Chapter 2050: Citizenship and Universal Knowledge

At present, all the difficulties in the Territory are basically things Xia Duo could solve with a wave of his hand, but what he is more concerned about is the long-term development of the Territory.

It is not that he does not prepare for many things in advance; for example, winter clothing. In reality, as long as he is willing, he could completely set up a Hengchun Barrier in the Territory, but he is very clear about where the boundary between indulgence and spoiling lies.

For things the Territory can generally solve on its own, Xia Duo prefers to let the Territory handle them first; even if they are not handled well, it is not too late for him to step in and provide a safety net.

If he had to use extraordinary means to solve every single thing, then is this creating a civilization? Or is it raising pets?

Xia Duo clearly has no intention of raising pets.

……

Next, Xia Duo asked about some detailed issues regarding the recent situation in the Territory, such as the land-granting ceremony, the construction of new villages, the resettlement of new residents, night school studies, the proclamation of the legal code, and even the Territory's public security, troop training, and so on.

Laidun gave detailed answers to each one—

"The land-granting ceremony is still held once a month, one hundred households at a time. However, considering the rapid growth in the number of residents in the Territory, I have consulted with the Chief Officials of the various departments in the Territory and am prepared to lift the monthly quota limit for land grants, temporarily setting it at two hundred households, and then making adjustments later based on the actual development speed.

"New village construction is almost tied to the development of new land. Currently, the Territory Development Department has sufficient manpower, and with complete tools and effective organization, the pace of progress is increasing day by day. As of now, seventy percent of the 5th phase development plan has been completed.

"It is expected that we can enter the 6th phase of development before the land freezes in winter.

"As for the resettlement of new residents, the pressure is currently relatively high, but it is still proceeding in an orderly manner. It is just that two consecutive large-scale influxes have made the housing materials previously prepared by the Territory somewhat tight.

"As of now, more than half of the new residents are still living in simple wooden huts built temporarily, but the Logistics Department of the Territory has mobilized a large amount of manpower to reinforce their temporary shelters and store winter fuel; supporting them until the ground thaws should not be a problem."

Laidun was about to continue his introduction, but Xia Duo raised his hand, temporarily interrupting his report, and asked about a detail Laidun had not mentioned:

"How are the elderly and children among the new residents being arranged?"

"We prioritize families, keeping them together with their relatives," Laidun said without hesitation.

Such an answer was standard and proper, but it was clearly not the answer Xia Duo wanted. He then asked: "That is to say, a considerable number of elderly and children are living in temporary shelters? And the temperature will only get lower from here on!"

"Yes."

Laidun thought for a moment and did not feel anything was amiss. Being with family, having sufficient fuel, and although food was a bit tight, it was not lacking; it was just that their living conditions were slightly worse.

Moreover, this was compared to the current official residents of Daxia Territory; if compared to the past lives of those new (probationary) residents, it might not be worse than what they had before.

It should be said that, except for the housing, all other aspects were absolutely better.

But Xia Duo absolutely disagreed, "Prioritize arranging comfortable housing for the elderly and children, and arrange the able-bodied adults in the temporary shelters. Children are the future of the Territory, and the elderly are the future of the residents; they must be treated with preference."

"But they are only probationary residents!"

"Probationary residents are also residents!"

Xia Duo could not help but sigh inwardly. Laidun is indeed a competent Administrator, but sometimes he is too rigid. Categorizing new residents as probationary residents was indeed his order, but the difference between probationary residents and official residents is mostly a matter of citizenship.

And taking care of the elderly, children, and even all probationary residents is the concept of human rights that Xia Duo adheres to.

If one simply understands that those other than official residents do not count as people, that would be absurd. Although there are indeed similar sayings and practices in this world, or rather, the bottom line of morality and humanity in Netheril is currently quite low.

But Xia Duo still has his own persistence.

He does not expect Laidun to understand him now. Some things still need to be pondered slowly in practice. Even without mentioning moral cultivation, just from a utilitarian perspective, Laidun will one day understand the principle that respecting the elderly and loving the young, as well as the benevolent being invincible, is the way.

……

"Tell me about the night school!"

"Yes, my lord."

Having been pointed out several times today, Laidun could not help but suspect whether he had really done something wrong, and he was much more cautious when introducing it next:

"The residents' enthusiasm for the night school has never waned. Even the new residents have been shocked by the benevolence and generosity of the Lord. Now, almost every day, new residents pass the Territory's language and legal code assessments and become official residents."

"Those must have had some foundation, right?"

"Yes, many were originally free citizens from towns in the Inner Land and had a foundation in literacy, but the Territory's legal code is very different from other territories, so they indeed put in a lot of effort to pass."

"Hmm. Anything else?"

"There is also the fact that many village chiefs have suggested to me that they hope to extend the night school, which originally only started after dinner, to the daytime, and they have requested to add more learning content."

Hearing this, Xia Duo perked up a little and asked Laidun: "Their enthusiasm for learning is this high? What new content do they want to learn?"

"They want to attend the Enlightenment Class with the children."

After saying this, Laidun looked at Xia Duo as if asking for instructions. This kind of matter is not within the Permission Level of an Administrator. Currently, the Enlightenment Class for children in the Territory before they enter the Tower of Time is the responsibility of the Mages of the Tower of Time, and while the Mages of the Tower of Time are nominally under the jurisdiction of the Administrator, in reality, they only accept orders from the Tower of Time.

Only when orders do not conflict with their duties or the orders of the Tower of Time will those Mages of the Tower of Time obey. Clearly, even the Mages of the Tower of Time responsible for teaching do not have the authority to decide on finding more students for the Enlightenment Class.

However, Xia Duo was not angry at all; instead, he laughed heartily with great satisfaction, praising those official residents who had already been allocated land and no longer needed to continue development for their unique vision.

If the Territory's night school is "literacy + legal education," then the Enlightenment Class for the Territory's children can be considered primary "Universal Knowledge" education.

Do not look at the two characters "Universal Knowledge" as if they do not sound very impressive, but what if they were replaced with "generalist"?

Currently, before the children of the Territory reach the appropriate age to join the Tower of Time, they need to receive education in geography, biology, language, mathematics, humanities, arts, the Plane, and even Magic.

Although the level of knowledge is still relatively shallow, the fields involved are extremely broad, which is most suitable for broadening the horizons and stimulating the interests of young children.

The purpose, of course, is to cultivate new citizens and screen for excellent talent. After they enter the Tower of Time, the Apprentice stage will still be this kind of Universal Knowledge education.

Only when they become an Official Mage will they consider their future development direction and enter the professional education stage.

Of course, this is only the current plan. In reality, Xia Duo's envisioned professional education should be after becoming a High Mage, or more accurately, only those who become an Arcanist have the qualifications to choose to pursue advanced studies in a Magic specialty.

Below the level of Arcanist, they should just do what they are supposed to do. A vast and complex Reality society has various professional needs and can completely accommodate them.