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

Chapter 1191 The end of the road (Part )
Kossuth's heart suddenly sank. He had thought that he could stage a good show of flooding the seven armies, but now it seemed that
Kossuth took a moment to adjust himself, then asked.

"And what about the Austrian losses?"

"2,700 killed, 19,033 wounded, 4,100 missing"

"How come there are so few?"

Kossuth reacted immediately.

"How do you know so much?"

“The Austrians put it all in the newspapers.”

Luo Jia explained helplessly, and Kossuth's heart sank even more. This time he didn't even have a chance to make up for it. It was not difficult to block the public's access to information, at least Kossuth thought so.

However, the capitulationists and fence-sitters in Hungary are different. The fact that this information has reached them proves that they have also obtained this information.

If those people sided with Austria, the government of the Hungarian Empire would be paralyzed.

In fact, Kossuth was overthinking it. Because of Franz's liquidation policy, the Hungarian high-level officials did not dare to surrender at all. Even if they surrendered, they could not avoid liquidation.

After all, there is an old saying that goes, "Blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents," and "Tampering with the interests of a vested group is like murder."

Franz undoubtedly took both of these measures to the extreme. Not only would he confiscate most of their property, he would also make them bear the debt of liberating the serfs themselves, and might even send them to Africa to work and pay off the debt.

In addition to possible financial liquidation, surrender could also result in physical liquidation, such as Tiutkale and a number of high-ranking officials in Budapest, almost all of whom were executed.

Therefore, all the high-ranking officials of the Hunnic Empire and those officials who had participated in the Hunnic Empire government had an irreconcilable feud with Franz, and they would rather die than surrender to the Austrian Empire.

"Has the plan to blow up the Busen Dam failed?"

Kossuth had mobilized his last strength in Austria and had the help of the British, so in theory this plan would be absolutely foolproof.

In fact, the plan was successful.

With the collaboration of traitors within the Austrian Empire and the British, they found a gap that shouldn't have existed and successfully blew a tiny hole in the dam.

However, it was this seemingly insignificant scar that made more than a year of efforts of tens of thousands of people come to naught in just a few hours.

The river diversion that Kossuth imagined did not happen, and only the ice floods around Budapest caused a devastating impact.

"do not know."

Unfortunately, after the explosion of the Busen Dam, the Austrian Empire began a full curfew, and the news about the Hungarian spies could not be spread at all.

They knew only what Franz wanted them to know.

Kossuth slumped down in his chair and spoke in a low voice.

"As long as Bautjanyi opens the passage to Transylvania, we still have hope."

"Your Majesty, Marshal Bao Jiani, he..."

"Did he succeed? I knew it! Those Transylvanians were weak! Even that coward Artur almost won.

Great, let's break out to the west now! As long as we hide in the mountains of Transylvania, the Austrians will have no way to stop us!
If that doesn’t work, we can still go to Moldavia, Wallachia, and the Ottoman Empire! We have a lot to offer in the future!”

Kossuth clenched his fists and roared.

"Marshal Bautjanyi, he deserted the battlefield"

The room suddenly became quiet and depressing. Kossuth placed his hands on the table and said nothing. Everyone looked at each other, and some even loosened their collars in the middle of winter. It was unknown whether it was because the charcoal stove in the room was burning too vigorously or for some other reason. "Close the door."

Kossuth's guards immediately closed the door with a heavy thud.

"Damn Bao Jiani! Without my support, he is nothing!
I should have killed him, Banyat, and all those two-faced nobles long ago! They have long intermarried with the Austrians and have lost their Hunnic blood!
A bunch of damn cowards! They are so pissed off!"

(From the movie "Downfall")
After drinking a full glass of laudanum, Kossuth regained his strength.

"Block the news and don't let the public know about this. Do you understand?"

"As ordered!"

However, as soon as the door opened, the Debrecen police chief rushed in.

"Oh no! Oh no! The Austrians are coming!"

This time Kossuth was really frightened.

Budapest is only 230 kilometers away from Debrecen. If Hainau marches desperately, he can reach it in a dozen days.

If we are surrounded again, it is hard to say whether the Austrians will show leniency.

"Go out and take a look!"

Kossuth rushed out of the room in one swift step.

Then he saw leaflets flying all over the sky like snowflakes and huge airships.

Kossuth grabbed a leaflet which read:

"The Huns are looking for trouble, invading our territory, slaughtering our people, and even members of the royal family have sacrificed their lives for the country. The empire is furious and vows to put an end to the Hun rebellion and return our land to us.
To avoid the loss of lives, the imperial subjects in the city are expected to leave Debrecen within three days. After three days, the imperial army will launch a general attack, and everything will be destroyed.

This is a national vengeance, and we refuse to surrender."

Kossuth tore the leaflet into pieces and shouted to the sky.

"Knock those damn things down!"

Kossuth's order spread throughout the city immediately. Soldiers raised their guns and fired. Some even raised their guns higher.
However, these actions were of no use at all. Instead, the sound of gunfire and artillery fire attracted more people to watch.

What was even more terrifying was that the falling bullets and shells caused a great catastrophe in the city of Debrecen. Many people and buildings were hit by bullets, some areas were bombarded, and even several fires were caused.

The people, who were already frightened by the airships, became even more frightened by the leaflets and gunfire, and the city was in chaos.

Those leaflets were not declarations of war. They also described the recent situation of the Hun Empire. In particular, Bautjanni's desertion from the battlefield dealt a heavy blow to Kossuth, so he was so afraid of those leaflets.

But now, he doesn't need to be afraid of those flyers because they are everywhere in the city.

Kossuth's chief of staff proposed closing the city gates immediately and not allowing anyone to leave the city. In this way, when the Austrians arrived, they would have to face 200,000 real "Huns" who would fight to the death.

But what was the point? How many 200,000 had the Austrians defeated? Kossuth shook his head and could no longer remember.

"Your Majesty! This is our only chance!"

Kossuth patted his aide's shoulder and pointed to the bottom of the platform.

"Look, the city is finished. That's what the Austrians really want."