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

Chapter 1649 The Sorrowful Gordon

While cement ships have many advantages, given the early cement ship manufacturing technology, it is estimated that the hull would have to be made extremely thick to achieve this.

However, this would further increase the weight of the cement ship, which would greatly reduce its load-bearing capacity and speed.

These two points are actually quite fatal: a small carrying capacity means reduced transportation efficiency, while a slow speed means poor maneuverability.

From a business perspective, this means lower revenue per transaction, longer turnover cycles, and lower profits, since time is money.

From a military perspective, it is even more fatal. As the saying goes, speed is of the essence in war, and these bulky machines have a hard time doing that.

Even more terrifying is that they are unable to pursue the retreating enemy, let alone escape their pursuit. Unless both sides abandon tactics and choose to fight to the death, the cement ships will find it difficult to exert their theoretical combat power.

Furthermore, while concrete ships made of reinforced concrete do offer impressive protection, that only applies to the ship itself; the crew members on board are not safe.

Especially for the combat personnel on the deck, when the cement ship was hit by heavy artillery, it would splatter a large number of deadly stones, with a power comparable to that of shotgun shells.

At least for the Austrian Empire at that time, there was no need to choose this shortcut.

Moreover, Louis Lambert was not well-known. Although he made some contributions to engineering and materials science, he was actually a farmer by profession and focused more on agricultural machinery. His invention of the cement boat was more out of passion.

After Napoleon III personally rejected Louis Lambert, he stopped thinking about national affairs and chose to return to his family to spend the rest of his life with his wife.

Louis Lambert was fortunate in a way to avoid further involvement in the great power rivalry.

At this time, compulsory education in the Austrian Empire was in full swing, while compulsory education in Prussia had been underway for over a hundred years, and the enrollment rate of new students exceeded 95%, which could be considered as basically completed.

The Prussian government went to great lengths to promote compulsory education. In addition to fines and criminal penalties, after the Battle of Jena, the Prussian government announced that "marriage certificates will not be issued and inheritances and land will not be permitted without enrollment in school."

In contrast, the Austrian Empire's methods were much gentler. Franz relied more on deception, using food and money to lure children into school and help them complete their studies.

The Austrian Empire was too complex in structure, and if Franz were to use force, it would inevitably lead to a series of human tragedies.

Moreover, there are too many ethnic groups, and many rebels and potential rebels. The state and the church can only slowly promote formal education. The power of education cannot be arbitrarily delegated. Otherwise, it is uncertain whether the people cultivated will be the pillars of the empire or the gravediggers.

The mountainous and complex environment also makes it more difficult to popularize education, as mentioned many times before, so I won't go into too much detail here.

In addition, while the Austrian Empire possessed strong industrial capabilities, it was essentially an agricultural country, and its low population density increased the cost of education.

As for so-called traditional ideas, they are the least worthless obstacles in the face of power, and the best example is Galicia.

According to local tradition, neither Ukrainians nor the vast majority of Polish civilians are allowed to read books, and are even required to stay away from schools and books so as not to tarnish the wisdom of their predecessors.

According to custom, they were encouraged to become farmers and soldiers, and to reject knowledge.

"A hoe is better than a pen, and a sword is heavier than a poem." — Galician proverb

However, after Franz implemented compulsory education, local elders would lead militia members to go door-to-door "inviting" children to school. Similar situations occurred in Transylvania and the Danube Duchy, as well as in the new territories of the Austrian Empire in the Balkans.

For a long time, people in these lands have been taught to be ignorant, to be farmers, artisans, or even bandits.

But when compulsory education in the Austrian Empire was actually extended to these areas, most of them responded very positively rather than resisting it.

Although the Austrian Empire never conducted a census, Franz was certain that the enrollment rate would not have been low, after all, the massive investment was not just for show.

At this time, France was not much different from its historical situation. Although it had less territory, Louis Napoleon had sold the power of education to the church, and the church would not let this opportunity pass.

However, precisely because the power of education was sold to the church, genuine compulsory education could not be implemented. After all, the church would not easily relinquish the power it had worked so hard to acquire.

The situation in Britain was much worse. The rate of education enrollment in Britain was already very low at this time. After all, education was taxed, and the gentlemen didn't have any spare money to spend on education.

Moreover, according to the prevailing British thought at the time, people were not considered stupid because of a lack of education, but because they were lazy and were punished by God. They were God's abandoned people, while the intelligent people who had acquired knowledge were God's chosen people.

Voters have no obligation to make outcasts smarter, or rather, outcasts should pay the price for their stupidity and laziness.

Even under such public opinion conditions, the British government has historically allocated funds to subsidize education.

However, most of these education funds were allocated to elite and church schools, and their impact on popularizing education was negligible.

However, Britain was still struggling to emerge from the shadow of the economic crisis, and the Marquess of Lansdowne, who was the Privy Councilor, was spending money that should have been used for education on propaganda warfare.

At this time, the entire British education system was in a complete mess, and some promising young talents were unknowingly stifled in the process.

(At this time, there was no Secretary of State for Education in Britain; the Lord Marquess of Lansdowne, the Privy Councillor, was in charge of education and propaganda.)
By the end of 1854, George Hamilton Gordon felt he had done a lot, yet it seemed he had done nothing at all.

He ended the Anglo-Burmese War, allied with Thailand, and successfully courted several regional powers to protect British overseas interests.

The war with New Zealand was also a series of victories, the suppression of several riots in Australia was carried out, and the development of Madagascar began.

Numerous chartered companies were established, and in particular, the Transatlantic Telegraph was accomplishing an unprecedented feat, connecting Britain and the United States.

It suppressed the Irish Revolt, suppressed the South African black uprising, and seized many overseas colonies.

He thwarted the Austrian Empire's economic invasion, thwarted several Russian plots, and even issued a stern warning to the Holy League.

However, George Hamilton Gordon seemed to feel that he had done nothing and that the situation had not changed. He could even hear the rumbling of horses' hooves approaching while he was sleeping.

George Hamilton Gordon believed from the bottom of his heart that this was not a good time to start a war. No matter how much the staff in Whitehall touted war as the best solution to all problems, he felt that Britain’s most urgent task was to get out of the economic crisis and stabilize the volatile situation.

In fact, George Hamilton Gordon could clearly sense that the world was becoming increasingly turbulent, so he had been doing everything he could to prevent the situation from worsening.

However, as if it were a cruel joke of fate, his efforts seemed to have no effect.