Soon, they entered the main camp. It was called a main camp, but it was really just a walled enclosure, with troops stationed outside. Inside the enclosure, many intersections were also guarded by soldiers.
"Yanfeng, you take us and treat us as new refugees. We'll arrange things the same way we would for refugees. Everything should be done naturally, without any extra treatment because of our status," Lin Yang instructed, looking at Hu Yong, who stood ramrod straight like a large tree.
"promise."
With that, Hu Yong personally acted as the guide, leading everyone to a campsite. It was quite spacious and contained a shed. From inside the shed, the aroma of herbs wafted through the air.
"When the refugees enter the camp, they will first come here to take medicinal food. This medicinal food is very simple, and it is not an expensive tonic. The medicinal properties are very mild. Its main purpose is to regulate the body and prevent acclimatization problems," Hu Yong said loudly, pointing to the shed.
Upon hearing this, an old man subconsciously sniffed and then said, "Honeysuckle, Panax notoginseng... that's right, they are all common medicines used to replenish qi. It's normal to use them to regulate the body and relieve the fatigue brought on by long journeys."
Seeing this, Hu Yong couldn't help but widen his eyes. He hadn't even taken any; just by smelling it from afar, he could identify the ingredients of the medicinal dish—that was truly amazing!
"I am Zhang Ji, the Prefect of Changsha. The weather in Changsha is unusually hot, and the climate is completely different from that of the Central Plains. In addition, the presence of both Han and non-Han people often leads to many strange and unusual illnesses. Over time, I have also developed my medical skills," Zhang Ji said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang couldn't help but take a look at this Zhang Changsha. His name was Zhang Ji, and he was the prefect of Changsha Prefecture. Wasn't this the medical sage Zhang Zhongjing in history? Even in later generations, you can still see all kinds of Zhang Zhongjing pharmacies.
From a certain perspective, figures like Zhang Zhongjing, Hua Tuo, and Sun Simiao were actually more useful than strategists like Guo Jia and Zhuge Liang!
However, Lin Yang had long since outgrown the stage of being overjoyed to see celebrities. Their status and position were different now; what was there to be surprised about?
Immediately afterwards, Hu Yong continued on his way, and this time, as he walked, he came to an open-air place.
Before their eyes lay a large pool, ten feet deep, ten feet long, and ten feet wide. The pool was filled with clear water. There was an inlet and an outlet. Fortunately, there wasn't a crazed pool manager who opened both the inlet and outlet simultaneously…
"On the left is clear water, and on the right is quicklime. During these three days of taking the medicinal diet, they have to soak here for at least an hour each day. Of course, by the time they soak, the quicklime has turned into lime water."
"The main purpose is to kill insects and germs. After three consecutive days, most of the small pests on your body will be killed. Of course, there is more than one place to bathe. Also, men and women are separated."
"Three days later, those who are sick will basically be diagnosed and receive further treatment. Those who are not sick and whose bodies have recovered will leave this place and move on to the next step."
With that, he led everyone to the mess hall. The mess hall was serving meals at the time. Inside, squads of soldiers patrolled back and forth from time to time. Therefore, apart from the sounds of the soldiers marching, it was quite quiet.
At least, no one was making loud noises, right? Compared to the noise levels in high school and university cafeterias in later years, which could practically lift an entire floor off the ground, this was much better. Especially in high school and university, it was even better.
Soon, Pang Degong personally stepped forward and joined the queue of refugees, taking out several bowls of rice. The remaining old men followed suit, each carrying two bowls as they came out.
One large and one small. These bowls were all made of wood; although not new, they were clean and tidy. After a careful look, everyone began to eat.
The large bowl was simple, and the food inside was also simple: three ounces of rice, four ounces of unidentified wild vegetables, and two ounces of dried meat. Beside it was a small bowl of clear meat broth.
It was indeed a meat broth, but there was no meat, only soup. A thick layer of pork fat floated on the surface of the broth, which was quite conspicuous. Soon, in no time at all, everyone had finished eating.
"Hmm, they do have a conscience. This much food is enough to fill the people's stomachs. The food may not be refined, but it's plentiful and filling. Not bad, not bad," Pang Degong praised.
With his discerning eye, he could easily tell that the food was at its usual standard, and no extra dishes had been added just for their arrival. Therefore, the fact that it was always this good was already a sign of goodwill; he couldn't ask for more!
"For the next three months, they will be taught to read and write, and at the same time, practice martial arts and hone their bodies..."
"Wait, you mean, in just three months, one can learn to read and write and also martial arts at the same time? How is that possible? I am the headmaster of the academy, and the difficulty of this enlightenment is not low!" Sima Hui immediately questioned.
In this era, in this era without pinyin, learning to read was truly a skill! It was far more difficult than in later generations!
Imagine, without pinyin, without initials, without finals, how would you learn to read? You'd have to rely entirely on a teacher, teaching you one character at a time. Therefore, even the most gifted person would need several years to recognize just a few thousand commonly used characters.
So here's the question: in just three months, even if these ordinary people study all day long, they can only learn a couple hundred characters at most. What's the point? Is it just a vanity project? Suddenly, some bad thoughts started to creep into my mind.
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Chapter 48: From fledgling eagles taking flight to the call of the times, what comes to mind?
Hearing Pang Degong's words, the remaining old men's expressions also turned unfriendly. They were all scholars; which one of them hadn't received some education?
Of course, everyone here is a person of status, position, and strength, with extraordinary natural talent. Being literate is just child's play for them.
However, this doesn't mean they were unaware of the difficulty of early childhood education. After all, they were all heads of families; how many of them were unclear about the importance of early childhood education within their clans?
Every year, they worry themselves sick over the early childhood education of the children in the family. After all, it's a large family, with several thousand relatives just within the five branches of the family.
After all, in this era, people valued a large and prosperous family. Everyone wanted to have seventy or eighty, or even hundreds, of households. Coupled with long lifespans, this naturally led to a large number of offspring.
Besides relatives within the Five Blessings, there were also some branch clansmen from afar who had come seeking knowledge of the clan. These clansmen had come, and we couldn't refuse to teach them; otherwise, our reputation would be ruined!
In addition, there are also the villagers and elders living in the same county. In order to increase the family's influence, if the descendants of these villagers and elders have the potential to study or are willing to study, the family cannot stop them.
Because this is the foundation! If the family members are the branches of a tree, then these people are the outer leaves, the wings, the claws, and they are indispensable.
Oh, and that doesn't even include the descendants of the thousands of private soldiers, the so-called "houseborn sons"! The houseborn sons also need to be properly educated.
By the way, sometimes, there are students who come specifically because of your reputation, but even knowing this, you can't stop them. Otherwise, what about your good reputation?
Just add it up, and the number of children who need early childhood education each year is no less than ten thousand, if not eight or ten thousand! Therefore, everyone here can be called an education expert in the field of early childhood education.
Seeing the obvious suspicion on the faces of the many family heads, Lin Yang shook his head dismissively. These old scholars, limited by their worldview, have extremely narrow perspectives and are already outdated.
"Then let's see for ourselves," Hu Yong said calmly.
Soon, led by Hu Yong, the old scholars arrived at a classroom. At that moment, a teacher was giving a lesson. The old scholars didn't speak loudly, but instead took small stools, went outside the classroom, and listened attentively to the teacher's explanation.
However, as he listened, his expression changed.
"The initials, finals, and fanqie (a method of indicating pronunciation in traditional Chinese dictionaries) are somewhat similar, but it is much simpler than fanqie!" Sima Hui summarized.
"Indeed, in my opinion, the foundation of this pinyin is nothing more than the twenty-six letters used by foreigners, and oh yes, there are twenty-one initials and thirty-nine finals. Once you learn these, you can learn the vast majority of Chinese characters on your own. It's truly ingenious!" Pang Degong exclaimed in surprise.
"Alas, I misunderstood. I really didn't expect that thousands of years of common sense would be shattered in an instant. I wonder how much the Han Dynasty will change in a few years or even decades!" Huang Chengyan said with a wry smile, shaking his head.
"Alas, I'm getting old, and my perspective on things isn't what it used to be. I always think I'm right. It seems I need to give the younger generation more experience when I get back," Sima Hui said, shaking his head.
Actually, pinyin isn't exactly a secret. But it's precisely because it's so basic that the chosen ones who came to the modern world didn't care about it.