Whether the military wanted it or not, Austria's disarmament resolution was thus finalized. The government's focus has shifted from the military to local construction.

On top of this, the more important national policy was compulsory education, and in order to mobilize the enthusiasm of the bureaucracy, Franz decided to adopt an evaluation system.

That is, to link the effectiveness of compulsory education with the promotion of officials.

The core of this is the promotion of the Austrian language, after all, the purpose of this compulsory education is not simple, but mainly to unify the language and culture and lay the foundation for national integration.

"Have you counted the assets purchased from the church?" Franz asked with concern

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carr replied: "Your Majesty, it is still being counted, and many of these assets are intricate and difficult to value.

According to preliminary statistics, there are about 4.78 million hectares of land, including cultivated land, forest land, grassland, etc.; It has 386 large and small mines, including gold, silver, copper, iron, coal and other minerals; Owning real estate, shops, residences, ......"

Franz nodded, these assets are indeed not easy to value, and the cash, antiques, calligraphy and paintings have long been carved up by the clergy.

Even if there was a work of art, it was kept in the church, and it was impossible for the Austrian government to pick it up.

Many of these immovable properties became the private property of some clergy, but they were forced to surrender them under pressure from the Austrian government.

This is not up to them, the real estate cannot be hidden, and if they do not hand it over, they will go to the Papal States to serve as death squads.

"The value of these assets is slowly counted, first estimate the annual income, how much?" Franz asked

"It's about Rp 80 million, and this income is very stable, and basically it won't change much." Karl replied

This figure does not cause everyone to be amazed, since ancient times religion has been a wealthy unit, especially in the monotheistic system of Europe, the church is often much richer than the government.

They have many privileges, such as the fact that church property is tax-free and free to dispose of the donations of believers.

This was after the Religious Revolution, and in the Middle Ages, when the Church was still in control of most of the European continent, kings and emperors would have to be attached to them.

"What about tithes?" Franz continued

By the middle of the 19th century, tithes in Austria were not exclusive to the Church, and both the monarch and the great nobles would have a share of the benefits.

After the change to an education surcharge, the money will go directly into the pockets of the Ministry of Finance, and naturally there will be no sharing.

Tithes originated in Old Testament times and have continued throughout the years, mainly for agricultural products, including grains, wheat, fruits, vegetables, livestock, etc.

The tax rate is fixed at 10 percent, and as far as Franz knows, even in the 21st century, there are still places that collect this tax.

The French abolished the first abolition, in the 18th century during the Revolution era, and in the 19th century, European countries also abolished it one after another, and the British received it in 1936.

"Your Majesty, the Austrian tithe is about 80 million to 100 million guilders, but considering the actual situation, I'm afraid we can't directly change it to an education surcharge." Carl thought for a moment and said

"Why?" Franz asked

"Your Majesty, compulsory education benefits all Austrian citizens, and it would be unfair if we were to impose an education surtax only on land-owning peasants and nobles." Carl reminded

Franz instantly understood that the name of the tax cannot be changed indiscriminately, and the social influence must also be taken into account.

If it is changed to an education surtax, then it must be collected for all industries, otherwise it is not expected that the aristocracy will pay taxes honestly, and it is easy to provoke social conflicts.

If Austria were to impose an education surtax on all industries, they would have to cut the rest of their taxes, otherwise they would have to pay more than they could afford.

On the surface, the meat is in the pot, and it doesn't matter if you change it, but in fact it is difficult to implement.

The first to be unable to collect this tax was the working class at the bottom, whose income was limited, and it was not easy to loosen the tie on them, and then there was an education surcharge, which was immediately beaten again.

This kind of thing must not be done, and Franz does not want to die and lose the popular support that he has accumulated so hard.

"What advice does the Treasury have to avoid this problem?" Franz asked with concern

Karl thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Finance suggests that tithes should still be collected by the clergy, and there is no need to change the name, and the Ministry of Finance will send someone to supervise it."

We can ask His Holiness the Pope to issue an order that all the tithes in Austria be transferred to the government to finance education. ”

Well, the Austrian government is preparing to turn the Holy See into their subordinate body, and the church has done all the things that pull hatred.

Franz thought for a moment and said, "Well, the issue of the education surtax will be put aside for now, and the church will continue to collect tithes." ”

He really couldn't find a reason to refuse, for the sake of compulsory education in Austria, let the church continue to carry this black cauldron.

Anyway, God and his old man have great powers, and they can resist a little complaint, and they have been collected for thousands of years, and they don't care about charging for a few more decades.

When the Austrian government becomes rich, it will be better to find a reason to abolish it.

It was not only the Catholic Church that was targeted by the Austrian government, but other churches were not spared.

It's just that these churches are not mainstream, their influence is not enough, their financial resources are naturally limited, and they can't loot much wealth, so they don't deserve Franz's personal attention.

……

On November 2, 1848, at the invitation of Pope Pius IX, the Austrian government sent 80,000 troops to help mediate the internal rights dispute in the Papal States.

Naturally, this was opposed by the bourgeois reactionary regime, and the anti-Austrian movement in Italy was once again on the rise, and numerous nationalists gathered in Rome in an attempt to deter the Austrian army with their actions.

The end result was that Pope Pius IX ordered them to be killed, and then the valiant Austrian army sent them to God.

On November 7, 1848, the Austrian army launched an offensive against the reactionary regime, killing more than 8,000 people on the spot and taking more than 30,000 prisoners, inflicting a physical blow on the Italian nationalists.

The stronghold of Italian nationalism was in the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was unfortunately destroyed by Austria once, and the backbone of nationalist ideology suffered a heavy physical blow.

The government of Charles-Albert, which had just returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia, was already frightened and did not dare to wave it anymore.

In order to keep their rights, they hugged the thighs of the British on the one hand, and suppressed radicalism at home on the other, for fear of irritating Austria and causing annihilation.

Frustrated Italian nationalists fled to Rome, where they plotted a final counterattack in an attempt to hold on to their last stronghold.

The outcome was tragic, as Pope Pius IX returned to Rome and the first thing he did was to suppress the nationalists.

Pius IX was also willing to unify the Italian region, but only if the Papal States under his leadership were unified. If this is not possible, then the preservation of the Papal States is the first priority.

Of the Italian states, the Kingdom of Sardinia was the strongest and the most developed, and many nationalists supported it.

In Pius IX's view, this was a blatant betrayal, as odious as the revolutionaries. Now that he has the support of Austria, he is naturally going to go on a killing spree.

Killing may not solve the problem, but killing is the best way to physically destroy the enemy. After the bloody suppression, the situation in Rome stabilized.

After the reconquest of Rome, the Papal States army naturally fell to Pius IX, and the rest of the battle did not require the Austrian army to intervene.

While in Vienna, Franz gave Pius IX a bad idea, suggesting that he disband part of his army and use the savings to hire Swiss to defend the Papal States.

There is a precedent for this, and the Swiss mercenaries are present all over the European continent, and the battle is widely recognized. They also often take on the task of defending the country, or attacking a country.

From the 16th century onwards, the Papal Guard became Swiss, and the Swiss gained respect through their actions.

In 1789, 138 Swiss mercenaries defended Louis XVI at the Palace of Versailles, but none of them fled.

Pius IX, who experienced a coup d'état, was naturally as good as a stream. If Franz recommended German mercenaries to him, he probably had to worry about whether there was some conspiracy involved.

But with the Swiss mercenaries, he was not worried at all. Everyone knows about the feud between the Habsburgs and the Swiss, and although they have now eased their relationship, most Swiss people still don't buy the Habsburgs.

Under Franz's butterfly effect, from now on, the guards of Rome will no longer be Italians, but brave and warlike Swiss mercenaries.

With these thugs who paid for their lives, the authority of Pope Pius IX was greatly strengthened.

Other armies may sympathize with the revolution and even support the revolutionary party, but these Swiss mercenaries from outside the country have no interest in the revolution.

Of course, that's for the future. His Holiness the Swiss Legion had not yet had time to be formed, and now the force in his hands was still the Papal States army.

Pius IX did not trust this army, and sent all of them out to suppress the rebels, and now it was the Austrian army that kept him safe.

Vatican City

A cardinal said happily: "Your Majesty, we have contacted three Swiss mercenary groups that are willing to accept our employment, with a total number of more than two thousand people. ”

Pius IX nodded with satisfaction, Swiss mercenaries are a little expensive, but they get what they pay for, these people are loyal and reliable, much stronger than the Papal States army outside.

Think about it, if Louis XVI had not 138 Swiss mercenaries, but 1,380, would he have been guillotined?

I'm afraid that he would have already covered him to fight his way out of the siege and gather the royalist army to suppress the rebellion.

Another example is King Louis-Philippe, who had just been overthrown, if he had a Swiss mercenary group in his hands, he would have suppressed the revolution a long time ago, where would he need to flee in a hurry?

Thinking about his own experience, Pope Pius IX found that if there had been 2,000 Swiss mercenaries, he would have killed the revolutionaries long ago, so where would he need to go into exile?

The more I think about it, the more crooked it will naturally become.

Pius IX had forgotten that being a king had reached the point where foreigners needed to defend their own safety, which was enough to show how much failure he had done.

This means an extreme distrust of the subjects, and after the loss of this trust, the relationship between the king and the subject can no longer be close.

But this question doesn't matter to the Pope, anyway, his throne can't be hereditary, as long as he is comfortable, why do you care so much about the next one?

Pius IX thought for a moment and said, "Sign a contract with them as soon as possible, and let them come to Rome immediately to take up their posts."

There is also the continuation of contact with the Swiss mercenary regiment, more than 2,000 people have the strength of a regiment, and it is far from enough to defend the Papal States. ”

"Your Majesty, are the Austrians withdrawing?" The cardinal asked with concern

"That's right, Lieutenant General Edmund has repeatedly urged us to assemble a loyal army as soon as possible, and they want to rush back to spend Christmas with their families." Pius IX said with a smile

Asking the Austrian army to suppress the rebellion, the most worrying thing for him was that it was easy to ask God to send God, and if the Austrian army did not leave, it would be a big trouble.

Fortunately, none of this happened, and the Austrian army offered to evacuate, which was exactly what Pius IX wanted, and saved him a major problem.

Pius IX was also very satisfied with the performance of the Austrian army, which was disciplined, did not harass the localities, and was disciplined even in robbery, and absolutely did not stretch out his hand indiscriminately.

Perhaps it was because he cooperated with the Viennese government too happily, and the commander of the Austrian army, Lieutenant General Edmund, respected him as a pope and did not cause him trouble.