Compared with Tyrol, the popularization of education in the Chenla region is much smoother. Due to the gap between the Eastern and Western cultures, the locals see education as a gift.

Because this kind of treatment has been monopolized in the hands of those big families in Zhenla since ancient times, it is understandable that they are excited at the moment.

Due to the large number of people in the Chenla area, the church had to choose or draw lots to determine who had access to education.

Eventually, it turned out that the vast majority of the first Jinla people to receive this opportunity were religious fanatics and children of members of the Apologetic Force.

It was with the help of the Austrian Church that the Vietnamese and Siamese invaders were defeated, the entire territory of Chenla was liberated, and the exploitation of the local aristocracy was greatly reduced.

Moreover, the various technologies brought with them have greatly liberated the local productive forces and even saved the royal family.

Therefore, the vast majority of Zhenla people have a fanatical worship of the church, and of course, it is indispensable for the missionaries to lead this enthusiasm in it, after all, this is also the old routine of the Spaniards back then, and the so-called living and learning is nothing more than this.

And this time, the missionaries learned and summed up the experience and lessons of their predecessors, and did not directly seek the gold and land like ordinary colonists.

Although many of the schools were built temporarily, they were meticulously furnished and surrounded by religious murals on the walls and ceilings.

The Church disseminates knowledge in the name of the Gospel of God, and learning the Austrian language is the way to obtain the Gospel.

In addition, local officials in Chenla ordered the students of the school to kneel and listen to the lectures, as this would show respect for the gospel of God.

On the other side of the class were the high-ranking members of the Guardian Corps with wooden rulers and rattan sticks, who accompanied the missionaries to class.

These servants of God looked at the young men kneeling neatly on the ground and felt helpless.

They preferred the locals to sit in class, but this was opposed by the cathars and the Maha (the elect) who were the first to be attached to the church, who believed that not kneeling was not enough to show devotion to God.

Eventually, at the missionaries' insistence, the boys had an extra cushion under their knees, but their bodies remained in a kneeling position.

As for the discipline in class, it was embarrassing, because anyone who dozed off, slipped away, made trouble, or answered the wrong question would be beaten by the cathar soldiers.

At least he was punched and kicked, and at worst he was beaten by a rattan ring ruler to the point of flesh and blood. And the one who started beating someone was likely to be the child's parents or patriarch.

The reason for this situation is that the Chenla people have developed a system similar to the Indian caste system based on the actual local situation and the church's elect theory.

As long as there are people with a fair complexion, Austrian speaking, and religious knowledge, their status will rise.

The group of slaves and direct converts to Catholicism that the church liberated when it first arrived in Kampong Son were called the "elect."

Later, the nobles, landlords, and merchants who defected to the church were called "first-class people". Civilians further down are called "second-class civilians". And those who are not religious are called "outcasts".

Archbishop Rauscher heeded Franz's advice and introduced a local evaluation system, which was particularly strict for the electorate, which is why the parents and patriarchs who were electors were so frantically supervising the teaching.

The Church has a population of about 3 million in the area under the direct control of Chenla, and the number of voters is only about 20,000, of whom 3,000 are members of the Protectorate, who actually occupy almost all the high-ranking positions in the army and the gendarme, and are the most powerful group of people outside of the missionaries of the Church.

And then there are those former elites.

At first, these people were not convinced by this system, and even raised troops to resist for a while, but the unparalleled disparity in military strength between the two sides finally shattered their hopes and illusions.

Not to mention these Chenla people, even the Vietnamese who once conquered them were also vulnerable in the face of the cathars. Therefore, after the test of several major wars, this system has become more and more stable.

In fact, in the eyes of the church, there is only a distinction between "elect", "commoners", and "outcasts". All civilians who want to become voters must be evaluated or "contributed".

Of course, the specific selection criteria are naturally in the hands of the church.

After the birth of the children of voters, they do not directly inherit their parents' status, but also have to pass an assessment or make contributions to prove that they are eligible to become voters.

(In addition, the children of voters who have sacrificed their lives for the church or who have made great contributions can also be directly elected.) ）

And this is the most fundamental reason why those people are so crazy about getting an education. However, this is not without its advantages, that is, the Austrianization of the upper layer of Chenla has become unusually rapid.

Another point is that there is a huge gap in the living standards of the people in the clerical and non-clerical areas of Chenla.

Under the leadership of the Church, the diocese was active in the construction of water conservancy and the adoption of a more rational farming system, as well as the study and use of new agricultural tools and fertilizers, as well as a large number of iron tools smelted from Siam, including agricultural tools, knives, and miscellaneous tools.

The non-diocesan districts are still in a very primitive agricultural civilization. They are extremely short of iron tools, the level of scientific and technological development is extremely low, and even regressed due to some special reasons, and the actual level is not as good as that of the Tang Dynasty.

This huge contrast has made the people of the diocese more convinced of the so-called "electorate" theory.

In addition, the "consecration theory" helped the church to successfully extract a large amount of wealth in the Chenla region, most of which was shipped back to Austria.

But even a small part of the investment in improving the colonial environment has transformed the country dramatically.

In just a few years, the influence of the royal family of Chenla was swallowed up by the church, and even those local forces that held on to their rights and did not let go became confused and panicked under the blows of dimensional reduction by the industrial countries.

Of course, the Church did not rush to convert those non-ecclesiastical districts into ecclesiastical ones, but adopted a strategy of gradual encroachment at Franz's suggestion.

Coming from later generations, he felt that nothing was more important than having a solid foundation, so cultivating more spiritual Austrians and pro-Austrian elites was a top priority.

Just as the plan to integrate Chenla gradually progressed steadily along the normal track, the Gallic rooster also began to act unwillingly lonely.

In fact, not long ago, Archbishop Rauschel had already detected some of the movements of the French in Vietnam, and their goal was undoubtedly to conquer it.

At the same time, since Siam was not seriously guarded against its eastern neighbors, and because of its abundant geographical advantages in connecting with the Chenla region, the archbishop felt that it was necessary to carry out a friendly mission to Vietnam and Siam (Thailand) before the other powers.

(End of chapter)