Holy Roman Empire

The biggest event at the start of 1904 in the Far East was not the Tokyo trial, but the establishment of Southeast Asian University, which would profoundly influence future generations. Despite the university only just being named, with its campus location, faculty, and regulations yet undecided, this still did not change the fact that Southeast Asian University caused a sensation in Asia. In this era of utmost ideological confusion, where idolization and flattery of the West were at their peak, many regarded the European moon as being especially round. Especially after Wilhelm had endorsed it in his capacity as a prince, the impact was even greater. Enrollment hadn't officially begun yet, but the number of people inquiring and registering was already incessantly streaming in, even once hampering the normal operations of several Shinra embassies in the Far East. There was no other reason, merely because Wilhelm had let slip at a cocktail party that Southeast Asian University would open enrollment to the Asian region without restricting nationality or ethnicity. This was a necessity since, although the Austrian South Seas Region had a substantial population, all the high-quality students had gone to domestic institutions. As a colony of the Holy Roman Empire, there were still many benefits, such as in higher education, where certain accommodations were available. Based on the proportion of citizens to population, every major domestic university allotted a minimum number of admissions to students from the Austrian South Seas Region annually. The educational model also replicated the domestic system, where textbooks permitted regional geography to be altered, but everything else was uniformly compiled by the Ministry of Education. From elementary to university level, admission examinations were held based on a quota system. In theory, the right of all Shinra citizens to an education was equal. Of course, this was limited to the government-provided free education. If one was self-funded, there would naturally be no admission restrictions. In those days, educational resources were incredibly precious. While self-funding for elementary and secondary education was manageable, once it came to the university phase, tuition fees were counted in tens of thousands. Let alone the common people, even lesser nobility or the petite bourgeoisie could not afford such expenses. According to statistics from the Vienna Government, over ninety-eight percent of students admitted to regular universities each year were through entrance examinations, with less than two percent actually paying their way through school. No matter how Wilhelm shouted, he still couldn't change the fact that Southeast Asian University was a third-rate university. He might cheat others, but he couldn't fool the nobility, capitalists, and the middle class within Shinra. Although the colonial government would tilt resources towards Southeast Asian University, the problem of insufficient teaching staff was not something that could be solved overnight. Realism prevailed, especially when it came to the education of children; the German People were even more earnest about this. If the quality of education was inadequate, even the Prince's involvement couldn't make a difference. Naturally, Wilhelm had no intention of retaining students who would go back to their homeland to study. After all, misleading the younger generation was truly detestable. With their family businesses situated in the Austrian South Seas, even those who went back to study domestically would have a large portion returning to the Southeast Asia region, representing high-quality talents. The purpose of establishing the university was to cultivate talents; as long as it could provide talent for the Southeast Asia region, it didn't matter where they were trained. To retain domestic students, it was entirely possible to wait until Southeast Asian University's teaching resources were improved. At this stage, the most important thing was to lay a solid foundation. With inadequate educational quality, if the students were also lacking, it truly would become a third-rate university. Under these circumstances, opening enrollment to all of Asia was a necessity. Had it not been for the lack of influence and appeal to students from Europe and America, Wilhelm would have been prepared to recruit students from the entire world. Of course, the main reason Southeast Asian University had such attraction in Asia was because of its military specialty programs. Unlike the weak offerings of other specialties, the military specialty had ample teaching staff, whether it be retired fief aristocrats or high-ranking officers from the active military, all were pulled in by Wilhelm for positions. ``` The combined forces of the navy, army, and air force amounted to an impressive assembly of seventeen generals, absolutely the most formidable in Asia. Though it was impossible for these individuals to attend classes every day, the school's faculty were all military academy graduates who had seen combat. They might have lacked experience, but with some collaborative fine-tuning, they were certainly up to par with domestic military academies. This was sufficient, as the establishment of military specializations was intended to support appearances and attract Asian students. Having spent so much time in the Southeast Asia Region, Wilhelm had gained a good understanding of the situation across Asia. For Asian students studying abroad, military programs were their first choice, followed by economics and literature; medical and engineering programs attracted relatively fewer students. In some respects, this was favorable for the newly established Southeast Asian University. Compared to the rigor of medicine and engineering, subjects in literature and economic theory were obviously much easier to fudge. ... Education Commissioner Sanchez spoke, "Your Highness, this is the site selection and planning map for Southeast Asian University, please review it." Without exception, Sulawesi was chosen as the final location for Southeast Asian University, situated less than thirty kilometers from the governor's mansion in the suburbs. The planning map was a direct copy of Vienna University's layout, albeit with many fewer buildings—it was moderate and standard. After a brief review without identifying any major issues, Wilhelm took a pen and signed his name on the document, then slowly said, "Begin construction as soon as possible, aiming to complete the main structure before the end of the year to accommodate incoming students next year." It was evident that Wilhelm was satisfied with the Education Department's planning. Moderate and standard signified "stability," and being over forty, Wilhelm had long outgrown the desire to seek attention. Besides, even if Southeast Asian University's design was strikingly impressive, what was the point? In the Southeast Asia Region, he was already the one in charge; there was no one to impress! It wouldn't make sense to seek novelty and innovation solely to boast back home with a few pictures, would it? Of course, if someone wanted to return home early and live off the state, this could actually be a clever strategy. Commissioner Sanchez promptly assured him, "Your Highness, rest assured that we have hired the best construction team. We will surely complete the main construction before the end of the year." After a pause of several seconds, Sanchez added, "Your Highness, since we are recruiting students from all over Asia, many of them will need to travel for several months. To ensure the incoming freshmen can enroll smoothly next year, might we start the recruitment process earlier? After all, there are many students currently interested in registering, which is creating quite a challenge for our selection process. Starting earlier would afford us more preparation time." The actual situation was even more pressing. Recruiting over a thousand students from all over Asia might not be a one in ten thousand chance, but a one in a hundred probability was certain. Although the Education Department had extensive experience in recruitment, this trans-national, trans-regional recruitment was a first. Wilhelm nodded, "You handle the recruitment, Education Department. I have one requirement: recruit as much talent as possible, but do not admit any anti-Austrian elements." Political correctness is always of utmost importance, with no exceptions anywhere. Relative to other places, the Holy Roman Empire was quite tolerant of new ideas. Of course, the primary reason was the nation's strength and the confidence that it could withstand the impacts of new ideologies. ... ``` Tokyo, with the international trial coming to an end, this emerging international metropolis began to exude vitality once again. The Japanese public were not knocked down by a single trial; the greatest consequence of the international trial was that anti-Russian sentiment among the Japanese populace further increased. In order to alleviate its own pressure, the Japanese Government even specially established "National Humiliation Day," which is said to commemorate the "heroes" who died in the Russian Embassy case. It was not just the Russians who couldn't stand it, even the diplomatic corps were infuriated. Heroes who were sentenced to death by the international court -- this was clearly a slap in the face for everyone. However, the diplomatic corps had already split, and Britannia and Shinra, the two leading forces, were already at each other's throats, simply too preoccupied to care about this minor issue. The two big hooligans not only failed to step in and stop it, but also added fuel to the fire, contributing to the provocation of the war between Japan and Russia. The reason why "open conspiracy" is terrifying is that even if it is exposed, things will still happen. The current conflict between Japan and Russia is just like that, knowing that Vienna and London have ill intentions, both Japanese and Russian governments still have to brace themselves. Especially for the Japanese Government, it was pushed to the wall. Any compromise now would be tantamount to slow suicide. With the current relations between Japan and Russia, the day the Siberian Railway opens would be the doom of the Japanese Empire. In a sense, the pressure faced by the Japanese Government now is even greater than the original timeline. The addition of the Philippine War made the Tokyo Government's purse strings even tighter, reducing its comprehensive national power by a notch or two compared to the same period in history. By contrast, the Russian Empire was different. Although its comprehensive national power had not increased much, it was visibly bulkier! The Baltic Line occupied Prussian Poland; the Middle took over Constantinople, and the Black Sea directly became the Russian Empire's inland sea, with its tentacles at one point reaching deep into the Mediterranean; the south occupied most of Afghanistan, with the border line nearly overtaking India. The entire Russian Empire was chubbier than the original timeline, and if it weren't for the strong rise of Shinra, the entire European world would probably tremble under the roller's gears. Facing such an opponent, it would be impossible for the Japanese Government not to feel anxious. If it weren't for the eruption of the Russian Embassy case, the Japanese Government wouldn't have been able to make up their minds to go to the bitter end with the Russians. Alas, reality has no if's. With this fuse and the past conflicts between Japan and Russia, the war became inevitable. Anyone with a little military knowledge knew that the smell of gunpowder in Tokyo was too strong and was clearly a harbinger of an imminent war. Although there were no protests in front of the Russian Embassy again, the anti-Russian movement was in full swing, and even the students could not avoid it. "Once bitten, twice shy." After the previous lesson, the Far Eastern Empire students in Japan knew the stakes and were no longer keen on participating in the anti-Russian activities. But no matter how much they refused, they could not withstand the relentless enticements of their "Japanese friends." This made many who were accustomed to human interactions very uncomfortable. The might of the Russians is well known, and almost no one was optimistic about the Japanese aside from the Japanese themselves. Even if the Japanese Government packaged itself as the light of Asia, the hope of Asia, it could not change everyone's ingrained perceptions. Standing with the losers, the aftermath is severe; it's one thing to involve oneself, but the fear is dragging one's family down with it. The vindictiveness of the Russians has been seen by everyone. Those sentenced to death and heavy criminals, needless to say, met with God; what shocked everyone the most were the thousands banished to Siberia, whose families have begun to receive bad news progressively. Non-involvement, on the other hand, is really too hard to persist against human nature. In a foreign land, survival depends on friends' help. Many have received help from Japanese students during their studies, and although it was only small favors, a debt of gratitude was incurred. For young students, loyalty is more important than anything else. Often swayed by a few incited words, their intelligence just isn't online. If it weren't for the previous incidents that jolted everyone, they probably would have been cannon fodder like in the original timeline, duped by others. Now they are awake, but upon refusal, they suddenly found themselves in an awkward position. Because of his outstanding performance in the last event, Li Boan unknowingly became the leader of the students abroad; everyone liked to consult with him when issues arose. "Brother Bo An, things are looking grim! Ever since we refused to participate in the anti-Russian movement, we have been ostracized at school, and our Japanese friends have been drifting away from us. Even our homes are often harassed by thugs, and Tokyo police just don't care. If this continues, we might have to end our studies prematurely and return to our country..." Li Boan had heard such complaints more than once. Including himself, everyone experienced ostracism at school. It's just that his mentality was better, allowing him to withstand the pressure. "Brother Liu, the Japanese have a very clear purpose, which is that the Russo-Japanese War is imminent and they need allies to share the pressure. Their attempt to win us over is false; the real goal is to get the Court involved in the war against Russia through us. But what condition the Court is in, the Japanese may not be clear, but how can we not be clear? If we blindly get involved and Japan loses the war, wouldn't we, who supported them, be settled by the Russians afterward? Once the Russians threaten with military force, considering the Court's style, do you think they can withstand the pressure? I fear not only will we be out of luck, but we might also drag our families into it. Compared to that, what we're going through now is nothing. If we really can't get over it, we might as well leave Japan. The Southeast Asian University is about to start enrolling anyway, and even if we can't get in, we can opt to self-fund." Without a doubt, these ideas didn't come from the students themselves. Without having experienced enough societal hardship, their imagination was not so rich. The fact that these thoughts spread widely among the students was clearly someone fanning the flames. The goal is obvious, with the Southeast Asian University about to open, it needs more quality students, naturally competing with peers. After all, this year Japan did not have a truly high-quality university, including Tokyo University, which is only a slightly better third-rate university internationally, with very average teaching strength. High technology is monopolized by Europe this year, important research projects, and technological innovations are all blank in the Asian region. Although the Japanese are making an effort, that is just an effort. Talent and infrastructure are all inadequate; catching up with the world's advanced level naturally cannot be achieved overnight. That is also one of the reasons why Southeast Asian University can attract countless people to apply as soon as it starts enrolling.