Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 13 Cruel Society

No matter how hypnotized Karl said, the essence cannot be changed. In order to speed up the development of industry, the fact that agriculture is prepared to be sacrificed.

The primitive accumulation of capital is bloody. While expanding the market outside, it is also necessary to squeeze the inside.

This is predestined by the times. As a master who aspires to become an emperor through the ages, Franz is destined to be handsome. On the surface, the Austrian government has never oppressed farmers.

The agricultural tax of only 5% is almost the lowest in continental Europe in this era.

In fact, while paying the agricultural tax, there is also a [-]% tithe, which is collected in the name of the church.

There can be no more, the Austrian government is dominated by the aristocratic class, and the policy must be tilted towards the ruling class.It is not easy to get them to pay taxes together.

However, for most people, they still have to pay a land ransom, which is the biggest burden, but this burden is voluntarily borne by them.

The Austrian government did not force farmers to buy land, it was all voluntary, and the rent of the land held by the government was only 30.00%, and only 15.00% after deducting taxes. There was no intention of wanton exploitation and oppression at all.

If you want to buy the land, you have to pay a ransom of 20.00% of the land income, and pay it continuously for 40 years, or pay it in cash.

If the government forces farmers to pay the land ransom, and has to bear such a heavy burden, it is estimated that everyone will be very conflicted in their hearts, and many people will have opinions.

But let them voluntarily buy land, the situation is different, the peasants are very grateful to the emperor who let them get the land.

No matter how heavy the burden is, everyone is much better than the serf era.While filling his stomach, he also has a certain amount of disposable free property.

Of course, they are also more tired. Working for the nobles is a grind, and they should do as little as they can.Now that I am working for myself, naturally no one is lazy.If you can plant ten acres of land, no one will only plant five acres of land.

Everyone wanted to earn more money and pay the ransom for the land earlier so that they could live a better life.

That's right, in the eyes of farmers, as long as they own the land, they will have a good life.

After Franz came to power, the taxation of the Austrian government was simplified a lot, and the messy taxes were abolished one after another.

Except for the 5.00% agricultural tax, other taxes have nothing to do with farmers, and they will not be collected anyway.

The tithe is not counted, it is collected by the church and has nothing to do with the great emperor.

Now, the government wants to use low food prices to buy interest groups in various states, which is beneficial in the long run and increases the market share of Austrian agricultural products.

Later generations of Americans are playing low-price dumping, which is enough to prove that it is profitable.Although they have not made money in agriculture, they have reaped handsome returns elsewhere.

Otherwise, the Americans would have quit long ago.They are not doing charity, who can afford to lose money every year?

It is not impossible for the Americans to unite with major grain-producing countries to drive up food prices.It is not because there are greater interests that they have been dumping at low prices.

On the surface, the Austrian government wholesales low-priced grain, which is a loss to local interest groups.But after Austria controlled the food supply of the states, the situation was different.

Whether they like it or not, the governments of all countries must move closer to Austria politically, and this is not their choice.

No matter how great the strategy is, the farmers and nobles who planted food in the early stage have become victims, and the Austrian Empire has no food subsidies.

"How to control this level? If it is only slightly lower than the international grain price, then it is not unacceptable. If it is too low, I am afraid it will dampen the enthusiasm for domestic grain production." Prime Minister Felix said with a frown

From the perspective of personal interests, he should oppose this measure, but as the prime minister of Austria, he cannot just consider immediate interests.

Karl's deception was successful. Everyone knew that Austria's grain production would skyrocket, and domestic demand would definitely not be able to consume it. If they didn't find a market outside, they would be ready to rot in the warehouse.

Everyone's thinking has been biased. When this kind of thing happens, the solution is not just one, such as reducing taxes on agricultural products and increasing the competitiveness of food prices.

Or develop supporting industries, such as wine making, animal husbandry, and deep processing of grain...

"Prime Minister, this kind of loss is just a few years ago. Taking into account the actual situation, we are now following the 20.00% drop in international grain prices and entering the market ahead of schedule.

After we occupy the market, we can gradually raise the price upwards, and the losses that everyone pays now will be earned back in the future.

At the same time, the government also encourages the export of refined processed products and exports of high value-added products as much as possible to protect everyone's interests. "Carl analyzed seriously

Only the Austrian government dared to do this business.In other grain exporting countries, there are not so many state-owned enterprises that can control grain export prices.

Capital is profit-seeking, and the threshold of the agricultural product industry is low. Who cares about future interests for capitalists?

Take care of the present first, or you will be shot to death by your competitors halfway before you wait for the future.

……

The strategy of "dumping at low prices" was formulated in this way.This is a conspiracy. Who can resist the temptation in the face of interests?

Franz just frowned, expressing his acquiescence.The reality is so cruel, without enough benefits, how can you pull others on board?

Fortunately, in this era, people still don't pay much attention to industry, and capitalists don't have much say in the feudal system. Otherwise, if Austria wants to establish this economic alliance, the price it has to pay will be even greater.

……

It is easy to make a plan, but it is not so simple to implement the plan.The noisy Austrian civil service examination kicked off on December 1848, 12.

In order to avoid the situation that the emperor is far away, the supervision is difficult, and serious fraud occurs, the Austrian government set up all the examination rooms in Vienna.

The Ministry of Finance was the first to start the exam. It’s not that it didn’t want to start the exam at the same time, but the Austrian government didn’t have such a big venue.

Different from the schools of later generations flying all over the sky, you can just borrow a part of the classroom and take the exam.Now there are not so many venues, and many people have to take the test in the open square.

Even the square in front of the Franz Palace was borrowed by the government to serve as an examination room.

On the top of the Palace of Vienna, Franz took out his binoculars and looked at the long line of candidates waiting to enter the venue, filled with emotion.

Once upon a time, he was also a member of the examination army, failed again and again, tried again and again, and before the last result came out, his fate had been rewritten.

After sighing, Franz put down the binoculars in his hand and walked down the castle. At this time, the exam had already started.

In the examination room, the examinees were all seriously answering the questions, some were thinking with their heads down, some were writing hard, some were scratching their heads, and the invigilators were walking back and forth in the aisle gently, very quiet.

This is the first civil service examination in Austria. The invigilators are very professional, but they put a lot of pressure on the candidates.

A soldier with guns and live ammunition acted as the invigilator. If someone with a bad mental quality, it is estimated that they will be out of order after seeing this posture.

Time passed by, "ding, ding ding" the bell rang for the end of the exam.

"Everyone stop writing immediately and leave the examination room, otherwise the test results will be invalidated." The invigilator's cold voice sounded

One by one had to leave the examination room dejectedly. Obviously, most of them felt that they did not do well in the exam, and many people left a large blank on the paper.

Outside the examination room, there was already a chorus of voices, and groups of three or four gathered together, complaining endlessly.

"Weigl, how did you do in the exam?"

"What else can I do? Who knows why the Ministry of Finance's questions are so biased? Why do they seem to be taking the test for everything? How about you?" Weigel smiled wryly.

Politics, history, culture, economy, military affairs, religion, geography, numbers, music, art, international events...all the content appeared on the examination paper.

Although professional knowledge dominates, these various topics have severely damaged everyone's morale.

"Me? I'm preparing for the next exam. Anyway, no matter what the position is, I must pass the exam, otherwise I won't be able to explain it when I go home." Raul said with a serious face

The test opening ratio for this exam has been announced, as high as half of the pass rate, and if they fail to pass, they will belong to the eliminated half.

Aristocrats want face, and aboveboard competition will become a group of people who are eliminated, and they will not be able to hold their heads up for a long time.

Fortunately, there are not many civilian students in this era. Otherwise, if they lose to the common people, their pressure will probably be even greater.

"You are afraid that Elena will not be able to explain it, but you have blown the cowhide in front of her." Wei Gehao told the truth bluntly

After the lie was exposed, Raul said indifferently: "So what, anyway, I am a scumbag, and it is normal to fail the exam.

It would be unfair for you, a talented student who graduated from the University of Vienna, to take the exam with us. "

Weigel said calmly: "Do you want to say that if I fail, you can laugh at me for the rest of my life. Don't worry, this won't happen!"

Weigel still has some confidence in passing the exam, but what he wants to compete for is the ranking.Passing with [-] points, and passing with [-] points, the treatment is definitely different.

It's almost an open secret that good grades stay at the headquarters, and those with poor grades go to the local government.No one can say that it is unfair, the results are obtained by oneself.

The Austrian government pays attention to efficiency. When the exam is over, the marking work has already started.After the results come out, they will be announced to the public immediately, and the admission personnel will be determined according to the scores.

If the grades are the same, let's fight for the father. Those with higher births will be admitted first. There is not so much reason to say.

Chapter 14 Investment Preparation

Christmas

As the most important festival in the European world, it is natural not to be sloppy. Didn't you see that the officers and soldiers of the Papal Kingdom are all eager to come back for the festival?

As usual, Franz held a Christmas dinner in the palace and invited a group of people to the banquet.

This was Franz's first Christmas after he came to the throne, and everyone paid special attention to it. Those who were invited, who could arrive, came.

Relatives and friends, military and political dignitaries, plus their family members, the number of guests directly broke through four figures.During the banquet, the toasts were staggered, the words were cheerful, and the fun was harmonious.

Franz could see that everyone was trying to show him a happy face, but in fact, everyone was bored to death, chatting about dry content.

Palace banquets pay attention to etiquette, and they can't let go of it at all.Especially the little ones, can't wait to end the banquet immediately and go out to have a merry Christmas.

There is no way, even he, the emperor, is annoying.With the shiny golden tableware, Franz once doubted whether it was gold-plated. Experiments proved that he thought too much. It was indeed real gold, and the people below did not dare to fool him, the emperor.

Well, Franz usually doesn't use these tableware. Generally, he uses silver tableware, which is said to be sterilizable.

In this era, although Western medicine has come out of the primitive therapy of bloodletting, the technology is still not good, and any disease can kill a person. Franz, who cherishes his life, made a decisive choice.

After a sumptuous meal, everyone went back to their respective homes. Let’s spend Christmas at home by ourselves. Franz didn’t intend to leave everyone to spend the holidays together, which would mean finding guilt.

He dared to bet that most people would rather not attend the palace banquet if it was not a reflection of their status.

Although the banquet is extravagant, it costs tens of thousands of dong (1 dong ≈ 11.69 grams of silver) at a time.People who can participate in the banquet, how can there be poor ghosts?

The guests are all gone, and the Franz family is having their own Christmas Eve, and the younger brothers have revealed their true colors in an instant. Today is a special day, so you can just say hello.

Franz envied him. Although he was only 18 years old, he couldn't let go of himself now.Even more tragic, her mother's Christmas wish was for him to marry a wife as soon as possible.

To be an emperor and be urged to marry?Franz felt like a dead dog. After thinking about the age of the European royal princess, he felt relieved.

In a short time, there is no need to worry, the original princess Sissi has just turned 11 years old, even her sister is only a year or two older.The other princesses of her status are also younger, and the older one is already married.

However, Franz still didn't dare to relax his vigilance, for fear that if he was not careful, he would have an extra loli fiancée.

Early engagement is also very popular among nobles.As the emperor of Austria, Franz was the biggest diamond king among the European nobles, and there were quite a few nobles who were interested in him.

Fortunately, Franz is now the emperor and has the right to speak on personal issues. If he insists on not agreeing, no one can force him to agree.

Under normal circumstances, Empress Dowager Sophie would discuss this issue with him. As for his father, he suffers from bronchitis and has no right to speak at home.

The bell rang at twelve o'clock in the middle of the night, and Franz was rescued.

The whole family got up and stood up, lit candles, recited the Bible in unison, blessed each other, and then sang Christmas carols.

……

This year, Christmas in Vienna is particularly lively. As the earliest legal holiday, the factory closed early.

Capitalists are not willing to pay triple wages to make workers work overtime today.If you meet a more generous boss, you might even get a Christmas present.

The streets and alleys of Vienna are now full of children, singing Christmas carols and going from house to house to announce the good news.

Now is the time for everyone to show their demeanor.Those with rich net worth usually prepare some Christmas gifts in advance, such as candy and melon seeds, and distribute them to the children who come to announce the good news.

This Christmas, Franz's wallet has dried up again.

The Christmas gift is a big one. He gave a Christmas gift to the servants and guards who worked hard and worked overtime in the palace.

Relatives and friends, government officials, soldiers on duty, and even the orphans taken in by the government all received a Christmas gift from His Majesty the Emperor.

They are all candies and melon seeds, each gift is worthless, but can't stand the crowd?In order to buy people's hearts, Franz also took great pains.

But hard work always pays off. People in this age are simple and simple. Faced with the sudden Christmas gift, many people's loyalty to the emperor has skyrocketed.

Especially for orphans adopted by the government, many of them received the first Christmas gift in their lives, which had a particularly great impact on them.

The price was that Franz spent nearly 20 guilders on one Christmas.If it weren't for the great fortune of the Habsburg family, the royal annuity alone might not be enough for Franz to spend so much.

Austria's royal annuity was determined not long ago, and it is drawn at 600% of Austria's fiscal revenue, which is about [-] million guilders per year.

The money was not spent by Franz alone. The whole family of the royal family had a share. Among them, his uncle Ferdinand I and his wife would take 150 million guilders.

Everyone in the other close branches of the royal family also had a share. In the end, only about 300 million guilders were left to him, the emperor, at his disposal. There are still such a large group of people in the palace to support.

It is not enough to live frugally, but it is obviously not enough to want to squander.

After Christmas, Franz is ready to buy some properties.What to do specifically, Franz had a headache.

There are many businesses that make money quickly, and most of them are legally written. As a great emperor, he obviously cannot take the lead in breaking the rules.

Franz once wanted to sell reference materials for civil service exams, but he quickly dismissed the idea. This is really worthless, not to mention that it won't make much money, and it won't have a good impact if it gets out.

There is no need to consider agriculture. Although the Habsburg family has no shortage of land, the rate of return in this area is too low.Even if it is planting cash crops, it is impossible to get rich quickly at this rate of return.

"Drugs" Franz wouldn't touch it, it's completely blackening his glorious image.

The arms can be sold, but it is a pity that political factors dominate the arms trade now. Austria has been in Europe for these years, and its overseas influence is limited.