War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

The United States was also extremely uncomfortable at the moment. Polk's unexpected death and the British's treachery plunged the U.S. government into chaos.

Polk was actually a very diligent president. In contrast, interim president Dallas was an out-and-out playboy. Although he was 55 years old, he was still as good as ever and often wandered around in debauchery.

As for the pile of affairs, it fell on the new vice president. In fact, this person had never expected to enter the White House. He knew that his abilities were limited, but he looked down on Polk because he was a country bumpkin. .

Becoming an interim president just requires someone to take the blame. Since tearing up the trade agreement with the United Kingdom, the British have begun a series of trade sanctions.

In fact, the British, who are in the midst of an economic crisis, have long wanted to find an outlet for their conflicts. It is easier to turn domestic conflicts abroad than to resolve them.

Although the British and the French had fought fiercely in Spain before, both sides did not recognize the war.

The French used the Foreign Legion, while the British sent Irish to the Spanish battlefield. Britain and France are opponents at the same level, but the Americans are different.

To be honest, there are really no major powers on the European continent that take it seriously. The reason why the Americans have repeatedly defeated the British in history is not because of the magical performance of the anti-British heroes.

In fact, in several maritime confrontations between the two countries, the British did not even exert a finger of strength. The two sides started to stand up, and the Americans didn't even have a chance of winning.

The top brass knew, but the civilians didn't. They only knew that interim President Dallas was traitorous to the country. It was the northern factories that reaped the benefits of trade protection, while it was the southern manor owners who suffered the hammer from British sanctions.

Naturally, the latter could not sit still and started active activities to impeach Dallas. Despite the increased tariffs, industry in the American North did not develop as rapidly as it had historically.

Because of the lack of cheap Irish workers, wages for American workers were astronomically high at this time, averaging $15 a month, or $180 a year.

This is almost three times that of the Austrian workers and five times that of the Prussian workers.

In addition, the United States also highlights shoddy manufacturing and poor craftsmanship. Coupled with high labor costs, their products are simply uncompetitive.

At this time, Americans could not only buy dumped goods from Britain, but also smuggled goods from France and Austria. These industries were of high quality, low price, and had a wide variety of products. Naturally, they had no interest in American goods at all.

The result is that the trade protection policy was originally implemented to develop the domestic economy, but it was accidentally involved in the economic crisis.

In fact, due to the economic downturn, all countries have reduced orders accordingly, but the cotton and wheat grown in the fields cannot be turned into anything else.

This is the case for agricultural exporting countries, which have extremely poor risk resistance.

None of this was something that interim President Dallas could handle. In order to avoid being embarrassed by someone when he went out, he simply invited people to the White House to hold a party.

However, at this time, a French scholar's open letter still gave Americans some comfort.

The famous Tocqueville came to the same conclusion again and again: “Slave-holding states aside, the Americans are not only the most enlightened people in the world, but (and I add this to the above advantages) they accept Its practical education and political education are also the most advanced among all ethnic groups."

Alexis de Tocqueville, a French scholar and politician, is the author of "On Democracy in America" ​​and the "Apocalypse" of some people in the East in later generations (specifically referring to some people who only look at their names).

The reason why Tocqueville came to this conclusion again was because he saw that his homeland, France, was in chaos. He knew that a disaster was just around the corner, but that was exactly what he expected.

Tocqueville decided to find a hotel with a better location. He opened the window and smelled the smell of gunpowder in the air. He wanted to witness this period of history.

When Tocqueville deliberately found a three-story hotel with a direct view of the city and the prince, he felt that no one had a better position than him.

So Tocqueville lay contentedly in bed and waited for the world to change. At this time, two bearded men were stewing a sauerkraut pot on the rooftop of the top floor.

On the other side of the European continent, Hungary.

You, abscesses on the motherland,

What should I say to you?

I'm going to burn you! I am fire!

I am not fire, no destructive flame.

But I have a sharp voice,

I'm going to put a curse on you.

Curse you with the most vicious words.

Does the motherland have a treasure house?

Is there any wealth that cannot be tolerated?

Motherland, my poor motherland.

He was so sick and so poor.

And you robbers,

But he is holding the medicine money that his motherland bought with his blood and sweat.

You take them to foreign countries,

Altars dedicated to foreign idols.

You have no mercy on this motherland!

It's stuck in the mud begging for food!

When it bleeds and sheds tears,

But you fill your wine glasses in foreign countries.

——In 1847, Petofi.

Petofi was a very talented poet. Franz was afraid of his harsh words, so he helped him when he was in trouble in his early years and allowed him to complete his studies in Vienna.

Nine years ago, a severe flood destroyed Petofi's family and made them paupers overnight.

The relatives who owed money to their family simply refused to pay back the debt, forcing the Petofi family, who originally had some wealth, to become butcher's apprentices to pick up some unwanted offal.

However, Franz directly used his connections to help the Petofi family find out and recover the debt.

Later, he provided Petofi with a scholarship to study in Vienna, and even arranged for Count Széchenyi to travel more with him, hoping to change the view of this great poet.

However, sometimes fate is so unpredictable. After Petofi arrived in Vienna, he found that he was incompatible with the place, and then met those classmates who spent a lot of money.

The prosperity of Vienna was completely different from the Koluoshi Village where he lived. The bustling traffic and rapid changes in the metropolis not only did not make Petofi yearn for it, but made the child who came from a small village feel a deep inferiority complex.

He saw the great Hungarian aristocrats spending huge sums of money in the nightclubs of Vienna and swaggering through the city in luxurious carriages. A piece of clothing from those aristocratic children could buy all the land in his family.

Then there was the exaggerated amount of scholarships provided by Franz. Petofi’s ancestors and grandchildren could not save so much money despite their efforts.

Petofi was confused. Count Szechenyi said it was luck, but he felt it was not the case.

The students around him cast envious glances, but he didn't know why. Was he really lucky? Or a clown who is at the mercy of others?

After all, my classmates occasionally use a big silver coin (florin) to tease beggars. Is this scholarship a silver coin in the pocket of a big shot?

At this time, Petofi suddenly got a copy of the "Pest Daily". Count Szechenyi said that Kossuth wanted to destroy Hungary and was a madman.

But Petofi felt that what Kossuth said was the truth. After that, he returned to Hungary to follow Kossuth's footsteps, regardless of Count Széchenyi's attempts to stay.

October 19, 1847 - Petofi married Sendre Yulia.

On this day, he vowed to overthrow the rule of the Austrian Empire and defeat the blood-sucking monster lying on the heads of the Hungarians.

Petofi wrote the famous song "Freedom and Love"

"Life is precious, but love is even more valuable. When it comes to freedom, both can be thrown away."

As soon as this poem came out, the whole audience was in an uproar. Everyone knew what it meant, but the guests did not flinch. They were all young people with the same ideals as Petofi, and they all believed that Kossuth would lead them to victory.