vrcanaries Chapter 306 Raid Inspection
Chapter 306 Raid Inspection
In Mianyang City in Shu, a heavy snowfall made the entire city look like a beautiful fairy tale world. The white snow covered the mountains, rivers, villages, thatched houses outside the city, as well as the roofs, tiled houses, small bridges and streets inside the city.
Two young men, wearing seventh-rank green official uniforms and cotton cloaks, were walking on a small path in a village, in snow that was up to their ankles, followed and protected by a dozen nimble guards.
"Brother, after inspecting the school in this village today, our mission is completed. There is still a month before the New Year, and it is time for us to set off back to Beijing." The hot air exhaled from the mouth of the taller official as he spoke floated in the cold air and instantly condensed into frost.
The other official rubbed his frozen hands and said, "Okay! Third brother, after reporting the results of the inspection of this state to Lord Luo, the two of us brothers will set off to return to the capital."
At the west end of the village, from three thatched houses with roofs covered with snow, bursts of clear and clear reading sounds could be heard.
"When people are born, their nature is good. Natures are close, but habits make them different. If there is no teaching, 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 studying, the school in this village is not bad."
King Zhao Yuanzuo of Chu narrowed his eyes that were pierced by the snow, and a smile appeared on the corner of his lips. "Third brother, I am more interested in the arithmetic, physics and basic biology courses promoted in the Shu school. I wonder if the teachers in this village are dedicated to teaching the children?"
"We were conducting a surprise inspection and the horses were dumped far away at the foot of the mountain. It would be too late for this scholar to cheat and cover up and get away with it." King Xiang smiled complacently.
The teacher, who was studying with more than thirty children of all ages in the room, suddenly saw two officials pushing the door open. He stood up hurriedly, and hurriedly took out a math book from under the table and placed it on the table.
Then he turned around and saluted in a hurry, saying, "I am Liu Bingyi, your humble servant. I am honored to meet you two governors. I was impolite for not greeting you. I hope you will forgive me."
The children who were reading with their heads nodding in the room immediately shut up and looked at the two observers secretly with caution and vigilance.
The teacher said that these two inspectors were specifically there to find fault in each school. If the two superiors were not satisfied and sufficient money was not allocated from above, these children would not be able to go to school for free.
The King of Chu smiled amiably and said, "Master Liu, you don't have to be polite. We came here suddenly and it's a shame for us to be so rude."
It was rude to fall from the sky without a word on a snowy day. Master Liu complained in his heart, but said politely: "It's so cold and snowy, the road is difficult to travel, you two adults have worked hard."
The corners of King Xiang's lips curled up into a wicked smile, "Master Liu, it's cold and snowy, and the roads are difficult to travel. We still arrived suddenly. It's unexpected, isn't it?"
Master Liu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "As expected, as expected. The two inspectors are known in Shu for their diligence, seriousness, and swiftness. 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 out the curriculum from the drawer and said, "Sir, this is the curriculum sent down from above. This school is of the lowest level. It only requires math and martial arts classes in addition to literature and history courses. The martial arts class will be taught by Master Wu every other day, and the math class will be taught by me personally after I receive training."
The King of Chu politely took the schedule with both hands, "Okay, thank you Master Liu, we will start checking the students' homework now."
The simple desks below were made of adobe with a smooth wooden board placed on top. More than thirty children, aged between five or six and thirteen or fourteen, all had tense faces and stood with their hands behind their backs, looking at the two handsome young and amiable observers with vigilant eyes, 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 little faces below, and said, "I will ask you a few brain-stimulating questions first. If you answer correctly, you will be rewarded with a pound of rice, and if you answer three correctly, you will be rewarded with a pound of meat."
A guard came in and placed small cloth bags filled with white rice and a few pieces of pork on the table.
The children immediately became excited, and their wary eyes turned into passionate ones as they stared at the rice and meat on the table.
The King of Chu secretly praised his third brother for his cleverness. He thought that the best reward for these children from poor families was rice and meat, which were much more attractive than the rewards of brushes and ink blocks that he had thought of at first.
King Xiang smiled and asked, "First question, if a green shrimp and a red shrimp fight, which one will win?"
The corners of King Chu's lips curled up. His third brother had originally wanted to use the fight between blue crabs and red crabs as the question, but he never expected that the children in these villages had no idea what crabs looked like, so he changed it to the shrimps that could be seen in every creek.
The children stared at the rice and meat on the table, their minds racing.
A fat boy stood up and answered, "My Lord, whichever one is bigger, the green shrimp or the red shrimp, wins."
King Xiang shook his head, denying his answer, and the fat boy sat back dejectedly.
A skinny kid with bright eyes stood up timidly and said, "My Lord, shrimps turn red only when they are cooked. Live green shrimps are better!"
"Smart! I'll give you a pound of rice as a reward. Come on." King Xiang praised him, raised his hand, and a small bag of rice flew steadily in front of the child, and fell steadily on the table. He said proudly, "What do you think? My skills are pretty good, right? You can do it if you learn martial arts well."
"Thank you, sir!" The child's face flushed with excitement after receiving the reward.
Can I really get rice and meat as a reward? 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, which hadn't sat firmly yet, immediately bounced up, "It's just as heavy!"
: "If we give them a bath in the river, which one is heavier?"
"Cotton is heavy!" The child answered without hesitation, and explained: "Cotton absorbs water, but iron does not absorb water."
"If you answer three questions correctly, 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 lively, and the children's eyes turned from vigilance to eager anticipation when they looked at the observing adults.
After dozens of questions were answered, the prizes were all given out. King Xiang looked at the happy and excited children with satisfaction and said in a gentle tone, "Okay, you are all smart and studious children. Now, check the homework."
Most of the children have learned Hundred Family Surnames and Three Character Classic quite well. Some of them are smart, studious, hardworking and down-to-earth, and have even practiced their handwriting quite well.
When it came to arithmetic, the children all frowned and counted on their fingers, but still could not give an answer.
King Xiang glanced coldly at Master Liu, who was standing in the corner with his head bowed. "You are taking on a job without a diamond drill? Or are you pretending to obey but secretly disobeying?" He knew that in this village, if the teaching evaluation of the school is unqualified, the teacher's salary will be reduced by one level. If he pretends to obey but secretly disobeys after a month, he will be fired.
The King of Chu smiled faintly and asked, "You have learned the Three Character Classic and the Hundred Family Surnames well, so 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 are the proper way to study, and one can 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, turned pale with fear, 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 unwilling to learn these unorthodox things, but was exposed by this child.
The King of Chu glanced at Master Liu calmly and said, "Master Liu, you also know the punishment regulations that require rectification within one month and prohibit retaliation against the whistleblower, right?"
Master Liu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "I know, I know. I dare not do that. I will definitely satisfy my superior in a month."
This high salary of twelve taels of silver per month for teaching two courses is a hard-to-find good job for a student like him who is not even a scholar. He cannot let it go!