Chapter 335: 344 Senior Grade

It turned out this youth was the youth surnamed Pei whom he had met once a few days ago. He was a Teaching Assistant at the Training Camp, and since he had no classes today, he was accompanying the only Instructor to pick up the new Instructor, never expecting it to be someone he had met once before.

Xingyu Sword asked in surprise, "You two know each other?"

Tang Zhao did not wait for the youth to speak, directly laughing, "We know each other; we are half-fellows. I met Brother Pei in He Yang County."

Pei Zhujiao was stunned, and for a moment, he was confused.

Xingyu Sword did not mind after hearing this, saying, "So you are fellow-townsmen, that's perfect. In a while, let Pei Zhujiao take you around. Instructor Tang, my surname is Dong, Xingyu Sword; you can call me Dong Jiaoyu or Dong Xingyu, either is fine, just don't be a stranger. Let's come inside."

The two entered the main gate, Pei Zhujiao lagging a step behind, head lowered as if very conflicted.

The Training Camp was large and also very open, with no tall buildings. Upon entering, there was a drill ground, the field covered in fine sand, and one could see dozens of youths, boys and girls, divided into three teams practicing swordplay and boxing on the field, with two Teachers watching and giving pointers on the side.

Tang Zhao glanced over, knowing in his heart that these were the three grades of the Training Camp training separately.

Thinking back to when Tang Zhao first watched people practice boxing, he was just a fool looking on out of curiosity and was almost shot by an arrow; now, he only needed to glance to know the progress of these youths.

The Training Camp was a three-year system, divided into high, middle, and low grades. But not everyone could stay for the full three years. Every year there would be a strict assessment to screen out unqualified students. Some students, although eliminated, still had excellent marks in a few courses, and the Head Instructor would give them a chance to let them repeat a year with the next grade, with the total not exceeding four years and the graduation age not exceeding eighteen.

Walking further in, there were small drill grounds, practice rooms, spirit-observation rooms, a library, and so on... these were for all students. There were also some special facilities that could only be used upon reaching a certain stage. Finally, there were the teaching buildings and dormitories. The dormitories looked like a camp, consisting of rows of Wooden Houses, eight people to a room, the living conditions quite cramped. Clearly, although the Training Camp was much wealthier than Black Spider Villa, the arrangement for student dormitories was about the same—young people didn't need to live in nice houses.

The teaching building was a small three-story building, unremarkable; the first floor had two classrooms, and above were the offices for Instructors and Teachers. More than a dozen Teachers shared two rooms, and Instructors shared a room for two. The Training Camp focused on training, and except for the low grade, classrooms were generally not used. Teachers and Instructors also often had to watch students on the drill ground or train themselves, so they rarely had time to sit idly in the halls.

Dong Xingyu brought Tang Zhao to her office to sit down, poured him tea, and said, "Instructor Tang, you have come at just the right time. The Training Camp is too short-handed right now, and I am in a difficult spot."

Tang Zhao looked around this room and saw that the desk where Xingyu Sword worked was piled high with scrolls of books, almost reaching the rafters, and the two shelves behind her were also full of books, guessing she was a person who loved to read. A Sword Guest who also loved to read was mostly fond of quiet and not movement; with too many administrative tasks, she was likely truly troubled. He then said, "I am new here and don't understand anything. When I came, the Mountain Chief told me to ask Dong Jiaoyu more if I had questions. If you have anything to do, just order me; please don't be polite. We are all our own people, and I just hope to be of use."

Dong Xingyu nodded and said, "Since we are our own people, I won't stand on ceremony." She pulled open a curtain to the side, revealing a large wooden board, took out a charcoal pencil, and began writing and drawing on it.

This looked like a teaching aid used in the classroom, and Dong Jiaoyu was also used to using it.

Tang Zhao also sat down below very naturally, simply taking out paper and pen to take notes.

"I will first introduce our training camp."

"The training camp currently has 186 students, including 102 boys and 85 girls. There are 94 in the low grade, 62 in the middle grade, and 30 in the high grade."

Tang Zhao thought to himself: Are about 30 people eliminated each grade? The elimination rate is quite high.

"The Head Instructor and the Mountain Chief are both away. There were originally four Instructors, but now there are only you and me. There were originally twelve Teachers, but now there are only three. You have also seen that there are only two Teachers on the drill ground watching three grades. Now there are nine Teaching Assistants... including the one you brought, there are ten in total."

Tang Zhao calculated that according to the original establishment, seventeen Teachers for 180 students, one person leading a little over ten people, it seemed... okay?

Dong Xingyu continued, "Now the number of Teachers and Teaching Assistants is too small, so some places have to be closed. For example, the Talisman Puppet Array, the Beast Garden, and such places are currently closed and will reopen at specific times. Otherwise, even adding you, it would not be enough."

Tang Zhao suddenly understood; these people also had to go to various places to keep watch, and the more places there were, the more manpower was occupied, so it was indeed very tight when calculated this way.

After introducing the situation, Dong Xingyu continued, "Now we are facing tasks; the first is, of course, daily teaching. For the three grades, the low grade has eight courses, the middle grade has four, and the high grade has two. Oh, it seems one was added, now it is three." She brushed and wrote down all the courses. Among them, the two courses for the high grade, besides the newly added "Artificer Usage Course," were "Art of War and Tactics" and "Foundation of Profound Arts." The remaining sword moves, internal arts, and other courses were changed to self-study.

Tang Zhao asked curiously, "With so many courses for the low grade, can the Teachers handle them?"

Dong Xingyu said, "No problem, they are all small classes, and one Teacher can teach everything. It's just that there are many people, so they are divided into three classes, requiring three Teachers. The middle grade has two classes and two Teachers. The high grade only needs one."

Tang Zhao said, "Then that requires six..."

Dong Xingyu said, "Originally, including me, there were four. I take all the courses for the high grade, and the remaining low grade is divided into two classes, one Teacher per class. The middle grade shares one Teacher. Now, with you added, we can divide it slightly. You take charge of the high grade; don't lead a class at first, just try teaching. You can teach one more course besides your own."

Tang Zhao nodded. Although it was said that the high grade only had two courses, the time occupied by reading and training was the same as the low grade, and it was not that the pressure was less. Moreover, leading all courses was similar to being a "homeroom teacher," not just teaching, but also caring for their life and studies after class, which was very tedious. Logically, those leading classes were elderly Martial Artist Teachers, and Sword Guest Instructors only needed to teach profound courses and solve students' difficulties. Now that there was a shortage of Teachers, only Dong Xingyu could fill in. This was a great waste.

Although Tang Zhao had come, he had no teaching experience and could not do the work of a class-leading Teacher for the time being, so he could only alleviate the pressure of teaching.

He then said, "Then I will teach Foundation of Profound Arts."

He did not understand Art of War and Tactics and definitely could not teach it; he could, however, learn it on the side.

Dong Xingyu nodded and said, "That's all for daily teaching. The second is a few major events we are about to face. The first is the graduation exam in two months. The exam location is in Mu City."

Tang Zhao said "Ah."

Dong Xingyu looked at him, and Tang Zhao said, "I didn't expect... is the exam not in the Training Camp?"

Dong Xingyu said, "Of course not. It wasn't in previous years either. The Training Camp doesn't even tell the students the exam venue, only giving clues for them to arrive on time; those who cannot arrive are directly eliminated. I am telling you the destination this year is Mu City; don't let it slip in front of the students."

Tang Zhao also knew this rule, but firstly, he didn't expect it to be held this way this year, and secondly...

Mu City...

That was his hometown.

Come to think of it, he hadn't been home for over five years.

I wonder if the big poplar tree at the door has grown taller?

Dong Xingyu said, "Originally I also wanted to ask, should we hold it on a large scale given the situation this year? The Mountain Chief said the plan remains unchanged. But fortunately, if we stayed in the camp and held the exam by ourselves, we would be short of everything, and I really wouldn't know how to manage it. It's much better for the four families to hold it together; we can just sponge off their manpower."

Tang Zhao said, "Four families..."

Dong Xingyu said, "Yes, usually it's our Three Offices holding the exam together, and this year the Governor's Middle Army New Sharp Battalion is added, making it four."

The so-called Three Offices were the Land Inspection Office, the Prison Suppression Office, and the Jing'an Division, all of which were direct forces under the Gaoyuan Marquis's shogunate. The Land Inspection Office swept the Demon Cave, the Prison Suppression Office watched the Demon Prison, and the Jing'an Division handled internal and external intelligence. The Governor's Middle Army was the army of the Yunzhou Dudu Mansion. The Gaoyuan Marquis was also the Governor of Yunzhou, so the Central Army was also directly under her. However, there was a subtle difference between the two direct forces; in the past, the two sides did not interfere with each other. Now that the two sides were united, it meant...

Anyway, there were political implications, but Tang Zhao didn't quite understand these yet.

Dong Xingyu said, "This year the four families are united, and since the Central Army is new, let the Central Army host it. This is a good thing; originally, according to the rotation of previous years, it was the Prison Suppression Office's home field. The Prison Suppression Office is currently at odds with us, and if it were their home field, we would be short of manpower and would inevitably suffer. This time we must also send people to watch our own children, and someone must also sit in the camp. We two, one leads the team and one sits in; you can choose."

According to Tang Zhao's personality, he should have been humble and let Dong Xingyu decide, but having just heard about Mu City, his heart stirred, and he said, "Then I will lead the team."

Dong Xingyu was clearly relieved and said, "Perfect. I also want to stay at home. Then you spend these two months getting along well with the high grade. Let them trust you and listen to you. That way you can be at ease when taking them out. As for me, I will manage the low grade. It just so happens that the second major event is the recruitment for the next Training Camp. We have to roughly screen the seedlings sent from every county and city before arranging them separately; I heard there are also special students collected from Yinhuo Township, which is very troublesome. I will take charge of this matter, and you will assist. We two will cooperate, one at the beginning and one at the end, to get through this most difficult period."

Tang Zhao said, "Understood. Leave the high grade to me."

Dong Xingyu acted decisively, immediately organizing the high-grade roster, training plan, textbook notes, and so on, and handing them over to him. She also arranged his accommodation, right in the Teacher's residential area next to the teaching building, one small building per person, saying, "According to the plan, simulations can be arranged before the exam, it also depends on your plan. I won't interfere."

Tang Zhao quite appreciated this Dong Jiaoyu; although not enthusiastic, she was organized, crisp, and efficient, and didn't make extra trouble—how could it be said that she was hard to work with?

After asking about some daily routines in the Training Camp, Tang Zhao took his leave and went back to his residence to settle in.

Coming out of the main gate, he saw a youth waiting there; it was Pei Zhujiao.

He hesitated, finally catching up to Tang Zhao and asking, "Are... are you the child who died and came back to life back then?"