On the Danube, four steamships of the Taffy family are cutting through the calm waters.

"Uncle Albrecht, are you going to Hungary too?" To be honest, the encounter with Archduke Albrecht on the ship took Franz by surprise.

"You can go, why can't I? But I wondered, didn't Mrs. Sophie know that Hungary was dangerous now? Hundreds of thousands of homeless people may break out at any time, and you kid will be taken hostage. ”

Archduke Albrecht, eldest son of Archduke Karl, later a hero of the Italian Wars, is known as the last famous general of the Austrian Empire.

"Uncle Albrecht, I think it would be better for you to hijack it, it would be more profitable, after all, Grandpa Karl is the richest man in our Austrian Empire."

"Little Franz, I'm not joking, your identity is very sensitive, if you plan to visit Hungary, I suggest you go in a few months. Riots are no fun thing, and they can kill a lot of people. ”

"Uncle Albrecht, are you going to take up a post in Hungary in this dress?" Albrecht was wearing his colonel's uniform at this time, and Franz realized that the family of Archduke Karl seemed to like to wear military uniforms.

"Anyway, I'm also a colonel of the Austrian Empire, and I think they'll listen to me.." Albrecht, who was tall and tall, was very unsure when he said this.

In fact, the composition of the Austrian Imperial Army was very complex, not only the Imperial Army, but also the local defense forces, and Hungary had a separate organization - the Kingdom Army.

Theoretically, all armies of the Austrian Empire should be under the jurisdiction of the Imperial War Department in wartime, but in practice, in addition to the Imperial Army, the local defense forces and the Kingdom Army all had very large autonomy.

Archduke Albrecht was a colonel in the Imperial Army, and it is highly likely that the Royal Army in Hungary will not take his course.

But in fact, because he was a member of the royal family and the son of Karl, the Hungarian military treated him surprisingly well.

"Well, Uncle Albrecht, but are there only two of your guards?"

"Didn't you just bring two babysitters?" Albrecht thought for a moment and asked with some curiosity, "How do you know that I only brought two people." ”

"Because except for the three of you, these four boats are full of my men."

When he arrived in Budapest, it was already evening, and Franz was a little lost by the sight in front of him, most of the buildings in the city had been rebuilt, and the streets were clean and tidy, and there was no sign of the aftermath of the disaster.

Just like any big city in the world at this time, the aristocracy lived a life of glamour, and the ordinary people were busy in order to live.

But one thing that is very unusual is that there is not a single victim in sight.

Often, the victims of the disaster would consciously flock to the big cities to seek refuge, which was an old tradition in the Austrian Empire.

You must know that the streets and alleys of Vienna were full of people begging along the streets, and if it weren't for the flood, I am afraid that the slums of Vienna would have been overcrowded.

Intelligence says that hundreds of thousands of people are wandering around in Hungary at this time, and Pest, as the core city of Hungary, does not see a single disaster victim here, and it is too strangely calm.

Archduke Albrecht, with two of his own guards, hired a carriage and rushed directly to the barracks outside the city.

Franz did not choose to stay in the Royal Palace, but chose the famous Pest Hotel in Hungary.

The hotel that bears the name of the city has a complex mix of guests and is the largest information exchange center in the city.

The hotel looks luxurious on the outside, but inside it is full of fireworks, and the lobby is more like a bazaar than a restaurant.

The entire ground floor is full of messy tables and chairs and noisy crowds, as well as cheap drinks and even dry food brought with you.

At this time, the people on the second floor are brightly dressed, some are smiling at the chaotic scene on the first floor, some are indifferently eating a sumptuous meal and changing cups, and some private rooms are carrying out secret or indescribable transactions.

Although Franz was as low-key as possible, the waiter invited Franz to the second floor with only one glance.

Adjani was familiar with this kind of place and didn't have much to check in.

Franz fell asleep, after all, a child went out to ask questions for fear that nothing would be obtained, and it was better to leave this kind of thing to a professional, and Franz's body would be sleepy at night.

In this kind of place, whether you are a dignitary, a passing merchant, or an ordinary person, as long as you walk around it, you can generally find some useful news for yourself, or at least you can increase your knowledge a lot.

Of course, there are some things that you just need to listen to, but they are not necessarily true, and some things are better left alone, because nosy things come at a price.

Talia went to the first floor, Adjani wandered around the second floor, and Parrish was secretly protected with a large group of guards.

A few swingers tried to talk to Adjani and Talia, only to retreat when they saw the finest pigeonstone set in the necklace on the second daughter's chest.

Pigeon's blood ruby, the most expensive of the rubies, was often called "burning blood" in Europe at this time.

Generally speaking, a woman who can wear such expensive jewelry is not something that their group can afford to provoke, and experienced veterans can easily spot the guards not far away, let alone wade into the troubled waters.

Soon a great deal of information came together, and the price of food in the city was indeed inflated, exceeding the maximum level of the Austrian Empire's price limit and twice the normal price. (The Austrian Imperial Price Limit Order is 1.7 times)

But this price was not enough to cause a large number of displaced people, and a series of public works were indeed built in the Hungarian region, but these works were all done in the personal name of Count Széchenyi, and there is no consensus on whether there was any support from the Hungarian government.

One thing is certain, however, that all the public works in Hungary together do not reach the size of 30 million florins.

Most of the nobles in the city were compensated, but this compensation was given on a very strange basis, not on the basis of the severity of the disaster, but on the amount of property and the level of the title.

The set of saving the people and saving the officials first makes sense in this era, but it makes people angry if there is no reason for the disaster.

The Hungarian government has mobilized the Royal Army's troops to guard Budapest and strictly control the influx of victims, and other surrounding cities have done the same, concentrating the victims in one area to prevent riots.

In addition to some food, fishing gear was also distributed to the victims to help themselves.

This practice of teaching a man to fish is not as good as teaching a man to fish, and Franz originally had reservations.

But the reality taught Franz a lesson: not only did the victims not catch fish, but many people fell into the raging Danube and died.

The water in the Danube is not only deep and fast, but the location of the fish is so elusive that it is difficult to make a living unless you are a professional fisherman.

The Danube is the deepest river in Europe and the third deepest in the world.

Of course, there are also some gossip, such as the Polish Restoration Army preparing to rise in Budapest, the second son of the Count of Bilal murdering his eldest brother, and the Count Széchenyi buying a thousand Chenu

After hearing all the information, Franz only came to one conclusion, that is, the Hungarian government has rotten to the bone.

(End of chapter)