Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 274 Classmates
The year is 2106. In this year, Xuan Chong spends half the year on patrol and the other half returning to port, balancing work and study.

Of the four subjects, mechanical engineering and alchemy are the two subjects of physics and chemistry. Xuan Chong was very "talented" and quickly mastered them.

After all, no matter how much these two disciplines change, they cannot alter Newton's second theorem, nor can they change the number of electron shells in gold, silver, copper, iron, oxygen, and chlorine.

But when faced with the humanities-oriented exam questions, Xuan Chong was dumbfounded when he saw those from the Jiangnan region.

Unlike the liberal arts exams of the previous life, which consisted of lengthy and direct verbal discussions, this was a text entirely composed of "applied logic of science."

For example, a word problem might involve listing dozens of personnel units and requiring them to create a charter for a cross-state engineering project, assigning "departmental responsibilities."

Every personnel department's regulations and rules must be memorized in advance. How can we reduce points of conflict and provide explanations beforehand when regulations from different departments clash during the organizational process? This is called "administrative mediation."

This question presupposes hundreds of possible points of conflict; if any one of them, administrative mediation, is omitted, the question will be deemed unqualified.

Furthermore, during the integration process, efforts should be made to ensure automatic coupling between departments, minimizing additional administrative intervention. The logic involved is essentially a programming problem related to "human resources."

The major topics in "Neo-Confucianism" are not dogmatic debates based on rigid, formulaic writing. Rather, they are applied problems concerning how to allocate responsibilities and make efficiency visible when serving as an official.

It is necessary to cover the laws and regulations of hundreds of departments, including water conservancy, agriculture, law, and transportation, and to be familiar with the priority of the laws and regulations in each department. The priority of these laws and regulations varies at different times.

For example, during the flood season, water conservancy laws and regulations have the highest priority; while during the busy farming season, farming has the strongest priority.

The exam questions won't tell you which has higher priority; they'll only indicate a date and subtly insert a condition.

For example, in an exam question about organizing a temple fair, if the question mentions that the fair was very successful, then test takers should be wary of the top priority issue of "excessive crowds," such as preventing stampedes and fires.

Xuan Chong finally understood why Dongtu, such a small place, couldn't produce any successful candidates in the imperial examinations; it was because the harsh, serf-like culture made economic activities very simple and management very rough. There simply weren't enough administrative projects to manage, so they didn't know how to coordinate the work of various departments.

Xuan Chong: The fact that a traffic controller was set up on the dirt road in Dongtu could only make the people of Dongtu think that it was a "road robbery" arranged by the government.

It could even be said that few people in the entire north could pass the exams as well as those from the Jiangnan region; because the highly developed industrial Jianghuai River basin is unique in present-day Wuhan, and candidates living here are naturally familiar with the significance of certain departments when "regional work" is carried out.

Bureaucracy is a highly technical job.

There was a time when Xuan Chong valued science over humanities, and it's unclear why, in this industrial age, the Han capital still prioritizes humanities over science. Now it dawns on me: the current humanities curriculum in Han China is a bureaucratic assessment system designed to maintain the functioning of society. It's cold and ruthless, devoid of sentimental essays, operating entirely "with the people as straw dogs."

On the contrary, the humanities aspects of my past life seemed unprofessional.

Xuan Chong's original idea of ​​using his superpowers to carve micron-level answer cheat sheets onto pencils and erasers failed, as this course required logical deduction.

…biting the pen tip…

From Xu Xi's perspective, when he learned that Xuan Chong was going to take the imperial examination, he couldn't help but admire him; but in reality, he secretly laughed at Xuan Chong for jumping into this deep pit.

Although the modern Han Dynasty represents the first industrial revolution, some of its internal legal structures were remarkably advanced.

Because the current state of change in the Han Dynasty is similar to the theme of time-travel stories from his era, where the protagonist travels to ancient times and changes the world.

Each era has a different understanding of "change".

Just like time-travel novels in the early 21st century, which had the unique flavor of five hundred useless people changing the world with petty-bourgeois ideas; while twenty years later, "redification" has become the mainstream.

Here's some background: the 25th century was the Age of the Sea. Ninety percent of the population lived in ocean cities. Due to the characteristics of the deep-sea environment, the overall culture tended towards a stable culture where "everyone stays within certain limits and doesn't overstep boundaries."

The underwater city is composed of "modular towers"; each modular tower has "open communication" times every week, but is still separated by gates most of the time. Within each tower, there is a dedicated organization that is responsible for long-term management, and the internal rules and regulations are stricter than those on land, similar to the culture of a ship.

During the Age of Exploration, everyone on every ship was expected to obey their commander. There were certain boundaries that absolutely could not be crossed; once crossed, anyone could enforce the law and throw the offender into the sea to feed the sharks.

Because, in the space of the underwater building, if certain people are not restrained by these rules, there will always be some fools, self-proclaimed "depressed" villains, who will gravitate towards the sea valve, threatening everyone and indulging their own whims.

The 25th century is designed to guard against sophisticatedly selfish individuals. Only 10% of the underwater city's area is freely open; the remaining areas are restricted to eight levels of access.

People from this era, after traveling to ancient times, transformed the ancient society into one with "strict rules and etiquette."

There are two key points in this society: the "control room" and the "sea valve," one being a technical position and the other a safety position.

Technical positions for local governance are filled by qualified professionals who have passed examinations. While only a small number are ultimately selected during the professional assessment process, almost everyone participates. Those who are rejected accept their fate willingly. This serves as a form of "election oversight," ensuring that those who take the exams guarantee that the management team and technical expertise are readily available at the control panel.

As for the "sea valve," it symbolizes a safe position that represents the bottom line of morality.

This position will be assigned to families who have lived here for generations. Because! Families who have lived here for a long time are not just thinking about themselves. During the era of marine development, when Xu Xi was there, after countless lessons learned through blood and tears, the final conclusion was that if the "sea passage valve" was handed over to Liu Guan, Liu Guan wouldn't care about an extra crack on the sea passage valve, since he would be leaving anyway, and there was no need to consider the long-term negative impact.

Therefore, from Xu Xi's perspective, the "unique dynasty" system of the present Han Dynasty is undoubtedly more advanced than the "industrial and commercial council" system of the Eastern Shu.

In this world, Xu Xi is also a member of the Liu family. His role as a close relative of the vassal king is to safeguard the "sea passage." This doesn't require technical skills, but it does require a sound moral compass; he cannot develop a selfish concept like "if you help, you have to take responsibility."

Xu Xi was "very shocked" by Xuan Chong's determination to get a "technical position," but he was happy to see it.

The last time Xu Xi came to this plane, he met a student from the "Ancient Great Nuclear Conflict Era," namely Xie Ming. Now that Xie Ming has gone to the other side of the Atlantic, according to academic credits, he should call Xie Ming "Senior."

Senior Xie Ming had only traveled through time five times. Because he was unfamiliar with the situation in the 24th century, he voluntarily gave up his position as the "safety valve" and went directly to Longzhou to explore a new continent.

Xu Xi: You (Xie Ming) are really reckless...

It can only be said that people of different eras have different understandings of the "value" of global geography; Xie Ming was enthusiastic about exploring new continents and believed that they were of high value.

In Xu Xi's eyes, the Americas were a "windswept" region, a low-value area. (Xu Xi: A region destined to be childless)

With the arrival of extreme weather, every winter cold wave hits the Americas, freezing the central part of the country into an ice field.

During the warmer periods following the Second and Third Industrial Revolutions, its vast plains were excellent agricultural areas; and with the advent of the maritime era, the scale of organic matter produced by the vast Pacific Ocean was unmatched by any land plain; at that time, nearly extinct whale species were milked into the largest marine populations.

Therefore, compared to the vast agricultural productivity of the ocean, North America is not a particularly good agricultural region!

Moreover, problems that didn't emerge during the "United States Federation" era were particularly prominent in Xu Xi's time!

The Great Plains, and the central Great Plains at that; on a scale of hundreds or thousands of years, it was one of the most devastating areas of civil war. In the east, this point is where Luoyang and Kaifeng are located.

The one who fought in history was incredibly ruthless.

A poem says: White bones exposed in the wilderness, not a rooster crows for a thousand miles. Of the people, only one in a hundred survives; the thought of it breaks one's heart.

Throughout Chinese history, the Heluo region, situated in the center of the land, has experienced periods of war that have lasted a maximum of thirty years. This is because the Heluo region, relative to the Guanzhong Plain, does not possess an absolute advantage in size.

In other words, if forces emerged from Hangu Pass to the east, they would have enough manpower to govern and control the Heluo region during times of chaos, stabilize their operations for one to two years, and then sweep across the entire country.

The Mississippi Plain (part of the Central Great Plains of the United States), covering 1.2 million square kilometers, is so large relative to the surrounding areas that it makes the surrounding local powers feel hopeless.

Xu Xi witnessed firsthand that after the Americas descended into chaos, no peripheral force could muster enough manpower to control the central region. Instead, this area was easy to attack but difficult to defend, making it vulnerable to combined attacks from other forces.

So this place became a giant, flat arena! This was the state of affairs for the indigenous peoples of North America throughout history.

White settlers landed on the west coast and, relying on their absolute technological advantage in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, unified North America in a very short period; this was a brief moment in history. Once the period of unification ended, it was impossible for them to reunite on their own.

In other words, the region was divided for the next few centuries, resulting in generations of blood feuds! They were so eager to annihilate each other. (This was also the situation during the late Native American period.)
Therefore, Xu Xi was not optimistic about the First Industrial Revolution and went to settle in North America. — Xie Ming, on the other hand, went there anyway, so Xu Ming concluded that Xie Ming was a student before the "Great Nuclear Conflict Era".

Xu Xi: Only people from that era would use such a complimentary tone to say the word "immigrating to America".

Because three cycles of sixty years later, this land where scalps were once practiced became synonymous with Lion Camel Ridge in the context of Xu Xi's era. More corpses floated on the Mississippi River than on the Ganges.

As for why Xu Xi didn't give Xie Ming a heads-up during the last mission, there are two reasons.

First: No whispering in class. If Xu Xi reveals too much, the task will become more difficult if the teacher calls on her.

Second: Xu Xi didn't want to help his seniors either. The earlier the timeline a student came from, the stronger their system would be. Watching his seniors plunge headlong into the historical abyss with their systems was quite a bitter experience.

Who doesn't enjoy watching cow dung being fried?

Xu Xi's current mission is to create a cultural and economic circle around Southeast Asia.

In the study room, Xuan Chong, looking like he had just finished studying, met Qin Tianyi.

Qin Tianyi was dressed simply, but she attracted a lot of attention; of course, Xuan Chong was particularly wary. To be honest, he wouldn't have come if she hadn't mentioned "class discussion."

After meeting Xuan Chong, Qin Tianyi slowly said, "Xu Xi's mission is in the South China Sea region; he controls these points."

Qin Tianyi pointed out fifteen major cities in Southeast Asia on the map. She then provided a list of these cities' plantations, mines, and even the scale of their low-skilled labor force, which could be used almost like "slavery."

After thinking for a moment, Xuan Chong said, "You tell me this, um, what do you need?" (Xuan Chong's tone was sincere, indicating that this information would be useful to him.)

Qin Tianyi feigned surprise: "Aren't we classmates? Classmates should help each other."

Facing Xuan Chong's still confused and puzzled gaze, Qin Tianyi gave him an encouraging smile. This smile made Xuan Chong slightly stunned, as if his heart had been touched.

Qin Tianyi seemed oblivious to Xuan Chong's dazed expression and continued, "In the Time-Space Classroom, unless groups are assigned, everyone needs to unite as quickly as possible. Let me apologize first; I discovered you were investigating maritime merchants, so I also investigated your ship's personnel."
Xuan Chong responded, "Oh, they kept inviting me to banquets, and I went to them every day. I was a little unsure about what to do."

Next, Qin Tianyi took out a bill, which listed the black market activities that Xuan Chong had tacitly approved the members of the Mantis Shrimp account had been involved in.

Qin Tianyi cautioned: "Although you handled it very well, there are still hidden dangers; as the heir of a vassal king, being too close to these black ditches makes it easy for him to get caught up in the garbage."

Qin Tianyi told Xuan Chong not to tolerate the old crew members on the ship getting involved in "money laundering"; she contacted several companies that went overseas and would transfer money openly and legitimately.

This decisiveness left Xuan Chong bewildered. Feeling as if he were being kept, he wanted to deny it.

Qin Tianyi said very righteously and sternly, "Judging from your assigned profession, you should be on the commander route. Next, there should be a war in this world. If military members worry about things outside their expertise, then in the face of a catastrophe, no matter how well I sing songs, I, a weak woman, will become the enemy's source of amusement."

Xuan Chong took a deep breath and composed himself: "Thank you." — It's said that Xuan Chong rarely (or had ever seen) such a sensible woman.

Qin Tianyi: "This is your choice, and I think you are quite responsible. War requires mobilizing all available manpower and resources; the current industrial system is supported by the imperial examination system, which is a legitimate profession. I can't help you on this path, but you can do your best without being distracted by other trivial matters."

This scene resembles a beautiful story of a wealthy young lady sponsoring a scholar's education.

Over here, Xuan Chong glanced at the accounts of the several overseas companies she had transferred funds to and discovered that they were all related to Hai Shang Capital. Qin Tianyi: "I'll explain the situation of Hai Shang to you in detail. But now—"

Qin Tianyi looked around and said, "This place isn't suitable. Let's find somewhere else to talk."

After putting on a veil to conceal her stunning beauty, she took Xuan Chong's hand and left directly from the many gazes around her.

…She's very different…

Qin Tianyi: "When talking about the merchants of Southeast Asia, we have to mention the maritime economy; the current Han Dynasty is much more cautious in its governance of overseas expansion than the Ming Dynasty."

During the reign of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese pirate raids ultimately triggered by Wang Zhi (汪直), a maritime merchant, were, in essence, a rebellion by the "new faction of maritime trade" against the old faction.

As a merchant from Huizhou, Wang Zhi opened up air routes to Japan and made huge profits.

However, the Jiangnan merchants resorted to underhanded tactics. Unable to compete in trade, they directly used their connections with the imperial court to impose a maritime ban, blocking all of Wang Zhi's legal seaports. Finally, when Wang Zhi chose to negotiate with Hu Zongxian, who was also part of the Huizhou clique, he was lured and killed by the Jiangnan faction!

Xuan Chongming realized: This is like "a tower that's leaning but doesn't realize it's leaning." According to normal national governance models, the more maritime powers the better, especially for merchants from inland regions venturing overseas—they deserve policy support! Because being inland makes them easier for the empire to control.

As a result, in what was actually a "merchant group sabotage struggle" along the coast, the Ming Dynasty's pagoda tilted to the Jiangnan faction; while the southeastern seas benefited from the "pagoda tilt protection," allowing the southeastern coastal merchants to completely play the game of official protection and monopoly trade, losing the initiative to explore new rules.

Meanwhile, the Huizhou merchants, originally ambitious emerging players, completely adopted a conservative strategy of combining farming and scholarship. This led all the riverside groups to begin pursuing official careers.

Qin Tianyi began by introducing Xuan Chong to the Ming Dynasty, and then elaborated on the consistent maritime policy of the Han Dynasty over the past three hundred years: "Encourage going to sea, but fundamentally control all the powerful coastal clans."

Over the past two centuries, the Giant Whale Gang has been persecuted ten times! Among these were three porcelain cases and six silk cases, involving a vast number of people. The core of these cases lay in the fact that the wealthy merchants of Jiangnan, having monopolized the key industries of porcelain and silk, became complacent and unambitious. Not only were they unambitious, but they also suppressed other maritime powers in trade.

During this century of industrial revolution, modern Wuhan followed the path of industrial revolution. Mass-produced goods such as mirrors, soaps, tinplate, and dyeing chemicals from factories in the Jianghuai region were handed over to shrewd maritime merchants for overseas sales.

What Qin Tianyi said seemed like a tangent; but in reality, Xuan Chong understood that this was the overall strategy of the modern Han Dynasty.

All your future plans should not hinder the overall trend, but rather leverage it!
Qin Tianyi pointed out the key to dealing with maritime merchants, telling Xuan Chong which ones he could contact and which ones he couldn't.
Xuan Chong understood. Qin Tianyi had indicated that she was a wealthy woman and that she could invest and help anyone who needed money.

…classroom support…

According to Qin Tianyi, from Goryeo and Japan in the north to Jiaozhi, Champa, Luzon, and Laos in the south, all these regions invested in and developed supporting industries, simultaneously entering the modern era. Their level of civilization was significantly higher than that of Europe at the same time.

Xuan Chong: In the 19th century, Europe engaged in destructive plunder of its surrounding regions. Now that Europe lacks targets for plunder, it is naturally falling behind.

Today, the European and Brazilian medical system still retains the practice of bloodletting, which involves drawing blood, mixing it with medicine, and then injecting it back in.

(End of this chapter)