War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

On the Danube, four Taffy family steamships were cutting through the calm water.

"Uncle Albrecht, are you going to Hungary too?" To be honest, Franz was surprised to meet Archduke Albrecht on the ship.

"Why can't you go if you can go? But I'm very strange. Doesn't Mrs. Sophie know that Hungary is very dangerous now? There are hundreds of thousands of refugees, and riots may break out at any time. You might be kidnapped and become a hostage. oh."

Archduke Albrecht, the eldest son of Archduke Karl, was later a hero of the Italian War and was known as the last famous general of the Austrian Empire.

"Uncle Albrecht, I think it would be better to kidnap you. It would be more profitable that way. After all, Grandpa Karl is the richest man in our Austrian Empire."

"Little Franz, I'm not kidding. Your identity is very sensitive. If you plan to visit Hungary, I suggest you wait a few months before going. Riots are not fun, and many people may die."

"Uncle Albrecht, are you dressed like this to go to Hungary to take office?" Albrecht was wearing his military uniform at this time. Only then did Franz realize a problem. Archduke Carl and his family seemed to be very interested in it. I like to wear military uniforms.

"Anyway, I am also a colonel in the Austrian Empire. I think they will listen to me..." Albrecht, who was tall and mighty, said this without confidence.

In fact, the composition of the Austrian Imperial Army is very complex. It not only has the Imperial Army, but also the local defense forces. Hungary also has a separate organization-the Royal Army.

Theoretically, all the armies of the Austrian Empire should be unified under the jurisdiction of the Imperial War Department during wartime, but in fact, in addition to the Imperial Army, the local defense forces and the Royal Army have very large autonomy.

And Archduke Albrecht is a colonel of the Imperial Army, and the Royal Army in Hungary will most likely not accept his advice.

But in fact, because he was a royal and the son of Karl, the Hungarian military treated him surprisingly well.

"Okay, Uncle Albrecht, but do you only have two guards?"

"Didn't you only bring two nannies?" Albrecht thought for a while and asked curiously, "How do you know that I only brought two people?"

"Because except you three, these four boats are all my people."

It was already evening when we arrived in Budapest. The scene in front of him made Franz feel a little confused. Most of the buildings in the city that were destroyed by the storm had been rebuilt. The streets were clean and tidy, and there was no trace of the aftermath of the disaster.

It was similar to any big city in the world at this time. The nobles lived a life of feasting and entertainment, while ordinary people were busy trying to survive.

But one thing is very unusual, that is, there is no disaster victim at all.

Generally speaking, disaster victims will consciously flock to big cities to seek shelter. This is an old tradition in the Austrian Empire.

You must know that the streets and alleys of Vienna were filled with victims begging along the streets. If it were not for the flood, the slums of Vienna would have been overcrowded.

According to intelligence reports, there are hundreds of thousands of people wandering around in Hungary at this time. However, as the core city of Hungary, there is not a single disaster victim here. It is too peaceful and strange.

Archduke Albrecht took his two personal guards and hired a carriage directly to the military camp outside the city.

Franz did not choose to live in the royal palace, but chose the very famous Pest Hotel in Hungary.

This hotel named after the city has a very complex mix of guests and is also the largest information exchange center in the city.

This hotel looks luxurious on the outside, but it is full of fireworks inside. The hotel lobby is more like a market than a restaurant.

Looking around the entire first floor, there are messy tables and chairs and noisy crowds everywhere, as well as cheap drinks and even brought dry food.

At this time, the people on the second floor were well-dressed. Some people were smiling at the chaotic scene on the first floor. Some people were indifferently eating a sumptuous meal and changing glasses with others. In some private rooms, some secret activities were going on. Or indescribable transactions.

Although Franz had kept a low profile as much as possible, the waiter only took a glance and invited Franz to the second floor.

Adjani is very familiar with this kind of place and completed the check-in procedure without much effort.

Franz fell asleep. After all, a child might get nothing if he goes out to ask around. It is better to leave this kind of thing to professionals, and Franz's body will get sleepy at night. no.

In this kind of place, no matter you are a dignitary, a passing businessman, or a common person, as long as you walk around inside, you can usually find some information that is useful to you, or at least you can gain a lot of knowledge.

Of course, you can just listen to some words, but they may not be true. Some things are best left alone, because there is a price to pay for meddling.

Thalia went to the first floor, Adjani wandered around the second floor, and Parrish was secretly protected with a large group of guards.

Several libertines tried to strike up a conversation with Adjani and Thalia, but gave up when they saw the top-quality pigeon blood stones inlaid on the necklaces on the two girls' chests.

Pigeon blood ruby, the most expensive type of ruby, was often called "burning blood" in Europe at this time.

Generally speaking, women who can wear such expensive jewelry are definitely not something that this group of people can afford to offend, and experienced veterans can easily spot the guards not far away, let alone take a trip into this muddy water.

Soon a large amount of information came together. The price of food in this city had indeed been raised. It had exceeded the highest level of the Austrian Empire's price limit order and was twice the normal price. (The Austrian Empire price limit order is 1.7 times)

But this price is not enough to cause large-scale displacement. A series of public projects have indeed been built in Hungary. However, these projects were all done in the name of Count Szechenyi. There is no unified conclusion as to whether there is support from the Hungarian government. .

However, one thing is certain: all public projects in Hungary put together do not reach the scale of 30 million florins.

Most of the nobles in the city have received compensation, but the basis for this compensation is very strange. It does not depend on the severity of the disaster, but on the amount of property owned and the level of the title.

The idea of ​​rescuing officials first before rescuing the people may still make sense in this era, but it makes people angry if there is no reason for the victims.

The Hungarian government has mobilized the Royal Army to guard Budapest and strictly control the inflow of victims. Other surrounding cities have done the same thing. In order to prevent the occurrence of riots, the victims have been concentrated in one area.

In addition to some food, fishing gear was also distributed to the victims, allowing them to fish to save themselves.

Franz originally had reservations about teaching people how to fish rather than teaching them how to fish.

But the actual situation taught Franz a lesson, that is, not only were the victims unable to catch fish, but many people fell into the raging Danube and died.

The water of the Danube River is not only deep, but also flows extremely fast, and the location of fish schools is elusive. Unless you are a professional fisherman, it is difficult to make a living by fishing.

The Danube is the deepest river in Europe and the third deepest in the world.

Of course, there are also some gossips, such as the Polish Restoration Army preparing to rise in Budapest, Count Pilar’s ​​second son murdering his eldest brother, Count Szechenyi purchasing a thousand serfs, etc.

After listening to all the information, Franz came to only one conclusion, that is, the Hungarian government was rotten to the core.