Life Is Full of Hardship

While the Berlin Government was fretting over the refugee problem, those below had already made the choice for them.

The cause was the overwhelming influx of refugees. Local governments had failed to provide relief in time, and starving refugees looted an aristocratic estate in Skwierzyna, accidentally killing the old count who had been inspecting the grounds.

There had been no shortage of incidents of local plundering, but killing a high-ranking noble was a first. Perhaps realizing the matter had spiraled out of control, they decisively chose to silence everyone involved in order to survive.

The refugees themselves were a rabble hastily thrown together. Silencing witnesses and concealing the truth sounded easy enough, but how could they possibly leave no trace behind?

There was no need to say what followed. Once the news leaked, it immediately caused an uproar, and the nobles naturally demanded revenge.

The local nobles were hardly the only ones whose interests had been harmed by the massive refugee influx. The local populace had suffered even greater losses and had long been driven to misery. Now that someone had taken the lead, they naturally rose in response.

Great chaos erupted. Once the butcher's blade was raised, it could no longer be lowered. In order to restore order, the Berlin Government immediately ordered the garrison troops to intervene.

In truth, by then the Berlin Government had already lost the ability to control the situation. Local troops naturally leaned toward the locals, and their bayonets naturally turned against the refugees.

Perhaps many of the refugees were innocent, but at that point no one could distinguish them, nor did anyone wish to. The massacre began.

Upon receiving news of the slaughter, William I's first thought was to stop it immediately, but he soon abandoned the idea.

This was a question with