Chapter 878 Hungary
In fact, theoretically speaking, the Hungarian Great Plains, a land rich in water and grass, should not have a food crisis.
However, three consecutive years of natural disasters starting in 1845 and their accompanying food harvests made the situation in Hungary unprecedentedly worse.
Coupled with the economic crisis that broke out in the United Kingdom, Hungary's industry and agriculture plunged into the Great Depression.
Whether they are conservative aristocrats or liberal capitalists, their first thought is to pass the crisis onto the common people.
Amid this food crisis and economic crisis, Hungary's food prices have reached an unprecedented height, while the purchase price of food has hit a record low.
Under this strange operation, a large number of farmers went bankrupt. In theory, bankrupt farmers are conducive to the development of industry.
But the reality is that the economic crisis and Hungary's own high tariff barriers have resulted in their goods being unable to be sold at all.
Domestic civilians have no spending power, so their goods are very unsalable, so they naturally don't need the extra labor.
A woodcutter could only earn one meal for three days' work, and the situation was similar in a factory.
Desperate farmers and workers launched some riots, but they did not have unified command, let alone mutual coordination.
Therefore, small-scale riots were quickly suppressed, and large-scale riots were quickly aborted due to lack of organization.
Compared with the tragic experience of the Hungarians, the royal estate is a prosperous scene. This is not to say that disasters have not visited here.
Whether it is floods or droughts, the royal estate also has to face it, but at this time the importance of leadership is reflected.
Under the unified coordination of the royal stewards and appointed officials, the ability of the royal estate to resist natural risks has been greatly enhanced.
Dams were built in the face of floods, and aqueducts were built in the face of drought. Coupled with the financial and technical support given by Franz, it was naturally a new and prosperous scene.
At the same time, the quality of German immigrants was generally higher than that of serfs in Hungary, and they were more capable of accepting and transforming natural things.
Moreover, most of them have lost their original social relationships, making it easier to manage.
In summary, the difference between Hungarian villages and royal estates is very obvious.
However, since there were also a large number of Hungarian refugees that Franz had sneaked into the royal estate, he did not have to worry about no one promoting him.
In fact, those Hungarians who were almost sold to North America now only had admiration and gratitude for Franz and the Habsburg royal family.
The life in the royal manor was unimaginable to them in the past. Having ample food, clothing, and living and working in peace and contentment was a life that even the lower-class Hungarian nobles could not enjoy.
Of course, some ultra-nationalists with ulterior motives will not miss this opportunity to discredit Austria. They take advantage of people's jealousy and claim that the Austrians have taken away the pastoral pastoral that should belong to them.
This kind of smearing and rumors was quite effective, and soon a large number of people began to hate Austria and the Habsburg family, but most people just wanted to join the royal estate.
On the other hand, the Hungarians living in the royal estates are desperately defending Austria and the royal family. After all, they are a vested interest group in a sense.
Whether out of justice or for their own interests, they have to defend the Austrian side.
As a result, this contradiction easily tore the crowd apart, and the Hungarians quickly divided into two groups and began to distinguish themselves from each other, while at the same time intensifying the contradiction.
The anti-Austrians believed that the Austrians had taken away their land, their good life, and Hungary's luck in development.
Just drive the Austrians out of Hungary and you'll have a good life.
The pro-Austrian faction is tit for tat. They feel that the Hungarian nobles do not care about the life and death of the lower class, and the royal estate should be the final destination of the Hungarians.
As long as the entire Hungary is turned into a royal territory, the contradictions will naturally disappear and everyone can live a happy life.
The high-ranking Count Szechenyi is still making his final efforts. He hopes to prevent this war and wants to use his unrealistic plans to resolve the conflicts between the two sides.
Because from a capitalist's perspective, the behemoth Austria is simply unshakable, and Hungary's poor industrial output is a joke from the former's perspective.
The most terrible thing is that Austria itself has a huge market and sources of raw materials, while the Hungarian industry relies on smuggling and blood transfusions from the nobles to support itself. The potentials of the two sides are simply not the same.
Prince Elthazi and some traditional nobles have begun to hoard food, train soldiers, move away from big cities, and start living in isolation to build their own manors into strong fortresses.
These people have a very keen sense of smell and are very experienced. They know that the time has come to reshuffle the cards. This is their opportunity to at least keep their family's industry.
Of course there are some idiots who are adding fuel to the fire, and some people who want to turn a blind eye to the facts, but they are not necessarily being perverse.
In short, their deliberate efforts to whitewash peace aroused the resentment of the public and student groups, and angered some of the people who least deserved to be offended.
With the outbreak of the Sicilian Uprising, Hungary entered a period of turmoil, with all kinds of demons and monsters competing to perform.
However, most things cannot surprise Franz. Only Petofi may have been accidentally hit by accident, or maybe he was the son of a farmer.
This talented poet proposed to unite the serfs, not only to give them freedom, but also to give them land and rights, and then unite to fight against Austria.
But this genius idea was quickly rejected by the leader Kossuth, because the concept at that time generally believed that serfs represented ignorance, stupidity, laziness, and greed.
Not to mention serfs, as long as they have anything to do with the countryside, they will be looked down upon by others, including country people, country nobles, and country businessmen.
On the one hand, it was embarrassing for Kossuth to unite with the serfs or peasants. On the other hand, liberating the serfs was indeed their slogan, but letting the peasants get land and rights was another matter.
In fact, the Hungarians' purpose in liberating serfs was to provide more labor for manual workshops, and at the same time, hiring agricultural workers was cheaper than serfs. They did not intend to do any charity.
Dividing the land would cost the lives of those nobles. Naturally, Kossuth did not dare to do so, and his supporters would not allow him to do so.
Therefore, Petofi's plan was aborted, but Petofi hated the nobility very much because his experience in Vienna made him feel that the aristocrats were the worms of the country.
Rather than joining forces, Petofi felt disgusted, but Kossuth was the leader, and he knew very well that those nobles had money, guns, and soldiers, and they were the main force against Austria.
But it was a good thing that he didn't continue, because the killer sent by Franz to Hungary was already ready to take action.
In fact, the vast majority of Hungarian landowners at this time fit the stereotype in people's minds, being selfish, misbehaving, lazy as pigs, and horribly stupid.