The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

In the backyard of the prefect's mansion, there was a temporary school.

The sound of reading aloud rose and fell.

Xun Chen stood in front of the podium with a copy of the Analects in his hand, looking at the hundreds of children of all ages below him, and felt a terrible headache coming on.

Their ages range from seven to fifteen, and their basic skills vary drastically.

This class is alright; they can sit still. The other class, with its non-Han people, some of them have to start learning Mandarin!

These Hu people's children were all the sons of the minor tribal chiefs, and there was no other reason for them to gather at the governor's mansion.

It's simply brainwashing, taking hostages, and making money.

The temporary academy was able to be established thanks to their generous donations!

Then I heard the noise starting up again down below.

"Quiet! Quiet down!"

Xun Chen slammed his fist on the table!

He came from the Xun family of Yingchuan and was well-versed in poetry and literature from a young age. He had never taught such a difficult student before.

Shouldn't a person be able to recite the Analects by the age of ten? The Xun family members could all recite it by the age of seven or eight!

Is this difficult?

Yue Yin, standing next to him, wasn't much better off.

Because of his extensive teaching experience, he took the initiative to educate these Hu people.

Before I could correct the Hu people's thinking, I found myself having to correct their pronunciation!

I was teaching a few non-Han children to write their Han names, and after teaching them more than a dozen times, the children still wrote them crookedly!

There has been almost no progress this month!

At this moment, Jia Xu happened to pass by and saw the melancholy Yue Yin again.

Jia Xu stood with his hands behind his back under the eaves, watching Yue Yin struggle with the crooked characters on the paper, and a slight twitch appeared on his lips.

He coughed.

Yue Yin looked up and saw it was Jia Xu. He put down his pen and sighed.

"Wenhe, what brings you here?"

"Having nothing to do, I thought I'd take a stroll." Jia Xu walked to the desk, glanced at the scribbles covering it, and said, "You look so worried, sir. Is it because of the studies of these barbarians?"

"That's right!" Yue Yin sighed again.

"Wenhe, you don't know! These kids are used to being wild on the grasslands. They can't sit still for more than three minutes before they start fighting and making a ruckus. They only quiet down after their hands and feet are swollen!"

When I teach them to speak Mandarin, their tongues seem to be tied in knots; when I teach them to write, they can't even hold a pen steadily, and even after I teach them ten or eight times, they still just scribble nonsense.

Le Yin rubbed his throbbing temples:

"At this rate, let alone learning to read and write in three years, even in ten years, they might not be able to understand a simple letter. Educating the barbarians is more difficult than governing a prefecture."

Jia Xu stroked his beard and listened quietly.

After Yue Yin finished speaking, he immediately spoke up, as if he had already thought of it:

"I have an idea that might help them learn faster."

"Oh?" Yue Yin's eyes lit up. "What method? Mr. Wenhe, please tell me quickly!"

Jia Xu didn't say it explicitly, only stating:

"Mr. Le selected a dozen or so of the most mischievous and reluctant children for me, and I took them with me for three days. After three days, I guarantee they will not only be able to write their own names, but also speak Mandarin much more fluently."

"This..." Yue Yin hesitated.

He wasn't familiar with Jia Xu; he had only met him a few times recently.

I heard that he usually keeps to himself, doesn't talk much, and seems very kind, like a good-natured person.

"Don't worry, Mr. Yue," Jia Xu assured him. "I guarantee they won't lose a single hair. If you can't, I'll personally become your teaching assistant for three years!"

Having said all that, Yueyin had no reason to hesitate. He might as well try anything, no matter how desperate!

He immediately named thirteen of the children who gave him the most headaches.

"Let's go," Jia Xu waved to the children.

The children exchanged glances, their faces beaming with joy!

No more school!

"Great! Finally, I don't have to write anymore!"

"Where is this gentleman taking us? Is it horseback riding?"

"I want to go to the grasslands outside the city to practice archery!"

The children cheered and ran out with their little bundles on their backs, turning the whole school into chaos.

The remaining children couldn't sit still either, craning their necks to look outside, their faces full of envy.

Yue Yin's lips twitched as he watched the chaotic scene. He was convinced Jia Xu was exaggerating!

But it's good that he has a teaching assistant, so he won't be so tired!

Jia Xu simply cupped his hands in greeting to Yue Yin, then turned and left with the children.

Jia Xu didn't take them to the grasslands or any other fun places; instead, he took them to an even more fun place!

He took the five children directly to the Xianbei prisoner camp outside the city!

As soon as we arrived at the entrance of the prisoner-of-war camp, a pungent smell of sweat, blood, and excrement hit us!

The smiles on the children's faces froze!

It actually feels like coming home!

It was like encountering their herdsmen!

The camp was densely packed with ragged Xianbei prisoners.

They were emaciated and had numb eyes. They carried heavy tools and kept moving stones, digging trenches, and repairing city walls under the soldiers' shouts!

If anyone slowed down even slightly, the soldiers next to them would raise their whips and lash them out!

Not far away, there was a burly man with broad shoulders and a thick waist practicing the "Continuous Whip Technique" on people!

Snapped!

With a sharp crack, a lazy middle-aged prisoner was whipped until his skin was torn and bleeding, and he fell to the ground screaming in agony.

The soldier kicked him twice more: "Get to work! If you slack off again, you can forget about eating today!"

The children trembled with fear and instinctively hid behind Jia Xu.

Some recognized the captured prisoner as a very brave hunter from their tribe!

He used to always catch the most prey on every hunt, and was highly respected in the tribe.

But now, he's being beaten and verbally abused like a dog!

"Did you see that?" Jia Xu asked calmly.

"Is it pretty?"

They have to get up before dawn every day to work and can only rest when it gets dark.

They could only eat two meals of thin porridge a day, never enough to eat or wear. They were beaten for the slightest mistake, and if they got sick, no one cared; they were left to die.

Jia Xu led them further in.

As they passed a shed, they saw a group of Hu children, about their age, squatting on the ground and twisting hemp rope with their little hands.

My hands were covered in chilblains and wounds, some of which were still bleeding, but I dared not stop!

A little girl was rolling the rope too slowly and was pushed to the ground by the foreman, causing the rope in her hand to scatter all over the ground.

"Useless thing! Can't even do this little job right!" the foreman cursed, raising his whip.

"Don't hit me! Don't hit me!" the little girl cried, covering her head.

Some people recognized her as the daughter of the chief of a nearby tribe. She used to follow them around a lot, and she had two sweet dimples when she smiled.

Her face was now covered in dirt and tears!

"Do you know why they're here?" Jia Xu looked at the children. "Because they lost. They're atoning for their sins, atoning for the sins of their ancestors!"

"And the reason you can sit in warm classrooms, with teachers instructing you in reading and writing, without having to work to atone for your sins or be beaten, is not because you are so capable, but because your fathers surrendered to General Liu!"

"General Liu is kind and has given you this opportunity. He is allowing you to learn Chinese and Chinese characters so that when you grow up, you can become officials like the Han people and protect your families and tribes."

"If you don't study hard, General Liu won't want you anymore in the future, and you'll end up like them, working here for the rest of your lives, atoning for your sins!"

The children fell silent, heads bowed, no one speaking. Their former arrogance had vanished without a trace.

Jia Xu didn't say anything more.

He had the soldiers give each of them a set of the most worn-out clothes and a hoe, and made them work with the prisoners for a day.

the next day.

Two whips shatter the Xianbei souls, sir, I am a Han Chinese!