Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 608: Ludwig II (Bonus Chapter)

As times progress, so do people.

Since the Dekker Textile Factory’s management announced its decision, the striking workers had begun to talk among themselves in small groups.

A plain-looking young man sneered, “Same old trick. Don’t they know how to try something new?”

Clearly, the young man was still cautious, not daring to say any names. Everyone knew there were informants among the workers. Some people had been fired for complaining in private before.

But times were different now. If they got fired, so be it—they could always find work at another factory. If that failed, they could even go to the colonies. At least they wouldn’t starve.

With this extra option, people had much more confidence. If the Dekker Textile Factory had offered good benefits, perhaps they wouldn’t have been so willing to lose their jobs.

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Unfortunately, while the factory might have had decent benefits a decade ago, that was no longer the case.

A middle-aged man shot him a fierce glare, “Shut up, Ryker!”

It was clear from his expression that the middle-aged man was worried. Factory management in these times was far from harmonious, and beatings were not uncommon.

The Lanoue family had a reputation for severity. They had zero tolerance for any challenge to their authority.

Although Ryker hadn’t mentioned any names directly, word could easily spread, and he might still face repercussions.

Ordinary workers couldn’t stand up to the capitalists. A few years ago, someone had even suffered an “accident” after badmouthing the boss.

Officially, it was called an accident, but those in the know understood it had been arranged to make an example of him.

The so-called accident could never be traced back to the boss. The worker responsible for causing it took full blame, the factory paid a sum in compensation, and the matter was closed.

Everyone had been on edge since then, knowing there were informants around and that trust was scarce unless it was among close friends.

In recent years, the Kingdom of Lombardy has begun cracking down on factory issues. Factories with frequent accidents couldn’t pass safety inspections, so the Lanoue family had been forced to rein in their behavior.

While they no longer dared to “arrange accidents,” unfair treatment and firings still occurred often.

A young man, about fifteen or sixteen, spoke up nearby, “Don’t worry, Uncle Raoul. Ryker will be fine. With everything that’s happening, who has time for these minor issues?”

That was true. With more than a hundred thousand people on strike, there were plenty of complaints. If management wanted to retaliate, they’d have to consider whether it would create mass panic.

Right now, management is too busy worrying about how to get people back to work. Petty reporting was on the back burner.

…

In the company’s meeting room, the atmosphere was bleak. The layoff strategy, once prized by Dekker Lanoue as the go-to solution, suddenly seemed ineffective.

In the past, they only needed to hold out for two or three days, and, with help from planted informants, workers would soon be driven to compromise.

But this time, things were different. On the fifth day, less than a tenth of the workers had returned, and the rest seemed more willing to risk being laid off than to give in, creating a dilemma.

Firing all the remaining workers was easier said than done. Each day the factory remained shut, the economic losses were significant.

Replacing all the workers on short notice would be nearly impossible, meaning it could take Dekker Textile Factory two to three years to restore production capacity.

In that time, competitors would easily seize their market share. Old Lanoue looked grim, his inability to bring the workers back to work was also a blow to his reputation.

The rapid growth of the Dekker Textile Factory was not solely due to the Lanoue family’s efforts. Numerous partners had contributed along the way.

Especially after going public, the board had somewhat limited Old Lanoue’s authority. Although he still presided over the company, as the factory faced increasing difficulties, dissenting voices also grew louder.

Many began to believe that Old Lanoue was too old to continue leading the company. Now, with this strike, the situation has only become more unfavorable.

The coffee’s rich aroma on the table couldn’t lift Old Lanoue’s spirits. The question of whether to “compromise” or not was a frustrating one.

The impact of the factory’s shutdown went far beyond the obvious. It affected the company’s brand reputation and market share as well.

The Dekker Textile Factory was a well-known brand, and if news of the strike got out, it would undoubtedly damage the brand’s value and thus impact its market.

A middle-aged man dressed in fine clothing spoke up, saying, “Mr. Lanoue, it’s already the fifth day. If this strike doesn’t end soon, we won’t be able to keep it out of the media.

Dekker Textile Factory doesn’t have the power to block every newspaper worldwide. Rumors are already spreading. Journalists might even be on their way as we speak.”

Large companies often have intricate ties to the press, and capitalists have long since mastered the art of using capital to influence public opinion. Unfortunately, there are too many newspapers to control them all. If even one leaks the story, the lid is off.

If news of the strike gets out, the first to suffer will be the stock market, meaning that the wealth of everyone present here will take a significant hit.

In fact, if it weren’t for Vienna’s strict stock exchange regulations, some board members might already have sold their shares.

Dekker Textile Factory has been facing significant difficulties in recent years, no longer making it a sound investment. Now, with this incident, cashing out while the stock price is still decent seems a tempting option.

However, the Austrian government strictly forbids insider trading. Even if one wants to cash out, they must wait until the news is public.

Since the Dekker Textile Factory is listed in Vienna, it naturally falls under Austrian government regulation. Concealing information isn’t impossible, but getting caught would mean forfeiting all earnings.

This “earnings” would mean forfeiting all assets from the transaction. Franz felt that differentiating between “legal” and “illegal” earnings was too complicated, so, to make things easier for law enforcement, they simply confiscated everything.

Harshly punishing offenders serves as a warning to others not to break the law.

There was once someone who, to pay less tax, conducted stock trades privately, intentionally lowering the contract amount. When caught, they couldn’t distinguish which parts of their wealth were legally or illegally obtained, and they ended up losing their entire fortune.

Everyone here has a lot at stake, and they’ve already climbed to the top. No one wants to risk their entire fortune.

Old Lanoue nodded, signaling he understood. This was expected as keeping a strike by tens of thousands of people a secret was simply impossible.

Although it hadn’t made it into the papers yet, it was already an open secret in Milan. Perhaps the entire Kingdom of Lombardy already knew.

“Keep up the PR work with the press. We need more time.

Making concessions now would only fuel those ingrates’ arrogance, and soon we wouldn’t be able to manage the factory properly.

Today, they demand a wage increase. Tomorrow, they’ll ask for better meals, and the day after that, they’ll want shorter working hours and more vacation…

Our wages may be low, but they’re not the lowest. If the market has accepted this wage, then it’s proof that it’s reasonable.

They can have higher wages, but only once the business improves. If the company isn’t profitable, where would we get the money to pay them?

Son, send someone to talk with the workers. Tell them that the factory is facing difficulties right now, but once we get through this, I’ll give them a raise.”

Old Lanoue had already sensed the crisis. Although the Dekker Textile Factory’s wages aren’t the lowest, they’re close. He had considered improving wages, but as Dekker Textile’s performance continued to decline, raising labor costs would only reduce profits further.

A poor earnings report would undoubtedly affect the stock price, and just getting past the board would be a challenge.

Most importantly, as Dekker Textile’s largest shareholder, any drop in profits would hit him the hardest.

For a large company to be so cautious about increasing wages, it was highly unusual.

Young Lanoue understood the situation even better. He knew that a wage increase had become inevitable. The main reason was that workers could no longer make ends meet.

Austria has developed rapidly in recent years, creating a lot of new job opportunities. Recently, the Austrian government had even announced a large-scale immigration plan.

These factors would inevitably affect the labor market. From his perspective, Young Lanoue. naturally opposed large-scale immigration, as it would drive up domestic labor costs.

But there was nothing they could do. The influence of capitalists was still limited against government decisions.

Besides, not all capitalists were opposed. Some even saw this as an opportunity.

As labor costs rise, stagnant companies will gradually be edged out, while innovative ones can move forward.

On the one hand, the competition would decrease. On the other hand, market purchasing power would grow.

When workers earn more, they’ll spend more. With more money circulating, it becomes easier for everyone to earn. After making its rounds in the market, the money eventually returns to the capitalists’ hands.

This is a healthy economic cycle. Higher labor costs don’t necessarily mean everyone’s profits will go down.

…

The telegraph is a great invention, speeding up the spread of information. By the time Young Lanoue took action, it was already too late.

As soon as he entered the workers’ district, Young Lanoue was surrounded by a group of reporters, including some from the official media.

“Mr. Lanoue, what are your thoughts on this strike?”

“Mr. Lanoue, will you be suppressing this strike?”

…

Looking at the camera set up not far away, Young Lanoue felt a wave of helplessness.

Of course, he had his “thoughts” on the matter, but there was no way he could share them!

“Suppression of the strike?” That was a joke! Especially with all these reporters here, who would dare suppress it?

Besides, even if they wanted to, they didn’t have the means to break up a strike. With tens of thousands of workers, even if they were unorganized, any unrest would be earth-shattering.

The workers were striking legally, simply staying home or wandering around. Anyone who tried to escalate the situation would be in for it with the Lombardy government.

They’d bought off newspapers and tried to cover the story, and it seemed to be working—except they had overlooked the feelings of the one in the royal palace.

What ruler would want an uncontrollable situation on their hands?

King Ludwig II was no different. He couldn’t confront them openly, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t quietly make their lives difficult.

The sheer number of reporters here already pointed to deeper problems. Normally, journalists from across the country wouldn’t arrive in such numbers unless someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.

The Dekker Textile Factory had significant power, with a solidly established local interest group that no ordinary person would dare provoke.

Strikes were a common enemy of capitalists. Even competitors wouldn’t support a labor movement now, as strikes had a way of spreading.

If Dekker Textile workers succeeded in gaining rights, it would ripple to other factories nearby. Whoever exposed this would become an enemy to all capitalists.

The exception, of course, was the Lombardy royal family. The fragmented bourgeoisie at its core feared the powerful and preyed on the weak. When they encountered something they couldn’t handle, they wisely turned a blind eye.

Young Lanoue didn’t know who was working against them, but he knew that the Dekker Textile Factory was in serious trouble. If the news got out, the chance of workers backing down would only diminish.

They had initially planned to have management quietly speak to the workers, using intimidation and persuasion, but that was no longer an option.

Otherwise, if they encountered someone with enough backbone who leaked this to a journalist, he would find himself in a heap of trouble.