War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Compared with Tirol, the education popularization work carried out in Chenla region is much smoother. Due to the cultural gap between the East and the West, local people regard 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 had 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 the Vietnamese and Siamese invaders were able to be driven away, the entire territory of Chenla was liberated, and the exploitation of local nobles was greatly reduced.

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. The so-called learning and application is not the case.

And this time, the missionaries learned and summarized the experiences 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 arranged, and the surrounding walls and ceilings were inlaid with murals with strong religious themes.

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 also ordered school students to kneel to listen to lectures because this can show respect for the gospel of God.

On the other side of the classroom were the senior staff of the Skitarii, holding wooden rulers and rattan sticks. They 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 during 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.

They ranged from being punched and kicked to being beaten to a bloody pulp by a rattan ruler. The person who beat someone 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 electorate theory 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 "Elected People."

The nobles, landowners, and businessmen who later defected to the church were called "first-class citizens." Civilians further down are called "second-class citizens." Those who do not believe in religion are 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.

After that 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 has become more stable.

In fact, in the eyes of the church, there are only distinctions between "elected people," "common people," 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 will also have to undergo assessment or make contributions to prove that they are qualified to become voters.

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

And this is also the most fundamental reason why those Chenla people are so crazy about receiving education. However, this is not without its advantages, that is, the Austrianization of the upper strata of Chenla has become extremely rapid.

Another point is that the living standards of the people in the clerical areas of Chenla and the 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 agricultural tools, knives, and miscellaneous items. device.

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

This huge contrast makes the people of the diocesan 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 amount invested in improving the colonial environment transformed 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' dimensionality 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.