Chapter 25: Chapter 25 – First Step in Saving Austria

The month of January was extraordinarily cold in Vienna. It was nearing February but the ice and snow on the roads refused to melt.

The cold wind blew on Franz’s face, sending a shiver down his spine, but it was even more unbearable to the young noble officers standing behind him, many of whose teeth were chattering due to the cold.

If Franz, the Imperial Crown Prince, had not been on the training ground with them, most of them would have rushed back to the warmth of their mansions. However, his presence ensured that none of them dared to run away. After all, the nobles of this era still strongly believed in upholding the glory of the nobility, especially in front of the future emperor.

Archduke Albrecht, who held the post of Lieutenant-General in the Austrian Army, looked at his normally-incompetent subordinates with a satisfied smile. Even he hadn’t expected that Franz would use such a crude, yet effective method to force the noble officers to participate in training.

Franz knew that the peaceful days in Austria were coming to an end. Once the March Revolution broke out in Vienna, the safest place in the world would be none other than the army’s barracks! Whether he would choose to suppress the rebellion, or escape, it would be safer for him to stay with the army than in the palace.

Although the noble officers shivering behind him didn’t seem very reliable, it depended on whom they were compared with. This was Franz’s greatest source of confidence; no matter how weak the City Defense Force seemed, it was still made up of rigorously trained soldiers. Meanwhile, the “enemy” they had to face was just a mob of rebels! Few would have guns while most of them would likely use sticks and stones as weapons.

“Attention! Hear my command! Everyone will run one lap around the training ground! Those who fail to complete this task will get no breakfast!”

Lt. General Albrecht coldly issued the command. Despite being battered by the cold wind, many officers felt as if the previous chills they had felt were warm breezes compared to their commander’s words. After all, the training ground was not small by any measure with a perimeter of over ten kilometers. Running even a lap of such a huge training ground would not be an easy task for these prodigal nobles. However, before anyone could object, Franz took the lead to begin running, so the others had no choice but to follow, lest the future emperor think low of them.

The noble officers could only blame themselves and regret accepting Franz’s invitation. A few hours ago, before the training had begun, Franz had hosted a small gathering with these officers. After a few glasses of wine, they were fully intoxicated. As a result, when Franz proposed that they train together with him, they all agreed without thinking too much about it.

Now, they could no longer back out on their promise or else they would bring dishonor to their family name. Someone who reneged on their promises would be looked down upon by the entirety of high society, especially when the promisee was none other than the Imperial Crown Prince!

Therefore, many of the people present were hoping for Franz to back down, so they could take the opportunity to skip the harsh training while ensuring that the Imperial Crown Prince didn’t think low of them for skipping training. Unfortunately, Franz’s actions disappointed everyone. They were unaware that he had exercised from childhood and running ten kilometers was not that tough for him.

 

***

 

An hour later, Franz and the few noble officers who had finished their run were gorging down the sumptuous meal served while watching the majority of the officers that were still struggling to slowly finish their run.

Whenever one of them fainted and was carried out, everyone pointed at him as if he was the shame of the nobility. As a result, no one dared to fake-faint to get out of completing their run.

No noble wanted to be publicly shamed. Besides, most of the noble officers who were involved in this training were haughty teenagers or young adults for whom satisfying their vanity was very important, unlike older nobles who wouldn’t care much about being unfit.

In Franz’s view, these younger nobles were malleable and could still be trained to become the backbone of the Empire, but the same could not be said for cunning older nobles; their selfish nature couldn’t be changed. They would only harm the Empire.

After the last person somehow finished his run despite wheezing and panting, Franz did not laugh at him, but rather clapped.

“Your Imperial Highness, they performed so terribly, yet you applaud them?” An officer standing beside Franz asked with feigned interest.

Franz smiled and replied, “No, they performed well. Although the process took a long time, each one of them persevered and completed their task. Perseverance is the essence of a great soldier. Of course, most of their physical fitness is quite lacking and needs to be improved!”

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After listening to Franz’s evaluation, the faces of the noble officers who had been among the last few to finish brightened. They had managed to complete the task, fulfil their promise to the Imperial Crown Prince and kept their reputation free from disgrace. To console themselves, they cheered at the fact that they possessed the perseverance required from a soldier and decided to focus on the journey rather than the destination.

Franz smiled softly after seeing the smiles on the faces of the previously dispirited nobles. He would obviously not take the initiative to demoralize them.

In fact, despite their flaws, these young noble officers couldn’t be looked down upon. At least, they were better than most of the officers of commoner background since they had been receiving military education since childhood. It was only because they had not been strictly trained that they had become lazy.

To save Austria, Franz first had to save the next generation of Austrian nobles. Only when these people who served as the nation’s backbone were strong could Austria really become strong.

In fact, Franz had wanted to join the army long ago, but unfortunately, he had previously been too young. Even now, he was under 18 years old. If it weren’t for the outbreak of the January o revolution in Sicily, he wouldn’t have been able to persuade his family to let him join.

Observing the happy-go-lucky young officers who had been easily fooled by his few words of praise, Franz knew that it would take a long time before they could be trained into competent officers. However, time was the one thing he lacked. Maybe, it was impossible to train them to reach their potential before the revolution, but it was still possible to train them enough to be able to deal with a mob.

Considering the fact that the government had issued the “Labor Protection Act” to safeguard the interests of the workers, the majority of the public would likely not fight against the government too aggressively.

Historically, the March Revolution in Vienna had been defused through political means, including the resignation of Chancellor Metternich. However, the subsequent revolution in Hungary couldn’t be suppressed that easily since Hungary had declared itself independent. Ultimately, the army was required to put an end to the rebellion.

 

***

 

“Gather here, men!”

Lt. General Albrecht’s voice rang throughout the training ground, and the officers who had been resting, dragged their exhausted bodies as they slowly lined up in order.

Seeing the solemn expression on Albrecht’s face, Franz could tell that the Lieutenant-General felt that his men had disrespected him. Their queue was neat, but there was no respect for their commanding officer. Franz recalled the strict military training at his university where discipline had been paramount.

Suddenly, he noticed a grin spread across Albrecht’s face and realized that someone was going to feel lots of hurt.

Waving his baton, Lt. General Albrecht walked down the queue when a pitiful scream suddenly sounded from near the end of the queue. Franz quickly looked back and saw a fat man lying on the ground in an odd fashion. If one looked carefully, they would find a footprint on the fat man’s ass.

“Stop looking around!”

Lt. General Albrecht’s cold voice rang out, and everyone quickly withdrew their eyes. Following that, everyone was much more disciplined. Having seen the fate of the fat man for slouching firsthand, no one wanted to follow in his footsteps. Even so, screams rang out occasionally as Lt. General Albrecht walked around while waving his baton, and helping the officers correct their postures.

In fact, no one else could perform the task of discipling them. All the officers present were nobles. Except for Lt. General Albrecht who was an Archduke and the son of deceased Archduke Charles, one of the most decorated Field Marshals in the army’s history, no other general had the courage to discipline them. Lt. General Albrecht was aware that this was a rare opportunity to train the prodigal noble officers. If he missed this chance, it would be hard even to find them, much less train them.

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