Chapter 404: Opportunity in War
Chapter 394 – Opportunity in War
War is cruel, especially when civilians in the midst of war are in a precarious situation.
The people of East Prussia felt it deeply, their good times were over since they were occupied by the human Russians.
Ficks, a small town, still did not escape. The well-informed nobles and merchants had all fled, and now all that remained were a bunch of poor people.
Even so, they still hadn’t escaped the Russians. Since they couldn’t blow up the oil and water, it was better to put out strong men.
The only church in the town was now filled with people.
A middle-aged man asked with a worried frown, “Just now the Russians sent someone over and demanded 500 laborers from the town, what should we do, Father?”
The church was perhaps the only area that had been spared, and for God’s sake, the Russians had not ransacked the town’s only church.
Now that all the town’s dignitaries had run away, the elderly Father Bragg was the most prestigious of those left, and the populace had no choice but to turn to him for help.
As a religious man, Father Bragg could not run away, nor did he need to. The influence of European religion was so strong that the Russians would not make a move against the church, even if it was a Protestant church.
Fr. Bragg regretfully said, “Son, I know the news too. Only just now I have dealt with the Russians, and they demanded 20,000 rubles to be exempted from the labor service.
The Russians have issued a warning that if they don’t get the numbers together within a week, they are going to kill people.”
Father Bragg had not thought of getting the money together, if the nobles and merchants had not left, they might have been able to get it together, now it was out of the question.
Not that the town didn’t have 20,000 rubles, but property wasn’t the same as cash, the nobles and merchants had run away the real estate was still there, unfortunately the Russians only wanted cash.
People don’t want to fight their own country, but people have to bow down under the roof.
Woolly bears are not easy to talk to, and since they say they will kill, they will kill. The head of the young man who initially attempted to defy the Russians is still hanging from the flagpole at the entrance to the town.
One person who resists – kill the whole family; those who find the guerrillas do not report – kill; if someone attacks the Russians, everyone within a 200-meter radius will be drawn one for every five – kill; the presence of more than ten people who resisted Team – Slaughter Town ……
This high-pressure state directly makes the local people dare to be angry, but not dare to say anything. The war has been carried out until now, the Russians have long fought the real fire, the East Prussia region was slaughtered in a few villages and towns.
International opinion? Sadly, the Tsarist governments are used to being called out on their debts.
Besides, the Russians weren’t stupid, so how could they admit it? There is no evidence, at most they will be scolded in the newspapers, the Russians are fearless.
In this era, the camera is too big, the shooting effect is not good, the sneak shot does not work, the Prussians simply can not get convincing evidence.
This is all an excuse, in fact, or countries can not help the hairy bear, uncovered the cover of the face of everyone does not look good, simply pretend not to know.
“Then what to do, or we run!”
Someone proposed. Serving as a laborer on the battlefield is not a good job, especially for the Russians.
Word had spread, and many people knew that the Russian army liked to use laborers as cannon fodder. This was a lesson they had learned in the Near Eastern wars, that capturing laborers on the spot as cannon fodder could reduce troop losses.
One old man asked, “There are Russians everywhere, what’s the direction?”
Running is not as easy as it sounds. With their families in tow, no money in their pockets, and the Russians searching for them, how far can they run?
A young man questioned, “But we can’t really sell our lives for the Russians and fight our own army, can we?”
The old man reprimanded, “What do you know as a brat, there aren’t enough young men in our town to add up to five hundred.”
This was the crux of the matter, not a matter of whether they were willing or not, but that it was simply impossible to accomplish the task.
The population of the town was originally not much, after the war broke out a large number of young men were enlisted in the army, and now there are simply not five hundred young men in the town.
……
Looking at the quarreling crowd, Father Bragg had a huge headache. These were the believers he had developed, and if these people were gone, so were his bread and butter.
“Children please remain calm in the presence of the Lord, I will now go to Gurney’s Fort and ask a friend to see if there is another way.”
Gnesburg was the closest city to the town, and if the Russians were going to pump the local population, they certainly wouldn’t target just one town.
Traveling to the city for help was a glimmer of Father Bragg’s fantasy. Not all the nobles had run away; a large portion of East Prussia’s nobility still remained.
Some had chosen to organize partisan resistance to the Russian invasion, others had tried to run but hadn’t, and were now mostly gathered in the cities.
There was no tradition of killing nobles in Europe, provided you didn’t fall alone. If you were just one person, it was just as well to be killed, no one knew about it anyway.
When people gathered and hugged together, it was a different story, the Russian army would not lay a finger on them, it was the rules of the game, and it applied to the Russians as well.
In order to make time, Father Bragg rode to Fort Guernsey. What met his eyes was a depression, the once bustling streets were not filled with people, and the sparse pedestrians who encountered the Russian patrols were quick to leave.
As a religious man, Father Prague was not questioned. Nor, of course, did he approach the Russians.
Under normal circumstances, the fact that the Russians would not move religious people is not the same as saying that they would not dare to do so. In these times of war and chaos, a few deaths are nothing.
Without loitering, the Prague priests went straight into the city’s churches. No matter how high or low, Europeans were able to relate to churches in this era.
There is a saying: if you want to find someone, just wait in front of the church.
“Father, what’s the hurry?”
The one who spoke, a middle-aged man in expensive clothes, had met with Father Bragg a few times, and the two of them were considered nodding acquaintances.
Running into an acquaintance, Father Bragg, who was trying to inquire about news, had a few moments of surprise on his face. Doubtfully, he asked, “Mr. James, did you not leave?”
The current situation was bad, and all the rich people had run away to avoid the war. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for a well-informed businessman like James not to know the news in advance.
James replied, “I just came back from a business deal before the Russians came. But I got my imperial citizenship not long ago, the Russians won’t give me a hard time.”
The “Empire” was naturally the Shinra Empire, and even with the addition of a new word, it was also the only recognized empire in the German region.
The Russians weren’t crazy, so naturally they wouldn’t ask for trouble against foreigners, especially businessmen from allied countries.
Father Bragg said with some surprise, ”God bless you, Mr. James, you’re lucky to have dodged the bullet.
Right now the Russians are looting all over the place, and the town of Fix, where I am, is being threatened by the Russians with five hundred laborers because they can’t get any money out.”
Naturally these news could not be hidden from James, as a successful businessman, the most important thing is to be well-informed.
At this time he returned to Gnesburg just to make money. There was a shortage of labor in the Austrian colonies, and sending immigrants to the colonies was a business.
James was looking at the opportunity of the war, he had already signed labor export contracts with a number of companies in the Austrian colonies, and now he was coming back to pull people in.
To organize emigration elsewhere, the Russians might interfere. If it was to go to the Austrian colonies then there would be no problem at all, and the loan from Vienna was not for nothing.
This time back, James also communicated with the colonial government. As long as he was able to persuade the people to go to the colonies, the Austrian Foreign Ministry would be responsible for the aftermath if anything went wrong.
James pretended to be surprised and exclaimed, “God! Five hundred laborers, won’t the town of Ficus be in bad luck?”
Father Bragg nodded bitterly and said helplessly, “Indeed, I have no choice but to come over to seek help.”
Just at this time, Bishop Bernard walked over, accompanied by seven or eight priests, and just by looking at their faces, one could tell that something bad had happened.
Father Bragg repeated what he had just said, and Bishop Bernard said helplessly, “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do about this problem, everyone has encountered this difficulty.
I have already visited the Russian officers on behalf of the Church, and unfortunately I was thrown out without even entering the gate.”
It couldn’t be helped, who made them a Protestant church and the Russians Orthodox?
It would be considered a sign of respect if they didn’t shout down the heretics when they came across them, so how could they expect to give them a good face?
Looking at the crowd of people who looked as if they were dead, James knew that the opportunity had come.
“Monsignor Bishop, if you want to escape the Russians’ servitude, I would suggest that it is better to organize the people to leave Guernsey Castle first, and then come back after the war is over.”
Bishop Bernard shook his head and said, “Mr. James, your approach will not work. The Russians have set up roadblocks at major transportation routes and simply won’t let everyone leave.”
James smiled slightly and said, “Under normal circumstances, of course it is impassable. But we can detour through other ways, two years ago Russia and Austria signed a Labor Employment Treaty.
We can absolutely sign a short-term employment contract with an Austrian company and then take a ship to the Austrian colonies for refuge, and then return to Gnesburg when the war is over.”
This was pure flimflam; it was easy to get into the Austrian colonies, harder to get out.
The cost of emigration alone is not something the general public can afford, and when they’ve made enough money, will there be a place for them to come back?
Bishop Bernard was still pondering, but Father Bragg couldn’t help himself, “Mr. James, will this work?”
James replied affirmatively, “Of course! Since the treaty has been signed, the Russian officers will definitely implement it, or else it will trigger a diplomatic conflict between Russia and Austria, which is not something they, the middle and lower officers, can afford.”
Without hesitation, Father Bragg said, “Well then, I’ll go back and talk to the populace and let them decide freely whether to leave or not.”
Bishop Bernard stopped it, “Father, this issue is too much at stake, we must consider it carefully.”
He knew very well that if the populace were allowed to leave, and Gnesburg were to become a dead city, would the church still have any value to exist?
Come back? This is fooling the children, once they go to the Austrian colonies, it would be considered God’s blessing to have one third of them come back in the end.
Father Bragg said indifferently, “Monsignor Bishop, it can’t be any worse than it is now, I can’t watch the children kill each other.
The Russians are conscripting young men to be used as cannon fodder to fight our armies, can you tolerate this?”
(End of chapter)