Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 49: Chapter 49, Low-end Version of “Robbing the Rich” to Distribute Land

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the Austrian Empire of 1848, revolution seemed to become the trend of the nation, with unrest all around.

On March 28, a rebellion broke out in the Dalmatia Region, but fortunately, before the Austrian Government could send troops to suppress it, the locals had already quelled the revolution themselves.

Looking at the intelligence in his hands, Franz felt as if a herd of alpacas were running through his heart. The initiators of the uprising were the local government-formed self-defense forces, and those who helped the government suppress the revolution turned out to be the local capitalists and serfs.

In other words, it was the nobility and nationalists who launched the rebellion, and the capitalists and serfs who suppressed them.

The rebellion was mainly due to the local nobility’s dissatisfaction with the government’s reforms, which undermined their interests. Incited by the nationalists, they foolishly declared a revolution.

Such fools were not uncommon in history, both in China and abroad, and Franz was no longer surprised by them.

Every year in Austria, a few nobles after drinking too much would declare independence, and upon sobering up, immediately revoke it and come to the emperor to apologize.

Being born on the European Continent was indeed lucky for these fools; as long as they did not cause serious consequences, the emperor usually wouldn’t do much to them.

It was normal for serfs to help suppress a noble rebellion. The Vienna Government had declared the abolition of serfdom, giving them personal freedom. And yet, these nobles actually wanted to continue enslaving them.

Well, that goes without saying, suppression was necessary, a fight for freedom.

What’s more foolish was that these nobles even armed their serfs to stir up a revolution, which was another reason Franz thought they were fools.

The only thing that surprised Franz was that local capitalists actually stood with the Vienna Government and lent their manpower to help suppress the rebellion, doing so with such haste that it seemed premeditated.

Franz even suspected that the nobility and capitalists had agreed to start a revolution together, but when things didn’t work out, the capitalists turned around and sold them out.

Dalmatia had a very low presence in the Austrian Empire, belonging to the kind of peripheral province that could easily be ignored, backward in economy and lacking strategic value.

Looking at the bewildered Franz, Prime Minister Felix provided the answer.

“Your Highness, this rebellion in Dalmatia was stirred up by the local government’s noble officials. They waved the flag of loyalty to the royal family, seeking to gain greater powers.

After their interests were damaged, these scoundrels even thought about joining Trieste in rebellion, preparing to establish a nation together with the rebels from the Italian Area.

But they forgot that their National Homeland Defense Troops were loyal to the Empire, and the rebellion was doomed from the start.

Moreover, their geographical position determined their severe economic dependence on the Empire; they’d decline rapidly if they became independent.

For their own interests, it was inevitable that the capitalists would part ways with them.”

Franz nodded thoughtfully, guessing that the capitalists probably realized the low chance of a successful rebellion and, unable to gain more benefits, decided to betray their comrades.

As for why the Dalmatia nobility were so foolish, Franz could only attribute it to there being too many ignorant and unmotivated fools, along with greed blinding their reason.

“Then let’s send someone to ransack their houses first, while also rewarding those who participated in suppressing this rebellion, and implement the abolition of serfdom immediately.”

“Exempt the meritorious capitalists from this year’s taxes, allocate a portion of land to serfs who participated in suppressing this rebellion, and provide compensation to the families of those who were killed or injured,” Franz declared.

(The implementation of the bill abolishing serfdom also required time to execute, so not all serfs had been liberated yet.)

Through this, Franz was setting an example, regardless of their intentions or motives, supporting the Empire in suppressing the rebellion was a behavior that must be encouraged.

In particular, the commendation of the serfs must be publicized so that everyone in Austria would be aware of it.

At this time, Franz had already decided to distribute land. He would incite workers and peasants to fight against the reactionary nobility and capitalists, to see who would dare to rebel with them.

“Your Highness, this isn’t a good idea. It’s enough to reward the capitalists, as for those serfs, we’ve already granted them freedom, it’s not necessary to give them land as well!”

At this point, Prime Minister Felix took a stand on behalf of his own class; he didn’t wish for this to happen.

It meant that if the Emperor gained a weapon to dismantle the nobility’s power, the Monarch’s authority would expand further, while the nobility’s political influence would be limited.

“Prime Minister, this is merely an interim measure. The rebellion in the Italian Area has yet to be suppressed; those troublemakers want to exploit the situation.

Prague could erupt in rebellion at any moment, the Poles in the Galicia Area are restless, and the ambitious Hungarians are preparing to further divide the country.

Now we need to unite all forces we can, eradicate these Rebels at once, and naturally, we shall reward those who have made meritorious contributions.

What does it matter if it costs us a little land?”

Without a doubt, Franz was feigning ignorance. As long as the current situation was brought up, the nobility had no grounds for opposition.

If the nobility had not joined the rebellion, then Franz really would have had no hold over them. Now that a portion of the nobility had revolted, as the regent Crown Prince, he had reason to question the nobility’s loyalty.

In this context, supporting serfs about to gain free status was justifiable.

These people were illiterate and held very simplistic notions of right and wrong, seeing everything in black and white.

As long as they were granted land and had enough to eat, these people would be Franz’s most loyal subjects for decades to come, even their descendants would be supporters of the Habsburg Family.

Every ruler needs a foundation to support their rule. Currently, the foundation of the Austrian Empire was the Nobility, and it wasn’t going to change for a long time. Franz was merely adding peasants behind the nobility.

These issues were concerns for politicians to consider, the vast majority of the nobility wouldn’t think this far ahead, and even if it were spoken of, no one would believe it.

After hesitating for a moment, Prime Minister Felix chose to back down.

Unlike in history, he was appointed by Franz and didn’t hold as much sway in the government. Aspiring to balance Imperial power with ministerial power as in the past was just a fantasy.

Seeing the Prime Minister’s acquiescence, Franz naturally didn’t press any further. Achieving his goal was enough, considering it was not easy for others to help him shoulder the blame every day. It was better to accord them some respect.

Then began the Austrian version of “expropriating the rich to give to the poor”:

actually, it was “suppressing the rebellion to distribute land.” Those who did not participate in the rebellion naturally need not worry about their lands being redistributed..

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