Chapter 342: Chapter 29, Secretly Crossing the Wei Bridge
 

Franz had no way to persuade Maximilian, so he simply threw his other two brothers into the military camp for a cloistered education. Perhaps learning from the past, Empress Sophie did not intervene this time.

Before Franz’s accession to the throne, the Austrian Army had always been a place for the nobility’s spoiled children to gild themselves. Now, it remains a destination for these young nobles, but instead of glamour, they find days as long as years.

Not to mention the isolated management, once they entered the barracks, they would say goodbye to the bustling city life and spend their days in grueling training within the Alps.

Due to the strict management system, many families saw the army as a school for educating the next generation, and the number of prodigals active in Vienna had fallen to an historical low.

The statutory military service time is only two years, but due to population growth, ordinary soldiers can retire and switch to the reserves after serving for just one year.

The children of the nobility are an exception, their minimum service time starts at three years. Training officers takes more time than training ordinary soldiers, so the service period is naturally longer.

The training for noble officers is much more rigorous than that for ordinary soldiers and involves many more disciplines. Usually, the first year is spent in the Alps or the Balkan Mountains.

After exhausting daily training, they naturally have no energy for distractions. Over time, many bad habits can be corrected in the military.

Originally, Maximilian was only slightly younger than Franz and had already gilded himself, becoming a naval officer by the time military reform began, missing out on this honing opportunity.

Because the training was so harsh, and they could hardly return home once throughout the year, Empress Sophie, out of her deep love for her children, unsuccessfully requested Franz to make an exception, thus dragging the process on.

Fortunately, there is a tradition of military service among the nobility in the Germany Region, and nobles who have never served in the military simply cannot gain a foothold in society.

Therefore, Empress Sophie could only delay, and didn’t dare let the two youngsters completely evade military service.

For reference, every year there are several prodigal sons who are tied up by their families and sent to the military camps, occasionally witnessing scenes of weeping as if parting from life and death.

Of course, such scenes are mostly found among the newly emerged nobility. This is also the reason why they are despised by the established nobility, seen as a lack of breeding.

In some ways, Franz’s military reforms also relied on the power of tradition.

Although Austria was not at the point where its army owned the country like Prussia, the government’s higher echelons were mostly from the military as well.

If a situation required extreme mobilization, government officials could instantly become military officers, forming an army in the shortest time possible.

Because of the honor of the nobility, not a single noble has complained about the rigorous training in front of Franz, which he found very satisfying.

Rights and duties are equivalent, and if even their own duties are shirked, then the class has truly fallen into decadence.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the proportion of Austrian noble offspring serving in the military exceeded 95%, with the rest unable to serve due to physical defects or congenital insufficiency.

Before the military reforms, this figure was 100%. The cultural tradition of the Germany Region honored military service, and this fine tradition has naturally been preserved.

From the stage of compulsory education, there are basic military training courses. In areas without conditions, it’s only drill and long-distance running, but noble schools are akin to junior military academies.

St. Petersburg

After years of struggle, the Reformists finally gained the upper hand over the Conservatives. On March 25, 1863, Alexander II issued The General Law on Peasants Breaking Away from Serfdom.

It stipulated the abolition of serfdom, granting serfs free citizen status, personal freedom, and general civil rights, including the right to own property, hold public office, file lawsuits and engage in business and trade.

Under the pretext that all land was owned by landlords, peasants could use a certain amount of share-land but had to pay a redemption fee to the landlords.

Before signing the redemption contract, peasants had to perform labor services for the landlords or pay a commutation rent.

Clearly, this Russian reform was imperfect, with the land redemption price set by landlords far exceeding the market value of the land, and in some places, even several times higher.

The exorbitant land redemption price laid a hidden danger for future social conflicts. In fact, conflicts broke out in many places as soon as the redemption price was settled.

Alexander II was also very troubled. On one hand, he wanted to enact a more thorough social reform, steering the Russian Empire swiftly towards a capitalist society; on the other hand, he was unwilling to break with the land-owning nobility.

There are differences among “landlords”; in the Russian Empire, landlords equated to nobility, and ordinary freemen rarely owned any land.

Now, by pursuing social reform, it’s clear that the interests of the noble class would be harmed. The nobility ruling the country are naturally opposed, wanting to shift their losses elsewhere.

It wasn’t just the will of the Conservatives; many in the Reformist camp were also prepared to sacrifice peasants’ interests in exchange for the success of this social reform.

Regarding the social conflicts that might result from such actions, they have already ignored them, as they can’t truly start cutting their own flesh, can they?

Minister of Police Kharinov whispered, “Your Majesty, last month there were a total of 38 peasant uprisings domestically, all of which have been suppressed.”

Peasant revolts in the Russian Empire were no longer news; it would be more newsworthy if there weren’t several outbreaks in a year.

But dozens of eruptions in one month still put pressure on Alexander II. The emancipation act was signed, but this reform did not satisfy the serfs.

Revolutionaries didn’t sit idle either, they incited the serfs to revolt by proclaiming: By overthrowing the Tsarist Government, everyone might own land for free.

Liberalists were not as radical, at least they weren’t ready to overthrow the Tsar. They believed that the government should pass laws to regulate land pricing, rather than letting nobles exploit the peasants.

The current peasant uprisings in the country were largely instigated by these two groups.

Alexander II said, “Continue on high alert. We can’t let them cause chaos at this critical moment and ruin this reform.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” The Minister of Police hastily responded.

“`

Fortunately, the Russians won the Near Eastern war, and Tsar Nicholas I took the opportunity of rewarding the war heroes to emancipate a group of serfs.

These people are now the main force of the Tsarist army, and although most of them are at the lowest ranks, as long as they remain loyal to the Tsar, the Russian Empire is still the Tsar’s Russia.

Otherwise, the nobility, already rattled by the skirmishes, would not have so easily compromised with the Tsar. The conservative forces in Russia have always been the strongest in Europe.

This was different from Austria’s abolition of serfdom amidst widespread rebellion. At that time, the Austrian nobility were terrorized by the revolution, witnessing the extinction of noble families one after another, fearing it would soon be their own turn, and thus had to agree to the abolition of serfdom.

In the face of survival, everyone’s expectations naturally dropped. Land prices were slashed, and despite the losses, compromises had to be made to preserve life and wealth.

Now the Tsar’s nobility do not feel the pressure of survival. Although there were serf uprisings in Russia, they did not escalate into something significant. With no pressure, everyone naturally wanted to compensate for their losses, and even prepared to turn the situation into an opportunity for profit.

The anxious Finance Minister Kurdasiyabi said, “Your Majesty, due to the reforms, it is expected that our tax revenue will drop by another five percent this year, while fiscal expenditures will rise by fifteen percent.

If this continues, I fear that our finances will be bankrupt before internal reforms are completed. The Ministry of Finance suggests delaying the abolition of the tax farming system in some remote areas to reduce financial expenditure.”

The tax farming system was also a problem for the Tsarist Government. The Russian Empire was too vast, and previously, due to the issues of communication and transportation, the government couldn’t manage this enormous empire and had to implement the tax farming system.

Now with the advent of the telegraph making communication manageable, the Tsarist Government was ready to abolish the tax farming system to pave the way for capitalist economic development.

However, this caused administrative expenses to soar. The tax collected from many remote areas barely covered the administrative costs.

Alexander II retorted, “Just delaying the abolition of the tax farming system would hardly solve the problem, would it? Our financial shortfall can’t be met with just a few million rubles every year.”

The Finance Minister Kurdasiyabi replied, “Yes, Your Majesty. This year’s fiscal deficit is expected to exceed forty million rubles, but delaying the abolition of the tax farming system could save eight million rubles.”

Alexander II thought for a moment and said, “Even if we delay the abolition of the tax farming system, what about the rest of the financial shortfall?”

The main areas where the Russian Empire implemented the tax farming system were in Siberia, the Far East, and the Central Asia region because of transportation issues, these areas had poor economies, and delaying reforms would not greatly impact them.

Finance Minister Kurdasiyabi suggested, “Your Majesty, my personal recommendation is to sell Alaska to save on administrative expenses and at the same time obtain funds to cover the fiscal shortfall.”

Alexander II shook his head and said, “Selling Alaska is not a problem; that land doesn’t bring us any profit besides its size.

Because of our relations with the British, once a conflict arises, we simply cannot defend it.

But the problem is that we can’t find a buyer. The only possible buyer, the Americans, are now too preoccupied with their civil war to consider it.”

This was true, before gold mines were discovered, Alaska was a barren land, with less than ten thousand Russians on more than one million square kilometers of land.

Even if the central basin had arable land, land wasn’t valuable in this era, especially undeveloped land.

“`

Finance Minister Kurdasiyabi proposed, “Your Majesty, we should look for buyers all over the world, and if we can’t find any, let’s use it to offset next year’s loan interest payments to Austria!”

Alexander II shook his head, “That won’t do, such a move would affect the relationship between our two countries. Currently, Austria is not only our ally but also our biggest trading partner.”

This had nothing to do with integrity, it was entirely determined by interests. The existence of the Russian-Austrian Alliance preserved the Russian Empire’s hegemonic status in Europe, and even with its current focus on internal reforms, no one was challenging their status.

However, if the alliance were to dissolve, the situation would be different. It wasn’t just the French who would challenge their supremacy, but Austria could also become a challenger for the hegemon.

Turning a potential enemy into an ally was the greatest diplomatic achievement for the Tsarist Government in the past few decades.

When Austria was deeply ensnared in a revolution, Nicholas I didn’t kick them while they were down. As a result, the Russian Empire garnered Austria’s support, won the Near East War, and captured Constantinople.

Before his death, Nicholas I repeatedly emphasized the importance of the Russian-Austrian Alliance to his successor. Alexander II was no fool and knew it was an alliance beneficial for both sides. It would not be wise to let some minor profits affect the relations between the two countries.

Finance Minister Kurdasiyabi explained, “Your Majesty, we wouldn’t have to affect the relations between our two countries. You just need to write a letter of poverty to His Majesty Franz, explain our difficulties, and ask for his help. That would suffice.

Back then, when the Austrians suppressed the Hungarian rebellion, Emperor Nicholas was also prepared to send troops to help. However, just as they reached the border, the Austrians had already settled it themselves.

No matter what, the Habsburg family owes us a favor for that. Therefore, in the subsequent Near East War, the Vienna Government always stood by us.”

Kurdasiyabi was vaguely reminding Alexander II to consider the importance of relations between the two royal families and not to neglect national interest for his personal pro-Prussian stance.

Alexander II nodded; personally, he might favor Prussia, but he was not a fool like Peter III who disregarded national interest.

Can’t you see that the Prusso-Russian relations have not improved at all?

After Bismarck’s death, Wilhelm I of the Kingdom of Prussia, who felt deeply humiliated, never lowered his head to Russia again. Likewise, Alexander II had never shown goodwill towards Prussia.

This too was determined by national interests. On one hand, as Europe’s hegemon, the Russian Empire could not voluntarily bow down, and on the other, they also needed to take into account Denmark’s feelings. This small brotherly nation had provided the Tsarist Government with twenty million rubles in loans over the years, making clear who was closer and who was further away.

Alexander II calmly replied, “No problem, I will write the letter as soon as possible.”

Seeing that Alexander II agreed to the suggestion, Finance Minister Kurdasiyabi let out a sigh of relief and inwardly exclaimed that making this money was indeed not easy.

He was so eager to encourage Alexander II not only to deepen the relations between Russia and Austria. Of course, this wasn’t the only factor.

It was also because he had accepted the 100,000 Divine Shield public relations fee from the Austrian Ambassador to Russia. Kurdasiyabi was smart enough to know which money to take and which not, and when he took the money, he had to deliver.

The Austrians wanted to further deepen relations with Russia, and naturally, Kurdasiyabi would not refuse, as this was also in Russia’s interest.

As for the problem with Alaska, he decisively ignored it. It was merely a pretext for further deepening the relationship between the two countries—the land was just a savage wilderness after all.