Chapter 365: The Counterattack of the Indian Natives
Joseph began to carefully examine the land redemption policy submitted by Brienne.
At the beginning of the document, it was first declared: public lands previously illegally occupied by the nobility must be returned without compensation.
Joseph couldn't help but nod slightly. 'This version is finally an improvement over the previous ones.'
During France's feudal era, land ownership was extremely chaotic, with virtually no one having absolute title to a plot. Vast swathes of feudal land were jointly owned by the King, nobility, church, and local governments, or rather, belonged to no one definitively.
Furthermore, the rights of possession, use, and income from land often belonged to different individuals. Feudal lords were not truly landowners, but they held the power to levy taxes and designate cultivators. The King, of course, also held a portion of the tax-collecting rights.
Much of this land comprised common lands, such as forests, ponds, and barren plots, typically accounting for half of a village's total land. By regulation, peasants could cut grass, gather firewood, and graze livestock on these common lands, while the nobility could hunt there.
Over centuries, however, the nobility leveraged their power to seize these common lands, converting them into their own hunting grounds, summer retreats, fish ponds, or reclaiming them as farmland, and then levying taxes on these illegally occupied properties.
In the previous two versions of the land policy, common lands occupied by the nobility were even proportionally valued, requiring peasants to redeem them. The justification given was that the nobility had incurred significant costs in "developing" these lands.
The latest version of the proposal finally mandated the nobility to return the common lands.
The amount of common land forcibly seized by the nobility was vast; some less affluent nobles even relied on these lands for their livelihood. This was certainly not something a simple "abolition" decree could resolve. The King could issue an edict to reclaim common lands, but a large number of desperate nobles might unite and destabilize the nation. And the nobility, precisely, were the most influential group in feudal society.
Joseph continued to read the document in his hands:
"Annual Tribute, Tithes, and other similar taxes will no longer require redemption. Annual Tribute Farmers can pay 25 times the land's annual output value, while other types of tenant farmers can pay 30 times the land's annual output value, as a one-time land redemption fee. Furthermore, the transfer fee for such redeemed land will be five times that of a normal transaction. Additionally, peasants must first pay all overdue Annual Tribute and other taxes before they can proceed with land redemption."
Appended to the document was an estimated total land redemption cost for all of France—3.8 to 4 billion Livres.
Joseph was almost amused, infuriated.
'This thing clearly came from Mirabeau's group.'
'Abolishing Annual Tribute and Tithes is meant to spite the Old Nobility, as the Capitalist Nobility hardly rely on these feudal taxes for their livelihoods. But a one-time redemption fee of 25 to 30 times the land's annual output value is simply impossible for ordinary tenant farmers to afford. Just looking at the total sum of 4 billion Livres, it's clear that if French peasants could afford that much, there would be no need for land reform at all—if everyone were that wealthy, who would care about land ownership?'
'Not to mention billions in redemption fees, in reality, over half of French peasants can't even pay off their overdue taxes. That means they won't even qualify to participate in land redemption.'
'This redemption policy is clearly designed for the Capitalist Nobility to acquire and speculate on land. Only they can afford such expensive land. After buying it, they can manipulate land prices, resell it for a huge profit. And the peasants will still have to rent their land, only the feudal taxes will have transformed into the exploitation of surplus value by capitalists.'
Joseph could imagine how disappointed the peasants would be with the monarchy after experiencing the initial exhilaration of escaping the shackles of feudal taxes, only to fall into another form of heavy exploitation.
'Yes, the peasants will only blame the monarchy for these problems. After all, you're the "big boss," the biggest target, the easiest to focus on. And then, a grand revolution, though delayed, will likely arrive as promised...'
Joseph couldn't help but rub his temples.
'Although this version of the land redemption policy showed some improvement—the previous one even required peasants to redeem 30 years' worth of feudal taxes before they could purchase land—it would still severely exacerbate France's social contradictions.'
'Historically, the Feuillants and Girondins collapsed quickly, fundamentally because their land redemption policies were met with widespread opposition across the nation.'
'Honestly, Joseph truly wished he could spark a grand revolution right now, just to get rid of the nobility—then he could simply copy the Jacobins' methods from history.'
'However, if he instigated a grand revolution, his own family would be the first to lose their heads...'
'How could he stabilize the nobility while minimizing the pressure on the common peasants to redeem land, and at the same time, appease the capitalist class?'
Frazzled, he ran a hand through his hair and picked up his pen, beginning to revise the land redemption policy.
'Feudal taxes would still require partial redemption, and the proposed handling of common lands was completely unacceptable. This was to protect the livelihoods of some of the Old Nobility.'
'A redemption amount of 25 to 30 times the land's annual output value was certainly unreasonable, and a one-time lump sum payment couldn't be demanded. Banks could be considered to provide loans to peasants here. The total national redemption cost should not exceed 1.5 billion Livres at most.'
'A minimum guaranteed land area per person should be established. Up to this minimum, peasants would redeem land at the most preferential rates, with the cost gradually increasing for any excess beyond that area.'
'Furthermore, the longer the cultivation time and the higher the yield per acre, the cheaper the land redemption would be...'
Joseph finished writing these modifications, but he still felt unsatisfied. So, he sent the revised document back to Brienne, hoping the clever minds of this era could find another solution.
Joseph didn't realize that this "fissure" in the land redemption policy would soon be targeted by another group.
...
London.
Marquis Wellesley, the British Foreign Secretary, emerged from Parliament House with a grim expression and climbed into his carriage, heading straight for 10 Downing Street.
"How are things?" Prime Minister Pitt was clearly waiting for him, opening his office door personally to usher him in. "You don't look well."
"The situation in India is likely far worse than we imagined," Marquis Wellesley said gravely, hanging his hat on a nearby rack and turning to close the door. "During my questioning in Parliament just now, the Whig Party announced that the Mysore army had suddenly attacked Kannanur, more than 200 East India Company personnel were captured, and several ships were lost."
Pitt's face instantly hardened. First, he silently cursed the intelligence system—'how could the opposition know about such a major event before me?'—then he looked at the Foreign Secretary. "What exactly do those Indian natives intend to do?!"
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