Prime Minister Felix was also a representative of Austria's hawks, and he agreed with Franz's point of view.
The Hungarian problem had to be solved sooner or later, and it couldn't be solved by compromise. It was better to let the Hungarians rebel and solve the problem directly with force.
Austria had done the same thing in history, but the Government of Vienna didn't do it thoroughly, and in the end, they showed mercy to the nobles.
Although they won the support of the nobles, they also lost the opportunity to solve the Hungarian problem. Franz naturally learned his lesson.
At this time, the Hungarian nation hadn't formed yet. Now, there were only 500,000 people with vested interests in Hungary, and the remaining 13 million people didn't have a nation.
This would continue until the establishment of the Dual Empire, when the Hungarian nation would truly take shape. At this time, the Hungarian nobles and capitalists didn't consider the people at the bottom of the society as part of them.
Not to mention the people at the bottom of the society. A group of illiterate people worked hard every day to survive. Who would have the energy to care about the nation?
Even during the Hungarian rebellion of 1848, when they raised the flag of nationalism, they didn't know what nationalism was. Most of the so-called Hungarian nation didn't know the Hungarian language, let alone the Hungarian culture.
Nationalism was actually exported to them by the French, and the main purpose was to disturb Austria so that France could realize its strategy of dominating Italy.
This could be reflected in many places. The Government of Vienna was directly responsible for the failure of the integration of the ethnic groups in southern Europe. If it weren't for their inaction, there wouldn't be so many bad things in the future.
"Your Highness, the situation in Austria is unstable now. If the Hungarians rebel, our military pressure will be too great!" Foreign Minister Metternich objected.
Franz smiled slightly. He knew that Metternich always liked to solve problems through political means, which was both good and bad.
Using political means, Metternich created 30 years of glory in Austria, and maintained the status of a great power in Europe. At the same time, many conflicts that could be solved once were accumulated.
For example, during the Galicia Revolution in 1846, the Government of Vienna could have solved the problem once, but the government chose to compromise with the nobles, and the conflict stayed.
"I know, but if we miss this opportunity, I'm afraid the Hungarians will continue to waste time with us. Now the Government of Vienna has become their scapegoat, bearing the anger of the people at the bottom of the society.
Austria is old, and we have too many internal conflicts. If we don't solve them thoroughly, the Empire will collapse sooner or later.
The current military pressure is great, and there are too many problems. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should communicate with the Russians as soon as possible. We need the support of the Tsarist government.
If the situation continues to deteriorate, I would rather compromise with the French or the Prussians than compromise with the rebels in my country! "
Franz expressed his dissatisfaction with the previous rule of Metternich of Metternich of the government.
This answer was similar to Prime Minister Felix's political views. Historically, because of the loss of Vienna, the domestic situation became more critical, and at that time, the Vienna government decided to abandon Northern Italy.
But Marshal Radkiss refused to carry out the order of the Vienna government and did not withdraw his troops from Italy. He insisted on suppressing the revolution.
The current situation had not reached that point yet. The price that Austria had to pay was much smaller. At worst, they would admit that the Kingdom of Sardinia was part of the French's sphere of influence.
At this time, the situation in France was chaotic enough. As the cradle of the revolution, the flag of the revolution was flying in many cities in France. It was simply unable to launch a war.
Needless to say, the situation in the Kingdom of Prussia was not much better than Austria's. The Revolution of 1848 was not without them.
If it weren't for the two competitors, 1848 would have been the end of the Austrian Empire. At this time, Austria would have collapsed.
…
"Your Highness, with the current situation in Austria, we must carry out an internal reform, and the serf issue is a problem that cannot be avoided." Minister of Finance Carr said.
All the people present were nobles. As a member of the vested interest group, the reform was cutting their flesh. Many of them didn't look good.
However, they were all sensible people. They knew that Austria had to reform now, so no one spoke out against it.
Franz knew that this reform plan could only be put forward by him. Otherwise, if these people were to preside over the reform, then it would be another incomplete reform.
"The abolition of serfdom is the trend of history. The biggest problem now is that after the abolition of serfdom, what about the living problems of the serfs?
For this situation, the solution is clear to everyone. It is to let the serfs get land and guarantee their basic needs.
But now the land is owned, and Austria has no extra land to give them. The road in front of us has actually been taken by the British and the French.
Either we redeem the nobles' land, or we forcibly deprive the nobles' land through the revolution. I think no one wants to be forcibly deprived of land, so we actually only have one choice. "
There was no doubt that Franz still knew where his butt should sit. He stopped the question and waited for the response of the cabinet members.
Not to mention anything else, just the Schwarzenberg family of Prime Minister Felix had 470,000 hectares of land. Now, not only was serfdom abolished, but they also wanted to take their land. No one would be happy.
"Your Highness, abolishing serfdom is easy, but to deprive the nobles of their land, this is …"
Without waiting for Grand Duke Louis to finish speaking, Franz interrupted, "I don't intend to forcibly deprive all the nobles of their land. The backlash would be too great.
In view of the current situation, I think it can be divided into two situations. All the nobles who participated in the rebellion or helped the rebels will be deprived of their land and nationalized.
This part of the land will be rented to farmers, and they will be allowed to redeem it. They can buy the ownership of the land by installments.
The nobles who are still loyal to the emperor naturally can't be treated so rudely. I suggest that we redeem the land from everyone, but not force them.
However, in return, after the abolition of serfdom, the nobles who refuse to redeem the land must provide work for the serfs and turn them into farmers or workers to avoid social unrest.
In order to ensure the stability of the country, the land rent throughout the country must not exceed five times the annual income. Similarly, after the completion of the reform, the nobles must also pay taxes! "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
