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

Chapter 1613 The mob
Franz idly flipped through intelligence reports sent from various places in his study. Although no major war had occurred, the world was far from peaceful.

War was raging everywhere from the Far East to South America, and even in Bohemia, there was a group of restless people.

However, it wasn't just these few people in front of him; several protesters against education reforms were already standing in front of Franz.

Although Bordeaux had given him a warning, Franz was somewhat disappointed when he met these leaders, which also strengthened his resolve to reform.

The group looked around like country bumpkins, and panicked when the heavy wooden door closed. When Franz's gaze swept over them, they suddenly lowered their heads, and even their breathing became heavier.

What's particularly egregious is that this group couldn't even elect a representative and had to rely on others to identify the leader. Bordeaux, left with no other option, brought back all the so-called leaders, whose overreaction and tantrums upon entering were utterly appalling.

"What do you want to say?"

It wasn't until Franz spoke that everyone seemed to wake up from a dream.

However, they all looked at each other, none of them willing to speak first.

Franz gave Bordeaux a wink, and the latter understood and stepped forward to speak.

"You are wasting His Majesty's time. You have thirty seconds to prepare your words."

Upon hearing this, the group broke out in a cold sweat and, after thirty seconds, forced themselves to speak.

"Your Majesty, we simply cannot afford the exorbitant tuition fees of the Royal Academy, and the environment of public schools is so terrible."

We request your approval to establish a group of schools exclusively for us. We don't need them to be free; we simply want our children to be able to learn in a good environment so that we can maintain our dignity.

The people in front of him seemed humble in their tone and wording, but when they said that the environment in Austrian Imperial public schools was terrible, Franz was the first to disagree.

At this time, the Austrian Empire invested heavily in education, and many of the newly built schools were in much better condition than the charitable schools previously donated by rural nobles and wealthy merchants.

Furthermore, the Austrian Empire did not restrict school districts, so these nobles and officials could send their children to better schools in the city.

As for the so-called dignity, that's utter nonsense. Franz guarantees that there will be plenty of articles about "District Chief Dad" and "Dean Grandpa" in the future.

Moreover, behind these manifestations lies a struggle for educational power. Indeed, in the nineteenth century, education was not merely a soon-to-be-legalized right, but a genuine power.

Besides low-level players like academic cliques, there are also high-level players who write history, textbooks, instill ideologies, and control educational content, such as churches and imperial governments.

Because public schools in the Austrian Empire were controlled by the church and the government, and noble schools were controlled by the royal family, the state's monopoly on educational power did not serve the interests of some people.

Or perhaps these people also want to be stars.

And so this farce unfolded, which Franz could no longer bear to watch.

"If your children want to attend the Royal Academy, pay for it; if you don't have the money, earn it. Your ancestors earned their titles with blood and sweat; now you must uphold them with your own hands."

Go into business, join the army, expand colonies. Remember, true nobility is built not on schooling, but on action.

Franz waited for two minutes, but these people stammered and couldn't utter a single decent rebuttal. "Enough, get out."

Franz had no interest in wasting any more time. These people were nothing but pitiful scapegoats; the real mastermind was certainly not so despicable.

It wouldn't be difficult to find the so-called mastermind if we just sent out secret police to investigate who they had been in contact with recently.

What Franz was doing at this time was essentially completing the unfinished work of his Habsburg ancestors; the education system itself was part of the power structure.

A French sociologist once said: "All seemingly fair education is essentially about maintaining the existing power structure."

It's just that it's easily overlooked after being embellished. The essence of a country's education system in the 19th century was screening and stratification, determining who could enter the power structure and who would be marginalized.

Franz's monopoly on education was a form of centralization, consolidating imperial power while also making a little money.

If minor nobles, lower-ranking officials, and a segment of capitalists control the discourse in education, they will instill their ideas in students, aiming to ultimately seize a status commensurate with their ideals.

Of course, if it were just that, it would be fine, but most people don't face themselves squarely, and instead like to magnify other people's shortcomings endlessly.

In this case, schools will not only fail to play a role in stabilizing social order, but will instead become a breeding ground for rebels.

Then, just like this time, a group of people will become pawns of others without even realizing it.

If the Imperial government concedes, they will continue to exploit this to grow stronger until they completely control the narrative. If the Imperial government does not concede, a tragedy will be inevitable, depleting the Empire's power and prestige; in this case, they will still have achieved victory.

Moreover, thoughts are very difficult to control. Unless we learn from the Qing Dynasty and carry out literary inquisitions, prioritizing stability over development, it is impossible to lock down people's thinking.

However, a problem arose: the Austrian Empire was located in the center of Europe, making it difficult for the imperial government to sever external exchanges. Moreover, the Austrian Empire was surrounded by powerful external enemies and could easily be broken from the outside, so it simply did not have the political environment for isolation.

Therefore, Franz should not give his opponent a chance from the beginning, otherwise it will inevitably cause endless harm.

As for those who were truly born in Rome, Franz decided to gather them together for personality correction in order to prevent them from harming society.

They either choose to become pillars of the nation or be forgotten by fate; before leaving the elite school, they should at least be allowed to have a relatively normal personality.

So-called elite schools employ a completely militarized management style. While they do enjoy the best resources, they also have to complete heavy tasks in areas such as knowledge, physical fitness, military skills, and the arts, and endure tremendous pressure.

In addition, for those truly gifted individuals, they can gain access to connections in advance. In short, it can make already successful people even more successful.

As for those with personality defects, they can be corrected early, or at least put in chains to make them understand that there are always people better than you.

(The noble schools of the Austrian Empire were the Royal Academy.)
As for public schools, they should pay more attention to fairness, allowing people of different classes, ethnicities, and cultures to gradually integrate and achieve true imperial unification.

Franz didn't want to deal with those who constantly asserted their rights but were unwilling to contribute to the empire.

The Austrian Empire was not a charity, nor was it a wish-granting machine. To gain the Empire's attention, one had to either invest money or invest loyalty.