Chapter 275 A few things about pilot education (Part 2)

Author: Seven Years Period

Chapter 275 A few things about pilot education (Part 2)

Compared with Tirol, the education popularization work carried out in Chenla is much smoother. Due to the gap between the cultural atmosphere of the East and the West, the local people regard receiving education as a gift.

Because this kind of treatment has been monopolized by the wealthy families in Chenla since ancient times, it is understandable that they are excited at this moment.

In view of the large number of people in the Chenla area, the church had no choice but to select or draw lots to determine who would have the opportunity to receive education.

According to the final results, most of the first batch of Chenla people who were given this opportunity were religious fanatics and children of members of the Skitarii.

Previously, it was with the help of the Austrian church that we were able to defeat the Vietnamese and Siamese invaders, liberate the entire territory of Chenla, and greatly reduce the exploitation of local nobles.

Moreover, the various technologies brought over have greatly liberated local productivity and even saved the royal family.

Therefore, the vast majority of Chenla people have a fanatical worship of the church, and of course the missionaries are indispensable for leading this enthusiasm. After all, this is also an old trick of the Spaniards back then. The so-called learning and application is not the same.

And this time, the missionaries learned and summarized the experience and lessons of their predecessors, and did not directly seek the gold and land like the general colonists.

Although many schools were built temporarily, they were meticulously decorated, and the surrounding walls and ceilings were inlaid with murals with strong religious overtones.

The church spreads knowledge in the name of the gospel of God, and learning Austrian is the way to obtain the gospel.

In addition, local officials in Chenla ordered school students to kneel to listen to lectures because this could show respect for the gospel of God.

On the other side of the classroom were the senior staff of the Skitarii, armed with wooden rulers and canes, who accompanied the missionaries in class.

These servants of God felt helpless as they looked at the young men kneeling neatly on the ground.

They preferred that the locals could sit in class, but they were opposed by the Skitarii and the Chenla people (elects) who were the first to attach themselves to the church, because the latter believed that not kneeling was not enough to show their piety to God.

Finally, under the insistence of the missionaries, a cushion was added under the knees of the teenagers, but their bodies still maintained their kneeling posture.

As for the discipline in class, it was so good that it was shameful, because anyone who dozed off, skipped class, made trouble, or answered questions incorrectly would be severely beaten by the soldiers of the Skitarii.

It ranged from being punched and kicked to being beaten with a rattan ruler to a bloody pulp. And the person who beat the person was most likely the child's parents or clan leader.

The reason for this situation is that the Chenla people combined the actual local conditions and the church's theory of voters to develop a system similar to the Indian caste system.

As long as they are fair-skinned, speak Austrian, and understand religion, their status will rise.

The group of slaves rescued when the church first arrived in Kampong Som and those who directly converted to Catholicism were called the "elect".

The nobles, landowners, and businessmen who later defected to the church were called "first-class citizens." The civilians who followed down were called "second-class citizens." And those who did not believe in religion were called "abandoned people."

Archbishop Rauscher followed Franz's suggestion and implemented an assessment system locally. The requirements for voters were particularly strict, so the parents and patriarchs who were voters monitored the teaching situation so frantically.

The area directly controlled by the church in Chenla has a population of about 3 million, but the number of voters is only about 20,000, of which 3,000 are members of the Skitarii. They actually occupy almost all senior official positions in the army and military police.

The most powerful group of people besides church missionaries.

Then there are those former Zhenla elites.

At first, these people were not convinced by this system and even raised troops to resist. However, the unparalleled gap in military strength between the two sides finally dashed their hopes and illusions.

Not to mention these Chenla people, even the Vietnamese who once conquered them were vulnerable to the Skitarii. Therefore, after the test of several wars, this system became more and more stable.

In fact, in the eyes of the church, there are only distinctions between "voters", "commoners" and "abandoned people". All civilians who want to become voters must pass an assessment or make a "contribution".

Of course, the specific selection criteria are naturally controlled by the church.

After the children of voters are born, they will not directly inherit the identity of their parents, but must also undergo assessment or make contributions to prove that they are qualified to become voters.

(In addition, children of voters who have sacrificed their lives for the church or made great contributions can also directly obtain voter status.)

And this is also the fundamental reason why those Chenla people are so crazy about being able to receive education. However, this is not without its benefits, that is, the Austrianization of Chenla’s upper class has become extremely rapid.

Another point is that the living standards of people in Chenla's clerical areas and non-clerical areas are very different.

Under the leadership of the church, the ecclesiastical district actively carried out the construction of water conservancy, adopted a more reasonable farming system, and researched and used new agricultural tools and fertilizers. At the same time, there were a large number of iron tools smelted from Siam, including farm tools, knives, and miscellaneous items.

device.

The non-clerical areas are still in a very primitive agricultural civilization. They are extremely short of iron tools, and their level of technological development is extremely low. They have even regressed due to some special reasons, and their actual level is not as good as that of the Tang Dynasty.

This huge contrast makes the people in the ecclesiastical district believe even more in the so-called "electorate" theory.

In addition, the "dedication theory" helped the church successfully seize a large amount of wealth in the Chenla area, most of which was shipped back to Austria.

But even a small part of it was invested in improving the colonial environment, which brought about earth-shaking changes in the country.

In just a few years, the influence of the Chenla royal family was swallowed up by the church. Even those local forces that clung to their rights without letting go became confused and frightened under the impact of the industrial countries' dimension reduction.

Of course, the church did not rush to convert those non-clerical areas into ecclesiastical areas. Instead, under Franz's suggestion, it adopted a strategy of gradual encroachment.

Coming from a later generation, he always felt that nothing was more important than a solid foundation, so cultivating more spiritual Austrians and pro-Austrian elite groups was a top priority.

Just as the plan to integrate Chenla was gradually moving steadily along the normal track, the Gallic Rooster also began to act unwillingly.

In fact, not long ago, Archbishop Rauscher had noticed some actions of the French in Vietnam, and their goal was undoubtedly to conquer there.

At the same time, because the Kingdom of Siam did not take serious precautions against its neighbors to the east, and its geographical advantage of rich products can be connected with the Chenla area, the archbishop felt that it was necessary to seize the opportunity to attack Vietnam and Siam (Thailand) before other powers.

) embark on a friendly mission.
Chapter completed!