Chapter 34: Chapter 34 – Dusk of the Revolution

In Hoburg Palace, the senior nobles and the Archdukes of the Emperor’s Court were anxiously pacing around.

Just a few hours ago, they had held a secret meeting to decide whether they should dismiss Chancellor Metternich to calm the anger of the people. Before they could come to an agreement,however, they received news that rebels had surrounded the palace. No one dared to leave the palace in such a situation.

The French Revolution had taught them that no matter how high or noble their status, they could be killed just as easily as a dog in the streets. The rebels would revel in killing nobles for the millennia-long oppression they had suffered.

In fact, if there were even a single capable person in the palace who could lead the City Defense Force or even the Palace Guard to calm the chaos, there was a good chance that the revolution would end right then and there. Unfortunately, no noble cared to risk his life or had such courage.

As always, Emperor Ferdinand I could be ignored. Due to the chaos in Vienna, he had suddenly been overly-stimulated, so much so that he suffered another seizure due to his epilepsy, so he could not be expected to make a decision.

Empress Maria Anna had already refused the nobles since she was not stupid. In the first place, she disliked politics and had never been involved in it, so she would certainly not express her thoughts on this difficult matter.

Archduke Franz Karl, who was second only to the Emperor as his younger brother, was also pale with fear. It was obviously impossible to expect him to make a decision.

Archduke Louis, who held the highest status amongst the nobles, was also incapable of resolving such a huge issue; otherwise, he would not have been suppressed by Chancellor Metternich in the Regency Council.

Feeling many eyes on him, Archduke Louis hesitantly said, “The City Defense Force has received the order. Within two days, they will return to Vienna to suppress the rebellion, so just order the troops to hold back the rebels until they arrive.”

He had never considered giving up Vienna and running away. No one could bear the consequences of abandoning Vienna, not even Archduke Louis. Maybe the Hapsburgs would lose their throne and be forced to live in exile overseas, like the French royal House of Orléans.

Looking at the child-like emperor, the nobles realized that their future was dark. If Ferdinand I had been healthy, he could have summoned the leader of the rebels to negotiate. After all, most of the rebels in Vienna had revolted in the name of cleansing the corrupt government for the Emperor.

Through the use of political means, it would’ve been easy to pull some rebels to their side, creating a divide amongst them which would make the situation favorable for the nobility. The nobles were confident that they wouldn't lose to upstarts when it came to politics.

The nobles’ disappointment with Emperor Ferdinand I was very favorable for Franz. The nobles wanted a promising and capable monarch to reignite the crown’s majesty and protect their rights and interests.

 

***

 

The news of the revolution in Vienna reached Franz one day after the City Defense Force received the government’s deployment order.

“Albrecht, the turmoil in Vienna has escalated. On the 7th, the demonstrators and the army briefly clashed. Later that night, a full-scale rebellion broke out in Vienna.”

Hearing the news, Lt. General Albrecht’s face fell, and he hurriedly asked, “What is the situation now? Has the rebellion been suppressed?”

Franz shook his head and replied, “I don’t know, but it's unlikely. Chancellor Metternich is too old, and no one else within the government or amongst the nobles has the courage to lead the soldiers!”

The Austrian Empire was old and decayed. No one within the upper echelon was willing to suppress a rebellion through force and being responsible for the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands. It was not that the politicians were kind or opposed violence. Instead, in the situation where the Emperor was unable to govern, whoever gave such a command in his stead would surely face the end of his political career, and might even be imprisoned.

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Such a person would not only be disgraced by his political adversaries, but also receive the ill will of the people, along with titles such as “executioner” or “butcher.” As a result, in order to avoid becoming a scapegoat, many officials had decided not to suppress the rebellion during its nascent stages. They wanted to wait until things spiraled out of control and everyone became aware of the threat, so that everyone could work together to suppress the rebellion and share in the responsibility.

This was a common defect within all old empires in Europe. Take the revolution in Paris as an example: the deaths caused by the soldiers were less than ten, which made it seem like a small village fight rather than a revolution.

The revolution in Vienna was quite similar. The deaths caused by the clash between the rebels and the soldiers were nowhere compared to the deaths caused by the ruffians and hooligans rioting within the city.

Many history books had emphasized that the Austrian army had been sympathetic to the revolution, so they had ignored the government’s orders to suppress the revolution and remained neutral when, in fact, they had remained neutral because they had failed to receive the order to suppress it.

During this era, “traffic depended on legs and communication depended on mouths,” so information transmission was very inefficient. The government had sent no order to suppress the rebellion at the beginning, and once it spiraled out of control, the order could no longer reach them.

Naturally, the officers at the bottom didn’t dare to make decisions by themselves. Despite the soldiers and officers at the bottom wanting to end the rebellion, they had to wait for the government to give the command. Unfortunately, by the time the government finally sent the command, it was too late to deliver it to the army.

 

***

 

Lt. General Albrecht looked in the direction of Vienna and said, “Franz, we should speed up the march.”

“No need! At our current speed, we can arrive in Vienna the day after tomorrow. Even if we speed up, we can’t launch an attack at night with weary soldiers!

Don’t worry, Vienna will not fall so easily. There is still the police and the 5,000 soldiers we left behind. Even if they fail to suppress the rebellion, they should at least be able to delay the rebels.

I have sent an order to the Palace Guard for it to be on maximum alert. No mob will be able to enter Hofburg Palace!”

It was not a good idea to force the soldiers to march overnight. They had to get enough sleep or they would simply become easy pickings for the rebels. Although Franz wasn’t especially well-versed in the art of military command, he knew that tired soldiers were useless soldiers.

Lt. General Albrecht’s suggestion to speed up the march was out of political consideration. The government would obviously announce that the City Defense Force had failed to suppress the rebellion because the majority of their forces had been out for training, for which he, the commander of the City Defense Force, held unshirkable responsibility.

If word spread that even after he got the news of the rebellion in Vienna he did not rush back at the fastest speed, it would be a stain on his political career. He had to bear this responsibility because no matter how high Franz’s status was or how close the two were, Albrecht was the commander of the City Defense Army, not Franz.

Franz understood his concerns, but at the moment he could not take risks. He had to ensure that the march proceeded steadily and the soldiers remained capable of suppressing the rebellion in one decisive attack. As for the matter of taking the blame, which subordinate did not take the blame for their leader?

“You’re right, but even though the rebels are still just a mob, it won’t take a long time for them to unite, at which point they will not be so easy to subdue!” Lt. General Albrecht reminded.

“Fear not, my friend. I assure you, the more time they have, the more divided they shall be. It is impossible for them to unite together. Now that they have escaped their fear of imminent death, their original sin - greed - shall prosper and spread discord amongst them,” Franz replied with a confident smile.

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