Mobilization Before the War

Free City of Kraków.

Its ancient buildings, richly ornamented in a bold, angular style, stood in striking contrast to the boxy modern factories. When the morning bell rang, workers were driven into the factories like cattle.

The markets, meanwhile, were a hive of activity. As the largest commercial center in the former Polish territories, Kraków's influence had only grown since the Kingdom of Poland fell.

Trade with the Austrian Empire had grown even closer since the railway was completed. The Free City of Kraków sat at the junction of Russia, Prussia, and Austria.

This position had brought Kraków's merchants and politicians plenty of benefits, both openly and behind the scenes. So most people scoffed at the Polish spirit and the importance of restoring the country, which some were so fond of preaching.

At that moment, a train jolted along with people and luggage packed all over it, much like a certain heavily populated country in South Asia in a later age.

The Free City of Kraków was certainly a busy commercial center, but it shouldn't have been this busy.

The reason was that autumn had just arrived and the price of the new harvest was low, prompting some merchants to start stockpiling grain. Buying low and selling high was perfectly fair, but—

In a second-class carriage, a man wearing a trench coat and a low-crowned hat was reading a copy of the Pest Newspaper he had just bought.

Although the paper was already a month old, its contents still made the man clench his fists. One moment he muttered to himself; the next, he burst into loud laughter, making the passenger opposite him frown again and again.

Fred Ronov was a coal merchant. To be honest, he had never seen anyone place an order on such a scale. It wasn't