The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1259 Hard-won
As the saying goes, people die for money and birds die for food, and there will always be brave men under a big reward. Even though these people made the matter sound so dangerous, there were still a few people who planned to try their luck.

After all, people are about to die, so why bother about so many things?

However, those people were not satisfied and shouted loudly.

"What are you doing?"

The leading coolie turned around and responded.

"People are dying, what else can they do? Go to work! It's not like they haven't been whipped before. The supervisors also have whips in their hands and they whip them a lot."

More coolies stood up. They had no ability to make money. They were always fighting, and the dock gangs and foremen exploited them severely. They could not survive.

Now that there is an opportunity to make money, naturally, they don't want to miss it. Although those people said it was terrible, in the minds of most people, the impression of the Austrian Empire was not bad.

This impression comes from nostalgia for the Habsburg rule, although after the Bourbon dynasty came to power, a lot of history was revised and even smeared.

But as the Spanish Empire continued to decline, people naturally missed the peak of the empire that was praised by many people, the golden age, the prosperous times when everyone had enough food to eat.

"Stop! Don't go!"

"Why?"

"You want to be an accomplice of the Austrians!"

"How come we are accomplices of the Austrians?"

The coolies looked confused.

"Do you know what the Austrians want you to do?"

"Doesn't it say to move goods, repair the city walls, and clean up the camp?"

These coolies knew a few words, and in order to prevent someone from not understanding, Franz hired some Spanish translators to explain.

These translators were either Spaniards who had received benefits or were close to Austria, but those who challenged them were not easy to deal with, so they did not dare to stand up and oppose.

"Repair the city wall? I think they want to surround us to death!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.

"How to say?"

"Austria has so many people, why don't they build the walls themselves? Why do they have to let you build them?

Besides, they came here to fight, why would they build a city wall?
They clearly want to surround us in the city and then massacre us!"

"Ah?! Is this true?!"

People immediately began to panic, and the coolies were all frightened to the point of being stunned. They had not expected things to turn out like this.

At this point, it would only take a little incitement for the people of Barcelona to riot and drive the Austrians out of the city.

At least some people thought so. They were the ones who controlled the order of the city and did not want the Austrians to come.

The main reason is that they are not ready yet, and Austria's policies actually affect the interests of certain industries.

So these people need bargaining chips to negotiate with the Austrian Empire, and nothing is cheaper and more useful than the lives of civilians.

They are not afraid of opposition now, nor are they afraid of the Austrians producing evidence, because they have firmly grasped the right to speak and the so-called public opinion.

Even if the visitor spoke eloquently, even if the commander of the Austrian Expeditionary Force knelt down, even if Franz came in person, it would be impossible to change the situation, because the seeds of suspicion and hatred had been planted and no one could eradicate them.
"What nonsense!"

"Damn it! Who? Which Austrian lackey, stand up!"

"I!"

A priest in a black robe stood up, and the people recognized him as Father Anthony, Saint Anthony Maria Clare, who had been committed to helping the poor and vulnerable for many years, providing education and spiritual support, and healing the wounds caused by war and famine. Although Father Anthony had not yet been canonized, his reputation spread far and wide, and he was considered one of the few lights of hope in the eyes of the Spanish at that time.

Those who challenged him were reluctant to take action because of Father Anthony's reputation.

"Father Anthony, you have been deceived by the Austrians! Please lead us to drive the Austrians out!"

"Yes! Father Anthony, please help us!"

The people around who were unaware of the situation also pleaded together, but Father Anthony was very angry and quoted a passage from the Bible.

“He who tills his land will have plenty of food, but he who follows vain pursuits lacks wisdom. Why don’t you work for food? If you don’t work for yourselves, then think about your families.

Go to work, children! Go and live hard! God will bless you! "

"Father, why don't you understand? This is a conspiracy of the Austrians! How could they be so kind and give such a high salary?"

Father Anthony glared at the person who spoke and said loudly.

"What conspiracy? How come I don't know? I asked the Austrian Emperor for these jobs. This is the salary of Austrian workers!"

When the people around heard this, they immediately cheered, threw their hats into the air and shouted.

"Long live the Emperor!"

"Go to work, kids! Live hard! Keep your faith! Everything will be alright!"

Man cannot indeed reverse this situation, but God can.

The greatest advantage of the Catholic Church lies in its control over the grassroots people. The people may not know the local officials or the king, but they definitely know who the parish priest and bishop of their diocese are.

However, those who were making the comments were not resigned and they still used the same old tricks.

"You Austrian running dog!"

"Quick! Kill this Austrian running dog!"

Although Father Anthony is protected by civilians and believers, how can they possibly defeat professional gangsters?

The gangsters rushed forward quickly, and Father Anthony was about to be killed.

Gunshots were heard and local Barcelona police arrived.

The fat Mayor Urfas squeezed into the crowd, escorted by a large group of bodyguards.

"Father Anthony, you are not hurt."

Then he winked at the police chief, who immediately understood.

"Villaining in the street? Take all these troublemakers away!"

Mayor Urfas, who was gradually walking away, added another sentence.

"Let me investigate carefully and find out who is destroying this hard-earned peace!"

"Hard-earned peace" This made the Spaniards feel deeply. How long has it been since they enjoyed the so-called peace?
Whether it is Isabella II or the Carlists, they will only ask them to pay taxes, pay taxes, and pay taxes!
If you don’t have money, hire people!
They've had enough!
"Go to work! Kids, try to survive!"

The priest's words echoed in people's minds again. When people thought that it was a job allocated by the Emperor of the Austrian Empire himself, they could understand why the salary was higher.

So the Spaniards in the city no longer had any scruples and they all went to the docks to start working.

The Austrians did not disappoint them. A big pot had been set up at the dock and everyone could get a meal.

Their first task was to move the supplies from the ship and provide relief to the people.
(End of this chapter)