Eagle’s Glory

Chapter 878 169, Labor Negotiation

[168 has been banned because he talked about sensitive topics (although I don’t know where the sensitivity is). I have been applying to be unblocked for several days but failed shamefully... so I had to give up treatment.

Considering that there are readers who have not read 168, I will briefly talk about the outline of the story of 168 here - the protagonist and Agnes inspected the slums of Lille City, and Agnes was greatly impressed by the poverty scene there. Sympathizing and hoping to improve the situation of these citizens, the protagonist replied that times are indeed very different now...

Agnes is naturally confused by the protagonist's theory, but she readily agrees with the protagonist's conclusion, and then the protagonist will demonstrate his ideas with practical actions.

His entry point is the "Four-Soviet Rebellion" that broke out in Lille in 1829. The cause was that before that, in order to stimulate workers' production, employers introduced a policy-for every foot of finished cloth produced by the factory, they were responsible for Loom workers could be given an additional allowance of four sous (one franc equals 20 sous) in addition to their original salary.

However, in 1829, the employers canceled this additional allowance on the pretext of poor economic conditions. So in October of that year, several workers destroyed the looms they were responsible for in protest. In October 1829, the local court sentenced They are guilty and need to pay a fine.

However, this aroused greater anger among the workers. Finally, in 1830, with the riots in Paris, the social order in various places was disrupted. The workers took the opportunity to smash factory windows and machines everywhere, demanding the restoration of The original stipend of 4 sous.

In the original history, Lille's textile industry workers and employers engaged in a labor-management confrontation that lasted for several years over the existence or discontinuation of this subsidy. During this period, they experienced many repressions. It was not until a few years later that they won the employer's consent. concession.

At this time, the struggle between labor and capital is at its most intense, and the protagonist plans to intervene in this protracted labor dispute to win the hearts and minds of the people and spread his governing philosophy. 】

When Agron and Agnes arrived at a large textile factory, the place was already crowded with people.

In addition to the guards, officials and police, there were also representatives of labor and management, journalists, etc. who were specially summoned.

After Aigron appeared in front of everyone, the people who had been waiting here took off their hats and bowed to salute Aigron.

Aigron waved gently and looked at the people around him. At this time, representatives from both sides were arranged on both sides of him. People on one side were well-dressed and looked rich or strong. Some of them were wearing medals; on the other side, people were simply dressed. , and because of years of hard work and malnutrition, they appear thin and rickety. Both sides are distinct in terms of clothing and temperament, forming a sharp contrast.

He also keenly noticed that the labor representatives stooped deeper and were noticeably more nervous and reserved.

But this is not surprising,

In this era, although the French people had overthrown the rule of the dynasty and issued the Declaration of Human Rights, the social hierarchy was still deeply rooted in the hearts of society. Even though these workers already have a vague sense of antagonism towards the upper class due to labor disputes, in their hearts they still have an instinctive sense of awe for the country's superstructure. After being "master", it will become a kind of fear that no one dares to express - not everyone has the courage to overthrow the authority in their heart.

Although they no longer have a domineering lord over their heads, the court's harsh punishments are still enough to make them fearful.

Compared with the younger generations in the 21st century, their demands for resistance at this time can almost be considered humble. They just hope to restore the long-standing 4 sous subsidy. It is obviously such a reasonable demand, but now it looks more like In "begging".

Cherish the docile, loyal and easy-to-satisfy people in front of you, otherwise you will only be more miserable... Aiglon said to himself in his heart.

Under the gaze of everyone, he walked into the factory.

This factory is quite large, with many silk reeling and weaving machines inside.

In this era, since chemical fibers had not yet been born, high-end textiles could only be made of silk. To make silk fabrics, you had to reel the silk first - boil the cocoons first, boil the cocoons in a large pot, and then remove the cocoons from the cocoons. The silk is pulled out, the filaments are twisted together and wound into silk thread, and then the reeled silk is repeatedly wound, and finally made into raw silk.

In the previous centuries, the above reeling process had to be completed with manual hand-operated wooden spindle wheels. However, the progress of the times has finally allowed human civilization to see a new and unparalleled new power - that is, the steam engine.

The steam engine was first born and improved because mines needed to pump water, but it was soon introduced into the textile industry, because the reeling process originally required boiling water, and it was naturally prepared to use this kind of power.

Soon, at the end of the 18th century, British textile factories began to use steam engines to power themselves. For example, a silk reeling factory has a boiler and a steam tank. The steam inside is used to heat the cocoons, and then the power of the steam engine is used to rotate a large number of metal ingots around the silk frame, thus liberating a large amount of manpower required for the spindle wheel.

In the next few decades, steam engines became widely popular in British textile factories, greatly increasing the output of these factories and allowing the British to gain unparalleled industrial competitiveness, even if Emperor Napoleon ordered the entire Europe to Even the establishment of a continental blockade against Britain failed to shake the British industrial advantage. The textile industry also became a huge financial source for the British to support military spending.

With the spread of technology, French factories have slowly begun to introduce and use steam engines, but they are always several steps behind the British. Even in a textile industry center city like Lille, they can use steam engines at this point in time. There are not many steam engine factories - which reflects the strength and status of this factory in the local area.

Although the factory was on holiday at this time to welcome His Majesty's arrival, Aigron could still feel the scene of its operation when he was in this huge factory.

The factory building is filled with white mist, hot and humid, and people can't even see things a few meters away - but they don't need to care about things a few meters away, because they have to shuttle among these machines for more than ten hours. Become a "servant" of these machines.

As is "common" in human society, although this steam power has improved the production process and greatly liberated productivity, the workers' fatigue has not been reduced by half, and is even more tired than in the past era - employers Care workers began to be asked to take care of more machines, replace spindles and cloth, ten machines, twenty machines, more and more... until the manpower was squeezed to the limit.

Such hard work has not brought a prosperous life to the workers here. Although the factories here can continuously produce glossy silk scarves and fashionable clothes for ladies and ladies to dress brightly, their However, the salary is so pitiful that it is difficult to support their families. Many people have to huddle in the cellar with their whole family, and even in winter they cannot buy enough firewood to keep out the cold.

Since ancient times, the bottom world of human society has been so miserable and suffering. The development of science and the expansion of productivity have not yet had time to benefit them. The primitive accumulation of capital instead requires them to spend more than their ancestors. Toil to satisfy its appetite for self-proliferation.

The appetite is endless.

Aiglon interrupted his meaningless reverie, walked to a machine, and then turned to face everyone.

"Everyone, I am very sorry that I came not for laughter, but for an unfortunate dispute. I know that not long ago, a fierce conflict broke out here in Lille. This conflict not only caused everyone It was heartbreaking and made the whole city suffer.

Needless to say, you all know that Lille's textile industry is not only vital to the local economy, but also to our country's economy. It should not be thrown into chaos because of these disputes. Therefore, when learning about the entire conflict After the whole story, I decided to personally intervene in this unfortunate and completely avoidable dispute in my own name and authority, in order to restore order to the entire industry and maintain the economic stability of our country..."

In front of everyone, Aigron was talking eloquently, and everyone else was watching him attentively, waiting for his "judgment."

After all, he is the King of Rome and will be his future majesty, and his words carry more weight than anyone else's.

"I have no selfishness or prejudice, nor do I intend to favor anyone. I need your support, and I am doing my best to defend each of you. The pain of all of you is my pain to me. , so in order to relieve the pain, I will give you the wisest ruling - now, I need to listen to the statements of the representatives of the two parties one by one, and then I will complete my ruling. Please abide by this ruling based on your patriotism. , in the name of God!”

After Aigron made these solemn opening remarks, he glanced at the factory owners first, and then walked to a small room that had been prepared for him next to him.

Although it is nominally said to "listen" to opinions from all sides, Agron has always been arbitrary on this issue. He has already made a decision, he just needs this decision to be "recognized" by all parties. .

After all, he is nominally the emperor of all the people, and he cannot act like he is the only one on such a crucial issue. Even if he is just pretending, he has to look impartial.

Moreover, he cannot simply use his authority to unilaterally force all parties to obey.

Because the so-called "imperial authority" is not a panacea, on the contrary, it is more like a currency that becomes less and less used, especially for him, who has lived in a foreign country for nearly 20 years and only recently came back.

When social conflicts accumulate, a monarch can act as a "neutral arbiter" and adjust the distribution and rules of wealth. However, such an approach is difficult to truly solve social problems, because no matter what, exploitation and oppression will exist, and grievances will continue to accumulate. Down, until it finally turns into a rage that sparks a riot.

Before entering the room, in order to break the solemn atmosphere here, Aigron turned to look at the people staying in the factory.

"I am a friend to laborers, and always will be. I care more for your bread than for your cannon!"

Then he walked into it.

And soon, a middle-aged man wearing a tuxedo and a medal of honor walked in, and then bowed to Aigron again. "Your Majesty, my name is Maxime Dureni. It is an honor to meet you."

"It's a pity that we meet under such circumstances, Mr. Durene." Agron smiled, and then extended his hand to the other party in a friendly manner, "Thank you for the gift you gave Miss Agnes, she likes it very much. "

Yes, the valuable necklace Agnes received was given by him.

After receiving such a gift, Aigron would naturally learn more about the giver, so he knew this gentleman.

He is not only the owner of this factory, but also the chairman of the Lille Textile Guild. He is a big shot in the entire industry, a so-called "capitalist".

Of course, even if he was rich, it would be unusual to give Agnes such an expensive gift, which was beyond the ordinary standards of a "rich gift".

There is only one reason to explain this unusual behavior - that is, he had ulterior motives.

Aigron knew exactly what he wanted - a businessman. To flatter himself to this extent meant that he had political ambitions.

As long as Aiglon can deal with this person, he can solve this labor crisis without paying any additional costs, because his weight in the industry is enough to convince other factory owners.

Because of the limitations of the times, he cannot fundamentally solve the structural contradictions of social exploitation and unfair wealth distribution. Therefore, the only way is to find ways to "create wealth increments", improve the overall productivity level, and allow civilians to follow the social wealth The overall growth leads to a higher standard of living to a certain extent.

As the saying goes, "Happiness comes from comparison." As long as the living standard is better than in the past and better than that of neighboring countries, then the people will naturally feel calm.

This is the successful experience of Napoleon III in history. During his 22-year reign (4 years as president and 18 years as emperor), he successfully prevented himself from encountering the Paris barricade rebellion, but in the end he had to lose it because of the failure of the Franco-Prussian War. Since the throne is "behind", Aigron can naturally do better.

Hearing Aigron thanking himself, the businessman just smiled lightly, "Only Miss Agnes is worthy of such jewelry. Keeping it here with me is just a waste."

"Mr. Durene, then I also have a gift for you." Aigron replied unhurriedly.