War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

On Christmas Day in 1845, German immigrants living in the Hungarian region of the Austrian Empire gathered at the royal estate to celebrate this wonderful holiday.

After six years of development, the estate has truly become established. What was once a wasteland has now become a vast expanse of fertile land.

Agricultural towns were also established around the manor. Although there was only a barrier of fences and low walls around the perimeter, no horse bandits dared to attack them anymore.

Because the immigrants have spontaneously established militia organizations. Although they are far from a real army, they are enough for some stragglers.

In fact, in addition to the Germans who were strangers in a foreign land, there were also some unwelcome Hungarians in the royal estate. Some of them were serfs, some were too poor nobles, and some were people who went against the mainstream thinking.

They all have one thing in common, that is, they are victims of the Kingdom of Hungary. Most of these Hungarians have been listed as refugees by the Hungarian government, and they intend to sell them to America (the slave trade in North and South America is very developed) to become white slaves.

Most of those German immigrants suffered more direct blows, namely several horse bandit rebellions and the massacre of Germans.

So at this time, people of two different nationalities seemed extremely warm in the same home.

In autumn in this black land, farmland stretches out one after another, golden waves of wheat dance in the breeze, and ears of rice in the rice fields compete to grow toward the sun.

The immigrants worked hard on this land, and their sweat blended with the black soil, creating a harmonious picture.

The land in Hungary is really suitable for the development of agriculture. Whether it is wheat, corn, grapes, or sugar beets, they all thrive.

To be honest, they all lamented the fertility of this land. They did not expect that the once wasteland could be turned into fertile farmland so easily.

Especially the black land under your feet, where everything grows, is simply countless times better than the barren land in North Germany.

Of course, these immigrants did not know the term black land. They only thought that their efforts had moved God, or that the Austrian imperial royal family had given them this fertile land.

In short, they will not thank the Hungarian government, let alone pay taxes for it. This is enough for Franz.

Although agriculture is the foundation of the country, industry is the tool for rejuvenating the country in this era, so Franz does not expect much income from the country's agriculture.

Colonial agriculture naturally had to make money, otherwise how could we maintain it? What is the purpose of developing it?

In the cold winter days, everyone begins to prepare for Christmas celebrations.

There was no suitable Christmas tree, so they built one out of corn and wheat straw and decorated it with colored paper.

However, Christmas on the Great Plains is extremely wild. People will light Christmas trees and have a bonfire party at night.

This is actually a traditional harvest festival originated in Hungary, but since the Germans are the majority, they celebrate Christmas together.

The happiest people in the festival are the children, because on this day, they may wear new clothes.

At that time, the price of cloth was still relatively expensive, and farmers were relatively frugal. Even if the clothes were torn, they would basically make do with them as long as they were not torn.

But Hungary's royal estates were not as poor as they thought. These small agricultural towns were small and well-equipped, ranging from small sugar factories to blacksmith shops that produced tools.

Of course, this scale can only maintain the local minimum living standard. If it is "alive", it still needs to be imported from the Austrian Empire.

Franz actually had a deeper consideration on this point, because they were too close to the Hungarians. Although Franz has done a lot, there is no guarantee that nothing unexpected will happen by then.

Once these small towns are besieged, although resistance may pay a heavy price, Franz feels that if they surrender, they may encounter a more miserable ending.

Therefore, it is necessary to make these manors self-sufficient for a period of time. Even if it may have a certain impact on the national market economic layout in the future, Franz thinks it is worthwhile.

In Franz's plan, the self-sufficient industries in these small towns were small and primitive. Once the future railways were connected here, these industries would die out quickly. In theory, they would not have a negative impact on the future economy of the Austrian Empire. .

The Christmas dinner in the royal manor is much richer than the tables of serfs and ordinary nobles in Hungary.

The first is a large number of carp, that’s right! Franz never passes up an opportunity to promote his merchandise.

An overwhelming amount of carp occupied the tables of the immigrants, followed by a large amount of candy. After all, the Mexicans really had nothing to use to pay off their debts, and Franz also planted a large amount of sugar beets for food security, which directly led to a short-term sugar overproduction.

In addition, many cattle, horses, and sheep were raised on the Great Plains. These livestock were the main force in destroying straw and also provided meat for the immigrants.

Although the immigrants are all Catholics, they don't have so many rules. On Christmas, they eat whatever is available and whatever is delicious.

Chicken, duck, cow, horse, rabbit, carp are served together, plus some cheap Pilsner beer and home-brewed wine to make the most sumptuous Christmas dinner.

Besides, how can Austrians leave music? All kinds of messy musical instruments and serfs came into play, and some even knocked on rice bowls and buckets.

At the same time, Hungarians are also a nation that is good at singing and dancing. They played various national musical instruments and came to help out, and soon everyone became one with each other.

Some are mental, some are physical, after all, anything can happen under the influence of alcohol.

Of course, this also promotes national integration to a certain extent, but the Hungarians in the royal estate have more outrageous methods.

That’s right! This group of people claimed that they were East Germans and came from Russia. They had a strong accent, so it was normal for North Germans to not understand them.

Although this statement is very outrageous, a group of immigrants from North Germany really have nothing to say, because they often fail to understand each other when communicating with South Germans.

Silesia was six years old at this time, and the little girl was very busy throughout Christmas because her father was a self-defense officer in the militia and would not leave his post even on Christmas.

The mother, Ephra, is the cook in the manor, and Christmas is her busiest day. The little girl is very sensible. She and her brothers and sisters help deliver the food and ask for some tips from the adults.

Although Silesia's family is very busy, they all seem very happy. Because although Silesia had never experienced it, she often heard her parents, brothers and sisters mention how difficult their life was in Prussia.

A family would lick a can of milk for a week. Digging wild vegetables everywhere, and picking up a pile of cow dung can make you happy for several days