Chapter 4015
Chapter 4015
Chapter 4015
Although they had obtained the qualification of a higher education institution, Qian Tiandun and Su Zhixing were well aware that their Fubo Academy currently only had a seemingly prestigious name. The actual teaching content was not as high-end as it appeared, and it was still mainly aimed at basic education for school-age children. Therefore, there was no need to set any admission thresholds. For the foreseeable future, the academy would focus on eradicating illiteracy and popularizing education.
Even for Arab students, the only requirement for admission is an upper age limit, without setting many other conditions.
Of course, compared to Haihan students who can enjoy educational subsidies, Arab students do have to pay significantly more fees, which is probably the only admission hurdle.
However, most of the Arab students currently enrolled are children of wealthy and powerful families from Shihu, and given their family circumstances, they wouldn't care too much about such a small amount of money.
The extra fees paid by Arab students have alleviated the college's financial burden to some extent. Therefore, from the school's perspective, they would actually love to enroll more international students, as this would generate more sponsorship fees.
Qian Tiandun consulted with the Arabs about this matter, seeking their opinion on whether to expand the enrollment of Arab students. However, the Shihu elite, led by Abdullah Jr., expressed clear opposition. They preferred to pay more fees rather than allow Haihan's school to increase its enrollment of Arabs.
The reason is that these powerful figures believe their children can learn Haihan's advanced systems and various production techniques here, which are precisely the tools to consolidate their privileged status. How can they allow ordinary people to learn these things so easily? If everyone knew them, wouldn't that cause chaos?
Even if you're not smart enough to learn such advanced knowledge, it doesn't matter. It's not that difficult to learn fluent Mandarin at Fubo Academy. With that alone, you can get a decent job in Fubo Port, and it's a sure thing.
It's worth noting that many of the brightest members of the Xihu tribe who were among the first to learn the Haihan Mandarin have now become close confidants of Little Abdullah, and many have even risen to official positions. To maintain their privileged status in the newly emerging Xihu Kingdom, how could a family not have one or two young people proficient in Haihan culture?
Qian Tiandun was helpless regarding the Arabs' ideas and could only temporarily agree to Abdullah's request not to actively expand recruitment. In the long run, this would actually hinder the special operations division from recruiting and employing Arab workers locally, and would also keep the translators' wages high.
However, now that the academy has officially opened, there will likely be some Arabs who will flock there, regardless of the cost, to send their children to study there. Similar situations have been common in countries like Annam and Korea in the past; a few powerful families cannot completely monopolize the path to education in their own country.
Qian Tiandun's expectation was that in ten or twenty years, Xihu Kingdom would have a new class of powerful and wealthy people from the lineage of Fubo Academy. With the support of Haihan, these young people would gradually gain control of all aspects of Xihu Kingdom and further solidify the vassal relationship with Haihan.
At that time, whether it's drawing troops from the Hittite Kingdom to serve as auxiliary forces, or drilling wells on Hittite territory, it will be much easier than it is now. With sufficient funds and armed forces, Fubo Port's control over the Strait of Hormuz will be more secure. Wouldn't this vast Persian Gulf then become Haihan's possession? The Arab guests attending the ceremony, of course, didn't think that far ahead. Upon receiving Qian Tiandun's invitation, they felt it was a great honor to attend the event. Besides supporting the Haihan people, being honored guests of the Haihan people would also demonstrate their status and position in front of their own people.
I don’t know where I heard the news, but as long as you donate money to the academy, the donor’s name will be recorded in the academy’s history. So, including little Abdullah, several members of his family generously donated a large sum of money to the academy in the name of supporting education, which allowed their names to be engraved on the gratitude monument on campus.
But the Portuguese, with their century-long history of overseas colonization, clearly understood that Qian Tiandun's purpose in establishing the academy in Fubo Port was not so simple. The special envoy representing Portugal at the ceremony never showed a smile, observing coldly as if he had come to collect a debt.
Qian Shaobao observed the Portuguese's reaction and couldn't help but mutter a few words under his breath. Chen Pingliao, who was standing nearby, heard him clearly; Qian Shaobao was saying, "Sooner or later we'll seize the island and drive you out of the Persian Gulf."
Although the existence of Hormuz Island no longer poses a significant threat to Fubo Port, neither side can tolerate a rival standing so close to their doorstep.
The speed at which the two sides' strength shifted was astonishing; in just a few years, Fubo Port had already gained momentum and even surpassed the others. Moreover, the Portuguese had tried numerous overt and covert methods, but none seemed to be able to stop Haihan from gradually seizing control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Regarding education, the Portuguese certainly tried to establish schools on Hormuz Island, enrolling Arab and Persian students in an attempt to win over the people and cultivate a reliable local force. However, over the years, the results were minimal, producing only a group of Portuguese translators. The influence of that school on the island did not even reach the level of Fubo Academy today.
The Haihan people had only been there a few years, yet they had already successfully recruited a group of Arab students, all of whom were sons of local tribal nobles. It was no surprise that these people would all end up working for the Haihan, which naturally aroused envy and resentment among the Portuguese.
What angered the Portuguese even more was that when the solemn-faced Su Zhixing offered incense and paid homage to the statue of Confucius enshrined in the academy, the Arab students recruited by Haihan also had to bow and pay their respects to the statue of Confucius just like the Han students.
Although Su Zhixing explained to the guests that this had nothing to do with religious beliefs and was merely a way of paying respect to the cultural and educational sages, this obviously failed to convince the Portuguese, who had already misunderstood the situation. They would only see it as an attempt by the Haihan people to change the faith of the Arabs, and it seemed to be very close to success.
However, the Arabs present didn't seem to care. If simply worshipping the image of Confucius could teach them the profound knowledge of Haihan, young Abdullah would even disregard his pride and personally prostrate himself before it. Besides, as long as they showed respect, the Haihan people would teach their Arab students more diligently, so why not?