Holy Roman Empire

Watching Europe engulfed in a wave of strikes, Franz felt deeply unsettled. Anyone who hadn’t experienced the Revolution of 1848 couldn’t truly understand this sense of unease.

The first place to spark serious trouble was Rome, where an Italian independence group took advantage of the strike wave to incite an uprising.

The bizarre part was that they actually succeeded. When Franz heard the news, he was stunned. Most likely, so was the leadership of the Italian independence group.

With just a few rallying cries, they had managed to reclaim Rome. It seemed unbelievable, considering they hadn’t even prepared adequately. They’d only intended to proclaim the idea of national independence.

Reality was indeed unpredictable. Rome’s police force, mostly locals, had long been discontented with the French presence, so they simply turned a blind eye and allowed the uprising to unfold.

The French garrison was stationed outside the city and consisted of only an infantry battalion. When the uprising began, the French forces awaited orders, but with the telegraph lines cut, they received the command too late.

It wasn’t the commander’s fault for not acting independently since this was the French military protocol. Any troop movement required an order from above, and lower-ranking officers lacked the authority to mobilize forces, even in the event of a rebellion.

To be honest, with the current international situation, Italy wasn’t ready for an independence uprising. The Paris Conference had only recently begun, with everyone focused on reconciling conflicts and reducing international tensions.

By staging an uprising now, the Italian independence movement would find it difficult to gain support internationally. Even their biggest backer, the British, would hesitate to assist at this moment.

Without external intervention, how could the Italian independence organization possibly achieve victory with its limited strength?

The French were no pushovers, and even if Italy were already independent, it wouldn’t be a match for the French.

To Franz, this uprising seemed like a farce. A messy success, but only on the path to being inevitably suppressed by the French. Its only real impact might be to weaken Napoleon IV’s authority and intensify France’s instability.

On March 12, just a week after the Rome uprising, another riot broke out in the Rhineland.

This time, it wasn’t just the working class involved, capitalists joined as well, primarily in opposition to immigration.

The Prussian government’s immigration policies were clearly unpopular, as they cut off the locals’ economic prospects. With skilled workers being drawn away, how were the remaining capitalists supposed to thrive?

Capitalists had long been wanting to fight back but lacked the strength to confront the Prussian government directly. The wave of strikes now gave them an opportunity.

They shifted the blame for stagnant wages onto the government, openly criticizing its high taxes and immigration policies, claiming that these left businesses unable to afford higher labor costs.

Some capitalists even promised that, if they could drive out the Prussian government, everyone’s wages would be raised by fifty percent.

From the capitalists’ response, Franz could tell that Prussia’s immigration efforts must have been very effective. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have pushed the capitalists to take a stand in this conflict personally.

Success or failure aside, Prussian-German relations had already become tense. For Austria, this was also an opportunity.

The Customs Union had always posed a threat, and Franz had long wanted to dismantle it. Unfortunately, several previous plans had fallen through at the last minute.

Now, with the addition of the Rhineland, the situation had changed. If the Prussian government didn’t crush these capitalists, the Rhineland would likely become a staunchly anti-Prussian region in the future.

But if Prussia did eliminate these capitalists, that would also create significant issues, as it would leave every capitalist in the German region feeling threatened.

Before Franz could take action, a new crisis arose in Spain. Republicans in Madrid staged an uprising in an attempt to overthrow Alfonso XII. Although the rebellion was suppressed, it added to the growing instability in Spain.

In the first half of 1876, the most common words in European newspapers were “uprising,” “riot,” “revolution,” and “suppression.”

In just half a year, Europe saw a preliminary count of 36 uprisings with over a thousand participants each, while smaller uprisings were too numerous to count. �

Even Austria wasn’t immune as its own police had to suppress a “great empire” and two kingdoms. This “empire” was hardly more than a fanciful joke, with a population of just over two digits.

For the sake of political appearances, Franz had to send these people to mental hospitals. Of course, from a rational standpoint, these individuals may indeed have been mentally unstable.

No ordinary person would engage in such behavior. One of these “empires” had been “in hiding” for seven years in a manor on the outskirts of Prague.

The manor’s owner declared himself emperor, his wife was the empress, and their three sons were all crown princes. The manor residents included ministers, generals, guards, and maids…

Franz had encountered hidden “empires” in remote forests before, but this was the first time he’d heard of an “empire” nestled in the suburbs.

No wonder they hadn’t been discovered, it was an absolute farce. The neighbors who noticed probably thought they were putting on an opera.

Their cover was blown when a traveling merchant tried to sell goods at the manor and was forced to pay a tax, which he reported to the Prague police.

This immediately changed everything. Until then, the manor owner had dutifully paid taxes to the government. Even though he considered himself an emperor and his family as ministers, everyone assumed they were just theater enthusiasts.

Once they started imposing taxes, it became a case of rebellion, which caught the attention of the Prague police. The investigation’s findings were so startling that the case eventually reached Franz.

When he reviewed it, Franz found it both amusing and exasperating. If they wanted to act like emperors in private, fine. But why go so far as to collect taxes?

If they had just kept to themselves, they could have explained it away as “acting enthusiasts” if caught. Without any real action, the police wouldn’t have labeled them as “rebels.”

In Austria, there was a threshold for being a “rebel” and not just anyone was qualified. These people clearly didn’t meet the standard.

Better a comedy than a revolt, Franz thought. A bit of humor to lighten the tense national mood wasn’t bad.

It proved that as long as the common people had enough to eat, they wouldn’t rebel.

Austrians weren’t yet starving, and even those who were truly destitute and struggling could still sign up for immigration.

Many colonial companies were actively recruiting, and signing a contract meant meals were provided. The requirements weren’t high. Anyone able-bodied, of any age or gender, could join.

After all, the colonies were desperate for people. Even if the quality was lower, the colonial companies couldn’t afford to be picky.

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In Milan, Lanoue Sr. was worrying over the stock market. Due to the impact of the strike, Dekker Textile Factory’s stock price had plummeted.

Even though the strike had ended, the stock continued to fall. No wonder as they were now infamous.

As the origin of this wave of strikes, Dekker Textile Factory had become widely known across Europe, even more famous than some small countries.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t good publicity. Both the bourgeois-leaning and the worker-leaning newspapers were ruthlessly criticizing them.

Although they had resolved the strike, only Austrian papers covered it. Foreign media pretended not to notice.

Lanoue Sr. knew perfectly well why this was happening. Dekker Textile Factory had made a lot of enemies, and disgruntled capitalists were taking it out on them.

Regardless of how newspapers framed their content or which class they favored, the papers were still owned by capitalists. Broadcasting Dekker Textile Factory’s compromise would only encourage workers to strike more.

These negative factors were hitting Dekker Textile Factory’s stock price hard. This quarter’s financial report was still in Lanoue Sr.’s hands, and he dared not release it.

Due to the strike’s impact, Dekker Textile Factory reported its first loss in a decade. Although the loss was minor, releasing this news would shake market confidence.

Lanoue Jr. cautioned him, “Father, we can’t release this quarter’s report publicly. The stock market is already in a slump. If we publish this news, Dekker Textile Factory’s stock will collapse.

If it triggers a market-wide crash, we’re finished. The major financial consortiums haven’t fully pulled out yet. If the market crashes now, they’ll suffer huge losses, and they definitely won’t let us off the hook.”

The term “financial consortium” has many definitions, but it generally refers to a coalition of large conglomerates and banks controlled by financial oligarchs, often involving the alliance of several wealthy families.

In a certain sense, the Dekker Textile Factory is also part of such a consortium. They, too, have allies, though they haven’t adopted the official “consortium” title.

Consortiums aren’t as unified as people imagine. They are often rife with internal conflicts and only align when mutual interests are at stake.

The reason consortiums became so powerful in later times was that, as cooperation deepened, their interests intertwined. They reached a point where each group was bound within the other, gradually easing internal conflicts.

The Dekker family, similarly, has deep collaborative ties with several prominent Lombard families. Lanoue Sr. once aspired to form a consortium, but the others were nobles, while he was merely a capitalist.

They could work together for mutual benefit, but to truly be accepted, he still needed the “entry ticket” of nobility.

Many capitalists have transformed into nobility, but far more have failed, and among them was the Dekker family.

During the African colonial expansion, the frugal Lanoue Sr. hired a cheap Italian mercenary force to cut costs.

The outcome was predictable: they were cheap but ineffective. After years of struggle on the African continent, they gained no achievements and almost faced total defeat.

However, there was some silver lining. Lanoue Sr. soon saw a business opportunity and made a fortune in labor exports, followed by establishing cotton plantations, creating a self-sustaining supply chain.

Opportunities don’t wait. While he made money, he missed the chance to enter the noble class. The gains and losses are hard to judge from the outside, but Lanoue Sr. often regrets his choices.

After a moment of hesitation, Lanoue Sr. shook his head and then said, “It’s not that simple. Everyone is well aware that we had a strike this year. Countless eyes are on us. If we falsify our financial report now, it’ll be easy for others to spot issues.

A stock market crash is just a potential outcome, and the consortiums can prop up the market if needed. But if a falsified report gets exposed, we’re finished.

As for retaliation, at worst, we can give up part of our overseas market. Do you really think they would dare to make moves in Milan?

Or do you believe that domestic consortiums would have the guts to manipulate the market on that scale?”

He paused, then added, “Remember, what you see isn’t necessarily the truth. It might be exactly what others want you to see.

Those finance folks have a far keener sense of the market than you’d imagine. Their withdrawal rate is faster than you’d think.

If not, someone would’ve warned us by now. They’re probably fully prepared, just waiting for us to deal the final blow to the market.

As for the apparent losses from a stock market crash, that’s just for the public to see. Later, you’ll find that what they gained far outweighs any losses.”

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Despite saying this, Lanoue Sr. still felt uneasy. Given the current situation, Dekker Textile Factory was likely to become the scapegoat once the dust settled.

Legally, they wouldn’t be responsible for a stock market crash, but public opinion could be another matter. Sometimes, public scorn alone can ruin a business. If the company’s reputation suffers, doing business will become much harder.

There are plenty of similar products on the market. Why would people choose the infamous “Dekker Textile Factory” brand?

This isn’t like modern times, where any publicity, good or bad, can lead to profit.

People today are relatively straightforward. Many still believe that a reputable company has quality products, while one with a bad reputation must have poor products.

If the public starts to boycott their goods, and their products go unsold, then they’re truly done for.