(The end of the novel is not fully typed yet, please wait for 10 minutes before reading. Very sorry.)
Near Tarnovsk Mountain, a gang of bandits had emerged.
It was said they were composed of Carpathians and Bulgarian mercenaries who had fled to Austria, and they had already caused several incidents in Chebiny Town and elsewhere.
Hmm, the news was published in the "Little Poland News," and as to whether these events truly occurred, people generally preferred to believe they did rather than did not.
As a result, nearly half the residents of Krakow were extremely nervous, locking their doors before it even got dark.
Initially, Umyan Mining Company didn't take it seriously, until three French technicians from the company were robbed and murdered on their way back to the dormitory.
Company manager Xianlovich rushed to the scene, only to find several large pools of blood and the technicians' empty wallets—embroidered with their names.
The situation became very serious since the silver mine had only 15 French technicians in total; the loss of any one could mean that the steam engines might stop running due to malfunction.
Of course, only Captain Riber knew that these three had been secretly sent back to France by his men, and the blood on the ground was nothing but chicken blood.
Afterwards, the bandits became more and more brazen, robbing openly nearly every day and even attacked a warehouse of Umyan Mining Company, stealing the goods inside and then burning it down to the ground.
At the company's executive meeting, Xianlovich, with a dark face, shouted at the tall man standing before him, "Mr. Makavsky, those thugs just burnt down Ulsuha's warehouse, and got away with it! The guards in the warehouse didn't even put up any resistance!"
Makavsky, with his head lowered, said with much aggrievance, "General Manager, that day there were at least sixty or seventy bandits, and all of them were armed with flintlock guns. At the time, there were only 11 guards in the warehouse, and if they hadn't retreated, they would have been burnt to ashes along with the warehouse by now."
"Your Patrol Team has over 300 men, and you can't even deal with those bandits?"
Such places as the silver mine naturally had their own quasi-military forces for protection, and Makavsky was the captain of the mine's Patrol Team.
"Yes, sir, there are still hundreds of policemen on Tarnovsk Mountain. The Krakow garrison is also not far away," Makavsky argued, "But the mine covers an area of 40 verst, plus the nearby towns, there's too much territory to defend.
"I've heard that the gang has more than 150 members, and with the current strength of the Patrol Team alone, it's fundamentally impossible to defend against them."
A company director with half-grey hair spoke up, "Captain, in your opinion, how many people should the Patrol Team be expanded to in order to effectively resist the bandits?"
Makavsky pondered for a moment, then said, "At least 1,000 men, Baron Kischikov. And each one must be equipped with a flintlock gun."
Although the gang had only 150 members, their movements were erratic and unpredictable. The Patrol Team must deploy soldiers to guard all the key locations of the mine to barely ensure its safety.
Depoux spoke up at the right time, "To establish a regular Patrol Team of 1,000 people would cost at least 800,000 zlotys."
Indeed, hearing such a large sum, all the board members shook their heads in unison.
In the end, the board only authorized Makavsky to increase the Patrol Team by 150 members and requested the support of the Krakow garrison to assist in suppressing the bandits.
However, just five days later, something more serious happened.
Mr. Deppe, representing France to exercise corporate shareholder rights, who is also the second manager of the company, along with his assistant, coachman, and maid, were all kidnapped by a gang of bandits.
The kidnappers demanded a ransom of 400,000 zlotys, threatening to kill the hostages if not paid.
The Umyan Mining Company was thrown into a panic.
When a French engineer was killed earlier, the French ambassador had sent someone to protest; now, even higher-level management personnel were involved, and this could even spark a diplomatic dispute!
The board of directors took only half an afternoon to make a decision—they would pay the ransom out of the company accounts to redeem Mr. Deppe.
400,000 zlotys was equivalent to over 600,000 francs. It was fortunate that it happened at the silver mine; otherwise, given Poland's dire financial state, it was doubtful that the money could have been raised elsewhere.
The gang proved to be trustworthy—after receiving the ransom, they immediately released Mr. Deppe along with his assistant and coachman, but they kept the poor maid.
Senior executives of the mining company and officials from Krakow all rushed to Mr. Deppe's home to offer their condolences; the villa was packed with people.
However, Mr. Deppe showed no joy in his narrow escape from death. Instead, he looked at Xianlovich and other senior company officials with a grim face and hissed through clenched teeth, "If you had originally decided to spend that money to expand the patrol team, Denise would not have fallen into the hands of those devils!
"If you don't get her back, I will certainly accuse you to the minister!"
Xianlovich carefully said, "Mr. Deppe, she's just a servant, you needn't…"
"She is more than just a servant!" Mr. Deppe roared, "I want her alive!"
The people in the room instantly realized that the maid's relationship with him was probably not ordinary.
Under the pressure of the kidnapping incident, the Umyan Mining Company finally agreed to expand the patrol team to 650 people.
But an entire week had passed, and there was still no word from Ms. Denise; instead, the bandits had staged another robbery in Chebiny Town.
Mr. Deppe was furious.
He went directly to the Krakow municipal commissioner and demanded that he recruit mercenaries to launch a campaign against the bandits. As for the cost, he could pay a large portion.
Well, actually it was the previous 400,000 zloty ransom.
The Krakow City Hall was also very troubled by the bandits; after all, it was their jurisdiction, and continuously having such incidents would mean no chance of votes in the next election.
Now that someone was offering money, they readily agreed.
Eventually, the Krakow City Hall also contributed 150,000 zlotys, posting recruitment notices.
On the other hand, Mr. Deppe's proposal for all silver mine workers to undergo military training was also smoothly passed by the board of directors.
Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, although the Ottomans had conquered Egypt, the local Mamluk power remained very strong. Like snakes in the grass, they continued to hold political power, making the Ottoman-appointed governors (Pashas) figureheads. The governors sent by the Ottoman Empire to Egypt, who did not understand the Egyptian dialect and were unfamiliar with the situation in Egypt, had very short tenures. From 1517 when the Ottoman Turks ruled Egypt until the arrival of the French people in 1798, about 300 years, Egypt had 110 different Pashas. These Pashas were only stationed in Cairo to collect taxes and relied on guards composed of Mamluks to maintain security, without concerning themselves with anything else. Below the Pashas were the Beys, who served as local military and administrative leaders. Often held by a Brooke, they frequently engaged in infighting for power and profit. The struggle was so fierce, and the animosity between the Beys so irreconcilable, that the Pasha could use this hatred to pit one faction against another. The rulers of the Ottoman Empire and the local Mamluks in Egypt had a subtle relationship, at times allying and at times struggling with each other. The Mamluks in Egypt seized land, bullied men and women, and were unrestrained in their misdeeds. With the Mamluk Groups entangled in internal strife, they became a malignant tumor hindering the modern development of Egypt.