African Entrepreneurship Record

June, 1916.

Macedonia.

Bilato is a forest that borders Macedonia and Greece. After the Ottoman Empire withdrew from Macedonia, the territory changed hands several times before finally falling into the hands of the Kingdom of Serbia.

However, the good times didn’t last long, as the Kingdom of Serbia was soon eliminated by the armies of Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria, forcing its government and military to retreat to the mountains and continue resisting from neighboring countries.

Entering summer, the entire Balkan Peninsula became unbearably hot. The sound of cicadas filled the jungle, as soldiers from the Dalmatian Kingdom sweated their way along the border, searching for the remnants of the Kingdom of Serbia.

A small squad moved through the forested mountains of Macedonia, walking dejectedly along the mountain path.

Makarich, listening to the cicadas overhead, said impatiently, "I’ve heard that Macedonian farmers like to bury cicadas in the ground to make money easily. Right now, I just want to knock these cicadas off the trees and stomp on them hard with my shoes."

The squad leader, Taros, seemed unaffected by Makarich’s complaints. He said, "The war has dragged on for so long, and the fight with the Kingdom of Serbia is basically over. It’s unfortunate that the Serbians have fled into Greece, so we must defend this area vigilantly to prevent them from reorganizing and infiltrating back."

"Although Bilato is indeed an inhospitable place, we cannot let that delay our mission. And you’re lucky it’s not winter; you probably wouldn’t want that either."

Located along the Mediterranean coast, the Balkan Peninsula is heavily affected by the Mediterranean climate. It’s a unique climate with rainfall concentrated in the winter and dry heat during the summer.

Makarich immediately recalled the winter days and shivered before replying, "That wouldn’t be good. Although it’s a bit cooler here in winter, the roads during the rainy season are even worse than now! Plus, in these forests, the winter rains soak your clothes and mud clings to your shoe soles—that’s a real nightmare."

Taros laughed and said, "You’ve never really suffered. When we first arrived at Neretva, that was pioneering work. The conditions in the Neretva area were very similar to Bilato, with endless forests and extremely rugged terrain."

"For us, a farm’s people arriving at Neretva, our first job was cutting down forests, which wasn’t even the hardest part; the toughest part was dealing with the tree roots."

"At Neretva, there were towering trees everywhere with large and thick roots deep in the soil. In some places, the soil was mixed with lots of mountain-run-off rocks."

"Me and some of my old friends used flattened shovels to clear the roots chunk by chunk, with no livestock to help. All the work was done by hand, relying on our shoulders."

Whenever unrest brewed within the troops, Taros liked to reminisce about his energetic youth, which indeed provided some comfort to the team, as suffering is often relative.

In this prolonged war, low morale is always unavoidable, though currently the situation for the Dalmatian Kingdom army is relatively good.

At the beginning of last year, Austria-Hungary basically concluded the overall war against the Kingdom of Serbia, and now most troops left in Serbia consist of second-line units.

The newly reorganized soldiers of the Dalmatian Kingdom are more prevalent in Serbia, as the Habsburgs could find no local force more loyal than these mixed-blood Germans from the Dalmatian Kingdom across the entire Balkan Peninsula.

The spread of divisive ideologies in the regions of Croatia and Bosnia prevented the Habsburgs from trusting troops recruited from there, especially for garrisoning on South Slavic lands.

As a result, local units from Croatia and Bosnia have been mainly deployed on the eastern front against Tsarist Russia, while the garrison in Serbia is staffed by troops from other areas.

Clearly, the Dalmatian Kingdom, originally part of Bosnia and Croatia, is most suitable for providing troops, as Vienna understands deeply that these impure-blood Germans would never mix with the South Slavs.

And undeniably, Dalmatia can become a sharp blade stabbing into the Balkan hinterland and disrupt the unity of the region—a valuable tool for Austria-Hungary.

It’s evident that this decision was very correct for Austria-Hungary.

Tarolin engaged his fighters in sporadic chat, but soon his extensive battle experience made him feel a sense of crisis.

He extended his arm, signaling everyone to quiet down, with his face turning serious, even Makarich, known for being talkative, noticed Tarolin’s grim expression and shut his mouth tightly.

Tarolin tilted his head, listening intently with one ear directed towards the forest, cupping one hand to his ear with an earnest look.

"This shouldn’t be happening," he muttered to himself.

"What did you notice, Sergeant?" Makarich asked in a low voice.

Tarolin replied lightly, "I thought I heard something unusual in the forest earlier, but now I’m not sure. Maybe it was just an auditory hallucination since being on edge here all the time, it’s normal to be paranoid."

"I see, so there shouldn’t be anything serious!" Makarich exhaled deeply, relaxing.

However, Tarolin remained tense. In a serious tone, he said, "It’s not time to relax yet. This isn’t a safe place; it’s a border between two countries where anything could happen."

"So be careful; error on the side of caution. Everyone, prepare for battle and patrol with a more attentive mindset. Pay attention to the terrain; if something happens, quickly find cover and be ready to fight."

Regarding Tarolin’s caution, Makarich said, "Sergeant, isn’t this a bit overblown?"

Tarolin shook his head and said, "My instincts have always been accurate. My intuition tells me that we are being watched, act as usual, don’t show any flaws, but stay alert and ensure that if something happens, you can shoot."

Subsequently, Tarolin led this bunch of rookies onwards, pretending everything was normal, yet keeping a tense string in his heart.

When Tarolin and his men left, from the direction where Tarolin had aimed his ear, a branch suddenly rustled, and a man carrying a gun jumped down from a tree.

He gazed grimly in the direction where the Dalmatian Kingdom soldiers disappeared, thinking to himself, narrowly avoiding detection just now, what a close call.

Still, it’s not time to dwell on this, he tidied up the leaves on his body, then swaggered across the path, heading north through the forest, knowing it should be safe since the Dalmatian Kingdom patrol had just passed.

"Those Vienna lackeys certainly didn’t realize what they missed, but it’s understandable, apart from that sergeant who might be a veteran, the rest are quite young, which is useful intel."

"If I’m correct, Austria-Hungary likely concentrated their main force on Russia’s frontline. Confirming this fact presents a good opportunity for the Kingdom’s counter-offensive."

The man muttered to himself, continuing downhill along the familiar terrain, clearly more knowledgeable about the locality than Dalmatian Kingdom troops. The sprawling trees and rugged landscape were no obstacles for his descent.

He pushed aside weeds and shrubs, revealing a faint path ahead. Clearly, this hidden trail was hard to notice, but the man found it effortlessly.