1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3999

When Su Zhixing talked with Qian Shaobao yesterday, he asked about the teaching arrangements here and learned that these Arab students also had to learn Chinese language and characters. Since he met them today, he took the opportunity to find out about their learning progress.

Su Zhixing wrote down some common surnames from the Hundred Family Surnames and asked the children to identify them. They did recognize a few of the simple characters, but their pronunciations were not quite standard and would require some time to correct.

After writing a few more lines from the Four Books and Five Classics, the children were all bewildered, unable to understand even after Su Zhixing's explanation. Su Zhixing understood immediately; clearly, they had not studied the relevant content.

Knowing Chinese characters and speaking Chinese are basic teaching requirements for foreign students at Haihan, and Su Zhixing also strongly agrees with this. Only by passing this test can one lay the foundation for further learning about Haihan culture.

For those who wish to study at prestigious universities in mainland China in the future, fluency in Chinese is an essential requirement. These universities have extremely limited places for international students each year; they certainly wouldn't waste precious teaching resources by admitting incompetent individuals.

Most of these Arab students are children of powerful families in the Kingdom of Shihu. Although this newly established country was only recently established with the support of the Special Forces Division, and its political system is based on the original tribal structure, it does not yet have any decent national strength. However, the Special Forces Division still attaches great importance to these children. Yesterday, Qian Shaobao even told Su Zhixing frankly that he hopes to help these children grow into the future leaders of the Kingdom of Shihu.

This is an extremely high expectation. If these children do not possess abilities far exceeding those of their peers, even if they achieve great success in their studies, they may not be able to gain the trust and attention of their respective families and become heirs to power.

Su Zhixing squatted on the playground and chatted with the children for a long time. When he stood up, there was no smile on his face. He whispered to Chang Mingxuan, "I can't see any outstanding talents for the time being."

These children don't know many characters, and their handwriting is crooked and illegible. Moreover, according to them, they have been studying here for two or three months. At this rate, it will probably take two or three years before they make any progress and reach the point where they can read textbooks compiled by Haihan Education Department on their own.

To reach the level required to study at Haihan, it would likely take five or six years. And once there, they would find that what they had learned was merely the basics, their progress far behind their peers, and they might not even be able to keep up with the teaching at Haihan Academy.

Chang Mingxuan said, "Mr. Su, don't be anxious. The skills they learn here are not just about recognizing characters."

After saying this, Chang Mingxuan took out a copper whistle from his pocket, blew it loudly, and then shouted, "Assemble and form ranks!"

The group of children immediately ran towards him and automatically formed a horizontal line.

Chang Mingxuan continued, giving the orders: "Right face—attention! Forward—attention! At ease!"

The children immediately turned their heads and aligned themselves according to instructions. This disciplined and instinctive reaction was clearly the result of systematic military training.

Chang Mingxuan boasted to Su Zhixing with no small amount of pride, "Mr. Su, they may not become writers or engineers in the future, but they have every opportunity to become qualified soldiers."

Su Zhixing was speechless. He thought to himself that if it was just to train a group of Arab soldiers, why would Commander Qian go to such lengths to recruit teachers from China, and why would he himself travel across the ocean to Fubo Port to run a school and teach?

However, he couldn't very well dampen his boss's enthusiasm, so he could only nod slightly in agreement.

Chang Mingxuan was certainly not unaware of Qian Tiandun's plans, but he did not want Su Zhixing to look down on these foreign students, which would lead to a lack of dedication in teaching.

He deliberately showed off these military training results in front of Su Zhixing, actually hoping to arouse the other party's competitive spirit and make him put more effort into cultural education. Chang Mingxuan put away his smug smile and said to Su Zhixing seriously: "General Qian often said that literature can stabilize the country and military can secure the nation. Both literature and military are indispensable. Teaching and educating people is an investment in the future, and it cannot be separated from this big framework."

"Commander Qian also said that our purpose in establishing schools here is not only to train the children of the military and immigrants, but also to promote our national prestige and demonstrate our national strength to neighboring countries, which is the same principle as the special operations division being stationed here."

"To civilize the barbarians and make them aware of our divine might is a long and arduous undertaking that requires the dedicated efforts of many. Mr. Su, are you determined to become a pioneer of education and culture on the western frontier?"

Chang Mingxuan's high praise startled Su Zhixing, who quickly replied, "I'm afraid my abilities are limited, and I am not up to such a heavy responsibility."

Chang Mingxuan smiled and said, "Mr. Su, you are too modest. Before you left Hangzhou, Manager Li had already reported your situation to us by telegram. The commander instructed that he would provide you with all the conveniences you need to run a school, provided that you are willing to settle down in Fubo Port, teach and educate people here, and spread your influence."

Su Zhixing said politely, "I am deeply grateful for your kind words, General. I will do my best to live up to your expectations."

Chang Mingxuan could tell that this was Su Zhixing's polite remark. Knowing that words alone were not enough, he nodded and said, "Please come with me, Mr. Su. There is something else here that I need you to take a look at."

Su Zhixing didn't understand what Chang Mingxuan meant, but he still followed him to a storeroom in the school.

The warehouse mainly contained teaching aids, textbooks, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Chang Mingxuan walked to the shelf and asked Su Zhixing to help him. The two carefully took down an item wrapped tightly in oil paper. It was four feet long, about one and a half feet wide, and about one inch thick, and quite heavy.

The oil paper was sealed with a wax seal, but the seal only had a simple "secret" character on it, making it difficult to guess its origin.

The two carried the item to the table next to them and placed it there. Chang Mingxuan smiled and said, "Mr. Su, please open it and take a look."

Su Zhixing already had some guesses about the true nature of this item, so he didn't refuse any further. He tore open the oil paper seal and slowly unfolded the packaging.

Inside the oil paper, there was actually a thick layer of cardboard, presumably a measure to prevent damage during handling. After removing that layer of cardboard, the true appearance of the item was finally revealed.

Inside was a wooden plaque with a rich, caramel-colored lacquer, and the characters carved on it were gleaming gold. Upon seeing it, Su Zhixing was immediately shaken and speechless for a long time.

Seeing that he was standing there motionless, Chang Mingxuan asked, "What does Mr. Su think?"

Su Zhixing slowly turned his head to look at Chang Mingxuan, his voice somewhat hoarse: "Lord Chang, such a big matter, why didn't General Qian mention it at all yesterday?"

Chang Mingxuan smiled and said, "General Qian means that Mr. Su should see it in person before deciding whether or not to take on this task."

Su Zhixing gently ran his fingers over the plaque, sighed, and said, "I feel unworthy to accept this, yet it would be disrespectful to refuse it. What should I do?"

On the plaque on the table were four powerful, golden characters: Fubo Academy. The inscription was written by Ning Qi.