Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 41

As for which expert proposed this, everyone was very tactful and did not ask anything about it. Franz was unwilling to admit that the “piecework system” was his own idea, so everyone thought of him as principled and not greedy.

In that era, the “piecework system” was undoubtedly advanced, and it could release more productivity and avoid laziness and waste.

In that era, in order to crack down on lazy workers, the means taken by capitalists were extremely harsh. The deduction of wages was the lightest one.

More people were beaten up on top of having wages deducted, and, because of this, a few workers died every year.

Especially in the mines, in order to stimulate production, many capitalists would kill someone as a warning to others who were not working hard.

These cruel means were obviously impossible for the government to take. When Carl was worried that the government would lose money by directly managing enterprises, he actually was worried about the large-scale emergence of laziness and waste.

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There were also many cases in later generations: after a state-owned enterprise with serious losses became a private enterprise, and half the staff was laid off, the production capacity doubled.

…

“What are your plans for the sentencing of prisoners?” Franz asked.

He decisively ignored the nobles and capitalists who took part in the rebellion. Almost all of them had run away, so those who were caught were mostly fools with poor brains.

As for the leader of the rebellion, no trial was needed at all. During the fighting, he was already killed.

Really, all the middle-level or above officers in the rebel army had been killed by Franz in the first place.

Except for those who took the troops and surrendered without a single shot, all rebel leaders above a platoon sergeant were killed.

During the suppression of the rebellion, only three thousand rebels were killed, while the leaders of the rebels who were executed later numbered more than two thousand.

It was what it was. The rebels had no human rights. As long as they were involved, the higher the status, the faster they died. On the other hand, punishment for ordinary people was not too harsh.

Even the “brag party” of Vienna University, which had advocated revolution, was wiped out at that time. The Army took over the campus. All those who’d joined the Revolutionary Party and advocated revolutionary ideas had only one result: death.

These orders were given by Franz, but the one who took the blame was not him. Before the cabinet was even formed, he’d issued orders in the name of the cabinet.

Anyone who was interested in history would find that all the issuers of these orders were the Prime Ministers, and Franz, the crown prince, pretended to know nothing.

These were small issues because at that time the people of Vienna were badly harmed. Everyone hated the revolutionary party, and no one would sympathize with them.

“Your Highness, this rebellion is too extensive. These prisoners must be severely punished as a warning to others and to frighten the people of the whole country!”

Archduke Louis’s eyes flashed with anger, as if he had a deep hatred of these people and wished to execute them all.

He was not alone: several other Cabinet members shared this bitter hatred.

Needless to say, Franz knew that they had many relatives among the old nobles, and they must have lost relatives and friends in this rebellion.

If this had been the whole story, it wouldn’t have been unbearable for them. The key was that the rebels also ransacked their houses, robbed their property, and killed their loyal servants.

Even the youngest son of Archduke Louis, who was just unluckily one step slower when running for his life, was killed by the rebels. This was the main reason he was so angry.

Before that, he’d also advocated lighter punishments for the rebels, appeasing the people, and stabilizing the domestic situation as soon as possible.

But then, after the pain of losing a child, everything changed. At first, he proposed that all the nobles who participated in the rebellion be executed, which he did not even want to let the prisoners go.

Franz was very clear about the cause and effect of this rebellion, and he was more clear about his class position. Therefore, after arresting the nobles involved in the rebellion, he did not execute them right away but left them to the noble Parliament.

The nobles participated in the rebellion mostly to stimulate their own interests. They had to recover their losses, and the main damage they’d done was burning the bank’s documents.

Not only had the local financial institutions in Austria been hit hard, but also the branches of international banks in Vienna. The behind-the-curtain bosses of these financial institutions were also the main force advocating severe punishment for the rebels, including the Vienna Court.

The profits in the financial field were so large; as the local branch of the Hapsburg family, how could they not participate? In fact, the Hapsburg family held shares of many financial institutions in Austria.

It was obviously impossible to recover the loss at that time. For this reason, Franz was eager to form a cabinet. The main purpose was to let the cabinet withstand the pressure and prevent the nobles from taking back the losses.

After all, all these properties were confiscated from the rebels. It was not clear who the original owners were. Except for those pieces of real estate with a clear owner, Franz prepared to turn them over to the State Treasury.

If they were returned to the original owners, Franz could guarantee that all the spoils of war would soon be divided up by the nobles. Franz was not prepared to test the greed of human nature.

Franz thought for a moment and said, “It is necessary to severely punish the insurgents, but most of these prisoners are workers. It is better to let them return to the factory to continue creating value for us.

According to the seriousness of the case, they will be fined. Then, let them go back to the factories to work until they have paid off the fine before they can be free.”

This was the lightest punishment he could fight for. No one would have a hard time with money, and the Cabinet could not refuse so many free laborers.

“This is a good way to go. We can’t kill all of them. It’s better to put them to work!” The Chancellor of the Exchequer took the lead in echoing Franz.

After the Vienna rebellion, too much money would be needed. He would support anything that could increase revenue.

“Well, but what about the diehards there? What if they do damage to the factories?” Archduke Louis said insistently.

“It is simple. We can use the system of “collective punishment”: divide them into groups, let the workers supervise and report on each other, and the sentences of reporters can be reduced.

If anyone in a group without a reporter in it is arrested, everyone in the group will be punished and sent to the mine,” the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Carl, sneered.

Franz could not help but want to praise him. In fact, if there were not a series of rebellions in Austria, he would be ready to send these prisoners to mine and build railways.

Considering that there might be more prisoners in the future, if these people were not diehards, and they surrendered quickly under his call, they would win the lightest punishment.

“If none of you have a better idea, this is it!” Franz said firmly.