Descending On France 1780
Chapter 135 - 128 Parliament’s Countermeasures

Chapter 135: 128 Parliament’s Countermeasures

After starting the land distribution, Anning immediately discovered a critical weakness: the lack of sufficient clerks.

During this past year, Anning had clerks recommended by the Soldier Committee who could read, but this crash course of teaching only allowed the clerks to understand orders, which was utterly inadequate for handling the massive paperwork involved in land distribution.

The shortage of talent significantly slowed the progress of distributing land.

However, the news of the land distribution by the adults had spread, and as a result, peasants from far and wide flocked to Conte every day to inquire when it would be their family’s turn.

The lack of skilled individuals also limited the execution of Anning’s subsequent plans; he had wanted to establish an agricultural cooperative bank to provide loans for seeds and similar needs, based mainly on the practices of a certain faction remembered from memory.

Then Anning realized that this faction was able to do so because they had a large group of progressive young people with revolutionary zeal and knowledge.

Anning did not have that!

Currently, the literacy rate in France was actually decent, mainly due to Church Sunday schools, but intellectuals with sufficient education to serve as officials were regrettably only found among the urban Bourgeois.

Many of the Bourgeois opposed Anning’s land distribution plan because it infringed on private property. They feared when Anning might turn against them.

Only the old peasants and Anning’s supporters backed his methods.

Feeling troubled for a long time, Anning suddenly discovered a group of people who were knowledgeable and supported his methods: the old nobles.

Having been stripped of their properties by the revolution, many of their estates had been seized by the city’s large merchants, and now they were more than happy to see them vomit out what they had swallowed.

If I can’t have it, neither can you.

Thus, in the countryside of Conte, a strange sight occurred: a group of old nobles distributing land to their former serfs.

Since the land distribution began, Anning could no longer relax; every day, he was overwhelmed by a basketful of issues needing his decisions.

Anning found himself revisiting the feeling of being a corporate drone before his transmigration.

Anning couldn’t help but recall those historical transmigration novels, such as the works of Angel Oscar, where the transmigrators were untiring workaholics determined to make a mark.

Reading these novels when Anning was a university student, he was profoundly moved and fantasized about what he would do if he went back to ancient times.

But now, as a corporate drone, Anning only wanted to slack off.

Damn land reform, give me back my leisurely transmigration life!

The only consolation was that now there were no incessant bosses or damnable project managers sermonizing in his ear, and the busyness wasn’t as bad as the 996 working hour system from before.

That noon, Anning had just met with a group of willing old peasants who surprisingly came from outside Conte’s jurisdiction; all longing for Anning to distribute land. No matter how he explained that it wasn’t his jurisdiction, they wouldn’t listen, as if Anning could do whatever he wanted in France.

After barely managing to send this group away, Beethoven arrived.

As soon as Beethoven entered Anning’s study, he enthusiastically said, "I wrote a new musical drama! It celebrates your pioneering act of distributing land! I’m thinking of going to Paris to organize a troupe to start performances!"

Anning shook his head upon hearing this, "No, the gentlemen in Paris will not appreciate my act of distributing land."

While saying this, Anning took out a letter and pushed it towards Beethoven, "Take a look. It’s from a friend in Paris. Those guys whom I exchanged bonds for land went to Paris to complain. Since most of my friends are no longer in the Parliament, they managed to gain the majority support, and I guess the special commissioner from the Parliament will arrive soon."

By 1791, the constitutional monarchy had already been established and enacted, hence the Constitutional Assembly had concluded its mission.

Robespierre proposed that to ensure the fairness and independence of Parliament, members of the Constitutional Assembly should not participate in the next Parliament election. The proposal was passed.

Thus, in the newly elected National Assembly, Anning’s friend Marat was the only one elected as a parliamentarian.

The Mountain Faction’s strength was greatly reduced in the new Parliament, and a considerable number of Girondists were elected.

They mainly represented the major capitalists and bankers.

Expecting them to support Anning’s methods was simply wishful thinking.

Thus, Anning still had to deal with the Parliament.

Anning explained all this to Beethoven, and the maestro couldn’t help but frown deeply: "Don’t they realize the current chaos in the country is because the land wasn’t distributed?"

Anning: "Do you think our Queen realizes that the people’s rebellion is because they are starving?"

Beethoven shrugged: "I’ve met the Queen once, I think... she probably doesn’t realize it."

A bitter smile appeared on Anning’s face.

Beethoven: "Maybe through my drama, the gentlemen in Paris will understand..."

"Don’t bother. Look, instead of writing operas that need a stage, write something a few people could sing on the street corner, no need for any performance, just use lyrics to tell a story, stories that old peasants love to hear.

"Like a girl who, due to the oppression of the nobles, had to hide in the deep mountains and forests, ending up with her hair all white. Now the revolution has toppled the landlords—I mean, the nobles. They’ve been given land, and she can finally reunite happily with her family!"

Beethoven: "Is this a true story?"

"I’m just giving an example. I believe if you go to interview and ask older peasants in taverns, there should be many such stories. Your task is to uncover them and then create short plays that can be performed on a simple stage for everyone to see!

"Music should serve the people, serve the revolutionary struggle!"

Beethoven was greatly inspired: "That makes sense, it’s time to move beyond the theaters!"

Anning: "You could even go to the land distribution offices around the country and ask the old peasants who are there to claim land."

"Okay, I’ll go now. So, I’ll leave first!" Beethoven eagerly bid farewell to Anning and left.

Anning took a deep breath and then took back the letter he had just handed to Beethoven, reading its contents.

The letter was from Robespierre: "Several gentlemen from Conte in Parliament are accusing you of robbery, violating the constitutional principle that private property is inviolable. Parliament’s Special Commissioner will soon arrive in Conte, you better prepare."

Anning sneered.

Although he didn’t think a detour with coupons would fool them, the interference from Parliament came too soon.

Would advancing the process ahead of schedule indeed face massive resistance?

In real history, France’s process of land distribution to peasants was gradual. First, the Girondists reformed the land policy, slightly alleviating the land problem, but the legislation of Girondists faced strong resistance from landowners, making it extremely difficult to proceed.

Later, when the Jacobin took power, they executed many, and only then successfully implemented the system where land rent replaced redemption, allowing peasants to own the land first and then use the rent to pay off the debts within ten years.

Only then was the land issue in France fundamentally resolved, leading to subsequent economic development, a process that took six years.

Anning, however, aimed to solve it all at once by directly redistributing land from the rich landlords, inevitably facing strong opposition.