Chapter 284: A Chain of Schemes
"Let the rest of these cadets head to East Africa, shall we? The war there is over, and it's time to reorganize the army." After seeing Heinrich and Leopold off, that was Ernst's next thought.
Conveniently, East Africa could retire a portion of its older German mercenary officers now.
…
East Africa's war had ended, but in Europe, war persisted. Prussia was forging ahead inside France, and one of France's best armies, having been under siege in Metz for 72 days, finally surrendered without resistance on October 27, 1870.
On the Austro-Hungarian side, General Karl was leading his forces all around northern Italy – even making a big mess in Lombardy, forcing part of Lombardy's defensive army to split off and block his potential rear attacks. Archduke Albrecht seized that opportunity to sever Lombardy's link with Venice. The city became encircled, and with the blockades wearing Venice's defenders down, the entire city edged toward collapse – especially its residents, suffering from desperation and exhaustion.
"Fulton, we're running out of food at home. This might be our last meal!" Lisa told her husband gloomily.
Fulton eyed the pot of half-liquid porridge made from flour scraps, at a loss for words.
Continuing, Lisa said, "Since the war began, grain prices have risen thirteenfold, and there's still not enough. No one in the city has any food left. One week ago, the Elai family sold their house and still couldn't scrape up enough money for food. They may starve to death, all five of them."
"Damn this war!" Fulton sighed. "I'll see if Mr. Martin might advance my wages."
Martin was Fulton's boss, running a textile mill; he was the same Martin who'd once sold his shipyard to the Hechingen consortium.
After receiving a lump sum from Hechingen, Martin had invested in textiles, which boomed when Venice joined Italy and opened access to a united market, allowing him to sell fabric to the south for big profits.
Then, by late 1869 the Suez Canal opened, heralding a likely resurgence of Venetian shipbuilding. Martin briefly regretted selling his yard. But a few months later, war erupted, freezing the shipbuilding sector. Meanwhile, his textile factory reaped large military orders, and Martin happily thanked his lucky stars once again.
Knock, knock, knock…
Someone was at Fulton's door.
"It's so late – who is it?" Fulton asked.
"Mr. Fulton, it's Merlé."
"Oh, Merlé? Something up?"
"Mr. Fulton… I've come to say goodbye," Merlé replied with a wry smile.
"Goodbye? Are you leaving Venice?"
"Yes. My whole family's going to East Africa."
"That's not possible!" Fulton exclaimed. "It's martial law now! How would you leave?"
Merlé shook his head. "Don't overestimate our officials' integrity. Bribe them enough, and they'll let you do just about anything."
Fulton knew that as well: "But how can you get past the city gates and the Austro-Hungarian army outside? Their navy's also blockading the sea."
Merlé forced a laugh: "I learned from Mr. Winston – you remember him, my old employer. His company went bankrupt, so he plans to leave for Paraguay, then move on to America. He says there's at least one shipping line still running – only the Hechingen Oceanic Trading Company can go in or out of Venice. Apparently they have Prussian investment behind them, so the Austro-Hungarian navy lets them pass."
"You mean the Black Hechingen Oceanic Trading Company that was hiring before the war?"
"Yes."
"I'd assumed they were shut down!"
"So did I. But the city's lockdown kept it hidden. If not for Mr. Winston, I'd still be in the dark."
"Which dock are they using?"
"At their Hechingen shipyard, which is private and closed off. Had I known war would bring all this misery, I'd have left with the rural folk long ago."
"If your family moves to East Africa, how do you know you'll find work? And the voyage won't be cheap, right?" Fulton asked.
"Actually, we don't need to pay anything. Same for going to Paraguay. But it isn't our choice where we end up."
"What's the difference between East Africa and Paraguay?"
"Probably not much. Mr. Winston said you have more options in Paraguay, but for poor families, it's all the same."
Hechingen's consortium was also shipping people to Paraguay – a situation that arose after the Paraguayan War ended at the start of the year.
On February 27, 1870, President López was surrounded but refused to surrender, even ordering his mother and sisters executed. On March 1, the Brazilian army captured him. He shouted, "I shall die with my homeland!" before Brazilian soldiers hacked him to death with machetes in the jungle, concluding the entire war.
After seizing power, Paraguay's new government faced a ravaged nation, with huge population losses – not only from war but also from the "old trickster" East Africa, which had siphoned off large numbers of Paraguayan refugees during the conflict. A final census showed Paraguay's population had dropped to just 130,000 – a catastrophe.
Even that wasn't the end, as East Africa hadn't really let up. Paraguay's new government came pleading. Concerned about international perceptions, Ernst agreed to help Paraguay rebuild its population. Obviously East Africa wouldn't send back the people they took; they would recruit new migrants from Venice, since East Africa couldn't absorb all Venetian refugees. They might as well direct the ones who didn't meet East African "standards" off to Paraguay.
This plan also involved Austria-Hungary. Since they worried about the overabundance of Italians in the Veneto region, everyone pitched in to ship the Italians to South America. That also explained why Archduke Albrecht's siege had proceeded slowly – because Austria-Hungary was busy organizing huge numbers of peasants from occupied regions for emigration to the Americas. Not just Paraguay, but also Argentina and Brazil.
Given Paraguay's dire lack of men, it could easily take in ten thousand single Italian youths; indeed, the number might be bigger. Austria-Hungary was already desperate to remove Italians from the Venetian countryside. If all went well, Paraguay might reach its prewar population levels again.
Of course, shipping out hundreds of thousands of people from Venice was no easy task. East Africa would help with transportation, but in exchange Austria-Hungary had to pay them. The monarchy needed big grants from its imperial treasury, which demanded Hungarian support. Austria-Hungary promised some of western Lombardy's land to the Hungarians – on the condition that no Italians remained. Another cunning plan. If Hungary wanted that farmland, they'd have to settle Hungarian families in Lombardy, ignoring or expelling the local Italians into the Piedmont.
As for Piedmont – or the old Sardinia – many there had already fled. Some headed to France or the Americas to escape the war. Meanwhile, the Third French Republic, heeding Count Medina's suggestions, organized these Italian refugees as cannon fodder on the front lines, trying to slow the Prussian advance.
(End of the chapter)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Canserbero10