War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

The flood of 1846 was also affected, but due to Franz's intensive management in the past ten years, it did not cause much damage in Austria.

However, the same flood is a different scene in Hungary. The Danube River wanders wantonly on the Hungarian Great Plains.

Sometimes it goes south, sometimes it goes north, overflowing pastures and fields, destroying houses and bridges, and even strong fortresses cannot escape its vicious hands.

However, this kind of thing did not attract too much attention from the Hungarian government and high-level officials. After all, this kind of thing has been going on for hundreds of years.

It was still fresh on the first day, but after seeing too much, you will naturally become numb.

But this has become an advantage for Kossuth to use to discredit Austria. After all, conspiracy theories can always get people's special attention.

"That's right! The Austrians just want to flood us! The purpose of building those dams is to make us surrender!

And the Hungarians will never give in! We are descendants of the Huns! Descendants of conquerors! We are the real owners of this land! "

There was thunderous applause in the Hungarian Congress Hall, and even those single-clothed nobles and commoners who were not qualified to set foot here were deeply inspired.

(Note: Civilians do not include serfs.)

In fact, the big nobles liked hearing these words, because they had another reason to go to Austria to ask for money.

"I object to your point of view! If you say that the Austrians' construction of the dam upstream is a conspiracy, then what is the purpose of their willingness to help us build the dam?"

Franz still has allies in Hungary, such as Prince Eltházy in front of him. He has become a shareholder of the Royal Hungarian Land Development Company. At this time, he naturally has to stand up and speak for his employer.

It's just that the prince, or the people hired by the prince, were of limited skill, and Kossuth quickly caught the loophole.

"Dear Prince, my dear compatriots. The Austrians helping us build the dam is naturally a conspiracy, and it is a more vicious conspiracy!

They are trying to make us become careless, let down our guard, and then look for the right opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to us. Believe me! Our kingdom! Our freedoms are at stake!

Only when we unite can we defeat the cruel and cunning enemy! I will continue to fight here. If I have to add a deadline, then I choose forever! forever! "

The venue erupted into warm applause again. Many people felt like there was a fire burning in their chests and wanted to shout out, but no one dared to do that at this time, except Kossuth.

Potato late blight has also begun to appear in Germany and Austria, but its scope is small and its impact is very limited.

At this time, the wealthy Austrian Imperial Government even directly purchased all the soapy potatoes rotting in the ground at 70% of the market price, and then burned and buried them.

Although the other members of the German Confederation did not have the financial resources of Austria, due to the big brother's proofing, the younger brothers did not dare to go too far.

Of course, it doesn’t mean surpassing Austria, but it means that you can’t look too ugly, at least you have to look like a human being.

In fact, some "cunning" people have begun to go to the headquarters of the German Confederation to redress their grievances, especially those small states with weak control.

At first it was all trivial matters, such as criminals who could not be caught, and debts that could not be recovered. But soon people began to report local evil forces, corrupt officials, and even religious conspiracies.

This caused panic in those small countries, because they were unable to find trouble with the big countries, but those big countries could use these small things to interfere in their internal affairs.

The most frightening thing is that all this is promoted by the people and is voluntary. But even if it was discovered, the governments of the small states would not dare to stop it randomly, because the other end of the line was connected to the German Confederation.

Although theoretically the Confederation has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of each country, if the Confederation intervenes, even big countries like Prussia and Bavaria may not dare to openly refuse.

Because the other side of the German Confederation was the German Customs Union, other countries except the Austrian Empire simply could not afford such two-way sanctions.

However, most powerful countries did not realize this. They were just surprised that they could better control the small countries around them.

This has led to a trend. Small countries that once split and went it alone now have to consider reorganization and teaming up for warmth.

The person who promoted all this was naturally Franz. His head hurt every day when he looked at the large area of ​​colorful flowers on the map.

But if you want to incorporate it, you must be prepared to go to war with the whole world. Britain, France, Russia, and Prussia will not allow the Austrian Empire to become a behemoth spanning Central Europe.

This year, except for the Crown of St. Stephen, only Italy has been affected by the disaster, but this has little impact. After all, the crops were almost eaten by locusts before the flood came.

The biggest disaster in Italy now is the newly enthroned Pope Pius IX. Although the great powers are ignoring him, this guy just refuses to give up.

Since his coronation, Pius IX has issued several edicts every week, the highest frequency among all popes.

And he is no longer satisfied with the European continent. The Pope has begun to send his edicts to South America and North America. Mexico and Brazil have received some strange orders.

In his letter to Tasan Anna, Pius IX first praised the latter's outstanding contribution to the cause of abolition of slavery, and then affirmed his efforts for peace in North America and the development of Mexico.

Originally, Tasan Anna was about to make him a confidant, but at the end of the letter, Pius IX signed the letter and asked the former to recover. The tithes owed by Mexico over the years were not much, which was only 500 million pesos, about 500 million pesos. Mexico’s fiscal revenue for three years at this time.

The content of the letter to Pedro II was similar. The two rulers' final reply was no reply. After all, they were separated by the Atlantic Ocean. Could the Pope's inquisitors cross the ocean? If we really cross that line, can we still let them do it?

Franz himself also received a letter from Pius IX, asking him to go to the Vatican to meet the saint.

After all, the matter of renegotiating tithes with the Papal States was opposed by the whole country. Not only were the church and government opposed, but the nobility and common people were also opposed.

The former is because it can benefit directly from the tithe. In fact, the Austrian Empire’s tithe government can get 40%, the church can also get 40%, and the remaining 20% ​​belongs to the royal family.

If we follow the intention of Pius IX, it is to send all the tithes to the Vatican first, and then the Pope himself decides the distribution. It is called listening to the Holy Judgment. In fact, it is not clear whether the money can be returned after arriving in Rome. That’s for sure.

Even if Pius IX is as selfless as he says, he doesn't know how much will be lost during the transfer process.

Common people and nobles were equally opposed to this approach because they saw benefits from the tithes they paid in the hands of the Austrian government and church.

At least the infrastructure and health systems have been built over the years. The locust plague was stopped, the floods did not break the dams, and the cholera just blew by like a breeze without causing much chaos.