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

Chapter 1924 Never to be Fulfilled
The factory continued to roar the next day, but almost all the workers were gathered in the square, and the old man Vilier, who had been in charge of liaison work, was hung on the factory gate.

Mr. Phelps stood on the stage, dressed in a suit and tie, while two policemen stood below, casually fiddling with their batons.

“We all know this person! He disrupts production! He cheats and swindles! He misleads people! But we have always regarded him as our compatriot!”
Even if he is just a parasite in our society, I will still stuff bread into his ungrateful mouth and give him a job opportunity!

Why? Because I believe that the noble, industrious blood of Prussia flows in his veins.

Mr. Phelps adopted a compassionate demeanor and spoke with deep sorrow.

"But none of us knew his true face! Villier! He was a spy for the Austrian Empire!"

All the trouble started because of him. He's not ungrateful; he deliberately instigated it!

It was Vilier, that profit-driven bastard, who secretly sabotaged our machinery, causing our output to decrease and profits to drop. That's why we had to cut wages in order to survive!

The workers below the stage were somewhat puzzled. The factory's machines did indeed break down every now and then, which gave them a slight respite. Although they didn't receive any pay, they didn't want to hear the roar of the machines.

However, the workers' whispers were seen as a sign of wavering by Phelps, and it was time for him to produce evidence.

"Mr. Bent! Read the investigation report to everyone!"

Bent, who was in charge, had already prepared the report and cleared his throat.

"Ahem! Quiet!"

Bent picked up the investigation report and began to read it aloud.

"This report was completed under the personal supervision of Lord Dagot, Chief of Police of Gliwice, Silesian Province, Kingdom of Prussia."

His goal was to seize the initiative and define the nature of the case. Anyone who dared to question it would be questioning the Prussian government.

"On June 12, 1859, the shuttle core of the No. 19 East Loom in our factory was damaged by external force, and the same fault occurred on the No. 32 West Loom the next day."

The transmission belt in the drive compartment was suspected of being cut by a sharp object on the night of the 19th.
All of the above malfunctions have been determined by professional technicians to be caused by normal wear and tear or material fatigue, and worker Vilier Koboba was present at the time of all of the above mechanical malfunctions.

An investigation revealed that he had repeatedly made retaliatory remarks in public and was one of the organizers of the 1844 Silesia uprising.

Furthermore, he had a long history of alcoholism and gambling, and had an eccentric personality. Under interrogation, he confessed to the crime.

All the above procedures comply with Prussian national laws and regulations; this is hereby declared.

This time, people turned their attention to the little old man who was being hung up, a mixture of doubt, sympathy, and anger.

The workers didn't understand why Vilier was doing this; they were essentially a group of honest and law-abiding people.

It must be said that Phelps's preemptive move was very effective; even those workers who were usually on good terms with Villier began to have doubts.

Regardless of Villier's motives, the workers still felt great sympathy for him, since they had long wanted to do the things "he did."

The fact that others didn't do it doesn't mean they didn't want to; it just means they didn't have the courage or the opportunity.

Regardless of Villier's motives, the workers felt they had received a benefit and vented their anger, which is why they sympathized with him.

But being taken advantage of is always an unpleasant experience, especially when they are risking being fired or going hungry.

It's unlikely that he harbored no resentment or anger towards Vilier.

"Was it really Vilier who did it?"

"That bastard actually dared to use us!"

"Was he forced into it?"

At this point, Villier was unable to speak; he could neither defend himself nor confess. Some experienced workers immediately considered another possibility—a forced confession.

This kind of thing happens far too frequently to ordinary people in this era, and the reputation of the Prussian police throughout history has been extremely bad.

Corruption, embezzlement, extortion, blackmail, incompetence—these labels have even carried over into modern times. There was once a joke that...

"What is heaven? Heaven is French chefs, German workers, and British police. And what about hell? Well, that's French workers, German police, and British food, of course."

These stereotypes are certainly not unfounded, and the German police, who can rival British cuisine, are certainly no ordinary people either.

Many people have personally experienced those unpleasant memories, so they certainly won't blindly believe the so-called investigation report at this moment.

On the other hand, Director Daggett's investigation report did not dare to be too definitive. Although he was well aware that Phelps was just framing him, if some of his words reached the Austrian Empire, it would be an international incident, and might even lead to a diplomatic incident.

Some things can't be blamed on indiscriminately; if you pin it on the wrong person, things could get really messy.

In particular, the Kingdom of Prussia is currently incapable of directly confronting the Austrian Empire. If it were to inadvertently cross that line, it would face utter ruin.

Therefore, the claim that Willier was a spy for the Austrian Empire was merely Phelps's side of the story. At this point, Willier was even unable to speak, and truly intelligent people had already seen through the deception.

Phelps was well aware of this, and he had already made preparations.

"Do you know why Vilir went astray? Because he owed 50 thalers at the gambling table!"
Someone told him that if he sabotaged our factory and delayed our production, they would pay off his debts. Vilier, that profit-driven scoundrel, believed him!

He caused our factory a loss of 5,000 thalers for just 50 thalers! That's why we're now forced to cut salaries to get through this difficult time!

This is an absolutely heinous crime!

Phelps's stigmatizing remarks effectively tied the interests of the factory and the workers together, because he touched on the workers' sore spot—wage cuts.

The blame was conveniently shifted, and the workers, enraged, vented their anger on Villier, pelting him with stones. Seeing that Villier was doomed, Phelps stepped in again. This time, his goal wasn't to kill Villier, nor to expect compensation, but to force the workers to accept a pay cut.

“My dear friends, I am not standing here today as an employer, but as a friend, as a proud Prussian, to chat with you.”

Our factory is the result of a lifetime of hard work by my parents and me. Over the years, regardless of market conditions, we have never defaulted on a single penny! Nor have we ever kicked anyone out when they were in trouble!

I know you, and you know me.

But there are always people who want to break all of this. They tell you that you have suffered and been exploited, and that you should rebel against me!

I know who they are. They're hiding in Cologne, and they're looking for chaos. They want to overthrow me, overthrow the king, and overthrow the whole world.

But you're the ones fighting on the front lines, and what are they doing? Distributing their pamphlets and spouting their big talk!

The Austrians gave them money, and they turned Prussia upside down! If the French had given them money, they would have dared to overthrow the whole of Germany.

We are all Protestants, and we are God's chosen people. We should have the ability to distinguish right from wrong.

If you continue to listen to them, you will lose your jobs, let your families go hungry, and even lose your freedom and your lives.

This is not an attempt to scare you, but rather advice from a friend and a neighbor.

I hereby announce that as long as you are willing to work hard according to the new salary standard and work for a full six months, I will make up for it all at once after the business improves!

If you want to be used as pawns, to become traitors to your nation and country, then I absolutely will not agree! Even if it means closing down and everyone starving, I will uphold the principles of being a Prussian!

Phelps' words touched many people's hearts. Many workers had never heard such heartfelt words before, and they had never been treated with such sincerity. Some were even moved to tears.

It must be said that Prussia's basic education was indeed very well done, and the education on loyalty was not in vain. Otherwise, even if Phelps had talked himself hoarse, he would not have achieved such great results.

With the atmosphere already built up, it was natural for someone to step forward and take the lead. As the supervisor, Bent naturally stepped up without hesitation.

"Friends! We are suffering now for everyone's good! Social development and human progress always come with sacrifice."

"Sacrificing one generation for the benefit of millions of Prussians! I sign! I'm willing to take a pay cut! To serve the factory!"

The workers looked at each other, and to be honest, they still didn't want their wages to be cut, because it really concerned their lives, but what could they do?

On one hand, there are their families who are crying for their children; on the other hand, there are their leaders who have betrayed them. Faced with reality, they can only choose to compromise and accept pay cuts.

They lived one day at a time. At the same time, they harbored a hope that their descendants would fare better, because Mr. Phelps had made a promise.
But promises must always be kept one day.
The people hiding in Cologne actually had some connection with The Communist Manifesto, but their situation was much better in this life because the Cologne side was opposing the Prussian government, so they were not persecuted by the Prussian police.

However, the fact that the Prussian government could not carry out direct persecution did not mean that they would give up. Therefore, people in "Eastern" Prussia were still very afraid of being associated with them.

The so-called "Eastern" Prussia actually refers to the Kingdom of Prussia outside the Rhineland region. Due to Cologne's unprecedentedly tough stance, the Prussian government dared not take strong measures at the risk of civil war.

Furthermore, due to the rise of the Ruhr region, Cologne is becoming increasingly powerful.

The Prussian government was overwhelmed by a combination of attacks from capitalists, workers' organizations, and the church, and the distance between them made a dualistic state almost unavoidable.

In fact, rulers usually choose to pacify the internal situation before dealing with external threats, and Wilhelm I thought so too. However, Bismarck had his own views, believing that dealing with internal problems inevitably involved the Austrian Empire.

Bismarck believed that Prussia's current state was due to the machinations of the Austrian Empire, and that if Prussia wanted to change things, whether through appeasement or force, it would ultimately have to confront the Austrian Empire directly.

In reality, Bismarck did not believe that capitalists, workers' organizations, and the church could coexist harmoniously. He believed that such a structure would cause them to fight each other if any conflict was created.

But no, the three parties remained in a state of equilibrium. As far as Bismarck knew, there was only one person in the entire German region who could do this: Franz Joseph I.

After all, the situation in the Austrian Empire was even more complicated than that. In fact, Bismarck himself did not believe that he could maintain a balance between the three factions in other countries.

But the facts are clear, and he doesn't believe that these three irreconcilable forces can come together without anyone mediating.

At the same time, even the most impenetrable walls will always have some rumors. If someone could really do such a thing under the nose of the Kingdom of Prussia, then perhaps another person like Napoleon has emerged who could overthrow the entire order.

In fact, Bismarck really hoped that someone would come out and cause trouble, preferably someone who would challenge the Austrian Empire, but he did not want such a person to appear in the Kingdom of Prussia.

If the Austrian Empire doesn't descend into chaos, the Kingdom of Prussia has absolutely no chance. The disparity between the two sides is comprehensive, as the Prussian military leadership has analyzed.

Even in the best-case scenario, Prussia would need three to five miraculous victories to have any chance of defeating the Austrian Empire.

Even a single victory would be incredibly difficult for the Kingdom of Prussia. Moreover, the Austrian Empire was large enough to afford a loss.

The difficulty of inflicting consecutive defeats on them would increase exponentially, but if the Kingdom of Prussia were to suffer even one defeat, or even just be held back by the Austrian Empire, then the defeat of the Kingdom of Prussia would be almost inevitable.

Moltke and the generals of the Prussian General Staff analyzed all the military operations of the Austrian Empire in recent years, and found that its command and combat capabilities had reached an astonishing level.

Moltke even joked with the other generals.

"Fortunately, we don't need to worry about the navy."

In fact, the naval strength of both sides was even more disheartening; the entire Prussian navy might not even be able to sink a single capital ship of the Austrian Empire.

Fortunately, there was the English Channel, and fortunately, there were British and French people present, so they could not allow the Austrian navy to attack Prussia.

Ron's conclusion was even more pessimistic; Albrecht von Ron was not a pessimist. But the gap between the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire had reached an appalling level.

Even at this point, Prussia's military strength after completing its national mobilization was still 200,000 fewer than the Austrian Empire's standing army, which was exactly the size of the Kingdom of Prussia's standing army.

But what was even more frightening was that the Austrian Empire's mobilization capacity was also very strong at this time; he had seen the scenes of huge crowds in front of Austrian Empire's recruitment stations.

At that time, the conscription age in the Austrian Empire was twenty-one, but if the situation became urgent, who knows if the Austrian Empire would lower the conscription age back to eighteen, or even fifteen.