Chapter 564 The Supreme Louis Prize
As for the two Nordic countries, Sweden and Denmark, they are both in a state of survival now, and they are far away from the core of the European continent, so basically there is no need to pay too much attention.
On the other hand, the small states in Germany must protect their independence as much as possible.
Although these small countries will basically follow Austria or Prussia, they each have their own small ideas. As long as they are lured by suitable interests, they may also fall into the arms of France - at least secretly.
Historically, it was absolutely a huge mistake to use the emperor to wipe out all these small states. What's even more "mysterious" is that the Emperor spent his energy bringing together the small countries in the German region to form the Rhine Confederation!
This is simply giving the German countries a "unified German Empire limited time experience card"...
Originally a large number of local feudal lords were included in this system, church forces tended to be unified, and the same laws were even enforced.
Later, when Germany was unified, many administrative and judicial systems did not need to be bothered to be developed by themselves. They could just copy the Rhine Federation.
For the people in the German region, they would only think that the emperor was an invader, and they had lost their freedom and equality. So began to rally against France, giving birth to German nationalism in the process.
Joseph took the map and looked at it. The most important country left was probably the Ottomans.
To be honest, the trade volume between France and the Ottomans is still very considerable, but making good friends with the Ottomans will inevitably offend Russia and Austria at the same time - the latter two are both eyeing the vast territory of the Ottomans.
And because of the events in North Africa, Osman now has a bad attitude towards France, but he does not dare to be too tough. Especially now that the ports in North Africa are controlled by France, the Ottomans cannot do without France if they want to maintain trade in the Mediterranean.
Therefore, trade ties with the Ottomans can still be strengthened.
Once the war started and the outer seas were blocked by Britain, Mediterranean trade was France's economic lifeline. Although Ottoman is weak, it is still a very wealthy country with huge market potential. If developed well, it can provide France with a lot of trade income.
As for how to find a balance between politics and economics, this requires careful planning...
While Joseph was thinking, he heard Emang knock on the door and said: "Your Highness, according to the schedule, you have to attend the opening ceremony of the 'Great Scholars Palace' at two o'clock in the afternoon."
Joseph looked up at the clock. There were still 40 minutes left, so he had to put down his pen, stood up and motioned to Eman to get his coat.
The “University Scholars Palace” is a very important part of his talent introduction plan.
Yes, the French talent introduction plan has finally been officially launched after a year of planning. The opening of the "University Scholars Palace" is a symbol.
In addition to the University Scholars Palace, other important components of the talent introduction plan include:
The French Academy of Sciences was reorganized; the "Louis Supremacy Prize" was officially awarded; the "Journal of Natural Sciences" was founded.
Although the clouds are beginning to gather in Europe at the moment, Joseph also knows very well that talent is the most precious resource at any time.
Even during a war, it is very likely that a genius will have a flash of inspiration and bring about a new invention that can turn the tide of the war.
Therefore, no matter how busy he is, he must take time to pay attention to talent introduction.
When Joseph went out, he saw Chief Minister Brian, Minister of Trade Baiy, President of the French Academy of Sciences Jean-Baptiste Leroy and others waiting in the hall, preparing to go with him to the Palace of Universities.
Soon, several carriages left the Tuileries Palace and headed towards the Saint-Germain district. On the carriage, Leroy, the dean who rarely saw His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, seemed a little nervous. He wiped the sweat from his palms on his trouser legs, took out a document and handed it to Joseph with both hands: "Your Highness, this is the final assessment of the committee. List of winners of the 'Supreme Louis Prize'..."
The so-called "Supreme Louis Prize" is the award established by Joseph to benchmark the Nobel Prize in later generations.
In order to expand the influence of the award, the Supreme Louis Prize Committee spent nearly 400,000 francs just on publicity in European countries. For half a year, newspapers in various countries were full of news about the awards.
As for this committee, there are a total of 5 standing committee members and 25 judges. More than half of the committee members are from abroad to demonstrate fairness and impartiality.
Of course, the judges' salaries are paid by the French Academy of Sciences, and their office is in Paris. It is not difficult for Joseph to do some behind-the-scenes operations, but at least for now, there is no need.
Joseph unfolded the list and saw that it read:
Physics Prize: Henry Cavendish (UK). Award-winning achievement—determination of the gravitational constant.
Chemistry Prize: Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (France). Award-winning achievement - Illuminating the nature of combustion.
Prize in Mathematics: Joseph Louis Lagrange (France). Award-winning achievement—creating the theory of first-order partial differential equations.
Biomedicine Prize: John Hunter (UK). Award-winning achievement - great contribution to the improvement of pathological anatomy.
Literature Prize: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Hesse). Award-winning work - "The Sorrows of Young Werther".
Joseph nodded slightly. The selection results were very fair and there was nothing to say. It's just that he made up for the regret of the Nobel Prize in history - no mathematics prize - and canceled the Peace Prize accordingly.
At the end of the 18th century, did you talk to people about world peace? Don't be ridiculous, no one cares about this.
The desire for peace only began to appear after the emperor and European countries had been fighting for decades, and the land was scorched. It was not until the end of World War I that world peace was recognized by everyone.
Dean Leroy looked at the Crown Prince and said carefully: "Your Highness, in fact, the committee has always believed that you are the one who should win the chemistry award and the biomedicine award... The 'new chemical reaction equation' you proposed has great influence on chemical research. A huge boost. And the 'Crown Prince's Blessing' you researched has saved the lives of countless people, from French nobles to Russian serfs."
He spread his hands and said, "But you insist on giving up the award."
Joseph nodded slightly awkwardly: "As a member of the royal family and relatively young, if I win the award in the first session, it will easily make foreign scholars question the fairness of the Supreme Louis Award."
In fact, he always felt that the things he created were copied from the big names of later generations. It was understandable to use them to develop the country, but it was a bit unethical to use them to win prizes.
And it is true as he said, allowing foreigners to win more awards for the first Louis Prize will make the people feel that the committee is fair.
In fact, just like the Biomedicine Award, Lamarck was definitely qualified, but in the end it was awarded to John Hunter for the sake of publicity. Lamarck can only wait until the next session.
(End of chapter)