Laying the Groundwork for Public Opinion

Franz stopped there, not pushing the topic any further.

Capitalists were not to be trifled with; even if they had yet to occupy a dominant position in the government, the power they wielded was not to be underestimated.

Standing in Franz's position, asking questions was fine, but expecting him to charge into the fray for the sake of the working class and go head-to-head with the bourgeoisie? Forget it.

Franz had already decided to leave this grand and arduous task to the conservative faction of the aristocracy, and Prime Minister Klemens von Metternich was one of the candidates for the job.

Perhaps one day, the capitalists would demand the expansion of suffrage, the implementation of constitutionalism, and the emancipation of the serfs, while the noble lords would demand the enactment of labor protection laws to safeguard the rights and interests of the working class.

However, once these two groups began shouting their slogans, the Austrian public would likely be left dumbfounded.

This was determined by the actual situation in Austria; the nobility remained a feudal class, and their interests were naturally in conflict with those of the capitalists, leaving the two sides with no opportunity to merge.

If one were to wait until the early 20th century, when the nobility and the capitalists had formed a consolidated interest group, then there truly would be no way to resolve the situation through political means, short of tearing everything down and starting over.

Beyond fanning the flames in front of Klemens von Metternich, Franz had other preparations in place; he did not for a moment believe that his words alone could sway an old fox like Klemens von Metternich.

Do not be fooled by their seemingly good relationship; in politics, no one ever looked at personal ties.

While chatting, Franz also secured the credentials to establish a newspaper. Prior to the March Revolution of 1848, the Austrian Empire operated under a strict system of press censorship.

As of the eve of the Vienna Revolution in March 1848, the entire Austrian Empire possessed a total of 79 newspapers. That is newspapers, not publishing houses!

Considering that a single publishing house could issue several papers simultaneously, the number of actual publishing houses was even lower.

Looking at this set of data, one could see just how difficult it was to start a newspaper in this era.

However, for Franz, none of this was a problem. The censorship of books and newspapers was intended to curb the spread of revolutionary ideas; anyone might support the revolutionary party, but he, the heir to the throne, could never support a revolution that would overthrow himself.

Franz possessed a great deal of moral cultivation, feeling the urgency of the people and worrying over their concerns, so he named his newspaper We Want Bread, We Want Cheese.

The definition of this newspaper was exactly as its name suggested, and for the sake of the office's safety, he decided to locate it right at the entrance of the police station.

Starting a newspaper in this era was quite troublesome. Even if Franz could skip the most tedious procedures, he still had to find the labor and the premises himself.

Most importantly, there were the editors and reporters; these people needed to have passion and the courage to face this cruel society, yet they could not be so passionate that they forgot who was putting food on their table.

"Misfortune for the nation brings fortune to the poet; when the world turns to dust, the verses become masterful."

There was a great deal of truth in this saying. The mid-19th century saw a surge of writers and poets in Austria; some persisted in their creative work, while others veered off halfway to dabble in politics.

Regardless, the propaganda power of the pen was something the nobility could not hope to match.

Take, for instance, that Hungarian politician of legal background, Kossuth; he was a powerhouse of propaganda who kicked off the Hungarian independence movement in 1847 and even briefly became the head of the Hungarian Republic.

Of course, he also suffered from the common ailment of the intellectual: he was an idealist whose plans were often detached from reality, and naturally, his uprising was suppressed.

Franz had no interest in Kossuth; no matter how strong his propaganda skills were, he was still an extreme nationalist.

The two sides were naturally opposed. Of course, if one wanted to buy him off, it might not be impossible, but Franz had no interest in doing so.

In his philosophy of employing people, loyalty was far more important than ability; the lowest bottom line for hiring was that they must not be an enemy.

After a moment of contemplation, Franz wrote a few names on a slip of paper and ordered, "Raul, send someone to investigate these people on the list. If there are no issues, send them an invitation in the name of the newspaper!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" the attendant Raul replied hurriedly.

Recruiting in this era was not easy. Universities were still ivory towers; there were no commoners inside, and even those of the lowest status had parents who were small capitalists.

So-called inspirational stories were all meant to deceive; the exorbitant tuition fees could never be covered by working one's way through school.

The writers and poets in society were not as destitute as one might imagine, though those whose families had fallen on hard times were the exception.

If one wanted to recruit, one either hung a sign in a high-traffic area or placed an advertisement in a newspaper, but most hiring was done through personal introductions.

Personal introductions were certainly not suitable for Franz; the people he came into contact with were not that down-and-out. Dragons do not dwell with snakes, so naturally, he would not know those common workers.

However, there was no rush for this; recruiting ordinary laborers was quite easy. Compared to other industries, working at a newspaper was a respectable job, and he did not fear a lack of applicants.

On the contrary, recruiting reporters and editors would take time. The people Franz invited were all well-known writers and poets in society today.

Whether they came or not did not matter; this was simply to tell them that Austria now had one more newspaper, and they had one more place to publish articles and earn royalties.

From beginning to end, he never showed his face, even though many would know he was the man behind the newspaper.

If not for economic considerations, Franz would not have minded opening dozens of newspapers at once to openly fight for the dominance of public opinion.

Considering the return on investment, Franz decisively chickened out. Controlling one newspaper to point out the direction of the country in normal times and to steer the narrative when necessary was enough.

Reform in Austria had been ongoing for many years, and the current Prime Minister, Klemens von Metternich, had once been a representative of the reformist faction.

It was just that now, he was caught in the middle, pleasing no one. The domestic bourgeoisie felt his reforms were not aggressive enough and failed to fully satisfy their interests.

The conservative nobility also rejected him as Prime Minister; as a representative of the aristocratic interest group, his advocacy for the emancipation of the serfs had harmed the interests of the nobility.

Even the Vienna court, in reality, did not care much for this reformist Prime Minister. The reason was quite simple: the slogans had been shouted for too long, yet no results from the reforms could be seen.

Franz was perhaps the person in this era who could understand him best. To use a vivid metaphor: the Austrian Empire was like a house infested with termites; if one moved a part of it, no one knew how much would collapse.

Out of a cautious and responsible attitude, the reforms Klemens von Metternich carried out were extremely careful, for fear that one wrong move would cause everything to fall apart.

Such timid, half-hearted reforms were naturally doomed to fail. How could a reform without bloodshed ever succeed?