coast were pacified. By this reckoning, the imperial court has a long history of maintaining this "personnel relationship." Similar to the Qing Dynasty's Grand Canal, due to its long-term use, the canal gangs in their later stages almost became uncontrollable state-owned enterprises, with the livelihoods of millions of canal workers depending on them.

The above was Xuan Chong's conjecture based on his previous life's understanding of the "Ming and Qing Dynasties," but Xuan Chong later realized that he was being superficial. The maritime merchants had not reached the high level he had imagined at all.

The cooperation between the Navy and gangs such as the Giant Whale Gang, the Sea Sand Gang, and the Wandering Dragon Society was fundamentally due to collusion between the military and businesses.

If we're really talking about "needs," the current Han Dynasty's need for gangs is "10%"; then the need of local gangs for the imperial navy is "90%".

How loyal are these sailors from gang backgrounds?

If they are loyal, the government will protect them, and they can get things done easily through their connections in the navy; if they are disloyal and betray the government, the blame will fall on the gang, and the gang's internal rules will come before the national law.

As for the "one percent" that the current court still needs, this is because there are still some details that the imperial power cannot attend to when it goes down to the county level. These factions need to emphasize the importance of "Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher" when they come into contact with people from all walks of life.

Because the government lacked sufficient personnel at the grassroots level to investigate the reliability of every individual, the secret societies, however, had a clear understanding of everyone's background. Within the secret societies, there were guarantors and leaders who recommended sailors to the navy, ensuring their members had impeccable records. The secret societies could help the court mobilize reliable people from the countryside at minimal cost.

Xuan Chong's previous life's "Heavenly Court" didn't need even a fraction of the power of the "Black Wind Village" below.

Every hill has its mountain god, and every stream its river god. The unofficial little demons usually call themselves kings, and the local mountain god just laughs. But once the mountain god changes, he doesn't want to laugh anymore, so the little demons should be sensible and dismiss themselves.

Therefore, we often see bosses who, after the bigwigs above them retire, have to rush off because the new bosses might dig up some of their past misdeeds.

Overall, as times have progressed, the power of the "Heavenly Court" has gradually increased. Although the present Han Dynasty is not as powerful as the previous one, its control over the wealthy southeastern coast will absolutely not allow the "Demon King" to cause trouble.

On the bustling streets of Hangzhou, everything is orderly. But in the shadowy side of this order, the underworld prioritizes "wealth" over "generosity."

During this century of industrial revolution, many gangs have transformed; for example, the contemporary Tang Clan has transformed into "automobile" manufacturing and mechanical processing.

Indeed, when Xuan Chong first saw the "Wuling" trademark, he thought he had traveled through time, only to find out that it was a trademark registered by the Tang Clan's "Car Hall".

…A detailed account of the ecosystem of the martial arts world…

As for the Giant Whale Gang, like most gangs, they went into hiding and became a guild. They were responsible for 40% of the capital operations in shipping along the Qiantang River.

They no longer recruit thugs to occupy the fish market and collect fees; however, if a small gang acts arrogantly towards them—Xuan Chong had heard his old classmates mention such a case when he first arrived: a few years ago, a small gang that had risen to prominence by selling fish wanted to seize a piece of the fish market. They didn't know the rules and overturned several individual vendors' stalls. Then, arrogantly, they directly overturned an old man's stall.

The senior student said with a serious expression, "The next day, he was surrounded by a group of retired sailors and got a good beating; then the government intervened."

A fight of brute force? If a small gang dares to defeat a retired veteran sailor, they can then rightfully suppress him, let alone one that can't possibly win. It's said that the Whale Gang only brought two veteran sailors, but the number of able-bodied men they brought from other places is several times, even ten times, that of the small gang.

In such a conflict, if someone bullies someone without official rank and kills them, the local officials will eventually report it as a "mutual fight."

Xuan Chong asked in confusion, "Small gangs can't turn things around? Is the martial arts world just a case of big fish eating small fish?"

Senior: Not necessarily. Unless a small gang can contact a highly skilled "lone wolf" and get that lone wolf to take action, the Giant Whale Gang will not give them any face.

A lone wolf who commits a crime can escape unscathed through his own abilities. If no expert of the same level is watching him, he is a lawless outlaw.

Lone wolves who commit crimes often choose to change their identities and flee elsewhere, remaining unknown until they reappear in the underworld.

However, if a skilled individual is watching him, even if the lone wolf commits a crime and travels to several provinces, he will not be able to escape the close surveillance of these skilled individuals. During his escape, the lone wolf cannot take trains or use transportation hubs, but the skilled individuals can take turns monitoring him, ultimately leading to his arrest.

Therefore, major gangs generally do not provoke lone wolves, but they are not going to give in completely either; as long as they bring out their top experts, the lone wolves will find that their skills are inferior to their opponents after a couple of exchanges, and they will casually say that they don't care about the matter.

However, speaking of this, the senior student sighed: "In the past hundred years, there have been fewer and fewer lone heroes who can single-handedly repel powerful forces that have cultivated their own masters! The life of a chivalrous knight-errant has become increasingly ethereal."

Firstly, established gangs like the Giant Whale Gang (shipping industry), the Tang Clan (machinery industry), and the Chang Le Society (mining laborers) accumulated substantial wealth during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution. As the saying goes, "the poor are learned, the rich are skilled in martial arts," and after stabilizing for a century, they also passed down some martial arts techniques.

Furthermore, these days, there is a growing lack of mindless, hot-blooded heroes; the best martial artists serve the emperor, the next best join the army to fight for a better life, and the worst are those who engage in undisciplined and reckless behavior.

The senior student pointed to the old tabloid, which featured the young swordsman Lu Changfeng, known as the "Little Divine Dragon of Jiangnan." This guy was still active in the martial arts world two years ago, but disappeared after he became famous.

Xuan Chong thought of the instructor in Dongtu. As a disciple of the Huashan Sect, he was a typical hothead in his early years. He was tricked by a small gang and had no choice but to take action. After committing the crime, he eventually had nowhere to hide and came to Dongtu.

Xuan Chong reaffirmed his belief once again: So that's what they mean by the martial world. It's full of deceit, hypocrisy, and empty formalities. An honest person like me should absolutely not deal with these kinds of people.

…hearing the news…

Xuan Chong once again took a ruler and drew a thousand straight lines in front of him, forming a "sound field" similar to the strings of a musical instrument.

The strings can produce sound and vibrate when they encounter sound, so this is a structure that senses sound waves; Xuan Chong then pushed this sound grating to a location of 1344.54m next to the Sailors Academy to begin sensing.

He casually took out a ruler and drew a long solid line to give himself a shot of the target. Xuan Chong: "Tsk tsk, now the audio and video are synchronized."

So, how do you use superpowers? Directly bullying others is too cowardly. And if you bully others too much and get caught by powerful figures of the same level, that would be bad. Therefore, gathering useful information where others can't see you is the key.

Two sailors are playing a finger tug-of-war on a table, a common bar game where a card is placed on the table, and each player uses one finger to try and move the card to their side. The card is made of iron, making it resistant to breakage, and has a built-in ball bearing underneath.

"Hey, did you hear? The Heavenly Music Ensemble is playing this time!"

The two hot-blooded sailors talked as they competed.
"I know, I know, your favorite 'Sister Tianyi' is presiding over the elegant music for this sacrificial ceremony."

"Did you know that Miss Tianyi's father is a third-rank guerrilla general!"

"real or fake?"

Meanwhile, Xuan Chong was measuring the distribution of muscle torque during their tug-of-war. He mapped the torque based on their exertion from their arms to their feet. He also noticed that both of them secretly used internal energy when discussing beautiful women.

As for the "Miss Tianyi" they mentioned, Xuan Chong, who came to this era, considered himself knowledgeable in etiquette and disdained such talk.

Even court musicians were still just musicians. The daughters of truly noble families learned the skills that were recognized by the court as essential for women; they either studied astronomy (weather forecasting) or worked in the sericulture department, leading crop breeding.

As for the "musical performers" who paraded through the streets, they were often sought after by the common people because of their looks. In the eyes of the important figures who could actually enter the ancestral temple, they were just people responsible for "performing".

A Neo-Confucian master from the Zhenhan era once said: "Women who value appearance as virtue are difficult to cultivate character." This statement was preceded by the saying: "Men who act impulsively in anger should not be given important positions (they are unlikely to achieve great things, nor should they be allowed to wield heavy responsibilities)."

Xuan Chong guessed, "If Tianyi really is the daughter of the guerrilla general, she must be born out of wedlock."

As the only child of the first Red Dynasty, Xuan Chong harbored an undisguised malice towards literature and art. He had an almost fanatical obsession with mathematics, physics, and chemistry.

…Visa School has art students…

In the orchestra, Qin Tianyi conducted the chime bells, carefully tuning each bell's tone; she raised her sleeve, the extended silk fabric like a serpent pulling the bells, controlling the "gong, shang, jiao, zhi, yu" notes.

The responsibility for the music and rituals of the Five Oceans Festival fell on her shoulders. The musical effects she pursued had standards unknown to outsiders, but were elements that the public was very sensitive to.

Before the development of media such as film and animation, music served the purpose of guiding individual emotions and spirits toward the grand will of society.

The music used in the sacrificial ceremony was very solemn and dignified. It began with the light and airy chimes, followed by the long, drawn-out sound of horns, and then the crisp, clear striking of various metal instruments, like an army marching in. It gave the listener a sense of being part of a united front.

It is worth mentioning that this kind of music did not exist in Silla and Gangsang, the previous incarnations of Xuan Chong.

So-called popular culture music is full of fast tempos, giving the impression of a teenager squandering their youth and having fun, or a solitary lament of sorrow. It's a cathartic release for "today's brilliance" or "tonight's gloom." There's no narrative that reflects a long-term commitment to crafting a story.

Because the cultures of those two places are fragmented. Like many islands colonized by Britain and France, much of the original local culture was destroyed, to the point that later generations, upon hearing Cantonese or Min dialect, cannot associate them with solemnity. (Music recommendation: "Immersed in Spring Grass," Min dialect)
What is ritual and music? It is joy without excess, and sorrow without despair.

The core purpose of ritual and music is to "guide" rather than to cater to "desires." The core purpose of ritual and music is to enable individual audiences to implement the will derived from civilization.

If a country lacks corresponding rituals and music, it will be unable to cultivate sufficient solemnity to define a major national event.

At the same time that Japanese music was popular in Silla and the port area, some pieces of music with a grand and majestic style emerged, which showed the style of ritual music; it can be seen that when they snatched the classics, they were really studying them.

…The classroom is diverse…

Dressed in simple clothes, Qin Tianyi adjusted her voice little by little. She was not only analyzing the melody, but also trying to evoke the emotional changes of the audience as they listened.

In the 26th century, timbre was used to guide group emotions, and there was a detailed scientific system for this.

In the 26th century, there were more advanced methods of "memory planning" that allowed people to resonate with each other's emotions.

As an "art student," Qin Tianyi attempts to use "music" in the ancient world to resonate with people of that era's understanding of the ocean. To achieve this, it's crucial to grasp certain key points and evoke shared memories.

Those who participate in the Five Oceans Festival include merchants, sailors, and naval personnel, but they all grew up by the sea. Their shared memories are evoked by the sounds of the waves, ship horns, sails, and anchors.

These "sounds" are all "fixed memory points." When the ritual music is played, the insertion of these sounds awakens people of different classes and ages on this land to move closer to the center.

Qin Tianyi's first self-selected question in this class: I want to play the most powerful ritual music.

This is something that Xuan Chong's generation completely failed to understand. Xuan, whose mind was steeped in science and engineering, would scoff, "Music, music? How many divisions does he deserve?"

In fact, ritual music is a very powerful technique; going back a hundred years from the Xuan Chong era, whether it was the defense of Huanghe River, the city songs, or the Songhua River, it was all the highest level of spiritual armament under the concept of "achieving emotional resonance through shared memories".

This was a period of decline for an ancient civilization, when its science and technology were lagging behind. It revealed the most profound and hidden treasures of its time.

Therefore, at a time when civilization was declining and nearing its end, it completed the payment of a "blood tax" that other civilizations dared not even imagine, and recreated the world.

Time has passed, and in the post-information age, there are many nations and ethnic groups with populations exceeding one hundred million and unique cultures. However, those massive populations, unable to unite and pay their blood taxes, are reduced to slavery under the bombs and electronic surveillance of the "Freedom Eagle."

The slaves sustain the value of "Knife Music," a green paper increasingly detached from actual production, by selling their blood and organs.

This is because heroic resistance and remembering the sacrifices are still too difficult for these barbarian tribes.

Qin Tianyi began to immerse herself in the "spiritual awakening" behind this ritual music, and faint optical currents appeared around her. Clearly, she was also using her "awakened" supernatural power.

Qin Tianyi's understanding of the "awakened" power is: it is a "tradition of ancestral witch divine powers" system, developed into a plot plane of modern industrial society.

(End of this chapter)