African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1432: Conversation at Schönbrunn Palace

Schönbrunn Palace.

The Schönbrunn Palace looked particularly desolate today. Dark clouds shrouded the sky over Vienna, and the imperial officials and court staff all had cold and sad expressions on their faces.

In the emperor's study, a desktop radio made in the Austro-Hungarian Empire was buzzing, and the voice of a strange announcer came from the speaker of the radio.

This announcer was obviously unprofessional. His choice of words and sentences were not very sophisticated. He was like a factory worker, reading a very passionate speech in a high-pitched and powerful tone.

"Dear listeners, this is Radio Budapest. Today is February 1926, 2, 2: p.m."

"On behalf of the Labor Government of Budapest, I solemnly issue the following proclamation to the people of Hungary and the Austro-Hungarian Empire."

"Our Budapest Labor Party government is the government of all oppressed workers and represents the interests of the grassroots people... Today, the Budapest government, which has committed many crimes, has been overthrown."

"This is undoubtedly a victory for the broad masses of working people. A new era is about to dawn, but before that, we, the Budapest Labor Party government, would like to issue a solemn reminder to everyone."

"The changes are just beginning, the reactionary forces are still strong, and their influence is everywhere in Hungary and the entire empire."

"Therefore, in order to overthrow the reactionary forces headed by the Habsburg family, whether Hungarians, Serbs... or Austrians, they should actively join in the activities to overthrow the reactionary rule of the Habsburgs."

"The Habsburg family is a huge mountain standing on the heads of the Hungarian people. They are in collusion with the Hungarian nobles to exploit and squeeze the blood and sweat of the great Hungarian workers... All the workers, peasants and laborers in Hungary and the Austro-Hungarian Empire should stand up and jointly oppose the tyranny of this evil empire."

"The Habsburgs are a bunch of warmongers..."

Rudolf turned off the radio at the right time to prevent the Labor Party on the radio from continuing to talk and making his old father angry.

At this moment, Franz, sitting on the sofa, suddenly opened his closed eyes. There was no change on his haggard face, but Rudolf could feel the anger brewing in Franz's heart.

Franz said, "Why not let me go? I want to hear how these Labor Party members frame me as a criminal."

Rudolf said with a wry smile: "Father, don't joke at this time. The Labor Party members are a group of extremists who are dissatisfied with society. Their words cannot be trusted."

Franz said unhappily: “Actually, there is nothing wrong with what these Labour Party members said, but it is precisely because of this that they are the most terrifying.”

"For the whole of Europe, Labour Party members are undoubtedly extremists who will disrupt the normal social order."

"Their speech is extremely inflammatory to the grassroots people, and the threat they pose is no less than that of any extreme group."

"Ever since the success of the Soviet Labour Party, a Labour shadow has been hanging over all of Europe, and now, as expected, the Empire has become their target of choice."

Rudolf consoled him, "Father, you don't have to worry too much. The situation shouldn't be too bad. After all, the Soviet Union was able to succeed because of the special international environment at the time. Tsarist Russia was already in the midst of internal and external troubles."

"Although the development of the empire in recent years has not been satisfactory, our situation is much better than that of Nicholas II. Therefore, we will definitely be able to strangle this so-called Hungarian Labor Party government."

Franz, leaning on his cane, said to Crown Prince Rudolf with an extremely fierce look: "This time, the Hungarian Labor Party has set a very bad precedent. We must suppress it with thundering means. Otherwise, the empire may completely collapse at any time."

"This is not just a Labour Party problem. We also have to consider whether extreme nationalism in various places will take advantage of the situation to stir up trouble."

"If we fail to handle the emergency in Budapest this time, it will inevitably trigger a chain reaction. By then, not only Hungary, but also Bosnia, Bohemia, Croatia and so on may experience unrest."

Rudolf said to Franz: "Father, I have mobilized the army yesterday and are ready to enter Hungary to suppress the Labor Party. At the same time, I have also ordered the governments of various parts of Hungary to actively cooperate with the government's actions."

"Although the enemy unexpectedly occupied Budapest, we still have many supporters in Hungary. They may not be the same as us, but they all have the same attitude towards the Labour Party."

Although Budapest fell, the situation in Hungary was not as bad as imagined, because Hungary itself had a low level of industrialization.

Therefore, apart from a few cities such as Budapest, the majority of Hungary's population still lives in rural areas, which are also the base of the Hungarian nobles.

When Budapest fell, the local Hungarian nobles would obviously not remain indifferent. After all, compared to the Austrians they hated, the Hungarian Labor Party was their real mortal enemy.

After listening to Rudolf's arrangement, Franz felt a little better. He said, "We still can't take it lightly. In fact, compared to Hungary, I am more worried about Bosnia, Galicia and Croatia."

"Although the Hungarian nobles have different ideas, they are still our own people. In the most critical moment of the empire, they can still stand with us."

"In other places, the situation is very different from that in Hungary, especially in Galicia. We have to consider whether Poland will take advantage of the situation."

"To be honest, it was a bad move to let Poland become independent. We helped them to restore their country and we are their benefactors. But they are greedy and are instigating separatist activities in Galicia."

Poland's restoration was mainly achieved with the support of the former Central Powers, namely Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

It is obvious that the Poles are not satisfied with the current territorial status quo. Not only against the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but also Germany and the Soviet Union, the Poles believe that these three countries have stolen Polish land.

However, Poland obviously did not dare to challenge the powerful Germany, so it could only focus on the Soviet Union and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

However, the Poles had fought with the Soviet Union before and lost a large amount of territory in the east. In this situation, the Poles were heartbroken.

Since Poland can't afford to offend Germany and the Soviet Union, the Austro-Hungarian Empire seems to be the easiest to bully. However, this "weakest" neighbor is not someone Poland can easily provoke.

However, the Poles did not give up. They were well aware of the huge disparity in national strength between Poland and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Since they could not confront each other head-on, it was okay for them to make some small moves.

For example, they could incite the Poles in Galicia to return to Poland. Although this move was disgusting, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had no better solution. They could not invade Poland, which might repeat what happened to Serbia. After the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian government had obviously grown a lot.

Of course, with the international status and strength of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it would certainly not worry about Poland’s small moves.

But now is obviously not an ordinary time, but a special period. If there is large-scale turmoil in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who knows whether the Poles will cause trouble.

Similarly, the Serbs, Italians, and various ethnic groups within the Austro-Hungarian Empire were now targets of the Habsburgs' vigilance.

Franz gnashed his teeth and said, "The Hungarian Labor Party picked a good time. They were the first to jump out. Whether they can succeed or not is not the question. Their actions alone have already caused us huge hidden dangers at the very beginning, even if we can suppress them this time."

"The government will inevitably experience a new round of turmoil in the future. If we make even the slightest mistake, the future of the empire may be ruined."

"So now I hate this bunch of damned Labour Party members, not only because they broke the rules or threatened our Habsburg rule, but more importantly, their current actions are actually dividing the empire."

"The transition from the Austrian Empire to the Austro-Hungarian Empire represents the decline of central power. For decades, I have been nervously maintaining the fragile balance of the empire."

"You could say that the Austro-Hungarian Empire is my hard work. Although it is not good enough, I can't find a better solution to solve the problems of this empire."

"I even have a feeling that this empire has never escaped the brink of collapse. If we can be given more time, perhaps everything will be fine."

"But these damned Labour Party elements have completely ruined our chance, interrupting the process of imperial integration, even though it was a very slow and unsatisfactory one."

"So, for the Hungarian Labor Party, we will catch one and kill one. I will make them bleed like a river. Even if it is not easy for us, we will never let these bastards go."

After venting his emotions at the top of his lungs, Franz asked, "Have you contacted the German side?"

Rudolf quickly responded: "I spoke to Emperor Wilhelm II yesterday, and he has clearly expressed his support for us."

"At the same time, he assured on behalf of the German government that it would provide as much help as possible when we suppress the Hungarian Labor Party."

"Especially in the international arena, they will help us avoid some troubles."

The so-called troubles naturally refer to the countries around the Austro-Hungarian Empire that have conflicts with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, such as Poland, Italy and Serbia.

With Germany's prestige in Central and Eastern Europe, as long as they stand with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, basically, few countries dare to take advantage of the situation.

However, there is obviously a country in this region that Germany cannot deal with, namely the Soviet Union. The current balance in Eastern Europe has basically returned to the level before World War I. The difference is that the Austro-Hungarian Empire is gradually weakening, especially compared with the Soviet Union and Germany.

Of course, since the Austro-Prussian War in the last century, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, or the former Austrian Empire, has basically lost the capital to compete with Germany, and the gap between the two countries has become increasingly larger.

Now, overall, Central and Eastern Europe is still led by Germany. After all, although the Soviet Union was not weak, its relations with the governments of other European countries were not very bad, but could be said to be completely hostile.

Like other Eastern European countries, as capitalist or monarchical countries, they basically look for Germany or Britain and France outside the region as arbitrators. However, since World War I, the influence of Britain and France in Central and Eastern Europe has shrunk significantly, which is equivalent to tacitly acknowledging Germany's dominant position in Central and Eastern Europe.

In short, Germany could solve the external crisis of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Even if the domestic situation in the Austro-Hungarian Empire really deteriorated to the point where it could not be resolved, it was not ruled out that Germany would send troops to help the Habsburgs, especially in dealing with the Labor Party.

Last time, Germany suffered a great loss at the hands of the Soviet Union. However, during this period, with the improvement of the economy, Germany has recovered some of its vitality. William II has always wanted to find an opportunity to retaliate.

And if the Hungarian Labor Party in the Austro-Hungarian Empire becomes stronger, Germany will obviously not remain indifferent.

Therefore, Rudolf said: "With the support of the Germans, we will be more confident in encircling the Labor Party members in Budapest and other places. For the current empire, we have no way to retreat. Only after solving the problem of the Labor Party can we consider the future path."

Franz also agreed with this view. He said: "Wilhelm II is still reliable. With his support, the Hungarian Labor Party will never be able to make a comeback unless the Soviet Union is willing to help them."

"But the Soviet Union obviously could not afford this result. The new Soviet leadership is obviously more rational and practical."

"Moreover, after so many years of war, the Soviet Union is not much better off than us. Without threatening their core interests, they will not give too much support to the Hungarian Labor Party."

"Of course, we can't completely let down our guard by thinking that the enemy won't take action or relying on the support of our German allies."

"While encircling and suppressing the Hungarian Labor Party, other parts of the country should also implement a new round of martial law. After all, if the Labor Party can launch riots in Hungary, then Labor parties in other places may follow suit."

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a rather strange country, which can be seen from the factions of the Labor Party within the Empire. Since there was the so-called Hungarian Labor Party, there were also the Austrian Labor Party, the Bohemian Labor Party, the Galician Labor Party, and so on.

This may even lead to a merger between the Labour Party and extreme nationalism. After all, in a sense, the people in power, namely the Habsburg and Austro-Hungarian governments, are also the objects of their common hatred.

For example, in the past, the Social Democratic Party of Hungary cooperated with the Hungarian Labor Party to form a new Socialist Party and established a Labor Party regime. However, in the end, many members of the original Social Democratic Party chose to rebel because of disagreements, which accelerated the collapse of the Labor Party regime.

Franz said: "Now, I am very worried about the local army, especially when they may be bewitched by the Labor Party. This time, the army in Budapest mutinied, which led to the fall of Budapest."

“So, after we deal with the Hungarian Labor Party, we need to reorganize the army and catch the Labor Party elements in the army.”

The army can be said to be the last guarantee of the national regime, and one of the most important reasons for the fall of Budapest was the infiltration of Hungary into the Budapest army, so Franz had to remind Rudolf.

Rudolf also had his own ideas about this. He said: "It just so happens that we can also take advantage of this opportunity to try to make some changes to the army, so as to take back some power and strengthen the authority of the central government."

As for the Hungarian Labor Party, as the two people said before, they did not believe that the Hungarian Labor Party could succeed. Even if the Austro-Hungarian Empire could not do it, there was still the German government to help.

(End of this chapter)