It was quite cool in Hungary in September. The wind blew in through the windows of Buda Castle, making the temperature in the hall very comfortable. But at this time, the anger of Queen Cecilia made the people in the hall feel a strong chill.
"Did the parliament still reject the proposal to extend the repayment?" Queen Cecilia's voice was as cold as winter.
"Yes." The representatives of the parliament bore the pressure and gave the queen a straightforward answer.
"Why?" The queen didn't expect that her few interventions in Hungarian politics would be met with such strong resistance.
Probably because she had the backing of the parliament, the representative answered straightforwardly, "If the repayment is extended this year, what about next year? We can all feel His Majesty's kindness, but these people owe a huge debt this year, and they can't repay it next year. We still need to confiscate their land to the borrowers. These debts can still be paid with their land now, but next year, they may not be able to repay it. Unless we can never confiscate their land. "
Queen Cecilia was known as intelligent in Europe. Of course, she didn't miss the threat in the words of the parliament representative. Her Majesty hoped to give the farmers a chance to keep their land in the terrible environment that enveloped the whole of Europe. But the creditors had a different view. The creditors were worried about the recovery of the debt. The lives of the farmers were never the first thing the creditors considered.
Looking around, the representatives of the nobles, the ministers, and the parliament, these people at the top of Hungary stood obediently. Everyone revealed a submissive and uncompromising attitude. At this moment, the queen finally understood her position in Hungary. High and mighty, and only high and mighty.
Count András's grave was beautiful, with marble tombstones and green trees. The queen stood in front of the cemetery in the countryside in September, and her heart ached. Count András died in 1890. When he died, he wasn't a high-ranking official of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, nor was he the prime minister of Hungary. Queen Cecilia suddenly felt that dying as a commoner was even a blessing for Count András. Because the upper class of Austria and the people began to deeply miss this outstanding Hungarian politician. There was even a saying in Budapest and other big cities that if the Count was still alive, he would definitely be able to calm the current chaos.
But Queen Cecilia was already 60 years old, and she knew very well that it was just some people's beautiful imagination. Even the highly respected Queen of Hungary, Sissi herself, could not make the upper echelons give up even the slightest bit of interest. How could Count Andrahi do it?
Queen Sissi knew very well that Count Andraxi was a very intelligent person with a strong desire for fame. But why did such a person give up all his power and live in seclusion 17 years ago? It wasn't because there were too many people who didn't support Count Andrahi, but hoped that Count Andrahi could serve their interests. On this point, the Hungarian nobles and the Austrian upper class who looked down on the Hungarian nobles were the same. They always pursued their own immediate interests.
Qianqian took a few steps forward and gently stroked the tombstone. The marble of the tombstone was hard and cold. It did not bring any warmth to Qianqian's heart. Not far from the cemetery was a country road, and someone was driving a cow back. Qianqian heard a young man singing.
"… Who created the human world? It's us, the working masses! Everything belonged to the workers. How could they tolerate parasites? Those venomous snakes and ferocious beasts devoured our flesh and blood! Once they are wiped out, the bright red sun will shine all over the world! "
The young man's voice was very clear. Even though the song was full of uncompromising fighting stance, it still made Qianqian feel the relaxed and joyful mood of the young man. The child was just singing.
The faces of the maids and guards changed. Qianqian was the first to stop the guards who wanted to rush over and teach the young rebel a lesson. She looked up at the cow boy and chose to turn around and leave.
This song had spread throughout Hungary. It was said that the powerful army under the command of China's Emperor Vézé had sung this song to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty. The Min dynasty founded by Emperor Vézé had not betrayed its original political philosophy. The Hungarian nobles cursed Emperor Vézé's state ownership of land as the most evil system of mankind, while the ordinary people of Hungary admired the Min dynasty people for obtaining land for farming as glorious laborers.
How powerful was the Min dynasty? The easternmost coast of North America was only eight hours' time difference from the westernmost province of Madagascar. The bright red sun never set on the land of this country.
It was October when the Queen landed on Cyprus again. Marchioness Grace happily received Queen Qianqian at her residence. At this time, the Marchioness had regained her slim figure. The Queen saw a little girl sleeping in the cradle. The Marchioness saw the Queen's exhaustion, so she took the child and the Queen to Paphos. Looking at the dreamy sunset from the beautiful beach, the Queen's mood fell into a kind of melancholy.
"Everyone says that Aphrodite (Venus) was born in Paphos, but I always believe that she was born in the clouds here and then fell into the sea," Grace said leisurely.
"As a Chinese, Mr. Wang Mingshan should be an atheist, right?" Queen Qianqian sighed.
"Ha!" Grace chuckled. "Although he is an atheist, he only doesn't believe in the existence of God. He doesn't reject the God created by humans. He admires the statue of Aphrodite very much. "
"What do you mean?" Queen Qianqian didn't quite understand.
"Do you believe in the existence of God?"
"Yes."
"Do you think that God was created by humans?"
"Of course not."
After a short question and answer, the Marchioness smiled. "Mingshan is the complete opposite of you."
The Queen could understand the Marchioness' description of Wang Mingshan as an atheist. She even felt that a person who could have such a firm view was intelligent. It was just that the Queen couldn't accept it at all. After a moment of silence, the Queen asked, "Is it impossible for the Min dynasty to compromise with the nobles?"
This question made Marchioness Grace put away her smile. "Your Majesty, when did the nobles ever compromise with the people when they had the upper hand? According to the Min dynasty, this is a life-and-death struggle between the ruling class and the ruled class. The winner can become the ruling class, and the loser will become the ruling class. You know, if I were a noble in China, even if I survived the revolutionary war led by His Majesty Vézé, I would still be at the bottom of society after twenty years of infidel law. Even if the infidel law was eventually abolished, I would no longer have any advantage. I could only crawl in the fierce social competition like everyone else. "
The Marchioness' description matched the information that Queen Qianqian had received. So the Queen was silent for a while before she said, "The nobles will not compromise, nor will they tolerate, so the revolutionaries will not either. Is that so? "
"Your Majesty, only those who completely admit defeat will hope to get the pity of the winner," Grace answered the question calmly.
Under the unpredictable sunset, Queen Qianqian stood straight. Although she didn't have the alluring beauty of Aphrodite since childhood, and although she was now 60 years old, the Queen still exuded a dignified and beautiful aura that could not be profaned. But what Grace saw was an old lady who knew in her heart that she was powerless.
After serving the Min dynasty for more than ten years and being together with Wang Mingshan for nearly ten years, Grace had become a passionate lover of China's culture. Among those shocking words, there was one that leapt to her heart: "Since ancient times, beauties are like famous generals, not allowing the world to see their white hair." Time could not erase Qianqian's beauty and charm, but as a Queen, Qianqian had reached the end of her ability. In this era of unprecedented change, Queen Qianqian could only watch as her beloved country walked step by step towards a future that she feared.
Being in the camp that promoted and overturned history, Marchioness Grace suddenly felt a sense of true pride in her heart.
Generally speaking, the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was divided into two parts: Cislethania and Translethania.
In a narrow sense, Cislethania only referred to the area west of the Letta River, which was Austria. In a broad sense, Cislethania also included Slovenia, Bohemia, Moravia, Galicia, and Dalmatia. These parts were collectively known as the "Kingdom and Territory represented by the Imperial Parliament."
Translethania, which was the area east of the Letta River, not only included Hungary, but also Slovakia, Transylvania, and Croatia. These parts of the territory were collectively known as the "Crown of Saint Stephen." Saint Stephen I was the first Christian king of Hungary. He was later revered as a saint.
The Min dynasty Democracy Foundation was mainly active in Translethania. An ordinary-looking cruise ship slowly moved through the azure Danube River that passed through the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava. Occasionally, troops could be seen passing by on both sides of the river. Occasionally, there were people in civilian clothes with ferocious expressions looking around. No matter what those people were doing, the Slovakians would think that they were spies. Similar to the situation in Hungary, Slovakia, which was not an industrial region, was also severely impacted by the economic crisis. Hundreds of industries were in a slump, and the people's lives were extremely painful. The upper echelons, who occupied more than half of the country's land and almost all of the industrial capital, were still desperately squeezing the people to keep themselves alive.
There were less than thirty people on the ship. Three or four people were responsible for monitoring the movements outside and steering the ship. The remaining twenty or so people gathered in the cabin. The two people in the lead were both from China. The one sitting on the left frowned slightly and said to the participants with some disappointment, "Comrades, the current land system of the Min dynasty is indeed very effective, but this system is not the system adopted by the Min dynasty during the revolutionary war. During the revolutionary war, we divided the land. The people owned their own land. At the current stage, we have seized the right land and ensured the effective operation of the state ownership of land. Only after we have obtained the approval of the people did we implement the current system. It's like climbing stairs. It's not that people can't go to the highest step, but it's impossible to jump directly to the final result without going through the middle steps. "
Some young comrades nodded slightly after hearing this, while others showed unhappy expressions. The representative from China was in his forties and was an old political worker. Looking at the young comrades' expressions, he sighed in his heart but did not criticize them. The representative from China said, "When we were young, the political cadres of the Min dynasty had the same idea as everyone else. They thought that since there was a clear result, it would be easier to just draw a gourd. But after experiencing the work, we finally understood that we should do things according to the rules. Directly pursuing the imagined result is more haste less speed. Because the two are not the same thing … "
It seemed that the dissatisfied young comrades were defeated by the political workers who chattered like Tang Seng. The leader of those people raised his hand and asked to speak. After getting permission, he said, "We, the Hungarian Communist Party, will not try to establish state-owned farms in a hurry. Instead, we will try to complete the distribution of land to the farmers first …"
It seemed that Tang Seng did not intend to let go of the young people. Hungary: "The revolution is not a simple ideal. If there is no real future, why should the people believe in us? In describing the future, the church has lied to everyone for thousands of years. We are a member of the people ourselves. We can't be divorced from the masses. What the people need is land and a stable future with the means of production of land. This is by no means a backward idea. This is a reality. The reason why the people of the Min dynasty do not pursue the ownership of land is because they know that the system guarantees their right to use land. "
The representatives of the Hungarian Communist Party gave up the intention of ideological confrontation with the Min dynasty Democracy Fund. These people finally said that they would stand together with the needs of the people.
Just as the representative of the Slovak Communist Party could not help but laugh in his heart at the embarrassment of the Hungarian people, the representative of the Min dynasty turned his head and mentioned the difficulties of the Slovak people. "The direct goal of Pan-Slavism is to establish a Slavic country ruled by Russia from Mount Elz and the Carpathian Mountains to the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, and the Adriatic Sea. There are also many people in Slovakia who agree with this Pan-Slavism. "
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was known as the national prison. There were many people in Slovakia who agreed with Pan-Slavism. Even in the Slovak Communist Party, there were many people who agreed with Pan-Slavism and socialism at the same time. Being directly poked into their unhappy position, many of these Slovak people, like the Hungarian Communist Party members just now, changed their expressions.
The political workers of the Democracy Fund did not care at all and continued to speak. "The starting point of the civil Pan-Slavism is basically to oppose national oppression, but in the eyes of the Communist Party, the problem in reality is not so simple. Russia and many so-called Slavic nobles want to use this flag as a means of profit. In the possible future Hungarian People's Republic, what we want to oppose is the division of nationalities. Language, writing, these are all tools, not standards to prove who is more noble. The progress of human society depends on the development of productivity. Any division that does not contribute to the development of productivity is harmful in the long term or short term. You are a Slovak, you are a Hungarian, you are a Croatian. This understanding is based on the fact that you are all people of this People's Republic. It's just that you were born in a different place, or where your ancestors lived a long time ago. None of these can be used as a reason to deny the People's Republic. This is the foundation of the Communist Party. "
Not only in Hungary or Slovakia, there were such organizations operating in the whole of Transleithania. The spies of the Empire and the private soldiers of the nobles were all trying to dig out these Communist Party members. Some efforts were successful, but most efforts were not successful. With the advent of winter, the world was freezing cold, and the lackeys of the masters slackened their efforts because of laziness. It was just that the trees longed for peace, but the wind did not stop. At the beginning of 1898, the European economic crisis broke out.
Farmers went bankrupt and workers lost their jobs. This tragic situation led to a new wave of people in the British Empire who had no money to move to North America. The British Empire's Parliament passed a decree to establish the British Empire's North American Parliament in the former Washington City, which had been renamed Victoria. This Parliament, along with the Parliament in Downing Street, rotated every four years. This seemed like a "Westward Hunt," but in fact, everyone knew that Britain was trying to move its capital.
Most of the rich stayed in the British Empire's Great Britain province. Luxury goods could still be sold in London, but goods aimed at the poor could not find customers, which made Europe's economy worse. The worse Europe's economy got, the more the poor in Britain moved west, which in turn caused the market to shrink further.
Amidst this wailing, the only bright spot was probably Belgium's King Leopold II's recruitment of armed forces to be stationed in Africa. A large number of Europeans tried their best to apply for the job. Of the twenty-eight thousand people, each group had one hundred thousand people applying for the position. When they arrived in Africa, this group of white people finally understood what kind of "grand event" Belgium's King Leopold II had created in Africa.
At the Berlin Conference of 1885, Belgium's King Leopold II obtained the Free Congo and turned it into his private property. In this "private land," Leopold II prohibited private purchase of valuable products, especially rubber and ivory. He stipulated that the natives had to pay taxes on rubber and ivory, in addition to other taxes in kind.
The payment of the rubber tax was the cruelest because it did not have a fixed amount, but was arbitrarily set by the colonial authorities or officials. In order to pay for the rubber, the natives had to cut trees everywhere, and the rubber forest was soon exhausted. The black people who could not pay the rubber tax were chopped off by the black tribal armed forces hired by Leopold II. After a "tax", dozens of baskets of severed hands were delivered as a daily occurrence.
In addition to provoking the black people to kill each other, the colonists also used the natives who collected rubber as "live targets" to shoot. People called this rubber tax "the rubber tax stained with blood." The natives were forcibly recruited to build the railway, and a large number of them died of disease, hunger, and the butt of guns and whips. Many fled the construction site. From 1885 to 1898, in just over 12 years, the black population in the Congo region was less than half of what it used to be.
These white people were "hired" to work on the plantation. Soon, the letters sent home by these laborers began to describe in detail more of Leopold II's "great achievements."
"… The female slaves wore shackles and wooden shackles. These wooden shackles were strung together with iron chains. During the day, they were forced to dig in the mines by their supervisors. Mainly to dig for gold or diamond mines. Because they were afraid that they would hide it, these women were naked. Their babies were placed in the frame behind them, crying together with their mothers in this dark cave … "
"… In order to expand his territory, Leopold II, in the name of destroying the slave trade, launched an attack on the east side of the Congo Basin in an attempt to capture more black people to join his various death businesses. In any case, those people probably could not survive for more than three years under such cruel treatment. It was not until these people encountered the army of the East African administrative region that their bloody expansion was stopped. And this old man who loved to slaughter and torture did not say a word about such a failure … "
These contents were quickly spread all over Europe's major newspapers, and most of the readers were condemning Leopold II. But not long after, this news was replaced by even more explosive news.
The French Revenge Party won a landslide victory in the parliamentary election, and the new Minister of Defense openly declared that they would "solve Germany." Germany, on the other hand, announced a major military exercise. The conflict in Africa was just an excuse for the Europeans to express their moral superiority. Once the conflict between Germany and France broke out, it meant that the whole of Europe would be in complete turmoil.
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