Chapter 107: He owes a debt

Vienna
Prime Minister Felix frowned and said: "His Royal Highness, the Hungarian rebellion is now over. However, some of the nobles did not participate in the rebellion, but were parted in the land during the war.
If we follow the "Land Foreclosure Act" we enacted before, the Austrian government will now pay a total of 2.37 billion guilders for land foreclosure. "
(1 shield = 11.69 grams of silver)
"How come there are so many?" Franz asked in surprise.
You know, after this rebellion, nearly seven-story nobles in Hungary were finished, including those who had taken a box lunch, and nobles who were deprived of their title during the rebellion.
Felix explained: "His Highness, several of Hungary's great aristocrats did not participate in the rebellion, and nearly half of this ransom was paid to them.
In addition, there are some enlightened aristocrats in China who are willing to give up the land and also need us to pay the ransom.
In addition, some Italian nobles were loyal to us, and their land was also divided during the war.
Adding these totals together, it is initially estimated that we will be redeeming the land for 2.37 billion dong. If there are still people who continue to give up land, this number will increase. "
Franz rubbed his forehead. In order to encourage the nobles to give up the land, the ransom was evaluated at the market price. If converted, this is equivalent to 550 million silver.
This money is obviously not a one-time payment for the Austrian government, although the Austrian government now owns a large amount of assets because of family ties.
However, these real estate are not equal to cash. There is no way to realize cash 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 directly compensating the aristocrats who abandon the land.
This huge debt hit the Austrian government. It is impossible for Franz to pay this huge debt at one time, and it is even more impossible to settle accounts, which is related to the issue of government credibility.
Franz asked with concern: "How much land ransom can we collect each year?"
The Prime Minister Felix thought for a while and said, "About 180 million dongs."
The 180 million dong is not only the land, but also includes a large amount of land seized by the government, and the land of absolutely nobles.
If it is just these lands, the redemption money will be drawn according to the proportion of 30% of the output, which will be at most 40 million to 50 million Rhein.
After calculating it, Franz reluctantly found that farming is really not a good deal. Even if the time cost of funds is not calculated, it will take more than ten or twenty years to return to the original cost.
The land redemption money collected by the government may not be enough to pay the interest cost of the funds.
Franz thought about it and said, "Let's pay it in installments, explain it to the nobles, tell them our difficulties, and let them be considerate.
Enlightened aristocrats who voluntarily gave up land in China paid half of their ransom first, and the rest were paid in installments within 20 years.
Several big aristocrats in Hungary told them that the government would not pursue the small actions in the rebellion, but as a punishment for their land ransom, it would be extended to 40 years in installments.
The remaining ones with small braids will warn them and extend their ransom payment time. If there is no problem at all, they will follow the disposal plan of voluntary land abandonment! "
Franz finally felt it once—the grandpa owed it.
After a revolution, Austria's domestic interest groups also reshuffled, and these nobles who were forcibly redeemed for the land naturally belonged to the losers.
The money is in the hands of the Austrian government, and the land is in the hands of farmers. They have no choice at all.
Prior to this, the Austrian government was afraid of them, because every large aristocrat had a lot of land, serfs, and a large group of small and medium nobles attached to them. They could arm thousands or even tens of thousands of troops at any time .
Now, this situation has changed. The serfs were free, and they were no longer under their control. The small and medium nobles attached to their subordinates were hit hard.
Without a tiger, only Tiger might be left. Did not kill everything, because Franz is also a member of vested interests, unwilling to break the rules.
"Yes, Your Highness!" Prime Minister Felix replied
Both the Austrian cabinet and Franz stand on the same stand on fighting local power.
The so-called installment payment does not include half of the interest. It is paid over 40 years. In fact, even interest is not enough.
Even if it is in installments, it is unknown when the money will be available. As long as the payment is completed within the promised period, it will not be considered a default.
The specific situation depends on whether these nobles are smart people. If willing to cooperate with the government's actions, then all is well, the Austrian government will pay back the money as soon as possible.
If they continue to be ignorant of life and death and the government is working against it, it is estimated that they will not necessarily see this money in their lifetime.
Not everyone was so optimistic, Metternich frowned, and hesitantly said after a while, "His Highness, so many aristocrats suddenly lost their land and lost their source of income. It was not easy to transform.
If we cannot find a way out for them, I am afraid it will become a hidden danger in the future. "
This is a realistic problem. It is impossible for all nobles to become capitalists, and business will also lose money. If they are blindly transformed, most of them will lose blood.
Don't expect these people to go bankrupt, just 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 social order and redistribute social wealth.
The Minister of Education, Count Leo, thought for a moment: "Our Ministry of Education can hire some nobles to be language teachers. Most of the nobles are qualified, but this requires a higher salary!"
For the same positions, the salary between nobles and non-nobles is different. Don't be surprised, this is the general status quo in continental Europe.
"This is just a slack job. Little aristocrats without ambitions may accept teacher positions, but most of them cannot give up the shelf and become a country teacher!" Felix shook his head and said
Duke Louis proposed: "Should we open up a colony and let them colonize overseas so that the province can't stop at home?"
In the Metternich era, Austria did not open colonies overseas, not that Austria did not have the power to open colonies.
As the top four powers in the world, as long as the government has let go, it is not difficult to obtain a colony overseas.
Watching British and French siege overseas, even small countries like the Netherlands and Portugal have a colony, how can the aristocracy inside Austria not be embarrassed?
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