1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3997

It wasn't until the banquet ended that Su Ji, who had been anxiously waiting on the sidelines, finally came in handy. The host, Su Zhixing, was too drunk to continue and had to be carried back to his residence by Su Ji. Of course, Qian Shaobao didn't stand idly by; he even sent two guards to escort them with torches.

Originally, Suji didn't need to carry people, but he was worried that the soldiers were clumsy and might accidentally hurt their master, so he insisted on carrying him himself.

Su Zhixing lay on Su Ji's back, emitting soft snores and occasionally muttering a few words, it was hard to tell whether he was reciting poetry or playing a drinking game.

Fortunately, their lodgings were not far from the camp where the welcoming banquet was being held; it was only a short walk away. Su Ji carried Su Zhixing into the room and placed him on the bed, lit the candles, and then went out to thank the soldiers who had escorted them all the way, so that they could go back and report.

After seeing the soldiers off, Su Ji returned to his room and saw that Su Zhixing had already gotten up and was standing by the table pouring water to drink.

Suji asked cautiously, "Are you sober now?"

Su Zhixing nodded and said, "If I hadn't fallen, I probably wouldn't have made it out of that place today. I'm afraid you'll have to work hard for me."

The implication was that his earlier unconsciousness was merely a pretense of drunkenness to avoid being genuinely drugged and forced to get drunk before escaping. Suji carrying him back was simply part of the final act to complete this charade.

However, after learning the truth, Suji had no objection to this approach. Instead, he nodded repeatedly and said, "When I saw those officers lining up to toast you earlier, I was really flustered! I thought that with those teachers and craftsmen sharing the burden, you could make it to the end of the banquet."

Su Zhixing laughed and said, "If they hadn't shielded me from the drinks, I would have passed out long ago. There would be no need for this charade... Go get a bucket!"

Although Su Zhixing had recovered somewhat, the aftereffects of the alcohol were still kicking in, and he couldn't help but vomit thoroughly. However, after vomiting, he felt much more sober and asked Su Ji to pour him another bowl of water to rinse his mouth.

Seeing that Su Zhixing was alright after vomiting, Su Ji went to the kitchen to boil a pot of water and helped him wash up and go to bed.

According to the government's arrangements, they only have two days to rest after arriving in Hong Kong, which means there's only one day left. They need to make the most of their time and get some rest. Su Zhixing had originally planned to use these two days to prepare lessons, but now he has to postpone all preparations until tomorrow.

However, plans can't keep up with changes. The next morning, before Su Zhixing had even woken up, another visitor arrived.

The visiting guest, whom Su Zhixing had met at the welcoming banquet yesterday, was an official in charge of cultural and educational propaganda affairs in the Special Operations Division, named Chang Mingxuan. In terms of the nature of his work, he could be considered Su Zhixing's immediate superior in Fubo Port.

Su Zhixing still remembered that the young major had introduced himself yesterday. He was from Sanya, Hainan, and was not yet thirty years old. He was a true imperial new generation born under the two-color flag and raised under the care of the Executive Committee.

Chang Mingxuan's work in publicity is a family tradition. His father, Chang Degao, served as a publicity officer in the Sanya Port Area more than 20 years ago and was later transferred to the Ministry of Culture and Education.

Liu Shang, who is now the chief administrative officer of Jinzhou in Liaodong, once infiltrated Sanya as a spy for the Ming Dynasty. It was Chang De Gao who recognized his talent and brought him into the Sanya government office as a propagandist, thus clearing his name and embarking on his official career.

Chang Mingxuan's entry into the special forces division was partly due to his father's support of Liu Shang back then. To avoid suspicion, Chang Degao arranged for the newly graduated Chang Mingxuan to work under Liu Shang, intending to transfer him back to the south after he had accumulated experience.

At that time, the special operations division stationed in Liaodong was recruiting propaganda personnel from the local area. Liu Shang recommended Chang Mingxuan, who was appreciated after the interview and was transferred from a civil official to a military officer. He then followed Qian Tiandun all the way to the Middle East. Before the arrival of real teachers, Chang Mingxuan and several other civilian officers had been acting as teachers, responsible for teaching local school-age children.

Although Chang Mingxuan was a scholar, he was not good at teaching and lecturing, which he himself knew. However, when it came to the degree of dedication, he believed that he was second to none and deserved to be called "Teacher Chang" by these hundred or so students.

Now that Li Yuande has brought back a group of teachers, including Su Zhixing, from China, Chang Mingxuan can finally hand over this side job.

At the welcoming banquet yesterday, Chang Mingxuan learned that Su Zhixing came from the well-known Wansong Academy in China, and that Qian Shaobao planned to entrust him with the management of the school. This naturally made Chang Mingxuan take notice of him.

So Chang Mingxuan came over early in the morning to visit this nominal "subordinate" in order to learn about Su Zhixing's educational philosophy.

Su Zhixing could only ask Su Ji to take the guests to the study to wait while he tidied himself up a bit before going to see them.

"Lord Chang, I apologize for keeping you waiting. I was quite drunk yesterday, please forgive me! The officers of the Special Forces Division are too kind, I am ashamed to admit it."

Upon hearing this, Chang Mingxuan stood up and replied with a smile, "Mr. Su, you are too kind. You have come all the way to Fubo Port to give lectures, so we should treat you with the utmost hospitality."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Su Ji brought over hot tea. Due to limited resources, they couldn't offer anything else of value to their guest.

However, Chang Mingxuan's visit was not for tea and idle chatter; there were still many details about running the school that he needed to hand over to Su Zhixing.

Although there are only a little over a hundred school-age children in Fubo Port, a series of issues need to be discussed and resolved by Chang Mingxuan and Su Zhixing, including the current teaching progress, whether to divide the classes, and how to arrange the teaching content in the future.

Speaking of class assignments, Su Zhixing remembered something and asked, "Yesterday, General Qian mentioned that a school has been built locally and is just waiting to be officially put into use after its establishment?"

Chang Mingxuan nodded and said, "If Mr. Su has time later, we can go and take a look at the place together."

Su Zhixing smiled and said, "I would be more than happy to."

The two chatted until noon, having largely covered the work matters. Only a few unresolved issues remained, which could only be addressed as they progressed. However, both were easygoing people and, being scholars, they didn't have major disagreements on teaching methods, generally adhering to Su Zhixing's ideas.

The biggest disagreement between the two was about the proportion of military content in future teaching.

Prior to this, military content accounted for about half of the teaching content, meaning that half of the class time was spent on paramilitary training.

This ratio is naturally far beyond the scope of normal teaching. After learning about this from Qian Shaobao yesterday, Su Zhixing has made up his mind to change this unreasonable arrangement.

Therefore, the teaching plan that Su Zhixing proposed to Chang Mingxuan today was to reduce the military content to one-fifth. That is, every four days during the course, one day would be set aside, whether for marching and training or explaining battle examples, all at the discretion of the military.