Chapter 673: Armed Workers
A band of brigands appeared near Tarnowskie Góry.
They were said to be composed of Carpathian people and Bulgarian mercenaries exiled to Austria, and had already committed several crimes in towns like Czebinia.
Well, the news was published in the Lesser Poland News. As for whether these incidents truly happened, people usually prefer to believe them than not.
Consequently, nearly half of Krakow's residents were on edge, shutting their doors before nightfall and refusing to venture out.
The Umiyan Mining Company initially paid little mind to it, until three of the company's French technicians were ambushed and killed on their way back to their dormitories.
The company manager, Xian Luowei, rushed with his men to the scene, only to find several large pools of blood and the three technicians' empty wallets—their names embroidered on them.
This situation was extremely serious. After all, the silver mine only had 15 French technicians in total; losing even one could render the mine's steam engines inoperable due to malfunction.
Of course, only Captain Riber knew that these three had merely been secretly sent back to France by his subordinates, and the pools on the ground were nothing more than chicken blood.
After that, the brigands grew increasingly brazen, committing public robberies almost daily. They even attacked one of the Umiyan Mining Company's warehouses, stealing the valuables inside before burning it to the ground.
Makowski lowered his head, stating with deep grievance, "General Manager, there were sixty or seventy brigands that day, all armed with flintlock muskets. At the time, there were only 11 guards in the warehouse. If they hadn't retreated, they would have been burned to ashes along with the warehouse."
"Your Patrol Team has over 300 members, and you still can't deal with these brigands?"
A silver mine, naturally, had its own paramilitary force for protection, and Makowski was the captain of the mine's Patrol Team.
"Yes, sir, there are also hundreds of police officers in Tarnowskie Góry. The Krakow garrison is not far either," Makowski countered. "However, the mine spans over 40 kilometers wide, and with the surrounding towns, there are simply too many places to defend."
"I've heard that the band of brigands numbers over 150. With the Patrol Team's current strength alone, we simply cannot defend against them."
Beside him, a company director with greying hair inquired, "Captain, how many members do you believe the Patrol Team needs to expand to in order to effectively resist the brigands?"
Makowski pondered for a moment, then said, "At least 1,000 men, Baron Kistchikov. And every one of them must be equipped with a flintlock musket."
Although the brigands numbered only 150, their movements were erratic. The Patrol Team would need to divide its forces to guard all critical locations of the mine to barely ensure its safety.
Depuet spoke up at the opportune moment, "Forming a standing Patrol Team of 1,000 men would cost at least 800,000 Złoty."
As expected, upon hearing such a large sum, all the board members shook their heads in disagreement.
Ultimately, the board only granted Makowski permission to add 150 new Patrol Team members and requested assistance from the Krakow garrison to help suppress the brigands.
However, just five days later, something far more serious occurred.
Mr. Depuet, the second manager of the company and the representative exercising French shareholder rights, was kidnapped by the brigands, along with his assistant, coachman, and maid.
The kidnappers demanded a ransom of 400,000 Złoty, threatening to kill their captives if the money wasn't paid.
Panic immediately spread throughout the Umiyan Mining Company.
When the French technicians were killed previously, the French ambassador had already sent people to protest. Now, with a senior manager involved, this could even spark a diplomatic dispute!
The company's board of directors made a decision in just half an afternoon—to pay from the company's accounts to redeem Mr. Depuet.
400,000 Złoty amounted to over 600,000 Francs—it was fortunate they were at a silver mine, otherwise, given Poland's dire financial situation, such a sum might not have been available elsewhere.
The brigands, for their part, proved trustworthy. After receiving the ransom, they immediately released Depuet, his assistant, and the coachman, but kept the unfortunate maid.
High-ranking officials from the mining company and Krakow hastened to Depuet's home to offer their condolences. The villa was packed with people.
However, Depuet showed no joy at surviving the ordeal. Instead, he glowered at Xian Luowei and the other company executives, his expression grim, and snarled, "If you had been willing to spend that money to expand the Patrol Team earlier, Denise would not have fallen into the hands of those devils!"
"You must rescue her, or I will certainly lodge a complaint with the ambassador!"
Xian Luowei cautiously began, "Mr. Depuet, she is merely a servant; you needn't..."
"She's more than just a servant!" Depuet bellowed. "I want her alive!"
Everyone in the room instantly understood—'His relationship with the maid must be more than ordinary.'
Under the immense pressure of the kidnapping, the Umiyan Mining Company finally agreed to expand the Patrol Team to 650 members.
But a full week passed, and there was still no news of Miss Denise. Instead, the brigands carried out another robbery in Czebinia town.
Depuet was furious.
He directly approached the Krakow Municipal Commissioner, demanding that he recruit mercenaries to launch a crackdown on the brigands. As for the expenses, Depuet offered to cover more than half.
In essence, this money would come from the previous 400,000 Złoty ransom.
The Krakow Municipal Hall was also greatly troubled by the brigands. After all, it was their jurisdiction, and if the disturbances continued, they could forget about the next election's votes.
Just then, with someone willing to foot the bill, they naturally agreed with pleasure.
Ultimately, the Krakow Municipal Hall also contributed 150,000 Złoty, which, combined with Depuet's money, totaled 450,000 to recruit mercenaries.
On another front, Depuet's demand for all silver mine workers to undergo military training was also smoothly approved by the board of directors.
Of course, this was primarily because Depuet stated he could procure 2,000 inexpensive flintlock muskets from France and would cover half of the costs.
All the company's executives could see he was desperate. Who would dare raise an objection?
The company quickly organized all the miners, along with residents from several surrounding towns—most of whom relied on the mine for their livelihood, thus cooperating readily with the mining company's demands—a total of over 4,000 young, able-bodied men would undergo military training once a week, for six hours each session.
This amount of training might seem insignificant, but in reality, outside of major powers like Britain, France, Prussia, and Austria, European armies typically only trained three to five days a month.
Furthermore, after their basic training, these miners and townsfolk could be deployed for "brigand suppression" in mock combat—they certainly wouldn't encounter real brigands, as those were merely Intelligence Bureau agents in disguise—but at the very least, they could practice formations in an outdoor environment and become familiar with officers' commands.
Comments