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

Chapter 1489 Where Do the Immigrants Come From?

But these people could not blame the colonial government. If they had stayed in the city honestly and exchanged the expected banknotes through formal channels, they would most likely have avoided the bloody disaster.

But people are always greedy, wanting to avoid taxes, or wanting to exchange for more chips, or even wanting to be independent. Everyone thinks they are unique, but they don’t know that there are many people who have the same idea as them.

In fact, the public security in the main areas of the Austrian Empire's colonies was still very good, after all, they were directly managed by the military.

Since the establishment of the California Colony, the colonial government has never tolerated gangs, tribes, and villages that may endanger the colony. It was with such a tough approach that the Austrian Empire was able to gain a foothold here.

However, since Metternich arrived in California, these gray areas have expanded significantly. Of course, this has not affected the income of the Austrian Empire. In fact, California has paid more revenue every year.

But there are some things and some matters that you just don't like, so Franz decided to improve public security. Even though it was a colony, he didn't want gangs to run rampant.

However, the Austrian Empire had limited military strength in its colonies, so there were still some gray areas.

The third sentence, "Those who till the land own the land, and noble sons are born in humble families," is not wrong when applied to the colonies of the Austrian Empire. After all, the colonies assumed that pioneers could directly cultivate the land as long as they paid taxes on time.

It would be more appropriate to replace the phrase "a noble son born from a poor family" with "Eta-bend hatamoto". "Eta" in Japanese refers to the lower class of people, while "Hatamoto" are samurai directly under the shogunate, who have privileges such as riding horses, carrying swords and participating in politics.

Japanese laborers also belonged to the lowest class in the colonies, but some of them gained citizenship, some became local officials, and some even obtained the status of Austrian imperial nobility.

Of course, the so-called nobility is just an honorary title, which can be purchased in the Austrian Empire. However, it is not correct to say that it is purchased. It is more accurate to say that it is a title obtained through donation and service to the country or the royal family.

There are many ways to get promoted in the colonies. One can follow the Asian tradition of academic excellence and then be promoted to an official position, or one can make achievements with passion, or one can gain recognition with unique skills. Even the most ordinary civilians can get the opportunity for promotion through hard work and accumulation.

The last sentence is a beautiful fantasy, but so far there has not been a Japanese businessman who can travel around the world in the Austrian Empire, and no one has obtained the title of general.

But that doesn't stop them from continuing to fantasize.
Franz attached great importance to the island of Cuba and planned to develop it as a native land from the very beginning, so naturally a large number of local immigrants were needed.

It was just the same old problem: the Austrians themselves were not interested in colonies, and Franz did not want to follow the British example of using criminals to fill the colonies, so he could only rely on administrative orders.

Vienna, Hofburg Palace.

The Minister of War, Count Latour, said with some dissatisfaction.

"Your Majesty, this is the fourth time you have disarmed since you ascended the throne. You ascended the throne during a time of war, so you should know how terrible our enemies are!
And the Russians have been sending more troops to the Balkans. I have reason to suspect they have bad intentions!"

The Prime Minister, Prince Schwarzenberg, coughed twice. Queen Olga was also there, strolling around because of her pregnancy.

Franz actually didn't mind the Queen listening in on these state affairs. After all, a smart woman would know her position and what she should and shouldn't do.

Olga glanced at Franz, then at Count Latour, who was lowering his head.

"You guys chat, I'm leaving first."

Franz did not stop him, but said to Count Latour, "Russia's deployment of additional troops to the Balkans is partly to prevent the Ottomans from making a comeback and partly to suppress the local rebellion, not to target us as an ally."

Franz was telling the truth. Although Russia had expanded its territory a lot at this time, the resulting defense pressure also increased suddenly.

In addition to the special terrain of Eastern Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire only needed to defend a few checkpoints to resist the invasion of the Russian army, but the North Bulgarian Plain was vulnerable everywhere.

On the other hand, Russia did have many rebellions in the Balkans that needed to be suppressed and was in urgent need of strong military forces.

However, there are some things Franz did not say. While Russia was defending against the Ottomans, it was also preparing for the next attack. While they were guarding against the Ottomans, they were also guarding against Austria and Greece.

Olga was very satisfied with what Franz said, but she still decided to leave. After all, she needed to avoid suspicion when talking about Russia.

The meeting returned to the main topic.

"Your Majesty, this is the fourth disarmament. We are surrounded by tigers and wolves. The British, French, Ottomans, and Russians all want us to die!

There are also Prussia and Sardinia, two internal demons. If we don't have a strong military force to suppress them, I'm afraid they will be the first to want us dead."

The Minister of War, Count Latour, made no secret of his distrust of his Russian ally, and was resolutely opposed to disarmament.

The military strength of the Austrian Empire at this time was unimaginable in the past.

As Minister of War and a soldier, he certainly wanted his country's army to be as strong as possible. On the other hand, as the empire expanded, the pressure on border defense also increased.

But what worried Count Latour the most was the possibility of another civil war. The long-lasting civil war in 1848 caused more losses than all the foreign wars in recent years combined.

Prince Schwarzenberg held similar views.

"Your Majesty, if you want to immigrate to Cuba, there is no need to disarm. You can just set up a construction corps like you did in other colonies before, right?"

What Prince Schwarzenberg was talking about was the most common tactic used by the Austrian Empire in its colonies. In his opinion, this model was very successful as it not only ensured development efficiency and reduced development costs, but also ensured absolute loyalty to the motherland.

But this model also has many drawbacks. It may not be a big deal in Africa, but it is a disaster in Cuba.

The three most important points are: first, militarized management will suppress emotions, and improper handling may even intensify conflicts with indigenous peoples.

In black Africa, the natives were the ones to be eliminated, so it didn't matter. But Cuba was different. Franz planned to develop it as a local area. At this time, the remaining people were all elites, so he couldn't let the contradictions escalate.

Secondly, excessive militarization will reduce economic vitality and lead to a single economic model. However, in African colonies, this does not matter at all, as long as you can make money.

In fact, a single economic model can strengthen the ties between the mainland and colonies, while avoiding waste of investment due to dispersed investment.

But it would be a bit foolish to apply this to Cuba, which was regarded as a native land. Once the living standards of the local people declined instead of rising under the rule of the Austrian Empire, it would cause social unrest, which would be detrimental to stability.