Empire Rise: Spain

Chapter 93: Selecting The President

Butler Loren also noticed Carlo’s expectations and urgency regarding the construction of the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry.

After receiving the order from Carlo, Butler Loren immediately began planning the school’s site selection and carrying out some preliminary preparations.

The Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry was certainly to be built around Madrid, so the site was naturally set in the Madrid Outskirts.

The good news was that there was a place in the Madrid Outskirts where a private university had once been built, though it eventually went bankrupt. The buildings here could still be used after repairs, and with the addition of some laboratories, they could basically meet the initial needs of a university.

Although Carlo held high expectations for the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry, he did not expect it to become a world-famous science university in the first few years of its construction.

Carlo’s expectation was that within five years, the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry could stably cultivate more than 500 talents related to physics and chemistry each year.

Over time, Spain could still make up a considerable gap in talent reserves, and at least some research areas would not be as short-staffed as they were now.

After entrusting the construction of the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry to Butler Loren, Carlo turned his attention to selecting a suitable dean for the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry.

Although it was an academy specializing in physics and chemistry, this did not mean that the dean had to be proficient in physics and chemistry knowledge.

After all, teaching knowledge was the job of the university teachers and professors, while the principal should focus more on the school’s development and think about how to cultivate more talents for Carlo and Spain. Considering that Butler Loren was quite busy, Carlo entrusted the task of selecting suitable candidates from Spain to serve as the academy’s dean to Cadillac.

Cadillac did not disappoint Carlo’s trust. After a week of investigation, he submitted a specific list of candidates to Carlo.

“José Echegaray?” Carlo looked at the name on the list, seeming to have some impression but unable to recall it clearly.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Mr. Echegaray was born in Madrid and has Basque Descent. He currently works at the Madrid Precision Academy, having published 《the theory of the unity of physical forces in contemporary matter》 and 《problems in analytic geometry》. His teaching ability is outstanding in Spain,” Cadillac explained.

Carlo nodded and looked at the detailed information about Echegaray.

From the current investigation results, although Echegaray had Basque Descent, he was born and raised in Madrid and supported the Kingdom of Spain government’s rule even more.

Just from this point, Echegaray already had a certain advantage. Appointing him as the academy’s dean could also let the Basque people understand that Carlo’s attitude toward Spaniards and Basque people was consistent, and Spaniards would not reject the existence of Basque people.

As he looked, Carlo finally remembered who Echegaray was. Echegaray was quite famous in Spain; he was one of the few Nobel Prize Winners in Spain and the first Spaniard to win the Nobel Prize.

But the problem was, in Carlo’s memory, all of Spain’s Nobel Prize Winners had nothing to do with physics or chemistry, and Echegaray seemed to have won in literature.

Was it too strange for a talent in literature to serve as the dean of a physics and chemistry academy?

“José Echegaray?” Carlo asked in some surprise: “If I remember correctly, he was also the Director of Public Works during the Provisional Government period, right?

Are you sure he is suitable to serve as the dean of the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Cadillac hurriedly explained: “Although Echegaray often writes for 《economists》, 《Pravda》, and even our 《Spanish Sun Newspaper》, his university major was indeed mathematics.

I can only say that Mr. Echegaray’s hobby in literature is no less than his achievements in mathematics, but so far he is indeed more famous for mathematics and municipal engineering.”

Carlo nodded, dispelling the surprise in his heart.

If Echegaray had a background in mathematics, then it was not strange for him to serve as the dean of a physics and chemistry academy. After all, disciplines like mathematics are closely linked to physics and chemistry; mathematics, physics, and chemistry are to some extent inseparable.

After dispelling the surprise, Carlo could not help but admire Echegaray. To have considerable achievements in mathematics, public engineering, and literature at the same time would at least be considered excelling in both arts and sciences in posterity.

Although he had not won any important awards in mathematics, his teaching career in mathematics was also renowned in Spain.

And his hobby in literature even won him the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was one of the highest awards in that field in posterity.

It was really not an overstatement to praise him as excelling in both arts and sciences. Considering that he had also successively served as Minister of Trade, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Public Education and other government positions in history, Echegaray was indeed one of Spain’s few all-round talents.

Looking at Echegaray and then at the other candidates on the list, the gap was already clear.

Spain currently had no top talents in physics and chemistry, and suitable candidates to serve as dean of a physics and chemistry academy were even rarer.

Among the many candidates, Echegaray was indeed comparatively suitable in both experience and personal ability.

Rubbing his brow, Carlo finally made the decision: “The candidate for dean of the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry is tentatively Echegaray. Have him come see me tomorrow.

The academy’s construction can be completed as early as next year, and I hope the academy’s establishment work can start as soon as possible. As it concerns Spain’s key talent cultivation work, the earlier the academy’s establishment, the better.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Cadillac nodded and went to notify Echegaray.

Speaking of which, Echegaray’s life had also undergone some changes due to Carlo’s intervention.

In history, Echegaray should have been serving as a minister in the Spanish Government during this period, but now because Prime Minister Primó had not encountered assassination, the Spanish Government had not changed much compared to before. Apart from serving as Director of Public Works during the Provisional Government period, Echegaray had not been deeply involved in officialdom.

Although the deanship of the soon-to-be-established Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry had no administrative rank, it did not mean the influence was low.

If he could gain Carlo’s trust and complete his term as academy dean, he would of course still have the opportunity to enter the political arena.

Moreover, the talents cultivated by the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry would have more hope of entering the Royal Academy of Sciences or even gaining nobility titles through their own research.

If that day really came, the influence of the dean of the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry would increase further, and entering the political arena would be even easier.

Early the next morning, Echegaray came to the Royal Palace to seek an audience with Carlo.

Carlo had just gotten up and washed under the maid’s service when he heard the guard report that Echegaray had been waiting for a long time.

Somewhat amused by Echegaray’s early arrival, Carlo decided to invite Echegaray to have breakfast together and discuss the future construction of the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry.

When led by the guard to Carlo’s favorite small dining room, Echegaray felt somewhat uneasy.

Although he was born in Madrid and had achieved considerable success in his teaching career, being invited by the king to have breakfast together was still a first.

Not to mention having breakfast together; even privately seeing the king was a first. Although he strongly supported the Spanish Government, Queen Isabella would not be interested in an academic.

“Your Majesty!” The moment he saw Carlo, Echegaray performed a standard Spanish etiquette and greeted Carlo somewhat nervously.

“Good morning, Mr. Echegaray.” Carlo nodded, gesturing for Echegaray to sit and talk.

As a supporter of the Spanish Government, Echegaray was both nervous and expectant about meeting the king face-to-face. After sensing Carlo’s kind and approachable attitude, Echegaray’s mood relaxed a bit, and he was not so tense.

“Mr. Echegaray, Cadillac has told you my decision, right?” Carlo asked with a smile.

Facing talents who could be of use to him, Carlo was quite willing to respond with a kind attitude.

For Carlo, the identity of the king was his best trump card for attracting talent. When a king shows a kind and approachable attitude, not to mention those talents who were born in monarchy countries, even those who grew up under republicanism ideals could not possibly remain unmoved.

“Mr. Cadillac has said so, Your Majesty. Serving as the dean of the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry is my honor. I will do my utmost to build the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry and not let down Your Majesty’s trust,” Echegaray nodded and said, full of gratitude and honor.

An ordinary physics and chemistry academy would not have such a strong attraction to Echegaray. But with the addition of “Royal,” its attractiveness to him soared.

Serving as the dean of the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry was not only an experience but also allowed Echegaray to enter Carlo’s sight.

If he did well as academy dean, there might even be further possibilities in the future. Although the Spanish Cabinet was appointed by the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister was elected from the House of Representatives.

But for Carlo, as the King of Spain, promoting someone to enter the political arena was not a difficult matter if he wanted to.

“Mr. Echegaray, do you have any plans for the construction of the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry?” Carlo nodded and smilingly gave his test.

Although serving as the dean of the Royal Academy of Physical Chemistry did not require top-level knowledge reserve, one at least needed to be proficient in the operation of an academy and know what Carlo’s purpose was.

Comparing the physics and chemistry academy to a company, the dean as the manager must have a reasonable development plan for the entire company and satisfy the behind-the-scenes shareholder—Carlo’s expectations for the company’s development.

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