Chapter 740 Alternatives

The so-called commendation meeting afterwards was naturally to praise those who performed well in the process of suppressing the rebellion, and their reward was the status of nobility.

In fact, the Austrian Empire was a very strange country. This country had been working hard to increase the number of nobility, and even regularly granted the status of nobility to Jews who converted to Catholicism.

At this time, as long as you pay 1,000 florins in the House of Nobles in Vienna, you can become a noble, but this kind of noble status actually does not bring any benefits. As long as you pay 3,000 florins, you can become a title noble.

The so-called title noble is the right to add an additional affix to your postcard or epitaph, such as the sword of the oak or something.

The title of nobility is usually not bought with money, but as long as you can afford it, someone will help you find a way.

In fact, many orthodox dynasties, including Britain, have been trying their best to expand the ranks of the nobility since the 16th century, but as strange as the Austrian Empire, only Spain is.

This is also a matter of course, who let the system be from the same school?

Franz's purpose of using the nobility to honor them is self-evident. The old nobility is finished, but their ecological niche needs someone to fill it.

So these new nobility became the best substitutes. They are relatively more loyal and easier to control because they have shallow foundations and no backing.

Another advantage of this prize is that it does not cost money. Franz took a list of nobility from the House of Nobles, just like taking something out of a bag.

Moreover, increasing the number of nobility is beneficial to the country and the family. After all, those nobles and the dynasty are in a companion relationship. Whether they are willing to admit it or not, they must have an emperor.

For Franz, he is one step closer to his goal.

Serfdom is a system that will be eliminated, but the nobility and the privileged class will not disappear. According to this basic logic, Franz's actions are easy to understand.

However, he does not want to make the land too scattered like the French, because that can only make short-term profits and then get a reputation as a good person.

In fact, the agricultural and land problems that have plagued France for hundreds of years are caused by this. It is difficult to improve the utilization efficiency of too scattered land.

Guizot also noticed this. During his administration, he even openly supported land annexation and said, "There are fewer farms in France than before, but this does not mean that French agricultural production has decreased, because large farms are more efficient."

It's just that French farmers don't understand this. They think Guizot is a black-hearted person who supports the annexation of their land. Even the natural disasters and man-made disasters in recent years are blamed on him.

In addition, the way some farmers annex land is not glorious, and some even use all means, otherwise it is difficult to get the land that farmers regard as their lifeblood.

During this period, the French government and officials even had some intention of helping the evil. Although Guizot has been driven to New Louisiana (Texas), this policy has been retained.

However, these bad reputations are still hanging on him. After all, Marshal Soult doesn't want to wade into this muddy water at all, and others are unwilling to take this responsibility.

So everyone tacitly put the blame on Guizot.

Back in Galicia, Franz will not sell the confiscated land of the Polish Restorationists in small plots to farmers.

(The previously liberated Galician serfs, but not all of them, because not all the nobles participated in the rebellion, and Franz could not indiscriminately purge all the nobles with trumped-up charges.)

However, these peasants who used to live as serfs had nothing to do except farming.

The main reason was that these people did not want to leave their land, and the factories and mines were already filled with Jews, and the docks were dominated by Italians. After all, the main commercial ports of the Austrian Empire were in northern Italy at that time.

Trieste was traditionally considered a military port, but as the problem of insufficient throughput of the Port of Venice became increasingly prominent, Trieste's commercial status was also rising.

Franz's plan was to combine the manor economy with the communal system that had appeared in history, that is, the peasants divided the land for rent and cultivation based on families and villages.

At the same time, the manor owner took the lead in purchasing agricultural machinery, fertilizers, and improved seeds, and the amount was shared according to the area of ​​land.

In fact, the control by the government and nobles can reduce the blindness of farmers to a certain extent and effectively avoid the situation of losing everything they plant. After all, the government and nobles have a wider source of information and are more familiar with the market.

Moreover, the larger the farm, the lower the relative cost, which helps to increase production, improve efficiency, increase income, and make people feel happy.

The trivialities and intrigues that occur in specific manors should be left to the local nobles and the church to bridge the contradictions.

In short, Franz's requirement for manor managers is "Don't be confused about big things, don't care about small things."

In fact, this is also another restriction on the power of managers, otherwise there will be many local tyrants who abuse their power.

Don't underestimate some small things. Although some things seem insignificant to outsiders, they are unbearable to the parties involved. If the depression in the chest accumulates for a long time, it will inevitably cause problems.

The so-called common people are like this. It is better to let the locals digest it themselves than to let officials restrain them with administrative orders.

Of course, if the situation escalates to the point where the law or force must be used to solve it, the managers of the manor should come forward at this time. After all, only a specific group of people can use these two weapons.

In fact, the land of those Polish nobles is also very small in Franz's eyes, and does not meet Franz's setting of large farms and large manors.

Only by combining the land of a large number of nobles can Franz's requirements for future agriculture be met.

However, those nobles who have died or have clear evidence of being involved with the Polish Restoration Army are easier to deal with, but more nobles did not participate in the rebellion, and Franz could not use force, so there was a second stage of the plan.

The reason why Franz made such a big scene as soon as he came into contact, with a criticism meeting and a commendation meeting, was to show others.

First of all, it is to show his determination and warn the Polish Restorationists to restrain themselves, otherwise it is better to weigh what the consequences will be.

Secondly, these are a kind of exemplary role. If the people in these villages can be rewarded and obtain the status of free men, then other serfs in Galicia will also have this opportunity.

Although it was a bit of a loss, if you don't move forward, you will fall behind. The Polish restorers can't always be so stupid. Instead of waiting for the other side to learn this trick and use it to counter the Austrian Empire, it's better for Franz to take the initiative now.

And compared to the freedom of having nothing, Franz at least gave those serfs hope and visible benefits.

Finally, among the nobles who did not participate in the rebellion, some of their lands were also in Franz's plan, so he hoped to take those lands at a lower price.