Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 740 - 3, Waves of Revolution



As ships sailed away, the wealth accumulated by the Kingdom of Prussia over hundreds of years was silently being drained by Franz.

But no, this should no longer be associated with Prussia. This place had already become Russian territory, where the Russians and the Austrians cooperated closely, both parties getting what they needed.

The Tsarist Government had eliminated potential threats, stabilizing the local situation; Austria had increased the population of its titular nationality, making both sides winners.

As a result of this influence, the Russian-Austrian relationship grew even more harmonious. As a testament to their friendship, the two governments recently reached an agreement to postpone a loan repayment for two years.

Purely based on friendship, with no political conditions attached. Since the agreement took effect, trade between the two countries around the Baltic Sea began to flourish.

Under the influence of the Russian-Austrian trade boom, the Austrian companies engaged in international shipping business were the first to emerge from the economic crisis, with a multitude of ships shuttling between the Baltic Sea and the Austrian colonies every day.

Following closely were agricultural products and consumer goods businesses, with immigration driving up consumption, pulling these companies back from the brink of bankruptcy.

The cost was witnessed by the Austrian National Bank, which issued tens of millions of Divine Shields in housing loans to the immigrants, artificially creating a consumer market.

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A gunshot rang out in Lyon, shattering the tranquility of the European Continent. After the great revolution of 1848, the wave of revolution was once again ignited in Europe.

Naturally, France was a disaster zone; from Paris to Rome, revolutionary leaflets and slogans were everywhere, much like the small ads on telephone poles in later times.

"Putting out fires" became the French government’s most important task, with police and the military having no time for holidays, everyone busy without stop.

Influenced by the revolutionary wave, revolutionary groups across Europe responded one after another.

On February 11, 1882, an uprising erupted in the Spanish capital of Madrid;

On February 13, 1882, Antwerp, the largest port and heavy industrial city of Belgium, witnessed a dockworkers’ uprising;

On February 13, 1882, a miners’ uprising broke out in Luxembourg;

On February 21, 1882, a peasants’ uprising erupted in Switzerland;

On March 1, 1882, there was a textile workers’ uprising in London;

On March 7, 1882, the movement for independence erupted in the Ireland region;

On March 12, 1882, Portugal experienced a bourgeois revolution;

On March 17, 1882, the Polish Region saw an anti-Russian uprising;

...

In the past two months, Europe had witnessed hundreds of revolutions, large and small, with more than half of the industrial cities experiencing strikes.

It seemed as though Europe had returned to the era of the great revolution overnight.

Watching others suffer brought joy, but when it was one’s own turn, it felt like sitting on pins and needles.

As the leader in the capitalist world, Austria could not remain unscathed.

In the past two months, the Austrian Government had successively extinguished the Milan textile workers’ uprising, the Venice independence movement, the Saxon copper miners’ uprising, and cracked down on dozens of Revolutionary Party cases.

Looking at these events, Franz was petrified; he never imagined that there were so many rebels under his rule.

Undoubtedly, over eighty percent of these revolutionaries were supported by external hostile forces, two-thirds of which were British doing.

To Franz’s relief, during this wave of revolutions, Vienna remained very stable, with not only no signs of revolution but not even a strike.

At this time, Franz somewhat understood why in later times European countries would undertake deindustrialization.

In ordinary times it was manageable, but once an economic crisis hit, the manufacturing industry suffered severe impact.

Especially labor-intensive industries, it was nothing short of a disaster.

Products could not be sold, and businesses had to lay off employees to survive. It was very hard to find a new job amidst the economic crisis, and workers similarly needed to survive, so conflicts arose.

Although other industries were also impacted, they employed relatively fewer employees and were not as concentrated as large factories, so the crisis was more dispersed across various locations.

In theory, as long as no one caused trouble, a colonial empire like Austria could avoid the outbreak of a revolution.

There were no jobs for the unemployed within the country, but they could be resettled in the overseas colonies. Generally speaking, as long as people have options, they wouldn’t resort to extremes.

Thinking of this, Franz gritted his teeth in hatred for John Bull. To retaliate against the British, Franz decided immediately to increase support for the Irish Independence Organization and the Revolutionary Party in Britain.

In a sense, this revolutionary wave that swept across Europe was also the result of several big hooligans stabbing each other in the back.

Prime Minister Felix said, "Your Majesty, we have just received news that approximately five thousand people in the Silesian refugee camp have initiated a protest, demanding the government intervene against the atrocities committed by the Russians, to rescue the oppressed..."

Before Felix could finish speaking, Franz angrily smashed the cup in his hand. "Protest," since when did criminals have the right to protest?

Indeed, individuals who entered the refugee camp illegally could be legally defined as criminals.

Because the number of people involved was too high, the Vienna Government did not define everyone as a criminal but only punished the ring leaders.

This protest undeniably challenged Franz’s bottom line. The Russians’ atrocities, protesting to the Austrian Government, wasn’t that absurd?

Austria was not the international police; there was no reason to interfere in others’ domestic affairs. If meddling blindly, one would eventually get killed.

The Vienna Government had already resettled most, but there were still more than two hundred thousand people remaining in the refugee camps, waiting for resettlement.

Franz sneered, "Deport all those who participated in the protest back to the Russian Empire, let them grow potatoes for Alexander III.

All responsible persons are to be dismissed from their posts and held accountable. Send out an investigation team to scrutinize the facts. I don’t believe this was a spontaneous act by the refugees."

The refugee camp was under military management, and yet a protest still erupted; if there were no dereliction of duty among the managers, Franz would not believe it.

To put it bluntly, if the managers were unwilling, those within the refugee camp could not even receive news from the outside world.

These people also weren’t idle, Franz also started to build walls on the border. Not for any other reason, mainly to keep the refugees busy with something, so they wouldn’t be idle and stir up trouble.

No matter how many precautions are taken, trouble still found its way. For long-term peace and security, Franz had to "kill the chicken to scare the monkey."

Being deported back to the Russian Empire was the greatest punishment. The Tsarist Government would not welcome them, and it would be fortunate for them even to grow potatoes in Siberia.

Prime Minister Felix suggested, "Your Majesty, deporting those troublesome refugees back to Russia won’t be a problem, but the European revolutionary wave that’s escalating is troublesome.

Although the uprisings initiated by the Revolutionaries mostly ended in failure, not as drastic as in 1848, the frequent occurrences of these uprisings still pose significant harm.

For the peace and stability of the European world, we need to convene another international conference, unite the governments of various countries, and collectively contain the spread of revolutionary thoughts."

These days, there’s no government that doesn’t fear "revolution," constrained by productivity, the lower classes of all countries in the world struggle.

"Struggling" breeds the desire for revolution, and with the soil for revolution present, those with vested interests naturally panick.

While these revolutionary incidents appear to be isolated, over ninety percent of them are connected to international forces.

Perhaps no one has directly orchestrated rebellions, but supporting revolutionary organizations, propagating revolutionary thoughts, and providing asylum to Revolutionaries, these are all the works of the big hooligans.

Of course, smaller nations participated too. Their actions were just smaller in scale, mainly focusing on exporting ideology.

After the great revolution of 1848, European nations learned their lesson and were peaceful for a while, only to have old problems resurface now.

On this issue, Franz had no right to accuse others; Austria had been no stranger to such activities.

At the very least, the turmoil within England and France owed a part to the Vienna Government. Without Austria’s involvement, the European Continent wouldn’t have been so lively.

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