Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 363

Chapter 363: Chapter 50, The Ruthlessness of a Mob
Vienna Palace, after the letter to Maximilian was sent out, Franz no longer paid attention to the issue of Mexico.

There have been many recent events, and the Prusso-Russian War had tied up too much energy. John Bull wasn’t staying quiet either and had started causing trouble on the African Continent.

Seeing France and Austria aggressively expanding, they could no longer sit still. Hindered by the rebellion in India in the previous years, the London Government didn’t have the resources to come and create issues.

Merely relying on civilian colonial teams was obviously not competitive against France and Austria. A colonial team of a few hundred perishing on the African Continent is nothing out of the ordinary.

With France and Austria having gained the upper hand, they both trained their own enforcers. Recently, in the Zimbabwe region, Anglo-Austria encountered armed conflict, and then thousands of black men stormed into the South African colony, turning the place upside down.

The London Government filed a strong protest against Vienna. Fortunately, the colonial government knew their limits and only manipulated the local native tribes to strike at the British, without personally entering the fray.

The British had no evidence that it was Austria’s doing, and the two governments could only slowly quibble over the matter. As for the heavily damaged South African Colonial Company, that was beyond Franz’s considerations.

Colonizing Africa is a high-risk business—if one can’t bear the losses, it’s best to leave early. Almost every year, Austria has to endure four-digit casualties just to establish a foothold in African colonies.

These people either die in battle in the process of establishing colonies, or from disease—if one can’t bear the casualties, then it’s best to stay in the coastal areas, as venturing inland comes with a price to pay.

While some civilian colonial teams strike it rich, more often, they suffer heavy losses. Achieving a balance between income and expenditure is incredibly difficult.

To speak bluntly, in this era, unless precious metal deposits are discovered, it’s impossible to become overnight millionaires through colonization on the African Continent.

Most civilian colonial teams, upon finding no gold or silver mines, engage in the business of labor export, clearing the land and then selling it to the colonial government.

Long-term management is not something ordinary teams can handle. Once the active capital is exhausted, they move on. Many are hopeful for the discovery of a gold mine to become overnight millionaires.

Honestly developing plantations and slowly profiting from them is suitable only for teams with substantial wealth.

Think about it—a thousand-man colonial team can take possession of tens of thousands of square kilometers of land. What do they rely on for development?

Coal mines, iron mines, copper mines… such resources, invaluable in later ages, held no value at all for mining in this era.

Unable to refine on-site, transporting them back to Europe would incur astronomical costs.

To construct factories and develop these resources in the colonies, setting aside the unclear prospects of profitability, just the massive investment alone is unaffordable for anyone.

Labor costs in the colonies are even higher than back home, and there’s a lack of labor everywhere. After migrating, people usually work hard for a few years, earn money, and then go invest in farms.

This is a habit of the German People—a tradition that resulted in Germans becoming farm owners in later periods in the United States.

Until the problem of labor shortage is resolved, industrial development in the colonies is impossible. Of course, Franz also has no plans to develop industry in the colonies.

Anyway, Austria’s colonial resources are basically intrinsically limited. For example, where there is an abundance of coal mines, there is a lack of iron mines, and in regions rich in iron, there is no coal.

Without solving the transportation issues, there’s no future in developing industry in the colonies. Unless Austria experiences severe excess in capital that must be exported, these issues are unlikely to be resolved.

In the short term, the most suitable economy to develop is agriculture. By opening plantations along the banks of rivers, the Vienna Government constantly encourages everyone to grow cash crops.

Especially industrial raw materials that are not available in Austria and need to be imported, such as: rubber plantations, cotton, palm oil…

(Note: Rubber was not only used for car tires but was widely used even before the invention of cars, for example, umbrellas, raincoats, rubber boots, plastic pipes, equipment parts…)

Its uses are very broad, and before the advent of synthetic rubber, there was no need to worry about the market.)

…

Intelligence chief Tyren reported, “Your Majesty, according to the intelligence we have collected, many members of revolutionary organizations who had fled to the United States have recently returned to Europe.

Among them are the Hungarian Independence Organization, the Italian Independent Organization, and the Polish Independence Organization, all of which are revolutionary groups that could potentially trouble us.

For now, we’ve only managed to track down the Polish Independence Organization. They’ve nearly made a public appearance, soliciting funds on the European Continent in support of the Polish Revolutionary Army.”

In the distant United States, it’s naturally impossible for an intelligence organization to keep tabs on these individuals, as information travels too slowly.

Even though the first transatlantic telegraph cable was laid in 1858, it would not truly link Europe and America until the second undersea cable was completed in 1866.

(Due to technical issues, there’s no guarantee of constant connectivity, and there is a certain chance of errors occurring.)

Moreover, this telegraph line is under American control. Should the Federal government wish to blockade news, it could not be transmitted at all or it could even end up completely distorted.

However, the situation is different once you enter Europe. Any messages that are not intentionally blocked by the governments can be sent through telegraph.

These active revolutionary organizations all but wish their notoriety were insufficient, and their leaders are almost household names. Just one appearance would draw the attention of interested parties.

Franz spoke with disdain, “The Americans are at their wits’ end, as if such a rabble could be of any use. Report this to the police department and let them handle this bunch of riff-raff.”

In this era, there aren’t many revolutionary groups with combat ability—most are all talk, especially the French Revolutionary Party, who have achieved victory through rhetoric before.

The French February Revolution was filled with drama; everyone marched and chanted slogans and, in confusion, overthrew the Orleans Dynasty, with the Revolutionary Party unprepared to receive power.

The unexpected fruits of victory stunned many, causing internal power struggles within the Revolutionary Party that they couldn’t extricate themselves from, which created an opportunity for the rise of Napoleon III.

Out of all the revolutionary groups, the Polish are the most combat-ready—not because they are overly diligent, but mostly because they have too many supporters.

Each country in Europe contributes a little, and a new armed group is established. For example, even Austria, which usually stays in the background, contributed over eight hundred armed personnel to join the Polish uprising.

Of course, this was mainly because the Vienna Government wanted to eliminate unstable elements by sending Poles inclined towards the Polish Independence Organization off to be killed at the hands of the Russians.

Not wanting to personally act and ignite ethnic conflicts, disturbing the current domestic stability. Compared to that, causing trouble for the Russians was of secondary concern.

Franz was not so petty; even if he wanted to stab Russia, he would choose a bigger knife to do so.

Aside from the Polish, other revolutionary groups generally lacked significant armed forces.

Franz had never even heard of Garibaldi’s organization, the Italian National Salvation Army, and was naturally unaware that they intended to stage an armed uprising in the Southern Italy region.

An independence organization that had never made any significant moves being overlooked was an inevitable situation.

Even the Hungarian Independence Organization, usually in the background but known for their bluster, had come to Franz’s attention, which just goes to show that in this era, one must boast to be noticed!

This oversight directly led to the tragedy of Naples. Otherwise, had the Vienna Government reminded them, perhaps they could have nipped Garibaldi’s Salvation Army in the bud right from the start.

…

Montenegro Duchy, the leaders of the Hungarian Independence Organization gathered together to discuss strategies. The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive—clearly, they had not received good news.

Stephen spoke up, “Everyone knows the situation. Any suggestions?”

Bukias said angrily, “What suggestions could there be? Hungary is now just a geographical term, and we Magyar people have become a minority—moreover, a despised minority by the locals.

Austrian Ethnicity, God! Who can tell me since when did the great Hungary have such an ethnicity?”

Remote control from a distance of thousands of miles is completely different from being on the spot. At such a far distance, it’s not easy to transmit a message even once.

The Hungarian Independence Organization was originally a salted fish organization scamming for funds, and those sent out on missions were repeatedly admonished to prioritize safety first.

It wasn’t out of deep comradery. On one hand, they feared falling into the hands of the Vienna Government and spilling all secrets; on the other hand, their numbers were too few to afford any losses.

For the most part, they established their stronghold in the Kingdom of Sardinia. Because of the Ausa relations, even if their identities were exposed, the Sardinian Government would notify them to flee immediately.

In any case, it was just about plastering up small ads and spreading revolutionary thoughts. In the Kingdom of Sardinia, they just needed to cheat some naive youths into doing it for them. With the hatred for Ausa and the lure of money, there was no shortage of people willing to join.

As long as one was careful and cautious, the chance of being caught was extremely low. In later eras when surveillance was ubiquitous, small ads could still not be eradicated, let alone in this time period.

At this time, a middle-aged man dissatisfiedly said, “Mr. Bukias, I have already reported the issue regarding the Austrian Ethnicity to the organization before.”

Indeed, he had reported it, but they did not take it seriously. To many, this seemed like the Vienna Government was only deceiving itself.

Normally, this would be the case, but what they neglected was the existence of compulsory education. It was not easy to cheat adults, but children were a different story.

With education from a young age in isolation, after a few years their worldview defined them as Austrians, a branch of the Teuton ethnicity, the South Austria People.

The older generation hadn’t even a concept of what ethnicity they were, and given that the Vienna Government had granted them land, their identification with Austria was at its peak. They saw no issue in considering themselves Austrians.

Under such circumstances, the Magyar ethnicity played the role of the hated party.

Because some family members had participated in the Hungarian independence movement, they were stripped of their titles, fiefs, and properties, becoming commoners; and being the former oppressors of the local people, they were naturally ostracized.

Decades had passed, and the past glory and pride were long gone, but as relatives of the Rebels, close surveillance was still inescapable.

Those with connections changed their ethnicity and moved away from the area. After all, they were not truly Magyar People; they had joined for interests, so switching identities now came without pressure.

Then, in the era of rapid Austrian population growth, the number of Magyars was quickly diminishing, less than a third of what it had been at its peak.

A small number was one thing; being dispersed and settled sparsely was another. One or two households in a village—did they dare cause trouble without fearing suppression by their neighbors?

This was very detrimental to the Hungarian Independence Organization. Initially, these victims of power struggles were the most likely to become one of their members. Unfortunately, given the current situation, these people could barely stir up any waves.

Even without many years passing, this ethnicity could only be seen in history books.

An elder interjected, “Alright, let’s not dwell on this issue. There may be quite a few within Austria displeased with the Vienna Government, but those willing to join us in an uprising are exceedingly rare.

Those who would like to see Hungary’s independence, we need not think about it, we know. Apart from the Magyar People, probably only some Italians remain.

I propose we abandon operations in the Hungarian Region and shift our revolutionary base to the Italian Area. The Americans just need to see results; they won’t care whether the uprising erupted in the Hungarian Region or the Italian Area.”

Stephen objected, “Mr. Mariotte, do you think we have the capability to initiate an uprising in the Italian Area?

Perhaps we have some connections back at home, but these people are all our friends and family. I know you don’t want to drag them into this, and neither do I.

But the operations must continue, even if just for show. Over the years, we’ve taken quite a bit of money from the Americans, and it wouldn’t look good without any action.”

Mariotte shook his head and said, “Ever since Austria annexed the Serbia region, Hungary has become the hinterland. I have no way to launch an uprising there.

But in their border regions, it’s different. Over the years, our organization has established some foundations in Sardinia and can exploit the Ausa conflict to create a case.

For example: we could cheat a group of People of Sardinian into attacking the Kingdom of Lombardy, or perhaps go to a tavern and find a bunch of drunks to cause trouble.

As long as we stir up some noise and take a few photos, I can tell the Americans that this is about provoking conflict between France and Austria.

We can even put on a show of a diversionary tactic, deliberately taking some injuries to prove that we truly have suffered heavy losses and can no longer continue the uprising.

No matter how it goes, I am old and can’t take the strain anymore. After this matter, I’m retiring and will no longer inquire about the organization’s affairs.”

Bluffing was their profession, and faking was their mastery. Mariotte had no intention of actually provoking a France and Austria conflict; if that truly happened, it would mean not being able to return to America.

Now, the Federal government certainly doesn’t have the confidence to shelter them. Once France and Austria apply pressure, the likelihood of them being sold out is ninety-nine percent.

Stephen rebuked loudly, “Mr. Mariotte, do not forget the oaths we once made; before the independence of Hungary, no one can leave the organization.”

Escape was out of the question. Stephen had long made up his mind: either everyone would land safely and enjoy their later years, or they would all be ruined together—he was not going to be the scapegoat.

As the head of the Hungarian Independence Organization, Stephen had no way to retire. Apart from the sophomoric teenagers who joined later, the upper echelons were all considering their exit strategies.

If the Magyars were a great nation, perhaps they could continue to persevere. Regrettably, even during the peak of the Hungarian Republic, their population was only about six hundred thousand.

The rest of the Hungarians were actively excluded by them. If, as in history, they had not been caught in one fell swoop, they could have slowly absorbed the lower classes to strengthen the Magyar ethnicity.

Now it was no longer possible. Those who participated in and supported Hungarian independence were directly ruined, while sympathizers were also excluded from the center of power.

In the fragmented Kingdom of Hungary, the Vienna Government had directly dispatched civil servants to manage it, strictly implementing policies of ethnic integration, giving no room for the local nobility to intervene.

Even if they were to rise again, they were not allowed to hold office locally. The idea of pulling off a covert operation was now utterly impossible.

Mariotte slammed his hand on the table, entering the mode of verbal bombardment, “Stephen, spare me the nonsense. Where is Hungary now?

Save these delusions of Hungarian independence to fool idiots! We’re not oblivious to the reality, are we?

It has all been for the sake of wrestling power from the Vienna Government from the start. We all agreed to negotiate slowly to avoid provoking Vienna and causing an uncontrollable situation.

Yet, seeing Austria’s weakness, Kossuth boasted about the benefits of independence, blinding everyone with self-interest, prompting them to irrationally rush into the revolution.

In the end, independence was indeed achieved, and the Republic was established. Only, before Hungary could revive, Austria’s army came over and attacked.

Over these years in the United States, you’ve made quite a fortune as well. It’s time to back off. If you keep stirring trouble, there will come a day when you’ll be exposed, and then do you think the Americans will let you go?”

Stephen was so angry he almost rushed up to beat this impudent old fool. Didn’t he want to back off too? The problem was, the Americans wouldn’t agree!

Taking money without doing the work? Where in the world does such a good deal exist? Although they hadn’t caused any major commotions in recent years, they never abandoned their propaganda efforts.

Regardless of the actual impact, at the very least, they had put in some hard work. They brought political benefits to the Americans, which could prove the superiority of the American system.

Without the Hungarian Independence Organization’s protection, why would those sitting here be able to live a life of wealth in the United States? Keep in mind, when they initially went into exile, they were all penny-poor.

Their first pot of gold was the support from the Federal government, and with these funds, they got through the initial crisis and began their path of verbal grandstanding.

Giving speeches everywhere, cheating to raise funds—this money was not invested in the Hungarian independence cause but became their private wealth, used for investments and real estate in the United States.

Sensing danger at this time and wanting to withdraw, others may exit, but Stephen, the leader of the Hungarian Independence Organization, had no such option.

He had been packaged as a revolutionary; one step back was an abyss. Otherwise, Stephen would have long wanted to dissolve the Hungarian Independence Organization and live the decayed life of a wealthy pensioner.

Stephen asked coldly with a sneer, “Mr. Mariotte, I know you’re plotting, so tell me, how should we withdraw now?”

“It all depends on whether you’re ruthless enough!”

The moment Mariotte’s words fell, the temperature in the room seemed to drop to negative ten degrees, and everyone’s faces turned pale.

Ruthlessness surely didn’t mean death for the people present; otherwise, Mariotte wouldn’t have boldly stated it. Thus, the ones to be sacrificed could only be the lower-ranking members of the organization.

Under what circumstances would “a revolutionary” give up?

…