It's better to share joy than to enjoy it alone

Looking at the freshly minted Labor Protection Act, Franz wore a satisfied smile; he knew that from this point on, the nobility and the bourgeoisie would never be able to reconcile.

The proposal of an eight-hour workday was enough to show that the nobles, having been provoked by the capitalists, were now pulling the rug out from under them.

From this day forward, the Austrian working class and the bourgeoisie would part ways; the government had already granted them what they wanted through legislation, and the only remaining obstacle was the capitalist class.

At this point, would the bourgeoisie still dare to use the labor movement to seize power?

Clearly, that was impossible. The enemy of the labor movement was no longer the government, but the bourgeoisie.

For a long time to come, the capitalists would have to struggle against the working class until one side made concessions.

"Tyrone, disseminate the contents of our Labor Protection Act as quickly as possible. Remember to send a copy to the labor unions in Paris as well!" Franz instructed.

It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times. In 1847, only one country in the world had completed its industrialization: Great Britain.

The remaining great powers of the European Continent were all in the midst of catching up. France's Industrial Revolution was underway, not to be completed until the 1860s.

The Industrial Revolution in the Germany region had only just begun; whether in Prussia or Austria, everyone was still in the initial stages.

Would increasing labor costs lead to a decline in product competitiveness?

That was not a problem at all. Austria's biggest issue was a lack of market; whether workers or farmers, everyone was penniless. What would they use to purchase goods?

Before a market was cultivated, who would they sell their products to?

Export them?

It was not that Franz looked down on Austrian industry, but in this era, British industrial products were the best, and Austria's flagship products remained grain.

Therefore, it was better to focus on cultivating the market first and develop industry step by step.

However, sharing joy with others is better than enjoying it alone. As an altruistic person, Franz would certainly consider the people of the world; everyone's life was difficult and in urgent need of improvement, right?

In this regard, he believed the revolutionary stance of the French people was firm and that they would surely do a good job of this. Only by improving the living conditions of the working class would this world become a better place.

Franz did not yet know that in future history books, the Austrian government's proposal of an eight-hour workday would become the fuse for the great European revolutions.

The March Revolution of Vienna, highly praised by historians, was transformed by his butterfly effect into a conspiratorial rebellion launched by the bourgeoisie, who were dissatisfied with the government's enactment of the Labor Protection Act.

The latter was the final verdict Franz personally delivered; he never went soft when striking at his enemies.

Setting aside future events for the moment, Vienna was already in a frenzy. Newspapers published the Labor Protection Act in its entirety at top speed.

Countless writers and scholars were furiously writing about it, either in praise or in condemnation; in short, everyone was very passionate.

The reformist camp began to split. One faction was celebrating, believing that Austria's reforms had finally achieved phased results; many optimistically analyzed that shortly after the Labor Protection Act, the government would surely continue to deepen reforms.

The other faction was the capitalist interest group. They used the most intense language to attack the government for destroying the free-market system, arguing that in a free nation, such issues should be decided by the market.

Because of this issue, the two factions argued incessantly. The capitalists, unwilling to suffer losses to their interests, had already begun to conspire, and the undercurrents spread from Vienna throughout all of Austria.

The workers of Vienna were first incredulous, then shocked, and after confirming the news, they began to celebrate, as if bidding farewell to their days of suffering.

Paris

As the cradle of the European revolutionary movement, the people of Paris had always possessed the most revolutionary spirit. The Labor Protection Act issued by the Austrian government caused a sensation as soon as it arrived.

If the notoriously conservative Austrian government knew how to legislate to protect the interests of the working class, and the July Monarchy had yet to do so, then such an evil government must be overthrown.

Of course, rebellion was never an overnight affair. The Paris labor unions, rich in struggle experience, held intense discussions immediately.

Seeing that the Austrian government had taken the initiative to legislate to protect workers' rights and had even proposed the eight-hour workday—an advanced working model—many held expectations for the Paris government as well.

What if the bigwigs in the Paris government suddenly saw the light? Their demands were not high; they just wanted the government to copy Austria's Labor Protection Act.

Beginning in late 1847, Paris began to erupt in a strike movement with profound historical influence. To fight for their own rights, hundreds of thousands of Parisian workers took to the streets to demonstrate.

Soon, this meaningful activity spread from Paris to all of France, and it spread virally across the entire European Continent; almost every European city saw the outbreak of strikes.

The "eight-hour workday" had become a banner for the labor movement of this era. Because they were the first to enact labor protection laws, the image of the Austrian government in the eyes of the outside world changed significantly.

Since the Englishman Robert Owen proposed the "eight-hour workday" in 1817, this was the first time in the world that a government had legislated to implement it, and the impact far exceeded the Austrian government's imagination.

Prime Minister Metternich, long criticized by the outside world as a conservative, once again became the leader of the reformists, and the Austrian public highly praised his reforms this time.

However, this was not what Prime Minister Metternich wanted. On the surface, he had become the winner in this government struggle, not only thwarting the conspiracies of his rivals but also pushing reform further and gaining the support of the masses.

In reality, Prime Minister Metternich had bitter words he could not speak. Under pressure from the nobility, he had enacted the Labor Protection Act, thereby forging a deadly feud with the bourgeoisie.

Were capitalists easy to provoke?

Undoubtedly, everyone knew the answer to that.

The retaliation came so quickly that it still exceeded everyone's expectations.

On November 24, 1847, the third day after the Labor Protection Act was issued, the capitalists organized a strike. Ninety percent of the factories and shops in Vienna closed their doors that day.

The bourgeoisie also submitted a petition to the Emperor, demanding the revocation of the Labor Protection Act and the dismissal of the Metternich cabinet.

Trouble had arrived for the Austrian government. The strength of the bourgeoisie was even greater than everyone had imagined; even some short-sighted nobles had been bewitched by the capitalists and participated in the strike.

The time had come to test Prime Minister Metternich. If he could not resolve this problem, it would not be long before Vienna fell into chaos.