Chapter 727 War and Generals (Additional update for the alliance leader Lin Jiaer clan)
Seeing that Suvorov looked wrong, Tolmasov hurriedly asked: "Marshal, what happened?"
With a dark face, Suvorov threw the battle report to him and exhaled: "Perhaps, we won't I will stay in Minsk for too long."
Tolmasov quickly read the battle report and frowned: "The loss... is indeed a bit big."
He suddenly said. After reacting, he looked at Suvorov: "You mean, we have to leave here?"
"That's right."
"But we have just made a breakthrough, we should continue to advance westward..."
Suvorov waved his hand: "I'm afraid the imperial finances can no longer sustain the war here. . Unless His Majesty the Tsar decides to abandon Crimea."
Tolmasov understood immediately.
Crimea was almost destroyed by the Poles, and reconstruction will definitely require huge investments.
In order to encircle and annihilate Kosciuszko, the empire mobilized a total of 60,000 to 70,000 troops.
Especially the Kakhovsky Army, which marched long distances from Mozyr to Crimea, and it was a rapid march without baggage.
This depends on continuously delivering supplies to the army along the way.
The hundreds of miles from Mozyr to the south, on the way from Sivilia to Yekaterinoslav, are extremely barren, so they can only be transported from central cities such as Lipetsk.
For such a long distance, at least hundreds of thousands of serfs would have to be used for logistical transportation. The cost of this must be frighteningly high.
As for the destroyed city of Bryansk and the captured Kursk Fortress, the losses caused were not so conspicuous.
Originally, the imperial finances were enough to support the army to fight the Poles for about a year, but after Kosciuszko's troubles, it was only enough to fight for four or five months at most.
Now, nearly four months have passed since the war started.
Tolmasov was extremely reluctant and said: "We can seek loans."
Suvorov seemed uninterested: "Even if we can get military spending, our troops are no longer enough. ”
"How is this possible?" Tolmazov said in surprise, "We still have more than 80,000 troops in Poland, and the Poles only have 80,000 troops at most.
"I think you only need 60,000 troops. Soldiers can defeat them! "
He automatically ignored the Kakhovsky Corps. Although the battle report did not mention the specific number of casualties, it can be seen from the need for a half-year rest that many organizations may have been broken up.
Suvorov sighed: "But I will soon not have 60,000 troops. "
"Huh? ”
"Don't forget the Ottomans." Suvorov said, "Crimea is so empty, they will not be without ideas."
Tolmasov immediately froze.
Indeed, Bakhchisarai has been destroyed. If the Ottomans suddenly send troops, they can easily capture Crimea.
Russia has to station at least 20,000 to 30,000 troops there for defense, and can only leave after Bakhchisarai is almost repaired.
He immediately thought that the Moldavia garrison had been mobilized before. The Ottomans still claim to be the suzerainty of Moldavia and do not recognize Russian control there.
Therefore, the troops there must also be replaced.
After all, the number of troops that can stay in Poland may not even reach 60,000.
Tolmasov was still a little unwilling: "If your Majesty mobilizes the troops from the central provinces to fight in Poland..."
Suvorov has no intention of visiting Minsk. Turning the horse's head, he said: "Go back to the headquarters. The empire will have to cultivate for at least three years before it has the strength to mobilize on a large scale again."
Tolmasov hurriedly chased after him: "No, definitely There is another way..."
…
St. Petersburg.
Hermitage.
Ekaterina II clenched her fists hard and said in a deep voice: "There must be a way!" Zubov cautiously took two steps forward and said: "Your Majesty, if you can get a With a loan, we can continue to increase our troops.”
The Tsar thought for a moment and looked at Rumyantsev: "How much military expenditure do you think is needed to continue Suvorov's offensive?"
The latter pondered: "At least 8 million rubles, Your Majesty. And if It would be safer if there were 12 million rubles.”
This number made Catherine II’s heart tighten. Russia's total fiscal revenue per year is only 100 million rubles.
She quickly reviewed potential loan candidates. The finances of all German countries are very tight, France owes a lot of debt, and Spain... probably wants to borrow money from Russia.
So, only Britain, which has deep pockets, can provide this huge loan.
She stood up suddenly and said to Zubov: "You go to England immediately and get a loan of at least 8 million rubles. Oh, let Bezberodiko go with you."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Just as Zubov was about to turn around, an officer walked in quickly along the wall and whispered a few words in Rumyantsev's ear.
Rumyantsev’s face suddenly turned ugly.
He hesitated for a moment, and then said to Catherine II: "Your Majesty, the news just came from Crimea."
"Huh?"
"Among all the corpses, Kosciuszko was not found. Of course, it is possible that he was blown to pieces by a cannonball."
The Tsar rubbed his hands irritably. Rubbing his eyebrows: "Is there any more?"
"It seems that there are nearly 2,000 Polish troops still operating in eastern Crimea. General Kachowski has sent people to pursue..."
"Pa!", Ye Katerina II slammed the penholder on her hand to the ground.
...
Kosciuszko woke up from the pain.
He struggled to open his eyes and struggled to look at the location where the severe pain was coming. He saw that his left leg had disappeared from the knee down, and half of his thigh was tied with a blood-soaked bandage.
He opened his mouth wide and sucked in air. It took several minutes before he barely got used to the pain.
“I’m not dead?”
He raised his eyes and looked around. This is a gray-yellow hut. He is lying on a bed of earth, and his military uniform has been replaced by a Cossack blouse.
The door opened, and an old woman in Ottoman costume came in. Seeing that he was awake, she said a lot of words anxiously.
Seeing that Kosciuszko didn't understand, she turned around and went out again, bringing back a middle-aged man.
The latter said in Russian: "Dear Sir, it was Messih who asked me to hide you here. Oh, he joined the Resistance Army."
Kosciuszko After asking feebly for a while, he finally figured out that he was hit in the left leg by a shell that day and fainted.
The soldiers of the guard took themselves back to the river. Someone from the resistance organization happened to see it on the other side, so they managed to get a small boat, took themselves downstream, and hid in this farmhouse.
“Thank you. Excuse me, am I the only one?”
“Yes, Messih only brought you here.”
……
Vienna.
Schönbrunn Palace.
Francz II looked at Baron Turgut and frowned: "Are you saying that Russia might armistice with Poland?"
"At present, it is like this, Your Majesty. . The Russian offensive in Minsk and Mozyr has been stopped, and some soldiers have withdrawn from the country. It is said that their losses in Crimea were very heavy."
(End of this chapter)