Bernard was speechless, no matter how big the hidden danger is, it is not as big as survival. The problems of the future, let's talk about the future, and only after getting through the current catastrophe can we have the capital to consider these problems.

The threat of the Russians has been felt by everyone, and the damage to property is only a minor problem, and the point is that personal safety is not guaranteed.

Gönigsberg was in a depression, because the military discipline of the tsarist army was so poor, and they had to be afraid to go to the streets, who would dare to do business?

One of the priests proposed, "Why don't we consult with the nobles of the city?" ”

Bishop Bernard hurriedly said: "No! Father Wren, you should know the situation of the nobles in the city, the Russians are staring at them to death, do we want to leave now that we send them to the door? ”

The Junker aristocracy was still very loyal to the Kingdom of Prussia, and many of them were leading partisans behind enemy lines, which naturally attracted the attention of the Russians.

It's not that Bishop Bernard doesn't support the partisans, it's just that East Prussia is too small, and 380,000 Russian troops have gathered in a mere area of more than 30,000 square kilometers, so how can this be played?

The outcome is self-evident, the rebel groups are wiped out, the people who support the partisans suffer heavy losses, and the Russians teach them a lesson with tens of thousands of corpses: don't do anything.

This is also the reason why the local nobles want to gather, they are really frightened, and they are afraid that the Russian barbarians will have a twitch in their heads and click them too.

Everyone gathers together, even if someone has a head convulsion and wants to do it, the noble officers in the Russian army will stop it, this is their common class interest.

The nobles themselves are not able to protect themselves, and it is very likely that they will be burned if they get together now. Under normal circumstances, the Russian army will not take the initiative to get in with them, religious figures.

James pretended to be worried and urged: "Everyone, let's make a decision early, the Russians won't give us so much time."

There are so many women and children in Gönigsberg that it is almost impossible to conclude a normal employment contract. It is not so easy to convince Austrian companies to hire them. ”

Listening to James's words, everyone's faces changed greatly. Under normal circumstances, colonial companies employ young and strong laborers, and it is difficult for the elderly, weak, women and children to find work.

Now it is not so simple to leave through the labor employment channel.

Father Prague asked expectantly, "Mr. James, you must have a solution to this problem, right?" ”

James hesitated a little and said, "If the number is small, I can also ask a friend for help."

Now there are at least tens of thousands of people in the whole of Gnigsberg who need to be transferred, most of them are still old and weak. Under normal circumstances, they would not have been hired by colonial companies.

The only way is for us to pay for the shipping ourselves, and I'm contacting friends to help. These companies, for the sake of their compatriots, should have issued a fake employment contract. ”

This is James's cleverness, and everyone who was still hesitating now involuntarily changed their positions and considered how to organize everyone to leave.

Bishop Bernard frowned and said, "This is very troublesome, there are so many people who need to leave in Gnigsberg that most of the people can't afford to pay for the journey, and our church can't afford to pay for it."

What's more, when you go to the African continent, there is no job, and everyone's life is also a problem. ”

Tens of thousands of people are leaving, and the cost of travel and settling-in is not a small amount.

If the church had raised this money before the war, it would not have been possible that the banks had been looted by the Russians, and the church would have only been left with the property in the church.

The most important thing in religion is faith, as long as there are believers, the money can be earned back sooner or later. With no money in his pocket, Bernard had no choice but to give up this opportunity to strengthen his faith.

James thought for a moment and said, "We can only borrow money first, and when we get there, we can turn to the local church and the German National Renewal Association for help."

Although there are many elderly and weak women and children, it is not impossible for everyone to work. No matter how poor you are, you can do laundry and cook, or help the plantation owners pick cotton.

I also have a lot of friends over there who can offer some jobs. If there are special circumstances and we really can't find a job, we will apply for relief from the colonial government! ”

In times of crisis, James certainly wants to make money, but after returning to Gönigsberg, he really wants to help his compatriots.

Instead of staying here to live a precarious life, it is better to start a new life in Austrian Africa.

James, like most people, had despaired of the Berlin government, and he did not believe that the Kingdom of Prussia would be able to win the war.

The current digging operation, in James's view, is a sacred rescue operation, helping his compatriots escape the clutches of the Russians.

Assimilation in East Prussia had long been completed, many Poles and Lithuanians had become Germans, and the local Germans had already exceeded seven layers on official documents of the Berlin government.

The rest have long been accustomed to speaking and writing German, and their living habits are similar to those of Germans. When you go to Austrian Africa, pretend to be Germans, just apply for assistance, and no one will be bored to look it up.

Franz was very interested in the population, and naturally it also affected the officials below. Perhaps in the eyes of capitalists, the old and weak, women and children are of little value, but in the eyes of government officials, they are also population.

Accepting the old and weak can buy people's hearts, and the Vienna government is not short of this little food; Not to mention women and children, women are also laborers, and children can grow up, and they are all valuable.

Young and young means good management, and immigrants with their families are the best immigrants. Once they settled down in the area, none of these people could leave.

Borrowing money for the passage is nothing more than setting a threshold for leaving and extending the time they work in the colony.

Three or five years later, whether the Russians occupy East Prussia or the Kingdom of Prussia regains its homeland, there will be new inhabitants in these places, and it will be difficult for the immigrants to survive if they want to return.

The only way to survive is not to be refused. The members of the church are not all vicious villains, the black sheep are only a minority, and ordinary people are at most greedy for money and have a disorderly private life.

In the face of the life and death of tens of thousands of people, everyone still knows how to choose.

This is characteristic of European societies, and if you want to organize the people to leave, you only need two groups of people to have such influence: the nobility and the church.

Fooling the Junker nobles away, James didn't think he had that ability. The Kingdom of Prussia was able to give them the treatment that Austria could never give.

So from the very beginning, the local nobles were put under house arrest, and the outside world thought that it was the work of the Russians, but in fact it happened after James bribed the Russian officers.

The tsarist government did not lack the population, and it was completely asking for trouble if it left a group of people who could turn into partisans at any time, and it was better to sell the waste to Austria.

With the deliberate cooperation of the Russians, the migration organized by James went very smoothly. The Russian army seems to have seen nothing and let them organize in tandem.

Colonel Nikola, stationed in Gönigsberg, looked at the employment contract submitted by James, and he didn't bother to look at the dense names on it, and threw it aside.

"Mr. James, according to the laws of the Russian Empire, you have to pay 5 rubles in employment tax for every laborer you hire, which is 448,000 rubles."

James was shocked, and said with a smile on his face: "Your Excellency, Lieutenant Colonel, we only hired 12,000 people, and the rest are accompanying family members. ”

Colonel Nikolai sneered and said: "It's a pity that this is a time of war, and the situation is somewhat special. We also have to investigate the spies, and these family members cannot leave for the time being. ”

James, who reacted, immediately handed over a check for 5,000 Aegis. This is a cheque issued by the Royal Bank and can be cashed in major European cities.

After looking at the numbers and carefully identifying the authenticity, Colonel Nikolai's face softened slightly, and he put it away as if nothing had happened.

Tearing off the tax stamps in his hand, he reopened a tax stamps for 60,000 rubles and handed it to James.

This is the advantage of wartime, Gönigsberg can rob almost everything, there is no tax at all, and the tsarist government naturally does not send tax officers.

Colonel Nikolai made things difficult for James, naturally in order to make a fortune. Don't look at James organized so many immigrants, but there are less than 6,000 people who are really young and strong.

The main reason for hiring 12,000 people is that it is necessary to ensure that each household employs one person before they can legally leave with their families. In order not to make trouble, James did not dare to save this money.

After getting the approval, James breathed a sigh of relief. The Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also had an office in East Prussia, and with this legal formality he could get the Foreign Office involved.

After sending James away, a young officer asked suspiciously: "Uncle, why did you let him go?" ”

Collect taxes, have you ever seen an army collect taxes? What's more, this is still a newly occupied area, and there is no concept of tax at all.

From beginning to end, it was Colonel Nikolai and others who wanted to extort a sum of money, so they took the opportunity to come up with the temporary tax bureau.

"Boris, you're still too tender. If I really want to blackmail, I guess I won't get the last ruble, and I will have to go home early to retire. Do you remember the telegram you received last night? ”

Boris reacted and said: "You mean to say that the Austrian Foreign Ministry has intervened? ”

Colonel Nikolai nodded, the money for the sale of this human population transaction, the St. Petersburg government has long been collected, and it is included in the Russian-Austrian loan.

Now it is the private businessman James, who dares to extort a sum, and if the Austrian Foreign Ministry is changed, the situation will be different.

Most of the logistics of the Russian army was provided by Austria. If the dispute between the two countries is provoked at this time and the war is affected, they, the perpetrators, will definitely not have good fruits to eat.

The tsarist government was indeed corrupt, but that did not mean that Alexander II wanted to see the government corrupt. If they jump out at this time, they will be killed and set an example.

Gönigsberg was just an index, and the whole of East Prussia was filled with immigrant merchants who were trying to evacuate East Prussia.

No, it should be said that everyone is working hard to save their compatriots. Saving one's compatriots from the Russians' grip was the official answer given by Austria.

Whether others believe it or not, the participants believe it anyway. The people of East Prussia, who chose to leave, also believed it.

This is the good cooperation of the Russian army, and their performance in their true colors has frightened the local people.

No one thought about the precarious days, recruiting strong men to fight on the battlefield and their own country, which made it even more difficult for them to accept emotionally.