The Fox of France - Chapter 361: The British Stir

Equivalent to 290 kilograms of gold, this bonus caused a stir throughout Europe. Discussions about this matter immediately pushed any other news to the second page. Even tabloids like the “Sun” couldn’t resist but discuss the issue with a serious demeanor.

However, the “Sun” being the “Sun,” after just a couple of sentences, veered off-topic towards sun-related matters. The conversation quickly turned to: “Which potential genius might win the favor of many female friends to accompany them to the mountains?”

But in various European countries, the specific emotions stirred by this news differed. In France, people had already begun to cheer for the Academy. Everyone felt it reflected France’s pursuit of science and progress, while the substantial prize mirrored the prosperity and wealth of the nation.

As for potential winners, most French people believed the medical prize would undoubtedly go to the Irishman, Carroll. However, they didn’t harbor any dissatisfaction because he wasn’t French. After all, Carroll’s mentor was French, and he achieved such feats in France. Additionally, the mathematics prize was highly likely to be awarded to a Frenchman. Of course, there was also considerable support for a young lad named Gauss from the Rhine Federation. Considering his youth and dashing appearance, quite a few French girls preferred to support him.

Over in the Rhine Federation, everyone’s attention was fixated on Gauss. Speculations ran rampant about whether this lad from their region would win. However, considering the prize was ultimately awarded by the French, most felt the chances of a Frenchman winning were higher.

“But it’s alright. Gauss is still young, and considering the French have always been fair, even if he doesn’t win this time, he’ll have another chance in two years, or even four years from now.” Many North Germans concerned about this matter thought so.

However, for the English, things took a different turn after seeing this news. Initially intrigued and excited, they soon discovered an embarrassing fact. It seemed that there were no English contenders in this selection.

Regarding medicine, it was passable. Traditionally, English medicine wasn’t backward, but it hadn’t advanced significantly either. In fact, until that great breakthrough appeared, most doctors in all of Europe were basically like Mongol butchers. So, not getting this wasn’t a big deal. Moreover, until now, the only nominated candidate in this selection was Doctor Carroll. So, this award had nothing to do with England, which wasn’t embarrassing.

However, the mathematics award was a different story. Back in the day, when Sir Newton was around, he alone dominated the entire European continent. (Of course, Sir Newton’s methods were somewhat…) Moreover, Sir Newton’s most important and greatest work was what? “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”! Yet, English mathematicians today couldn’t even make it to the shortlist, which was truly embarrassing.

Of course, next year there are awards for physics and chemistry, but Englishmen speculated that unless Sir Isaac Newton were to return, there would be absolutely no suspense in physics. As long as Joseph, who ushered in the age of electrification, participates, that award would surely be his. As for chemistry, if Mr. Lavoisier participates, well, there wouldn’t be any suspense there either. And for England, it’s just a matter of watching, not even having the confidence to say that these awards are biased towards the French. This is truly embarrassing, incredibly so! Hence, in some newspapers, the soul-searching began immediately:

“What’s wrong with this country? How did we fall from being the most advanced country in the world to this state in such a short time? It must be…”

Of course, this wasn’t a systemic issue. On this point, the British media were quite aware. Whether it was the Tories, the Whigs, or the New Tories, they were very clear that no matter how they quarreled, they couldn’t really bring down this structure. They couldn’t ruin the house while eating dinner. So, on this point, they were very principled—the bottom line being: the United Kingdom’s system is the most perfect in the world, the end of history, the ultimate truth, and doubting it is not allowed.

Since it wasn’t a systemic problem, it must be a physiological issue—putting it plainly, the people of this generation aren’t up to par if a mathematical genius couldn’t emerge!

So naturally, various newspapers condemned the younger generation of Britons, claiming they were idle and not serious. They’d compare them to Gauss and then to the Britons, making them feel ashamed. These papers further pointed out that if they didn’t repent and study hard, they’d soon be washed away by the rising French wave.

Naturally, British university students disagreed. They felt they were serious too and that comparing them to Gauss, a freak of nature, was unfair! This fellow was already outstanding before going to the University of Paris! Also, who was Gauss’s teacher? Joseph Bonaparte! Look at our teachers here, who among them matches up to him?

Oh, have you seen the preface to that groundbreaking paper in “The Lancet”? Ah, you surely haven’t. In England, journalists generally lack culture, how would they bother with such things? Well, Doctor Carroll admits that the entire concept and research direction were proposed by Dean Bonaparte. To say we could swap our position with Gauss, that we don’t dare say, but to say we could swap Carroll’s position, that we dare say, I can do that! But does England have such good teachers? Dean Bonaparte gives all these honors to his students. If this were in England, even if such a paper existed, Carroll’s name might have been thrown into obscurity. So, it’s entirely because you lot, the previous generation, aren’t cutting it!

Since British university students believed that Britain was lagging behind in science primarily because the previous generation wasn’t up to par, the most logical thing to do was to simply go study in France. Let’s not talk about medicine; since the “Lancet paper incident,” those studying medicine who didn’t go to France for further studies weren’t trusted by patients anymore. And now, after careful discussions, everyone discovered that it wasn’t just medicine, but even mathematics and other natural sciences couldn’t be learned in England anymore.

“Today in England, you can only study Shakespeare and Milton. As for natural sciences, there’s simply no way!”

As British university students questioned the quality of their universities, French newspapers immediately joined in. They began introducing the situations of various schools in France to British students intending to study there. While presenting these schools’ situations, French newspapers presented a highly persuasive ranking based on the official journal “Nature” of the French Academy and the number of citations the papers received, calculated according to specific rules. This ranking was detailed, covering overall rankings of schools as well as individual subject rankings. For students considering studying in France, this ranking was incredibly helpful.

“Why doesn’t Britain have such a ranking?” Many British students couldn’t help but ask this question.

This question naturally led to another: if British universities participated in this ranking, where would they rank? Some well-meaning individuals calculated it because in recent years, quite a few British learners, after completing their papers, prioritized submitting to “Nature” because though the French were strict in review, they were generous in remuneration.

The results weren’t very satisfactory. Cambridge was

even ranked behind some French teacher training colleges. This was… Of course, this couldn’t entirely explain the problem because, after all, the English didn’t submit every paper to “Nature” like the French did. So, the level of Oxford and Cambridge should be stronger than these teacher training colleges, probably, maybe, almost on par with the University of Paris. Yeah… just a bit behind, really, just a tiny bit.

However, despite such forced explanations, a large number of British youths heading to study in France became a trend, accompanied by another complaint: British passenger ships were heartless, expensive, and uncomfortable! They simply couldn’t compare to European ones! The “Navigation Act” had turned those ship owners into lazy bums!