A few days later, Jiang Wei was transferred to the Qin King's Academy, where renowned scholars taught. Cai Yong, Lu Ming's father-in-law, held a position there, specializing in compiling books.
Cai Yong disliked officialdom and preferred compiling books, so he was assigned to the academy.
Lu Ming valued education highly, so he also took the academy very seriously.
Those who could study at the academy were destined for great achievements.
Lu Ming's borders were vast and needed many grassroots talents.
Only through experience at the grassroots level could one's character and mind undergo significant changes. How could one learn management without understanding the hardships of life?
Jiang Wei was unaware that his mother had secured this opportunity through sexual favors with Lu Ming.
When he arrived, he was somewhat astonished, as the management here was completely militarized. There were strict rules regarding wake-up times, sleep times, afternoon naps, exercise, and reading.
This strict management was called militarization; simply put, it was like being managed as an army. Only through strict discipline and rigorous training can one achieve great things.
Here, besides studying, they also need to practice combat skills. This is because they will inevitably go to the border regions in the future, where the situation is more complex, so self-defense is essential.
This is not surprising; after all, ancient scholars were not weaklings.
Large areas of the Eastern Han Dynasty remained undeveloped, teeming with wild beasts, making it impossible to travel and study without physical strength.
Encountering bandits could be fatal, let alone other unexpected accidents.
Here, Jiang Wei encountered many sons of high-ranking officials, including former nobles.
He expected these people to be arrogant and domineering…
However, he was somewhat surprised. These people didn't mention their family backgrounds at all, focusing only on studying and practicing martial arts.
The schooling period was short, at least three months, at most six months. Those who failed the assessment would be dismissed and labeled as useless.
This place was both heaven and hell.
Those who pass the assessment will naturally rise rapidly in rank; those who fail will remain obediently in lower positions.
What surprised Jiang Wei was that the descendants of the former four great families of Chang'an—the Jia, Wang, Xue, and Shi families—had all declined, and none of them were capable of great use.
They were all labeled as incompetent, only fit for simple tasks, with no hope of promotion.
Jia Baoyu and Jia Li from the Jia family were all working in the Military Affairs Department, doing chores like sweeping streets, cleaning, or putting out fires.
Xue Pan from the Xue family worked for a merchant caravan under the Ministry of Revenue; he was considered simple-minded and held a low position.
The Wang and Shi families were in similar situations, with the Wang family faring slightly better, as they could work in the military.
The Wang family only received some support thanks to the connections of the sisters, Lady Wang and Aunt Xue, and their niece, Wang Xifeng…
The Shi family suffered the most, being sent to manage the mines, a place of hardship and toil…
Moreover, it was said that they were given an extra wife, and any children born to these wives, regardless of whose father they were, were considered theirs and had to be supported together.
What were these women like? Old and ugly, or plagued by illness—basically, not very good—all were given to the miners as wives.
Working there was indeed hard and tiring; it was said that after leaving the mines, the miners would even go into heat at the sight of a sow.
If it weren't for the fact that Grandmother Jia came from the Shi family, the Shi family would probably have been expelled!
A steady stream of talented people were trained from the academies and sent to various places to serve as low-level officials.
There was an annual assessment and a promotion every two years.
Upon promotion, they would also be eligible to study at academies. The more they learned and the more skills they mastered, the more easily they could manage larger areas.
Talented individuals must be grounded in reality; Lu Ming had discussed this matter at length with Jia Xu.
Jia Xu, however, was indifferent. His daughter had married Lu Ming; whether she was favored or not was irrelevant, as long as she showed some respect. He wasn't particularly interested in power…
Lu Ming's idea was also excellent; he could help implement it.
Some things have good intentions, but the fear is that subordinates might act recklessly and misunderstand the meaning. This is where the Prime Minister needs to oversee the overall situation and control the direction.
A month later, Yuan Shao was still waiting for news of victory in Nanpi. He personally went to Gongsun Zan to try and win him over, even offering support for his attack on Liu Yu.
Gongsun Zan had taken Youzhou, while Yuan Shao had taken Jizhou; they would each keep to their own interests.
However, instead of news of victory, he received devastating news: his general Zhang He had defected!
Not only Zhang He, but Xu You, who had fought alongside him, had also defected.
At first, Yuan Shao couldn't believe it, but when his men reported that their families had already been taken away, he realized that these two men had indeed defected and betrayed him!
It's important to understand that in ancient times, soldiers' families were left behind when they went to war. This was partly for their safety, and partly to serve as hostages. Otherwise, if someone with so many troops had any designs on them, it would be disastrous!
"Damn it! Damn it!"
Yuan Shao furiously smashed a vase, roaring, "I need to know what happened!"
Many of Yuan Shao's spies were managed by Xu You, so after Xu You's betrayal, he was rendered deaf and blind, completely clueless about what to do.
Yuan Tan was still pondering what to do, but Yuan Shang's eyes were already darting around, thinking about how to secure an escape route.
Previously, Yuan Shang's birth mother, Lady Liu, had written him a letter, urging him to seize power and then surrender to the King of Qin.
With her as a guarantor, the more soldiers and territory surrendered, the higher her future status would be—far better than being caught in the chaos of war, vulnerable to being hacked to death.
Lady Liu had this confidence because she had discussed it with Lu Ming.
One day, while she was serving him in bed, Lu Ming asked her if she still missed her son, Yuan Shang.
Lady Liu then vigorously tightened her vagina, gripping Lu Ming's throbbing penis, demonstrating her submission.
"My husband, I've already given you a daughter. I belong to you in life and in death. Please don't ask me such things anymore; I'm afraid!"
Afterwards, Lu Ming had her write a letter to persuade Yuan Shang to surrender, or at least to incite internal strife within Yuan Shao's territory.
Currently, Bingzhou had just been taken over, and Guo Si and Niu Fu were leading troops to fight the Wuhuan. Bingzhou also needed time to recuperate.
Being able to be self-sufficient for a short period of time would be good enough; it's simply impossible for them to supply anything.