It had to be said that Chancellor Metternich was still quite competent. The Austrian government at this time was so powerful that the strikes by the capitalists failed to frighten them.

After all, the great nobles supported the government, and their influence was much greater than the capitalists. It’s just that they didn’t have as much money or resources, save for food.

After all, the great nobles were major landowners with a large number of serfs. It was natural that they would have more than enough food in stock. If the government needed a large emergency delivery of food, they could provide it.

It was not possible for the capitalists to keep their plan a secret which had allowed the Vienna government to purchase a huge amount of grain from the nobles before the strike broke out.

Since the strike began, the government had been selling grain in the market to stabilize the food prices in Vienna. But the prosperity of the old days was no more which left many in the government upset.

Minister of the Interior Herwig Braun reported, anxiously, “Lord Chancellor, even though the problem of food has been solved, if this strike continues, other resources will soon be in short supply.

Not to mention, now that the capitalists have closed their factories, the workers have lost their income. I’m afraid their savings will soon run out, and then…”

Chancellor Metternich replied with an icy look in his eyes, “Don’t worry, this strike cannot last long. Due to the strike, the capitalists lose money every day, and small businesses are unable to hold on for much longer!

Still, we can’t just stand idle. There also are a few nobles striking. I will ask Archduke Louis to bring them in line. If they continue to stand with the capitalists, they will be removed from the nobility.”

So long as one small business took the lead in going back to work, everyone else would follow. The government had a much greater ability to withstand the strike than the capitalists. At the very least, they could ensure that the people wouldn’t die from starvation.

***

As expected, the strike lasted less than a week before it ended. The weakest link and the first ones to fall were naturally the nobles who had unknowingly gotten involved in the strike.

Great nobles such as Archduke Louis and Count Kolowrat took the lead by publicly accusing them of sinking to the level of the capitalists for the sake of a little profit and bringing shame to the nobility.

Anyways, few nobles were involved in making money through anything other than farming in their fiefdoms; doing business like capitalists was easier said than done for most of them. Not to mention, they had long since felt uneasy from seeing some nobles becoming upstart businessmen, so this was an opportunity for righteous accusation.

As a result, the nobles who participated in the strike no longer received invitations to any banquets. In addition, the rest of the nobility also began to shun them by refusing their invitations. Not to mention that relatives and friends continued to come to persuade them.

Some radical nobles were even clamoring to kick “those rotten nobles out” which frightened the nobles who participated in the strike.

Austrian capitalists, though loaded with money, had no political status! It was not easy to get a hereditary title, and so it was a big deal if any noble lost it.

The nobles who participated in the strike, who could not stand the political isolation, had to draw a line between themselves and the capitalists, so they quit the strike immediately.

Seeing the nobles withdraw from the strike, many capitalists became restless. Because of the profit-seeking nature of capitalists, it was simply impossible to sustain their alliance, especially now that some people had already taken the initiative to quit.

After all, the capitalists were not selfless people. When they saw someone resume their business and make money, they naturally felt a sense of injustice.

‘We are here fighting for our survival by risking our lives, while you people just sit idle and enjoy the fruits of our labor!’

As a result, the first counterattack by the capitalists quickly failed due to a lack of organization and binding effect on its members.

Reading the news, Franz did not find it surprising at all. Unless the capitalists cut off daily necessities such as food and coal, it would be impossible to make the government compromise. However, this was exactly what the capitalists were unable to do.

At the moment, Austria’s nobles were simply too strong. Daily necessities such as food and coal could be produced in their own fiefdoms. If the capitalists refused to sell them, the nobles would simply bring their own goods to the market.

Franz knew that the struggle between the nobility and the bourgeoisie was far from over since the capitalists would never resign themselves to defeat. There would surely be another economic crisis in Austria which would lead to the price of goods greatly increasing.

When he realized this, Franz decided to remainder of the food left in his estate since the price of grain in the market had almost doubled due to the strike.

Franz called his attendant and asked, “Rolf, how much food do we have left to sell?”

Rolf Lechner looked through his account book and replied respectfully, “Your Imperial Highness, on your orders, we didn’t sell any grain yet this year, but some time ago, when the strike broke out, we did sell half a million pounds of wheat to the government to weather the crisis, leaving around 3.86 million pounds of grain in stock.”

Franz knew of the grain sold to the government since his estate was only thirty kilometers outside of Vienna. When the Empire faced such a serious crisis, it was natural that Franz, the Imperial Crown Prince, would have to help.

3.86 million pounds sounded like a huge amount. It was a little over 1,750 tons which was valued at around three thousand gold coins. However, the profits would not be that high since the cost of production was also very high. All the serfs in imperial estates had been released, so labor was no longer a small expense.

After a moment of thought, Franz ordered, “Once the price of wheat rises by another 20%, sell it all!”

He knew that capitalists would not take this defeat lying down. Food prices in Vienna would further increase since pushing up prices was one of their most commonly used tactics.

Since industrialization had begun, wheat could only be sold to flour mills; no matter how high grain prices soared in the market, the price offered by the mills would not be too high compared to the market price.

The greatest advantage of Franz’s estate was its proximity to Vienna, but in case a rebellion erupted, it would become a disadvantage. An estate close to Vienna was more exposed to the rebels and could be destroyed easily.

In this case, stocking up on grain was risky. Even if he knew that next year the Hungarian Revolution would break out and Austria’s grain prices would skyrocket, he had to silently bear the pain of selling his grain before then.

As far as he could see, in this game between capitalists and the government, speculation on high-priced stock would definitely make him quick money, but unfortunately, due to his status, he could not participate in financial speculation. Otherwise, all the nobles would follow him, and Chancellor Metternich would not be able to contain the situation.