Chapter 597 Song of Poland · 2
Although Poland is located on the vast Eastern European plains, rich in mineral resources, and has convenient inland shipping, it has been brought into decline by an extremely stupid political model.
At present, Poland has almost no decent industry, and its financial pillar is grain exports. However, due to serfdom, grain output is not particularly high.
So Poland is quite poor, and its military spending is even more stretched.
Under the previous wave of nationalism, there were many Poles willing to join the army, but the country could not afford it.
France's finances are also quite tight, so naturally they will not directly "spend money" in aid like the United Kingdom.
Joseph’s idea for Poland was to fully exploit the Tarnovsk Mountain silver mines.
In his memory, this is the largest silver mine in the world in the 21st century, with an annual output of thousands of tons.
And he learned from Brian that the current output of this silver mine is less than 30,000 pounds, which is about 14 tons, and all the coins are worth about 2 million francs.
So Joseph judged that most of this silver mine has not yet been explored. If the mining volume can be increased six to seven times, Poland's military expenditure can be easily solved.
This time he even asked Sieyès to bring several French geologists to Poland. When new mines start to be discovered, France can also invest in them and make some extra money along the way.
Hearing this, Prince Poniatowski shook his head helplessly: "I'm afraid you don't know much about the situation in Krakow. We have already mined all the places that can be mined there.
< br>“There are indeed mineral deposits found in many places around, but the veins there are deep and require underground tunnels to be mined. There is a lot of groundwater in Krakow. It will be submerged by groundwater within three or four days after the tunnel is dug..."
This was beyond Sieyès' professional scope, so he had no choice but to say: "I will Mr. Peche was consulted on this matter. ”
Peche is the geological expert who came to Poland with him.
The dinner ended quickly, and the next day Stanislaw II and his nephew took Sieyès to the military camp to visit Poland's most elite infantry division.
In the camp, thousands of soldiers in full Prussian equipment lined up in a neat square formation for review.
An officer with a high nose and a strong face waved his sword and shouted: "Start!"
The surrounding military music immediately sounded, and the soldiers began to demonstrate the transition from phalanx to charge. Column. The whole process was quite swift and neat, reaching the level of the old French army.
Prince Poniatowski pointed to the officer and introduced Sieyès: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince once recommended General Tadeusz Kosciuszczuk to me. Oh, at that time He was just a lieutenant colonel, so I tried to give him an army.
"Obviously His Highness is right. General Kosciuszczuk soon showed his commanding talents and has now been promoted to lieutenant general and serves as the commander-in-chief of the 3rd King's Army Infantry Division guarding Warren."
< br>Volyn is a strategic location in south-central Poland, where 60% of the Polish army is stationed. In other words, Kosciuszko is now almost the number two man in the Polish Army.
This Polish national hero who had never been defeated in the "Two Melons" was reused two years in advance due to Joseph's intervention.
With more experience with the army in the past two years, I believe he will be able to play a stronger role in the fight against aggression.
Prince Poniatowski continued: "Of course, except for the two royal divisions, the combat effectiveness of other troops is far less than that of the Russian army, let alone the newly recruited soldiers.< br>
"It would be nice if you give me a few more years. I am confident that I can train the army to a level that exceeds that of the Russians."
Sieyes said: "But I'm afraid you don't have so much time. We have to learn from other sources."
“I brought firearms technicians here this time, and they will help you improve the production and quality of weapons. "Oh, by the way, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also suggests that you restore the formation of the Hussars."
"The Hussars?" The prince smiled and shook his head, "Their glory has been left behind. According to legend, in the current battle, those wings have no use other than majesty.”
"No, they are useful." Sieyès said, "They are the pride of Poland and a symbol of spirit. You don't need to equip the hussars with heavy armor like before, but as long as they wear those wings, they can boost the morale of all soldiers. High!"
"Here," the prince hesitated, but out of respect for his French friends, he nodded, "Okay, I will try to form a cavalry battalion first."
Sieyès repeated Joseph's suggestions on army construction to the prince, and finally said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also has a suggestion that can buy time for Poland, but..."
He looked at Stan aside. Nislaw II: "This requires His Majesty the King to make a certain sacrifice."
"I can dedicate everything to Poland." The latter said without hesitation.
This is not just a slogan. Historically, he was even willing to give up the throne to promote the unity of Poland. However, in terms of his ability to govern the country, he was relatively average, and in the end he could only watch the country collapse.
Sieyès first bowed to him and then said: "His Royal Highness suggests that you go to Petersburg more often and talk to the Tsar about old times. You must try your best to show her a submissive attitude and let her It feels like Poland can be conquered without a war.”
Stanislaw II used to be Catherine’s lover. He also ascended to the throne with Russian support.
“How is this possible?!” Prince Poniatowski immediately objected, “His Majesty represents Poland and he wants to manage the entire country!”
“This is just a suggestion. Sieyès said, neither humble nor arrogant, "With all due respect, those nobles have been slandering His Majesty as an agent of Russia, so... With all due respect, His Majesty's support in the country is not very high."
Stanislaw II took a deep breath and nodded: "You are right, and I can also go to Russia. However, if the Polish people knew that their king went to please the Tsar, they would be disappointed and their hearts would be broken... "
Sieyès also took a deep breath and looked at Prince Poniatowski: "As long as another hero who can unite people's hearts appears, this will not be a problem. "
< br>"What are you talking about? This is absolutely not possible!"
"This is indeed a good idea, I think you can try it."
The former sentence was said by the prince, and the latter sentence was So said the King of Poland.
……
Second floor of the Tuileries Palace.
Joseph frowned slightly as he looked at the report just sent by Sieyès.
No wonder the mining rate of the Tarnovsk Mountain silver mine is so low. It turns out that the Poles have already tried it.
He pulled out the exploration conclusion attached to the report - there will still be serious water seepage at a depth of 80 meters in the underground tunnel. Although the silver reserves are high, it cannot be mined.
"If it's just underground water..."
Joseph suddenly thought of something and asked Eman to find a geology expert from the University of Paris.
Two hours later, an old scholar in his fifties or sixties sat opposite Joseph, looked at the exploration data, shook his head and said: "Your Highness, according to the amount of water here, it is impossible to drain it with the current equipment. Although the steam engine is nominally capable of pumping water to a depth of 90 meters, that conclusion was reached in a laboratory environment. ”
(End of this chapter)