Queen Joanna was undoubtedly a woman of action.After discussing it with Laszlo and Archbishop Georg, despite being somewhat reluctant to leave her husband and her infant son, she soon set off for Tyrol to implement her plan personally.Laszlo had already issued a decree in advance, requiring the local Estates, state government, and church institutions to fully cooperate with the Queen's actions.The relationship between the Tyrol Estates and Laszlo had reached a rather awkward point after years of continuous deterioration, yet they did not resist the Queen's arrival.After all, during the six months or so the Queen had stayed in Innsbruck, she had repeatedly calmed the restless populace with her charitable deeds, and these stories had long since spread throughout the valleys.Laszlo also hoped to regain the affection of the Tyrolean people through Joanna's hands; after all, this was the source of soldiers he valued most.Of course, besides the state of Tyrol, which was most affected by the war, the fallen heroes from other regions would not be forgotten either; although they might receive slightly less care, the necessary compensation and pensions still had to be delivered properly, something Laszlo also took very seriously.Unlike the special situation in Tyrol, the people in other parts of Austria were not overly resentful of the war the Emperor had launched.After all, war did not bring only disadvantages.Compared to those unfortunate souls, more warriors who had marched with the Emperor returned laden with spoils.They returned to their original stations with a large amount of loot and wealth plundered from France; this sum, totaling nearly a million florins, was a considerable fortune even when distributed among tens of thousands of men.Military pay, plunder, and imperial rewards made the lives of the soldiers and their families more comfortable, and also made the markets around the army's quarters exceptionally prosperous.The eastern states of Austria absorbed almost all the wealth brought back by the Austrian army, reaping a significant wave of war dividends.Furthermore, the pressure brought by this war was not shifted onto the shoulders of the general Austrian populace.The Emperor had his ways of making money; although the Austrian treasury was not exactly overflowing, it was more than enough to support the initial stages of the war.Once the main army entered French territory, due to the Emperor's strategy of living off the enemy and the assistance of local French rebels, the expenses of the Imperial Army had even less to do with the Austrian people.Because of this, the eastern states of Austria did not particularly resent such a war; in fact, because the army's actions drove a brief boom in commerce and handicrafts, it even won the Emperor quite a bit of support.With such a horizontal comparison, Laszlo could more or less understand the resentment of the Tyrolean people.As the only state that allowed village representatives to attend the Estates and vote, Tyrol's Estates did not represent only the interests of a small local elite like in other states; its representation could be extended to almost all the people in the valleys.It was also for this reason that collecting taxes and conscripting soldiers was most convenient here, something Laszlo knew from deep experience.He had indeed treated the mountain folk poorly over the years, which was why he had resolved to agree to the Queen's plan.Now that Joanna was going to appease those dissatisfied Tyrolean subjects on his behalf, Laszlo also began to focus on the upcoming first legal professional skills examination.Although in his past life he had no interest in obtaining various certificates and felt such things were hollow and useless, it now seemed he had been short-sighted.To rule a country, he could not have his subordinates identify the qualifications of every subject one by one; examinations were the best way to screen out those with potential.Increasing literacy and improving the overall quality of the citizenry was a very long-term goal, whereas screening talented people from the vast crowd could bring immediate rewards to the state.Thus, just like the calls he had issued to the warriors of the Imperial Army in the past, Laszlo now began to incite those naive university students, even using the classic slogan without change: "Come take the exam, young man!"Unlike the soldiers who had to win consecutive victories in dangerous martial duels to earn the title and certificate of 'Swordmaster,' the candidates only needed to pass the University of Vienna's exam to obtain the title of 'Legal Expert.'This exam did not conflict with the university's own degree examinations; rather, an officially recognized legal professional degree was one of the many prerequisites for participating in this national exam.Although the Emperor had set a broad scope for candidates, Archbishop Georg and the professors at the University of Vienna dared not be careless.Only those who had undergone systematic legal professional studies at a university, or those who had participated in legal affairs in practice for a certain number of years, were eligible to take this exam.If such restrictions weren't made, the number of candidates would likely fill the University of Vienna's chapel, and their workload would increase significantly. However, this first examination did not attract a large number of judicial practitioners and university students as Laszlo had expected.Among those who signed up for the exam, law graduates from the University of Vienna made up a large proportion; only a handful of students came from universities in other regions, and most judicial practitioners already in the workforce took a wait-and-see attitude.The reason for this phenomenon was also very practical—the cost of the exam was too high.This was certainly not because the University of Vienna and the government charged high registration fees; in fact, the registration fee was only a few groschen.The real expense lay in the materials to prepare for the exam and the daily living expenses of the candidates.In Vienna, where printing technology had been promoted, the price of law-related books was relatively low; in other parts of Europe, the cost of books was a very heavy burden.In the past, a university student wanting to graduate from the legal profession, hailed as a 'higher discipline,' had to prepare at least dozens or even a hundred florins, almost equivalent to more than a year's pay for an ordinary soldier or several years' income for a common laborer.Therefore, being able to afford university was itself a reflection of a family's economic strength.Besides, during the period students spent preparing for the exam, they were mostly non-producers relying on their families for support, and their daily expenses were also a heavy economic burden.To that end, after preparing for a university graduation exam, students and their families were skeptical of another similar examination.If not for the Emperor's prestige and the laws set down in black and white, perhaps not many people would have participated in the first exam.Archbishop Georg had also considered this situation, so he set the date for the examination around Saint George's Day, not far from Lent.The graduation debates at the University of Vienna were required to be completed within Lent, and since the two exams were not far apart, it accommodated the local university students.As for those candidates who came from other regions under the Emperor's rule, their numbers were not large to begin with, and they were clearly looked down upon by local Austrian officials, so the exam arrangements did not particularly cater to their feelings.Ultimately, the Emperor's plan to let the University of Vienna monopolize talent for the entire union was somewhat whimsical.Georg could also understand the Emperor's intention to showcase his court's openness and inclusivity, but Austria, after all, could not represent the entire Empire and the Habsburg union; the only thing connecting it all was the Emperor himself.Of course, these thoughts could not be said to the Emperor's face."So, the total number of people from all regions who signed up for this exam is less than a hundred?" Laszlo wore a troubled expression, lightly tapping the table.The ministers attending the Privy Council meeting were not surprised by this.The Finance Minister, Ulrich Fugger, spoke to comfort him: "Your Majesty need not worry too much about this. A new policy is like a business; you must first let people see that it is profitable, only then will more people throw themselves into it with fanatical pursuit.""But hasn't Your Majesty's decree already made it very clear? There are many benefits to obtaining the certificate. In the future, if they apply for jobs such as clerks, auditors, or even tax collectors, they can be given priority, and becoming a lawyer or notary will be much easier," said Baron Grafenegg, the Minister of War, somewhat puzzled.His long-standing responsibility for conscription gave him more opportunities to deal with the Brotherhood of St. Mark, personally authorized by the Emperor.The 'Swordmasters' trained by the instructors of that brotherhood were basically all skilled, and could be called lethal weapons in a phalanx.Whenever the battle reached a stalemate, these elites, who could earn double pay, would take on arduous and dangerous tasks such as breaking enemy formations, and they often performed them well.Therefore, he was quite optimistic about the Emperor's practice of selecting officials through examinations.As for whether the status of the nobility would be threatened by this? As the most powerful noble in Austria, Baron Grafenegg was not worried at all.Those selected through these exams were all people who did the actual work and hard labor; nobles would not compete with them for jobs, but rather become the superiors who directed their work.Perhaps a few would be favored by the Emperor and entrusted with heavy responsibilities, but that was not the norm; if the Emperor wanted to rule Austria steadily, he absolutely could not do without these local nobles."How can a mere piece of legislation convince people? Besides, those jobs you mentioned could also be done by people who previously obtained a law degree. It will likely take some time for people to understand what makes this specific examination special."Fugger saw it quite clearly; more people probably wanted to see what kind of rewards those who passed the exam would receive before deciding whether to participate in this high-profile national examination.Laszlo nodded, agreeing with Fugger's assessment.He had now truly sorted out the relationship within this.In Eastern terms, this was called'selecting scholars through imperial examinations,' but in the West, such a system had not existed for a long time.Various autonomous universities assessed students and granted degrees, which was equivalent to them completing a talent screening themselves.However, obtaining a degree did not mean gaining the qualification to become an official; in this era, European countries had no higher-level, state-sponsored bureaucratic selection system.After leaving university, these high-level intellectuals were already capable of securing decent clerical positions in society; some lucky ones could even become the 'civil servants' of this era—local officials or advisors to the nobility.This was already a good upward path for people of common origin.To truly enter the monarch's vision and join the ruling class, one either had to come from a noble family and have a powerful person help with an introduction, come from a wealthy merchant family and seek an official position by donating or lending money to the monarch, or be truly extraordinary and catch the monarch's attention.The third case was very rare, and often involved the shadow of the Church; or rather, joining the Church was almost a necessary path for commoners to enter the upper levels of government.The two exams Laszlo was organizing were equivalent to filling the gap of'selecting scholars' after opening the examinations; although they only selected legal professionals and mostly filled vacancies for civil servants or advisors, it could still be considered a great attempt.The reason why Europe had never developed such a system before was that the centralized system was just beginning to sprout; the nobility and the Church could provide sufficient talent reserves, and the demand for professional bureaucrats was not very large—one could even say it was essentially non-existent.Local officials serving in various places even retained some of the atmosphere of 'hereditary offices and salaries,' so in Austria, you could even see selection systems from the pre-Qin period and modern times running in parallel.These were all obstacles that Laszlo intended to clear, but as Fugger said, for a new system to be built, it required time to accumulate."I was indeed too impatient. At the moment, the new system is still in the exploration stage, and it's normal for people to be confused.However, the Archbishop just mentioned the candidates' concerns in other areas, especially regarding money. Perhaps we can start from here to ease their burden?"Laszlo decided to take a different approach; if he resolved the candidates' many concerns, there would be no need to worry about them not coming to participate in such an important exam.When the time came, he might even be able to say, 'All the heroes of the world have fallen into my net,' just to show off."Do you plan to reward those who take the exam?" Matthias asked.Before Laszlo could answer, Fugger could no longer sit still: "Your Majesty, you cannot set such a precedent.I suggest you clarify the specific scope of the examination and designate a few reference books for the candidates. Then, order the Royal Printing House to print more of these books to bring the prices down. This would be much more effective than direct rewards, and you would also make a profit, wouldn't you?""Good idea," Laszlo looked at Fugger with satisfaction and praised, "It seems your talent is no less than your father's, Mr. Fugger.""Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty," Fugger smiled.He was happy not only because of the Emperor's praise but also because he had discovered a new business opportunity.Those books would definitely not be needed only by students in Vienna; everyone who hoped to gain the Emperor's appreciation but had no other channel would certainly pay more and more attention to these exams planned by the Emperor.If he could obtain firsthand information and use some means to preemptively seize the book market in western Austria and even the entire South German region, he might be able to get a share of the pie.But thinking of the many mines and textile factories operated by his family, he suppressed those thoughts.How much money can you make selling books? It's better to open mines; mining is the truly lucrative industry, especially now that the Emperor has joined forces with the Augsburg mining cartel to monopolize European copper mines.Laszlo did not know Fugger's colorful mental activity; even if he did, he probably wouldn't care much—this kind of buying and selling was the merchants' old trade, and he might even have to look to the Fugger Family to do this work when the time came.After all, now that this Fugger had been promoted, the current Chief Royal Merchant was his younger brother.After discussing some more exam-related issues, Laszlo and Georg continued to prepare separately for the judicial practitioners' certificate exam and the court exam for selecting talent.However, not long after, in mid-March, the arrival of the Archbishop of Mainz and the Elector of Saxony brought a small interlude to Laszlo's busy life.