Chapter 563: The Supreme Louis Prize
As for the two Nordic nations—Sweden and Denmark—they were currently in a state of stagnation, and being quite far from the European mainland's core, they largely didn't require much attention.
However, the small German States were different; their independence absolutely had to be protected as much as possible.
While these minor states generally sided with Austria or Prussia, they each harbored their own subtle ambitions. With the right allure of benefits, they might very well fall into France's embrace—or at least covertly align with France.
Historically, Emperor Napoleon's approach of sweeping away all these small states was an egregious error. Even more baffling was his "mysterious operation" of expending effort to gather the small states of the German region and establish the Confederation of the Rhine!
This was practically handing the German States a "limited-time trial pass to a unified German Empire"...
Originally, numerous local feudal lords were incorporated into this system, church power tended toward unification, and even identical laws had to be enforced.
Later, when Germany unified, many administrative and judicial systems didn't need to be meticulously crafted from scratch; they simply copied the Confederation of the Rhine.
For the people of the German region, Emperor Napoleon was merely an aggressor who had stripped them of their freedom and equality. Consequently, they began to rally against France, a process that birthed German nationalism.
Joseph took a map and studied it. The most important remaining nation, he concluded, was the Ottoman Empire.
Moreover, due to the situation in North Africa, the Ottomans weren't looking favorably upon France, yet they dared not be overly forceful. Especially now that France controlled all the North African ports, the Ottomans couldn't maintain their Mediterranean Sea trade without French cooperation.
Therefore, strengthening trade ties with the Ottomans was still a viable option.
Once war broke out, with the open seas blockaded by Britain, Mediterranean Sea trade would become France's economic lifeline. Although the Ottoman Empire was weak, it remained a wealthy nation with immense market potential. If properly developed, it could provide France with substantial trade revenue.
As for striking a balance between politics and economics, that would require careful planning...
As Joseph pondered, he heard Eman gently tap on the door and announce, "Your Highness, according to your schedule, you are to attend the inauguration ceremony of the 'Palace of Grand Scholars' at two o'clock this afternoon."
Joseph glanced up at the clock; he still had 40 minutes. He reluctantly put down his pen, rose, and gestured for Eman to fetch his coat.
The "Palace of Grand Scholars" was a crucial component of his talent acquisition program.
Indeed, after a year of planning, France's talent acquisition program was finally officially launched. The inauguration of the "Palace of Grand Scholars" marked this milestone.
In addition to the Palace of Grand Scholars, other vital elements of the talent acquisition program included:
The reorganization of the French Academy of Sciences; the official awarding of the Supreme Louis Prize; and the launch of the "Journal of Natural Sciences."
Although dark clouds were already gathering over Europe, Joseph understood clearly that talent was the most precious resource, no matter the era.
Even during wartime, a single flash of genius from an individual could potentially lead to a new invention capable of turning the tide of battle.
Therefore, no matter how busy he was, he had to make time to focus on talent acquisition.
When Joseph stepped out, he saw Chief Minister Brienne, Minister of Trade Bailly, President of the French Academy of Sciences Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, and others already waiting in the main hall, ready to accompany him to the Palace of Grand Scholars.
Soon, several carriages departed from the Tuileries Palace, heading towards Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Inside the carriage, Le Roy, the Academy President who rarely had the opportunity to meet the Crown Prince, appeared somewhat nervous. He wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers, then took out a document and presented it to Joseph with both hands. "Your Highness, this is the committee's final list of recipients for the Supreme Louis Prize..."
The "Supreme Louis Prize" was an award established by Joseph, modeled after the future Nobel Prize.
To broaden the award's influence, the Supreme Louis Prize Committee spent nearly 400,000 francs solely on promotion across European nations. For half a year prior, newspapers throughout Europe were filled with news about the award.
As for the committee itself, it comprised 5 standing members and 25 judges. More than half of these members were from foreign countries, to underscore its fairness and impartiality.
Naturally, the judges' salaries were paid by the French Academy of Sciences, and their offices were located in Paris. If Joseph truly wished to manipulate the proceedings, it wouldn't be difficult. However, at least for now, there was no need for such machinations.
Joseph unfolded the list and saw:
Physics Prize: Henry Cavendish (Britain). Awarded for: Measuring the universal gravitational constant.
Chemistry Prize: Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (France). Awarded for: Elucidating the nature of combustion.
Mathematics Prize: Joseph-Louis Lagrange (France). Awarded for: Establishing the theory of first-order partial differential equations.
Biomedicine Prize: John Hunter (Britain). Awarded for: His immense contributions to perfecting pathological anatomy.
Literature Prize: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Hesse). Award-winning work: "The Sorrows of Young Werther."
Joseph nodded slightly. The selection results were remarkably fair, leaving no room for complaint. He had, however, rectified a historical regret of the Nobel Prize—the absence of a Mathematics Prize—and, in turn, canceled the Peace Prize.
'In the late 18th century, talking about world peace with people? Don't be ridiculous; no one cared about that at all.'
The yearning for peace only truly emerged after Emperor Napoleon and the European nations had clashed for decades, leaving scorched earth in their wake. It wasn't until the end of World War I that the concept of world peace gained universal recognition.
President Le Roy looked at the Crown Prince and cautiously said, "Your Highness, in truth, the committee consistently believed that you were the rightful recipient of the Chemistry Prize and the Biomedicine Prize... Your proposed 'new chemical reaction equations' have provided a tremendous impetus to chemical research. And the 'Crown Prince's Blessing' you developed has saved countless lives, from French nobles to Russian serfs, all treated by you."
He spread his hands. "Yet you insisted on declining the awards."
Joseph nodded, a hint of awkwardness on his face. 'As a member of the royal family and being relatively young, if I were to receive an award in the inaugural year, it would easily lead foreign scholars to question the impartiality of the Supreme Louis Prize.'
In reality, he always felt that the things he had created were merely plagiarized from the great minds of later generations. While using them to advance the nation was perfectly justifiable, using them to win awards felt somewhat disingenuous.
Moreover, it was truly as he said: for the first Supreme Louis Prize, allowing foreigners to win several categories would make the people perceive the committee as fair.
For instance, in the Biomedicine Prize, Lamarck was absolutely qualified to be chosen, but in the end, for publicity reasons, the award was given to John Hunter. Lamarck would simply have to wait until the next session.
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