Chapter 361: Chapter 48: The Combat Power of Trash Talk
 

The Federal government’s desperate struggle, funding revolutionary organizations in various countries to incite uprisings, was naturally clear to the governments of those nations.

If the news were to leak, the Northern government might not be finished, as the various countries still needed a divided United States and wouldn’t squish it with a single blow, but President Lincoln’s current administration would certainly be done for.

Including the capitalists who supported them, they would all abandon them at the first opportunity, and possibly even jump out to trample them further.

There was no way around it; with the great powers being unreasonable, if they had a valid point, would they let it go? Without a reasonable explanation to England, France, Austria, and Spain, the Federal government simply could not get by.

Of course, this was no longer of importance to President Lincoln. Given the current situation, he was bound to step down regardless of whether he stirred up trouble or not, and the worst outcome of causing trouble was merely stepping down ahead of schedule.

He had not directly planned these actions, and secretly funding these revolutionary organizations was within the reasonable scope of political struggle, as long as no one was caught with direct evidence—being ousted from office would be the end of that matter.

The one that really needed to take responsibility was the Federal government, which was a matter of how much money they needed to compensate. It was still better than having several great powers fully intervene.

Dividing the United States was a common wish among the nations; to what extent it would be divided depended on the actual operations. Lincoln was unwilling to pin his hopes on the integrity of the nations and chose to gamble.

If he succeeded and civil unrest broke out in those nations, the situation might take a turn. If the anti-war faction in any country gained the upper hand, the Intervention Alliance would lose a member.

At the very least, these anti-war factions could delay the timing a bit.

In history, the London Government was delayed in making decisions due to the restraint of the anti-war faction, missing the opportunity to intervene.

In this era, most Europeans were quite arrogant and simply looked down on the United States as a nouveau riche; most people did not consider them a threat.

This underestimation was undoubtedly an opportunity for the Federal government to get through this calamity. President Lincoln decided to take this chance and go all out.

By the end of 1864, under the cover of the Federal government, members of these revolutionary organizations began to secretly return to the European Continent in batches.

Above the ocean, there were joys and sorrows for different homes.

True revolutionaries naturally had great enthusiasm, ready to devote themselves to the revolutionary cause in their homeland; those who had been idling away their time and scamming for funds were different—they were doing well in the United States, occasionally publishing a few papers and being hailed as revolutionary leaders; who would actually want to go and risk their lives?

Revolution means death, and the more conservative the country, the greater the risk of revolution.

On the other hand, countries deeply influenced by liberalism were relatively safer, at least there was no worry of being executed before being convicted.

Stephen and Garibaldi happened to be arranged on the same ship. Presumably, the Americans were planning for them to cooperate, placing the leaders of organizations with similar political stances together.

Openly, there was no so-called conflict between the Hungarian Independence Organization and the Italian Independent Organization.

After all, Hungarian independence would not affect the Italian Area’s interests, and the Italian Independent Organization had no interest in the Hungarian Region.

On the contrary, the French Revolutionary Party and the Italian Independent Organization had serious conflicts. Many young French believed that the Italian Area should belong to France, reason: because Napoleon was Italian.

Don’t think this reason is far-fetched; having a reason is already good enough. Plainly put, as long as the Parisians participate in the French Revolution, it would suffice; other regions would echo the sentiment without needing to ally with the Italians.

“Since that’s the case, something that’s already been eaten cannot be spat out.”

“It might sound simple to renounce the Kingdom of Sardinia, but if the government really did it, I guarantee the French people would start another revolution.”

“However, discussions between the heads of the two organizations, who were thought capable of friendly cooperation, were far from pleasant.”

…

Stephen explained, “Mr. Garibaldi, if you take action in the Veneto region, we could coordinate with you.

“If you act elsewhere, then I’m sorry; we cannot guarantee to restrain the Austrians.”

This was a candid admission. Stephen believed that even if he went to the Hungarian Region and recruited troops, being able to muster a force of over a hundred would be a blessing from God.

During the period of the great revolution of 1848, the Hungarian Republic stirred up such a commotion but failed to garner public support. Now all he had left was the slogan ‘Hungarian independence’—could he actually expect public support?

Back then, everyone was very proud. In defining the Magyar ethnicity, they did not consider the lower-class serfs as compatriots, denying them the corresponding national treatment.

For this, the Hungarian Nobility bore the main responsibility; to secure their own interests, they refused to recognize these people as kin.

In terms of lineage, it was the middle and lower class Hungarians who were the true Magyars, while the upper-class Nobility were all outsiders, not Magyar People.

Culturally speaking, the Hungarian Nobility was deeply influenced by Teuton culture. They often wrote in German, some used Latin, and fewer than five percent were proficient in the proper Hungarian script, and less than half were proficient in the Hungarian language.

On the other hand, the middle and lower classes mostly used the Hungarian language, among whom about three-quarters also learned German, influenced by the Nobility to primarily write in German.

This was the result of historical circumstances. A careful study reveals that a large part of the Nobility in various European countries originated from the Germany Region.

As kings were exported, so were the Nobility. Furthermore, during the medieval era, with frequent wars in Europe and the Germany Region being impoverished, many had no choice but to join the military.

As they fought, the fortunate ones emerged and gradually fought their way into becoming Nobility. Over time, there accumulated a growing number of Nobility born in the Germany Region.

The Hungarian Republic existed for too short a time to have the opportunity to recognize the identity of the lower-class populace, so it was natural not to expect the lower classes to have much sense of identification with this Republic.

For a permanent solution to the problem, Franz simply created the Austrian Ethnicity. Initially, he wanted to use Teuton, but this designation met with much resistance, so he settled on the Austrian Ethnicity as a compromise.

This is a characteristic of European culture: many within Austria identified with Austria but not with the German Federation of the time.

Of course, later when Austria established the New Holy Roman Empire, they did identify with it, for a very simple reason—Austria held an absolute dominant position in it.

It’s human nature; for instance, if someone wanted to take over your company, you’d naturally be unwilling. But when it’s your turn to take over someone else’s company, well, that’s a different matter.

Austrian Ethnicity did not just encompass Hungarians; many who were uncertain of their ethnicity were included by Franz, and it has now become the second-largest ethnicity in Austria.

Ethnicities can be created, so other distinctions are even less significant. Germans were called the North Austria People, and the Austrian Ethnicity were known as the South Austria People—a branch of the German People.

Because of long-term intermarriage with the nomadic tribes of South Austria and invasions by the Ottoman Empire, among various other factors, people developed different life habits.

“`

Regardless of the outside world’s belief, the Vienna Government was convinced. The family histories of the local nobility could prove that their ancestors came from the German Region.

…

All these factors directly caused the Hungarian Independence Organization to face great difficulties. Even within the defined Magyar ethnicity, many people believed they were also part of the German People.

There was no choice; the lack of sufficient evidence made it impossible to prove anything. Due to centuries of intermarriage, most people were of mixed lineage, and there was no way to prove pure ancestry.

They could only prove their cultural traditions, which made Stephen even more desperate. Even the members of the Hungarian Independence Organization mostly used German, and those who could speak Hungarian were the minority.

Without István Széchenyi’s revival of the Hungarian language, without the revival of Hungarian traditional culture, where would the Hungarian nationality come from?

In this age, transportation was inconvenient, and communication was limited. Even with the telegraph, no one would indulge in such extravagant costs to transmit these insignificant messages, so Garibaldi naturally would not know about these situations.

He believed that Stephen’s refusal was for profit, as no one dared to be a philanthropist in such big issues. Hence, he promised:

“Mr. Stephen, don’t rush to refuse. This matter will not make you work for nothing.

Austrians are our common enemy, their strength is very powerful, and only by uniting can we have a chance to win.

Now you help contain the Austrians, and I can assure you that when you need it in the future, we will also go all out to help you.

Lombardy and Venice are still in the hands of Austrians, there will be many more opportunities for cooperation later, you don’t have to worry about my promise becoming void.”

Now Garibaldi could only make empty promises, as he literally had nothing of real value to offer. The entire wealth of the Italian National Salvation Army was no more than these thousand and a few hundred men.

If the revolution succeeded, then he, in control of a regional government, might be able to offer real silver and gold, but for now, even his own funds were insufficient.

Stephen’s situation was even more tragic, the Hungarian Independence Organization nominally appeared strong. The 1848 Hungarian independence movement proved their strength, but after peaking at their debut, they had steadily fallen to rock bottom.

There were domestic supporters, but after so many years had passed, everyone’s desire for independence had waned.

In youth, one could risk everything for an ideal, but when burdened with family and children, asking them to take a risk was not so simple.

Moreover, even if these people were to be mobilized, they couldn’t stir up any waves. The original ignorance of ethnic distinctions had left them a severe minority.

At this moment, Stephen felt an urge to rename his group to the Austrian Revolutionary Party. After all, such a name would have wider appeal and would not be limited to a single ethnicity.

Although Austria had developed well over the years, there were still many disheartened individuals. It should be much easier to recruit under the banner of the Austrian Revolutionary Party.

But he was unwilling to compromise or admit defeat. Once renamed to the Austrian Revolutionary Party, the Hungarian Independence Organization would cease to exist, and by doing so, he would have given up the goal of Hungarian independence, acknowledging that the Hungarian nationality was part of Austria.

After hesitating for a moment, Stephen didn’t want to lose face, so he bragged, “Mr. Garibaldi, it’s not that we are unwilling to exert effort, but we are truly unable to.

To contain the Austrians, at least hundreds of thousands must be organized to rebel. Do you think that after the last Hungarian War of Independence, the Vienna Government would not be vigilant?

Over the years, they have never ceased in their repression of us. You must have heard that among the revolutionary groups of countries in exile, those from Austria are the least to have survived.”

“`

The infamous wanted notices from the Vienna Government hung like swords over our heads. Over the years, we’ve had more than a dozen branches destroyed, hundreds slaughtered, and our organizational structure severely damaged.

For the sake of secrecy, most of our communication was through single-contact channels, with no backup information. As these branches were compromised, we lost contact with members beyond the ninth layer.”

Seeing Stefan’s grief-stricken face, Garibaldi didn’t know what to say. He also had heard about the ruthless crackdowns on independent revolutionary organizations by the Vienna Government.

The Italian National Salvation Army had not been hit, simply because they had just formed and hadn’t caused trouble on Austrian territory, naturally evading the Vienna Government’s notice.

With a face full of shame, Garibaldi said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know the situation you are facing was so dire.”

Seeing that Garibaldi had been fooled, Stefan breathed a sigh of relief. He still had some principles and didn’t want to make commitments lightly and entrap others, especially since their allies were now few and far between.

If there weren’t a few notorious criminals standing at the forefront, should the Vienna Government’s gaze turn toward them, wouldn’t that be a tragedy?

Stefan certainly did not want to become the primary target; it meant he could meet with an “accident” at any moment. Unless he hid away in the forests, nowhere would be safe.

The Hungarian Independence Organization survived comfortably not because of their strength but because they learned to hide themselves.

Since the failure of the great revolution, they had long stayed at the stage of being all talk and no action, never initiating any substantive rebellions.

The so-called sabotage amounted to nothing more than writing a few articles criticizing the Vienna Government or sending people to post small advertisements—no, national independence propaganda slogans.

This was not Stefan’s fault. The main issue was that all the revolutionary talents with actual combat capabilities had joined the Hungarian independence movement, predominantly dying in the war for independence.

Those who survived by slipping through the net were mainly blusterers involved in propaganda. Lacking combat capability, they did not appear among the rebel forces.

During the post-war reprisals, they slipped through because of their low profiles and the large number of people involved.

After escaping the first wave, everyone was haunted by guilt, fearing imprisonment if they were found out, so many chose to flee overseas.

Since they originally made a living off their words, even with a change in time and place, there wasn’t much difference.

Over the years, their theoretical foundations and organizational capabilities indeed improved, but taking up arms for independence was still too much to ask.

Being able to boast was a talent in itself. It was precisely by this ability that the Hungarian Independence Organization lived quite comfortably in the United States.

With their silver tongues, they bluffed many people. Everyone thought of them as desperate fugitives, and even America’s criminal syndicates gave them a wide berth.

Thanks to the reputation they had inflated, they also offered protection to many Hungarians who emigrated to the United States, gradually establishing a foothold there.

The more lavish the life, the more one fears death.

Now, Stefan and others no longer possessed the will for revolution. They flew the flag of the Hungarian Independence Organization to protect their own interests, not to lead Hungary to independence.

The United States of that era was not a sanctuary either. Over the years, they had accumulated substantial wealth. If not for their impressive bluster which kept the predators at bay, their good days would have long since ended.