Chapter 245 Nobles
Austria's colonial strategy has not just begun. As early as a few years ago, the Vienna government has been funding expeditions to conduct exploration on the African continent.
Aside from the inland areas, at least the basic situation in the coastal areas is still known, and now you have to do it, so you won't be in the dark.
Not only on the African continent, the Austrian government has collected intelligence from many parts of the world. This kind of intelligence has been collected by its own people, and it has also been bought from Erdao traffickers.
Expeditions in this era were also a business. Many private expeditions sold the information they collected to the colonial government in exchange for high remuneration.
Selling once is selling, and selling twice is also selling. As long as the price is right, everything is negotiable. Risking your life to explore, naturally, you have to get enough reward.
To be on the safe side, Franz sent three infantry divisions this time, just to take the coastal areas without going deep inland. These troops were enough.
It's good that Guinea is not big, it will be eaten by Austria in a short time, and the Congo area is not necessarily.
The area is not ordinary, it is several times the size of Austria, and it is obviously impossible to occupy it with such a small number of people.
Like all colonial powers, the priority is to coastal areas, and the interior of Africa has not yet reached the time of development.
Send this group of refugees there first. With immigrants, you can build port cities, and then slowly develop these lands.
How to colonize and rule these areas, let's take it first, Franz decided to give the bureaucrats the greatest autonomy, and they can rule as much as they can.
In the evening, in a tavern in Trieste, a group of drinkers were chatting, and occasionally someone whistled to a few flamboyant women in front of the counter, and then greeted a roll of eyes.
Most of these people are seeking a living at sea, and their behavior is inevitably a little indulgent, and everyone is not surprised.
The women who appear here are naturally not serious people, they are all veterans of the field, and their social experience is ****
In short, as long as you have enough money, you can take it home for the night. Kouhuahua can't scare them, bitches are ruthless and unjust, these people were their benefactors yesterday, but today they have become passers-by.
The flirtation stayed on the lips, which meant that they had no money in their pockets, otherwise they would have gone to action long ago.
Anyway, people who seek life at sea are used to going straight, and women who do this will naturally not mind. If you have money, you are a master.
...
Wine is heroic, and if you drink too much, everything will come out. It happens from time to time to fight over a disagreement.
The owner of the tavern is well-informed, and in such a situation, he just watches it quietly, and then goes up to ask for compensation after the fight is over.
Usually it has to be doubled. As a local snake, it is not a problem to overwhelm a few sailors. Of course, if you encounter a ruthless character, you can only admit that you are unlucky.
A drunk middle-aged man said: "Walun, so many troops are assembled here, is this going to fight?"
Warren, who was also dizzy, replied directly: "Nonsense, Tagore, when have you seen our navy fighting, who can they fight? No, is the army and navy fighting together?"
The voices of the two of them were already unparalleled. Under normal circumstances, they would not dare to indulge in such a manner.
Although the Austrian navy is not valued and has no outstanding record, it is not something they can despise.
Geographical location and national policy have determined that the Austrian Navy has nothing to do, and it has always only served as the background board of the army, which does not mean that the naval officers and soldiers have no temper.
Soldiers always want military exploits. The Austrian Navy has not known how many years of rest. Anyway, most of the wars in Austria have nothing to do with them, and the naval officers and soldiers can only sigh that they were born at the wrong time.
It was not until after Franz came to power that he carried out a major training for the army and navy, and forcibly retired a bunch of messy officers, everyone knew that the national policy of the Vienna government had changed.
Under normal circumstances, the Vienna government would not operate on the navy. In the absence of war, it is very abnormal to strengthen naval training and increase naval military expenditure.
The high-level news also came out that they would open up overseas colonies. Many people thought that the opportunity had come, but they did not expect that the wait would be more than four years. In addition to increased training, increased warships, and then there is no following.
Under such circumstances, young people will inevitably lose their temper, and the sparks will ignite at the slightest, and fights will happen from time to time.
Of course, the fight was refreshing, but it was a tragedy after the fight. It's okay not to be caught by the Military Law Office, but if you get caught, you won't have a good life for a long time in the future.
At this time, there happened to be a few naval soldiers in the tavern, but they didn't have the time to care about the words of a few drunks.
The joint naval and army exercises require the Navy to dispatch most of them, and do they still bring three infantry divisions to the exercise?
When this order comes, everyone is guessing who will fight this time. After thinking about it, everyone still can't think of an opponent.
Britain and France, they can't win at all. Even if the size of the navy is doubled, they are not opponents. It can be directly ruled out that the Vienna government cannot give such an idiot order.
Attack the Ottoman Empire? Don't think everyone knows that the Army has done the job and Austria has got everything it wants. The Sudanese government has moved the capital to Ankara, and to seek their bad luck, we must also consider the reaction of Britain and France.
A youth whispered: "The authorities
Those who are obsessed and bystanders are clear, you don't have to guess, it is better to listen to the answers of those drunkards. "
The people who were arguing stopped.
"Walun, you are stupid! After all, you are also seeking life at sea, don't you know that there are still indigenous creatures in this world?
Our navy is no match for Britain and France, and it is not enough for Spain, but it is not a problem to go out to bully the natives.
Now the troops assembled here can destroy several small countries overseas. ' said Tagore's man with contempt
Not to be outdone, Warren retorted: "Fart, Tagore, you idiot, don't you know that the officials and gentlemen in Vienna have always been dismissive of overseas? Can you still change their attention?"
"Can't they suddenly figure it out? We are Austria, no, we are the New Holy Roman Empire, and it is also one of the best powers in Europe, right? What's wrong with grabbing a few colonies?
These days, there are not many colonies, and I am embarrassed to go out. Maybe the gentlemen in Vienna were stimulated and figured it out all at once. ' Tagore defended
Not long after, the two drunks quarreled and wanted to use force to solve the problem, but they were dizzy. They were not given a chance to fight, and two men appeared in the tavern to fight them out.
...
A young man asked uncertainly, "What they said should be impossible, right?"
The leading young man said, "That's more reliable than what we guessed. I haven't heard of anyone we had a conflict with. We can't just catch someone and beat him for no reason, right?"
An impatient gray-clothed man said excitedly, "I'm really going to open up a colony. That doesn't mean that our chance to make a fortune is here!"
For many people, colonies in this era meant wealth. This is undoubtedly an opportunity for those who are eager to make a fortune.
The young man at the head scolded: "Shut up, Sorin! What nonsense! It's obviously a chance to make a fortune, don't keep your mouth shut all day long to get rich!"
Thorin quickly replied: "Yes, Captain!"
Obviously, the captain officer, he despised this kind of person who opened his mouth and said he made a fortune. Born from a noble family, he was supposed to enter the army, but he did not expect that there would be unforeseen circumstances, and he was sent to the basic naval officer academy.
When he heard the news, he almost collapsed. In this era, the Austrian Navy did not have the slightest chance to make merit, and it was almost a place where people who were ignorant and ignorant went in to mess around.
Fortunately, he was lucky and caught up with the Austrian national policy change. Now his idea is to get military exploits as soon as possible and get a noble title.
After all, his family's title is not hereditary, and he can be said to be the son of a nobleman who only rose up in his father's generation, and the next generation will not be able to continue to regard himself as a nobleman.
Austrian titles are not easy to get, especially hereditary titles. After Franz succeeded to the throne, he sealed more than 100 nobles, most of them because of military merit.
There are also a few scientists, a dozen engineers, and a few government officials. Except for hereditary titles for military exploits, the rest are lifelong aristocrats.
It's not that Franz is messing around, it's the rules that already exist. Lifelong noble emperors can be appointed arbitrarily, but those who are actually awarded military meritorious nobility must have some meritorious deeds.
Of course, this rule was also formulated by Franz and has been widely recognized by the military.
Different treatment can reflect their status. It just so happens that the nobles in the German region are mostly military nobles, and they are also very concerned about maintaining their status.
As the transaction price, from now on, the great aristocrats in the country had the right to entrust the nobles, which was taken back by Franz. The same is true of several states. Nobles conferred by the king must report to the emperor for approval before they can obtain legal status.
The number of nobles was controlled by Franz. It doesn't matter that the eldest son of the nobles can inherit the title. The second son must fight again, otherwise the next generation will be the children of the commoners.
This is still a hereditary aristocracy, not to mention a lifelong aristocracy, continuing the practice of the European continent, if the next generation does not work hard, there will be no title inheritance.
But those who are ambitious will not be content with loneliness, and the opportunity will come naturally.
Franz's nobility law, although not implemented, was not kept secret, and the content had long since spread.
After all, the colony is different from the mainland. If the central government directly rules, the cost is a big problem. If the vassal is assigned to the ruler of meritorious service, the central government will only control a few core areas, and the rest will be governed by vassals, and the administrative pressure will be much less.
It is not implemented now, and the main reason is that the colonization cannot be determined successfully. If the colonization is successful and it is profitable to rule the place, there will naturally be nobles willing to go.
In any case, if the colony cannot make a profit, even if the land is given away, the nobles will disdain it.
The special national conditions of the new Holy Roman Empire have determined that there are three kings in the country, and Franz doesn't mind adding a few more overseas.
At least the problem of corruption can be effectively curbed. Franz has no plans to collect heavy taxes in the colonies. It is enough to collect a small amount of taxes. The main purpose is to increase the market for Austria's industry and commerce. These people can't swallow their own money, right?
The colonial system of the later British Empire collapsed. In addition to the blows from the United States and the Soviet Union, the high cost of the bureaucracy was also an important factor.
To reduce the cost of domination, they also created dominions. This measure has succeeded and failed.
The success lies in reducing administrative costs and increasing the market for domestic industry and commerce; but the rights released cannot be recovered, and the colonial empire
The collapse of the country has buried hidden dangers.
It is not surprising that the right to self-government is controlled by local capitalists, and capital knows no borders.
To avoid such a thing from happening, Franz can't guarantee whether it can be done, but it can still be done to increase the degree of recognition and delay the time of the collapse.
Relying on the government's bureaucrats to organize immigration, you can see from the Germans that the people have all fled to the United States. Franz doesn't think that the Austrian bureaucrats can do well.
It's better to let the nobles organize themselves, and he will share the results if he succeeds, and it doesn't matter if he fails. A few more, there will always be success.
It's not that Franz looks down on African countries and supports a vassal casually. He is one of the best powers on the African continent, provided that he does not blacken.
In the future, the nails on the African continent will be buried. Cultural traditions and economic interests are the natural bonds that unite the colony and the country.
The people's centripetal force towards their mother country has not dissipated, and they want independence unless they don't want their own legal system.
As long as the ruling class is not insane, it will not do such self-destructing stupid things.
Attached to the Holy Roman Empire and become a highly autonomous state, their interests are not at all, and the imperial government is still the source of strength to maintain their status.
Conversely, the kings of these states will also become the pillars to consolidate the power of the emperor. Even if the monarchical power declines in the future, in order to keep this huge empire from splitting, no one dares to fight the doctrine of abolishing the emperor.