The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1600 Education First (Part 2)

Education Secretary Serafin Fister also strongly agreed with this, but he also had his own views.

"Your Majesty, knowledge is a double-edged sword. For those who can wield it and understand it, it is indeed a powerful tool for changing the world."

Just like you and many other outstanding figures in our empire.

However, many people fail to understand it correctly, making them highly susceptible to manipulation. Even more so, some who can wield it use it to harm others and even destroy the country.

Therefore, we should put it in a cage and only grant it to those you can trust.

Archbishop Rauscher also seized the opportunity to deliver the final blow.

"Your Majesty, the Bible teaches people to be humble and obedient. But too much knowledge can cause confusion and even lead people to question their own faith."

If this applies to lost sheep, many of them will believe they are the shepherd.

Franz frowned slightly as he spoke.

"It is precisely because knowledge is a double-edged sword that we need to guide it with education. With only you aristocratic elites, the country's scientific and technological progress is too slow."

If you all justified the use of even half the resources you possess, I wouldn't need to worry about this country!

Franz then turned to Archbishop Rauscher.

"How many times have I told you? Knowledge and faith are not contradictory. Why can't you understand? Haven't you even read the textbooks written by the church?"

You've completely wasted the efforts of so many theologians and educators! Were all those efforts instilling loyalty and moral reform wasted?

No one raised any objections, but Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Brooke, did offer a reminder.

“Your Majesty, if compulsory education is implemented throughout the entire territory, the budget will likely need to be increased by an additional 2000 million florins.”

Franz nodded.

"There's always a way out. We'll definitely find a solution."

Although Franz resolved the Imperial Council, the education system in the Austrian Empire still faced many problems.

The biggest problem is corruption. Although the absurd situation of a child eating 600 loaves of bread a day, which was not the case in the early days, is no longer the case, even if each person embezzles a little bit, it adds up to a considerable expense.

Therefore, Franz could only reduce welfare benefits while demanding public oversight. Expecting officials to conduct self-inspections was difficult; after hundreds of years of intermarriage, most of the noble children had relatives all over the place, making them hesitant to actually get things done.

But what about officials from humble backgrounds? The results weren't much better. They were just as afraid of everything, and many even actively went along with the corrupt practices.

Over the years, Franz has cultivated a group of officials who can be described as incorruptible, but such people are a minority and are constantly being corrupted and eliminated.

Sooner or later, when there is not enough new blood to dilute the bad blood, the entire Austrian Empire will become a stagnant pool.

However, the so-called public oversight by the Austrian Empire was far from easy; a mere information asymmetry could silence 99% of the population.

Even those who can see through the truth have to consider their own and their families' feelings, and they can't be sure what kind of officials they will encounter. Coupled with the remnants of the feudal system, those who truly dare to stand up and criticize officials are probably one in ten thousand, and those who succeed are even fewer.

Although the chances were slim, Franz still had to do it, because if he didn't do it, he wouldn't even have a chance. Moreover, despite the myriad evils of the imperial system, there was one thing: if a strong-willed emperor was determined to accomplish something, it was difficult for anyone to stop him.

Besides these, there were also a large number of ordinary people exploiting the bugs, initially just to get lunch. After the Austrian Empire made policy adjustments, some poor people from abroad set their sights on the Austrian Empire's schools.

They sent their children directly here for compulsory education, which saved their family expenses and allowed them to access the excellent educational resources of the Austrian Empire.

Since many primary schools in the Austrian Empire were church-run, they were usually located very close to churches. A group of children from other countries in the German region simply attended school during the day and stayed at the church at night.

Neither the church nor the school can stand by and watch these children starve or die of illness.
Especially the Bavarians next door, who already have many children and come from poor hometowns, don't make much money by having their children work as child laborers, and it just adds another mouth to feed.

It would be better to simply send them to the Austrian Empire for trusteeship. Since there was no network system at the time, they could first entrust them to one city for four years, and then to another city for four years, so that the children would grow up and be able to work as laborers.

(Compulsory education in the Austrian Empire was four years.)
Whether according to doctrine or the laws of the Austrian Empire, the priests had absolutely no way to deal with these parasites.

However, Franz didn't care. As long as he could communicate normally in German, there wouldn't be a problem. If he stayed in a country for 7-8 years, he would probably become a citizen of that country.

If the Austrian Empire could not assimilate a single-speaking young population within 7-8 years, it could only be attributed to the incompetence of the Austrian government and education system.

Furthermore, the issue of co-education has aroused opposition in many areas, and this ideological problem can only be overcome over time.

Of course, in some places the government and people are more powerful, such as in Galicia, where there are many so-called tribal chiefs due to the coexistence of various ethnic groups.

However, the people of Galicia have a fervent adoration for the Austrian imperial government, after all, many of them are refugees, lower classes, or even both.

Therefore, persuading students to study is usually done by the clan chief, who will lead a few burly young men to persuade them, and the success rate is close to 100%.

In some places, not only should girls' schools be built, but also a convent should be constructed, because they believe that only women can teach women.

In addition, there was an uneven distribution of educational resources, with 70% of the Austrian Empire's educational resources concentrated in the Inner Leitania region.

Vienna alone accounts for 6% of the national education budget, and correspondingly, Vienna's children have an enrollment rate as high as 99.99%.

In the morning, students receive a glass of milk and a slice of bread. For lunch, they often eat fish and meat. In the afternoon, they receive coffee and desserts at irregular intervals. The school's scholarship is equivalent to a year's salary for an adult laborer.

The advantages are that a variety of gifted children emerge one after another, students' average grades are very high, and there are very few cases of school-age children starving to death.

Besides the exorbitant expenses, the downsides are that many parents simply give up and rely on their own child prodigies, while others simply give up on having children and start a lottery.

In addition, the competition among students in Vienna is exceptionally fierce; "fierce" is an understatement to describe the battle. A single point can determine the fate of a family.

The children were all engaged in intense competition, and thankfully, the Austrian Empire didn't have many tutoring centers, otherwise they would have been overcrowded.

Some teenagers would even engage in public duels. Yes, you heard right, two little kids, each with a sharpened dagger.

Franz was forced to pass a decree banning children under the age of 16 from participating in duels.