Chapter 370: Chapter 57, Selling Out Teammates in Progress
Venice, the high echelon of the Hungarian Independence Organization gathered to make final preparations for the uprising. No, to be precise, to make final preparations for their escape.

One must fully commit to the act, as fame and fortune are inseparable from life.

Stephen and the others had already secured almost enough to comfortably see them through their later years, and now protecting their reputation was of utmost importance.

Others could be traitors, but not the high-ranking members of the Independence Organization, or at least, it couldn’t become public knowledge that they had been traitors.

Otherwise, how could the Americans who had invested money and effort possibly let them off? Now that their estates were in the United States, they could run from the missionaries but not from the church.

Stephen spoke, “The ship has been arranged and booked. As soon as the uprising fails, we will immediately proceed to Albania, then take the land route to Greece, and from there, via the Ottoman Empire, head to Asia through the Persian Gulf, and take a ship from Japan to San Francisco.”

Somra, puzzled, asked, “Mr. Stephen, why do we need to go through such a big detour? The Austrians have already promised they would only pursue us symbolically, so we could simply take a ship directly to the United States.”

Stephen explained, “Yes, the Austrians promised to let us leave, but what if there’s an accident?

The matter of letting us go is highly confidential. The Mediterranean is teeming with the Austrian Navy’s patrol zones. What if we’re unlucky enough to get caught?

To reduce the risk, we must take a detour. Leaving via the Balkan Peninsula on an unnoticed fishing boat from Venice, going through areas not covered by Austrian influence, is the best choice.”

To make the act more convincing, Stephen had to go all out. It couldn’t be that only the subordinates faced misfortune while the bosses remained unscathed; at the very least, they had to appear as if they were fleeing in panic.

Paul added, “Mr. Stephen is right, we must be cautious at this time. Rushing back to the United States might not be a good thing, as the Civil War is about to come to an end.

If the Federal government wins, then so be it, but if they lose the war, they will need international intervention to maintain their power.

In that case, to seek help from other countries, Governor Lincoln will probably hand over all of us from revolutionary organizations.”

Everyone’s faces paled. If the Americans were to bow to European countries and surrender all the members of domestic revolutionary organizations, their estates in the United States would be gone.

Seeing everyone’s concerns, Stephen reassured, “Don’t worry, as long as we’re on the wanted list, no one will dare to touch our properties.”

The money of outlaws is not up for grabs. That means having wealth but no life to enjoy it.

…

Oteco, a rising star of the Hungarian Independence Organization. A graduate of the US West Point Military Academy, he had served in the Civil War and held the position of battalion commander.

On the battlefield, he grew renowned for his fearlessness and aggression. The bigwigs of the Hungarian Independence Organization were all noble individuals with no desire for fame or fortune, and so the significant task of leading the Venice uprising fell upon him.

Looking at his thousands of soldiers, Oteco felt exuberant. The only regret was the lack of weapons, which Mr. Stephen cited as a precaution for safety reasons.

After all, they were on Austrian territory, and if thousands of armed individuals appeared, the local garrison would have attacked long ago.

Oteco found this reasoning very sound, as the Austrian system was extremely strict. Although there was no outright ban on firearms and a large number of guns existed among the public, these were mostly shotguns.

Proper rifles still required registration at the police station and a gun permit application.

Not just anybody could get a permit, and certainly none from their group met the conditions.

In Austria, buying guns was very easy; there were no fewer than ten gun shops in Venice, even cannons for sale. Well, it’s a Colonial Empire, isn’t it? How else would colonial teams equip themselves overseas?

But while weapons were easy to buy, ammunition was not so simple.

If for overseas colonization, there was plenty to go around; for domestic use, however, one could only get bullets from the local police station with a gun permit.

The government harshly cracked down on all homemade weapons, ammunition, and arms smuggling. Police had the authority to shoot all participants involved in illegal arms trade in the black market.

Over time people got used to it; if they wanted to play with weapons, they would just go to hunting grounds or clubs—where even cannons were available as long as one had money.

There was no need to risk life in the black market where one could be shot as an arms dealer with nowhere to appeal for justice.

No market, no trade.

Purchasing weapons and ammunition for several thousand men was utterly impossible. Thus, the Rebel Army’s supreme commander, Oteco, had merely ten guns at his disposal, including eight hunting rifles and two old-fashioned revolvers.

These were all sponsored by locals inclined towards revolution, and there was no way to obtain more. They could only wait to seize them from the enemy once the uprising erupted.

On February 1, 1865, inside the Rebel Army’s headquarters, several spirited young men were devising a battle plan.

Don’t take their youth for granted; these individuals were among the few military talents within the Hungarian Independence Organization, most having participated in the Civil War.

If the circumstances weren’t so dire, the Federal army wouldn’t release anyone. Everyone knew how desperately the United States needed officers.

Oteco opened a sketch and said, “This is the information provided by Mr. Amco. Although Austria permits owning firearms, they have very strict ammunition control.

None of the weapon equipment stores have ammunition. Only hunting grounds, gun clubs, police stations, and the local garrison have sufficient ammunition.”

The garrison is out of the question; with the few guns we have, we’d likely be suppressed before even reaching their doors.

The hunting grounds are too far from the city; it’s impossible for us to strike there, seize weapons, and then return to initiate the uprising.

Gun clubs likely don’t have much ammunition either, since they get their supplies from police stations, which are replenished every two or three days. That cannot meet our needs.

To succeed in the uprising, we must first take over the police station and seize enough ammunition.”

At this point, Oteco became quite despondent. The ammunition depot in Venice was right next to the navy base, and there was simply no chance to capture it.

Or even if we did take it, it would be futile, as we’d be within range of the navy’s artillery. Before we could move the ammunition, we’d be done for.

“Venice is not suitable for an uprising. You have to take a boat just to get around, and these small boats can’t utilize our numerical advantage,

With only these few guns we have, it’s nearly impossible to take over the police station. Even the least manned Northern District station is beyond our reach.

Moreover, these Italian mercenaries aren’t reliable. Should anything go awry, they might scatter and flee.”

The youth who raised objections was named Taft, also a veteran of the Civil War, possessing a certain degree of military knowledge.

However, his frankness often led him to be marginalized within the revolutionary organization. If this uprising weren’t so critical, and he didn’t have military capabilities, there’d be no place for him at the headquarters.

Oteco patiently explained, “Militarily speaking, Venice is indeed unsuitable for an uprising. Even if we occupied the city, this city of water remains under the threat of the Austrian Navy.

However, politically, we must do this; the military must serve politics. To achieve a shocking effect, the organization decided to initiate uprisings simultaneously in Milan and Venice.

Once the revolutions succeed in these two cities, the regions of Lombardy and Veneto will be stirred, and the entire Austrian Italian Region will respond to us.

Using the independence movement in the Italian Area to divert the Vienna Government’s attention, we aim to provide cover for the organization’s uprising in the Hungarian Region.

The Austrians won’t bombard Venice at the first hint of uprising—that is our opportunity. If we can use this time difference to consolidate a Revolutionary Army, we can spread the flames of war inland.

The greater the commotion we cause in the Italian Area, the higher the success rate of our uprising in the Hungarian Region. Thus, from the beginning, this uprising has had no strategic target.

We only need to create a bigger stir, incite chaos in the Veneto region, and drag more people into the Rebel Army. Victory or defeat is actually less important. Even if the uprising fails, it will be the Italians who die.”

This explanation satisfied everyone. Growing up in the United States, they were naturally influenced to believe that politics is above the military.

Little did they know that, before seizing power, this order is reversed. Only after a military victory is there room for political maneuvering.

The final statement that in the event of uprising failure, it would be Italians who die, left Taft speechless.

Stephen never commanded them to fight to the death. From the beginning, he told them: causing trouble in the Italian Area was merely a diversion, a cover for the Hungarian uprising.

As long as the momentum is built and the enemy’s attention drawn, the ultimate outcome of the uprising is not within the organization’s considerations.

They were almost blatantly informed that if the uprising fails, just escape; this band of Italian mercenaries could be sacrificed.

Otherwise, Oteco wouldn’t be so relaxed. Counting on a disorganized mob to overthrow Austrian rule locally would be lunacy.