Chapter 1427: Metternich's Powder Keg
Lavalette immediately chimed in:
"Your Highness, after Vienna abolished internal tariffs and the guild system, merchants immediately stopped funding the Liberals. Metternich's civil servant selection mechanism has also kept lawyers, journalists, and similar professionals busy preparing for the civil service examinations. Even the serfs aren't causing much trouble now. Only a few radical republicans and anti-Secret Police factions are still active."
He glanced at the Crown Prince and suggested, "Given the current situation, I believe the likelihood of internal chaos erupting in Austria is quite low. Perhaps we shouldn't invest any more funds."
Joseph, however, smiled. "No, now is precisely the best time for you to stir up the situation in Austria."
The Security Bureau chief paused, surprised. "But..."
Joseph explained, "Metternich has merely covered Austria's various ravines and quagmires with a layer of snow, but that doesn't mean their path is truly smooth. The Old Nobility with their hereditary offices, guild members, tax farmers, and local chambers of commerce — they aren't acting now because Metternich has tripled the size of the Secret Police, but that doesn't mean they've truly accepted the status quo. Metternich is essentially piling more powder kegs into the great house of Austria. Should a single spark appear, the explosive force will be far greater than before."
Metternich was indeed a rare political genius in Austrian history, keenly identifying the obstacles hindering Austria's development and swiftly devising solutions.
However, he never addressed the root causes of the problems, or rather, he subconsciously dared not touch them at all.
Take the tax farmer group, for example. The various tax farmers, along with their subordinate tax officials and enforcers, totaled seventy or eighty thousand people, and they commanded immense wealth. If you don't dismantle this interest group first and simply announce you're taking away their livelihood, it's wishful thinking to expect them to comply!
In the Security Bureau's context, "activity" meant an uprising.
Joseph shook his head. "That would only keep Austria's Secret Police busy for a while. We need a bigger spark. In truth, one of Metternich's reforms contains an extremely fatal flaw: 'Germanization.' This will severely enrage all ethnic groups outside of Austria proper, especially Hungary."
He knew well that Hungary possessed strong cultural cohesion, always maintaining its own parliament, and its customs and way of life were vastly different from Vienna's.
This time, Metternich demanded that all Hungarian government departments, courts, military, and even public schools use German. This absolutely struck a raw nerve with the Hungarians!
At the same time, Metternich sought to restrict the Hungarian parliament's meetings, which gravely offended the high-ranking nobility.
Furthermore, Vienna would implement unified management over Hungary's tariffs and currency, which not only alienated the Hungarian nobility but also crossed a red line for capitalists.
Historically, it was after more than thirty years of these "far-sighted" reform policies that the "Pest Uprising" was successfully provoked, leading Hungary to declare independence.
Afterward, the Hungarian army repeatedly defeated Vienna's suppression forces, compelling the Austrian Emperor to seek aid from Russia. Ultimately, with the assistance of 140,000 Russian troops, the Hungarian uprising was defeated.
Even though it failed to achieve full independence, Austria, "bloody-mouthed" from the struggle, was forced to accept many favorable conditions for Hungary, such as greater autonomy and Hungarian as the sole official language.
As for the present, although Metternich's reforms had only been implemented for a short time, Joseph had already instructed the Security Bureau to do its "homework"—
After receiving steady funding from "mysterious Venetian merchants sympathetic to Hungarians," the "Kuruc Exiles" organization had relocated its headquarters back to Hungary, and its membership had expanded to three or four thousand.
Concurrently, the French Chamber of Commerce had forged secret trade agreements with regions like Buda and Pest. Annually, the total value of furs, peppers, and draft horses imported from these areas alone amounted to over 1.8 million francs.
Furthermore, after Charles's Iroquois Treasures Company sparked a tobacco craze in France, Hungarian farmers began secretly cultivating tobacco in large quantities, managing to sell nearly 400,000 francs worth each year.
France, in turn, sold cheap textiles, furniture, medicine, and mechanical products to Hungary. Because all these goods were smuggled from Serbia and other regions—no, 'special trade' was the more appropriate term—the tariffs were zero, making prices very affordable and earning the unanimous favor of Hungarians, from nobility to serfs.
The reciprocal trade between them already exceeded 4 million francs. And at this precise moment, Vienna announced its intention to control Hungarian trade...
Joseph felt that with proper handling by the Security Bureau, it was entirely possible to bring the Pest Uprising forward by several decades.
After Lavalette finished taking diligent notes, Joseph recalled another matter.
"Oh, when will the Austrian army enter the St. Gallen Pass?"
"It should be within the next few days, Your Highness. Around six thousand troops."
Comments