Chapter 318: Chapter 280: Talent Plan

As Arthur had anticipated, all the words he had spoken were printed and sold throughout the British Empire by newspapers and media in a short period of time.

Of course, the first place to react was naturally London itself. As the capital of the British Empire, the population of London had long surpassed one million, even reaching a terrifying 7,256,000 people.

This means that the population of London alone is more than half of the total population of Australasia, which shows how advanced and vast the capital of the most powerful nation in the world is.

With so many people living in London, it is not surprising that Arthur’s words at the Royal Tomb have caused such a sensation in the city.

Especially the sentence about his father and grandmother, and now his uncle, which instantly placed the powerful Arthur into the category of a vulnerable group.

In addition, Arthur deliberately let the media deepen the impression of the poverty gap between the United Kingdom and Australasia, leading many British people to believe that Arthur still lived in a relatively poor country.

Although many rational people have begun to explain that Australasia is no longer as poor as it was ten years ago, and that various constructions have already begun to develop.

However, the media’s coverage has left a preliminary impression, with some British people finding out that the per capita income in Australasia is only 47 Australian dollars, which is just a little over 23 pounds, and less than half of the current per capita income in the United Kingdom.

This has also led many British people to agree more about the poverty of Australasia and begin to sympathize with Arthur.

Starting from the second day, many informed British people began to march on the streets of London, demanding that the government increase its support for Australasia so as not to let Queen Victoria’s favorite grandson suffer in Australasia.

The good impression that Arthur had always given to the British people, combined with his previous words, completely ignited the public opinion among the British people.

From June 19th, protests began to be held around London, demanding that the government not be stingy and increase support for Australasia.

Seeing the momentum of public opinion, Arthur nodded in satisfaction and ordered the media controlled by Australasia to stop their actions.

Let the British public opinion ferment naturally, and more guidance would make this public opinion suspicious.

The public opinion and protests that broke out among the British people quickly caught the attention of the British government and reactionary forces.

Apart from the self-interest of the British people, there aren’t many people who would spontaneously march for someone else. Before, it was Queen Victoria, and recently, Edward VII.

Unexpectedly, Arthur could also become one of them, and all he needed to say was a few words.

But the British government has no time to learn from experience because if they don’t handle this matter properly, it will become a basis for the Conservative Party to attack the Liberal Party.

After all, this incident has involved hundreds of thousands of British people in London and its surrounding areas. If it is allowed to ferment, the number of protesters may expand to millions or even tens of millions.

After all, people always follow the crowd at any time. If public opinion is allowed to ferment, even if there aren’t many people who genuinely want to do something for Arthur, the number of protesters will continue to grow.

King George V, who resides in Buckingham Palace, naturally heard about the public opinion that has erupted in Britain recently.

King George V was amazed at the extent to which Arthur was popular in Britain. If it wasn’t for Arthur already being the King of Australasia, King George V would have to worry about whether his position would be affected.

For the following negotiations, Arthur does not need to be present. The task will be handed over to Prime Minister Walter and Foreign Secretary Andrew.

All Arthur needs to do is listen to the daily progress reports from Prime Minister Walter and Foreign Secretary Andrew and express his opinion.

Of course, this does not mean that Arthur will be idle. In fact, after David Collins, the Chief of European Royal Affairs, sought an audience with Arthur, he presented Arthur with a list of high-level British talents who could be drawn in over the years.

There were many people on the list before. Chief David Collins had managed to attract some of them to Australasia through various efforts.

Some went to the United States and other regions, while others were more loyal to the United Kingdom and were not willing to leave the British Empire for now.

These people have naturally been removed from the list, leaving either some new talents or some deeply rooted ones that require Arthur to be personally involved.

Arthur took a cursory look at the list, and most of it consisted of physicists, chemists, medical scientists, botanists, historians, novel writers, artists, and military strategists.

Basically, there are all kinds of talents, and the detailed information available, even extending to the talents’ parents and children.

Of course, information such as where they live, what they like to eat, and what they are interested in is also available, which is enough to prove how detailed David Collins’ investigation of these people has been.

This is good news, as it effectively increases the probability of successfully attracting these people.

After some searching, Arthur found some familiar names on the list.

These include British microbiologist Dr. Wright and his disciple Alexander Fleming.

Wright’s name may not be well-known, but his student, the famous Alexander Fleming, is a name Arthur is quite familiar with.

The reason is simple: Alexander Fleming, a renowned British microbiologist, first discovered penicillin in 1928.

The importance of penicillin as a powerful antibiotic is well-known, as it ended the era of untreatable infectious diseases and ushered in the search for new antibiotic drugs.

For his discovery of penicillin, Alexander Fleming’s contribution to humanity and medical care is, of course, immeasurable.

The significance of penicillin as a drug that dramatically reduces casualties during wartime is undoubtedly of strategic importance to any nation.

Arthur made the decision to invite Dr. Wright first.

The reason to invite Wright rather than Fleming first is an interesting story.

Alexander Fleming’s academic journey was quite challenging, first at the age of 13, he went to London to work with his brother, and then he accidentally inherited a fortune from his uncle, which allowed him to enter the University of London St. Mary’s Medical College to study.

After graduating in 1906, Fleming stayed at St. Mary’s Medical College’s laboratory, assisting his teacher Dr. Wright in immunology research.

By the present time, Fleming is still staying in Dr. Wright’s laboratory and is Dr. Wright’s most capable assistant.

The real reason why Fleming chose to stay in Dr. Wright’s laboratory is because, based on his current academic reputation, he could not obtain the right to use a laboratory without Dr. Wright’s help.

Dr. Wright, on the other hand, is a rather tolerant and gentle person, allowing his assistant Fleming to conduct independent scientific research according to his interests, of course, without interfering with his research and work.

This gave Fleming a larger independent research space and enabled him to grow even more during this period.

A year ago, Fleming independently began trying to vaccinate against acne and successfully improved the cumbersome testing procedure for syphilis.

This accomplishment earned Fleming an initial reputation in academia, which caught David’s attention and placed him on the priority list for talent recruitment.

It is worth mentioning that even though Fleming achieved many independent research results, he did not deviate from Wright’s research scope. Under Wright’s guidance, he conducted extensive research on phagocytes, cytokines, and typhoid germs, significantly expanding his abilities and knowledge.

Arthur, of course, would not let go of such talent.

During the negotiations between Minister Walter and Chancellor Andrew and the British Government, Arthur, led by David, visited Dr. Wright’s laboratory and easily persuaded both Dr. Wright and Alexander Fleming to accept positions in Australasia.

The success of this talent recruitment owes to Arthur’s status and the generous monetary benefits offered.

The invitation from a ruler of a nation, coupled with better salary and conditions, made it a natural decision for Dr. Wright to accept the offer.

Alexander Fleming, on the other hand, did not mind going to Australasia, as what mattered most to him was his research environment, funding, and the help he could receive.

Australasia could provide all of these things, even more so than the help Dr. Wright could provide.

Having successfully recruited talent for the first time, Arthur was in a great mood.

Looking at the list, the next talent to be recruited was Henry Moseley, an outstanding but not very prominent talent.

Henry Moseley in the original history was a famous British physicist and chemist who discovered Moseley’s Law.

What made Moseley not as famous as the others is because he quit his job in 1914 to join the Royal Engineers Corps.

Unfortunately, this decision cost him his potentially brilliant life.

On August 10, 1915, as a technical officer, Moseley was killed by a Turkish sniper while using a telephone to relay orders, at the age of just 27.

An American science writer once wrote: “Considering Moseley’s scientific achievements, his sacrifice could be regarded as the most costly sacrifice to humanity.”

Based on Moseley’s research findings, British physicist Charles Barkla discovered X-ray diffraction in various metal elements and won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1917.

Ernest Rutherford Green once said about Moseley’s achievements: “The first two years of his research career would be enough to win him a Nobel Prize.” Many scientists believe that if Moseley, who died at the age of 27, had lived, he would have made an even greater contribution to atomic structure research.

If Moseley and Einstein were added to the base, along with a large number of physicists and chemists, Arthur believed that it was not impossible for Australasia to invent the atomic bomb earlier than in the original history.