Whether it was ahead of its time or not, the New Holy Roman Empire's Safety and Health Act had been enacted, to be enforced nationwide by force of law.
Factories were the first to bear the brunt of it. They had to improve workers' living conditions to meet the minimum standards stipulated by the Safety and Health Act.
This was when the advantage of keeping factories outside the cities became apparent—acquiring land nearby was extremely easy.
With the development of the African colonies, vast quantities of cheap timber were pouring into the country anyway. Building wooden houses cost very little, and the problem could be solved in ten days to half a month.
Naturally, this was far less harmonious for factories that had remained in the city proper. Land in major cities, where every inch was worth its weight in gold, cost far more.
Franz could not be bothered with such problems. The government had long ordered factories to move to the suburbs and ease the burden on the cities.
Those who had moved earlier had even received government relocation subsidies. Since they had chosen not to listen, they could foot the bill themselves now.
Urban safe water supplies had also been put on the agenda. Once the renovations were completed, water companies would provide water uniformly, and the haphazard underground wells could be phased out.
To cultivate the good habit of drinking boiled water, the government forcibly ordered factories, enterprises, public places, and government institutions to provide only boiled water for drinking.
The excuse was cholera prevention. Two years earlier, the British had just confirmed that cholera transmission was related to drinking water and sanitation, setting off a great sanitary revolution across the European Continent.
Cholera had not disappeared. It still appeared in people's sight every so often, the