Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 29: Undercurrent

Winter gave way to spring, and melted snow made the roads muddy. An army was struggling to move forward. Yes, it was the Vienna City Defense Army, doing their field training.

The noble officers could not stand this kind of suffering, so Albrecht considerately approved them to make camp. Unconsciously, the command power of the army changed.

"Stop moving forward and make camp here!"

Albrecht's order sounded. As the Vienna City Defense Army, they could not stray far from the city, and the field training was only a hundred and eighty kilometers.

"Franz, we can't go any further than this. Otherwise, if there is an accident in Vienna, we can't respond in time!"

Franz nodded. Let the revolution break out in Vienna, but that didn't mean letting the Vienna revolution succeed!

The main force of the City Defense Army had been brought out. Although there were more than five thousand troops left behind, in fact, their combat effectiveness was pretty low.

If someone wanted to start a revolution, it would be impossible for him to let go of this opportunity. After all, this kind of opportunity did not present itself often.

"Well, the news should have spread by now. How is the situation of the troops?"

Albrecht shook his head and said, "Not good! We pulled them out for training in these conditions, and I believe that they are all cursing us behind our backs."

This was inevitable. Whoever encountered this kind of thing would react the same way. Franz thought of a solution, though not a good one: "Then let them take a day off and go hunting to supplement their rations."

This was a bad idea. If this was an army of nine hundred, instead of nine thousand, maybe they could really improve their food supply by hunting.

In the real situation, it was not possible that there was enough prey for so many people in the mountains. However, it was still a good way to let everyone relax, so Albrecht did not object.

Time passed quickly. The Labor Protection Act, originally scheduled to be implemented by the Vienna government on March 1, 1848, had been put on hold indefinitely. What's worse, the government hadn't even given a clear explanation.

The inaction of the Vienna government was very disappointing to the working class, which gave the capitalists an idea.

As a strategy, the cost of spreading rumors was the lowest. Under the manipulation of the revolutionaries, the working class came to think that the capitalists had already bribed the government and that their interests were betrayed.

The situation in Vienna was very unfavorable to the government. By March 4, 1848, news of the success of the French February Revolution had spread across Vienna.

Under the manipulation of the capitalists, citizens, workers, and students in Vienna took to the streets to demonstrate on March 5.

Under the banner of anti-hunger, anti-economic crisis, anti-dictatorship, and anti-corruption, the march representative submitted a petition to Ferdinand I, demanding the removal of Metternich's cabinet, the implementation of constitutionalism, and the abolition of serfdom...

What was very interesting was that the Labor Protection Act was not proposed. Obviously, the representative responsible for drafting the petition at that time had already betrayed the working class.

None of these requests were acceptable to Prime Minister Metternich, and the petition was absolutely impossible to get approved.

As for the emperor's responses to all this, of course, the Regent Committee made the decisions and dealt with all the issues on behalf of the emperor. Many of them really wanted to let Prime Minister Metternich go, but on the other hand, the rest of the conditions from the working class were not acceptable to them at all.

For their own benefit, everyone had to stand together for the time being.

Until then no one, except for the radicals, had thought of revolution.

Even the capitalists just wanted to obtain benefits from the nobles and survive the crisis; they were not ready for a revolution yet.

...

A carriage passed through the narrow, streets, on both sides of which were short earthen houses. There was a pungent smell.

The carriage stopped in front of a small house. A well-dressed young man stepped down from the carriage and felt softness when he stepped on something. He looked down and found what he stepping on was animal droppings.

"Shit!"

With a curse and a disgusted expression, the young man knocked on the door. The carriage had already left after he got out.

There were not many options for him but to face a situation like this: the secret police in Vienna were not fools doing an easy job, but agents doing a highly risky one, which meant this young man had to be careful.

At that time, the slum was the safest place: it was a chaotic environment with lots of crisscrossing alleys, and most important of all, it was where the police force was weakest.

The door of the courtyard opened, and a barely-dressed man came out. He looked around and made sure that no one had followed this young man, then welcomed him in.

"Jack, you have finally arrived! Everyone has been waiting for you for a long time!"

The young man named Jack frowned, and disgust flashed in his eyes. He smiled and said, "Sorry, Cole, the enemy is too clever. To get rid of them, I have to be very careful!"

Cole was closing the door and didn't notice Jack's expression. He continued, "Never mind. We can't be too careful at a time like this. Let's get started now that you're here!"

"Gentlemen, the time for revolution has come. It is impossible for the reactionary government to agree to our request.

The Metternich government has deceived us again. At this time, there is no need to continue to endure.

The Paris revolution has won. It's our turn now. Now is our best chance.

The City Defense Army is training in the countryside. If they want to return, it will take two days at the least ..."

A man in gray clothes said with concern, "Jack, I am afraid that the time is not yet ripe to launch an uprising. Although the City Defense Army is practicing in the country, there are still five thousand troops left behind. We will never ..."

Jack frowned. He didn't like to be refuted, especially by those he despised.

If the capitalists behind the scenes hadn't needed them to launch an uprising right away to put pressure on the government, he would not have come here to meet with the workers' representatives.

In his mind, it was best that the revolution was commanded by those decent people, and what these lower folks needed to do was just to listen to their commands.

However, this was something that the working class had to be willing to die for, and they had no prestige among the working class. As a result, they had to rely on the leaders of these workers' movements.

Jack explained impatiently, "Mr. Powell, don't worry. We have secretly bought a batch of weapons. If we've got weapons in our hands, will you still be afraid of those noble soldiers?

Besides, the army is not really our enemy. Apart from noble officers, most of them are the same toiling masses as you. We can ..."

Obviously, they were all revolutionaries nominally; however, in fact, they were not on the same side at all. The capitalists and the workers were inherently antagonistic.

It was only that, in this era, the workers' revolutionary organization had not yet been established, so they mainly depended on the existence of the capitalists' revolutionary party.

Everyone seemed to be convinced by him, or more realistically, a large number of unemployed people were waiting for food to feed their families.