The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1181: Chapter 128: Project Hope_2

You ask how Arthur knew about this?

Well, that’s because he had experienced something similar before; years ago, that’s how Agares managed to send him into the University of London.

Nonetheless, Agares’s help was still better than saying nothing at all. Although progress was slower and the process quite torturous, the composition work was ultimately being advanced at a snail’s pace.

Arthur wandered to the school gate, daydreaming all the way. Sometimes he came out to relax; besides adjusting his mood, he could also oversee Mr. Ohm’s enrollment campaign for Gottingen University’s new lecturers here.

In front of the school entrance, Ohm was sweating profusely as he energetically explained how interesting his courses were.

After a week-long promotion of free experimental classes, about 20 students had officially registered and paid to take classes with Ohm.

Perhaps compared to university classrooms of later generations, 20 students wasn’t an outstanding number, but one should know that Gottingen University only had over eight hundred students at the time, and Ohm being able to gather 20 paid students in a week was an excellent achievement.

The reason his enrollment results were so stellar was also connected to his tumultuous life experiences.

As a teacher who has been working on the front lines of secondary education for many years, Ohm’s teaching skills far surpassed most Natural Philosophy professors at Gottingen University. After all, for a middle school teacher, teaching ability was of utmost importance; theoretical research capabilities were just an embellishment. It’s good to have them, but their absence wouldn’t affect the work.

Of course, another reason why Ohm’s enrollment work went so smoothly was due to Arthur making some private arrangements for him.

Arthur knew well that with Ohm’s academic level, being appointed as a Professor of Experimental Physics at Gottingen University was unquestionably flawless.

However, there’s no choice; the school’s regulations were set there, and to be appointed as a professor, one must go through the process.

After all, not everyone could have special privileges like him, smoothly plowing through the academic committee’s old professors with the Imperial Seal Decree signed by the King and the administrative orders from the Kingdom of Hanover.

To ensure Ohm could stay peacefully at Gottingen before being appointed professor, Arthur specifically asked Bismarck to bring a few close friends to register for courses with Ohm. As for the registration fees, Arthur privately reimbursed them at double the amount.

This money, which came right to the door, was something Bismarck, a poor fellow drowning in debt, naturally couldn’t pass up.

However, this guy barely had any friends and plenty of enemies in Gottingen. Bismarck, with a wolfdog, sniffed around Gottingen, ultimately only gathering five people for Arthur.

Fortunately, Ohm was capable himself; even removing the inefficient Bismarck, he still managed to gather fifteen students on his own.

Arthur, across half a street, saw Ohm standing on a wooden box that he’d gotten from somewhere, passionately selling his courses. But it seemed maybe the students’ initial excitement had faded, since today’s audience was noticeably fewer compared to usual.

Or rather, to be more precise, only one student was sincerely standing in front of the box listening to his lecture.

”Um...” The student hesitantly began: ”Mr. Ohm...”

Upon hearing his sole listener speak, Ohm stepped off the box with a smile: ”What’s wrong? Is there something you didn’t understand?”

”No, not at all; all of your courses are explained in an easy-to-understand manner. If possible, I truly hope to follow in your footsteps and receive your guidance, but...”

The student tugged at the corner of his wrinkled shirt; his hair glinted in the sun with a faint reddish-brown hue: ”But there’s no choice; one must be realistic. I’m here today to say goodbye to you. Though I can’t enroll at Gottingen, at least I got to have a look; as a Hanoverian, I’ve at last seen what the best university in the nation is like, and that’s fulfilling a wish of mine.”

Hearing these words, Ohm’s smile gradually faded, and he put on a serious demeanor: ”Werner, are you planning to drop out?”

”It’s not exactly dropping out...” The poor student scratched his head: ”I should be able to continue studying for another year. Last year my father sent my brother and me to study at Catherine School in Lubeck City. I was enrolled in fifth grade, and my brother in fourth grade. When I return this year, I’ll be in sixth grade. If nothing major occurs, I should have my middle school diploma by this time next year.”

”Are you not planning to attend university?”

Ohm tried to encourage him, pointing to Gottingen’s campus behind him, saying: ”Look, what a nice place this is! You know, I’m just a lecturer at Gottingen. Even a teacher like myself seems very good to you. Don’t you want to go further and receive dedicated guidance from genius figures like Gauss and Weber? Oh, and there’s Sir Arthur Hastings too; if you enroll next year, you might even have the opportunity to become his first student.”

The poor student looked a bit embarrassed, burying his head with a lack of self-confidence: ”Mr. Ohm, I do want to attend university, but... as you understand, my family’s financial conditions aren’t particularly good, and we have many children, a total of 12 siblings. Although I wish to attend university, the costs here are too high. If my going to school means causing my brothers to drop out, then it’d simply be too selfish.”