Measures

Metternich's proposal might as well have remained unsaid; aside from his supporters, the others acted as if they hadn't heard a word.

Abolishing serfdom at this juncture was fraught with risk; one wrong move and the local nobility would be up in arms.

Since time immemorial, it has always been easy to cut into someone else's flesh, but difficult to cut into one's own.

Furthermore, to restore market confidence, abolishing serfdom alone would not suffice; a series of aristocratic privileges would also need to be stripped away, and in the end, perhaps even the land would have to be partitioned. Otherwise, where would the serfs find the purchasing power?

Only by abolishing this series of restrictive conditions that hindered economic development, further lowering the costs of commodity circulation, and unleashing a larger market could they hope to escape the economic crisis.

With such massive concessions, it was unlikely that even if the few of them agreed, it would have any effect; the aristocratic class would never consent.

Abolishing serfdom was negotiable, but they shouldn't even dream of having their land divided—unless, of course, the compensation was sufficient, in which case it might be discussed.

Stripping the nobility of their privileges was also possible, but that required a step-by-step approach; attempting a sudden, drastic move would easily lead to a fall.

Unless they waited for productivity to develop further and for the government to fund land redemption, using force was impossible. As long as the military remained in the hands of the nobility, coercive measures could not be employed.

Metternich naturally dared not use such radical methods; at most, he could only aim for the abolition of serfdom to liberate the grassroots productive forces.

"Your Excellency, if we announce the abolition of serfdom now, you might receive news of Hungary's independence by tomorrow!"

Archduke Louis said this with little regard for the Prime Minister's face. Metternich's persistent abolitionist movement had seen some results; by 1848, many Austrian nobles had already freed their serfs.

However, this was limited to the core regions of Austria. The government in Vienna had exerted strict control over these areas, and after issuing the abolition decree, the government had done a great deal of work to persuade the nobility.

This was also why Metternich was unpopular; burdened by his reputation, many Austrian nobles, including the royal family, had indeed freed their serfs.

The local nobility were different; they were like petty emperors who often treated the central government's orders like toilet paper, and the Vienna government lacked the resolve to enforce them consistently.

Prime Minister Metternich had even frequently used the threat of abolishing serfdom to intimidate the Hungarian nobility, forcing them to make political concessions.

At this moment, abolishing serfdom would certainly satisfy the bourgeoisie, but the Hungarians would revolt, and uprisings might occur in other regions as well.

As for the government compensating the nobles for their losses, that was out of the question. The central government's finances in Austria were barely breaking even, and any surplus was already tucked into the pockets of the bureaucrats.

"Gentlemen, we can discuss this later. For now, let us address the urgent matter at hand. If we do not take action, it will be too late!" Franz Anton von Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky interrupted their dispute.

The Regency Council of Austria was composed of four men: Metternich, Archduke Louis, Archduke Franz-Charles, and Kolowrat. However, Archduke Franz-Charles possessed no political ambition whatsoever (primarily due to congenital defects that rendered him incapable of participation).

Politically, Kolowrat and Metternich were rivals, but rivals were not incapable of cooperation; in many instances, their political views remained identical.

Even when opposing for the sake of opposition, the struggle had not reached a life-or-death point; for instance, his political stance was currently very close to that of Prime Minister Metternich.

However, as a political rival, one could not expect him to help Metternich; not adding to the chaos was the greatest help he could offer.

Seeing that he could not even persuade Archduke Louis, Metternich could only sigh helplessly.

If even our own people do not agree, how much less will the local nobility?

Once a local rebellion was triggered by the abolition of serfdom, the trouble would be immense.

Such a political catastrophe was something Metternich could not shoulder alone; at the very least, he needed the Regency Council to bear it together to have any hope of weathering the storm.

"Very well, then let us start by making arrests."

Having made this reluctant decision, Metternich felt deeply troubled. He knew the capitalists had reached a dead end.

If the economic crisis could not be resolved, they would face bankruptcy; to avoid bankruptcy, they had no choice but to shatter the existing social order.

Their counterparts in France had already set an example, using a revolution to crush the crisis and break the shackles constraining the economic development of the bourgeoisie.

For example: taking advantage of the revolution to simply "revolutionize" the bankers, so that debts would naturally vanish.

Without debts, everyone would naturally stop fearing the hoarding of goods; at worst, they could sell them slowly. Without banks calling in loans, no one would go bankrupt.

Going a step further, they could simply force the government to foot the bill, purchasing these goods and shifting the crisis onto the state.

Their counterparts in the United States had done exactly that. Of course, they had gone even further—not by having the government purchase the goods directly, but by using funds to bail out the market.

The severed capital chains were reconnected, the economic crisis was delayed, and everyone had time to retreat, leaving the "bag holders" to suffer the consequences.

Austria had not yet evolved to that stage. Before the shackles of serfdom were undone, they couldn't even find a bag holder; the working class was so ruthlessly exploited that they didn't even qualify to hold the bag.

The Vienna stock market was currently just a game for the rich; the poor didn't even qualify to open an account.

In this era, stock market transactions were all handled manually, and the labor costs were extremely high. A few shillings weren't even enough to cover the cost of the clerk attending to the client, so naturally, there was no qualification to open an account.

Following an order from the Vienna government, the secret police moved out overnight to begin arresting the organizers of the demonstrations.

Clearly, this was not a sound decision. The organizers pushed to the forefront today were merely small pawns; the big players would never charge into the fray themselves.

The easiest to find were the student representatives. After all, there were only so many universities in Vienna, and their locations were well-known. Unfortunately, no one wanted to take on this task.

The gates of the University of Vienna were not easy to enter. As a hotbed of anti-government sentiment, most of the rebellious youths were government opponents, and the rest were aristocratic reformers.

Now, Police Chief Winston was suffering from a headache. The suspects were inside the school, yet they couldn't even get through the front gate. Without a doubt, the school administration was resisting government enforcement.

Yet, the influence of the university was too great, and a violent raid would have terrible repercussions. The teachers and students inside were no ordinary folk; even those from the most modest backgrounds came from families of small merchants, lawyers, or doctors.

The working class was penniless and couldn't afford tuition, and as for the peasants, it went without saying—the vast majority were still serfs; how could they possibly be attending school?