Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt - Chapter 202



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Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt Chapter 202

36-Class conflict

The factory owners were foaming at the mouth, calling it the second major strike and riot in the Kingdom of Skara, as the strike was unfolding in a much more organized manner than the previous major strikes.

Of course, when public power was involved, the group quickly disbanded and the ringleaders were caught, but the factory owners did not believe it.

Everyone claims to be the mastermind, but does that make sense? Saying that everyone is the mastermind means that there is a real mastermind.

Thus, the nobles who had received the factory owner’s request urged the police to catch the real ringleader, and as the police, who were suffering from the backstabbing of the high-ranking officials, poked around here and there and passed on the backstabbing they had received, the public sentiment could not help but become uneasy.

In the meantime, sporadic strikes occurred repeatedly and unexpectedly, and when the security forces were dispatched, the strikes quickly ended and workers returned to work. The losses incurred in the process were enough to upset the factory owners.

The unpleasant feeling made him want to fire all the strikers, but he hesitated because the workers threatened to strike at the slightest sign of such a move.

Some factory owners risked a large-scale strike, saying they would never compromise, but after a week of factory shutdowns, they were losing market share to competitors, and some other factory owners had no choice but to admit that some compromise was worth it.

But this advance of workers has clearly upset those with vested interests. Are these uneducated and stupid people making threats like this?

Among them, there was one who felt more than just uncomfortable, but even threatened: Johnson Cordelli.

“This is not an ordinary thing.”

“Is that so?”

When Arthur showed no interest, Johnson Cordelli spoke in an earnest tone.

“The lowly ones have learned to threaten their employers. This is not something that uneducated people can do. There must be someone behind them.”

Arthur felt a little curious at those words.

“What’s the basis?”

“This is my opinion as someone who was directly involved in suppressing a large-scale strike at St. Scala.”

Come to think of it, wasn’t that the incident that led to Johnson Cordelli gaining the trust of Count Stan and becoming a semi-noble?

When Arthur did not respond, Johnson Cordelli continued speaking, feeling that his persuasion was not enough.

“I have suppressed many other strikes. Most of them were just a result of a momentary spur of the moment situation, but this strike is different.”

Factory owners aren’t stupid either, so they spot signs of a strike in advance.

It was common practice in this industry to have a few spies among the employees who would listen to them, and if they detected signs of a strike in advance, they would hire security guards (thugs) to be prepared to suppress it.

But the sporadic and surprise strikes that are happening this time are literally surprise strikes. Even if they planted agents, they could not detect the signs of a strike, and even after they started the strike, they did not go all the way and stopped immediately when they felt that it was not going well. In war terms, they learned how to retreat.

It was never easy to know when to advance and when to retreat. It was a matter of setting a precise goal and controlling impulses and emotions to achieve it, something that was not something that ignorant workers could do.

Moreover, the level of threat presented to the factory owner as an excuse for not going on strike was exquisite. It was not a condition that the factory owner could never accept, but a level that could be sufficiently borne as a cost of not going on strike. For example, a ban on overtime work or a request for more allowance for overtime work.

Again, this was a strategy that stupid workers could not have devised.

“This must be a conspiracy by someone to reduce the industrial productivity of this country.”

Arthur could gauge the limitations of the thinking of the factory owners in this country by the grandiose claims of Johnson Cordelli, but on the other hand, he also thought that there was some truth to what Johnson Cordelli said.

Being tamed is a scarier thing than you might think. Are those who have become accustomed to the current work environment learning how to negotiate little by little under the pretext of a strike? As Johnson Cordelli said, it would have been difficult if someone had not taught them how to engage in labor disputes.

But it seemed a bit of an exaggeration to call it some kind of conspiracy. It is possible that someone smart and well-educated could not bear to watch the miserable conditions of the exploited workers and told them what was in his head.

No, that was more likely. There’s no one who particularly benefits from their labor dispute… … Me?

The first thing that came to Arthur’s mind was the diplomat dispatched from the Kingdom of Zatra, Viscount Uraniva.

It was possible to incite workers to strike, as they were also stealing talent from the kingdom. However, the gains were too little compared to the hard work and risk involved. If the factory owner compromised, the current sporadic strikes would not have much of a impact. However, if such a scheme was discovered, it would have been a great diplomatic blow.

Arthur, after gathering his thoughts, replied.

“Isn’t that too much speculation?”

“This is not speculation! This is not the behavior of normal workers! There must be someone behind this!”

Judging from Johnson Cordelli’s attitude, it seemed like he was going to make up charges even if there were none. But the problem came next.

“Even if it is someone’s conspiracy, isn’t it true that the workers’ conditions are poor?”

At Arthur’s words, Jason Cordelli looked shocked, which made Arthur feel more confused.

“Their poor environment is due to their lack of effort!”

Hmm… … . Arthur stroked the tip of his chin and thought about Johnson Cordelli’s background. He was a poor back-alley thug. Ah! So maybe he could belittle others who failed to succeed by saying they didn’t try hard enough?

Originally, people were animals that thought they had it the hardest and worked the hardest. It’s like when men who have been discharged from the military tell each other stories about how they had it the hardest.

But Arthur didn’t point that out. Saying that to Johnson Cordelli, whose values ​​were obviously set in stone, would have no effect.

“Anyway, I think that Lord Cordelli thinks that the person behind this should be identified and punished.”

“Of course. He is the one who sabotaged the nation’s industrial production.”

“Then many of those who agreed with him will also be arrested as accomplices.”

“Of course.”

“Have you thought about the chaos, unrest, and social unrest that would result from such a series of events?”

“……hmm?”

Arthur continued, tapping the desk with his index finger.

“First, in order to catch the conspirators who planned the work behind the scenes, we need to catch those who led the strike and get their testimonies. Would that be an easy process? And what if the security guards are running around here and there to catch the conspirators? Wouldn’t that actually hinder the operation of the factory?”

“If we leave it like this, those insolent guys will come crawling back!”

“Didn’t your Majesty say that it was important to maintain the industrial productivity of this country first? Was it important that the workers climb up, or that they didn’t go on strike?”

“Bad habits need to be eliminated from the beginning!”

“To me, it looks like I’m trying to catch a flea and end up burning down my house.”

“Heart of the Count! Why don’t you understand?!”

Although the Count Cordelli was frustrated, Arthur was the one who was frustrated.

“Even if the conspirators are caught, do you think that the attempt to incite strikes and damage industrial productivity will be eradicated?”

If the main plotter was really a foreign country like the Kingdom of Jatra, they could have steadily sent spies into the country to induce a strike. Is the Kingdom of Jatra the only country? If necessary, other foreign countries could have also exploited this country’s weaknesses.

Count Cordelli had his own clear answer to Arthur’s question.

“So we have to crack down hard to prevent that from happening.”

Is this a fart or a horse? If I hadn’t told him not to do it, there was no way I would have failed in raising my children.

Arthur explained calmly, suppressing the frustration rising from deep in his chest.

“Weaknesses need to be reinforced. We need to make it difficult to instigate strikes. If we leave weaknesses alone, strikes will continue to occur and we will try to catch the ringleaders. What will happen to the industry if this continues?”

Even if we treated our weakness as a weakness, we would only continue to be stabbed, and even from a national perspective, it was a clear loss.

But to factory owner Johnson Cordelli, Arthur’s words sounded like a call to make concessions to the cheap, striking workers. And to him, it meant turning the country upside down.

“What a disappointment! If Count Stan knew of this thought of the Earl of Hurt, he would be sorry!”

“Well? Wouldn’t it be better to prevent a strike from happening in the first place rather than trying to stop a strike that has already occurred? Weaknesses that have already been revealed will always be targets for attack. Why don’t you look a little wider?”

“Even though we are both commoners, it seems that the innately talented Count Hurt thinks differently from me.”

Still unable to change his mind, Johnson Cordelli turned around with a sarcastic remark. Arthur asked him.

“Let’s say I take your word for it, Lord Cordeli. What did you want to ask of me?”

At those words, Johnson Cordelli turned again and said.

“Shouldn’t our entrepreneurs come together?”

“How?”

“We will increase the security force to catch those who dare to strike and track down the ringleaders.”

“okay.”

Arthur nodded and said.

“There must be someone better suited to that job than me.”

“So you’re saying you won’t participate in the end?”

“I feel more aligned with my identity as a guild member than as an entrepreneur.”

“Ah. I overlooked that.”

Johnson Cordelli chuckled and turned away.

Arthur thought. What did that kid do wrong? It had been quite some time since he had brought Johnson to the brink of ruin.

The inventory of pirated music boxes that had caused the bankruptcy crisis is now gone, and the copyright crackdown business has become less interesting due to the steady sales of licenses, so Arthur’s leash has also loosened…

Anyway, it seems that people don’t easily let go of their habits. Arthur also found himself wondering how he could screw that kid over.

Fortunately, Arthur had the ability to meta-cognize what he was thinking, so he could see that it was a waste of his precious time and energy to screw over an author like Johnson Cordelli, especially since he was already so busy.

There’s no way Jason Cordelia would bother Arthur.

“Are things okay these days?”

Arthur visited the Ignaqua production plant. He had a regular schedule of visiting and receiving reports from the Olo plant manager on the operating status of the plant.

“I… … that… … .”

But isn’t the Olloh factory manager making a face that says he has something difficult to say?

“What’s wrong? Don’t worry, just tell me.”

“Didn’t you hire new employees when you expanded your factory this time?”

“Yes, it was.”

“But there is some discontent among the employees.”

“Are you dissatisfied?”

“That… … They earn a lot of money through Ignacua, so shouldn’t they raise their salaries a bit… … .”

Arthur laughed at that, because he hadn’t prayed yet.

The conditions of employment at the Ignaqua factory were not relative. What that meant was that, based on the cost of living, they were giving one man enough to feed his family. And that meant that their weekly wages were more than three times the average in St. Scala.