Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

"I can swear by my life, as long as France has not perished, I will certainly exert all my efforts to save Poland!"

Although the Prince of France only said a few words, his slightly immature yet incredibly sincere demeanor moved the King of Poland.

Stanisław August Poniatowski stepped forward, bowed solemnly to the young man, and said, "Neither Joseph nor I have ever doubted that France is Poland's most reliable friend, and we all agree with the Crown Prince's plan."

Regent Poniatowski continued, "But the parliamentarians are hard to convince. You know, persuading them to bow to the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian aggressors is more painful than burning their souls."

Poland is now a constitutional country; the King cannot bypass the Congress to make major decisions.

Following his brother's instructions, Charles asked, "Your Majesty, and Your Excellency the Regent, are you willing to sacrifice everything for Poland?"

Stanisław and his nephew exchanged glances and simultaneously said, "Of course."

"I can do anything for Poland."

Charles took out Joseph's letter and handed it to Stanisław August Poniatowski. "This is a suggestion from my brother for you."

The latter read the letter, nodded silently with a gloomy expression, and handed it to his nephew.

Regent Poniatowski glanced over the letter, frowned, and said, "I am willing to try, but the army is very likely to refuse the order to retreat."

Charles immediately took out another letter: "This is for Marshal Kosciuszko from my brother."

...

Three days later.

A "quake" occurred in the Great Sejm of Poland.

The cause was senior parliamentarian Koonte suddenly proposed a bill in the Great Sejm to liberate all the serfs in Poland except for the regions of Mazovia and Podlasie. Furthermore, the bill was very radical, requiring the serfs to pay almost no ransom fees to obtain most of the land they had cultivated before.

Since Regent Poniatowski displayed support for the bill, the Liberals and the Patriot Party in Congress immediately became excited and began to push for the bill's passage.

Meanwhile, the Conservative Nobles' representative, the Gatman Party, strongly opposed it.

The members from both sides almost came to blows during the Great Sejm meeting on Wednesday.

Subsequently, the Liberals and Conservatives were giving speeches all over Warsaw. The former organized demonstrations involving thousands of people, petitioning around the Parliament House.

After over half a month's commotion, with the push from the Regent of Poland, the "Serf Liberation Act" barely passed.

Outside of Warsaw, Drosczin, and other core regions of Poland, the nationwide serf registration process began. According to the plan, land allocation would be completed within six months.

Now it was the Conservatives' turn to fuss, first organizing demonstrations and then moving to impeach Koonte.

The Great Sejm of Poland was nearly paralyzed by these issues.

A week later, Regent Poniatowski announced the dissolution of the Congress due to "the Great Sejm being too chaotic and affecting war preparations," with re-elections to be held within three months.

Dissolving the Congress is the King's right, currently exercised by the Regent.

While the Liberals and Conservatives continued to accuse each other of "destroying the federal system," Regent Poniatowski quietly promoted Dominik Radziwill and Henryk Hodkevich to senior advisors in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

One of them is a pro-Russian noble from Kyiv, and the other is a Prussian-born parliamentarian.

Meanwhile, the King's Third Division's elite troops, which were originally defending Warsaw, were transferred to the northern city of Vizna – a place considered to be farther back than the capital. The defense of Warsaw was handed over to the newly reformed Seventh Royal Guard Brigade from the former Regent's Guard.

In mid-April 1798, a large number of Prussian and Austrian troops began gathering at the Polish border.

The atmosphere within Poland was extremely tense; everyone knew that war was coming again.

Soon, the three nations of Russia, Prussia, and Austria formally declared war on Poland, citing the Polish Government's failure to strictly implement the Dresden Treaty.

However, Poland's domestic military preparations appeared extremely chaotic.

The defending forces in the Minsk direction numbered fewer than 13,000, and the main units of the Lithuanian Corps could hardly be mobilized effectively due to severe underfunding from Congress.

The situation was similar in the west and south. The army was intentionally dispersed across multiple cities, clearly unable to withstand the large number of invaders.

Just as the commanders of the Prussian and Austrian sides ordered the planned attack, Polish Regent's envoys arrived in Vienna and Berlin separately.

In a small room at Schönbrunn Palace, Count Mawahovski, with a flattering expression, said to Kobutsel, "His Excellency the Regent has always hoped to coexist peacefully with the Empire. But you know, those Patriot Party guys have been inciting the army to make pointless resistance."

The latter looked at him coldly, "Hmph, then let them accept the fate they deserve."

Mawahovski hastily said, "We all know this is a doomed war, but look, this will also cause some casualties among Austrian soldiers.

"So His Excellency the Regent hopes to exchange some benefits for the Emperor's mercy."

Kobutsel sneered disdainfully and was about to mock when he heard the Polish man say, "If our country is willing to give up the entire Little Poland, can you persuade Russia and Prussia to withdraw together?"

The Austrian Foreign Minister almost thought he misheard. The Austrian Army's strategic goal this time was to occupy the Little Poland area, and if this could be achieved without a single soldier, that would surely be ideal.

He squinted his eyes and asked, "Are you saying the entire region south of Henzi, including Krakow?"

Mawahovski rubbed his hands and nodded, "That is indeed the meaning of his excellency the Regent. However, you know, the interests involved in the Tarnovsk Mountain Silver Mine are too significant, so it's hoped the transfer can be slightly delayed... Oh, rest assured, it won't exceed the end of July at most."

Seeing the Austrians still looked suspicious, he quickly added, "To show sincerity, His Excellency the Regent is willing to withdraw all troops from the Little Poland area first. You can send people to check at any time."

Kobutsel finally showed a slight smile, "I will convey it to His Majesty the Emperor."

Berlin.

In the City Palace, Prince Henry narrowed his eyes and looked at Count Hodkevich, "The French troops at Gdansk Port have all withdrawn, and His Majesty's army can easily occupy it. So this doesn't suffice as your condition."

The latter immediately nodded obsequiously, "You're right. From what I've heard, the bottom line of the Polish Regent should be all provinces west of Winchitsa. If you make this request, he will most likely accept."

This guy, who always considered himself a pure Prussian, was only serving in Poland, so he was extremely ruthless in selling out Poland.