A Ten-Thousand-Year Wait

By the old man's reckoning, Emperor Ferdinand was still in the prime of life and could easily live another twenty or thirty years. By then, he himself would have turned to dust, and the young people would have grown old too. They wouldn't cause any more trouble.

Without rebellion, there would be no war. The House of Habsburg truly had been the most benevolent rulers this land had ever known.

"I hope you'll attend my coronation when I ascend the throne—not as serfs, but as free people."

"What a fine thing to say. For an Archduke so young to handle matters with such maturity—he'll surely become a great emperor. Perhaps life for serfs will improve by then. It's just a pity I probably won't live to see it."

The old serf sighed to himself. Beside him, the young people were all stirred up, thinking that their descendants might have the chance to escape serfdom.

The civil officials who had come with Franz breathed a sigh of relief. They'd been terrified the young people might act on impulse.

The soldiers showed little reaction. Obedience was their duty, after all, and Franz had promised that when he ascended the throne, he would invite some free people to attend the ceremony.

"Now I declare that all serfs who lost their lives in this uprising will receive compensation, at the same rate as Imperial Army soldiers..."

Those words struck like a clap of thunder. The compensation paid by the Austrian Empire was now more than twice what it had once been.

Three hundred florins might not have seemed like much to the residents of Vienna, but to the serfs, it was six years' wages for a strong laborer.

Franz's announcement left the serfs ecstatic. With that money, they could buy their freedom.

Some might