The January Revolution

Chapter 22: The January Revolution

The sudden economic crisis had caught the Austrian Government off guard, too. It was their first time experiencing anything like this, and nobody had much experience.

An ordinary economic crisis would have been one thing. The problem was that this one had been caused by an industrial crisis, so the traditional responses were clearly out of place.

Government funds to save the day?

That was obviously impossible. Metternich would have had to be out of his mind to think about how to bail out those capitalists.

Of course, the government still had to take the necessary measures. For example, the tariffs it had lowered amid soaring prices were promptly restored to normal.

But the crisis at home had not passed. People who hoarded goods had only brought ruin upon themselves. The capitalists and nobles who had stockpiled vast quantities of supplies had now lost everything, down to their underwear.

Take daily necessities, for example. The prices on Vienna's retail market were now only 66 percent of what they had been in the first half of 1847, and less than a third of the peak retail prices in December.

Falling prices were only part of the problem. The most important thing was the collapse in purchasing power. Even at prices like these, the public had no money to buy anything.

It was a disaster.

Under normal circumstances, wholesale prices for daily necessities were 30 to 40 percent lower than retail prices. When retail prices fell, capitalists could simply take a loss and leave the market. Most people could bear that kind of loss.

The problem now was that goods had a price, but no buyers. Mountains of merchandise sat piled up with nobody to purchase them.

Capitalists with deep pockets could hold out. Those without sufficient resources had already run out of cash and fled, leaving behind a mountain of debt to the banks.

Austria's financial institutions were also hit hard as a result. A financial crisis broke out, and the vicious cycle continued to spiral.

The Great Depression had arrived. Not just Austria—even across the entire European Continent, nobody except Russia could remain untouched.

Without a doubt, the Vienna Government had put the Labor Protection Act on hold. With no jobs left, what was there to say about working conditions?

The bourgeoisie had achieved its aim. The Vienna Government had indeed made concessions, suspending the Labor Protection Act, but this was not what they had wanted.

The sudden economic crisis had dealt the bourgeoisie a severe blow. As market competition turned brutal, the capitalists' internal conflicts continued to intensify.

Prime Minister Metternich had become both the biggest winner and the biggest loser. He had successfully foiled the bourgeoisie's plot, but he still had to clean up the mess left behind by victory.

Franz, the bystander, was stunned. He had never expected things to end this way. The bourgeoisie, the nobles, and the government had all lost this political struggle.

If there was anyone who could be called a winner, Ferdinand I, who had done nothing in the palace, was one of them. Unfortunately, he couldn't feel it himself.

As for the working class, they had come out with mixed results. Austria's economic crisis was worse than it had been in history, and their lives were even harder. Their only gain was a Labor Protection Act whose promises might not be fulfilled for who knew how long.

In short, the future was bright, but reality was harsh.

"Archduke, a revolution broke out in Sicily last night!"

Tyrone, the head of intelligence, rushed in and brought Franz this shocking news.

Franz was genuinely stunned. Hadn't the Revolutions of 1848 started in France in February? How had a revolution broken out in Sicily?

All right, Franz admitted that his knowledge of Sicily was limited to the beautiful legends about the island. Its land was fertile and suitable for growing grain, and its position at the heart of the Mediterranean Sea made it strategically vital.

And that was all. After thinking it over carefully, Franz recalled that his history books might have mentioned, in passing, that a January Revolution had broken out in Italy before the February Revolution in France.

The original account had said that the Italian January Revolution had ushered in the Revolutions of 1848, then moved on without another word of explanation. Franz had never paid much attention to it.

What a trap! Italy had not even been unified yet. Sicily was still the independent Kingdom of Sicily. What did it have to do with Italy?

That was why he had even sent people to keep an eye on the Kingdom of Sardinia. After all, it would be the one to unify Italy in the end.

Franz quickly recovered. He was not a professional historian, after all. It was only natural that he didn't know about minor events that history had barely mentioned.

"How large is this revolution? Has the Kingdom of Sicily been overthrown?"

There was no need to ask why the revolution had broken out. He could guess: the economic crisis had hit, and the people of the Kingdom of Sicily could no longer make ends meet.

"Your Highness, we don't know yet. We have too few agents in the Kingdom of Sicily, so we can't figure out what's happening in such a short time!"

Tyrone explained awkwardly. It truly wasn't because he hadn't tried hard enough. Intelligence work couldn't be done overnight, and getting the news this quickly was already fortunate.

Wireless telegraphy had not yet been invented in this era, and only the major cities had wired telegraph lines. News of what happened in Sicily had to pass through a series of relays before it could reach Vienna.

If they waited for the news to spread on its own, it might arrive three to five days late. Even a delay of one or two weeks would not be unusual.

"Very well, then. Let's keep our focus on Vienna, Milan, Venice, and Budapest. The revolution in the Kingdom of Sicily could set off a chain reaction," Franz said after thinking it over.

He had already thought it through. He couldn't do anything about what was happening abroad, so he would secure the home front first. Whatever else happened, they needed to receive word and be prepared before revolution broke out.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Seeing that Franz wasn't blaming him, Tyrone breathed a sigh of relief. The intelligence organization's capabilities had declined considerably compared with what they had once been, and he, as its head, bore his share of the responsibility.

Well, he still didn't know how low Franz's expectations of them were. As the saying went, cheap things were no good, and good things weren't cheap.

More than 95 percent of the intelligence organization's personnel were unpaid volunteers. What more could Franz expect?

These were the fruits of the Habsburg Family's years of cultivation. Conquering Europe with the lower half of one's body was no joke; their web of connections had long since spread across the European Continent.

Those connections could be used to share information, but Franz didn't think he had enough imperial authority to order them around and make them do his bidding.

As for Tyrone, he was undoubtedly just a temporary stand-in. Once the intelligence organization Franz was building himself was ready, they would be left out in the open to draw the world's attention.

The revolution had broken out in Sicily, and Franz began making preparations, too. He didn't dare entrust his life to anyone else.

Using this as his pretext, Franz put the Imperial Guard through a round of reorganization, grouping the deadweights together separately.