Chapter 897 Two Major Problems

Bohemia used to have nothing to do with the word rich, but after the Austrian Empire lost the wealthy Silesia, Queen Theresa shifted the focus of the empire's economy to Bohemia.

A large amount of capital was injected, and handicrafts, glass manufacturing, steel mills, and various shops sprang up all over Bohemia.

But that only turned it from a village into a city. With the advent of the industrial age, Bohemia's status was raised again.

However, in history, it would take until after 1850 for great development to come, but Franz brought this progress forward at this time.

After joining the German Customs Union, Bohemia's economy took off directly, and with Franz's investment and planning, it became one of the fastest growing regions in Europe.

Driven by huge interests, German businessmen and local nobles and officials jointly revived Czech nationalism.

But the difference in history is that Franz found them an opponent-German nationalists. Under the guidance of the idea of ​​either this or that on both sides, neither Czech nationalism nor German nationalism dominated in Bohemia.

Czech nationalists were even at a disadvantage, so although they envied the special status of the Magyars, from a realistic perspective, the conditions for their national uprising were not ripe.

The leader of the Czech nationalists, Palacky, even warned that "blind recklessness will destroy everything we have created so far."

At this time, Palacky was more like Szechenyi than Kossuth, so his hints were very euphemistic and not sharp.

But it turned out that rational individuals often could not stop the runaway collective. The fierce confrontation between Czech nationalists and German nationalists gave birth to something newer and more powerful.

Pan-Slavism, because the so-called Czech nationalists found that they could not defeat the German nationalists with their strength at all, because the latter were too numerous.

Although there were not many Germans in Austria, they could continuously draw reinforcements from the German Confederation.

So a magical idea flashed in their minds, that Bohemia was indeed not strong enough to compete with the entire German nation.

But Slavs are not only Czechs, but also Slovaks, Ukrainians, Transylvanians, Slovenians, Croatians, Serbs, Poles, and Russians.

What if we can ask these Slav compatriots for help? Going further, what if we can unite these hundreds of millions of people to form a super confederation?

Such a super confederation spanning the Eurasian continent will be able to defeat all enemies of the Slavic nations, and any other nation will be trampled under their feet.

And in reality, there is an excellent example of Russia, but the sad thing is that even the Russians do not support them.

That's right, Nicholas I, who advocated Great Slavism, opposed the so-called Pan-Slavism of the Czechs, although there are many similarities between the two, such as both wanting to make Constantinople the capital and both wanting to drive the Ottomans and Hungarians out of Eastern Europe.

But what the Czechs want is a confederation, not an empire or a federation. This is something the Tsar could not accept at all. He did not want to share power with others and swear an oath to a constitution promulgated by others.

However, the promises from Britain and Hungary at this time, as well as the "holy war" launched by the Pope, gave the Bohemians unrealistic dreams.

Note: The Moravians, who are also Czechs, are opposed to Czech nationalism, at least they do not agree with it in actual actions.

Palmerston assured Palacky that the British Navy would block the Austrian coastline and would provide strong support to Czech nationalists through secret channels.

Palacky was also a professor, but his eloquence was still a little worse than Palmerston.

Palmerston's words made Palacky feel that the gentleman in front of him would definitely help the Czechs stand tall among the European nations again.

He had previously had a long talk with Kossuth, who was also a passionate orator, and a chicken blood meal also made Palacky feel that he could do anything.

He believed that the Hungarians would be able to defeat the corrupt Austrian army, and in this way, the pressure on Bohemia would be greatly relieved.

At that time, perhaps the Bohemian rebels could march straight into Vienna, which would be a historic moment.

Of course, Kossuth also saw Palacky's idea. The former praised the latter's ambition and said a lot of words that Palacky was very useful.

The messenger of Pope Pius IX also gave him great encouragement. After all, priests are also professionally qualified.

The support from all parties moved Palacky greatly. He felt that he had no reason to continue to shirk and disappoint his compatriots, so he decided to come out.

As for the college students of the Czech University, they naturally hope that the teachers can join them. The nobles, businessmen, and bureaucrats are also very welcome. After all, it is a good thing that they don't have to take the lead.

With Palacky's participation, the organization of Czech nationalists finally embarked on the road of "regularization".

However, Palacky is still more particular. He wants to use courtesy before force. Palacky made a petition and imitated the Hungarians' twelve-point program. The Czechs also made a seven-point agreement.

Generally speaking, they are still relatively restrained. They did not want to establish an independent country like the Hungarians and annex some Austrian land.

But they demanded the same privileges as the Hungarians before. Although they did not demand political independence, they demanded economic and military independence.

In addition, Czech should be included as an official language. Czech must have the same status as German in schools, and Czech should be the main language below university.

Any policy needs the consent of the Czech Parliament to be implemented, and the Czech army will not participate in Austria's foreign wars.

The Austrian government naturally would not agree to such an outrageous initiative. In fact, even if a government is weak, they will not agree to directly give up their power.

What's more, the Vienna government at this time is only in chaos on the surface. In fact, all major decisions are made by Franz and Mrs. Sophie.

However, the negotiation with Hungary is not a mistake. It is a wrong decision made by two political newcomers under pressure from the domestic privileged class.

On April 6, 1848, the "Bohemian Equal Rights Committee" led by Palacki officially announced an uprising on the grounds that the emperor refused to reform.

The vanguard of the uprising was naturally the students of Prague University. These passionate young people were hostile to the German faction on weekdays, and naturally rushed to the front at this time.

Those small shopkeepers, small merchants, and small nobles were the backbone of the uprising. They were numerous, well-armed, and had professional skills.

However, in general, the number of Czech nationalists was still at an absolute disadvantage, but the uprising still happened.

This was actually inseparable from Prince Windischgrätz, the highest commander of the local garrison. He was not a Czech nationalist, but he was definitely not a German nationalist.

Prince Windischgrätz was a typical aristocratic bureaucrat. He still adhered to Metternich's theory of ethnic checks and balances, which was to make the domestic ethnic groups hostile to each other so that the Austrian government could profit from it.

So Prince Windischgrätz, who had a large army, chose to sit back and watch the uprising when he determined that the Czechs were targeting the Germans and Jews in the city.

Most of the Germans here were not Austrians, but came from other German Confederations to settle and do business in Bohemia.

As for the Jews, let alone, dealing with them was simply a matter of justice in the eyes of Prince Windischgrätz.

The battle between the two sides was a dog-eat-dog fight in the eyes of Prince Windischgrätz. His idea was simple, that is, let them fight, and then he would go out to clean up the mess when they were tired.

This would not only save the consumption of troops, but also find a good reason to beat up those so-called nationalists.

In addition, Prince Windischgrätz also had his own selfishness. As one of the top nobles of the Austrian Empire, he naturally had close relations with the privileged classes that were disciplined by Franz.

For the sake of himself and his family, Prince Windischgrätz thought that he should strengthen his power, at least not like those guys in Vienna, who were finally beaten to death by a group of hooligans at the behest of the royal family.

The Bavarians were very poor, so in the eyes of the great nobles of Germany, they were just a group of hooligans.

However, Prince Windischgrätz's idea this time could not be said to be completely wrong, because it was really difficult for Franz to deal with those privileged classes before he ascended the throne.

So he could only use the hands of others, and in the chaotic Vienna, nothing was more suitable than a group of foreigners.

Prince Windischgrätz wanted to keep the enemy at bay, but the German nationalists were not so easy to deal with.

This group of people often clashed with Czech nationalists, so they also had weapons and equipment.

The so-called strong support from the British was just a few hundred outdated old-fashioned smoothbore rifles.

In fact, Palmerston also had difficulties, because at this time, there were uprisings everywhere in the German region, and the inspection intensity of each checkpoint was much stronger than before, but the most important thing was that the people in charge had changed, and all the channels and methods in the past were not useful.

In addition, Prince Windischgrätz was not a fool, and he could not let the situation develop to the point where he could not handle it.

If the situation in Bohemia really got out of control, then he would not be able to keep the enemy at bay, and he might not be able to protect himself at that time.

However, the reality was that the influence of the rebellion in Bohemia was far beyond Prince Windischgrätz's expectations. Vienna was under great pressure, and the whole of Austria was trembling.

At the same time, the Hungarian army, led by Baugani, tricked the gate of a fortress outside Pressburg into opening, and all 1,500 defenders were massacred.

You should know that Pressburg is less than 60 kilometers away from Vienna, which means that the Hungarian army can reach Vienna in just two days.

Although the top leaders of Vienna were shocked, they were not panicked, because Pressburg had not fallen, and there were nearly 100,000 garrisons around it, while Baugani had only a few thousand cavalry, and it was impossible for them to enter Vienna.

But the nobles of Vienna could not sit still. A large number of members of the noble Senate were gathering in a manor outside Vienna.

The shortest family of these people has a history of hundreds of years. The four oldest families can even be traced back to before the arrival of the Habsburg family. They were already one of the most powerful families in Vienna.

"We can't be buried with the fools of the Habsburg family!"

"That's right! Look at the stupid things they did! Let a fool be the emperor! This country will be destroyed in their hands!"

"This damn Vienna government, they don't even know who they should serve! We are the masters of this country."

A group of people are criticizing the Habsburg family and the Austrian government for the situation in Vienna.

However, some people have raised objections.

"I think Archduke Franz is not bad, and the bishops of the church have a high opinion of him. As long as we survive this period, I think we still have hope."

"Have you bought the shares of the Royal Development Company? Although the market is so bleak this year, the dividend is still more than ten points!"

"Indeed, I would have bought more if I had known earlier. This is more profitable than any business."

"That's right! If the Habsburg family collapses, this Royal Development Company will also be gone, and my life and property will be on it!"

At this time, an old man stood up and knocked hard on the ground with his cane.

"Don't you have any noble honor? All you talk about is money! We are nobles! We want to live with dignity!

What are the Habsburgs and the Austrian government doing now? They are incapable of protecting us! The Hungarians have already attacked! The army of the Papal States is coming soon! Now even the Bohemians are rebelling!

I think this broken ship of Austria will sink sooner or later."

"What do you mean? Duke Fantlo, you have to understand that this is Vienna."

There are naturally many supporters of Austria among the nobles. They like to say a few bad things about the Austrian government and the Habsburgs behind their backs, but they don't want to overthrow their rule.

In fact, due to the existence of the Royal Development Company, Franz invited them to invest many times in order to win over these people, and even issued them a private placement.

So many nobles are already shareholders of the Habsburg family. It is not easy for them to get off the ship, and they naturally can't sit still when they hear that someone is going to sink the ship.

Although Franz was almost ready to promote these nobles to the Royal Development Company before, some people still don't buy Franz's account.

Nothing, they just simply felt that the royal family could not succeed. Franz did not have any good way to deal with these people, but as long as they did not rebel, Franz would not touch them and would even give them a chance to get on the bus.

But under the crisis at this time, some of the nobles had other ideas.

Duke Fantro said in the tone of educating children.

"Duke Ryan, you are still young, don't be so impulsive. Take a look at the conditions proposed by the Hungarians first, and it's not too late for you to object."

The Ryan family and the Fantro family have been in-laws for generations, and the relationship between the two families is very close. Moreover, the latter is the elder of the former, so he can't say anything.

The Count of Savoy on the side snorted coldly.

"Duke Fantro, didn't you just not buy the shares of the Royal Development Company? You want to be a shareholder with your millions, don't dream!"

"Do you have a say here?"

Duke Fantro roared, pointing to the box next to him.

"The Hungarians are willing to spend money, and our status will only be higher, not lower."