An Austrian Empire official clapped his hands. The sound from his modest palms was surprisingly loud, and the church quickly fell silent.
"All right, everyone. The land the Empire has received so far isn't enough to settle everyone.
His Majesty the Emperor has another proposal: let landless farmers work your fields. This will solve the unemployment problem and increase your income at the same time."
The proposal was very much to the liking of the landowners and gentry. They had been worrying that they couldn't find anyone willing to farm their land.
If the Austrian Empire could really drive all those farmers back to the fields to work for them, they would be more than happy to support the country.
"Agreed!"
"Seconded!"
"Long live the House of Habsburg!"
"Long live!"
The atmosphere quickly grew much more heated. Everyone welcomed the arrival of the Austrian Empire.
Father Anthony, however, looked very grim. He knew how ruthlessly Spain's landowners took their cut. Spain's land was already poor, and landlords usually set rents at seventy or eighty percent of the harvest.
There was so much wasteland in Spain at the moment partly because of natural disasters and the ravages of war, but also because these landowners were greedy beyond all measure and utterly unchecked.
The Austrian Empire's emperor really was no good either. To curry favor with these landlords, he didn't care whether the farmers lived or died. As expected, dictators were all cut from the same cloth.
The farmers who had just become soldiers felt a jumble of emotions. They had thought the world might change, that there might be hope, but they had been wrong.
Still, they were relieved. After all, they had already made it ashore. They were soldiers of Austria now.
"Everyone, please be quiet. His Merciful Majesty Franz