Chapter 931: Leaving Home
Joseph looked at the Austrian envoy and continued, "You mentioned those Liberals?
"Hmm, if I recall correctly, they seemed to cause quite a stir in France a few years ago.
"But where are they now?
"In my cabinet, in the Tax Bureau, in the Police Bureau—there are Liberals serving everywhere. They work diligently for me and for this country.
"You can go and ask them if they wish to devour me.
"I'd wager that if the Austrian Liberals actually came to France, they would only be thinking, 'Wow, it would be nice to buy a house here.'"
Count Morzin fell into a deep silence.
He realized that matters would likely unfold exactly as the French Crown Prince had described.
The Liberals would destroy Austria, destroy Prussia, destroy Saxony...
In fact, if the Liberals tied down the Imperial military forces, it would be an extremely favorable situation for France.
As this realization dawned on him, his pupils suddenly constricted.
It turned out that the trump card he had prepared was actually nothing more than a noose tightened around the Empire's neck.
He had to reach a ceasefire agreement with the French as quickly as possible, before they noticed this point.
He quickly gathered the two pamphlets from the table, tucked them into his pocket, and bowed to Joseph.
"Your Highness, I shall bring your requirements back to Vienna immediately.
"Furthermore, Count Kaunitz suggested that in order to reduce the destruction of the war on both our countries, it would be best to hold ceasefire negotiations within half a month."
Indeed, it would take him about a week to return to Vienna—if he traveled day and night—and the negotiation representatives would have to set out immediately in a relay.
Joseph flashed a smile. "I admire Count Kaunitz's attitude toward pursuing peace.
"Then let it be in half a month. Let the location for the negotiations be the city of Venice."
...
One week later.
Vienna.
Baron Thugut glanced at the list of participants in the riots, casually signed his name, and then looked toward the main road north of his office with an uneasy mind.
For some reason, he had felt lately that some bad news would arrive from that direction.
In fact, he had already vaguely sensed that something was wrong on the Emperor's side.
Baron Walter had gone silent. Count Rheinfels and others had not been summoned by His Majesty for a long time. Meanwhile, two ministers from the Kaunitz faction were suspected of having gone to the Emperor's temporary palace.
Thugut had written a letter the day before yesterday requesting to go to Brno, but His Majesty had yet to reply, so he could only continue waiting in Vienna.
'At worst, I'll just have to resign,' he thought, shaking his head.
The responsibility for the failure of the war would mostly fall on him, and he had long been mentally prepared for it.
He had already made plans; after resigning, he would go to Hanover or Denmark to serve as a minister. In a few years, when the domestic situation improved, he would return to seek another position.
Just then, his assistant suddenly burst in, drenched in sweat. He turned back to close the door firmly before lowering his voice.
"Sir, news just arrived from Brno. His Majesty the Emperor has decided to seek a ceasefire with France."
The so-called "seeking a ceasefire" was a euphemism, tantamount to preparing for surrender.
Baron Thugut was instantly struck with shock. He lunged out of his chair, grabbed his coat, and ran toward the door. "Prepare the carriage! I must see His Majesty!"
The Emperor had suddenly made such a massive decision as Austria's surrender without even consulting him, the Minister of State.
He had to see the Emperor in person.
The next day at noon, just as Thugut's carriage passed through the far outskirts of Vienna, a servant bought that day's Vienna Daily from a nearby town and brought it over.
When Thugut saw the headline on the front page, his mind exploded with a thunderous crack: "Minister of State Baron Thugut Advises His Majesty the Emperor to Seek Peace with France."
God as his witness, he had been staying in Vienna this entire time. How could he have possibly advised the Emperor to surrender?
This was naturally Cobentzel's handiwork.
With the three major families joining forces, controlling the news was child's play.
Of course, this also had the tacit approval of Franz II.
The Emperor knew that someone had to bear the public's fury triggered by Austria's surrender.
And Thugut was the perfect candidate.
By the following evening, when Baron Thugut finally arrived in Brno, covered in the dust of the road, the first news he received was that His Majesty the Emperor had officially dismissed him from his post as Minister of State earlier that day.
Cobentzel had become his successor.
At dawn, Thugut attempted to seek an audience with Franz II, but the latter refused.
A group of young nobles outside the temporary palace recognized Thugut and immediately rushed forward to beat him. Fortunately, Thugut's driver reacted quickly and drove off at once, allowing him to escape the ordeal.
...
Vienna.
Baron Schérer handed his manuscript to a man with his hat brim pulled low, and then accepted a payment of two Florins from the man's hand.
He returned home in a daze, only to see that his wife had already moved all their luggage onto the carriage.
Schérer went inside one last time to confirm they hadn't left anything behind, then climbed into the carriage.
He had already sold this house. He had even sold the land in Trenheim Village.
His younger son had been arrested for participating in the riots, and Schérer, implicated by the matter, had lost his job at the City Hall. His eldest son's pension had been confiscated by the Military Commission, and even his noble title had nearly been stripped away.
Later, Count Colombier had helped him pull some strings, saying that the trial date for his son Lukas could be delayed. If he could raise enough money before then, it might be possible to avoid the death penalty of beheading.
He had one year to come up with 3,000 Florins to feed those greedy judges.
3,000 Florins again. He seemed cursed by that number.
Schérer had sold all his family property, yet he had only managed to scrap together less than 1,300 Florins.
Then his wife remembered that she had a cousin in Reims, France, who had made some money over the years in the cosmetics business.
So, they decided to go and beg him for a loan to save Lukas.
In any case, Schérer no longer had a job in Vienna. It was said that salaries at newspapers in France were quite high, so he could earn some money there as well.
He had previously served as a clerk at City Hall and knew how to write articles; it wouldn't be difficult to find work at a newspaper.
Recently, he had written more than ten drafts for a mysterious organization and earned nearly 30 Florins.
As Baron Schérer's carriage drove out of Vienna's outer city, he saw many people gathered by the roadside, burning straw effigies of Baron Thugut or Baron Walter while shouting curses incessantly.
Currently, the city of Vienna was still under martial law, so people could only run to the outskirts to vent their frustrations.
From the people's curses, Schérer gradually pieced together the full story: Austria would surrender to France in Venice. And the one who had made the decision to surrender was Baron Thugut.
He frowned and pulled the carriage curtains shut. He took out paper and pen, thought for a moment, and leaned over the small wooden table in the carriage to write a title: Vienna: A Purgatory of Sin, Corruption, and Debauchery.
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