Mr. Three

Chapter 14: Three Requests, Mr.

Chu Huaibei returned to the dormitory and was about to wash up when she found Hu Zhi sitting under the lamp reading a book waiting for her to come back. "Hu Zhi, don't wait for me so late in the future. I might stay in the military camp. You go to sleep first." Chu Huaibei looked at him and whispered.

"Well, I won't wait for you anymore after your injury is healed." Sun Mingsi put down the book in his hand, stood up and helped her pour water for a bath.

After more than a month of caring for her, he was already very comfortable doing this, no longer blushing. In fact, up to now, they had never slept together, and they had only slept in each other's arms. Sun Mingsi had no thoughts about this, not that he didn't have the urge, but in his opinion, being able to sleep in each other's arms every day was already very satisfying.

After washing up, the two lay on the bed, and Chu Huaibei told him what happened today: "I met Du Jiping today, but he didn't want to come to teach. Could he be afraid of soldiers? It's impossible. He made excuses saying that the children in the private school can't do without him. I said that I would find a teacher to replace him for a few months, and let him go after the teaching is completed." Chu Huaibei still felt a little unfair.

Sun Ming thought for a moment and asked, "How can you be so sure that we can finish teaching them in a few months? After all, there are 2,500 students in total. That's not a small number. Some private school teachers can't teach 500 students in their entire lives."

"I have prepared teaching materials. If they learn ten characters a day, that's three hundred characters a month. They will have learned almost all the commonly used characters in three months. Four months at most will be enough. I only need them to recognize the characters and write them. I don't require them to be well-versed in ancient and modern knowledge and have great literary talent." Chu Huaibei explained.

"How can one person give a lecture to two thousand people at the same time? Even if everyone listens quietly, the people in the back cannot hear what the teacher says." Sun Mingsi asked.

"Oh, I divided my personal soldiers into groups in advance, 200 groups, with ten people in each group. There are 200 people attending class each time, which means that one person from each group will take turns to attend class every day. After listening, they will teach the ten words taught by the teacher to the group members. This way, the progress will be faster. I also set up rewards to motivate them to study hard. In addition, the words taught that day will be left on the blackboard in the classroom. If you forget, you can learn them at any time, and you can also practice writing on the ground." Chu Huaibei told Sun Mingsi about her plan. She felt that Hu Zhi was also very smart. It would be faster for the two of them to come up with a plan together than for her to rack her brains alone.

After hearing this, Sun Mingsi actually felt that it was quite feasible. Chu Huaibei hadn't just casually promised a few months. But what was the blackboard? "It sounds feasible. If there are two hundred people, the gentleman should be able to hear him even if he speaks loudly. But, what is the blackboard?"

"Oh, yes, I forgot whether I could hear what I said. I'll make a simple loudspeaker tomorrow. The blackboard is used for writing. The white words on a black background can make it clearer for people far away. Forget it, I'll take you to see it and you'll know. Let's get up, put on a thick robe and go to my study." Chu Huaibei said as he turned over and got up.

Sun Mingsi looked at someone who left without saying anything, and there was surprise and an uncontrollable smile in his eyes.

The two of them came to the study and waited for Chu Huaibei to light the lamp. Sun Mingsi glanced around casually. The desk was tidy and the bookshelves were filled with nothing but books. There was not a single treasure that a noble family should have. On the other side hung a set of armor, and on the weapons rack were commonly used guns and swords.

Chu Huaibei took out the blackboard leaning against the weapons rack, took a piece of chalk from the box on the desk, wrote the word "Ming", then wiped it off with a cotton cloth, wrote the word "Bei", and looked up at Sun Mingsi: "Huzhi, what do you think? It's convenient and saves paper and pens. It won't blow away if you hang it up."

Sun Mingsi's eyes lit up. It was a good idea. No wonder Chu Huaibei was so confident. It was not without reason. Sun Mingsi took the chalk and looked at it. Chu Huaibei stepped aside and said, "Huzhi, you try it."

Sun Mingsi stepped forward and began to write lightly, but the force was obviously not right, as this was different from writing with a brush. He imitated the way Chu Huaibei held the brush and wrote the word "Huai". He stood further away, but even in the dim light at night, he could still see the words clearly, which was not bad.

"Is this pen made of lime?" Sun Mingsi asked speculatively.

"Huzhi is really amazing. He guessed it right away. It is made of quicklime. Add quicklime and water to make lime paste. After cooling, roll it into strips and dry it." Chu Huaibei explained the production method.

"No one has thought of using it this way. It's a good idea." Sun Mingsi said to Chu Huaibei with a smile, his tone full of appreciation, which made Chu Huaibei's ears warm.

After returning to their room to wash their hands and lie down on the bed, Chu Huaibei decided to continue visiting Du Jiping tomorrow. How about bringing some souvenirs? "Huzhi, I'm going to visit Du Jiping again tomorrow morning. What do you think I should bring as a gift? He doesn't seem to like vulgar things. Today I saw him wearing a coarse cloth gown that looked like it was made for him by the villagers themselves. He lives a simple life. There's only a ceramic pot and four ceramic cups on the table. Should I bring him some paper and pen?" Chu Huaibei asked uncertainly.

Sun Ming pondered for a moment. He had heard that he had been an honest official before, his undergarments occasionally showing patches, and he had never investigated the reason for his resignation. Clearly, someone who could endure such austere conditions for several years wouldn't be tempted by money.

"Huaibei, bring the blackboard and chalk tomorrow, and then tell the teacher about your teaching arrangements. As for the gifts, why don't you bring some food with you? I don't think the teacher's food will be very good." Sun Mingsi suggested.

"Well, okay, I'll listen to Hu Zhi." Chu Huaibei patted his hands and said, "Go to sleep first." Let's talk about it tomorrow. It's already late today, so go to sleep first.

The next day, after breakfast, Chu Huaibei packed up and prepared to leave. Since it would be inconvenient to bring food with him on horseback, he decided to buy a roast chicken from Ma Youcai. He first went to the west of the city. When he arrived, the restaurant had just opened. Ma Youcai put down his work and ushered Chu Huaibei in, "Your Highness, please come in. You've come so early to have breakfast, have you?"

"No hurry, I've already eaten. Do you have any of the roast chicken from last night? Please pack one for me, no, two." Chu Huaibei took out a tael of silver and stuffed it into Ma Youcai's hand and said.

"Yes, yes, yes. I just made two and will pack them for you right away. Please wait a moment." Ma Youcai put the silver into the secret pocket in his arms, walked quickly to the kitchen, carefully wrapped it with three layers of oil paper, tied it tightly, and handed it to the guard beside him.

Lu Shun took the roast chicken. Chu Huaibei nodded to Ma Youcai and headed out, mounted his horse, and headed for Du Jiping. He'd brought Lu Shun, two other personal guards, and Jin San with him today. Well, Sun Mingsi had asked Jin San to accompany Chu Huaibei throughout the Du Jiping matter.

Chu Huaibei left early today, so she didn't rush. Her arm ached slightly when she got home last night, but she was afraid of Uncle Deng's lecture, so she just stood there and said nothing. It seemed the King of Zhenbei wasn't made of iron either, so she had to take it easy.

When he arrived at the school, he heard the children's loud reading sounds at the door. Chu Huaibei understood Du Jiping to some extent. These children were diligent and studious. Even if they failed to pass the imperial examination or become officials in the future, being able to read and write would give them another way out in the future. They would not have to work as peasants all their lives.

Leaving someone to watch over the horses, Chu Huaibei entered the classroom with his belongings. He bowed to Du Jiping, performing the student's salute, which made Du Jiping's eyelids twitch. "Memorize the article we're discussing today. I'll check it this afternoon." After arranging the students, he slowly walked out of the classroom.

"Please come in, distinguished guests." Du Jiping had no choice but to let them go into the house to talk first, so as to prevent the children from hearing anything and causing unnecessary trouble.

Chu Huaibei happily followed him in and placed the roast chicken on the table. "Sir, I apologize for my rudeness yesterday. Today I brought you two roast chickens. I hope you will accept them."

Du Jiping smelled the aroma of the roast chicken as soon as it entered the door and secretly swallowed his saliva. Ahem, this Zhenbei King is interesting. If he had taken money, he would have thrown it out in front of him, but he brought food, so he couldn't do that. Forget about wasting food. Even if he didn't eat the meat, he could share it with the children. The children are all growing up. Only one or two look strong, and the rest are as thin as straw. It's no use for him to feel sorry for them. He knows the situation in the village.

"Well, leave it there. I'll take it. But I'm sorry, I can't do what the prince asked yesterday." Du Jiping said calmly.

"Sir, you'd better listen to what I say first and then make a decision. Lu Shun, take the blackboard and face you." Chu Huaibei ordered.

Lu Shun and another personal soldier held the blackboard steady. Chu Huaibei took out a piece of chalk from the brocade bag on his waist, wrote the first sentence of the Three Character Classic on the blackboard, and turned to signal Du Jiping.

"Look, sir. This is a blackboard. You can write on both sides. If you want to write something else, just wipe it off with a piece of cotton cloth. I've divided the two thousand personal soldiers into groups. You only need to teach two hundred personal soldiers ten large characters each day. The blackboard will ensure that those sitting behind you can still see your writing clearly. After these two hundred people learn the characters for that day, they will teach the other nine people in their group to read and write. Even if someone forgets, they can go to the makeshift classroom and look directly at the blackboard."

Chu Huaibei paused for a moment and continued, "If you teach ten big characters a day, you will have nine hundred characters in three months. In four months at most, you can finish teaching all the commonly used characters and return to the village."

Du Jiping stood up and looked at the words on the blackboard. He took the chalk from Chu Huaibei and looked at it again and again. He tried to write two strokes on the blackboard. Because the way of applying force was completely different from that of a brush, the words he wrote could only be called clear, without any of the style of brush calligraphy. However, the requirement of the King of Zhenbei was just to recognize words and write, so this was indeed a useful thing. The white words on a black background were extremely clear.

Furthermore, teaching only 200 people at a time is acceptable. However, I don't know why the Prince of Zhenbei is so obsessed with teaching his personal soldiers to read, even going so far as to personally ask for it. In his opinion, personal soldiers only need to be brave and loyal. "May I ask why the prince is so determined to teach his personal soldiers to read? If it is a secret, you don't have to answer."

Seeing Du Jiping's demeanor softened considerably since yesterday, Chu Huaibei sensed a promising future ahead, so he explained the situation. "Sir, this incident stems from a recent incident I stumbled upon involving a noble family seizing civilian land. I've since discovered there are probably many similar cases in the northern border. The affected civilians may be barred from even entering the government office by the noble families, leaving them with nowhere to seek justice. So, I've devised a plan: I'll send one of my personal soldiers to patrol Youzhou daily. If they encounter a similar incident, they'll bring the victims directly to the government office to report the crime."

Chu Huaibei kept a close eye on Du Jiping's expression. He couldn't hide his anger at hearing about the aristocratic families' actions. He clearly knew this was a common occurrence, yet difficult to handle. She continued, "Once the aristocratic families learn I've sent someone to do this, they'll undoubtedly try to obstruct and provoke trouble. My personal guards must be discerning. If there's a petition, they must understand its contents and carefully assess it before bringing it to the government office. If they bring it in without prior scrutiny, the mixed bag will drag down the government office, further increasing the aristocratic families' impunity. I don't want to let good intentions backfire."