Chapter 457: Medical Problem

The evening breeze was gentle as it swept across the street in Brambleford. The weather was gradually warming up. Prince Simon and his Lady had both taken off their thick winter jackets.

The spring flowers in the royal castle had already bloomed, and the willow trees near the pond were sprouting tender green shoots.

"My Lord, this matter of administrative reform is far too important. I don’t dare to comment on it lightly," Elin suddenly said nervously.

Hearing this, Prince Simon paused for a moment and asked, "Do you not want the Baker family to be involved in Brambleford government affairs?"

"Exactly. I don’t want my family involved in politics. Once someone from the Baker family enters the Brambleford official system, I won’t be able to stay uninvolved. Even if I remain silent, people will still see them as the...." Elin replied with a frown.

Prince Simon looked steadily at her. He had to admit that Elin was a very intelligent woman. In the Eldorian Empire, most women would be eager to push their family into politics, but Elin was doing the opposite completely.

He smiled gently and said, "You don’t need to be nervous, My Lady. I won’t reject someone just because they’re family. Besides, the Baker family has many accomplished students and former officials all over the country. Even if they’re not direct family, maybe some of them can recommend capable individuals at such."

Hearing this, Elin relaxed a little. She said, "If that’s how My Lord sees it, then my father can recommend some talented officials who haven’t had the chance to shine."

"Oh? In that case, why don’t you write him a letter right now, and ask Grand Secretary Baker to suggest a few names?" Prince Simon said with an energetic voice.

Princess Elin hesitated for a moment, then nodded and turned back toward the sleeping quarters.

Simon only shook his head. He wasn’t doing this because he wanted to rely on the Baker family, but because he needed to diversify the officials in the government and avoid forming political factions.

During a recent council meeting, he noticed a growing divide between officials recommended by Atwood and those from Brambleford.

At the banquet, Viktor Laplace and Aiden Smith were clearly one group, while Governor Monti and Rogers Benito were another. This emerging rift had already caught Prince Simon’s attention.

After studying history using the technology crystal, he realised that even under wise rulers, officials often clashed with each other. The bureaucracy had its own unwritten rules and darkness.

Some officials might remain clean despite all this, but most would eventually turn into slick veterans of the system.

Prince Simon trusted Baldwin Atwood, but there were some things even Baldwin couldn’t control. As the saying goes: it’s easier to fight a tiger than to deal with flies. So involving the Baker family to balance things out seemed like a good move on its own.

If he could create a system where officials monitored each other, it would help keep the government honest.

Once he had settled the plan for the administrative reform, the civil service exams were officially announced.

The news quickly spread across the Academy. The Department of Public Administration, always the largest, instantly became abuzz with excitement. The students were all fired up, waiting eagerly for the examination day.

"It’s been two years. We’ve been studying hard at Oxford Academy for two whole years. Now, the day has finally come!" a student shouted to the sky.

"Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Chief Secretary Atwood! We finally have the chance to use what we’ve learned to serve the people!"

"I never imagined that law students like us would get this chance too. His Highness even set up the Supervisory Court. That was unexpected."

The excited voices of the various students filled the environment.

"..."

"..."

After the exam dates were announced, the students from the Department of Public Administration were buzzing like bees. Many never let go of their books and were busy preparing.

While they were discussing the exam, Prince Simon and the Chief Minister, Baldwin arrived at the Academy.

This time, Prince Simon had decided to hold the exam right here at the academy.

"Your Highness, look at the students. They must be thrilled right now. We’ve trained them for years, and now it’s finally time for them to show what they can do," Baldwin said with a smile.

Watching the students bobbing their heads as they read their books, Prince Simon smiled too. "This exam is not just for picking officials. It’s also a test of how much they’ve actually learned. As for those who’ve been slacking off, they won’t be overlooked either. I don’t keep freeloaders around me!"

Baldwin immediately nodded. "You’re absolutely right. With such great benefits at the Academy, if they don’t study seriously, there’s no excuse for them to remain here."

He paused, then added, "But Your Highness, the public schools in each province are almost ready too. Should we start selecting some students to go teach in those schools as well?"

In general, the literacy rate in Prince Simon’s domain was still very low. Most of the people couldn’t read at all, and that would be a serious problem for future development.

Only through widespread education and public examinations could they stop new aristocratic families from forming. Back in the day, Emperor Van Austin of the Willow dynasty weakened the old aristocratic clans by using the imperial exam system. Prince Simon planned to take that even further. But his version wouldn’t test boring memorised knowledge—it would be a competitive knowledge-based recruitment process.

As the two men walked through the academy, they drew the attention of the students. Some started reading out loud in hopes of being noticed. Although their eyes were on the books, they were sneaking glances at Prince Simon and the Chief Minister Baldwin.

"Heh, those public administration students are finally proud of themselves. Now they’ve got a real shot at joining the government."

"Yeah. Before, all they did was read books and badmouth the chemistry and physics departments."

"Ugh, when will it be our turn in the medical academy?"

"Doctor Oscar only takes care of his own disciples. He just teaches us the most basic stuff. Proud? In your dreams."

"..."

While Prince Simon and the Chief Minister were touring the academy, they overheard some students whispering in a corner.

Baldwin asked, "The medical academy is still under Doctor Oscar, right? They’ve been awfully quiet lately. They’ve definitely fallen behind the others."

"You’re right," Prince Simon replied, clearly displeased. "I originally thought Doctor Oscar was focused on studying medicine. But now it seems his thinking is outdated. He hasn’t passed down real medical knowledge to the students. No wonder they’ve lost motivation."

"All those physicians have bad tempers. They’re arrogant and full of themselves. I think it’s time we give Doctor Oscar a wake-up call," the Chief Minister said.

"Not only that, I’m going to bring in new physicians. Physicians are officials too. Like any other position, those who perform stay, and those who don’t get replaced. I won’t let someone hog the seat and do nothing," Prince Simon said coldly.

The Chief Minister suddenly laughed. "Your Highness, that was a great metaphor. Just like how a useless official should go home and sell red beans instead of wasting space."

Prince Simon chuckled and said, "No time like the present. Let’s go visit Doctor Oscar right now and see if he still wants to stay at Oxford Academy."