"Everyone, attention, don't move, the third one on the left in the second row, I'm talking about you!" the instructor roared. This was truly the worst batch he had ever trained.
Although most people had already understood the word 'attention' meant not to move and to stand upright when the instructor said it, there were always some who couldn't wrap their minds around it.
After harshly punishing the unlucky one with the ruler, the instructor stared fiercely at the troops, pacing back and forth like a hawk searching for prey. His sharp gaze would catch anyone making small movements or slacking off, and the ruler in his hand would mercilessly land on the body of the wrongdoer.
This ruler was made from finely textured mulberry wood, exactly one meter long, and processed for great toughness, leaving a red mark on the body the moment it struck.
This is the Heixinggen Military Academy, where the cadets are standing for morning exercises. The entire academy's instructors are veterans from the army, having undergone rigorous training and the baptism of war.
They brought the military's set of rules and regulations into the academy. In this era, military discipline was basically corporal punishment. For the safety of these teenagers, Ernst replaced the stick with a ruler, which only hurt the skin without injuring muscles or bones.
...
"Clang, clang, clang..."
The bell rang, and the cadets sat in the classroom. Because they had been "educated" before, they now sat properly on the benches, with their hands perfectly aligned, right palm resting on the back of the left hand, elbows bent at sixty degrees on the desk, sitting up straight.
Ernst walked into the classroom with the lesson plan and headed straight for the podium. Pointing to the student in the first row on the far left, he said, "Let's start roll call! Begin counting."
"Eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben... einhundert." There were exactly 100 students in one class, with a total of five classes.
For the convenience of early teaching, everyone was assigned numbers instead of names, and each had to remember their number first.
This made it easier for the German instructors who couldn't speak Chinese to manage. Over the past few days, these cadets had already learned some simple vocabulary, mostly commands from the army.
So even if they didn't understand what the instructor said, they could guess what the instructor wanted to do through these words.
"Now, turn your textbooks to page five." Ernst spoke in Chinese, which the cadets could understand.
On the fifth page of the book, it was all in German. Naturally, they weren't meant to read it now; they just needed to listen to what Ernst was saying. There was someone else responsible for teaching German; Ernst focused on ideology.
But rules couldn't be broken, so even if they couldn't understand the German textbook now, Ernst demanded that everyone protect it strictly. Of course, even if it was written in Chinese, these students probably wouldn't understand it either, considering that in this era, the rate of illiteracy in the East was high, and ordinary people had no access to education.
"This lesson mainly covers the Hohenzollern family," Ernst said seriously. "You might ask, what is the Hohenzollern family, and what does Hohenzollern mean?"
The cadets below began to listen to Ernst's storytelling. They indeed didn't know what Ernst was saying, but the lesson contained common German knowledge and cultural traditions. The cadets listened as if it were a story, as this era lacked media and self-media entertainment, making these foreign tales seem novel.
"Family, you should all know, refers to a group of people related by blood, like your parents, siblings..."
Ernst tried his best to use simple and clear language to instill ideas into these students: "We've already understood what a family is, now I'll explain what Hohenzollern means. In German, 'Hohen' means noble, and 'Zollern' is a place name and also the name of a family. The castle of Zollern you see in the distance every day, the phrase simply translates to 'noble family of Zollern'."
Ernst continued eloquently, "And what does noble mean? It's like your homeland's dignitaries, those with high positions, similar to government officials or the royal family. In one word, it means 'nobility'."
"And Zollern is the name of my family. My family originated from that place, so we take the place name as our family name. Given our prominent position in Europe, our name is prefixed with 'noble,' which is Hohen. Do you understand now? Feel free to speak up if you don't understand."
Ernst looked at the students, and clearly, no one wanted to stand out. Ernst directly called on one, "Sieben (Seven), do you understand? Don't pretend to understand when you don't."
The student with the code seven, called upon, timidly answered, "Reporting to the principal, I don't fully understand."
"Which part is unclear? Just say it directly, don't worry, I won't blame you," Ernst asked amiably.
"Reporting to the principal, you said Hohen means noble, but I don't really understand how noble it is. Could you compare it to something from our hometown?"
Ernst was pleased with this response, "Very well, let me put it this way. In your hometown, who do you think holds the most power, who is considered the most authoritative person?"
"Reporting to the instructor, I heard from my family that the highest authority is the official, and among officials, the highest is the emperor living in the Zijing City in the Capital," Seven replied.
Ernst nodded and said, "That's right, in the East, the most prestigious and noble is your emperor. In the Hohenzollern family, you can think of the highest position as equivalent to the emperor, which is the King of Prussia. Of course, you don't need to know what Prussia is. Just understand the Hohenzollern family as a royal family."
Ernst continued, "And I, your principal, am a member of the royal family. My father would be a prince in your East, a title you should know, it's someone just below the emperor in status."
Although somewhat awkward, Ernst was intent on emphasizing the Hohenzollern family's nobility, instilling a sense of the Hohenzollern family's power into these largely ignorant children.
Ernst continued, "Moreover, from today, remember this: the Eastern emperor, your emperor, is no longer your emperor." Looking at the blank-faced, confused youths below him.
Ernst intensified his persuasion, "From today, you have a new identity, a German, because you are now nationals of German. The German emperor is your emperor now."
The reason for executing this plan was Ernst's deliberate consideration. It was necessary to instill a new sense of identity in these students, to change their worldview, outlook on life, and values, as one would say in future language.
After all, Ernst intended to use these people for maintaining governance, and they couldn't be allowed to entertain any rebellious notions.
In Russian history, there was a plan called the Yellow Russia Plan, and what Ernst was implementing now was a Yellow German Plan. But what differs is Ernst's genuine desire to integrate two different ethnic groups.
Therefore, the Eastern immigrants Ernst selected were mostly illiterate farmers. Intellectuals, deemed "reactionary" groups, were not wanted at all by Ernst. And, of course, those associated with "religion" or "clans" were strictly filtered out by Ernst; none of them should think about sneaking in.
The future of East Africa was to be a unified country with a broad German cultural identity. Everyone should belong to one ethnicity, and that must be German. This was determined by Ernst's background, as he believed that those who betrayed their class seldom met a good end.
...
After completely leaving the textbook behind, Ernst began to pour his own ideas into the minds of these ignorant youths. It can be said that Ernst wasn't there to teach, but rather to brainwash these cadets.
This was done for the future harmony and stability of the colony, as any factors of instability in the future tides of the world were not tolerated in Ernst's eyes.