Chapter 686 These Polish lunatics!
After the cavalryman who came to summon him explained the situation on Smirnov's side, Molkov's face instantly darkened.
“This useless guy!”
He cursed fiercely, then raised his eyes and looked in the direction of Mozili City.
According to the cavalry report, the Polish army that attacked Smirnov numbered at least 15,000 people, while the defenders of Mozyr only totaled more than 50,000 people.
In other words, after deducting casualties, there were less than 30,000 Polish troops in Mozyr at this time.
And I still have close to 60,000 troops in my hands. If I launch a fierce attack on Mozyr, I should be able to break it quickly.
However, he hesitated again.
If the Polish army attacks Kiev, Chaperov may not be able to hold on.
Kiev is the main logistics storage point for his army. Although he could still get supplies from Smolensk even if he lost this place, it would be a great shame for the empire to let the Poles occupy the richest city in the west of the empire, even for just one day!
It is possible that the Tsar dismissed him from office or even sent him to prison.
Thinking of this, Morkov angrily bent his riding whip and said to his staff:
"Send an order to let the Zaporowski Corps stay here. The others will rest for half a day and go to Kiev tomorrow morning , follow me to catch that mouse!”
The next day.
Morkov personally led an army of 30,000 people to Kiev, and sent someone to order Chaperov to cooperate from the south.
However, when he arrived in Kiev four days later, the Poles had long disappeared.
After a large number of rangers scouted around Kiev, they finally learned from local farmers that the Polish army had "escaped" northeastward four days ago.
Morkov immediately chased away, and then found traces of the Polish army at Lojev Ferry, but they were just traces of the departure.
The Polish army easily controlled the ferry, which was guarded by only a few hundred people, and then the entire army crossed the Dnieper River and headed towards the hinterland of Russia.
Veins appeared on Morkov's forehead. He threw the riding crop to the ground and roared:
"These damn Polish lunatics!"
Yes, the Poles must be crazy.
With the Dnieper River blocking their way, it was impossible for them to obtain any supplies.
In other words, these Polish soldiers will starve to death in half a month at most.
Even if they could grab food along the way, they couldn't get enough ammunition.
The Russian local garrison only needed to constantly harass and consume their ammunition. After more than a month, they could easily capture this army without weapons.
However, the Poles still chose to go deep into Russia.
It is conceivable that Morkov will attack the nearest Chernigov first - there is only a small amount of reserve troops there to supplement Mozyr's consumption, and it is impossible to withstand tens of thousands of waves of troops. attack.
After looting, the Polish army will bypass the northern part of the Sula River, continue eastward along the south side of Smolensk, and approach Kaluga.
Kaluga was the second richest province in the west-central part of the empire, after Moscow.
Yes, this damn place is right next to Moscow!
The most cunning thing about the Poles is that the attack route they chose cleverly avoided the Smolensk Fortress on the north and the Kursk Fortress on the south - when the empire was deploying defenses, There was no thought that the hinterland in the center would be attacked.
Usually the enemy will use Minsk as a base to attack Russia, then they will face a series of strong fortresses from Smolensk to Vyazma.
Sending troops from Mozili will be blocked by the river and will not be able to provide supplies to the army. But the Poles happened to choose this dead end.
Molkov knew very well that the 15,000 Polish troops would definitely not be able to invade Moscow - as the old capital of the empire and the economic center of the central region, the Moscow Legion was stationed there, with tens of thousands of soldiers.
However, as long as the Polish army appears on the outskirts of Moscow, even if a shot is not fired, the losses caused by the fear of the people will be counted in tens of millions of rubles.
This Polish army is trying to bite off a piece of the empire's flesh before dying.
By then, even if he wanted to go to jail, he would not be able to go to jail, and the death penalty would be his only outcome.
Morkov hesitated again and again, and first sent two teams of communications troops. One team warned Kaluga and Moscow to prepare defenses in advance, and the other team reported the bad news to Petersburg.
Then, he divided all 3,500 cavalry he brought and crossed the Dnieper River to track the Poles.
In the short half-month that he led his army to encircle and suppress Kosciuszko's tribe, Mozyr's Polish army got a rare respite.
Prince Poniatowski mobilized thousands of new troops from the rear and, with the help of the people, re-reinforced the Mozyr line of defense.
A fierce battle awaits him. But, it is not without hope...
Paris.
Palace of Versailles.
A morning that was no different from usual, a soft voice whispered beside Joseph's bed:
"Your Highness, it is already 7 o'clock, and you will also host the Paris Agricultural Products Futures Exchange today. "
Joseph turned over, but he slept too late last night because he was reviewing documents sent from the Caribbean, and his eyelids were pulled tightly by fatigue.
Perna called him a few more times - Camelia has been suffering from fever recently due to falling into the water last time, and is very weak, so she has temporarily taken care of the crown prince's daily life - Seeing that His Highness did not respond, he turned back and glanced at the two maids holding shirts behind him. Seeing that they were not looking this way, he immediately bent down and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"You really have to get up."
The soft touch helped Joseph dispel his tiredness. He opened his eyes and saw Perna's beautiful emerald eyes.
"Ha... you got up so early." He yawned and smiled.
Perna's cheeks suddenly turned red, and she quickly glanced at the maids behind her. Fortunately, they still didn't pay attention.
Well, as a maid of the crown prince, having a wink is a basic quality.
After Joseph finished washing, he let Perna do a series of checks on his eyes, throat, pulse, etc., and then pulled her to sit at the dining table together.
While waiting for the food to be served, he habitually picked up the documents on the side and saw the top one that read: The Polish Minsk defense line has suffered more than 4,000 casualties and has retreated to the outskirts of Minsk.
Colonel Kosinski led 2 infantry regiments and 5 cavalry squadrons to march north.
Kosinski’s goal was not written on the document, but Joseph knew very well that he would go straight to Riga.
The latter document is about the situation on Mozyr's side.
The situation is much better than that in Minsk - after all, there are two Polish gods of war, Kosciuszko and Poniatowski, and Russia's 70,000-strong army did not even see the city of Mozyr.
And Kosciuszko's dagger has already pierced Russia's weak abdomen.
(End of this chapter)