Chapter 1371 Royal Gas Company

Because of the overly cheap kerosene, the gas pipelines were laid backward, which in turn led to the lag in the development of the entire gas system.

Franz had originally considered selling gas cylinders to make money, but due to the limitations of technology and materials in this era, the price of gas cylinders was ridiculously expensive.

But small gas cylinders are not completely useless, they can be supplied to the military and expedition teams. Gas is convenient and fast, and can be used as a weapon at critical moments. The military leaders are very satisfied.

Not to mention the soldiers, being able to eat hot food is better than anything else.

At present, Franz can only run gas companies in a few large cities, and small and medium-sized cities and smaller areas cannot be promoted at all.

Historically, the British invented the gas stove in 1826, but in the following fifty years, less than 10% of the British chose to use it.

It was not until 1869 that a British engineer connected a rubber hose to it and upgraded the ignition system. In less than 10 years, 50% of urban residents in the UK chose gas stoves.

In fact, the upgraded technology of gas stoves is not high. Although Franz does not understand the relevant technology of gas stoves, he knows what gas stoves in later generations are like.

So under the guidance of Franz, the gas stoves of the Austrian Empire quickly completed the upgrade, and the new gas stoves have already had some shadows of later gas stoves.

Due to its simple operation, cost-effectiveness, speed, flexibility, and the freedom to control the heat, it was quickly promoted in core cities such as Vienna, Prague, Venice, Milan, and Lemberg.

Of course, gas stoves have also been criticized a lot. Some traditional chefs believe that gas stoves lack the aroma of burning wood.

However, these shortcomings are not worth mentioning compared to its advantages, especially for the vast majority of civilians and restaurants. In this era of less and less wood, using gas stoves is undoubtedly too cost-effective.

The success of the pilot gave Franz confidence. Just when he was ambitiously preparing to do a big job, a problem suddenly arose, that is, the infrastructure of medium and small cities was too poor, and the cheap kerosene lamps and the opposition of lamplighters made it difficult to promote the gas system.

Actually, there is nothing much to say. Franz is not the kind of person who must win all the time. He will never be stingy when the country bleeds.

It's just that as long as you are a person, you will have a certain aversion to losses. After a brief struggle, Franz decided to force the gas pipeline project.

However, in order to make up for the losses suffered by the government, the Royal Gas Company will provide 10% of the gas company dividends to the local governments that accept the transformation every year for a period of ten years.

Although it is a bit like transferring money from one hand to the other, Franz still needs to appease the emotions of government officials. The finances of the government and the royal family are separate, and his eating habits cannot be too ugly.

Franz, the autocratic emperor, is actually not as free as imagined.

When the local officials of the Austrian Empire heard that it was the emperor's order, and there were company dividend subsidies, most of them chose to accept it with pleasure.

As for those lamplighters, the Royal Gas Company can provide them with training. If they pass the training, they can become employees of the Royal Gas Company, otherwise they can choose to receive three months' salary and leave.

The conditions proposed by Franz are already quite generous in this era.

Of course, there will be a small number of people who will choose to raise the price. If they can be appeased, they should be appeased. The government, the church, and the local nobles can all come forward.

However, just in case, Franz still has to issue a relevant law to establish compensation standards. If it comes to the last resort, Franz can only go through legal procedures.

According to the rules of the free market, Franz's approach is completely unnecessary. After all, the fittest survive, and the profession of lamplighter has been unable to keep up with the times and is inevitable to be eliminated.

According to the theory of this era, compensation for unemployed workers is a kind of government intervention, which may even lead to unequal competition.

However, Austria is an empire, and the imperial government cannot rely entirely on cold laws. Moreover, the empire has no relevant laws, and Franz does not think that the lack of laws should be borne by individuals.

At the same time, the reputation of the Habsburg family needs to be maintained, and Franz will not make people angry for a little money.

In fact, the establishment of gas companies also contributes to the development of industry. Some factories that do not require high temperatures no longer need to build their own boilers.

However, this does not include the smelting industry. After all, in this kind of industry that consumes a lot of energy and requires a high furnace temperature, gas is still too expensive compared to coal.

Compared with the economic value brought by the gas company, Franz cares more about the social value.

Using gas can greatly reduce pollution and reduce the risk of fire.

Franz does not want to turn Vienna into a city like London at all. The black sky occasionally rains acid rain, the white fog hides the killers who like to disembowel, and the green river water floats fish bones and people laughing wildly.

In fact, Franz moved the factory to the outskirts of the city during the second expansion of Vienna, and the heavily polluting factories moved to the downstream, but the pollution of the factory to the city is still unavoidable.

In the current situation, Franz really can't move all the factories out of Vienna. After all, industry is a symbol of the strength of a city at this time.

With the changes of the times, the trees around Vienna have been cut down in large numbers. People who use firewood to cook are generally rich people, and civilians will choose cheap and efficient coal.

However, due to the lack of common sense of many people, they closed the doors and windows when making a fire in the house, which caused countless tragedies.

The level of the fire brigade in this era cannot be said to be non-existent, but it can only be said to be very limited. Most of the time, when facing a fire, they are willing but unable to do so. The organizational structure is loose, the tools are simple, and the professionalism is very limited.

At this time, only the French fire brigade has the highest degree of professionalism. In fact, they are a military-organized force, and this system has been imitated by later generations.

The British fire brigade is famous for its black heart and high price. Although there are some volunteer fire brigades, it requires great patience and luck. After all, they are just volunteers and the working hours are uncertain.

The fire fighting system of the Austrian Empire is very national. It not only imitates the professional fire brigade of France, but also has market-oriented employment. It also welcomes community volunteers and even retains the traditional aristocratic private fire brigade.

However, despite so many names, the actual efficiency is still ridiculously low.

It is well known that if only one department is responsible for a matter, it is called a duty. If two departments are responsible, it is easy to blame each other. If three departments are responsible, it is easy to have no water to eat, not to mention four departments.

In history, there was a fire that engulfed a quarter of Vienna. At first, it was just a bakery 50 meters away from the lamp oil factory. The owner and apprentice of the bakery quickly put out the fire in their own shop, but unfortunately the business next door was caught on fire.