Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Chapter 87, The Siege of Budapest Undercurrents

Translator: 549690339

The church in Austria is by no means a pushover, and even though it has now declined, the church still colludes with the local nobility. The upper echelons of the church are essentially made up of relatives of the nobility.

That’s why Franz wasn’t rushing to take action against the church; it’s a situation where pulling on one thing affects the whole. You have to eat your meal one bite at a time, eliminate your enemies one by one, and if you can turn an enemy into a friend, that’s all the better.

Without a doubt, Austria’s church members are not worth wooing. They are rich and obstruct the development of Austrian society, making them genuine reactionaries through and through.

Prime Minister Felix began, “Your Highness, it would be best to postpone matters concerning the church. Recently, a change of events occurred in the Papal State, and Pope Pius IX has sought refuge in Naples and called for our help.

The Cabinet has decided to speed up the pacification of the rebels, defeat the Kingdom of Sardinia, and then send troops to the Papal State to assist Pius IX in regaining his power! ”

Clearly, the Cabinet Government is no fool, aware that the church should not be rashly provoked. Since the Middle Ages, ecclesiastical power had challenged monarchical power, and although secular authority now has the upper hand, religious authority should not be underestimated.

Moving directly against them would certainly not be a wise choice. However, these clergy do have their Achilles’ heel—the Catholic Church in Austria is still under the dominion of the Roman Curia.

With the Papal State in turmoil, Austria is needed to lend a helping hand. After assistance is provided, it would be unthinkable for Pius IX not to repay the favor with interest.

Franz nodded in satisfaction, thinking to himself, “These old political foxes on the scene are all clever operators. Their timing is impeccable.”

The Pope of Rome, preoccupied with his own predicaments and willing to sell out the Austrian church for his benefit, did not hesitate. With the Pope taking the heat, the pressure they had to bear would be greatly reduced.

With a command from the Vienna Government, the Siege of Budapest began.

Now General Julius need not worry. According to the Vienna Government’s plan, in the future administrative division, Budapest could be dispensed with, so there’s no concern that the war ruins the city.

Budapest is actually formed by the unification of two cities, Buda and Pesci. In medieval times, Pesci City had already become the capital of Hungary, with Buda simply being a city separated from Pesci by a river.

When referring to the two cities together, people usually join their names, calling the combined city Budapest or Pesci-Buda.

After the establishment of the Hungarian Republic, the two cities were merged. Naturally, they would be split after the war and placed under the jurisdiction of two different provinces.

“Your Excellency Governor, the Army Department has issued the command to take the city, demanding that we capture Budapest as soon as possible. Do you have any thoughts?” inquired General Julius with concern.

The Bohemian Corps and the Croatian Corps are under mutual command, and this assault on Budapest was merely assembled as a temporary joint headquarters. Julius had to consider the opinion of Governor J6zsef Jellacic.

“Your Excellency Commander, the Hungarian rioters are turtles caught in a jar. Taking Budapest is not an issue; the key is whether we can catch all the Rebels in one fell swoop!

At this moment, the Transylvanian Corps has already reached the banks of the Tisza River, and the Austrian Army is also advancing along the Danube River. Outside our encirclement, a larger encirclement is taking shape.

The only escape route left for these Rebels is to flee to the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan Government began major reforms back in 1839 and has been an adversary of the Empire for a long time. It’s highly likely they will harbor these Rebels.

“If we let them join forces, it will be extremely unfavorable for the Empire’s future rule in Hungary. Therefore, whether we can annihilate the enemy completely is the key to this war!”

Governor J6zsef Jellacic, a military politician, tended to address issues more from a political standpoint. In the long run, completely eliminating the

Hungarian Revolutionary Party is more meaningful than capturing Budapest.

General Julius said with a wry smile, “That is difficult to achieve. The revolutionaries are not as brave as they claim to be. Once the momentum turns against them, they run even faster than rabbits.

“By now they must have prepared their escape routes. If we launch the siege of Budapest, they will take off, unless we can trap them inside the city, it’s impossible to completely wipe them out.”

As a loyal servant of the Habsburg Family, Julius harbored deep hostility towards the revolutionaries. If possible, he wouldn’t mind hanging them all.

Franz appointed him as the Commander primarily to have him slaughter on a grand scale, eliminating all those who participated in or were suspected of involvement in the rebellion.

Whether or not the rebel army could be completely eradicated, on May 24, 1848, the Austrian army still launched the siege of Budapest, aiming to annihilate the leaders of the Revolutionary Party. Julius even chose the militarily disadvantageous strategy of besieging the city on all sides.

The Hungarian Republic’s external connections were completely severed. Budapest had become an isolated city, and perhaps because of this lack of concern, the Austrian army unleashed its artillery on the city without restraint.

Budapest

Since the sound of the siege cannons began, this ancient city had become noisy. The War Party and the Peace Party would not stop arguing, and some well-connected individuals began searching for a way out, increasing the pressure on the Kossuth Government.

“Count Shemir, the revolutionaries are still unwilling to compromise. What should we do now?” General Gold asked with a headache.

“General Gold, how many in the National Homeland Defense Troops would follow our command?” Shemir asked concernedly.

“Kossuth has started to suspect us. Half a month ago, he let Bem take over the military power I held. Now he has brought in the famous Polish General Henrik-Dembinski to oversee the city’s defense.

If we make a move now, I can command a force of thirteen thousand, but these troops are scattered among various units and cannot be concentrated!” General Gold replied somewhat embarrassingly.

“Useless!”

That was Shemir’s first reaction. As the Army Minister of the provisional government, he unexpectedly didn’t have a reliable army at his disposal.

Thirteen thousand people? That was clearly a bluff. If they still had so many direct troops, they would have turned against the revolutionaries long ago.

You should know, General Gold was directly involved in organizing the Hungarian National Self-Defense Force. As a member of the bourgeois nobility, they had stuffed many of their people into it.

Now that they had been sidelined by the revolutionaries, Shemir could think of no better word than “useless” to describe them.

“General Gold, I didn’t ask how many are inclined towards us. I meant, without attracting external attention, how many can you mobilize immediately, not how many troops can be concentrated!” Shemir explained helplessly.

“Without attracting external attention, at most, a little over five hundred.” General Gold answered, frowning..