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

Chapter 1983 Crazy Racing

Franz actually wanted to start a Holy Roman Empire football league, but he found that the timeline seemed to be wrong. The football he was so passionate about could not be promoted at all, and it was even labeled as a barbaric sport that came from England.

This situation was somewhat related to Franz. Due to the long-standing debate between Austria and Britain, Britain was seen as the absolute villain by the elite class of the Austrian Empire at this time.

This group of people spontaneously rises up every day to boycott everything related to Britain, including football, a decadent sport.

On the other hand, Vienna, as the center of the Holy Roman Empire, was never short of entertainment. With such a capital city and Emperor Franz, the entertainment industry of the entire Holy Roman Empire was exceptionally developed.

Football doesn't really rank among them; people have many more options. When it comes to sports, cycling actually has the largest number of participants.

The Giro d'Or has become the Giro d'Honoré Grand Prix, but this is irrelevant to both spectators and participants, as most people don't care about the title.

In fact, the early promotion of football was not smooth sailing. There was chaos both on and off the field, and it lived up to its reputation as barbaric.

Injuries were commonplace, and occasionally a few would even die.

Yes, literally dead. At this point, football had absolutely nothing to do with the gentlemanly sport promoted by the British.
Because Franz introduced the betting system too early, match-fixing became rampant, leading to a series of serious incidents. The football stadium even became synonymous with arranged fights.

The class consciousness inherent in the Austrian Empire made it difficult for football, a high-contact, high-stakes sport for ordinary people, to break down class barriers, and even reinforced ingrained notions and stereotypes.

Instead, cycling, a sport with relatively less intense competition, became the mainstream, although cycling races at this time often turned into full-blown brawls, and there were even infamous prop races.

However, compared to the direct, hand-to-hand combat on the football field, it is still more civilized. In terms of sports, Shinra is divided into small cliques, which is quite speechless.

Even among ordinary people, football is not the most popular sport.

Cycling and gymnastics were the absolute kings within the Holy Roman Empire at this time, with all sorts of other competitions emerging, apart from the Tour of the Holy Roman Empire organized by Franz.

Especially during rush hour, you often see large groups of people riding bicycles recklessly on the road, and the prizes for these competitions are all sorts of bizarre.

John Beckman dreamed of becoming a baker since he was a child, but his father and grandfather could only work as assistants their entire lives.

In fact, even the opportunity to work as a helper was no longer available in his generation; the boss's nephew from the countryside took his place.

With no other options, Johann Beckman had no choice but to join the army, which was hardly a desirable place in the former Austrian army.

It was hell for honest people with no connections or background; they were no different from slaves, and their lives were even worse than slaves'.

However, John Beckman was very lucky; he encountered military reforms shortly after joining the army, which greatly improved the treatment and status of soldiers.

At the same time, his kneading skills were discovered, and he successfully entered the cooking squad, which, in a sense, fulfilled his wish.

Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. Instead of leaving with his comrades to continue serving the country overseas, the sixteen-year-old boy returned to Vienna and opened a bakery with his retirement allowance.

He wanted to organize some activities to create a buzz for the opening of the bakery.

However, opening the shop had already cost John Beckman most of his savings, and he was really not good at anything other than making bread.

John Beckman happened to see news about the Tour de Germany, and then he had a brilliant idea to organize a Tour de Germany Grand Prix.

The contestants need to complete two hundred laps around his shop, and the first ten contestants to finish will receive bread as a reward.

John Beckman had expected about ten people to come, but the number of contestants far exceeded his expectations.

On opening day, hundreds of bicycles circled his shop wildly, even alarming the police and the city hall.

In fact, the commotion was so great that even Franz learned about it, and it later became an international laughing stock.

After John Beckman’s Tour de la Bakery was a huge success, all sorts of oddballs followed suit, making Vienna and even the Holy Roman Empire a chaotic mess.

In a physical sense, it refers to a state of smog and pollution.

Franz was forced to enact an emergency decree to stop the chaotic racing, as the disorderly competition had disrupted normal social order and even begun to affect traffic.

Accidents, injuries, and run-overs caused by cycling races are frequent, and the happiest people are the hospitals and roadside repairmen.

Austria's fall injury medicine is currently leading the world, given the sheer number of cases every day, which naturally leads to rapid development.

In contrast, Austrian car mechanics are incredibly skilled, but this has also led to a large number of gray-market industries.

Firstly, there is a noticeable increase in the amount of glass, nails, and sharp gravel on the road surface, and occasionally even barbed wire.

The purpose is self-evident: to increase sales. More tire blowouts mean more business. And it's very difficult to find the culprit, since it's extremely difficult to detect someone simply throwing something away under the cover of darkness.

This problem has even affected the carriage industry, with numerous horses and people being accidentally injured every day. Theft is rampant, with thousands of thefts occurring daily in Vienna alone.

They thieves steal everything from complete vehicles to spare parts. While it's relatively easy to find clues if it's a complete vehicle, some professional car thieves specialize in stealing spare parts and then reselling them to mechanics or repair shops.

Especially those small parts that frequently needed to be replaced, were almost impossible to trace with the technology of the 19th century.

Having tasted success, these guys set up an underground factory where they reassembled stolen bicycle parts and resold them.

Even more outrageous is the emergence of a new type of financial product called "repair loan," which targets those at the bottom who regard bicycles as "means of production."

The pledged item was naturally a bicycle. At that time, a bicycle was a big item for ordinary people, so it was classified as a "means of production".

For an ordinary family, losing a bicycle is a devastating blow, and some families may even fall back into poverty as a result.

Such behavior has also fueled distrust among the public, since some car repairmen can make a lot of money by engaging in underhanded practices without any conscience.

For example, if sand is added to the bearing or a small hole is made in the inner tube, the vehicle will soon require repeated repairs.

Moreover, it's difficult for anyone to distinguish whether it was intentional, accidental, or normal damage.

With serious incidents involving bicycles on the rise, the Vienna Coach Club strongly recommends a ban on bicycles, arguing that the problem must be addressed at its source.
The empire's elites also began to reflect, and some even felt that riding a bicycle was a shortcut, which sparked a craze for race walking.

This situation actually made Franz a little annoyed; he never imagined that a small bicycle could cause so much trouble.

However, since it has already harmed ordinary people, it cannot be ignored and must be resolved.

Franz first looked at the existing solutions, but his disappointment was quickly evident. He could only describe these solutions with two words: "bullshit."

The officials in charge didn't take these matters seriously at all, and every proposal was filled with arrogance and bureaucracy.

"Send them to Albania." Prince Schwarzenberg dared not disobey or plead for Franz's orders, for some things were already written on the Emperor's face.

Franz was not an emperor who could be easily persuaded; once an order was issued, there was almost no chance of it being revoked.

In fact, this group of people misunderstood Franz. It wasn't that Franz was unwilling to correct his mistakes; if someone could point out his errors, he would be very willing to correct them in time.

It's just that Franz's ability to admit and correct his mistakes is always deliberately overlooked.

“But Your Majesty, there aren’t that many official positions left in Albania.”

Franz was clearly still furious.

"I don't want to concern myself with so much. If they don't have enough official positions, then let them go to the grassroots and see what the world is like! Don't assume things!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After Prince Schwarzenberg left, only Count Széchenyi remained. As the former mayor of Vienna, he was somewhat aware of the current situation.

"Your Majesty, they have already tried their best."

Franz then slammed his fist on the table.

"Stop glorifying their arrogance and stupidity! Increase police force? Improve the legal system? Do I need this kind of vague nonsense and clichés?"

What I need is a concrete solution. What have they come up with?

Count Séchenyi was clearly aware of all this, but he still looked very troubled.

"Your Majesty, these problems have existed for a long time, and we have tried many methods."

"So you gave up because the results weren't good? Because the voices of ordinary people didn't reach your ears?"
What about my voice? Should I continue to let them turn a deaf ear?

Franz's angry words almost made Count Séchenyi kneel down. It wasn't that Count Séchenyi was weak-kneed; it was just that Franz's prestige had reached an almost absurd level.

"I'll gather the manpower right now, and we'll definitely come up with a feasible solution for you by tomorrow!"

Count Séchenyi shouted with courage.

"No need, I have a plan right now, you can take it and refine it."

Franz's plan was to establish official repair centers and recruit some mechanics. Funding would be provided by major bicycle manufacturers, and parts would be purchased from manufacturers and supplied by the government.

This would cut off a significant portion of the gray industry chain, followed by a comprehensive crackdown on the underground black market and underground factories.

Franz would never allow such blatant illegal factories to reappear, and at the same time implemented a stamped registration system.

Improve the reporting system so that homeless people or children who are forced or hired to cause damage on the streets can not only be exempted from punishment but also receive a reward if they expose the culprits.

Establish a police force specifically targeting bicycle-related crimes.
Although they were only drafts, they were enough to shock Count Séchenyi.

Because every step Franz took hit the nail on the head, these impromptu solutions exceeded the research conducted by his bureaucrats.

In fact, Franz came from a later era, and the gap in their perspectives was completely insurmountable. Moreover, Franz had actually been in charge of similar matters in his previous life.

Although he had never experienced a steel stamp in person, he had seen it in many period dramas.

Moreover, given his experience, it wouldn't be difficult for him to figure out the process, but to Count Séchenyi in the 19th century, it was undoubtedly astonishing.

"But isn't this supporting monopolies?"

Séchenyi's perspective is different, and his focus is also different.

"If a large number of auto repair shops are nationalized, it will inevitably create a de facto monopoly. Won't this squeeze the living space of auto repair workers?"

There is a considerable number of car mechanics in my country today, and mass unemployment would inevitably lead to social unrest. Monopolies are also detrimental to the industry's development.

Franz snorted coldly.

"Does this country need so many mechanics? Why are there so many broken-down cars? Is it really because our people ride too recklessly and the manufacturers' technology is inadequate?"

"Isn't it just that someone wants to have another bite?"

Franz paused for a moment before speaking.

"If you like to analyze it from an economic perspective, then I'll analyze it from an economic perspective with you. The profit margin for car repair is so good now, don't those car factories get envious?"
Would they just sit idly by and watch the profits from their industry flow out of the country?

Count Széchenyi understood that Franz made a lot of sense, but he didn't know what it had to do with anything. Would bicycle manufacturers really set up their own repair shops and compete with mechanics for business?

That's exactly the answer.

"Don't worry, as long as the profits are enough, manufacturers' repair centers will soon appear. Then you will see a large number of non-standard designs, one going left and one going right is almost an inevitable result."

These unique designs will greatly combat illicit activities, but don't be too happy yet, because doing so also wastes a lot of resources, and the cost of the bicycles will inevitably have to be borne by ordinary people.

Moreover, once someone makes their first fortune here, sharks that smell blood will swarm in.

Is our frantic infighting on this kind of issue really beneficial to the industry's development?

Count Séchenyi was speechless, for Franz was telling the truth; he had seen far too many similar things over the years.

If Franz hadn't intervened in time to stop the rampant growth of capital in the Austrian Empire, such waste would have occurred countless times.

However, Franz was also heavily criticized; he was widely regarded as an emperor who couldn't stand seeing others make money. Even if it meant disregarding economic principles, he was determined to prevent others from surpassing him in the speed of wealth accumulation.

Jealousy and envy of talent are also labels attached to Franz, but only the empire's high command knows just how absurd this label truly is.

Franz's choices often lean towards those of ordinary people, and this time was no exception.

“Count, the best way to solve the problem of the bicycle industry is to make bicycles affordable for everyone.”

I've caught a cold, cough cough.