War is brutal, especially for civilians in the midst of war.

The people of East Prussia were deeply touched by the fact that their good days had come to an end since the Russian occupation.

Fix is just a humble town, and it's still not spared. Well-informed aristocrats and merchants have all run away, and now all that remains are a bunch of poor ghosts.

Even so, they were sacked by the Russian army. Since you can't fry the oil and water, it's better to make a strong man.

The town church was now full of people, and a middle-aged man asked worriedly, "Just now the Russians sent someone over and asked for 500 laborers from the town, what should we do, Father?" ”

The church was perhaps the only area that was spared, and for God's sake, the Russians did not ransack the only church in the town.

Now that all the big names in the town have fled, the older Father Prague is the most prestigious, and the people can only turn to him for help.

As a religious person, Father Prague cannot and does not need to run. The influence of European religion is very strong, and the Russian army will not do anything to the church, even if it is a Protestant church.

Father Prague said regretfully: "Son, I know the news. I have just negotiated with the Russians, and they demanded 20,000 roubles to be exempted from servitude.

The Russians warned that if they did not get together the numbers in two days, they would kill. ”

Father Prague didn't think about scraping together money, and if the nobles and merchants hadn't gone, maybe they could have done it, but now it's impossible.

It's not that the town doesn't have 20,000 rubles, but property is not equal to cash, and the nobles and merchants are still in real estate, but it's a pity that the Russians only need cash.

Everyone is unwilling to serve in labor and fight against their own country, but people have to bow their heads under the roof.

Woolly bears are not easy to speak, and since they say they want to kill, they will definitely kill. The youth who initially tried to rebel against the Russians still had his head hanging on the flagpole.

One person resists - kills the whole family; Those who find that the guerrillas do not report - kill; If someone attacks the Russian army, everyone within a radius of 200 meters will be killed every five times; A resistance team of more than 10 people appears - Slaughter.

In this high-pressure state, the people dare to be angry but dare not speak. Up to now, the Russians have already fought a real fire, and there are not a few villages and towns in Prussia that have been destroyed.

International public opinion? It is a pity that the tsarist government was used to being scolded, and they were not overwhelmed by debts.

Besides, the Russians are not stupid, how can they admit it? There is no evidence, at most scolding in the newspapers, the Russians are fearless.

In this era, the cameras were too big, the results were not good, and the clandestine photography did not work, and the Prussians could not produce convincing evidence at all.

This is all an excuse, in fact, countries can't help the woolly bear, and when the lid is lifted, everyone looks bad, so they simply pretend not to know.

"Then what should we do, or let's run!"

Someone suggested. Serviture on the battlefield was not a good job, especially for the Russians.

The news has spread, and many people know that the Russian army likes to use labor as cannon fodder. This is the experience they learned from the war in the Near East, and the capture of laborers on the spot as cannon fodder can reduce troop losses.

An old man asked: "There are Russians everywhere, where are they going?" ”

Running away is not as simple as it is said, dragging their families with their mouths, plus no money in their pockets, and the search of the Russians, how far can they run out?

A young man asked, "But we can't really fight for the Russians and fight our own army, right?" ”

The old man reprimanded: "What do you know about a hairy boy, the young men in our town are not enough for five hundred. ”

That's the crux of the matter, not whether they're willing or not, it's simply not possible.

The population of the town was originally small, and after the outbreak of the war, a large number of young men were conscripted into the army, and now there are no five hundred young men in the town.

……

Looking at the arguing crowd, Father Bragg had a great headache. These are the believers he developed, and if these people are gone, his food and clothing and parents are gone.

"Calm your children in the presence of the Lord, and I'll go to Gönigsberg now and ask my friends if there's any other way."

Gönigsberg is the closest city to the town, and if the Russians were to draw a local tin, they would certainly not target just one town.

Going to the city for help was a fantasy of Father Prague. Not all the nobility ran away, and a large part of the nobility remained in East Prussia.

Some chose to organize guerrilla units to resist the Russian invasion, while others wanted to run away but did not run, and now most of them are gathered in the cities.

There is no tradition of killing nobles in Europe, and the premise is that you don't leave it alone. If it's just one person, if it's killed, it's killed, and no one knows anyway.

If everyone gathers together, it's different, the Russian army will not attack them, this is the rule of the game, and it also applies to the Russians.

In a hurry, Father Prague rode to Gönigsberg. What catches your eye is a depression, the once bustling streets are no longer full of people, and the scattered pedestrians meet the patrols of the Russian army, and they also leave quickly.

As a religious figure, Father Prague was not cross-examined. Of course, he did not come to the Russian army either.

Under normal circumstances, the fact that Russians do not move religious figures does not mean that they do not dare to move. In this era of war and chaos, a few dead people are nothing.

Without wandering, Father Prague went straight into the church in the city. Regardless of whether they were high or low, Europeans in this era were able to relate to churches.

There is a good saying: if you want to find someone to wait in front of the church, you can do it.

"Priest, what are you doing in such a hurry?"

A middle-aged man in rich clothes who spoke had met Father Prague a few times, and the two nodded their heads at each other.

Father Prague, who met an acquaintance and was about to inquire about the news, showed a bit of surprise on his face. Puzzled, he asked, "Mr. James, didn't you leave?" ”

The current situation is not good, and the rich people have run to escape the war. Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for a well-informed businessman like James not to know the news in advance.

James replied: "I had just come back from a business when the Russians came. But I recently got the citizenship of the Empire, and the Russians will not embarrass me. ”

"Empire" is naturally the HRE Empire, and even if a new word is added, it is also the only empire recognized in Germany.

The Russians are not crazy people, so they naturally do not take trouble to attack foreigners, especially businessmen from allied countries.

Father Prague was a little surprised and said, "God forbid, Mr. James, you are so lucky that you have escaped this fate."

Now the Russians are plundering everywhere, and the small town of Fix, where I live, was threatened by the Russians to give 500 laborers because I couldn't get the money. ”

Naturally, this information cannot be hidden from James, and as a successful businessman, the most important thing is to be well-informed.

At this time, he returned to Gönigsberg to make money. The Austrian colonies were short of labor, and sending immigrants to the colonies was also a business.

James just saw the opportunity of the war, he had signed labor export contracts with a number of companies in the Austrian colonies, and now he is coming back to pull people.

To organize emigration to other places, the Russians may interfere. If you go to the Austrian colony, there is no problem at all, and the loan in Vienna is not taken for nothing.

When James came back this time, he also communicated with the colonial government. As long as he can fool the people to go to the colony, the Austrian Foreign Ministry will take care of the aftermath except for the problems.

James pretended to be surprised and exclaimed, "God! Five hundred laborers, isn't the town of Fix going to be unlucky? ”

Father Prague nodded bitterly and said helplessly, "That's true, and I didn't have a way to come here for help." ”

At this moment, Bishop Bernard came over, accompanied by seven or eight priests, and by their faces he knew that something bad was happening.

Father Prague repeated what he had just said, and Bishop Bernard reluctantly said: "I'm sorry, but I can't do anything about it.

I had already gone to visit the Russian officers on behalf of the Church, but unfortunately I was kicked out without even entering the gate. ”

No way, who made them Protestant, and Russians Orthodox?

If you don't shout and kill when you encounter a heresy, it can be regarded as giving face, and you can still expect to give them a good face?

Looking at the crowd with dead faces, James knew that the opportunity had come.

"Your Excellency, if you want to escape the Russian servitude, I suggest that you organize the people to leave Gönigsberg first, and then return after the war is over."

Bishop Bernard shook his head and said, "Mr. James, your plan won't work. The Russians have set up roadblocks on major traffic routes and will not let people leave at all. ”

James smiled and said, "Under normal circumstances, of course, you can't pass. However, we can detour in other ways, as early as two years ago, Russia and Austria signed the "Labor and Employment Treaty".

It was entirely possible to sign a short-term employment contract with an Austrian company, take refuge in the Austrian colony by boat, and return to Gönigsberg when the war was over. ”

This is purely a fool, it is easy to enter the Austrian colony, but it is difficult to leave.

The cost of immigration alone is not something that ordinary people can afford, and when they earn enough money, will they still have a foothold when they come back?

Bishop Bernard was still pondering, and Father Prague couldn't help himself: "Mr. James, can this work?" ”

James replied in the affirmative, "Of course! Since the treaty has been signed, the Russian military officers will definitely implement it, otherwise it will trigger a diplomatic conflict between Russia and Austria, which is not something that they, the middle and lower-level officers, can afford. ”

Father Prague did not hesitate to say: "Well, I'll go back and talk to the people, and let them decide whether to leave or not." ”

Bishop Bernard stopped: "Father, this issue is too high for us to think about carefully. ”

He knew very well that if the people were to leave and Gönigsberg was turned into a dead city, would the church still have the value of existing?

Come back? This fools the children, once they go to the Austrian colony, in the end, a third of the people can come back, which can be regarded as God blessing.

Father Prague said indifferently: "Your Excellency, it could not be worse than now, I cannot watch the children kill each other.

Can you tolerate the Russians recruiting young men to be cannon fodder to fight our army? ”