After Christmas, the Austrian government's next annual budget meeting began again.

In fact, by this time, the battle for the budget of the various departments was over, and now it was only the final round of determination.

If the issue of determining the budget is brought to the meeting for discussion, it is estimated that in the last few days, it will not even be enough to review the project materials prepared by everyone.

Prime Minister Felix presented a report to Franz, saying: "Your Majesty, this is the annual budget plan for 1850, and the main expenditures are: military spending, government administration, education spending, land redemption funds, infrastructure construction, and cultural unification.

Military spending fell by 27 percent compared with 1849, while education expenditure increased by 31 percent, cultural promotion expenditure increased by 32 percent, government administrative expenditure increased by 9 percent, and infrastructure expenditure increased by 44.5 percent. ”

In general, except for the decline in military spending, other expenditures have increased significantly. The exception to this is land ransom, which didn't exist before.

At the same time as the expenditure has increased, the government has also increased its revenue, otherwise the budget would not have been adopted.

Franz took the budget report and only glanced at the budget summary.

Military expenditure was 61,568,400 dong, including 10,652,300 dong for the navy and 50,916,100 dong for the army.

The war was over, and disarmament was completed in 1849. By 1850, it was normal for military spending to fall sharply.

However, it was only the army military spending that fell, and the navy's military expenditure increased by 1.5 million dong compared to the previous year, and it seems that the colonial faction in the government has grown.

The education expenditure was Rp 68,509,400, including Rp 40,164,100 for education in the compulsory education stage, Rp 20,563,200 for university education (including research expenditure for university laboratories), and Rp 7,782,100 for secondary education;

The cost of education is much lower than Franz estimated, on the one hand, compulsory education is still in the process of being popularized and has not yet been completed; On the other hand, there are families with conditions who choose fee-paying schools with better educational conditions in order to have a better future for students.

On the surface, the Ministry of Education allocates the same amount of funding to students at all stages of compulsory education, but in fact compulsory education schools also provide students with free meals, uniforms, and accommodation.

The cost of a child is not large, but the number is also a large expense, and it is initially estimated that the expenditure will be reduced by 10 million dong.

The infrastructure construction expenditure is Rp 48,203,800, including Rp 20,152,000 for railway construction, Rp 15,416,000 for post-war reconstruction, Rp 10,263,200 for urban infrastructure renovation, and other ......

There is no way around this, some railways have no commercial value at all, but they have important military value, and they still have to be repaired.

Later generations also criticized the Austro-Hungarian railway, which affected commerce in order to take care of the military.

In order to avoid this situation, this kind of railway can only be repaired at the expense of the Austrian government, counting on private investment, and it is estimated that it will not be able to start construction in the next century.

Fortunately, these railways are not long, generally only 180 kilometers, the longest is no more than 400 kilometers, and the total mileage is only two or three thousand kilometers.

After the construction is completed, it will be connected to the Austrian railway network, which will allow the domestic army to be put to the front in the shortest possible time.

The government administrative expenditure was 53.2821 million dong, including 11.261 million dong for enterprise management and 42.0211 million dong for government agencies;

Seeing this, Franz frowned, and it seemed that it was necessary to let the state-owned enterprises operate independently. In the short term, there is no problem in merging together, but in the long run, relying on the government to manage enterprises will sooner or later derail from the market.

The cultural promotion fund is 23,160,800 dong, which is an effort to unify the language and writing.

Because of the influence of the Austrian government's policies, everyone knows that it is easy to find a job after learning the common language, and it is relatively smooth to promote it in the cities, but it is troublesome in the countryside.

Franz didn't have a good way to do it, forcing it was impossible, it would only make things worse. It seems that it is impossible to unify the language in this generation, and it can only be done in the next generation.

Austrian language classes are mandatory in all schools in the country, and teachers are being trained to ban local dialects as soon as possible.

That's right, on the official documents of Austria, there is no national language at this time, and there is only one language in the whole country - Austrian, and the rest are regional dialects.

If nothing else, from 1850 onwards, all primary and secondary school teachers were required to take an Austrian language exam, with a salary increase of one level for those who passed and a make-up examination for those who did not pass.

If you fail the assessment for three consecutive years, you can prepare to go home. In order to promote the Austrian language as soon as possible, both the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education have gone to great lengths.

Needless to say, the land ransom is a fixed expenditure of Rp 105 million per year as compensation for the purchase of land by the nobles, which is paid by the peasants who obtained the land, and the government just changed hands.

These six expenditures alone add up to Rp 359,724,500, followed by a large number of small budget items, and the total amount of zero and zero adds up to Rp 423 million in Austria in 1850.

If you had seen this budget figure two years ago, it is estimated that the Austrian government officials would have fainted, which is almost three times the government's revenue. Now, people don't feel anything.

(Note: Two years ago Hungary's finances were separated)

The ransom for the peasants' land is about Rp 158 million, and after the government pays the ransom of the aristocratic land of Rp 1.05, there is still Rp 53 million.

It's just that this income is not too stable, and it will fluctuate due to the impact of natural disasters. If it catches up with a major natural disaster, the government will have to post some of it.

There is also the church's tithe, which fluctuates around Rp 93.5 million per year, and is affected by fluctuations in the price of agricultural products, which also deducts 20 percent of the strata paid to the church.

There is also a cost for the clergy to collect taxes, but fortunately, they also helped carry the black cauldron, and it is impossible for them to do it in vain.

In the hands of the government, there is only 74.8 million dong, and now it seems that there is still a surplus to pay for education, in fact, as long as compulsory education is fully universalized, this money will not be enough, and the government will have to put money into it at that time.

If these two expenses are deducted first, the budget of the Austrian government will not be terrible.

4.23 - 0.748 - 1.58 = Rp 243.2 million

In addition, the remuneration of enterprise managers can actually be deducted from the profits contributed by state-owned enterprises, but they are merged.

The Ministry of Finance estimates the fiscal revenue for 1850 at Rp 230 million, and the total government revenue at Rp 480 million, including land redemptions, tithes, profits from state-owned enterprises, real estate rentals and sales, etc.

Subtracting the budget of 423 million, it seems that there is a financial surplus?

In reality, this is not possible. The Austrian government still has debts, which are repaid. To date, the Austrian government owes a total of Rp 542 million in bank loans, various debt bonds, as well as corporate and personal debts.

The money had to be repaid on time, and in theory, the Austrian government had achieved fiscal balance.

These are all ideals, and whether there will be a surplus or a deficit in the end will be known by this time next year.

In 1848, the Austrian government achieved a fiscal surplus by raiding the house, and in 1849 the Austrian government had a fiscal deficit of 7,256,800 dong.

This may not seem like a big number, but it goes on and on, and it's a problem over time.

Especially at the critical moment when the Crimean War was about to break out, the debt owed to Britain and France was inevitably affected diplomatically.

This has been reflected in history, and there is a factor in the Austrian government's tilt towards Britain and France. The French even relied on loans to pull Russia out of the Three Emperors' Alliance.

Unless you learn from the Kingdom of Prussia, you will first develop in debt, and then start a war when the development is almost complete, and if you win, you will naturally have the money to pay off your debts, and if you lose, you will naturally be finished.

Austria has a very solid background, and Franz is not prepared to be a gambler. This is the strategy of the rise of small countries, and it does not apply to large countries.

Franz thought for a moment and said, "The budget, just follow the above!" A budget of Rp 20 million was set aside as a special expense to deal with emergencies. ”

Cut the budget?

The contents of this budget report have already been reported to him by various departments, and Franz will not do anything unless it is better to exceed the limit.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Prime Minister Felix replied

In the face of a strong monarch, the ministers naturally cannot be strong. The status of monarchs and ministers is not equal, and monarchs have natural advantages.

At the beginning of the regency, Franz also had to use Metternich, the foreign secretary, to balance Felix, the strong prime minister, and after more than a year of running-in, this situation has completely changed.

……

On 6 January 1850, the Prussian army was completely withdrawn from Denmark, including the abandonment of the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, under strong pressure from the Russian Foreign Minister Karl Worthelrod, without waiting for a negotiating mission from the German Federal Parliament.

Everyone knew that the next day was Christmas for the Russians, and Nicholas I had been depressed for so long that he naturally needed to vent.

Karl Wolsselrod, a close confidant, naturally wanted to give a big gift on this special day, and the Prussian government unfortunately fell to the backdrop.

At first, Franz thought so, but after seeing Metternich's bright smile, he knew that things were not so simple, and that the Austrian Foreign Ministry was probably playing a dishonorable role.

Franz naturally doesn't know anything, and it's normal for the boss to suppress the second child. As the two major states in the German region, Prussia and Austria were both cooperative and contradictory.

In recent decades, it seems that everyone is friends. It was only from the Frankfurt conference that Franco-Austro-Prussian relations began to rapidly drift apart.

Yes, only alienation and not aggravation, there has not yet been a direct conflict between the two sides. The "Triple Alliance" attempted by the Prussian government was sabotaged by the Austrian Foreign Ministry as soon as it began.

The Austrian government also took advantage of the fact that the Kingdom of Prussia was mired in the Prussian-Danish War to form the Holy Roman League to isolate Prussia in Germany.

All this proves that there is no room for two tigers, the Kingdom of Prussia was unlucky to meet Franz, and the Austrian government settled the internal contradictions in advance and had the energy to stumble on them.

"Do you want to send a note to the Kingdom of Prussia in the name of the German Federal Parliament and let them carry it to death?" Franz asked hesitantly

Metternich thought for a moment and replied: "Your Majesty, if we do this, the Prussian government will probably do what it is told, and then the Russians will not hate us to death?" ”

Indeed, at this time, the German Confederation was involved, and the Prussian government really could drag everyone into the water.

Everyone knows that the Russians don't really want to do it, and once the strong men of the Prussian government break their wrists, give up independent diplomatic power, and let the German Bundestag take over, it will be a big trouble.

If it is coaxed, everyone will be scolded together with the Prussian government, and no one should think about it; If they resist, it is estimated that the Russians will really hate Austria to death.

Franz knew how vengeful the tsarist government was. Now that the overall situation has been decided, there is no need to make extraneous branches.

Franz shook his head and said, "Then forget it, wait for the Prussian government to withdraw its troops, and then mobilize the people to ask them for accounts."

At the same time, it is necessary to expose the sinister intentions of the Prussian government to use the war to divert domestic attention and make the German people spurn them. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Metternich replied

Although he didn't think that such a small trouble could hit the Kingdom of Prussia, it was still okay to be disgusted.

At least without whitewashing this bad reputation, it will be more difficult for the Kingdom of Prussia to annex North Germany.

Annexation by force is actually the most undesirable, and if it cannot be recognized by the people, it will be difficult for the increased land and population to be transformed into national strength.

。 m.