Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 28: Chapter 28, Preparation

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio     Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In Franz’s view, the greatest mistake Louis-Philippe made after the outbreak of the Paris Revolution was his failure to take immediate control of the army.

At that time, most of the French Army merely sympathized with the Revolutionary Party and had not yet joined it. They didn’t oppose the Emperor and could have been won over completely.

Having troops in hand means everything is negotiable, whether it’s suppressing the revolution or having a sit-down discussion; there would be enough room to maneuver.

Isn’t the Guizot government already rotten? Then let them rot a bit more, lay all the blame on them—after all, in the eyes of the public, they’re already beyond redemption.

In short, all the bad things were their doing; as long as it had nothing to do with the Emperor, it was fine.

Snowflakes fluttered down ceaselessly, and the biting cold wind still rampaged through Vienna.

The news of the Paris Revolution was no longer a secret among Vienna’s upper classes; perhaps in two days, it would spread throughout Austria.

“Albrecht, conduct field exercises. Let us take control of the troops as soon as possible!” Franz said earnestly.

“What’s wrong, Franz? Why the rush? If they train for another month or two, they’ll become qualified officers. Most of them are still lacking right now!” Albrecht asked, full of confusion.

Ever since the news of the Paris Revolution reached him, Franz had been urging him to speed up the training as though a calamity was imminent, which greatly puzzled Albrecht.

“The Paris Revolution has erupted, and a great revolution is about to break out again on the European Continent. Given the situation in Austria, there’s a very high possibility of a revolution breaking out in Vienna!” Franz said, his expression grave.

Albrecht was utterly bewildered, his agape mouth seemingly able to swallow an egg. A revolution in Vienna? Mentioning such a thing would probably be taken as a joke by many.

The Austrian Government might be decaying, but it hadn’t yet reached the point of universal condemnation; the military still remained loyal to the royal family, and the bourgeoisie were being trampled underfoot by the nobility.

The working class, originally dissatisfied with the government, had shifted their resentful gaze towards the bourgeoisie with the enactment of the Labour Protection Act.

With this backdrop, a revolution seemed unlikely; were they anticipating the bourgeoisie or perhaps the democrats in society?

Franz analyzed with a wry smile, “Don’t find it strange. The working class does not oppose the government, nor does the bourgeoisie have a strong desire to revolt. But reality doesn’t give them the choice!

Albrecht, you should be aware of the impact this economic crisis has had on our country.

The number of unemployed in Vienna has exceeded fifty thousand, capitalists have suffered severe losses, and many have hoarded a large quantity of goods.

With the outbreak of revolutions in Europe, Austria’s economic situation is likely to worsen further. Workers need to eat, and capitalists want to save themselves, but the Austrian Government is inactive.

There’s also a bunch of idiots among the nobility who, in recent times, followed the capitalists in inflating prices. In order to compensate for their losses, they actually increased their oppression of the serfs.

Austria has become a powder keg; now it just needs a spark to set off the detonation!”

Albrecht’s face turned pale as he nodded. These words could be said by Franz, the Crown Prince of the Empire, and as the City Defence Commander of Vienna, he could agree with them, but he couldn’t directly articulate them.

As Austria’s largest noble, Albrecht was undoubtedly very hostile to the revolution. Setting aside other factors, the more than 500,000 acres of his estates alone were something he could not tolerate being disrupted.

(500,000 acres are approximately 3.04 million mu, roughly 2,000 square kilometers.)

That was only his landed estates; in Vienna, Albrecht also possessed a great deal of property, which Franz was aware of, including the summer palace Willburg and the Winter Palace of Vienna (now the area of the Albertina Museum).

With such a rich inheritance, Albrecht naturally looked down on capitalists, as no Austrian capitalist was as generous as him.

Had it not been his own, Franz might even have considered plundering it. Such affluent landowners were not unique in Austria; for example, there were others like the Kohali family, a branch of the House of Gotha.

Of course, the most substantial inheritance still belonged to the royal family— the Habsburg family had amassed a considerable fortune over several hundred years.

In the Eastern world, owning thousands of mu of good farmland signified a great landlord or a wealthy tycoon, but in the European continent, it’s nothing but a minor landholder. Every great noble started with millions of mu in property.

“Franz, didn’t you remind Prime Minister Metternich of these issues?”

No sooner had he finished speaking, Albrecht regretted it, realizing it was a glaring oversight. Metternich had been in the position of Prime Minister for too long, yet he had not met everyone’s expectations.

People are forgetful, especially now that the achievements of Metternich were being overlooked, particularly after the detonation of the Paris revolution and the shattering of the Vienna System.

Prime Minister Metternich’s greatest diplomatic achievement had been washed away, and his opponents, who wanted to see him gone, no longer had any hesitations.

Franz didn’t talk about the opponents of Prime Minister Metternich, but as the Crown Prince, he was naturally hostile to powerful ministers—a consequence of his status.

“These issues, I’m afraid our esteemed Prime Minister has long been aware of them, but whether he has paid enough attention to them is hard to say!

Albrecht, you don’t think I can now be his master, do you?” Franz asked jokingly.

Albrecht smiled slightly. Prime Minister Metternich was very authoritative; even the other members in the Regency Council were utterly suppressed by him. How could anyone be allowed to dictate to him?

“Alright then, I’ll make the arrangements. However, you’ll have to personally take care of the training orders. The Regency Council won’t listen to me!” Albrecht said.

He already knew what Franz was planning. As soon as the Vienna revolution burst forth, Prime Minister Metternich would have to step down.

At that point, the government would experience a vacuum of power, the Regency Council’s reputation would plummet, and Franz’s early regency would consequently become a logical progression.

As a political ally, Albrecht naturally hoped this day would come sooner rather than later.

“Don’t bother with them; they’re too busy with their own infighting to care about this trivial matter. Besides, I have an order from His Majesty the Emperor!” Franz said with a cold laugh.

Indeed, Franz was wielding the imperial command as if it were a feather used as a commanding arrow. The Regency Council couldn’t hold Ferdinand I to account for such a trivial military field training, and Franz could fully justify it.

Once the Vienna revolution erupted, those with soldiers in hand would be the true powerhouses. Whoever controlled the 14,000 strong City Defense Army would hold sway over Vienna’s influence..