After the old man left, the atmosphere became heavy.
A middle-aged man shouted, "Lord Sith, wait."
An enigmatic voice rang out, "Stop shouting. They're nobles, different from us. Don't stand in his way. "
As if afraid that the old man couldn't hear him, he deliberately raised his voice.
The middle-aged man reprimanded, "Fackel, shut up! Lord Sith isn't that kind of person.
Previously, when the Russians captured the guerrillas, it was Lord Sith who dealt with them. Otherwise, we'd be in trouble. "
"That's right. Lord Sith is a good man. A year ago, my son fell ill, and he was the one who helped me find a doctor."
"Fackel, I remember that you're not clean. You were even taught a lesson by Lord Sith. You …"
…
It could be seen that Old Sith had a good reputation in the town. Fackel's young man was quickly drowned out by the criticism.
Under normal circumstances, Fekel would never dare to show hostility towards a noble. Otherwise, he would be killed.
This situation changed with the arrival of the Russians. As they were on opposite sides in the war, the local nobles were heavily suppressed by the Tsarist government.
Fackel sneered, "Lord Sith? He's just a stray dog now. He can't even protect his family's property, and he still has the face to call himself a noble.
The Russians took his land, and now he wants us to give up our land. Why? "
Seeing the murderous intent in everyone's eyes, Fackel's arrogance was extinguished. Perhaps he couldn't bring himself to lose face, but he still said unyieldingly,
"Don't look at me like that. I'm speaking the truth. Just you wait. Who knows, one day, we might be sold to the Russians by him!"
Just as he finished speaking, a fist flew over. Before he could understand what was going on, Fackel fainted.
"Wockf, well done. This fly is the most annoying. If it wasn't for the fact that this bastard doesn't know Russian, he would have long sought refuge with the Russians. "
Everyone nodded. Clearly, they didn't have a good impression of Fackel, this street thug.
…
In a classical house in the east of the town, Old Sith asked with concern, "Wright, are you ready?"
Leit replied, "Everything is ready. We can set off at any time.
But Father, we can leave on our own. Why do we need to bring these pieces of trash along? "
It was obvious that Wright was extremely unwilling to let the old man bring the townspeople away with him.
Old Sith shook his head. "Wright, you are still too young. These people that you call trash are the foundation for us to make a comeback.
Once we leave this place, we will no longer be high and mighty feudal nobles. A fallen noble with only a title left. You've seen how he's doing. "
It was the same for the nobles. Once they lost their foundation, they would only be slightly stronger than ordinary people.
In this war, the Kingdom of Prussia's strength had been greatly damaged. Berlin had gathered nobles from all over the world, and the competition had become extremely fierce.
The advantages of political status were no longer enough for them to stand out and live a prosperous life.
If he left the Kingdom of Prussia, he would lose this political advantage.
Of course, this did not mean that the title of nobility was useless. With this title, they could come into contact with higher circles and integrate into the local area more easily.
The prerequisite was that people recognized their noble status. In this day and age, there was no internet to check identities, so it was not easy to get people to recognize your noble status.
Nobles with deep foundations did not matter. They had many powerful relatives, and they had friends and relatives to bring them into the circle. Their illustrious family name was the best proof.
Small nobles like Sith could not do it. Without a powerful ancestor, the family name was limited to a small area. No one would even hear of it when they left West Prussia.
If they did not bring a group of people to help spread the news, how could they let others know of their noble status? They could not just say that they were nobles to everyone they met, right?
Old Sith sighed as he looked at his confused son. Some words could only be understood by oneself. If it came from someone else's mouth, the effect would not be as great.
They were going to Austrian Africa this time, and they did not have to pay for the immigration fees. Bringing everyone along, other than being a little troublesome, did not require them to pay any price at all.
Not to mention selling favors, just bringing so many people over would increase their status in the eyes of the colonial government. This was enough for Sith to do it.
A noble's reputation was very valuable. A good reputation could easily allow them to enter the noble circle.
Wright complained, "That is only if they are willing. If they don't appreciate it, why should we go and ask for trouble?"
The Austrian immigration officials had already come over to spread the news. Those who were willing to immigrate had already signed up and left. Now, those who were left were those who were homesick.
"Homesick" was not only because of homesickness, but also because they had property here. If they left, they would have to start from scratch.
Old Sith glared at his son and said helplessly, "Idiot, who can withstand Russia's torment?
At this point in time, how many families hadn't been emptied?
It is no longer a question of whether we want to leave or not, but Russia is chasing people away. If we stay, we will become serfs. "
"Serfs" was an exaggeration. The Russian Empire had also abolished serfdom, but the contract workers were not much better than serfs. In some sense, it was even worse.
As if he had thought of something, Wright asked in disbelief, "You mean, Russia and Austria …"
Old Sith scolded angrily, "Shut up, how can you say such things!? Wright, remember this, trouble comes from the mouth!
If you haven't lived enough, then watch your mouth. Don't speak nonsense, don't even think nonsense. "
Old Sith did not know what the truth was, nor did he want to know. Sometimes, knowing too much was also a sin.
Looking at his dejected son, Old Sith could not bear to see him like this. After hesitating for a moment, he held back the words of comfort.
Wright was his third son, and also his youngest. He had just turned 16 this year and had yet to experience the hardships of society.
Under normal circumstances, it would not be Wright's turn to make decisions. Unfortunately, in this war, Old Sith's eldest son died in battle, and his second son was seriously injured. He was still bedridden and might pass away any day.
With the sudden change, Old Sith had no choice but to speed up the training of his youngest son. After all, the average lifespan was short these days. Old Sith was already over 60 years old, and his body was not as good as before.
There were many families like Old Sith in Prussia, and many aristocratic families had experienced a change in their heirs.
It was fine for these families to have many sons, but the most tragic ones were the only sons in the family. If they died in battle, they would have no heirs. That was the real tragedy.
What happened in Mordor was just a small episode. Ever since the Russians started enfeoffing the aristocrats, the aristocrats of Prussia had panicked and started looking for a way out.
There were only so many resources in the area, and it was impossible to support too many aristocrats. Competition was unavoidable.
Even the most ambitious person knew that the Tsarist government wanted nothing more than to get rid of them as soon as possible. How could they compete with the direct descendants of the other party?
If they took the initiative to find a way out and leave, they could even take away a portion of the family's assets. When the other party's patience ran out, they might be left without heirs.
…
The docks along the Baltic Sea became busy again. There were more ships coming and going than before the war, as if the prosperity of the past had been restored.
Unfortunately, this prosperity was all an illusion. The port city that used to be bustling with traffic had now become a huge refugee camp.
The shrewd Russian officials had already rented the ownerless houses in the city, along with the empty land outside the city, to the Austrian Immigration Department to settle the immigrants who were about to leave.
Immigration had never been an easy task. In this day and age, the passenger capacity of ships was limited. Ordinary merchant ships could only transport a few hundred immigrants at a time, and at most a thousand people.
This was already the limit. If they increased the number of people, they would no longer be transporting immigrants, but selling pigs.
People were not goods. They had to have a certain amount of space to move around. If the density was too high, it would easily increase the death rate.
On a gray day, Old Sith brought his family, as well as the townspeople he had tricked over, arrived at Kołobrzeg Harbor, and joined the queue waiting for immigrants.
There were rows of tents. Old Sith frowned. He could not back down now that he was already here.
After tidying up his clothes and putting on his family's badge, Old Sith braced himself and walked to the immigration registration office.
Seeing that it was a noble, the staff in charge of registration said politely, "Baron, this is the place where the commoners are settled. The reception for nobles is located in the city.
There will be people in the city to receive you, and they will arrange accommodations that match your status. You can bring your family with you. "
Hearing this, Old Sith's expression softened. He was really a little afraid that the Immigration Department would settle him with the commoners. That would mean that his noble status would be invalid.
Without this amulet, it would be difficult to establish a foothold in a foreign country.
After giving a few instructions, Old Sith left with his family. The staff's words were clear. If he brought his family with him, it meant that the others did not have to go.
Unsurprisingly, as a baron, Old Sith's family was given a small courtyard to be used as a temporary residence.
The basic necessities were all there, and they were just short of servants. This was a small problem. Immigrants who were leaving would have to bring their families with them, so there was naturally no shortage of servants.
After settling down, Old Sith did not stay idle. The first thing he did was to visit.
The circle of nobles could be said to be big or small. Big nobles had connections all over the world, while the small nobles' circle was right at their doorstep.
Old Sith was not a big noble, so his social circle was naturally not big. However, he was still a familiar face in the circle of nobles in West Prussia.
He did not feel that it was important when he was in his hometown, but when he left for a foreign country, it was an important resource for him to have connections.
It was also human nature to stick together.
For the next few days, Old Sith brought his son to attend the nobles' banquets, and he made many friends.
If not for the fact that his family was not rich enough, and that he needed a large amount of capital for his future development, Old Sith would have wanted to host a banquet.
Of course, this was impossible. The Russians controlled Kovobog Port, and the prices were more than ten times higher than normal. This was specifically targeted at the rich.
The Austrian Immigration Department only provided the most basic necessities. They had to pay for the groceries themselves, not to mention the banquets.
Other than the high expenses, they also had to have enough connections to be able to withstand the Russians coming over to take advantage of them.
The Tsarist government was poor. Apart from land, there was no reward at all for the newly conferred nobles. Many of the nobles were poor.
In order to get rich, these people did not have a high bottom line. The advance tax collection that was currently in progress was the work of this group of people.
After a simple lunch, Old Sith was thinking about future development plans when the butler's voice rang in his ear.
"Baron, I just received news that the residents of Moldo Town will board the ship and leave in three days. We will have to wait for a week.
I've already asked around. The colonial government likes to disperse and resettle the immigrants in the same area. There are basically no exceptions. "
Old Sith's expression changed. "Disperse and resettle" meant that his previous plan had to be pushed back to the beginning.
It was impossible to use the residents of the town as a foundation to quickly gain a foothold in an unfamiliar area.
Old Sith quickly calmed down and began to analyze the cause and effect. He quickly found the reason.
On the one hand, the colonial government did not want them to stick together to avoid increasing the difficulty of ruling.
On the other hand, it was the main reason. It was no longer the period when the colony had just been established. Nobles had taken root in every area.
As people with vested interests, these people naturally did not want to have another slice of the cake. It was normal for them to restrict outsiders like them.
They did it openly, and the reason was sufficient. Thinking of this, Old Sith could not help but show a hint of bitterness.
A momentary slip would lead to eternal regret. Back then, when the Austrian African colony was established, he had the right to participate. He had even personally gone to Africa to investigate.
However, he was proud and arrogant at the time. He did not see the development of Austrian Africa and only wanted to establish the Great Prussia Empire.
However, after decades of struggle, he ended up having to leave his hometown. Due to the pressure of survival, he had no choice but to set foot on this land again.
He had missed the start-up period and could not get the initial shares. He could only join the company after it grew bigger. Naturally, his treatment could not compare to the previous shareholders.
The first batch of people who had taken root in Austrian Africa had now become the direct descendants of Austria. They were the foundation of the colonial government.
The latecomers were at most the icing on the cake. To the colonial government, it was good to have these immigrants, but life would still be the same without them.
Knowing was one thing, Austrian Africa was still Old Sith's best choice. This world was cruel. Every place was full of competition.
They could not stay in their hometown. The European continent was experiencing an economic crisis. They could not even find a job if they stayed, so they could only go overseas to make a living.
Instead of going to Austrian Africa, which had the same culture and tradition, it would be difficult to survive in a place where the language was different.
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