At the beginning of 1839, Ling Xun arrived as promised.

Due to the fact that Austria had previously widened the river and Hungary had not done so in time, and that there was a lot of rain and snow in winter, the ice at the bend of the Danube continued to accumulate, forming an ice dam reservoir and raising the water level upstream.

Eventually, as the temperature rose, the ice dam broke and the flood erupted. It was a once-in-a-century flood that destroyed half of Budapest, destroying thousands of homes and leaving tens of thousands of people homeless.

After that, Ling Xun flowed wildly in the Hungarian plain, destroying countless farms and houses with a devastating force, and did not stop until it returned to the Danube again.

This diversion of the Danube has left hundreds of thousands of people in Hungary homeless.

The Hungarian government applied to the Austrian Imperial Government for 200 million florins, which was naturally rejected by the Imperial Government.

The nationwide disaster of 1838 had already saddled the Imperial Government with an additional 200 million florins, which totaled 1,531,000,000 florins.

In the end, the Austrian Imperial Government approved only 20 million florins for disaster relief, and at the same time required the Hungarian local government to also allocate at least 10 million florins.

At this time, the relief efforts were much stronger than at the same time in history, but when Count Széchenyi hurriedly returned to Hungary, he was devastated, and the dilapidated houses were not repaired, but were violently demolished.

Countless men, women, children, and the elderly have had to leave their homes, and their land has been forcibly expropriated because they cannot pay taxes.

The expropriated land will be turned into new farms or hunting grounds for recreation.

Everywhere you look, displaced people wander aimlessly across the Hungarian plain.

Some "kind" factory owners were recruiting Chi slaves, and many of the victims were fighting for the qualification of a Chi slave.

Occasionally, a few luxurious carriages with their guards stopped on the side of the road, declaring that such and such a nobleman wanted to adopt a son and daughter. In fact, most of the aristocrats came for amusement, or to satisfy their special habits with young girls.

Széchenyi was well aware of the shady nature of the scheme, and some traffickers had infiltrated it to find merchandise for the brothel.

He sat in the center of the carriage like a knife, and then opened his mouth to ask the butler beside him.

"How many more people can fit in the house?"

The old butler grew up watching Széchenyi, and knew that the young master was kind, so he said more, because he knew that a considerable number of those victims would not be able to reach Széchenyi's manor, some would die halfway, and some would run away because they missed their families and homeland

"There are enough workers in the manor, but if the young master wants to feed some more people, there should be no problem with a thousand people. We still have 30,000 florins in coinage, but when we get to Budapest, we can use the expected banknotes, so it's not a big problem. ”

The Hungarian populace did not recognize Austria's expected banknotes, and coinage was the common currency.

Széchenyi's convoy consisted of seven carriages, the last five of which were for men, and the last five were all for salutes, and Széchenyi and the old butler sat in the first, and in the second carriage were four servants who were responsible for Széchenyi's daily life, accompanied by a convoy of forty men.

The huge procession came to an abrupt halt, and a knight came to Széchenyi's car, and the butler and the former briefly explained a few words.

Under the gaze of the people around him, the knight shouted loudly, "Count Széchenyi's family is looking for a long-term worker, three hundred florins a year!" ”

Széchenyi's family is well-known in Hungary, his father is a well-known philanthropist, and three hundred florins a year is a dream job for an ordinary Hungarian.

The old butler also felt that it was too high, but Széchenyi's reason was that the long-term workers on his estate were all three hundred florins, and he could not make these victims feel that they were discriminated against.

The old housekeeper could only shake his head helplessly, this young master is very smart and good at making money, but his money is given to others, and if this continues, the family wealth left by the master will be lost by him sooner or later. Fortunately, the long-term workers in the manor had saved a sum of money for him, hoping that it would not be used for a day.

The quota for the 1,000 men was soon filled, and several knights bought 30,000 florins of food nearby to distribute to the victims, but it was still a drop in the bucket.

Soon Count Széchenyi was in the halls of the Hungarian Parliament, full of well-dressed nobles, smoking cigars and drinking expensive wines from across the ocean, and the atmosphere in the hall was very lively, as if a war had just been won.

"Look! Our hero is back! Welcome to Triumph, my dear Count Széchenyi. This was another great victory of the Hungarian nation over the Austrian Empire! The Speaker, Count Bilal, warmly embraced Széchenyi, and thunderous applause erupted in the hall.

Széchenyi was a little confused, there was already hunger all over the place, obviously the disaster relief efforts were not enough, what was there to be happy about, it should be sad.

"My friend, thanks to you, not only did the Austrians give us 20 million florins, but you also made us pay 10 million florins less in taxes, you are a hero of Hungary. Now the Hungarian parliament has decided to award you the Order of St. Stephen's Crown, the highest honor in the Kingdom of Hungary. ”

The Count of Bilal placed the gold medallion set with diamonds on the Count of Széchenyi's chest and hung a ribbon on him.

"But there are still countless victims out there waiting for help, and this money should be used." Count Széchenyi wanted to say something.

"What else to save? Which time did Ling Xun not die? ”

"If you want to save us, you will save us! My family's hunting ground was flooded, and now there is not a single deer to be found, so my son has to go to a brothel. ”

"Count Széchenyi, this time you can get at least a million florins, you have a treat in the evening!"

A group of nobles chattered, and Széchenyi looked indifferently at the hopeless group of people in front of him and walked up to the podium.

With the arrival of Count Széchenyi, there was an instant silence below, after all, Count Széchenyi is now a hot figure in the whole of Hungary, although he is a little deviant, but he has done a lot of practical things for Hungary.

When it comes to paying taxes, Széchenyi can be said to be the first in Hungary, after all, the Hungarian aristocracy has the privilege of tax exemption, and every transaction between the Count of Széchenyi and the Habsburg royal family is reported truthfully and taxes are paid truthfully.

You must know that it is millions of taxes, and if it is replaced by someone else, even if it is broken and killed, you will find a way to keep the money.

"This is not a victory for the Hungarian nation, but a sorrow for our nation, a group of elites who have abandoned hundreds of thousands of Hungarian compatriots for their own selfish desires, and this is what you call a victory?

Why is there such a flood? Aren't you the ones who stopped the construction of the Danube dam? If the Imperial Government of Austria, the Emperor of the Habsburgs, knew that we had embezzled the money for the relief of the disaster, then who would give relief to the victims next time?

I am not a Hungarian hero, I am a Hungarian sinner, if you are a Hungarian with a conscience, please lend your hand to those who are suffering! I don't accept this medal, I don't deserve it! ”

After Count Széchenyi finished speaking, he tore off the medal on his chest and slapped it on the table, and walked alone towards the door of the venue.

"Don't worry! Come back, Count Széchenyi! The emperors of the Habsburgs were fools! ”

There was a laugh behind him, and Count Széchenyi left the meeting without looking back.

(End of chapter)