Chapter 317

By 1848, the Czech Republic had become one of the industrial centers of Austria. With the development of the industry, the wealth of the capitalists had also increased.

The demonstrations that broke out this time were actually because the wealth and political status of the capitalists did not match. They were not willing to have no say in politics.

The Government of Austria continued to introduce new laws, to a certain extent, at the expense of the interests of the capitalists, which catalyzed the demonstrations in Prague.

In Franz's view, these people were probably used to the free and unfettered life in the Metternich era. They forgot that the people who made the rules of the game could also change the rules of the game at any time.

Now the Government of Austria said that they would not play this game anymore. Those who follow us will prosper, and those who oppose us will perish. Whoever has a problem with us will be punished.

Of course, everyone was civilized, and it was impossible to go too far. It was still necessary to give carrots after beating the stick.

"In view of the current domestic situation, I propose to abolish the local tariffs to ease the dissatisfaction of the capitalists!" Minister of Finance Carr proposed.

Currently, the local tariffs in Austria were mainly in Hungary, and the tariffs in other places had been abolished one after another.

In fact, it was not right to put all the responsibility of the tariffs between Hungary and Austria on the Government of Vienna. As early as the last century, Austria was ready to abolish the local tariffs, but it was opposed by the Hungarian aristocrats and capitalists.

The economic development of Austria was uneven. In the industrialized areas, the capitalists naturally advocated to abolish the local tariffs. But in the industrialized areas of Hungary, the capitalists still hoped that the local governments would protect them.

Of course, there were also some in Hungary who advocated to abolish the local tariffs. For example, the capitalists in the food industry wanted to abolish the tariffs.

The taxes in Hungary had nothing to do with the Government of Vienna. They collected the taxes for their own use.

There was no doubt that the Hungarian aristocrats could get a share of the local tariffs, which was the biggest obstacle to abolishing the local tariffs.

The purpose of Carr's proposal was obviously not simple. In addition to buying the hearts of some of the capitalists, he also wanted to warn the Hungarian aristocrats.

At this time, the Government of Vienna still believed that the aristocrats ruled the Kingdom of Hungary, and the capitalists on the surface were white gloves.

Franz did not intend to correct them. There were too many aristocrats in Hungary, accounting for 4% of the population. Most of the Hungarian capitalists had another identity — the aristocrats.

If he did not suppress them, it was estimated that Hungary would be a headache in the future.

This had been proven in history. Austria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were troubled by the issue of Hungary. If it weren't for the fact that the Hungarian people still supported the Hapsburg family, they would have become independent long ago.

"Yes, of course. Austria is a unified country. The existence of the local tariffs is against the trend!"

There was no doubt that Franz did not mind making the Hungarian rebellion more violent at this time.

The reform carried out by the Austrian government had actually satisfied the demands of the Hungarian workers and peasants.

Pulling together one faction and fighting another, uniting the majority and fighting a small group, is always correct in politics.

Next, he would continue to issue decrees to clear away the obstacles to the economic development of the bourgeoisie and shake the determination of the capitalists to rebel.

Abolishing the local tariffs would only harm the interests of the greater nobles. The lesser nobles would not have the right to profit from it. In fact, they would even suffer some losses. Without the tariffs, at least their food would be more competitive.

"Your Highness, I'm afraid this won't work. Abolishing the Hungarian tariffs will have an impact on the Austrian food industry and affect the income of the Austrian farmers!" Grand Duke Louis objected.

Franz suddenly remembered that abolishing the tariffs would not affect the farmers, but the aristocrats who owned large tracts of land. With one more competitor, the price of food would definitely fall.

Franz suddenly remembered that the abolition of the tariff with Hungary would affect the nobles who owned large tracts of land the most, not the peasants. With one more competitor, the price of food would definitely drop.

The serf system had just been abolished. Would it touch their bottom line if they let Hungarian food in to affect the price? They had just abolished serfdom, and now they were letting in Hungary's grain to affect the grain price. Would that touch their bottom line?

At this time, Prime Minister Felix helped to make a decision.

In the long run, it is also a good thing for Hungarian food to enter Austria. The price of food will fall, and it will help us stabilize the people as soon as possible.

In the long run, it is also a good thing for Hungarian food to enter Austria. The price of food will fall, and it will help us stabilize the people.

Moreover, after abolishing the tariffs, the competitiveness of Austria's industrial and commercial products will increase, and it will help the economy recover! "

Franz was relieved. The Prime Minister didn't mind the price of food falling, so the bottom line of the aristocrats must be much lower.

In history, Austria also abolished the tariff system at this time, but Franz didn't know which year it was.

"Prime Minister, you are right. Abolishing the tariffs will help the Austrian economy recover. This is very important to us.

Because of the war, our revenue will be greatly reduced this year. If it wasn't for confiscating the property of the rebels, the government would have gone bankrupt.

The following war will definitely cost a lot of money, and this money will be a drop in the bucket. We must find a way to save money.

We still have so many factories in our hands, and we must operate them as soon as possible. The Hungarian market is indispensable! "Foreign Minister Metternich said.

Well, Austria was really short of money. Before the March Revolution, the Government of Vienna still owed 748 million guilders. Now, it was about 600-650 million guilders. (1 guilder is equivalent to 11.6928 grams of silver.)

Don't misunderstand. It wasn't that Franz had repaid the debt, but the creditors were gone.

Because of the rebellion, a lot of bonds were destroyed in the war, and even more creditors became wanted criminals. The army to suppress the rebellion also seized a large number of bonds, and Franz directly burned them.

The Government of Austria issued bonds, and there were two types: real and anonymous. The wanted criminals would naturally not come to collect debts from the real-name bonds, and the registered bonds could be resold.

It was idealistic to expect the Hungarian market to recover Austria's economy.

Franz believed that the Hungarian capitalists wouldn't mind doing business with Austria, even if there was a revolution.

The problem was, once the war started, how would they ensure the safety of the transportation? Who would have the mood to buy these goods? They couldn't possibly sell firearms to the Hungarians, right?