Chapter 161 Defeat magic with magic
Hungary, Budapest.
The judgment of the Austrian Imperial Government still aroused dissatisfaction in Hungary.
They could not accept the new Austrian officials, let alone the existence of the inspector.
Although the newly appointed officials are also Hungarians, they are all big nobles who have lived in Austria for a long time. These people have no concern for the interests of the rural nobles of Hungary.
Although the stronger the power of the Hungarian landlords is, the more beneficial it is to them, these nobles do not have the courage to go to war with the Austrian Empire.
On the contrary, they now fully support Széchenyi's statement that the relief and comfort work for the victims should be done well and beautifully. At the same time, they do not rule out the desire of the newly appointed officials to establish their authority.
And these newly appointed officials soon discovered a problem, that is, the government did not have a penny, not a grain of grain, and even the 5.9 million florins that had just been confiscated were missing.
This made the big nobles who lived in Vienna all year round feel very contemptible, and even looked down on these country nobles.
So the newly appointed officials began to recover these funds. First, because of the existence of the supervisor, they had to do it. Second, they did not get a share of the pie, so how could they be willing to take the blame for those rural nobles.
But there is no reason to spit it out after eating it.
So the local Hungarian nobles began to squeeze out the big nobles who came by air, but those big nobles were not given for free. The two sides fought each other to win or lose.
However, Count Szechenyi, as the Ombudsman, could not stand it anymore, because the two sides only focused on internal fighting and did not take care of the refugees.
Many large cities in Hungary are flooded with refugees, and many refugees who fish in troubled waters take the opportunity to cause trouble in the city.
On the one hand, Széchenyi wrote to the Austrian Imperial Government to request continued funding, and on the other hand, he warned the two parties in the internal conflict not to embezzle money for disaster relief.
Both sides dismissed Szechenyi's weak warning as nothing more than air.
Along with Szechenyi, Kossuth was the inspector. He was supposed to be imprisoned, but under Franz's operation, this beast was released. His behavior was not like Szechenyi's. Cheney is so gentle.
As a public figure, visibility is his life force, and Kossuth knows this.
At the same time, as an ultra-nationalist, he cannot turn a blind eye to his supporters.
In order to continue to expand his influence, Kossuth organized a group of people to march to the Hungarian Parliament with refugees, and surrounded the fighting parties in the Hungarian Parliament hall.
"We want bread! We want work!" Kossuth shouted.
"We want bread! We want jobs!" the victims and Kossuth supporters shouted.
"Hand over the relief money!"
In fact, just now, Kossuth, along with his supporters and refugees, raided Count Pilar's mansion and found the relief bill.
The 35.9 million florins in relief funds were actually spent and not a penny was left.
Some of the entries are even more outrageous. For example, a small garden in front of Count Pilar's house was destroyed by the storm, and the repair cost was as high as 1.5 million florins.
At this time, the world's largest stadium cost 50,000 pounds, which is 500,000 florins. The Crystal Palace that shocked the world in Britain in 1851 cost 80,000 pounds. Comparing it, you will know how outrageous Count Pilar's garden is. .
Kossuth certainly knew how to incite the people. The indignant people surrounded the Hungarian Parliament, and countless stones rained down on the doors and windows of the Parliament.
Count Pilar himself was tied to a cross, and the people erected the cross in front of the Parliament.
Count Pilar was only wearing a pair of underwear at this time, his mouth was gagged and his head tilted to one side, like the suffering Jesus.
Kossuth read the contents of the account book loudly, and from time to time explained to the people the crimes committed by the Hungarian nobles.
Every time he said a word, the crowd would let out a gasp.
Although Kossuth came to power with the support of the nobles, he was not willing to be just a puppet, and his supporters were not the country nobles, but the big nobles in Vienna.
He is now announcing the crimes of those rural nobles, which is undoubtedly helping the big nobles seize power.
At the same time, this righteous act will also make Kossuth a real prince, because the people will remember him as a hero who is not afraid of power.
This kind of real good thing has a much better effect than promoting Magyarism and the Austrian threat theory.
In the ledger, Kossuth even found an opportunity to suppress his opponent.
"Count Szechenyi, three stone steps, 1.2 million florins!"
The crowd let out a burst of exclamation. Although some people questioned that Count Szechenyi should be a good man, they were even more shocked by this number. Coupled with the infection of the surrounding people, they no longer sought the truth, but let out a burst of surprise in accordance with the rhythm of the crowd. call.
"1.2 million florins, 878.68 kilograms of gold! Are the steps of Count Szechenyi's house made of gold?"
"Hand over the thief!"
"Hand over the money you stole from us!"
The crowd shouted excitedly, and the few voices of doubt and opposition were instantly drowned in the surging crowd.
Originally, the two factions in the parliament hall hoped to use Count Szechenyi's reputation to stabilize the irritable people, but now it seems that there is no hope.
In fact, as soon as the crowd took to the streets, the military police and the army noticed that something was wrong, but neither side stopped them. After all, they did not get the order. If the noble gentlemen had the intention, they would be nothing more than dogs and mice.
Moreover, the anarchy in Hungary has not lasted for more than a day or two, and we have seen countless demonstrations. Today they are anti-Austria, tomorrow they are anti-Catholic, and the day after tomorrow they are anti-slave trade.
But even though angry people surrounded the parliament hall, the two parties still couldn't reach a consensus.
By night, Kossuth was tired of shouting, and the people's enthusiasm was defeated by the secreted gastric juice, so the crowd had no choice but to disperse.
Kossuth did not have the courage to lead the people to attack the Hungarian Parliament Hall because he only wanted fame, not death.
The leaders of the uprisings in Europe during this period almost never ended well. He had already been arrested once, and he knew very well how vulnerable those so-called supporters were in front of the gendarmes.
Attacking the Hungarian Parliament Hall was undoubtedly a declaration of war against the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. The consequences were something he could not bear.
As for the young people among the victims, most of them had been moved to the royal estate by Franz. The remaining people just wanted to have a good meal, and they had no interest in rebellion.
As for Kossuth's supporters and the refugees who fish in troubled waters, they are not here to fight for the real benefits.
Even ultra-nationalists do not want to attack their own people.
Only a few fanatics wanted to make the matter bigger, but Kossuth was not an idiot. His purpose of putting pressure on the government had been achieved, and there was no need to risk his life for it, so he ordered the crowd to disperse.
The big nobles and country nobles dispersed when they saw the crowd outside, and a new round of more intense quarrels broke out between the two sides.
Just when everyone thought the day would end in a ridiculous farce, the Hungarian Parliament Hall burst into flames.
Franz believed that only magic could defeat magic, so he released Kossuth.
But the truth about this parliamentary arson case can only be left to future generations to comment on.