I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 786: Tiantan School, a famous school in Beijing
Not only Marcelo and León were confused, but their entourage was also confused.

Condorcet asked: "Yes, we heard this sound from time to time when we were touring the capital these two days, but today it was the closest and the loudest and most piercing.

"Master Shu, what on earth is that sound?"

Shu Youliang replied disapprovingly: "It's the steam locomotive at the South Railway Station that's being tested."

Another steam locomotive!

While touring the capital these days, I often heard people talking about the opening of trains and the test runs of steam engines.

Leon immediately asked: “Master Shu, what test drive?”

"On the tenth day of May, the Beijing-Tianjin Railway and the Beijing-Luanzhou Railway held an opening ceremony at the South Railway Station. Since they were to be opened to traffic, steam locomotives would definitely be pulling carriages on the railway.

We are now preparing for the opening of the railway, and the steam locomotives are being tested a few more times to avoid exposing their rear ends instead of their faces.

Marcelo said expectantly, "Can we go and see the opening ceremony on May 10th?"

"Of course. The opening ceremony is open to the public and anyone can go and watch. But you have to be able to squeeze in first. There will definitely be a huge crowd on that day."

"Master Shu, we also want to take a ride on a train pulled by a steam locomotive."

“Okay, no problem.

But you have to wait until the heat is over. Right now, all the train tickets from Beijing to Tianjin and Luanzhou, from the 10th to the 20th, are sold out, class A, B and C.

You have to wait for a while, don't worry, maybe you can buy the tickets after you finish talking to the Honglu Temple."

Shu Youliang was obviously acting crazy and stupid, but Marcelo and Leon could do nothing about it.

"Let's keep watching."

Shu Youliang led the group forward and walked out of the gymnasium. At the entrance, there was a large sign with a huge propaganda poster on it.

There is a group of people standing on each side of the painting, the one on the left wearing red jerseys and the one on the right wearing blue jerseys. They are all strong and fierce, looking aggressive.

There is a fire in the middle, with a football hanging in the air above the flame.

Below is a distant view, with countless fans cheering and a line of large, axe-like characters written in black ink below.

"Who will be the champion this year, Xishan Wolves or Qinhuangdao Swordfish?"

Shu Youliang stood in front of the colorful poster and sighed as a veteran football fan: "Luanzhou Hammers are only one point away from the Wolf-Hammer fight of the first year of the Wanli reign.

The waves behind push the waves ahead, and new people replace old ones in the world of floating things.

This year it’s a wolf vs. fish battle, but next year I don’t know who will be competing for the championship cup here.”

Leon asked curiously, "Is this the most popular football championship cup in Ming country right now? I heard people talking about it in Shanghai. They went to the Shanghai Lottery Bureau early to buy lottery tickets and bet on the win or loss."

"Yes, the most popular football championship cup. The Gyeonggi Football League is divided into the North Division and the South Division. The North Division is composed of football teams from factories, mines, companies and animal husbandry companies in Luanzhou, Luanhe, Xiliaohe and Qinhuangdao, a total of 16 teams.

The southern competition zone includes schools, factories, companies in Beijing, Tianjin and Dagu Port, as well as the Beijing Garrison Football Team, which also consists of sixteen teams.

The two divisions will fight against each other for 30 rounds to decide the two teams with the highest points. The final will be held here on the fifth day of May.

The winner held up the championship trophy presented by His Majesty the Emperor himself.

It’s an unparalleled honor! Countless people will go crazy for it! Once you experience the scene of the competition, you will never forget it! "

Shu Youliang raised his hands high and said fanatically.

Marcelo and Leon asked curiously, "Like the Colosseum in ancient Rome, which makes people's blood boil?"

Shu Youliang glanced at them unhappily, "It's terrible to be uneducated! This is a civilized competition, a contest between men, with sweat, blood, wins and losses, and even more glory.

The winner will climb to the top of the mountain and look down on all the other mountains.

The losers strive to become stronger and become braver after knowing shame.

You are comparing this to the barbaric ancient Roman amphitheater. If those fans heard it, you would not be able to return to Portugal in a minute. "

Sophnia stood in front of the poster, crossed her arms, touched her chin with her right hand, looked at it for a long time, and suddenly turned to Shu Youliang and asked, "Master Shu, this painting is completely different from the ink painting in your country."

"This is called watercolor painting. It was first invented by the Xuanzan Bureau, which is the Political Work Bureau of the Rong government, and is specifically used for propaganda posters.

The pigments were learned from porcelain printing and dyeing, the painting techniques include our meticulous brushwork, and we have also absorbed your European oil painting techniques. It takes a different approach from ink painting, but it emphasizes spirit as well as form.

Look at the expressions of these fierce men, how vividly they are painted, so awesome!"

Sophnia nodded in agreement, "Yes, the expression is so vivid, looking down from above, the light from the eyes, plus the shadows of the facial muscles under the light, cleverly unifies the different expressions of each person.

There are also background audiences, which are simple but not messy, complex but not complicated, and with the addition of colorful flags, streamers and other details, the atmosphere is very warm and the demeanor of these players is highlighted. "

Shu Youliang turned his head and glanced at her.

This Western woman speaks so professionally!
"Later, people from the Imperial Palace learned it, and so did people from advertising companies. It spread everywhere. Later, it was used in newspaper printing. That bastard Fengwen Newspaper even produced color illustrations."

Sophonia immediately asked, "The Rumor?"

Shu Youliang let out a sly smile, "The newspaper is poorly printed and vulgar, only fit to be used as toilet paper. How can people of such elegance like us read such immoral things!"

The group wandered around Nanyuan for a long time and were about to go out from the north gate to take a bus back to the city when they saw a dozen groups of children walking towards them in neat rows, holding red flags.

Each team of children had two rows, with more than twenty people in each row, about twelve or thirteen years old, all boys, wearing green short-sleeved shirts and long pants, belts, a yellow-green cloth bag on the left, a leather water bottle on the right, and a sun hat, looking energetic.

Each team is accompanied by two adults, who should be the teachers leading the team.

The child in the front was holding a red flag with a yellow bird with its wings spread on it. Below it was a line of words written: "Yinian School Affiliated to the Imperial Observatory of the Capital".

"All your words and actions should be calm. Nine out of ten mistakes are caused by panic. Stand calmly and speak calmly. Don't be frivolous and make people laugh and scold you."

The singing voice floated from afar, fluttering in the wind like a flag.

Before this group finished singing, another group started singing: "The Great Ming is glorious, the sun and the moon shine forever; the holy emperor is illustrious, the heaven and earth bless him; the Wanli reign was prosperous, the times were peaceful and the people were safe; Kun is thick and carries all things, Qian is Yuan and is beneficial and steadfast." The voices were childish and the singing style was simple and ancient.

After being in Ming for quite a while, Marcelo and his team encountered such a group of children for the first time.
Looking at these children, one group after another came in from the north gate, lined up in neat rows, walked by, and when they saw Marcelo and his group, they waved their hands and greeted them with a smile.

The smile as bright as the sun and the eyes as clear as spring water moved Marcelo and his companions, who quickly waved and responded loudly.

"Master Shu, are they students?"

“It should be an elementary school student.”

"Master Shu, what are they doing here?"

"Spring outing. Come to Nanyuan for a spring outing, do some social practice activities, visit the gymnasium, and plant some trees nearby."

"What kind of school is Yi Nian School?"

"This is a long story, we'll talk about it later." Shu Youliang answered casually while waving and greeting the children with a smile.

After the team of two or three hundred students left, Marcelo, Leon and others turned to look at Shu Youliang, waiting for his answer.

"Our Ming Dynasty's education system is divided into national education and vocational education, as well as basic education and higher education. Basic education is the same as national education, and is divided into primary school, middle school, and then universities, colleges and technical schools.

Universities and colleges are higher education, while technical schools are vocational education.

In the first year of the Wanli reign, the emperor proposed to implement free national education and formulated a 20-year compulsory education plan. He planned to achieve that within 20 years, more than 90% of the seven-year-old children in the Ming Dynasty would receive six years of free primary education.

The plan is divided into steps.

At present, middle schools and primary schools are being built in all county towns, and primary schools are being built in larger towns. Where conditions are not met, three years of free primary education should be implemented as much as possible, so that children over the age of seven can recognize 500 characters and learn addition and subtraction within 100.

Conditionally implement six years of free primary education and three years of half-cost junior high school education.

In areas with better conditions, such as the two capitals, Luanzhou, Tianjin, Huzhou, as well as factories, mines, farms, and local garrisons, nine years of free education were achieved.

The school that provides nine years of free education is called Yi Nian School, which was developed from the previous Yi Nian Hall.

Shu Youliang talked a lot, and Marcelo and Leon's brains were buzzing. It took them a while to digest what he said before they said, "Can we go to the school to take a look?"

"of course can.

There is a Tiantan Middle School near the Temple of Heaven in the south city, and there is also a Yi Nian School affiliated with the Imperial Observatory. This is the school where the group of elementary school students who came over with flags just now are studying. "

"Then let's go over and take a look," Marcelo urged.

"What's there to see in school? My eldest son is naughty in school. Every time he is called to school by the teacher, my hamstrings are twisted.

When I was in private school, I was not this scared even when I was spanked on the palm by the old teacher. "

Shu Youliang muttered softly in front, looking unwilling, but he led the way helplessly, taking the group on Line 6 bus bound for Chaoyangmen and got off near the Temple of Heaven.

Looking at the tall wall, it is so long that you can't see the end at a glance.

How big an area does such a long wall enclose?
“Inside is the Temple of Heaven, which is about two-thirds the size of the imperial city.

Now, in addition to the inner altar, the outer altar, which occupies half of the area, and the area to the west with the center of Shenle Temple, are assigned to the Imperial Observatory, and the Imperial Observatory affiliated Yinian School, also known as the Temple of Heaven School, is built in the northeast corner, and the Temple of Heaven Senior High School is built in the southeast corner.

The two most famous universities in the capital are both here."

Shu Youliang pointed to the opposite side of Yongding Street and said, "That's the Temple of Earth. It's only half the size of the Temple of Heaven and is also divided into the inner and outer altars. Now the outer altar has been allocated to the Central Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and one-third of the fields have been converted into various experimental fields and experimental ponds."

Marcelo looked up at the high walls of the Temple of Heaven and asked, "Master Shu, where do we get in?"

"The closest gate to us is the North Gate, but that's the gate that the emperor or his ministers use to enter during the Heavenly Sacrifice. We are not qualified to enter through there. So we should go back a distance and enter through the West Gate, the Prayer Gate."

Everyone followed Shu Youliang and walked back south along Yongding Street for a distance. They saw a memorial archway-style gate. Next to the gate was a row of bungalows, which were attached to the wall and next to the gate, forming a small courtyard.

There was a wooden sign hanging at the gate of the bungalow courtyard, which read "Beijing South City Police Bureau Tiantan Security Station", and four policemen in navy blue uniforms were standing on duty in front of the Qigu Gate.

Shu Youliang stepped forward to negotiate, and the deal was settled after a few words, and they started laughing and chatting together.

When he was about to turn around and call Marcelo, the second-level police chief who was in charge grabbed Shu Youliang and said in Tianjin dialect: "Master Shu, let me tell you, the Imperial Observatory is a hemp place, you know it better than us. It is a Class A confidential unit, and it is guarded by the guards.

You can have it as a snack.”

Shu Youliang chuckled, "Don't worry. I know the Confidentiality Regulations better than you do, and I understand them better than you do. I won't sacrifice my good life for these Westerners."

"It's good that Master Shu knows what's going on."

Shu Youliang led Marcelo and his party around the inner altar and passed by the Temple of Heaven Senior High School in the southeast corner.

It is also surrounded by a wall, and the sound of reading aloud can be heard from there.

"The Duke of Jin and the Duke of Qin besieged Zheng because it was disrespectful to Jin"

"There is a fish in the North Sea, its name is Kun, Kun is so big, I don't know how many thousands of miles long it is."

There was also a neat and generous chorus of singing.

"Looking back, I see the Qin Fortress is as low as a horse, and gradually I see the Yellow River flowing straight north. The power of heaven rolls up to the Yumen Fortress, and the Hu people across thousands of miles sing the songs of the Han Dynasty!"

"Clouds follow the dragon, wind follows the tiger, fame, wealth and honor become dust and dirt. Looking at China, the people are suffering, and thousands of miles of fertile land are all barren."

The song is majestic and sad, with sounds of swords and horses. Is this a song sung by students?
This is clearly a war song sung by soldiers!
Mr. Shu, you still said they were students?
After hearing Marcelo and Leon's questions, Shu Youliang said disapprovingly: "One is a pre-Tang victory song, and the other is a military song of the Red Turban Army who resisted the brutal Yuan Dynasty and sacrificed their lives in uprising before the establishment of the Ming Dynasty.

Life and study in senior high schools are basically semi-military. What's so strange about singing two triumphant military songs? "

Semi-militarized?

Mr. Shu, can you explain to me what semi-militarization means?

(End of this chapter)