Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 105

Chapter 105: Chapter 105: The Rebellion Ends

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Translator: 549690339

The Conservative Nobility Howell angrily questioned, “Kossuth, your explanation is not convincing. This is not the first time such an incident has occurred. Why doesn’t your Hungarian National Self-Defense Force exercise restraint?

Count István is your political enemy, and he also opposes the independence of Hungary, but we cannot deny his greatness because of this. Moreover, you should not cruelly murder him because of personal grudges.”

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Bem immediately retorted, “No, that’s complete nonsense, how could Mr. Kossuth possibly be a murderer?”

Chernir sneered, “General Bem, now that Mr. Kossuth is the head of government and also the supreme commander of the National Homeland Defense Troops, he has repeatedly obstructed the Army Department in enforcing military discipline. Now that this incident has occurred, shouldn’t he give us a reasonable explanation?”

The National Homeland Defense Troops have developed to the point where they have become thoroughly corrupt, with crime and misconduct happening regularly, and their internal management is in utter chaos. Kossuth, as the supreme leader, cannot shirk his responsibility.

As for obstructing the Army Department in enforcing military discipline, that’s a struggle for power. The Revolutionary Party doesn’t want to see the Army Department extending its reach into the National Homeland Defense Troops.

But now, this has become the best excuse to attack them. Whether or not Count István’s death is related to Kossuth, he must be held responsible.

Petofi thought for a while and said, “What’s most important now is to catch the murderer. The missing company commander is a key figure in this incident. It would be irresponsible to draw conclusions about this event before he is caught.”

As he spoke, his eyes were filled with deep worry. There was no way around it, Kossuth’s integrity was indeed in doubt – who knew whether this had anything to do with him?

The Army Minister Gold said sarcastically, “However, at the first moment of the crime, the National Homeland Defense Troops prevented the police from arresting the murderer.

For this matter, Mr. Kossuth must take responsibility. He has allowed the National Homeland Defense Troops to act as they please, existing outside of the judiciary system, unbound by the law, and able to act privately. These are all major contributors to this tragedy.

Before the truth of the matter is uncovered, those involved should recuse themselves. I propose the suspension of the duties of Kossuth, Bem… and others in the National Homeland Defense Troops!”

Gold had now shown his true intentions, directly blaming the National Homeland Defense Troops for letting the murderer escape and seizing the opportunity to bring the troops under the command of the Army Department.

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This hurt Kossuth’s supporters deeply, and yet, they could not find any justification to refute the claims. It wasn’t as if they could claim they were all gentlemen who would not obstruct the investigation, could they?

Kossuth, cornered, said helplessly, “Fine, I resign!”

It was a choice made out of necessity; when the opposition within the government rose up en masse, and even his own subordinates chose silence at this time, he was left completely isolated.

History witnessed an astonishing coincidence; under internal and external pressures, Kossuth was still ousted from office, this time more disgracefully than in reality.

After seizing power, the first thing Chernir and the opposition faction did was not to investigate the case but to immediately organize a breakout.

Nobody questioned their actions, because staying in Budapest was tantamount to waiting for death. Breaking out was the only chance for survival.

Outside the city, at the Austrian army’s headquarters.

“Commander, this is the message from inside the city. The enemy is preparing to break out; this is their battle plan!” the operations staff officer said softly.

General Julius, after receiving the intelligence, smiled. The Hungarian Republican Government was actually undergoing a change of power at such a time, with the Surrenderist faction brazenly taking control.

Betraying one’s allies also requires skill; directly announcing surrender certainly wouldn’t work, as the cornered Revolutionaries would never agree.

However, the National Homeland Defense Troops were nothing but a disorganized rabble. They may still have some fighting capability when defending, but launching an offensive was tantamount to gifting their heads to the enemy.

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Under the guise of a breakout operation, sending them to their deaths would likewise serve the purpose.

On June 12, 1848, the Hungarian National Self-Defense Force in Budapest City launched a breakout operation but was routed by the well-prepared Austrian Army.

After the failure of the breakout, the Austrian Army followed into the city, and the Hungarian Republican Government, led by Chernir, surrendered to the Austrian forces.

The revolutionaries who refused to accept defeat, under the command of General Bem, defiantly held out in the southern part of the city. After resisting for two days, their forces were completely annihilated.

By June 15, the Hungarian revolt, which had lasted for over two months, came to an end in Budapest.

The war had ended, but the aftermath of the war was just beginning. Budapest suffered devastating destruction during the uprising, with a third of the city’s buildings reduced to ruins, and economic losses were incalculable.

After retaking Budapest, General Julius had no time to celebrate before being plagued with a headache.

Looking at the enormous number of prisoners before him distressed him, as slaughter was not an option. With family members included, there were 150,000 people—how could they possibly be killed?

Letting them go? That was even less of a consideration; for the long-term peace and security of Hungary, these potential threats had to be eliminated.

“Commander, why not use the excuse of an epidemic to…” a young officer, who loathed the revolutionaries, suggested.

General Julius shook his head and said, “No, with so many media watching us now, just taking the high-ranking revolutionaries out for the public to judge has already raised many doubts.

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If we fabricate an epidemic, it would be too easy to see through. We can’t actually create an epidemic, can we? That’s uncontrollable, and if it were to spread, we wouldn’t even have time to cry!”

Governor József Jellacic suggested, “Actually, there’s no need for complete extermination. We just need to purge the stubborn elements. The rest can all be sentenced to ten or twenty years to redeem their crimes through labor.

It’s said that’s how they dealt with the Vienna uprising. We could follow that example; as long as these people aren’t released, any threat they pose is controllable.”

After some contemplation, General Julius finally ordered, “Execute all the military officers, government officials, members who have joined the Revolutionary Party, and intellectuals, under any pretext.

If no pretext can be found, then fabricate charges and have the courts sentence them to death. If all else fails, let the angry refugees beat them to death, or let them die of illness or by suicide out of fear of punishment. The rest can be sentenced to labor.”

After hearing General Julius’s command, everyone’s expression changed dramatically, which meant that, in the near future, the heads of tens of thousands of people would fall.

However, no one objected, as this was also the intention of the Vienna Government. Except for the clever ones who had promptly aligned themselves with the Austrian Government, the rest were to be purged.

The leaders of the Revolutionary Party had been “killed in stubborn resistance,” including the head of state, Mr. Kossuth, who met his Maker during the war.

In an effort to win over the public, Julius also held a funeral for Count István, and took the opportunity to set the record straight: Count István was the leader of the Hungarian royalists and was brutally murdered by Kossuth for refusing to associate with the revolutionaries and become tainted.

There’s no helping it; one man’s hero is another man’s enemy.

Count István was the leader of the Hungarian activists and, despite being a member of the Royalist Party, he was also a staunch Hungarian nationalist.

He laid the foundations for the creation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including promoting the Hungarian language and culture, and developing Hungarian culture. History shows that after Hungary was dismantled, it was able to reunite largely because of his efforts.

Such political philosophies, which ran counter to the Austrian Government, clearly could not be allowed to exist. Count István and many other Hungarian notables met their end alongside him.