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

Chapter 1933 An Excuse I Picked Up
The thing Franz least wanted to see still happened: the vast majority of economic crises in the 19th century stemmed from overproduction.

The supply of goods has surged, but people's corresponding purchasing power and demand have not increased.

The outcome was almost inevitable, but the market wasn't adjusting as quickly as expected. A massive influx of goods continued to enter the market, much faster than Franz had anticipated.

As it turns out, human greed is insatiable. Fortunately, Franz had stopped the acquisition in advance, and the factories in the Austrian Empire did not receive subsidies, so they were not involved and were only minimally affected.

However, the warehouses of the factories in each state were still full of goods. It wasn't that those people were slow to react; it was just that turning around was extremely difficult in that kind of atmosphere.

The factory's orders seemed to vanish overnight, and the roar of the machines had to cease. With the factory shut down, wages naturally couldn't be paid.

Some factory owners simply took the plunge and fired all their workers. This was partly a response to Franz, and partly a way to save money.

After all, there are plenty of workers in this era, and factories have no trouble recruiting people.

Franz might not care about this behavior, but to the Austrians it was a blatant provocation.

Austrians may not care much about the German Customs Union or the so-called "Labour Protection Act," since they already have these benefits while living in Austria.

However, this act of openly defying the emperor and the state was considered too outrageous by the Austrians. In their eyes, it was the behavior of a rebel, and the provocateur should pay the price.

In fact, after so many years of development, Austrians have developed a strong sense of superiority, and they always feel that they are better than the Germans in other states.

This feeling wasn't very noticeable within the Austrian Empire, but once they went abroad, they all became arrogant and haughty.

In addition, a massive influx of cheap goods was entering the Austrian Empire, prompting the public and merchants to begin a spontaneous boycott.

So as soon as the news reached Austria, war demonstrations broke out within the country.

Most Austrians believed that preaching was far less effective than taking concrete action, and that the imperial government should use the same swift and decisive measures as it had used domestically.

Austrians were outraged by both the factory owners' direct provocation of national authority and their disruption of the national economic order with low-priced goods.

Some people who didn't understand the situation took the dismissal of factory workers as a response to Franz and even shamelessly issued a public announcement about it.

"Given the extremely deteriorating current business environment and the uncertainty surrounding the impact of the German Confederation Labor Protection Act, our company has decided to announce that it will be exporting a number of talents to the market."

We hope that certain organizations and individuals who emphasize protection and safeguards will accept it.

The article also included a commentary from the German Workers' Daily: "Who pushed us into the abyss?"

Below, on the page, there was an advertisement celebrating the 31st anniversary of Franz Joseph's birth.

Franz had no interest in advertising himself in the newspapers, especially since his birthday was still a month away. The only reason someone would do this was to stir up trouble.

However, the same thing can have completely different effects on different people. For example, an Austrian at this time might feel that someone is deliberately trying to annoy Austria and the emperor himself, and he would feel offended.

In fact, due to Franz's long-term suppression, the nationalists of the Austrian Empire were somewhat paranoid. In reality, they were the most xenophobic and opposed to unification among all the people in the German Confederation.

But precisely because of this, they would not consider the consequences of a civil war, especially after achieving so many victories in the past.

"War! War! Let's march into their homes, dismantle their machinery, and hang those beasts at their doorsteps!"

This time, Austrian workers became the main force, but not out of so-called international spirit. Rather, they were more aware that cheap goods from other states were crowding out Austrian markets.

The Imperial Factory's profits are declining, their dividends are decreasing, and if things continue like this, they will all be homeless when the Imperial Factory goes bankrupt.

Business owners are also affected; this kind of disorderly and vicious competition is not something they want to see.

Thus, the two groups that were usually at odds reached a reconciliation at this time.

The Austrian Empire's high-ranking officials and vested interest groups also supported the war or, in other words, put pressure on the German Confederation.

Because in their view, the rise of the Austrian Empire's status was also a rise in their own status. Their interests were closely tied to the empire's; they were bound together by its prosperity and decline.

Subduing the other states of the German Confederation helped solidify the Austrian Empire's leadership, even though many were not satisfied with the framework of the German Confederation.

The Greater Germans, who were high-ranking officials in the Austrian Empire, believed that restoring the Holy Roman Empire was the right path.

Although many people think the Western Roman Empire was also good, it was disliked by the mainstream because of its association with the Russian Eastern Roman Empire.

In their eyes, Emperor Franz was good in every way, except that his excessive pro-foreign stance made those small countries completely lose sight of their own position.

Of course, besides that, while the word war is terrifying, it also means huge profits, especially when people feel they have victory in the bag and want to win big with small stakes (here, "small" refers not to Austria, but to themselves).

However, everyone here is intelligent, and Franz himself is indeed notorious. They are not outsiders; they have witnessed far too many bloody facts firsthand.

As a result, the students were pushed to the forefront.

Nineteenth-century students were a very special group. They had no income, no skills, and lacked social experience, but they had knowledge, passion, and were easy to organize. Their courage and folly were equally limitless.

When someone gives them an irresistible reason, and then injects some funds and enthusiasm, they will burn like a coal mountain, unstoppable.

Students from the Austrian Empire quickly gathered in Vienna, but their destination was not Franz and the Hofburg Palace, but the Prussian embassy.

Franz didn't care about protests or anything like that, but these people went and burned down the Prussian embassy.

Their reasoning was that Prussia was secretly undermining the Confederate peace and disrupting the economic order.

Bismarck and Wilhelm I, far away in Berlin, were truly alarmed, but fortunately, the Austrian Empire's official authorities did not possess any concrete evidence. However, what Bismarck and Wilhelm I did not expect was that the previously excellent economic situation would undergo a dramatic change in less than a month.

First, there was a large-scale unsold inventory, then factories laid off workers like crazy, followed by an even larger-scale unsold inventory.

Even if the Prussian government wanted to provide subsidies, merchants were no longer willing to sell their goods to other states because they simply couldn't sell them.

However, what's even more terrifying than not being able to sell is the crazy price cuts. Prices have fallen below cost and still no one is interested. Goods shipped to other countries aren't even enough to cover the transportation costs.

The situation in other states was not much better; goods were unsold, workers were unemployed, factories were shut down, more workers were unemployed, and there was even more unsold goods.

Franz naturally wondered what would happen next, so he decided to follow public opinion and propose to the Confederation that the Labor Protection Act be enforced.

Although the Austrian public didn't mean it that way, they wouldn't correct Franz either.

Even Bismarck thought Franz had gone mad. He and most people in the Confederation couldn't understand what the ridiculous Labor Protection Act had to do with unsold goods.

Prussia was the first to pass a decree to stop importing any goods from the German Confederation, prioritizing the protection of its domestic market.

Other states followed suit, knowing that with the economic crisis looming, reopening their markets now would be suicidal.

King Frederick VII of Denmark even seized the opportunity to declare his intention to withdraw from the German Confederation.

However, the Danish public is divided. Some people are unwilling to withdraw, because they are unsure whether Denmark's withdrawal will lead to war, given the past events.

Of course, there are also those who remain united and work together to overcome difficulties, such as Luxembourg. As one of the biggest beneficiaries of the German Confederation, Luxembourg has always focused on steel and coal.

They are less susceptible to shocks, and their highly specialized structure gives them a certain degree of resistance to risks.

As its territory expanded, Luxembourg, which had always supported agriculture, coupled with fervent nationalism that fostered unprecedented internal unity, became one of the most stable countries within the German Confederation at that time.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, was in a much worse situation. In the previous subsidy war, the Dutch government staked everything, and it could even be said that the rapid development of the economic crisis was largely due to their efforts.

No wonder they are the country that created the tulip legend; they really haven't learned a single lesson.

The Dutch thought they could take advantage of Austria's economic dominance and seize the market of the entire German Confederation.

With leverage of tens of times, the Dutch successfully ruined their own economy.

The surrounding states closed their doors to the Netherlands, and even the railways came to a standstill.

While Franz was still talking about the Labor Protection Act, King William III of the Netherlands found it laughable. He also considered withdrawing from the confederation, but by this time Dutch nationalism had become even more extreme.

A radical German soldier shot Wilhelm III in the chest and died on the spot, but the anger of the Dutch and Germans was also completely ignited.

The Dutch believed that the Germans' assassination of the king was an act of treason, while the Germans believed that the Dutch were framing someone by killing them without trial.

Coupled with long-standing grievances and disagreements over the Labor Protection Act, fierce clashes broke out between the two sides in Amsterdam and other places, with soldiers and civilians from opposing camps beginning to massacre each other.

That's right, both sides were determined to kill each other from the very beginning. Residents were killed in entire streets, and the cruelty was comparable to the sectarian conflicts of that year.

In fact, behind this madness lies the continuation of sectarian strife. Although there have been no large-scale massacres for hundreds of years, the continuous suppression and exclusion have never stopped.

This is why the Dutch expelled local Catholics when they partitioned Belgium, and both sides used exceptionally cruel methods after the conflict broke out.

The Netherlands and Denmark nearly collapsed, while other states either followed Prussia's example of isolationism or, like the three southern German states and Saxony, accepted the Labor Protection Act and completely integrated into the small circle of the Austrian Empire.

However, Franz's goal was not to establish South Germany; he was well aware that time was running out for him and the German Confederation.

Franz directly manipulated the Confederation Congress to force the passage of the Labor Protection Act and issued an ultimatum to the remaining states.

Accepting labor protection laws and reopening trade and borders are both essential.

In fact, manipulating the Confederation Parliament was not difficult for Franz, or rather, the Austrian Empire had long had the ability to do so, but he thought there was no need to rush things and wanted to do it more gracefully.

However, things developed far beyond Franz's expectations. If he didn't step in to clean up the mess now, things might really get out of control if he waited any longer.

Of course, Franz did not expect to resolve the crisis with a single document. The Austrian Empire's army had already begun to be mobilized, and necessary military deterrence, and even some bloodshed, were inevitable.

Especially regarding the situation in the Netherlands, with William III in a coma and serious divisions within the court and government, no one was able to take charge. They were unable to reach a consensus on seeking help from the Confederation, leaving Franz with no choice but to consider forceful intervention.

At this time, the Austrian Empire adopted a tough stance, which, while not the best time for Bismarck, provided the most reasonable excuse.

Furthermore, the hostility of the domestic bourgeoisie towards the Austrian Empire had reached its peak; they even felt that the source of the economic crisis lay with the Austrian Empire.

Without the Austrian Empire's forceful intervention, there would have been no market panic, and without the market panic, there would have been no economic crisis.

Essentially, it was the capitalists who suffered unequal treatment and the laws of the free market economy that led to their counterattack against the Austrian Empire's power.

This theory has gained considerable traction in some regions and has even spread to Britain, where scholars in the City of London have called it "the triumph of capital" and claimed that any behavior that dares to defy market rules will be met with a backlash.

This gave Franz a good pretext for war, and he issued another ultimatum, but not to the states, but to the capitalists of those states.

They were given one week to resolve the current economic and unemployment crisis. If they failed, the German Confederation government would arrest and interrogate them on charges of endangering the Confederation and plotting to overthrow the Confederation until the economic crisis was resolved.

Franz's ultimatum stunned the German Confederation states and Britain and France, revealing that their previous analysis and boasting had been giving the other side a pretext for war.

However, this excuse is far-fetched, yet the undeniable victories and counterattacks are still clearly printed in their newspapers.