March Revolution

Chapter 33: The March Revolution

Go out?

That was impossible. Metternich was no fool; the enemy was waiting for him to step out at this very moment.

Do not harbor any delusions about explaining things. It was far more likely that the moment he showed his face, someone would rush up and strike him dead, creating a fait accompli.

Such things had happened more than once in history. Most were glossed over with the brush of "Spring and Autumn" historiography, or perhaps smeared further to become a narrative of him being beaten to death on the spot by an enraged populace.

If explanations were useful, political struggles would not be so complex.

"Prime Minister, order the City Defense Force to disperse the demonstrators, or the situation will soon spiral out of control!"

The speaker was Oppenheimer, the Chief of the Vienna Police. With such a massive incident occurring, he was under the greatest pressure. Many in the government believed that Metternich's time had passed and were already preparing their own escape routes.

Unfortunately, while others could leave, he, as the Chief of Police, could not. Once Metternich fell, he would be forced out right along with him, and he might even face a purge.

Metternich paced for a few steps before finally making up his mind: "Order the City Defense Force to disperse the crowd!"

Before his order could even be transmitted, the situation outside had already spiraled out of control. Revolutionaries hidden within the crowd seized the opportunity and fired a shot at the blocking soldiers. Acting on reflex, the soldiers pulled their own triggers in response.

"The army is killing people!"

After that shout, the crowd quickly descended into chaos and began to flee in every direction.

There was no need to disperse the crowd this time; they had scattered on their own.

However, the aftereffects were severe. Aside from a small portion of the masses, the majority knew that the army had opened fire and killed people.

As for the revolutionaries who had incited the conflict, the truth was naturally buried.

The enraged populace was being hoodwinked into launching a revolution, and the capitalists, having managed to scrape together a supply of weapons, delivered them at this opportune moment.

After selecting a group of hot-blooded youths, a revolutionary armed force was established. That very evening, the insurgents attacked the police precinct. The Vienna municipal government, which had already defected to the side of the revolutionaries, provided convenience to the rebel forces.

Once the shots of revolution rang out, the situation in Vienna quickly spiraled out of control; mud, after all, could never be plastered onto a wall.

The remaining City Defense Force lived up to their reputation as useless trash. After a brief exchange of fire, the cowardly noble officers actually retreated, failing to suppress the rebellion at the first opportunity.

The Vienna police, due to the defection of the municipal government, became blindly obedient and temporarily adopted a neutral stance.

To a certain extent, this uprising was also a palace coup. Some nobles, trapped by the economic crisis, abandoned their class position and stood on the side of the revolutionaries.

They attempted to reorganize the regime through revolutionary means, and incidentally, to "revolutionize" the bankers to escape their debt crises.

History had changed. The insurgent army seized the banks at the first opportunity and burned the debt notes, leaving the Austrian financial groups to suffer a disastrous blow.

Facing the chaotic situation, Prime Minister Metternich panicked, the nobles panicked, the Regency Council panicked, and the Vienna Court panicked.

The February Revolution in France had just passed, and they were still laughing at the French, never expecting that the crisis would spread to Vienna so quickly.

This was the second great revolution for the French; the last one had already severely damaged the noble class, serfdom had long been abolished, and the privileges of the nobility no longer existed.

For Austria, however, this was just the beginning. The nobility still possessed vast privileges and a mountain of interests, and this revolution was clearly aimed at them.

Following the French precedent, they would likely be sent to the gallows or perhaps beaten to death by rampaging soldiers. Prime Minister Metternich had long since lost his usual composure; he was at his wit's end.

As a qualified scapegoat, Metternich was the most detested man in the eyes of the public. Once he fell into the hands of the rebels, it was only a question of how he would die.

A man in a tailcoat said anxiously, "Your Excellency the Duke, the carriage is ready. Let us go quickly; it will be too late if we delay!"

Metternich was undergoing a fierce internal struggle. He knew that he had become a target and that remaining in Vienna was extremely dangerous.

Yet, as a nobleman, he had his own pride and was unwilling to be a deserter. He had already sent his family away that morning, choosing to stay behind alone to face the situation.

"Holder, I..."

Before Metternich could finish his sentence, Holder realized the situation. Fully exercising his duties as a loyal steward, he ordered, "You lot, hurry and take His Excellency the Duke away!"

These guards were retainers of Prime Minister Metternich, and their loyalty was beyond question. At this moment, no one cared about the formalities anymore.

Ignoring Prime Minister Metternich's struggles, they forcibly bundled him into a dilapidated carriage and hurried out of Vienna. At the same time, others drove his most frequently used carriage toward the palace.

Adversity reveals loyalty, and this was the time for the retainers of the nobility to prove their worth. It was not just Prime Minister Metternich; many nobles chose to flee Vienna at this time.

The only safe place in Vienna now was the Imperial Palace. The vast majority of the soldiers among the insurgents still held a sense of awe for the Emperor; they refused to attack the palace, and the revolutionaries were powerless to stop them.

Within the revolutionary ranks, many had no intention of overthrowing the Habsburg Family. Most were, in fact, reformists who had only joined the revolutionaries after losing hope in reform.

At this moment, there was a mess of revolutionary armed forces, and they hadn't even managed to establish a unified leadership body before they began fighting their own separate battles.

The vast majority of the insurgent army didn't even have guns. The weapons in their hands were a motley collection, as if time had flowed backward to the Middle Ages.

Many ordinary people had no interest in the revolution; revolutionary thought actually had no market in Austria. Once they had vented their anger, many simply dispersed.

In order to bolster their own ranks and suppress the growing armed working class, the revolutionaries recruited anyone they could. The newly formed insurgent army underwent a qualitative change, becoming a mixed bag of good and bad.

For instance, in the name of liberating political prisoners, they released every inmate in the Vienna prison. Many heinous criminals suddenly transformed into members of the revolutionary party.

Gang members and thugs also emerged to fish in troubled waters. Murder, arson, robbery, and rape—all manner of crimes were played out incessantly in Vienna.

The first to be impacted were not the nobles, but the ordinary citizens of Vienna, the small merchants, and the middle class.

The night shrouded endless sins, and Vienna, this international metropolis, was submerged in an ocean of depravity that night.