Chapter 383 Challengers and Defenders

Early in the morning, the roar of the steam engine rolled in. To no one's surprise, this is the port of Venice, the largest trading port in the New Holy Roman Empire, with more than three-digit ships coming in and out every day.

The roar of steam engines here has become a part of people's lives. The workers on the dock have gathered together, waiting for the ship to dock.

Life is not easy, and in this age of limited productivity, it is not easy to be able to fill one's stomach.

Arnault is an ordinary docker who has worked here for three years, and his young dreams have been wiped out in front of reality. I wanted to go overseas several times, but thinking about my wife and children, I finally gave up.

The work on the pier is very tiring, very hard, and very physically demanding. People who can't carry 180 kilograms can't eat this bowl of rice.

This is not a problem for Arno. He is not afraid of suffering or tired. He just wants to do more work, earn more money, and let his family live a good life.

It's best to send the kids at home to school to read some books. Do not look at Austria has implemented compulsory education, but this is not Arnault's share.

Just because he is not a local resident and does not yet have Austrian citizenship. In daily life and work, it has no effect.

After all, he was a coolie, and no one would care which country a worker at the bottom was. But when it comes to social welfare benefits, it has nothing to do with Arnault.

As early as more than ten years ago, he followed his father from Ancona to Venice to seek a living. Over the years, he has returned to his hometown three times, one of which was to get married, and the other two to go with the boat.

Austria is very strict on nationality management. If you are of the German nationality, as long as you have no criminal record, naturalization is very simple.

Other ethnic groups are different. Even after Arno stayed in Venice for more than ten years, he still did not meet the conditions.

In addition to scientists, designers, engineers, doctors, other occupations want to immigrate to Austria, there are a lot of restrictions.

Arnold recited clearly:

1. No criminal record and correct political ideology;

2. Have lived in Austria for at least 20 years, or be born in Austria and have lived here for a long time;

3. Make a certain contribution to the society (major contributors can be directly naturalized);

3. Not less than a university degree (for outstanding students in science and engineering, other standards may be lowered);

4. Be able to use German proficiently and inherit the Austrian cultural tradition;

5. Personal assets shall not be less than 8,000 Aegis;

...

This is not because Franz deliberately rejected immigrants, but mainly because when he succeeded to the throne, the proportion of Austrian ethnic groups was seriously unbalanced, and the main ethnic group was less than a quarter.

In that context, isn't it too much trouble to accept immigrants from other ethnic groups?

To avoid this from happening, the Vienna government has established an almost unsatisfactory immigration condition.

Facts have proved that this policy is very correct and has played a significant role in improving the proportion of the main ethnic group.

Hundreds of thousands more Italians are now added to Austria, if not restricted. At present, there are more than half a million foreign Italians living in Lombardy and Venice.

Not only Italians, but also a large number of foreign Poles, Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, Bulgarians in Austria...

Faced with this situation, Franz, the gatekeeper of immigration restrictions, was even more afraid to open it. Originally, ethnic integration is not easy, and adding millions of people in, isn't it uncomfortable?

Anyway, Austria has no shortage of labor and does not need these ordinary immigrants.

And the high-quality immigrants that Austria needs are no joke. Those people can live very well in any European country.

Arnault has become a victim of this policy, and unless it is God's blessing, the possibility of obtaining Austrian citizenship is almost zero.

There are very few social benefits in Austria now, except for compulsory education, Arnault did not feel much difference.

In any case, the income in Venice is far more than the hometown. Not only can the family fill their stomachs, but also have some savings.

The food on the pier wasn't bad, at least for this day and age. Enough brown bread and meat every day.

Don't get me wrong, this meat is fish. This is Venice, and the price of fish is not much more than that of brown bread, not as high as that of white bread.

In order to ensure the physical strength of the workers, meat is essential. The capitalists who contract the wharf are not stupid, they know very well that only if the workers have the strength can they make more money for them.

On the surface, handling on the wharf has no technical content; in fact, people who know it know that skilled labor can reduce the loss rate in handling.

Don't look at a little attrition rate inconspicuous, this is the competitiveness of the terminal. Austria has a lot of ports and even more wharves.

Most of the wharfs are owned by the government. When they were contracted to individuals, they were intentionally split up, breaking the regional monopoly.

If the loss of loading and unloading at a certain terminal is too great, it will be nothing more than a dispute with the customer. The most important thing is that the reputation is bad, and there will be no ships coming later.

In this respect, Arnault is lucky. This competition has increased their weight in the eyes of capitalists, and although they are still so insignificant, they have not been regarded as disposable items.

For example, we basically paid wages on time, paid overtime wages stipulated by law, and met the industry catering standards stipulated by the state.

...

"Arno, do you know that flag?"

The person who asked the question was Arnault's fellow countryman Facher, who had just come from his hometown and was full of curiosity about everything.

Looking at Arnault, he said enviously: "I don't know, it looks like it should be the family crest of a noble family."

Ships flying the flag of the noble family crest are usually private ships and do not undertake commercial transportation. This is the standard configuration of the local tyrants.

Of course, there are occasional exceptions, and it is not uncommon for some aristocrats to hang their own family crests on merchant ships.

Fachel exclaimed: "When will I be able to have such a ship!"

Arno rolled his eyes and did not follow the daydream. He had had such a dream many times, but it was of no use.

A middle-aged man in a suit has already stepped forward to negotiate with the owner. If the price is negotiated, then Arnault and the others will have work to do.

"Dear Baron Fickney, Mannar is honored to serve you!"

Baron Fickney nodded wearily and instructed: "Mannar, you arrange for someone to unload everything on the ship and send it to the train station.

Will, you bring them to work with them. I'm going to visit Viscount Obilar now, and in three days we'll return to Vienna together. "

After speaking, Baron Fickney began to close his eyes and meditate. As the first to go to the colony to discover gold, Fickney is now home.

When he went to the colony that year, Fickney was so depressed that he even mortgaged the family fief and owed a lot of foreign debts. Now he is a rich man with a net worth of several million Aegis.

After so many years, there is not much left of the gold mines that have been mined. However, Fickney was not idle while mining gold.

I don't know if it's a racial talent. Originally, he opened up the farm just to meet the living needs of the workers in the gold mine, but he didn't expect it to grow like a snowball.

Up to now, his farms and plantations combined have a total area of ​​more than 4,800 hectares, and he has become a famous local landlord.

Looking at the large area of ​​land, Baron Fickney found helplessly that he could no longer leave! The main purpose of returning to China this time is to promote the process of integration between the colonies and the native land.

It is well known that there are so many Austrian colonies that it is certainly impossible to incorporate all of them into the mainland. However, it is very possible to merge the already developed land into the native land.

In order to promote this plan, recently, many nobles who have established plantations in Africa have returned to China for public relations.

Once the African colony is localized, Baron Fickney is ready to turn his own farms and plantations into a family fief.

Over the years on the African continent, he has also accumulated a lot of meritorious deeds. If the local fiefs are replaced to Africa, then not only can their own land be converted into fiefs, but even the land of the gang who followed him can be included.

The total area combined is larger than many counties in continental Europe. With this foundation, the family can enter the circle of the great aristocracy by carefully managing several generations.

Not only Baron Fickney, but many nobles have the same plan. The local competition is too fierce, and no more great nobles can be born.

The African continent is different. As long as you are willing to invest in it, a big noble family will be born again after a few generations.

Including many colonial capitalists are ready to take advantage of this opportunity to transform, once the localization is passed, their opportunity will come.

In Europe, upstarts like them can't enter the upper class at all. Even if you spend money to become a noble, there is no way to get everyone's approval.

The African continent is different. In addition to the old-fashioned nobles, there are also a large number of upstarts who can have their own aristocratic circles.

The era of capitalism? In fact, it was the aristocracy who kept the capitalists from entering high society, and then the capitalists overturned the table and pulled the aristocracy off the altar.

Now that there is a chance to go in, everyone will naturally not overturn the table. After all, they have obtained the nobility license and are transitioning from rule challengers to rule defenders, and once the colonies localize their status is determined.

This is also what Franz wants to see, the capitalist is never his enemy, only the capitalist who opposes him is the enemy.

If it's just a blow, it doesn't leave them a way to rise, and the rabbits will bite if they are in a hurry, not to mention the increasingly powerful capitalists?

Leaving a road, the capitalists who were originally scattered, can no longer unite.

Of course, this is only part of the localization of the colonies, but in fact this is an opportunity for all levels of society.

Austria's colonies are ten times the size of the mainland, and Austrian Africa alone has seven or eight million square kilometers. Even a small part of it is incorporated into the mainland, which increases a lot of opportunities.

At this time, if you dare to fight and dare to break through, you are very likely to cross the class limit.

If you want to use data to reflect it, it means that the success rate of struggle is 10% now, but after the class is solidified, the success rate of struggle is less than 1%.

Of course, this is just a small step forward across the current hierarchy.

If you want to go to the sky, don't dream. In addition to rebellion, there is no such shortcut in the world.