Chapter 146: Middle School Math is Too Hard

Bai Wei held her breath, shocked into standing up all at once.

All the tangled threads became clear in her mind.

No wonder!

The National Preceptor possessed such divine power, yet instead of saving the country and the people, he stirred up discord in the imperial court, constantly instigating De Guifei and the Second Prince Xiao Rui to deal with Xiao Moting.

Xiao Moting won battle after battle and should have been commended, but the National Preceptor instigated De Guifei to whisper in the Emperor's ear, preventing Xiao Moting from receiving rewards and suppressing him instead.

Later, after Xiao Rui died, the National Preceptor ran to Yuan Canghai and incited him to turn against Xiao Moting!

Clearly, in the prophecy, Xiao Moting was the great hero who resisted the enemy and saved the country, while Yuan Canghai was the true traitor!

Bai Wei understood now!

The National Preceptor did not want to help Daliang; he wanted revenge and to destroy the Daliang Kingdom!

"Xiao Moting, it is very likely that the National Preceptor is of the Divine Shaman Clan. Go and investigate quickly."

"If he really is a Divine Shaman, he wants to destroy Daliang!"

……

"The National Preceptor... wants to destroy Daliang?"

Xiao Moting's whole body stiffened, his gaze instantly turning sharp!

No wonder he always felt the National Preceptor was not right.

He raised his head and said in a deep voice.

"Someone, send a message to Wu Da and tell him he must find out the National Preceptor's origins."

Xiao Dabao scratched his head, very confused.

"Prince, are the Divine Shamans really that powerful? How does a mere National Preceptor have the ability to destroy Daliang?"

Qin Zhan was also stunned, "Why have I never heard of the Divine Shamans?"

Xiao Moting's eyes were heavy.

"The Divine Shamans of Daliang were a matter from the time of the Great Ancestor Emperor. Their ancestors were once the proud disciples of Guiguzi, skilled in yin/yang arts, knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, experts in calculation, and capable of foreseeing the future. The Great Ancestor Emperor trusted the Divine Shamans greatly and ordered them to specialize in divination for the imperial family, serving as Imperial Astronomers, with a status second only to the Prime Minister. But later, for some unknown reason, the Great Ancestor Emperor ordered the extermination of the Divine Shaman clan. From then on, the Divine Shaman Clan vanished from the world."

"If the National Preceptor is truly a member of the Divine Shaman clan, he likely came to the palace under an assumed name to seek revenge for his people and incite chaos."

This was over a hundred years ago; he had not been born yet, and these rumors were passed down in the palace, so he did not know if they were true.

Xiao Dabao laughed, "That's easy to handle. We can tell the Emperor the National Preceptor's background and have him send troops to kill the Divine Shaman."

Xiao Moting shook his head.

"The Emperor trusts the National Preceptor and will not easily believe what I say."

"Besides, this was told to me by Shennü Daren, and there is currently no evidence to prove the National Preceptor is one of the Divine Shamans."

"Furthermore, the National Preceptor is helping Yuan Canghai. If Yuan Canghai were to strike back and claim we are making false accusations, it would only cause unnecessary trouble."

Qin Zhan also nodded.

"We just captured the mine, and Yuan Canghai is already full of resentment; we cannot stir up more trouble. The Northern Frontier has fought several battles and finally has some time to breathe; the common people cannot withstand any more turmoil. Shennü Daren also said we must develop our strength first."

As they were talking, Bai Wei sent a message.

"Get ready, I am sending you solar power panels."

"Shennü Daren is sending things again!"

Xiao Dabao beamed with joy and immediately called the soldiers to move the wardrobe out.

Clatter!

One hundred sets of solar power panels appeared neatly on the open ground.

"Xiao Moting, have the craftsmen install them according to the video."

"With solar power panels, the Northern Frontier will have electricity. Not only will it save on fuel consumption, but in the future, we can use electric lamps, electrical appliances..."

"Electric lamps?" Qin Zhan's eyes lit up, "Are those the lamps from Shennü's side? No lamp oil, no fire, yet brighter than candles!"

Xiao Dabao was also rubbing his hands in excitement.

"We can also cook Hot Pot, grill meat with electricity, just like on Shennü's side."

In the wardrobe, a USB Flash Drive appeared.

On the USB Flash Drive was the method for installing solar power, as well as simple circuit installation.

Xiao Moting immediately took the USB Flash Drive to the craftsmen and had them study it.

The Northern Frontier Camp was filled with joy.

Everyone had watched the videos sent by Shennü and knew how good the world on her side was.

At night, there were electric lamps, illuminating the entire city as bright as day.

When it was hot, there were fans and air conditioning, making the sweltering heat cool.

In winter, they could use electric heaters, making the rooms as warm as spring.

Ancient times had no such good things.

Everyone yearned for Shennü's world.

But Daliang had no electricity; the power generated by diesel engines was limited and only supplied to hospitals and important electrical equipment, and it had to be used sparingly.

So everyone dared not hope for more.

Unexpectedly, everyone's wishes were about to come true!

With electricity in Daliang, they could also live the happy life of Shennü's world.

Even if it couldn't be exactly the same, they could at least experience it.

In the past, the winters in the Northern Frontier were exceptionally cold, and many elderly people, children, and those with weak constitutions could not survive the harsh winter.

But with electricity and electric heaters turned on, they could survive the winter safely!

The entire Northern Frontier Camp was boiling with excitement, and all the soldiers were anxiously looking forward to having electricity as soon as possible.

"That's great, I want to try using an electric fan."

"I want to use an Electric Lamp; reading books by candlelight at night is too hard on the eyes, it would be bright with an Electric Lamp."

"What's fun about reading books? I want to watch television! The television from Shennü Daren's side has so many little people inside."

Everyone was discussing it excitedly.

But soon, a piece of news spread out.

The craftsmen could not understand the circuit diagrams.

The Military Advisor hurried to find Xiao Moting.

"Prince, the method for installing solar power is too complex; the craftsmen in Beijiang haven't even finished learning junior high physics, they can't understand it."

"The junior high mathematics sent by Shennü Daren, the algebra and geometry in the textbooks, everyone looks at them as if they were heavenly books."

Xiao Moting's sword-like brows furrowed slightly.

Indeed!

No wonder Bai Wei kept urging him to let everyone study hard.

Now the knowledge the craftsmen have learned is no longer enough.

Just at this moment, a soldier came to report.

"Prince, dozens of Yannan refugees have arrived outside the camp, saying they want to join you."

"At a time like this, there are still Yannan refugees?" Qin Zhan asked suspiciously, "Could they be spies?"

"But they say they are Ruist scholars, and that they came to join Beijiang after hearing that the Prince is widely recruiting talented people."

Suddenly, Xiao Moting's spirits lifted.

"Quickly let them in."

Yuan Canghai had been hunting down Ruist scholars everywhere, so he had people spread the news to recruit talented individuals.

He did not expect that these Ruist scholars would actually come!

In the past, Beijiang was too barren, while Yannan City was very prosperous, so the Taixuetang established by the government was located in Yannan City.

Taixuetang had many famous teachers who not only taught Ruist doctrines such as the Book of Songs, Book of Documents, Book of Rites, and Book of Changes, but also taught literature, history, Daoist governance, mathematics, and astronomy, cultivating a large group of Ruist scholars who knew astronomy above and geography below, and were also proficient in mathematics.

Xiao Moting was very happy that the Ruist scholars had come to join him!

He immediately gave the order for Qin Zhan to invite the dozens of Ruist scholars into the tent.

The middle-aged scholar leading them bowed respectfully.

"Han Fang of Taixuetang, greets the Prince."

The dozens of scholars behind him were all in a state of starvation and cold, with tattered clothes and sallow, thin faces; one look was enough to see they had been living poorly.

"Sir, there is no need for such formalities." Xiao Moting stood up immediately and helped Han Fang up, "May I ask, sir, are you all students of Taixuetang?"

Han Fang's face showed a look of shame.

"This commoner is untalented and only served as a mathematics teacher at Taixuetang; these people are all my students."

After he finished speaking, he felt uneasy in his heart.

The group of students behind him were also very anxious.

In Daliang, the imperial examinations tested literature, history, and classics; only scholars who could write brilliant essays could be valued by the Emperor, while mathematics was not even ranked.

The subject of mathematics was not considered respectable; even if one learned it well, at most one could only be an accountant, not even qualified to enter the court as an official.

The Ruist students who fled Yannan, as long as they could write good essays, all went to other places to become retainers.

Only Han Fang, who taught mathematics, was accepted by no one; with nowhere else to turn and being hunted by Yuan Canghai with no place to hide, he had no choice but to bring a group of students to Beijiang.

Han Fang was filled with trepidation, fearing that Xiao Moting would not accept them.