The old man immediately had a smile on his face.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Marcelo."

Baron Marcelo's kind eyes did not seem to be angry, and the old man was reassured, it seemed that the other party should not know what he said.

"What's your name, old sir?"

"Me? I'm Kao from Pasji Village, just call me Kao. ”

Kao took off his hat and replied sincerely, after all, Marceloco was a nobleman and an imperial official, and the former was just an old vagabond, and that kind of fear for nobles and officials in his bones could not be played.

"Are you still satisfied with the food in our barracks? Is life in the barracks still habitual? ”

Baron Marcelo continued to ask with a pleasant face, and Kao said boldly as he watched the crowd gather around him.

"Mr. Marcelo, we eat either beans or powder all day, how can we have the strength to fight? And let us either build bridges or repair roads all day long, it's like using us as coolies! Where is it like an army? ”

In fact, what Kao said is also a question in the minds of many people, they obviously joined the Austrian Imperial Army, but they either trained or did some manual work to repair bridges and roads every day.

This was a far cry from their imaginary army, and some even suspected that some unscrupulous merchants were using them as coolies under the banner of the Imperial Government.

However, this option was soon ruled out, because it was impossible for a single family in the Milan area, or even in the whole of northern Italy, to mobilize so many officials and troops, let alone 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 army was much more organized than ordinary business organizations.

Second, Franz also needed to charge an interest to balance his expenses, which were both monetary and moral.

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

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

Because there is no price, it can be justified.

Franz is not qualified to comment on human nature, but he is well aware of biological instincts, selfishness, greed, and inertia, so he never minds speculating on people's hearts with the greatest malice.

In order not to chill the few who truly possess high qualities, he must avoid the opportunity to exploit the loopholes at the root.

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

"Don't soybeans and macaroni to your taste? What kind of food do you think is appropriate? ”

Kao looked at the crowd of onlookers and continued to speak boldly.

"Monsieur Marcelo, I have heard that the French eat white bread! That's good. I've also heard that the old men of Vienna use white bread as a rag to wipe their mouths, and then throw it away.

Instead of throwing it away, let's eat it."

Kao's words immediately exploded in the crowd.

The soldiers were half envious, half resentful. The envy of the French army for eating delicious white bread was naturally the extravagant life of the aristocratic lords, who would rather throw it away than give it to their group of poor people.

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

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

Baron Marcelo's lack of concern made Kao think that he might be an anti-Austrian or a neutral third party.

"Of course! I met Napoleon back then! He was riding on a three-metre-high horse, carrying such a large bag, and then handing the bread to every French soldier."

Baron Marcelo finally let out a sneer.

"You said that Napoleon and the French were the nemesis of the nobles and kings, so do you know that Napoleon will be emperor when he returns?"

"This"

The elder Kao was obviously not prepared for Baron Marcello's sudden question, and the fact that Napoleon was emperor was known to Europeans, he could not think of a reason to refute it for a while.

"In Italy, pasta is more expensive than white bread because it is also made from wheat flour and requires a more complex process.

No Italian would not know this, where the hell did you come from? ”

"Me"

Old Kao's forehead immediately oozed a fine cold sweat, but fear and nervousness made his tongue knotted and unable to utter a word.

"And how did Napoleon, who was 1.6 meters tall, get on a tall horse? Don't you know that horses are used to plough the land and pull carts? ”

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

Seeing that old Kao couldn't say a word, Baron Marcelo continued.

"I'm going to tell you a story about a family that lived on their own estate.

But one day the French came, and they broke into the manor without saying a word, first killed the man, then forcibly embraced the mistress in front of the children, robbed the property of the manor, and then drove the mistress and the children out of their house.

Then the French did give the land to the tenants, but those who received the land were also sent to war by the French, and the French levied more than three times as much as they had in the past.

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

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

The people around him all had expressions of disbelief, but Baron Marcelo was not here to tell a story today, he was going to solve the hidden dangers in the barracks.

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

The interrogation process was not complicated, old Kao was hung on a makeshift cross, and with just a few whips, the old tramp was all recruited.

He was not a pro-French person at all, but someone gave him ten florins to spread French democracy and freedom in the barracks, and how good the life of the French soldiers was, and how invincible the French army was.

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

The mastermind is a very well-known local family, and is even responsible for the transfer of military food.

The mastermind was not a French spy for the invasion of Austria, but a simple spiritual Frenchman.

If it was in the past, then the mastermind would most likely be tried and then thrown into prison. His family could still be powerful in the local area, and even the business with the army could be preserved.

Then when the limelight passes, the mastermind will be re-released, and there may even be an amnesty from the emperor to show the benevolence of the imperial family.

However, Franz had long hated the insurgents in the Austrian Empire, so he dealt with them according to wartime.

The mastermind will be executed directly, his and his family's assets will be frozen, the property will be temporarily taken over by the government, and his family members will have to be supervised.

As for the old tramp, although he was exempted from the death penalty, he also had to pay the price for his actions - to spend the rest of his life in the mines of the Empire.

(End of chapter)