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

Chapter 1930 The First Victim

"The British have their own suffering, and they have their own solutions. They are driven by self-interest, while we Germans are driven by honor and sacrifice."

Just as we don't need to import British goods, we don't need to import British practices. We Germans will forge our own path.

This tactic is to seize the moral high ground by calling a deer a horse, but they still prioritize their stance first, and they don't care about right or wrong.

This time, however, Franz became the traitor who fawned over foreigners, while they themselves represented the German nation.

What started as a discussion about the Labor Protection Act has quickly turned into a declaration of identity and stance.

Franz felt somewhat helpless and saddened. He understood their purpose: to transform the issue of right and wrong into a matter of identity and stance.

Once this thing starts, right and wrong become unimportant. Morality, reason, and even facts become unimportant. The only thing that matters is who you're on the same side as.

As long as we're in this together, even if we cheat, swindle, kill, commit arson, rape, and plunder, we're still good brothers and close brethren in the Water Margin.

But if someone isn't one of us, even if they are upright, helpful, and selfless, they are still a traitor, a villain, and a national sellout.

This is why some people find reading "Water Margin" confusing, while others find it delightful and even exhilarating.

Some people think they can easily refute others with their words, leaving them speechless and forced to submit. After all, they are extremely intelligent and have extensive experience in online debates. How could a mere logical fallacy stump someone?
But is it possible that the other party simply doesn't want to listen to your reasoning, or even knows they are wrong?
They weren't there to debate at all; they were just there to lure people in with this bait.

These people need to choose the battlefield that best suits them and the field they are most proficient in.

As for bystanders who have automatically taken sides and adopted the other side's perspective, they will only think you are making excuses.

Reasoning can only be explained to those who are reasonable, while arguing is for others to see.

However, once the argument starts, they will use their rich experience and the most shameless methods to wear you down.

True scoundrels won't listen to reason; they manipulate emotions and people's hearts, competing to see who can be more shameless.

Franz would never actually argue with a bunch of professional scoundrels; that would not only lower his status but also be incredibly inefficient.

Moreover, this was a trap from the very beginning, designed to seize the absolute moral high ground, or so-called political correctness.

Even if you are a scholar of unparalleled learning and wisdom, it will be of no use, because some things are simply fatal to whoever touches them.

After all, the other party was speaking from the perspective of the entire German nation, representing millions of Germans.

The silent majority becomes the most dangerous accomplice at this point. If it were someone else, they would have to resort to roundabout tactics. Perhaps after ten or twenty years, when people realize the problem, everything will naturally fall into place.

However, they could afford to wait, but the economic system of the German Confederation could not.

Perhaps Franz protected them too well, because the Germans had a very shallow understanding of the economic crisis, and even believed that it was a special phenomenon that only occurred in countries like Britain, France and the United States.

This is precisely why some of the elites of the German Confederation firmly believed in the so-called theory of superiority. After all, no matter what they did, things seemed to always start moving in a positive direction again.

But Franz didn't have that kind of mysterious confidence, because he was the one who had the backup plan.

This time, however, was different. This time, Bismarck went too far, and even the Austrian Empire couldn't contain him.

If we were to force a bailout, even sacrificing the entire Austrian Empire wouldn't be enough to cover the losses. After all, some problems, if not addressed at their root, will only increase the enemy's resources if we blindly invest.

This seemingly unsolvable trap is a culmination of thousands of years of Western political wisdom, and for most people, it is a deadly poison that can kill at the slightest touch.

However, it wasn't so serious for Franz, because generally no one in the German Confederation dared to classify Franz as an enemy.

Even if he had the guts, others wouldn't dare to agree, let alone have the qualifications or the ability.

If it weren't for the fact that Prussia, as a political entity, intended to do this, even if Franz openly opposed the German Confederation, others would have tried to pretend they didn't know.

There was no way around it; the sheer size of the Austrian Empire meant that even if other countries wanted to oppose it, they had to consider their own strength.

When all the black-and-white labeling is applied to Franz, the people who should think twice before acting become themselves. They must consider the consequences and impact, or they will really get themselves into trouble.

No one dares to say that Franz was not German, just as no one dares to say that Franz was German.

Because the concept of nationhood had long been diluted in the Austrian Empire, there was only the nation-state, and people were more often divided by class, language, religion, and geographical location.

Unless they are Jewish or Gypsy, most Austrians do not dwell on ethnic issues.

For example, no one would call a Bohemian Slav a Bohemian, nor would anyone specifically call a Venetian Italian a Venetian.

Even if someone did call it that, the Venetian would immediately correct them.

“I am a Venetian, not an Italian.”

The same goes for Czechs.

As for the Bohemians, Moravians, and Slovaks, they also disagreed with the Czechs' terminology. Despite Slovakia's past poverty, they did not consider the Bohemians to be their brothers.

Moreover, under Franz's rule, the economy, security, and living standards in the three regions have all improved significantly compared to the past.

Will the three regions, once developed, choose to form a powerful alliance? The answer is no.

The fact that the three parties looked down on each other was not the result of Franz's deliberate manipulation.

In fact, the competition among the three parties has a long history. Although Bohemia has always held an absolute advantage, the other two brothers have never been convinced of it.

Even if they were forcibly brought together for nearly a century, they would inevitably fall apart, not to mention that at this time Bohemia did not have absolutely strong power or a favorable social background.

Moravia had already forged its own path in development, while Slovakia, though it only separated from the Kingdom of Hungary after 1848, had already undergone tremendous changes thanks to Franz's strong support.

Slovakia, which was once under Hungarian rule, was terribly poor. Although almost everyone was engaged in agriculture, many people starved to death every year. Some people even went into hiding in the mountains to become bandits in order to avoid the poll tax.

Slovakian bandits are probably the least picky eaters; a bag of flour and a bag of potatoes are enough to satisfy them.

Because even being a bandit here could mean starvation, many roads were in disrepair, and trade was poor, many areas had no commerce at all. It was common for bandits who couldn't find anything to steal to go to the cities to do odd jobs or beg.

Slovakia is predominantly mountainous and hilly, with very little arable land. The vast majority of the fertile land was controlled by Hungarian nobles, leaving Slovaks to rely on scraps for their livelihood.

Living is already extremely difficult, but the pressure of taxes is equally immense, forcing Slovaks to take a significant portion of their meager food rations to pay taxes.

Although Slovakia also had mining and handicraft industries, these were mostly controlled by Hungarian nobles, who also bore heavy taxes, resulting in poverty.

However, after Franz completely expelled Hungary's influence in Slovakia after 1848, and coupled with the population decline caused by the war, Slovakia's per capita land ownership tripled.

Moreover, the Austrian Empire had the ability to guarantee that all Slovaks had land to cultivate, rather than simply playing with words.

Moreover, Franz provided new technologies, tools, and improved varieties, and upgraded the infrastructure and planting methods.

The mining and industrial sectors were no longer bound by the Kingdom of Hungary; the state directly built factories, resulting in a significant improvement in workers' wages and quality of life.

Although ten years have passed, many Slovaks still find it hard to believe, vividly recalling how the entire village was once emaciated and poorly clothed.

However, nowadays many village children can ride bicycles, which were once only ridden by noblemen, and play by the roadside.

At this point, someone told them, "You are Czechs, and you are rebelling against Austria with us. We will make you our underlings."

How will the Slovaks react? Perhaps with shock, perhaps with anger, or perhaps with contemplation.

But after seeing Bohemia get beaten up again, they would be doing themselves a disservice if they hesitated for even a second longer.

The Bohemian problem is a well-worn topic. Bohemia at this time was much richer than it was at the same historical period, but it was plagued by internal troubles. The proportion of Czechs in the cities was less than that of Jews, while the proportion of Germans in the cities had exceeded 50%.

The Czechs in the countryside don't care about so-called Czech nationalism. They not only have no prejudice against outsiders, but are also happy about the increased sales of agricultural products.

Furthermore, Franz would always target Bohemia for his own purposes, and there was always someone in Bohemia willing to take the hit.

After repeated blows, the local power in Bohemia has been greatly diminished, but their sense of superiority remains, only this sense of superiority has become an obstacle.

In addition, Austrians did not have the same level of rosy perception of Britain as other countries at the time, since the Austrian Empire did have official tour groups that traveled to Britain.

The noble elites of the Austrian Empire had long since demystified Britain; without the propaganda of those pseudo-intellectuals and traitors, Britain wouldn't be so great.

This is why Austrians also look down on factories in other German Confederation countries, since quite a few of them have actually visited them, and some have even worked there.

Their conclusion was that, apart from the factories in the Austrian Empire, all factories in the rest of the world were exactly the same—ruthless and exploitative.

Every political entity needs its supporters, and Franz is no exception.

"I'm curious, if the British are killed by bullets and scalded by hot water, why aren't the Germans?"

"If the British feel tired after working fourteen hours in a factory, don't the Germans feel tired too?"

"What you're doing is no different from what the British are doing."

"Should we conduct an experiment?"

Franz's experiments on living people terrified the nobles of the German region, and no one dared to take on such a challenge, since the results had been seen countless times.

At this point, some people will start to criticize Krupp's actions again. Although Krupp didn't want to be the first to speak out, he was honestly quite proud of himself.

Krupp is very famous, and even modern people tend to have a certain bias towards him, but this does not include Franz.

"Mr. Krupp has indeed done a lot, and quite well. But how many of you are like Krupp?"

"And does Mr. Krupp really provide protection for those workers? We have some workers here who were forced to leave the Krupp factory. Would you like to hear their side of the story?"

Look at what they sacrificed, and what Krupp did.
Mr. Krupp's actions were nothing more than an attempt to increase control. Some people call him the plantation owner of industry, and I think that's a very apt description.

I believe workers can be dependent on the state, but not on individuals or companies. Who disagrees? Who agrees?

In fact, Franz's approach was recognized by the vast majority of countries, which also did not want companies to tie their employees too tightly, since no regime wants a state within a state to exist in its country.

Of course, the feelings of those in power and those in power are completely different. Many reformers hear the voice of reform, while liberals hear the call for freedom.

The company owners, however, felt that Franz's approach was a double standard, allowing officials to do as they pleased while forbidding ordinary citizens from doing even the simplest things. Franz didn't care about these opinions; there were plenty of other things he wanted to do that were easily misunderstood.

If he were to explain everything one by one, he might not finish even until his death. Moreover, in the 19th century, once those in power reached a consensus, it was very difficult for the opinions of the lower classes to be heard.

The first victim of this incident emerged: Alfred Krupp went from being a rising industrial star in Prussia to a treacherous scab.

The workers' anger was secondary; the key issue was that the dislike from Wilhelm I and the Prussian leadership made things extremely difficult for him.

After all, it's not easy for a country or a government to support a company, but it's all too easy to kill one.

Putting aside the fact that Krupp's factories already owed the Kingdom of Prussia a huge debt, even a few minor officials could have easily ruined Alfred Krupp with a simple investigation.

However, Bismarck was not a reckless man. He knew the importance of the steel industry to Prussia and would not allow anyone to act recklessly.

But if Wilhelm I didn't like Krupp, then he would have to find someone else, after all, Franz was right when he said something like that.

"If you don't want to make this money, there are plenty of other people who do."

Krupp's factories had to be replaced, and the Krupp model had to be ended, because a state within a state is a great taboo for any ambitious ruler.

Some states within states have been able to exist for a long time mainly because their rulers are powerless and unable to act; it is not that they do not want to, but that they cannot.

But Krupp's steel empire was clearly not too big to fail, and such matters would be handled by specialized personnel.

Krupp's factories will be acquired, and then there will be a smooth transition; they will not collapse outright.

Bismarck did this to distance himself from it and avoid getting burned. After all, some things are irreversible once they happen, and the wisest thing to do is to cut his losses.