Chapter 463 People Are Like Grass

Spring 1844, Vienna

Franz received a piece of heavy news in Schonbrunn Palace, that is, a famine had indeed occurred in Ireland, but it only affected a small part of the area. Those sent by the church all agreed that this was the result of God's manifestation.

However, the saint from heaven who we often talk and laugh with Archbishop Rauscher naturally knows that this is not God’s blessing at all, but some natural phenomenon that inhibits the spread of the fungal virus.

Moreover, the real great famine in history began in 1845, which meant that Franz still had a year to prepare. If he can't find a solution, he'll have to prepare to accept millions of immigrants.

In fact, directly accepting immigrants from Ireland is not necessarily a good choice, because the historical Austrian Empire will be in deep internal and external crisis four years later.

If there are more Irish people, it means there is one more change. What's more, helping others may not always lead to rewards. There shouldn't be too many stories about farmers and snakes in history.

Although Franz is always creating variables, he himself is very resistant to the unknown, especially when it happens to himself.

Because variables mean instability can make people lose their sense of security.

Moreover, being able to fundamentally solve the Great Famine in Ireland will alleviate the food crisis throughout Europe and objectively alleviate social conflicts. In this way, the crisis of the Spring of Nations may not be so intense.

At the same time, millions of Irish people stayed in their hometown, which also meant that the United States would lose millions of immigrants, and it would also lose a large number of outstanding scientists, businessmen, and politicians.

After all, 23 of the 46 presidents in American history were of Irish descent.

Similarly, the Irish will not become compliant citizens of Britain if they stay on the island of Ireland, because it is the latter that really makes the former unable to survive.

The British national policy and the increasingly serious land annexation will detonate the Irish nuclear bomb sooner or later.

The Great Famine was merely the trigger, for it also weakened the Irish, forcing them to think about survival first and then anything else.

In fact, during the famine of 1843, the Irish generally had no expectations of the British government, and Robert Peel did nothing.

This is not to say that he ignores the Irish problem. On the contrary, he is the first prime minister in history to propose a solution to the Irish problem.

It's just that his behavior touched the interests of too many people, so in the end he had no choice but to resign in anger.

This time, the main reason is that the Irish issue happened suddenly and ended very suddenly. At this time, the actions of the governments of both Britain and Austria were very delayed.

But in the eyes of the Irish, London is just the same as usual, and they don't care about their life or death anyway.

Interestingly, almost all priests sent to Ireland recorded local dissatisfaction with the British government, and in some areas the Irish even founded their own newspapers.

But it is only a matter of time before these newspapers disappear. On the one hand, they are due to the strict censorship and control of the British. On the other hand, these newspapers are not for profit. Most of the time, they are free and rely entirely on the enthusiasm of some people. supported.

It was certainly not difficult for Franz to open a newspaper or fund one in Ireland, but in fact there was no need to do so, because the literacy rate of the Irish was so low that it was even comparable to that of the Russians.

So compared to the so-called newspaper, it is not as effective as "Irish Drinking Party".

So Franz sent thousands of barrels of wine to the island of Ireland, but what he didn't know was that there was no wine in the "Irish Drinking Party"

Queen's Village, Ireland.

Shaka Jennings's parents were able to rent new land as they wished. Although the villagers who originally rented the land did not starve to death, they could no longer afford the rent.

The poor family had to mortgage their only house to the landlord, and they had to wander outside the village.

"Oh my God, Aunt Simone's little daughter is only three months old. How are they going to survive?"

Shaka Jennings looked at his eldest brother Patrit with a sad face. The latter remained silent while the former continued.

"Are we just going to have to watch them wander forever? I saw Aunt Simone's husband steal Ben Ben's dinner yesterday."

(Ben Ben is a seven-year-old dog owned by Shaka Jennings.)

Patrit finally spoke.

"They can't stay homeless forever."

"Why?" Shaka asked puzzledly.

"Those damn British aristocrats hate the suffering of others. If I guess correctly, the landlord has already called the police, and the patrol will arrest them soon."

Patrit said angrily with a mocking tone.

"Ah?!" Shaka exclaimed, "Why!"

"The British have anti-vagrancy laws, and wandering like this is a crime."

"Then what will happen to them? Will they be punished?" Shaka asked timidly.

"She will be sent to a reformatory or a hard labor camp. After all, there are still children here. As for little Simone, she will definitely be sent to a baby nursery."

The reformatory was actually another type of hard labor camp at the time, except that most of the people it housed were children. But even the children had to do a lot of heavy work every day, and were even sent directly to factories, and their pay was most likely only one yuan. Bread or a bowl of gruel.

The survival rate of the reformatory in the 19th century was actually lower than that of the hard labor camp, and the lowest survival rate among these public facilities was the so-called workhouse.

It is said that in the 19th century, less than one-thirtieth of the people who survived the workhouse in the UK and grew up in the poorhouse.

"Stop talking! Brother, think of a way!"

"What can I do? Dad, Mom, even the village chief can't do anything. Who can give them a job except the landlord?" Patrit sighed helplessly, like an old man who has experienced many vicissitudes of life.

At this time, several patrolmen riding donkeys appeared at the head of the village. With the landlord's steward pointing, the atmosphere in the whole village became tense.

At that time, horses were expensive, and only big cities like London had mounted police. Generally speaking, patrolmen rode donkeys or mules in the countryside, and of course they might rely on their feet.

The adults hurriedly drove their children home. On the one hand, they were afraid that the children would bump into the patrolmen, and on the other hand, they didn't want their children to see such a scene.

The dishevelled woman and her husband wanted to escape, but their eldest son was obviously suffering from a fever, and the child in her arms was too young.

The family could only lean against the village fence in despair, waiting for the judgment of the British law.

To be honest, these patrolmen didn't like to do this kind of work, because the so-called vagrants were often penniless and had no money to make.

Even the female vagrants were either skinny or had sores all over their bodies that made people feel sick.

The two patrolmen soon found the vagrants. They looked at the woman holding the child. Although she had just given birth, she looked well-maintained. They also remembered the small forest they passed by on the road, and couldn't help but smile obscenely.