Chapter 23: XXIII. Dream Blue Hotel
Twenty years before the Battle of the Great Wall, Beima Duchy was still a kingdom.
The undeparted King Philip V took the prime minister's advice and imitated the systems of Pedan Kingdom. He opened national academies in the central Royal Capital and the East Shore, using them to prevent the retention of talent in the jurisdictions of local nobles. This effort weakened the ruling power of all Lords and absorbed fresh blood to serve the court. The "Enlightenment Act" was introduced, taking a substantial amount of money from the national treasury to support education.
Anyone who had at least a middle-level educational background and could pass the entrance exam to an academy was eligible for this policy.
Whether it was the exemption of boarding and miscellaneous fees for rural students, the substantial scholarships for outstanding students, or even the possibility for excellent students to attend school for free (aside from meals) and earn money.
Those who truly had substance after graduation were also arranged for, directly entering the court and rising rapidly through the ranks.
The Beima Kingdom became a paradise for academics, as more and more outstanding talents emerged. Academies blossomed all over the East Shore in a time of Grand Scenery, with no natural disasters and the national strength at an unprecedented peak.
That was until the year 1274 of the Saint Aran Calendar when the Great Wall defenses collapsed. The Alan Heavenly Army broke through. Philip V committed suicide in his isolated city, and his orthodox successor, the sixth, was lured into a trap and met his end in a Foreign Country.
In the following years, except for the Beima National Arcane Academy in the Royal Capital, all other academies were transformed by the puppet king into joint stock companies, cheaply sold off to the Great Nobles.
Even though the strength of the teachers remained and various facilities and teaching materials were still available, the "Enlightenment Act" was no more.
And because of the former regime's system, many people in Beima Duchy still firmly believed that education was the way out. Despite the exorbitant tuition that could drain a middle-class family, there were still many students.
This also gave Mika a perfect opportunity.