Chapter 1131: A True Common Market
Queen Caterina was well aware of who her husband owed his throne to.
She had been reluctant to offend the high nobility of Florence before, but compared to offending France, those people were nothing.
Soon after, the Lucca Council also passed the reform bill.
In Milan, after Mirabeau met with their president, Giuseppina, two councilors who had vehemently opposed the trade reforms were arrested for corruption. The reform bill subsequently passed with an overwhelming majority.
In front of the gates of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, a middle-aged man waved his arms, shouting hoarsely at the surrounding crowd, "For our jobs, for our bread, we must drive out French goods!
"Every one of us must throw ourselves into this great revolution!
"Please, follow me to the council to protest..."
Even as he spoke, a voice rang out from the back of the crowd: "The Fellini silk mill is fast-tracking its expansion! They are hiring porters right now—twenty-three francs a month, and they provide lunch!"
The crowd, which had been chanting slogans moments ago, suddenly fell silent. They turned as one. "Twenty-three francs! Truly?"
At the moment, unemployment in Milan was rampant. Finding a job that paid over twenty francs was difficult enough, let alone one that included a meal.
The young man in black who had shared the news pointed toward the Basilica of San Nazaro Maggiore. "I heard they're looking for over ninety people. They definitely haven't filled the quota yet."
The sixty or seventy people nearby immediately bolted toward the cathedral, fearing they would lose the opportunity to someone else if they were too slow.
The young man in black spared a disdainful glance for the orator who had been inciting the crowd, then turned and headed toward the next gathering spot.
Throughout the streets of Milan, agents from the French Security Bureau were spreading various recruitment notices: "Federico's workshop received a massive order! They need more than a dozen engravers—thirty-three francs a month..."
"The city government is building a wooden rail line to Como. They're hiring over a hundred and fifty men. Go, quickly!"
"I don't know what they're building over on Brera Street, but they say they need people to haul timber. The pay is twenty-three francs..."
Soon, the once-furious citizens swarmed like ants returning to a nest, converging on a dozen locations across the city.
At first, many were skeptical, but they quickly discovered that the job opportunities were real!
As those who found new work cheered and celebrated, the protest marches in Milan vanished. Instead, long lines formed in front of the factory recruitment offices.
Beside the queues of applicants, Security Bureau agents shouted to the crowd: "The council has passed the Guild Reform and Trade Promotion Act!
"From now on, eleven trades—including silk reeling, silk washing, frame making, and wood carving—no longer require guild certification. If the factory is satisfied with your skills, you can start working immediately!"
Indeed, in Milan, industries like silk reeling and handicraft carving were completely liberalized. In Florence, it was leatherworking, glassmaking, and similar sectors that were no longer bound by guilds. Other regions had different industries where the guilds were abolished.
This was precisely the plan Joseph had devised to highlight the advantageous industries of these cities.
Since the vast majority of guilds remained unaffected and the government promised not to expand the scope of the reforms, there was no significant outcry of opposition.
In reality, within a few years, only the industrial chains of these advantageous sectors would remain in these cities. Other industries would essentially disappear, so retaining a few old-fashioned guilds would have no impact anyway.
The herald pointed to a government notice on the wall and continued, "There is also the Trade Reform Decree. From now on, transit tolls will be abolished. You will never have to pay to bring goods into other cities again!
"Under the Common Market agreement, we can even ship raw silk directly to Padua for sale with zero tariffs!"
The surrounding people immediately began to whisper among themselves.
Recently, wherever they went, they heard that the Common Market had ruined Milan's industries and cost them their jobs. But according to what this man said, it seemed it could bring enormous benefits to Milan instead.
One of Wilson's subordinates in the crowd, seeing the shift in momentum, stepped forward and shouted, "Don't listen to him! They're only hiring fifty people here in total, and you'll all be unemployed again once the factory is finished!
"Only by driving out French goods can we truly protect our jobs!"
Under Joseph's instructions, the French Security Bureau had spent months compiling manuals of rebuttals for their propagandists to memorize.
The man who had been explaining the trade laws countered immediately: "Absurd!
"Has France done anything unjust?"
"No!"
"The Common Market is reciprocal. Our goods can be sold in Paris just as easily. The whole of France has a population of over thirty million—that is a massive market that the entire Republic of Milan could never possess on its own.
"Why did our workshops sit on such a huge market and yet still go bankrupt one by one?"
"It wasn't because the French stole their business; it was because stubborn guilds drove up their costs and prevented them from hiring enough craftsmen!"
"It was our terrible roads. It takes at least two days just to transport goods to the Grand Canal!"
"It was the transit taxes between cities. By the time our raw silk reaches Genoa for shipping, the price has already more than doubled!"
He pointed at the agitator. "It is people like this who want Milan to fall into chaos! These recent riots have already scared off countless merchant caravans who were coming to buy our silk!"
"Blaming the French is useless. Even if we drive them out, British goods, Austrian goods, and Bavarian goods will flood in eventually."
"If we want our workshops to have sales and our jobs to stay secure, we must make ourselves the best. At that point, it will be us seizing the market in Paris, instead of standing here like losers complaining that fair competition stole our work!"
The crowd fell silent, mulling over his words, and began to nod in agreement.
The logic was flawless.
France and Milan were indeed engaging in fair trade; Milan even retained a small number of protective tariffs.
But in reality, for France and Milan to compete under the same rules was inherently unfair. If Mike Tyson and a group of kindergarteners had a match based on the same boxing rules, the latter would certainly be crushed.
The Security Bureau agent gestured toward a silk factory under construction nearby.
"Did you know? This factory is being built with a loan provided by France specifically to help us improve our competitiveness."
"Oh, and the road to the canal is currently being widened. Later, wooden rails will be laid. The cost of the road construction is also covered by a French loan."
"They even sent experts to help us standardize factory management, improve technical processes, and develop more new products."
"And yet, some people want us to drive the French away!"
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