Chapter 575 The Last Christmas

There were 8.5 million Irish people on the island of Ireland in 1845, but only less than 6.5 million people were left five years after the famine, and the population continued to decline to nearly 5 million people at the bottom.

Countless hungry people on the Emerald Island were looking for all the food they could eat, and even grass roots and tree bark disappeared wherever they passed.

At the same time, almost every week, grain ships loaded with cattle, sheep and wheat set off from the island of Ireland to the UK, and there were countless ships from the United States to the island of Great Britain.

But every time at this moment, the British government would dispatch two-thirds of its troops on the island of Ireland to escort these life-saving food to prevent any hungry people from approaching.

Only when the grain ships left were the Irish allowed to enter the dock.

A large number of hungry people even fought with their compatriots in order to board the slave ships, and even so, they might be thrown into the sea by the slave traders. After all, they had so many choices that there was no need to pity them at all.

The men and women who boarded the ship didn't care where they would go, as long as they could leave Ireland, their homeland, and the land that gave birth to them and raised them.

December 25, 1844, Christmas.

The Jennings family had a rare happy Christmas, because just now Father Hans and Father Cloven knocked on their door, sent blessings, and also sent a grilled fish and a bottle of wine, as well as some beans and dried vegetables.

However, the two priests did not stay too long, but went to the next house with gifts.

But this did not affect their family's good mood. After all, even without those grilled fish and wine, they had potatoes and privately brewed whiskey.

At this time, the Irish did not have the qualifications to brew wine privately. Brewing wine must be taxed, otherwise it would be illegal, so they did not return the gifts to the priests because they did not want to cause unnecessary trouble.

Now with so many extra ingredients, the little guys are not sleepy anymore, and they are clamoring for delicious food. The parents did not want to spoil the children's interest and allowed them to eat freely.

The Jennis family is considered to be a relatively wealthy Irish family on the Emerald Isle, but they don't have enough food every day.

Such a luxurious day is even more rare, so the man took his wife's hand and danced the dance they danced when they were young. The brisk dance steps made them seem to return to their youth.

The man picked up his wife and walked towards their room.

Scathach Jennings took advantage of her parents' inattention and poured red wine for her brothers and sisters to drink. A group of children smacked their lips and quickly finished a bottle of red wine. They didn't feel the effect of alcohol.

So at the instigation of her brothers and sisters, Scathach poured the bottle of whiskey for everyone to drink.

Patrit had just attended the routine meeting of the Young Irish. At this time, he was full of passion. Even the wind and snow could not suppress his passion.

However, as soon as he opened the door, he saw a messy scene. Scathach and her brothers and sisters were hiding under the bed and laughing foolishly. Their old dog was almost squeezed to death by several children and was screaming non-stop.

"What's wrong with you? Are you possessed?" Patrit was a little angry and a little confused as he tried to pull a few people out from under the bed.

The result was that every time he pulled one out, another would grin and crawl under the bed. At this time, his parents heard the noise and rushed back.

"Patrit, what are you doing!" The father scolded, because this eldest son was the most troublesome guy. He didn't do his job all day and just went to a "cocktail party" with a group of idle guys. Did he really think he was the same as the French?

Other people's banquets had wine and meat, and they had carriages when they went out, and they had guns on them. And what about the so-called young Irish? It was called a cocktail party, but they couldn't even afford a bottle of wine, and they were still thinking about fighting against Britain and saving the country?

Or the mother on the side felt more sorry for her son, half-knelt beside Patrit to help him pull a few "little troublemakers".

"Wine? How could you let them drink?" At this time, the mother finally found something wrong. The little ghosts smelled of alcohol, which could explain their abnormal behavior.

"I didn't!" Patrit defended.

However, due to stereotypes, his parents thought it was his fault, and a meal of fried meat was inevitable. Scathach, who was standing by, burped while holding an empty bottle of wine, and fell asleep.

In fact, the entire Queen Village and even southern Ireland were happy because of Franz's so-called "warmth delivery" action.

Although these foods were nothing to Franz and the church, they were as warm as the sun in winter for the extremely poor Irish.

At this time, most Irish people had an annual income of less than three pounds. Compared with them, the weavers in Silesia were considered wealthy.

Almost no one owned their own land, and the vast majority of people's property did not exceed 30 pounds, while a horse pulling a cart in the same period cost 35 pounds.

But this might be the last wonderful Christmas they spent before the famine ended.

Almost at the same time, a rare blizzard hit Western Europe, with Spain and France being the hardest hit areas, and farmers suffered heavy losses.

However, these did not attract the attention of the government and financiers, who were still celebrating one great victory after another.

The combined forces of Morocco and Algeria were completely vulnerable to the French army, and the new Minié bombs and dense fortresses were the nemesis of nomadic peoples.

The Moroccan Sultan Abdul Rahman repeatedly sent people to France to seek peace, and the Algerian rebels also split internally. The day when France fully occupied Northwest Africa seemed to be approaching.

The French discovered a large amount of resources in the newly acquired North American colonies. These lands were fertile and flat and very easy to develop. The development costs could be recovered in just ten years.

Louis Philippe named the newly acquired land (Arizona and New Mexico) New Louisiana, which seemed to be distinguished from France's old colony Louisiana.

But the French top leaders knew that a New France would appear on the North American continent in the future.

At this time, the nominal Queen of Spain, Isabel II, was not a heavy tank in later generations, but a young girl who longed for love. She completely inherited the beauty of her mother, the Regent Queen Christiana, and the character of her father, the irritable King Ferdinand VII.

Although Isabel II has not yet ascended the throne, she often claims that she will execute all rebels and restore "tradition".

This is actually the influence of Sister Petechini Father Clarit and his group. This group of conservatives instilled the so-called "orthodox" thinking into the queen all day long, and made her believe that "the king's power is granted by God" is the destiny of heaven.

In fact, Isabel II and Carlos are both puppets of the Spanish conservative forces. Both of them believe in religion and have been badly deceived by religious groups.

Under the guidance of extreme conservative ideas, Isabel II not only did not pity the people who were affected by the disaster, but on the contrary, she felt that it was a punishment from God, and they must accept it, and even opposed any form of assistance to them.