Things often had two sides. The agricultural crisis had caused agricultural product prices to plummet, making life hard for farmers, while workers' lives had improved.
Lower living costs directly stimulated industrial development. Labor-capital conflicts had also decreased. Most notably, the number of public marches and demonstrations in Paris had fallen by one-fifth compared with the same period last year.
From this perspective, the world's mainstream had completed its transition from agriculture to industry. The great powers of Europe had all developed with industry at their core.
Affected by the butterfly effect, the domestic market of the divided United States had shrunk sharply. It had failed to take the lead in this industrial revolution, and the birthplace of the Second Industrial Revolution remained in Europe.
Austria was naturally the first place where the industrial revolution erupted. With Vienna's City That Never Sleeps as its emblem, it ushered humanity into the age of electricity.
The spread of electricity exceeded all expectations. As soon as Vienna blazed the trail, Paris and London immediately followed.
Though it was somewhat irrational—blindly following public opinion without considering actual circumstances—it played a crucial role in advancing electrical technology.
After London and Paris completed the installation of urban lighting networks, electrical technology became a symbol of urban modernization. To tell the difference between a large city and a small one, one only needed to look at the streetlights in the urban districts.
Power stations rose one after another around the cities, rows of power lines became symbols of civilization, and thick black smoke told of the glory of the industrial age.
At Vienna Palace, Franz was out hunting with his family. It had to be said that Archduke Charles's suggestion had been constructive after all. Having the hunting grounds in one's own home was indeed far more convenient.