The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 320 Academy Coursework
Under the guidance of instructor Changyu, Jiang Han quickly arrived at the classroom of Room 3, Building C.

As he pushed open the door and stepped into the classroom, the previously noisy class instantly fell silent.

The seventy-three students stood up in unison, their voices clear and uniform:
"Hello, Headmaster!"

Seeing this, Jiang Han smiled slightly, nodded, and pressed down with his hand:

"Okay, okay, okay, please sit down."

"Sit down and talk."

The children then sat down as instructed, their backs ramrod straight, their eyes fixed intently on the podium.

The first lesson was an introduction to traditional Chinese culture, and Changyu, who was standing beside him, handed Jiang Han a copy of the "Three Character Classic" at the opportune moment.

As an introductory text, these children have already memorized this book perfectly.

Nowadays, the focus of teaching is on breaking down the underlying principles.

Today's topic is "Xiang Jiuling, who could warm the bed for his parents. Filial piety is what one should uphold."

Jiang Han picked up the booklet and glanced at it. He saw that it was filled with densely packed little characters, all of which were lesson plans prepared in advance.

Changyu had naturally prepared the lesson plan long ago. After all, lecturing is just a matter of words; how could he let the busy king personally prepare it?

Jiang Han hesitated for a moment, but he did not simply read from the script.

Those present are all orphans; talking about filial piety in front of them is really inappropriate.

"Children, today we're going to talk about the word 'filial piety'."

Jiang Han's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to every corner.
"I know that everyone here is an orphan who lost both parents at a young age, and may not have much of a concept of filial piety."

"In fact, filial piety is not just about respecting and caring for one's parents."

"We can also interpret it as gratitude and righteousness."

There's a saying that goes, "The kindness of raising is greater than the kindness of giving birth," and everyone should understand what that means.

“You sit here with food to eat, clothes to wear, books to read, teachers to guide you, and classmates to accompany you. This is the grace of being raised.”

"Similarly, every teacher in the academy, every steward who takes care of your daily needs, the farmers who work hard to provide for your needs, and the craftsmen in the workshops who make tables and chairs..."

"They each performed their duties, which is why you have the food, clothing, and education you enjoy today."

"Therefore, the core of filial piety mentioned in the book is not only about one's biological parents; the core is gratitude and giving back."

"So the question is, how should we repay them?"

Jiang Han asked himself and answered:

"The best way to repay your fathers who have died in battle is to live up to their sacrifice."

"They carved out this paradise through battle, so I hope you can use your knowledge and skills to carry on their legacy and safeguard this beautiful land."

Jiang Han's words cleverly expanded the meaning of filial piety from the narrow sense of being dutiful to parents to the level of gratitude and repaying kindness.

At the same time, he also planted a seed in the hearts of these children.

If you should repay kindness, what about repaying grudges?

In ancient China, filial piety was artificially elevated to an extremely high status, to the point that the saying "of all virtues, filial piety is the most important" arose.

Of course, this is not a bad thing. Filial piety is a traditional virtue of the Han people, and it is worth promoting and praising.

In traditional societies where patriarchal blood ties are the bond, the family is the core of social structure.

Emphasizing filial piety is conducive to maintaining the stability of families and clans, thereby consolidating the ethical order of the entire society.

The problem is that some people with ulterior motives will also use the concept of filial piety to extend it and propose the idea of ​​"loyalty and filial piety as one".

This concept was advocated by rulers of all dynasties, and filial piety towards family was extended to loyalty to the monarch, becoming an important ideological tool for maintaining feudal rule.

This concept has bound the people to this belief for thousands of years, with many even regarding blind filial piety and blind loyalty as virtues, which are still praised today.

Following this line of thought, Jiang Han changed the subject and began to cite some specific examples.

But this time he chose some rather extreme negative examples.

Jiang Han paused, glanced at the children present, and slowly began to speak:

“Speaking of filial piety, there are many stories recorded in ancient books, such as the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars.”

"Some of these stories are quite foolish. After listening to them, you should think carefully about whether there is any truth to them and whether you should learn them."

"For example, the very famous story of lying on ice to catch carp."

"It is about a man named Wang Xiang, whose birth mother died early and who was abused by his stepmother, Zhu."

"But Wang Xiang was very filial. In the cold winter, when his stepmother wanted to eat carp, Wang Xiang lay on the frozen river and tried to melt the ice with his body heat so that he could catch the carp for his stepmother to eat."

What do you think of this story?

The children looked at each other, somewhat bewildered.

After a moment of silence, some of the bolder ones began to whisper among themselves:
"The ice is so thick in winter that if you lie down on it, you'll probably freeze to death before you even catch a fish."

Jiang Han nodded approvingly after hearing this:
"That's right, that makes sense."

"This defies common sense, is utter nonsense, and is utterly ignorant!"

He then continued to guide the conversation by asking questions,

"In addition, the story also says that Wang Xiang's biological mother died early and his stepmother often abused him."

"Suppose you are Wang Xiang, and your stepmother treats you badly, doesn't give you food or clothes, what would you do?"

Upon hearing this, the children all raised their hands.

Some people replied that by treating others with sincerity and repaying evil with kindness, they could influence Zhu's character.
Some say that he worked diligently so that his stepmother couldn't find fault with him.

But Jiang Han shook his head after hearing this:
"It's all wrong."

"If you put yourself in their shoes, and a teacher in the academy mistreated you for no reason, would you just accept it passively?"

“That’s wrong. If you’re being abused by your stepmother, go find your biological father; if you’re being mistreated by your tutor, go find the headmaster.”

"Of course, some biological fathers may not stand up for their children, but the headmaster will definitely uphold justice for you."

Having been a rebel leader himself, Jiang Han's words were highly inflammatory:
"If the imperial court and government treat you harshly, impose exorbitant taxes, and leave you hungry and naked, will you still obey?"

"Think about it carefully, think about what the headmaster did."

Some of the children in the audience seemed to understand, their eyes shining.

The children were still young, so Jiang Han didn't delve any deeper and instead changed the subject:
"Let's talk about another one, the mosquitoes feasting on blood."

"It's about a man named Wu Meng, who was poor and didn't have a mosquito net."

“In the summer, there are many mosquitoes. I was afraid that the mosquitoes would bite my father, so I would lie naked next to my father’s bed and let the mosquitoes bite me.”

"Do you think this is something to be encouraged?"

The children quieted down for a moment, and finally one of the braver ones raised his hand:

"Headmaster, I don't think it's worth it. Wu Meng is a bit stupid."

As soon as he said it, he was startled and looked at Jiang Han timidly.

"Oh?"

But Jiang Han looked at him with great interest:
"Go on, why did you say he was stupid?"

Encouraged, the child raised his voice:
"There are many ways to get rid of mosquitoes. You can burn mugwort or use a fan. Why lie down and let mosquitoes bite you?"

"This method of self-harm not only harms himself, but also causes his father unnecessary worry."

"If I get sick, I'm afraid I won't even be able to afford the medicine, and I'll just have to wait to die."

After listening, Jiang Han looked at the child with approval:
"Good, well said!"

"Filial piety is commendable, but we must also know how to protect ourselves and solve problems in a reasonable way, rather than doing useless work."

"Moreover, things like snakes, insects, and rodents often carry filth on their bodies."

"These unseen pollutants can easily cause illness when they enter the body."

“If any of you are interested in this, you can study it in depth when you grow up and see what these invisible filth really are.”

Unwittingly, he planted another seed of exploration.

Just then, three wooden clappers sounded outside the window, signaling the end of get out of class.

Jiang Han nodded, then closed the Three Character Classic in his hand and said to the children:
"Alright, that's all for today. Everyone, take a rest."

"I will come again when I have time."

The children all stood up in unison:

"Respectfully seeing off the Headmaster!"

As Jiang Han walked out of the classroom, he looked at Chang Yu beside him and asked:

What's the next class?

Changyu immediately replied:

"Your Majesty, it is a math lesson."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han immediately became interested:

"I remember that math was taught by those missionaries from the West, wasn't it?"

Changyu nodded:
"That's right, Headmaster, but there are also local scholars among them."

"Would you like to teach?"

Jiang Han hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand:
"Never mind, I'm a bit hoarse from talking, I might as well sit in on one of the sessions."

"Find out which vegetarian school is having Westerners teach today, and I'll go listen to how they're doing."

Upon hearing this, Changyu immediately took out a booklet and began to read it.

“Zhai No. 1 and No. 3 of Class A, and Hai No. 2 and No. 3 of Class B, etc. are all examples.”

"The one closest to us is No. 2, B-class dormitory, what do you think?"

Jiang Han then gestured with his lips:
"Alright, lead the way."

The two quickly arrived outside Room 2 of Building B, just as the instructor for today's class rushed over.

This man had a high nose and deep-set eyes, with a thick brown beard that was fairly well-groomed, but he was wearing a slightly oversized dark blue straight-cut robe, which looked somewhat out of place.

Upon seeing Jiang Han, the man quickly stepped forward and bowed in greeting in accented Chinese:
"Greetings, Your Highness the Prince of Han."

"This humble servant is Song Liqi, from the Portuguese."

This Song Liqi was one of the Jesuit missionaries who came from Macau.

After receiving the letters from Fepinto and Giovanni, he led a group of Jesuit elites who were proficient in navigation, cartography, astronomy, geography, and other subjects, and brought a large number of Western books to Sichuan without stopping.

As soon as they arrived in Chengdu, Jiang Han crammed them into Tianfu Academy.

Their main responsibilities include compiling teaching materials and teaching students.

These children are currently too young to learn anything beyond the basics; more advanced knowledge will be taught after they complete their primary education. These missionaries originally intended to expand their reach in Sichuan by building churches and increasing their numbers.

Unexpectedly, their activities were strictly restricted to the city of Chengdu, and they were not allowed to move around freely.

However, they dared not complain about it.

Jiang Han's condition was that the candidate must train a group of qualified students for him before he could obtain his freedom and a certificate for missionary work.

Of course, in exchange, the missionaries would also receive a church built by the government.

The location was chosen in Baoning Prefecture, and it is said that the area is three or four acres.

Every so often, missionaries would go to Baoning Prefecture to take a look, but they heard that the procedures were complicated and the local government was still looking for a site.

However, they encountered many difficulties in site selection, such as resistance to land acquisition or encroaching on ancestral graves, which was considered bad feng shui.

The local government's response was always "we are expediting the process," but His Highness the Prince of Han had strict regulations regarding the land under his control, prohibiting its easy sale.

In addition, the local people were unwilling to cooperate, so the land acquisition work was not going smoothly.

In desperation, the missionaries approached Jiang Han, hoping he would directly order the local government to expedite the matter.

But how could Jiang Han easily agree to their request?
The "difficulties" encountered during the land acquisition process were actually at his behest.

The purpose was to reassure these missionaries that they could focus on teaching and not be preoccupied with the idea of ​​missionary work.

If all these people go off to preach, who will teach their students?

Jiang Han wouldn't release them easily unless he squeezed every last drop out of these Westerners' minds.

As the clapper sounded again, Jiang Han and Song Liqi walked into the classroom together.

As usual, the children stood up and greeted them:
"Greetings, Headmaster! Greetings, Instructors!"

Seeing this, Jiang Han nodded, then pulled up a chair under the podium and sat down, signaling Song Liqi to start the class.

Upon seeing that His Highness the Prince of Han wanted to listen in, Song Liqi became visibly nervous. His already not-so-fluent Chinese became even more hesitant, and he couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

Jiang Han could only offer him a few words of comfort, telling him to relax and pretend he didn't exist.

After a while, Song Liqi calmed down a bit, took out a book called "Introduction to Mathematics" from his cloth bag, and began to teach.

Today's lesson is to review yesterday's addition and subtraction, and learn multiplication up to ten.

Song Liqi first wrote three symbols on a small blackboard: +, -, and ×, and patiently guided the children to review them.

"This short cross, pronounced 'jia,' means 'to come together';"

"This is pronounced 'cheng,' meaning the same number added together many times..."

He tried to use simple language and gestures, and his emotions gradually relaxed.

He then introduced some simple multiplication problems to guide the children in recalling and applying the multiplication table.

Several children responded quickly and answered fluently, which made Song Liqi very pleased.

This is the fruit of our teaching! Finally, His Highness the Prince of Han has seen it. I'm sure His Highness is very satisfied.

To Song Liqi's surprise, Jiang Han's attention was not on him at this moment.

Jiang Han stared at the "Nine-Nine Song" printed on the "Introduction to Mathematics" in his hand, his mind wandering.

This "Nine-Nine Song," which is the later multiplication table, felt very familiar to him because of its table format and the Arabic numerals it used.

"How wonderful, the wisdom of our ancestors!"

Looking at the familiar content, Jiang Han couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The multiplication table originated in my country and was widely used as early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

Westerners don't have such good things.

Soon, with the sound of several wooden clappers outside the window, the math class finally came to a successful end.

Amidst the cheers of the children, Jiang Han led Song Liqi slowly out of the classroom.

Jiang Han looked at Song Liqi, who seemed a little nervous, and encouraged him:

"You taught well today, following a step-by-step approach. Continue to teach in this way from now on."

"Don't be too anxious about the church. I will send another document to urge the Baoning Prefecture government."

"Don't worry, as long as you focus on teaching, once you've brought these children out, the church I promised you will definitely be built."

Upon hearing this, Song Liqi was visibly excited and quickly bowed in response:

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

"Your Highness, rest assured, we members of the Jesuit order will do our utmost to teach our students."

After bowing, he turned and left in a hurry, presumably eager to tell his colleagues at the meeting this "good news".

Watching Song Liqi's departing figure, Jiang Han's lips curled into a cold smile.

He beckoned Changyu over and whispered the instructions:
"I have something important to tell you."

"Keep a close eye on these Westerners. Teaching is teaching; they must not be allowed to mix in their own agendas or secretly spread their doctrines!"

"Once any signs of proselytizing are discovered, first take the person into custody, and then immediately report to the Prince's Palace."

Jiang Han paused for a moment, then added,
"besides."

“These Westerners have a bad habit; we must never let them have contact with children alone.”

"After you go back, gather all the supervisors who work in the academy and convey my message."

"Everyone should keep their eyes peeled, pay close attention to things, and ask the children questions. We must be vigilant and take strict precautions!"

Jiang Han said solemnly,

"On a small scale, this concerns the quality of teaching; on a larger scale, it concerns the safety of our Han dynasty."

"Confucianism has been passed down for thousands of years. Although it has some dross, its essence is still useful."

“I don’t want the students who come out of the academy to end up being people who only recognize Western methods and not their ancestors.”

"You are all my trusted lieutenants, and I entrust this matter to you!"

Changyu's expression hardened, and he nodded solemnly:
"Your Majesty, rest assured!"

"This humble servant understands the implications! I will certainly make meticulous arrangements and live up to His Majesty's trust!"

Jiang Han patted his shoulder forcefully, then looked up:
"Let's go, it's getting late, it's lunchtime."

"Go check out the canteen, grab something to eat while you're there, and take a look around."

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Han led Changyu to the academy's dining hall.

There are two canteens, one in front of the other. It was lunchtime, and the children were lining up in an orderly fashion to get their food.

Jiang Han didn't disturb too many people; he simply quietly went around to the back kitchen.

He first encouraged everyone in the kitchen, and then began to carefully examine the quality of the rice and the taste of the dishes. He also inquired about the supply and source of the meat.

Jiang Han summoned the person in charge of meals and earnestly instructed him:
"The children are at a crucial stage of their growth, so make sure their meals are well-arranged and that nothing is skimped on!"

"They are all descendants of martyrs, so we must ensure they have meat every day, and the food must be clean!"

"If we're caught using inferior products during a random inspection, or if there's even a mass poisoning incident, I'll offer your head as a sacrifice!"

As Jiang Han finished speaking, his tone grew increasingly harsh, frightening the steward so much that he turned pale and nodded repeatedly.

Afterwards, Jiang Han also got a meal and sat down in the canteen with Chang Yu to eat.

The meal was simple, with one meat dish and one vegetable dish, but the portions were generous and the taste was acceptable.

Jiang Han said to Chang Yu while eating:

"Keep a close eye on things. When I'm not at the academy, I'll be in full charge of the canteen and logistics."

"If you don't have enough manpower, just write to the Prince's Palace and I will send people over immediately."

"Health is fundamental; only by eating well can one have the energy to study and train."

After a short rest, Jiang Han arrived at No. 3, Jiazi Dormitory in the afternoon, where a class on the study of things for beginners awaited him.

The process of introducing children to natural phenomena is quite easy; it mainly involves guiding them to observe natural phenomena and planting the seeds for future science education.

For example, why do we see lightning first and then hear thunder on rainy days?

Why do rainbows appear after rain? Why do stones thrown out of the air fall to the ground?
These are all common phenomena in life, guiding children to think step by step.

Changyu, who was watching from the sidelines, was quite puzzled. Everything in the world has its own reason, so why bother to delve into the reasons?

Jiang Han was too lazy to explain to him. Adults' thinking had already become fixed. Trying to change their perception was less effective than starting to cultivate it from scratch.

Jiang Han also conducted a small experiment to this end.

The experiment is very simple; all you need is a copper coin and a hollow reed tube.

"Children, look at this bowl of water."

As he spoke, Jiang Han threw the copper coin into the water and watched it sink to the bottom of the bowl little by little.

"I ask you, why do copper coins sink in water?"

"Because it's heavy!"

Jiang Han remained noncommittal. He then tied the copper coin to a reed tube and placed it in the water as well.

Looking at the reeds floating on the water, Jiang Han continued to ask:
"A reed tube with a copper coin is heavier than a copper coin alone, so why can it float on the water?"

Seeing the curious looks around him, Jiang Han smiled:

"You should go back and think about this carefully."

"Some things seem very heavy, but they can float on water. Why is that?"

"Often, what we see is not necessarily the truth; we must delve into the underlying reasons."

"When you finally understand the mysteries of rise and fall, you may one day be able to build a giant ship that can roam the world."

After the lesson on physics, it was time for afternoon practice.

The training consisted of drills and physical conditioning, primarily conducted by instructors like Chang-yu, who had retired from the military.

Jiang Han stood on the reviewing stand, quietly watching the children. Some were practicing marching in formation, while others were running laps around the training ground.

The older ones practiced archery at the shooting range in the northwest corner.

Looking at the scene before him, Jiang Han sighed to Chang Yu beside him:

"Rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics are the six arts of antiquity, and are the way to cultivate all talents."

"Today, I have added the study of things and Western learning to the curriculum of Tianfu Academy."

"In the future, they will not only be well-versed in the ways of sages and worthies, but also have a keen understanding of world affairs, master practical knowledge for governing the country, and be able to protect the land and ensure the safety of the people."

"Just wait, one day, many talented people will emerge from among these kids."

"Only in this way can we restore the glory of the Han and Tang dynasties!"

(End of this chapter)