Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Austria-Hungary, Vienna.

Franz Joseph I smiled coldly after receiving William I's telegram.

"An indisputable fact: you and I have long accepted this fact, and it is more of a natural admiration for universities in the Netherlands and the UK. Almost no one dares to refute it."

"Looking at the German Empire, is there any person or school who is not obsessed with the universities in the Netherlands and the UK? The wave of waves of going abroad is turbulent, even if we stop and take a rest? Although our domestic policies now allow the German Empire to go abroad The number of students studying abroad has decreased a lot, but there are still waves of people who are not afraid of death.”

Now the British government even refuses some of our international students on the grounds that secrets have been leaked, and has set up various obstacles, thinking that this can stop our European land army. But what London doesn’t know is that these people are flowing to those who are willing to accept them. Their dispute between the Netherlands and the UK has become more simple and confusing because of this. At this point, I think the UK has been completely defeated. "

Archduke Ferdinand also said coldly: "Although Berlin's proposal is good, even the Austro-Hungarian Union of Higher Education Institutions such as the University of Vienna has created a university league list. In the end, it was discovered that this list was based on the Dutch "European Union". The Times' global university rankings follow the path of relying on other people's lists and the top universities. Although this is a shortcut, it is still a licking-the-dog move.

Why do universities in countries such as Spain, Sweden and Denmark, which are closely related to the Netherlands, often rank high in the rankings? There is no other reason: these three countries are allies of the Netherlands. For people in the Netherlands, these are familiar recipes and familiar ingredients, and the usage is very suitable."

The authority of this ranking is destined to its role. It is said that people go to higher places and water flows to lower places. This is due to human nature. We can understand the wishes and ideas of those who want to study in top universities abroad, because everyone's values ​​​​and survival methods are different.

Why does the Tsarist Russian Empire have three universities in the top 50? Why is the industrial strength of the Tsarist Russian Empire not as good as that of Austria-Hungary? St. Petersburg University even entered the top 10 for no other reason than the Russian Empire was a powerful country. Who would not be afraid of this country that dared to compete with Britain for land hegemony in Asia and Europe and competed with Britain at every turn?

The United States has risen rapidly, ranking fourth in the world in terms of industrial strength, with a population of 30 million, including 15 million in the south, surpassing Britain and France, and just below the powerful countries of China, Russia and the German Empire. Such a country has extraordinary potential, and even the Netherlands dare not underestimate it.

Therefore, in the eyes of this Dutch newspaper, the list should give these strong countries face, and at the same time recognize their strength, which comes from the results of education and training. Therefore, this list must be taken care of even if you don’t care, and you must be obedient even if you don’t listen.

In the same way, why has the UK been at the forefront for the past 20 years? The fact that two British universities are in the top five is a demonstration of the UK’s global hegemony.

The UK is so arrogant. If it makes the UK too bad, the UK will never agree. Therefore, the Dutch are smart. In the past 19 years, the University of Cambridge or the University of Oxford have taken turns to take the championship. This year, they began to let the UK He left the top two and entered third, but still maintained his third and fourth positions.

Obviously, the Netherlands still gives Britain a lot of face."

The Netherlands is also afraid of provoking dissatisfaction with the United Kingdom for no reason, especially the British academic community, so the Netherlands gives them face, which is a manifestation of strength. "

Franz Joseph I sighed: "For decades, we have been slowly lagging behind Britain and France. We thought that after the Napoleonic War in France, Austria-Hungary could rise again, but then the rise of Prussia made us even more uncomfortable. Anyway, France was far away from us before, and even Prussia (Germany) was too close to us, making us breathless."

Archduke Ferdinand also said: "For decades, we have been inferior to others in terms of skills, equipment, and strength. Even our own country's education is not as strong as that of the Netherlands, Britain, or even the German Empire. Our educational thinking We are still stuck in the past, but others are a few steps ahead of us, which objectively softens our minds."

He said: "To be honest, Austria-Hungary is now the sixth largest economic and pre-industrial power in the world after the Netherlands, the British Empire, France, and the United States. The history of our University of Vienna is no shorter than that of universities in other countries. Even education is not bad; politically, our influence is not as good, but we lost some face after being defeated by Germany a few years ago, but it does not hinder our progress."

In terms of military affairs, our army is undoubtedly first-class in terms of various guns, strategies, tactics, and arms confrontation. However, in terms of the number of surface ships and the quantity and quality of underwater submarines, we still have a big gap. We have to take a step forward, because this is the reason why we have stepped up our actions in Mexico this time. We have too few ports, which affects our room for advancement in maritime strength.

These are our achievements and shortcomings to be addressed. "

Franz Joseph I and Archduke Ferdinand's uncle and nephew came with various sighs, but fortunately they were the only two here.

Franz Joseph I said: "Our shortcoming is that our industrial technology is still far behind the world's first, second, and third most developed countries in science and technology. The most cutting-edge technology is not in our hands; this is our Austria-Hungary. The consequences of the empire's emphasis on liberal arts and neglect of science education. The University of Vienna, like the University of St. Petersburg, both emphasized liberal arts. In addition, Tsarist Russia, like us, did not provide an environment for science to create employment and high income. Therefore, our science graduates or those of us who want to The reason why people who want to become science students are flocking to the Netherlands, the UK and Germany is that our education, especially the number of prestigious universities, is still small, and the industry training for the connection is not in place.

If the Austro-Hungarian Empire can provide such jobs and create jobs for these people who can be employed as soon as they graduate, and it is high-paying and connected to the industry they studied, then with a population of more than 30 million, the Austro-Hungarian Empire will at least not lag behind Germany, France, and the United States. How much? After all, among the immigrants from these countries, many are Austro-Hungarian immigrants.”

ArchJustice Ferdinand said: "If there is such a day, then we can adopt policies and measures to increase the attractiveness of overseas students returning to their countries, and let foreign countries train students for us while we pick the peaches. Unfortunately, that day is still very far away."

He said unwillingly: "Strength determines mentality. We are competing with Britain, Germany, France, Russia, the United States and other countries to be number one in the world. We must compete with these countries, although it may be difficult for us to achieve the planned results. But we still need to Make efforts and let those countries dominate for a while, because we will catch up sooner or later, especially Germany, which is both an enemy and an ally with us."

Franz Joseph I was dissatisfied: "I asked William I of the German Empire for help regarding the Mexican issue. There has been no response from the German Empire. It seems that we have to rely on ourselves."

Archduke Ferdinand: "I have said that it is better to rely on ourselves than to rely on others. This time, we must show our own prestige. I suggest that we continue to increase our troops to Mexico by 30,000. Only by winning there will our naval construction be included in the global Great power status.”

Franz Joseph I nodded and said, "That's right."