Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Chapter 60, Things That Can Only Be Done, Not Said

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

People are pragmatic, especially those nobles with centuries of inheritance, all having their own means of survival; it was now that their usefulness became evident.

On April 13, 1848, after receiving the news of the Prague rebellion, Prince Windischgrätz immediately led his troops back to the city to suppress it. With the cooperation of the local nobility, the whole city was recaptured in less than three days.

To deter the local power factions, Prince Windischgrätz ordered the execution of all the leaders involved in the rebellion, and essentially all rebels, from minor leaders upwards, were executed.

Over two thousand heads hung in the streets of Prague, causing the nobles who had escaped disaster to tremble in fear.

It should be noted that it was not just commoners being killed this time; at Franz’s request, the priority was now to execute the big shots.

Common folk could still be used as labor, but rebellious nobles and capitalists were of no use even for labor, so the higher one’s social status, the quicker they were executed.

During the executions, the municipal government also picked out a group of notorious individuals for public trial, exposing their past crimes.

With their heads, the Vienna Government regained a wave of public support, as could be seen from the cheering citizens of Prague – that’s how much these people were despised.

The high-interest debts were gone, the laws established by the Vienna

Government to protect their interests were about to take effect, and the capitalists and thugs who had oppressed them all ended up on the guillotine.

The Czechs belong to the West Slav group, ethnically similar to the Polish, but their culture, national traditions, way of thinking, reaction to reality, and even eating habits are very close to the Austrians’, hence they’re called “Austrians who speak Slavic.”

Because of shared cultural traditions, the Czech public has always considered itself part of Austria.

In Franz’s view, with just a little effort, the Austrian Government could integrate the Czechs into Austria’s big family.

“Mr. Kondlai, I have recommended you to the Vienna Government to serve as the Minister of Education for the Bohemian region. Do you have any objections?” Prince Windischgrätz asked.

(Bohemian region, today’s Czech region.)

Minister of Education? What the heck is that? He was an Austrian Army Colonel, just like that he got shifted to a civilian role?

Alright, the separation of civil and military roles in Austria isn’t strict. Moving from military to civilian roles was child’s play, but his shift was too abrupt.

Normally, a transition period is required before moving from military to civilian roles, to adapt before making the move. It’s rare to see a transition as big as his.

However, in terms of administrative rank, this was a promotion indeed.

Kondlai knew he didn’t have much choice, as Prince Windischgrätz did not take kindly to refusals.

“No, Your Highness!” Kondlai answered.

“Then it’s settled. The Vienna Government wants to unify the national language and writing. You know this, and for this, they have even spared a portion of the nobles who joined the rebellion.

Your task now is to ensure they fulfill the conditions they promised. If anyone dares to renege or is negligent, you must report it immediately.

Of course, relying on them alone is not enough. There are now a number of state-owned enterprises in the Czech region, and you also need to organize the teaching staff to teach German to the workers in the factories.

For the other areas, you handle it yourself. In short, German must be popularized quickly. In the textbooks, emphasize Austria and downplay local terms!” Prince Windischgrätz instructed.

The benefits of unifying the language and script are self-evident, but it’s not that simple. For now, the Vienna Government could only promote it quietly.

Considering the public’s resistance, Franz didn’t even dare to officially abolish the other languages and unify the German language.

Not being able to speak doesn’t mean not being able to act. Franz was a pragmatist, and the subtle promotion of the German language could achieve the same goal.

Before long, many would realize the advantages of speaking German, for example, speaking German could earn you higher wages in factories.

Incentives often work better than coercion and are less likely to provoke a backlash.

The Czech region was just the beginning. After crushing the local power brokers, they co-opted a portion of the nobility to promote the German language.

After all, these nobles were from the Germany Region; German was their mother tongue. They also spoke Slavic languages, and keeping them was to address the shortage of language teachers.

With these local influencers’ cooperation and the troublemakers nearly chopped down to size, ordinary citizens wouldn’t care much—for a higher salary, they had no choice but to learn.

“Rest assured, Your Highness, I will do this job well!” Kondlai promised.

Through this Prague rebellion, Kondlai had realized that the Vienna Government placed great importance on the spread of the German language, which meant he was doing a job with prospects.

The specific rewards from the Vienna Government were not yet announced, but those well-informed knew the Crown Prince took this matter very seriously.

Now, the war temporarily distracted the government’s attention, but once the internal rebellion was suppressed, the unification of language and script could very likely become Austria’s national policy.

Many smart people knew it was always beneficial to follow national policies. At that time, quite a few people had already started making moves to become heads of education in various places.

That Kondlai could become the head of education in the Bohemian region was no doubt not only due to his contributions this time but also because Prince Windischgrätz had pulled some strings.

The scheme Franz had laid was clearly not just for Bohemia.

On April 13, a rebellion erupted in the Galicia Region, and the rebel army briefly occupied most of the Austro-Poland area, even establishing the Polish Provisional Government.

However, as quickly as the rebellion started, it ended even faster. On April 16, the Austrian Army began quashing the rebellion. With local civilians’ support, the grand revolt was suppressed within a week.

Taking advantage of the situation, the Vienna Government purged local power brokers, Franz bared his fangs, sweeping away local nobles, capitalists, and even the middle class who supported the rebellion in one fell swoop.

Indeed, this was a real redistribution of land from the rich to the poor; weanr who hlped the government suppress the rebellion were granted land for free, while others naturally had to slowly redeem their land according to the rules.

Differential treatment was essential to highlight the superiority of loyalty to the Emperor. If everyone were treated the same, who would want to risk their life for the Emperor?

In just half a month, over twenty thousand heads fell in the Austro-Poland region, making it the most thorough suppression since the outbreak of the European revolution.

After this battle, the emerging Polish nationalism in Austria was nipped in the bud. What remained were either the lower strata of society or the loyal servants of the Habsburg Family; the activists had all been sent to meet God.

(For those suffering from book famine, check out “Road to Mediterranean Domination”..)