Crown Prince of the Empire, I quit!

Chapter 1141: Explaining Chinese Characters

"A teaching stall? General, are we...teaching children to read?"

Li Laohan, the old patriarch of the village, looked at Chang Baishan and several teachers dressed in the uniforms of Chu Ying's servants.

He scratched his head, his face full of confusion.

The reason for the uprising was to have enough food to eat, so why did they start teaching? The key point was that even paper and pens were scarce in the village.

Chang Baishan grinned, revealing his white teeth, which stood out against his tanned face. He looked more like a well-traveled merchant leader with a bit of a bandit vibe.

"Old Patriarch, strength alone isn't enough. You'll need to settle accounts with Tongbao Pavilion later, right? When dealing with officials, you'll need to be able to write your name and put your fingerprints on it, right? Besides, if you learn to count and do accounts, you won't suffer the loss of someone trying to trade a bushel of bran for a load of grain! Isn't that better than just using your strength without thinking?"

He picked up a piece of burnt charcoal and drew a crooked "X" on the smooth bluestone slab.

"Look, ten, ten coins, ten men, ten bags of grain! Easy! Let's start with learning numbers and words. Da Zhuang, Er Niu, you youngsters, come and listen too! If you don't know a few words, when you do business with Mr. Chu, you'll be sold and have to help count the money!"

This statement was rough but true, and it immediately hit the villagers' pain points.

They are afraid of being exploited and know the losses that come with not knowing how to calculate.

Soon, the young and strong men in the village, along with a few boys who could read and write, gathered in this simple school under the big tree at the entrance of the village.

Liu Yueli used her strengths and organized the women in the village to spin and weave in the name of the female manager of Tongbao Pavilion.

What she brought was not simple work, but more delicate patterns and stronger silk threads.

"Sisters, this is for the nobles of the Western Regions! If the stitching is tighter and the colors are better, the price can be doubled! Don't just think about filling your stomach with coarse cloth, fine work can also be exchanged for silver!"

She was smiling and her hands moved skillfully and accurately. She demonstrated it herself. Under the light of an oil lamp, her fingers fluttered like butterflies.

The women gathered around her, their eyes sparkling, not only because of the price that could be doubled, but also because of the sense of pride in her words that "even a noble person can use it."

The sounds of spinning wheels and weaving have become the most lively lullaby in the village at night, and they also quietly weave another closely connected force.

The literacy classes at Changbaishan are in full swing, but he teaches much more than just reading and counting.

How to write "one hundred"? Chang Baishan drew a circle on a stone slab to represent a hundred-man squad and a few dots to represent a squad leader.

"Fifty" is half a circle plus five dots.

"Carrying 200 kilograms of grain over 30 miles of mountain road, with five people taking turns carrying it, how many times should we rest in between?"

He began to draw a marching route map on the ground with a stick, marking the grain carts, laborer groups, and rest points. He said he was transporting grain, but what he drew was the prelude to the march and deployment.

The young and strong men just thought of it as a calculation of grain transportation, and they worked even harder on the calculation.

How to write the word "守" (guard)? Chang Baishan deliberately wrote it straight and powerfully.

"Do you think we can defend the village gate? One person is not enough. We need two people standing shoulder to shoulder, shields together!"

He seemed to be teaching the word "guard", but he took the opportunity to explain the prototype of two-person cooperative combat.

"attack"

The characters are written in an arrogant and domineering style, with an unexpected tone and a momentum rushing down from a great height.

Teach the character "林", the character "火", the character "水"...

Every stroke of the pen is silently imbued with the simple principles of utilizing terrain, attacking and defending.

"Now that we've finished our counting, let's stretch our legs!"

Chang Baishan casually cut down a straight, thin bamboo pole.

"Line up! Just like the Tongbao Pavilion's caravan transporting goods, there must be order, no chaos! If the person in front is slow, the ones behind should remind them, and if the person in front is fast, the ones behind should catch up! This is called coordination! Stand up straight! How can we be so chaotic as a caravan dispersed by bandits?"

In the name of caravan rules, he began the most basic queue training.

Front and rear alignment, spacing maintenance, simple steering.

The seeds of discipline quietly took root in the boring process of standing in line and walking.

Chu Ying actually got a few abacus.

Chang Baishan clapped the abacus, making crisp sounds.

"Just swipe and get everything! It's like fighting a wolf. Ten brothers can't all rush forward at once. Someone has to be in the front, someone has to make a detour, and someone has to watch the retreat. This is called troop deployment. Even with fewer people, we can kill more!" He was explaining the abacus formulas and the basic principles of troop allocation.

The boring abacus beads have become a wonderful tool for understanding simple tactical deductions in the hands of young and strong people.

The secret guards went deep into the villagers, acting as escorts for traveling merchants, sharing the "common sense" of traveling in the underworld:

"Brother, you swing the axe pretty hard, but it lacks a bit of finesse. See that tree stump over there? Chopping it diagonally saves effort, and the break is neater."

"Just like... well, when fighting, hitting the side of someone's neck is more effective than hitting them in the head!"

"When on duty at night, you can't all huddle around the fire. You have to keep your eyes on the dark and your ears listening to the wind and birds. The path behind the village is usually frequented by wild boars, making it the easiest path for them to sneak in. If there are thieves, they will definitely come from there."

Liu Yueli, the leader of the secret guards, was guiding the observation of the terrain and establishing the concept of sentry positions.

"Manager Liu said the cloth is valuable, so we have to keep an eye on it. The broken lock on the warehouse won't work. I'll teach you how to tie a slipknot with a hemp rope. It looks inconspicuous, but it's not easy to pull open. You can even hang a clay pot on it as a bell."

In the village, during the day, there are the sounds of abacus beads colliding and women weaving.

At night, people would sit by the fire pit and listen to the storyteller’s stories, which were actually made-up stories of heroic resistance.

It is the friction sound of practicing bamboo stick formation.

A mixture of curiosity, hope and initial discipline grew in the soil.

A few days later, the sun was shining brightly in the sky.

Chang Baishan was drawing a big "田" (field) shape on the ground with a wooden stick.

Teach a few young people how to play permutations and combinations, and explain how to "divide and conquer".

On the dirt road outside the village leading to Tongbao Pavilion, the sound of bells and the creaking of cart shafts could be heard.

The convoy escorted by Chu Ying personally arrived.

Liu Yueli went forward and spoke to Chu Ying in a low voice.

Chu Ying nodded and ordered the guys to start unloading the goods.

On the surface, there were carts of high-quality salt, brand new farm tools, and dyed cloth.

These are hard currencies that support production.

But there were still a few large boxes in the caravan that were nailed very firmly. The men carefully carried them into the most remote and sturdiest empty warehouse on the edge of the village.

Chang Baishan put down the wooden stick in his hand, patted the dust off his clothes, and walked over.

"Shopkeeper Chu, thank you for your hard work.

"There was a subtle hint of expectation in Chang Baishan's voice.

"Fortunately, I did not disgrace my life."

Chu Ying lowered his voice and glanced at the boxes.

"The first batch of ballast iron and cloth guards are in here. They are all top-notch wrought iron with a hardwood core. Would you like to take a look?"

He used the code word of Tongbao Pavilion.

The ballast iron refers to the unpolished weapon blank, and the cloth plate is the lightweight lining of leather armor.

Chang Baishan grinned, revealing his signature white teeth.

"What? Don't you trust me, Old Chu? The banknotes you owe me will be given to you by the secret guards later."