How could Chancellor Metternich, who had established the Vienna System and kept the European Continent stable for more than thirty years, while holding the post of Austrian chancellor for over twenty years and firmly suppressing his political enemies, possibly be an ordinary man?
Count Kolowrat had clearly come here today to provoke him. People were more likely to make mistakes when provoked. How could Metternich not know that?
It was a transparent scheme, and Chancellor Metternich could already feel the pressure bearing down on him. It did not come from Count Kolowrat, but from Austria's conservatives and the Vienna Court together.
Metternich could hardly be unaware of the role Franz had played in all this. He needed no evidence; his wealth of experience in political struggles was enough to tell him.
As early as a year ago, Franz had discussed this matter with him. Metternich had simply wanted to maintain the balance of power at home, so he had not moved against the bourgeoisie.
Now Franz had joined forces with the conservatives. Without a doubt, this showed that the Vienna Court's tolerance for the Reform Party had reached its limit.
Forget the royal family—even Chancellor Metternich himself had lost faith in the Reform Party. The idealistic reform plans they proposed completely ignored the realities of the situation.
The bourgeoisie wanted to seize power and could hardly be bothered to hide their ambition anymore. Their demands were simply impossible for the government to accept.
Metternich could even say with certainty that if Austria accepted all the bourgeoisie's demands, the Austrian Empire would become history in no time.
To seize power, the bourgeoisie had joined forces with separatist groups. Their so-called American-style autonomy completely ignored the realities of the situation.
With so many countries on the European Continent, if Austria came apart, it would be only a matter of time before it split. Its enemies would never pass up such an opportunity.
A group of idealists, spurred on by the bourgeoisie, had become the Reform Party's vanguard. Their proposals were pure wishful thinking, with not the slightest consideration for the consequences. Who could put up with reformers like that?
"Someone, come here! Send word: tomorrow there will be a cabinet meeting. Invite the Regency Council to attend as well!"
Clearly, Metternich had made up his mind. Now that the Reform Party had slipped out of his control, they could naturally be sacrificed for the sake of political necessity.
No, "sacrificed" was hardly the right word. It was only the bourgeoisie who would suffer. The idealistic intellectuals had already split into factions. Some of those with fewer ties to the bourgeoisie also supported enacting the Labor Protection Act.
Some even thought they could go further, calculating wages directly from factory profits and sharing the gains, so the working class could benefit as well.
Well, Metternich had nothing to say to idealists like that. He would bet that if anyone proposed such an idea, they would never be able to show their face in public again.
One Labor Protection Act was enough to drive the capitalists mad. If anyone dared to strip them of most of their profits, the bourgeoisie would tear the chancellor limb from limb!
"Yes, Chancellor!" the attendant replied hurriedly.
After the July Revolution succeeded, the development of capitalism in France left the masses of workers, peasants, and petty bourgeoisie even poorer.
As the Industrial Revolution advanced, capitalists grew fabulously wealthy. While their fortunes continued to swell, thousands upon thousands of artisans and small proprietors went bankrupt under competition from the great capitalists.
France's social crisis was growing ever deeper, and calls for social change were rising louder and louder. Yet none of this drew the July Monarchy's attention.
(July Monarchy: The Orleans Dynasty was established after the French July Revolution of 1830. It represented France's financial interests, and the empire of usury had already begun at this time.)
By 1847, Franz had begun keeping a close eye on the situation in France. As the bellwether of revolution in Europe, Paris had been the starting point of almost every great revolution.
Looking at the news arriving from France, Franz knew that a revolution was brewing there. The "Banquet Campaign," the prelude to revolution, was already gathering momentum.
(French Banquet Campaign: French reformers and various social forces opposed the July Monarchy by holding gatherings under the guise of banquets, where they gave speeches and set out their political views.)
There was no doubt that the coming revolution would still be led by the bourgeoisie. In Franz's view, it was the French bourgeoisie fighting over an unequal share of the spoils.
Capitalists who had lost out in the competition were unwilling to let others take their interests from them, so they joined forces with anti-government groups of every stripe and exploited public discontent with the government to launch the February Revolution.
Franz knew a new revolutionary wave was about to arrive. Historically, in 1848, every European city with a population of more than one hundred thousand had erupted in revolution.
The spark that ignited this revolution was the French February Revolution. The French had shown everyone the way, and one after another, people followed their example. Except for the Russian Bear, which was still an agrarian country, the whole of Europe was thrown into chaos.
Franz said gravely, "Tyrone, infiltrate Vienna's social organizations and keep track of their movements at all times, including the workers' groups at the bottom!"
"Yes, Archduke!" Tyrone, the head of intelligence, replied.
That's right. This intelligence organization was the royal family's secret force. After Franz had made contact with them, he brought them under his command.
Of course, the letter of appointment Franz had wheedled out of his uncle Ferdinand I had also played a crucial role.
In return, Franz had to pay eight hundred Rhenish Guilders each month in operating expenses, and his purse was growing steadily thinner.
There was no way around it. Even if most of the people were working without pay, running an intelligence organization still cost money.
But it was all worth it. Franz now understood Austria's domestic situation far better. To his surprise, the bourgeoisie had not yet plotted a revolution.
In other words, the historical Vienna March Revolution had not been plotted long in advance. It had been sparked by the outbreak of the French February Revolution, after a group of people simply put their heads together and launched it!
Many of these people were not even revolutionaries. There were members of the bourgeoisie, students, and workers. This could be seen from the demands put forward by the revolutionary groups after the March Revolution.
The government's proposed Labor Protection Act had even diverted the public's attention. Most people at the bottom of society still held out hope for the Vienna Government.
They were waiting for the law to be enacted, hoping it would improve their desperate living conditions.
This gave Franz a new possibility to consider. If the government put the Labor Protection Act into effect, the looming March Revolution might wither for lack of supporters.
What's more, because the interests of the working class and the bourgeoisie were opposed, the workers might even side with the government and help crush a bourgeois uprising.
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