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

Chapter 1947 Victims

In fact, the seeds of this uprising had already been sown before the war even began.

In later Western societies, for propaganda purposes, companies and countries are often portrayed as the biggest victims of price wars, but in reality, workers, farmers, and millions of ordinary people are the real victims who are often overlooked.

Price wars are essentially a process of cost transfer; disasters can be passed on layer by layer, leaving the bottom layer with no choice but to bear the burden.

In fact, when Franz debated with the various states, they were not indifferent, nor did they not want to speak up; rather, they simply could not make a sound.

The biggest obstacle for most ordinary people is not courage, but the cost of publishing royalties.

One hundred florins might be just a meal or a banknote in the wallet for the upper class.

But for the vast majority of people at the bottom of society, it might be half a year's living expenses, or several months' worth of food for a family. They might not be able to save up this amount of money even after several years.

The phrase "sacrifice one's life for others" may only have four words, but every stroke of the pen requires life and blood to write.

Even more tragically, those who used all their savings could only buy some remote corners, and the second hurdle they faced was the censorship of books and newspapers by the state governments.

Those who control the discourse never want to hear dissenting voices; most opposing voices are nipped in the bud, and even those who create noise disappear.

The rulers have been using the strategy of controlling public opinion and suppressing dissent for thousands of years, but each new wave of rebels has to start from scratch, highlighting the vast difference between the two sides.

After thousands of years of selection, most of the remaining people are those who are most tolerant and compliant.

However, the economic crisis triggered by the price war has far-reaching effects: unsold goods, plummeting prices, and a sharp decline in people's income, while people are forced to work overtime voluntarily or face layoffs.

In fact, wages were plummeting throughout the German region, and massive numbers of workers were unemployed. In order to cope with the war, the state governments forcibly conscripted soldiers.

The resentful populace began to evade their duties, resulting in a massive loss of urban population. As a result, state governments were forced to relocate farmers to the cities to fill the vacancies.

Of course, there were some nice promises made before we arrived, but whether or not they are kept depends entirely on our conscience.

The result was that the area was filled with angry crowds, people who were full of resentment and extremely destructive. This is why Franz wanted to abandon the entire border and evacuate the entire population to the rear.

Franz knew what the outcome would be if he let those people stay where they were or let the soldiers fight to the death.

In fact, this group did do a lot of sabotage; they burned down villages along the way and destroyed the fortresses abandoned by the Austrian army.

If this anger were directed at someone, the consequences would be predictable.
With wages continuously suppressed, everyone is living a precarious existence. Coupled with the spread of another voice, many people, even if they dare not directly resist, will secretly engage in sabotage or deliberately reduce efficiency.

Overtime work, but no actual work. Some factories came up with the idea of ​​a piece-rate system, but the result was an explosively high defect rate.

Of course, factories often adopt a dual-track system to ensure profits, but they end up with twice the number of defective products.

As for the punishment of being fired, it might have been terrifying in the past, but in the current state where everyone is already half dead, it poses little threat.

Some factory owners thought of making the money come from the sheep, and in fact, the governments of states like Prussia also felt that this was the best way to deter those "lazybones".

But humans are, after all, biological beings, and once the pressure exceeds a critical threshold, their animalistic instincts may overcome their rationality.

Hitting someone in the stomach and smashing windows were child's play. In the 19th century, people who were truly struggling to survive didn't care about morality or law; they smashed machines, burned warehouses, and some even broke into factory owners' homes.

Capitalists will naturally not sit idly by, especially at this critical juncture; they need to be even more assertive.

Not only do they need confidence, but the state governments that support them need it even more. After all, this time the enemy is not the common people, but an autocratic tyranny.

If weakness is exposed, the already fragile alliance may collapse in an instant.

In the past, capitalists might have used appeasement policies to divide and weaken, but now they have more convenient reasons and cheaper methods.

"Those guys are Austrians' lackeys!"

The chairman of the new German Chamber of Commerce and Industry shouted.

The business representatives gathered from various cities nodded in agreement.

"Those people are parasites on society; they want to corrupt our nation's great order! Those lazy and barbaric people don't deserve to live in this world!"

Suppression, even more intense suppression. The strength of some students and nationalists is also very weak, and they are often the first to collapse in the face of such strong suppression.

However, those at the very bottom had nowhere to retreat. Many of them would repeat the fate of Silesia, and many were branded as "traitors" and hanged in the square.

But some people still put up a stubborn resistance, because the term "economic crisis" was too far removed from the German Confederation; it hadn't happened for over twenty years, and those in high positions had no idea how terrifying it was.

On the other hand, religious issues have become more acute again. Over the years, the Catholic Church has accumulated considerable strength, especially in the Rhine region, where they have also formed their own organizations.

However, compared to the strength of the actual regime, there is still a huge gap, and it would be easy to remove those religious leaders and political figures.

However, some things cannot be rushed, and capitalists who choose the most drastic measures will naturally receive the most drastic response.

The term "religious vendetta," long forgotten, has returned to the public eye because the Prussians were indeed carrying out religious persecution; if they could behead religious leaders, they could also behead believers.

Anger, fear, and faith intertwined can often unleash tremendous energy. Their organization is far superior to that of the scattered workers and peasants at this time, and the damage they cause is naturally much greater.

However, they were no match for a real army, not to mention the presence of spies within their ranks, and their resistance was quickly broken down.

However, in the early stages, there were few actual violent uprisings; most were protests.

However, under certain circumstances, they have no reason, let alone any basis to make concessions to the other party.

Most of the time, these incidents are treated as ordinary disturbances by the state governments. The general process usually involves a crowd gathering, shouting loudly, military police arriving to arrest the ringleaders, and then giving the supporters a beating.

Some protesters, enraged by the beatings, resisted, and the military police began making mass arrests. The protesters fled in panic, and the situation escalated into a riot.

Such riots were so common in the nineteenth century that they did not attract enough attention from state governments.

However, as the war began and the economic crisis worsened, survival became increasingly difficult for the poorest people, and more and more people took desperate measures.

Often, when someone instigates a disturbance, it can escalate into a large-scale upheaval. Typically, such insurgents lack a unified goal and program.

However, the Labor Protection Act, the Church, and Franz himself filled in the gaps. Of course, it was precisely because of these factors that Prussia's retaliation became increasingly fierce.

Furthermore, the elite class itself was also wavering, after all, the piles of children's corpses on the carriages and the starving corpses scattered on the ground were far more shocking than the rational speeches of some experts and professors.

In the past, the bourgeoisie greatly enjoyed manipulating the power of the people because it instilled fear in monarchs and nobles. But when it came to standing alongside monarchs and nobles, they deeply felt that terror. Even half a century later, the shadow of the French Rebellion still lingered, and they had no desire to be sent to the guillotine.

Some began to compromise, while others chose to stand their ground. Cracks appeared within the capitalists, which not only failed to prevent things from developing in a more intense direction, but also weakened their own power.

In fact, as long as the basic framework of each state remains intact, the events of 1848 will not repeat themselves.

After all, the regimes of the various states became much more stable after Franz's unification with his own clan.

However, as news of Prussia's defeat on the main battlefield arrived, the people could no longer suppress their emotions.

At that moment, their nationalistic fervor, religious zeal, and yearning for a better life and dignity completely overwhelmed them.

Since no one allowed them to speak in the newspapers, they took their voices to the streets and alleys!
In a single day, 40 people perished, including almost the entire young generation of royal and noble heirs. Such a loss caused Wilhelm I to faint on the spot, while Bismarck was still racking his brains for a way to remedy the situation.

But to cause such enormous losses in a single day is truly beyond reason, and it is even more devastating than the blow Hannibal dealt to the Romans.

Bismarck was also helpless in the face of this situation; he did not believe that the armies of Hanover and France could defeat Austria.

However, the Prussian government's policies continued instinctively, and the work of maintaining stability within the organization continued.

In fact, the Hanoverian army, which was preparing to support the front lines, mutinied on the spot upon receiving the news, and the army commander, the Marquis of Portland, was so frightened that he died.

The 400,000 troops lost by Prussia were not simply a loss of 400,000 men; in fact, they represented the very essence of the Prussian kingdom.

The noble officers, or rather the Junker nobles, had most of their expenses reimbursed, which went beyond mere discontent.

The Prussian nobles had no intention of continuing the fight; their primary concern was how to protect their own and their families' interests.

The question was whether to remain loyal to the monarchy or seek a territory that would most likely be ceded to Austria and switch allegiance. Being marginalized and ostracized was almost inevitable.

The situation inside Shinra might be slightly better, but it still requires immense courage.

European noble families were very wary of changing their allegiance, because regaining trust after jumping from one system to another was not an easy task.

Austria, however, is an exception. In this country that places great emphasis on social status and family background, there are actually fewer problems.

Not to mention those of the same race, even those of different races, the Austrian Empire was very tolerant and would not deliberately target or suppress them.

In the Austrian Empire, there was only one center: the royal family. As long as one was favored by the emperor, even a Slav could rise to prominence.

After this war, the Kingdom of Prussia would find it difficult to rise again, so it was better to find a new ally as soon as possible. The Austrian Empire, which was at its zenith at the time, was undoubtedly a good choice.

However, nobles value dignity, and the fact that so many of them died in this battle already shows they have done right by the Hohenzollern family.

"It is those money-grubbing Jews who have deceived His Majesty the King! They have caused us Germans to turn against each other!"

They have destroyed our ancient and sacred order! They have ruined our reputation! They have plunged the entire world into an abyss!
And those bastards still want to hide behind the scenes and keep counting their money!

"Yes! Those Jewish capitalists are driving up prices! They're profiting from the national crisis!"

"I always said that if businessmen interfere in politics, the country will perish!"

"We've been scammed!"

This statement resonated with many nobles. In fact, during the wave of industrialization, the Prussian government had been making concessions to capital in order to develop and catch up with the Austrian Empire.

This was a common phenomenon at the time, but the actions of the Prussian government genuinely impacted the interests of landowners and military nobles.

If these nobles truly had no complaints whatsoever, then Buddha should have relinquished his position long ago.

Especially now that the nobles have suffered heavy casualties, those nouveau riche in their eyes are just putting on a show, and even taking the opportunity to make a fortune.

How could those nobles not hate it? So someone composed a song called "Eight Great Regrets" and sang it in the streets.

In fact, the Prussian Junker nobles would not truly admit defeat; at this moment, they suddenly remembered the story of how a horseshoe ruined a war.

"I have no idea how many inferior military boots and how many inferior artillery shells these damned guys have produced."

"Yes! The shoddy rifles they produce can't even fire. I saw them add sand to the gunpowder with my own eyes!"

A retired military officer slammed the cup to the ground.

"No wonder our supplies are always delayed! They're the culprits!"

One cavalry officer even produced a substandard horseshoe from who-knows-where.

"See? They even dared to fool me, God knows what our young men are using!"

The Junker nobles standing nearby were practically spitting fire with rage at the sight.

Why didn't you say so sooner!

The cavalry officer was also furious.

"Of course I said it! Not only did I say it, but I also argued with them! And what was the result? They said I was a coward! They told me to stay here and wait to be summoned!"

"Damn profiteers! We'll make them pay!"

"Our country has been hijacked by them! Our country no longer resembles a country, but rather their factory! We are merely their expendable resources!"

We must take back what belongs to us!

"Brothers, take up your weapons! Fight to the very end!"

These old-school nobles still possess considerable military power, and they can also rally veterans who once served Prussia.

At the same time, these local nobles also enjoyed considerable prestige among the people, and they did not want to turn their hometown into a battlefield, so finding a scapegoat was essential.

By this time, the Prussian government had lost control over these nobles, meaning that the capitalists' protective shield had failed.

(The next chapter will be about the common people.)