The World of Mei

Chapter 15 Highly Praised New Textbooks

The Battle at Frostless City had become a protracted one.

Dongqin continued to reinforce troops stationing outside the east gate of Frostless City, the capital of Zhongwu.

Frostless City was located in eastern Zhongwu as a gateway.

The location of the capital was favorable for transportation in times of peace.

However, it was not so pleasing in times of war. Dongqin transferred the troops stationing in the west to the east of Frostless City.

It took Dongqin army three days to reach Frostless City.

Qin Siyue and Wu Mingjie, the initiators, had vanished. Dongqin and Zhongwu dispatched a lot of people to find them. Two months had passed and they failed.

Dongqin sent Zhang Xiaoting, a promising young man, with a few elite soldiers to the front in light armor to command the border troops stationing in the west and organize the attack on Frostless City.

They intended to occupy Frostless City with a swift attack.

It should be as easy as shooting fish in a barrel for Dongqin to conquer the small country Zhongwu.

The wish was good, however, the reality was cruel.

The war had been going on for two months, and the number of troops on both sides was constantly increasing.

Besides troops from other cities in Zhongwu, Xichu, Beihan and Shangyan dispatched reinforcements, too.

The main force of Dongqin had also arrived outside Frostless City.

It was said that the four-countries allied forces had more than six hundred thousand soldiers in Zhongwu's territory.

Dongqin came only four hundred thousand soldiers.

However, the weapons and the overall combat capability of the soldiers of allied forces were worse than those of Dongqin's main force.

Both sides dared not make rash moves but often engage in tentative local conflicts.

The defenders held on in the city.

The besiegers could not take the city.

Both sides dared not to scale up the war and ended up in a lose-lose situation, so they fell into a stalemate.

In the Beggar g**g, the construction of Lingyin College had already been completed, and an opening ceremony was in preparation.

Mu Qianmei had become the busiest person recently. As there had been no progress in the battle of Frostless City for a long time, she lost interest in it and checked the latest news occasionally.

Her main task recently was to compile textbooks.

A distinctive college must have something unique to support it.

Mu Qianmei compared the cultural differences between the two worlds and decided to incorporate what she had learned in previous lives, which she thought would be practical and interesting, into textbooks.

Along with her were Elder Wang and a team of teachers he had formed.

The ancient literature here developed well, and the academic exchanges between the seven countries during peacetime were very frequent, presenting a scene of a hundred flowers blossoming and a hundred schools of thought contenting.

During this period, there were many thinkers and educators, all claiming their school was the best. Therefore, it was impossible to unify an authoritative set of teaching materials.

Moreover, the education contents of each school were obscure and difficult to popularize.

The main streams of the poem were still ancient poetry and ballads.

The general cultural quality of the common people was at a low level.

Mu Qianmei, who has three doctorates in journalism, literature, and international trade in her previous life, decided to recompose a set of practical and easy-to-understand textbooks by combining current education form with her own experience.

However, the textbooks were ostensibly written in the name of Elder Wang and Ouyang Bo, and she would compile them behind the scenes.

"It's a pity I didn't graduate with a science degree. Wouldn't it be better to change the world with technology? Haha..."

Mu Qianmei thought and smirked with pity when she was compiling the textbooks.

At this time, Ouyang Bo and Elder Wang came in and saw her strange smirking. Ouyang Bo laughed,

"Did you come up with any strange ideas? Your textbook is amazing. How on earth did you come up with it?"

"Ever since I got hurt and dreamed that I was a butterfly and met an old lady, I've been having weird dreams. I seemed to be living in another world and learned amazing knowledge there. I remember this knowledge and write them down to make them into textbooks. In fact, there is more knowledge in that world, but I cannot learn so much. I only learned the knowledge of what I'm interested in." Mu Qianmei answered, mixing fact and friction.

"The world is so big that nothing is to be surprised at. It seems that your memories of your previous life can only be recalled in your dreams, but it's wonderful to learn so much even in dreams. If only I could have those dreams!" The old Taoist priest bantered.

Then he exhorted,

"Remember, do not tell it to anyone else! Now we are the only people who know your secret. If too many people know it, you will be in great danger. People will see you as a monster."

Mu Qianmei answered seriously,

"I know. Fortunately, you can still treat me as a normal person, or I am afraid that others will treat me as a monster!"

The old Taoist priest laughed,

"Well, we do treat you like a monster, but a lovely and normal one. We've all watched you grow up, and no matter how much you learn in your dreams or how much you remember from previous lives, we will only be happy for you!"

Mu Qianmei was warmed and touched by his words.

"By the way, Miss Little Butterfly. What are you going to call these books?" Elder Wang asked. He was a serious person.

"Let me think... Since all they are textbooks of Lingyin College, they should be named after 'Lingyin College'."

"The collection of poems is called Lingyin College: A Poem Collection."

"Textbook of informatics should be called Lingyin College: Informatics."

"Economics textbook should be called Lingyin College: Economic theory."

"Music textbook should be called Lingyin College: Music Appreciation."

"The textbook of literacy and stories should be called Lingyin College: Literacy and Reading."

"Hahaha... Let's start with these five courses for now! And more courses will be added when I think of other subjects."

Mu Qianmei thought and told them the names of five textbooks. After that, she couldn't help laughing.

She would be a genius if she had thought of all this herself. Well, she just quoted the titles of books she had seen before."

Mu Qianmei excused herself and blushed.

The two old guys were shocked. Fortunately, both of them had been accustomed to Mu Qianmei's words and had immuned to her unusual thinking.

"Five courses? How many courses do you have in the world in your dreams?" The old Taoist priest asked.

"Well... there are a lot. Anything you can think of can be studied as a course. So, can you guess how many courses are there?"

Mu Qianmei replied to him, laughing.

"You know so much. I can't imagine how many people will be surprised when they see these textbooks." The old Taoist priest exclaimed.

"Haha They will be surprised at your broad field of knowledge. Look, the textbooks have your names on them. They are compiled by you! There must be a lot of people coming to visit you, and your residences must be crowded with people!" Mu Qianmei imagined the scene and gloated.

So you take us as your shields to hide, don't you? But look at us! We are too old to deal with these matters with enough energy." The old Taoist priest said.

"You can tell others these textbooks are compiled by members of the Beggar g**g and you organized them. Most of the members of the Beggar g**g have been to many places, so they are well-informed and know a lot of things. These books are a collection of our wisdom." Mu Qianmei continued.

"Yes, this is a good explanation. Elder Wang, I think we'd better waste no time studying these textbooks to prepare for teaching, and look for some people with sound knowledge foundations to study with us. They'll join us as the first teachers of Lingyin College." The old Taoist priest said to Elder Wang.

Let's achieve this knowledge before thinking about the following matters!" Elder Wang replied to him and began to read the textbooks.

Ouyang Bo stopped joking and picked up a book to study.

So, in the new teaching building of Lingyin College, three people sat quietly in an office. A little girl bent over the desk to write slowly, while two old men were reading carefully beside her.

It looked like the old men were checking their student's homework.

In fact, the little girl played the role of teacher, while the two old men students.

They were studying the new textbooks written by the little girl.

The old men turned the page of Lingyin College: A Poem Collection and saw the first poem, The Geese. He muttered,

"The geese! The geese! The geese! Skyward sing through curved necks! White plumage floating in green streams; Red paddles stirring up clear ripples."

He gasped in admiration,

"How simple but subtle the poem is! Its wording is catchy and the scene depicted is vivid."

"White plumage, green streams, red paddles, clear ripples. Wonderful!"

"The poet seems to be a child. This child is a genius!"

Elder Wang also got excited,

"The Three-Character Canon is an excellent teaching material for children. Its wording and rhythm favorable for reading make it clear and easy to understand. Meanwhile, it contains a vast amount of all-inclusive knowledge. A child can be deemed learned after learning this book."

These textbooks broke the masks of calmness on their faces.

They read and kept praising.

Mu Qianmei stopped writing, put down the pen, and stretched,

"These are other people's fruits of labor, so what I did is to bring them here and integrate them with our history and knowledge, making them our own."

"The poems in this collection are simple and easy to understand. Most of the freshmen in our college are not well-educated, so introduction to courses should be relatively simple."

"Well, this knowledge seems easy to understand but is still hard to comprehend. Students have to learn a lot to get access to it!"

The old Taoist priest nodded,

"Yes, people at different levels will achieve different understandings and feelings in the process of study. How amazing!"