Chapter 40: Teaching (Part 1)

The conversation at the banquet flowed smoothly, and Liu Yongfu casually brought up the matter of borrowing someone: “I was wondering if I could borrow Jing Shi Yi for a few days. His skill in reloading Remington bullets would be extremely useful to the Black Flag Army.”
Before Liu Yu could reply, Sima Tai interjected, “It’s just a trivial skill. Why does the commander place such importance on it? My camp has many capable people—some can make military uniforms, repair weapons, produce high-quality steel, and even craft entrenching tools.”
This task was originally overseen by Liu Yu’s father-in-law, Jiang Linyang, who, with the help of Lianjin City, had recently manually forged over a dozen entrenching tools using imported scrap steel.
However, Sima Tai always found faults with Jing Shi Yi and blurted out his opinion. Liu Yongfu, not understanding the significance of entrenching tools for the Xiliu Camp, simply smiled and said, “We still need to rely on Brother Jing.”
“Could we wait a few days? Until after the Spring Festival?” Currently, only three people in the Xiliu Camp could reload Remington rifle bullets. They needed to train a group of skilled individuals before Jing Shi Yi left for the Black Flag Army.
“Agreed!”
Everyone enjoyed the meal thoroughly. Seeing that it was getting late, Liu Yongfu said, “Let’s rest now!”
But after being arranged accommodation in the Xiliu Camp, he couldn’t fall asleep. After tossing and turning several times, he got up and went outside, only to see Wu Fengdian standing blankly at the door. “Fengdian, what’s wrong?”
Wu Fengdian pointed toward the door, and Liu Yongfu then noticed that the small square in the center of the camp was brightly lit, with many people gathered there.
It was not yet deep night, but people in this era lacked entertainment options and went to bed early.
The square was silent, with no clear sounds, but the presence of so many people piqued Liu Yongfu’s curiosity.
Soon, Yang Zhenen also got up. “Could the Xiliu Camp be planning to get rid of us?”
He was straightforward but regretted speaking immediately. “My mouth is really annoying. With their skills, why would they go through such trouble to kill me?”
He left directly and found two Xiliu Camp soldiers on patrol. “What are you all doing gathered in the square?”
The two soldiers laughed and replied, “It’s Commander Yang. Our commander is giving a lesson to everyone.”
“What kind of lesson?” Yang Zhenen asked. “Why aren’t you sleeping at this hour?”
One soldier counted on his fingers. “Tonight, it’s about the history of China’s decline. Tomorrow, it’s about Napoleon’s battles…”
Wu Fengdian also came out. “You can still stay awake at this hour. You’ll need to get up early tomorrow.”
“We can!” the soldier replied cheerfully. “How could we not? The Xiliu Camp requires us to study for two hours every night, no matter how bad the weather is.”
Liu Yongfu and Liu Chengliang also came out and asked curiously, “You have such a rule?”
“In such times of great change, we must keep up with the times and strive to improve every day,” replied another soldier, who seemed educated. He tapped his pocket. “We’ve learned quite a bit too.”

The Black Flag Army was composed mainly of veterans, lacking in vigor. Liu Yongfu, thinking of the diligent learning atmosphere in the Xiliu Camp, became very interested: “What do they learn?”
“The commander first teaches military history, and now occasionally some military tactics. Everyone hopes he’ll teach more on military tactics so they can learn more.”
“Isn’t it boring with just your commander teaching?”
“Not at all. The more we learn, the more motivated we become. Even if it weren’t my turn for patrol tonight, I would still go to listen.”
Liu Yongfu increasingly saw the terror of the Xiliu Camp not in its advanced weapons or formidable combat strength, but in this spirit of vigor. He glanced at his adopted son: “Cheng Liang, see this? You should learn more from the enthusiasm of the Xiliu Camp.”
“I understand, Father.”
Meanwhile, Yang Zhenen, who had a background as a military scholar, was most interested in the lectures: “Military tactics? What can they possibly teach? Your commander is only in his teens—how can you trust what he says?”
The soldier replied honestly: “The commander’s knowledge of military strategy and history comes from books from the East and the West. He spent a fortune in Haiyang to acquire them, knowing that foreigners are unmatched in warfare, so every word is valuable. He also knows both Eastern and Western languages and translates them into Chinese to teach us.”
He added in admiration, “We’ve only been learning for a couple of days, but it feels like knowledge that will last a lifetime.”
“Is that really true?” Yang Zhenen was skeptical. “Don’t fool me. I’m also a graduate of the military examination.”
The soldier grew impatient: “Believe it or not, the commander always stops at the scheduled time and refuses to go on longer. Only Colonel Jieken and Mr. Lian Jincheng teach a bit more.”
The more he said this, the more skeptical Yang Zhenen became. “Is it really that good?”
The soldier then recalled Liu Yu’s lectures: “Not a single word of falsehood!”
He detailed the initial lectures: “On the first day, the commander didn’t do anything special—he just taught us about China’s history of decline. Only over twenty people attended, and it was held indoors. The next night, even fewer showed up. By the third night, only his wife and seven or eight people remained…”
“It wasn’t until the fifth night that everyone really caught on. We felt both humiliated and inspired, gaining countless insights. The hall was packed. On the sixth night, it was too crowded, so they moved to the Chenghuang Temple. Everyone voluntarily asked the commander to set rules—those who didn’t attend lectures wouldn’t be promoted.”
“But after another two nights, even the temple couldn’t hold everyone, so they had to teach outdoors.” The soldier was upset. “For some courses, as a low-ranking soldier, I’m not allowed to attend first. The elders listen first, and then the knowledge is passed on to us.”
After hearing this, Liu Yongfu’s enthusiasm became uncontrollable. He asked, “Can we go and listen?”
The soldier had seen Liu Yongfu before: “You’re our commander—why not?”
“Lead the way, and I’ll go listen! If it’s really as good as you say, I’ll have your commander give you some support.”
But the soldier remained unmoved: “No need. The Xiliu Camp has its own rules for hiring people.”
In fact, the open square was only a hundred or two hundred steps away, and they arrived there in no time.