After an agreement was reached, Franz quickly changed the topic.

“My lords, the rebellion in Vienna has been suppressed, but I’ve received reports that there has been unrest in other regions of our Empire. In order to avoid its collapse, we must act now!”

All of the nobles’s faces fell. The collapse of the Empire? What a terrible thought that was! As nobles of Austria, their interests were bound to Austria, so if Austria collapsed, their wealth and status would also evaporate.

“Franz, are things truly so bad?” Archduke John asked, worriedly.

“I’m afraid so, Uncle John. Since the revolution in Paris in February, Europe has been shrouded in chaos, and revolutionary sentiments have become common in many regions inside Austria.

The bureaucrats of the other regions in the Empire are incompetent degenerates, just like the former bureaucrats in Vienna who simply watched as the rebellion grew. They could have easily put a stop to the rebellion, but due to their incompetence, tens of thousands of Austrians, including hundreds of nobles, were killed!

If we still fail to understand the severity of this matter and take action, our future won’t be any better than the exiled French Orleans dynasty!” Franz cautioned.

A heavy silence fell upon the room as the senior nobles and Archdukes of Austria exchanged worried glances. They had first hand experience of the dissatisfaction felt by the people over the current political system resulting in the uneven distribution of benefits.

“Franz, can you tell us more about the unrest in the other regions?” Archduke Louis frowned as he asked.

The recent revolution in Vienna had been so shocking that just the thought of something similar happening on the scale of the entire Austrian Empire had terrified him.

Franz replied after a moment’s thought, “We all know that the success of the February revolution in Paris encouraged all the revolutionaries across Europe which caused unrest in most big cities. Since the outbreak of revolution in Vienna, revolutionary sentiment has spread throughout Vienna like a wildfire. Although we successfully suppressed the rebellion in Vienna, the real masterminds behind it managed to slip away.

In fact, there’s a more pressing matter. In this revolution, other than the revolutionaries, many capitalists, nobles, and government officials were also involved. The rebels also included workers, peasants, and members of the middle class. This shows that people from all walks of life participated in the revolution. If it weren’t for the internal conflicts amongst the rebels, the revolution would not have been suppressed so easily!”

Hearing Franz’s words, the senior nobles and Archdukes of Austria were left dumbfounded. Even if they had been aware of the precarious situation, they didn’t think that even nobles would’ve been part of the revolution.

Archduke John hurriedly asked, “Franz, are you sure there were nobles involved in this rebellion? It must've been just a few individuals…”

Franz replied, “There were 83 nobles whose participation in this rebellion has been confirmed; it’s likely that many more managed to escape. In fact, they most likely participated in the rebellion in an attempt to speculate on food prices like the capitalists only to end up on the verge of bankruptcy after food prices were stabilized!”

“Those damn fools! If the Empire had collapsed, would they have been able to continue to live a good life?” Archduke Louis slammed his fist on the table as he cursed out the traitorous nobles.

Other nobles also looked grim as they also felt a bitter hatred for the traitorous nobles, whose actions had jeopardized their lives; without the Austrian Empire, how could the nobles retain their exalted status?

“I’m afraid their betrayal was encouraged by our way of doing things, which left them fearless. They were under the belief that even if the revolution failed, we wouldn’t punish them too harshly.

On the other hand, if they had succeeded, they would’ve taken our place in the new regime. Obviously, vermin like them have no respect for the glory of the nobility; if they did, they would’ve never participated in a rebellion!”

Once again, a heavy silence fell upon the room. The nobles had realized that Franz was going to try to reform the current system which would damage the interests of the nobility. When it came to their own rights and interests, no one was willing to yield.

The only one who seemed to be unaffected by the atmosphere in the room was Archduke Franz Karl. It seemed that he had merely been listening like an outsider from the start, as if this discussion had nothing to do with him.

Ignorant of the situation, he casually asked, “Franz, what are your plans?”

The eyes of every noble narrowed but they continued to maintain their silence. They weren’t ready to oppose Franz before they were sure of his purpose.

“Those who participated in this rebellion must be severely punished. Specifically, the leaders, who will be sent to the gallows, while the others will be sentenced according to the severity of their crimes.

We must also abolish all titles held by the nobles who participated in the rebellion and confiscate all their wealth and property. The specifics can be decided by His Imperial Majesty’s Court!”

Franz answered with conviction. He was not afraid that anyone would try to oppose him since hundreds of nobles had died during the rebellion. If the rebels, nobles or commoners, were not severely punished, the friends and relatives of the deceased would not be satisfied.

For a noble, in fact, the most serious punishment was not death but loss of their title and fief since that meant that their actions had ruined not only themselves, but also their family.

The nobles looked at the several Archdukes, who looked at Archduke Louis. Sighing, Archduke Louis lightly appealed, “Franz, I understand that they need to be punished but there were simply too many nobles involved in this rebellion; can you show some mercy by at least allowing them to retain their titles?”

Franz shook his head and directly stated, “If the punishment is not strict enough, it will only inspire others to start another rebellion in the future.

In addition, if these traitors are let off easily, how will we explain it to the families of the deceased? According to some reports that I had received, more than a dozen noble families were wiped completely out during the rebellion!”

In the former Holy Roman Empire, if the emperor had attempted to confiscate a noble’s fief, he would have been collectively opposed by all the nobles, however, things were different in the Austrian Empire. The nobles were no longer so numerous or powerful, so if the emperor wanted, he could deal with them which was why Franz decided to pass a strict sentence.

Once an investigation began, the involvement of more and more nobles would be discovered. Even if just a single member of a noble family had participated in the rebellion, the entire family would be involved. After all, there was no way to prove that no one else was involved. Of course, if they were smart, they would discover their only hope of survival was to prove their value to Franz before the investigation was completed, hoping that Franz would show mercy.

-TO BE CONTINUED-