Measures

Metternich's proposal amounted to saying nothing. Apart from his supporters, everyone else acted as if they hadn't heard him.

Abolishing serfdom at a time like this was risky, too. One wrong move, and the local nobles might rise in revolt.

Since ancient times, it had always been easier to cut someone else's flesh than your own.

Besides, abolishing serfdom alone wouldn't be enough to restore confidence in the market. They would also have to revoke a whole series of privileges enjoyed by the nobility. In the end, they might even have to distribute the land; otherwise, where would the serfs get the purchasing power?

Only by abolishing these restrictions that hindered economic development, further lowering the cost of moving goods, and opening up a larger market could they escape the economic crisis.

Even if the few of them agreed to make such enormous concessions, it probably wouldn't make any difference. The noble class would never agree.

Abolishing serfdom could be negotiated, but they could forget about taking the nobles' land. Of course, if they paid enough, it wasn't out of the question.

The nobles' privileges could be revoked, too, but that would have to be done gradually, step by step. Trying to do it all at once would make it easy to stumble.

Unless productivity advanced further and the government paid to buy back the land, there was no chance of using force. As long as the army remained in the hands of the nobles, coercion was out of the question.

Metternich naturally wouldn't dare use such radical measures. At most, he could abolish serfdom and unleash the productive forces among the common people.

"Your Excellency, if we announce the abolition of serfdom now, you may well receive news of Hungary's independence tomorrow!" Archduke Louis said, showing no regard for Metternich's feelings.

Metternich's tireless campaign to abolish serfdom had borne fruit: by 1848, many Austrian nobles had freed their serfs.

But this was limited to Austria's core regions. The Vienna Government maintained relatively tight control over the localities, and after issuing the decree abolishing serfdom, it had put considerable effort into persuading the nobles.

That was also why Metternich was unpopular. His reputation had compelled many Austrian nobles, including members of the royal family, to free their serfs.

The local nobles were different. They were little emperors in their own domains, often treating orders from the central government like toilet paper. The Vienna Government lacked the resolve to enforce them.

Metternich, the prime minister, even regularly used the abolition of serfdom to intimidate Hungarian nobles, pressuring them to make political concessions.

Abolishing serfdom now might indeed satisfy the bourgeoisie, but the Hungarians would rebel, and other regions might erupt in revolt as well.

As for the government paying compensation for the nobles' losses, that was out of the question. At this point, the Austrian central government's finances were barely balanced. Any surplus would end up in the pockets of bureaucrats.

"Gentlemen, we can discuss this issue later. For now, let's deal with the urgent matter at hand. If we don't act soon, it'll be too late!" Franz Anton von Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky interrupted their dispute.

Austria's Regency Council consisted of four members: Metternich, Archduke Louis, Archduke Franz Karl, and Kolowrat. But Archduke Franz Karl had no political ambitions whatsoever. (Mainly because of his congenital deficiencies; he was incapable of taking part.)

In politics, Kolowrat and Metternich were rivals, but that didn't mean they couldn't cooperate. Often, their political views were still the same.

Even when they opposed each other just for the sake of it, their conflict never reached the point of life and death. For instance, right now, his political stance was quite close to that of Prime Minister Metternich.

But as a political rival, he wasn't going to help Metternich. Not making trouble for him was already the greatest help he could offer.

Seeing that he couldn't even persuade Archduke Louis, Metternich could only sigh helplessly.

Even his own allies don't agree with him. What chance does he have with the local nobles?

If abolishing serfdom led to a local revolt, they would be in serious trouble.

Metternich couldn't shoulder such a political catastrophe alone. At the very least, the entire Regency Council would have to bear it together for them to have any chance of weathering the crisis.

"Fine, then let's start making arrests!"

Having made this reluctant decision, Metternich felt wretched. He knew the capitalists had reached the end of the road.

If they couldn't resolve the economic crisis, they would go bankrupt. To avoid bankruptcy, they had no choice but to shatter the existing social order.

Their counterparts in France had already set an example: they had crushed the crisis with a revolution and cast off the shackles that had been holding back the bourgeoisie's economic development.

For example, they had seized the opportunity provided by the revolution to simply revolutionize the bankers out of existence. Their debts vanished along with them.

Without debts, no one would be afraid to stockpile goods. They could simply sell them little by little. Without banks calling in their loans, they wouldn't go bankrupt.

They could even go a step further and have the government pay the bill, spending money to buy up the goods and shift the crisis onto the state.

Their American counterparts had done exactly that. Of course, they'd gone a step further: instead of having the government directly buy supplies, they'd used the money to bail out the market.

The broken chain of financing was reconnected, the economic crisis was pushed further into the future, and everyone had time to get out. In the end, the ones left holding the bag were the last buyers.

Austria hadn't evolved to that point yet. Until the shackles of serfdom were removed, the capitalists couldn't even find anyone to take the bag from them. They had exploited the working class too harshly; workers weren't even qualified to take it.

The Vienna stock market was still a game for the rich. The poor couldn't even afford to open an account.

Stock market transactions in this era were all handled by hand, and labor costs were very high. A few shillings couldn't even cover the cost of the staff who handled an account, so naturally, the poor weren't allowed to open one.

At the Vienna Government's command, the secret police went out that very night and began arresting the organizers of the demonstrations.

It was obviously the wrong decision. The organizers who had been pushed into the spotlight today were only minor pawns; the big shots wouldn't lead the charge themselves.

The easiest people to find were the student representatives. After all, Vienna had only so many universities, and their locations were well known. Unfortunately, nobody wanted that assignment.

The doors of the University of Vienna were not easy to get through. As a hotbed of anti-government forces, most of the young hotheads were opponents of the government; the rest were noble Reform Party members.

Now Chief Inspector Winston was in a bind. The suspects were inside the university, but his men couldn't even get through the front gate. There was no doubt that the school was resisting the government's law enforcement.

And yet the university's influence was too great. Forcibly storming in would have terrible consequences. None of the teachers or students inside were ordinary people. Even those from the humblest backgrounds came from families of small merchants, lawyers, or doctors.

The working class was dirt-poor and couldn't afford tuition. The peasants needed no mention; most of them were still serfs. Who the hell could go to school?