After seeing Arest off, Stephen developed a headache. It was easy enough to say, but putting it into practice was a completely different matter.
Austria was not the United States. The Hungarian region had been deeply influenced by German culture, especially after compulsory education had been promoted over the past decade or so, shaping an entire generation.
What lay at the heart of German culture? That was difficult to answer, but one tradition had always influenced this people: military culture.
In a country that put military drills into elementary school textbooks, everyone's discipline was cultivated from childhood. Discipline had already seeped into many people's bones.
A people who became rigorous were not going to take to the streets just because you sweet-talked them a little. If you failed to convince them, they were more likely to send you to the police station.
In theory, they could be organized as long as they were willing to spend the time persuading them. In reality, if anything went wrong halfway through and someone reported them, the whole game would be lost.
If the Hungarian Independence Organization had been capable of linking together tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of people for street demonstrations, they would not have fallen into their current predicament.
Stephen asked, "What do you all think? It seems the Americans are afraid that other countries will interfere in this civil war. They want us to stir up trouble and give the Austrians a headache."
As the leader of this independence organization, he had gradually become little more than a nominal leader. This was the United States, where liberalism was revered. Under its influence, Stephen's authority had been greatly diminished, and he could not forcibly command any member.
The veteran revolutionary Cesar frowned. "Mr. Stephen, the current situation is