Munitions Empire

That night, the bright lights illuminated the table, and the oil lamp on the table's corner seemed to struggle for survival, stubbornly refusing to leave.

Although in many places, candles were still a scarce commodity, the era had indeed transitioned, and a brand new world of electricity was gradually taking shape.

The boy was biting his pen, looking down at his homework. To be honest, he was already very smart, but still felt dizzy when faced with the sudden influx of diverse knowledge.

He liked math problems and was willing to think about them. The school even regularly offered some practical courses for students to come into contact with machinery and the like.

To be frank, initially no one believed that a school in a town could operate at such a scale. The poor people here were happy enough to hear about free education, but what they didn't expect was that free things could be so good.

The entire school occupied the best lot in the town. It had a playground and various supporting facilities. Some classrooms were even directly housed in the estate of the richest landlord in the town.

The Great Tang Empire placed such a heavy emphasis on school construction that every shrewd person realized the times had indeed changed.

In the past, learning was a luxury. Big families and the wealthy monopolized education to solidify their social class and ultimately maintain their rule.

The model of the Great Tang Empire was entirely different. Tang Mo advocated for education, using the fairest possible education to break the existing social classes—though not everything was perfect, this approach was already quite potent.

No one can achieve complete fairness, so a relatively fair model is the best choice.

In ancient times, learning materials were monopolized, and only the rich could afford to use bamboo slips, xuan paper, ink brushes, and books... So, the poor could only farm all their lives and couldn't afford to study.

Walking the path of a military officer was even worse. An ordinary civilian couldn't even have enough to eat, and their physical condition couldn't be improved, so they naturally couldn't compete with the noble offspring. Therefore, most of the ancient generals came from eminent families—whether these wealthy people had any courage or brains was another matter.

Tang Mo gave everyone a chance, an opportunity to improve their quality of life through study. Although this chance was still very slim, at least it was there.

"You can't even learn what the teacher taught well! Just know how to go join the fun!" The woman sat on the bed, feeling both pained about the electric bill and nagging while patching that already heavily mended piece of clothing with needle and thread.

Although the Great Tang Empire provided substantial subsidies, allowing them to replace tiles, install glass windows, and even electric lights, some things were ingrained in their bones by poverty and couldn't be wiped out in a lifetime.

That's a habit, don't mock it.

If you haven't suffered, you can't understand that kind of stubborn persistence. If it weren't for seeing no greenery throughout the winter, who would dig a cellar to store a bunch of rotting potatoes and cabbages?

This patched outfit is for working; in these times, who knows when the state subsidies might stop? By putting on a poor face, maybe the state will shell out a bit more cash to connect a water pipe or something... right?

"Your dad has no ability, can't even do addition and subtraction, so in the future, it's all on you!" A man beside her was anxious but couldn't do anything, as he couldn't help on either side.

He had worked in the fields for years, and his hands were calloused and unable to sew clothes; and with his son's learning, he couldn't understand anything either—just a glance at those practice books made them look like heavenly scripts to him.

The boy lowered his head and started writing on a math problem, which, to be honest, was no harder than sixth-grade level, and for him, wasn't difficult at all.

Even though he had only studied for more than half a year, the school teachers taught very well, and these children in their teens were all very intelligent, so they learned the first and second-grade material quickly.

The Great Tang Empire had been running crash courses for more than a decade, and everyone was experienced. They approached it with intensive teaching, and these days, there were no parental demands about reducing burden and happy education nonsense.

The idiots promoting happy education would never tell you that in the prestigious universities of the Lighthouse Country, students still study throughout the night, and the level of competition is even higher.

The parents of the children in the Great Tang Empire were still in that relatively crude and primitive stage. In their view, if someone can teach their kids literacy and is willing to teach them things, that's a benefactor—do they understand that?

These simple parents wouldn't get angry because teachers disciplined students physically. Instead, they'd supercharge it when the kids got home. The kids these days didn't talk about their grievances; they were mischievous. Getting a whipping was normal for them, and after a beating, they'd run outside to play while holding their butts.

On the other hand, the education in the Great Tang Empire was free, and there were no incidents of teachers charging random fees. They were still in the relatively primitive stage, not used to random charges, not daring to take benefits, and were mostly conscientious practitioners of educating and nurturing.

Sometimes the world is like this: things would actually be better if people on both sides act more normally, but no, they have to make a fuss by complicating simple matters, depleting most of the energy in intricate rules.

If only company bosses were more kind—giving overtime pay when work was busy and allowing time off when it wasn't—employees would have more rest and naturally work better during working hours.

No, absolutely not! Bosses must enforce mandatory overtime without pay, forcing everyone to pretend to be busy—as if expending electricity only benefits the company in an inexplicable way.

The same goes for the employees: they were originally supposed to work diligently and earn a wage through good conscience...nope, encountering a kind boss, they start slacking as long as the benefits are good enough—they need the boss holding a whip in the back to feel comfortable.

In the end, the employees pretend to work earnestly, and the boss pretends to pay earnestly. Employees hesitate to work overtime, dragging out an hour of work into five, while the boss prides himself on thinking his employees worked for five hours and only paid for one...

Who gains in the end? No one does. But countless hours and resources are consumed, and with time, such consumption will only grow more rampant and uncontrolled, ultimately leading to collapse and a fresh start.

Rely on oneself! The boy continued to write diligently, already having his own goal: when school dismissed during the day, he had seen the man managing the Orc laborers, and he thought that man was really imposing.

After years of fighting the People of Qin and Orcs, it was his first time seeing a human, with just a glance, make so many Orcs bow their heads and tremble. He was determined to become such a person, to become a leader among men!