Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 38: Regency

Time flew. By March 11, 1848, the rebels in Vienna were almost eliminated, and some remnants of the defeated army were handed over to the police.

This sudden rebellion came on fast and passed quickly, but their influence was just beginning. Many places in Austria had begun to appear unstable.

Franz had no energy or time to pay attention to other regions since there were nearly 40 thousand prisoners in the custody of the counter-insurgent army, and figuring out how to dispose of these people was still a big problem.

It was obviously impossible to kill then all, for Franz was not a maniac murderer, and these people had no blood feud with him.

It was also not possible to release them: even if they were accomplices under duress, they did participate in the rebellion. If they were not punished for it, what could Franz do in the future if the same situation arose?

Impose a penalty on them?

If they had any money, they wouldn’t have joined the rebellion.

It was less than two days from the beginning to the end of the rebellion. These people were not diehards, for the real ones had already run away and those left behind were all abandoned.

At that time, Albrecht arrived with bloodshot eyes: obviously, he wasn’t sleeping well these days.

“Albrecht, how are the casualties?” Franz asked with concern.

“Fortunately, there were not many fights, and there are only about three hundred casualties!” Albrecht said after a moment’s thought.

“That’s good. There’s nothing much to deal with now. Albrecht, go and have a rest!”

……

Hearing the news, Franz breathed a sigh of relief. Three hundred casualties were still within his acceptable range.

However, the casualties of the rebel forces were large: more than three thousand people were killed on the spot alone, and more than five thousand people were wounded in captivity. All of those were only slightly wounded, for those seriously injured had become corpses.

Roughly tens of thousands of people were killed in the rebellion, which lasted less than a week in Vienna, and most of them were killed by the so-called revolutionary party.

The residential area of the nobility was almost turned into a piece of bare land then. The number of nobles killed exceeded hundreds. If this news spread, the entire European continent would surely be shocked.

When almost all the issues on his list had been disposed of, Franz knew that it was time to go to Hofburg Palace, where Austria’s power was still waiting for him to take over.

In such a big mess, not only had Prime Minister Metternich left, but even the Regent Committee had no reason to stay.

Thus, all the obstacles that blocked Franz’s regency had been cleared.

Both the nobles and the capitalists were hit hard this time. The imperial power returned to the Hapsburg family, but they declined because of the failure of Ferdinand I.

“Franz, you finally came back, and this time, you did a great job!”

It was Franz’s father, Franz Carr, and Franz was deeply suspicious of his ability to say something so decent.

But he soon understood that it was his mother, Princess Sophie, who’d instructed Franz’s father to praise him.

“Father, are you all right? After I heard the news of the rebellion in Vienna, we rushed back overnight, thanks be to God, and finally caught up with it!” Franz said with fake excitement.

Watching the performance of father and son, Louis was about to say something, but he realized it was too late to say anything at that time.

In this incident, the Regent Committee failed to play its due role, and they had already left the Vienna Court dissatisfied.

They all questioned the ability of the Regent Committee, including these Archdukes, while all of them spoke highly of Franz, who brought troops back in time to suppress the rebellion.

Of course, Archduke Albrecht, who commanded this counter-insurgency fight, had been selectively ignored by them.

It was just because Franz was one of their own, and he was also the crown prince of the empire. If the Hapsburg family didn’t want to lose their power, their best option was to support the crown prince to become the regent.

Some people were even planning to let Ferdinand I abdicate. With this rebellion, everyone was very afraid of the decline of imperial power and the possibility of another revolution.

Yes, to them, this rebellion was a manifestation of the decline of imperial power. If the authority of the monarch were still strong, there would not have been so many rebellions.

If Franz approved, they could get Ferdinand I to abdicate soon; however, he was not shameless, and he would not do something as cruel as forcing his uncle to abdicate.

Besides, tensions in Austria were high just then; the Vienna rebellion was only the first one, followed by the Italian rebellion, the Hungarian rebellion, and the Dalmatian rebellion …

Every rebellion was a blow to Ferdinand I, and the conservative nobles couldn’t stand it.

In history, Ferdinand I actually abdicated against this background: the successive rebellions frightened Queen Anna, and the Hapsburg family also worried about their dominant position in Austria, so, finally, a decision was made to let Ferdinand I abdicate.

To be exact, the decision was to persuade Ferdinand I to abdicate. However, considering the actual situation, Franz believed that persuasion was no different from making a decision for him.

After greeting everyone, Franz went directly to the topic at hand: how to deal with the aftermath.

“For such a big incident, the Cabinet is the first to blame, so I suggest we dismiss the Cabinet!” Archduke Louis was the first to speak.

“Aye!”

“Aye!”

There was no doubt that it was passed unanimously, and Prime Minister Metternich was dismissed.

“During the Vienna rebellion, the Regent Committee was not able to perform its duties, so I think it is also the time for the Regent Committee to be dismissed,” Archduke Franz Carr said.

Really, he didn’t want to do the job for a long time: from the time of the establishment of the Regent Committee until then, he had never really taken charge of its affairs. So, he took this opportunity to dismiss himself, and secure his ability to step back from responsibility.

“Aye!”

“Aye!”

Archduke Louis wanted to curse them all in his heart: what it did have to do with any of them, since, besides the Emperor, only the Regent Committee itself had the right to dismiss the Regent Committee.

Unfortunately, at that point, there were only two members of the Regent Committee, and one of them proposed to dissolve the Regent Committee. Whether the other Archdukes had rights or not, they only got a small say in its affairs.

After a moment of hesitation, finally, Archduke Louis said helplessly, “Aye!”

He knew that nothing would change even if he opposed it. Unless all members of the Regent Committee united, there was no way to fight against the Vienna Court.

That was obviously impossible: Archduke Franz Carr had no interest in politics, so, no matter what his consideration was, he would support his son.

“I propose that after the dismissal of the Regent Committee, the Crown Prince Franz Joseph should be the Regent!”

Seeing nothing could be changed, Archduke Louis swam with the current and proposed that the crown prince become the regent, in order to show his position.

“Aye!”

“Aye!”