Chapter 980 The safest place
a month ago.
Province of Lombardy, Brescia.
Two very strange people came to the Austrian Empire's recruit camp, a lame man with a full beard and a guy who could tell from his appearance that he was clearly not European.
The new military camp opened in Brescia was more like a refugee camp than a military camp, and Franz also clearly told the officials responsible for its execution that their mission was to minimize the number of refugees and beggars.
At this time, stabilizing people's hearts and reducing unstable factors in society is the first priority. As for the so-called recruits, they still have to undergo training, and only those who finally pass the examination can become soldiers of the Austrian Empire.
Those who are unqualified will be re-entered into society in batches at a suitable time, or sent to the colonies.
Therefore, the officials responsible for the implementation set the threshold for recruits very low. The entire recruit camp had everything from toothless old men in their fifties to toothless teenagers in their seven or eight years.
(The average life expectancy at that time was only more than thirty years old, so those in their fifties could definitely be considered old people.
As for the so-called toothless old man, because the underlying food at that time was very rough, the wear and tear on the teeth was also very serious.
In addition, people basically do not protect their teeth, and they lack daily necessities to protect their teeth. )
However, the lame man and the foreigner were still a bit difficult for the officials and sergeants in charge to accept. There was enough food in the Austrian Empire's warehouses, and the army's barracks were large enough, but these two people were too mixed up! It's just a waste of food.
"Oh! God! Can we really get qualified recruits?"
Baron Marcelo, who was in charge of recruiting new soldiers, finally couldn't bear it anymore, and Sergeant Barron beside him was also helpless.
The latter certainly knew what the former meant, but there was no precedent for shutting people out. However, he decided to make things difficult for these two people for the time being. He asked as slowly as possible in what he thought was very standard Italian.
"What did you do in the past? Where are you from? India? Or a little further east?"
Neither Baron Marcelo nor Sergeant Barron had seen Indians, or in other words, few people in the entire Lombardy region had seen living Indians at this time.
Baron Marcelo and Sergeant Barron were both educated and knowledgeable people, so it was natural for them to regard the two people in front of them as Orientals.
But the answer was unexpected. The bearded man answered them in a standard Sicilian accent.
"We're from Sicily, which is a lot sunnier, so my kids have dark skin."
Baron Marcelo and Sergeant Barron looked at the two of them carefully for a while and felt that they did look a bit European.
"What did you do in the past? Why are you here?"
"We are hunters. We were forcibly recruited by the king's army in our hometown. After that, the army was disbanded, and we were left here."
The bearded man answered very calmly.
There was no problem with his answer. This situation was very common. King Ferdinando II of the Two Sicilies directly disbanded his army in the mountains of Central Italy in order to save money.
These civilians, who were trapped by the army and revolutionaries, suddenly lost their purpose. They had neither money nor food, and could only wander aimlessly.
So when the Austrian Empire announced its recruitment of new soldiers, many people chose to join the army.
However, this bearded man was too calm. As a civilian, he did not feel any panic at all when seeing officials and sergeants.
"who are you?"
Baron Marcelo's tone suddenly became cold, and Sergeant Barron was a little surprised, because this official from Vienna usually had no airs and was very kind to others. What happened today?
The bearded man's answer remained calm.
"We are hunters."
"I do not believe!"
Baron Marcelo roared.
"You're a spy for the French!"
Faced with doubts, the bearded man just shrugged, while the thin man beside him was a little confused.
"Dear Sir, we are indeed just Sicilian hunters."
"Impossible! How could two civilians not be afraid?!"
The bearded man smiled and said.
"Sir, we hunters are used to seeing life and death, so we are not afraid."
"Sergeant Barron! Have your men search him and see what he has on him?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a dozen soldiers immediately surrounded him.
Seeing this, the bearded man had no choice but to stand up.
"Put your hands behind your back!"
The soldier shouted loudly, and the thin man and the bearded man looked at each other and stepped aside.
The soldiers soon found a dagger from the bearded man's waist and a dagger from his boots.
There is nothing unusual about the two daggers. It is normal for hunters to carry hunting knives with them, not to mention that the current security has not stabilized yet.
But Baron Marcelo was obviously not satisfied with the result.
"Keep searching, search carefully!"
The soldiers tore open the man's clothes, revealing his powerful body.
The soldiers had seen many strong men, but they had never seen anyone with so many scars on their body. Countless scars, large and small, are densely covered on the man's strong body.
Every scar on it is enough to make a man stand in awe.
If scars are a man's medal, then the bearded man in front of him must have outstanding achievements.
Such a man may not be afraid even if he faces death, let alone a low-level civil servant.
The soldiers stopped what they were doing, and Sergeant Barron immediately stood up and walked over to the bearded man and saluted him with a military salute.
"Welcome, brother. We need talents like you!"
The bearded man's name is Giuseppe, and he has no surname. This situation of having only a first name but no surname was not uncommon in Europe at this time.
Giuseppe's marksmanship was very accurate, and coupled with the scars accumulated on his body for twenty years, he was quickly promoted to sergeant.
The thin man who entered the military camp with him also had excellent marksmanship. Both of them could use muskets to hit the mark with perfect accuracy at a distance of fifty meters.
These two people were actually Garibaldi and his wife Anita. Under the dual influence of the high bounty of the Austrian Empire and the demise of the Fourth Roman Republic, Garibaldi was shamelessly betrayed and continuously hunted.
If they weren't really extraordinary, they would have died in some unknown corner long ago.
Because of the scars accumulated on his body for twenty years, no one dared to mess with Sergeant Giuseppe. But that thin man with tanned skin and weird appearance often becomes the target of some bad guys.
However, the reality is that it is possible for the two characteristics of being thin and strong to appear in the same person at the same time. The female warrior from the Amazon can always beat the teeth of the guy who is looking for trouble.
But overall, the days in the Austrian military camp were the happiest days they had spent in years.
At least they don't have to deal with the kind of life-and-death battles every day. The so-called military training is like playing house to them, and even those who are provoking troubles seem so "friendly".
Being hunted has long been a common occurrence for Garibaldi. After all, he spent more than half of his life being hunted and had a bounty on his head.
For him, the most dangerous place at this time was the safest place. After all, no one would have thought that they were hiding in the military camp of the Austrian Empire.