Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1537 - 1443: Shattered Spears in Switzerland
The Captain’s face turned gloomy and angrily said, “What are the police doing? Why aren’t they providing protection for the Tax Officer?”
“Who knows?” Gold shrugged, “Maybe those officials who passed the exams are still unfamiliar with the situation.”
In the past few months, a large number of lawyers and scholars have obtained positions in the Austrian bureaucratic system through civil service exams.
However, these intelligent and knowledgeable individuals failed to bring the expected vitality and efficiency to the government. Instead, institutions that used to function are now riddled with problems, with corruption even more severe than among hereditary officials.
What these two Austrian officers did not know was that nearly half of the newly appointed officials were agents of the Old Nobility.
Though stripped of official positions, the nobles still possessed influence and wealth. Through various means, like acquiring some civil service exam questions secretly, they managed to promote their agents.
It appeared that Austria’s officialdom was infused with fresh blood, but power still remained in the hands of the former nobles.
And once these agents assumed their positions, they prioritized securing their behind-the-scenes patrons’ interests and then amassed wealth for themselves. So the officials, who previously embezzled once, now had to embezzle twice as much.
Of course, there were also some officials who truly earned their positions through their own abilities. But what they faced were constraints from nobles who had been entrenched locally for decades or even centuries. Lacking connections and bureaucratic experience, these intellectual elites were no match for the Old Nobility.
Ultimately, these individuals either aligned with noble families or their edicts never left their offices.
This is also why, after the reform of the Austrian bureaucratic system, administrative efficiency became even worse.
As for tax matters, it’s naturally a backlash from the tax farmers.
They possessed enormous wealth, with influence permeating every corner of Austria. Just spending a little money could drive government tax officers to distraction, or even send them to their deaths.
The tax farmers didn’t only resort to violence against tax officers; they also bribed officials and police, and covertly incited or threatened citizens to resist taxes.
Currently, Austrian police often couldn’t receive their full salaries. Faced with bribes higher than their salary, not to mention protecting tax officers, if the tax farmers ordered, they wouldn’t even hesitate to beat the tax officers themselves.
Cutting off someone’s financial path is as severe as killing their parents. Since His Majesty the Emperor wanted to ruin their business, their response was naturally without scruples.
Five months after Metternich began tax reform, Austria’s tax revenue plummeted by 26% and was still rapidly declining.
While Archduke Karl, learning from France’s military reform, established a General Staff to oversee soldiers’ training, equipment, and the disbursement of military pay.
But in doing so, the previous practice of officers advancing military pay became obsolete. Once the government encountered financial issues, military funding immediately felt the impact.
The Captain remained silent for a moment, then quietly ordered his assistant, “After defeating the Basel rebels, find a few wealthy villages, charge them with colluding with the rebels… and let the soldiers look for some income themselves.”
“Yes, Sir.” Gold responded weakly. This godforsaken place in Switzerland was poor enough to starve a rat, hardly offering anything to loot.
He hesitated on whether to suggest the Company Commander loot Alo City but was suddenly interrupted by a low horn sound from the front.
The Captain immediately perked up, waving to the soldiers and shouting, “Tighten the formation, hold your guns, and prepare for battle!”
The horn signaled that their vanguard had encountered the Basel rebels.
The Captain felt slightly relieved; the rebels numbered only over 800, while they had more than 4,000 soldiers.
Moreover, they were a regular army, equipped with the latest Caplock Guns and Cannon. Dealing with the rabble from Basel would be nothing short of a massacre.
Once the rebels were cleared, he could return to Vienna and no longer fear at any moment when unpaid soldiers might suddenly mutiny.
The regiment’s Order Officer rode over, shouting towards the company flag, “Captain Kemler, immediately head to the hills southeast to build a defense line and intercept the rebels trying to escape from there!”
“Yes, Sir!”
Kemler was secretly delighted, as it seemed this time he probably wouldn’t participate in the fight. The hills were on the route he had just passed, a third of a league from the rebel positions.
After choosing a location and ordering the soldiers to form a line, he heard the sound of cannon fire from the West.
Gold, looking towards the distance, said, “I reckon it will be over in half an hour.”
Kemler nodded. Major Haze’s Cavalry Camp had already gone to the west side of the Jura Mountain for interception the day before, leaving the rebels with no escape route.
On the north side of the Jura Mountain, a middle-aged Major wearing a black double-breasted coat ducked his head to avoid the sand stirred up by the artillery and said to the Commander standing behind the parapet, “Mr. Stephens, our soldiers will soon be torn apart by artillery. Let’s retreat to Olten.”
Stephens was a Basel Member of Parliament, temporarily serving as a military overseer for the militia.
He had never been on a battlefield before. At this moment, his face was pale, his mind blank, mechanically uttering curses: “Damn the Wurttembergers, damn them…”
Previously, the advisors sent by Wurttemberg had assured him, thumping their chests, that as long as they fortified this pass on the north side of the Jura Mountain, the Austrians wouldn’t dare attack.
But now, not only had the Austrian Army come, but they also brought over 4,000 soldiers!
The Major urgently shouted, “You must give the order immediately; otherwise, we’ll be surrounded!”
Stephens’s lips trembled, but he couldn’t utter a word.
He knew very well that Basel had no garrison at that moment. If they abandoned the line of defense, the Austrians would advance unimpeded and occupy Basel in two or three days.
By then, he would surely be convicted of rebellion, along with the other members of Congress.
He only wanted to enter the French market to expand his business and definitely didn’t want to die.
An artillery shell fell barely ten meters away, instantly killing several guards and plowing into the distant wasteland with a trail of blood.
The Major raised his binoculars, his face darkening instantly—over a thousand Austrian soldiers had already approached close to his defenses, rifles at the ready for a volley.
Meanwhile, the Basel militia only returned fire sporadically before beginning to retreat in droves.
He dropped his binoculars, slumping to the ground. Even if he wanted to run now, it was too late. Everything was over.
He looked at Stephens and whispered, “We should… surrender.”
Before he could finish, sounds of a rumbling explosion came from the East.
The Major stood up in surprise, wondering who could be firing from what should have been the rear of the Austrian Army.
Hurriedly picking up his binoculars, he saw the previously aggressive Austrian infantry line suddenly begin to retreat, even ceasing artillery fire.
He quickly dispatched cavalry to scout the situation, but only 20 minutes passed before someone with an eastern mountain accent rode over, shouting at him, “Colonel Engelman asks for your cooperation in launching a counterattack!”
