Chapter 982 "Wartime Solutions"

The old man immediately burst into laughter.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Marcelo."

Baron Marcelo's eyes were kind and he didn't seem angry. The old man made up his mind. It seemed that the other party didn't know what he said.

"Old sir, what's your name?"

"Me? I am Kaa from Pasji Village. You can just call me Kaa."

Kao took off his hat and replied with fear. After all, Marcelo was a noble and an imperial official, and the former was just an old tramp. The deep-seated fear of nobles and officials could not be acted out.

"Are you satisfied with the food in our military camp? Are you still used to the life in the military camp?"

Baron Marcelo continued to ask in a pleasant tone. Kaa looked at the crowd of people around and gathered more and more courage to speak.

"Mr. Marcelo, what we have been eating all day long is either beans or flour, how can we have the strength to fight? And we are asked to either build bridges or mend roads all day long. We are simply used as coolies! How do we look like an army? "

In fact, what Kaa said was also a question in the minds of many people. They obviously joined the Austrian Imperial Army, but they either trained or did some physical work of repairing bridges and roads every day.

This was far from the army they imagined, and some even suspected that some unscrupulous businessmen were using them as coolies under the banner of the imperial government.

However, everyone quickly eliminated this option, because it was impossible for a family in the Milan area, or even in the entire northern Italy, to mobilize so many officials and troops, let alone build dozens of barracks that could accommodate tens of thousands of people. .

Franz asked these people to do the work of post-war reconstruction, mainly to improve the efficiency of reconstruction. After all, the organization of the army is much higher than that of ordinary commercial organizations.

Secondly, Franz also needs to collect interest to balance expenses, which are both financial and moral.

Because there is no price, it is not profound enough.

Because there is no price, it is not worth cherishing.

Because there is no price, you can be confident.

Franz is not qualified to comment on human nature, but he is very clear about the instincts of living things, such as selfishness, greed, and laziness, so he never minds using the greatest malice to speculate on people's hearts.

In order not to chill the few people who truly possess noble qualities, he must avoid the opportunity for others to take advantage of him at the root.

Back to the topic, the conversation between Marcelo and Kao continues.

"Don't beans and macaroni suit your taste? What kind of meal do you think is suitable?"

Kaa looked at the crowd of spectators and continued to speak boldly.

"Mr. Marcelo, I heard that the French army only eats white bread! That's good. I also heard that the gentlemen in Vienna use white bread as a rag to wipe their mouths and throw it away after wiping it.

Instead of throwing it away, why not give it to us to eat?”

Kaa's words immediately exploded in the crowd.

The soldiers were half envious and half resentful. What I envy is that the French army can eat delicious white bread, and what I hate is naturally the luxurious life of the noble lords. I would rather throw it away than give it to poor people like them.

Baron Marcelo didn't pay attention to the noisy crowd, nor did he care about the regular troops brought by Sergeant Karen. He just continued to ask.

"Mr. Kaa, have you seen it with your own eyes?"

Baron Marcelo didn't seem to care too much, which made Kao think that the other party might also be an anti-Austrian or a neutral third party.

"Of course! I saw Napoleon back then! He was riding on a three-meter-high horse, carrying such a big bag, and then handed bread to every French soldier."

Baron Marcelo finally sneered.

"You said that Napoleon and the French were the enemies of nobles and kings, but did you know that Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor when he returned?"

"this"

Old Cao was obviously not prepared for Baron Marcelo's sudden question, and everyone in Europe knew that Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor, so he could not think of a reason to refute it for the moment.

“Pasta is more expensive than white bread in Italy because it’s also made from wheat flour and requires more complicated processing.

No Italian knows this. Where did you come from? "

"I"

A fine line of cold sweat immediately broke out on Old Kaa's forehead, but fear and nervousness made him tongue-tied and unable to speak a word.

"And how did Napoleon, who was 1.6 meters tall, ride a tall draft horse? Don't you know that draft horses are used to plow fields and pull carts?"

Old Kaa's words were full of loopholes. Baron Marcelo asked more than a dozen questions in a row, but he couldn't answer any of them.

Seeing that the old Kaa was hesitating and unable to say a word, Baron Marcelo continued.

"Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a family who lived in their own manor without worrying about the world.

But one day the French came. They broke into the manor without any explanation. They first killed the man of the house, then forcibly hugged the mistress in front of the children. After robbing the manor's property, they drove the mistress and the children out. own home.

The French did then distribute the land to tenants, but those who received the land were also sent to war by the French, and the taxes levied by the French were more than three times as high as in the past.

In the end, the French failed, but they still did not forget to burn the manor and fields with fire before leaving.

This is the tragedy of Marcelo Manor, and I am the only survivor! "

Everyone around had an expression of disbelief, but Baron Marcello was not here to tell stories today. He wanted to solve the hidden dangers in the barracks.

At this time, Sergeant Karen also arrived with the regular army. Garibaldi and his wife just watched silently, without action or words.

The interrogation process was not complicated. Old Kao was hung on a temporary cross. After just a few whips, the old tramp confessed everything.

He was not a pro-French person at all. Someone gave him ten florins to spread French democracy and freedom in the barracks, as well as how comfortable the lives of French soldiers were and how invincible the French army was.

The old tramp was guilty of treason. In order to survive, he told everything he knew and identified the mastermind who instructed him.

The mastermind was a very prestigious family in the local area, and was even responsible for the transportation of military food.

This mastermind was not a spy sent by France to Austria, but a simple spiritual Frenchman.

If it were in the past, the mastermind would most likely be tried and thrown into prison. His family can still be powerful in the local area, and even retain their business with the army.

Then when the storm is over, the mastermind will be released again, and there may even be a special pardon from the emperor to show the royal family's mercy.

However, Franz has long hated the insurgents in the Austrian Empire who can never be killed, so he will deal with them according to the wartime method.

The mastermind will be directly executed, his and his family's property will be frozen, his industry will be temporarily taken over by the government, and his family members must also be supervised.

As for the old tramp, although he was exempted from the death penalty, he must pay the price for his actions-spending the rest of his life in the mines of the empire.