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

Chapter 1868 Dickens' Copyright
The reason why there are so many children in schools at this time is largely due to the implementation of the Child Protection Law, which caused the age of child laborers to soar from eight to fourteen years old.

In the Austrian Empire, any child under the age of fourteen was prohibited from working, and the length of compulsory education in the Austrian Empire was increased to seven years.

All educational, recreational, and accommodation expenses during the school period are jointly covered by the Imperial Government, the Church, and charitable educational funds.

All the goods made in labor and craft classes will be distributed through multiple channels, and the money will then be deposited into the children's accounts.

This was unavoidable; after the Austrian Empire implemented the Child Protection Act, a large number of child abandonment incidents occurred.

In fact, child labor was an important source of family income in the 19th century and even the first decade of the 20th century.

After banning child labor, children become a complete negative for many urban families, with abandonment, abuse, and even murder becoming possible (referencing Southeast Asia in the past).

Moreover, it easily fosters an underground market, where these black market intermediaries are far more ruthless and rampant than those factories, and are even forced to commit crimes in disguise.

Franz had conducted several pilot programs before implementing compulsory education, so he had a complete system in place to combat these problems.

At the same time, the government should increase workers' wages, reduce the prices of daily necessities, strictly limit the prices of children's products, and promote social insurance to ensure a smooth transition.

The reason why many people have a stress response is mainly because they are not used to it. After one or two generations, it will naturally become a tradition.

Moreover, those who resisted the law were mainly factory owners who wanted to maximize profits; the workers were merely pawns pushed onto the stage.

Fortunately, Franz was the biggest capitalist and factory owner in the entire Austrian Empire. As long as he nodded, many problems could be solved, and he could even force the opposing workers to agree.

In Austria, Franz rarely faced opposition to any reforms he implemented, because those who opposed him would soon discover that Franz was the rule itself.

He didn't need to debate with members of parliament, nor was he swayed by his financial backers. From 1848 onwards, Franz's position was virtually unshakeable, and the numerous victories that followed solidified his absolute authority.

Some people may feel dissatisfied, but they will still obediently send their children to school instead of the factory.

At this time, the Austrian Empire possessed not only benevolence and authority, but also harsh laws and punishments.

In fact, the central square, which often brings joy to people, can also be an execution platform. Of course, many people also see execution as a kind of pleasure.

Franz also wouldn't give up on the public opinion front; Dickens' books were directly included in textbooks for primary, middle, and high schools, and were adapted into operas, plays, and comics.

On the one hand, Dickens's works were easily regarded by the public as a source of smear campaigns against Britain; on the other hand, the content of his works did indeed criticize current affairs and greatly benefited public opinion on reform in the Austrian Empire.

The critiques of the British monarchy and the Church of England served as a wake-up call for the Austrian government and church.

Later generations of Soviet people in the East often labeled Dickens as anti-imperialist and anti-church, but in reality he belonged to the moderate reformists, and he preferred to promote reform by exposing the flaws.

To draw a parallel with Séchenyi, it's somewhat similar that he didn't intend to overthrow the regime.

At this time, the copyright issues of the novels only occurred domestically. Even in Britain, there was absolutely no way to recover the pirated copies from foreign publishers.

In fact, as mentioned earlier, there are countless ways to circumvent not only novel copyrights but also technical patents.

The United States and France are the countries that like to do this the most, and they have a history of doing so. However, other countries are not clean either.

Belgium is also worth mentioning; it was the center of pirated books in continental Europe at the time.

This group of people were fluent in French, English, and German, so they used this advantage to smuggle large quantities of pirated books to the three countries. However, in a sense, they also promoted cultural exchange between the three countries.

Because the history in the book had changed, the largest center of book piracy in Europe had now shifted to France.

Moreover, the French went even further than the Belgians; they not only engaged in piracy in England, France, and Germany, but also expanded their business to the Iberian Peninsula and the Apennine Peninsula.

Throughout history, Dickens has frequently criticized Americans, and French booksellers would typically pay him a symbolic fee, usually ranging from tens to a hundred pounds.

Franz certainly couldn't do that; his situation was somewhat different. But he also couldn't pay Dickens royalties plus a 10% cut like those British booksellers, since Dickens wasn't Austrian.

Franz initially wanted Olga to do this, since it would be a win-win situation for both fame and fortune.

However, due to the assassination attempt, it was not convenient for Franz to do such a thing in person, so he could only complete the transaction through letters.

However, Franz's letter encountered many problems when it entered England, and was even examined word by word.

The problem is that we couldn't find any useful information.

Dickens had just returned home after a day of readings when his landlady came to his door.

"Hello, madam, how may I help you?"

The landlady's eyes looked strange.

"Your letter, Charles. Have you gotten yourself into some trouble? The postman came with a lot of police officers today."

Dickens shrugged.

"If our great British police were really that efficient, I wouldn't have to worry about my royalties."

Did you know? Those Americans changed my name.

The landlady didn't want to hear this great writer complain about his copyright issues.

"The food is ready. Would you like to eat downstairs, or have me bring it up?"

"I'll just go downstairs to eat in a bit, thank you."

Dickens was genuinely startled when he opened the letter; to be honest, he hadn't expected a foreign monarch to write to him.

He was both flattered and worried that it was a prank, until he saw the £50,000 check.

Dickens had traveled to various European countries before, including Vienna, and he had a fairly good impression of Austria.

Fifty thousand pounds was a huge sum of money at the time, especially compared to foreign booksellers who were only willing to pay a few dozen pounds.

Dickens put the check aside and began to calculate, just as his wife returned home.

"My God! Honey! Who is this? How can there be so much money? Barings Bank checks payable on demand! We can finally move out of here!"

In stark contrast to his wife's joy, Dickens spoke slowly.

“My dear, His Majesty the Emperor wants to buy the copyrights to all my future works.”

"So what?" "Do you think my entire body of work is only worth fifty thousand pounds?"

Dickens was still very proud of himself, but his wife immediately poured cold water on his pride.

"If someone doesn't give you a single penny, what can you do? You can only complain and write poems to satirize them, and now you're being picky?"

Although it was a bit unpleasant to be criticized, what the other person said was true.

"Honey, couldn't you be a little more tactful?"

Mrs. Dickens put her hands on her hips.

"Alright then. Sir, you haven't paid your rent for next month yet."

"You win."

Dickens actually had some expectations; besides the operas and plays, he was even more eager to see the so-called comics.

To be honest, Dickens himself was a loyal reader of "Punch" magazine, but the comics of the Austrian Empire were actually somewhat similar to later Japanese comics.

It's actually a poor imitation of Japanese manga, with only some localization modifications.

As for why Franz insisted on copying Japanese manga?

Because Japanese manga has withstood the test of the global market for decades, and many countries' local comics cannot beat Japanese manga in their own countries, it is clear that Japanese manga has its merits.

The Austrian Empire had no shortage of artists, and since Franz himself had no interest in abstract art, comics began to emerge as a popular art form.

In fact, as Emperor of the Austrian Empire, Franz's personal preferences had a great influence on the entire country.

For example, the state banquet featuring carp; earlier dishes like rice and fried pork chops; and the skirts worn by Austrian women.

At that time, crinoline skirts still dominated Europe, but women in the Austrian Empire generally wore skirts that would not be seen in later generations, and some women even wore trousers in the street.

This would be considered extremely outrageous in other countries, but in the Austrian Empire, it was accepted by the people because the emperor himself did not object and would even take a second look.

On the contrary, they often showed disdain for crinoline skirts, and soon crinoline skirts disappeared from Austrian high society.

Then the message spread rapidly downwards, to the point that women wearing crinolines on the streets of the Austrian Empire were assumed to be foreigners or country bumpkins.

Furthermore, women in the Austrian Empire almost never wore corsets, partly because there were indeed better options for underwear, and partly because there were rumors that His Majesty the Emperor found corsets difficult to remove.
Dickens thought for a long time before finally picking up his pen and writing:
“Your letter deeply moved me. I am sincerely gratified that you believe my work can raise awareness of the suffering of children and society in your country.”

However, I must be frank: a writer's words belong to his readers, not to any single government or monarch. I cannot sell the exclusive rights to those works in your country—whether as books, plays, or graphic adaptations.

However, I am willing to grant your country a royalty-free license to translate and distribute all of my works for educational and charitable purposes, on the condition that:
All versions must be complete and uncut, and must not be used for any political propaganda. I prefer to believe that true change comes from people's hearts, not from monetary transactions.

If Your Majesty truly cares for the children, please allow me to offer a smaller gift: I will personally write a short piece for your country's child welfare institutions, recounting my observations and experiences in your country.

I will use the £50,000 you sent me properly for charitable purposes.

Charles Dickens.

December 1, 1857.

The second step in intensifying the propaganda offensive was to get celebrities and experts to endorse them, which was easy for the Austrian imperial government to do, since most opinion leaders and experts were its own people.

However, Franz did not resort to blackmail or moralistic arguments. In fact, given the environment of the Austrian Empire at that time, all he needed to say was, "Anyone who does not support reform is an accomplice."

The issue of the Child Protection Act would have been resolved instantly, but Franz feared that the Austrian government would develop a path dependency, so he had no choice but to abandon the idea.

This moral burden should be handed over to the church; elevating it to a so-called sacred mission would put immense pressure on the opposition.

At the same time, the preaching of priests was more effective than any other medium at the time, since even if newspapers were cheap, there were still people who were illiterate or unwilling to buy them.

However, in a religiously charged country like the Austrian Empire, those who did not participate in preaching were often extreme exceptions, and Franz wanted the general public to be aware of and participate in it, so the impact of extreme individuals was not significant.

However, even when faced with the support of the imperial government, religion, moral opinion, experts, and Emperor Franz himself.

There are still people who dare to go against the tide, and those at the forefront are some religious figures who claim to sympathize with factory owners.

This group of people didn't dare to openly oppose them; they only dared to say that the factory owners were the most outstanding and hardworking people, and that they were the managers chosen by God.

Without work, children will become idle and decadent, so they should be left to be managed by the smartest and best among us.

They are merely upholding the order ordained by God. The government should not pity the poor, but should learn from factory owners how to manage the poor, so that it can better serve as God's shepherd.

There have been many theologians like this throughout history, and some have even formed special schools of thought that sought to reinterpret the classics.

Franz had no interest in their theories whatsoever, nor did he care whether they were paid or genuinely believed them.

Franz always believed in the adage "practice makes perfect," so he decided to arrange a trip for these guys to work in a British factory.

The same life-or-death agreement, the same three months. They'll continue their debates after they return from their experience in England.
"Labor is God's punishment of Adam," and "Idleness is the devil's breeding ground."
Franz wanted to see if this group could withstand God's punishment and whether they would fall madly in love with the devil.

People only know the saying "interpreting the text literally means wronging the Buddhas of the three worlds," but few know the second half of the saying, which is "to deviate from the scriptures by even one word is to speak like a demon."

Then there are the economists whose slogan is that state intervention is a desecration of the free market economy, and they even believe that child labor is a voluntary contract.

Government intervention is a deprivation of human rights and a double persecution of factory owners and child laborers.

The factory gave those families hope, which is a great act of love; forcibly taking it away is hypocrisy.

The so-called free contract is nothing but an illusion in the face of hunger and cold, and the voluntariness of poor parents and children is not true freedom.

Even from an economic point of view, they are as ridiculous as clowns.

Sending children to school is not about depriving them of their right to work and thus perpetuating long-term enslavement, but about investing in the future.

Only when young people grow up healthily can the country truly become prosperous and strong. Sacrificing the future of future generations for short-term gains will only result in eternal consequences.

If they can't even distinguish between long-term and short-term interests, they're not fit to be economists. They should all be sent to England for reformation.

However, there were downsides to Franz's personal involvement: some economists began to regard his words as gospel, and a completely new school of thought was born.