landbeastnovel Chapter 550: Education through entertainment
Chapter 550: Education through entertainment
Chapter 550: Education through entertainment
Seeing that Lu Zheng and his group still wanted to wander around the royal city, the deputy general assigned two subordinates familiar with the city to act as guides and accompany them.
After that, the deputy general hurriedly left with his men to handle some matters.
The bamboo aphid watching from the side was shocked. It hadn't expected that the people buying books from it were such important figures that even the soldiers of the Zhennan Army had to lower themselves.
The bamboo aphid's eyes darted around, and it respectfully said, "My lords, I live in the royal city and am quite familiar with its streets and alleys. Why don't I lead the way and let you appreciate the sights of the city..."
One of the remaining staff members said calmly, "Just keep your stall running. These important people are not people you can afford to associate with."
The staff could easily see what the vendor was thinking.
Upon hearing this, the bamboo aphid smiled broadly and quickly apologized several times.
The advisor then led the way, taking Lu Zheng and the others away from the market.
The group strolled leisurely through the royal city.
Lu Zheng felt that the atmosphere of this city was very different from other cities, and that something was missing.
Lu Zheng thought for a moment, then looked at the advisor beside him and asked, "Are there any academies or private schools here for people to study?"
The aide thought for a moment and said, "Well... there used to be an official school here, but the barbarians here are not educated, and later they couldn't recruit any students. After some incidents, the school was discontinued."
Lu Zheng couldn't help but ask, "I've seen some barbarians in the city who can speak Mandarin and are literate. How did they learn that?"
The advisor said, "Those people, even those from prominent families, have someone to teach them. Some come from ordinary backgrounds, but they are smart and can learn on their own... For example, that barbarian who sold Gu worms earlier, that should be one of them."
“In this city, more than half of the barbarians don’t speak our language, and very few of them can read.”
The aide said quietly, "They have their own language that is sufficient for communication, and they don't care much about reading and writing."
Upon hearing this, Yun Xiao said, "This matter of education cannot be accomplished in a day. Many of the barbarians in this area are still too savage. Your officials in the Southern Frontier should pay more attention so that the Southern Frontier can be truly incorporated into the territory of the Great Shu."
The aide quickly replied, "What you say is true!"
Yun Xiao smiled and looked at Lu Zheng, "Aren't you good at this? Give me some ideas to educate the people here?"
Lu Zheng said slowly, "The academy should still be opened, but don't set the bar too high. Teach them obscure and difficult classics, just teach them ordinary characters, arithmetic, etiquette, laws... You can also erect some stone tablets outside the city for people to learn from."
The aide couldn't help but say, "Erect a monument? I doubt anyone passing by would even glance at it."
Lu Zheng smiled slightly and said, "If you're unwilling to learn, there's no benefit to it. But if you offer some benefits, I think there are plenty of people willing to read and write. There's an ancient story of moving a log to establish trust; why don't you follow suit?"
Upon hearing this, the aide said, "Does Young Master Lu mean to give some money to those who are good at reading? The official school in the capital city also had such rewards before, but the effect was not very good."
Lu Zhengdao said, "I don't know how you rewarded people before, but I have an idea that you can discuss."
"I'd like to hear the details!" the aide said hastily.
The others also became curious and wanted to know what Lu was going to do.
Lu Zheng said unhurriedly, "You can set up a reward, and put forward a difficult question every month. The question will be released at the beginning of the month and the answer will be announced at the end of the month. During the period in between, those who are willing to answer can submit their answers to the government."
"The first three correct answers will receive a generous reward! The prizes could include spirit stones, pills, magical artifacts, and cultivation techniques..."
"Make people here feel that using their brains is more practical than working themselves to the bone outside."
"The questions should also be designed cleverly so that ordinary people can feel involved, so that they can read, write and solve the problems."
"This also helps to filter out some talented individuals."
"The specific operational details can be planned out gradually."
Lu Zheng said leisurely, "I think if things continue like this for ten or eight years, even if not everyone becomes literate, most people here will be able to recognize some characters without any problem..."
"The financial resources spent over the past ten or eight years are not much, and it is much simpler than educating individuals one by one."
Lu Zheng added, "Of course, this is just my idea, and it may not actually be true."
Upon hearing this, the staff member's mind raced. At first glance, it did seem quite feasible, and they thought it was worth a try.
The advisor then said, "I will inform the general of what Young Master Lu said."
Yun Xiao, who was standing to the side, said, "Lu Zheng is very clever. You can't go wrong listening to him. If you can't think of any questions, just let him come up with them. He has all kinds of difficult questions in his head."
Hearing Yun Xiao's evaluation of Lu Zheng, the staff members couldn't help but become curious.
As evening approached, the group headed to the royal palace.
The entire palace was thoroughly cleaned up, almost all the staff were replaced, and it was heavily guarded.
The staff led Lu Zheng and his companions to a palace to rest, and then left without disturbing them further.
The staff quickly found the deputy general, only to find his superior still busy with other matters.
Upon seeing the men return, the lieutenant asked, "Have the Master and the others checked into their quarters?"
The aide nodded and said, "Everyone who came back together has been taken care of."
After saying this, the staff member stood aside, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.
The lieutenant noticed the staff member's expression and said, "Speak if you have something to say."
The advisor said, "There is something. It's like this: just now, when I was discussing education with the Master and the others, that Young Master Lu said..."
The lieutenant set aside his official duties and listened attentively. He was not a boorish soldier and quickly grasped the key points.
The lieutenant stroked his chin and said, "This seems like a good idea. Take me to see them."
The lieutenant quickly got up, intending to go and discuss the details with Lu Zheng.
The aide couldn't help but say, "General, isn't there a need for this? The matter here is more important..."
The lieutenant said calmly, "What do you know? Such a major event has occurred in the capital, causing unrest among the people. It's good to find something to make them use their brains and prevent anyone from causing trouble."
The advisors suddenly realized that this was an attempt to divert the attention of the barbarian people.
Therefore, the deputy general took several of his trusted confidants to Lu Zheng to discuss matters.
Upon learning the purpose of the deputy general's visit, Lu Zheng casually took out a pen and paper and wrote down a problem.
"General, you can post the notice first thing tomorrow morning, then select three treasures to display directly so everyone can see the rewards..."
"As for how to answer the questions, they will be asked to provide identification when they mention their answers, and each person will only have one chance to answer..."
Lu Zheng added some details and gave the question to the deputy general.
Everyone crowded around to look at the question that Lu Zheng had casually written down.
Someone whispered, "If you place grains of rice on a Go board, one grain on the first square, two grains on the second, and so on... how many grains of rice are needed in total?"
The lieutenant pondered the problem for a while, then his mind went completely blank.
The other advisors were also unable to provide an answer immediately.
Lu Zhengdao said, "This is a problem that tests calculation ability. It will take time to calculate, and whether they can get it right depends on their skills."
"In the future, we can also give them some criminal investigation questions, such as making up a longer story and having them guess who the murderer is and what crime the murderer should be charged with..."
"When we let them solve problems, they can not only learn to recognize characters, but also learn etiquette and laws. It's a fun and educational experience."
The lieutenant's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but say, "Young Master Lu is truly talented! I think this matter can really be accomplished!"
The lieutenant looked at the question on the paper again. "What's the answer?"
Lu Zheng turned to look at Qing Wan beside him. He hadn't calculated it himself, but Qing Wan had discussed the topic with others before.
When Qingwan saw Lu Zheng looking at her, she took out a small piece of paper and handed it to the deputy general.
The lieutenant took it and glanced at it. Seeing the long string of densely packed numbers on it, he thought to himself that the prize might be difficult to give away...
The deputy general thanked him and left with his men to discuss some details later.
The next day, it was dark.
A large reward notice was posted on the wall outside the palace.
Below the bounty was a table displaying three prizes: a bottle of elixirs, a pile of glittering spirit stones, and a box of gleaming gold.
On the other side of the palace wall, a row of stone tablets were set up, inscribed with texts on mathematics, etiquette, and laws, for people to browse and learn.
The commotion at the foot of the palace naturally attracted the attention of some people nearby.
Many people came to watch, initially thinking it was some kind of wanted notice or announcement.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a math problem, with a generous reward for the correct answer.
Some people were skeptical: "If this is the correct answer, then there really is a magic pill to be found?"
The guard said calmly, "This question is not easy. Our general thought about it for three days and three nights but couldn't figure it out, so he issued a reward. If you know the answer, you can submit it and you will receive the general's reward!"
"The rules are written very clearly above, so I won't go into detail. Just read them yourselves. If you don't understand, go and learn to read first..."
The soldier spoke for a while, then his eyes returned to their indifferent state.
To attract more attention, he said this as instructed by the general.
Otherwise, even if he had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare to speak ill of his own general in front of others.
Upon hearing that the question had stumped the Shu army soldiers, everyone became even more curious.
After all, in the eyes of these barbarians, the general of Shu was no ordinary man. Just a few days ago, he led his men to bloodily suppress the royal city and imprisoned the royal family and some nobles in the city.
Now they're stumped by a question? Let's see what's going on.
Before long, the news spread rapidly.
Many people even stood outside the palace, racking their brains to calculate.
As for what happened a few days ago, hardly anyone is discussing it anymore. The royal family was arrested, but what does that have to do with them? That's all in the past, it's not important anymore.
Bamboo Aphid also stood in the crowd, looked at the questions, and then at the prizes.
Even if he were a cultivator, he couldn't earn that much even after working hard for several months!
The bamboo aphid was very excited and immediately began to calculate.
In no time, the bamboo aphid, who considered itself smarter than the other barbarians, was already confused.
(End of this chapter)