Chapter 1042 The Shadow of Transylvania

Chapter 1042 The Shadow of Transylvania

Duke Baniat died suddenly, and when the nobles were leaderless, Kossuth suddenly launched a new draft of conscription and a new round of attack plan on the royal territory.

This time it will be commanded by Major General János Damojanic, one of the three giants of the historical Hungarian military.

János Damojanic was born in a low-level noble family, and even though he had repeatedly achieved military exploits, he could only sit at the bottom of the table, so he was naturally closer to Kossuth, who could change his destiny.

János Damojanic mentioned in his personal memoirs after the war that the war was just a ladder for him to advance. It didn’t really matter who was right or wrong, whether it was just or not.

But János Damojanic was much luckier than his colleague Gergei Artur, who was called a hero by Kossuth and a traitor.

Later, János Damojanic not only escaped the liquidation, but was pardoned by the Austrian Empire after two years in prison, and then became a marshal. The rest of his life can be said to be full of honor, rich clothing, and good food. He lived to the age of 83.

This man also became a hero in Romania for a time because he planned the massacre of the Saxons (a branch of the Germans) in Transylvania.

However, it was only a hundred years later that Romania discovered that this hero not only planned to massacre the local Saxons, but the Wallachians and Moldavia also kicked him out of the textbooks.

Some people in later generations said that János Damojanic possessed the spirit of modernism, but Franz, a modern man, did not think so.

But it is not a bad thing for János Damojanic to be the Hungarian commander responsible for attacking the royal territory. After all, it is not a big problem for such a person to betray the country as long as his interests are sufficient.

At this time, it was the turn of the spies arranged by Franz in Hungary to come on stage. Austria and Hungary's upper class had close contacts. The Hungarians were able to insert spies in the Austrian government, and Franz could naturally insert spies in Hungary.

And János Damojanic is indeed a "hero" who understands current affairs just like history. He naturally knows that Hungary cannot compete with Austria.

Especially after receiving the news that Austria had won consecutive battles against Britain and France, János Damojanic had further thoughts. Maybe he could be a hero for the Austrians.

However, Franz doesn't like this kind of speculator, and he won't completely trust him, so he cannot let down his precautions for a moment.

Due to changes in history, Franz actually had one more card in his hand. The original Ramberg Ferenc was not stabbed to death by Hungarian ultranationalists on his way to Hungary.

So the 69-year-old veteran was secretly sent to the royal territory of Hungary by Franz as the nominal supreme commander.

Ramberg Ferenc was historically sent to solve the Hungarian problem. He knew enough about the situation in Hungary and had enough prestige to intimidate those crooked nobles.

However, the Hungarians chose to overturn the table. People like the Imperial Marshal and the Commander-in-Chief of the Hungarian Military District could be beaten to death on the highway.

Although many history books say that this was a feat performed by the Hungarian people out of righteous indignation, Franz felt that it was a naked conspiracy.

If there wasn't a big enough force behind the scenes, how could a national official like Lamberg Ferenc be easily intercepted and tortured to death by a few people?

Not to mention the consequences of killing such a high-ranking official, ordinary people simply cannot bear it. It is impossible for ordinary people to know his route of action, let alone defeat his guards and kill him personally.

Although Ramberg Ferenc was Baujani's old superior and had commanded troops in Hungary for many years, he was a veteran who had experienced the anti-French war. He hated the word "revolution" deeply.

Franz used Ramberg Ferenc more for a symbolic purpose, on the one hand to give the people confidence, and on the other hand to deter the Hungarians.

As for whether Ramberg Ferenc can perform beyond expectations, Franz has no expectations.

In fact, Franz has been preparing for this day for many years. Every manor has been preparing for this day from the beginning of its construction.

In the past ten years, most of the veterans of the Austrian Empire, depressed low-level officers, as well as veterans and wounded soldiers who had shed their blood for the German Confederation (the Pensions Regulations for Confederate Soldiers after the Luxembourg Crisis in 1842) were sent to Hungary by Franz within the royal territory.

Together, these people number nearly 100,000, not to mention that there are not many elderly people among the million people in the entire royal territory. Their true combat power far exceeds the imagination of the Hungarians.

The Hungarian attack on the royal lands was not a one-sided massacre from the beginning, but a war in the true sense of the word.

The situation in Transylvania was relatively chaotic. Franz had planned an attack in 1839, and several leaders of secret societies were killed in a small village in Banat.

There are countless secret societies like this in Transylvania. Not only do the governments often suppress them, Hungarian and German organizations also attack them, and they even often engage in armed fights and vendettas among themselves.

This time, however, something was different, because in addition to the local Transylvanians, there were also some people from Wallachia and Moldavia.

This meeting was the first time in modern history that the concept of Romania was proposed. These organizations planned to merge Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania into a new country.

Franz will naturally not let them get what they want. Franz's purpose is to strangle them in the cradle.

Although assassinations and attacks are only temporary solutions, what the Austrian Empire needs most is time.

As long as there is enough time, Franz will be able to spot the tricks. Franz does not even need to do anything. After all, time itself is the best medicine.

Due to a series of changes brought about by Franz, Transylvania's ties with Wallachia and Moldavia were not as close as they had historically been.

Therefore, the three regions could only fight on their own. After the Hungarian government's "Twelve Points Program" was announced, Transylvania's Romanian leader O. Te Ularian immediately issued his own "Sixteen Points Program" ”, the Romanian National Council was also established.

The "Sixteen-Point Program" is more radical in content than the Hungarian "Twelve-Point Program", so there is no need for Austria to take action, and Hungary cannot tolerate it.

However, in order to win over and appease the Romanians in Transylvania, Franz immediately announced the abolition of serfdom.

Historically, the Austrian Imperial Government also did this, and the effect was good and successfully made the Transylvanians point their fingers at Hungary.

In fact, there is another reason why the Austrian government did this, and that is that the top administrator of the Austrian Empire in Transylvania chose to defect out of the country at the first opportunity.

Kolosberg (today's Cluj-Napoca, Romania's second largest city), the core of Austrian rule in Transylvania, was directly in chaos.

In the end, it was Puchner, the commander of the Transylvanian garrison, who came forward to quell the riot. This General Puchner played the role of a calming needle in Transylvania in 1848.

The highest Hungarian governor in Transylvania, Teleki Joseph, had been opposed to the Romanian gathering from the outset, and he had worked hard to suppress it.

Later, O. Te Ularian raised the banner of supporting Hungary, and Teleki Joseph restrained himself.

However, as mentioned above, the Romanians quickly pointed the finger at the Hungarians, and Teleki Joseph took advantage of the situation and forcibly dissolved the Romanian National Council.

The Austrians are far away, and the so-called Saxons actually live more in cities or independent villages. They usually do not have direct conflicts with the Romanians.

Therefore, hundreds of years of oppression and enslavement have made the conflicts between Romanians and Hungarians hard to recover and almost irreconcilable.

Unless the Hungarian government can redistribute land, which is almost impossible to happen, because it would be tantamount to asking Hungarian parliamentarians to cut their own flesh.

In addition, Hungary's ethnic policies were too extreme, which directly detonated the emotions of the Romanian people in Transylvania.

The relationship between the two sides quickly transitioned from the honeymoon period to mutual hostility and mutual vendetta. Historically, Gergei Artur and Heinrich Deme came to prominence during the battle with the Transylvanians.

In order to satisfy the sentiments of domestic nationalists, the Hungarian government directly passed the motion to annex Transylvania to Hungary on May 29, 1848, skipping the so-called Romanian representatives.

However, this time the Austrian government did not become an accomplice of the Hungarians, because the "March Laws" that should have appeared in history were not passed at all.

This was the reason why Franz allowed the chaos in Vienna to continue. The incompetent government was unable to pass any legally binding decree.

Large-scale riots make people dare not set foot easily, especially some noble "traitors". After all, the lives of these people are very precious.

Without the presence of these noble "traitors", it would be impossible for anyone to bypass the government and directly get the emperor himself to sign the decree.

In short, the Hungarian annexation request had no legal basis at this time, so when General Anton von Puchner stood up against the Hungarians, he received more support.

Klosberg.

"Subjects of the Austrian Empire! Free citizens of Transylvania! People who no longer want to endure the oppression of the Magyars!

Hungarians betrayed our motherland! They want to take your land away! Take away your property! Send your children to fight against the great armies of the Empire!

This is simply asking for death! The Imperial Government has declared the Hungarian Government to be illegitimate and I shall take over Transylvania in the name of His Imperial Majesty.

In order to protect our land, our home, and our rights, we will fight until the end! "

"Long live!"

"Long live!"

Compared to the enthusiasm of farmers near Kolosberg, the response in other parts of Transylvania was lukewarm.

In fact, the situation in Transylvania is very serious. Almost every county belongs to different forces. There are even shadows of the Russians and Ottomans behind this.