As ship after ship set sail, the centuries-old foundation accumulated by the Kingdom of Prussia was quietly hollowed out by Franz. No, this no longer had anything to do with Prussia. This land was now under Russian control, and the close cooperation between Russia and Austria was purely a matter of mutual benefit. The Russian government eliminated potential threats and stabilized the local situation, while Austria gained an increase in its core ethnic population. It was a situation where both sides emerged as winners. As a result, Russo-Austrian relations became even more harmonious. As a testament to their friendship, the two governments recently agreed to a two-year extension on loan repayments. It was a purely goodwill gesture with no political strings attached. Since the agreement, trade in the Baltic region between Russia and Austria has flourished. Benefiting from this boom, Austrian international shipping companies were the first to recover from the economic crisis, with countless vessels shuttling between the Baltic Sea and Austrian colonies daily. Following closely behind were agricultural and consumer goods industries. The surge in immigration stimulated increased consumption, pulling these businesses back from the brink of bankruptcy. The price for this recovery was that the Austrian National Bank had issued tens of millions of guilders in settlement loans to immigrants, artificially creating a consumer market. … A gunshot in Lyon shattered the tranquility of the European continent. Since the Revolutions of 1848, the revolutionary tide in Europe had once again been ignited. France naturally became the epicenter of the turmoil. From Paris to Rome, revolutionary pamphlets and slogans were everywhere, much like the small advertisements plastered on utility poles in later generations. “Extinguishing the flames” became the top priority of the French government. The police and military had no time for leave as everyone was busy around the clock. Inspired by the revolutionary wave, various revolutionary groups across Europe responded in succession: February 11, 1882 – An uprising erupted in Madrid, the capital of Spain. February 13, 1882 – Dockworkers in Antwerp, Belgium’s largest port and industrial city, launched a revolt. February 13, 1882 – Coal miners in Luxembourg staged an uprising. February 21, 1882 – A peasant rebellion broke out in Switzerland. March 1, 1882 – Textile workers revolted in London. March 7, 1882 – The Irish independence movement flared up. March 12, 1882 – A bourgeois revolution erupted in Portugal. March 17, 1882 – A Polish uprising against Russian rule began. … In less than two months, Europe had witnessed over a hundred revolutions, both large and small, with more than half of its industrial cities experiencing strikes. It was as if, overnight, the continent had returned to the era of revolutions. Watching others suffer misfortune was amusing, but when trouble came knocking on one’s own door, it became unbearable. As the leader of the capitalist world, Austria was not spared from the chaos. In the past two months, the Austrian government had successively suppressed the Milan textile workers’ uprising, the Venetian independence movement, and the Saxon copper miners’ revolt, while also uncovering dozens of revolutionary conspiracies. Even Franz was deeply shaken. He had never imagined that so many rebels were lurking within his own realm. There was no doubt that more than 80% of these revolutionaries were supported by hostile foreign forces, with at least two-thirds of them being the handiwork of the British. However, to Franz’s relief, Vienna remained remarkably stable throughout this revolutionary wave. Not only was there no sign of an uprising, but even strikes had not occurred. At this moment, Franz began to understand why, in later generations, European countries pursued deindustrialization. During normal times, it was manageable, but when an economic crisis hit, the manufacturing sector suffered devastating blows. Labor-intensive industries, in particular, were nothing short of a disaster. When products couldn’t be sold, businesses had to lay off workers to survive. During an economic crisis, finding a new job was extremely difficult, yet workers still needed to make a living. Thus, conflicts arose. Other industries were also affected, but since they employed fewer people and were not as concentrated as large factories, any crises that emerged were more dispersed. Theoretically, as long as no one deliberately stirred up trouble, a colonial empire like Austria could avoid a full-scale revolution. If there were no job opportunities domestically, the unemployed could be relocated to overseas colonies. Generally speaking, as long as people had options, they wouldn’t resort to extreme measures. Thinking of this, Franz gritted his teeth in hatred for John Bull. To retaliate against the British, he immediately decided to increase support for Irish independence groups and the British revolutionaries. In a way, this revolutionary wave sweeping across Europe was simply the result of the great powers stabbing each other in the back. Chancellor Felix stated, “Your Majesty, we have just received reports that approximately 5,000 people in the Silesian refugee camp have launched a protest, demanding that the government intervene against Russian atrocities and rescue those being oppressed—” Before Felix could finish his sentence, Franz furiously threw his cup to the ground. “A protest? Since when do criminals have the right to protest?” Indeed, the individuals in the refugee camp had entered illegally. Defining them as criminals under the law was perfectly justified. Since the number of people involved was too large, the Austrian government did not classify all of them as criminals but instead punished the ringleaders. This protest was, without a doubt, a direct challenge to Franz’s bottom line. Complaining about Russian atrocities and protesting to the Austrian government, wasn’t that utterly ridiculous? Austria was not the world’s police. What right did it have to interfere in another nation’s internal affairs? If it recklessly meddled, it would only be a matter of time before someone struck back. While the Austrian government had already resettled most of the refugees, there were still 200,000 people stranded in the camps, waiting for relocation. Franz sneered, “Deport all protest participants back to the Russian Empire. Let Alexander III have them plant potatoes. Dismiss all officials responsible and hold them accountable. Send an investigative team to thoroughly examine the situation. I refuse to believe this protest was spontaneous.” The refugee camps were under strict military management. The fact that a protest had broken out suggested, without a doubt, negligence or collusion from the administrators. Franz would never believe otherwise. To be blunt, if the camp authorities didn’t allow it, the refugees wouldn’t even receive news of what was happening outside. These officials weren’t idle either. Franz had even ordered the construction of border walls. Not for security reasons, but simply to keep the refugees busy with work, preventing them from stirring up trouble out of boredom. Yet, despite all precautions, trouble still came knocking. For the sake of long-term stability, Franz had to make an example of them. Deportation to the Russian Empire was already the harshest punishment. The Russian government would not welcome them. Being sent to Siberia to plant potatoes would be the best outcome they could hope for. Chancellor Felix proposed, “Your Majesty, deporting these rioting refugees is not a major issue. The real problem is the escalating revolutionary wave sweeping across Europe. Although most of the uprisings led by the revolutionaries have ended in failure and are not as severe as those that happened in 1848, the sheer frequency of these revolts still poses a significant threat. For the sake of peace and stability in Europe, we should convene another international conference to unite the governments of various nations and collectively suppress the spread of revolutionary ideas.” In these times, there was not a single government that did not fear revolution. Limited by the level of productivity, the lower classes in every country across the world were struggling to survive. When life was difficult, the desire for revolution naturally arose. With such fertile ground for rebellion, the ruling elites had every reason to be anxious. These revolutionary incidents may have seemed isolated, but in reality, over 90% of them had some level of foreign influence. Perhaps the major powers had not directly orchestrated these uprisings, but they had certainly supported revolutionary organizations, spread radical ideas, and provided refuge to revolutionaries. These were all tactics employed by the great powers. Of course, smaller nations were involved as well, though on a lesser scale, mainly focusing on ideological influence. After the Revolutions of 1848, European countries learned their lesson and remained relatively restrained for a time. However, now the flames of rebellion had reignited once more. On this issue, Franz was in no position to accuse others. Austria itself had done plenty of the same. At the very least, the turmoil in Britain and France had some involvement from the Austrian government. Without Austria’s participation, the European continent would not be as chaotic as it was now.
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