Chapter 9: Build: Persona

  Chapter 9 Build: Persona

Countless cases in his previous life had taught Franz that it wasn’t necessary for you to actually be on the same side as the majority of the people, at least you had to make them think that you were on their side.

Now Franz is doing just that, reform is the mainstream of Austria, he naturally wants to release a signal to the outside world that he is in favor of reform.

The strength of the Austrian conservatives at this time should not be underestimated, and the Vienna court was the stronghold of the conservatives, and Franz could not betray his class.

At this time age is the best weapon, in the eyes of the reformers he is in favor of reform, this is enough, no one has the luxury of a 16-year-old boy to dominate the reform of Austria.

Franz and did not comment on specific reforms, in the eyes of the conservatives, he is a sign of stability, everyone knows that Austria must be reformed, but how to reform on the dispute.

As the crown prince of the empire, Franz support reform which has no problem, if it is stupid to throw out their own reform program, it is estimated to be handed over to do people.

In contrast, Franz’s concern for the living conditions of the lower classes is nothing. A benevolent king is good for everyone.

Before the mystery is unraveled, neither the capitalists nor the nobles will mind Franz brushing up his reputation among the people, and no one will know that he is a Xiangzhuang dancing with a sword.

Bauernfeld was convinced by Franz, or rather by reality, that there was nothing wrong with working for the young archduke.

It would be even better if he could influence Archduke Franz to accept his ideas.

His intentions Franz was naturally well aware of, but didn’t take it to heart. Now he just needed to utilize Bauernfeld’s influence to get the newspaper started in the shortest possible time.

The question of Austrian political reform, or do not need to worry about them, Franz already has a preliminary plan in mind, before the implementation of this plan, it is also necessary to weaken the bourgeoisie and aristocracy.

The elevation of the position of the capitalists would never occur in his reforms.

“Capital knows no borders,” Franz had still heard.

The capitalists were always a class that could not be fed, that could be betrayed in a minute if the interests were right, and Franz would not dare to let them become the pillars of the state.

Austria’s special national conditions dictate that this reform must take into account the interests of the vast majority of the underclass in order to truly integrate the country, which will require the nobility and bourgeoisie to make sacrifices.

It was at this particular time, when the conflicts between the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie were intensifying, that Franz had a chance of success.

The more he learned about the country, the more Franz was sure that the empire was already in a state of flux.

In 1846 there was a poor harvest in Germany, and Austria was also affected.

According to reason, the Austrian Empire was originally the most important food exporter in Europe, with the Great Hungarian Plain, the impact of the reduction of grain production is not great.

However, the reality was just the opposite. Capitalists for their own interests, one side of the excessive speculation in the grain shortage, raise the price of food on the market, and at the same time depressed the purchase price of food in the Hungarian region, because the local grain harvest.

By the beginning of 1847, the price of grain on the market in Vienna had risen by fifty-four percent, and ordinary Viennese citizens were already feeling the pressure of survival.

Behind the capitalists’ manipulation of grain prices, there were also a large number of self-employed peasants who went bankrupt, and even some aristocrats suffered heavy losses, and the Hungarian region had begun to experience undercurrents.

In recent times, Franz found that Vienna’s foreign population is more and more, no need to think he knows, these people are mostly some bankrupt farmers, in order to survive had to enter the city.

Some of them may still be serfs in the hands of the nobles, but by now, Austria’s population has long exceeded 30 million, and there is no shortage of serfs in the hands of the nobles, so they have relaxed their control.

Although serfs are also wealth, but they also need to eat, for the nobles as long as the number is about the same, to ensure that the completion of the production task on the line, too many serfs is also a burden.

European countries emancipation of serfs success is not indicated on so simple, more or the emergence of machinery, so that the aristocrats do not need so many people planting the land, for example: the accumulator harvester, and so on.

Into the mid-to-late 19th century, the aristocracy’s need for labor declined, and resistance to the abolition of serfdom was not as strong, and most enlightened aristocrats were more interested in freeing the serfs in exchange for a sum of compensation from the state.

Prime Minister Metternich’s promotion of abolition in Austria was still resisted by the nobles because the offer was too low, and Franz supported the prime minister on this issue.

Austria was not rich enough to pay the high compensation, so it was inevitable that the price of compensation was low.

However, this problem was not without a solution, such as giving the abolitionist nobles tax concessions, or sacrificing the interests of capitalists, the government intervened in the market to set a protective price for food to protect the interests of all.

As long as the interests are appropriate, there is no conflict that cannot be resolved. Only these ideas, Franz is not going to take out now, he is still ready to exchange interests with Prime Minister Metternich.

On January 11, 1847, the newspaper “We want bread, we want cheese”, which Franz pounded, was officially launched.

A piece by himself, “Caring for the Underclass, Creating a Better Austria,” was pounded out as the opening piece.

Undoubtedly, it was a downright cockamamie article, which emphasized at great length the role of the underclass for this country, and made it clear that the Austrian Empire would only be better off if the basic needs of the underclass were met.

The effect was naturally indisputable; the chicken-soup article was the first of its kind, and many people were baffled.

Aristocrats and capitalists thought Franz was a loving Crown Prince who was idle to worry about the lives of the untouchables, but such an emperor they did not reject.

A benevolent emperor was better than a tyrant, and people didn’t have to work with their heads in their hands.

The influence caused in the bottom of the population species is much greater, a crown prince who cares about their living conditions, this is completely the standard of a benevolent emperor ah!

The only pity is that this Crown Prince is a little too young to have a say in politics, if he becomes an emperor that would be good.

……

“Pity!”

Franz secretly sighed, if only there were a group of people under his hand to guide public opinion nationwide, then the resulting influence would be even greater.

It’s not that Franz didn’t send people to guide public opinion, the problem is that he doesn’t have much manpower in his hands, and his influence is limited to Vienna, while other places can only wait for it to spread slowly.

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(End of chapter)