The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1152 Trust the People
"Five million florins? Franz, are you crazy? The Greek government's annual income is only three or five million. How many lifetimes will it take for him to pay you back this money?"

Maximilian II did not forget to mock his brother at this time.

"You're talking nonsense! Last year, the fiscal revenue of Greater Greece was as high as 960 million drachmas!"

Otto I crossed his arms with great pride. 1 drachma = 0.1 florin

"Isn't that still not enough to pay back the money?"

Maximilian II once again added insult to injury.

"It's as if Bavaria is rich."

"Unfortunately, after you left, Bavaria's fiscal revenue increased by 50%, and now it has exceeded 3000 million florins."

"It's not even as good as Venice, how dare you say that!"

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Franz had to come out to stop them.

"My two cousins, the situation in Greece and Bavaria is not very good right now. We should help each other."

"I don't have any money."

Maximilian II raised his hand first to express his opinion, while Otto I also spoke somewhat embarrassedly.

"Franz, you have indeed borrowed too much. I am afraid I cannot even pay the interest."

"No need for interest. No matter what the outcome of this peace conference is, you must first stabilize the domestic situation."

"Well, thank you very much! You can rent Crete for as long as you want!"

The two sides smiled at each other and didn't say much.

In fact, being able to take advantage of each other is a good thing for everyone.

"Cousin, you should also show some appreciation."

Franz said.

"Bavaria is not Austria, and I don't have as much money as you do."

"But you can provide people. The Greek government can't be without its own people."

"We can have as many people as we want. But if Otto does this, the Greek leaders may not agree."

"That's easy. Compete for the job, and whoever can do it gets to stay."

"Good idea." Otto I couldn't help but praise. Those damn officials always pushed the pressure on himself, why didn't he think of pushing it back?

"And wouldn't they like to have a democratic politics like the British? Then change it to land qualification elections!"

"Isn't this okay Franz? They own the land, and they elect their people."

Otto I said dejectedly.

"Cousin, this is just the first step of the plan."

"So what's next?"

In fact, Otto I and Maximilian II did not hold much hope, they just continued to ask questions according to Franz's intention.

“Carry out land ownership reform and redistribute land according to population.”

"Those guys won't agree to that."

“It doesn’t matter whether the Greek elite agree or not. If they have a conflict with you, who do you think the lower classes will side with?
I know those guys are always slandering you. Even after you converted to Christianity, they still claimed that you were a pagan. They called you arrogant for wanting to revive Greece, and they called you a warmongering act for wanting to recover your homeland.

You are of Komnenos descent, yet they call you a bastard and even openly claim that you are mentally deficient.

They also contributed to the Don Pacifico incident
But you have to understand that redistribution of land will bring real benefits to the people. What can the so-called Greek elites offer?

Continue to use you as a window to vent national sentiments? "Otto I could not help but fall into deep thought after hearing this. In the 19th century, the poor were considered to be lazy, incompetent, immoral, and lowly species who could only shout slogans and engage in empty talk.

The rich are noble people who are hardworking, wise, virtuous, pragmatic and pious.

But Otto I knew very well that the appearance of the poor was more often a form of helplessness, as they had no opportunities or platforms at all.

He had seen many commoners who won in Mensur. Those commoners showed no fear when facing the noble swordsmen who had honed their sword skills since childhood. Their courage alone surpassed that of most nobles.

Mensur is a bloody entertainment activity in Germany. It was originally a duel between students to show courage without killing each other. Later, it became an entertainment activity among nobles and rich people.

Although it is not usually fatal, it is common to cause disability or injury in order to force the other party to surrender, and accidents also happen frequently.)
Otto I also adopted two children from commoners, initially just to pass the time and show his kindness.

At that time, adopting a commoner's child might not cost as much as raising a royal hound.

But it turned out that the two men were more loyal and brave than the nobles and the Greek elites, and they made many outstanding achievements in the war against the Ottomans.

In fact, Otto I initially did what Franz said, and he appointed a group of officials from Bavaria.

However, due to the British obstruction and the collusion of the Greek elites, these Bavarian officials were unable to carry out their work and were finally forced to resign.

At that time, Otto I was too young and too weak to dare to stand up, let alone have the strength to do so. It was under the coercion and inducement of the British and the Greek elite that the situation in Greece fell into the current situation.

"Franz, I believe you. Just do as you say!"

"Franz, Otto. Are you two crazy? You actually count on the lowly peasants? They are lazy, stupid and immoral.

Don’t touch the interests of the upper class, don’t touch the ideas of the lower class! What are you thinking! "

Maximilian II said earnestly.

"I believe my people will make the right choice!"

Otto I looked righteous.

In fact, Otto I's real confidence came from Franz's five million florins, which gave him the capital to confront the parliament.

On the other hand, Greece borders the Austrian Empire, and as the theoretical supreme military commander of Greece, he could borrow troops from Austria to quell the rebellion.

Otto I believed that if Francis wanted to, even if all Greeks joined the rebellion, it would not be successful.

Although Franz has always enjoyed a reputation for kindness among the people, the church even planned to canonize him as a saint.

But Otto I knew that his cousin was too terrifying. In 1848 alone, the killing was three times the total population of Greece.

Franz would not do anything recklessly, he was more particular about strategy and methods. It would be tragic if he was used by others to do bad things like Wang Anshi's reform.

However, Franz was not very interested in this kind of verbal dispute. In an era of change, if one clings to traditional ideas, it will be difficult for him to avoid decline.

If reformers don't even have this much courage, it would be better for them to give up as soon as possible.

There was once a teacher in the East whose thoughts and deeds were enough to prove everything. If the old man saw that a few words of scheming were actually regarded as the criterion in later generations, he would definitely find it ridiculous and absurd.

In addition, this sentence is not a traditional Eastern thought, nor was it said by Saint Ha.

(Friedrich August von Hayek was an Austrian economist who became a British citizen in 1938 because of his Jewish ancestry.)
"Cousin, who told you this?"

Franz was well aware of his eldest cousin's intelligence, and he would never be able to come up with such words even if he were given another hundred years.

"A wealthy and intelligent gentleman."

"Don't use him. This is my advice to you. Bavaria is the country with the lowest per capita income in Germany. If it doesn't think about changing, sooner or later someone will change everything.

Capitalists can run away with their capital, and even transform themselves into national capitalists. But you can't, my brother.

Remember Philip Equality? Even though he could "kill his relatives for the greater good", he still could not gain trust and ended up with his head and body separated.

In a sense, the monarch is like the common people, and only the country can be relied on. The rich can be Austrians in Austria and British in Britain. "