Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Franz, through a series of personnel transfers, finally took control of the Royal Guard. Archduke Louis had no reaction, but Franz didn’t know if he really did not understand or was just playing dumb.
Franz felt that he was more likely pretending. The scale of the Royal Guard was small, with only one regiment of troops, but it played an important symbolic role in defending the royal family.
The actual control of this regiment was always in the hands of the Court of Vienna, and even Archduke Louis, the nominal commander, dared not mess with them.
Before Franz trained the royal guard, he had in fact gotten the approval of the Court of Vienna, as well as the warrant of his uncle, Ferdinand I.
The Hapsburg family had long been preparing for his rule, and, if all went according to plan, he would become a member of the Regent Committee in three years. After several years of standing in for Franz, the Regent committee would be dissolved, and the era of the Crown Prince Regent would arrive.
Though Ferdinand I did not want his power transferred into others’ hands, unfortunately, he suffered from epilepsy; he had seizures 20 times a day on average and could not manage government affairs at all. Thus, supporting Franz was one of his measures to avoid that.
Well, Franz admitted that he had been fooling around. His uncle was often out of his mind and did some ridiculous things; occasionally, he had paranoia. However, he paid special attention to the Hapsburg family business.
This situation created an opportunity for Franz. Ferdinand I often made extraordinary remarks, and any time Franz found one useful, it became a written document.
In other words, there were many imperial edicts in Franz’s hands, but whether they were legal or not depended on the actual situation.
If they were put forward, the Regent Committee would probably veto them all; however, when the time was right, he could also issue these edicts directly without passing through the Regent Committee and make them an established fact.
Although the Austrian government was actually controlled by the Regent Committee, no one had announced explicitly that Ferdinand I had lost the ability to govern, which meant that the Emperor’s order was still valid.
The news of the January Revolution spread quickly throughout the European continent. When the news reached Vienna, people were surprised at first, then thought nothing of it.
However, when the news reached Paris, something changed.
From 1840 to 1848, after Gizzo, the leader of the Conservative Party, was elected prime minister, capitalists were appointed to government departments. He also abused his power arbitrarily by approving commercial contracts to please financial groups.
Corruption and bribery in the government were becoming the norm, and as various scandals emerged one after another, the public gradually lost faith in the government.
By this point, only bankers, exchange brokers, railway owners, big mine owners, big forest owners, and big landlords were left among the supporters of the July dynasty.
Since the economic crisis spread to France in 1847, hunger riots had been springing up all over the country. The Labor Protection Act enacted in Austria ignited the workers’ strike movement.
In this context, when the foundation of the revolution was ready in place, and a single spark could light the fire of revolution, the people of Paris, who were already full of revolutionary spirit, were naturally affected when the news of the January revolution arrived.
However, the decadent July dynasty turned a deaf ear to all this. The Banquet Movement launched by the capitalists was stopped by the government. The activity originally scheduled for January 19th, 1848, was postponed to February 22nd.
After checking the intelligence in his hand, Franz breathed a sigh of relief. History had not changed as a butterfly effect of his intervention. The advantage of foresight could also be used safely.
However, he communicated with the military generals even more than ever, including the governors of all the districts, with whom Franz also maintained a correspondence.
Inadvertently, Franz also revealed his concern about the domestic situation, incidentally mentioned the January revolution in Sicily, and boldly made a prediction that it would cause a chain reaction across the European continent.
Whether his remarks would attract attention, Franz couldn’t know; he could only listen to destiny and do his best.
He couldn’t announce directly that Austria would also have a revolution.
If he did that, he would be regarded as either a god or a madman.
Considering the situation of the Hapsburg family, Franz felt that the latter was more likely.
Now Franz gave full play to the nature of a military enthusiast and inspected the training of the troops around Vienna. The more he saw, the more disappointed he was.
“Albrecht, what can you do to improve the combat effectiveness of the soldiers in the short term? I am talking about the City Defense Army,” Franz said, cautiously.
“Franz, this is a very simple question. As long as you can get the noble officers who are dawdling here to go away and promote a group of capable persons to serve as officers, the combat effectiveness of the City Defense Army can be improved immediately!” Albrecht Friedrich Rudolph said after a moment’s thought.
Helplessly, Franz said, “Albrecht, this joke is not funny at all. If I could get them to go away, there would be no need to talk nonsense with you here! I mean, is it possible to gather them together for training and let them play a role at a crucial time?”
Yes, Franz did have high hopes for the City Defense Army. These nobles seemed to be the cancer that affected the combat effectiveness of the Army in normal times, but they were different in war times.
If nothing else, at least in terms of loyalty, they were still reassuring.
Once the Vienna revolution broke out, using them to suppress the rebellion would be more reliable than using civilian officers.
The only pity was that their ability did not seem to be very impressive. Even if their only job was to suppress mobs, Franz doubted they were capable.
“Come on, I will give up the position of the commander of the City Defense Army to you. Anyway, I can do nothing about them!” Albrecht said innocently.
Franz thought for a moment and said, “I will accept that. Anyway, since they’re such a group of losers, I can’t possibly make it worse. However, as to the position of commander of the City Defense Army, you still keep it yourself. I still need your support for the following things…”
“Franz, what’s your plan, then? There are a lot of aristocratic officers in the City Defense Army, and they are involved deeply. You can’t mess around!” Albrecht said with some concern.
“Albrecht, do I look like someone who messes around to you?” Franz asked Albrecht.
Albrecht shook his head. Franz’s impression on everyone was still very good.
Franz continued, “I should also join the Army to serve. I will apply for it shortly. In the next three months, I will be in the City Defense Army.
You can push all those officers who have been dawdling over here and make them receive military training with me. Of course, those who are over 28 years old and those who are famous in the Army will not be included.”
He finally recollected that he was only 13 years old when he had become an Austrian army colonel.
If he hadn’t set those limits, the nobles who would love to see his humiliation might have sent all the boy scouts to him. In all seriousness, there were actually “baby officers” who were not even weaned but already legends in the Austrian army.