Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 427 Attacked
The train passed Arad, but not far ahead, the railway was blocked by debris.

"what happened?"

There's something blocking the way.

"Move him away!"

Several soldiers began to move things. Logically, the railway should be unobstructed, so why were there suddenly so many miscellaneous items?

Just then, shouts rang out from both sides of the railway.

"what happened?"

Naserdin, who was sitting in the carriage, heard the sound, put down his newspaper, and drew back the curtains.

He then saw a large number of Hungarians running towards them with weapons. Naserdin picked up his gun, ready to defend himself.

“Shah, please leave here for now, Grand Vizier.”

Naserdin and Amir, under the protection of their guards, turned to other carriages, while outside, they were already fighting with the Hungarians.

"Quickly, don't let them get near the carriage!"

The guards sprang into action, firing at the people outside, instantly reducing the number of Hungarians to a few. But more Hungarians continued to advance, estimated to be nearly 300. Captain Ahmed ordered the train driver to start immediately, ignoring any obstacles and ramming through them.

They frantically fed coal into the boiler, and thick black smoke billowed from the chimney. The train slowly started moving, hurtling towards the obstacle.

"Don't let them get away, charge!"

At Matthias's command, some of the faster Hungarians scrambled onto the train, intending to enter through the windows. But the guards had anticipated this and, before they could fully enter, used bayonets to send them off.

As the train sped up, the guards separated the last two carriages to reduce weight.

The roar of the steam locomotive tore through the morning mist over the Danube plain. The two detached carriages, propelled by inertia, veered off the tracks and crashed into the wheat field beside the road, bursting into flames. Nasser al-Din Shah looked back through the window and saw a dozen or so Hungarians, their bodies ablaze, crawling out of the twisted wreckage of the carriages, a scene reminiscent of the hellish landscape described in ancient Persian texts.

"Keep adding coal!" Captain Ahmed kicked away an attacker trying to climb onto the train door. "We'll be safe once we reach Pressburg!"

Naserdin was still shaken by what he saw, but what surprised them even more was that dozens of Hungarians caught up on horseback.

"This can't go on. Bring out all the weapons. We have to stop them."

Naserdin tapped the floor with his cane, and the remaining guards quickly retrieved weapons from the carriages. They even threw down several barrels of kerosene, setting them ablaze with oil lamps, instantly creating a wall of fire that kept the Hungarian cavalry at bay. Once they were sure there were no more Hungarians, Naserdin's legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground. The others quickly helped him up; if anything had happened to the Shah and the Grand Vizier, it would have been a devastating blow to Iran.

"The Hungarians are indeed stubborn; they rejected Vienna's enlightenment and stubbornly clung to their own little corner of the world."

“Shah…”

Amir looked at his students; this was the most dangerous moment. Death was just a hair's breadth away for them. Thank God.

"Hurry up and head to Prague. There's no need to rest along the way; just go directly to the stops you pass by."

Naserdin wanted to get there as soon as possible; it was too dangerous in Hungary, and he needed to have a proper talk with Franz.

At this time, large-scale outbreaks of dysentery and cholera began to spread among the troops on the front lines, with large numbers of soldiers dying every day from various plagues. In order to supply the front lines, the army logistics department transported a large amount of stockpiled supplies, but these food and clothing had completely spoiled or been damaged and were completely unusable.

Wilhelm I had originally planned to humiliate Austria after the victory, to avenge the defeat at Olmitz. He intended to demand substantial economic reparations and territorial concessions from the Emperor, and even proposed a grand victory parade in Vienna. However, all of this vanished after Kregniz.

Bismarck was also in a terrible predicament. He never expected that Austria would take the initiative and that the emperor would personally announce the dissolution of the confederation, and even publish it in major newspapers.

"I, Franz Joseph I, by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, Lord of Lombardy and Venice, Protector of Jerusalem, and rightful heir to the Habsburg dynasty, hereby solemnly declare to the German states and all of Europe: The German Confederation is dissolved from this day forward."

This decision was not of my own volition, but rather a result of the circumstances. The Kingdom of Prussia, a brother of the Confederation, has trampled the peace of German lands with iron and fire. Its Chancellor, Bismarck, claims to be acting for the nation, but in reality, he is oppressing. Prussian boots have trampled the fields of Saxony, its cannons have torn apart the walls of Bavaria, and now it seeks to impose its will upon all of Germany with swords.

I have striven to prevent fratricide and am willing to exchange compromise for peace. However, Prussia seeks not shared prosperity, but conquest; not unity, but submission. They regard tradition as worthless and employ betrayal as their strategy, turning the German states into mere pawns in a game. The Prussian victory at Königretz was not a glory for Germany, but rather the beginning of a division.

I am keenly aware that this decree will sever a century-old bond and tarnish the foundations of our ancestors. However, I would rather see the Confederation die with dignity than live on as a puppet of Prussia. I call upon all German states that cherish tradition and freedom to remember this.
Though the Vienna Eagle flag has fallen, the Habsburgs' vow to protect German civilization remains forever. Today's pain is not the end, but the seed for rebuilding a true brotherhood in the future.

May God have mercy on Germany and forgive those who stained their scepters with the blood of their compatriots.

These words caused an immediate sensation within the German Confederation. People in the southern states of Bavaria, Württemberg, and Baden rebelled against Prussia, and the Kingdom of Saxony also expressed interest in considering the Lesser Germany plan. Bismarck was forced to contend with numerous ambassadors, resorting to both military intimidation and enticement; none of them could be sidelined.

This move further damaged the relationship between Bismarck and the Crown Prince. The liberal Crown Prince already had a poor relationship with the conservative Bismarck, and this was exacerbated. His wife, a daughter of Queen Victoria, was deeply influenced by liberal British values ​​and wanted more change in conservative Prussia. This necessitated expelling Bismarck.

At the meeting, the Crown Prince directly attacked Bismarck, accusing him of causing the current situation in Prussia and demanding that his father dismiss Bismarck.

However, Moltke strongly supported the Chancellor, saying that without him, German unification would likely have been delayed for several more years. Although their international relations had deteriorated, since Franz had announced the dissolution of the Confederation, Prussia could take the opportunity to consolidate its northern power, which, from this perspective, wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

(End of this chapter)