Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 40:

Chapter 40: Chapter 40, Wartime Economic System

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After the suppression of the Vienna Rebellion, Franz immediately ordered martial law throughout the city, followed by a flurry of confiscation. The scope of these confiscations was so extensive that it would take some time to sort out.

To appease the public, Franz issued relief grain as soon as possible; after all, it was all confiscated goods, so distributing it didn’t bother him in the slightest.

Essentials like food and coal were now being distributed for free, and the recently rattled populace finally began to settle down.

For political reasons, Franz also promptly characterized the rebellion, pinning the blame on the capitalists.

Vienna’s media were under his control, so all the articles published at that time read, “Beware of the capitalists’ conspiracies,” “The role of international hands in the Vienna Rebellion,” “Capitalists absconding with funds”…

“Confiscation,” “confiscation,” still more “confiscation”—the most important task for Austria’s Temporary Government was to carry out these confiscations. The properties of the capitalists and nobility involved in the rebellion were not concentrated solely in Vienna, so this task of confiscation was indeed arduous and far from over.

Before Franz could even appoint a Cabinet, news of the Lombardy uprising reached Vienna, delivering another heavy blow to the Conservative nobility.

When alarmist talk turned into reality, the call for reform became irresistible.

With the Empire at stake, even the Conservatives had to accept this new reality.

On March 18, 1848, Franz appointed Marquis Felix Schwarzenberg as Prime Minister;

He appointed Carl-Ludwig Von Bruck as Finance Minister;

He appointed Leo Von Thun-Hohenstein as Minister of Education;

He appointed Archduke Louis as Minister of Internal Affairs;

He appointed Count Korofute as Minister of State;

He appointed Clemens von Metternich as Foreign Minister…

In Austria’s political reforms, Franz still took a Conservative approach, refraining from radical measures from the start, which could be seen from the composition of the Cabinet.

The political tactics were executed to perfection: A Prime Minister who advocated strong suppression of the revolution, a Finance Minister who advocated fiscal reform, an Education Minister who supported educational reform, along with Conservative Ministers of Internal Affairs and State.

Even to balance power, Franz recalled the disreputable Former Prime Minister Metternich to serve as Foreign Minister.

Of course, the main reason was that Metternich’s diplomatic skills were strong, and currently, there was no better candidate in Austria.

The first matter of business for the new government was to address the aftermath of the Vienna Rebellion.

This model of distributing relief grain clearly could not continue indefinitely, yet the capitalists, entangled in the revolution, had fled, making the resumption of production out of the question.

Currently, half the population of the city was unemployed. Without the government-issued relief supplies, Vienna would be in chaos immediately.

Franz, who did not shirk his duty, presided over the Cabinet meeting: “Now that the Vienna Rebellion has concluded, post-war reconstruction must begin immediately. We urgently need to take care of nearly forty thousand prisoners. What plans does the Cabinet have?”

There was no choice—it was a critical moment, and the newly appointed had to fulfill their responsibilities without any time to acquaint themselves with the job.

Prime Minister Felix replied, “I propose adopting a wartime economic system, having the government take over these ownerless factories to resume production and secure employment for the people.

For the specifics, we can make minor adjustments based on actual conditions, adjusting the production lines according to market demand to avoid waste!”

Indeed, as expected, Austria had also passed through its initial difficulties with a wartime economic system historically.

Currently, the situation was better than in history, as Franz had acted quickly, seizing the handles of the capitalists and directly confiscating their factories.

In other words, the economy was now primarily state-led, which the common people were sure not to oppose, as state enterprises cannot exploit as blatantly as private ones do.

“Austria’s current situation is not good. There has been a rebellion in the Italian Area, and the Hungarian Region is also stirring. Adopting a wartime economic system is essential.

However, if the government now has confiscated so many factories and we organize production resumption, then labor costs must increase!” said Finance Minister Carl.

Undoubtedly, the government needed to save face, and its own “Labor Protection Law,” which had been shelved, certainly could not be treated as mere toilet paper now.

Franz shook his head and said, “Labor costs won’t increase by much; we can use the average wage level of Vienna’s industrial workers before the rebellion as the base salary.

For most industries, we can adopt a piece-rate system, rewarding more work with more pay to stimulate the workers’ productivity. If labor wages increase, the output of the workers will likewise increase.

Turning to a wartime economy eliminates the waste produced by market competition, and as long as our management is sound, there should be no such thing as losses!”

With market competition gone and production being planned, if there were losses or costs increased significantly, Franz would be ready to take drastic measures.

A planned economy, after all, would only be a short-term existence; by focusing efforts on suppressing rebellions throughout the country, it might last at most two or three years—surely the rate of corruption within the leadership wouldn’t accelerate that quickly?

And when the Crimean War would break out, Austria could use the war to transfer the pains brought about by economic change, healing the wounds with the profits of war.

Carl’s eyes lit up; being experts in economy, they understood that the piece-rate system could perfectly circumvent the “Labor Protection Law.”

If ninety-nine percent of the workforce earned above that standard, did the remaining one percent’s opinion really matter?

“Your Highness’s suggestion is very good. In fact, all industries can adopt the piece-rate system. For tasks requiring teamwork, they can be split into groups, effectively enhancing productivity,” Carl said with a smile.

“Stop there, this suggestion has nothing to do with me; it was discovered by experts through research. We must properly explain it to the public. As long as workers earn more, there should be no problem with implementation!” Franz quickly interjected.

He certainly did not want to be maligned in the future. No matter how much spin was applied, at its core, this was a more advanced form of exploitation. Given his status, it was only natural if he got slandered.

It was better to leave it to the experts—after all, they were used to taking the fall and wouldn’t mind one more.

If necessary, they could produce any kind of conclusion, even unearth Sun Wukong’s tomb through archaeology; the “piece-rate system” was nothing in comparison.