Chapter 938 Ideal and Reality
Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman Sultan Megid once again confirmed to his Grand Vizier that Britain and France would send troops to Austria at the same time.
“The British have made a statement that they will temporarily suspend the peace agreement with the Austrians for the sake of peace in Europe and the world.
The invincible British Empire fleet will return to the Mediterranean and join forces with the French to lay siege to Austria.
The British government expressed its willingness to support us in recovering places such as Belgrade and Western Bosnia, and was very happy to see us complete the unfinished mission of our ancestors. "
The price offered by the British was very high, not only in Belgrade and Western Bosnia, but even all the way to Vienna. As long as the Ottomans could eat it, it was theirs.
But Magid is not an idiot. He knows very well that he and his Ottoman Empire cannot eat this piece of pie.
So he united the Serbian Obrenovi family and the Hungarians, and each of the three parties got what they needed.
The Ottomans would retake Belgrade, Serbia would take back western Bosnia, and the Hungarians would receive the other legacies of St. Stephen's crown.
The Obrenovich family was very willing to cooperate and even provided a military defense map of Belgrade that they had collected.
The Obrenovic family has been operating in Belgrade for many years, and Belgrade itself is also a traditional settlement of Serbian people, so this information is quite credible.
But relatively speaking, the Hungarian people's performance was much colder. The Hungarian government did not give Magid a clear answer.
This is not because Kossuth felt that the Ottoman Empire was a dispensable ally. On the contrary, Hungary was in urgent need of allies at this time.
Pressburg's great victory deceived the ignorant people in the country. No politician or soldier would believe such nonsense as "80,000 enemies were wiped out before the enemy's wall was breached."
Baujani now holds nearly half of Hungary's troops, but he cannot even attack a small Pressburg.
Kossuth wanted to change his general, but at this time, Baujani was the hero of Hungary, and it was he who personally promoted this hero to the altar.
If you can't change generals, you can only continue to increase troops or increase allies. First of all, increasing troops is not reliable.
The first is that there are no more troops to send. Hungary has a lot of troops on paper, but due to the long-term phenomenon of a large number of empty pay, there are no troops to send during the war.
As for these recruits who have signed up enthusiastically, their combat effectiveness is extremely limited before they complete the most basic training.
The tens of thousands of casualties suffered during the attack on Pressburg are the best proof. Generally speaking, a unit may collapse if it loses more than 20% to 30%.
The casualty ratio of the new troops sent before was actually as high as 40%. This was not because they were brave, but because they had exceeded the critical value before they could react.
Annihilate 80,000 enemies? Being able to annihilate 10,000 kossuths would be a high price.
However, the reality is that the defenders in Pressburg suffered less than 200 casualties in total. The time, place and people were all on Austria's side, and it was difficult to defend the city without a big victory.
Kossuth knew very well that it would be better not to fight than to continue sending new soldiers to their deaths.
Secondly, we cannot afford to send troops.
Hungary's financial situation is very poor, especially after the establishment of the new Hungarian government, its fiscal revenue fell to a historical low.
Theoretically speaking, according to the twelve-point program proposed by the Hungarians, fiscal revenue at this time should increase.
After all, the Hungarian Parliament had complete control over taxation at this time, and could independently formulate taxes and adjust tax rates according to its own situation. Everyone had to pay taxes, including the estates of Austrian nobles and royal territories.
However, the reality is that after the Hungarian Parliament broke away from the Austrian system, those areas that were originally part of the Crown Territory of St. Stephen began to refuse to pay taxes to the Hungarian government.
As for the Austrian nobles and royal territories, it is even less possible to pay taxes to the rebels, and the original toll taxes and customs duties are even more out of the question.
It cannot be said that everyone must pay taxes and that they can independently formulate taxes according to their own circumstances and adjust tax rates. It can only be said that the Hungarians have figured it out.
Didn't you say how much you paid in taxes? Everyone can pay taxes individually according to their own circumstances, which gives everyone considerable room for maneuver.
Big businessmen and factory owners are the future of the country. How can we develop with more taxes? So let’s take a symbolic 1%.
banker? Those are the best people in Hungary and they are the foundation of the economy! It is the country’s confidence! Must be vigorously supported!
A big noble? We cannot destroy unity. The army is still in the hands of others. Besides, which of the congressmen here does not have a supporter behind him?
Citizens? The general public are staunch supporters of the new Kingdom of Hungary, and they are also serious supporters of Mr. Kossuth.
Single-clothed aristocrat? They are so poor that they only have one piece of clothing left. What do they use to pay taxes?
So all the burdens would fall on the serfs again, but Petofi knew the current situation in Hungary very well, and he sympathized with the farmers, so he formulated a land reform plan early on.
Kossuth also understood what Petofi meant, to enlist more people to fight Austria together, so as to improve Hungary's chances of winning.
Therefore, Kossuth once carried out serfdom reform under great pressure, but it was not enough to liberate the serfs. Not only were the small landowners dissatisfied, but even the serfs would rebel because they lost their source of livelihood.
At this time, Hungary's industry was still too backward and could not support these millions of serfs. The serfs were displaced after being liberated, and they became the most unstable factor in Hungary.
In just a few months, the emancipated serfs revolted more than all the other foreign peoples in St. Stephen's Crown combined.
In order to appease the serfs, land reform could only be implemented. Now the serfs were satisfied, but the landowners and nobles were dissatisfied.
Especially those land capitalists who pursue efficiency and profit. They feel that cutting the land into small pieces and giving it to the serfs is a waste of natural resources.
Therefore, in order to appease the landed aristocracy and capitalists, the Hungarian government had no choice but to adopt a redemption policy.
These burdens were then placed on the serfs.
However, this did not calm the anger of the nobility and capitalists, and the new Hungarian government had no choice but to assume part of the debt.
In the face of some powerful nobles and capitalists, it is even necessary to advance the redemption fee.
When the government has no money, it naturally has no choice but to borrow high-interest loans from bankers. Even so, not many bankers are willing to lend money to the new Hungarian government.
In addition, operations such as turning the country into a home are common. With all this, it is surprising that the financial revenue of the new Kingdom of Hungary can be high.
At this time, the army of the Kingdom of Hungary is completely borrowing money to pay military salaries. If it continues to increase troops for such a large-scale war, the salaries of government officials will be a problem.
So Kossuth desperately needed allies, especially after the Italians and Czechs were eliminated, he felt tremendous pressure.
Kossuth believes that Hungary will be next, so he must now unite all the forces that can be united as much as possible.