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

Chapter 1294: Disillusionment (Part )

"Stupid! Are you sure no one is watching us? Wouldn't it be a death wish to contact the Austrians now? Leave this matter to those charlatans.

They brought the Austrians here, so they must have a way to contact them now. The widows and unmarried girls in each family should also be put to use now.

We are in a position now, so it is definitely a good idea to have multiple escape routes.”

Mayor Volta sighed, and he seemed to have aged a lot in one day. For Spaniards like Volta, who were born during the anti-French war, what they desire most in their lives is peace.

When Volta was young, he hoped that Spain would also have a wise ruler who would lead Spain into Paris like Napoleon did, rob money, food, and women to avenge the previous humiliation.

Internally, he imposed light taxes and levies and loved his people like his own children.
However, after the end of the Anti-French War, the kings of Spain became more and more incomprehensible. Volta decided to use his family power to enter the officialdom, clarify the administration of officials, uphold justice, be a good official, and protect peace in the area.

But how could a mortal resist the turbidity of the world? Volta had been in the officialdom for half his life, but in the end he could only protect his family's property.

As for those other fantasies, they have long been thrown out of the window.
However, even if he worked so hard, it would not be easy to keep the family's property. Volta could certainly choose to be a dog for Carlos VI, and if he was lucky, he might even be able to serve as a prime minister.

But what if you are unlucky?

Puertoliano is the Volta family’s base. If they lose this base, will the Volta family still be of use to Carlos VI?

Are you betting that Carlos VI will not be the one to be cooked after his failure?

When the new king ascends the throne, there will inevitably be a reshuffle of domestic power. Will Carlos VI really allow one family to enjoy prosperity forever?

I am afraid that after stabilizing the country, the first thing Carlos VI will want to eliminate is the local forces like the Volta family that have too much influence.

Volta really didn't want to be Cabrera's lackey, but the timing of the new king's accession to the throne was a golden opportunity for many small families and ruthless people without roots, and they were hoping for a major reshuffle.

Countless eyes were watching the position of the mayor, Volta. If he slacked off, someone would immediately step up to take his place.

Cabrera naturally welcomed anyone who came to work for him. Whether from a personal perspective or from a national perspective, it was more cost-effective to support newcomers than to employ old ones.

After all, those who have no roots or shallow roots can only rely on the country and their superiors, while those deeply rooted families will not only come to get a piece of the pie, but will even affect the control over the local area.

Another point that must be considered is the issue of loyalty. Those local forces had originally sworn allegiance to Isabella II and had even surrendered to the Austrians.

It is hard to say that they will not continue to surrender to other forces, so it is important to support local forces of their own.

Generally speaking, there is nothing wrong with the idea of ​​a civil war reshuffle, and weakening local power and strengthening central power is a choice that almost everyone will make.

However, this time the situation was different. Isabella II's power had not completely dissipated, and there were still some areas that did not accept the rule of Carlos VI.

Apart from this, the biggest difference is the existence of the Austrian Empire. After seeing the light, people often find it difficult to tolerate darkness.

For hundreds of years, the Spanish have been accustomed to living without dignity, or dying for dignity. But the short-term rule of the Austrian Empire taught them that dignity and life can coexist. Carlos recovered lost territory at an astonishing speed, but encountered unprecedented resistance in the countryside. The vast majority of farmers could not accept the tax rate set by Carlos, and this time the rural nobles stood with the farmers in a rare way.

Due to the transformation of the Austrian Empire, land rents became quite low. If the tax rate set by Carlos VI was really followed, the landlords would starve to death before the peasants.

If you don't want to starve to death, there are only two options: either increase land rent or resist taxation.

Many preferred the first path, but they were either dealt with by the Austrians early on or suppressed by the local peasants before they could collaborate with the Carlists.

At this point, some people must be wondering: How did these nobles and landowners survive for hundreds of years? Why were they suddenly defeated by the peasants?

All we can say is that times have changed. The Austrian Empire would recruit new soldiers every time it occupied a region. Not all soldiers were vagrants. Some of them had to join the army because their families could not make ends meet.

When the Austrian Empire left, those soldiers who had families and jobs were naturally reluctant to leave. Some were deserters or criminals who violated military discipline and were forced to marry local people.

The presence of these people greatly enhanced the fighting power of the peasants. In addition, the nobles and landlords were either transformed by the Austrian Empire and accepted its ideas, or were severely weakened.

In addition, the arrival of the Austrian Empire greatly strengthened the ties between villages, and the thinking of those priests who usually helped the landlords to fool the villagers was also changing.

As one side gained strength while the other lost strength, the armed forces of the nobles and landlords seemed so vulnerable.

Moreover, although those landlords and nobles may not have any vision, they certainly have the basic wisdom to survive, and they know clearly the attitudes of the farmers around them.

Rather than being beaten to death by the peasants, it is better to resist taxes violently. After all, the government will not necessarily pursue the matter even if a few tax officials die.

Cabrera's first choice in this situation was to kill an example to scare the monkeys. He wanted to maintain the king's authority, so he couldn't let go of those who disobeyed his orders. Otherwise, how could he control other unrecovered areas?

Normally, the army would massacre one or two rebellious villages, and then everyone would sit down and talk calmly, and the turmoil would be over.

However, the reality is that tax resistance is a common phenomenon, and even dozens of villages have united together. The terrain in Spain is complex, and the Carlos army can easily return empty-handed.

The composition of the Carlos faction's army was complex to begin with, and many of them had former bandits and robbers, so it was not impossible for them to kill innocent people and take credit for their crimes.

Even if they did not kill innocent people to claim credit, they would still do things that were abhorrent to both humans and gods, such as killing innocent people indiscriminately, setting fires everywhere, and burning houses and fields.

Although Spain's national strength has declined, its people are not lacking in blood. They dared to fight against the invincible French army, so there is no reason why they would not dare to fight against a group of gangsters and bandits now.

Soon the war spread throughout the entire border area. In addition to the countryside, many cities were unwilling or unable to accept Cabrera's extortion.

After all, there are not many cities as wealthy as Puertoliano, and not many mayors as patient as Volta.

Moreover, if the gentry and nobles in a region want to cause trouble, they don't actually need to get involved themselves. They just need to faithfully carry out the orders of Carlos VI. After all, the pressure is transmitted step by step, and there will always be someone who can't stand it.