I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1131 The Real Common Market

Queen Caterina knew very well who had helped her husband ascend the throne.

She was initially reluctant to offend the Florentine nobles, but compared to offending France, these people were nothing.

Following this, the Lucca parliament also passed a reform bill.

In Milan, after Mirapo met with their president Giuseppe Lagerlöf, two lawmakers who strongly opposed trade reforms were arrested for corruption, and the reform bill was subsequently passed by a large majority.

In front of the La Scala opera house in Milan, a middle-aged man was waving his hands and shouting at the people around him: "For our jobs, for our bread, we must drive out the French goods!"

"Each of us must dedicate ourselves to this great revolution."

"Please come with me to protest in Parliament..."

As he was speaking, he heard someone shout from behind the crowd: "The Fellini silk reeling factory is speeding up the construction of its factory buildings and is now recruiting porters. They pay 23 francs a month and provide one lunch!"

The people who had been chanting slogans suddenly fell silent, then turned around in unison, "23 francs! Really?"

Are there any spots left?

Currently, there are many unemployed people in Milan, and it is already difficult to find a job that pays more than 20 francs, let alone one that includes a meal.

The young man in black who provided the information pointed towards the Basilica of San Nazareth Romagna: "I heard they're recruiting more than 90 people, they definitely haven't filled all the positions yet."

The sixty or seventy people around immediately rushed towards the cathedral, fearing that if they were too slow, someone else would steal their job opportunity.

The young man in black glanced disdainfully at the speaker who had just incited people to protest, then turned and headed towards the next gathering of people.

Meanwhile, on the streets of Milan, French security agents were spreading various confession messages: "Pedrico's workshop has received a large order, needing more than ten sculptors, at 33 francs per month..."

"The city government is building a railway line to Komomo and needs to recruit more than 150 people. Hurry up and go!"

"They're building something on Rue Brera, and they need someone to move timber. The pay is 23 francs..."

Soon, the originally excited citizens, like ants returning to their nest, gathered in more than a dozen places in the city.

At first, many people were skeptical, but they soon discovered that there were indeed job opportunities!

As people who found new jobs shouted and celebrated excitedly, the parade in Milan quickly disappeared, but long queues formed in front of factory recruitment offices.

Beside the line of job applicants, security officials were loudly proclaiming: "The parliament has passed bills to reform guilds and promote trade."

"From now on, you will no longer need guild certification to perform eleven types of work, including silk reeling, silk washing, picture frame making, and wood carving. As long as the factory is satisfied with your skills, you can start working immediately!"

Yes, in Milan, industries like silk reeling and handicraft carving have been completely liberalized. In Florence, industries like leatherworking and glassmaking are no longer bound by guilds. Other places have also abolished guilds in various industries.

This is precisely the advantageous industry that Joseph planned for these cities.

The vast majority of guilds in most industries remained unaffected, and the government's promise not to expand the scope of guild reforms led to relatively little opposition. In reality, within a few years, these cities will only have the supply chains of their advantageous industries remaining, while other industries will largely disappear. Therefore, retaining some of the old-style guilds will not have much of an impact.

The person in charge of publicity pointed to the government notice on the wall and continued, "There's also a trade reform decree. From now on, tolls will be eliminated in all regions, and goods will no longer have to pay to enter other cities!"
"According to the Common Market Agreement, we can even ship raw silk directly to Padua for sale without any tariffs in between!"

The people around immediately started talking about it.

Lately, all they've heard is that the Common Market has ruined Milan's industries and made them lose their jobs, but what that man just said seems to bring even greater benefits to Milan.

Seeing that things were not going well, one of Wilson's men in the crowd stepped forward and shouted, "Don't listen to him! We're only hiring about fifty people here, and you'll all be unemployed once the factory is built!"

"Only by driving away the French goods can we truly save our jobs!"

At Joseph's request, the French security services had compiled various responses into a manual months in advance, which was then memorized by the propaganda personnel.

The person who was explaining the trade laws immediately retorted, "Absurd!"
"What injustice has France done?"

"No!
"The common market is reciprocal. Our goods can also be sold in Paris. France has a population of over 3 million, which is a huge market that the entire Republic of Milan does not have."

Why are our workshops closing down one after another despite having such a large market?

"It wasn't the French who stole their business, but the stubborn guilds that increased their costs, making it impossible for them to recruit enough craftsmen!"

"It's our terrible roads. It takes us at least two days to get our goods just to the Grand Canal!"
"It's a toll tax between cities. By the time our raw silk arrives in Genoa to be loaded onto the ship, the price has more than doubled!"

He then pointed to the person who instigated the riots: "It's these guys who want Milan to fall into chaos! The riots lately have already deterred countless caravans from entering the city to buy raw silk!"

"It's no use just blaming the French for the problem. Even if you drive away French goods, British, Austrian, and Bavarian goods will flood in later."

"If we want our workshop's goods to sell, and if we want to keep our jobs, we must do our best. Then, we will be the ones to seize the Paris market, instead of here complaining like losers that others have taken our jobs through fair competition!"

Everyone quieted down, pondering his words, and nodded in agreement.

Yes, this explanation is definitely flawless.

France and Milan do indeed engage in fair trade, and Milan even enjoys a small amount of protective tariffs.

But in reality, it's unfair that France and Milan compete under the same rules. If Tyson were to fight a kindergarten child under the same boxing rules, the latter would definitely be knocked down.

The security personnel gestured towards the silk reeling factory under construction not far away:
"Did you all know that this factory was built with loans provided by France, specifically to help us improve our competitiveness?"

"Oh, and the road leading to the canal is being widened now, and wooden tracks will be laid later. The cost of the road construction is also a French loan."

"They also sent experts to help us standardize factory management, improve processes, and develop more new products."

"But some guys want us to drive the French out!"

(End of this chapter)