NOVPUB```
As soon as the newspapers published the news, the Dacol Textile Factory strike quickly became a hot topic in society.
The government of the Kingdom of Lombardy intervened in the matter swiftly, and the first to suffer were several news agencies in Milan City, whose heads were invited by the government’s press bureau to "have a coffee."
Newspapers have the responsibility to reveal the truth, of course, but it’s not a crime to omit reporting; at most, it affects the newspaper’s credibility.
If there is a transaction of interests, intentionally concealing the truth of the news, that’s a crime.
Now reporters from newspapers all over the country have come, yet strangely enough, the local newspapers in Milan show no reaction, naturally raising suspicions.
Without a doubt, the end result is that nothing can be uncovered. Since they dare to help cover up, they naturally prepare well in advance.
Newspapers and businesses have always had dealings, and transactions of interests are not necessarily in direct cash, spread throughout advertising business, making it very difficult to investigate clearly.
Take, for example, the Milan Daily; the newspaper dispatched its reporters early on, and aside from the daily operational staff, several chief editors took vacations to Vienna.
With the senior staff away and all reporters on external assignments, the lack of personnel makes it somewhat understandable that they missed the Dacol Textile Factory strike.
Escaping the investigation doesn’t mean the issue is over. For a news agency, credibility is of utmost importance; without credibility, who would subscribe to your newspaper?
Many smart people have already realized that this time Ludwig II may not be targeting the Dacol Textile Factory. After all, such a large enterprise is very important to the economic development of the Kingdom of Lombardy; what if it collapses and causes massive unemployment?
The King must also consider the consequences; it’s more likely that he would act against the domestic newspapers.
In this day and age, controlling a newspaper means controlling public opinion. For Ludwig II, wanting to consolidate royal power and extend his reach to the press is nothing out of the ordinary.
It was Franz who led the way, starting to establish newspapers before he came to the throne. After his accession, not to mention, all the mainstream newspapers in Austria are now influenced by the royal family.
Experience has proven that such influence is very useful. In the newspapers, the image of the royal family has greatly improved.
There are naturally many imitators; at present, when monarchies are at their peak in Europe, all the royal families hold power and reaching out to public opinion is easier than ever.
The Lombard throne is an outsider, so it naturally moves slower. After years of operation, now that the timing is right, extending its reach towards public opinion is only to be expected.
Though known, there is still no evidence. Officially, the royal family has no ties with the press, and the government’s warning to the newspapers is the best proof.
Secretly receiving imperial orders is inevitable, otherwise, the current situation wouldn’t be so easily settled.
If they were really looking for trouble, treating advertising business as an exchange of interests could also be a plausible explanation. Prices don’t lie, a look into the advertising fees would reveal many problems.
Ludwig II’s actions were not secret, and Franz in Vienna received intelligence on the matter immediately.
This is an internal affair of the Kingdom of Lombardy, which Franz naturally will not interfere with. The King extending his hand to the press is just a small matter.
To a certain extent, this also marks a good beginning. On matters of power, the Emperor and the King are in the same trench; as Ludwig II consolidates royal power, he also consolidates imperial power.
This is evident from the direction of public opinion in Vienna. Newspapers hardly criticize domestic kings; if they do slander anyone, it’s the sub-state governments.
Franz doesn’t care about what Ludwig II wants to do; instead, the Dacol Textile Factory strike is what really worries him.
If it isn’t resolved quickly, it could lead to a chain reaction. In this respect, European workers are quite unified; once someone starts, there is never a shortage of followers.
"Your Majesty, this is an urgent telegraph from the Kingdom of Lombardy."
The maid’s voice rang in Franz’s ears, interrupting his thoughts.
Casually taking the document, Franz had to admit he had a bit of a "crow’s property."
"Good things never happen, bad things always do," he had just worried about the Dacol Textile Factory strike causing a chain reaction, and now it had happened.
After the switch from wheat to mulberry, the Kingdom of Lombardy became dependent on domestic grain supplies. Compared to grain-producing regions, the prices are naturally much higher.
Which means higher living costs, but not necessarily higher wages. Due to the proximity to the Italian Area, Italians often come to work, causing wages in the Milan Area to remain stagnant.
Compared to most areas in Austria, the wage level in the Kingdom of Lombardy is at the lower end. Low income and high expenses make conflicts inevitable.
The Dacol Textile Factory strike is just a microcosm; the Kingdom of Lombardy has always had the most strikes in Austria, bar none.
A strike can spread, and affected by the Dacol Textile Factory strike, workers from several nearby factories also joined in. The strike activity is spreading throughout the Kingdom of Lombardy.
After putting down the document, Franz said, "Call the Cabinet over for a meeting, and summon the Minister of Labor as well."
The crisis had indeed erupted. The late 19th century was a period of rapid economic growth, but also a time of the most severe labor-capital conflicts.
During this period, strikes were frequent; some capitalists even fired machine guns at workers, and some capitalists were wiped out by workers. In short, it was chaotic.
The eight-hour workday of later times was fought for with the lives of countless workers during this period.
Due to Franz’s butterfly effect, the eight-hour workday in this timeline came a bit earlier; now, the workers were fighting for better treatment.
Even with the "Labor Protection Law," the issue is that wages remain low. This isn’t something the government can decide, it has to be fought for by the workers themselves.
The law of supply and demand determines the price of the labor market. Now is the time for everyone to fight for their wages; what the ultimate result will be still remains uncertain.
The "Labor Protection Law" protects the interests of both labor and capital; workers can ask for better treatment, and capitalists can refuse, nobody can force anyone.
When it comes to a struggle of interests, the war will certainly be long-lasting. It won’t take long before it’s not just an Austrian problem; all industrial nations in Europe will be affected.
...
```
Upon seeing the content of the telegram, the people who had hurried over didn’t bother to rest anymore. Everyone knew about the strike at Dacol Textile Factory, but it had only been two days and now it had spread throughout the entire Kingdom of Lombardy.
The number of people joining the strike was no longer the initial tens of thousands, but had reached an astonishing three hundred thousand, and this number was still increasing.
Franz said, "You’ve all seen the telegram, the situation is more serious than we had estimated. Not only in the Kingdom of Lombardy but other regions of Austria are facing the same problem.
If nothing unexpected happens, a nationwide strike, or even a strike across Europe, is about to occur.
We can’t stop this from happening, what we can do is come up with contingency plans as soon as possible to avoid a chaotic response.
The Labour Department has issued warnings to companies with poor treatment: if they don’t want to face a large-scale strike, then they should take the initiative to raise salaries!
Let them know that before the situation gets out of control, the government will not intervene. Should the situation become uncontrollable, whoever is responsible will bear the consequences."
The companies with relatively poor treatment were basically traditional industries. Emerging industries were in a period of rapid development and had higher requirements for the quality of workers, so naturally, the treatment was not bad.
Now, the best choice for capitalists to avoid a strike is to increase worker remuneration. How many capitalists can really take heed of this, Franz was not sure.
However, one thing was certain: if you stop production and your competitors don’t, it won’t be long before your market share is gone. Conversely, you can also take the opportunity to snatch the market from your competitors.
This is both a crisis and an opportunity. After the cost of labor goes up, if you don’t seek to advance, it won’t be long before you’re eliminated by the market.
The era of survival of the fittest is about to begin, and in the coming market competition, companies without core technologies will find life less comfortable.
Prime Minister Felix suggested, "Your Majesty, why don’t we raise the minimum wage standard, to sound an alarm for capitalists, so some don’t take it lightly."
Franz hesitated, raising the minimum wage standard was indeed effective, but artificial market interventions could lead to unpredictable consequences and involved certain risks.
"We could first spread the word, letting local governments develop a minimum wage standard based on local conditions to report to us."
After much consideration, Franz decided to first test the waters. These days, business management was in serious disarray; it was truly difficult for outsiders to determine the profit margins of capitalists and their capacity to bear labor costs.
Some industries with massive profits could earn money easily, but there were still those losing money, and the core issue was chaotic management.
Enterprises with disorganized management were not just a few but were widespread throughout society.
The survival capabilities of these enterprises were very poor, and they had almost no ability to withstand risks. Their ability to make money relied entirely on favorable market conditions, low labor costs, and cheap raw materials.
If any link in the chain encountered problems, they would quickly find themselves in trouble. The Austrian economy was currently in a transitional period; under normal conditions, these enterprises would be eliminated by the market.
Being eliminated by the market is one thing, but being eliminated by administrative intervention is another.
Franz did not want to take the blame for capitalists; it was their own mismanagement that was to blame, yet they would push the responsibility onto the government, becoming a negative example of government intervention in the market.
...
At the headquarters of Dacol Textile Factory, Old Lano sighed alone. The strike was spreading, and the situation was no longer under his control.
The situation had developed to this point, and Dacol Textile Factory was facing a critical moment; if not handled properly, all his hard-earned enterprise would be doomed.
Concede to the workers to resume production? Before the news spread out, he could do that. But now, doing so would require consideration of the consequences.
There was no way around it, this wave of strikes was triggered by Dacol Textile Factory, and if they were to concede to the workers first, it would surely further stimulate the wave of strikes, and then those offended would not just be one or two.
Capitalists whose interests were harmed would definitely hold a grudge against them. Having offended so many people, including many partners, the future of Dacol Textile Factory looked truly dim.
Not concede, and with the factory stopped this way, at least tens of thousands of Divine Shields were being lost every day. Although Dacol Textile Factory, with its large family business, could afford the loss, this was not the key issue.
The key issue was that Dacol Textile Factory didn’t have much stockpiled, and once the inventory was sold out, if there were no goods to replenish the stock in time, their market share would be taken by competitors.
For a company, short-term loss isn’t scary; what’s scary is losing market share.
Losing the market may take just one wrong decision; to take it back, depends on whether the competitors agree.
Little Lanno said in a grave voice, "Father, we can’t just sit and wait for death. At this stage, we have to make concessions.
It doesn’t matter if we give up a portion of the shares afterward to win over more people; the problem can always be solved.
Just dragging it out now only increases our losses and does nothing for the overall situation.
The strike is intensifying and spreading; it may even surpass the magnitude of the 1848 revolution."
In the face of harsh reality, Little Lanno was already advocating for compromise. Never mind the rest, the priority was to survive first.
Having offended people, as long as you’re willing to concede interests, nothing is insurmountable. In the game of capital, with enough benefits, enemies can become friends.
Old Lano paced back and forth, "The situation is different from 1848; you can tell just by looking at the workers’ performance, there’s no chance for a revolution to break out in Milan."
Clearly, Old Lano was already wavering. The lack of a revolution in Milan didn’t mean Dacol Textile Factory would get off easy. On the contrary, it meant danger for them.
The Lombardy Government would not allow such a situation to persist; to stabilize the situation, Dacol Textile Factory, as the source of the storm, might likely become the sacrificial lamb to quell the strike wave.
Don’t be deceived by their size and significant economic position in Milan; once the ruling class made up their mind, in reality, they wouldn’t even have the power to resist.
After a moment’s pause, Old Lano added, "Let the management start negotiations with the workers, but they must be carried out separately.
Remember, we cannot allow the workers to unite; we must create divisions among them as much as possible. Especially these worker representatives, we must find excuses to dismiss them afterward."
...
