Chapter 162 Parliament Arson Case
March 2, 1839, Hungary.
For ordinary people living in Pest, this day was no different. The streets were still noisy, filled with melancholy and lifeless people.
From time to time, people in the river shouted excitedly because they found the property on the corpse, and homeless people walked through the streets in groups. The aristocratic gentlemen would have dance parties in their own homes, singing and dancing day and night without stopping for a hangover. People who became rich due to the food crisis would sit high in the cafe and look down at their masterpieces.
A fire broke the tranquility of the city, with black smoke billowing from the Hungarian Parliament Hall and the sound of glass exploding.
However, the surrounding residents watched all this happening in confusion, as if it had nothing to do with them. In fact, the Hungarian Parliament Hall is an independent building, and it does not affect other people.
But even the firefighters didn't show up. In response to Count Pilar's passive resistance policy, the fire chief went directly to Belgium for vacation. Those who were supposed to be at the fire scene were drunk at the station.
When the police chief knocked on the door of the fire brigade, he was told by the firefighters that they had the day off.
Seeing the attitude of the fire brigade, the police chief simply went home and lay down.
As the Hungarian Parliament Hall was engulfed in fire, the big nobles (nobles mainly living in Vienna), country nobles (nobles living in Hungary), and Kossuth all felt that the fire was too strange and must have been intentional. for it.
However, none of the three parties admitted that they released it, but someone must be responsible for this.
The country nobles felt that it must be the fanatics under Kossuth who had done something good. After all, they could strip a gentleman like Count Pilar naked and tie him to a cross. There was nothing crazy they couldn't do.
Kossuth felt that the country nobles did not want to cough up relief funds, so he burned the entire parliament and blamed the people.
Kossuth's view was supported by the great nobles. After all, the stolen money was in the hands of the rural nobles. Without the parliament hall, the Hungarian government could only shut down, so that they could evade their responsibilities.
The rural nobles retorted that the Hungarian government would not be shut down even if the parliament hall was missing. Maybe the big nobles wanted to skip the Hungarian Parliament and exercise their rights directly, so they burned the parliament hall.
All three parties had reasons for setting fire, but the suspicion of the rural nobles was obviously greater, and it was more in line with the interests of the great nobles and Kossuth.
Attacking the rural aristocracy is beneficial to both the great nobility and Kossuth. For the great nobility, it can better consolidate its power and at the same time dominate Hungary's interests. For Kossuth, on the one hand, it can establish itself in the minds of the people. On the other hand, the big nobles needed an agent in Hungary. After the fall of the rural nobles, he was the ideal candidate.
As a result, the two sides hit it off immediately, and the arson case turned into a premeditated rebellion.
The great nobles continued to send news about Hungary back to Vienna to build momentum for their subsequent counter-rebellion. Kossuth, the censor, also used his power to block the mouthpieces of the rural nobles.
Of course, the rural nobles would not sit back and wait for death. They decided to strike first, so the horse bandits who dared to attack even the royal estate rushed into Budapest and madly pursued the nobles, Kossuth and his cronies.
A real-life battle royale was staged in Budapest, Hungary.
Horse bandits rampaged through the streets, but the police stations and gendarmerie kept their doors closed.
The corpses of civilians were everywhere. Horse bandits broke into hotels and personal mansions and pulled out the newly appointed noble officials and executed them.
Some officials were protected by guards, so the horse bandits set fire to all nearby buildings to force them out.
The opinion leaders in the tavern did not escape the fate. They were dragged through the streets by horse bandits in search of Mr. Kossuth, whom they supported.
At this time, their Mr. Kossuth was hiding in the home of a French female reporter. When the horse bandits entered the city, Kossuth had just finished the interview and was discussing life with the female reporter, so he escaped.
Some sought refuge in churches, but God did not bless His people.
The horse bandits rushed into the church and took away the person they were looking for. At the same time, they set a fire in the church and sealed the door, leaving the people inside to cry and curse.
For the horse bandits, this is a good day. After all, the city's fuel and water are much better than those of the caravans.
A small number of people escaped Budapest on horseback under the desperate protection of the guards. When they came to the garrison barracks to seek help, they found that someone was already waiting for them.
The next day, the city returned to its former appearance, except for the burned buildings and dead people.
The rural nobles felt that everything could be left to the horse bandits as usual, and then the problem would be solved by just finding some serfs to take the blame.
However, on the third day, the Austrian army arrived in Budapest by ship, led by Archduke Albrecht.
Those killed were indeed Hungarians, but many of them were also members of the Vienna City Defense Force.
Justice Albrecht was the commander of the city defense army. Although his city defense army was known as the worst army in the Austrian Empire, it was still not comparable to the military police and horse bandits.
At the same time, under the operation of the great nobles in Vienna, the rebellion in Budapest was carried out. Even Prince Elthazy went to the Hall of Mirrors in person to request the emperor's order to quell the rebellion. The emperor's order was quickly passed by the Regency Council.
(The previous Prince Elthazy has died and is now his successor.)
After all, the Regent Council has long wanted to attack Hungary. This time, not only was there an imperial order from the emperor, but it was also proposed by the Hungarians themselves. It would be strange if they didn't do it.
Albrecht was visited by many Hungarian nobles. On the surface, these people were trying to quell the rebellion and avenge their relatives, but in fact they were bribing Albrecht, hinting that he would rather kill him by mistake than let him go.
Albrecht had long disliked those slave traders and rebels. After receiving dual support, he immediately started to attack horse bandits and corruption in a two-pronged approach.
The problem of horse bandits plagued Hungary until the end of World War II. It was only later that the Soviet Union completely eliminated the horse bandits that had been entrenched in Hungary for thousands of years.
However, these horse bandits were quickly defeated under the pursuit of the so-called "worst legion in Austria", and the manors where they were hiding were found one by one.
Another clue leading to the embezzlement of 35.9 million florins in disaster relief funds also emerged. A large number of Hungarian nobles and officials were arrested, many of whom had participated in the previous slave trade.
Albrecht led the Vienna city defense troops to raid homes everywhere in Budapest, and the nobles were not idle either. They were desperately trying to make accusations against their opponents who had murdered their family members.
Soon Albrecht returned to Vienna with 35.9 million florins in disaster relief funds. The money would be redistributed for refugee relief, but the vast majority of it went to Franz's estate.
The Regency Council had no objection to this. After all, Franz's manor did absorb a large number of refugees, and the strength of the royal family was also conducive to the stability of the country. This was an indisputable fact in the Austrian Empire.