Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 59 Night School
There were a lot of game on the table, and the tent was filled with tempting aromas. The conditions at Guni Pass were simple, and everyone hadn't had meat for a long time, so they were all salivating and feasting.

Feng Lin, the commander of the Central Army, could not help but say, "Thanks to the Yao soldiers in the camp, they are good at hunting. We gave them one day and they managed to get hundreds of kilograms of game. Add the black pig, and it will be enough for the whole camp to have a full meal."

Wei Guosong wiped the oil stains from the corners of his mouth and said, "The governor has a good command of the army, and our army has strict discipline, so we dare to let the Yao soldiers go out to hunt. If it were any other army, there would have been chaos long ago."

Feng Lin continued, "When we recruited the Yao prisoners, many people in the army were skeptical. Even I didn't dare to agree. Who would have thought that these Yao soldiers were really good? Needless to say, He Guoju from the third team has now become the captain of the Du Biao Central Army.

"His cousin He Guozuo is a soldier under my command. He is also a skilled warrior and a man of courage. This time when he went hunting in the mountains, he captured a pheasant and a musk deer by himself. If there is a battle in the future, he will surely make great achievements.

"It's a pity that he can't read a single word. Although He Guoju is not good at writing, he knows a few words. I heard that he is doing very well in the Du Biao Central Army..."

Danchu had long wanted to run a night school in the army. He was familiar with the history of the Ming and Qing dynasties and was deeply impressed by Wang Qin, a famous general of the Hunan Army in the late Qing dynasty.

Wang Qin once organized night schools in the army. During the day, they marched and fought, and at night they taught the soldiers to read and write. The camp was called Laoxiang Camp. "At night, the camp gates were locked, and the sounds of fighting and reciting were interspersed." Although Wang Qin died early, Laoxiang Camp has been preserved and has made outstanding military achievements. It even went to the northwest to recover Xinjiang and made great contributions to maintaining national unity.

As soon as Dan Chu spoke, he immediately attracted everyone's attention: "Everyone, I have an idea. I want to set up a night school in the army to teach officers and soldiers to read and write. Officers like He Guoju, although they have the talent of a great general, are not good at writing and it is difficult for them to become great.

"A soldier like He Guozuo, who is highly skilled in martial arts but illiterate, cannot even read basic badges and flag numbers. Even if he kills enemies bravely on the battlefield, he cannot be qualified to be a captain.

"I advocate the establishment of night schools in order to eliminate illiteracy, so that illiterate soldiers can learn to read and write, and officers who can read can learn to write and write, so that officers can learn simple arithmetic and calculate the distance of the road and the amount of food and grass."

Yu Houji was a gentleman. He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and said:
"This suggestion of the governor is very correct. Emperor Taizu attached great importance to schools and established official schools at all levels. The military garrisons also had garrison schools, and there were special quotas for the imperial examinations. In order to obtain quotas for military households in the imperial examinations, scholars often traveled thousands of miles and pretended to be registered as such to participate in the imperial examinations.

"After the Jingtai reign, the number of Jinshi candidates who were born in military households often accounted for more than 30% of the total number of Jinshi candidates. Prime Ministers such as Zhang Juzheng, Li Dongyang, Gao Gong, Zhao Zhigao, and Wang Jiaping all passed the imperial examinations as Jinshi candidates from military households.

"The governor advocates setting up night schools in the army. First, it can attract soldiers, and second, it can improve the combat effectiveness of the army. It is similar to the military household jinshi in our dynasty. It just so happens that there is not much to do now, so we can plan to set up night schools."

Danchu already had experience in running schools. He set up a boy troop in Yong'an Prefecture, which was actually a primary school. The boy troop did not participate in training, and its main task was to study.

He said happily, "Very good, Lao Yu, the night school is very important, so I'll leave it to you to handle it. You have to be quick and come up with a preliminary plan tomorrow. You have to take it seriously, and I will personally serve as the principal to supervise the officers and soldiers to study.

"As for the name, let's call it 'Enlightenment Night School' for now. It will be under the Central Army and will be responsible for its maintenance. Don't be stingy with money. Find a way to prepare all the necessary pens, ink, paper and inkstone. Although it is a night school, teaching will mainly be organized at night, but you can also organize it during the day, focusing on ideological education, literacy, and arithmetic..."

Ferreira's Chinese is very average, and he couldn't understand a lot of what he said, but he roughly understood what Danchu meant, and said in awkward Chinese: "Great job on running a school!"

Zhu Shulu also laughed. It was really unexpected that a group of men, drinking and eating meat at night, would talk about organizing a night school to teach officers and soldiers to read and write. A group of junior officers still knew how to be positive. Thinking about the unenterprising Emperor Yongli and the endless disputes in the imperial court, Zhu Shulu was deeply disappointed.

After the discussion of the night school ended, everyone talked about the current situation. Danchu said, "In the morning, Hou Xing invited me to be his guest in the army, and Lao Yu went with me. Hou Xing's army was lax in discipline, and the camp was better than nothing. Most of the 1,000 soldiers were old, weak and scoundrels, and had no fighting power.

"He intends to give me gold and treasures to persuade me not to insist on welcoming His Majesty to Guilin. Of course, this matter is not negotiable. However, from what he said, it seems that the emperor has been persuaded and has decided to go south to Liuzhou."

Everyone looked heavy-hearted. If Emperor Yongli really went to Liuzhou, this mission would be a failure. More importantly, the emperor would be running around like a headless fly, which would surely discourage the people with lofty ideals in the world. Those rebel armies behind enemy lines might stop fighting. Those civil and military officials who were wavering in their attitudes might surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

Zhu Shulu said: "Your Majesty wants to go to Jingzhou the most. Our dynasty's elite troops are all in Hunan. Ma Jinzhong, Wang Jincai, Li Chixin and others are all brave generals with a firm will to resist the Qing Dynasty. They are still in Hunan to resist the Qing Dynasty and can be used for protection.

"But Jingzhou is adjacent to Fengtian, and the area is not peaceful. The news was confusing, sometimes saying Jingzhou had fallen, sometimes saying Jingzhou rebelled. The emperor did not dare to go to Jingzhou. Ma Jixiang and Pang Tianshou accepted bribes from Hou Xing and kept urging the emperor to go on a southern tour to Liuzhou."

The problem is that Liuzhou is not peaceful either.

Yu Houji said: "Today, I was chatting with Hou Xing's military advisor, and he accidentally let it slip. It turns out that there is another military leader in Liuzhou, named Tan Mingke, who is the general commander.

"Qin Mingke is unruly, his military discipline is bad, and his strength is higher than Hou Xing. It seems that Hou Xing is quite afraid of him."

Danchu was keenly aware that Tan Mingke was an unstable factor and might become the key figure in deciding whether Emperor Yongli would go or not, so he said, "This Tan Mingke seems to have a background. We need to find out as soon as possible."

When the generals dispersed, it was already midnight.

The soldiers in the camp have gone to bed, and Guni Pass, which was bustling during the day, is now silent.

The maid blew out the candles, and Cen Danchu and Zhu Shulu hugged each other on the bed. The fragrance of their bodies, the intimacy of their skin, the rapid breathing, the interweaving of their fingers, the perfect balance of tension and relaxation, the curves and curves, the lovemaking, it was indescribable.

After that, Zhu Shulu lay on Danchu, stroking the scars on his body with her slender hands, feeling heartbroken.

Danchu stroked her back and asked, "Madam, why did the Queen Mother marry you to me?"

Zhu Shulu said without hesitation, "I have reached the age of marriage and can no longer serve the Queen Mother. I have always heard that my husband was a young hero. Later, I saw my husband's spirit at Luojiadian and yearned for him, so I asked the Queen Mother for help."

Danchu chuckled and said, "Madam is brave and resourceful, worthy of being the descendant of Taizu. You and I are husband and wife, born in troubled times, and we should support each other and love each other in the future."

Zhu Shulu was very satisfied and said, "I will serve my husband wholeheartedly from now on."

(End of this chapter)