Chapter 218: Education

At seven o'clock in the morning, as the morning sun began to rise, Meng Yifan, dressed in a loose training suit, stood on the Grand Drill Ground practicing Taiji Fist.

One could see his movements were like flowing clouds and running water, smooth and natural; at times, his motions were gentle, as if willow catkins were swaying lightly in the wind.

At other times, they were firm and powerful; a single punch thrown felt like a cannonball leaving its chamber, causing the air to explode with sound.

Meng Yifan's Taiji Fist combined hardness and softness, with softness containing hardness and hardness containing softness; every movement could stir the wind and clouds, causing the air to ripple along with him.

Below the high platform, Meng Dayong, Meng Qingshan, Meng Qinghe, Meng Qingyu, and the one thousand members of the Salvation Army were all following Meng Yifan to practice Taiji Fist.

Meng Yifan's Taiji Fist was personally taught by Zhang Sanfeng and is now divided into the Twenty-Four Forms, Forty-Eight Forms, Seventy-Two Forms, and One Hundred and Eight Forms.

This is a profound cultivation art that enters the Dao through martial arts; the first two are martial arts techniques that use boxing to circulate True Qi.

The latter two have very high requirements for aptitude; not only must one learn the first two sets of boxing, but one must also possess at least Yin-Yang attribute spirit meridians to practice them. During the process of boxing, one absorbs the Yin-Yang Spirit Qi of Heaven and Earth to condense one's own Yin-Yang Spiritual Power within the meridians.

What Meng Yifan is publicly teaching now is the introductory Twenty-Four Form Taiji Fist, a Yellow Grade Middle Tier boxing technique comparable to those of the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty. As long as they learn it, it proves they have the talent to practice Taiji Fist, and when the time comes, Meng Yifan will teach them more profound techniques.

After finishing a set of the Twenty-Four Form Taiji Fist, Meng Dayong was drenched in sweat, his blood and Qi surging, and white mist was even steaming from the top of his head. Meng Yifan watched, stunned for a moment; he had not expected his old father to be so talented in Taiji Fist cultivation. Having only followed along for five days, he had already achieved the coordination of boxing and True Qi—this was the sign of entering the threshold.

On Earth, many people in parks who have practiced Taiji Fist for over a decade are still just gesturing through the routines; they cannot achieve the state where Qi follows the fist and body and intent are unified. In the end, they haven't truly entered the threshold and can only be considered to have practiced "fitness gymnastics" for a dozen years.

The Taiji Fist Meng Yifan teaches is the version finally improved by Zhang Sanfeng, which is naturally much more refined than the common Taiji Fist found on the streets of Earth.

However, Meng Dayong had only followed the practice for five days and was already about to enter the threshold, which also showed that Meng Dayong's aptitude was very well-suited for Taiji Fist, making Meng Yifan very happy.

In the Great Martial Heavenly Dynasty World, Meng Dayong's loyalty to Meng Yifan is one hundred; he is Meng Yifan's father, connected by blood, and could die for Meng Yifan.

During this time spent together, Meng Yifan also felt a rare fatherly love. Furthermore, having transmigrated here and inherited the original owner's memories, Meng Yifan slowly accepted the fact that Meng Dayong was his father.

On Earth, Meng Yifan was an orphan; now that he could experience this rare fatherly love, Meng Yifan cherished it deeply.

Meng Yifan wanted to improve Meng Dayong's strength, but previously, he was limited by the fact that the techniques Meng Dayong practiced were too trashy, making it impossible to reach the level of a Third Grade Martial Artist.

Since Meng Dayong was suited for practicing Taiji Fist, Meng Yifan would teach him all the profound Taiji Fist techniques. Once he mastered the Forty-Eight Form Taiji Fist, Meng Yifan would use Experience Value to raise Meng Dayong's strength to the Third Grade.

This way, Meng Dayong's combat power would be greatly enhanced, and he could command the Salvation Army and stand on his own.

One hour later, the morning Taiji Fist practice ended. Meng Yifan carefully checked everyone's cultivation progress and found that not only was Meng Dayong about to enter the threshold, but the three young people—Meng Qingshan, Meng Qinghe, and Meng Qingyu—were also progressing quickly. Other Salvation Army soldiers had also achieved Qi following the fist and were nearing the threshold.

This made Meng Yifan overjoyed; it seemed that the Taiji Fist style was not difficult to enter. This was a good thing, as it could allow everyone's strength to improve rapidly.

After the morning practice ended, the Salvation Army soldiers continued their training on the Parade Ground.

Liu Dengke took the recruited refugees to continue planting potatoes and sweet potatoes. These crops had been planted for a week, and under the careful care of the farmers, many had already sprouted. The lush, green leaves also attracted many birds like sparrows to visit.

To protect the potatoes and sweet potatoes, Liu Dengke arranged for people to set up scarecrows in the fields and also organized three-shift rotations to patrol the fields constantly.

These food crops were too important; they were to be used as seed grain for large-scale planting in the future. Liu Dengke felt a pang of heartache whenever a sparrow ate even one.

Wang Dachui went back to develop the flintlock, while his apprentices took the Labor Camp to build the outer city walls and defensive fortifications.

Because a rationing system was implemented within Luolong County, one had to contribute to obtain food, so the residents in the city also participated in the construction according to their own circumstances.

Strong young men could participate in building the city walls, middle-aged women could cook, and the elderly could sweep the streets.

The beauties from the Fragrant Pavilion, who were proficient in singing, dancing, and playing instruments, formed a troupe to sing and cheer for the people working on the front lines of construction.

People with specialized skills, such as carpenters and blacksmiths, were also recruited by Meng Yifan to perform their own professional work.

There were also Confucian scholars like Liu Dengke who went to work as teachers.

Meng Yifan built a school in the city and stipulated that all children in the city between the ages of 5 and 10 must go to school to learn to read and acquire cultural knowledge.

Students could receive three free meals a day at school, which held great appeal for the common people.

"Half-grown boys eat their fathers out of house and home"—those seven or eight-year-old youths were in a growth spurt and ate even more than adults.

Food was currently scarce in Luolong County, and the common people were all worrying about how to fill the stomachs of their families.

After Meng Yifan issued the policy that school-age students could eat for free, the common people inside and outside the city were filled with gratitude and one after another brought their school-age children to the school.

Especially the children of the refugees outside the city, who usually had nothing to eat; in the past, some children had even starved to death, and others had disappeared inexplicably, eaten by refugees driven mad by hunger. Since Meng Yifan took control of Luolong County, the tragedy of "exchanging children to eat" had never happened again, and the refugees outside the city could even collect porridge every day.

But porridge didn't keep one full; they would be hungry in less than half a day, especially those half-grown boys who didn't understand much yet and would cry loudly from hunger. Now, it was better: the school Meng Yifan opened not only provided food but also allowed them to learn knowledge, which made the refugees deeply grateful to him.

Meng Yifan saw on the Game Panel that the common people's loyalty to him was getting higher and higher, which made Meng Yifan grin from ear to ear.

It is actually not difficult to gain the support of the common people; as long as the officials truly care about the lives of the people, ensuring they have food to eat, clothes to wear, a place to live, and work to do, they can gain the people's support.

As long as students were of the appropriate age, they could come to school to study. However, to prevent some students from just making up the numbers, Meng Yifan stipulated that there would be daily assessments for students who did not study hard. If they failed the assessment, the punishment would range from a slap on the palm to expulsion from the school.

"Heiwa, you must study hard at school; don't you dare disobey the teacher. If you get kicked out, I'll beat you to death."

"Gousheng, for the sake of those three meals a day, you better study your heart out for me. If you don't learn well and get sent back, just wait and see how I deal with you."

"Sifang, Lord Meng values education; you must study diligently. Once you succeed, you will surely have a bright future."

"Goudan, your father and mother are uneducated and illiterate; we can't even read a public notice and have suffered too much for it. Now that Lord Meng is letting you enroll for free and providing meals, this is your chance to change your destiny. You must seize this opportunity; you must study hard and never be expelled from school."

Before the students enrolled, their parents would give them earnest instructions, telling them not to slack off or fool around in school.

For the sake of those three meals a day, the students also perked up; during class, they were all focused and followed the teachers' lessons earnestly.

"At the beginning of life, nature is good; natures are similar, but habits make them different. If not taught, nature will change..." The clear sound of reading drifted through Luolong County, making the busy common people feel relaxed and happy.

The common people are not stupid; they also know that reading can open the mind, and after learning to read and write, even if they don't become officials in the future, they can become apprentices.

In the past, the common people suffered from not having the tuition fees to send their children to school. Now that Meng Yifan was letting children enroll for free and providing three meals a day, such a good thing could not be found even with a lantern.

The school created by Meng Yifan taught language, mathematics, ideology, physics, chemistry, and physical education.

The ideology class mainly taught the students' moral character, letting them know who provided their food and who allowed them to go to school. To put it bluntly, it was brainwashing these students, instilling in them the idea of loyalty to Meng Yifan from a young age.

Confucianism disciples could teach language and ideology, while Meng Dayong could teach physical education. While called physical education, it was actually teaching martial arts techniques, laying a martial arts foundation for the students from a young age.

As for mathematics, physics, and chemistry, they taught the elementary and middle school textbooks from Earth; this was the foundation for developing technology.

Meng Yifan could not find suitable teachers for these three subjects and had to teach the children himself.

If Meng Yifan wanted to develop technology in the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty, relying on craftsmen like Wang Dachui was useless. They were able to manufacture Bird Guns and Shenwu Great General Cannons based on years of manufacturing experience. They only knew that their masters had taught them to do it this way, but they could not explain why it had to be done this way.

To develop technology, one must start with the children. Meng Yifan teaching them mathematics, physics, and chemistry was like planting the seeds of science; it remained to be seen whether they could grow rapidly and truly master the basic knowledge.

After they learned the middle school textbooks, Meng Yifan would also select the good seeds through examinations and teach them high school and university knowledge. By then, they could conduct scientific research here. I wonder if any true scientists will be cultivated among these students.