Chapter 1582 - 1488: The Storm Approaches
Chapter 1582: Chapter 1488: The Storm Approaches
May 5, 1801.
Vienna.
In an inconspicuous building two streets south of Schonbrunn Palace, Count Urfelt, wearing a broad ingratiating smile, bowed to the middle‑aged man seated across the table:
"Director, you know, Gloria must have only been passing by and got curious, so she went over to have a look.
"She’s a very well‑bred child; there is no way she would take part in that sort of thing..."
This noon, Gloria had been arrested by the Secret Police at a gathering of Liberals, so he had immediately rushed over to "clear up the misunderstanding."
"Please sit down, Your Excellency." Belle, head of the Vienna East District Secret Police, gestured at the chair and, after hesitating a moment, continued, "With all due respect, you may not know your daughter well enough."
"What do you mean by that?"
Belle handed him a few sheets of paper. "This is your daughter’s statement. Oh, rest assured, she has not been harmed in any way; she volunteered all of this herself."
Count Urfelt’s gaze skimmed quickly over the pages; his expression instantly darkened.
In Gloria’s statement she said she believed everyone should enjoy freedom and equality, that the Emperor should convene a real Congress as soon as possible, and other such nonsense. In the end she also declared that she had not been coerced, that she deeply sympathized with those liberals, so she often took part in their meetings and even helped them distribute leaflets...
Count Urfelt slammed the statement down on the table and shouted, "No, this absolutely isn’t what she truly thinks! She must have been deceived!"
Director Belle nodded and pushed another document in front of him. "This is a list of some of the leaders of the Stilz Society. Oh, they are the largest conspiratorial subversive organization in Vienna.
"I am basically certain your daughter has close dealings with at least one of them. If she can provide some information about that person, I guarantee neither she nor your family’s honor will suffer any consequences.
"In fact, I’ve been holding back your daughter’s statement and haven’t reported it to Count Pergen."
John Anton von Pergen was the current Director‑General of Austria’s Secret Police.
Count Urfelt, his face ashen, nodded. "Please allow me to take her home. Within three days I will give you a satisfactory explanation."
That evening, in Count Urfelt’s study, he slapped the list on the desk and roared at his daughter:
"Tell me, who lured you into that organization? Speak!"
The list was smashed and scattered across the floor; the page with "Lucas von Scheler" happened to land right in front of the girl. The file read: This man once trained in the Royal German Legion camp, later took part in the mutiny at the Ehlers New Recruit Camp, and was granted amnesty seven years ago. Last year he returned to Vienna and joined the Stilz Society, beginning to incite unrest everywhere...
The panic in Gloria’s eyes flashed into resolve; she shook her head and said, "Father, freedom, equality, and human rights are gifts Jesus bestows on every person; I don’t need anyone to tell me that."
"Nonsense! You’ll ruin the entire family!"
Seeing that his daughter’s gaze carried not the slightest hint of shame, Count Urfelt, enraged, swung his cane and brought it down hard on her cheek.
The frail young noblewoman’s mouth instantly filled with blood, and she fainted on the spot.
Three days later.
In one of the Stilz Society’s secret bases, Lucas, agitated, was pounding the wall over and over, muttering to himself, "It’s all my fault, I’m the one who failed to protect her..."
In fact, if French Security Bureau agents hadn’t taken the risk to intervene that day, several key members of the Stilz Society would have been captured by the Secret Police.
A door opening sounded at his side. Lucas immediately hurried over, grabbed the newcomer, and asked, "Mr. Hilt, well? Any news of her?"
"All we know is that she’s no longer at the East District Headquarters." Hilt sighed. "Most likely she’s been transferred to the Hofburg."
Lucas was struck as if by lightning. "Th‑then what are we going to do..."
The Hofburg was where political prisoners and serious offenders were held; once you went in, it was very hard to ever come out.
Beside them, the lawyer Carl Bergman said in an icy voice, "Which is why I’ve always said we must launch an uprising, end the Tyrant’s rule with Firearms and Cannon, so Austria can be reborn!
"You keep insisting on relying on speeches to awaken the people, but open your eyes and look: the Tyrant and his henchmen won’t even let us speak!
"Today it’s Stol and Miss Gloria; tomorrow it may be us who are thrown into the Hofburg!
"If this goes on, everyone with a free spirit will fall victim to the Secret Police, and Austria will sink into eternal darkness!"
Lucas froze for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "It’s useless. I tried seven years ago; we’re no match for the army at all..."
Heinrich von Gagen, a third‑year student at Vienna University, shouted, "Then we call more people to rise up, until the army loyal to the Tyrant is drowned beneath our ranks!"
He pointed out the window. "Look, those peasants who’ve lost their land because of usury, those workers who can’t afford bread, those citizens bled dry by corrupt officials—they are all already seething with rage.
"As long as someone organizes them, they will all be the finest fighters!"
As Metternich’s reforms deepened, vast sums of money were poured into supporting industrial development, as well as free education, subsidies for local tariffs, even plans for gas streetlights.
On the other hand, the Empire’s tax reforms were plagued with problems, and the Finance Minister had to repeatedly ask the Emperor to raise tax rates to ensure the Empire’s budget remained balanced.
Yet just then, Austria decided to intervene in the situation in northern Switzerland. The army began swallowing military expenditures in an unending stream.
With no other choice, the newly established privileged Austrian National Bank, at the Emperor’s suggestion, repeatedly over‑issued banknotes.
With the French Security Bureau pushing things along, news of the over‑issuance of currency always spread far and wide very quickly, so inflation set in much faster than market forces alone would have brought it about.
In just half a year, prices of all kinds of goods in Vienna rose by 15%.
Although the Austrian Government forced bread prices down by decree, bakeries, in order to survive, used all sorts of tricks to raise prices in secret.
For a time, the people of Vienna were hit by the double pressure of repeated tax increases and rising prices, and many had already been driven to the brink of bankruptcy.
In these circumstances, abolishing Noble privileges, having Congress set tax rates, stabilizing prices, and punishing corrupt officials became people’s most pressing demands.
And these were precisely the Liberals’ demands.
So even though the Secret Police grew ever more numerous and publications were more and more strictly censored, the Stilz Society’s followers were rapidly increasing.
Now, every time they held a speech, they could gather at least a hundred listeners—and these people were attending at the risk of being arrested by the Secret Police.
At the same time, Liberal organizations such as the "Constitutional Research Association" and the "Vienna Student Group" also regained their vitality.