Chapter 133 Xu Sheng: There are copper and silver mines here
On the day of the technical college's enrollment, the college gate was filled with colorful flags and crowds of people.
Some came to register with their students, some came to join in the fun, and some even set up stalls to sell something. The school gate was crowded with people, and if the county lieutenant had not dispatched soldiers to forcibly clear a passage, it would have been difficult for the students to even squeeze into the registration point.
"There are so many people here. If there weren't enough people coming to support us from Xianyang, we wouldn't even have enough teachers." Liu Ji tugged at his clothes that were crooked and wrinkled due to the crowding, and it took him a long time to tidy himself up.
Wei Shengxue saw how embarrassed he was and cast a spell on him, smoothing out the mess. "We still need to separate the personnel. For now, we'll sort them by educational level. When we have more schools, we'll set up elementary and middle schools in each county to teach basic knowledge. This technical college will serve as a higher education institution to train professional talents."
Liu Ji thanked him and said, "The expanded private school?"
Wang Yu explained Xianyang's position on these schools. "Officially run schools have a weaker bond between teachers and students, distinguishing them from smaller, more elite private schools. Students who graduate from these schools don't have the traditional close bond with their teachers, and they aren't responsible for their teachers' retirement."
"Master, please read this." She handed Wei Shengxue the plan discussed by the emperor and his ministers in Xianyang. "Currently, the Great Qin still lacks a large number of minor officials. Candidates who are eliminated from the provincial and academy examinations can, after passing a simpler test, be appointed as local minor officials to alleviate the shortage."
Wei Shengxue quickly glanced at it. "If we train people this way, it will take at least ten years before they can enter the government. During this time, we'll have to rely on temporary officials to fill the gaps?"
Wang Yu replied fluently, "If you perform well, you can be promoted to a regular employee. Your Majesty intends to open up the transition between officials and clerks."
Liu Ji was listening nearby and his eyebrows jumped violently.
Officials, officials, although the two are often mentioned together, their status and identities are very different.
Your Majesty actually wants to break the boundary between the two? !
"There's an exam." Wang Yu said.
Ying Zheng is now very keen on exams.
"However, we can give you certain preferential treatment based on your ability to handle affairs. If you consistently perform well, you can be promoted to an official."
Liu Ji keenly sensed the potential for this to work.
"Who will judge this 'superior performance'?"
"His superiors and the inspector."
"Inspector Censor?" Liu Ji heard a new term.
Wang Yu glanced at him and casually explained, "It's a new department established by His Majesty." But he didn't say anything more.
Seeing this, Liu Ji stopped asking questions and turned the topic back to the scene before him.
"There aren't many people in Kuaiji County, but this looks like there are almost a thousand of them. Legend has it that Confucius, when he traveled around the nations, only had 3,000 disciples. How can we have so many people in just a few days?"
Wang Yu was no longer a novice and had expected this.
"Once registration is over, we'll be able to screen out a large number of people during the family situation check. Then, with the exams, age groups, majors, and class divisions, things will be pretty much straightened out. Our people, combined with those screened out during the provincial exams, will pretty much cover the entire population. If things really don't work out, we can ask the older students to teach a few classes in the younger ones, and that'll be enough."
In the initial stage of starting up, there is no need to be perfect, just build the framework first.
"After two or three years, when we have trained more people, we will be able to get on the right track."
Wei Shengxue didn't say anything. She looked at the huge statue in front of the college library and was silent for a long time.
Until Liu Ji caught her gaze, he excitedly boasted, "Master, do you like that statue too? It's worth it that I personally invited the master from Gongshujia back. He is worthy of being the descendant of Gongshu Ban, who is as famous as the Mohist school. His craftsmanship is exquisite, and the statue is lifelike. Standing there, it's as if you, the immortal, are guarding it personally!"
Wei Shengxue said expressionlessly: Do you think I like you?
"School statues can be erected to honor teachers and students who have made significant contributions to the school or achieved extraordinary success in the future. There's no need to put mine up there to take up space."
Liu Ji subconsciously asked back: "Who can make a greater contribution than you?"
"You don't like it?"
Wei Shengxue: "Not really, it's just..."
She thought about the situation of the statues in the school when she was in school. Quilts, socks, and pillows were all hung on them, and they had to bless and worship them before exams.
I always feel something weird.
"It's nothing, just leave it like this." With Daqin's current level, making a new large statue would require a lot of manpower and resources.
Just make do with it and pretend you didn't see it.
…
"Brother, is this the school for people from the Central Plains?" The person who spoke seemed extremely unfamiliar, like a beginner, and even spoke haltingly.
The man called "Brother" looked down at the pattern on the animal skin, then held it up and carefully compared it with the totem at the school gate. He nodded in confirmation, "Yes, this is it. We must study hard and bring back what we have learned to the tribe so that everyone can have enough food and clothing."
They followed the crowd to the registration point and said, "We are from Wushang County and are here to study. This is my brother and I's ID."
The staff at the registration office quickly checked the authenticity of the information, then wrote down the information in the registration book. They grabbed two ID cards and handed them over. "Follow the signs and rest for the night at the rest area to prepare for the exam in two days."
After watching the two men walk away, the guide came over and took a look. "Awang, Acai, those names must be fake. How can you let people with such suspicious identities in?"
"If we can bring the suspected Baiyue person here without any casualties, we will have accomplished a great feat." The registrar closed the registration form and stretched his sore fingers.
"Are these two Baiyue spies?!" The assistant beside him widened his eyes, "How dare you let them in?"
"Two people, what kind of trouble can they stir up? We in the Great Qin aren't afraid of them coming, we're just afraid of them not coming. What can the Baiyue people compare to us? I'm afraid they won't want to leave once they come." The registrar stood up and packed up. "Don't be dazed, hurry up and pack up, we have a lot to do tomorrow."
…
Wei Shengxue originally wanted to wait until things here were back on track before leaving, but he didn't expect that two days later several ships would dock and bring news about Xu Sheng.
"Master, I am glad to see you at last! I almost couldn't come back!" Xu Sheng, who looked much older, pounced on the table, picking up fruits and chewing them fiercely, as if he hadn't seen you for eight hundred years.
"Of course not. I rely on bean sprouts to survive on the boat. I can't even think about fruits and vegetables. I almost vomited after eating fish."
Wei Shengxue asked, "I heard you went out to sea two years ago. Did you gain anything?"
Xu Sheng took a bite of the fruit and replied, "You told me to go north in the summer and south in the winter. And you know what? I led my fleet on a few voyages and actually found land south of the Baiyue. It's truly warm there! Even in the middle of winter, there's not even a drop of snow. Even light clothing is enough."
"Oh, by the way, I also brought back some saplings. I found them on an isolated island. It's quite large, almost half the size of Kuaiji County. There are wild people in the mountains. They are vicious and even eat people."
"Ah? Then you guys...!" Wang Yu exclaimed, his eyes widened.
"Hey, luckily, we prepared some thunder bombs in advance. They exploded with a crackling sound, and those savages ran away. We took the opportunity to go down and collect some things. We didn't dare to stay any longer."
Xu Sheng had someone bring up a box. When he opened it, he saw a bunch of green, round things inside.
Wang Yu walked over and patted it a few times, making a crisp sound. "It's hard, and it seems to be solid inside."
Wei Shengxue's face showed a hint of surprise, "Coconut?"
"Coconut?" Xu Sheng turned to look at her. "Master, do you know this green melon?"
Wei Shengxue: "It's a tropical fruit. The juice in the middle is sweet and the flesh is tender, but the skin is thick and hard to open."
"Yes, yes, that's it." Xu Sheng danced with joy. "That tree was so tall that we had to use a human ladder to reach it."
"Master, I haven't found the fertile land you asked me to find yet. I'll explore further south next year."
Xu Sheng motioned his men to go down and took out a roll of map from his arms. On it was a crude nautical chart. He circled a place in the north and marked it with emphasis.
He lowered his voice and said, "Master, I found copper ore and silver ore in the river of this island. I suspect there are copper and silver mines on it."
"It's just that every time we go downstream in the summer, we always encounter strong winds nearby. I sent five waves of people there, and two of them were hit by earth dragons."
Xu Sheng's face was serious, with a hint of fear in it. "Have we angered the local gods?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
