I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 385 Peasants

Joseph knew that the British also wanted to observe what kind of reaction the land redemption plan just announced by France would cause, and try to find bargaining chips that could be used from it.

However, he had already made sufficient preparations for this, so how could he leave the British with any opportunity to take advantage of?

Eman knocked on the door and came in, touching his chest and saying, "Your Highness, the carriage is ready."

Joseph nodded, went downstairs, got into the carriage, and rushed to the Palace of Versailles. If nothing unexpected happened, the old nobles should be in great pain now, and he had to go there as soon as possible to stabilize the situation.

……

Lance.

Zephyr Village.

The village church was packed with people, and even more people were queuing outside with their heads down. Even when the church in Reims held a large mass here before, it had never been so crowded.

Father Joly rubbed his shoulders tiredly, and said to the seven peasants who were kneeling and confessing in front of him in a gentle voice: "Well, you have confessed to God devoutly, and your sins will be forgiven.

"Now, all of you please stand up. Mr. Mali, please ask the people behind to come in..."

The peasant kneeling on the ground still shouted stubbornly: "No, please let me stay a little longer. My sin is too great. I was deceived by those foreign spies and participated in the damn riot... Oh, I even cursed the king. I am such a bastard. His Majesty the King is so great, yes..."

His limited vocabulary was not enough to express his feelings, and he just kept repeating "great" and "long live the king".

The people around him were also saying similar things and crawling on the ground as if His Majesty the King was right in front of them.

Yes, after learning about the land redemption plan officially announced by the government, farmers all over France were boiling with excitement. No, it was more than just boiling with excitement. Instead, they were burning with joy, shock, gratitude and a flame of new life, burning through all the villages.

The redemption plan stipulated that all French people could obtain a piece of arable land of no more than 8 acres with a fee equivalent to 30 years of land output and annual tribute.

The money can be paid annually, not all at once. The government will also subsidize the redemption fee based on how long the land has been cultivated. If the yield during previous cultivation was high, subsidies can also be obtained.

In general, for tenant farmers who have cultivated a piece of land for more than 20 years, if the yield per mu exceeds the average level of surrounding land by 30%, the government will subsidize an amount equivalent to 30% of the redemption cost!
In addition, families that purchase no more than 30 mu of land per capita can obtain a loan from the French Agricultural Bank after review by the parish church. In order to facilitate land redemption, Joseph established this bank, which mainly deals with agricultural affairs, with the French Reserve Bank taking the lead in investment and attracting a large amount of local government funds.

The interest on this loan was very low, and any tenant farmer family could use it to pay the first installment of land redemption money and get farmland immediately.

Of course, this loan will not be issued to farmers, but will be used directly to pay the redemption fee on schedule. The loan repayment period can be extended to 15 years, so farmers don’t have to worry about the redemption money at all. As long as they work hard to farm in the future, they will basically have no financial pressure.

As for the purchase of more than 30 acres per capita, a 20% "handling fee" will be charged.

When the per capita area exceeds 100 mu, not only will the handling fee increase to 33%, but a one-time cash payment equivalent to half of the total redemption amount must be made within 4 years.

These redemption terms are several times better than the best case scenario the farmers had previously imagined!
Especially under the influence of the rumor that the redemption period is 50 years and must be paid in one lump sum, the farmers feel that His Majesty the King is as kind and loving as God.

They are not afraid of hard work. As long as they can see hope and can live without being crushed by the high ransom price, they will be very satisfied.

Now, it only takes 8 years for them to own land that truly belongs to them, just like the noble lords of the past.

All of this was granted to us by His Majesty the Great King, the merciful "Savior", Louis XVI.

Those peasants who had participated in the riots before were tortured by their own consciences without anyone's criticism. So they came to the church in a group, hoping to relieve their sins from God. Father Joly had no choice but to drag the peasants in front of him one by one, which almost exhausted his strength as he was over fifty years old. After panting for a while, he kindly comforted the dozen people: "Even God has forgiven you, and the merciful King will surely not blame you anymore.

"If you want to wash away the guilt in your heart, then come to the church often and pray devoutly for His Majesty the King."

The peasants nodded vigorously, "You are right, I will come to pray for Your Majesty every day from now on!"

"I come here every day, too. I will always be loyal to Your Majesty!"

"And I……"

As soon as they were pushed out of the confessional by Mr. Mali, seven people who had been waiting for a long time immediately squeezed in - in order to improve efficiency, Father Joly could only use the single confessional in this way.

The peasants who walked out of the confessional heard someone giving a speech outside the church. An enthusiastic neighbor nearby told them that it was someone who had been deceived by Saint Just and was venting his anger.

The farmers were immediately infuriated when they heard this. It was all because of that Saint Just, who looked so righteous but lied to everyone, saying that the government would implement a 50-year redemption plan and even incited everyone to make trouble!
It's so abominable and despicable!

Several people came curiously to the speaker and listened to him denouncing the harm that "liberals" were doing to France.

A farmer asked the person next to him in confusion: "What is a liberal?"

A peasant who had seen some of the world explained to him: "Oh, I heard from Baron Guy that people like Saint Just are called 'liberals'. They are bent on overthrowing His Majesty the King."

"These bastards! Whoever dares to disrespect His Majesty the King, I will never forgive him!"

"That's right! Next time I see those so-called liberal guys, I will report them to the RCMP."

"What liberals? What they bring is not freedom, but lies and deception!"

Joseph did not expect that after this incident, the radical liberals in France would become the rats crossing the street. At least among the peasant class, they would no longer have any market.

Soon the peasants' conversation turned to Dutch spies.

"These shameless guys," someone said bitterly, "May God punish them!"

"My relatives in the city told me that all the more than 130 spies who were caught were sentenced to death by hanging."

"Great! They deserve it!"

"I heard that His Majesty is at war with the Dutch."

"Really? Then I have to let my second son join the army."

“I’ll let my son go too!”

"Humph, I have five sons..."

(End of this chapter)