Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 88: Flooding the 7th Army

Selling out their allies was not that simple; the revolutionaries were not fools. How could they not be on guard against these nobles?

From the very beginning, Kossuth was refusing the involvement of the major nobles in the affairs of the interim government. Schemir and G?rge were both bourgeois aristocrats, having completed their transition from nobility to capitalists.

From the perspective of their interests, an independent Hungarian Republic was more in line with their agenda, which led to their cooperation in forming the interim government.

The Hungarian nobility has already fallen from grace; even those who have transitioned into capitalists were no exception. They could make money effortlessly, so why bother to strive further?

On the contrary, the revolutionary leaders led by Kossuth, many of whom were descendants of fallen nobility, became entrepreneurs due to poverty and harsh circumstances, and their abilities did not significantly deteriorate.

In the power struggle within the interim government, these passive noble individuals naturally lost to the bold and enterprising entrepreneurs.

Schemir was a clever man, but precisely because he was too clever, he didn’t dare to act against the interim government without certainty.

If it were the revolutionary leaders, the outcome would probably be entirely different. With just a few hundred men, they could initiate a coup. Once they controlled the leadership of the interim government, the situation would be firmly in their grasp.

“Let’s wait and see for now. We’ll find a way to bring more people over and strike when the time is right!” Shemire pondered and said.

G?rge naturally didn’t object; despite his seemingly casual tone, he was genuinely uncertain deep down.

The human heart is inscrutable, who knows if there are any among their subordinates leaning towards the revolutionary party? What if the news leaks, and the revolutionaries strike first?

“No problem, Mr. Schemir, but what about the Austrians? How do we explain it to them?” G?rge asked with concern.

Clearly, at this point, they have already entangled themselves with the Austrian government, making the same move as in history—betraying their allies.

“It doesn’t matter. The Austrians only asked that we completely eliminate the leaders of the revolutionary party. Everything else can be negotiated,” Schemir said confidently.

In Hungary, there exist left-wing and right-wing forces. The left-wing, led by Kossuth, advocates abolishing the monarchy and establishing an independent Hungarian Republic.

The right-wing forces, led by Shemir and István, advocate moderate reforms to the social system and seek close cooperation with the Habsburg monarchy.

Undoubtedly, the relationship between the Hungarian right-wing forces and the Austrian government was quite good. Even though the Austrian government abolished serfdom and touched their land, there was still land redemption money to be paid, wasn’t there?

In the end, it was all a matter of price. As long as the money was paid, there weren’t any problems.

Whether the interests of others can be guaranteed, Shemir was not sure, but he can be certain that those aligned with the Austrian government can secure their interests.

Of course, if they want to gain more benefits, they must demonstrate their value to the Austrian government.

If they do nothing and only show a political inclination towards the Austrian government, then when the Austrian troops come in, they probably wouldn’t have a place at the distribution of benefits.

……

On the other side, Head of State Kossuth was busy discussing the issue of city defense with Polish veteran Henryk Dembiński. He didn’t know that the capitulators in the government were ready to exchange their heads for meritorious service.

Henryk Dembiński marked important positions on the city defense map and allocated forces according to the actual situation. Once all the work was done, he greeted Kossuth and said, “Mr. Kossuth, the defense of Budapest can only go this far. It’s not realistic to keep the enemy outside. The main task of the upcoming battle will be urban warfare.

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In urban warfare, the combat effectiveness of regular troops will be greatly weakened. The National Guard, familiar with the terrain and using the cover of buildings, will have the advantage.

As long as everyone can stand united, we can hold on for at least two to three months, and the enemy may even retreat from Budapest due to heavy losses!”

Kossuth asked with anticipation, “General Henryk, you are a renowned European commander. Do we have any way to inflict heavy damage or even annihilate the enemy?”

For the Hungarian Republic to survive, it must defeat the Austrian Empire. Merely delaying the enemy for two or three months will not significantly change the overall situation.

Henryk Dembiński shook his head and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Kossuth, but even if Napoleon Bonaparte were to live again, it would be impossible to achieve that!

We have to admit that the Hungarian National Guard is far behind the Austrian Army in terms of combat effectiveness, and the gap in weaponry and equipment is immense. Even in terms of troop numbers, we are at a disadvantage.

Apart from the advantage of holding Budapest, we don’t have any other leverage. In this situation, engaging the enemy in a decisive battle recklessly would be highly unwise.”

Kossuth nodded in disappointment. This conclusion had been reached by the generals in the interim government as well, and it was even more pessimistic than Henryk Dembiński’s perspective.

The biggest problem was that many Hungarians did not see the Austrian Army as foreign invaders; they still had strong loyalty towards the emperor, even more so than to the interim government.

If a nationwide vote were to be held, as advocated by the revolutionary party’s slogan, it was likely that they would be ousted in embarrassment.

Destruction is always easier than construction. After the establishment of the Hungarian Republic, it only brought promises without actual benefits to the majority of ordinary people, except for some capitalists who profited from the national crisis.

The idea of launching a people’s war was unfeasible, and the republican government was running out of time to win the hearts of the people, not to mention the lack of resources to do so.

“Genera? Henryk Dembiński, you mentioned that holding out for too long may lead to defeat. Now that Budapest has lost contact with the outside world, if we cannot break the current situation, I’m afraid we won’t be able to hold on for much longer.

Budapest has stored a large amount of food, theoretically, we can hold out for a year without any problem. However, we all know that once the enemy decides to act ruthlessly, they will find ways to conquer this city!” General Bem, the military leader of the revolutionary party, raised his concerns.

“Are you suggesting the possibility of flooding? No, that’s not possible! Unless the enemy wants to turn the Hungarian plains into marshland, they wouldn’t do such a thing. From the current situation, it seems the enemy has no plans to build dams upstream. As long as the Austrian government cares about public opinion, they wouldn’t go that far!" Henryk Dembiński affirmed.

Upon hearing this, Kossuth’s expression changed significantly. What might seem implausible to military minds could be viewed differently by politicians. If Budapest remains unconquerable for an extended period, from the Austrian Government’s standpoint, might resorting to such drastic measures not be considered implausible after all?