Franz went to visit another big boss of the Conservative Party, Count Croft, and expressed his concern about the current situation.
Everyone was well-informed. In this political conflict, the role that Franz played was not a secret among the senior government officials.
However, everyone had integrity. Franz was destined to be one of them. At least in the face of the bourgeois revolution, everyone was on the same boat, and naturally, no one would leak the news.
Of course, even if someone leaked the news, it was useless. The conflict between the aristocratic class and the bourgeoisie could no longer be eased. What should be done still had to be done!
Let the aristocrats give up on suppressing the bourgeoisie? Or let the bourgeoisie give up on seizing power?
At this time, no one could give in, and no one dared to give in. Now, taking a step back was not the sea and the sky, but the abyss.
It had to be said that being young had its advantages, otherwise, Franz would have walked directly to the front desk.
Of course, it was more that the Regent Council did not want to give up the power in their hands so early, so they had to bear the blame.
It was fine to let Franz take the lead to attract hatred and attack the bourgeoisie, but the consequence was that he, the Crown Prince, would become the Regent early, and the Regent Council would become history.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Metternich's life was not good. He represented the interests of the aristocratic class and regarded himself as a reformist, which did not seem to be harmonious.
Originally, the two factions in Austria were fighting to the death, and Franz stirred things up. Now, the conservatives also played the reformist game.
In the past, everyone always talked about serfdom, criticizing the conservatives for hindering Austria's progress, depriving the serfs of their personal freedom, and cruelly exploiting them.
Now the aristocrats began to fight back, comparing the lives of the workers and serfs, everyone suddenly found that there was something even worse.
No matter how crazy the aristocrats were, they could not let the serfs work for fifteen or sixteen hours a day. Except during the busy farming season, how could there be so much work?
In this era, the cost of lighting was not cheap. The capitalists made the workers work at night, which was to make money. If the aristocrats let the serfs work at night, they would lose money.
Needless to say, the lives of the workers and serfs were the same — bitter!
But relatively speaking, the workers of this era suffered even more. The factory was like a prison. Once you went in, it would be difficult to get out. If you made the slightest mistake, you would be beaten.
Whether they could get their wages or not depended on the moral integrity of the capitalists. If they met someone who still had a conscience, they could more or less take some. If they met someone who was cruel and merciless, they could even owe them a debt after working for a few years for nothing.
Not to mention in this era, even in the 21st century, the problem of asking for wages had not been solved in many areas.
Happiness came from comparison, and so did pain.
Under the control of the nobles, the working class suddenly felt that they were the ones who suffered the most. At this time, if the government wanted to enact the Labor Protection Fee, they must support it!
When it came to their own interests, the so-called constitutional reform, the popular election, and the abolition of serfdom could be postponed indefinitely.
The bourgeoisie was not a pushover either. When it came to their own interests, they would not budge an inch. At this time, patriotism and integrity had long been eaten by dogs.
Prime Minister Metternich, who was caught in the middle, had a headache. This diplomatic expert was powerless when faced with internal conflicts.
Just like the previous reform to abolish serfdom, he was still negotiating with the representatives of the bourgeoisie in an attempt to obtain their understanding and formulate an answer that everyone could accept.
"Prime Minister, I want to know when the Labor Protection Act will come out?" Count Kloft asked indifferently.
As a political enemy of Prime Minister Metternich, how could he not cause trouble at this time? Even without Franz's hint, he would still take action, but now his purpose was even clearer.
"Count Kloft, the enactment of any law takes a period of time. We need to conduct practical research and then conduct a comprehensive analysis. Just wait patiently!" Metternich said disdainfully.
He was too lazy to be polite to his political enemy. Anyway, no matter how nice it sounded, they were all enemies.
"Prime Minister, I can wait, but the workers outside can't. You have to know that every day, hundreds of workers in Austria die because of the unscrupulous exploitation of the capitalists!
Don't they regard themselves as patriots? Every day, they arrogantly accuse us of depriving the serfs of their freedom as immoral. What are they doing now?
Aren't the workers Austrian citizens? You have to know that most of these workers are serfs we released. Not only did liberating the serfs not make their lives better, but they fell into another abyss!
This abyss is even more terrible. It will devour everything and finally destroy all of Austria! "Count Kloft pointed at Prime Minister Metternich and roared.
The purpose of liberating the serfs was to let the serfs live a better life, but now the results were just the opposite. There was too much evidence that their lives had become worse.
This was a heavy blow to the abolition of serfdom advocated by Metternich. Before this problem was solved, all the work he had done before must be stopped.
But to solve this problem, it meant that he had to break with the bourgeoisie who supported the abolition of serfdom, and even beat the bourgeoisie to the ground.
Now, most of the reformists in the country were the bourgeoisie, which would shake his position as prime minister unless he moved closer to the aristocracy.
Well, Prime Minister Metternich himself was the representative of the great aristocracy, and he had always stood with the aristocracy. Except for the abolition movement, he did not exclude compromising with the aristocracy again. The problem was that there was a reason for this.
He could not be forced to pick a side, this was related to the future dominance. Metternich also wanted to be the leader of the aristocracy, not the agent supported by the aristocracy.
"Well, Count Kloft. The government will give an answer to this question as soon as possible. You can go back and wait for the news! "Metternich said with a frown.
"I hope so, otherwise our prime minister will be disappointing!" Count Kloft said strangely.
After sending off Count Kloft, Prime Minister Metternich's face instantly became gloomy. He was forced to abdicate, it would be strange if he was in a good mood.
After a moment of contemplation, Metternich slapped the table and said to himself, "With such a small trick, he wants to seize power. It seems that Kloft is really old!"
He said this as if he was very young, but in fact, Metternich, who was born in 1773, was also 74 years old.
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