Through a series of personnel transfers, Franz had effectively taken control of the Imperial Guard. Archduke Louis either genuinely didn't understand what was going on or was pretending not to; either way, he showed no reaction.
Franz thought the latter was more likely. The Imperial Guard wasn't large, with only one regiment, but it had the duty of protecting the royal family.
The Vienna Court had always held actual control over the force. Archduke Louis, its commander in name only, wouldn't dare make any major moves within it.
Franz's reorganization of the Imperial Guard had, in fact, received the Vienna Court's tacit approval. Before taking action, he had also obtained a written order from his uncle, Ferdinand I.
The Habsburg Family had already begun preparing for his regency. If nothing unexpected happened, in three years he would become a member of the Regency Council. After a few years of honing his skills, the Regency Council would be dissolved, ushering in the era of regency by the heir to the throne.
Ferdinand I didn't want to relinquish his power, but unfortunately, he suffered from epilepsy. On average, he had more than twenty seizures a day and was simply unable to handle state affairs. Supporting Franz's regency was one of the measures he had taken.
All right, Franz admitted he'd gotten his way by bluffing. His uncle was often not quite in his right mind, and all sorts of absurd incidents happened around him. Yet he cared deeply about the Habsburg Family's legacy and occasionally even suffered from paranoid delusions.
That gave Franz an opening. Ferdinand I often came out with startling pronouncements, and anything he considered useful was turned into a written order.
In other words, Franz now had a stack of imperial decrees in his hands. Whether they had any legal force depended on the circumstances.
If he brought them out now, the Regency Council would probably veto them. But when necessary, he could also bypass the Council and issue the orders directly, turning them into faits accomplis.
Although the Austrian Government was effectively controlled by the Regency Council, no one had publicly declared Ferdinand I incapable of ruling. The emperor's orders were still valid.
News of the January Revolution soon spread across the European Continent. When it reached Vienna, people were briefly surprised, then acted as if nothing had happened.
But when the news reached Paris, things changed.
After Guizot, leader of the Conservative Party from 1840 to 1848, was elected prime minister, he brought capitalists into government departments and abused his power by handing out commercial contracts to curry favor with financial groups.
Bribery and corruption had become commonplace in the government, and scandals kept cropping up. The public gradually lost faith in it.
By then, the July Monarchy had only a few supporters left: bankers, stockbrokers, railroad magnates, major mine owners, timber barons, and large landowners.
After the economic crisis spread to France in 1847, food riots broke out across the country. Austria's Labor Protection Act had also ignited a wave of workers' strikes.
Against this backdrop, news of the January Revolution arrived. The revolutionary spirit of the people of Paris made them especially susceptible to its influence. The groundwork for revolution was already laid; all that was missing was a spark.
Yet the rotten July Monarchy paid no heed to any of this. The government suppressed the Banquet Campaign launched by the bourgeoisie, postponing the event originally scheduled for January 19, 1848, until February 22.
Looking at the intelligence in his hands, Franz breathed a sigh of relief. History hadn't changed because of the butterfly effect he'd caused; he could still take advantage of his knowledge of what lay ahead.
Still, he began meeting with military commanders more frequently. He also kept up a correspondence with governors stationed around the country.
Almost casually, Franz let slip that he was worried about the domestic situation. He mentioned the January Revolution in Sicily and boldly predicted that it would set off a chain reaction across the European Continent.
Whether he could get them to take him seriously was up to fate; he could only do his best. He couldn't exactly come out and say Austria was going to have a revolution too, could he?
If he said that, they'd either hail him as a prophet or take him for a madman.
Considering the Habsburg Family's current situation, Franz thought the second outcome was more likely.
Franz was now making the most of his military enthusiast's nature, inspecting the training of the forces around Vienna at every opportunity. The more he saw, the more disappointed he became.
"Albrecht, how can we improve the soldiers' combat effectiveness in the short term? I mean the City Defense Force!" Franz asked gravely.
"Franz, that's easy. Just get rid of the noble officers who are slacking off and promote capable people to take their places. The City Defense Force's combat effectiveness will improve at once!" Albrecht Friedrich Rudolf said after thinking it over.
Franz said helplessly, "Albrecht, that joke isn't funny at all. If I could get them to leave, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you!
"I mean, could we gather them together for some training, so they might be of some use in a crisis?"
That was right. Franz did have high hopes for the City Defense Force. Under normal circumstances, these nobles looked like tumors sapping the army's combat effectiveness, but in extraordinary times, things were different.
For one thing, at least they could be trusted to remain loyal. If the Vienna Revolution broke out, they'd be more reliable for suppressing the rebellion than officers from the common ranks.
The only problem was that their abilities didn't seem trustworthy. Franz doubted they could even suppress a rabble.
"How about you take over as commander of the City Defense Force? I'll hand the position over to you. I can't do anything with these useless men anyway," Albrecht said nonchalantly.
Franz thought it over. "I'll do it, then. They're all a bunch of good-for-nothings, so even if I can't train them, things won't get any worse. But you can keep your position as commander of the City Defense Force. I'll need your support with what comes next."
"Franz, what are you planning to do? There are plenty of noble officers loafing around in the City Defense Force, and this affects a lot of people. You can't act recklessly!" Albrecht said with some concern.
"Albrecht, do I look like someone who'd act recklessly?" Franz asked.
Albrecht shook his head. Franz had left everyone with a very good impression.
Franz continued, "It's time for me to enter the army for active service. I'll put in an application. For the next three months, I'll serve with the City Defense Force.
"You can send over those officers who've been slacking off to undergo military training with me. Of course, we'll leave out anyone over twenty-eight, as well as those who are only on the army's books."
He finally remembered that he was only thirteen and already a colonel in the Austrian Army. If he didn't weed out that group, the nobles who wanted to join in might end up putting together a "children's corps" for him. The Austrian Army had a legendary "boy officer" who hadn't even been weaned.
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