Chapter 1498: Fear in Vienna
Chapter 1498: Fear in Vienna
Inside the National Assembly Hall of Vienna—which was formerly the city hall—a man dressed like a lawyer rose and spoke loudly, "No, the government's financial funds belong to all Austrians! We have no right to use them!"
His face covered in bruises, Steffens added, "Even if we are to use that money, it must at least be put to a vote and passed by the parliament."
He had been rescued from the Secret Police prison in the Eastern District a week ago, and had quickly joined the Assembly Preparatory Committee.
Hilt whispered, "In truth, the gold coins in the vaults of the Imperial Treasury should also be sealed first. Looting is a crime, no matter the circumstances."
Lukas cast a cold glance at him.
Without the 1,200,000 Florins in gold coins from the vaults of the Schonbrunn Palace, the provisional national government would have gone bankrupt by now. It was precisely this money that provided funding for the Constitutional Committee and the Assembly Preparatory Committee, as well as pensions for the casualties of the Student Militia.
Of course, the bulk of it was spent on subsidies for bread in Vienna. Currently, the national government had taken control of all the bakeries in the city, with the government bearing the operational losses.
Lukas walked to the wooden platform at the front of the hall and declared with a solemn expression, "If we do not confiscate the taxes in the Vienna City Bank, we might very well not survive to see the parliament established!"
The Radical Faction, represented by Lukas and the leaders of the Student Militia, believed it should be confiscated immediately, while Hilt and several aristocrats strongly opposed the move.
Indeed, if they waited for the parliament to be established, the allocation of this money would require balancing the interests of the councilors from different factions. If they confiscated it directly now, most of it would fall into the hands of the National Guard.
The lawyer who had spoken earlier stood up again. "If we negotiate with the Emperor, there will be no need to establish a National Guard of tens of thousands, and thus no need to waste millions of Florins in funding."
"Negotiate?" Lukas sneered. "Do you truly believe a tyrant would ever allow a genuine parliament to exist? I tell you, to preserve his power, the Emperor would not hesitate to slaughter everyone in Vienna!"
"No, no, His Imperial Majesty already knows our strength now. He will compromise..."
As the two sides argued heatedly, waves of shouting echoed from outside the assembly hall. Lukas and the others, having just experienced the massive city-wide protests in Vienna, could easily tell that at least a thousand people had gathered out there.
A moment later, an administrator jogged in and reported to the crowd, "The citizens say they want a citizen named Adorno to join the Assembly Preparatory Committee."
Lukas looked at the others. "Who is he?"
The lawyer shook his head. The journalists shook their heads. The university professors shook their heads. The factory owners shook their heads. The aristocrats shook their heads as well.
Having no other choice, Lukas led a few members of the preparatory committee to the entrance of the assembly hall. There, he saw a man wearing a patched gray linen coat and loose black trousers, surrounded and pushed to the very front by the crowd.
He bowed slightly to the young man. "You must be Mr. Adorno?"
The latter appeared extremely awkward, bowing with an exaggerated motion as he stammered, "Yes, I am..."
"It seems you are highly respected by everyone."
A lame veteran standing behind Adorno shouted, "That day, it was Mr. Adorno who braved a hundred muskets to be the first to charge into the Royal Arsenal!"
"He even carried Rinek's head to lead us in the march!"
"He is a hero of Vienna! He belongs in the parliament!"
"That's right! We support him!"
These citizens still could not tell the difference between the parliament and the Assembly Preparatory Committee. They simply felt that in this institution, which was described as the most sacred, there had to be someone who could speak for them.
While Lukas hesitated, Hilt stepped forward, sizing Adorno up. "My... worker friend."
He placed heavy emphasis on the word 'worker.' "Your enthusiasm is very moving to us. However, first, may I be so bold as to ask: are you literate?"
Austria's literacy rate was not nearly as high as France's, and someone dressed like Adorno was highly likely to be illiterate.
Sure enough, Adorno kept his eyes fixed on the floor and shook his head.
A flash of disdain crossed Hilt's eyes as he continued, "Then do you have any understanding of law, philosophy, military affairs, or finance?"
Adorno suddenly realized that the expression of the man before him was somewhat familiar.
He quickly recalled that the noble who had forced him to kneel in the past for blocking his path had worn the exact same expression.
His hands began to tremble as a deep, inexplicable wave of fear welled up in his heart.
He suddenly caught sight of Mr. Steffens nearby and let out a sigh of relief, looking toward him for help.
However, the teacher made no response. He did not know him at all.
Adorno's lips trembled, but in the end, he could not utter a single word. He turned, pushed through the crowd, and fled from this unfamiliar place.
Lukas and the others quickly forgot this minor interlude. After debating in the assembly hall for two more days, they ultimately decided to leave the money in the Vienna City Bank untouched for now, under the condition that several factory owners and merchants agreed to provide 400,000 Florins in funding.
The recruitment scale of the National Guard would also be capped at 40,000 men.
Meanwhile, in Brno, hundreds of kilometers away, Franz II was shouting at his court officials, "Tell Karl to return to Vienna immediately!
"Oh, and place the army in Switzerland under his command as well! There are nearly 50,000 soldiers there. Combined with Karl's New Army, it will be more than enough to completely sweep those rebels from the Empire's soil!"
Previously, Archduke Charles had been organizing defenses in Klagenfurt and training the New Army there.
He was the sharpest sword of the House of Habsburg.
Beside him, Count Spielmann hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, but doing so will cause the situation in Switzerland to spiral out of control."
"I cannot concern myself with that anymore!" Franz II's mind was filled with images of the mob surrounding the Imperial Palace. Had he not had prior experience escaping Vienna, he might have been kidnapped by them already.
He then recalled that the rebels in Vienna had announced a few days ago that they would recruit over 80,000 troops, which made him frown again.
He immediately commanded, "Furthermore, order Hungary, Bohemia, and Croatia to send all of their forces to reach Vienna in the shortest time possible!"
In this way, he could assemble an army of at least 120,000, ensuring there would be absolutely no room for error in suppressing the rebellion.
Metternich stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, currently the greatest hidden danger is that other nations might provide support to the rebel forces.
"I believe we must initiate diplomatic mediation as soon as possible to prevent such an occurrence.
"If all goes well, we might even secure assistance from other nations. After all, no king is free from the worry that they, too, might face a similar rebellion."
Franz II nodded in deep agreement. "You must head to the United Kingdom immediately. No, go to Saxony first."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Metternich bowed before adding, "But I suggest we might also try reaching out to the French."
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