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

Chapter 1922 The Storm Rises Again
As the leader of the entire Prussian textile industry and a textile tycoon in Silesia, Phelps received new technologies from the Prussian government, which indeed improved the efficiency of the machinery.

However, these technologies were very likely stolen from factories in the Austrian Empire, which made him live in constant fear, since the Austrian Empire truly had the ability to enforce laws across borders, and the Prussian government dared not interfere.

Whether the Prussian government could stop the Austrian Empire is another matter, but if they could find a scapegoat, they certainly wouldn't risk offending the Austrian Empire themselves.

Lord Phelps was well aware of this, so he specially hired twenty professional soldiers to protect his safety. In fact, he was still a little worried, and what he was worried about was the weavers.
Oh no, they were workers, those peasants anyway.

As one of the biggest victims of the Silesia Revolt (Prussia's official account), Lord Phelps had vivid memories of it, and now he vaguely felt that same feeling again.

However, Phelps, who was once incredibly successful, has not been doing well in recent years, and his once clean and beautiful white house has been painted a gloomy black.

This perfectly reflects his current mood. The establishment of the German Customs Union had a tremendous impact on the textile industry in Prussian Silesia, or rather, the entire Prussian textile industry.

Inexpensive fabrics from Austria and Saxony entered the Prussian market. These fabrics were cheap and beautiful, and although their quality was not as good as first-class products, they were far superior to second- and third-class products.

The problem is that the first-class items he has are far inferior to the fine products on the market, and the real upper class doesn't even look at what he has.

Phelps could clearly feel his market shrinking. He had been in the fabric business for decades, yet his reputation was not as good as those of the newcomers.

Phelps' situation is actually not too bad; many of his peers have simply changed their company names to Austrian styles, but to real Austrians, they always look out of place.

However, this also made Philpute and all Prussian textile merchants realize a problem: no matter how much manpower was exploited, it could never compare to machinery.

Thus began a mechanical revolution in the Prussian textile industry, but things did not seem to go as smoothly as they had imagined.

Following this sweeping reform, the gap between the Prussian and Austrian textile industries widened significantly.

The Prussian government and these textile merchants at the time overestimated the power of commerce and the market.

They optimistically believed that as long as they invested money in the market, they could defeat the Austrian Empire, even though their investment and starting point were far inferior to Austria's.

Then Prussia's textile industry quickly collapsed, and many factories had to rely on government subsidies to survive.

The Prussian government was quite good in this regard; the loans it provided did indeed save many businesses.

However, even with low interest rates, money still needs to be repaid, and if a company cannot turn a profit, its debt will only increase.

The plan was first proposed by Friedrich List, who believed that it would put the Prussian government in an invincible position, not only saving businesses but also increasing national revenue.

It offers moral and reputational benefits, as well as economic returns—truly killing three birds with one stone.

As for those companies, the market will help them find a way out.

However, not everyone can withstand the pressure of debt; some people even choose suicide or flee because they cannot bear the pressure.

This greatly frustrated the Prussian government, since whether they committed suicide or fled abroad, the assets they left behind in Prussia were insufficient to offset their debts.

In particular, those who flee abroad often try to empty the company, transfer the funds abroad, or simply throw them away in casinos.

In short, not a single penny will be left to the Prussian government.

Because during this period the conflict shifted, and in the eyes of those factory owners, the Prussian government that had lent them the loans was the real devil.

It is difficult for borrowers and creditors to have a harmonious relationship, and in the face of the Prussian government as the creditor, at least within Prussia, no one can default or delay the debt.

The assets of those indebted factory owners will be wiped out instantly, and they may even be thrown into debtor prisons.

Debtor prisons are no good places, because they are usually for-profit. When a prison is tied to profit, it's not surprising what can happen inside.

No matter how much money the prisoners owed, as long as they paid enough to the prison, they would be provided with fine wine and food, prostitutes, and servants.

But if you have no money, you're lucky if you have food and someone to take care of you. Historically, there have been instances where three debtors were locked in a room for a week without anyone checking on them.

When the door was opened, only one person was alive, with two bloated corpses beside him, their eyes and faces eaten away by maggots.

This is something that can be recorded in history; what cannot be written about is even more terrifying.

If a factory owner's assets are insufficient to repay his loans, he will be sent to work to pay off his debts.

Such a huge difference is almost unacceptable to most people, which is why they try every means to escape.

Leaving aside how the Prussian government and these indebted factory owners outwitted each other, the bad debts alone were enough to give the Kingdom of Prussia a headache.

This is why Friedrich List's reputation in Prussia was getting worse and worse, but while Friedrich List could run away, the Prussian government had to stay and bear everything.

At this point, some clever people thought that the Prussian government could directly operate the business, since it wasn't unheard of in the past, and they believed that Prussian government officials were definitely more capable than those businessmen.

Then the losses became more and more serious, and even those factories that could barely make a profit had to rely on subsidies to survive.

Frederick William IV had to call a halt to the experiment, but the noble officials were still somewhat unsatisfied, as if they had all found a new purpose in life.

However, Prussia's economic situation simply did not allow them to continue doing that, so the Prussian government decided to move from the forefront to the background, shifting from direct operation to providing technical and financial support.

However, some officials and nobles seemed unwilling to give up their new goals, and some even resigned from their official positions to go into business. Many of them actually managed to turn losses into profits, but that's another story.

The efficiency of technological research was naturally improved by the government's investment of funds, but breakthroughs were not achieved until Bismarck came to power and personally supervised the process.

However, as mentioned earlier, the gap between Prussia and Austria did not form overnight. Before the emergence of disruptive technologies, it was difficult for Prussian technology to surpass that of the Austrian Empire.

However, the pressure of commercial competition was increasing, and Bismarck, being a political strongman, did manage to capture a portion of the market with his low-price strategy.

However, these customers have no loyalty whatsoever. If the Austrian Empire also lowers prices, then these textile factory owners will be truly doomed.

To be honest, Phelps's hair was already half white by this point, and he didn't want to continue. Phelps felt like he wasn't making money, but rather risking his life.

An anxiety about survival, ingrained deep in human genes, constantly tormented him. He didn't want to be poor, didn't want to do manual labor, and didn't want tomorrow to come.
With outdated technology, squeezed markets, and the customs union breaking down the last barrier, Phelps can only decide on costs.

He had to say that.

“If I don’t do this, everyone will lose their jobs.”

“But our wages have already been reduced twice this year,” several workers said, somewhat unwillingly and fearfully.

"You're asking me for money? I should ask who I'm asking for money from!"

In the past, he wouldn't have needed to get involved in these kinds of things at all, but unfortunately this time, he just happened to be stuck on his way home.

At this moment, a worker raised his hand, which was already swollen and cracked.

"Mr. Phelpt, please have mercy. My hands are rotting away. I just want to save some money for my children, so that they won't go hungry if I can't work anymore someday."

The red and yellow stripes on his palm were quite striking. However, Phelps retorted with an even more disdainful tone.

"Why is it only your hand that's rotting? That's your own problem! How can you blame it on me? Why didn't everyone else's hands rot?"

The man looked at the palms of the other people around him and began to doubt himself. But then someone else raised a new question.

"We work fourteen hours a day for you, and we don't even have time to rest!"

"Correct!"

Just as everyone was getting into a good mood, Phelps burst out laughing.

"No time to rest, but time to come here and block my way? I think you're all too idle! Let me tell you, other factories require fifteen hours of work, I'm the most merciful one!"

Looking at the submissive faces, Phelps couldn't help but feel a little smug. His previous resentment vanished, and he decided to add fuel to the fire.

Phelps' tone changed, and a look of pity appeared on his face.

"For our Kingdom of Prussia to develop and for humanity to progress, there will always be those who have to suffer. You should be proud of your sacrifices, not fixated on useless money."

The Bible says that "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven." Don't you want to be freed after death?

Don't think I have it easy. The Austrian Empire is invading, markets are shrinking, raw material prices are falling, and banks are pressing for repayment.

I not only have to deal with you, but also with those clients and the Prussian government!

Seeing people fall into deep thought again, he couldn't help but feel even more smug. However, he knew that if he wanted the horse to run fast, he couldn't skimp on the carrot in front of him.

"Don't worry, everything will change once I make money!"

Phelps's words did indeed ignite hope in many people, and they began to feel motivated for tomorrow's work again.

"Just bear with it a little longer and everything will be alright! Praise God, praise Mr. Phelps!"

The crowd cheered, but then someone raised a question.

"I've heard that's not the case in Austria."

The sound wasn't loud, but it caused a huge stir among the crowd. In fact, Silesia wasn't far from the Austrian Empire; it was separated by only a river.

However, this was also the most closed region of Prussia to the Austrian Empire. Prussia took many measures to prevent harmful information from the Austrian Empire from flowing into Silesia, even prohibiting ferries from docking at will, and having warships patrol day and night.

But over the years, no matter how tight the blockade or how closed off the area, there will always be leaks.

“I’ve heard about it too. I don’t know how much workers in Austria earn, but at least they don’t have to worry about food.”

“Some of my relatives went to Austria and are now landowners in Hungary.”

"Then why don't you go and seek refuge with him?"

The speaker was speechless for a moment. He had thought about it, but he didn't know if the other person was telling the truth or not, and he didn't know if the other person would be willing to take in his family. Moreover, there was no place like home, and he didn't want to leave the land he was familiar with.

There were quite a few people like this in Silesia at the time, but they all had similar concerns, since the Austrian Empire was not a good thing in Prussian propaganda.

Silesia has long lost its former prosperity and is now one of the poorest regions in Prussia.

"But I heard that Austrian workers have days off, and the government mandates that factories close for holidays."

"That's nonsense. The factory's closed for the holidays, what happens to the machines? Are they just sitting idle?"

"Austrians are superstitious; their day of rest is Sunday."

"If I could have one more day off, I would believe in Satan even if it meant doing so!"

"It seems that there are two days off in Austria."

"Then I'll change my teaching style!"

For a moment, Phelps's words seemed less inspiring, less moving, and less anticipated.

Especially since then, promises don't seem so appealing anymore; at least people no longer associate Mr. Phelps with God.

"Don't be fooled by those itinerant merchants from the Austrian Empire! Austria is a decadent feudal empire! If you go to Austria, you'll only be serfs, you'll only be pigs and dogs!"

"Have you ever been to Austria? How do you know others are talking nonsense?"

The factory workers also retorted, as they still felt that their neighbors and relatives were more trustworthy than the boss.

"What's wrong with being a serf? Being a serf is better than being your beast of burden! The Russians wouldn't require their serfs to work fourteen hours a day!"

In fact, according to later Russian studies, 19th-century Russian serfs worked between 50 and 70 hours a week, averaging less than 10 hours a day, which was indeed less than the working hours of these Prussian workers.

However, this does not mean that the lives of Russian serfs were comfortable; it can only be said that each had their own hardships.

But Phelps was unaware of those things, and he didn't want to get entangled with these ignorant Silesia people, so he ordered the coachman to push through the crowd and drive away.

In fact, the decline of Silesia was not only due to the shift of the economic center during the industrial era, but also because the Prussian government did not have much trust in the Silesia.

This distrust reached its peak, especially after the resurgence of the Austrian Empire, which is why they tried their best to block information and prevent Silesians from traveling to the Austrian Empire.