19.Chapter 19: Storms

It must be said that Prime Minister Metternich still possessed a certain degree of capability, and the Austrian government at this time was quite formidable; the bourgeoisie's strike was not enough to intimidate them.

The great nobles stood firmly with the government at this juncture. Their influence was by no means inferior to that of the capitalists, and while they might have been short on other supplies, they possessed an abundance of grain.

Each of them was a great landowner, keeping a large number of serfs on their estates; who among them did not have a stockpile of grain? It was no trouble at all for the government to purchase a batch of grain from them to transport in for emergency relief.

The capitalists' collusion could not be kept secret; long before the crisis erupted, the Vienna government had already funded the purchase of a batch of grain from the nobles as a reserve.

As soon as the strike began, the government sold grain to the public, ensuring the food supply for Vienna, though the former prosperity was gone. Looking at the depressed market, many in the government grew anxious.

Minister of the Interior Fischer said with a troubled expression, "Prime Minister, this cannot go on. Although the grain issue has been resolved, other supplies remain in short supply."

"Furthermore, now that the capitalists have closed their factories, the workers have lost their income. I fear their money will soon run out, and when that happens..."

Metternich sneered, "Do not worry; this situation cannot last long. You must realize that with the current strike, the capitalists are losing gold coins every day. Small merchants will not be able to hold out for many days!"

"However, we certainly cannot sit idly by. Are there not nobles participating in the strike? I will ask Archduke Louis and the others to go and work on them. If they insist on standing with the capitalists, we shall strike them from the nobility."

"Once someone takes the lead, the rest will be easy to handle. The capitalists are not a monolithic block; no matter how dissatisfied they are, they will not let their grievances get in the way of their money!"

The facts proved this to be true; this strike wave lasted less than a week before ending in the capitalists' defeat.

The nobles who had participated in the strike were the first to be persuaded.

Did they no longer care for the honor of the nobility?

To stoop to the level of siding with capitalists for the sake of a little profit was simply a disgrace to their rank.

It was easy to talk when one wasn't the one suffering; in this era, most nobles had not yet turned into capitalists. Looking at the upstarts engaged in industry and commerce, they had long been unbalanced, and naturally, they took this opportunity to condemn them righteously.

Noble banquets no longer invited them, and when they invited others, they were righteously refused. Friends and relatives came one after another to perform "ideological work."

Radical nobles were already clamoring to kick these degenerate nobles out of the noble circle, which immediately terrified many.

Although the Austrian capitalists were wealthy, they lacked political status! It was not easy to obtain a hereditary title; if they lost it, what would become of them?

Unable to withstand the pressure, the nobles had no choice but to draw a line between themselves and the capitalists, withdrawing from the ranks of the strike.

Some even thought: if they want to improve worker treatment, let them; at worst, I will use serfs in the future!

Well, such fools were in the minority; most knew that once they compromised, future labor costs would inevitably rise.

Want to use serfs? Keep dreaming. Did they really think the calls for the abolition of serfdom in society were just slogans that would never become reality?

Once someone took the lead, the profit-seeking nature of the capitalists ensured that the alliance they had formed could not be sustained for long.

No one was truly selfless. Seeing others opening for business and making money, the others naturally felt unbalanced. Why should we risk our necks to fight for benefits while you sit back and reap the rewards?

The first counterattack launched by the bourgeoisie failed quickly because it was not tightly organized and lacked any binding power over its members.

Franz was not surprised by any of this. Unless they could cut off the supply of life necessities like grain and coal, it would be difficult to force the Vienna government to compromise in a short time.

Yet, these were precisely the things the capitalists could not control. The Austrian nobility at this time was too powerful; grain and coal were produced on their fiefs. If the capitalists wouldn't buy them, couldn't the nobles just transport and sell them themselves?

Did they have purchase contracts? At a time like this, did they really expect others to follow the rules of the game? As the ones who set the rules, the nobles had the right to amend them!

Franz knew this matter was not over; the capitalists would not be reconciled to their failure. If the government was not prepared, they would suffer heavy losses in the subsequent economic war.

Thinking of this, Franz felt a pang of regret. Had he known, he would have stockpiled a batch of supplies; during the capitalists' strike, the prices in Vienna had nearly doubled.

"Raul, how much grain do we have in my estate that can be brought out for sale?"

"Archduke, according to your instructions, we did not sell this year's grain. However, when the strike broke out a while ago, we sold 1.5 million pounds of wheat to the government for emergency relief. After setting aside enough for our own consumption, there is about 3.86 million pounds remaining," Raul replied.

(1 pound = 0.45359237 kilograms)

Franz was naturally aware of the grain sold to the government. His estate was only thirty kilometers from Vienna, and in such a crisis, as the Imperial Crown Prince, Franz still possessed a sense of integrity.

3.86 million pounds—the number sounded large, but converted into tons, it was only about 1,750 tons, and selling it would only bring in two or three thousand gold coins.

This was before deducting production costs, which was the only profit Franz could actually realize. All the royal estates had already freed their serfs, and labor costs were a significant expense.

"Make preparations. Once the price of wheat rises by more than twenty percent, sell the grain!" Franz thought for a moment and said.

He knew the capitalists would not give up; driving up prices was one of their most common tactics, and the price of grain in Vienna would inevitably skyrocket.

Industrialization had already begun, and the current wheat could only be sold to flour mills. No matter how high the market price of grain soared, the purchase price offered by the flour mills would not be very high.

The greatest advantage of Franz's estate was its proximity to Vienna, but in a time when a rebellion could break out at any moment, this became a disadvantage; if things went poorly, it would be ravaged by unruly soldiers.

Stockpiling a large amount of grain at this time was a gamble. Even though he knew the Hungarian Revolution would break out next year and grain prices in Austria would soar, he had to sell it with a heavy heart.

In the coming game between the capitalists and the government, driving up prices was indeed a quick way to make money, but Franz's status dictated that he could not play that game. Otherwise, if the other nobles followed suit, Prime Minister Metternich would be unable to hold his ground.