The Military School's Nation of Valor

However, plans are always subject to change. Just as Si Ming boarded the train, he received a notice about the trial and had to change his train.

"So, I'm going to study in the Nation of Valor for the new semester?" Si Ming looked at the thick "Introduction to the Nation of Valor" in his hand and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

"Yes, that's at least that's the arrangement from above, and I'll be going with you this time," Yu Shuying said.

"Is it just the two of us? Is there no one else?"

"Murong Qing was originally going to go too, but she's currently in seclusion breaking through to the Spirit Transformation... If she succeeds, she'll probably be the youngest Nascent Spirit Transformation in history."

Thinking of this, Yu Shuying pursed her lips. She understood all too well the significance of the Spirit Transformation. Even if you were stronger than someone who had reached the Spirit Transformation stage, if you weren't Spirit Transformation, you wouldn't have the same prestigious reputation.

Si Ming asked, "You always have elders accompanying you on missions, right? What about this time?" Yan Jinghong was still recovering from her injuries, so it was obviously impossible for her to be in public.

Yu Shuying said, "Thunder King Xing Daozhuang."

Si Ming recalled that he seemed to have seen this guy before when he helped Liu Qingqing with the Saintess Candidate trial, and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Isn't he the Navy Governor? Can he just come out like that?"

"It's not wartime now, and the demon tide has just passed. Of course he can go on overseas visits. The navy isn't his private army."

Si Ming suddenly remembered that the strong in this world have great freedom. After all, they possess great power and it is difficult for the country to forcibly restrict them with laws.

"Let's take a look at the Nation of Valor materials first, familiarize ourselves with the situation. The Mohist School and the Military School are mortal enemies; this trip won't be easy."

Si Ming opened the book "An Introduction to Nation of Valor" in his hand. Although it was called an introduction, it was very detailed, and the first page introduced the other side's military merit system.

"A twenty-tiered military merit system—isn't that the Qin Dynasty's system? Hmm, the first tier is Gongshi, the second is Shangzao, the third is Zanxiao, the fourth is Bugeng... This tier sounds good, I want one too!"

Chapter 628 The Military School Nation of Valor

Si Ming carefully read through the introduction to Nation of Valor and found that this country was indeed very similar to the Qin State on Earth. This similarity was not limited to the twenty-level military merit system.

Of course, the military meritocracy is the most obvious and influential aspect, and it can even be used to define Nation of Valor as "militaristic." However, considering that Nation of Valor was originally dominated by Military School, it is only natural that it transformed into a militaristic country.

Although the Su State treats Spirit Transformation cultivators favorably, it does not categorize people into different classes. Spirit Transformation cultivators can dress in brightly colored clothes, and ordinary people can also dress like that if they have money. They also proclaim the slogan "All men are created equal." Regardless of how well it is implemented, at least they are striving in this direction, and the Su State believe in this doctrine. After all, "universal love" is the core tenet of the Mohist School.

Other countries, influenced by the Su State, also adopted the same or similar slogans. Even aristocratic France had to put on a show, even though what they actually did was "all men are created equal, but some are more equal than others." Only Nation of Valor did not use such a slogan and openly divided people into twenty classes, specifying the treatment that people in each class could enjoy.

For example, commoners without titles are only allowed to wear white and black clothes, while those with the first rank of Duke can wear an additional gray color, and those with the second rank of Upper Knight can wear an additional red color, and so on.

Investing in real estate in the Nation of Valor is not profitable. They don't even have the concept of a housing bubble because the peerage system stipulates the size of an individual's residence. If you don't have a sufficient peerage, you can't buy an extra house or a larger one; it's illegal if someone reports you.

However, from another perspective, the military merit system also gave ordinary people the opportunity to climb the social ladder. As long as you made enough military achievements, you could keep climbing up the ranks, regardless of your background. In a sense, this was a kind of fairness. It was precisely because of this that the social order in Nation of Valor did not collapse under strong pressure. Their people could see the channels for upward mobility, there was great class mobility, and everyone was full of hope.

Nation of Valor legal system is based on the principle of "nothing is permissible unless permitted by law," meaning that doing something that is not legally allowed is illegal. This was the prevailing view of Legalist School in the past. However, France eventually learned to compromise and adapted to the times, changing to "anything not prohibited by law is permitted." But Nation of Valor has not changed and adheres to its ancestral tradition.

In Nation of Valor, people must each fulfill their duties and not overstep their bounds. The saying goes, "Let the rooster crow at night, let the cat catch mice, and let each use their abilities, then the ruler will have no trouble." In other words, soldiers must fight honestly, craftsmen must make tools honestly, merchants must do business honestly, and officials must govern their localities honestly. No one is allowed to change their profession without authorization. If a soldier does not serve properly but spends all day thinking about tricks and making money, it is like a cat not catching mice but running around imitating a rooster crowing.

Suppose a time traveler arrives in Nation of Valor, not as a craftsman, but wants to create inventions. The government will accept his good creations, but he won't receive any reward. He might even be punished and warned not to "meddle in other people's business."

Of course, there is one thing that anyone can do, and that is farming.

Craftsmen and merchants can all farm. In fact, titles also affect the number of acres of land each person can own. Therefore, it is very difficult to become a large landowner in Nation of Valor. Not only is it not enough to be rich, but it is also not enough to be rich and have a title. Although Nation of Valor titles can be inherited from father to son, the inheritance is down two levels. If the head of the family owns the maximum amount of land, when he dies, the total number of acres of land his descendants inherit must be reduced by two levels, which is not worth it.

The system of hereditary peerage in Nation of Valor activated social mobility. Even a high-ranking doctor could fall to commoner status if several generations of his descendants were disobedient. Even if his descendants were capable, they usually could not retain their high peerage if they were not as capable as their ancestors who had established the title. This was because the higher the peerage, the more merit was required to be promoted. Once a peerage was lost by two ranks, it was not easy for the descendants to regain it. Conversely, the descendants of those with lower peerages were more likely to retain their titles because less merit was required.

Besides these, the most concerning aspect is the Marriage Compatibility Act. If a Nation of Valor citizen reaches the legal age and has no partner, the state will arrange one for them, and the match will be based on peerage to ensure a good match—forget about the dream of a commoner meeting and falling in love with a noblewoman.

At the end of the book "A Brief Introduction to Nation of Valor," the author makes an assessment, believing that Nation of Valor implemented the bill system through a strong government, providing its citizens with basic security. At the same time, it rewarded diligence and punished laziness, coupled with nationalist education, to purify the minds of Nation of Valor citizens, enabling them to recognize who the real enemies were and unite to defeat all enemies, both internal and external.

"I thought France was already quite restrained, but compared to Nation of Valor, they're nothing."

Based on the book's introduction alone, Si Ming felt that Nation of Valor had a somewhat Soviet Union feel to it. After closing the book, he asked Yu Shuying, "Is there anything I should be aware of when we get to Nation of Valor?"

After all, Nation of Valor and the Su State had been enemies for hundreds of years. Although the two countries were no longer at war, they had entered a state similar to the Cold War. Imagine if Nation of Beauty went to the Soviet Union in the 1950s; they certainly wouldn't be there for leisure and tourism.

There were even rumors circulating among the people of Su State that Mohist School disciples would be killed on the spot if they went to Nation of Valor. Although no one with a brain would believe such an absurd rumor, people as a whole are usually not very bright, and their intelligence should be underestimated. Therefore, quite a few people actually believed this rumor.

Yu Shuying said, "There's no need to be too nervous. Su State and Nation of Valor are not warring nations. Although there have been many conflicts at the national level in the past, it's not to the point of taking it out on individuals. There are actually quite a lot of exchanges between the people."

Si Ming thought for a moment and said, "We can't be considered civilians anymore, can we? Even a naval admiral has come out."

"Even a naval admiral has both official and private identities. Senior Xing is currently traveling abroad in a private capacity, and Thunder King's reputation may not be inferior to that of the naval governor."

"That's true... what about the Nation of Valor character?"

"The Nation of Valor are serious and dislike noise, especially noisy people. So, when communicating with them, avoid small talk; they don't like chatting and prefer to get straight to the point. Of course, this is a general, somewhat rough impression, and not everyone is like that. There are bound to be exceptions, and you can't assume all Nation of Valor are like that."

Si Ming understands that labeling is inevitable. In the information age of the 21st century, there is a wealth of information available online, yet many people still view China people with a "labeled" perspective. Little do they know that China people also label different provinces, and many of these labels are conflicting. If they knew that foreigners label them all as the same type of people, they would probably disagree with both sides.

"However, the Nation of Valor are indeed disciplined, or rather, Military School place the utmost importance on military discipline, believing that even a group of mediocre soldiers, as long as they all adhere to military discipline and form ranks properly, can defeat an elite army that is undisciplined and scattered in formation."

As Yu Shuying spoke, she took out a photo and said, "You can see from this that this is just a photo from an ordinary meeting."

Si Ming looked closely and saw that there were about a hundred audience members sitting neatly in a conference room that looked like a classroom. Each person had a chair, which were also arranged in a neat manner, just like a military parade, with the screen aligned horizontally and vertically.

Moreover, unlike university classrooms where people intentionally sit further apart or tend to sit towards the back, the Nation of Valor sit from front to back and from left to right, with each chair tightly packed together, creating a neat and orderly appearance.

The chairs in the photo are folding chairs without armrests, which makes the array of chairs in the large square look a bit crowded. However, every Nation of Valor sits upright, chest out and head held high, neither making their position stand out nor making physical contact with others.

"What's going on here? Everyone looks so serious. Is this a rally? Were all these spectators rehearsed, or were they just put together on short notice?"

"It was just a regular meeting in a factory. Of course, you could also say they rehearsed it; the Nation of Valor are raised in this kind of collective management style from a young age."

Si Ming couldn't help but take a few more glances. The more he looked, the more it resembled the Soviet Union, at least in his memory. He inexplicably felt a sense of goodwill towards it.

What about the trial mission for this trip?