Chapter 832: Kill the Body, Break the Spirit
As one official after another was brought down, the original anti-Semitic movement gradually drew to a close, replaced by a sweeping anti-corruption campaign.
Throughout every dynasty and every age, arresting corrupt officials had always been what the public most loved to see, and Austria was no exception.
Though there had been no direct embezzlement, the transfer of benefits through exchanges of money and power was essentially the same thing. More precisely, Austrian law prescribed the same level of punishment for both.
Watching one prominent figure after another fall, the news media were the happiest of all. Every day brought major headlines, never the same twice, and newspaper sales in 1886 reached a record high.
The spectators were satisfied as well. With so many stories unfolding, they had plenty to talk about over tea and after meals.
Even the government's public servants were pleased. The feeling of sorrow when the rabbit died and the fox grieved was certainly there, but it could not outweigh their eagerness for promotion.
One radish, one hole. If those above did not step down, those below could never climb up. Anyone blocking the way was an enemy.
By this point, the massive anti-corruption cases stirred up by the investigative teams had completely spiraled out of control. It was no longer something that could be stopped just because someone said so.
One case led to another. The deeper they investigated, the more people became implicated, leaving even Franz dumbfounded.
After all, channeling benefits was far more sophisticated than direct embezzlement. Ordinary public servants simply could not play that game; the ones truly involved were all officials.
The chief officials of many regions had been thrown in prison, taking the entire local leadership down with them, leaving a pile of