Rebirth: Romania Rising

"Is it great to have some skills?" At the University of Bucharest, a nobleman expressed his positive attitude in front of Naomi and slandered Mistry.

"Of course it's amazing. Any Bulgarian who can achieve great results academically while trying to learn Romanian certainly deserves my respect."

Naomi finally looked at the young man with freckles on his face, and then turned his head in disgust - he looked really ugly and his face was ugly, so a young man with such vigor and vitality like Mistry deserved more attention.

Mistry was not a Romanian, but a commoner from Dobrich, a newly conquered land from Romania.As a half "foreigner" and an ordinary civilian, Mistry came to the school on the recommendation of his senior Ivanlov. Mistry had to live with the university where aristocrats gathered, and worked hard to learn how to become a real scientist. It's somewhat difficult.

Naomi thought in her mind: If according to the traditional noble standards, Mistry is now qualified to become a knight, but the school does not have the qualifications to enfeoff nobles. Compared with the traditional electoral civil service system, the ancient knight system In fact, there are also essences worth learning from.

Chivalry is not Zhivkov’s decadent, so-called aristocratic style, but a belief, a personal behavior, honor and moral principles, humility, honor, sacrifice, bravery, compassion, honesty and justice. ,soul.

"I'm still skilled, but going to the lathe factory is what lower-class people do!" The young man refused to admit defeat, but this map cannon was a bit big.

"Get out of my classroom! Your remarks are really disgusting. It's hard to believe that this is how your parents educated you? Your behavior has brought shame to your family. You should reflect on it."

Naomi was merciless, and the young aristocratic boy's face turned red with just a few words. No matter what his family background was, the young man did not dare to do anything to this great scientist.

"Your words are really disgusting!" Other nobles also did not forget to add insult to injury.Mistry and the civilian students didn't speak either, and their disdainful eyes were undisguised.

Mistry's craftsmanship reached its peak, taking full advantage of the fast speed of the new machine tools. Others aimed straightly, with their index fingers on the buttons, and it was almost a ritual to open the machine once.

Mistry is not. He looks like a skilled and heroic worker. He puts his middle finger on the button and stares at the parts with one eye squinted. The blade cuts into the intended metal and then stops immediately. His movements are very skillful. He is obviously teaching. Using machine tools, the parts processed almost have the effect of high-precision parts. The movements are smooth and smooth, and the defective rate is still very low. This is no longer teaching, it is simply a show of skills.

Naomi was still angry that a student from a noble family would cause such an accident. However, she felt comfortable when she saw Mistry's wonderful craftsmanship. Suddenly something came to her mind and she said:

"The Ministry of War has set up a military observation group. It will be here in two days. Our Mechanical College is the main inspection target. I hope we can cooperate with the industrial giant Precher Company to produce technical products."

"I know, the Ministry of War and Preacher Company..." Although Mistry felt a little strange after knowing it, he didn't care after a while. He never cared about these things. He was more concerned about learning knowledge.

"And that Victor you mentioned, he will come over." Naomi reminded.

"It turns out to be him... Then I must go and see Victor!"

……

Since Victor became Secretary General of the Ministry of War, under his influence, the War Ministry's interest in the University of Bucharest has become increasingly intense.With Victor's strong praise and Prince Mihai's leadership, Precher Industry, the Ministry of War, and the University Alliance were finally able to negotiate and cooperate.

Victor actually spent a lot of effort to convince Prince Michael: "The twentieth century is different from 1000 years ago. Damascus steel nearly 1000 years ago was world-famous. The Persians used swords made of Damascus steel to dominate the battlefield. Now In the era of hot weapons, we no longer need to fight with the enemy with bayonets, we can destroy the enemy from a hundred meters away."

Others don't worry about this problem, but Victor does.As the times develop, science and technology must also advance. Although industrial production strength is not strong, cutting-edge theoretical knowledge cannot be relaxed, otherwise Romania will only lag behind the world.

But in the final analysis, Damascus steel was not produced by the Persians, but from India. On September 1191, 9 AD, the main force of the Third Crusade approached the city of Jaffa under the leadership of King Richard the Lionheart of England. , his enemy was Saladin, the founding monarch of the Ayub dynasty.

Before the battle began, Saladin sent people to the Crusaders' formation and shouted to invite Richard to meet him.

Richard readily agreed. After the meeting, Saladin, in order to demonstrate to Richard, took out a gauze scarf and threw it into the air. Then he drew out his sword and swung it at the gauze scarf. The almost weightless gauze floating in the air was actually thrown away. The towel was cut in half.

So from that day on, a legend spread in Europe: There was an unknown metal material in the East, and the swords forged from it were extremely sharp.

This material is Damascus steel.

Let’s not talk about the authenticity of this legend. Even if weapons made of Damascus steel are indestructible, they will not be effective in the face of modern armies. The Persian Empire has now become a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country.To avoid this, Romania must become a technological powerhouse.

"You just go ahead and do it, and I'll take care of the other problems." Mihai's trust in Victor is really beyond the limit. Even if Eric takes the horse in person, he probably won't be so reassured.

Of course, Victor has to reciprocate the favor, so while preparing for Romania's military expansion, he must not only reassure the leaders, but also "modernize" the army. Even if there is only a small improvement, Victor will be satisfied.

……

On the afternoon of February 1914, 2, the sun released its vitality without hesitation, and the top talents of the Romanian University Alliance gathered at the University of Bucharest.The entire testing ground has entered a completely different state.

There are sentries all around, and from time to time, mounted police patrolling back and forth pass through the streets. At major intersections, there are also military police armed with Mauser rifles, wearing "dog tags" and focusing on checking special passes.

This posture is so powerful that one can tell at a glance that a big shot has come to the testing site. Originally, Mihai did not want to do so much work, but since Victor proposed in the Ministry of War that "the more majestic the military looks, the younger people will worship soldiers. They will even join the army enthusiastically." Prince Mihai believed this reason and paid special attention to it.

At the insistence of Prince Mihai, relevant security and defense measures have been strengthened as never before, and the responsibilities of the flag guard have become increasingly important.

Victor, who was in high spirits but looked exhausted, struggled to get out of the car.Starting from midnight two days ago, Precher industrial enterprises, especially military industrial enterprises, sent people to communicate with the Ministry of War.

In order to coordinate the relationship between all aspects, especially to ensure the supply of raw materials and energy to key enterprises, and to synchronize the updating of ordnance to adapt to the new "war preparation situation", Victor made great efforts and did not sleep a wink for two days and two nights. In the end, he could only take a quick nap in the car. When he was shaken awake by the adjutant, he felt that his head was still dizzy.

The car he is riding in now is a government bus. Originally, Preacher wanted to give him the top-of-the-line car. Considering that it was a ministerial-level car, Victor wisely refused - he has been in a bit of limelight recently. What's more, Mihai may not mind what car he takes, but he doesn't want to provide others with a reason to attack him.

It feels good to have power, but Victor has a clear understanding of the origin of his power and status, and he also reciprocates: not only does he implement the tasks assigned by Mihai to the letter, but he also When Hay went out to inspect armaments and industrial production, he tried his best to spend time with him. After learning that Mihay had completed cooperation with the University Alliance and Precher Industries, he followed him despite being exhausted.

Although some young military officers secretly called him a "yes man" who had fallen into the royal family, he was too lazy to care and only responded with a contemptuous smile.Looking at Victor, who was pale and had bloodshot eyes, Mihai said with concern: "Your face doesn't look good. Maybe you should take a good rest?"

Victor smiled bitterly and shook his head, and said resolutely: "Since you have handed over a lot of military power to me, then I must do my best to do this job well, and my body can hold on. Moreover, I must be very Thank you for your support, sir."

After the two of them finished singing and performing the double act, a large group of people finally poured into the conference room.

The person who presided over the new technology verification meeting was the Ordnance Department of the War Bureau. There were two people in charge of introducing the situation. One was the technocrat Colonel Bost, and the other was Professor Namio, a famous professor at the University of Bucharest.

"Colonel Bobst, Professor Naomi, I remember you..." Mihai shook hands with the two of them warmly, "I have seen your achievements in daily life, you are all the pillars of the country."

"Mr. Minister." Colonel Bobst didn't expect that the minister actually knew him, and he was suddenly at a loss for words with excitement. On the other hand, the silver-haired Professor Naomi had seen the world and was in a very calm mood. After hearing Mihai's comments, a pair of little The eyes behind the round eyes sparkled:

"Dear Mr. Minister, thank you very much for your affirmation of our university alliance. However, I am curious that you have carefully read the report to the Ministry of War? Even if you have read it, as a layman, do you have any What qualifications do you have to give guidance? Science and technology have its own laws of development."

"I... uh... went down and read some." Mihai looked puzzled. Indeed, as the professor said, this report was a bit long and boring. He was very impressed by it, but he was sure that Victor had read it. It was over, and the atmosphere at the scene gradually fell into embarrassment.

Technocrat Colonel Bost did not expect that Professor Aboian would embarrass the minister at this moment. His old face turned red and he was sweating profusely. It was obvious that he wanted to stop the professor next to him from talking anymore, but the latter obviously did not want to. Moved, he continued: "I don't mean to offend you, I just heard rumors that the Ministry of War seems to be intending to expand its military to prepare for war? Then why did the University Alliance invent murder weapons? Then wouldn't we become accomplices and executioners?"

Seeing that the atmosphere at the scene became a little weird, Mistry looked at Mihai's embarrassed expression and then at Dr. Namio's ugly face. He "understood" everything in his heart and cleverly smoothed things over: "Mr. Guys, the prince is probably too tired from his daily hard work. We can ask the Secretary-General to talk about the Ministry of War’s intentions."

Victor was stunned and realized that it was Mistry who had transferred the topic to him, and Mihai nodded to him again.Victor walked onto the stage, chose to avoid the important matter and change the subject, and began an impromptu speech:

"Gentlemen, this is a special period of preparation for war. Of course, science and technology must serve national defense. Although the weapons are murderous weapons, their progress and inventions are to protect the security of the motherland. Romania is not a war monger. Today's bloody war weapons , and can also contribute to the development of peace in the future."

Victor changed the subject and began to focus on describing the future scenario: "If we launch high-efficiency communication devices through high towers - then we can spread the signal to a large area, so that all parts of the country can hear the broadcast simultaneously. news;

If we can continue to improve and develop the current aircraft and build more stable, safer and larger passenger and cargo aircraft - then we can open air routes, allow people from different regions to get on the plane to communicate, and transport important cargo , letters can be transferred quickly;

If we can make expensive and rare cars like the American Ford Model T, simplifying the design, common parts and assembly lines, so that every household in the country can have a car, people's daily life will be convenient, and it can even be exported overseas. Earn foreign exchange..."

"Decades ago, there were airplanes and submarines. They seemed like toys at the time. Who would have thought that because of these small toys, war would have developed into a three-dimensional one? In the future, the width, breadth, depth, and intensity of war will be Expanding in a new way, it is likely that there will no longer be a difference between the front and the rear, and there will no longer be a gap in time and space. Now that Europe is preparing for war, the smell of gunpowder is getting stronger, and Romania's development of military technology is all for self-protection."

"Gentlemen, as is the case in war, it will also be the case in peacetime. War can often promote the development of the times more than peace! We will achieve greater progress in civilian science and technology after the advancement of military science and technology. The civilian use of military science and technology must also use science and technology. Improve people's lives..."

Victor spoke enthusiastically for two and a half hours, and was even interrupted by dozens of applause and cheers.Victor gave a brief outline of the technological development after the First World War in the world he traveled to. All the scholars in the audience listened with fascination. Everyone imagined the future described by Victor, but However, they are convinced that this future is not a fantasy but a process that can be gradually realized. These words are firmly imprinted in their minds indelibly.

In the end, Victor ended with "a technological power": "If our country wants to be truly strong and stand among the nations of the world, it must have strong science and technology and many high-level talents. This is the strength of national development. The staying power lies. Without the development of science and technology, there will be no development of the country! The future of science and technology development determines the future of the country!"

Many years later, Victor's impromptu speech was touted by the Romanian Propaganda Department as "Ion Antonescu's Speech at the Special Symposium at the University of Bucharest" and summarized the "Bucharest Scientific Research Spirit" ", requiring all government agencies, universities, and scientific research organizations to carefully study, deeply understand, and implement it. The official also holds special commemorative activities every tenth anniversary in order to pass on "this precious spiritual wealth from generation to generation. Pass it on”.

On the 20th anniversary, the Romanian postal department also issued a special commemorative stamp. The background is the weapons developed and used by the University of Bucharest before World War I, and the one with the largest face value reproduces the scene of Victor's speech.

This is of course too exaggerated and exaggerated, but scientists who have participated in the conference, especially several major chief scientists in the future, do not dislike the tone of the propaganda agency. Instead, they will express their willingness to participate in this conference in person on various occasions in the future. pleasure.

Dr. Mistry, an academic authority in Romania and later the director of the Greater Romania Scientific Research Institute, spoke highly of the impromptu speeches of his "benefactor" and Romania's "great man" Victor in his memoirs written by himself in his later years.

He believed that this speech was "genius-like and extremely prophetic" and that Victor's speech "comprehensive, scientific and creative" promoted the development of Romania and even human science and technology.

Many of the contents of Victor's speech at that meeting have become reality, and more are about to become reality. Romania's scientific and technological undertakings have almost developed in accordance with the direction guided by Victor. There is no major deviation - it is as if the world should be like this.