Turning to one’s father for help had always been universal across all times and cultures, and a prince was no exception. Unfortunately for Wilhelm, he was currently undergoing an assessment period. One telegram asking for assistance would indeed solve most of his problems, but it would also mean that he had failed his evaluation. To become a qualified monarch, the first requirement was the ability to handle difficulties. Asking for help clearly could not demonstrate one’s competence. The development of the region was important, but in Franz’s eyes, it was clearly less important than raising a son who could shoulder responsibility. It did not matter if a colony’s economic growth was slow. In fact, if it grew too quickly, that would be the real problem. Under the Holy Roman model, the biggest characteristic of its colonial system was its military strength. If a colony also gained wealth and a complete industrial base, it would be hard to guarantee that ambitions would not arise. To prevent such things from happening, the Holy Roman government had already mapped out the development path for all imperial colonies from the very beginning. The priority was to develop commercial agriculture and mining, providing raw materials for domestic industries. Only then could the light industry be developed. As for heavy industry and emerging technological sectors, there was nothing at all. Whatever was lacking could simply be imported from the homeland. There was no need to waste resources on redundant development. In truth, strict restrictions were not even necessary. Without support from the homeland, the colonies lacked the talent base to develop advanced industries on their own. With the formulation of the Overseas States Strategy, the central government eased many of its constraints on the colonies. After the prince became governor, the Holy Roman government had practically let go entirely. Unfortunately, the times had changed. The second industrial revolution was nearing its end, and the threshold for industrialization had risen sharply. Whenever Wilhelm thought of this, he could not help but envy his elder brother who had gone to Austrian Central America. That region lacked talent as well, but with enough effort, something valuable could always be found. With the status of a prince and the formidable reputation of the Holy Roman Empire, American nations were far more willing to send their talented people. Many times, there was no need to pay any real cost. With nothing more than empty promises, it was enough to persuade a large group of people to come and serve. Although their abilities varied greatly and their professional skills were far inferior to those in the Holy Roman homeland, they were still considered top talent in the colonies. By poaching people from all directions, the Austrian territories in Central America had already laid an industrial foundation within just a few years. In contrast, Austrian Southeast Asia was in a far more miserable situation. Wilhelm wanted to poach talent too, but there was simply nowhere to start! Across all of Asia, there was not a single industrialized country. Even Japan and the Qing Dynasty had only just taken their first steps into industrialization and were desperately short of talent. Wilhelm had originally pinned great hopes on the Lanfang Autonomous Province, thinking that its strong economy meant it would have a solid talent pool. In truth, it did. With his status as a prince, Wilhelm was warmly welcomed the moment he arrived in Lanfang. The Holy Roman Empire had no struggle over succession, and internal conflict within the royal family was minimal. A prince either became a regional ruler or returned home to take an important post. Either way, the future was bright. Following him came with virtually no risks. Although the Chinese in Southeast Asia had lived peacefully for decades, their sense of crisis had never completely disappeared. When a powerful patron presented himself, naturally everyone rushed to cling to him. Every major family in the region sent their direct heirs to serve under Wilhelm, greatly strengthening his staff. They were indeed talented, but unfortunately all of them had developed in the wrong direction. When it came to economic specialists or bureaucrats, there were plenty, from the lowest levels to the highest. Suitable candidates were everywhere. When it came to industrialization, there was nothing to hope for. In this world that valued the civil arts over science and engineering, even the capitalists of Lanfang had to pay high salaries to hire technical personnel from the Holy Roman Empire. Of course, it was not as if there were no technical workers at all. At the very least, there were workers for basic industries. With the local reserves of manpower, infrastructure projects such as roads and waterworks could still be carried out. Therefore, since Wilhelm had taken office as Governor of Southeast Asia, the projects he initiated revolved almost entirely around roads, waterworks, and other basic facilities. There was no need for him to personally arrange anything. To start a project, he only had to appoint a few members of the major families to take charge, and skilled craftsmen would immediately show up. He had learned from Franz. Wilhelm never concerned himself with where these craftsmen came from. He only cared about the results. Starting a university, however, was an entirely different matter. Unless he intended to establish a liberal arts college or a military academy, there was no way to gather enough qualified faculty. … After a moment of hesitation, Rodrigo cautiously reported, “Your Highness, aside from Professor Drake, who accepted your invitation, all the others declined. But they recommended their students.” Once again, reality proved that ideals were reserved for a small group of people. Even though Prince Wilhelm personally wrote to them, he was only able to persuade a single professor to come. Recommending their students was nothing more than a gesture of respect toward him as a prince. Wilhelm had not sent out his invitations blindly. He avoided those who were already well established in their fields, knowing he would only embarrass himself. Instead, he invited newcomers who were still seeking opportunities in their professions. Unfortunately, only a few people truly dedicated their lives to education and scientific research. Most were ordinary individuals. Those who had become professors were already older. With families to consider, asking them to leave the comfort of their homeland and venture to an overseas colony was simply too much. Of course, that was not even the most important issue. The real problem was that the elites who were willing to leave Europe had long since been poached by the nobles who arrived before Wilhelm. Just look at the African continent. Even though they started from the same state of poverty and scarcity, they already have more than a dozen specialized universities, and their educational quality is not low. On the surface, these universities were all established by the Austrian government, but in reality most of the support came from the local nobility. It was not only financial sponsorship. More importantly, the nobles sponsored people. Aside from the teachers brought in from Europe, some of the instructors were directly the children of local noble families. This is also part of the Holy Roman Empire’s national character. In the German regions, people have a tradition of valuing education, and the sons of wealthy families generally have higher levels of schooling. By comparison, Southeast Asia simply does not have these conditions. It is not that the local nobles are useless. The problem is that the development of Austrian Southeast Asia was too smooth, so there were too few enfeoffed aristocratic lords. With such a small talent pool, the likelihood of producing talent in science and engineering was much lower. Even if someone occasionally appeared, that person was treated as a precious treasure long before adulthood, with their entire future already arranged. “Sigh.” Letting out a helpless breath, Wilhelm said, “It seems we can only wait for an economic crisis if we want to recruit talent.” Influenced by Franz, none of his sons formed the habit of blaming others without reason. The battle for talent happened every day in the Holy Roman Empire. Aside from being a prince, Wilhelm had no advantage at all. In this situation, he could not expect the nobles to give him face. Even if the emperor himself stepped in, everyone still fought for talent using their own methods. “Your Highness, it is not impossible to establish a university now. Even though we lack teachers in the sciences and engineering, other fields still have enough people. We can send them to train in the homeland for half a year and they will be ready to serve. Given the particular circumstances of Austrian Southeast Asia, we do not need to build a university according to domestic standards. We can simply downgrade it to a technical academy. With Professor Drake here, and the students recommended by others, we can at least build a basic framework for the sciences and engineering. Training foundational science and engineering talent will not be a problem. There is no competition here, and even if the teaching quality is a bit lower, we will never lack students. If we want to increase international influence, we can also offer basic military courses. With the reputation of the Imperial Army, there will be no shortage of foreign students willing to enroll,” Rodrigo suggested. No matter how good or bad the teaching quality is, establishing the first university in Southeast Asia would already be a major political achievement. For Wilhelm, who was currently under evaluation, this achievement would undoubtedly be a significant advantage. Since it was something that would earn him credit, the greater the publicity, the better. Even though the Holy Roman Empire did not encourage internationalization in education, having a university with international influence would still be a welcome bonus. Fortunately, the Southeast Asia University happened to be created at the right time. Because of its geographical location, it already held a natural advantage, and with the support of the Holy Roman Empire, it possessed enormous appeal for East Asian students. If one was willing to be a bit shameless, they could even claim it to be the number one university in Asia. As for the earlier-founded Tokyo University, they could simply ignore it. At this stage, East Asia still believed that foreign monks chanted better scriptures. Tokyo University was far less impressive than it would be in later generations, and its international standing was not necessarily higher than that of some technical institutes. For the planned Southeast Asia University, as long as it gained enough recognition, half the task would already be done. As for the issue of teaching quality, that could always be addressed later. After all, attending university takes several years. They could start classes first and improve the faculty along the way. As long as the final graduates met the required standards, who would dare say that the Southeast Asia University was not good? Wilhelm asked uncertainly, “You mean that if our teaching quality is not enough, we can make up for it with the quality of the students. But will that work?” Rodrigo had not said it outright, but mentioning twice that “we will not lack students” was already the clearest hint. “Your Highness, good schools can still produce bad students, and bad schools can still produce good ones. When the teaching resources are the same, such differences clearly come down to the students themselves. We can directly copy the textbooks and management models used in universities back home. As long as the quality of the students we admit is high enough, and they are willing to study diligently, even if the faculty is somewhat lacking, it will not cause any real harm.” It might be a scam, perhaps. After all, poor teaching quality would certainly affect the students’ learning. But in these times, having the chance to receive higher education was already extremely difficult. Every new university meant hundreds or even thousands of new opportunities. With such a large pool of students, gold would eventually be found among the sand. They did not need prodigies. As long as some students could reach the average standard in the homeland, or even slightly below it, the effort would already be considered a success. After thinking for a while, Wilhelm nodded and said, “Then we will set up the framework first. I will speak with the Ministry of Education about selecting the site for the school. The recruitment of teachers and the promotional work afterward will be left to you. If the Ministry of Education cannot send someone reputable to serve as president, I will take the position myself. To make sure the first round of admissions goes smoothly, we must create enough momentum.” Things like dignity were never worth mentioning in the face of politics. For the sake of his record, Wilhelm was willing to go all in, even preparing to personally serve as university president. … In Tokyo, with the arrival of the Russian government’s representative, the embassy incident entered a new stage. Under the Japanese government’s harsh suppression, the city finally returned to normal. With the organizers all being thrown into prison, the protests and demonstrations in Tokyo also came to an end. … Inside the Holy Roman Empire’s embassy in Tokyo, Minister Jose set down his coffee and asked seriously, “Liu, are you certain that releasing a few students can help the Empire expand its share of trade in the Far East?” As time went on, more and more Chinese students were dragged into the mess. The early unfortunate victim, Wang Decheng, was no longer alone. The more people were implicated, the stronger the force behind the scenes became. Originally, Chairman Liu had only intended to act as a go-between, but in the end he was persuaded and took on the role of negotiator. With his understanding of the Holy Roman Empire, Chairman Liu knew that arguing about whether the arrested students were innocent was completely meaningless. If one wanted help, the best way was still bribery. Directly giving gifts was outdated, and with the integrity of Holy Roman officials, they would always accept gifts from strangers without doing anything in return. Working in secret required a great deal of time and came with the risk of exposure. Neither the Chinese Association nor Chairman Liu himself could afford to take such risks, no matter how tempting the favor behind it might be. If giving gifts would not work, then he would offer political achievements instead. All officials, big or small, loved things that could boost their records. As for the actual work, the families standing behind the students would handle it. Chairman Liu only needed to lend a helping hand at the right moment. That was exactly how things turned out. The moment Jose heard that this could expand the Empire’s share of trade, he immediately grew interested. Releasing a few unlucky students was nothing at all. Even if they were the real culprits, as long as the benefits were sufficient, there would always be room for negotiation. “Your Excellency,” Chairman Liu said, “the fathers of these students are all officials of the Qing Dynasty, and their families hold great influence there. If you can get them out now, you will be their savior. We Chinese value repaying kindness. You will earn their friendship, along with the friendship of the families behind them. Expanding your Empire’s overall market share in the Far East may be difficult, but expanding the share of the specific trading houses you name will not be a problem at all. I heard that because of rising tensions between Japan and Russia, the Qing Dynasty will soon place a military procurement order worth a million taels of silver. The buyer has not been decided yet. So perhaps…” Before Chairman Liu could finish, the stern expression on Jose’s face broke into a cheerful smile as he said, “If that order can fall into the hands of the Empire, then I believe this will not be a problem.” There was no helping it. Even among envoys, ranks varied. As the envoy to Japan, Jose simply could not compare with envoys stationed in Britain or Russia. If that were the only issue, it would still be manageable, but Japan was far too poor. There was hardly any chance for him to gain achievements he could boast about. If the embassy incident had not occurred, he would still be the forgotten Holy Roman envoy in Japan, with no opportunity to shine at all. Jose never imagined that he would one day be this fortunate. First came the Russian embassy incident, giving him a rare chance to earn political credit. Now a major arms order had practically delivered itself to his doorstep. The amount itself, one million taels of silver, was not large, but arms trading was notoriously profitable. This single deal could generate at least several hundred thousand taels in profit, and once future ammunition purchases were included, the total profit might even exceed the value of the current contract. If he could secure this order and then hand it off to the military, he would not only gain political credit but also earn the goodwill of the military. For an ambitious envoy like Jose, the meaning behind this opportunity was extraordinary. Even Chairman Liu, the unexpected visitor, suddenly appeared far more pleasing to the eye. After receiving a clear response, Chairman Liu also felt relieved. He immediately promised, “Your Excellency, please rest assured. We will do our best to facilitate this deal, but it will take some time to arrange everything. Could you perhaps release the students first?” There was no time to waste. The hearing presided over by the International Court had already begun. If they did not rescue the students soon, the next meeting would be in court. Ambassador Jose smiled slightly and said, “There is no need to worry. I still carry enough influence within the International Court. These students are simply young and inexperienced. Their participation in the protests was entirely due to coercion, and they had no real connection to the Russian embassy case. Releasing them now would actually arouse suspicion. It is better to wait and let the International Court officially prove their innocence.” He was not boasting. As the envoy of the Holy Roman Empire, Jose indeed had the power to influence the court’s ruling. Looking at the composition of the court made that obvious. Most members were from the European continent. Asking them to betray their principles for a major case might still meet resistance, but releasing a few insignificant students was no trouble at all. Seeing that Jose refused to act without receiving results first, Chairman Liu hesitated, unsure of how to continue.
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