Chapter 29: Chapter 29 – Revolutionary Undercurrent

Winter gave way to spring as the snow melted and the dirt roads turned mushy and muddy.

An army was struggling to move forward on such a road. It was the Vienna City Defense Force on the way to its field training exercise.

The noble officers could not stand the suffering they faced having to travel on the muddy road, so the commander, Lt. General Albrecht, decided to make camp and rest. Unconsciously, the command power of the army changed.

“Halt! We shall make camp here!”

Lt. General Albrecht’s order sounded. As the Vienna City Defense Force, they could not stray far from the city, so the field training was being held less than 150 kms from Vienna in an open plain.

“Franz, we can’t go any further than this. Otherwise, if something happens in Vienna, we won’t be able to respond in time!”

Franz nodded. He planned to let the revolution break out in Vienna, but that didn’t mean he planned on letting the revolution succeed! The main force of the City Defense Force had been brought out on this field training exercise. Although they had left around 5,000 troops behind, those 5,000 troops, and the officers that commanded them, were the worst within the Force.

If someone wanted to start a revolution, this was the best opportunity for them. After all, such an opportunity did not present itself often.

“The news about the City Defense Force being out on a field training exercise should have spread by now. By the way, how are the soldiers faring?”

Lt. General Albrecht shook his head and replied, “Not good! They’re not happy that we pulled them out for training in these conditions. I believe they’re all cursing us behind our backs.”

This was inevitable. Anyone who was forced to march through muddy roads for over 100 kms would be upset.

Franz smiled and gave a “good solution,” “Give them the day off and let them go hunting to supplement their rations.”

This was obviously not a good idea. If this had been an army of 500, instead of 15,000, maybe the soldiers could have managed to hunt enough game to increase their rations. However, it was impossible for there to be enough prey in the mountains to feed over 15,000 people. Still, it could allow everyone to relax, so Lt. General Albrecht did not object.

 

***

 

Time passed quickly. The Labor Protection Act, originally scheduled to be implemented by the Vienna government on March 1, 1848, had been put on hold indefinitely. Even worse, the government had given no clear explanation as to why the act had been put on hold. The inaction of the government left the working class very disappointed, which allowed the capitalists to “fish in muddy waters.”

The cost of spreading rumors had always been very low. Under the manipulation of the revolutionaries, the working class heard that the capitalists had bribed the government to suspend the Labor Protection Act. They then fell under the misconception that the government had sacrificed their interests.

As a result, the situation in Vienna turned very unfavorable to the government. By March 4, 1848, news of the success of the February Revolution in France had spread across Vienna.

Under the manipulation of the capitalists, citizens, workers, and students in Vienna took to the streets to demonstrate on March 5, 1848.

They put up banners of anti-hunger, anti-economic crisis, anti-dictatorship, and anti-corruption, and their representative submitted a petition to Emperor Ferdinand I, demanding the removal of Chancellor Metternich and his cabinet, the implementation of a constitution, universal male suffrage and the abolition of serfdom.

Interestingly, there had been no mention of the Labor Protection Act in the petition proposed to the Emperor. Obviously, the representative responsible for drafting and submitting the petition had already betrayed the working class.

Unsurprisingly, none of the demands in the petition were acceptable to Chancellor Metternich, so it was impossible for the petition to be approved. No one bothered to hear the Emperor’s thoughts on the petition since the Regency Council made all the decisions and dealt with all the issues on his behalf.

Even though other members of the Regency Council also wanted to remove Chancellor Metternich, they could not agree to the other demands in the petition whatsoever. For their own benefit, the Regency Council had to stand together for the time being. Naturally, the workers and the protesters were not happy with their decision and the idea of revolution became stronger.

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***

 

A carriage passed through a narrow street which was flanked by small earthen houses on both sides. There was a pungent smell in the air and bits of trash was present in every direction.

The carriage continued forward until it slowed down and came to halt in front of a small house. A well-dressed young man stepped down from the carriage and felt something soft under his foot. He looked down and found that he had stepped on animal feces.

“Shit!”

He cursed out loud as a disgusted expression covered his face. Wiping his foot down on the side, the young man moved forward while pinching his nose to avoid smelling the pungent smell in the air. He knocked on the door and looked back.

The carriage had already left after he got out. There was no option for him but to arrive at this slum and face the situation: the secret police in Vienna were not fools, but highly skilled and dangerous agents, which meant that this young man had to be careful.

The slum was the safest place for him: it was not visited by many people and had lots of crisscrossing alleys, and most importantly, police presence was weakest here.

Soon, the door of the small house opened, and a man dressed in worn-out grey clothes walked out. He looked around and made sure that no one had followed the young man before he allowed him inside.

“Otto, you have finally arrived! Everyone has been waiting for you for a long time!”

The young man named Otto frowned and disgust briefly flashed in his eyes before he smiled and replied, “Sorry for being late, Elmar. Our enemy’s spies are everywhere. I had to be extra careful to get rid of them!”

Elmar was closing the door and didn’t notice the disgust in Otto’s eyes. He continued, “Don’t worry about it. We can’t be too careful at a time like this. Let’s get started now that you’re here!”

Otto walked into the small room where around ten other men dressed similar to Elmar were standing around, chatting. Otto briefly greeted everyone and began his task.

“Gentlemen, the time for revolution has come. It is impossible for the reactionary government to agree to our request. Chancellor Metternich's government has deceived us again, but we will no longer continue to endure silently while our children starve.

The people of Paris have succeeded in their revolution. It’s now our turn. Currently, we have the golden opportunity. The City Defense Force is busy training in the countryside. It will take at least two days for them to return even if they rushed back-”

An older man interrupted him, “Otto, I am afraid that it’s not yet time to launch an uprising. Although the City Defense Force has gone to the countryside, there are still 5,000 troops stationed in Vienna. We will never be able to win against them.”

Otto frowned as he heard the old man’s words. He didn’t like to be refuted, especially by those he despised. If the capitalists hadn’t needed them to launch an uprising right away to put pressure on the government, he would never have bothered to come to the slums to meet with the workers’ representatives.

According to him, the command of the revolution should be left to decent folk, and these lower folks simply needed to shut their mouths and follow the commands they were given. However, the working class had to be willing to die for the revolution for it to succeed, but neither he nor the capitalists behind him had any prestige amongst them. As a result, they had no choice but to rely on the workers’ representatives.

Otto put away the frown on his face and explained, “Mr. Witte, don’t worry. We have secretly purchased a large amount of weapons. If we’ve got weapons in our hands, will you still be afraid of the soldiers? Besides, the army is not really our enemy. Apart from the noble officers, most of the soldiers are the same toiling masses of common people as us. We can…”

Although they were all nominally revolutionaries, they were not on the same side. After all, the capitalists and the workers were inherently antagonistic. It was only that, at this time, no revolutionary organization dominated by workers existed, so they had to depend upon the revolutionaries funded and controlled by the capitalists.

Hearing Otto’s plans, everyone present seemed to have been convinced, but, in fact, each of them represented a large number of unemployed people who were desperate for food to feed their families. They had no choice but to become convinced of Otto’s plan, regardless of how good or bad it was.

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