The winter breeze blows away the scattered clouds, mixed with the smell of earth, which is addictive.

In the quiet village, wisps of cooking smoke rise, and they are blown around, as if telling how difficult life is.

As night fell, Joseph Han, the militia member in charge of the vigilance, breathed a sigh of relief that he was finally safe today. Without the book, Joseph Han didn't know how to sigh, so he could only sigh helplessly.

Since the outbreak of the Russo-Prussian War, the atmosphere in the border areas has become tense, especially after the Cossack cavalry has been rampant, which has pushed the atmosphere to a climax.

The village of Budaski, located in Lubsen, less than 100 kilometers from the front line, is naturally a key warning area.

In order to combat the arrogance of the enemy, the Berlin government formed a militia on the spot and distributed weapons.

The border between Prussia and Russia is too long, and in the context of the main force of the Prussian army being pinned, even if the rear is in full position, it will not be able to fully defend against the enemy's invasion.

Fortunately, the big cities were garrisoned, and the Cossack cavalry would not gnaw hard bones, and the small towns and villages scattered all over the country became the favorite of the "robbers".

Joseph Han went to a village baptized by "robbers", and it was a hell on earth.

Burning houses, human heads hanging at the entrance of the village, wreckage all over the ground, survivors with missing arms and legs...... They are all telling about the atrocities of the "robbers".

Forced by reality, the honest Joseph Han took up arms and joined the militia to protect the peace of the village.

They say they are defending, but in fact they don't have the strength to fight the enemy. The main task of the militia is to send a signal in time when the enemy is detected, cover the population into the castle, defend the castle, and wait for the regular army to come.

Not every place has a castle, and not every castle has the ability to defend it, as long as the castles of some of the great nobles can withstand the raids of the "robbers".

In the last hundred years, Poland has been repeatedly warned, and many local nobles have been lost. The new aristocracy did not have a solid background, and many of them were influenced by the new ideas and had given up the construction of castles.

There were no castle fortresses in the plains, and it was almost impossible to withstand the raids of the cavalry.

For the sake of safety, the local people have long taken action, under the organization of the government, to repair or rebuild the castle to resist the invasion of "robbers".

The European people are very talented in this area, and every war is accompanied by robbery, and for thousands of years, everyone has long developed a unique ability to save their lives.

This time it was nothing more than that the enemy was a little more brutal, and life still had to be the same.

In the danger of being raided by robbers at any time, the night has become everyone's favorite, and the enemy will not act at this time.

Letting go of their nervousness, the militiamen went home in twos and threes, and Joseph Han was among them. Maybe it was physical and mental exhaustion, and everyone tacitly agreed that they didn't speak.

When I got home, my wife had already prepared dinner, and the food was very simple, baked potatoes and vegetables, all home-grown.

A family of five, with only six fist-sized baked potatoes, was obviously not enough to eat, not even enough for Joseph Han alone.

There is no way, how difficult it is for people's livelihood. In normal times, they only have two meals, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and they don't need to work in the evening, so there is no dinner.

Joseph Han joined the militia and had to train every day, and the nutrition had to keep up; His wife and children were going to repair the fortress and needed to increase their nutrition, so they added a dinner to the heart.

It was so dark tonight that there was not a trace of moonlight, and his wife, who had always been thrifty, had to light the candle ruthlessly.

Maybe he was too hungry, or maybe he was reluctant, and he didn't even peel the potatoes, so Joseph Han stuffed it into his mouth.

"Han, I heard that the town of Fik, twenty miles away, was sacked by the Russians, and all the militia were killed, you must be careful when you go out!"

His wife's worried voice made Joseph Han's heart tremble. He also heard about the situation in Fik Town, not only that all the militia were killed, but even the elderly, weak, women and children were also killed and wounded.

The enemy killed all those who resisted, and the survivors were either injured or maimed. It is clear that the Russians are deliberately creating wounded and increasing the burden on the Berlin government.

Or because there are too many wounded and the government can't afford to resettle them; Or in order to galvanize the will of the people to resist, the village also housed several wounded.

Joseph Han: "Don't worry, I'll be careful." You should also be careful, as soon as you find out that the enemy is coming, hide in the cellar, the Russians will not stay long. ”

Apparently, Joseph Han did not have faith in the castle under construction. It's the age of thermal weapons, but the castles built are still in the last century.

It's not that everyone doesn't want to build stronger, castles are being built everywhere, and there is a lack of steel, cement, and stone, so you can only build earthen walls.

The Berlin government has increased imports, but the cost is high, and it can only be used on strategic points, and the city defense projects are not enough, and it is not the turn of ordinary villages.

There have been proposals to evacuate villages and concentrate people in cities to reduce civilian casualties.

It's a pity that this can only be thought about.

As a result of the war, the food production of the Popo Federation had fallen considerably, and in 1880 it was able to maintain 80% of its production capacity, which was a great victory.

If the border areas are abandoned, the grain production capacity of these major grain-producing areas, the Pubo Federation, will be further reduced. The annual shortfall of millions of tons of food is not so easy to compensate.

"Got it."

The tired body and mind made them not interested in chatting. After finishing dinner in the shortest possible time, the wife hurriedly extinguished the candles.

……

In the sun, the signboard of the "Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs" shines exceptionally.

A diplomatic-style carriage stopped at the entrance of the building, and a middle-aged man in a suit stepped out of the carriage, holding a thick stack of papers, and strode into the building.

The secretary said in a low voice: "Your Excellency, Count Kovacevich, the Minister of the Pubo Federation in Vienna, has come to visit. ”

Wessenberg put down the coffee in his hand and asked, "Did he make an appointment beforehand?" ”

As Foreign Secretary, Wesenberg has a lot of work to do, and his schedule is full almost every day, except in special circumstances, and general diplomatic activities need to be booked in advance.

The secretary replied, "No." However, Kovacevic's face was very ugly, and he repeatedly stressed that there was an urgent matter and he had to see you immediately. ”

"There is something urgent", Wessenberg, who was about to refuse, was shocked, immediately thought of the Russo-Prussian War, and said slowly: "Please let him in." Remember telling him that I only had half an hour to spare. ”

……

After a few pleasantries, Minister Kovacevich handed the thick document to Wesenberg and said: "Your Excellency, these photographs and materials are provided by enthusiastic people, and they show the atrocities of the Russians. ”

After taking the document and flipping through it, Wessenberg saw corpses, burning houses, and hanging human heads everywhere in the photographs, all of which spoke of barbaric evil.

Around the well-informed Wessenberg, he was also shocked. Without continuing to read, he closed the document and surrendered his gaze to Kovacevic.

"Your Excellency, your country has always been a major force in maintaining world peace and international order, and for God's sake, we hope that your country will intervene to stop the atrocities of the Russians."

The Berlin government was exhausted by the three indiscriminate methods of the Russians, and had no choice but to turn to the international community for help.

No matter how cruel the nature of the world is, the countries of the European continent still know how to restrain themselves, and this kind of play of the Russians has long been outdated.

Ignoring Kovacevic's praise, Wesenberg replied slowly: "This question is very involved, and we must investigate and determine before we can give an answer to your country."

However, Your Excellency the Minister may rest assured that as long as it is proved to be true, the righteous people of the world will not allow such atrocities to exist. ”

There is no doubt that this is a procrastination. The atrocities of the Russians are no secret at all, but Austria sent a military observation mission, and what happened at the front line is clear.

Know that the Vienna government will not intervene without sufficient interests.

Similar things are not only done by the Russians, but also by the Prussian army, and the major colonial empires are even more desperate overseas.

It's just that the lid was not lifted, and everyone tacitly chose to ignore it. This time, the tsarist government did too much, and the civilian casualties in the Pubo Federation have reached hundreds of thousands.

During the war years, small-scale killings were inevitable, and large-scale massacres broke the rules.

There was no massacre in the Russian army, and it was almost the same as a massacre, except for the dead, all the rest were wounded, and a large part of them were permanently disabled.

Minister Kovacević had a bitter expression: "Your Excellency, these photos were taken by enthusiastic people who risked their lives, and I can guarantee that all of them are true.

Now thousands of people are dying every day under the butcher's knife of the Russians......"

Wesenberg waved his hand: "Don't worry, Your Excellency. It can't be fake, and it can't be fake.

As long as you are a member of the civilization camp, you will not let this happen. I'll arrange for someone to investigate now, and you can go back and wait for news first! ”

Sending Kovacevic away, Wesenberg had another headache. To interfere or not to interfere, this is a headache.