The conservative noble Howell demanded angrily, "Kossuth, your explanation is not convincing. This kind of thing has happened more than once or twice. Why didn't you restrain the National Guard under your command?
"Count Istvan was your political rival, and he also opposed Hungarian independence, but we cannot deny his greatness because of that. Still less should you have brutally murdered him over a personal grudge."
Bem immediately retorted, "No, that's utter nonsense! How could Mr. Kossuth possibly be a murderer?"
Szemere sneered, "General Bem, Mr. Kossuth is now both the head of government and the supreme commander of the National Guard. He repeatedly obstructed the Ministry of War from enforcing military discipline. Now that something like this has happened, shouldn't he give us a reasonable explanation?"
By this point, the National Guard had completely degenerated. Crimes and villainy were commonplace, while its internal management was a complete mess. As its supreme leader, Kossuth could not escape blame.
As for obstructing the Ministry of War's efforts to enforce military discipline, that was a struggle for power. The revolutionaries did not want to see the Ministry of War use the opportunity to extend its hand into the National Guard.
But now, this had become the best possible pretext to attack them. Whether Count Istvan's death had anything to do with Kossuth or not, he had to take responsibility for it.
After considering it for a moment, Petőfi said, "The most important thing now is to catch the murderer. That missing company commander is the key figure in this incident. It would be irresponsible to define the nature of this case before he is caught!"
As he spoke, his eyes were filled with deep concern. It could not be helped—Kossuth's integrity was truly questionable. Who knew whether this matter had anything to