I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 917 Freedom and Equality

However, this time the situation in Austria was somewhat out of control.

In recent years, Austria has successively fought the War in the Southern Netherlands, the Silesian War, and the War against France, and in between, it also suppressed rebellions in Serbia and other places.

The huge military expenditure can only come from taxes.

Imperial taxes were nearly 20% higher than in the era of Joseph II, and a "special war tax" was also levied, which almost drained the lower-class people dry.

At this time, there were rumors that "the emperor wanted to increase the number of days of labor for serfs" and that the special war tax, which was originally supposed to be levied for only one year, would be levied indefinitely.

This "straw" finally broke the camel's back and completely crushed the serfs.

A younger serf leaned forward and said in a low voice, "I heard that the serfs of Théoden robbed Viscount Hammer's house and burned all his land deeds and indentures..."

Silden is a village more than 30 kilometers away, and % of the land there belongs to Viscount Hammer.

"God! How brave they are!"

The young serf said, "At worst, I'll be thrown into jail. Besides, they can't arrest all the villagers. If I can't pay the taxes, I'll be thrown into jail anyway, or I'll be driven to death by loan sharks!"

The serfs around him all lowered their heads and fell silent.

Two days later.

The church bells of Trenheim were rung randomly, and more than a hundred serfs from Théoden rushed into the village carrying hoes and sticks.

Soon, the serfs in the village also joined in, and the rioting team quickly expanded to nearly 300 people.

They rushed straight into Baron Scherer's manor, knocked down anyone who dared to stop them, and then started looting.

Fortunately, the Scheerers went to Vienna and avoided being injured.

An hour later, everything in the manor was looted, not even a single wooden plank was left.

The frenzied serfs swarmed through the homes of several landlords in the village like locusts, then shouted and rushed towards the nearby village to the west.

It is only 4 km away from Vienna and is connected by the King's Road.

……

Vienna.

In an alley off Graben Street, Baron Scherer opened his eyes with difficulty and looked around blankly.

The sharp pain in his forehead made his mind work again.

protest.

Policemen.

army……

By the way, the soldier gave himself a hard blow with the butt of his rifle.

Scherer struggled to get up from the ground. The protesting crowd had long disappeared. The street not far away was in a mess with blood everywhere.

What should he do? He felt despair in his heart. It was obvious that the Emperor did not want to end the war.

He staggered out of the alley, and suddenly a man wearing a black felt hat and his hands in his pockets walked past him.

The man glanced at him, stopped, walked over, and said in a hoarse voice: "I think you should be an educated gentleman."

Scherer nodded doubtfully.

The man in the black felt hat immediately took out a booklet from his pocket and stuffed it into his arms.

"What's this?"

Scherer was startled and tried to touch the book, but was held down by the man in the black felt hat: "Find a place where no one is around to read it."

The man turned and took two steps, then turned back and whispered, "Since the emperor can only bring disaster to the country, we have to find another way."

Scherer waited for him to leave, then nervously took out the booklet and saw the words printed on the cover: The Meaning of Freedom and Human Rights. He wanted to throw it away immediately, but hesitated for a second, stuffed it back into his pocket, and then walked home step by step.

On the roadside, two young people were talking excitedly, "People are protesting against the 40% increase in the price of bread, but our Queen said, 'If there is no bread, can't we just eat cake?'"

"I heard that the emperor's uncle, Baron Walter, must add five spoonfuls of honey to the water his hounds drink!"

"Damn, these vampires, vipers!"

Scherer returned home in a daze, thinking about his youngest son and how to sell the family estate.

When Mrs. Scheerer saw his face covered in blood, she was so frightened that she didn't know what to do. In the end, the maid cleaned his wound and bandaged it simply.

Baron Scherer leaned on the bed and suddenly remembered the booklet. He got up, locked the bedroom door, and then took it out.

【All men are free and should be equal...

All political forms must preserve the natural, impermanent rights of men: liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.

Even an emperor cannot arbitrarily deprive people of their birthright...

The sovereignty of a country should belong to all citizens. No one, including the emperor, may exercise power that is not explicitly granted by the people, let alone power that is opposed by the people...】

Scherer's heart was beating wildly. These unorthodox things now seemed to him to be true sayings.

Yes, why does the emperor have the right to start a war and let his David face the French cannons?
Why was his Lucas sent to the battlefield?

Why could that damn fat guy blackmail him for 3 florins?

This is totally unfair!
Listen to the people on the street, all of whom want to end the war and are against the draft.

The emperor also needs to listen to people's opinions.

No, he should listen to people's opinions, which are obviously the right ones!
He continued to read the booklet excitedly and did not fall asleep until two o'clock in the morning.

The next day.

Scherer wore a large felt hat with the brim pulled down very low and came to the cafe he often visited.

He waved to the passers-by and shouted: "Everyone listen to me!

"We are all free and equal..."

In less than 20 minutes, several secret police rushed over blowing whistles.

Scherer had never encountered such a situation before and was so frightened that he stood there in shock.

At this moment, the owner of the cafe pulled him in, then walked around to the back door and gestured to the alley outside: "Go!"

In less than a week, Vienna was engulfed in a sea of ​​protesters.

Serfs continued to pour into the city, looting and destroying everywhere.

The nobles, along with the city's merchants, workers, families of fallen soldiers who could not receive pensions, and even minor officials who were owed wages, demonstrated everywhere in protest.

The police were quickly defeated in the confrontation with countless demonstrators.

Schönbrunn Palace.

Franz II looked at the protesters surrounding Schönbrunn Palace with a grim face and said to Kobzl, "How are you going to solve this?"

Vienna has been in complete chaos for some time. The bureaucratic system has almost come to a standstill, and taxation, conscription, and the like cannot be carried out.

There were protesters on every street and large numbers of shops were looted every day.

The worst thing is that some people have been giving speeches on the streets inciting people to "legislate to limit the emperor's power" and "form a parliament to govern the country."

Similar pamphlets have even flowed into Schönbrunn Palace.

"This..." The Minister of the Interior lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, the police can no longer control the situation. Right now we can only send troops into Vienna to quell the riot."

(End of this chapter)