Joseph began carefully reviewing the land redemption plan that Briand had submitted.
At the very beginning of the docunt, it was clearly stated: the public lands that had been illegally occupied by the nobility must be returned without compensation.
Joseph nodded slightly, pleased that this version was finally an improvent over the previous ones.
In feudal France, land ownership was extrely complicated, and no one could claim absolute ownership of any land. A large portion of feudal land was jointly owned by the king, the nobility, the church, and local governnts, or in so cases, by no one at all.
Moreover, land tenure, usage rights, and revenue rights were typically held by different people. The feudal lords weren't actual landowners, but they had the right to collect taxes and designate who could farm the land. Of course, the king also had a share of the tax revenue.
Many lands were public, such as forests, ponds, and wastelands, often making up half of a village's territory. According to the rules, peasants could cut grass, collect firewood, and graze livestock on these common lands, while the nobility could hunt there.
However, over centuries, the nobility had used their power to seize these public lands, turning them into private hunting grounds, sumr estates, fish ponds, or farmlands, and imposed taxes on these illegally occupied lands.
The previous two versions of the land redemption plan had proposed that the peasants should buy back the public lands that the nobles had seized, arguing that the nobility had invested a lot in "developing" these lands.
The latest version of the plan finally mandated the nobility to return the public lands.
However, Joseph knew it wasn't that simple.
The amount of public land seized by the nobility was enormous. So less wealthy nobles even depended on these lands for their livelihood. It wouldn't be easy to resolve this issue with just a decree to "abolish" their claims.
Yes, the king could issue a decree to reclaim the public lands, but a large number of desperate nobles might band together and cause unrest. After all, the nobility was the most influential group in feudal society.
Joseph continued reading the docunt:
Tithes and other taxes would no longer need to be redeed. Tenant farrs could redeem their land by paying a one-ti fee equal to 25 tis the annual value of the land for annual dues and 30 tis for other types of tenancy. Additionally, the transfer fee for such land would be five tis the normal transaction cost. Moreover, peasants must first pay off all overdue tithes and taxes before they can participate in the land redemption.
The docunt also included an estimate of the total amount of money required for land redemption across France—between 38 and 40 billion livres.
Joseph almost laughed in disbelief.
This was obviously the work of Mirabeau's faction.
Abolishing tithes and other feudal dues was clearly ant to upset the old nobility, as these new capitalists and nobles didn't rely on these feudal taxes for their livelihood.
And expecting tenant farrs to pay 25 to 30 tis the annual value of the land as a redemption fee? That was impossible for ordinary peasants. Just look at the estimated total of 40 billion livres—if French peasants could afford that, there wouldn't be any need for land reform. If they were that wealthy, who would care about land ownership?
In reality, more than half of the French peasants couldn't even pay off their overdue taxes, aning they wouldn't even qualify to participate in the land redemption.
This plan was clearly designed for capitalist nobles to buy up and speculate on land. Only they could afford such expensive land. After buying up the land, they could manipulate the prices and make huge profits by reselling it. anwhile, the peasants would still be renting land from them, only now being exploited by capitalists rather than feudal lords.
Joseph could already imagine how disappointed the peasants would be with the monarchy after initially feeling the joy of escaping feudal taxes, only to fall into another form of heavy exploitation.
Yes, the peasants would bla the monarchy for these problems. As the "head of the household," the monarchy was the easiest target for their grievances, potentially leading to a revolution.
Joseph rubbed his temples in frustration.
Although this version of the land redemption plan was an improvent over the previous one—the previous version had even required peasants to redeem 30 years' worth of feudal dues before buying land—it would still exacerbate social tensions in France.
Historically, the rapid downfall of the Feuillants and the Girondins was primarily due to the widespread opposition to their land redemption policies.
To be honest, Joseph felt tempted to incite a revolution and simply eliminate the noble class—that way, he could just copy the Jacobins' thods from history.
But then, his own family's heads would be the first to roll...
How could he stabilize the noble class, reduce the financial burden on peasants when buying land, and still consider the interests of the capitalist class?
He sighed and began revising the land redemption plan.
So feudal dues would still need to be partially redeed, and the handling of public lands was unacceptable, as it threatened the livelihoods of certain old nobles. The 25 to 30 tis land value redemption fee was unreasonable, and it certainly couldn't be required as a one-ti paynt. Perhaps banks could offer loans to peasants for this purpose. The total national redemption cost should not exceed 15 billion livres.
A minimum guaranteed land area per capita should be established. Until this minimum is t, peasants should redeem land at the lowest possible cost, with increasing fees for any additional land. The longer the land has been cultivated and the higher the yield per acre, the cheaper the redemption.
Even after making these changes, Joseph still felt dissatisfied. He sent the revised docunt back to Briand, asking the clever minds of the ti to co up with further solutions.
However, Joseph had no idea that this "crack" in the land redemption policy would soon attract the attention of another group.
...
London.
British Foreign Secretary, the Marquis of Wellesley, stepped out of Parliant with a grim expression and imdiately got into his carriage, heading straight for 10 Downing Street.
"How did it go?" Pri Minister William Pitt the Younger, who had been waiting for him, personally opened the office door to let him in. "You don't look well."
"The situation in India might be far worse than we imagined," Wellesley replied, hanging his hat on a nearby rack and closing the door behind him. "During the parliantary inquiry, the Whigs ntioned that the Mysorean army had suddenly attacked Cannanore, capturing over 200 East India Company personnel and sinking several ships."
Pitt's expression darkened imdiately. He ntally cursed the intelligence system for not informing him sooner—how could the opposition party know about such a significant event before he did? He then turned to the Foreign Secretary and asked, "What on earth do these Indian natives want?!"
(End of Chapter)
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