Chapter 963: Holiday
A football league was truly an excellent initiative.
It allowed the people of the Rhineland region to channel their surplus energy into cheering for their favored teams, unleashing their frustrations by insulting rival clubs and brawling with opposing fans.
Moreover, those covertly agitating against France found it increasingly difficult to gather an audience—everyone had vented their spleen on the pitch, gone home, and promptly collapsed into sleep. Who would bother listening to criticisms of France then?
Simultaneously, the league created job opportunities, offering children from impoverished families an alternative path to ascend in life.
While the Rhineland teams currently comprised a mere hundred-odd players, they had spawned a host of related employment in medical services, brewing, training, football manufacturing, and pitch construction, supporting nearly a thousand individuals.
However, the players' incomes were still relatively modest, comparable to the salaries of ordinary civil servants, with additional bonuses for winning matches.
Yet, even this modest income proved immensely appealing to the common folk.
As most players held part-time positions with their primary jobs, only requiring a day and a half of training each week, this effectively provided them with a double income.
Furthermore, winning the championship promised a substantial bonus of 3,000 francs, allowing each player to receive over 150 francs! Even the runner-up team collected 1,000 francs.
Other parts of France, having introduced football earlier, experienced even greater enthusiasm for the league, with one semi-professional team emerging: the "Versailles Palace Sabre Team." All its players were full-time nobles.
In fact, the nobles of Versailles Palace alone had formed four teams. However, they, along with three other Parisian teams, were grouped in the "Greater Paris Division," from which only two teams could ultimately advance to the "Grand Finals."
The entirety of France was divided into four divisions—a measure Joseph had implemented to afford more opportunities to commoner teams.
Presently, the "French Super League" was operating at a loss. To expedite the popularization of football, Joseph had stipulated that league tickets could not exceed 3 sous.
The French treasury allocated 30,000 francs to the league annually.
Of course, this modest investment was undoubtedly worthwhile when weighed against the myriad benefits the league conferred upon the nation.
Mirabeau, serving as the interim head of the league, once again brought up the matter of stadium construction: "Your Royal Highness, I believe the originally planned stadium, designed to accommodate 500 people, may not be strictly necessary."
"You see, normally, not that many spectators attend the matches."
"In fact, 300 seats would suffice. That way, construction costs could be reduced to under 1,000 francs."
In truth, a "stadium" at that time was little more than a flattened grassy expanse, ringed by a compacted earth embankment, upon which wooden frames served as seating.
"Such low attendance?"
Joseph's brow furrowed slightly as he glanced at the document Mirabeau presented. He noted that in the majority of matches played so far, fewer than 150 spectators were present. The highest attendance for any single match barely reached 320 people.
This seemed quite at odds with the purported popularity of football.
Mirabeau clarified, "Your Royal Highness, in reality, only a fraction of the nobility and merchants are able to attend matches after morning Mass on Sunday. Most citizens must continue working, and farmers are disinclined to spend too much time traveling to the city..."
The "Sunday" he referred to was, indeed, Sunday.
Joseph let out a silent sigh.
Football, originally conceived for the common people, had ironically become an attraction predominantly for nobles.
'Perhaps I could seize this opportunity to introduce the concept of a weekend holiday?'
Indeed, for the nation as a whole, providing people with fixed periods of rest, allowing them leisure time to spend, would more effectively stimulate economic development.
Particularly in the dawn of the industrial era, increased consumption was essential to drive production.
He looked at Mirabeau and stated, "If a decree were to be issued, mandating that all factories grant workers half a day off before three in the afternoon on Sunday—without any deduction from their wages."
"Concurrently, we would limit the duration of morning Mass."
"And if the league games were uniformly scheduled for ten in the morning on Sunday, then attendance should certainly increase. Therefore, the stadium should still be constructed to the 500-seat standard."
Mirabeau froze, then hesitated, "Your Royal Highness, I believe that reducing working hours for the sake of football matches might be somewhat ill-advised..."
Joseph smiled, "What if I told you that granting half a day off could actually boost a factory's profits? Would you find that believable?"
"That... truthfully, Your Royal Highness, I find it quite challenging to imagine."
"Then, let us proceed and observe the outcome."
Mirabeau added, "Your Royal Highness, the factory owners, however, will most likely staunchly oppose this."
Joseph nodded thoughtfully.
It was still the nascent stage of the Industrial Revolution, and factory owners wished they could make their workers toil for twenty-five hours a day. Persuading them to accept a decree for weekend holidays would undeniably be arduous.
'Hmm, the previous implementation of the "Labor Protection and Safety Act" had already drawn bitter complaints from the capitalists; the resistance this time will undoubtedly be even greater.'
After a brief moment of reflection, he instructed, "Very well, for factories willing to grant workers half a day off, we can offer appropriate tax reductions. You will need to dispatch someone to calculate the precise reduction percentage, ensuring it perfectly compensates the factory for any potential losses."
Mirabeau clearly did not endorse the Crown Prince's decision, yet he still bowed and responded, "Yes, Your Royal Highness. Nevertheless, I still anticipate that few, if any, factories will be willing to adopt this measure."
Joseph, however, exuded confidence: "Please trust me; they will all soon opt to provide holidays."
He understood clearly that allowing workers adequate rest demonstrably enhanced work efficiency.
This was a conclusion reached by countless factory owners in subsequent generations through practical experience, so much so that decades later, they actively lobbied the British government to legislate against Sunday labor.
Once French factory owners recognized the advantages of granting holidays, they would undoubtedly embrace it readily.
After Mirabeau concluded his report on the investment status of the Rhineland coal mines, Duke of Broglie, the Minister of War, who usually spoke little, rose and bowed to Joseph, stating:
"Your Royal Highness, regarding the conflict in Porto, our progress currently appears somewhat challenging."
"Count Campos requests that our nation dispatch additional troops."
Joseph was not particularly surprised by this. France had only sent 5,000 soldiers this time, and they had largely been 'taking it easy.' With only the Spanish army's combat capabilities, they certainly wouldn't be able to quickly overcome Porto's formidable network of fortresses.
However, his original intention was to deplete British resources in Portugal, so this situation was perfectly acceptable.
He nodded and said, "Please provide the specific details."
Berthier, the Chief of the General Staff, immediately stood and began, "Your Royal Highness, firstly, Britain has once again reinforced its troops. Currently, 10,000 British troops have disembarked in Portugal, with approximately 8,000 positioned in the direction of Porto."
"After Colonel Junot successfully stabilized our supply lines, the British, commencing last week, incinerated all farmlands near Porto and evacuated the majority of its inhabitants."
Joseph's expression tightened instantly.
'In this Iberian campaign, not only had the British failed to launch a counter-offensive, but they were also employing scorched-earth tactics so prematurely?'
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