Inside Bolton Manor in Vienna, more than a dozen impeccably dressed dignitaries had gathered. Though they tried their best to keep it in check, they still couldn't hide their nouveau riche air.
A middle-aged man in lavish clothes asked hesitantly, "Mr. Owen, can this rabble really get the job done? Even if we get them weapons, a disorganized mob won't amount to anything, will it?"
The atmosphere in the room was somewhat subdued. The elegant, dignified man seated at the head of the table slowly rose to his feet, smiled faintly, and spoke unhurriedly:
"Mr. Love, they certainly can't do it alone! But we're not the only ones in Austria who want a revolution right now!
"Everyone can feel how badly this economic crisis has hurt Austria, can't you?
"Eight out of ten Austrian capitalists have suffered severe losses, and hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs as a result.
"The Vienna Government has done nothing. If everyone wants to survive, what choice do they have besides revolution?"
That was the crux of the matter. By now, the vast majority of capitalists had been backed into a corner, though many of them hadn't realized it yet.
Many Austrian capitalists were sitting on huge stocks of goods. If they couldn't sell them quickly, their cash flow would dry up.
The question was: who could they sell their goods to?
Ordinary people couldn't afford them. At this point, there were simply too few people in Austria with purchasing power.
The banks had never been easy to deal with. As bloodsuckers at the highest stage of the bourgeoisie, they were the sort who devoured people without even spitting out the bones.
If the capitalists didn't want to go under, their only choice was to shatter the existing order and carve a piece off the nobles to weather the crisis.
A great many unemployed workers faced the same problem. They might not want to revolt, but their stomachs wouldn't lie.
When people were hungry, they lost their reason. Give someone a little nudge, and a revolution could erupt in minutes.
Compared with history, Austria's social tensions had changed by this point. The revolution was no longer sparked by the failure of people's demands for government reform. Instead, reality itself was driving them toward revolution.
An elderly man in his fifties or sixties shook his head. "Mr. Owen, if we use the rabble to launch an uprising, what happens if they try to establish a proletarian government and make a revolution against us too?"
This was what all the capitalists feared. Proletarian thought had already begun to take root in this era. If the proletariat managed to establish a government, it would mean their doom.
Owen smiled. "That's an easy problem to solve. Our counterparts in France have already shown us how. Once the revolution succeeds, we just need to seize power immediately, and there won't be a problem.
"There are nearly 120,000 workers in Vienna. Under our deliberate control, their unions have been divided by industry and factory into hundreds of large and small groups.
"As long as we don't let them unite, the new government will inevitably be led by us. You don't seriously think someone from among the rabble could organize them, do you?"
Organize them? In an era when communication meant shouting, the members of different unions probably didn't even know one another.
Most of these unions had sprung up spontaneously and had no power to compel their members. Who knew how many of the capitalists' spies had been planted among them?
Before the October Revolution in Russia, the unions' fighting power had been very limited. A large number of them were still secretly controlled by the capitalists.
Organizing all the workers was no overnight task. As long as they seized power first, established a government, and took control of the state, the outcome would be settled.
The February Revolution in France made that clear. Once the revolution had succeeded, the capitalists seized power. Their first move wasn't to hold the former government accountable, but to suppress the working class that had joined the revolution alongside them.
In the capitalists' eyes, the very notion of honor had long since ceased to exist.
Late that night, the Vienna Government's offices were ablaze with light. Chancellor Metternich was fretting over the situation. By now, at least one interest group had to make a sacrifice.
Should they strike at the capitalists, the nobles, or the common people? It was a difficult choice.
Chancellor Metternich had dominated Austria's political scene for more than twenty years. Inevitably, he had become constrained by the rules. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so troubled.
The Paris Revolution had broken out, and Austria was seething beneath the surface. Unfortunately, Chancellor Metternich's thinking was still stuck ten years in the past. He believed conservative Austria was nothing like liberal France.
Aside from tightening security in Italy and Galicia, he didn't think Vienna was in any danger. In his view, if a revolution broke out, it would start somewhere else first—Hungary, for example.
"Your Excellency, judging by the situation, the opposition won't make any concessions this time. They'll probably organize an even larger demonstration!" Archduke Louis said with a grim expression.
If all they wanted was Chancellor Metternich's resignation, he would have gladly supported it. But if they wanted the Regency Council to step down too and transfer power to a parliament after constitutional reform, there was nothing to discuss.
No matter how much he disliked Metternich, Archduke Louis had to stand with him at a time like this. Their political lives were still bound together.
Chancellor Metternich sighed, then spoke slowly. "That's right. Unless we accept all of their demands, they won't give up. The enemy is probably still rallying support. Tomorrow, I'll face an even larger demonstration!
"Unless we strike first, arrest the ringleaders, order the garrison into the city, seal off every crossroads, and forbid them from gathering!"
He was old now, and no longer had the resolve of his youth. Otherwise, he wouldn't be hesitating; he would have ordered the arrests long ago.
"Then arrest them first. If we let them carry on like this, I'm afraid we'll lose control of what happens next!" Archduke Louis said without hesitation.
After all, the order had to come from the Chancellor. Metternich would take the blame if anything went wrong; Archduke Louis wouldn't have to answer for it.
Metternich gave a bitter smile. "That would only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. If the domestic economy doesn't improve, this will keep happening.
"Everyone, abolish serfdom. We need to create a market right now. Even if that market exists only on paper, we have to restore people's confidence in it!"
Indeed, abolishing serfdom throughout the country at this point could restore many people's confidence. After all, it would immediately add more than twenty million people with purchasing power to the market, even if their purchasing power was very low.
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