Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 33: March Revolution

Go out?

It was impossible for Metternich to go out. Who was that stupid? The enemy was waiting for him to go out.

He did not even try to explain; it was likely that as soon as he showed his face, someone would rush up and kill him, just making it happen as simple as that.

This kind of thing happened in history, again and again, and mostly it was skimmed over in books, or worse: the books could tell it as though he was killed by angry people.

If that explanation worked, the political struggle would not so complicated.

“Prime Minister, order the expulsion of the demonstrators, or the situation will soon be out of control!”

The speaker was the director of the Vienna Police Department, Oppenheimer, whose pressure was the greatest when such major events were occurring. Many people in the government thought that Metternich’s day had passed, and, by that time, he was already preparing to find a way out.

Unfortunately, while anyone else could run away, this police chief couldn’t. Once Metternich fell, he would be dismissed following him, or maybe he would be purged.

Metternich took a few steps and finally made up his mind. “Command the City Defense Army to disperse the crowd !”

Before his order could come out, the situation outside already was out of control. The revolutionaries among the crowd found the right moment and fired a shot at the intercepting soldiers. Reflexively, the soldiers shot back.

“The army is killing us!”

After a loud shout, the crowd soon fell into chaos and ran in all directions.

……

For the time, there was no need to disperse the crowd, as the people scattered themselves on their own.

However, the aftermath was very serious. Except for a small number of people, most of them knew that the army had shot and killed civilians.

The Revolutionary Party, who provoked the dispute, concealed the truth from the public.

Angry people had been fooled into launching a revolution, while capitalists tried to collect some weapons and sent them there at the same time.

Some hot-blooded youths were selected, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces were established. In the evening, the rebel army attacked the police station. The Vienna government, who had already turned toward the Revolutionary Party, provided help for the rebels.

When the rebel gunshots sounded, the situation in Vienna escalated quickly, and it had already been a mess to start with.

The remaining troops of the City Defense Army really deserved their nickname of “waste.” After a short period of shooting, the timid noble officers unexpectedly retreated and did not suppress the rebellion very much at all.

The police in Vienna turned a blind eye and stayed neutral because of the city government’s defection.

To some extent, this uprising was also a court coup. Some of the nobles who were tangled up in the economic crisis abandoned their class position and crossed over to the side of the revolutionary party.

They attempted to reorganize the regime through revolutionary means, as well as to wipe out the bankers to get rid of the debt crisis.

History changed there. The rebel army seized the bank right away and burned all the documents. The Austrian Financial Group was ruined.

In the face of this chaotic situation, Prime Minister Metternich panicked, the nobles panicked, the Regent Committee panicked, and the Vienna Court panicked.

The February revolution in France had just passed, and they were still laughing at jokes about the French. They had not expected the crisis to spread to Vienna so soon.

That was the second great revolution of the French. The first time it had already damaged the nobles, caused the abolition of serfdom, and destroyed the privileges of the nobles.

Meanwhile, in Austria, it was just the beginning: the nobles still had a lot of privileges and a lot of benefits. This revolution was obviously aimed at them.

If they followed the practice of the French, they would probably be sent to the gallows, or perhaps killed in the chaos. Prime Minister Metternich had already lost his temper, as he often did; by that time, he was at the end of his wits.

As a qualified scapegoat, Metternich was the most hateful person in the eyes of the people. Once he fell into the hands of the rebels, the only question was how he would be killed.

A man in a tuxedo said anxiously, “Archduke, the carriage is ready. Let’s go now, or it will be too late!”

Metternich was torn. He knew that he had become a target, and it was very dangerous for him to stay in Vienna.

However, as a noble, he also had his own pride, and he didn’t want to be a deserter. Early that morning, he’d sent his family away and stayed alone to deal with the situation he faced.

“Holder, I …”

Not waiting for Metternich to speak out, Holder reacted and embraced the role of the good housekeeper wholeheartedly. He ordered, “You all, escort the Archduke away!”

These bodyguards were the family retainers of Prime Minister Metternich, and their loyalty was certain. At that point, no one had the time to worry too much.

Ignoring Prime Minister Metternich’s struggle, they forced him into an old carriage and hurriedly left Vienna. At the same time, some others took his most commonly used carriage and rushed to the palace.

Loyalty was shown in adversity, so it was time for the retainers to show their loyalty. Not only Prime Minister Metternich, but also many other nobles, chose to escape from Vienna that day.

By this point, the only safe place in Vienna was the palace. Most of the soldiers in the rebel army were still in awe of the emperor and refused to attack the palace, and the revolutionaries could do nothing about it.

Even within the revolutionary party, many people did not plan to overthrow the Hapsburg family. In fact, most of them were reformists who joined the revolutionary party only after they became desperate for reform.

There were a lot of Revolutionary Armed Forces who’d had no time to establish a unified leadership organization, and they simply fought separately.

Most of the rebel army did not even have guns. The weapons in their hands were like those of the Middle Ages.

Many ordinary people had no interest in revolution. In fact, revolutionary ideas had no market in Austria. After venting their anger, many people dispersed.

In order to strengthen their own troops and to suppress the growing armed forces of the working class, the revolutionary party was desperate to pull people in. This changed the quality of the army, so in the newly launched army, the good and bad were intermingled.

For example, in the name of the liberation of political prisoners, all the prisoners in Vienna were released. Many vicious criminals suddenly became members of the revolutionary party.

Gang members and gangsters also took advantage of the mess. Murder, arson, burglary, rape–all kinds of crimes took over Vienna.

The first to be affected were not the nobles, but the ordinary Viennese citizens, small businessmen, and the middle class.

The darkness of the night covered up endless sins. Vienna, an international metropolis, sank into the ocean of sin that night.