Chapter 696 The Useless King

Chapter 697 The Useless King

Warsaw.

Royal Castle.

Stanislaw II looked at the mark of the enemy invasion on the map with a solemn expression, and murmured to himself with great self-blame: "Everything is as expected by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, we should have listened to his advice..."

Just now, Royal Minister Malachowski had analyzed the current situation for him. According to the latest intelligence sent back to Warsaw, Poland is facing enemies on all sides - Russia in the east is attacking Lithuania and the west bank of the Dnieper River at the same time. A week ago, Prussia and Austria also declared war on Poland.

The Speaker of the Senate, Stasits, lowered his head and whispered:

"Yes, we trusted the covenant too much."

If they could deploy some defensive measures in Poznan at the beginning, the Prussian army would not have been able to capture the three western provinces in just a few days.

What is more serious is that the Lithuanian Corps was defeated under the fierce attack of the Russian army Korezhnikoff, and Minsk has shown a trend of being unable to defend.

After a while, the King of Poland sighed and looked at Malachowski and said, "So, what is the Military Committee's suggestion?"

"Your Majesty, Warsaw has five newly formed regiments." The latter said, "General Bilak needs at least four regiments to stabilize the defense line."

Bilak was the commander of the Minsk Defense War.

Staszcz frowned: "In other words, we have no troops to send to the Western Front?"

"I'm afraid, that's the case..."

The several Polish ministers in the room all looked gloomy. Poland has tried its best, but still can't withstand the siege of the three major powers.

Is there only one result left, surrender?

Stanislaw II suddenly pointed to Krakow in the southwest of the map and asked, "How many troops are needed to hold back the Austrian army?"

The royal minister looked at the officer standing by the gate, who was an advisor to the Military Committee.

The latter thought for a while and said, "If we defend with all our strength, it will take about 10,000 people, Your Majesty."

Currently, Warsaw can mobilize only five regiments, or 7,500 people.

The king looked at Malachowski again: "How long will it take you to form another four regiments?"

"Two months," the latter paused and gritted his teeth, "No, Your Majesty, I can gather four regiments in just 40 days!"

Now Poland is united in hatred of the enemy, and morale is very high. There are crowds of people in front of the Military Commission's several enlistment registration points every day.

No matter nobles, businessmen, workers or peasants, they all enthusiastically ask to join the Crusaders to drive out invaders for their motherland.

There is no shortage of soldiers.

There are at least 20,000 to 30,000 people on the Military Commission's new recruits registration list. This is the result of young and healthy applicants. If the requirements are relaxed, more than 50,000 people can be recruited.

But the army is not just a group of people, and then give them some guns.

The minimum level of military training must be completed, otherwise they will not be able to line up on the battlefield, and they will not understand the orders. Not only will they be unable to defend against the enemy, but they will also bring chaos to their side.

Fortunately, the Royal Military Academy in Warsaw was built half a year ago, and there are a large number of ready-made instructors available. This is also the reason why Malachowski is confident that he can pull out 4 regiments within 40 days.

Of course, such a short time can only ensure that the soldiers can pick up guns and shoot, and they will not get separated. There is no need to expect combat effectiveness.

"40 days..."

Stanislaw II pressed hard on the map, as if he had made a great determination, and said solemnly to the royal minister: "I can get you... at least one month in the direction of Minsk.

"Please recruit troops as soon as possible.

"And the existing 5 regiments will all be sent to Krakow. We must not lose the Tarnovsk Mountain Silver Mine."

At present, the silver mine supports nearly half of Poland's financial consumption. If there is a problem there, Poland will almost collapse immediately.

"Your Majesty, what are you going to do?"

The King of Poland seemed a little embarrassed, but still said: "I still have the status of a king. And I have some, ah, favors in Russia. These should be able to buy a month."

Mawachowski immediately thought of something and shook his head repeatedly: "Your Majesty, you, you can't do this..."

Stanislaw II smiled: "I am not good at politics and military affairs. In fact, I also know that the Tsar pushed me to be the king because he saw that I was useless..."

"No, no, you are definitely not..."

The king was very calm: "Anyway, my reputation has never been good, and this is all I can do for my country.

"Oh, the people will definitely be disappointed in me in the future.

"Joseph is more suitable to be the king than me, and I hope the parliament can fully support him."

Joseph is the name of Prince Poniatowski.

The king then told his plan.

Several important officials in the room shook their heads at once, "Your Majesty, how can this be done?"

"Poland needs you!"

"We must have other ways..."

Stanislaw II waved his hand: "Let me fight with everyone."

...

Western Poland.

The fallen province of Poznan.

The Polish Foreign Minister, Count Potocki, sat in a chair with his head down, his fists clenched so tightly that the joints had lost their color.

In his pocket was the armistice agreement that the parliament had passed.

Today, he will hand it over to the Prussians here, exchanging the three provinces of Greater Poland and the city of Gdansk in humiliating exchange for the Prussian withdrawal.

Yes, Poland can no longer spare the troops to defend the northwest.

Potocki looked at his pocket watch. He had been waiting here for more than an hour. The Prussians obviously wanted to humiliate him more.

At this moment, his attendant quietly walked up behind him, leaned down and whispered:

"Sir, there is a Prussian local tax collector who wants to see you on urgent matters. Oh, he is from Kulm."

"Kulm?" Potocki narrowed his eyes. Kulm was a Polish territory 20 years ago, and Catholicism is still practiced there.

The Polish Foreign Minister excused himself that he couldn't stand the musty smell of the chair, so he got up and went outside.

A short man with half-white hair passed by him as if nothing had happened. The moment he was closest to him, he suddenly slowed down and whispered in pure Polish:

"Please report to Warsaw that Gdańsk has not fallen!

"Captain Romilev and his French friends are holding on there. He said they can hold on for at least three months, and his body will be the last obstacle in front of the enemy."

Potocki's heart immediately beat wildly, trying his best to suppress his excitement and confirmed:

"Are you telling the truth?"

"I swear. When I received the news, I came from Toruń to see you overnight." The short man made a sign of the cross on his chest, "May God bless Poland!"

Potocki looked forward, nodded in salute, and then crumpled the armistice agreement in his pocket into a ball.