Chapter 210 Let’s take the exam
Ming Xiaoshuang waved his hand and sat down opposite Bai Ci'en. Ming Xiaoshuang had never interrogated anyone before, so he had a lot of thoughts on what to say. In the end, he just got straight to the point and said, "Well, General Bai, I'm Ming Xiaoshuang. You can call me Director Ming. Our city lord asked me to come and talk to you."
Factory director?
What is that? Or is it a person's name?
So this person is not the leader of the Qingtou Gang?
Does Ming Xiaoshuang's coming mean that the Qingtou Gang has dealt with those natives and successfully taken over Shunyuan City?
Bai Ci'en became even more alert, "City Lord? Where's your City Lord? Ask him to come and talk to me."
"Our city lord is busy and has no time. I'm here to tell you about our city lord's arrangements. Your men can't leave and must stay. But don't worry, our city lord is kind-hearted and never kills innocent people. Your soldiers will stay and help us cultivate the land and reclaim the wasteland. We won't take their lives. Is that enough?"
Bai Ci'en's expression changed. "You want to enslave my soldiers? That's impossible?!"
Ming Xiaoshuang then realized that he had misunderstood. In the Zhou Dynasty, land reclamation was basically done by hard labor, and they didn't even have enough to eat. Generally, only criminals were assigned to do the land reclamation work.
Ming Xiaoshuang smiled and said, "General Bai, you misunderstood. The land reclamation here is very different from that in the Great Zhou Dynasty. We work four-hour shifts, with a half-hour lunch break in between. The workload is not heavy, and not only is food and accommodation provided, but we also pay. We went to the prisoner camp and asked around, and quite a few are willing to stay."
"You!" Bai Ci'en's chest heaved with rage, especially after hearing Ming Xiaoshuang repeatedly criticize the Great Zhou Dynasty. It was obvious that these people were all traitors. "Do you know that rebellion will cost you your life? How dare you dream of rebelling with just two or three thousand of you? I'm telling you, once the imperial army arrives to suppress the bandits, your entire clan will be exterminated! I see that you're just like Jiang Yongkang, young as he is. Why would you choose to become a bandit?!"
Ming Xiaoshuang smiled and said, "General Bai, don't worry about this. To be honest, our city lord has already occupied Jinzhou Prefecture, and now Qianzhou is also in his pocket. Speaking of which, General Bai might as well surrender to our city lord—"
"Bullshit! As an official of the Great Zhou Dynasty, how could I possibly be in league with a traitor? If you have the guts, kill me right now and offer it to the gods!"
"Hey, look at you, why are you so impulsive? I haven't even finished what I was saying." Ming Xiaoshuang shook his head, "Who said we're going to lock you up? Our city lord said we're going to treat prisoners well. If you want to leave, just go ahead."
Bai Ci'en was stunned.
He couldn't figure out what tricks these people were playing.
They captured him, but didn't kill him, didn't incite him to rebellion, and didn't torture him to learn the secrets of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Instead, they planned to let him go?
Such abnormal behavior made Bai Ci'en even more alert!
Ming Xiaoshuang rolled his eyes at Bai Ci'en's fearful expression and said, "Alright, do you think you're that valuable? Our city lord said that you're average in both fighting and intelligence. As a general, your overall abilities aren't outstanding. You can't match Jiang Yongkang in terms of physical fitness, and you can't match Liu Pan'er in terms of combat strategy. We don't keep idle people in our team, so the city lord said to just let you go."
Bai Ci'en was stunned, then, as if he had suffered a great humiliation, he sneered, "I've been familiar with military books since I was young. I followed my father to the barracks at the age of ten, and went to the battlefield alone at the age of fourteen. Now, at only twenty, I'm already a second-rank general. You're just a bunch of rabble. You just won this battle by chance, yet you're so arrogant that you dare to humiliate me like this—"
"Humiliation?" Ming Xiaoshuang's face showed little reaction, as if he was stating a fact. Compared to Bai Ci'en's anger, Ming Xiaoshuang seemed very calm. "I don't think this is humiliating. You may not know our city lord well, so you have this prejudice. But to be honest, General Bai, if you come to our side, apart from having a father who is a first-rank military marquis, you may not even be able to be a team leader here, oh no, what you call a centurion, just by relying on your own. You don't have to stare at me like that. If you don't believe me, I'll give you a test paper from our soldiers' monthly exam. Try it and see how many points you can get. Then you will have a rough idea of your level here."
Bai Ci'en frowned.
He calmed down a little at this moment.
But he still couldn't figure out what these rebels were trying to do.
I've seen rebels who shout for war and killing, and I've seen bandits who burn and loot, but I've never seen a rebel who wants to take an exam right away.
"Why, General Bai, you don't dare?" Ming Xiaoshuang smiled with narrowed eyes and made a gesture to stand up. "If that's the case, then there's nothing to say. Please feel free to go wherever you want!"
"You don't have to provoke me, just bring the test paper!"
Bai Ci'en thought that the imperial court didn't know much about this group of rebels. If he could use the method of doing questions, he would be able to find out who the other party was.
What's more, seeing that this group of people were different from the bandits outside, Bai Ci'en was extremely vigilant and naturally wanted to know both himself and the enemy.
Ming Xiaoshuang took out the test paper from his pocket and placed it in front of him, "You must hand it in within an hour."
Alas, Ming Xiaoshuang only felt the inconvenience after leaving Lan County. People in Lan County had long been accustomed to looking at clocks. Now that they have arrived in Qianzhou, they can only go back to the old days of calculating time by looking at the sun. Ming Xiaoshuang realized how backward the Great Zhou Dynasty was.
Before Bai Ci'en could even read the contents, he only glanced at the paper and the words, his brows furrowed. "What kind of pen was this written with? Why is the ink so light? You actually used charcoal?"
"It's not a charcoal pencil, it's a pencil." Ming Xiaoshuang reluctantly took out a pen from his pocket and placed it carefully in front of Bai Ci'en, "Use it sparingly. I only brought one with me."
Who would have thought that a small pencil would cause Bai Ci'en's face to change drastically? He almost snatched it away and examined it carefully, "What is this? Isn't this a charcoal pencil? But why is there a layer of wood on the outside? How can the charcoal be stuffed in? How can the charcoal pencil be fixed in shape?"
As expected of a top talent trained by the imperial court, he was able to see the deeper meaning of the matter through a small piece of paper with just a pencil.
Ming Xiaoshuang snorted. "This is something our city lord researched, so don't worry about it. Anyway, just use my pencil to write. Consider it a loan from me! You have to return it to me in the future!"
The look of shock in Bai Ci'en's eyes lingered for a long time.
This group of traitors is too weird!
Ming Xiaoshuang saw Bai Ci'en's shocked expression and couldn't help laughing in his heart: You country bumpkin, our city lord hasn't used his tricks yet. When you see clocks, cement and other things, you will be scared to death!
Ming Xiaoshuang reminded him of the time, and Bai Ci'en immediately turned his attention to the questions on the test paper.
Then, Bai Ci'en's pupils dilated.
What is the title?
It was neither the policy essays or classics in the imperial examinations of the Great Zhou Dynasty, nor was it a test on some famous scholar's model. Instead, it started with a lot of mathematics, such as sailing against the current, chickens and rabbits in the same cage, and binary equations, which made Bai Ci'en a little confused at the beginning.
Well, it seems that this rebel leader is proficient in mathematics.
As a military general, it is understandable that he is not good at mathematics.
The following part is all about military strategy, so there must be a place for him to use his skills, right?
Bai Ci'en was certain that this set of test papers was just an attempt to fool him and intimidate him.
There were very few people in the Zhou Dynasty who could read, let alone those who could solve such complex mathematical problems.
He figured that even if he left the first part of the paper blank, as long as he could answer the military strategy questions at the end, he would at least be among the top.
But when he took a closer look, he couldn't help but want to throw his pen down in anger.
What are the four elements of war?
——How to resolve the multi-ethnic conflicts in the Zhou Dynasty without relying on war?
——Based on the current situation of the Zhou Dynasty, what are the characteristics of the surrounding security environment?
——Briefly discuss the relationship between national defense and economic development?
How does the economic base determine the superstructure? Discuss the relationship between the superstructure and the economic base.
——A brief explanation of the principle behind earth dragons turning over.
Bai Ci'en was a little shocked when he got the question, then he felt nervous, but finally he calmed down.
He had completely confirmed the other party's intention, which was nothing more than to give him a warning.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be given such a difficult problem.
This set of questions is so difficult that even Han Xiang, the top student in high school back then, wouldn't be able to answer them.
Bai Ci'en smiled sarcastically, then felt a little bored, so he simply skipped one question after another until he filled in all the questions he knew how to answer.
He handed the test paper to Ming Xiaoshuang, who said in surprise, "So fast—you have so much time?"
This time it was Ming Xiaoshuang's turn to be shocked.
He remembered that he had scored over 70 points on this set of questions, which was considered above average. But looking at Bai Ci'en's paper, not only were there large blank areas, but the answers were also not on point. He only took a quick glance and knew that the score would not exceed 30.
This person is also a second-rank general of the Great Zhou Dynasty!
Is this the level of a second-rank general?
Ming Xiaoshuang was a little confused, so Liu Pan'er came over to take a look, then frowned: "Fortunately, he is not a soldier in our class. If he were in our Lan County, he would probably be considered half-illiterate!"
Perhaps Liu Pan'er's sincere expression hurt Bai Ci'en, and he said angrily, "Alright, stop pretending. Just tell me what you want to do. I've finished the questions, so I can leave now, right?"
Ming Xiaoshuang waved his hand without hesitation, "Go ahead, go ahead. No one is stopping you."
Bai Ci'en couldn't quite believe it, but he could see that the soldiers under Ming Xiaoshou showed no sign of stopping him. He couldn't help but feel horrified, wondering what on earth these people were doing!
With a look of vigilance on his face, he stood up and walked out until he reached the corridor outside the prison. Seeing that no one had chased him out, the eerie silence made his back feel cold.
At this moment, he didn't dare to leave.
Until he heard the voices of those people talking clearly.
"No way, is this the level of the generals of the Great Zhou Dynasty? This is even worse than mine. I at least scored over 60 points on the test!"
Are the soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty all good-for-nothings? I've noticed since our last battle that their soldiers can't even understand orders, let alone teamwork and personal qualities.
——If only all the soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty were like him! Then we would be able to capture Bianjing in no time!
——Don't underestimate the enemy. There should still be capable people in the Great Zhou Dynasty. It's just that General Bai may be young and lacks battlefield experience. If you look down on the enemy because of a test paper, the city lord will definitely criticize you severely!
Ming Xiaoshuang and the others were not making much noise as they gathered around the test paper, commenting on it. Suddenly, they heard Bai Ci'en's suppressed, angry voice, "You just said you scored over 60 points?"
The man seemed stunned, but there was no fear on his face.
Bai Ci'en also discovered a characteristic of this group of rebels.
There was never any fear in their eyes, whether they were fighting on the battlefield or meeting their superiors, there was not a trace of flattery on their faces.
It’s as if they are upright people!
Just like the young man who was speaking now, he was neither humble nor arrogant, as if stating the facts: "General Bai, you don't have to feel insulted. I did score over 60 on this test. The average for this test was 65, and I didn't even reach the average, ranking last in the class."
Ming Xiaoshuang said considerately, "Don't mention the average line. He won't understand."
"Oh, the average is the median score of everyone in a certain sample. 65 is the sum of the high and low scores, so almost everyone scores around 65." The soldier scratched his head. "Director Ming, I can't explain this. Is that what you mean?"
Bai Ci'en understood.
He was astonished at the soldier's mathematical ability, but even more surprised at their common sense. He gritted his teeth and said, "You said your average score on this test was 65. I don't believe it."
"Believe it or not, the city lord said that if your test score is below average, there's no need to keep you. To be honest, we have soldiers of your caliber everywhere in Lan County. If you keep me, I'll have to give you an extra meal—"
"This is too much!" Bai Ci'en felt that he had never been insulted like this in his life. He was furious, with veins popping out of his face. But his anger only lasted for two seconds, and then it was replaced by a strong curiosity!
He really couldn't believe that there was such a powerful army in the world.
If what they said is true, then the Qingtou Gang is not training soldiers, but generals!
Bai Ci'en thought about it and decided that if what they said was true, they would be a serious threat to the imperial court!
Compared to the natives, these rebels are even more terrifying!
As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in every battle. Since the other party has set him on a path to victory, how can he retreat halfway?
Okay, he wanted to see what these people were up to.
"Okay, then I'll stay and see if your soldiers are really as magical as you say."
Speaking of the divine troops descending from the sky, Ming Xiaoshuang was too embarrassed to say that they had pretended to be mysterious and robbed their food supplies in March.
Seeing how angry the young general of the Bai family was, he didn't want to add fuel to the fire.
After all, he had eaten the food, so Ming Xiaoshuang became a little more polite. "Alright, go wherever you want, I don't care. But I'll tell you in advance, you'd better not run around. Those chieftains are still here, and you killed so many people in their village. Be careful of their revenge!"
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