Chapter 653 The result we want
Prince Poniatowski nodded almost without hesitation: "Of course, Your Highness, of course in francs."
Today's Poland is like a family of eight with only half a piece of black bread left. If others give it to them casually, it will make them grateful. Do they still mind if there is less salt in the rice?
What's more, the franc is very strong now and is widely circulated in Germany and Italy - I heard that the recent steam engine transaction in Upper Hesse was paid with franc notes.
That's a million-franc business, which is enough to prove the purchasing power of the franc.
"Then it's settled."
Joseph smiled and gestured to the teacup on the table: "Please try the 'Wuyi' tea just shipped from the Far East.
"Oh, by the way, what you said earlier about the Prussian officer?"
Prince Poniatowski hesitated for half a second, then smiled and said:
"I will discuss with them and let them be transferred to the recruitment office to serve as recruit instructors or something like that."
On one side was Prussia, which had always paid lip service and even kept asking for the management rights of Gdansk; on the other side was France, which invested large amounts of real money and actively supported Poland in resisting aggression.
Do you need to say which side to choose?
As for the few Prussian officers who contributed to Poland, just give them high-standard treatment to make up for it.
The prince said, picked up the tea cup and took a sip. The green tea without milk made him frown slightly, but the special fragrance immediately filled his mouth.
He looked at the clear tea and asked curiously: "'Wuyi'?"
"That's a big mountain in the east, producing top-quality tea. Oh, it's the Bohai we often call."
"No wonder it tastes so good. Thank you for your hospitality. However, this way of drinking is really rare."
"Orientals like to drink it like this. In fact, they don't even add sugar." Joseph also took a sip of tea and continued, "You seemed to have mentioned recruit training just now? With all due respect, the Prussian army's training methods are actually quite backward. .
"Well, maybe I should help you build another military academy..."
It took a whole morning for Joseph and Prince Poniatowski to basically finalize everything in the general direction of Poland.
We had a casual lunch at the Royal Ordnance Factory. In the afternoon, the two of them came to the temporarily arranged combat conference room.
In the hall, Berthier and other officers of the General Staff, as well as several senior Polish generals headed by Polish Army Commander-in-Chief Waclaw Zewski, were already waiting here.
It's just that Rzewski, Kosciuszko and others were all wearing the clothes of diplomats or entourage, and they obviously came to France in secret.
There was no extra politeness. After all the officers stood up and saluted, the meeting got down to business.
As the host of the meeting, Berthier stood up and said:
"At present, everyone should be very clear about the situation on the Eastern Front.
"Based on the most optimistic estimates, Poland will face 100,000 Russian troops.
"What is more likely to happen is that 120,000 to 150,000 Russian soldiers will invade the Eastern Front. At the same time, other countries will take advantage of the situation."
He had already learned the results of the negotiation between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Prince of Poland, so he simply did not mention the Prussian army.
Hearing this, Rewski immediately looked worried and continued:
"The situation is indeed very serious. Currently, we are deploying defenses along the line from Volyn to Minsk. The main defense strategy is to fight for..."
He was just mid-sentence when he saw the French Crown Prince suddenly stand up and strode to the map of Eastern Europe hanging on the wall on the west side of the conference hall.
"What are you..." Immediately, under the surprised eyes of everyone, Joseph grabbed a pen and suddenly drew a thick black vertical line on the map of Poland.
That line runs through Minsk and Volyn, cutting Poland into two parts in the middle like a knife mark.
He slapped hard on the right side of the vertical line, which is the southeast corner of Poland, and shouted in an angry and depressed voice:
"Is this the result you want to see?
"Behind Volyn's defenses, watch the Russians wreak havoc on your land, taking away half of Poland, enslaving the Polish people on the west bank of the Dnieper River and Podolia, forcing them to kneel on the ground, calling themselves Russians, and Tribute the meager income to the Tsar
"Is this what you want?!"
There was dead silence in the hall. All Polish officers, including Prince Poniatowski, lowered their heads, but their hands were trembling slightly.
"Answer me!" Joseph shouted, "Do you only want half of Poland?!"
"No!" Kosciuszko stood up abruptly and said with red eyes, "We don't want to lose an inch of land! Even if I exchange my life, I don't want the damn Tsarist Russia to set foot in Poland!"
Other officers also shouted:
"It is our responsibility to protect Poland, we do not want to lose our country!"
"I just want complete Poland!"
Prince Poniatowski also stood up. He was about to say something excitedly, but suddenly stopped and became a little depressed:
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, please believe that every Polish person is unwilling to give up the southeastern territory.
"But Russia is too powerful, and it is impossible for us to stop them on the front line of Ovluchi or Mozyr.
"My soldiers and I are not afraid of sacrifice, but we don't want to die in vain...Fighting the Russians on the eastern border will consume our already small military strength, and in the end even Warren will not be able to hold it... ”
As one of Poland's best generals, he has a very clear understanding of the strength of the two armies.
Historically, after Russia launched the second war to carve up Poland, the Lithuanian Front on the northern Polish front only lasted 19 days before being defeated, while the southern front resisted for a month and four under the command of Prince Poniatowski. By the end of the day, the Russian vanguard had arrived at the gates of Warsaw.
At present, although Poland's military strength has improved significantly compared with its history and is more fully prepared, it is still impossible to defeat the Russian army on the barren and unfavorable eastern border.
Joseph looked around at the angry and depressed Polish officers and said word by word:
"Since we can't hold it, let's change our style of play. We will definitely let the Russians know that Poland is invincible!"
Kosciuszko was keenly aware of the meaning of the French Crown Prince's words and immediately raised his head:
"You mean, there are other tactics?"
Joseph nodded decisively, took a few steps to the side, and then motioned to Berthier.
The chief of general staff came to the map and began to describe the combat deployment meticulously.
In fact, as early as half a month ago, the French General Staff had formulated several combat plans suitable for Poland.
After seeing these plans, Joseph discovered depressingly that even the best situation could only resist the Russian army for three or four years, and would eventually lead to the Battle of Warsaw.
But this is not the result he wants at all!
(End of chapter)