The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1374 Etienne Lenoir (Part )

In fact, the conditions offered by the University of Vienna are quite generous. The school provides free dormitories, food, medical care, and even small items such as teacher uniforms, pens, and paper.

But the salary seems a bit low, only one hundred florins.

“Isn’t this the minimum wage in the Austrian Empire?”

Etienne Lenoir wondered in his heart, did the University of Vienna bully him because he was a foreigner? Or did they think he couldn't read German?

Although the German in front of him seemed a little different from what he had learned, this slight difference could be ignored.

(Austrian version of the German language.)
Just as Etienne Lenoir was considering whether to fight for his salary, he was shocked again.

It turned out that the one hundred florins was not an annual salary, but a monthly salary.

In fact, this was also a reform carried out by Franz based on the actual situation of the Austrian Empire. In the past, university work in the Austrian Empire was quite leisurely, and the family conditions of university teachers were generally very wealthy, so there was no problem using annual salary.

There are many benefits to using annual salary. On the one hand, it can simplify salary management. On the other hand, it can maintain staff stability and loyalty, making it easier for employers to plan and use talents to improve efficiency.

(For some unscrupulous people, promising annual salary makes it easier for them to default on their debts.)
However, in reality, most of the scholars who came to the Austrian Empire to seek work were in a very difficult financial situation. They either had families to support or had no concept of money and often lived a precarious life.

So Franz changed the annual salary to a monthly salary. In fact, he originally wanted to change it to a weekly salary, but the weekly salary put an extraordinary amount of pressure on the finance and administrative departments.

After all, these top scholars are different from roadside laborers. Their roles and contributions cannot be measured in a simple way.

In the factories and enterprises under the royal family, most of the lower-level employees received weekly wages. This was mainly because the technology was too backward, otherwise Franz would have wanted to pay them daily wages.

The benefits of weekly wages are not obvious for the time being, after all, many people are still struggling for food and clothing. However, once the economy develops to a certain level, weekly wages will greatly stimulate consumption and the rapid circulation of the market economy.

This involves human nature: the more frequently and easily something is obtained, the less people will value it.

Many people have done similar experiments in history. Even if the total salary does not increase within a year, people who use a weekly salary system will think that their salary has increased compared to when they used a monthly salary system, and their consumption will increase by 10%-15% year-on-year.

A week later, Etienne Lenoir successfully joined the University of Vienna, and three months later, as an assistant, he successfully developed the first gasoline internal combustion engine in the Austrian Empire.

The efficiency is still very low, but there are also advantages. After all, the Austrian Empire’s gasoline has a place to be used.

The internal combustion engine is smaller and more convenient than the steam engine. Perhaps it did not make much industrial contribution at that time, but it unexpectedly ignited a craze for internal combustion locomotives.

In fact, some young nobles in the Austrian Empire liked to use steam cars to show their uniqueness. However, steam cars were bulky and slow, noisy, polluted, and unsafe. Most importantly, they were very slow to start.

A steam locomotive needs to be filled with water first, and the water needs to be boiled before it can have power.

However, it is different with diesel locomotives. The small size of the internal combustion engine allows the fuselage to be covered with iron sheets, which makes it look much more elegant.

On the other hand, diesel locomotives, never mind that they were slow as a snail, at least they could start immediately. Compared with steam locomotives, diesel locomotives had a much better reputation and were more often considered slow and harmless.

In fact, it is not just the Austrian Empire. Steam engines have been developed for so many years, and many countries have tried steam locomotives. In 1803, the French had already built a high-power, high-pressure steam locomotive with a speed of up to 13 kilometers per hour.

The British even developed steam buses and successfully operated them in cities, reaching an unprecedented speed of 20 kilometers per hour.

However, the faster the speed, the more dangerous it was, because the steam locomotives of the time were almost unable to turn, reverse, or even stop.

The steering wheel was invented in 1894, and in 1850, steam locomotives relied on either rails or guide wheels. The rails were naturally prepared for the railway, and the guide wheels were connected to a rod behind them to control their direction, which was extremely difficult and laborious to operate.

Before the 1900th century, vehicles were almost always reversed by human and animal power, and the rear wheel reversing device was not invented until .

The manual parking device was not invented until 1886. Before that, the only way to park a car was to turn off the engine first and then use the manual brake to physically stop the car. Due to its great inertia, it was easy for parts to break and cause an accident.

In contrast, the slowness of diesel locomotives has become an advantage, and the ability to shut down quickly can greatly reduce the probability of traffic accidents.

In addition, diesel locomotives look more elegant than steam locomotives, and at least they do not require smoke and fire, so diesel locomotives quickly became popular in the upper class of the Austrian Empire.

In fact, this was totally beyond Franz's expectations. After all, this thing was so impractical in his eyes. However, sometimes things are just so strange.

Franz did not need to worry about the development of automobiles. After all, there were so many automobile clubs in the Austrian Empire. Sooner or later, these people would be able to tinker with all the parts needed for modern automobiles.

Franz was most concerned about the internal combustion engine, but Ross August Otto was just born in 1832, graduated from Frankfurt high school just last year, and just entered the University of Vienna this year.

Of course, at this rate of development, it would probably not be Otto's turn to improve the internal combustion engine. However, Franz was unwilling to let go of some talents. For example, Otto, who was supposed to drop out of school at the age of sixteen, received a mysterious grant.

As for whether he could be admitted to the University of Vienna, it depended on his ability. Ross August Otto did not disappoint Franz.

In fact, it was not a problem for Franz to arrange for people to enter a university or even a research institute in the Austrian Empire, but what he wanted was talent, not slaves.

Franz only needs the expertise of these people, not a group of puppets that he can control.

Having said that, Franz still needs to make some money from the automotive industry at this time. After all, it is also important to seize the market.

Moreover, if you want to retain people, you either have to give them money or let them see a bright future. Relying solely on administrative orders and moral kidnapping will only result in a group of shameless people who slack off and play badly.

Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna.

Franz was enjoying a rare quiet afternoon, but then bad news came. Maximilian took Ludwig to Constantinople to relax.
This piece of news made Franz very angry. Two idiots went out to relax, and as the big brother, he was worried.

It’s so unreasonable!