In 1848, revolution seemed to have become the trend in Austria. Nowhere was peaceful.
On March 28, an uprising broke out in Dalmatia. Fortunately, before the Austrian Government could send in troops to suppress it, the locals put down the revolution themselves.
As Franz looked over the intelligence in his hands, he felt as if a herd of mud horses were galloping through his mind. The uprising had been started by the local government's own militia, while the people who helped the government suppress the revolution were the local capitalists and serfs.
In other words, the nobles and nationalists had launched the uprising, and the capitalists and serfs had put them down.
The uprising had mainly been caused by local nobles, who were unhappy that the government's reforms had harmed their interests. Egged on by nationalists, they had foolishly declared a revolution.
There were plenty of idiots like these throughout history, both at home and abroad. Franz had grown used to them.
Every year, a few Austrian nobles would drink too much and declare their independence. Once they sobered up, they would immediately revoke it and come to the emperor to beg forgiveness.
Born on the European Continent, these idiots were lucky. As long as they hadn't caused any serious consequences, the emperor usually wouldn't do much to them.
It was only natural for serfs to help suppress a noble rebellion. The Vienna Government had announced the abolition of serfdom and granted them personal freedom. These nobles had actually wanted to keep enslaving them.
There was no need to say more. The rebellion had to be suppressed. This was a fight for freedom.
What made these nobles even more ridiculous was that they had armed their own serfs and sent them into the revolution. That was another reason Franz considered them idiots.
What alone surprised Franz was that the local capitalists had sided with the Vienna Government and helped suppress the rebellion with both men and resources. They had acted so quickly that it looked as if they had planned it in advance.
Franz even suspected that the nobles and capitalists might have agreed to rise up together, only for the capitalists to see that victory was impossible and sell them out.
Dalmatia had little presence in Austria. It was the sort of remote province that could be taken or left, economically backward and of no strategic value, easily overlooked.
Seeing Franz's bewildered expression, Prime Minister Felix offered an explanation.
"Your Highness, this uprising in Dalmatia was started by noble officials in the local government. They claimed to be loyal to the royal family, but what they really wanted was greater power.
"After their interests were harmed, those bastards actually tried to join forces with Trieste and rebel, planning to establish a country together with the rebels in the Italian regions.
"But they forgot that the National Guard under their command was loyal to the empire. Their rebellion was doomed to fail from the very beginning.
"Besides, their location meant they were heavily dependent on the empire economically. The moment they became independent, the local economy would start to decline.
"It was inevitable that the capitalists would split from them to protect their own interests."
Franz nodded thoughtfully. The more likely explanation was that the capitalists had decided the rebellion had little chance of success and offered no prospect of greater profits, so they had sold out their allies.
As for why the nobles of Dalmatia had been so stupid, Franz could only put it down to too many uneducated, useless fools, compounded by greed that had robbed them of their reason.
"Then send people over to confiscate their estates first. At the same time, reward those who distinguished themselves in suppressing the uprising, and immediately carry out the emancipation law.
"Exempt the meritorious capitalists from this year's taxes. Set aside some land to grant to the serfs who took part in suppressing the rebellion, and provide compensation to the families of those killed or wounded."
(The law abolishing serfdom would take time to implement; it couldn't be completed all at once, so not all the serfs had been freed yet.)
Franz was setting an example. Whatever their motives, helping the empire suppress a rebellion was the sort of behavior that had to be encouraged.
The rewards for the serfs especially had to be publicized. Ideally, everyone in Austria would hear about them.
By then, Franz had already decided to distribute land and mobilize the workers and peasants to rise up against the reactionary nobles and capitalists. Let's see who would still follow them into rebellion.
"Your Highness, surely this isn't wise. Rewarding the capitalists would be enough. We've already granted those serfs their freedom; there's no need to give them land as well!"
At that moment, Prime Minister Felix stood by the interests of his own class. He didn't want this to happen.
It meant that if the emperor gained a weapon for bringing down the noble class, the power of the monarch would grow further, while the nobles' political influence would be restricted.
"Prime Minister, this is only a temporary measure. The uprising in the Italian regions hasn't been put down yet, and those few fleas are trying to take advantage of the chaos.
"An uprising could break out in Prague at any moment. The Poles in Galicia are also restless, while the ambitious Hungarians are preparing to further divide the country.
"Right now, we need to unite every force we can and wipe out these rebels. Naturally, we should reward those who distinguish themselves. What does a little land matter in exchange?"
There was no doubt that Franz was playing dumb. As long as he cited the current situation, the nobles had no grounds to object.
If no nobles had joined the rebellion, Franz really would have been at a loss for how to handle them. But now that some of them had rebelled, he, as regent and crown prince, had reason to question the loyalty of the noble class.
Against this backdrop, his decision to support the serfs who were about to become free people was easy to explain.
These people were illiterate, and their sense of right and wrong was very simple: things were either black or white.
As long as he gave them land and made sure they had enough to eat, they would remain Franz's most loyal subjects for decades to come. Even their descendants would support the Habsburg Family.
Every ruler needed a foundation to support their rule. The foundation of the Austrian Empire was currently the nobility, and that wouldn't change for a long time. Franz was simply adding the peasants to the ranks behind them.
These were matters that only politicians needed to consider. Most nobles wouldn't think that far ahead, and even if someone spelled it out for them, they wouldn't believe it.
After hesitating for a moment, Prime Minister Felix chose to back down.
Unlike in history, he had been appointed prime minister by Franz, and his influence in the government wasn't as great. He could forget about using the power of his office to counterbalance the monarch as he had in history.
Seeing that the prime minister had accepted it, Franz didn't press him any further. It was enough to achieve his goal. The man helped take the blame every day, so it was best to show him some respect.
And so Austria's version of "beat the landlords and divide the land" began. No, rather, it was "suppress the rebellion and divide the land." Those who hadn't joined the rebellion had nothing to fear.
Book recommendation: The War Contractor. The veteran author's new book is guaranteed regular updates!!
And now, please send me your votes!!!
Thank you all so much for your support!!!
Before you continue