The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1114 Bloody Blade

"Qiutkalai! You mad dog! I am not a traitor. I am the chief of the Pest City Police. I am here to catch traitors! Stop firing!"

The bearded bald man roared, but the only response he got was more Congreve rockets.

Although the Congreve rocket had poor accuracy and low lethality, that was only relative. No matter what weapon it was, it would have great lethality when facing a crowd of people packed together like sardines.

Moreover, the main function of the Congreve rocket was not to kill the enemy's manpower, but to burn buildings, which the Danes can testify to.

Qiutkale's attack threw the crowd in the Pest Hotel into chaos, but some people soon realized that they were just there to watch the fun and eat and drink for free, and they were not traitors.

Then some people began to cry out that they were innocent and tried to walk out of the Pace Hotel.

However, they were only supported by bullets and rockets. It was obvious that Tyutkalai had no intention of letting anyone go. It was easier to eliminate all suspects than to identify the opposition members one by one.

Moreover, with the Austrian army approaching in large numbers, the Hungarian government has no time to screen them one by one. What they need now is to concentrate all their forces to deal with the impending attack.

In theory, the Austrian troops could reach the outskirts of Budapest in a day by boat.

If they march quickly, they will certainly be able to do it within two weeks. Even according to the most optimistic estimates, the Austrians will reach Budapest within a month at the latest.

At that time, there were less than 30,000 regular troops and about 6,000 police and gendarmes in Budapest and its surrounding areas, as well as 20,000 new recruits in training.

At first glance, the number seems to be quite large, but in fact, there is a lot of water among them. Many people are both private armed forces of large families and regular troops of Hungary.

Using state money to raise private soldiers was not unique to the Ming Dynasty. Not only were these troops seriously understaffed, it was also unclear whether they would obey orders, and whose orders they would obey.

The remaining 20,000 so-called new recruits, who were being trained but had not yet been sent to the battlefield, were actually the essence of the Hungarian nation.

These people were the ones whom Kossuth was reluctant to send to the battlefield. They were students from several Hungarian universities and some young people who had received higher cultural education.

College students are indeed precious in this era, but why are there tens of thousands of them in places like Vienna and Budapest?

You should know that at the same time there were only 7 formal universities in the UK, and the total number of students was far less than the tens of thousands in later generations.

At that time, the seven universities in the UK were: Oxford University, Cambridge University, University of London, University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, University of St Andrews, and University of Aberdeen.

The total number of students enrolled in the two most famous universities, Oxford and Cambridge, is only more than 3,000.

In fact, there are far more universities in Germany than in the UK. There are seven universities in Prussia alone, and the number of students admitted is twice that of the UK. There are more than 20 universities in Germany excluding Austria.

During the same period of history, there were eighteen universities in the Austrian Empire, and the 100,000 people in Vienna and 20,000 in Budapest were not just fresh college graduates, but also many past graduates waiting for official positions.

Therefore, these 20,000 new soldiers who have not been sent to the battlefield are definitely the essence of the Hungarian nation. They carry the future of Hungary to a considerable extent. Even now that they have reached the end of their rope, Kossuth does not want to send these people to the battlefield. They are the reserve elites of Hungary. If they are finished, then the inheritance of Hungary's elites may be broken.

Since the existing military force is of no use, then they will recruit civilians. What Hungary lacks the least is people, especially former serfs who have just been liberated and then lost their land and fled into the city. They are willing to fight for a piece of bread.

Due to the failure of Hungary's land policy, there were as many such people as needed, and Kossuth was confident that he could form another 300,000-man army within a month.

Historically, Kossuth assembled an army of more than 200,000 people out of thin air in less than ten days. This was not because he had the magical ability to create soldiers out of beans, but because the chaos at that time produced a large number of refugees.

(The only people in history who were able to accomplish such a feat after a military defeat were Chairman Chang and Tie. Even Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were ashamed of themselves.)
These refugees were willing to do anything as long as they had something to eat, and the level of chaos in Hungary at this time was far higher than the same period in history.

The fire in the Pace Hotel was getting more and more intense, and the bearded bald man sent people to rush out several times but failed.

As for those bearded lackeys, when they saw "the bravest man in Hungary" Tiutkare leading the Self-Defense Forces to besiege the Pest Hotel, they all chose to look away and pass by.

The spirited young men who were cursing and clamoring for a fight just now suddenly became quiet, and then left quietly without taking a cloud with them.
Seeing the situation deteriorating, the police chief of Pest City's brain was working rapidly. He decided not to suffer a loss and grabbed the old man in fancy clothes and walked out.

"Mr. Qiu Tekalai! I have caught the culprit, you should buy me a drink!"

There was a flattering smile on his greasy bearded face.

However, he was still greeted by rockets and bullets. Since returning from the front line, Qiutkalai has been studying the Austrian tactics.

The Congreve rocket is a really good thing. This weapon is easy to manufacture and even easier to use (similar to an enlarged version of the Skypiercer), and is very suitable for an untrained army like the Hungarian Army.

However, the Congreve rocket also has its own shortcomings. The first and most important problem is that it is too expensive for Hungary at that time, because the Congreve rocket requires a large amount of gunpowder, but at this time Hungary's foreign trade was cut off and the price of gunpowder skyrocketed.

At this time, the main source of gunpowder in Hungary was smuggling, followed by inventory, and then low-quality gunpowder made by traditional methods.

These gunpowders could only meet the basic needs of the Hungarian army. It was simply unrealistic to use rockets to clear the way like the Austrians did.

Another problem is its pitiful hit rate, which is basically less than 100 meters. It often misses the largest buildings in the entire city of Pest and occasionally hits its own people.

But scholars at Pace University have already begun researching new rockets that are lightweight and have a high hit rate.

The bearded old man in fancy clothes, and many more people turned into ashes along with the Pace Hotel.

However, the night had just begun. Tyutkalá led the Hungarian Self-Defense Forces to eliminate the people one by one according to the list given by Kossuth.

Some were plotting at home, some were trying to contact foreign powers, some were preparing to surrender to Austria, some were trying to persuade Kossuth, and some were simply sleeping at home.
Everyone on the list was targeted and eliminated, and the scope of the crackdown was expanded through interrogation. Even the real mastermind hiding in the basement was not spared.

Although Qiu Tekale was killing people in a chaotic manner with billowing smoke and dust, ordinary people were not afraid and even wanted to join in.