Chapter 487

Croatia

After Kossuth issued the Hungarian Declaration of Independence, many Croatian nobles were hesitant about joining the Republic of Hungary or staying in the Austrian Empire.

However, reality soon forced them to make a decision. The Hungarian provisional government excluded the Croatians from the scope of power, which caused dissatisfaction among the local nobles.

Most of the land in the Croatian region was controlled by the Hungarian nobles. The Hungarian nobles looked down on the Croatian bumpkins, and the local small and medium-sized nobles were separated from the Hungarian nobles.

This provided an opportunity for the Government of Vienna. Franz immediately expressed goodwill to the local small and medium-sized nobles, promising that they would have a share in the future Government of Austria.

To be specific, it was to establish an Austrian National Union to represent the rights of the parliament. Among them, the Croatian representatives would have two to five seats.

The specific number would depend on their performance. Anyway, this transitional institution before the national integration would be one of the highest authorities of the Austrian Empire for a period of time in the future.

If one wanted to have the right to speak in politics, one must participate. In theory, one seat was occupied according to one percent of the total population.

The Croatians were less than three percent of the total population of Austria. If they could get five seats, then their political influence would be greatly increased.

After winning over the upper class of the Croatians, Franz did not give up on winning over the people at the bottom. The people who really wanted to work for him were the ordinary people at the bottom of society.

After Hungary's independence, the Government of Vienna authorized Governor Josip Jelačić to confiscate the land of the Hungarian nobles and liberate the serfs.

The number of people who supported the Government of Vienna instantly became dominant. By May, Governor Josip Jelačić had 80,000 Croatian volunteers in his hands.

On May 1st, Franz issued a land grant order. Since ordinary people helped the government to suppress the rebellion, they could get land, and the soldiers loyal to the emperor were no exception.

Now the Government of Vienna had a lot of land in its hands. The Kingdom of Hungary still had a lot of land waiting to be confiscated. The Austrian Empire still had a lot of land available for development. It was not a big problem to give some of it to the soldiers.

Of course, in order to suppress land annexation, the land grant order was limited. The maximum land granted could not exceed 50 hectares.

For ordinary people, 50 hectares was already a huge number. Especially for the serfs who had just gained freedom and had no land, it was enough for them to work for the emperor.

After the announcement of the Land Distribution Order, there was an endless stream of people joining the army. For the vast majority of the people, the cost of buying land was too high, so they might as well go to the battlefield.

The sky had just begun to brighten, and there were already many people gathered at the Mokes Recruitment Point.

"Madic, you also came to sign up?"

"Yes, Groerich. After thinking about it carefully, I still feel that men should be on the battlefield! "Madić replied with a straight face.

"But Madich, didn't you say you wanted to be a great blacksmith last time?" Groelich asked doubtfully.

The spring breeze of the industrial revolution had yet to blow to Croatia, and ordinary farming tools still relied on manual crafting. For ordinary people, being a blacksmith was a well-paid job.

"No, I've changed my mind. I can be a blacksmith at any time. I want to go to the battlefield now. I want to become a great knight!" Madic replied seriously.

No one wanted to be a noble, and a knight was the lowest noble. For ordinary people, this was the highest life pursuit.

Before the Revolution of 1848, the entire European world was a noble. The sons of nobles were nobles, the sons of merchants were merchants, the sons of doctors were doctors, and the sons of serfs were still serfs.

In an ancient country like Austria, there were already many nobles. These people occupied the positions of the entire upper class, and the people at the bottom had no further channels.

For many ambitious people, the Hungarian rebellion was an opportunity, a chance to transcend the limits of class.

Like most young people, Madic was also ambitious. He was not willing to be a blacksmith for the rest of his life like his father. He had no chance before, so he had to face reality.

…

The wave of people joining the army in Croatia was just a small episode. These troops were only local troops and were not part of the Austrian army.

In other words, these troops did not need the central government to pay for them. Their main job was not to fight, but to be responsible for logistics and transportation.

Governor Josip Jelačić obviously did not explain clearly, or deliberately did not explain clearly. The central government controlled so much land, which was not in line with the development of the bourgeois economy.

To develop the local market, it naturally required the farmers, who had the most people, to have money, and land was their main source of income.

Austria did not have a complete land revolution, and the nobles still held a lot of land. Therefore, Franz could not distribute the land for free.

Since this was the case, the only way was to distribute the land to the subjects who were loyal to the emperor. This criterion was very simple. Those who were willing to fight for the emperor were naturally loyal subjects.

As long as they went to the battlefield, even if they did not make any contributions, they would still work hard. When the time came, the emperor would be generous, and the land that they had to pay for would fall directly into their hands.

The specific criteria were still being formulated. The people who got the land would soon be able to get rid of the state of extreme poverty. With money, they would naturally spend, and with spending, there would be a market.

After the market flourished, it would definitely be used to support the industry. With the industrial growth, the government could obtain more tax revenue, and the initial investment would slowly be recovered. This was a virtuous economic cycle.

This war to suppress the rebellion had now become a tool for Franz to reform Austrian society. Under the cover of the war, Austria's social system was unknowingly being reshaped.

Croatia was only a microcosm of the changes in Austria's society. In Slovenia, Transylvania, Bohemia, and other regions, the same scene was playing out.

It could be said that when the Hungarian rebellion started, the big nobles in Hungary suffered the most losses. Franz did not even think about selling them.

An ordinary man was innocent, but a treasure was a crime.

Regardless of whether they participated in the rebellion or not, having a lot of land in their hands was the original sin. The most important thing was that they were waiting for the highest price in Vienna and the Republic of Hungary.

Greed made people fall into the abyss, and they wanted to obtain greater benefits. Now, Franz simply played dirty and divided their land.

Even if it was later proven that they had nothing to do with the rebellion, they could not get their land back. At worst, the government would pay them a sum of money for the land.