Chapter 678 New Student
Even though Talia has been the principal for so many years, her behavior is still a little "improper".
As soon as the crowd at the funeral dispersed, she sat down next to the tombstone.
"I must be a very incompetent teacher, right? I clearly wanted you to succeed, but in the end you can only rest here.
You are obviously better than anyone else, and I have found the biggest backer in this country for you. And I have not sacrificed my chastity, so you don't have to turn around and leave when you see me.
I just want to tell you that there is more than one way to success."
"Ahem...what nonsense are you talking about."
Originally, Franz was a little moved, but he couldn't help it after hearing the rest.
"Why didn't you leave?"
"I have to stay and hear if you say anything bad about me. The matter of Perrine was my negligence, and there were problems with confidentiality and security.
I didn't expect this to happen."
Franz blamed himself and felt guilty, but he needed someone.
Talia knew Franz very well.
"Don't blame yourself too much, and don't worry that I will give up. This is my job and my destiny.
This is the list you asked for. I hope you can fulfill your promise.
As for Perrine, she is very good. The only thing she lacks may be the 'big picture' you mentioned."
"I will."
Talia leaned on Franz's shoulder and began to engrave the epitaph.
"Here lies a reformer who tried to change the world, but so far she has only changed her own living conditions."
It's been a long time. I used to be able to cling to others, but now I have become their support. Franz smelled the sweet scent on Talia, which should be the smell of Viennese coffee and Portuguese egg tarts.
The Austrian Empire at this time needs some people outside the rules, or some people who are not so easy to integrate into the system.
Franz previously created a large number of civil servants in the name of popularizing education and developing colonies. No matter what those people looked like before, they would be quickly assimilated after joining the Austrian Imperial Government.
The improvement in administrative efficiency was far less than Franz expected, and corruption in the royal company was also spreading rapidly.
Especially in the colonies, people dared to do anything for money, and it was impossible to count how many atrocities had occurred during that period.
Wherever Franz passed, there must be peace, but when he left, it would immediately become a lawless place full of smoke and miasma.
At this time, the only relatively quiet place was the scientific community. After all, Franz had been paying attention to it for a long time, and the top scholars preferred scientific research rather than engaging in clan factions. Therefore, although scientists often dueled with each other, the overall atmosphere was still good.
The Austrian Empire was indeed seriously ill at this time, but fortunately, there would soon be an opportunity to solve the problem.
In order to maximize its role, Franz must do more now.
In Japan, the death of Abe Masahiro caused an uproar. More than a hundred people were beheaded, and countless others were implicated and imprisoned.
This was the first time in hundreds of years that the samurai class had gained an advantage in the economy. Coupled with the death of the chief elder of the shogunate, it was enough to drive the samurai crazy.
As a result, massacres against merchants occurred everywhere, and the shogunate and local daimyo were also happy to see it happen. The era when they needed to rely on domestic merchants was over.
After trading with the Austrian Empire, these daimyo found that doing business was so simple, so they went into business to squeeze merchants.
Of course, the daimyo would not really go into business themselves, but they could entrust the merchants of the Austrian Empire to help them control trade.
In this way, not only can a large amount of expenses be saved, but also a considerable profit can be made, and the arrogance of merchants can be suppressed.
At the same time, cheap goods can also improve the living standards of the people and make people "happy".
As for the price, they don't need to worry about it anyway, so it's naturally not big.
Faced with the Austrian Empire's goods with almost zero tariffs, the merchants of Japan had no ability to resist at all. For a time, the bodies of merchants were floating in Osaka Bay.
For agricultural products, the Austrian Empire had the fertile land of the California colony and the Hawaiian Islands, which was many times stronger than the barren mountains of Japan. In terms of industrial production capacity, Austria was even better than Japan.
So even if Abe Masahiro was punished by heaven, trade with the Austrian Empire would not be interrupted. However, the new chief elder was not Naosuke Ii, whom Franz knew well, but Harugaku Matsudaira.
Franz did not know this person very well, but considering that he was already sixty years old, Franz felt that there was no need to know him too well.
However, the other party's attitude still needed to be understood. The news sent back by Kagura from Japan said that this person was a reformist, but he was not welcomed within the shogunate.
The main reason why Harugaku Matsudaira could take office was because of his qualifications and the result of the struggle between Tokugawa Ieharu and the shogunate's important officials.
Tokugawa Ieharu, the general who had no real power, suddenly wanted to do something, and those who held great power naturally did not want the general to share their power.
However, the shogunate was named Tokugawa after all, so they found such an old man in his twilight years to be the chief elder. Although Harugaku Matsudaira was loyal to the general, he was also a reformer, which made Tokugawa Ieharu extremely disgusted.
So at this time, not only the general became a decoration, but even the chief elder became a decoration.
As a result, powerful local lords strengthened their ties with the Austrian Empire. In fact, although Japanese Bushido emphasizes loyalty, samurai masters emphasize practicality.
At this time, more than 190 of the more than 200 feudal lords in Japan sent their daughters, wives or maids. Generally speaking, daimyo only do this to the shogun's family, and the women sent are called "Okugata" (おくがた).
For a time, the Tenjo Ten Shrine where Kagura lived was overcrowded. The first round was appearance, and the second round was intelligence. After the two rounds, 90% of them were eliminated.
Although these people were carefully selected by daimyo from all over the country, they were still much worse in Kagura's eyes.
After that, there was a formal course, in order to allow these people to integrate into Austria's special training as soon as possible. After the final selection, another group of people will be eliminated, and those who pass the layers of selection will be sent to Vienna.
However, it is not the palace, but the Royal Women's College.
At this time, Atsuhime (the one sent by Satsuma in the previous article) was cramming for elementary school courses with a confused look on her face. What she had learned at home before was completely useless.
Franz also went to see her once. Princess Yuichi, who was called one of the greatest women in modern Japanese history, was nothing special.
Franz felt that she was not as pretty as the Indian version of Joan of Arc, and her timid look seemed to have no characteristics.
Franz habitually glanced at the report card again, which was also very mediocre. You should know that Lakshmi Pai, who was the same age as her, had also come to Vienna not long ago, but her grades were full marks.
However, Talia was very optimistic about Atsuhime, and disdained Lakshmi Pai because she had seen too many geniuses.
Most of those geniuses were excellent and proud, but Atsuhime had a talent that they did not have, that is, a very good communication ability.
Talia still remembered what Kagura looked like when she first arrived at school. She was almost socially anxious, but this Princess Yuichi could make those proud ladies take the initiative to talk to her.