No matter what Carr said, it couldn't change the fact that in order to speed up industrial development, they were prepared to sacrifice agriculture.
The primitive accumulation of capital was bloody. While expanding the market, it was inevitable to squeeze the internal resources.
This was destined by the times. As a person who aspired to become an emperor, Franz was destined to eat. On the surface, the Government of Austria didn't squeeze the farmers.
It was only a 5% agricultural tax, which was almost the lowest in Europe in this era.
In fact, at the same time as the agricultural tax, there was also a ten percent tithe tax, which was collected in the name of the Church.
The Government of Austria was led by the aristocracy, and the policy must be inclined to the ruling class. It was already very difficult to make them pay taxes together.
However, for most people, they still had to pay a ransom for the land. This was the biggest burden, but they were willing to bear this burden.
The Government of Austria didn't force the farmers to redeem the land. It was all voluntary. The rent of the land held by the government was only 30%. After deducting the tax, it was only 15%. There was no intention of exploitation at all.
If they wanted to redeem the land, they had to pay a ransom of 20% of the land's income for 40 years, or pay it in cash.
If the government forced the farmers to pay the ransom for the land, and they had to bear such a big burden, it was estimated that everyone would be very resistant, and many people would complain.
But it was different to let them buy the land voluntarily. The farmers would be grateful to the emperor who gave them the land.
No matter how heavy the burden was, everyone was much better off than when they were serfs. While filling their stomachs, they also had a certain amount of free property at their disposal.
Of course, they were also more tired. Working for the aristocracy was like dawdling, and they would work less if they could. Now that they were working for themselves, naturally no one would be lazy. If they could plant 10 acres of land, no one would only plant 5 acres of land.
Everyone wanted to earn more money and pay the ransom earlier so that they could live a good life.
That's right, in the minds of the farmers, as long as they had land, they would have a good life.
After Franz took office, the Government of Austria simplified the tax system a lot, and the messy taxes were abolished one after another.
Apart from the 5% agricultural tax, the other taxes had nothing to do with the farmers. In any case, they would not be collected from them.
Tithes were not counted. That was collected by the Church and had nothing to do with the great Emperor.
Now, the government wanted to use low food prices to buy the interest groups of the various states. In the long run, this would be beneficial as it would increase the market share of Austria's agricultural products.
In the future, the Americans were selling their products at a low price, which was enough to prove that it was profitable. Although they weren't making money from farming, they were getting rich elsewhere.
Otherwise, the Americans would have quit long ago. They were not doing charity work. Who could stand losing money every year?
It was not like the Americans could not cooperate with the major grain-producing countries to raise the price of food. Wasn't it because they had greater benefits? That's why they kept dumping their products at low prices.
On the surface, the Government of Austria's wholesale of low-priced grain was a loss to the local interest groups. But after Austria controlled the food supply of the states, the situation was different.
Whether the governments were willing or not, they had no choice but to move closer to Austria politically.
No matter how great the strategy was, the farmers and nobles who planted food in the early stages of the war were all sacrificed. The Austrian Empire didn't have any food subsidies.
"How can we grasp this degree? If it's only slightly lower than the international food price, then it's not unacceptable. If it's too low, I'm afraid it will affect the enthusiasm of domestic food production. "Prime Minister Felix frowned.
From the perspective of personal interests, he should oppose this measure. But as the Prime Minister of Austria, he couldn't only consider the immediate interests.
Carr's deception was successful. Everyone knew that Austria's food production would skyrocket, and the domestic demand would definitely not be able to be consumed. If they didn't find a market outside, they would be prepared to rot in the warehouse.
Everyone's thinking had already gone astray. There was more than one solution for this kind of thing. For example: cutting the taxes related to agricultural products and increasing the competitiveness of the food price.
Or developing supporting industries, such as brewing, developing animal husbandry, and further processing of food …
"Prime Minister, this kind of loss is only a few years ago. Considering the actual situation, we are now according to the international food price reduction of 20% to enter the market in advance.
After we occupy the market, we can slowly raise the price. The losses that everyone is paying now will be earned back in the future.
At the same time, the government also encourages the export of refined products and high-value-added products as much as possible to protect everyone's interests. "Carr analyzed seriously.
Only the Government of Austria dared to do this kind of business. Other food exporting countries didn't have so many state-owned enterprises that could control the export price of food.
Capital was all about profit, and the threshold for the agricultural products industry was low. Who would care about the future interests?
Take care of the present first. Otherwise, they would be killed by the competitors before they could see the future.
…
The strategy of "dumping at a low price" was formulated just like that. This was an overt plot. Who could resist the temptation in the face of interests?
Franz just frowned and expressed his tacit agreement. The reality was so cruel. Without enough interests, how could they pull others onto the boat?
Fortunately, in this era, people didn't pay much attention to industry. Under the feudal system, capitalists didn't have much say. Otherwise, if Austria wanted to establish this economic alliance, the price they had to pay would be even greater.
…
It was easy to make a plan, but it wasn't so simple to implement it. The noisy Austrian civil service exam began on December 21, 1848.
In order to avoid serious fraud, the Government of Austria set all the exam venues in Vienna.
The Ministry of Finance started the exam first. It wasn't that they didn't want to take the exam at the same time, but the Government of Austria didn't have enough space.
It was different from the schools in the future, where they could just borrow a part of the classroom to take the exam. Now, there weren't so many venues. Many people had to take the exam in the open-air square.
Even the square in front of the Franz Palace was borrowed by the government as the exam venue.
At the top of the Vienna Palace, Franz took out his binoculars and looked at the long line of candidates waiting to enter. He was filled with emotion.
Not long ago, he was also a member of the army of examinees. He failed again and again, tried again and again, and before the final result came out, his fate had already been rewritten.
After sighing, Franz put down the binoculars in his hands and walked down the castle. The exam had already begun.
In the exam venue, the candidates were answering the questions seriously. Some were thinking with their heads down, some were writing furiously, and some were scratching their ears and cheeks. The invigilators walked back and forth quietly in the aisle.
It was the first civil service exam in Austria. The invigilators were very professional, but they put a lot of pressure on the candidates.
Soldiers with loaded guns acted as invigilators. If it was someone with poor psychological quality, they would probably perform badly after seeing this.
Time passed by. Ding, ding, ding. The bell that signaled the end of the exam rang.
"Everyone stop writing immediately and leave the exam venue. Those who violate the rules will have their exam results nullified." The invigilator's cold voice sounded.
One by one, they had to leave the exam venue dejectedly. Obviously, most of them felt that they didn't do well. Many of them had a large blank on their exam papers.
Outside the exam venue, there was already a hubbub of voices. People gathered in groups of three to five and complained incessantly.
"Wigel, how was the exam?"
"How else could it be? Who knows why the Ministry of Finance is so biased. Why does it seem like they're testing everything? What about you?" Wigel smiled bitterly.
Politics, history, culture, economics, military affairs, religion, geography, numbers, music, art, international affairs … Everything appeared on the exam paper.
Although professional knowledge dominated the exam, the variety of questions had severely impacted everyone's morale.
"Me? I'm preparing for the next exam. No matter what position it is, I have to pass it. Otherwise, I won't be able to explain it to my family, "Raul said with a serious face.
The opening ratio of the exam had been announced. As high as half of the candidates would pass, and those who failed would be eliminated.
Nobles were very prideful. If they competed openly and became the eliminated group, they would not be able to hold their heads up high for a long time.
Fortunately, there were not many commoner students in this era. Otherwise, if they lost to commoners, they would probably be under even more pressure.
"You're afraid that you won't be able to explain it to Elena. You blew your cover in front of her," Wigel bluntly told the truth.
After his lie was exposed, Raul said indifferently, "So what? I'm a bad student anyway. It's normal that I can't pass.
It's not fair to have a top student like you, who graduated from the University of Vienna, take the exam with us. "
Wigel said calmly, "Are you trying to say that if I don't pass, you can laugh at me for the rest of your life? Don't worry, that won't happen! "
Wigel was confident that he could pass the exam, but he was fighting for a ranking. Passing with 100 points and passing with 50 points would definitely be treated differently.
It was almost an open secret that those with good grades would stay at the headquarters, and those with bad grades would be sent elsewhere. No one could say that it was unfair. The results were determined by one's own efforts.
The Government of Austria valued efficiency. At the end of the exam, the marking of the papers had already begun. After the results were out, they immediately informed their grandfather that the candidates would be admitted according to their scores.
If the results were the same, then they would have to rely on their fathers. Those with a high birth would be given priority. There was no reason to argue.
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