Chapter 28
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Chapter 28: This Is Very Prussia
"Finally finished writing, come and see how my song turned out," Leader One happily called Schultz and Freeman over to have them review his composition "Prussian Glory March."
The sheet music was filled with twenty-five pages, countless editing marks scattered throughout, looking very chaotic overall.
Freeman (a puzzled look on his face)
Schultz complimented with a smile, "You’ve written a grand piece, I believe your musical talent is no less than your teacher’s. If you are not the prince regent, you could have been a great musician."
"Stop flattering me." Leader One chuckled.
Leader One’s musical talent was quite average, but thanks to studying with Beethoven for a few years in his youth, he gained some skills.
Following the prince regent’s instructions, he was to perform the Prussian Glory March at the Berlin concert hall in a month, inviting officials from the General Staff Department, Ministry of National Defense, distinguished retired military generals, as well as some outstanding Junker representatives. The first performance of the Prussian Glory March had to be with the best symphony orchestra.
The Cabinet’s Cultural Office under the Ministry of Education and Science, along with the Military Band Office under the Ministry of National Defense, joined forces to organize a deluxe lineup for a super symphony orchestra, intensifying rehearsals for the performance in a month.
Schumann, Lubert, Schubert, Wagner, Meyerbeer, Chopin, Czerny, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Jakob Brahms and others…
Famous musicians and performers from Germany and even Poland and Italy were invited to Berlin to prepare for the first performance of the Prussian Glory March together.
It was actually very easy to invite these art masters. Leader One just paid them twice their usual performance fees, and they happily rushed to Berlin.
Are the art masters short of money? Yes, and very much so.
Because in the 19th century, artists had a low social status and were poorly treated, especially in Prussia Germany. The treatment of artists was even worse there.
Leader One’s music mentor in his childhood was Beethoven. Beethoven worked as a private tutor for the Prince of Prussia, earning only 28 pounds a year. Beethoven was very happy about it.
There are not many musicians in the world who can reach Beethoven’s level. Their usual performance fees are only 1-2 pounds per show. They have to travel, rehearse, and prepare for one to two months for a performance, and during this time, they have to bear all the costs of food and accommodation. In the end, a single performance doesn’t make them much money. Many musicians had to endure illness without seeking medical help due to lack of money.
Besides the financial difficulties, the low social status further demoralized them. Their performances were often interrupted because some VIP in the audience fell asleep and could not be disturbed. When performing on stage, they were respected by the audience, but offstage, the nobles and Junkers treated them as servants, making them change clothes in the utility room or even sleep in the stables.
Untimely death, illness leading to death, and mental illness leading to suicide were the usual fates of German artists…
After Prince Regent of Prussia came into power, he made many improvements. He raised the status of artists and believed that people should be rewarded according to their efforts. Hardworking people should be paid fairly, and talented individuals should be respected.
The wages and social status of artists were improved under Regent King Redel. He was praised by the artist community as a great benefactor. With his support and doubled performance fees, artistic masters from Central Europe enthusiastically participated in the Prussian Glory March for the first time.
During rehearsals, Leader One also visited the Berlin Concert Hall to show his appreciation to the performers who had come from afar. This gesture surprised them, and they served him carefully as if they were servants, not musicians.
In contrast, the scientists behaved very normally. The next day, Prince Regent visited the Estate of Brandenburg Prince-elector to inspect the Prussian Engineering Institute and the Academy of Sciences, and he was warmly welcomed.
By 1839, there were over 150 members in the Prussian Two Houses of Parliament, all of whom were significant figures who would go down in history. Their interactions with Prince Regent were relaxed, except when it came to funding, each trying to secure more than the other.
"Your Highness, please provide funds for the Magical Energy Department. We are so poor that we can’t conduct experiments. I recently discovered magical energy can disrupt compass needles, and I want to further study this magnetic phenomenon."
"The Magical Energy Department is fine on funds. It’s the Mathematics Department that is struggling. We can’t even afford calculation paper. Your Highness, please send us a million pounds."
"What use is mathematics? Your Highness should give the money to the Academy of Engineering."
The Estate of Brandenburg Prince-elector is usually peaceful, with the prominent members of the two houses focusing on their research and rarely interacting. However, today, everybody came out when Prince Regent visited, and some more radical individuals argued over funding.
Leader One was very helpless. Every person is precious, and many scientists and engineers are brought in from overseas. They need to be taken care of well, and every person’s funding needs must be met.
Prussia’s industrialization started by imitating England. To develop their own technology beyond imitation, they had to rely on the efforts of the two academies, scientific knowledge, engineering principles… These are the fundamentals of a strong nation.
The prince regent stopped the arguments of the crowd, "Money, you don’t need to worry. The funding of the two academies will always be sufficient, as long as you apply, I will provide."
After a round of Prince Redel’s wise words of praise, these big shots started to speak ill of Humboldt.
Humboldt is the Minister of Science and Education, in charge of scientific and educational system work and funding arrangements. However, Humboldt doesn’t allocate much funding to the two academies. The expenses of the two academies mainly rely on the Hohenzollern family’s accounts.
The big shots wanted the prince regent to change the Minister of Science and Education to someone who can easily approve large amounts of funding.
Well… Leader One naturally declined. Humboldt is doing a great job, so there’s no need for a change.
From 1837 to 1839, Prussia’s Ministry of Education and Science saw a significant increase in funding, accounting for twenty-one percent of the total government expenditure, second only to the Ministry of National Defense, and even more funding than the Ministry of Industry.
Humboldt, with plenty of funding, enthusiastically reformed the education system, built new universities and vocational colleges, and achieved universal compulsory education for 6 years. The illiteracy rate has decreased from thirty-two percent to eleven percent, and in a few more years, there will be almost no illiteracy.
When Leader One first came to power, he believed in strengthening education and science in the country. He wanted to create a strong education system, help people understand science better, increase teachers’ and scientists’ pay and status, ensure everyone can go to school, excel in their studies, discover their talents, and promote a love for science.
After that, focusing on education and science would bring forth many talented individuals. Countless scientists and engineers would turn science and technology into productivity, driving Prussia into a new period of rapid development.
The Regent also wanted to give more money to the Ministry of Education and Science, but the warriors from the Ministry of National Defense strongly opposed it, so they had to give up on the idea.
After Prussia began industrializing, its economy grew quickly. The budgets for the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Industry increased significantly. The budget for the Ministry of National Defense also went up, but Ron used the money to reform various problems, so the improvements were not immediately visible.
The warriors didn’t understand the good intentions behind military reforms or the importance of science and education to the country. They only cared about having more soldiers, guns, and cannons. Since the regular army didn’t grow in size, they thought the Prince Regent was not giving enough money for the military.
On September 1st, Anna and Catherine returned from their vacation in France.
The Prince Regent held a cabinet meeting, attended by all ministers, the Chief Secretary, and several military representatives from the General Staff Department.
Leader One sat at the highest position in the meeting, facing the Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense, Chief Secretary of National Defense, Private Chief Secretary of National Defense, Second Secretary of Defense, Personnel Director of the Ministry of Defense, Chief of the General Staff, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and twelve other military personnel, followed by the Minister of Finance.
Most people in the first and second rows were wearing military uniforms, while civil servants were pushed to the back.
The meeting was supposed to discuss recent events and policies in Prussia, but it quickly turned into a discussion about military reform.
Chief Secretary Ron reported on the military reform situation.
The Prussian army combines conscription and recruitment, with professional soldiers needing training at military academies. Sergeants serve for 8-15 years and officers for 10-25 years.
All eligible men in Prussia must serve in the army for two years and six months, primarily as soldiers. After their service, they join the reserves, which require two weeks of military training annually to be ready for reactivation.
Lawyers, teachers, academicians, researchers from the Berlin University, and 11 other groups are exempt from military service.
The organization of the Prussian army is now in threes: three squads per platoon, and three platoons per company…
The highest level used to be the army, with corps being added only during wartime. After the reform, a standing army was established.
During peacetime, the Prussian army had 13-15,000 soldiers divided into six under-strength corps. With multiple levels of organization and redundant officers, once mobilized, it quickly transformed into 12 full-strength corps during wartime.
Ron said to the group, "As our country’s railway system improves and our registry system advances, our mobilization system will also be upgraded. My goal is that within two weeks of the prince regent’s order for national mobilization, the task will be complete."
Leader One sat in a high position, listening to the military reform progress and goals very satisfiedly. Ron was a perfect strategist, and his leading military reform plan will reshape a powerful Prussian army.
When Ron’s reforms are all completed, Prussia will maintain a military force of 150,000 during peacetime and unleash an army of 900,000 within two weeks of starting a war. If an extreme mobilization order is issued, they can have an additional 1 million troops after a month.
Ahem, national mobilization is already at the highest level available, an extreme mobilization order is only considered when Prussia is on the brink of destruction.
In addition to changes in conscription and troop organization, military reform also includes overall changes in weapons, tactics, pay, benefits for casualties, talent development, etc. Military reform is a huge undertaking, but Leader One trusts Ron to handle all of these aspects.
After discussing the military reform matters and getting approval for additional military funding from the prince regent, the military officials sat down happily while the civilian officials could finally have a say.
The finance, education, and industry departments successively presented their reports, which were handled by Your Highness the Regent one by one. Everything after that was just minor matters.
The trade department said that Prussia’s international trade environment has been somewhat unfavorable recently…
After Prussia fully industrialized, they needed to expand into the international market besides the domestic market. However, Prussia did not have colonies to sell its goods, and the colonial powers did not allow Prussia to sell goods in their colonies, so they had to resort to smuggling.
Prussia’s industrial products were labeled as made in England, and smugglers sold them secretly worldwide. People all over the world found that the recent goods they bought from England were of poor quality… and the sellers spoke a strange form of English.
Cheap fake products are everywhere, which made the Kingdom of England angry. The Royal Navy started cracking down on smuggling.
Leader One didn’t have a solution for this problem. He ordered to increase efforts against smuggling.
Good quality products were labeled as made in Prussia, while the bad ones were labeled as made in England. They were smuggled into the Kingdom of England. If the Royal Navy cracked down too hard, they would be labeled as made in France and sold in French colonies.
Not having enough places to sell goods was annoying. Many countries found colonies as a solution, but Leader One didn’t want Prussia to take the colonial route because England was too troublesome. If Prussia had too many colonies, England would interfere.
"We just need to find some valuable small colonies, like the islands in the Pacific Ocean that have phosphorus mines. Prussia can take advantage of them quietly. Let’s not make a big fuss and avoid useless and money-losing land. We won’t grab the leftover poor land in Africa."
"For cheap raw materials… we should cooperate friendly with underdeveloped countries, like in South America. We can help them industrialize, and they can give us the privilege to buy cheap raw materials."
The Minister of Industry asked, "Your Highness, without a lot of colonies, where should our products be sold?"
Currently, products are being sold at low prices to Russia or Italy, and smuggled to English and French colonies.
With Prussia’s industrialization speeding up, Russia and Italy also industrializing, and efforts to stop smuggling by England and France, the current way was no longer effective. Prussia needed new legitimate markets.
The prince regent said, "In Prussia, we don’t make money from the poor. We earn from those who have money."
Ten years later, they started upgrading their industries, focusing on advanced fields and creating cutting-edge technology that others couldn’t make. Others would have to buy from Prussia. Prussia aimed to earn money from the major powers.
Upgrading industries requires money, technology, and talent, which Prussia currently lacks. But it shouldn’t be a problem in ten years.
With the reforms in science and education, many talents and advanced technologies emerged. After upgrading industries, Prussia planned to sell high-end products to major powers. If successful, Prussia and Germany wouldn’t rely heavily on colonies or need them as much.
After hearing prince regent’s story, the Minister of Industry thought the plan was theoretically sound. However, the challenge lay in the huge funds needed for industrial upgrade. To achieve a high-end Prussian industry, all companies would require significant subsidies, estimated at around 1 billion pounds.
Borrowing money definitely won’t work.
Searching through all the noble Junker families in Prussia might not yield the needed funds either.
Normal capital accumulation was even less likely, as Prussia had relied on counterfeit goods and smuggling for initial accumulation, making little profit with high risks.
Where should they get the staggering 1 billion pounds from? That was the question.
Leader One happily said, "Do you know how Prussia’s ancestors, the Teutonic Knights, became wealthy?"
By defeating a rich country and receiving a huge war reparation, Prussia’s industries could easily upgrade.
In preparation for industrial advancement and future international trade, Leader One had everything ready, just waiting for the completion of the reform plans…
"Oh, where is the Minister of Propaganda?" Leader One suddenly remembered something.
"Your Highness, I’m here." A humble civil servant in the crowd raised his hand.
"I will allocate special funds for propaganda. You will go to major countries around the world, spend money to trend in the media, promote Prussian diligence, punctuality, cutting-edge technology, and claim Prussia as a leader in technology. Buy off foreign news agencies, journalists, and influencers to speak favorably of Prussia."
The Minister of Propaganda quickly took notes as the prince regent instructed to shape a positive image of Prussia…
External promotion should not only be empty boasting, but also include various anecdotes and jokes to achieve the goal. For example, using the story of a oil-paper package or satirical jokes to mock Prussian extreme rigidity. These can help shape a desired image in people’s minds.
Start shaping Prussia’s image now, after upgrading industries in the future, sell high-tech products with higher prices, insisting that Prussian cutting-edge technology is superior, and demanding higher prices.
Minister of Propaganda, "Your Highness, foreigners say that the Prussians are rude and uncivilized, not humorous or witty. Should we improve this image through propaganda?"
Leader One, "Yes, a sense of humor should not only be promoted, but also genuinely improved. Mr. Humboldt, please find a way to make this better."
Humboldt, "Yes, Your Highness, just wait and see how I arrange this."
Starting in September 1839, the Ministry of Education and Science began working to add humor courses to the national education system, to cultivate the nation’s sense of humor.
Textbooks such as "The Definition and Basic Theory of Humor," "The Value and Meaning of Humor in Human Social Activities," and "The Application and Practical Guidance of Different Types of Humor in Various Interpersonal Communication Situations."
One class every two weeks, including humor-related questions in the final and entrance exams’ comprehensive science section.
Example question: Why is the word "Auslanderdiskriminierung" humorous? (2 points)
Answer: Because this word is spelled wrong, the fifth character "a" should be changed to the umlaut "ä."
Later, during an inspection of a school, Your Highness the Regent discovered Humboldt’s reformed sense of humor courses and exam questions.
Leader One, "I don’t understand, but I am very shocked…"
