Chapter 375: Education Undertaking

Gao Da didn't care how troubled the British were at this time, because of the recent occupation of Morocco, the whole of Spain was quite excited.

In order to better carry out the localization of Morocco, after the discussion of the Spanish government, it was finally decided to carry out a major city renaming in the whole of Morocco.

These Moroccan cities would build a large number of Spanish-style buildings and migrate a large number of people from Spain and other European countries.

Besides this, the names of the cities would also be changed to Spanish-style names, completely removing the previous Moroccan style.

After such a set of actions, the localization work of Morocco was basically completed. It only needed to deeply implement the work of halving the Moroccan population and migrate more European populations to complete the progress of the entire localization step by step.

Except for personally appointing the Viceroy of the Moroccan colony, Gao Da did not pay too much attention to the localization work of the Moroccan colony.

For the current Minister of Colonial Affairs, Senator Anlike, and the Viceroy of the Moroccan colony he appointed, Gao Da was quite trusting.

The localization of the Moroccan colony was actually not a difficult job, and it could just be used to test their abilities.

Compared with these tasks, what Gao Da was more concerned about was the scientific development and technological progress in Europe.

In the blink of an eye, it was already 1896, and the 20th century was about to open its curtain soon.

What technology in the 20th century was most important for military aspects? Among them, the most worth mentioning were probably the two technologies of tanks and airplanes.

Although the era when tanks and airplanes showed their power would have to wait until World War II, in fact, even before World War I or even World War I, tanks and airplanes already had prototypes.

Any invention of science and technology was not achieved overnight; it was realized by later generations standing on the shoulders of giants after generations of pioneers explored in this regard.

For example, the famous father of modern airplanes, the Wright brothers, their first flight experiment in the true sense was in 1903.

The airplane technology at that time was not mature, and airplanes only showed their power in World War II; there was an interval of thirty or forty years in between.

The famous father of airplanes was not the creator of airplane technology either. As early as thousands of years ago, people had various fantasies about flying.

The design principle of modern airplanes was proposed by the British scientist George Cayley. He clarified the design idea of separating lift and power and was hailed as the father of aeronautics.

And the design idea proposed by George Cayley was at the beginning of this century, and decades had passed since then.

It could be clearly seen that various scientific technologies, including airplanes, were all explored step by step and eventually evolved.

This actually also represented one thing: wanting to develop a technology required relying on long-term exploration and a large amount of capital and the investment of scientists.

Gao Da certainly knew when airplanes and tanks were invented, but Gao Da would not wait until that time to study related technologies.

As early as a few years ago, Gao Da had established research projects related to airplanes and tanks at the Royal Academy of Sciences.

At that time, for the sake of confidentiality, the research project related to airplanes was called Sky, and the project related to tanks was called Water Cabinet.

At present, after several years of research, both research projects had made certain progress.

Of course, wanting to manufacture finished airplanes and tanks based on this, the difficulty was still a bit large.

Tanks were relatively simple, and the most primitive tanks were just vehicles covered with a layer of iron sheet. Currently, cars already existed, and covering them with a thin layer of iron armor, saying that such a product was a primitive tank was actually no problem.

But airplanes were different. No matter how primitive the airplane was, the finished airplane was destined to be able to fly into the sky in a controllable manner.

If this point could not be realized, no matter what the materials composing the airplane were, it could not be called a complete airplane.

The scientific technology of this era wanted to manufacture a controllable airplane that could fly into the sky, and the difficulty was still very high.

Gao Da had visited the Sky project team many times, and according to their research and development progress, he appropriately lowered the requirements.

Gao Da suggested that the Sky project team first manufacture an airplane that could glide by wind power, and after success, then manufacture a glider that could control the direction.

After succeeding again, then considering adding power to the glider would not be too late. Anyway, there were too many factors to consider in terms of airplanes, and this kind of technology could not be rushed.

Gao Da also encouraged the experts of these project teams and personally promised that during their research and development period, no matter how much the research and development funds were, he would absolutely not lack a single cent.

And don't say, Gao Da had never been stingy with these project researches of the Royal Academy of Sciences.

Since the establishment of the Royal Academy of Sciences, the project teams established were one after another. At first, because the number of academicians of the Royal Academy of Sciences was not large, the scientific research funds invested in the Royal Academy of Sciences every year were only a few million pesetas.

But with the continuous expansion of the number of academicians of the Royal Academy of Sciences, the research and development funds also continued to double.

The current number of people in the Royal Academy of Sciences had exceeded 2,000, which was a super-large scientific research association in the true sense.

You know, there were only two ways to join the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences. One was to receive an invitation letter from the Royal Academy of Sciences through one's own research results, and the other was to be recommended by an academician of the Royal Academy of Sciences, and then enter after a series of reviews.

No matter which way to enter the Royal Academy of Sciences, the review of the Academy of Sciences was quite strict. Doing so was also to ensure that those who entered the Royal Academy of Sciences were high-level talents in Europe or even the whole world, and there would be no experts who were just muddling along mixed in.

This was also the reason why Gao Da was not stingy at all with the academicians of the Royal Academy of Sciences. Since he knew that these scientists were capable, Gao Da naturally did not mind using funds to help them conduct research.

After so many years of development, the Royal Academy of Sciences already had different departments. Among them, the most important were the physics and chemistry departments, as well as other departments including geology, life sciences, and medical departments, etc., which were in charge of different types of academicians and research projects.

Since there were departments, there were naturally heads of each department.

Whether it was the head of each department or the head of a research project, they could receive an additional salary on top of the original academician's salary.

This could also be considered an incentive for these scientists. As long as they could join the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, even if there were no major breakthroughs in scientific research for the rest of their lives, they could live without worry for a lifetime.

The treatment of these scientists in Spain was excellent, which was also the reason why the academicians of the Royal Academy of Sciences continued to expand after so many years of development.

Except for a small part cultivated by Spain itself, most of the academicians were lured by Spain from various European countries through awards and other benefits.

Calling it luring sounded better, but calling it digging a wall was actually more accurate.

But this phenomenon was actually very common in various European countries. After all, the area of European countries was too small, and coupled with the relatively developed economy, immigration was very normal.

The original Spain did not have much attraction for the European public; after all, Spain's geographical location was not only relatively remote, but its economy was also relatively backward, and the education and medical environment were also relatively poor.

But after many reforms and developments in Spain, Spain's own industry and economy had reached the level of middle and upper powers, and the education and medical environment had also been greatly improved.

For many Europeans, Spain was also a relatively good place to go. Although Spain still had such or such shortcomings, Spain also had its own advantages.

Compared with the United States, which was a popular immigration choice, Spain could also avoid war, and it was located in Europe, not too far from home.

Going to the United States might be safer, but the problem was that the United States and Europe were separated by the Atlantic Ocean, which was equivalent to leaving one's hometown forever, and wanting to return to Europe would be basically impossible.

The Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences had a total of 2,224 academicians, among which the most basic first-level academicians had a total of 972 people, accounting for 43.7%.

There were 772 second-level academicians, accounting for 34.7%. The number of third-level academicians was also not small, with a total of 480 people, accounting for 21.6%. Whether it was the heads of various departments of the Royal Academy of Sciences or the heads of various research projects, their own identities were still academicians of the Royal Academy of Sciences.

First-level academician was the most basic title of the Royal Academy of Sciences, while third-level academician was the highest title of the Royal Academy of Sciences.

All scientists who could obtain the title of third-level academician were, without exception, carefully selected by the Royal Academy of Sciences, and they were also existence that could be called scientific masters throughout Europe.

These people either possessed extremely rich theoretical knowledge and practical experience, or had developed quite important scientific inventions, otherwise they were not qualified to be promoted to third-level academicians.

Spain could have 480 third-level academicians, which was enough to show how hard Gao Da had worked in talent excavation over the years.

In order to lure these talents, Gao Da offered a salary that was enough to attract the attention of scientists all over the world.

The salary of the most basic first-level academician of the Royal Academy of Sciences was as high as 3,500 pesetas, and coupled with the income from other part-time jobs of first-level academicians, the annual income was at least 5,000 or 6,000 pesetas or more.

The income of second-level academicians was as high as 7,500 pesetas, and coupled with other part-time income, it could easily exceed 10,000. If there was progress in relatively important research and development projects, whether it was the income brought by the research and development project itself or Gao Da's reward, it was enough to make the income of these second-level academicians double several times.

As for the highest-level third-level academicians, the basic income was as high as 12,500 pesetas. Most third-level academicians also held some relatively important positions, such as honorary professors, deans, and vice-deans of some universities in Spain.

These part-time jobs at universities could allow them to obtain income comparable to their basic salary, not to mention the income brought by hosting a major research project, which could also allow their income to double several times on this basis.

This also led to the fact that academicians of the Royal Academy of Sciences always wanted to be promoted to third-level academicians, because the income of third-level academicians was really high, and the basic income alone was already the income of a Spanish family for several or even more than ten years.

Currently, among these academicians of the Academy of Sciences in Spain, the most famous should be Benz, the general manager of the Royal Mercedes-Benz Automobile Company, and Gramme, the general manager of the Spanish Royal Electric Power Company.

Gao Da personally promised these academicians of the Royal Academy of Sciences that as long as the research project was successful, the project team could share 5% of the benefits brought by the research project.

Whether it was the income brought by cars or the income brought by electricity, 5% of the share represented an astronomical figure.

This was also the reason why Benz and Gramme were famous; they had become famous multi-millionaires, and such wealth was what other academicians in Spain wanted to achieve.

Although many scientists did not value fame and wealth, there were also many scientists who valued money relatively highly. After all, besides being able to improve their own living standards, money could also allow their families to live better.

At the same time, having more money could also make their project research go more smoothly. There were a large number of unknown talents in the whole of Europe, and the reason why they were unknown was either because their own luck was insufficient, or because they did not have much economic ability to support themselves to conduct project research.

For example, the famous father of airplanes, the Wright brothers. Their early airplane experiments did not bring them much income, and the Wright brothers were even impoverished because of this.

If it weren't for finally obtaining funding from the US military, I am afraid that the Wright brothers would have gone bankrupt before the real airplane was born, and naturally, there would be no legend about the Wright brothers left.

The current situation in Europe, using the phrase "thousand-mile horses are common, but Bole is not common" to summarize, was really appropriate.

Because Europe valued education, there was no shortage of talents within Europe. Except for those famous scientists in history, there were also many scientific workers with considerable ability within Europe.

Gao Da did not have a filter for these historical celebrities, nor would he simply think that as long as they were historical celebrities, their abilities must be particularly excellent.

These historically famous scientists, besides their own extremely outstanding talents, their own learning and life experiences were also the reasons why they became brilliant.

It was precisely because Gao Da knew this point that he did not disrupt the life trajectories of some famous scientists who were currently in their youth.

Anyway, Gao Da clearly knew a large number of famous scientists, and it would not be too late to lure them after they gradually grew up.

Currently, Spain's main goal of luring talents was those scientists who already had considerable ability. No matter whether these people left a heavy stroke in history or not, as long as it was determined that their ability in scientific research was indeed good, they were the target of Spain's luring.

Even if the ability of these experts was not enough to join the Royal Academy of Sciences, they could be invited to Spain to serve as visiting professors at some universities.

Besides university professors, there were other positions; anyway, as long as they were talents, Spain was warmly welcomed.

It was precisely because of the joining of these backbone-like talents that Spain's reform and development were so smooth.

After more than 20 years of development, Spain had caught up with the progress of European countries in terms of education.

Except for the elderly and disabled who really could not get rid of the identity of illiterates, most Spaniards had completed at least primary school education.

The nine-year compulsory education pilot work carried out in Ma Deli and Barcelona was also quite smooth. According to the report of Minister of Education Alan Carlton, in the new year, which was 1896, the education department would try to promote nine-year compulsory education in more cities.

In the past 1895, Spain's fiscal annual revenue reached a new high, as high as 1.4462 billion pesetas. The total fiscal expenditure in the same year was only 1.3964 billion pesetas, which was still because Spain launched the Morocco War.

If the Morocco War was not launched, the fiscal expenditure would be even less, at least 20 million pesetas, which also proved that Spain's current fiscal situation was indeed quite good.

The foreign debt owed by Gao Da in the first few years of becoming the King of Spain had basically been repaid by now.

The Spanish government only had the debt owed to the royal family that had not been repaid, but Gao Da did not care about this small amount of money, and specifically ordered the government to repay it slowly, so as not to affect the fiscal budget of various departments.

It was precisely because of this that the education department had such confidence to promote the implementation of nine-year compulsory education nationwide.

The influence of nine-year compulsory education was very far-reaching. Don't look at the difference between nine-year compulsory education and six-year compulsory education as just three years of junior high school, in fact, it could also affect the number of students in high school and even university.

After the government took on the tuition fees of primary and junior high school for Spaniards, those poor families would have more funds to allow students to attend high school.

A very simple truth: the more primary school students, the more middle school students there would naturally be. The more middle school students, the more high school students there would naturally be.

With more high school students, there would naturally be more university students every year.

Education was originally like this, one ring after another, from the most basic primary school education affecting the middle-level junior high and high school education, and then affecting the high-level university education.

If nine-year compulsory education could be popularized, this would be an important milestone in the history of education for Spain.

Spain, which had completed the popularization of nine-year compulsory education, would not say it was the world's number one in education, but at least it could rank in the forefront of Europe, stable in the top three and striving for the first level.

It was precisely because he understood the importance of education to the country that Gao Da immediately summoned Minister of Education Alan Carlton after seeing that report, and asked about the problems encountered by the education department in promoting nine-year compulsory education in Ma Deli and Barcelona, and what advance responses the education department should make for the promotion of nine-year compulsory education nationwide.

After a discussion lasting nearly two hours, Gao Da found that this Minister of Education had sufficient preparation for promoting nine-year compulsory education nationwide.

Since the education department already had sufficient preparation, Gao Da would naturally not block it again.

Anyway, Spain currently had enough funds to promote nine-year compulsory education, and the colonies from Africa could provide Spain with a large amount of fiscal revenue every year.

Spending this money anywhere was spending, so it might as well be used in the education and medical industries, so that Spaniards could truly feel the difference between the current Spain and the previous Spain.

If the Spain of the "Sun Never Sets" era could spend a large amount of wealth on the development of the mainland, the one to promote the first industrial revolution might not be the British, but Spain.

Hurrying and rushing, I still caught up, thank you all for your support!

Today's daily ten-thousand task was successfully completed, and I still need to do ten thousand for two more days!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 376 =====