Zuo Menggeng's plan to promote cultural education throughout the army caused an uproar.
Until the day of class, many scholars and students still didn't understand.
Sitting in the large classroom in the back camp, a group of people were talking and expressing their grievances.
Until someone else walked in and sat among them.
Everyone knows some of these new people and some don't.
The ones I know are because they often follow Zuo Menggeng in and out of the dock.
The ones I don’t recognize are because I haven’t seen them before.
The person sitting next to Jiang Wei was someone he didn't recognize.
Seeing that the other person had a slim figure and a strong aura of books, he was afraid that he was a scholar like himself, so he got close to him.
"Brother, are you here to attend the lecture too? You said we, the scholars, have already forgotten literacy, so why do we still come here to try it out?"
The other party was very indifferent.
"Since it is a thousand-seat military order, there must be deep meaning in it."
Jiang Wei looked around and lowered his voice.
"I heard that Senzo is the son of a military commander. Can he really teach us scholars knowledge?"
The man seemed to be smiling but not smiling.
"I feel that Qian Zuo is an unparalleled talent. We will benefit immensely from this teaching."
Jiang Wei thought he was flattering, and looked a little disdainful.
"I wonder where Xiongtai studied?"
The man cupped his hands without any fluctuation in his tone.
"I, Huang Zongxi and Huang Taichong, will take the test first, Huang Baian, the imperial servant."
Crash, everyone around heard it, and they were immediately shocked. They all stood up and returned the greeting, with expressions full of reverence.
Who among the scholars doesn’t know Huang Zunsu’s reputation?
He is a role model for scholars.
Who would have thought that I would meet his descendants here.
Jiang Wei, in particular, was sweating profusely and ashamed.
How dare a mere child be so arrogant in front of Huang Zunsu's son?
Coincidentally, several scholars on the other side also stood up in an uproar and also saluted a young man.
Curious people asked and found out that the young man was actually the son of Zhou Chaorui, the minister of Dali Temple.
At this time, all the scholars in the hall could not sit still and bowed in salute, eagerly.
Although he was forced by life to abandon literature and join martial arts, he still made everyone sigh. Seeing that the descendants of Huang Zunsu and Zhou Chaorui were here, everyone's feelings immediately changed.
Not to mention anything else, just having worked with Zhonglie later is an incredible qualification.
In the middle of the commotion, footsteps came from the door, and Zuo Mengeng walked in with his head held high.
Everyone hurriedly returned to their respective positions and looked ahead curiously.
When Zuo Mengeng came in, the first thing he looked at was the blackboard hanging on the podium.
Yes, it meets his requirements.
There were many carpenters among the refugees, and they were all sorted out and used for the production of muskets in the future. But before that, Zuo Mengeng was asked to make a blackboard.
This blackboard is exactly the same as the blackboards of later generations, with a grid underneath. What was placed inside was chalk and erasers.
Lime is everywhere, and chalk is not difficult to make. But when used for teaching, the effect couldn't be better.
Except for him, everyone else was full of curiosity about this classroom.
Especially the pen and paper placed in front of them. To be precise, this pen was completely different from the brushes they had used before.
It was Zuo Xianmei who made the pencil.
Although there are many novel things, everyone's attention is on Zuo Mengeng for the time being.
He walked to the podium and looked at the dark crowd below, feeling proud.
These are the seeds!
It may seem inconspicuous now, but looking back in the future, many people will understand the significance of today.
He stood still, facing downwards, and shouted: "Stand up."
There was a commotion underneath, and everyone didn't know why, but they still stood up one after another.
Zuo Mengeng frowned, very dissatisfied.
"sit down."
Everyone was even more confused and had to sit down.
But just as they sat down, Zuo Mengeng's order came again.
"stand up."
There was another commotion, and everyone who stood up couldn't help but whisper to each other, not sure what they were doing.
Zuo Mengeng slapped his hand on the lectern, and the loud noise silenced the scene. Many people were frightened, fearing that Zuo Mengeng's anger would fall on them.
Zuo Mengeng tried his best to stay calm even though veins were popping up on his forehead.
"In the military, orders and prohibitions must be carried out with unity and uniformity. Look at you, you are so scattered. How can you have a military temperament?"
Only then did everyone realize what the problem was, and finally had a certain understanding of what the army was.
Zuo Mengeng shouted again: "Sit down."
This time, everyone's movements were much more agile.
"stand up."
The noise disappeared, and all the voices were unified, and it was so neat and intoxicating.
They obviously stood up and sat down, but everyone felt it. The momentum behind the neat movements was quite shocking.
In full view of everyone, Zuo Mengeng raised his right hand, with the palm of his hand flat, placed it next to his temple, and shouted: "Salute."
After all, they are all scholars, and their ability to comprehend is not comparable to that of ignorant people. Everyone paused for a moment, followed Zuo Mengeng's example, and returned the greeting.
This way of saluting was quite novel and unknown to everyone.
Zuo Mengeng's words spread to everyone's ears.
"From now on, our army will take this as a courtesy. Officers and soldiers are equal, and they will not kneel or bow. If there are those who act arrogantly, they will be dealt with according to military law."
There was a surge in everyone's heart, and they had never felt so strong before.
This is a highly hierarchical society, and the differences between the top and bottom are like natural chasms.
The people present included bureaucrats, lower-class scholars, servants, and farmers and refugees.
Coincidentally, these people cannot be regarded as respected people in the entire society.
When facing a superior, everyone has the humiliation that they cannot hold their heads high against.
The more class oppression occurs, the more we understand how precious equality is.
Perhaps equality cannot be fully realized, but a leader who speaks out the concept of equality in public is enough to make many people fall in love.
Zuo Mengeng was keenly aware of the difference. He was calm on the surface but pleased on the inside.
"Everyone here, some are well-read in poetry and books, and don't understand why they need to learn to read from scratch; some are good at martial arts, but they also don't understand why they need to learn to read. Then should we read and learn to read?"
To say that the people who are most intolerant of literacy are definitely the eight people who enjoy wealth and wealth forever.
They have been accustomed to practicing martial arts since they were young. They can dance with guns and sticks easily, but they can't help but get dizzy when they read words.
As soon as Zuo Mengeng said this, Zuo Hua couldn't bear it anymore and started to scream.
"Master, let me tell you, why should we be literate? What's the use of learning that thing? These people who have read are all like chickens. If they meet us, even one knife is not enough for me to kill." "
After saying that, the guy laughed wantonly, ignoring the livid faces of the more than a hundred scholars next to him.
Zuo Mengeng got off the stage and walked up to him. Without saying anything, he took the pen and paper, wrote a line of words, and threw it to Zuo Hua.
"What does this mean?"
Zuo Hua felt something was wrong and forced himself to persist.
"Master, it's not like you don't know that we can't read."
There was no emotion or anger in Zuo Menggen's voice, but he pointed to the words on the paper and said: "This is a military order, asking your troops to seize the high point on the left wing and hold it for four hours."
Zuo Hua blinked, not understanding what Zuo Mengeng meant when he wrote this.
Zuo Mengeng told him.
"As a general, you can't understand military orders when you hold them. Tell me, are you a qualified general?"
"I……"
Zuo Hua broke into a cold sweat, and the seven guys next to him all shrank their heads, trying hard not to let Zuo Mengeng notice them.
"I can't understand military orders. I can't understand maps. Can you lead an army in a war? Do I dare to hand over the army to you?"
Being scolded in front of everyone made Zuo Hua feel aggrieved and couldn't help but rebel a little.
"Those general soldiers are illiterate."
Zuo Mengeng asked: "Are they good at fighting? Why are Liaodong retreating?"
This time, let alone Zuo Hua, almost everyone was deep in thought.
The battle in Liaodong affected people's hearts. There were countless explanations for the Ming army's successive defeats, but Zuo Menggeng was the first to analyze it from the perspective of the generals' quality.
And his point of view is not that the generals are incompetent, corrupt, cowardly, etc., but that the generals lack quality.
The next words Zuo Mengeng said were not only to Zuo Hua, but also to everyone.
"Of those famous generals who have left their names in history, including Sun Wu, Han Xin, Li Jing, Yue Wumu, and the King of Zhongshan, which one is an illiterate person? On the battlefield, there are thousands of armies and horses. No matter how powerful a person is, he can only be regarded as a fierce general. . Such a strong general can kill a hundred enemies, but can he kill a thousand enemies? A real enemy of ten thousand people can only be defeated by a commander-in-chief. A fool like you, if I give you an artillery, can you hit the enemy? You know How far can a cannonball hit? Do you know how to calculate the impact point of a cannonball?"
After asking three questions in a row, Zuo Hua couldn't answer any of them.
The same was true for the others. After deep thought, they realized that there was a great deal of knowledge in the way of the military.
At this time, everyone's attitude has changed, and they no longer regard reading and literacy as torture.
Zuo Mengeng once again said something that made everyone nervous.
"Today, all positions in the army are temporarily assigned. What happens in the future depends entirely on your performance. Those who are capable will be promoted, and those who are mediocre will be demoted. Other than that, there are no other conditions. How much knowledge you have mastered is also one of the grades."
Once I heard that it was actually linked to promotion, no one dared to take this matter lightly.
Returning to the podium, looking at the solemn atmosphere in the classroom, Zuo Mengeng couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.
