Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 85
Chapter 85: Chapter 85, Montenegro History
Translator: 549690339
Budapest, ever since the Austrian Army’s siege, had been gripped by panic, and if it weren’t for the new government’s illusions about their ally, the Kingdom of Sardinia, many would have already fled.
Of course, those who hadn’t fled were preparing to escape. Budapest City, covering a significant area, had its fortifications arranged by the Bohemian Corps strictly in a ‘surround-three-leave-one-be’ pattern to prevent the enemy from making a desperate move.
It was quite easy for just a few individuals to flee; as long as it wasn’t a large troop movement, the Austrian Army would hardly notice.
The Minister of the Army Department of the Hungarian Republican
Government, General Gold, said distressedly, “Mr. Kossuth, we’ve just received intelligence that the traitorous Croatians are going to join forces with the Austrians outside the city tomorrow.
By then, the number of enemy troops besieging the city will rise to 150,000, and Budapest will be unable to hold any longer!”
“General Gold is right,” said Chernir, Minister of Interior, “Budapest simply cannot withstand the enemy’s forces, and this revolution has already failed. To salvage what we can and save Hungary, I propose we negotiate peace with the Vienna Government!”
With the military defeat, reactionary forces in Hungary began to rear their heads.
The bourgeoisie nobility led by Chernir and the conciliatory faction of the military led by General Gold attempted to negotiate with the Austrian Government to protect their interests.
For Kossuth, this was undoubtedly terrible news. Long before the Bohemian Corps had besieged the city, he advocated taking the initiative to strike while the enemy was still unstable, but unfortunately, he was opposed by the military.
Now, with the enemy outside the city, busy distributing land seized from the wealthy, the Austrian Army had already won the support of local people, relying on freeing serfs and distributing land.
On the contrary, the Hungarian Republic was viewed with hostility by the local people; in the eyes of the ordinary citizens, the Emperor in distant Vienna was their protector, while the Hungarian Government in Budapest was just a tool for the nobility and capitalists to exploit them.
Minister of Education Petofi urgently objected, “No, if we negotiate with Austria now, Hungary will be partitioned. The Vienna Government is secretly plotting to divide Hungary, and all we will be left with is just one province!
Even with that one province, we won’t have any autonomy. The Vienna Government is in a position of strength, how could they possibly compromise?”
Compromise, in fact, the Revolutionaries also didn’t mind compromising with the Vienna Government, but the gap between the conditions of the two parties was just too large.
Under Franz, the Austrian Government prepared to divide Hungary into five provinces: Croatia, Slavonia, Vojvodina, Transylvania, and Hungary.
That was no secret anymore, Croatia and Transylvania had already established their independent provincial governments, and the governments of Slavonia and Vojvodina were also in preparation.
Once this plan succeeded, the Kingdom of Hungary would become history. Due to national relations, if they wanted independence again, they would only have the remaining Hungarian province, and this difficulty increased by several times.
Chernir retorted, “Mr. Petofi, but the reality is that we simply cannot win the war!
If we don’t negotiate with the Austrian Government, then the end result will probably be even worse, and they will turn Hungary into history.
Throughout the long river of history, countless nations have disappeared.
Surely you don’t want to see the Hungarian nationality disappear, do you?” Kossuth said fervently, “The great Hungarian nationality will not vanish, history will prove that the enemy’s plots and tricks are in vain. As long as we persevere, we will surely win the victory!”
“To win this war, I have already invited the renowned Polish General Henrik-Dembinski. I believe we can certainly win this war!”
Chernir’s expression darkened but he said nothing. Despite his disdain for
Kossuth’s tendency to launch into speeches at the drop of a hat, the Revolutionary Party was in control and he wasn’t inclined to openly clash with them.
At this stage, could the outcome of the war really be changed by the strength of an individual?
The daring establishment of the Hungarian Republic was due to Hungary being a cohesive entity while the Austrian Empire was on the brink of collapse, and the Vienna Government’s reform measures had infringed upon their interests.
Who would have thought that in no time at all, Austria would stabilize internally while Hungary, undermined by the Vienna Government’s political onslaught, became fractured. The balance of power between the two had shifted dramatically.
No one is a fool. Apart from the barefooted members of the Revolutionary Party, everyone else was thinking about their way out. The Vienna Government was showing no mercy in dealing with the rebels; who amongst those with family and property was willing to risk their lives?
What the big shots think doesn’t concern the commoners of Budapest. They are worried about their daily meals, especially since the siege by the Austrian Army cut off Budapest’s supply channels with the outside world.
Hungary is one of Europe’s main grain-producing regions, surrounded by farmland near Budapest. There is no shortage of grain within the city.
Unfortunately, prices have been skyrocketing! Don’t talk to capitalists about the greater good; there are plenty who would put money before life. In this crisis, instead of helping each other, they take advantage of the situation.
Take the cheapest black bread as an example. Its price has risen by fifty-eight percent since before the revolution, and the price of coal for cooking has doubled.
To save fuel, many families have resorted to cooking together. Even so, the soaring prices are still making life difficult.
Worse still, the Hungarian Republican Government also had issued Republic currency and Restoration rolls, plundering the wealth of the people.
Since the establishment of the Hungarian Republic, people in Budapest City have not had many comfortable days. Nationality, nation, freedom—how can they stand against the need for daily bread?
On April 18, 1848, a workers’ movement erupted in Budapest. Starving workers and impoverished citizens took to the streets demanding the government stabilize prices, punish profiteers, implement the “Labor Protection Law,” and address unemployment.
As the spokesperson for the bourgeoisie, the Hungarian Republican Government naturally ignored their demands, with the Kosuth Government brutally suppressing them immediately.
On April 23, 1848, news of the Austrian abolition of serfdom reached Hungary. The exploited and oppressed Little serfs rebelled, seizing estates, killing overseers, and dividing the land.
The revolt swiftly spread along the Danube Riverbank, terrifying the
Hungarian Nobility, who turned to Vienna and Budapest for help.
Without a doubt, the Austrian Government, eager to suppress the Hungarian Nobility but unable to reach them, declined to help on those grounds. To gain the support of the Nobility, the Kosuth Government once again positioned itself against the people.
After suppressing the workers’ and peasants’ movement, the Hungarian
Republican Government gained the support of capitalists and the Nobility. The cohesion of the Hungarian nationality increased, but it also completed the rift with the lower classes..
