Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 126

Chapter 126: Chapter 13, Cruel Society

Translator: 549690339

Regardless of Carl’s embellished words, the essence remained unaltered; to accelerate the pace of industrial development, the sacrifice of agriculture was an undeniable fact.

Capital’s original accumulation was a bloody process, and market expansion abroad inevitably entailed internal oppression.

It was the destiny of the times, and for an emperor aspired to be unparalleled in history like Franz, maintaining appearances was inevitable; outwardly, the Austrian Government never oppressed the peasants.

A mere 5% agricultural tax was amongst the lowest in the European Continent at that time.

In reality, on top of the agricultural tax, there was also a tithe tax of ten percent, collected in the name of the Church.

It couldn’t be more; the Austrian Government, ruled by the Nobility, had to lean its policies toward the ruling class. Getting them to pay taxes at all was quite an achievement.

However, for most of the populace, they also had to pay a land redemption fee, which was their greatest burden and, paradoxically, one they took on voluntarily.

The Austrian Government didn’t force peasants to redeem their land; it was entirely voluntary. The government’s land rent was only thirty percent, and after deducting the taxes, it was a mere fifteen percent—far from being a sign of severe exploitation and oppression.

If one wished to redeem their land, they had to pay an additional twenty percent of the land’s income as redemption money, over a span of forty years, or compensate with a lump sum cash payment.

If the government had mandated the payment for land redemption, with such a heavy burden, it’s likely that many would have been resentful and dissenting voices would have been numerous.

But by leaving it to their volition to purchase land, the situation was different; peasants were grateful to the Emperor who allowed them to own land.

Even with the heavy burdens, their lot was much better than in serfdom days. They had enough to eat and owned some disposable property as well.

Of course, they worked harder; working for the Nobility was a Sloppy Joe’s effort—doing as little as possible. Now working for themselves, nobody was lazy. Those who could cultivate ten acres would not settle for five.

Everyone wanted to earn more money, pay off their redemption fees sooner, and enjoy better lives.

Indeed, in the hearts of the peasants, owning land meant having good days ahead.

Since Franz’s governance, the Austrian Government’s tax system had been significantly simplified, with many convoluted taxes gradually abolished.

Aside from the 5% agricultural tax, other taxes were no longer the concern of the peasants; they wouldn’t be collected from them.

The tithe didn’t count; it was collected by the Church and had nothing to do with His Majesty the great Emperor.

Now, the government aimed to use low grain prices to win over interest groups in the Sub-States, which was beneficial in the long run as it increased the market share of Austria’s agricultural products.

The future United States would engage in low-cost dumping, proving it to be a profitable strategy. Even if agriculture wasn’t lucrative, other areas had reaped substantial returns.

Otherwise, the United States would have ceased such practices. They weren’t running a charity; who can endure annual losses?

By uniting with other major grain-producing countries to inflate the price of grain, it was not out of reach for the United States. They continued with low-cost dumping because there were larger interests at stake.

On the surface, the Austrian Government’s wholesale of low-priced grain caused losses for local interest groups. But once Austria controlled the grain supply of the Sub-States, the situation was transformed.

Like it or not, the governments of those countries became politically obliged to align with Austria; they had no choice in the matter.

No matter how grand the strategy, the farmers and Nobility who grew grain in the initial stages became sacrificial pawns; the Austrian Empire provided no subsidies for grain.

“How do we control this balance? If the price is just slightly lower than the international grain price, it might be acceptable. But if it’s too low, it could discourage domestic grain production,” said Prime Minister Felix, frowning.

From a personal standpoint, he should have opposed the measure, but as the Prime Minister of Austria, he couldn’t focus solely on immediate interests.

Carl’s persuasions had been successful; everyone knew that Austria’s grain production would skyrocket, domestic consumption couldn’t keep up, and if no export markets were found, the surplus would rot in the warehouses.

Everyone’s thinking had been skewed; facing such a situation, the solution was not singular. For example, reducing taxes related to agricultural products, or increasing the competitiveness of grain prices.

Or developing complementary industries such as winemaking, advancing livestock farming, and implementing deep processing of grains…

“Prime Minister, the loss is only for the first few years. Considering the actual situation, we now propose to lower the international grain price by twenty percent, to preemptively enter the market.

Once we dominate the market, we can gradually raise prices. The losses everyone incurs now will be recovered in the future.

Additionally, the government encourages the export of processed products, aiming to export high value-added products as much as possible, to ensure everyone’s interests,” Carl analyzed earnestly.

This venture was something only the Austrian Government could dare to undertake. Other grain-exporting countries didn’t have as many state-owned enterprises capable of controlling grain export prices.

Capitalists are profit-driven, and with low entry barriers in the agricultural product industry, which capitalist would care about future benefits?

They prioritize the present, for if they don’t, they could be crushed by competitors before even reaching the future.

The strategy of “dumping at low prices” was thus formulated. Who could resist temptation when faced with interest?

Franz merely furrowed his brows in acknowledgment. Reality was that cruel. Without sufficient benefits, how could one persuade others to join them?

Fortunately, in this era, industrial importance was not yet fully recognized. Under the feudal system, capitalists had little say; otherwise, the cost for the Austrian Empire to establish an economic alliance would have been even greater.

It was easy to devise a plan, but implementing it was not so simple. The much-discussed Austrian civil servant examination commenced on December 21, 1848.

To avoid the difficulties of monitoring and prevent serious cheating, the Austrian Government decided to hold all examinations in Vienna.

The finance department was the first to begin its examinations, not due to a lack of desire to hold them simultaneously, but rather because the Austrian Government did not have a venue large enough.

Unlike modern schools with classrooms aplenty, making finding a place for testing a simple task, there was no such abundance of space back then, leading many to take their exams in outdoor squares.

Even the square in front of Franz’s Imperial Palace was borrowed by the government to serve as an examination hall.

Atop the Vienna Palace, Franz took out his telescope and observed the long lines of candidates waiting to enter, feeling a myriad of emotions.

There was a time when he was also part of that massive troop of examinees, experiencing failure after failure, attempt after attempt, and before the results of his last attempt were out, his fate had already been rewritten.

After a sigh, Franz put down his telescope and descended from the castle. The examination had already started at this time.

In the examination area, candidates were answering questions earnestly; some were deep in thought, others were writing furiously, and some were scratching their heads in bewilderment, while proctors patrolled the aisles quietly.

This was the first civil service examination in Austria, and the proctors were extremely professional, yet the pressure they exerted on the examinees was immense.

Soldiers armed to the teeth acted as proctors. If someone had poor mental fortitude, just the sight of this set-up might throw them off their performance.

Time ticked away, and the “ding, ding-ding” of the bell signaled the end of the examination.

“Everyone stop writing immediately and leave the examination hall. Violations will result in the voiding of exam results,” came the cold voice of a proctor.

One by one, candidates had to leave the examination hall with downcast gazes. Clearly, the majority felt that they had not done well, with many leaving vast blank spaces on their papers.

Outside the examination hall, the noise of people was already intense, with groups huddled together, voicing their complaints.

“Wigel, how did it go?”

“How could it go? Who knew the finance department would set such offbeat questions? It’s as if they were testing everything. What about you?” Wigel responded with a wry smile.

Politics, history, culture, economy, military, religion, geography, numbers, music, art, international affairs… all sorts of topics appeared on the exam paper.

Even though professional knowledge was the main focus, the variety of questions had significantly dampened everyone’s spirits.

“Me? I’m preparing for the next exam. No matter what the position, I have to pass something; otherwise, I won’t be able to explain myself when I get home,” Raul said with a serious face.

The pass ratio for this examination had been announced already: an astonishing fifty percent. Failing meant belonging to the eliminated half.

Nobility needed to save face; openly competing and being part of those eliminated would lead to a long time before they could hold their heads high again.

Luckily, there were not many commoners taking the exams in this era. Otherwise, if they lost to commoners, their pressure might have been even greater.

“You’re probably worried about how you’ll explain it to Eilinna, aren’t you? After all, you’ve talked up a storm in front of her,” Wigel said unabashedly, revealing the truth.

Raul, unbothered by his uncovered lie, said, “So what? I’m an academic failure. It’s normal for me to not pass.

It’s inherently unfair to have someone like you, a high achiever from Vienna University, testing alongside us.”

Wigel calmly responded, “Are you trying to say that if I fail, you’ll have something to laugh at me about for a lifetime? Rest assured, that’s not going to happen!”

Wigel still had the confidence to pass the exam; what he aspired to was a good ranking. There was a difference between passing with a perfect score and just scraping by.

High scorers stayed at headquarters, while those with lesser scores were sent to work in different locations — it was practically an open secret. No one could complain about unfairness, as everyone’s results were their own doing.

The Austrian Government valued efficiency, and the marking process had already begun concurrently with the end of the exams. Once the results were out, they were immediately published, with candidates selected based on the scores they had achieved.

If scores were the same, it came down to one’s background; those of higher social standing were prioritized for recruitment. There weren’t many more reasons one could argue.