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

Chapter 1178 Taking advantage of the situation
Originally, the Slovak uprising was a good thing for the Austrian Empire, not just for Baron Gregorich. After all, in a sense, it was another victory for the royalists.

In the eastern part of the Hornad River, near the Hungarian border, the ancient city of Košice once again sounded the alarm.

But the bell ringer has changed, but the same piercing bell sound remains unchanged.

Outside Košice, Baron Gregoric was puzzled because the Magyar army had almost collapsed after the Battle of Banská Bystrica.

But this city before him, which could hardly be described as majestic, actually blocked his way. Baron Gregorich did not believe that all the Magyars were not afraid of death.

If there are really brave warriors among the Magyars who are not afraid of death, he will definitely help them. After all, their heroes are my enemies.

Such a crazy nation becomes more terrifying as it becomes more powerful.

Baron Gregory had just given the order to siege the city when a team appeared on the bridge outside the city.

The team is not small, with as many as three or four hundred people, but they don't look like they are fighting, but more like they are bluffing.

"Report! Baron! The Czechs in Košice are asking for negotiations."

"Czech?"

"Yes, they call themselves representatives of the Czech nation and the Slovak region."

"When did Košice become Czech territory? When did it become representative of the whole of Slovakia?"

Baron Gregoritsch was puzzled, but more angry, but he still met with the Košice representatives.

"Loyal citizens of the Empire, you can now lay down your weapons and let everything return to normal. The power of the Magyars has collapsed, and the Empire must now restore order in Košice."

As an officer of noble birth, Baron Gregoric could still speak politely. However, the representatives from Košice reacted very coldly, and the leader, an old man wearing traditional Czech national costume, spoke in a bad tone.

“This city is ours.”

Baron Gregory felt somewhat helpless.

"Of course this city belongs to you, but legally speaking this city also belongs to the emperor and the empire."

The old man in the lead angrily leaned on the ground with his cane.

"This city is ours now. If you want it, you must agree to our terms!"

The Galician officers standing by were very angry. They wished they could tear the old man in front of them to pieces immediately.

"What do you want?"

Baron Gregerridge's tone was surprisingly calm, but everyone who knew him knew that this was a sign of his extreme anger.

“We want to revive our culture and preserve our language. Czech must be used in schools, shopping malls, hospitals and government agencies!

We want to vote for our own parliament and government, and the right to local self-government!"

"We don't want to get involved in your war with the Hungarians!"

"That's right! We want political, economic, and judicial independence and no longer be controlled by the Austrian Empire! Otherwise..."

"Then please prepare to fight. We are in a hurry and don't want to waste too much time."

Baron Gregoritch no longer wanted to talk. As a close confidant of Count Stadion, he naturally understood the root cause of the unrest in the Austrian Empire.

The privileges of a few and the few who want to continue to expand their privileges, as well as enough idiots and a dirty enough society. Baron Greggridge hated this country when he was young, and he hated his origin even more. If he were a noble, he might have the ability to change the world. If he were a commoner, he would overthrow it without hesitation.

Unfortunately, the Gregg Ridge family is neither wealthy nor common.

Baron Gregory's parents were close relatives, and he was the only mentally sound one among his six siblings. After his father died, Baron Gregory had to shoulder the burden of taking care of his mentally retarded mother and five siblings.

Baron Gregerich had been repeating hopeless work day after day. With no connections and no money, he still couldn't get a first-class evaluation even if he got full marks in all his courses.

(At that time, the education evaluation system of the Austrian Empire was divided into five levels from high to low, with the first level being the highest level.)
But at some point, the country changed and a large number of positions based on merit emerged. He also gradually changed from a clerk in an infantry regiment to the deputy commander of the Galician Legion.

Baron Gregory loves this country, so he doesn't want to leave too many termites. He has seen the light, so he doesn't want darkness to cover the sky again.

At this time, the old man opposite became anxious.

"Asshole! I won't talk to you, let your superior talk to me! You ignorant thing! Košice has 5,000 young men! We also have a moat."

Lord Gregory wanted no nonsense.

"I am the highest military commander here, and my order is to remove all obstacles on the road to Budapest."

"What? Are you saying we're an obstacle that needs to be cleared?"

"Aren't you?"

"I won't talk to you, let your boss come!"

"I give you two hours to evacuate innocent civilians from this city."

"Let Franz come! Otherwise, the 35,000 residents of Košice will fight you to the death!"

Both sides said their own things, but neither showed any intention of giving in.

However, the local nobles and gentry in Košice did not want to die for Czech nationalism. After all, they were Slovaks or upper class people, but not Czechs.

Seeing that Baron Gregoric was about to leave with his men, the leaders of several large families in Košice immediately chased after him.

"General, please wait. We can discuss this. We are all loyal subjects of the Austrian Empire, but the Hungarians have taken a lot of things from us using the copper mines as collateral.

As long as you can guarantee that we can obtain the mining rights of the copper mine, we will immediately open the city to welcome the army. We are also trying to stabilize the order in the rear, you can understand it. "

Baron Gregerridge glanced at him and sneered.

"I understand. How could I not understand? You just used the Magyars to attack your business competitors. Now that the Magyars are finished, you want to threaten the lives of 35,000 civilians in the city to ensure that the benefits you get can be safely pocketed."

Several middle-aged men in gorgeous clothes looked at each other in bewilderment. They thought that the soldiers of the Austrian Empire were all a bunch of rough guys, but the young general in front of them was obviously not that.

“If I remember correctly, the copper mine outside the city is the property of the Pillai family.

The Pillai family raised an army to resist the invasion of the Magyars, but they were betrayed by a traitor and the entire family, except for the youngest son who was studying in Vienna, were hanged on this bridge.

"Haha. We sympathize with the Pillai family, but the dead are gone. The copper mine is related to national affairs. We have to resume production, right?"

Several middle-aged men in fancy clothes said this with a forced smile.

(End of this chapter)