Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Closing the Net

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

On March 19, 1848, Frederick William IV was forced to announce the abolition of the censorship of publications and correspondences and issued diplomatic memoranda to the German States, calling for a meeting of the Confederation.

On March 23, Frederick William IV further proclaimed the incorporation of Prussia into Germany.

The hopes of Metternich, who advocated for the establishment of a Prussia-Austria-Russia Alliance, were shattered, and Prussia’s diplomatic relations with Austria and Russia worsened dramatically.

If Germany was to become united, Austria was an obstacle that could not be circumvented. The most central issue was who would take the lead?

In terms of strength, Austria seemed to be just a tad stronger than Prussia; however, due to domestic issues, it did not hold an absolute advantage over Prussia; in terms of influence, Austria far surpassed Prussia.

Historically, the Chancellor of Iron and Blood, Bismarck, had identified this issue early on. He first used diplomacy to isolate Austria and then took advantage of the immediate aftermath of the Austria-France war to defeat Austria and kick it out of Germany.

The actions of Frederick William IV now undoubtedly exposed Prussia’s ambition to unify Germany, something that Austria could not tolerate.

The Russians also found this unacceptable. The Tsarist Government did not wish to see a unified Central Europe, as it would undermine their dominance in Europe.

Against this backdrop, Russia-Austria relations began to warm up. Franz received good news; Tsar Nicholas I publicly declared his willingness to help Austria suppress the revolution in Italy.

Although this support was only verbal, and Russia would not send troops to assist Austria against the Kingdom of Sardinia, it was enough for Franz.

Since the Anti-French War, Europe had seen the emergence of two major powers—England and Russia, standing side by side. With the support of the Russians, the British would not risk a full-scale war to support Sardinia.

“Prime Minister, we can close the net now,” Franz said calmly

“Yes, Your Highness!” Felix responded

Prague

“Mr. Rehn, quick, there’s terrible trouble!”

“Kolsen, calmly, what happened?” the man named Rehn asked with concern

“The Austrian Government has decided to execute Vila and more than a hundred political prisoners—they will all be executed in three days!” Kolsen said in panic

This was undoubtedly the worst outcome. Such large-scale executions of political prisoners were rare in Europe, especially when the group included capitalists and nobility.

Rehn fell silent; he was no juvenile idealist. The sudden hardening stance of the Austrian Government was clearly not normal.

But he could not just leave them unrescued, or else the spirit of the people would scatter, and the team could no longer be led.

The revolutionary fervor of the people in the Czech region was inherently low; they could only rely on capitalists and nobility to instigate a revolution. If they did not take effective measures soon, it wouldn’t be long before these individuals would switch sides.

Historically, the Prague Uprising erupted and was quickly suppressed because the local nobility and capitalists realized that there was no future in mixing with the Revolutionary Party and promptly betrayed them.

To incite the public to revolt?

Well, that was something best left as a thought. The revolutionaries in the Czech region were primarily the offspring of capitalists and branches of the nobility; at worst, they were from the middle class.

They wanted a revolution to protect their rights and interests; sacrificing their benefits to rally the lower classes was not an option.

In history, the ability to suppress the Hungarian rebellion by organizing troops in the Czech region after suppressing the Prague Uprising showed where the people’s hearts lay.

“How many troops are left in the city?” Rehn asked with concern.

“I heard the Italian battlefield is tight, and yesterday another two thousand were transferred out from here. There can’t be more than eighteen hundred soldiers left in the city,” the man with the glasses said in a low voice.

“Is the information reliable?” Rehn asked with concern.

“I heard it this morning while chatting casually with a friend from the City Defense Army. It should be reliable. Troop movements can’t fool people!” the man with the glasses explained.

“Mr. Rehn, this information should be accurate. Just yesterday, I saw troops leaving the city, and they haven’t returned yet!” Kolsen added.

“Good, let’s get ready right away. We’ll make our move the evening after next and overthrow this rotten Austrian Empire to establish an independent Czech Republic!” Rehn said passionately.

“Mr. Rehn, how do we solve the issue with weapons? We can’t possibly overthrow the Austrian Government with just the few dozen guns we have in our hands, can we?” an elderly man asked.

As a Conservative in the Revolutionary Party, he opposed the most extreme forms of armed revolution. If it weren’t for the Austrian Government’s mass killings this time, he wouldn’t have agreed to the uprising.

“I can try to gather twenty guns from relatives and friends!” the man with glasses offered.

“I can get a dozen or so guns from my house too!” Kolsen thought for a moment and said.

And so, everyone chimed in with numbers, and in a moment’s time, the weaponry for an infantry battalion was accounted for.

Clearly, the recent policies introduced by the Vienna Government had greatly dissatisfied the local nobility, otherwise the Revolutionaries wouldn’t have been able to acquire weapons and equipment.

A premeditated rebellion thus began in a jesting manner. All members of the Revolutionary Party were volunteers, with no coercive force between them, relying solely on the charisma of their leaders.

Secrecy was impossible; the Czech Revolutionary Party was a makeshift group, with all sorts welcome to join.

Those who attended the meeting were considered high-status and reliable. In reality, however, the content of the meeting was transcribed into policy and sent to Prince Windischgrätz that very night after the meeting ended.

If they wanted to extinguish this rebellion, the police in the Region of Prague could have done so.

Clearly, this was not what the Vienna Government wanted. If they arrested people now, before the rebellion occurred, they would only catch small fry, leaving the masterminds behind, which would pose a serious threat to the future governance of the Czech region.

Prince Windischgrätz acted as if he knew nothing. He even organized an outdoor drill before the revolution broke out, during which most of the police and army in Prague participated.

On April 12, 1848, seizing the opportunity of Prince Windischgrätz’s absence, the Prague Uprising erupted. With the cooperation of local nobility and capitalists, they successfully captured the city of Prague.

“Mr. Rehn, it’s terrible—the armory is empty. It’s said that corrupt officials in the government sold all the ammunition. What do we do now?” Kolsen said in panic.

This claim was simply ridiculous. Even if the corruption in the Austrian Government was severe, it wasn’t possible for them to have sold off all the weapons and ammunition.

“We’ve been used as pawns!”

That was his first reaction. The uprising had gone suspiciously smoothly; they’d faced almost no resistance in taking Prague. If he couldn’t understand that now, Rehn would be a fool..

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