Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 438: The City That Never Sleeps

Christmas Eve of 1868 is a memorable day, marking the beginning of a new era for humanity.

August was an ordinary citizen of Vienna, and the changes in Vienna left him overwhelmed as if he were dreaming.

He took his children to look at the bright street lamps, which he considered the best Christmas gift.

“Father, are those electric lights? Why are they so bright?”

Hearing his son’s question, August didn’t know where to begin. In this era, without the internet, knowledge was spread entirely through books.

Although August was well-educated, his expertise was in a different field. As a doctor, he didn’t need to study electric lights, so he couldn’t answer the question.

It wasn’t just him; very few people in Vienna knew the reason. Vienna was not an industrial city with workshops conducting such research, nor did it have factories producing such products.

Vienna was an inland capital city, a center of politics, finance, culture, research, and education all in one.

With so many titles, it couldn’t afford to add the title of industrial center. Otherwise, the rapidly increasing population would overwhelm this beautiful city.

Since Franz’s accession to the throne, in just twenty years, Vienna’s population had doubled and was still growing at a rapid pace.

This is clearly not natural growth. If the natural population growth rate were this fast, unifying the world would not remain a dream.

Even without factories, as the capital of two empires, Vienna still sees a large influx of people each year.

Population growth drives urban development, and today, Vienna is already the most prosperous and beautiful city in the world, without a doubt.

Per capita income has soared to the top of the global rankings, surpassing Paris and London. Despite their economic prosperity, the large number of workers in those cities dragged down the average.

This is also why Vienna was the first to become a city that never sleeps. The income of Vienna’s citizens is sufficient to afford lighting costs, something other cities cannot yet manage.

In this era, electricity costs are not cheap and affordable only for the middle class and the wealthy. The annual income of an ordinary worker is not even enough to cover the power company’s connection fee.

Since the breakthrough in large generator technology in 1866, Austrian power companies have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. If a city lacks a power company, it must be a small city.

Now, every Austrian city with a population over 100,000 has a power company or at least a branch.

As a new energy industry, the Austrian government has consistently supported it. Now is the golden period for power companies to expand their territories.

Unfortunately, costs remain high, preventing universal adoption. The biggest obstacle to widespread electricity usage is not the cost of generation, but the cost of wiring, or more specifically, the cost of copper and rubber.

Even with low utilization, one kilogram of coal can generate at least one kilowatt-hour of electricity. In Austria, coal is inexpensive and can be used to generate electricity regardless of quality.

The pure cost of generating electricity is less than five schillings per kilowatt-hour. However, by the time it reaches residents’ homes, the price per kilowatt-hour becomes eight guilders, an increase of 159 times.

(1 guilder = 100 schillings)

There’s no helping it. With few users and high wiring costs, plus amortization expenses, the price naturally goes up.

The most direct benefit of new energy development is that, amid the economic crisis and widespread depression, Austria’s copper refining and rubber industries are growing against the trend.

Many companies in the related industrial chain benefit from this, with at least a 500 million guilder market being stimulated, contributing to Austria’s economic recovery.

Patting his son’s little head, August lovingly said, “I don’t know the answer to this question either. You’ll have to research it yourself, my little scientist.”

Vienna has a strong academic atmosphere, and scientists hold a very high social status in Austria, especially with Emperor Franz, who loves to ennoble scientists, making them even more popular in society.

Of course, it’s not easy to earn a title, and some years there might not be even one awarded. Franz is a realist; without seeing results, no matter how grand the claims, he won’t pay attention.

This doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the people. August is no exception and always tries to steer his son’s interests towards scientific research.

However, the little guy wasn’t buying it. Shaking his head, he said, “No, the laboratory is too boring. How can it compare to riding a horse across the land? My ambition is to become a great soldier.”

Watching his son gesticulating excitedly, August could only helplessly accept this reality. It’s difficult to become a scientist without being a top student, and becoming a soldier is also a good choice.

The Germanic tradition was strong—becoming an excellent soldier was the goal for most people.

Though August is a doctor, he was actually a soldier once, having since retired.

With universal conscription, almost every adult male serves in the military. Men who haven’t served are easily discriminated against in society.

Austria’s current service rate is still as high as 95%, with the remaining 5% naturally considered unfit. Ordinary people, even if they can’t join the regular army, will enter the reserves.

This is not just an obligation but a right for everyone. Legally defined, every citizen has the right and duty to defend the country, and military service is one of those rights.

This isn’t Franz’s doing. The core of Austria’s constitution dictates that: rights and duties are proportional.

Not serving in the military means not fulfilling the right and duty to defend the country, which naturally results in the loss of political rights and a series of social welfare benefits.

Currently, there aren’t many social welfare benefits, so the impact isn’t obvious, but the future will be different.

Issues like unemployment assistance and pensions are already on the agenda. Napoleon III set the precedent, and Franz had to follow suit.

Just as Austria was the first to enact labor protection laws, which were now standard across Europe, including the Russian Empire.

In this regard, the European proletariat is still very formidable. Everyone is very proactive in fighting for their rights.

The main reason for the delay was the burden on enterprises. Increasing these two expenses would naturally require raising taxes; otherwise, where would the money come from?

It’s no surprise that Napoleon III lost his throne. Most of the criticisms later historians have placed on him are exaggerated. The real reason is singular: the capitalists had long been suffering under Napoleon III.

Being a socialist emperor comes at a cost, far more than a mere footnote in history books. Whether it was rebuilding Paris or improving worker welfare, all of these required money.

While economic development can increase tax revenue, it also increases expenditures. When Napoleon III ascended the throne, France had a budget deficit as high as 1 billion francs.

Now, not only has he managed to offset the expenses, but he also has the surplus to provide worker benefits. This money couldn’t just be printed out of thin air.

The changes in tax revenue from before and after he took the throne reveal the issue. During the rule of the Orléans, the taxes paid by big capitalists were less than 1% of fiscal revenue; now, it’s over 30%.

Whether unemployment assistance or retirement pensions, this money all came from the pockets of the capitalists.

Just looking at his establishment of France’s two major central banks, the Crédit Foncier and the Crédit Mobilier, and the establishment of land banks in Paris and the provinces, shows how much he extracted from financial capitalists.

Lessons from the past shouldn’t be forgotten. Franz is doing the same thing, and even going further. However, Austrian capitalists lack the same power, being politically suppressed by the nobility.

To alleviate pressure, Franz regularly co-opts big capitalists. Regardless of their previous power, once these people become part of the ruling class, their class stance changes.

It was impossible for them to share the rights and interests they had gained through bitter struggle with their former capitalist companions.

Capitalists are naturally opposed to each other. Competition fragments this group, and as long as monopolistic conglomerates are prevented from forming, this group cannot challenge the government.

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Christmas Eve of 1868 left a stunning scene for this era: the concept of a “city that never sleeps,” which existed only in science fiction, became a reality in Vienna.

The telegraph is undoubtedly one of the greatest inventions of the 19th century. Thanks to the telegraph’s efficient transmission speed, the news “Vienna: City That Never Sleeps” occupied the front pages of European newspapers the very next day.

This Christmas, for the people of Europe, there was only one “city that never sleeps.”

Electric lighting had already appeared on the European continent, but the idea of illuminating an entire city was beyond most people’s imagination.

In reality, not all of Vienna was illuminated; only street lamps were installed, and many residents still used oil lamps for lighting.

Naturally, newspapers didn’t elaborate on these details, glossing over them to let everyone in Europe assume that Vienna had fully adopted electric lighting.

Smaller countries could watch the spectacle with ease, maintaining a good attitude. After all, Vienna was already the wealthiest city in Europe, so it was normal for it to be the first to become a city that never sleeps.

However, in the eyes of some, particularly the British and French public of that era, this was something intolerable.