Militarized Management

"Everyone, attention! Don't move! Third from the left in the second row—I'm talking to you!" the instructor roared. This was truly the worst batch he had ever led.

Although most of them had already understood the word "attention," and knew that when the instructor said it they were not allowed to move and had to stand ramrod straight, there were always a few whose minds simply could not turn the corner.

After fiercely punishing that unlucky fellow with the ruler, the instructor fixed the formation with a vicious stare. He prowled back and forth through the ranks, his gaze as sharp as a hawk searching the sky for prey. The moment he spotted anyone making small movements or slacking off, the ruler in his hand would land solidly on the offender's body.

The ruler was made from dense mulberry wood. Exactly one meter long, it had been specially treated to make it highly resilient. A single strike would leave a red welt in an instant.

This was Hechingen Military Academy. The students were doing morning drill, and all the academy's instructors were army veterans who had received rigorous training and been tempered by war.

They had brought the army's entire set of rules and regulations into the academy. Armies of this era basically relied on education by stick, but for the safety of these half-grown children, Ernst had replaced sticks with rulers. They injured only skin and flesh, not sinew or bone.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

The bell rang. The students sat in the classroom. Having already been "educated," they now sat ramrod straight on their stools, their hands held neatly together, right palm resting over left hand, elbows bent at sixty degrees on the desks, heads high and chests out.

Ernst entered the classroom carrying his lesson plan and walked straight to the podium. Pointing at the student on the far left of the first row, Ernst said, "Roll call begins now! Start counting from you."

"Eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben... einhundert." There were exactly one hundred students in each class, with five classes in total.

To make early instruction easier, everyone had been assigned a number rather than a name. They all had to memorize their own numbers first.

This made it easier for the German instructors who could not speak Chinese to manage them. Over the past few days, these students had learned some simple vocabulary, most of it military commands.

Thus, even if they did not understand what an instructor was saying, they could still guess what he wanted them to do through those words.

"Now turn your textbooks to page five." Ernst spoke in Chinese, which these students could understand.

Page five was filled entirely with German. Naturally, they were not expected to read it yet. They only needed to listen to what Ernst said. Someone else was responsible for teaching German; Ernst's focus was ideology.

But rules could not be broken. Therefore, Ernst required everyone to protect these German textbooks, even though they could not understand them yet. Of course, even if they were written in Chinese, this group of students probably would not have been able to read them. There were simply too many illiterate people in the East in this era, and ordinary people had no access to education.

"Today's lesson is mainly about House of Hohenzollern." Ernst spoke solemnly. "You may be wondering what House of Hohenzollern is, and what Hohenzollern means."

The students below began listening to Ernst's story. They truly knew nothing of what he was talking about, but Ernst's lessons covered basic German knowledge and German cultural traditions. To them, it was like listening to stories. In an age without entertainment such as media or self-media, things from foreign lands felt novel.

"You should all know what a family is. It is a group made up of people related to you by blood, such as your father and mother, brothers and sisters..."

Ernst used the simplest, plainest language possible to instill his ideas into these students. "Now that we know what a family is, let me explain what Hohenzollern means. In German, Hohen means noble. Zollern is both a place name and the name of a family—the Sigmaringen Castle you see in the distance every day. Put together, it means the noble House of Zollern."

Ernst spoke eloquently. "Then what does noble mean? It is like the high officials and dignitaries where you used to live—officials with high positions and the emperor's relatives. Put simply, it means 'aristocrats.'"

"And Zollern is the name of my family. My family originated in Zollern, so we used the place name as our family name. Since our family holds an exceptionally prominent position in Europe, we added the word noble to our name—that is Hohen. Do you understand now? If you do not understand, you may ask."

Ernst looked over the students. Clearly, no one wanted to be the bird that stuck its head out. Ernst simply called on someone directly. "Sieben—seven—do you understand? Don't pretend to understand when you don't."

The student designated Number Seven answered timidly after being called on. "Reporting to the headmaster, I do not completely understand."

"What part do you not understand? You can say it directly. Don't worry, I will not blame you," Ernst asked pleasantly.

"Reporting to the headmaster, you said Hohen means noble, but I do not know exactly how noble that is. Could you use something from our homeland as a comparison?"

Ernst was satisfied with the answer. "Very good. Then let me put it this way: in your hometown, who do you think has the greatest power? Who is the most powerful person under heaven?"

"Reporting to the instructor, I heard the elders in my family say that officials are the greatest. Among officials, the greatest is the Emperor who lives in the Forbidden City in the capital," Number Seven replied.

Ernst nodded and said, "That is right. In your East, the person of highest status and greatest nobility is your Emperor. Within House of Hohenzollern, the person of highest status can likewise be understood as an emperor—that is the King of the Kingdom of Prussia. Of course, you do not need to know what Prussia is. Just understand House of Hohenzollern as the royal family."

Ernst continued, "And I, your headmaster, am a member of the royal family. In your East, my father would be a Prince. I think you should know what a Prince is: someone whose status is second only to the Emperor."

Though the explanation was neither fish nor fowl, Ernst wanted to emphasize the nobility of House of Hohenzollern and instill the family's power into these children who understood little.

Ernst continued, "And from today onward, you must remember one thing: the Eastern Emperor—your Emperor—is no longer your Emperor." He looked at the ignorant youths below, who were staring at one another in confusion.

Ernst stepped up his persuasion. "From today onward, you have a new identity: Germans. Because you are already citizens of Germany, the Emperor of Germany is your Emperor."

Ernst had thought this arrangement through carefully. He had to instill a recognition of their new identities into these students. In the words of later generations, he had to change their worldview, outlook on life, and values.

After all, Ernst intended to employ these people to uphold his rule in the future. He could not let them start playing at, "Are kings and generals born with special seed?"

Russia had once carried out a Yellow Russia Plan in history. What Ernst now intended was also a Yellow Germany Plan, but the difference was that Ernst sincerely wished to merge two different peoples together.

Therefore, most of the Eastern immigrants Ernst selected were illiterate peasants. He did not want a single member of that "reactionary" group known as intellectuals. Naturally, he also strictly screened things like "religion" and "clans." Not a single one would be allowed to slip in.

In the future, East Africa would have only one unified nation built upon a shared pan-German cultural identity. Everyone would belong to only one people: Germans. This was determined by Ernst's background. Those who betrayed their own class often came to no good end—so Ernst believed deep in his heart.

After completely departing from the textbook, Ernst madly crammed his private goods into the minds of these ignorant youths. It could be said that Ernst had not come to teach a lesson at all; his purpose was to brainwash these students.

This was for the harmony and stability of the colony in the future. Ernst could not tolerate any destabilizing factor in the coming tides of the world.

Dear readers, the author is terrible at naming things, so names and backgrounds are now being collected for students of Hechingen Military Academy. If they fit this novel, they may be adopted in the future. Please post them in the readers' circle.