Education and Competition

Over the years, France has primarily used two methods to export its soft power to other countries. One, more obvious, is through establishing media outlets such as newspapers; the other, more covert but perhaps more impactful in the long run, is education.

France's scientific and technological prowess is now almost universally acknowledged. Consequently, many countries send students to France. These students, in turn, naturally tend to uphold France's academic authority. This doesn't mean they love France more than their own countries. In fact, many students harbor the idea of "learning from France's strengths to influence their own." However, studying in France makes it impossible for them to remain completely unaffected by France political and ideological influences. Moreover, France's universal values already sound exceptionally prestigious.

Therefore, the ideas of those students who initially came with the intention of "learning from France's advanced technology to establish their own laws" gradually began to change. At first, some of them genuinely thought that learning France science and industrial technology would be enough. This was especially true for some ambitious aristocrats, who deeply abhorred revolution and equality. However, after spending some time in France, they discovered that the France system, France, and science were inextricably linked.

Especially some engineering students, like those Russia, returned to their countries and started legal movements. But they discovered that many things that were taken for granted and essential in France simply didn't work in Russia. As a result, the factories created by these legal movements were expensive, of poor quality, and had sky-high costs. Originally, these Russia students thought that Russia, with its vast land and abundant resources, could mine any mineral it wanted, and that labor costs were incredibly low compared to France, making it ideal for factory construction. But the result...

Some students even went back to Russia and mortgaged their family land to set up factories. But within two or three years, they went bankrupt for all sorts of bizarre reasons, reasons that couldn't even fill a notebook. They then sold their machines, returned to France, and became engineers in France factories.

And for those who study France, it goes without saying. If France's system is flawed and France universal values are not universal, then all the money they spent studying abroad wasted.

Therefore, international students naturally and generally tend to praise France's soft power. These people who stay in France are contributing to France's development, and those who return to their home countries are promoting France. Most of those studying science and engineering stay in France, while those studying arts and humanities mostly return to their home countries.

One of the best lessons international students learn from France is its emphasis on education. France invests a significant amount of money in education every year; the France government not only invests the most in education in the world in total amount, but also has the highest percentage of its fiscal revenue allocated to education in Europe.

When international students, especially those studying arts, return to China, one of the most common ideas they advocate is to learn from France's good example and vigorously develop education.

France, on the other hand, was very supportive of education in Europe —after all, those trained in science and engineering would come to France; those trained in the arts would promote France universal values. It seemed like a win-win situation. So when Prussia, facing economic hardship due to war reparations, had to cut education funding, Napoleon allocated a portion of Prussia's reparations to higher education in Prussia.

"His Frederick II vigorously promoted education, which is why Prussia once dominated Europe. Now, His Excellency Napoleon, the First Consul of France, vigorously promoted education, which is why France is leading the world in all aspects. This shows that education is truly the foundation of a nation, the basis of its wealth, and the key to its strength. Therefore, to develop our nation, we must also vigorously develop education. The France government provides an annual stipend to every France citizen enrolled in a university that has passed the accreditation of the French Academy of Sciences, commissioned by the France government. Furthermore, it guarantees loans at low interest rates from the Roman Bank for impoverished students to support their studies. This is a crucial reason for France's scientific leadership in the world. We should learn from this." This is said to be a quote from a letter written by Harvard University President John Thornton Kirkland to the President shortly after taking office.

The United States federal government simply didn't have the funds, so the issue of government-run education in the United States was naturally met with the attitude of "Our great America has its own national conditions." Then came the war, and naturally, no one cared about such matters anymore.

However, President John Thornton Kirkland still worked hard for the development of United States education. In addition to obtaining funding from enthusiastic individuals as much as possible, one way to improve the quality of education was to hire France students and even France scholars to teach at Harvard.

At that time, Harvard University's academic standing was nowhere near that of Europe universities, especially those in France. In the eyes of Europe of that era, Harvard was nothing more than a diploma mill. Its status was roughly similar to that of Tsinghua and Peking Universities during the Republic of China era—top universities in China, but in the eyes of civilized Westerners, they weren't even qualified as preparatory schools. Just like Tsinghua and Peking Universities at that time, a student returning from abroad could often become a professor at such a "top university" simply by relying on a foreign diploma, or even a forged one, and a foreign professor with a minor reputation.

Similar situations exist in the United States. Over the years, many United States students have come to France to study. To be honest, Napoleon was not particularly welcoming to these United States students at first, especially United States who came to study science and technology.

Napoleon said to Joseph, "These United States go to France to study, learn from Moliere, Corneille, Rousseau, and Voltaire, that's enough. Why bother learning science and technology? United States is so far from Europe. They learn science and technology, then go back to United States and start their own industry. Because of high transportation costs, our industrial products aren't enough to exert enough pressure on them. This is not good, really not good."

However, Louisiana was later developed on a large scale, and Napoleon stopped mentioning it. In any case, United States industry couldn't compete with Louisiana's industry.

However, because United States industry was severely impacted by Louisiana, they lost their place not only in the global market but also in the Americas market, and even faced difficulties in the domestic market. Therefore, nowadays, more and more United States are studying in France, emulating the works of Corneille, Rousseau, Voltaire.

Many of these people returned to the United States and became professors at various United States. To gain higher status and more income, they needed to convince people that what they could learn from them was worth the price. Therefore, if you were to ask where in the United States the most intellectually France people are, the answer would undoubtedly be United States universities.

Therefore, in addition to the media, United States universities are also a very important part of the Ministry of Truth's plan.

Of course, it wasn't just the Ministry of Truth that had its eyes on international students—damn it, those rats in the sewers, those disgusting color-changing monsters, those scum left over from the guillotine, even the guys from the Ministry of Police had their eyes on international students.

This is normal. Among the international students who come to France to study, some are very patriotic, while others simply want to change their personal fate. The Ministry of Ministry of Police first targets these students, then identifies potential targets, and then seeks opportunities to make tentative contact, including direct bribery or using methods such as consumer traps and gambling to inflate their debts, and then coercing and enticing them. In short, these are all old and tired methods. But the fact that these old methods have persisted shows that these tactics are still effective.

So the Ministry of Ministry of Police also had a large number of overseas student spies under their control. Because of these people, some of the Ministry of Truth's actions were discovered by the Ministry of Ministry of Police almost immediately. And then...

"Clearly, some of United States's characteristics are unnecessary, even dangerous, for us in France. For example, the United States' inexplicable sense of mission and their expectation of becoming a great power are very bad things. So, our old rival has started to take action. Hmm, recently at Yale University, a literature professor named Fafnir wrote a very interesting article called 'I Don't Care About the Rise of Great Powers, I Only Care About the Dignity of Ordinary People.' Hmm, this article immediately sparked widespread discussion. I think the Ministry of Truth is definitely involved in this."

Of course, such an operation was definitely not carried out by the Ministry of Truth on its own. This is a major national strategy. I know everyone has a bad opinion of the Ministry of Truth. To be honest, among our department, who has a good opinion of those guys? These idiots waste resources, are corrupt and inefficient. Their playboy minister would never be in that position if it weren't for his two good brothers. If this matter were handled by us, with the same amount of money, we would definitely do a much better job than them." In a simple office with only a table and a few chairs, Fouché was speaking to several of his subordinates.

"Exactly, the Ministry of Truth is just wasting resources. We should just leave their work to us."

"If we had their resources, we would have..."

Several subordinates expressed their disdain for the Ministry of Truth.

"Gentlemen, there's no need to say more. As you know, the guys from the Ministry of Truth have caused us countless problems over the years, and this time..."

"Let's give them a good thrashing!" one of the subordinates said viciously.

"Yes, let's show them what we're capable of!" another subordinate chimed in.

Fouché glanced at them; he knew they were only saying that to show their hatred for their primary enemy. They were all shrewd people; they knew those things could be said, but not done.

"Alright, enough of this nonsense," Fouché said. "Dealing with United States and peacefully evolving United States culture is a crucial national policy, an extremely important matter. If we intentionally engage in sabotage in this area, it would be an act of treason. Lucien may not be the most capable in many areas, but Bonaparte and Dean Bonaparte are both intelligent men. Do you think they wouldn't notice if we tried to sabotage them? What would happen if they discovered that we were sacrificing the interests of the entire nation for the sake of our department's interests? Who would ultimately be the loser? Therefore, if we truly undermine the Ministry of Truth in this matter, that's exactly what the Ministry of Truth wants to see. Because that would be undermining the entire nation, ultimately undermining ourselves."

In fact, the First Executive was very clear about the conflict between our two departments—how could he not be? But the First Executive set a basic principle: competition is acceptable, but there must be no undermining of each other.

Think about it, why did the First Consul General allow France to have two intelligence agencies? One very important reason was to create competition between us. Because competition improves our efficiency."

At this point, Fouché smiled and said, "Take ourselves as an example. If we know that the Ministry of Truth might also be following up on a case, our efficiency can immediately increase significantly. Yes, the Ministry of Truth does the same. That's what the First Consul wants. But if we undermine each other, that's not what he wants. The First Consul is the ultimate arbiter in our struggle with the Ministry of Truth. He's Lucien's brother, and although His Excellency the First Consul is a very, very fair person, the brotherly relationship can't be unaffected by it. Therefore, we are even less likely than the Ministry of Truth to undermine each other—personally, I do hope that Lucien will do more to undermine us."

So one of the subordinates asked, "Then, Minister, what should we do? Are we just...?"

"Of course we can't let this opportunity slip by. The First Consul wants us to compete with each other, so we'll compete with the Ministry of Truth, strive to do better than them, and at the same time keep a close eye on them, noting any shortcomings or loopholes. If there are any, we'll quietly fix them, then record the matter and hand it over to His Excellency the First Consul. This is the best way to deal with the Ministry of Truth. Gentlemen, do you understand?"

Everyone nodded. Then Fouché smiled and said, "Of course, because they lack the ability to analyze various information, whatever mistakes they make, as long as we can prevent them from harming the country's goals and rectify the situation, that would be best."

Everyone laughed. They all understood what Fouché meant. Directly undermining or setting traps wouldn't work, but inducing the other party to make a mistake and then successfully saving the day was perfectly acceptable.