Chapter 4016
Chapter 4016
Chapter 4016
After the simple yet solemn incense-offering ceremony, the first open class of Fubo Academy began. All invited guests could choose whether or not to attend, making this open class of great significance to the academy. Naturally, it was taught by the Dean, Su Zhixing, who possessed the highest teaching standards.
From the day he received the arrangements for the unveiling ceremony, Su Zhixing had been preparing lessons for this special task. During this time, he even went to Qian Tiandun twice with his lesson plan to consult with him, to ensure that the content he was going to teach was in line with the military's ideas.
The students fortunate enough to attend this class were selected early on; they were all teenagers with a certain level of education. These students were all born in Haihan and had already learned to read and write before migrating to Fubo Port with their families, ensuring that they could understand the content of Su Zhixing's lecture.
Su Zhixing also specially selected several Arab students who had a basic understanding of Chinese. This was a request made by Qian Tiandun to demonstrate that Fubo Academy taught without discrimination.
As for the content of the first lesson, whether Su Zhixing did it intentionally or unintentionally, it once again left the Portuguese feeling frustrated.
The lesson Su Zhixing prepared was on "The Territory of the Sea and the Han Dynasty." Behind him hung a map of the territory of the Sea and the Han Dynasty, which was a military map that he had temporarily borrowed from the special operations division to serve as a teaching aid.
In addition to Haihan's mainland, the map includes several overseas regions such as Luzon, Sing Tao, and North America across the Pacific Ocean. It also marks the special operations divisions that have recently been incorporated into Haihan's territory, as well as the New World colony ports in the Southern Hemisphere.
Not only the students attending the class, but also most of the guest speakers were seeing such a map for the first time.
Su Zhixing's public lecture was not intended to teach literary knowledge, but rather to focus on the theme of territory and talk to the students about the history and current situation of the Haihan Kingdom.
"As everyone knows, our Haihan Kingdom was founded thirty-four years ago. At that time, its territory was limited to a very small area on the southern coast of Hainan Island. Now, it has occupied the coastal area of the mainland from Liaodong to Guangdong and Guangxi. It is only a matter of time before it replaces the former Ming Dynasty."
"Looking back at the dynasties with clear records over the past two thousand years, from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, to the Qin, Han and Three Kingdoms Periods, the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties, all of them took it upon themselves to compete for the Central Plains and unify the world. But no dynasty has ever set its sights overseas like my Haihan Kingdom, taking the expansion of its territory beyond the mainland as its national strategy."
"I think there are two reasons for this. First, due to the limitations of shipbuilding and navigation techniques in the past, it was impossible to explore unknown overseas regions on a large scale. Second, the vision and knowledge of emperors throughout history were limited, and their understanding of the world was far less far-sighted than that of the Executive Committee. Even if they wanted to develop overseas, they did not know where to go."
"Only our Haihan nation, from its very inception, possessed both of these conditions. The very name 'Haihan' itself speaks volumes about the Executive Committee's formidable strength at sea. Over the past thirty years, the expansion of our territory has relied entirely on maritime navigation. The lands we occupy overseas are either strategically vital, controlling crucial shipping lanes, or vast and sparsely populated yet rich in resources—each inch of land is incredibly valuable. Such vision and boldness are truly unparalleled in the world!"
"The Book of Songs says, 'Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the whole land, all people are subjects of the king.' What does this mean? Different dynasties have interpreted it differently. Today, this 'king' can be regarded as my Haihan Kingdom, and the land reached by my Haihan soldiers is the territory of Haihan. The people under their jurisdiction are my Haihan citizens!"
The students of Haihan University listened with shining eyes. Although the substitute instructors from the Special Forces Division were even more radical in their remarks, they didn't speak as logically and inspiringly as Mr. Su. Qian Tiandun nodded repeatedly, thinking to himself that Su Zhixing was not the kind of pedantic scholar who only knew how to recite Confucian classics. With such knowledge and eloquence, he would be more than qualified to be a propaganda officer in his own division.
The Portuguese, after hearing the translation, grew even more displeased. This educational philosophy, openly displayed without any hesitation, clearly indicated a future intensified competition with Portugal in the arena of overseas colonization.
However, Su Zhixing's initial draft was not so explicit. When seeking his opinion, Qian Tiandun encouraged him to be more direct, because Fubo Academy was located on the border of the country, and the students living here needed to know why they were there and what they could do for the country in the future.
Su Zhixing understood this perfectly and revised the lesson plan according to Qian Tiandun's instructions, resulting in the current version.
What Su Zhixing then recounted was how Haihan acquired its current vast territory, which was naturally closely related to the Haihan army. In particular, the expansion of Haihan's territory to the north and west was inseparable from the special operations division's campaigns over the years.
Su Zhixing had limited information and simply regarded Fubo Port as a key passage for Haihan to control the Persian Gulf. However, this understanding was not far off. It was not that he was short-sighted, but rather that Haihan's oil exploration in the Arabian Peninsula was still in its early stages, and the government had not yet made any relevant plans public. Almost no one could realize the enormous wealth buried beneath the vast yellow sands.
Su Zhixing believes that establishing trade ports in such straits is a development strategy that has been proven effective many times over the past 30 years. For example, Haikou Port and Danzhou Port in the Qiongzhou Strait, Kaohsiung Port in the Taiwan Strait, Zhifu Port and Lushun Port in the Bohai Strait, and Sing Tao Port in the Strait of Malacca are all successful precedents for such strait ports.
He used this example in his lectures to convince his students that Fubo Port, as well as Zhenhai Port in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, and Phuket Port at the northern end of the Strait of Malacca, would gradually prosper with the development of maritime trade.
Whether for the students here or the other teachers who were also observing the lectures, Su Zhixing's teaching methods were quite novel. Some even thought, "He truly deserves to be a teacher from a prestigious academy in the capital."
"I will announce the rules and regulations of the academy at a later date. What I can reveal now is that they will be much more lenient than before I came. You no longer need to regard this place as part of the military camp."
A soft chuckle rippled through the classroom, coming from those who understood the unspoken meaning of Su Zhixing's words. Before Su Zhixing's arrival, this school had always implemented militarized management, even earning the nickname "Junior Military Academy," and many people had once believed that Qian Tiandun would turn it into a true military academy.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Fubo Academy is a newly established institution. Its future development depends on your collective efforts. The road ahead is long and arduous, but perseverance will lead to success. I hope you will all strive together. Alright, get out of class dismissed!"
Qian Tiandun stood up and led the applause.