Chapter 33: Training (Part 2)

Jiang Ningxue knew every detail about Liu Yu: “Which box? You brought two boxes of books from Haiyang.”
Liu Yu indeed brought two boxes from Haiyang. The books in these boxes seemed utterly useless to others—better to exchange them for two boxes of copper coins. Yet Liu Yu held the most authority in the Xiliu Camp, so no one dared argue.
One box contained books and documents confiscated by Liu Yu from Haiyang. These were the result of his hobby in studying military affairs—he collected any available materials, useful or not. It also included many documents from the governor of Haiyang, which seemed completely useless, but Liu Yu treasured them dearly, preferring them to two boxes of copper coins.
As for the books in the other box, Liu Yu regarded them as treasures—these were the foundation for the Xiliu Camp to become a powerful army.
In the past, when Xianghuai rose to prominence, Zeng and Li were both scholars who commanded troops without any military knowledge. Yet they managed to defeat the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which had swept across half of China, thanks to Qi Jiguang’s “New Book of Military Effectiveness.” All military strategies in Xianghuai originated from this book, and Zeng and Li built their army entirely based on its teachings.
But times had changed. The army built on the basis of “New Book of Military Effectiveness” was now far behind the global trends. Liu Yu needed the latest knowledge to establish his new army.
Knowledge is power.
Before his time travel, Liu Yu had seriously considered why Japan’s Meiji Restoration succeeded while the Hundred Days’ Reform failed. Apart from the political immaturity of reformers like Kang Youwei, the deeper reason lay in Japan’s centuries-long tradition of studying Dutch learning, which never ceased.
By “Dutch learning,” it referred to the academic, cultural, and technological knowledge introduced to Japan by the Dutch during the shogunate era. Over these two centuries, many scholars secretly studied the Dutch language, allowing them to access the latest Western knowledge even during the isolationist shogunate period. This enabled them to learn from Europe’s achievements in the Industrial Revolution and laid the foundation for early Japanese science.
Thanks to Dutch learning, the Japanese could consult Western books before the Meiji Restoration and manufacture cannons almost on par with Western ones. After opening up, they were able to advance rapidly and modernize their country.
China was different. The scholars did not understand Western languages or situations, let alone conduct chemical and physical experiments based on Dutch books or introduce the most advanced medical technologies. They could only gather information from hearsay, which was often far from reality. Even Lin Zexu and Wei Yuan, who were considered experts in foreign affairs, were like this.
Even in this era, few Qing officials who understood foreign affairs could read foreign documents, let alone go abroad for research.
But what they couldn’t do, Liu Yu could.
Jiang Ningxue carefully opened the box, gently touching Liu Yu’s manuscripts, then asked, “Did Ah Yu write this?”
There were some books in the box whose contents she could only understand in parts. But what she valued most were the handwritten manuscripts. The handwriting wasn’t very good, but she loved them anyway. “It really is written by Ah Yu.”

“I wrote it!” Liu Yu was considered capable of writing documents in later times. Though he didn’t know how to pick up a writing brush, once he took control of Haiyang, he got the pen he wanted and wrote down his plans on blank paper.
Jiang Ningxue knew few characters, especially since Liu Yu had mixed in many simplified characters: “What kind of characters are these?”
Liu Yu smiled but didn’t explain. He knew how difficult it must be for a girl who only knew some traditional characters to read a document written in simplified characters.
He had experienced this pain himself—decades ago, there was a second round of character simplification, and many military books were written in this simplified form. As a passionate military enthusiast, reading such books was extremely difficult for him, even more so than reading traditional-style printed books like “The Imperial Strategy for Suppressing the Nian Rebellions.”
He simply read out the title: “‘The Process of Conquering Haiyang from Xiliuying Camp’—um, this one is ‘Diary of the Battle at Xiliuying Camp in Haiyang’…”
“‘Review of Experiences in Conquering Haiyang from Xiliuying Camp,’ and this newly written one is ‘Detailed Report on the Battle Outside Shanxi City’…”
Learning must start with oneself.
Liu Yu had recorded every detail of each battle in his own notes. He planned to keep reviewing these battles with the officers from Xiliuying Camp, learning from both successes and failures.
All these battle documents, along with the summaries and reflections on experiences, were unprecedented in this era. Looking at the documents with their ink scent, Liu Yu couldn’t help but show confidence, which intoxicated Jiang Ningxue: “What’s this one?”
Without even looking, Liu Yu read out its title: “A Concise History of China’s Decline in War.”
This would be his first lesson for the officers.
Just as the unmarried couple was indulging in each other in the room, Zhang Biao’s voice came from outside: “Commander, commander, someone is looking for you!”
Liu Yu could only give Jiang Ningxue a gentle kiss on the face. She helped him tidy his clothes: “Sergeant Zhang, I’m coming!”
Outside, Sergeant Zhang wore a mysterious smile. He glanced at Jiang Ningxue before saying, “The commander is really lucky!”
Liu Yu replied casually, “Ningxue is my fortune in this life!”
But Zhang Biao was a worldly man. Seeing Jiang Ningxue close the door, and still able to see her organizing the documents through the window, he lowered his voice and said, “Commander, luck has come to you again.”
“Hm?” Liu Yu didn’t understand what he meant.
“Is it your sweetheart who came to see you?” Zhang Biao grinned mischievously. “The commander is truly successful in love—you’ve even made me drool over your good fortune!”
“Who? It’s a woman?” Liu Yu had thought it was a representative from the Black Flag Army or the Vietnamese government. “What’s her background?”
“You don’t know?” Zhang Biao wasn’t very reliable. “I thought it was your sweetheart, saying there was important business to discuss privately! But she’s pretty—worth meeting!”
Damn! My body is only thirteen years old this year. I’ve only been in this world for less than two months, and aside from Jiang Ningxue, everything else is clean.
But Liu Yu had no idea what kind of gift this beautiful woman would bring.