Chapter 21 – Military-Style Management
"Everyone, stand at attention! Don't move! You in the second row, third from the left—I'm talking to you!" the instructor roared. These were, in his eyes, the worst recruits he had ever trained.
Although most of them now understood the command to stand at attention—meaning don't move and keep perfectly still—some still couldn't grasp it. The unlucky one caught making mistakes was hit hard with a ruler. The instructor glared fiercely at the group, pacing back and forth through the formation like a hawk scanning for prey. Whenever he spotted anyone fidgeting or slacking off, he brought his ruler down squarely on them.
This ruler was a one-meter-long piece of dense mulberry wood, processed to be highly flexible. A single blow left a bright red mark on bare skin.
This was the Hexingen Military Academy, where the cadets were practicing morning drills. Every instructor here was a battle-hardened former soldier, having gone through rigorous training and real warfare. They transplanted military rules straight into the Academy. In this era, armies largely relied on harsh discipline. For the safety of these half-grown youths, Ernst replaced heavier rods with a wooden ruler—enough to sting the skin without causing lasting injury.
…
"Clang, clang, clang…"
A bell rang. The cadets sat in the classroom. They had been "taught a lesson" earlier, so now they sat upright, hands pressed straight together, right palm over left hand on the desk, elbows bent at sixty degrees, backs straight and chins lifted.
Holding his teaching plan, Ernst walked in and proceeded to the lectern. Pointing at the student in the far-left seat of the first row, he said, "Let's start roll call. You—begin counting."
"eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben… einhundert." Each class had exactly 100 students, and there were five classes in total.
To facilitate the initial lessons, everyone was assigned a number instead of being called by name, and each cadet had to memorize their own number. This arrangement helped the German instructors who couldn't speak Chinese manage the students. Over the past few days, the cadets had learned some basic vocabulary—mostly commands used in the military. Even if they didn't fully grasp what an instructor said, they could guess the point from these words.
"Now open your textbooks to page five," Ernst said in Chinese, which the cadets could understand. On page five, the text was all in German. Of course, they weren't expected to read it just yet. They only needed to listen to Ernst. A different instructor would later teach them German. Ernst's focus was on instilling certain ideas. But procedure had to be kept, so they all had this German textbook they couldn't yet read. Even if it were in Chinese, most wouldn't understand anyway, as literacy was so rare in their homeland.
"Today's lesson is about the Hohenzollern family," Ernst said solemnly. "You might wonder, 'Which family is that? What does Hohenzollern mean?'"
Down below, the cadets listened to Ernst telling them things they truly knew nothing about. Ernst spoke as though giving them a story. He described basic facts about Germany and German cultural traditions. Without modern media or any other entertainment, hearing about these distant lands felt novel to them.
"A family—well, you already know it's the group of people related by blood, like your parents, siblings, and so on," Ernst explained as plainly as possible. "We know what a family is, so now let's define 'Hohenzollern.' In German, 'Hohenzollern' stands for something like 'noble Zollern.' You see that castle, Zollern Castle, out in the distance every day. So put it together, and it becomes the 'noble family of Zollern.'"
He went on, "What does 'noble' mean? It's like the powerful officials or royalty back in your home country—the high-ranking figures. One word for it: aristocracy. 'Zollern' is the name of my family, taken from the place it came from. Since our family is very prominent in Europe, we call it 'Ho-hen'—meaning 'noble.' Now do you understand? If you don't, speak up."
Ernst looked at them, but no one wanted to be first to speak. So he picked a student, "sieben (seven). Do you get it? Don't pretend you do if you don't."
Number Seven, suddenly called on, answered timidly, "Headmaster, I don't fully understand."
"What part is unclear? Say it directly. Don't worry—I won't be mad," Ernst said gently.
"Headmaster, you said 'Hohenzollern' means 'noble,' but I don't know how noble. Could you compare it to something back home?"
Pleased with the question, Ernst responded, "All right. In your homeland, who holds the greatest power? Who is the most important figure?"
"My folks said the top official is the 'mandarin,' and higher than all of them is the emperor living in the 'Zijing City.'"
"That's correct," Ernst nodded. "In your East, the one with the highest status is your emperor. As for the Hohenzollerns, you can think of them as an imperial family. The king of the Kingdom of Prussia is effectively like an emperor, though you needn't learn what Prussia is right now—just see the Hohenzollerns as royalty."
He continued, "I'm your headmaster, and I too belong to that royal family. My father, in your Eastern terms, is like a 'wang ye'—a prince—ranking just below the emperor himself."
Though he spoke awkwardly, Ernst's intent was to highlight how noble the Hohenzollerns were and to impress upon these children its power. Then he added, "From now on, there's one thing you must remember: the emperor back in your country—he's no longer your emperor." The boys looked around uncertainly, so Ernst pressed on, "From this moment on, you have a new identity: German. You are citizens of Germany now, and the German emperor is your emperor."
He was doing this deliberately. He had carefully thought it through, seeking to reshape their sense of belonging. In modern terms, he was altering their worldview, making sure they'd be loyal to him in the future. After all, Ernst planned to rely on these cadets to help maintain order in the colony, and he could not risk them clamoring for "revolution" or proclaiming "Why shouldn't we all be kings and dukes?"
Historically, Russia once tried something called the "Yellow Russia" plan. Ernst's version was more like a "Yellow Germany" plan—but unlike them, he genuinely intended to merge two distinct peoples. Hence the East Asian migrants he chose were mostly unlettered farmers—he wanted no "troublesome intellectuals." Indeed, no religious or clan figures either. Ernst checked them all carefully to keep them out.
In the future East Africa, Ernst wanted a single overarching Germanic identity. Everyone would be part of one nation. That had to be "German," reflecting Ernst's own background. Deep down, he believed betraying one's class brought no good end.
…
Once he set aside the book, Ernst bombarded the clueless students with his personal "teachings." He wasn't so much giving a standard lesson as he was "re-educating" them. All this aimed to ensure future harmony and stability in the colony. In the storms of the coming world, Ernst would not allow hidden threats.
[Author's Note: I'm bad at coming up with names, so I'm asking readers to contribute backgrounds and names for the Hexingen Military Academy students. If it fits the story, it might be adopted later. Please post in the discussion forum. ]
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Canserbero10