Vienna
Prime Minister Felix said with a frown: "His Royal Highness, the Hungarian rebellion is over now. However, some nobles did not participate in the rebellion, but their land was divided during the war.
According to the "Land Redemption Act" we promulgated before, the Austrian government now has to pay a total of 2.37 billion dong for the land redemption. "
(1 shield = 11.69 grams of silver)
"How come there are so many?" Franz asked in surprise
You must know that after this rebellion, nearly seven-story nobles in Hungary were finished, including those who had already received their lunch boxes, and the nobles who were involved in the rebellion and were deprived of their titles.
Felix explained: "Your Highness, none of the great nobles in Hungary participated in the rebellion, and nearly half of the ransom was paid to them.
In addition, there are some enlightened nobles in the country who are willing to give up their land and also need us to pay the ransom.
In addition, some nobles in the Italian region who were loyal to us were also divided up in the war.
The total of these bits and pieces adds up, and it is initially estimated that we will pay 2.37 billion dong for the land ransom. If there are people who continue to give up the land, then this number will increase. "
Franz rubbed his forehead. In order to encourage the nobles to give up the land, the ransom money was assessed according to the market price. If converted, this is equivalent to 550 million taels of silver.
This money is obviously not something that the Austrian government can take out at one time, although the Austrian government now has a lot of assets in its hands because of the home raid.
However, these real estates are not equal to cash, and there is no way to realize them in the short term. The Austrian government is still poor.
According to the "Land Redemption Act", the land redemption money paid by farmers is collected by the government, and the government is responsible for direct compensation to the nobles who give up the land.
This huge debt fell on the Austrian government. It is impossible for Franz to pay this huge debt at one time, and it is even more impossible to default on the debt, which is related to the credibility of the government.
Franz asked with concern: "How much land can we pay for ransom each year?"
Prime Minister Felix thought about it and said, "It's about 180 million rupiah."
The 180 million guilders are not just these lands, but also include a large number of lands confiscated by the government, as well as the lands of extinct nobles.
If it is just these lands, the ransom money is drawn at a rate of 30% of the output, and the maximum is 40 to 50 million rhine guilders.
After thinking about it, Franz helplessly found that farming is really not a good business, even if the cost of capital and time is not calculated, it will take ten or twenty years to be able to pay back the cost.
The land ransom money collected by the government may not be enough to cover the interest cost of the funds.
Franz thought for a while and said, "Pay in installments, explain it to the nobles, tell them our difficulties, and let them understand.
The enlightened nobles in the country who voluntarily gave up their land paid half of their ransom money first, and paid the rest in installments within twenty years.
Several big nobles in the Hungarian region told them that the government would not pursue the small actions in this rebellion, but the land ransom money as punishment for them would be extended to forty years to pay in installments.
The rest with pigtails, please warn them to extend the payment time of their ransom money. If there is no problem at all, just follow the plan of voluntarily giving up the land! "
Franz finally felt it once - it was the uncle who owed money.
After a revolution, the interest groups in Austria have also been reshuffled. These nobles who were forcibly bought off their land are naturally the losers.
The money is in the hands of the Austrian government and the land is in the hands of the farmers, who have no choice at all.
Before that, the Austrian government was afraid of them, because every big noble family owned a large amount of land, serfs, and a large group of small and medium-sized nobles who were attached to them. They could arm thousands or even tens of thousands of troops at any time. .
Now, this situation has changed, the serfs have been freed and are no longer under their control, and the small and medium-sized nobles who are attached to their command have been hit hard.
A tiger without teeth is left with its might. There was no killing, because Franz was also a member of vested interests and was unwilling to break the rules.
"Yes, Your Highness!" Prime Minister Felix replied
The Austrian cabinet and Franz were both on the same page on the issue of cracking down on local powers.
The so-called instalment payment does not include half of the interest, and is divided into forty years to pay, in fact, even the interest is not enough.
Even if it is paid in installments, it is still unknown when the money will be received. As long as the payment is completed within the promised period, it will not be regarded as a breach of contract.
The specific situation depends on whether these nobles are smart people. If you are willing to cooperate with the government's actions, then everything can be said that the Austrian government will pay back the money as soon as possible.
If they continue to fight against the government recklessly, it is estimated that they may not be able to see the money in their lifetime.
Not everyone is so optimistic, Metternich frowned on the side, and hesitantly said after a while: "Your Highness, so many nobles have suddenly lost their land and sources of income, and it is not easy to transform.
If they can't find a way out, I am afraid it will become a social hidden danger in the future. "
This is a real problem. It is impossible to make all the nobles become capitalists, and they will lose money when doing business. If they are blindly transformed, most of them will vomit blood.
Don't expect these people to go bankrupt and become workers honestly and go to work in factories in peace.
It is more likely that after bankruptcy, they will join the revolutionary army in an attempt to break the social order and redistribute social wealth.
Education Minister Count Leo thought for a while and said: "Our Ministry of Education can hire some nobles to serve as language teachers, and most nobles are competent, but this requires higher salaries!"
For the same position, the salaries of nobles and non-nobles are also different. Don't be surprised, this is the general situation in continental Europe.
"This is just a drop in the bucket. A small noble without ambition may accept the teaching position, but most nobles cannot give up their airs and become a village teacher!" Felix shook his head and said.
Grand Duke Louis proposed: "How about we open up colonies and let them colonize overseas, so as not to stop at home?"
In Metternich's time, Austria did not open colonies overseas, which does not mean that Austria did not have the strength to open colonies.
As one of the top four countries in the world, it is not difficult to get a colony overseas as long as the government lets go of its hands and feet.
Seeing that Britain and France are attacking cities and looting territories overseas, even small countries like the Netherlands and Portugal have colonies, how can the nobles in Austria not be jealous