The Weapon of Law

On March 21, the Vienna government issued the Land Lease Act, which stipulated that farmers held leasehold rights to their land, with maximum rents capped at fifty percent of the land's yield.

This was intended to safeguard the most basic survival rights of the peasantry; without such restrictions, it was estimated that hunger riots would erupt again before long.

On March 22, the Vienna government issued the Serf Settlement Security Act, requiring the nobility to provide minimum living guarantees for emancipated serfs and to resolve the issue of peasant employment.

Specifically, it forbade the deprivation of a peasant's right to reside in their existing home and mandated that land be leased to farmers or that farmers be hired to ensure their employment.

To prevent the capitalist nobility from taking advantage of the chaos, the Vienna government issued the Anti-Usury Act on March 23, 1848.

The act stipulated that for any form of loan within Austria, the annual interest rate could not exceed thirty-five percent; for loans targeting vulnerable groups such as farmers and workers, the annual interest rate could not exceed twenty-five percent.

For any personal loan, interest was to be calculated based on the actual amount received.

After May 1, 1848, any usury contract would be deemed invalid and legally unenforceable, meaning it would not have to be repaid. For contracts already signed, the law would only protect returns within the legal range.

This was a preventive measure; in reality, when drafting this law, cabinet members did not believe the nobility would engage in such predatory behavior, as such things were typically the domain of capitalists.

Well, Franz did not argue with them on this point. The high nobility certainly would not do it—such meager profits were not worth dirtying their hands—but the lesser nobility was another matter.

There were poor people among the nobility as well, and every year a number of nobles went bankrupt across Europe; these individuals could hardly afford to concern themselves with noble honor.

Since the goal was to strike at capitalists, this Anti-Usury Act naturally contained many unfavorable clauses for violators, such as penalties that were terrifyingly severe.

Anyone caught practicing usury would first have their entire property confiscated, followed by a stint in prison, starting at a minimum of three years, with life imprisonment not being out of the question.

On March 25, the Vienna government issued the Minimum Wage Act, an auxiliary act to the Labor Protection Act, which established minimum wage standards.

Because economic development varied by region, the first minimum wage announced was only for the Vienna area: 4.5 gulden per week for male workers, 2.5 gulden for female workers, and 45 Kreuzer for child laborers.

(Note: 1 gulden here equals 11.6928 grams of silver, or 60 Kreuzer.)

Franz remained very pragmatic and did not set a wage standard that exceeded reality; this standard could only satisfy their basic living needs, and if workers wanted a better life, they would still need to work overtime.

This included the use of child labor, which he despised most, yet it remained unresolved.

There was no help for it; such was the current state of Austria. It was easy to ban factories from using child labor, but once they lost their source of income, the survival of these children would become a major problem.

However, these laws still had a positive effect, slightly improving the treatment of workers and guaranteeing their survival needs—though, of course, this only guaranteed the right to survive.

If they wanted a better life, they would have to wait for further development of the productive forces. This was determined by social reality; without keeping labor costs low, the products of enterprises would lose their competitiveness.

It could be said that 1848 was the legislative year for Austria. Perhaps because he was accustomed to a society ruled by law, Franz was very keen on legislation.

In March alone, Franz promulgated fifteen laws; almost every day after he became regent, a new act was issued.

From the initial abolition of serfdom to the later rights of workers, there were specific laws and regulations for everything.

Regardless of other effects, these laws first left the Reform Party in Austria completely bewildered, as everyone believed the scale of this reform was bound to be earth-shattering.

Franz successfully diverted public attention through legislation. Because the scope of the laws was so broad, they simultaneously satisfied the interests and needs of the serfs and workers.

The confrontation between the public and the government improved, and unknowingly, the revolution lost its mass base. Of course, this shift only occurred first in the Vienna region, and other areas still needed time to ferment.

These were matters for the future. Just now, the Austrian government received good news: the Berlin revolution broke out on March 18, and Prussia had also fallen into a wave of revolution.

If one were the only one suffering, the mood would certainly be unpleasant, but with another unfortunate soul added to the mix, everyone felt much better.

Of course, the primary concern was the fear that the Kingdom of Prussia would take advantage of the chaos. Now that the Berlin revolution had broken out, Prussia was too busy with its own affairs to cause trouble at this time.

The good mood did not last long before the Czech region began to stir. Franz knew without thinking that the major capitalists in the Czech region were Austrians, and it would be strange if their shadows were not behind this.

Now, they were not only demanding the establishment of a unified Czech parliament and an independent National Guard, but also demanding that the Czech language be given equal status to German.

Undoubtedly, such demands to split the country were non-negotiable; the Vienna government could not agree to let Austria be divided.

Intelligence personnel were currently recording the names of the nobles and capitalists participating in this activity, and Franz was already prepared to take the knife to the Czech region.

In this era, the biggest problem for the general public was still having enough to eat; any demands beyond that were instigated by others.

Franz had always scoffed at history books that placed the petty bourgeoisie and the working class together. Could the needs of the exploiting class and the exploited class be the same?

The Austrian government was promoting the Labor Protection Act; at such a time, there was no reason for workers to oppose the government fighting for their rights.

According to the intelligence sent back, the main force behind the demonstrations in Prague were students and the petty bourgeoisie, while the workers were merely treating the protests as a job, doing what they were paid to do.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, how does the cabinet intend to handle the protests in the Prague region?"

Franz decisively ignored the conditions they put forward; they were impossible to agree to, and there was no need to even discuss them.

"We have ordered the Prague government to arrest the masterminds of this conspiracy, and at the same time, the cabinet has ordered Prince Windisch-Grätz to prepare for the suppression of the rebellion!" Felix said, full of murderous intent.

At this time, the Vienna government could not afford to make concessions; he could not even be bothered to feign compliance. The Czech region was different from other areas, as it currently lacked the mass base for a revolution.

In his view, this was a counterattack launched by certain nobles and capitalists who were dissatisfied with the Vienna government's reforms; after all, once the Kingdom of Bohemia was established, these acts would not need to be enforced.

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