Chapter 836 The End of Fate

The United States was also in great pain at the moment. Polk's accidental death and the British's betrayal plunged the US government into chaos.

Polk was actually a very diligent president. In contrast, the interim president Dallas was an out-and-out playboy. Although he was 55 years old, he was still as good as ever and often wandered back and forth in a life of debauchery.

As for the piles of affairs, they fell on the new vice president. In fact, this person never expected to enter the White House. He knew that his ability was limited, but he looked down on Polk because he was a country bumpkin.

Becoming an interim president just requires someone to take the blame. Since tearing up the trade agreement with Britain, the British have started a series of trade sanctions.

In fact, the British, who are in an economic crisis, have long wanted to find an outlet for their contradictions. It is easier to turn domestic contradictions to foreign countries than to resolve them.

Although the British and French had been fighting in Spain before, both sides did not recognize the war.

The French used the Foreign Legion, and the British sent the Irish to the Spanish battlefield. Britain and France are opponents of the same level, but Americans are different.

To be honest, no major power on the European continent really takes it as a dish. The reason why Americans have been able to defeat the British repeatedly in history is not because of the magical performance of the anti-British heroes.

In fact, in several naval battles between the two countries, the British did not even use the strength of a finger. When the two sides opened their positions, the Americans did not even have a chance of winning.

The top leaders knew, but the civilians did not know. They only knew that the interim president Dallas was selling out the country. The northern factories benefited from the implementation of trade protection, while the southern plantation owners suffered the hammer of British sanctions.

The latter naturally could not sit idly by and began to actively campaign to impeach Dallas. Although tariffs were raised, the industry in the north of the United States did not develop as rapidly as in history.

Because of the lack of cheap Irish people, the wages of American workers at this time were frighteningly high, an average of $15 a month, or $180 a year.

This is almost three times that of Austrian workers and five times that of Prussian workers.

In addition, the United States also highlights a shoddy workmanship, poor craftsmanship, and high labor costs. Their products are not competitive at all.

At this time, Americans could not only buy British dumped goods, but also French and Austrian smuggled goods. These industrial products were cheap and of various types, so they naturally had no interest in American products.

The result was that the trade protection policy was originally implemented to develop the domestic economy, but it was accidentally involved in the economic crisis.

In fact, due to the economic downturn, all countries have correspondingly reduced orders, but the cotton and wheat planted in the fields cannot be turned into anything else.

Agricultural exporting countries are like this, with extremely poor risk resistance.

All this was not something that interim President Dallas could handle. In order to prevent embarrassment when being encountered by others when going out, he simply invited people to the White House to hold a party.

However, an open letter from a French scholar at this time still gave some comfort to the Americans.

The famous Tocqueville came to the same conclusion again and again: "Leaving aside the slave states, Americans are not only the most enlightened people in the world, but also (I put this above the above advantages) the most advanced practical and political education among all nations."

Alexis de Tocqueville, a French scholar and politician, wrote "Democracy in America" ​​and "Apocalypse" of some people in the East in later generations (especially those who only see the name).

The reason why Tocqueville came to this conclusion again was that he saw his motherland, France, was in chaos, and he knew that a disaster was just around the corner, but that was exactly what he expected.

Tocqueville decided to find a hotel with a better location. He opened the window and smelled the gunpowder in the air. He wanted to witness this history.

When Tocqueville deliberately found a three-story hotel, where he could directly see the city and the princes, he felt that no one had a better location than him.

So Tocqueville lay on the bed contentedly waiting for the changes in the world, while two bearded men were stewing sauerkraut pot on the rooftop.

At the other end of the European continent, Hungary.

You, the abscesses on the motherland,

What should I say to you?

I will burn you! I am fire!

I am not fire, I do not have destructive flames.

But I have a sharp voice,

I will curse you.

Curse you with the most vicious words.

Does the motherland have a treasure house,

Is there any wealth that cannot be accommodated?

Motherland, my poor motherland.

He is so sick and so poor.

And you robbers,

You took the medicine money earned by the motherland with blood and sweat.

You took them to foreign countries,

and offered them to the altars of foreign idols.

You have no mercy on this motherland!

It is begging for food in the mud!

When it bleeds and sheds tears,

You fill the wine glasses in foreign countries.

——Petofi, 1847.

Petofi is a very talented poet. Franz was afraid of his criticism, so he lent a hand to him when he was in trouble in his early years and let him complete his studies in Vienna.

Nine years ago, a flood destroyed the Petofi family and made them paupers overnight.

The relatives who owed them money chose to refuse to pay, forcing the Petofi family, who originally had some wealth, to become butchers' apprentices to pick up some unwanted scraps.

However, Franz used his connections to help the Petofi family find out and get back the debt.

Later, he provided Petofi with a scholarship to study in Vienna, and even arranged for Count Szechenyi to visit him more often, hoping to change the great poet's opinion.

However, sometimes fate is so unpredictable. After arriving in Vienna, Petofi found that he was out of tune with this place, and then met those generous classmates.

The prosperity of Vienna and the village of Koloshi where he lived were completely different worlds. The hustle and bustle of the metropolis changed with each passing day. Instead of making Petofi yearn for it, it made this child from a small village feel deeply inferior.

He saw those Hungarian nobles spending a lot of money in Vienna's nightclubs, riding in luxurious carriages and swaggering through the city. One piece of clothing from those noble children could buy all the land in his family.

Then there was the exaggerated scholarship provided by Franz. Even the efforts of three generations of Petofi could not save so much money.

Petofi was confused. Count Szechenyi said it was lucky, but he didn't think it was so.

The classmates around him looked at him with admiration, but he didn't know why. Was it really lucky? Or was he a clown at the mercy of others?

After all, his classmates would occasionally use a large silver coin (florin) to tease beggars. Was this scholarship a silver coin in the pocket of a big man?

At this time, Petofi suddenly got a copy of the "Pest Daily". Count Szechenyi said that Kossuth wanted to destroy Hungary and was a madman.

But Petofi felt that what Kossuth said was the truth. After that, he resolutely returned to Hungary to follow Kossuth's footsteps despite Count Szechenyi's retention.

October 19, 1847-Petofi married Sendele Julia.

On this day, he vowed to overthrow the rule of the Austrian Empire and defeat the monster that sucked blood on the heads of Hungarians.

Petofi wrote the famous poem "Freedom and Love"

"Life is precious, but love is more precious. When it comes to freedom, both can be abandoned."

The whole audience was shocked when this poem came out. People knew what it meant, but the guests did not back down. They were all young people with ideals like Petofi, and they all believed that Kossuth would lead them to victory.