Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 37: Each Flew His Own Way

Before anything came of the two sides’ negotiation, the City Defense Army returned to Vienna, and the news that they had begun to suppress the rebellion reached the Hofburg Palace.

The negotiation immediately came to an impasse: the dynamic between the two sides changed, and the initiative of the negotiation was transferred, so the Vienna Court was no longer in a hurry to reach an agreement.

The conditions put forward by the capitalists were a great shame to these Archdukes. If they had no choice, for the sake of their lives, they might have accepted them, submitting to humiliation.

But the main force of the City Defense Army had returned, the troops around Vienna were also on their way, and, besides, there was still a regiment of troops guarding the palace.

At that time, the danger had disappeared, everyone’s mind changed, and Archduke Louis was not willing to compromise with the capitalists.

Even if political reform was to be carried out, it was very important that they took the initiative to reform instead of being forced to do it.

…

The speed of suppressing the rebellion was faster than Franz imagined. A mob was a mob. When they confronted the army, their first reaction was not to fight them but to run away from them.

There was no suspense. At first, the rebels organized several resistances but were scared away by the City Defense Army. Albrecht also deliberately released the defeated fighters, and they spread the fear of failure.

At the same time as the military attack, Franz also made a political attack. He announced as the Crown Prince that it was the leaders who would be punished, while the rest would be spared.

In that era, the Hapsburg family was still very influential in Austria, and with Franz’s guarantee, many trapped rebel soldiers surrendered without hesitation.

The Viennese citizens who had been harassed by the rebels then took the initiative to help the counter-insurgent army, and without the support of the public, the rebels became rootless.

……

Although the counter-insurgent army marched forward smoothly, Franz was not happy at all. Looking at the broken buildings, he knew that Vienna’s economy would regress for at least five years after this battle.

But Franz had no time to be sad, for he still had to appease the public. After being harassed by the rebels, the Viennese people were shaken.

As the Crown Prince, Franz naturally wanted to restore their confidence and ease their pain.

“Archduke, the road to the palace has been cleared!” The guard said with excitement.

Franz smiled slightly. This was good news, which meant that the overall situation had been resolved and the rebels did not control the emperor. Failure became a foregone conclusion for them.

“Send a message of this good news to the emperor, and I will go over after I deal with things here!”

Politics was dark, and in order to achieve the greatest victory, Franz wanted to suppress the rebellion and stabilize the situation in the city before he could report his accomplishments.

Otherwise, if he came over, maybe the Regent Committee would try to seize power from him. He was not interested in gambling on the moral integrity of these politicians.

Obviously, Franz did not know that Prime Minister Metternich had run away, that Count Koloft was not in the palace, or that only Archduke Louis and his father were left in the Regent Committee.

Thus, even if Archduke Louis wanted to seize power, he could not possibly do it. Unless Ferdinand I personally went into battle, the biggest political benefit from this rebellion would go to Franz.

…

A young man eagerly urged, “Father, let’s go, otherwise it will be too late!”

The middle-aged man looked unhappy, glancing around his manor, but he reluctantly got in the carriage.

Yes, this was one of the leaders behind the rebellion, Owen, a major capitalist. At that moment, he had lost his former high spirits, and looked so much older.

When the City Defense Army had returned to put down the rebellion, they didn’t take it seriously. In just a few days, the number of rebel troops had expanded to more than 50 thousand.

But when they fought, everyone knew that they were going to be finished. When both sides were free to fight each other, how could this mob be a serious opponent to the regular army?

Unlike at the beginning of the rebellion, the soldiers were very afraid and did not dare to fight hard against them.

But then, the situation had completely changed, and the cannons were taken out, pointed at them, and bombarded them ruthlessly. They had never even seen a battle like this, and before they could react, they’d already lost in their confusion.

“After we leave here, I don’t know when I will be able to come back. The family business that I have worked hard to build for decades is ruined!” Owen said, sighing.

“There is no time for being sad. It is not a big deal to change locations and rebuild another one!” the young man said carelessly.

If not for the sorrow in his eyes, his father would really think that he did not care.

Although capital had no borders, in fact, in that era, it was not so easy to move to a new place and start a new business.

Without a long-term business relationship in a new place, your business might be swallowed by others without anything left for you.

They’d had that experience many times, and it could be said that all the primitive accumulation of capital was bloody.

It stood to reason that a big-time capitalist like Owen had no reason to personally participate in the revolution. They were involved only because when the price was high, they’d invested too much money. They wanted to make a big profit, but they hadn’t expected to lose all their money.

If the revolution hadn’t been launched, most of their businesses would go bankrupt, and the whole family would decline forever.

Propelled by his interests, and encouraged by his peers, Owen decided to let go of it; at the worst, he would just run away.

And then, they actually had to run away. If they stayed in Austria, even if the government did not make trouble for him, the rebels, who’d suffered great losses, would kill them.

This rebellion could intensify internal conflicts in a short period of time. In addition to Franz’s arrangement, there was the internal struggle of capitalists.

Two of a trade never agree: even at that time, capitalists wanted to crack down on competitors, so that they could monopolize their markets.

Making use of another person to get rid of an enemy was naturally the best choice. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the revolution, they planned to loot their opponent’s wealth, or even take his life, and then pass the buck to the army.

If the revolution succeeded, then their plan would naturally succeed. Bad luck for them: in the end, the plan fell short. Seeing that success was a long shot, before the rebellion was suppressed, the smart ones ran away.

As long as you had money in Austria, most troubles could be settled, but revolution was an exception.

In revolution, even money could not go far. So long as he was involved, no one could expect that the Vienna government would let him go.

Owen and his son were far from the only ones to run away: everyone who took part in the planning, whether they were capitalists, nobles, or politicians who wanted to speculate, all fled from the whirlpool of Vienna at that time.