The Panicked Archdukes

At Hofburg Palace, after the news arrived, a group of archdukes anxiously considered what to do. It wasn't that they didn't want to flee; they simply couldn't anymore.

Before the situation spiraled out of control, the Vienna Court had been holding a secret meeting to consider whether to replace Prime Minister Metternich and appease the people's anger.

But the sudden upheaval had thrown many people's plans into disarray. Rebels were everywhere outside now, and they didn't dare risk leaving.

The French Revolution had taught them that rebels didn't care about noble status. The nobles were precisely the ones they wanted to kill.

In fact, at this point, if the Palace Guard had gone out to suppress the unrest, there would still have been a good chance of snuffing out the rebellion in its cradle.

Unfortunately, not one of these nobles had the courage to take responsibility, and they let the opportunity slip away.

Emperor Ferdinand I's opinion could be ignored by now. The shock had triggered another epileptic seizure, so no one could count on him to make a decision.

No one wanted to take the blame, and Empress Anna wasn't foolish either. She had never liked getting involved in politics, so naturally she wouldn't speak up now.

Archduke Franz Karl, whose status was second only to the emperor's, was also so frightened that his face had turned deathly pale. Clearly, he couldn't be expected to make a decision.

Archduke Louis, the only one with some ability, couldn't handle a situation on this scale either. Otherwise, Prime Minister Metternich wouldn't have been able to keep him in check on the Regency Council.

"The message has already been sent. The City Defense Force will be back to suppress the rebellion within two days at most. Order the Guard to hold out until help arrives!"

Archduke Louis, his brows tightly furrowed, finally made a decision that was hardly a decision at all.

Abandon Vienna and flee?

No one could bear the consequences of that, and Archduke Louis was no exception.

Once they abandoned Vienna, the consequences would be dire. The Habsburg Family might well end up joining the House of Orleans in exile overseas.

At that moment, everyone looked at Ferdinand I, who seemed like a child, and felt that their future was bleak.

If Ferdinand I had been of sound mind, they could have summoned the rebel leaders to negotiate. After all, most of the rebels in the city had risen up under the emperor's banner.

Political maneuvering could still win over some of the rebels, and then the rest would be easy to handle.

They believed themselves more capable of political struggle than a bunch of upstarts. As long as they stayed within the rules, they had plenty of ways to deal with things.

This was good news for Franz. For their own interests, the nobles now needed a capable monarch to restore the authority of the throne and protect their rights.

News of the Vienna uprising had reached Franz, though it arrived a day later than the government's orders.

"Albrecht, something's happened in Vienna. On March 7, the demonstrators and the troops blocking them clashed, and that night, an uprising broke out in the city."

Albrecht's expression changed when he heard the news. He hurriedly asked, "How are things now? Has the uprising been put down?"

Franz shook his head. "We don't know yet. But the chances of the uprising being suppressed are very slim. Prime Minister Metternich is old, and there's no one in the Vienna Government willing to take responsibility!"

The Austrian Empire was old, and no one wanted to bear the consequences of suppressing the uprising.

The emperor couldn't govern normally. Whoever made that decision would be ending his political career, and might even end up in prison.

It wasn't just smears from their enemies they would have to face. They would also have to endure attacks from within, with a whole slew of accusations—executioner, butcher, and the like—heaped upon them.

In such circumstances, to avoid becoming a scapegoat, many people would hesitate when an uprising first broke out, afraid to order a bloody crackdown.

Usually, only after things had grown serious and everyone recognized the threat could the conservatives unite to suppress the rebellion.

This was typical of Europe's old empires. Take the Paris Revolution, for example: the death toll was only in the single digits. How could that be a revolution? It was clearly just a village-scale brawl.

The March Revolution of Vienna was much the same. The casualties from clashes between the rebels and government troops were certainly fewer than those caused by thugs taking advantage of the chaos to loot.

Many history books claimed that the army sympathized with the revolution or stayed neutral during it. In reality, no one had given them orders to suppress it in the first place.

In those days, "transportation meant walking, communication meant shouting." Information was extremely difficult to relay. No suppression order had been issued at the start, and once the uprising grew, they could no longer get an order through.

That was how European politics worked. Junior officers didn't dare make decisions on their own. Suppressing an uprising required reports to pass up the chain, while they waited for the cabinet to decide. By the time a decision was made, the day would already be lost.

Albrecht sighed and looked in the direction of Vienna. "Then let's pick up the pace!"

"There's no need! At our current speed, we'll reach Vienna the morning after tomorrow. Even if we move faster, we can't launch an attack at night!

"Vienna won't fall that quickly. There are still so many police officers and five thousand City Defense Force soldiers in the city. Even if they're all useless, they should be able to buy us some time, right?

"Besides, the Palace Guard is there. They should have no trouble holding the palace!" Franz explained.

It was impossible to march through the night. The troops had to conserve their strength; otherwise, how could they maintain their combat effectiveness?

Franz's military command skills were merely average, but he understood the principle that "a tired army cannot fight."

Albrecht's main reason for wanting to hurry was political. The City Defense Force had been out on training exercises, allowing the uprising in Vienna to go unsuppressed. As its commander, he would have to take the blame.

Now that he'd received the news, failing to return as quickly as possible would become another black mark on his record.

He, as commander of the City Defense Force, would bear all the responsibility. Franz had nothing to do with it. After all, he was the commander-in-chief.

Franz understood all this too, but he couldn't take risks now. The most important thing was to steadily suppress the uprising.

As for taking the blame, what subordinate didn't take a few hits for his superior?

"But right now, the rebels are still just a rabble. If this drags on, they may gain strength, and then they'll be much harder to defeat!" Albrecht said after thinking it over.

"Albrecht, there's no need to worry about that. The rebels are just a rabble hastily thrown together. They're rife with internal conflicts and can't possibly unite so quickly!" Franz said confidently.