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

Chapter 1605 Paper Money in Venice (Part 1)

As the sharp whistle pierced the air, a cargo ship laden with various raw materials slowly docked. This port, now revitalized, was always shrouded in the smells of fish and coal smoke.

Workers in old canvas clothes and stylish merchants had been waiting for a long time on the Venice docks. They surged in like a tide, their eyes gleaming with hope.

They all knew what the cargo ship in front of them meant: an opportunity to get rich or fill their stomachs, but also a brutal competition.

The ship's hold was filled with rubber, coffee, cotton, and spices, and some ships might also have carried gems and works of art or antiques from the conquered lands.

An old foreman lit his pipe and said.

"What a great cargo. Those damned merchants are going to make a fortune again."

A young coolie asked curiously.

"Grandpa, why don't we buy some too? Look how close we are, and there are so many of us, those merchants definitely can't compete with us."

The old foreman was immediately annoyed by his grandson's naive idea, and picked up his pipe to tap the young man on the head.

"You brat, you're always dreaming! That rubber needs processing. Do you know how to make tires or shoes? And what about that cotton and coffee? You buy so much, do you have the processing capacity? Who are you going to sell it to? Just let it gather dust at home?"

Besides, can you afford to play with those ivory, jewelry, and antiques?

A few decades ago, I might have bought you a dark-skinned woman from the British, but the law doesn't allow it now, so forget about it.

The young man scratched his head dejectedly. At that moment, no one would have imagined that this whimsical young man would one day become a real millionaire.

In fact, according to the original timeline, he should have already gone to the United States to make a living, but due to legal and economic factors, he stayed in the Austrian Empire.

Evan is from a declining family in northern Germany. He carries a worn-out suitcase filled with loose change and his meager savings.

The young man was clearly a novice, looking around nervously while trembling with excitement.

This behavior was met with contempt and ridicule from local peers.

"New here, huh? Did you bring enough money? Don't accidentally fall into the water, or your life will be ruined!"

"Hey kid! Get home right now. This isn't child's play. If you get ripped off, you'll lose your pants!"

"Ha ha!"

A burly captain stepped forward, accompanied by two clerks, and he cleared his throat and roared.

"All transactions must comply with imperial law! Bidding first, then signing the contract!"

People are tired of hearing these routine announcements; what they're really interested in is what good cargo is on board.

“Those colonial goods always make people rich.” Carl had served in the colonies, an experience that gave him an intimate knowledge of these goods.

The larger merchants started bidding immediately.

"600 bales of cotton, starting bid 24000 florins."

"Twenty-five thousand!"

"Twenty-six thousand!"

"Twenty-eight thousand!" "Deal!"

At this time, bulk cotton is usually sold in bales, with one bale typically weighing 400 pounds (approximately 181.44 kilograms).

The successful bidders immediately hired a large number of laborers to start working. Due to the minimum wage stipulated by the Austrian Empire, coupled with the supervision of the Corleone family and several foremen, vicious competition among dockworkers was basically eliminated.

Therefore, merchants wouldn't drive down prices too much, and dockworkers were still able to make ends meet. Although dockworkers were poor, they had strong purchasing power.

While dockworkers might not mind if merchants try to lower prices, business owners such as those running taverns, restaurants, and brothels will not compromise and will report those unscrupulous merchants immediately.

The young man carrying the suitcase was clearly not trying to compete with these big merchants for bulk goods; in fact, he was eyeing the Austrian Empire's support policies for small and micro-enterprises within its borders.

Each cargo ship from the Austrian Empire's colonies would reserve a certain quota for small businesses and family workshops. He even opened a factory in the Austrian Empire for this purpose, hoping to earn his first pot of gold if everything went smoothly.

Also eagerly awaiting their return are a large number of small factories and long-standing workshops within Venice, which, according to history, should have been lost to the annals of time. However, Franz has given them a glimmer of hope, a chance for survival.

This policy naturally sparked a lot of discontent, since in the 19th century, justice was usually in the hands of the strong.

"This is unfair! Why should their taxes be reduced?"

"Exactly! We have to pay a huge amount of tax every time!"

Normally, port officials would try to fob them off with imperial decrees, but sometimes some businessmen would get more and more agitated and even threaten to take action, at which point the port authority director would have to step in.

"You pay more taxes than the royal family? Royal companies and state-owned factories haven't complained yet, so what right do you have? You have to take responsibility for the amount of money you earn in the Austrian Empire!"

"If you don't want to work, you don't have to! Do you want me to help you apply for an auction?"

The families of all the previous directors of the Venice Port Authority have been extraordinary, and virtually no businessman dares to take on the challenge.

Moreover, this was not an exaggeration. At that time, the Austrian Empire gave people the feeling of being thriving, and there were many young people who wanted to make a name for themselves.

The main point is that if those large factories weren't making money, they would have quit long ago and wouldn't be complaining to the port authority.

The capital market is indeed a game of big fish eating small fish, but without small fish, how can there be big fish?

Franz wasn't naive enough to believe that small fish would fall from the sky or that they were inexhaustible.

He was well aware of the consequences of an ecosystem collapsing, so the Austrian Empire was very clear about its role as maintainer and manager.

Franz, being the biggest fish, would not dig his own grave; instead, he would deter and eliminate those fish that wanted to break the rules.

The port authority's trading hall was packed with people, no less so than the docks. Even with the Mediterranean climate and the constant blowing of fans, people would often faint from the heat.

Port Authority officials have even changed their uniforms to vests, but even so, they are still prone to irritability.

Therefore, noise in the trading hall has always been an annoying problem, although some people enjoy it.

The remaining cargo from the cargo ships is then sorted and sent to the Royal Factory, which is one of the sources of the Royal Factory's high profits. However, most of these profits are then invested in colonies and research and development.

Of course, the merchants didn't think so. They felt that these things had become Franz's exclusive possessions, and some even thought that Franz had built a castle out of rubber for his own amusement.

However, these people did not reveal their true thoughts. Instead, they instilled in the public the idea that all the money had ended up in the emperor's pocket. The extravagant celebrations that Franz frequently held were the best proof of this. They were trying to divert the blame eastward.