In order to force the government to make concessions, on November 7, 1881, the bourgeoisie of Prussia organized a massive strike and a market strike.
This move completely infuriated Frederick The Great III. After many fruitless negotiations, on November 10, the Government of Berlin declared martial law throughout the country.
The security brigade, composed of retired soldiers, took over the work of the police, blocked the main roads, seized all the shops, warehouses, and factories of the participating capitalists, and the government allocated the country's supplies.
Immediately afterward, Frederick The Great III ordered the resumption of factory production. Many retired military officers became factory managers.
There was no technical content, and they didn't know how to manage it, so they copied the way they managed the army.
As long as there was someone to pay, ordinary workers didn't care who the boss was. It didn't matter if the management was strict, as long as the money was in place, everything was negotiable. Factories began to resume work one after another.
From production to sales, it was all handled by the government. It looked like a planned economy, and the capitalists really panicked.
Reality told them that they didn't seem so important, and the country would still function normally without them.
Although there were still a lot of troubles in the middle, this was only the early stage, and things could slowly change later.
It was too late to regret now. Since they had already shed all pretense of cordiality, Frederick The Great III naturally wouldn't be polite.
He didn't even need to frame them. He just needed to dig up old accounts, and soon a large wave of people were put in prison.
Prime Minister Leo von Caprivi said anxiously, "Your Majesty, we can't go on like this, or there will be a big mess."
He didn't have a problem with the capitalists being the first target. After all, they weren't the same kind of people.
But plans couldn't keep up with changes. Before this, no one was prepared to let the army take over the country.
It was only later that they found that the police couldn't deal with the capitalists, so they were forced to use retired soldiers to form the security brigade.
After the capitalists were dealt with, everyone found that the domestic order had collapsed. In order to restore social order, the government had to borrow the power of the military again.
It used to be said that the Kingdom of Prussia was a country owned by the military, but that was because the military had great influence and controlled the country politically.
Now that the situation had changed, the military's influence at the top had been weakened, but its influence at the bottom had greatly increased.
Frederick The Great III nodded helplessly. "My Prime Minister, everyone knows that the situation in Prussia is not right now, but the problem is how to solve it.
He had been arrested, his house had been raided, and his factory had been confiscated.
If we want to resume production now, we won't be able to find enough managers in a short period of time.
Do we have any other choice but to let the retired officers manage it?
We can't just let those parasites out and cause more trouble for us, right? "
He had to admit that the military management of the factory could only be used as an emergency measure. Not long after it started, a series of chaos broke out.
After hesitating for a moment, Leo von Caprivi gritted his teeth and said, "Let's just organize an auction!
We definitely can't manage so many factories. Let's sell most of the smaller factories and keep a few big ones. We'll turn them into state-owned enterprises and learn from Austria's management model. "
Prussia's industry was still in a state of contention. More than 80% of the factories in the country had less than 100 employees, and there were only single-digit factories with more than 10,000 employees.
The Kingdom of Prussia was a capitalist and militaristic country. Not all the capitalists would jump out and fight against the government. This time, they had flipped the table. Naturally, it was impossible to catch all the capitalists at once.
In theory, as long as the confiscated small and medium-sized factories were sold, the management problem would be solved.
Frederick The Great III said slowly, "This is a way."
Obviously, he was tempted. Although the Kingdom of Prussia had resumed production, the production capacity was really disappointing. The production efficiency had generally dropped by 15%, and the rate of defective products was also high.
Such an enterprise was doomed once it entered international competition, unless it closed its doors and played by itself.
The current calm in the market was supported by the credibility of the government. The Government of Berlin had taken timely action to ensure the supply of goods and employment. Everyone believed in the government's ability to execute.
The Minister of War von Rosewald suggested, "Your Majesty, if we sell so many factories at once, even if someone wants to buy them, I'm afraid they won't be able to fetch a good price.
Instead of that, it's better to directly distribute the factories to the retired officers and deduct their severance pay or pension.
Not only will the government's expenses be reduced, but the problem of employment can also be solved. "
It was true that the factories couldn't be sold at a good price. Most of the people in the Kingdom of Prussia who had the purchasing power were still in prison.
The remaining capitalists, even if they had money in their pockets, were frightened at this time and didn't dare to show up.
Due to the impact of the devaluation of Deutsche Mark, the original severance pay and pension standards were obviously not suitable.
The Government of Berlin didn't dare to deny the capitalists' money, but they didn't dare to discount the soldiers' money.
Although the Government of Berlin had repeatedly raised the standards, it couldn't stop the fierce inflation, and the government couldn't stand the continuous increase.
Frederick The Great III asked with some doubt, "Can the soldiers accept it? You must know that the efficiency of these small factories is very average. If the management ability is not enough, it's easy to make a loss. "
The "loss" was not in the hands of the capitalists, but according to the management of the Government of Berlin recently.
The Minister of War von Rosewald said with uncertainty, "They should be able to accept it. We can set the factory price at a lower price and let them decide whether they want the factory shares or cash.
As for the problem of management, I don't think the production link is a big problem. It's our own factory, and they definitely won't mess around.
The problem is the sales, but the government can help solve it. We have an agreement with the British to pay the debt in kind. We can use the products of these factories to offset the debt. "
Frederick The Great III fell into deep thought. He didn't care about the price. Anyway, it was free.
If he could use these small factories to appease the military and let the military agree to the government's reorganization plan, he didn't mind giving it away for free.
"Then try it. Remember to coordinate the work. There are dozens of shareholders in a factory. If we don't arrange it well, it's easy to have problems. "
Von Rosewald's original happy expression disappeared. He could already imagine how much work he would have to do next.
No matter how much the factory price was lowered, it wasn't something that could be taken down by one soldier. Unless a dozen people died in battle, it was inevitable that there would be many shareholders.
When it comes to interests, can everyone still be so harmonious? These problems needed to be solved by him.
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