Chapter 306 Raid Inspection

In Mianyang City, Shu, a heavy snowfall has transformed the entire city into a beautiful fairytale world. The white snow covers the mountains, rivers, villages, thatched houses outside the city, as well as the rooftops, tiled houses, small bridges, and streets inside the city.

Two young men wearing seventh-rank green official uniforms and cotton-padded tents, followed by a dozen sturdy guards, walk on a small path in a village, stepping on snow that is up to their ankles.

"Brother, after inspecting the school in this village today, our mission is complete. There is still one month before the New Year, and we should hurry back to Beijing." When the taller official spoke, the hot air from his mouth floated in the cold air and instantly condensed into frost.

Another official rubbed his frozen hands and replied, "Okay! Third brother, after reporting the inspection results of this state to Lord Luo, the two of us brothers will set off for Beijing." At the

west end of the village, three thatched houses with snow-covered roofs came with bursts of crisp reading sounds.

"When people are born, their natures are good. Natures are similar, but habits are different. If you don't teach, your nature will change..."

The two official brothers looked at each other and smiled with satisfaction.

King Xiang Zhao Heng said with a smile: "Brother, listening to the energetic voices of these children reading, the school in this village is not bad."

King Chu Zhao Yuanzuo narrowed his eyes that were stung by the snow, and a smile appeared at the corners of his lips, "Third brother, I am more interested in the basic math, physics and biology courses promoted in the schools in Shu. I wonder if the teachers in this village are teaching the children conscientiously?" "

We were conducting a surprise inspection, and the horses were thrown far away at the foot of the mountain. It would be too late for this teacher to cheat to cover up and get away with it." King Xiang smiled proudly.

The teacher, who was walking around in the room with more than 30 children of all ages, suddenly saw two officials coming in. He stood up in a panic, frantically took out a math book from under the table and placed it on the table.

Then he turned around and saluted, "I am Liu Bingyi, and I have met the two inspectors. I was impolite for not welcoming you. I hope you will forgive me."

The children who were walking around in the room stopped talking immediately, and looked at the two inspectors with caution.

The teacher said that the two inspectors were specifically there to find faults in the schools. If the two superiors were not satisfied, and the higher authorities did not allocate enough money, these children would not be able to study for free.

The King of Chu and the Empress Dowager smiled faintly, "Master Liu, you don't have to be polite. We arrived suddenly and we are sorry for being rude."

Falling from the sky without a sound in the heavy snow was indeed rude. Master Liu was complaining in his heart, but he said politely: "It's so cold and snowy, the roads are difficult to travel on, you two adults have worked hard."

The corners of King Xiang's lips curled up with a sly smile, "Master Liu, it's cold and snowy, the roads are difficult to travel on, but we still arrive suddenly. Unexpected, right?"

Master Liu was stunned, then smiled and said: "As expected, as expected. The two inspectors are known for their diligence and vigor in Shu. No matter how difficult the road is, it can't stop you."

The King of Chu looked at his naughty third brother with amusement, and smiled at Master Liu who showed his guilty conscience, "Master Liu, stop talking nonsense, let's check the students' homework."

Master Liu hurriedly took the course schedule from the drawer and The king of Chu took the schedule politely, "Okay, thank you, Master Liu

. We will start checking the students' homework now." The simple desks

below were made of adobe with a flat and smooth wooden boards. More than 30 children aged between five or six and thirteen or fourteen all had tense faces. They looked at the two handsome young inspectors with friendly manners with alert eyes behind their hands, waiting to have their homework checked.

King Zhao Heng of Xiang sat in Master Liu's seat with a smile on his face, looking at the dark red faces below, and said, "I will ask you a few brain-teasing questions first. The reward for answering correctly is one pound of rice, and the reward for answering three correctly is one pound of meat."

A guard came in and put a small cloth bag of white rice and a few pieces of pork on the table.

The children immediately became excited, and their vigilant eyes turned into hot eyes, staring at the rice and meat on the table.

The King of Chu secretly praised his third brother for his good brain. For these children from poor families, the best reward is rice and meat, which is much more attractive than the reward of brushes and ink blocks that he thought of at the beginning.

King Xiang smiled and asked, "First question, if a green shrimp fights with a red shrimp, which one will win?"

The corner of King Chu's lips curled up. The third brother originally wanted to ask a question about a fight between a green crab and a red crab, but he never thought that the children in these villages had no idea what a crab looked like, so he changed it to shrimps that can be seen in every stream.

The children stared at the rice and meat on the table, their minds spinning desperately.

A fat boy stood up and answered, "My Lord, which one is bigger, the green shrimp or the red shrimp, will win."

King Xiang shook his head and denied his answer. The fat boy sat back down with his head down.

A thin kid with bright eyes stood up timidly, "My Lord, shrimps turn red only when they are cooked, and live shrimps are the best!"

"Smart! A pound of rice as a reward, come on." King Xiang praised, and with a wave of his hand, a small bag of rice flew steadily in front of the child and landed steadily on the table. He boasted again, "What do you think? My kung fu is pretty good, right? You can do it if you learn martial arts well."

"Thank you, my Lord!" The kid's face flushed with excitement after receiving the reward.

Can he really get a reward of rice and meat? There was a commotion in the room, and the atmosphere suddenly became lively.

: "Which is heavier, a pound of cotton or a pound of iron?"

The child's butt bounced up immediately, "They are equally heavy!"

: "If we give them a bath in the river, which one is heavier?"

"Cotton is heavier!" The child answered without hesitation and explained, "Cotton will absorb water, but iron does not absorb water."

: "Answer three questions correctly and you will be rewarded with a pound of meat." King Xiang raised his hand and a piece of meat wrapped in oil paper flew over.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became heated, and the children looked at the adult observer with a look that changed from vigilance to eager anticipation.

After dozens of questions were answered, the prizes were all given out. King Xiang looked at the excited children with satisfaction and said in a gentle tone, "Okay, you are all smart and studious children. Now, check your homework."

Most of the children learned the Hundred Family Surnames and the Three Character Classic quite well. Some of the smart, studious, hardworking and down-to-earth children also practiced their handwriting quite well.

When it came to arithmetic, the children frowned and counted on their fingers, but they were still stumped and could not answer.

King Xiang glanced coldly at Master Liu, who was standing in the corner with his head down. How can you do porcelain work without gold and steel? Or are you disobeying the orders in secret? He knew that if the teaching evaluation of the village school was unqualified, the teacher's salary would be reduced by one level. If he disobeyed the orders again in a month, he would be fired.

The King of Chu smiled faintly and asked, "You have learned the Three Character Classic and the Hundred Family Surnames well, why can't you do these simplest arithmetic problems?"

The child who received the most rewards got excited and stood up to answer, "My Lord, the teacher said that reading and writing is the real learning, which can help you pass the imperial examination and become an official in the future. Mathematics and martial arts are unorthodox, and it doesn't matter whether you learn them or not."

Master Liu, who was standing in the corner, was so scared that his face turned pale and he lowered his head and dared not look at the two inspectors. In order to get more salary, he took the initiative to sign up for arithmetic training, but he was secretly unwilling to teach these unorthodox things, but the child exposed it.

The King of Chu glanced at Master Liu calmly and said, "Master Liu, you have one month to rectify the situation. You are not allowed to retaliate against the informant. You also know the punishment regulations, right?"

Master Liu wiped the sweat from his forehead and

said, "I know, I dare not do it. I will satisfy my superiors in a month." This job of teaching two courses with a high salary of twelve taels of silver per month is a good job that is hard to find for a boy who is not even a scholar. He can't lose it!