34. The Dukes in a Panic

Inside the Hofburg Palace, having received the news, a group of royal archdukes were anxiously contemplating countermeasures. It was not that they did not want to flee, but that they were already unable to.

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

As it turned out, the sudden chaos shattered many people's plans. Now that rebels were everywhere outside, they dared not risk leaving.

The lessons of the French Revolution had taught them that rebels cared nothing for the nobility of one's status; they killed aristocrats specifically.

In reality, at this moment, if the Palace Guard had gone out to quell the unrest, there was still a high probability of nipping this rebellion in the bud.

Regrettably, among this group of nobles, not a single one possessed the courage to take responsibility, and so the opportunity was wasted in vain.

The attitude of Emperor Ferdinand I could already be ignored; having suffered such a great shock, his epilepsy had flared up again, and he could not be counted on to make decisions.

No one wanted to be the scapegoat. Empress Anna was no fool; she had never liked meddling in politics, and naturally, she would not express a stance at such a time.

Archduke Franz Karl, whose status was second only to the Emperor, was also pale with fright at this moment; it was clearly impossible to expect him to make a decision.

Archduke Louis, the only one with a modicum of ability, lacked the capacity to handle such a grand crisis; otherwise, he would not have been suppressed by Prime Minister Metternich within the Regency Council.

"The message has been sent out. In two days at most, the City Defense Force will return to suppress the rebellion. Order the guard to hold their ground and wait for reinforcements!"

Archduke Louis, his brows locked in a tight frown, finally made a decision that was not really a decision.

Abandon Vienna and flee?

No one could bear the consequences of that, and Archduke Louis could not bear them either.

Once Vienna was abandoned, the impact would be immense; if things went poorly, the Habsburg Family might end up like the House of Orleans in France, living in exile overseas.

At this moment, as everyone looked at the child-like Ferdinand I, they all felt that the future held no "light."

If Ferdinand I were a normal man, he could have summoned the rebel leaders for negotiations; after all, most of the rebels in the city were rising up under the banner of the Emperor.

By using political means, it would still be possible to win over a portion of the rebels, and the subsequent matters would be easier to handle.

They believed that their own political maneuvering skills would not lose to a bunch of upstarts. As long as it was within the rules, they had plenty of ways to cope.

For Franz, this was a good thing. For the sake of their own interests, the nobles now needed a capable monarch to reshape the majesty of the throne and protect their rights.

The news of the Vienna rebellion had already reached Franz, only a day later than the government's orders.

"Albrecht, something has happened in Vienna. The demonstrators from the March 7th protest clashed with the troops intercepting them, and a rebellion broke out in Vienna that very night."

Upon hearing this news, Albrecht's expression changed, and he hurriedly asked, "What is the situation now? Has the rebellion been suppressed?"

Franz shook his head and said, "I don't know yet. However, the possibility of the rebellion being suppressed is very small. Prime Minister Metternich is old, and there is no one in the Vienna government with the backbone for this!"

The Austrian Empire was already old, and no one was willing to bear the consequences of suppressing a rebellion.

The Emperor could not handle affairs normally, so whoever made this decision would mean the end of their political life, and they might even end up in prison.

This was not just about being smeared by enemies; one also had to endure attacks from within—labels like "executioner" or "butcher" would be heaped upon one's head.

Under these circumstances, to avoid becoming a scapegoat, many would be timid and hesitant at the onset of a rebellion, not daring to order a bloody crackdown.

Basically, they would wait until things had escalated and everyone realized the threat before the conservatives could work together to suppress it.

This was a common trait of old European empires. Taking the Paris Revolution as an example, the death toll was only in the single digits; that was hardly a revolution, but rather a village-level brawl.

The March Revolution of Vienna was much the same. The casualties caused by the exchange of fire between the rebels and government troops were certainly fewer than those caused by thugs and hoodlums taking advantage of the chaos.

What many history books called the army sympathizing with the revolution or remaining neutral was, in reality, simply a case of no one giving them orders to suppress it.

In this era, "transportation relied on walking, and communication relied on shouting"; information transmission was extremely inconvenient. If no order to suppress was given at the beginning, by the time the rebellion grew, even the orders could not be delivered.

This was European politics: low-level officers dared not make decisions, and suppressing a rebellion required reporting through layers of bureaucracy, waiting for the cabinet to make a decision. By the time they decided, the opportunity had long since passed.

Albrecht sighed, looked toward the direction of Vienna, and said helplessly, "Then let us pick up the pace!"

"There is no need! At our current speed, we will arrive in Vienna the day after tomorrow morning. Even if we speed up, we cannot launch an attack at night!

Vienna will not fall so quickly. There are still so many police and five thousand City Defense Force troops in the city. Even if they are all useless, they should have no problem stalling for time, right?

Besides, there is still the Palace Guard; holding the palace will be no problem!" Franz explained.

Marching through the night was impossible; the troops had to maintain sufficient physical strength, or how could they ensure their combat effectiveness?

Although Franz's military command ability was only average, he still understood the principle that "exhausted troops cannot fight."

The main reason Albrecht wanted to speed up was political. Because the City Defense Force had been out for training, causing the Vienna rebellion to not be suppressed in time, he, as the commander of the City Defense Force, would have to take the blame.

Now that he had received the news and still did not rush back at the fastest speed, it was another political stain.

All these responsibilities would be borne by him, the commander of the City Defense Force, and it had nothing to do with Franz—after all, who was the commander-in-chief?

Franz knew these problems, but he could not take risks now. Steady and solid suppression of the rebellion was what mattered most.

As for the issue of being a scapegoat, what subordinate didn't take a few black pots for their leader?

"But the rebels are still a mob right now. If this drags on, I fear they will gain momentum, and then it will be difficult to fight!" Albrecht thought for a moment and said.

"Albrecht, don't worry about that. The rebels are just a mob thrown together temporarily, riddled with internal contradictions; it is impossible for them to integrate so quickly!" Franz said with confidence.