Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Meng Changqing certainly didn't expect to hear the answer from the children, so she quickly continued, "Our Beishan County is a new county, it is younger than all of you here.

Just look at our Liangzhou. Except for Beishan County, how many years have the other counties existed?
For hundreds of years, regardless of whether they have experienced wars or not, at least they have always existed and there have always been people managing that land.

But Beishan County is different.

On the night before New Year's Eve of the fourteenth year of Yongxing, I led more than 200 refugees and set out from the gate of Yangmen County to the north. What we faced was a wilderness with only traces left by the battle between the two armies.

Beishan County was not truly established until the Beishan city wall was built.

It has only been April of the sixteenth year of Yongxing. How long has it been?
We created everything from scratch. The houses and fertile fields you see were built brick by brick and inch by inch by your parents.

In such a short period of time, Beishan County has transformed from a wilderness to what it is today. It seems quite remarkable, isn’t it? "

Some children nodded below.

Meng Changqing said, "Not enough, far from enough! What does our Beishan County look like in the eyes of other people? You don't need to ask others about this. Just ask the children who just moved here this year. What did you think of Beishan County before you came here?
Poor, right? Dangerous, right? If you can survive in your original place, you would never want to come to Beishan County, right?

I want to ask again, are you willing to remain poor like this? Would you rather pass the exam in the future and have a hometown that makes you ashamed? "

"Unwillingly!" Even the people standing outside the house were shouting.

"Okay. It is precisely because we know that you are unwilling that the government has opened this school." Meng Changqing said, "It is not scary to be poor now, but it is scary to always be poorer than others.

Think about it, we are hundreds of years behind other counties. If we don’t try our best to catch up, won’t we always fall behind? "

"Some of you may ask, how can we catch up? What is the connection between poverty and school?" Meng Changqing asked and answered himself, "Of course there is a connection. Imagine that your parents and parents in other counties are illiterate. All their experience in doing things is passed down from their ancestors and taught by others.

But after a few years, when you are adults and can read, if you want to do something but don't know how to do it, what will you do? You can ask your elders or people around you, but unfortunately they don't know how to do it and they have never encountered such a situation. You can still find a solution from books.

For the same thing, the child from another county also asked everyone around him but couldn't find the answer. What could he do? He couldn't read, and the books couldn't help him, so he could only give up.

This is the purpose of the county government setting up a school, not to require all of you to pass the imperial examinations and become the top scorer.

It requires you to be able to read and write, understand the contents of books, and have the ability to expand your knowledge.

It is to make you stronger than the children from other counties.

It is up to you, who have received education, to catch up with the gap of hundreds of years.

The most precious thing in the world, which cannot be bought with money, is knowledge. Now the school will teach you for free. I hereby promise that Beishan County will not charge any fees for opening the school. All the tools and books you need will be provided by the county government.

But as I said before, the knowledge that can be taught in school is limited, so what we teach you is not all knowledge, but the key to obtain knowledge.

I hope you will take this key to acquire the knowledge you want, pursue the life you want, and experience the vast world.

When you have completed your studies and leave this school, I do not ask you to remember me, nor do I ask you to repay Beishan County. I just want you to remember that you are deeply indebted to the country and will be of use to the country in the future."

Not to mention the children below, even those outside the house straightened their backs and their blood rushed to their heads, wanting to serve the country.

Meng Changqing is absolutely professional when it comes to coaxing people.

At this time, Bafang suddenly brought out an inkstone with ground ink inside. Meng Changqing took out a large brush from somewhere, dragged it over the front row of tables, stepped on it, and wrote eight big characters on the board of future teaching:

Be clear-minded and have clear knowledge, and you will strengthen the county and the country.

She jumped down, handed the pen to Bafang, and asked the children below, "Does anyone recognize the words on the wall?"

Most of the children shook their heads and said they didn't know what it was. Only the two children in the front row moved their mouths but did not speak.

"It doesn't matter if you don't recognize it now. The purpose of letting you sit here is to let you recognize it, understand it, and remember it." Meng Changqing pushed the table back and said, "You can each go home and find a wooden stick. You will need it for the afternoon class. After class, go home."

After Meng Changqing left, a girl sitting in the first row asked the boy next to her, "Mingxian, don't you recognize the words on it?"

Mingxian pursed his lips and whispered, "I know him."

"Why didn't you tell me when the adults asked?" Mingyue looked at her brother in confusion.

Mingxian still answered quietly, "Dad told me not to stand out in front of adults."

"How can it be conspicuous if you answer the questions asked by the adults?" Mingyue asked closer, "Then what did the adults write?"

Mingxian read out the words, and Mingyue wanted to ask what they meant, but Mingxian did not answer and said, "Let's go home quickly."

(End of this chapter)