Chapter 24: Chapter 24 – The Invisible Hand

“What did you say? You want to serve in the army? Impossible! You have to focus on your studies,” Archduchess Sophie berated Franz.

In her opinion, joining the army was simply an excuse for Franz to skip his classes.

Franz attempted to explain, “Dear mother, I will only be in the army for three months to gain some experience.”

“Is that really necessary? When you turn 18, you will officially start serving in the Army; what’s the sudden urgency behind you wanting to join three months early?”

Franz realized that his mother would not give her approval for him to join the army without a proper reason. As for his father, his thoughts on the matter didn’t really matter since Archduchess Sophie was the one who made the decisions in his family.

“Mother, you must be aware that a revolution broke out in Sicily recently! From the intelligence I received, it seems that revolutionary sentiment is likely to intensify in Europe. In case the unthinkable happens, I must improve my connections with the army, so as to not be caught unprepared!”

“Do you think there will be a revolution in Austria?” Archduchess Sophie asked with fear and anxiety evident on her face.

“Yes! The economy has continued to deteriorate since last year. The struggle between the nobles and the bourgeoisie shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, it may escalate if the economy doesn’t improve soon!”

Hearing Franz’s analysis, Archduchess Sophie felt even more anxious and afraid; “revolution” was a scary thing for nobles and royals.

“Have you shared this with the government? They may be able to resolve this conflict before a revolution breaks out if they understood the severity of the situation!”

Seeing her trembling hands, Franz realized that she was grasping at straws, but he knew that her suggestion would never work.

“Mother, even if I told them about the imminent revolution, it’s too late to prevent it. I’m sure they’re already aware of how dire the situation in Austria has become.

In fact, we should remain silent and maintain distance with both the nobles and the bourgeoisie, lest we get burned in their fight.”

Politics had always been dark. As the Imperial Crown Prince, Franz had to maintain a good image. He could not personally get into political fights and sully his prestige. He was restricted to secretly providing some aid to his supporters.

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After mulling over Franz’s words for a minute, Archduchess Sophie’s eyebrows shot up as she hurriedly asked, “Franz, are you planning to use the internal unrest to oust the Regency Council?”

Archduchess Sophie’s reaction made it quite clear that was very much in support of Franz’s supposed plan. After all, no one enjoyed leaving their fate in the hands of another, much less the Regency Council, which had been the de facto regime in Austria for over a decade.

The Regency Council’s long tenure was starting to make the imperial court in Vienna nervous. Even the Emperor, during his brief periods of sanity, understood that the Regency Council’s continued existence did not bode well for the Habsburgs. Historically, Chancellor Metternich’s dismissal had come not only due to the nobility’s dissatisfaction with his reforms, but also due to concerns about him wielding too much power for too long.

“I don’t want to set anything in stone, just yet. It would be better if I can remain flexible. Still, the current situation does not bode well for the government. The capitalists want to replace Chancellor Metternich and his government with a weak government. Similarly, the nobles are also unhappy with him and want to replace him with one of their own.

As a result, all of Chancellor Metternich and his government’s energy is spent on attempting to survive this political crisis, leaving no one to look after the poor people at the bottom. If a person is hungry enough, they’ll do anything. Over the past few months, there have been many food riots in France. The situation in Austria is almost as bad as France. If the economy doesn’t improve, food riots will be the least of our concerns.

Not long ago, at a banquet held by the upper echelon of the capitalists, the Revolutionary Party publicly announced their intention to remove the government which means the revolutionaries are in cahoots with the capitalists! With the money capitalists’ money and the internal complications within the Empire, it’s hard to say that there won’t be a revolution soon.”

Archduchess Sophie scrutinized Franz carefully, almost as if she didn’t believe that he was her son. After all, Franz’s insight into the internal complications of the Empire had surprised her greatly. His words sounded more like the analysis of an experienced politician who had experienced the many vicissitudes of life rather than those of a 17-year-old privileged boy.

“Franz, you seem to have been preparing for this for some time. The current situation seems to have been under your control this whole time... From the time when the conflict between the capitalists and the nobles intensified, you seem to have been aware that things would turn out this way, am I right?”

Fear! Franz saw fear in Archduchess Sophie’s eyes. Anyone who realized that a teenager had carried out so many schemes to seize power while the politicians danced on his fingertips would certainly feel fear! He was the invisible hand behind the curtains while the nobles and the capitalists were merely his pawns.

Franz smiled and replied, indifferently, “Dear mother, this is how an emperor operates. In fact, none of the things you mentioned were done by me. At best, I gave a few suggestions here and there, so no matter how the situation deteriorates, I have no fault in it.

This ancient Austrian Empire has long been sick and decaying. Most of the citizens work hard for survival every day, but are still unable to feed themselves and their families adequately. Such a country was bound to implode, sooner or later; I simply expedited the process.”

Hearing Franz’s indirect confession, Archduchess Sophie’s face turned pale as she anxiously said, “Franz, you can get burnt playing with fire! You can safely deal with these problems after you become the emperor!”

Franz wryly smiled as he shook his head and replied, “I’m afraid it’s not that simple. If Chancellor Metternich is forced to step down in disgrace, the prestige of the office of the executive will be tarnished. Once the nobles and the capitalists are allowed to run, it will become impossible to rein them in and repair Austria! It is in our best interest if he resigns, not due to the pressure from the nobles or the capitalists, but because of the will of the people.”

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