Five days passed quickly. After five days of careful selection and a series of tests, Zhao Liu and his three companions finally selected nearly 15,000 men from Zhang Sai's 150,000 troops gathered at Yanmen Pass to form a rifle regiment. Although not all of them could be equipped with rifles, those who were not equipped with rifles could temporarily serve as logistics personnel, participate in training, and have opportunities to fire their weapons.
Wang Han personally taught his generals how to firearms and maintain them. They then passed the training on to their officers, who in turn taught the soldiers. Aside from a shortage of ammunition—less than forty rounds per soldier on average—the training went smoothly. In addition to firearms training, Wang Han required all soldiers to practice martial arts for close combat (not military training, but actual martial arts training). The shortage of ammunition was intentional on Wang Han's part. He couldn't produce bullets at the moment; even achieving the correct caliber was impossible, and there was no gunpowder. He had to use external methods to multiply the ammunition. If he didn't find a solution after his departure, every bullet used would be one less available. Therefore, Wang Han intentionally controlled the supply to ensure that the soldiers could maximize the value of the ammunition.
After the soldiers began their formal training, Wang Han continued to practice martial arts, improve his physical strength, and read books, leaving tasks to his subordinates. However, now that he had the strength and speed boosts, Wang Han no longer needed to hide his martial arts training from others.
Zheng Dian, along with his handpicked logistics team, did not carry rifles and went to Yizhou to pick up Xi Zhicai and others. They also had to transport the printed books back.
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A month passed quickly, and Zheng Dian finally brought the man back. To Wang Han's surprise, Cao Cao also came along. He brought an army of two thousand men to protect him and arrived in Bingzhou with Zheng Dian's logistics unit.
Looking at Cao Cao, Wang Han said in surprise, "Lord Cao, I didn't expect you to come too."
"Lord Dingshan, it's been a long time," Cao Cao said. "I heard that you went to the grasslands beyond the Great Wall, killed tens of thousands of Xiongnu, and even instigated the tribes on the grasslands to wage war against each other, thus eliminating the threat posed by the nomadic tribes to the Central Plains. There are also rumors that you received divine assistance, with a natural disaster causing stars to fall on the camp of the Left Wise King."
"It's just that they didn't have the right timing. It's fate, destiny. They were destined to face this calamity." Wang Han said casually, then asked Cao Cao, "Lord Cao, you don't come here unless you have a reason. May I ask what brings you here today?"
"Lord Dingshan." Cao Cao knew that Wang Han didn't like nonsense, so he directly stated his purpose: "Making it possible for all people to read and write is a great undertaking that benefits the country and its people for generations to come. How could Lord Dingshan leave me out? I am willing to work with you to carry it out and contribute my share."
"Lord Cao is also willing to promote reading with me. This is no simple matter, Lord Cao, and it will also face strong opposition from powerful clans. Wang Mang's failed reforms serve as a cautionary tale." Wang Han looked at Cao Cao with some surprise, unable to guess what Cao Cao was planning.
"Whatever Lord Dingshan did before, it was all successful in the end," Cao Cao said. "I believe that your decision this time is correct."
"You trust me that much?" Wang Han said in surprise. "You know, even saints make mistakes. Aren't you afraid of the consequences if you fail?"
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao stated, "Cao Cao has a saying: 'I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me.' I have more faith in myself. However, this is a different story for Lord Dingshan. If someone else had said this, I certainly wouldn't have believed it. But since it is Lord Dingshan's decision, I, Cao Cao, absolutely believe in Lord Dingshan."
Cao Cao had already considered this. Many things Wang Han did seemed difficult, or even impossible, but they all succeeded. He didn't believe that Wang Han would do something he wasn't sure of. Moreover, it was clear that Wang Han had been planning the education program for quite some time, and its scope was not limited to just one or two provinces like Bingzhou, but to all the people in the world. Rather than being forced to comply passively by Wang Han, he would rather cooperate actively. This way, he could curry favor with Wang Han, use Wang Han's promotion of education as an excuse to get rid of some disobedient people, and gain some prestige from the people by following Wang Han.
"Hahaha, Cao Cao, you've got a very clever plan," Wang Han said with a loud laugh. "There's no rush to make a decision on this matter. Let's hear what I plan to do when we discuss it tomorrow."
"Then Cao Cao will wait to hear Lord Dingshan's plan," Cao Cao said with a smile. Wang Han had indeed planned everything long ago.
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The next day, Wang Han summoned everyone to the hall, and Cao Cao also came with his strategist Guo Jia.
After everyone had arrived, Wang Han spoke first: "Originally, I planned to persuade the feudal lords to implement the popularization of knowledge and encourage the people to learn after we returned from driving out the Xiongnu."
Wang Han said, "However, by chance we have obtained Bingzhou, so I plan to change my plans. I will first spread knowledge in Bingzhou. Not only that, but I will also build a large number of schools, that is, private schools, and manage them uniformly, set standards, and popularize compulsory education for children."
"Compulsory education?" Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Wang Han curiously, waiting for him to explain what he meant.
Wang Han explained, “Compulsory education means that children aged six to twelve must attend school, and the tuition is free. Of course, in order to gain the support of the people, we will also provide the children with two free meals and meat every two days to ensure that they can grow up well. All these expenses will be covered by us. Families with children in the age range must also send them to school unconditionally. These children are the future pillars of the country.”
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