I am collecting entries in reincarnation

Chapter 23 Graduation Ceremony
Provincial school.

In fact, due to the large number of students enrolled, the provincial school has already taken in the two surrounding streets. This is a matter of great importance, and Li Ming is also very attentive to this place. He does not simply requisition the surrounding buildings, but selectively plans, modifies, and even demolishes and rebuilds them.

Now it seems that the effect is still very obvious. The overall look is well organized. Although it is not a place with carved beams and painted rafters, it is pleasing to the eye and somewhat fresh and natural. At this moment, walking in the corridor, some new wood emits a fresh fragrance, which is exactly what I mean, elegant.

At this time, he was wearing a long robe and a golden crown on his head. His attire was quite formal. This was naturally because today was a special day!
The first graduation ceremony of the compulsory education school will be held today!
Li Ming slowly walked up to the platform specially built behind the corridor.

Looking at the dense crowd of heads below, Li Ming coughed and cleared his throat. His voice was as gentle as jade, yet it was clearly heard by everyone: "Today is a special day! Our one-year education has officially ended!"

There are both men and women in the field, but relatively speaking, men account for the majority. At this moment, there is a determined light in their eyes. You have to know that the study pressure during this period is very heavy, and not everyone can graduate.

Those who were sent here were basically extremely poor and could barely afford to eat. If they failed their studies or exams, they would be starved of food. This led to extreme internal competition among this group of students.

To be able to persist in this high-intensity internal competition, do you think they can do it without some psychological quality?
Now that they heard Li Ming's words, they were not confused at all, because they knew that after graduation, the real test would just begin.

"Yesterday, you all signed the documents and are about to become civil servants. Although you will be low-level clerks and your salaries will be cut in half, do you have any complaints?"

"no!"

The roaring and unified response from the audience made Li Ming nod in satisfaction.

"I know that many of you were farmers' sons, fishermen's sons, even beggars on the street, or women waiting to be married before coming here, and you have suffered a lot."

"Gentlemen, we must always remember why we study, why we work, and why we fight!"

"It's not for one person's achievement, but for a family's food and clothing, and the peace of a place!"

"We want to do something unprecedented. We want to change this unreasonable world!"

"We share a common dream. I dream that one day the world will be united and everyone will be equal!"

"I dream that one day, people will be respected for their moral character, not for their social status."

"I dream that one day, the world will be filled with like-minded brothers and sisters!"

"I dream that one day, deep valleys will be filled, high mountains will be leveled, crooked paths will become straight, and winding paths will become thoroughfares, and the radiance of humanity will fill the world!"

Li Ming's poetry-reciting skills deeply resonated with these people, many of them were moved to tears, and the audience kept clapping and cheering.

This group of students who graduated first later mentioned that this was a day they would never forget in their entire lives!
After the ceremony was finally over and the students were dismissed, Li Ming looked at the somewhat empty venue and suddenly became dazed.

"What's wrong, Principal?"

A voice came from behind Li Ming.

"Isn't this my dean? How could he not bear to leave his students?" Li Ming knew who it was without turning around.

Li Ming has been working personally in the past year and has been teaching in this provincial school for quite a while, so naturally he is quite familiar with the genius Wen Zhixian.

Li Ming also confided his feelings to him early on. He wanted to create a world where everyone was equal. Even if he couldn't do it, at least he would leave behind seeds to prove that he had been there.

The relationship between the two is not like superiors or subordinates, nor like friends. If I have to describe it, perhaps this is what is called a comradeship.

Speaking of Wen Zhixian, his life story was somewhat tragic. He was born in poverty and was sold by his father to a rich family as a book boy. Ladies and gentlemen, book boys in ancient times were not just the kind of people who accompanied their children in their studies as everyone thought. They were also responsible for meeting some physiological needs when necessary.

As for Wen Zhixian, he was indeed handsome, otherwise he would not have been a book boy but a servant. Fortunately, he showed amazing talent while accompanying his parents to study, and his photographic memory was just a piece of cake. After being discovered by the master of the house and adopted as his son, he got the opportunity to take the imperial examination.

Of course, things are unpredictable, and Wen Zhixian's fate was full of twists and turns. Although he was adopted as an adopted son by his master, his original son developed a gambling habit, lost all his family wealth, and angered his father to death. Wen Zhixian was essentially sold to their family, and later to the Li family. However, not long after this happened, the Li family was uprooted, so in fact, Wen Zhixian's indenture should still be in Li Ming's hands.

Perhaps it was this tragic experience that shaped his character and his desire for equality for all. Li Ming believed that Wen Zhixian's loyalty was even higher than that of the three Wang brothers. Of course, he was loyal to the goal of universal peace, while the three Wang brothers were loyal to themselves.

"It's just a little sigh. After this class of students graduates, some will stay to be teachers, and the rest will be sent to counties, townships, and villages. It will be difficult to see them again then." Li Ming said as he turned around.

Wen Zhixian, who was standing before him, looked radiant, no longer in dejection. He nodded gently and said, "But these retained students can also be of great help. We won't be so busy in the future. I'm afraid we won't see each other for a long time."

"Oh? Why do you think so?" Li Ming asked.

"If you want to resist foreign aggression, you must first stabilize the country. In a year, we have run Hanyang County like an iron bucket, cultivating land and training soldiers. Now it's the summer harvest, and we have enough food and grass and a strong army. I've calculated that with the ability of the students we taught, one county is not enough. I wonder if it should be Jiangbo County or Wangshan County?" Wen Zhixian asked with a smile.

"As expected, I can't hide it from you. You can see the big picture from the small details. So tell me, where do you think I will liberate first?" Li Ming asked back.

"Looking at the mountain!" Wen Zhixian answered firmly.

"How do you know?"

"A year ago, the Li family was exterminated because they colluded with rebels. That group of rebels was led by Wan La. Later, they fled to Jiangbo County. The governor of Jiangbo County was incompetent, and the county lost land one after another. Now it is like a quagmire. The refugees do not engage in production, burning, killing, and looting. I am afraid that the land will be barren. It will take three years for it to recover. It is tasteless to eat and a pity to abandon it."

"Wangshan County is different. Let's not even talk about the inherent geographical advantage of Wangshan County being backed by a mountain. After it's captured, it won't be attacked from both sides. Let's just say that Wangshan County Magistrate Wang Zhihe is incompetent and cowardly. He only wants to maintain the status quo and has no intention of making progress. However, he has managed to develop Wangshan County well. At least there are no famine refugees. All we need to do is free up soldiers and horses to recruit."

"Well said!" Li Ming clapped his hands and laughed, then said, "But I just want to attack Jiangbo County first!"

Wen Zhixian's face turned strange, and he asked, "Why is that?"

"I have my own reasons. You should continue to teach the students well. You won't be idle for long." Li Ming did not mention it, but gave a meaningful reminder, and then strode away.

At this moment, Wen Zhixian suddenly called him.

“Can people really be equal?”

Li Ming was stunned for a long time, then smiled and said, "Do you think it's okay? It's just a slogan, just to make the people work hard for you, and it can also deceive idealists like you. Everyone is equal? ​​Do you believe it?"

"Everyone in the world knows that no one is equal. You are a smart person, so I can communicate with you the same way I would with smart people. I said that nothing in the world is easy, but I was wrong. There is one thing: human nature! Human nature!"

"I'm smarter than those people because they think the so-called will of the people is the will of the scholars, while I believe it's the will of the common people. The power of the people's will is indeed invincible, but it's also the hardest to grasp because they are too stupid. I opened schools to educate them, to make them less stupid, so that they know I'm good to them, so that they can trust me, thank me, and be able to use me."

"You also know that this group of students has done a good job in ideological work. When the time comes, we'll send them out to preach our ideas to the poor peasants in various places. They will be our first group of backbones, and we'll spread our ideas!"

"As for everyone being equal? ​​That's just a fallacy!"

"The real conflict always lies in the allocation of resources! Whoever possesses more resources will have the power to allocate them!"

"There are only two things I can do. First, I can increase the number of resources. My mercenaries, farming, seedling cultivation, and water power development all fall into this category. Second, I can distribute them fairly, or at least not excessively. As for equality for all, I'll leave that to people thousands of years from now. By then, I'll have long since turned to ash. What does equality have to do with me?"

"So, you'll help me chant, right?"

"Hahaha, well said. This is so difficult. It's good enough if we can shout out the slogan. We can plant a seed in people's hearts! You can't say that there is no possibility of equality for all in this world! I will try my best to help you shout this sentence into the hearts of people all over the world!" Wen Zhixian's eyes were shining like crazy.

After Wen Zhixian left, Li Ming muttered to himself, "It's just a slogan, isn't it? But how did you do it in the first place?"

(End of this chapter)