47 Chapter 106: Owing Debt to Everyone

Vienna

Prime Minister Felix frowned and said: "Your Highness, the Hungarian rebellion is now over. However, some nobles did not participate in the rebellion, but their land was divided during the war.

According to the "Land Redemption Act," we promulgated before, the Austrian government now has to pay a total of 2.37 billion guldens for the land redemption." (1 gulden = 11.69 grams of silver)

"How do we owe so much?" Franz asked in surprise.

You must know that after this rebellion, nearly seven nobles in Hungary were finished, including those who had already received their burial, and the nobles who were involved in the rebellion and were deprived of their titles.

Felix explained: "His Royal Highness, several of the great nobles in Hungary did not participate in the rebellion, and nearly half of the ransom was paid to them.

In addition, some enlightened nobles in the country are willing to give up their land and also need us to pay the ransom money.

In addition, some nobles in the Italian region are loyal to us, and their lands have also been divided during the war.

The total sum of these bits and pieces is initially estimated that we will need 2.37 billion guldens for the land ransom. If there are people who continue to give up the land, then this number will increase."

Franz rubbed his forehead. In order to encourage the nobles to give up the land, the ransom money was assessed according to the market price. If converted, this is equivalent to 550 million taels of silver.

This money is not something that the Austrian government can take out at one time, although the Austrian government now has a lot of assets in its hands because of the home raid.

However, these estates are not equal to cash, and there is no way to realize them in the short term. The Austrian government is still poor.

According to the "Land Redemption Act", the land redemption money paid by farmers is collected by the government, and the government is responsible for direct compensation to the nobles who give up the land.

This huge debt fell on the Austrian government. It is impossible for Franz to pay this huge debt all at once, and it is even more impossible to default on the debt, which is related to the credibility of the government.

Franz asked with concern: "How much land can we pay for ransom each year?"

Prime Minister Felix thought about it and said, "It's about 180 million guldens."

The 180 million guldens are not just these lands, but also include a large number of lands confiscated by the government, as well as the lands of extinct nobles.

If it was just these lands, the ransom money would be at most 40 to 50 million guldens at a rate of 30% of the output.

After thinking about it, Franz helplessly found that farming is not a good business, even if the cost of capital and time is not calculated, it will take ten or twenty years to be able to pay back the cost.

The land ransom money collected by the government may not be enough to cover the interest cost of the funds.

Franz thought for a while and said, "Pay in installments, explain it to the nobles, tell them our difficulties, and let them understand.

The enlightened nobles in the country who voluntarily gave up their land paid half of their ransom money first and paid the rest in installments within twenty years.

Several powerful nobles in the Hungarian region will be told by the government that we will not pursue the little support they gave to the support to the rebels, but the money paid for the land ransom will be extended to forty years to pay in installments. This will serve as punishment for supporting the rebels.

For the rest of the noble group, they will be warned that their ransom payment time will be extended. If they have no issues, just follow the plan of voluntarily giving up their land."

Franz finally knows what it feels like to be the one in debt.

After the revolution, the interest groups in Austria have also been reshuffled. The nobles who had their land forcibly taken from them lost the most.

The money is in the hands of the Austrian government and the land is in the hands of the serfs and farmers, making them have no way of confronting the Austrian government.

Before that, the Austrian government was afraid of them because every powerful noble family owned a lot of land, serfs, and a large group of small and medium nobles attached to them.

Thousands or even tens of thousands of troops can be armed at any time. Now, this situation has changed, the serfs are free and no longer under their control, and the small and medium-sized nobles who are attached to their command have been hit hard even harder.

A tiger without teeth is left with its might. There was no killing because Franz was also a member of vested interests and was unwilling to break the rules.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Prime Minister Felix replied.

The Austrian cabinet and Franz were both on the same page on the issue of cracking down on local powers.

The so-called installment payment does not include half of the interest and is divided into forty years to pay even if the interest is not enough.

Even if it is paid in installments, it is still unknown when the money will be received. As long as the payment is completed within the promised period, it will not be regarded as a breach of contract.

The specific situation depends on whether these nobles are smart people. If you are willing to cooperate with the government's actions, then everything can be said that the Austrian government will pay back the money as soon as possible.

If they continue to fight against the government recklessly, it is estimated that they may not be able to see the money in their lifetime.

Not everyone is so optimistic, Metternich frowns to the side, after thinking for a while, he hesitated and said: "Your Highness, so many nobles have suddenly lost their land and lost their source of income. It will not be easy for them to adapt. If they can't find a way out, I am afraid it will become a hidden danger in the future."

This is a real problem. It is impossible to make all the nobles become capitalists, and they will lose money in business. If they blindly adapt, most of them might "rebel".

Don't expect these people to go bankrupt. Become workers and be good citizens and go to work in factories without making noise.

It is more likely that after bankruptcy, they will join the revolutionary army in an attempt to break the social order and redistribute social wealth.

Education Minister Count Leo thought for a while and said: "Our Ministry of Education can hire some nobles as language teachers, and most nobles are competent, but this requires higher salaries!"

For the same position, the salaries of nobles and non-nobles are also different. Don't be surprised, this is the general situation in continental Europe.

"This is just a drop in the bucket. A small nobleman without ambition may accept the teaching position, but most nobles will not give up the air and become an educational teacher!" Felix shook his head and said.

Grand Duke Louis proposed: "How about we open up colonies and let them colonize overseas, so as not to let them stay around?"

In Metternich's time, Austria did not open colonies overseas, which does not mean that Austria did not have the strength to open colonies.

As one of the top four countries in the world, it is not difficult to get a colony overseas as long as the government lets go of its hands and feet.

Seeing that Britain and France are attacking cities and looting territories overseas, even small countries like the Netherlands and Portugal have colonies, how can the nobles in Austria not be jealous?