On the afternoon of February 21, 1781, while many candidates were relaxing after taking the exam, the college leaders headed by Lao Qiteng were so busy that they could not even touch the ground. All the papers in the exams in these two days were
The problems of preservation and transportation have already annoyed Lao Qiteng.
These examination papers will be composed of a marking team composed of personnel from the academy and the royal family. At the same time that this team was established, William received a latest report on North America submitted by Count Bruneck in the palace of Brandenburg.
After Prussia's second batch of North American troops arrived, Count Bruneck's total force reached nearly 8,000 men, but the situation on the North American continent did not change for the better. The Prussian and British troops inflicted heavy losses on the American troops in the south.
This made the French very uneasy. Just recently, another French-Spanish army with a total number of 14,000 troops landed in Spanish Louisiana.
Spanish Louisiana borders Georgia, which means that the southern U.S. military strength, which originally reached 5,000 due to emergency support from the Continental Congress, will suddenly expand to nearly 20,000, and even with the addition of Cornwall
Of the 4,000 British troops led by Leith, the total number of British troops was only 12,000.
In other words, the advantage originally gained by the defeat of the US military in the southern battlefield turned into a cloud with the landing of the French and Western Allied Forces. The situation in the southern battlefield once again became unfavorable to the Prussian and British troops.
In the north, Clinton did not achieve any decisive victory against the main force of the US military led by Washington. Clinton only had more than 10,000 men at his disposal, and he had always hoped to start a battle with Washington to effectively eliminate the main force of the US military.
But Washington was as slippery as a loach. This troubled Clinton. At the same time, the pressure from the French navy in the West Indies was like a mountain pressing on him.
Under such circumstances, General Clinton once again asked King George III for reinforcements, but now Britain could not mobilize forces to support North America. It was impossible for Britain to give up its colonies around the world just because of its North American colony.
If all British forces were concentrated in North America, who knows whether the despicable French would resort to sneak attacks. It was under such considerations that George III rejected Clinton's request for reinforcements.
However, George III was really unwilling to give up North America like this. At the same time, if Britain swallowed this bitter pill, wouldn't it be obvious to other countries that "the empire on which the sun never sets" was just a joke.
Therefore, George III set his sights on Prussia. George III hoped that Count Bruneck could tell William the seriousness of the situation and persuade William to immediately send troops to North America.
When William saw the report about the French-Spanish coalition landing in Spanish Louisiana, he felt a little uneasy. You must know that at the moment, Britain has not gained much advantage in the confrontation with the French, except for Prussia.
Strength does not count. France, Spain, and the Netherlands have declared war on Britain. Facing the powerful threats from these three countries, Britain's colonies around the world are in danger.
If Prussia devotes all its efforts to this war, then Britain will share its interests in the North American continent with Prussia after the war. But once it fails, once Britain fails, it means that Prussia's western front will become a powder keg. What about Denmark?
Don't even mention it, the war may burn the Prussian land.
After winning the war against Britain for world hegemony, will the French let Prussia go? The answer is obviously no. Queen Mary wanted to hang William, so William felt that he had only one way to go, and that was to send troops to North America.
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After making up his mind, William ordered people to send an order to Prince Henry and Lockes who were far away in Potsdam, ordering them to immediately prepare 10,000 departure materials. The North American Expeditionary Force originally planned to be dispatched in April and May will be dispatched in advance next month.
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After deciding to send troops, William did not feel relieved. He had no plans to reveal the truth to the British because he had to wait for the British to ask for him before he could put forward conditions.
For example, he had a good discussion with the British about Denmark. At the beginning, William had reached an agreement with George III. After Prussia sent all its troops to North America, Britain would assist Prussia in annihilating the Danish navy within this year.
In addition, regarding the issue of land in the North American continent, William also sent people to put forward his own additional conditions to George III: In view of the deterioration of the situation in the North American continent, Prussia proposed to the British government with a spirit of friendship and mutual assistance that the war would end with the victory of the Prussian and British troops.
If it failed, Britain would temporarily place Georgia and South Carolina under Prussian administration after the war.
William believed that these two conditions were not too excessive for the British and they should accept them.
For Denmark, William's original plan was to take action after the army was ready, but now that a series of reform measures have been implemented, it is not a good time to fight. William must unify the domestic Junkers military aristocratic group before he can be able to do so.
One battle will determine the outcome.
Thinking of this, William is even more looking forward to the entrance examination held this time. Even if it is just one of the few, as long as a group of talents can emerge from it, William will have greater confidence in the future.
In the evening, Old Ziteng and Dessau got up together to report to William on the summary work of the afternoon.
"Your Majesty, we have completed the filing of all test papers in the afternoon. In order to get the results of this test faster, we have invited many experts from various fields to review the test papers. Preliminary estimates are that
The results of this exam will be available in mid-March.”
As the dean of the Military Academy, Qi Teng said without hesitation
But it seemed a bit late for William to get detailed results in mid-March, so he told Zitten:
"Your Excellency Qi Teng, isn't mid-March a bit late?"
After hearing William's question, Qi Teng showed a bitter smile to William, and then said bitterly:
"Your Majesty, this is already the fastest speed. You must know that there are tens of thousands of people taking this exam. With so many test papers, half a month is already the shortest time."
After listening to Qi Teng's words, although William was still a little reluctant, he had to admit Qi Teng's words. Originally, even for future college entrance examinations, it would take a month to get results.
"So how are you going to notify the students who have passed the exam?" William asked curiously. You must know that in the 18th century, communication methods are extremely backward. It is not like the later generations who can know the results with a phone call.
Then an envelope solves the problem.
"We have divided the entire Kingdom of Prussia into many small areas. In each small area, teachers from our college will go to the door to notify the candidates. In addition, we will notify the local government according to the candidate's place of origin, and the government of the candidate's place of origin will then notify the candidates.
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Dessau took William's question and said
After listening to Dessau's words, William still felt a little unsafe, so he said to Dessau:
"It is correct to notify candidates according to their place of origin, but what if someone cannot be notified, or the person is not in the local area?"
After hearing William's words, Dessau and Qi Teng looked at each other and were speechless. Indeed, with today's communication methods, such situations often occur, but due to the limitations of the times, they have no good solution.
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Just when Qi Teng and Dessau looked at William eagerly, William was also stumped by this problem. He didn't have any good solution. "It's a headache," William thought.