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

Chapter 1835 Driving School Bicycles and a Disaster

The people naturally agreed with Franz's order, but they wanted Duke Warnik arrested first, since he had already frightened them.

Franz naturally wouldn't support such an outrageous demand; in fact, he issued this order as a warning to the biker gangs in Vienna.

Indeed, although Austrian Imperial cars were not yet widespread at this time, motorcycle gangs had already emerged.

Although most bureaucrats and nobles scoffed at Joseph Zeller's new car, the younger generation of nobles were eager to own this half-track.

As it happened, many of these people had the opportunity to get close to the vehicles, and the exhibits were stolen.

Young people who get new toys naturally want to show them off, but they would never dare to run rampant in the city, at least not during the day.

Every night, this group of bikers would rampage through the city in search of thrills. They knew their actions were wrong, so they paid out a considerable amount of hush money.

But Franz had just reorganized Vienna, and no one dared to accept the money.

So the money was simply placed on his desk, which almost made Franz laugh in anger.

A bunch of overly energetic guys, just looking for trouble, but it also serves as a reminder that Franz's laws are indeed inadequate.

He is now giving these young people two choices: either obey the law or go to the colonies and cause trouble.

In fact, when Franz brought the matter to light, it was revealed that some of these people had had their legs broken by their parents or had been sent to the colonies for further education at an early age.

The higher the rank of an official in the Austrian Empire, the more aware they were of Franz's dreadfulness; even if they doted on their own children and grandchildren, they would never go against the emperor.

It's not that Franz is unreasonable; if these guys had just stayed quietly at their own horse farm or estate, they wouldn't have caused so much trouble.

A bunch of idle guys insist on wandering around the streets. If Franz doesn't deal with them, how will he investigate the others in the future?

Moreover, these guys did cause a lot of damage by running amok. Even if they pay double the compensation, how will they account for disturbing the peace?
Money is nothing to these second-generation rich kids. Even if the money doubles or even increases tenfold, their families can afford to lose it.

In fact, if Franz hadn't insisted and the royal family hadn't guaranteed the compensation, those victim families wouldn't have dared to accept it.

As for issues like saving face, these second-generation rich kids have long since learned to handle such matters in Vienna, a place teeming with important figures. After all, no matter how powerful their families are, they are still subject to the pressure of the royal family above them.

Within the royal family, neither Madame Sophie nor Franz would tolerate anyone acting recklessly.

Previously, it could be considered a legal loophole, but if someone knowingly breaks the law again, then don't blame Franz for being ruthless.

It seems that popularizing half-track vehicles is not an easy task; it requires a gradual approach. I wonder how other countries in history popularized automobiles.

Franz knew a bit about the history of automobile development in the United States. But the situation in the United States was different from that in continental Europe because the United States had a large enough land area to allow for a lot of trial and error in driving.

The situation in the Austrian Empire was completely different. The urban areas were too densely populated, and the roads were filled with livestock, pedestrians, and bicycles, leading to traffic chaos.

If Franz were to rashly follow the American model in this situation, he would guarantee that the streets would descend into chaos, and the resulting traffic accidents would increase exponentially.

The situation in Britain was actually even more absurd, although the British automobile industry did not develop so early. In 1865, Britain passed the Red Flag Act, which required:
Any "horseless carriage" must be operated by three people: a driver, an assistant, and a person walking in front of the carriage holding a red flag. The speed limit is 2 miles per hour in urban areas and 4 miles per hour in suburban areas.

What do two miles per hour and four miles per hour mean?

This can be roughly understood as the difference between a slow walk and a fast walk for an average person; at these speeds, the advantages of a car cannot be fully utilized.

Moreover, the Austrian Empire had a huge number of bicycles. Was it really necessary for these slow and road-blocking things to exist?

Franz's solution was to first establish driving schools and gradually popularize cars, since safety and order were his top priorities.

Of course, Franz wouldn't be idle either; he would take the lead in popularizing the three-wheeled motorcycle, also known as the flame-breathing three-wheeled vehicle mentioned earlier.

These vehicles were much easier to learn; anyone who could ride a bicycle could handle them. After more than a decade of development, bicycle ownership in the Austrian Empire had become extremely high.

The Austrian Empire produced as many as 180 million bicycles annually (accounting for 90% of the world's bicycle production), with a domestic ownership of approximately ten million bicycles.

Thanks to the Austrian Empire's guaranteed minimum wage system, almost every household in the Austrian Empire owned a bicycle.

Bicycles have almost become a symbol of Austrian citizens, who feel that this new mode of transportation breaks down the inherent boundaries between classes.

However, this also aroused dissatisfaction among nobles and bureaucrats. After all, most gentlemen were unwilling to try this activity of bending over and sticking out their buttocks, and they would always privately claim that riding a bicycle was an indecent act.

However, most aristocratic youths enjoyed this activity, and some even regarded it as a noble sport.

No matter how much they are slandered, they cannot diminish the convenience and affordability of bicycles. Bicycles have far fewer restrictions than horse-drawn carriages, can travel on all kinds of narrow roads, are easier to park, and do not require hiring expensive coachmen.

There's absolutely no need to worry about going bankrupt from buying a car, and you can drive at any speed you want without worrying about the horse going out of control.

We've already discussed how expensive and difficult to maintain carriages were in that era; for some minor nobles and merchants, a single carriage could bankrupt them.

However, bicycles don't. Although the roads are bad and they often need repairs, they inadvertently created a new industry: "bicycle repair".

The widespread adoption of bicycles severely hampered the horse-drawn carriage industry, which will be discussed in detail later.

Thanks to the efficiency of the Austrian Imperial factories, bicycle prices have been driven down to very low levels.

From the initial 150 florins, a standard bicycle can now be purchased for only 20-30 florins.

If it's the family's first bicycle or for a holiday celebration, you can get it for just 8-10 florins.

In comparison, the price of a bicycle in the UK at that time was over £20, and the price of a bicycle imported from the Austrian Empire would most likely be over £50.

Although both Britain and Austria had bicycles at this time, the level of technological sophistication was completely different. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Austria was fifty years ahead in bicycle technology alone.

The situation is similar in France, where domestically produced bicycles generally cost 300-400 francs, while imported bicycles from Austrian Empire cost twice as much.

In reality, due to the proximity to the Austrian Empire, smuggling was relatively convenient, so the prices were not excessively high.

The bicycle industry in Britain and France had long since fallen behind that of the Austrian Empire; they were still using early pedals, while the Austrian Empire had already switched to drive chains.

The transmission efficiency of the two differs by at least half, meaning that using an Austrian Empire bicycle can save half the effort.

However, in practice, this gap can be magnified almost infinitely, to the point of being devastating.

Why didn't Britain and France switch to using drive chains? Because manufacturing drive chains requires steel, and preferably special steel.

However, at this time, the British and French steel industries were still in their infancy, and steel prices remained exorbitantly high. Franz further imposed a technology embargo on Britain and France, such as roller bearings, making large-scale industrial production difficult. Without economies of scale, production could not increase, and prices naturally could not come down.

Even if they had steel, they were still far behind the Austrian Empire in terms of precision machining.

However, the gap between the two sides is not only in the transmission system. The mainstream tires in Britain and France are still made of oak, while Austria has long been using rubber tires.

The performance difference between tires is enormous, and what's most infuriating is that the Austrian Empire controlled more than 80% of the world's production capacity.

The British have some rubber production capacity, but they need to use it in more critical areas, while the French can only rely on the Brazilians.

In reality, Pedro II himself was alright, but he didn't really have much control over the country. And Brazil's large landowners perfectly fit the stereotype of fools.

They perfectly embodied the words greed, laziness, ignorance, and stupidity. Franz had asked them to increase production more than a decade ago, but these people insisted on relying on the weather.

Even today, they still believe that only Brazil has rubber, so they frequently inflate prices, and the ones who suffer are naturally Britain and France.

There are also some other details and manufacturing issues, such as the frame and braking system.

The most outrageous thing is that the bicycles on both sides are even different in appearance.

However, these problems, though seemingly minor, are actually issues of materials and industrial capacity.

After all, these things are not difficult to imitate and deconstruct, but the shortage of materials and the backwardness of industrial capabilities are fatal.

In fact, the main export destinations for Austrian Imperial bicycles were the German states. Although other states did not receive subsidies from the Austrian Imperial government, the prices of the bicycles were generally acceptable.

Due to the popularity of bicycles, the people of the German Confederation became enthusiastic about the sport.

Franz tried for years but failed to promote football throughout the German Confederation, but the bicycle, as a mode of transportation, easily did so.

In fact, the development of the bicycle industry in the Austrian Empire was met with varying degrees of resistance from the German states, with Prussia and Denmark being the most vehement, even claiming it was a silent invasion.

"The bicycles of the Austrian Empire were like Trojan horses; who knows what was hidden inside them?"

The two countries even issued a "bicycle ban" at one point, which not only failed to stop the Austrian Empire's bicycle invasion, but also angered domestic democrats and the bourgeoisie.

In the eyes of these people, bicycle democracy represents an important tool for eliminating class differences.

From this perspective, the actions of the Prussian and Danish governments were undoubtedly extremely reactionary, and their claim of protecting national industries was completely untenable.

In their view, the actions of the two governments are essentially protecting privileges while depriving the people of their freedom and legitimate rights.

This raises another question: Who are we?
One major reason why the official mouthpieces of Prussia and Denmark opposed the Austrian Empire was that there were other ethnic groups besides Germans in the Austrian Empire.

However, Prussia and Denmark are essentially multi-ethnic countries, although they have a dominant ethnic group, which is not as obvious as in Austria.

The Schleswig-Holstein question has resurfaced, with both countries citing the declaration made when the Austrian Empire joined the German Customs Union.

"The German Customs Union is a commercial alliance between the German monarchies."

According to this interpretation, as long as the monarch of a country comes from the German region, then the country is eligible to join the German Customs Union.

At this point, all countries in the Customs Union undoubtedly met this qualification, including those that joined later: the Netherlands, Denmark, the Principality of Alsace-Lorraine, and even the Principality of Belgium.

Therefore, the people of Schleswig-Holstein and the Danish elites all felt that Denmark was part of Germany.

But Danish nationalists see this as utterly absurd, as Denmark is a predominantly Danish country, and the two duchies are at best colonies.

Even though the king came from Oldenburg in the German region, it cannot change the fact that Denmark is Denmark of the Danes.

However, the remarks made by some Danish nationalists that the two duchies were colonies deeply hurt the pride of the people of the two duchies.

What started as an economic issue—a discussion about how to stop Austrian bicycles from further encroaching on the Danish market—has now become a political issue, or rather, a disaster.

Kiel University was the first to take action, and almost the entire student body, faculty, and staff responded to the call.

As a former student leader, Leon Stein once again stood on the stone steps of the library.

"We are not a colony! We are law-abiding citizens!"

"The glory of Germany must not be tarnished!"

"The dignity of the German people must not be insulted!"

However, once the procession took to the streets, the situation quickly spiraled out of control, and a protest demonstration instantly turned into a storm.

When the first person on the street shouted:

"Schleswig-Holstein will forever belong to Germany!"

Leon Stein's heart sank to the bottom, because the current situation was exactly the same as it had been years ago.

Then someone shouted.

"Get out, you Dane!"

"Long live Germany!"

Someone once again unfurled the tricolor flag, its black, red, and gold colors strikingly eye-catching.

This was once a symbol of the German Empire, and even more so a symbol of the 1848 Revolution.

Those who have experienced it know exactly what it means.

"Did you hear that? Holsteins, Schleswigs, and all our German brothers!"

The Danish government doesn't treat us as human beings at all! We are a colony! We are objects to be ruled, exploited, and indoctrinated!
In their eyes, we were like African slaves, Native Americans, or Irish people from England!

"Down with the Kingdom of Denmark! Build our own motherland!"

Everywhere were crowds of angry people. Leon Stein never expected to come back again, and this time he decided to do it even better!