African Entrepreneurship Record

June 1916.

Macedonia.

Bilatto is a mountain forest at the junction of Macedonia and Greece. Of course, after the Ottoman Empire withdrew from Macedonia, it changed hands several times and finally fell into the hands of the Kingdom of Serbia.

But the good times did not last long. Now the Kingdom of Serbia has been wiped out by the armies of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and its ally Bulgaria. Its government and army had to move into the mountains, and neighboring countries continued to resist.

Entering summer, the entire Balkan Peninsula seemed extremely hot, and the cicada cries echoed through the entire jungle. Soldiers from the Kingdom of Dalmatia were sweating on the border, searching for the remnants of the Kingdom of Serbia.

A small army was walking through the mountains and forests of Macedonia, walking on the mountain trails with a dejected look on their faces.

Makaric listened to the cicadas chirping above his head and said impatiently: "I heard that farmers in Macedonia like to bury cicadas in the soil, so that they can easily get money, and now I just want to put these cicadas into the ground." He was stabbed down from the tree and then crushed hard under his leather shoes. "

Talos, the squad leader, seemed not to hear the complaints in Makaric's words. He said: "The war has been going on for so long, and now the fighting in the Kingdom of Serbia is basically over. The only pity is that the Serbs escaped to Greece, so we We must strictly guard this place to prevent them from reorganizing their forces and infiltrating. "

"Although Bilatto is indeed not a place for people to live in, we can't delay the overall situation because of this. And be happy! If it really is winter, I guess you won't be willing."

The Balkan Peninsula, located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, is deeply affected by the Mediterranean climate. The Mediterranean climate is very special. Its rainfall is mainly concentrated in winter, while summer is relatively dry and hot.

Makariqi immediately thought of the winter days, and then shuddered and replied: "That's not possible. Although it is cooler here in winter, the roads in the rainy season are not as easy as now! And in this kind of mountain forest, in winter, When your clothes are wet from the rain and the soles of your shoes are muddy, the situation is truly fatal.”

Talos said with a smile: "You have not suffered too much. You must know that when our generation first arrived in Neretva, it was the real struggle. The situation and comparison in the Neretva area at that time Lato is very similar, with endless mountains and forests everywhere, and the terrain is quite rugged.”

"At that time, when we, a farm worker, first arrived in Neretwa, we had only one job, which was to cut down the forest. This was actually not the saddest thing. The saddest thing was to deal with the tree roots."

“There are towering trees everywhere in Neretva, with thick and big roots that are deeply rooted in the soil. Some places cannot even be described as soil at all, mixed with a lot of gravel flowed down from the mountains. "

"A few of my old friends and I took a shovel with a warped edge and cleared it piece by piece. There were no cattle, horses or other livestock. All the work was carried on our shoulders and carried by our hands..."

Once there is dissatisfaction in the team, Talos likes to talk about the energy of his youth. This can indeed bring some comfort to the entire team. After all, pain comes from comparison.

In this protracted war, low morale is always unavoidable. Of course, the current situation of the Royal Dalmatian Army is not bad.

At the beginning of last year, the Austro-Hungarian Empire basically ended its overall war against the Kingdom of Serbia. Currently, the majority of the troops remaining in Serbia are second-line troops.

The newly reorganized army of the Kingdom of Dalmatia left more personnel in Serbia. After all, in the entire Balkan Peninsula, the Habsburgs could not find any local troops more loyal than the mixed-blood Germans of the Kingdom of Dalmatia.

The spread of separatist ideas in Croatia and Bosnia led the Habsburgs to distrust the troops they recruited from both regions, at least when they were stationed on Yugoslav lands.

This has led to a result that the local troops of Croatia and Bosnia are currently focused on the battlefield against Tsarist Russia on the Eastern Front, while the Serbian garrison is filled by armies from other regions.

There is no doubt that the Kingdom of Dalmatia, which originally belonged to Bosnia and Croatia, is the most suitable place to serve as a source of troops. After all, Vienna has a deep understanding that these Germans who are not of pure blood cannot mix with the Yugoslavs.

Of course, another reason that cannot be ignored is that the Kingdom of Dalmatia can be turned into a sharp knife inserted into the hinterland of the Balkans and used as a weapon for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to disrupt the unity of the Balkans. Obviously, this decision was quite correct for the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Talorin spoke to his soldiers without saying a word, but soon his years of combat experience gave him a sense of crisis.

He stretched out his arm to signal everyone to quiet down, and his expression became serious. Even Makaric, a talkative man, noticed the unkind look on the face of Squad Leader Talarolin and closed his mouth.

Talorin tilted his head and listened in the direction of the jungle with one ear. He covered his ear with one hand and listened carefully to the movements in the jungle.

"Shouldn't you?" He muttered.

"Squad leader, what did you find?" Makari asked in a low voice.

Talolin said in a slight tone: "I seemed to have heard an unusual sound in the jungle just now, but now I am not sure, maybe it is just an auditory hallucination. After all, it is normal to be nervous here every day, and it is normal to be suspicious. "

"So that's it, it seems nothing serious!" Makarich breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed.

But Tarolin did not relax. He said in a solemn tone: "Now is not the time to relax. This is not a good place, but the border between two countries. Any situation may happen."

"So it's better to be careful. Everyone should be prepared for battle. The next patrol should be more serious. You should pay attention to the terrain. If an accident occurs, quickly find a good shelter and be ready to fight at any time."

Facing Tarolin's caution, Makarich said: "Squad leader, are you making a fuss?"

Tarolin shook his head and said: "My premonition has always been accurate. My intuition tells me that we seem to be watched now. Next, you should try to behave as usual and don't show any flaws. But be careful, don't let the situation really make you unable to shoot bullets."

Afterwards, Tarolin continued to travel with this group of recruits. Tarolin pretended to be calm, but he was always nervous.

When Talolin and his group left, the branch in the direction where Talolin's ear was just pointed suddenly moved, and a man with a gun on his back jumped down from the tree.

He looked gloomily at the direction where the Dalmatian Kingdom soldiers disappeared, muttering in his heart that it was a close call that he was almost discovered just now.

But now is not the time to think about this matter. He tidied the leaves on his body, then swaggered through the path and walked towards the north of the jungle. After all, the patrol team of the Dalmatian Kingdom had just passed by at this time, so it should be relatively safe.

"These lackeys from Vienna certainly can't imagine what they missed, but that's normal. Looking at their faces, except for the squad leader who may be a veteran, the others are not very old. This should be considered good intelligence."

"If the inference is correct, the Austro-Hungarian Empire should have placed its main forces on the front line with Russia. As long as this fact is confirmed in the follow-up, it will be a good opportunity for the kingdom's counterattack."

The man muttered to himself, and then followed the familiar terrain and went down the mountain. Obviously, he knew the situation here much better than the officers and soldiers of the Dalmatian Kingdom. The trees that covered the sky and the rugged terrain could not block his way down the mountain.

Pushing aside the weeds and bushes, a less clear path appeared in front of him. Obviously, this path was difficult to be found, but the man found this path down the mountain quite easily.