Chapter 345: Darkness Chencang
There was no way to convince Massimiliano, Franz directly threw the other two younger brothers into the barracks for a closed education. Perhaps it was a lesson learned, and the Queen Mother Sophie did not intervene.
Before Franz came to the throne, the Austrian army had been a place where the dunks of the nobility were gilded. Now the Austrian army is also the place where the dudes go, but not for gilding, but for living like a year.
Let’s not talk about closed management. Once you enter the military camp, you will say goodbye to the feasting life in the city, and train in the Alps every day.
Because of the strict management system, many families regard the army as a school for educating the next generation, and the number of playboys active in Vienna has dropped to an all-time low.
The statutory period of military service is only two years. Due to population growth, ordinary soldiers can usually retire and return to the reserve after serving for one year.
An exception is the children of nobles, whose service period starts at 3 years. It takes more time to train officers than to train ordinary soldiers, and the service time is naturally longer.
The training of noble officers is more rigorous than that of ordinary soldiers, and the training subjects are much more. Usually the first year is spent in the Alps, or the Balkans.
I was exhausted from training every day, and naturally I had no energy to think about. Over time, many bad habits will be corrected in the army.
Originally, Massimiliano and Franz were only a year apart from each other. During the reform of the military system, he had already completed the gilding and became a naval officer. He missed this opportunity to polish.
Because the training is so hard, I can't go home once a year. Empress Dowager Sophie, who loved her son, asked Franz to open the back door unsuccessfully, so she dragged it down.
Fortunately, the nobles in the German region have a tradition of military service, and the nobles who have not entered the military service are simply unable to gain a foothold in society.
So Empress Dowager Sophie can only delay the time at most, and dare not really let the two little guys hide from military service.
The specific situation can be referred to. Every year, several playboy children are tied up by their family members and sent to the military camp.
Of course, such scenes mostly appeared in the emerging aristocracy. This is also the reason why he is despised by the old-fashioned aristocrats, and is considered to be a manifestation of lack of education.
To a certain extent, Franz's military reform also relied on traditional forces.
Although Austria has not reached the point where the army owns the country like Prussia, most of the top government officials have come out of the army.
If a certain place needs extreme mobilization, government officials can also become officers in seconds and form an army in the shortest possible time.
Because of the honor of the nobles, none of the nobles complained to Franz that the training was too hard, which made him very satisfied.
Rights and obligations are equal, and if they refuse to fulfill their obligations, then the class is truly degenerate.
According to the statistics of the Ministry of National Defense, the proportion of children of Austrian aristocrats serving in the military exceeds 95%.
Before the military reform, this figure was 100%. The cultural tradition of the German region is to honor being a soldier. Now this fine tradition is naturally preserved.
From the compulsory education stage, there are basic military training courses. The unqualified areas are only queue training and long-distance running, and the aristocratic school is a replica of the Junior Military Academy.
St. Petersburg
After years of struggle, the reformers finally prevailed over the conservatives. On March 25, 1863, Alexander II issued the "General Decree on Peasants Disengaged from Serf Dependencies".
Provisions: Abolition of serfdom, serfs obtain the status of free people, personal freedom and general citizenship, including the right to own property, hold public office, litigate, and engage in industry and commerce.
On the premise that all the land is owned by the landlord, farmers can use a certain amount of land, but they must pay ransom to the landlord.
Before signing the redemption contract, the peasants had to serve the landlord or pay the rent for servitude.
Obviously, this reform by the Russians was not perfect. The land ransom money was determined by the landlord and far exceeded the market price of the land, and in some places it was even several times higher than the market price.
The high land redemption price has laid hidden dangers for future social conflicts. In fact, after the redemption price was determined, conflicts occurred in many places.
Alexander II was also very troubled. On the one hand, he wanted to carry out more thorough social reforms, so that the Russian Empire could quickly enter a capitalist society; on the other hand, he was unwilling to break with the landed aristocrats.
There is also a difference between "landlord" and "landlord". The landlords of the Russian Empire are nobles, and ordinary free people rarely own land.
To carry out social reform now will obviously harm the interests of the aristocratic class. The nobles who rule this country are naturally reluctant, they want to pass on the loss.
This is not only the will of the conservatives, but many of the reformers are also prepared to sacrifice the interests of farmers in exchange for the success of this social reform.
As for the social contradictions that may be brought about after doing this, they have been ignored by them. They can't really cut their own flesh, right?
The Minister of Police, Rinovweis, said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, there were 38 serf riots in the country last month, and all of them have been suppressed."
Serf riots are no longer news in the Russian Empire, if they don't break out a few times that year, it is news.
But with dozens of outbreaks a month, Alexander II still felt the pressure. The Abolition Act was signed, but this reform did not
Satisfied the serfs.
The revolutionaries were not idle either. They instigated the serfs to revolutionize, claiming that as long as the tsarist government was overthrown, everyone could own land for free.
The liberals weren't that radical, at least they weren't ready to push the tsar. Liberals believe that the government should issue laws to price land and not allow the aristocracy to exploit the peasants.
Most of the serf riots in the country are caused by these two factions.
Alexander II said: "Continue to be on guard, and now they cannot make trouble at the critical moment and destroy this reform."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" the Minister of Police hurriedly replied
Fortunately, the Russians won the War in the Near East. Taking advantage of the opportunity to reward the heroes of the war, Nicholas I liberated a group of serfs.
These people are now the main force of the tsarist army. Although most of them are at the bottom of the army, as long as these people are loyal to the tsar, then the Russian Empire is still the Russia of the tsar.
Otherwise, the aristocrats who have been shocked by the grass long ago would not have compromised with the tsar so easily. Russia's conservative forces have always been the strongest in Europe.
This is not the same as Austria's abolition of serfdom in its widespread rebellion. At that time, the Austrian aristocracy was frightened by the revolution. Seeing the family of nobles being wiped out, they were afraid that it would be their turn and had to agree to abolish serfdom.
In the face of survival, everyone's expectations naturally decreased. The land price was cut down, and it was cut. In order to save their lives, everyone had to choose to compromise.
Now the czarist nobles can feel no pressure to survive. Despite the serf riots in Russia, these were not scaled. There is no pressure, everyone naturally wants to make up for the loss, and even prepare to take the opportunity to make another profit.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Kurda Siabi said anxiously: "Your Majesty, because of the reform, it is expected that our tax revenue will drop by another five percent this year, while fiscal expenditure will increase by 15 percent.
If this continues, I am afraid that before the domestic reform is completed, our finances will go bankrupt first. The Ministry of Finance proposed to delay the repeal of the tax package system in some remote areas to reduce fiscal expenditure. "
The tax package system was also a problem faced by the tsarist government. The Russian Empire is too huge. Before that, because of communication and transportation, the tsarist government had no way to manage this huge empire and had to implement a tax package system.
Now with the advent of the telegraph, the problem of communication has been solved. The tsarist government was ready to abolish the tax system and clear obstacles for the development of capitalist economy.
Only in this way, the administrative expenses have greatly increased. Taxes received in many remote areas are not necessarily sufficient for administrative expenses.
Alexander II rhetorically asked: "Just delaying the abolition of the tax package system, I'm afraid it still won't solve the problem? Our funding gap cannot be solved by a few million rubles every year."
Chancellor of the Exchequer Kurdasiabi replied: "Yes, Your Majesty. The fiscal deficit this year should exceed 40 million rubles, and delaying the abolition of the tax package could save 8 million rubles."
Alexander II thought for a while and said, "Even if the abolition of the tax package system is postponed, what will happen to the remaining funding gap?"
The main areas where the tax package system is implemented in the Russian Empire are in Siberia, the Far East and Central Asia. Because of the transportation, the economies of these regions are not very good, and the delay in reform has little effect.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Kurda Siabi proposed: "Your Majesty, I personally propose to sell Alaska to save on administrative expenses and at the same time exchange a sum of money to make up for the financial shortfall."
Alexander II shook his head and said, "There's no problem selling Alaska, the land doesn't actually bring us any benefit other than its size.
Because of our relationship with the British, once there is a conflict in the future, we can't hold it at all.
The problem is that we can't find a buyer at all, and the only Americans who could possibly buy this land are now mired in a civil war. "
This is true. Before the discovery of gold mines, Alaska was a barren land. There were less than 10,000 Russians on the land of more than one million square kilometers.
Even if there is a piece of land that can be reclaimed in the Central Basin, the land is not valuable in this era, especially the land that has not been developed.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Kurdasiabi suggested: "Your Majesty, we are looking for a buyer all over the world. If we can't find a buyer, we can use it as a loan interest for next year to Austria!"
Alexander II shook his head: "No, if you do this, it will affect the relationship between the two countries. Now Austria is not only our ally, but also our largest trading partner."
This has nothing to do with integrity, it is entirely determined by interests. The existence of the Russian-Austrian alliance has allowed the Russian Empire to maintain its European hegemony, and no one can shake their position even now that they are busy with internal reforms.
However, once the alliance is dissolved, the situation will be different. Not only the French will challenge their hegemony, but even Austria will also become a challenger for the hegemony.
Turning a potential enemy into an ally was the tsarist government's biggest diplomatic achievement in recent decades.
When Austria was deeply involved in the revolution, Nicholas I did not fall to the ground, so the Russian Empire won the Near Eastern War with Austria's support and captured Constantinople.
Before his death, Nicholas I repeatedly warned him about the importance of the Russian-Austrian alliance. Alexander II was not stupid. He knew that this was an alliance that benefited both countries.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Kurdacia explained: "Your Majesty, there is no need to affect the relationship between the two countries. You only need to write a letter to His Majesty Franz, explaining our difficulties and asking him to help.
okay.
Back then, when the Austrians suppressed the Hungarian rebellion, Nicholas the Great also prepared to send troops to help, but as soon as they arrived at the border, the Austrians did it themselves.
In any case, the Habsburg family took this favor. So, in the later wars in the Near East, the Vienna government was always on our side. "
Kurda Siabi is vaguely reminding Alexander II that he attaches great importance to the relationship between the royal families of the two countries, and cannot ignore the national interests because of his pro-Prussian personal position.
Alexander II nodded. He was personally pro-Public and pro-Public, but he was not the idiot of Peter III who ignored the interests of the country.
Didn't you see that the relationship between Prussia and Russia is still not improving?
After the death of Bismarck in the Kingdom of Prussia, William I, who was deeply humiliated, never bowed his head to Russia again. Alexander II also did not release goodwill to Prussia.
This is all determined by the national interest. On the one hand, as the hegemon of Europe, the Russian Empire cannot take the initiative to bow its head; on the other hand, the mood of the little brother, Denmark, must also be taken care of. Just because the Kingdom of Denmark has successively provided 20 million rubles of loans to the Tsarist government over the years, it is clear at a glance whether they are close or distant.
Alexander II replied calmly: "No problem, I will write this letter as soon as possible."
Seeing that Alexander II accepted this suggestion, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Kurda Siaby breathed a sigh of relief and sighed that the money was really hard to earn.
He encouraged Alexander II so hard, not only to deepen the relationship between Russia and Austria, of course, he did not rule out such factors.
More because of the public relations fee of 100,000 Aegis from the Austrian ambassador to Russia. Kurdasiabi is a smart man who knows what money can be collected and what cannot be collected.
The Austrians want to further deepen the relationship between the two countries, and Kurda Siaby will naturally not refuse, which is also in the interests of Russia.
As for the issue of Alaska, he decisively ignored it. This is just a pretext for continuing to deepen the relationship between the two countries, a wild place.