Chapter 527 Silesia (3)

What happened on the North American continent could not be transmitted to Europe for the time being, and the European continent was also not peaceful. The civil unrest in Spain not only caused unrest in its ally France.

The crisis in the Near East was also continuing to ferment. The Russians had too much appetite. In addition to the Ottoman legacy, they also wanted Persia, then the entire Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.

The cloud of the civil war in central Europe made the people of the "Peaceful Country" breathless. Although the two sides temporarily stopped hostilities under the pressure of France and Austria, they never stopped preparing for war.

The Italian countries in the Apennines lodged a solemn protest to Austria because the population was constantly flowing to the northern Italian region ruled by the Habsburg family.

Austria was also making intensive preparations for the upcoming Vienna Conference.

But what was unexpected was that it was the Prussian region that took the lead in the unrest.

In Silesia, the wages of weavers have dropped by two-thirds over the years, only about four groschen a day, about 50 florins a year.

(The Austrian currency unit in the book is used here, because it may be used frequently, and the names are similar, so I am afraid that everyone can't tell them apart.)

But this is not the most excessive. What is more excessive is that the Zwang brothers in Peterswaldau reduced the wages of the weavers to three groschen. (Use the cloth price to convert directly into wages, otherwise it will be very confusing.)

When some weavers protested, they retorted, "If you don't do it, there are many people who will do it!" Then they claimed that there were many people willing to take only two groschen wages.

Although the weavers were very angry, they had to choose to bow their heads again in order to survive.

So the Zwang brothers really recruited a large number of workers with only three groschen wages, which allowed the two to quickly accumulate a lot of wealth and won the medal of excellent citizens awarded by the Prussian government.

However, the successive years of famine caused the price of potatoes in Silesia to rise further, causing the weavers to have no food at all, because the wages in their hands could not even afford one meal a day.

The weavers who were forced to do nothing could only find the Zwang brothers again, hoping that the master would show mercy and let them get through the difficulties.

But the answer was.

"If there are no potatoes to eat, you can eat grass and stones. If you die, it proves that you are not God's chosen people and are not suitable to live in this world."

Then the weavers went to the local Prussian government, but the authorities passed the buck to each other and the problem was never solved.

At this time, the Zwang brothers built a mansion in the local area, and the cost was equivalent to the income of a local weaver who did not eat or drink for 200 years.

And the brothers boasted to their business partners that the cost was increased by thirty times in the tavern in the town.

This behavior is actually not in line with tradition in Prussia, because merchants are not qualified to be as wealthy as nobles, and they do not have this social status.

The rude attitude of the local Prussian government once again chilled the hearts of the weavers, to the effect that merchants pay more taxes and are protected by the government, and building houses is the freedom of citizens.

This behavior greatly angered the local weavers, so one weaver insulted the eldest brother of the Zwang brothers, Sieg, as a man-eating demon.

The respectable master naturally could not accept such slander, so he beat up the unruly man and handed him over to the police for detention.

Normally, the matter would have ended at this point. The master established his authority and the "thug" was punished.

But this time they greatly underestimated the miserable situation of the Silesian weavers at that time. There was nothing to fear about this group of poor people who could not survive and no one cared about them.

(The Prussian government has always been lukewarm about it, and even the Polish Restoration Army, which eats both meat and vegetables, despises their weakness.

Franz once tried to promote immigration policies in the local area, but it aroused the vigilance of the Prussian government, and a large number of Austrians and Prussians hired by Franz were arrested.

However, it is impossible for Franz to leave so many German refugees alone. Although these people are poor and their physical and cultural conditions are worrying, it doesn’t matter to Austria at this time.

Later, because Franz was busy with other things, he handed the matter over to the church. The latter spared no effort, but liked to carry private goods.

The result was that he was reported by the local church and finally returned in defeat.)

At this time, a weaver named Karl Mueller stood up and called on the weavers to unite and ask the local Prussian government to release them.

But local residents in other industries actually looked down on the weaving industry, and some inappropriate propaganda made people think that this group was actually a group of lazy people, so they criticized their behavior.

As a result, the weavers' dissatisfaction soon turned into anger. They began to indulge their anger, threatening and even using violence against those who opposed them.

At the same time, they tried to gain more supporters through parades to fight against their powerful enemies (the Prussian government and weavers).

After Austria joined the German Customs Union, the Prussian government attached great importance to the construction of railways.

Especially during the Luxembourg Crisis, the latter transported tens of thousands of troops to the front within a week, defeating Belgium, known as the seventh power, and left a deep impression on the Prussians.

So at this time, as a frontier bordering Austria, the important railway lines in Silesia had already been built. This greatly facilitated the connection between weavers.

As a result, in the city of Katowice, Mr. Philpot's house was also besieged.

In fact, not only Master Philpott and the Zwang brothers, but almost all the wrapping merchants were besieged.

The railway system greatly enhanced the mobilization ability of the weavers, so what was supposed to be a small riot with only 3,000 people in history turned into a large-scale riot with more than 30,000 people participating.

As the governments of every Silesian region unanimously rejected the weavers' petitions, the desperate people rushed into the merchants' houses.

In particular, the mansion of the Zwan brothers was given special attention. Not only did it receive a free decoration package, it was eventually burned to the ground. The two brothers escaped sanctions with the help of the Prussian police.

Mr. Philpot's white house was turned into a black and white "zebra house", and the house was filled with filth.

Due to the large number of people, the local military police and police were helpless.

In fact, the weavers didn't want to make the matter a big deal at first. Although they originally wanted to rely on their connections in the government to settle the matter, they gave up after the weavers made a big fuss.

After all, they are businessmen, and they can still make a profit by spending money to eliminate disasters, but if one person is lost, the gain will not be worth the loss.

So the businessmen took the initiative to propose reconciliation. However, while the railway facilitated the weavers' organizational contacts, it also facilitated the Prussian government's local suppression.