The Rise of Australasia

Chapter 816 -610: Royal Academy_1

The economic recovery and prosperity of various nations had a noticeable feature, which was the continuous inflation of per capita income, even doubling compared to before the war.

But the question is, did the actual income of these countries’ workers really increase? Perhaps not.

Firstly, they faced longer working hours. The war caused the European powers to lose a large portion of their population, and the shortage of labor prompted some factories to exploit their workers.

Workers’ incomes appeared to increase, but they paid with much longer working hours than before, and their earnings per hour even decreased when calculated.

Moreover, with the rising commodity prices and the devaluation of currency, the quality of life and happiness index of the people were continuously declining.

Conversely, the workers of Australasia were markedly different from those European nations.

Australasia’s eight-hour work system was still fairly steadfastly implemented, although it temporarily shifted to a ten-hour work system during the war, but the workers’ incomes were also growing.

The greatest benefit for Australasian workers should be the eight-hour work system, a system not even some countries in later generations have implemented.

For Arthur and the current Australasia, the eight-hour work system was also deemed a suitable work time.

It could meet the country’s production needs while also allowing workers and citizens ample rest and entertainment time.

This is also why thus far, the Ministry of Civil Affairs hasn’t formulated too many welfare policies.

After all, just firmly implementing the eight-hour work system already made a clear difference compared to European nations, naturally enhancing the allure for immigrants.

As for those further measures, such as a higher percentage of medical reimbursements, higher income and subsidies, shorter work times, etc., these policies can be left for future monarchs of Australasia to implement.

For Arthur, his prestige among the civilian population had nearly reached its peak, so there was no need to utilize such policies to boost his reputation anymore.

However, it’s different for future monarchs. It’s essential for each monarch to carry out actions fitting for the era to entrench Monarchism deeply in people’s hearts and ensure the people genuinely recognize each monarch of Australasia.

Depending on the Royal financial group, future monarchs could also issue more detailed and generous subsidies and policies to win over public sentiment and enhance their prestige.

In this era, it was unnecessary. After all, too high a welfare system could make the people complacent.

If they were not worried about their basic needs without working, then how many would take the initiative to work?

If we’re talking about the class that lived the most carefree life currently, it should be the new nobles who were ennobled in large numbers after the war.

Although not numerous, adding up all the new nobles only came to a few hundred. But compared to common people, these nobles were already quite wealthy, with any given new noble being a middle-class individual with a net worth of several hundred to over a thousand Australian dollars.

Even though the new nobility of Australasia didn’t possess any Territory, this didn’t hinder them from building castles on their Fieldlands.

In fact, all of Australasia’s land was privatized, and the land granted to these nobles was perpetual.

The government didn’t impose any restrictions on castle construction; as long as they had the money, they were free to build castles on their land.

However, whether they were Sirs, Barons, or Earls, the scale of the castles they built was not extravagant, with an average expense of around 1000 to 2000 Australian dollars, which was essentially a larger Manor House.

Although Australasia didn’t allow the possession of private Armed Forces, if under the guise of hunting squads, these nobles could have a hunting team of 5 to 10 people, which was sufficient for patrolling and protecting their manors.

Of course, these hunting squads could only be equipped with hunting rifles or handguns. Standard military weapons, including machine guns and Firearm with high lethality, were definitely not to be seen among civilians.

Moreover, each hunting squad had its tasks, with a specific number of game required to be hunted annually, which was also a measure encouraging Australasians to actively hunt wildlife to maintain ecological balance.

This was somewhat distinctive for Australasia. While other countries had begun to restrict hunting, Australasia was in a state of encouraging hunting.

As long as it wasn’t hunting protected animals, such as Australasia’s rare carnivores, the rest could be hunted freely without worrying about breaking the law.

Especially Australian wild rabbits, which were numerous and could be exchanged for money at canning factories or with civilians, this counted as additional income.

The hunting team that hunted the most wild rabbits each year could even be received by Arthur, and there were even special hunting competitions and the like, all part of Australasia’s efforts to balance the ecosystem.

Many new nobles had already organized their own hunting teams. During peacetime, besides farming and making money, their interests lay in hunting and horse racing.

This is also the biggest difference between the nobility and common people. Even the most ordinary Sir, as long as he doesn’t live extravagantly, can have a considerable income.

On such a foundation, by doing a bit of business and farming the land, the nobility have ample leisure time to engage in their hobbies.

Whether in Europe or Australasia, the hobbies most popular among the nobility are basically gambling on horse racing and hunting.

Of course, many nobles also enjoy having lovers, which isn’t considered anything new for the European nobility.

The Royal Academy, specially built for the aristocratic class, has now gathered a large number of nobles’ children.

For Arthur, this was a good thing, at least ensuring that the descendants of these nobles received a full and excellent education. They would become the pillars and strong supporters of Arthur’s descendants, making contributions to the country.

Although some noble titles were granted to attract talent, Arthur didn’t want the new nobles of Australasia to become useless drones. At the very least, they should be decent and not bring shame to the aristocratic class.

In plain terms, the interests of the nobility and the monarch are aligned. If the reputation of the nobility is bad, it is to some extent a loss for the monarch as well.

Arthur hoped that the first noble to be stripped of his title wouldn’t appear too soon. But if it really happened, Arthur would act decisively and without hesitation.

As the King of Australasia, Arthur had the power to grant noble titles and also the power to strip them away.

However, such power was rarely used, unless a noble committed treason or completely went against the monarch’s interests.

Of course, besides admitting nobles’ children, the Royal Academy also allowed capitalists’ children to enroll for a fee.

The Royal Academy, from its earliest elementary levels to university, has corresponding educational districts, and is truly a place for nurturing talent from a young age.

This has led to a fundamental difference between the Royal Academy and other universities. Compared with other universities, the Royal Academy’s talent cultivation is more demanding, and its requirements for students are much stricter.

Of course, compared with ordinary universities, the Royal Academy’s control over ideological education is also very strict.

Whether they are capitalists’ children or nobles’ offspring, the first lesson they learn at the Royal Academy is how to be loyal and patriotic, considering loyalty to the royal family as the most important concept.

Such classes on ideological education would accompany all students of the Royal Academy throughout their academic journeys, until they graduated successfully from the Royal Academy and became the pillars of Australasia.

During this time, students who performed poorly, especially those who had objections to the principles of loyalty to the crown, would receive special attention from the Royal Security Intelligence Agency.

Fortunately, such individuals were ultimately rare, and the ideology of most students was quite influenceable.

After all, most of the students had been attending the Royal Academy since elementary school, and the minds of children are the easiest to influence. That’s also the true reason why ideological education classes start in elementary school.

Indoctrinating these children of the nobility and capitalists with loyalty to the crown from a young age ensures that they carry on this ideology throughout their lives.

If one has to point out the biggest difference between the Royal Academy and other universities, it would be the cultivation of interests and hobbies at the Royal Academy.

Apart from their academics, the curriculum at the Royal Academy also includes hunting, equestrian skills, and noble etiquette, among other things.

Beyond that, they will also be arranged into specific development directions based on their own areas of expertise.

Generally speaking, the most popular training directions among students of the Royal Academy are becoming an officer or a general.

But there are exceptions. The Royal Academy has also had success in the field of scientific research, attracting a part of the nobles’ children to embark on the path of research.

Arthur’s attitude towards the cultivation of these nobles’ offspring was to focus on nurturing a portion of the naturally clever and talented as the mainstay talents.

The rest, who were of average abilities, were loosely fostered. As long as these less capable nobles’ children received sufficient ideological education, their choice of profession was less important.

Regardless of the field they choose, in the end, they would contribute to the country. Moreover, for these nobles’ progeny, as long as they are not too dissolute and conduct themselves decently, they already meet Arthur’s requirements for most nobles.

After all, there aren’t that many geniuses, and it’s not realistic to expect every child of the nobility to become a pillar of the state.

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