But these people could not blame the colonial government either. If they had honestly stayed in the cities and exchanged through proper channels for Anticipation Notes, they would very likely have escaped this bloody calamity.
Yet people were always greedy. They wanted to evade taxes, exchange for more bargaining chips, or even strike out on their own. Everyone believed themselves unique, never realizing that quite a few others harbored the exact same thoughts.
In truth, public security in the main areas of the Austrian Empire's colonies was still very good, after all, they were directly administered by the military.
From the very founding of the California Colony, the colonial government had never shown mercy toward bandit gangs, tribes, or villages that might endanger the colony. It was precisely through such an iron hand that the Austrian Empire had gained a firm foothold here.
However, ever since Metternich arrived in California, these gray areas had visibly expanded. Of course, this had not affected the Austrian Empire's revenues; on the contrary, the California region turned over even more income every year.
But there were some things, some situations, that Franz simply disliked. He still decided to improve public security. Even if it was a colony, he did not want it overrun by bandit gangs.
Yet the Austrian Empire's military strength in the colonies was limited after all, and there would inevitably still be some gray areas.
The third saying, "the tiller has his own fields, and noble sons emerge from humble homes," was not wrong when applied to the Austrian Empire's colonies either. After all, the colonies tacitly allowed those who reclaimed wasteland to cultivate it directly, so long as they paid their taxes on time.
Replacing "noble sons emerge from humble homes" with "eta become hatamoto" would have been more fitting.