In truth, the greatest resistance came from poverty itself. Life was so hard that people had no choice but to consider abandoning, even killing, their own flesh and blood.
It was not that they were born cold-blooded; it was simply the natural choice of living creatures when driven to the brink.
Many people liked to say that during pregnancy, a woman could strip calcium from her entire body to nourish the next generation, yet they did not realize that women in harsh and difficult conditions would stop menstruating.
In the Austrian Empire, children received subsidies, and families with many children could apply for further assistance.
These subsidies could continue until the children came of age, but Franz knew full well that such so-called subsidies might not reach every family in time, given the efficiency of the bureaucracy, the possibility of fraud, corruption, and countless other factors.
The Austrian Empire also had one final solution: Holy Infant Hall, which was essentially similar to the traditional foundling homes and orphanages.
It had been renamed Holy Infant Hall mainly to embellish the children's origins and lessen their feelings of inferiority as much as possible.
Parents unable or unwilling to continue fulfilling their duty of care could hand their children over to the state and the Church; phrasing it this way could also ease the parents' guilt as much as possible.
Once they entered Holy Infant Hall, the children's pasts would be completely erased. They would receive standardized upbringing and semi-militarized management, then specialized training based on their individual talents.
As for the ordinary majority, they would be sent to imperial factories, the military, the colonies, and anywhere else they were needed.
The children raised by Holy Infant Hall received loyalty education and Church indoctrination from an early age. Most of them would become