Holy Roman Empire

An uprising without the support of the army is at most a massive riot, which will eventually be suppressed.

Franz is ready to dismiss Metternich's cabinet and give the public an explanation after returning home.

Then announce the abolition of serfdom and the implementation of the "Labor Protection Law" to appease people's hearts, and then naturally ignore the threats and only investigate the culprit.

The big deal is to catch a few more corrupt officials, take them out and sentence them, and divert everyone's attention.

Even after World War I, the Habsburg family was very prestigious in the eyes of ordinary people. If it weren't for the descendants, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would not have collapsed.

Historically, after the outbreak of the Vienna Revolution, some people proposed to abolish the emperor, but it was opposed by the people of Vienna.

……

Vienna

Demonstrators have surrounded the government, the palace, and the parliament, demanding that the government agree to their conditions.

Recall the cabinet, release political prisoners, carry out constitutional reforms, liberalize election restrictions, abolish serfdom, confiscate nobles' fiefs, distribute land to serfs, abolish the censorship system...

The situation was still on the verge of getting out of control, and the Vienna government could not agree to these conditions, which would mean the destruction of the empire.

History has changed. At this time, the bourgeoisie is no longer satisfied with ordinary reforms. They want to seize the rights of this country in order to survive the crisis.

In order to achieve this goal, everyone no longer cares about the future of Austria. The patriots are used by the conspirators without considering the consequences of doing so.

Ordinary people are even less discerning, and most people just follow suit.Even more workers participated in this march because they had money to take.

That's right, there are wages for participating in demonstrations, otherwise the revolution would not have the ability to organize so many people in a short period of time.

Without the cooperation of the capitalists, communication in this era depends entirely on roaring. If you want to do the ideological work of these 10,000+ people, you can't organize them with just a hundred NO.80 revolutionaries even if you give them a month.

I don't know who shouted "Metternich, get out", and then it quickly spread, and thousands of people shouted at the same time:

"Metternich get out!"

"Metternich get out!"

……

At this time, the situation was out of control. The aged Prime Minister Metternich was already pale and lost his former splendor.

Chapter 33 March Revolution

go out?

This is impossible, Metternich is not stupid, the enemy is waiting for him to go out at this time?

Don't try to explain it, it's more likely that someone rushed up and beat him to death just as he appeared, creating an established fact.

This kind of thing happened not only once in history, most of them were brought over by the spring and autumn style of writing, maybe it was a little bit darker, and it turned into being beaten to death by angry people on the spot.

Political struggles aren't all that complicated, if explanations are any good.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, order the expulsion of the demonstrators, otherwise the situation will soon get out of control!"

The one who spoke was Oppenheimer, chief of the Vienna Police Department. He was under the greatest pressure after such a big thing happened.Many people in the government believed that Metternich was gone, and at this time he was already preparing for a retreat.

It's a pity that others can leave, but he, the police chief, cannot escape.Once Metternich falls, he will follow suit, and he may be liquidated.

Metternich hesitated a few steps, and finally made up his mind: "Order the city defense army to disperse the crowd!"

Before his order came out, the situation outside was already out of control.The revolutionaries mixed in the crowd saw the opportunity and fired at the intercepting soldiers. Under the habitual reflex, the soldiers also pulled the trigger.

"Army kills!"

After a loud shout, the crowd quickly fell into chaos and fled.

This time there is no need to disperse the crowd, they all dispersed by themselves.

It's just that the sequelae are very serious. Except for a small group of people, most of them know that the army has shot and killed people.

As for the revolutionary party that provoked the dispute, the truth was naturally covered up.

The angry people are being fooled into launching a revolution at this time, and the capitalists have managed to raise some weapons, and they have also sent them over at this time.

Some passionate youths were selected, the revolutionary armed forces were established, and the rebel army attacked the police station that night.The Vienna city government, which has fallen to the revolutionary party, provided convenience for the rebels at this time.

When the gunfire of the revolution rang out, the situation in Vienna quickly got out of control, and the mud still couldn't support the wall.

The city defense army left behind was indeed worthy of their reputation as trash. After a brief exchange of fire, the timid noble officers retreated and did not suppress the rebellion in the first place.

The police in Vienna also became blindly obedient because of the defection of the city government, and were temporarily in a neutral position.

To a certain extent, this uprising was also a palace coup. Some aristocrats trapped in the economic crisis abandoned their class position at this time and stood on the side of the Revolutionary Party.

They attempted to reorganize the regime through revolutionary means, and by the way, revolutionized the bankers to get rid of the debt crisis.

History has changed. The rebel army immediately seized the bank and burned the IOU, and the Austrian financial group suffered a terrible disaster.

Faced with the chaotic situation, Prime Minister Metternich panicked, the nobles panicked, the Regency Council panicked, and the Vienna court panicked.

The February Revolution in France had just passed, and they were still watching the jokes of the French. They did not expect the crisis to spread to Vienna so soon.

This is the second great revolution for the French. The aristocratic class has been hit hard the last time. Serfdom has long been abolished, and the privileges of the nobility no longer exist.

This is just the beginning in Austria. The nobles still have a lot of privileges and a lot of interests. This revolution is obviously aimed at them.

According to the practice of the French, they will probably be sent to the gallows, or beaten to death by rebels.Prime Minister Metternich no longer had the calmness of the past, and at this time he has nothing to do.

As a qualified backer, Metternich is the most hateful person in the eyes of the people. Once he falls into the hands of the rebels, it will be a question of how he will die.

A man in a tuxedo said anxiously: "My lord, the carriage is ready, let's go, it will be too late!"

Metternich was fighting fiercely in his heart. He knew that at this time, he had become a target and it was very dangerous to stay in Vienna.

But as a nobleman, he also has his own pride, and he doesn't want this to be a deserter.As early as this morning, he sent his family away and was left alone to deal with the situation at hand.

"Holder, I..."

Before Metternich could say anything, Holder reacted and gave full play to his duties as a good housekeeper, ordering: "You guys send the Duke away!"

These guards are all retainers of Prime Minister Metternich, and there is no question of loyalty. At this time, everyone can't care so much.

Ignoring Prime Minister Metternich's struggle, he was forced into an old carriage and left Vienna in a hurry.At the same time, there were people who drove his most frequently used carriage to the palace.

Loyalty is seen in adversity, and it is time for the nobles' retainers to give full play to it.Not only Prime Minister Metternich, but also many nobles chose to flee Vienna at this time.

Now the only safe place in Vienna is the imperial palace. Most of the soldiers in the rebel army are still in awe of the emperor. They refuse to attack the imperial palace, and the revolutionaries are helpless.

Even within the Revolutionary Party, many people did not plan to overthrow the Habsburg family. Most of them were actually reformists who joined the Revolutionary Party after despairing of reform.

At this time, there were a lot of messy revolutionary armed forces, and they didn't even have time to establish a unified leadership organization, and they all fought on their own.

Most of the rebels didn't even have guns, and they had all kinds of weapons in their hands, as if they had gone back in time to the Middle Ages.

Many ordinary people are not interested in revolution. There is actually no market for revolutionary ideas in Austria. After venting their anger, many people dispersed.

In order to strengthen its ranks and suppress the ever-growing armed forces of the working class, the Revolutionary Party desperately recruited people, and the insurgent army that had just started had a qualitative change, becoming mixed with good and bad.

For example, in the name of liberating political prisoners, all the prisoners in Vienna Prison were released, and many heinous criminals became members of the revolutionary party.

Gang members and gangsters also came out to take advantage of the fire at this time. Murder, arson, robbery, and rape all kinds of fancy crimes continued to be staged in Vienna.

It was not the nobles who were first hit, but ordinary Viennese citizens, small businessmen and the middle class.

The night covered endless crimes, and Vienna, an international metropolis, was immersed in the sea of ​​crimes on this night.

Chapter 34 The Confused Grand Dukes

In the Hofburg Palace, after receiving the news, a group of royal grand dukes were anxiously thinking about countermeasures.It's not that they don't want to run, but they can't run anymore.

Before the situation got out of control, the Vienna court was holding a secret meeting to consider whether to replace Prime Minister Metternich to appease the anger of the people.

As a result, the sudden chaos broke the deployment of many people.There are rebels everywhere outside now, and they dare not risk leaving.

The lessons of the French Revolution taught them that the rebels didn't care about the noble status of the nobles, and they killed the nobles.

In fact, as long as the palace guards go out to quell the rebellion at this time, there is still a great possibility that this rebellion will be snuffed out in the cradle.

It's a pity that there is even one person who dares to take responsibility among this group of nobles. No one dares to make this decision, and they don't even have the courage to go out and command the city defense army to quell the chaos.

The attitude of Emperor Ferdinand I can already be ignored. After being so greatly stimulated suddenly, and now he has another epilepsy, he cannot be expected to make a decision.

No one wants to take the blame, Queen Anna is not stupid, she has never liked to participate in politics, so naturally she will not express her opinion at this time.

Grand Duke Franz Karl, whose status was second only to the emperor, also turned pale with fright at this time, and it was obviously impossible for him to make a decision.

The only Archduke Louis who had some ability was not able to cope with such a big scene, otherwise he would not be suppressed by Prime Minister Metternich in the Regency Council.

"The news has been sent out. The city defense army will come back to suppress the rebellion in a maximum of two days. Order the troops to stand firm and wait for help!"

Grand Duke Louis frowned, and finally made a decision that was not a decision.

Give up Vienna and escape?

No one can afford this consequence, and neither can Grand Duke Louis.

Once Vienna is abandoned, the impact will be great. Maybe the Habsburg family will accompany the Orleans royal family in France and lose the throne together.

At this time, everyone looked at the childlike Ferdinand I, and everyone felt that the future was not "bright".

If Ferdinand I was a normal person, he could also summon the rebel leaders to negotiate. After all, most of the rebels in the city revolted under the banner of the emperor.

Using political means, it is still possible to win over some rebels, and the rest of the matter will be easier.

They think that they have the ability to fight politically and will not lose to a group of nouveau riche.As long as it is within the scope of the rules, everyone has a way to deal with it.

This is a good thing for Franz. For their own benefit, the nobles now need a promising monarch to reshape the majesty of the monarch to protect their rights and interests.

……

The news of the Viennese rebellion had already reached Franz, only a day later than the government order.

"Albrecht, something happened in Vienna. On March 3th, there was a conflict between the opposing troops in the demonstration and the army that intercepted them. A rebellion broke out in Vienna that night."

Hearing the news, Albrecht's expression changed, and he hurriedly asked, "How is the situation now? Has the rebellion been suppressed?"

Franz shook his head and said: "I don't know yet. However, the possibility of the rebellion being suppressed is very small. Prime Minister Metternich is already old, and no one in the Vienna government has this responsibility!"

The Austrian Empire is old, and no one wants to take the consequences of suppressing a rebellion.

The emperor cannot be in charge of affairs normally, and whoever makes this decision means the end of his political life, and he may even be in prison.

This is not only the slander from the enemy, but also the criticism from the inside. The crimes of executioner, butcher, etc. will be charged a lot on top of the head.

Under such circumstances, in order to avoid becoming a scapegoat, many people will be timid at the beginning of the outbreak of the rebellion and dare not order a bloody suppression.

Basically, we have to wait until things get serious and everyone realizes the threat before the conservatives can work together to suppress it.

This is a common feature of old European empires. Taking the Paris Revolution as an example, the death toll was only in single digits. This is not a revolution at all, it is clearly a village-scale armed struggle.

The March Revolution in Vienna was almost the same. The casualties caused by the exchange of fire between the rebels and the government forces were definitely not as many as those caused by local hooligans taking advantage of the fire.

In many history books, the so-called army sympathized with the revolution and remained neutral in the revolution. In fact, no one gave them an order to suppress it.

this age. "Traffic depends on walking, and communication depends on shouting." The transmission of information is very inconvenient. At the beginning, there was no order to suppress the rebellion.

This is European politics. The officers at the bottom do not dare to call the shots. To suppress the rebellion, they have to report to each other and wait for the cabinet to make a decision. When they make a decision, the day lily will be cold.

Albrecht sighed, looked in the direction of Vienna, and said helplessly, "Then let's speed up!"

"No need! According to the current speed, we can arrive in Vienna the morning after tomorrow. Even if we speed up, it is impossible for us to launch an attack at night!

Vienna won't fall so quickly. There are still so many policemen and [-] city defense troops in the city. Even if they are all useless people to delay the time, there should be no problem, right?

I've already ordered the palace guards to step up their guard, a gang of mobs can't get in! ’ explains Franz

It is impossible to march overnight. The troops must maintain sufficient physical strength, otherwise how can they guarantee combat effectiveness?

Although Franz's military command ability is only average, he still understands the "principle that a tired army cannot fight".

Albrecht wanted to speed up, and the main reason was political factors.Originally, the city defense army went out for training, and the Vienna rebellion was not suppressed in time, so he, the commander of the city defense army, would have to take the blame.

Now that I got the news, I didn't rush back as quickly as possible, which is another political stain.

All these responsibilities will be borne by him, the commander of the city defense force. It has nothing to do with Franz. Who made him the coach?

Franz also knew about these problems, but now he couldn't take risks, and the most important thing was to suppress the rebellion steadily.

The question of scapegoating, how many scapegoats will the subordinate not take for the leader?

"However, the rebellious party is still a bunch of rabble. If it takes a long time, it may become a climate, and then it will be difficult to fight!" Albrecht thought for a while and said

"Albrecht, don't worry about this issue. I can guarantee that the longer it takes, the more chaotic the chaotic party will be, and it will be impossible to integrate!" Franz said confidently