Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

The surrounding guards immediately pinned the shooter to the ground.

The two assassins continued desperately craning their necks to look towards the carriage to verify if they had succeeded, while shouting loudly: "For the motherland, kill the traitor!"

"Those who betray Poland will surely go to hell!"

An hour later.

Stanisław August Poniatowski burst into the Regent's bedroom like a madman and immediately saw the bandages soaked in blood on his nephew's side.

He turned to look at Belle, the Imperial Physician from Łazienki Palace, and asked urgently: "Mr. Radwicz, how is the Regent?"

"The bullet hit His Highness's right chest, both the liver and lungs..."

"I... I'm fine." Regent Poniatowski said weakly, "Your Majesty, you have come?"

He then struggled to turn his head and signaled to the doctor and servants, "Please, leave first... I want to speak with His Majesty alone..."

Doctor Radwicz and the others exchanged glances, bowed, and retreated.

"These foolish people," Stanisław August Poniatowski said, his face pale, "What have they done!"

"My Joseph, you will be okay..."

But the Regent of Poland smiled faintly, "This is good, Your Majesty.

"When I signed that document, I was already meant to die... I handed over most of Poland... to the invaders..."

Stanisław August Poniatowski knew he was referring to the ceasefire agreement signed two months ago and immediately shook his head vigorously, "No, you didn't! You were saving Poland; everyone should be thanking you!"

Poniatowski tried to wave his hand but seemed to pull at his wound, causing cold sweat from the pain, yet he gritted his teeth saying, "After all, Little Poland, Sandomierz, Volhynia, Minsk, Gdansk... and many places, the Poles there are being enslaved and humiliated by foreigners...

"Someone must take responsibility for all of this...

"Please let those assassins go, they are not wrong..."

The King continuously shook his head, muttering, "It shouldn't be like this, oh God, why?"

"Don't be sad." Regent Poniatowski took a deep breath and started trembling again from the pain, "I don't have much time left... It's all up to you next.

"You must continue to play the 'traitor'... I know it's hard, but you must appease the Russians and Prussians..."

"I, I will."

"There're also some things you need to know." The Regent struggled to gather his energy, "That batch of supplies is in Otwotsk Town, guarded by Kievinsky's son behind the rows of warehouses just by the church..."

Stanisław August Poniatowski nodded blankly. He should be referring to those last shipments of weapons arriving from France, as well as the arms Poniatowski secretly amassed before the war.

"The most important thing is the list... in my storeroom, inside the Bible... They are the most trustworthy people...

"When the moment comes, you can hand everything over to Marshal Kosciuszko...

"And, convene the Great Sejm as soon as possible..."

He rambled on briefly, finally gazing at the ceiling, exhaling: "May Jesus bless Poland. I couldn't complete my mission..."

Two days later.

The news of the assassination of Poland's "national traitor," Regent Poniatowski, who was blamed for "adopting a policy of non-resistance" and "signing a traitorous treaty," quickly spread throughout Warsaw.

Citizens spontaneously took to the streets to celebrate, while the police allowed them to vent and curse, not bothering to stop them — these were mostly soldiers forced into retirement following Poland's disarmament, sharing the same hatred for the "national traitor."

Then Stanisław August Poniatowski announced his own regency.

The first thing he did after taking control of Poland was to openly acknowledge the Treaty of Prague, which was the ceasefire agreement between Poland and three nations...

...

August 11, 1798.

Northeastern France.

Joseph, having just completed a high-profile inspection of the Rhine River defensive line from Cologne to Koblenz, hurried to Nancy to attend the opening ceremony of the Royal Steam Locomotive Manufacturing Company.

It was also the trial operation for the first train prototype designed by Trevisick.

Four fine horses pulled a spacious rail carriage swiftly between the brand-new tracks — from Nancy to Verdun, a third of the track had already been laid.

Due to the unexpectedly high sales of French national debt, with 1.4 billion francs sold in less than half a year, even the United States and Russia had purchased tens of millions of francs in French debt. This allowed Joseph to put out nearly 500 million francs, simultaneously starting the rail lines in Verdun and Nancy.

Inside the carriage, Bertier was reporting on the readiness for war to the Crown Prince:

"...At the end of last month, the Fifth Army Group had completed all combat preparations and is currently heading to Nice. They will transfer from there to Venice. However, the Fifth Army Group has a high proportion of new recruits due to its short formation time...

"The region corps with stronger combat force in places like Lyon and Toulouse have also been transferred to the north..."

The Chief of Staff glanced down at his notes: "Currently, our direct corps has reached a force of 200,000 troops...

"According to current intelligence and the judgment of the General Staff, the enemy's main assault point is most likely in Baden."

He said, looking over at Lavallette.

The Security Bureau Director nodded, "At least 150,000 troops have assembled in eastern Wurttemberg, including a substantial number of Prussian corps. However, the main position of the Austrian army remains unclear."

Indeed, according to the French General Staff's previous prediction, the Allied Forces would initiate their attack at the latest by early July, but now it was already August, and the enemy hadn't acted.

But that's not surprising. Coordinating multi-national joint operations would be a nightmare even in the 21st century, let alone the late 18th century with its primitive communication methods.

Fortunately, the Prussian-Austrian side had erected the Sharp Signal Tower, or the speed might have been even slower.

Bertier continued: "Based on the enemy's deployment, the latest adjustment made by the General Staff is —

"The Third Army Group and the Twelfth Infantry Division in the Venice direction will abandon Udine, retreating to the south of Verona, luring the enemy into the Po River Plain..."

Joseph nodded.

The Venetians had a sparse population and were the most distant from France among the various Italian countries in Northern Italy — their economy heavily relied on Austria, and being a merchant-state made it inevitable.

Thus, letting this area become a battlefield wasn't a bad idea. Let the friendly Austrians ravage their lands, dismantle their national framework, and then France could rebuild with the pro-France faction, presenting a one-and-done opportunity.

Bertier pointed to the map of the upper Rhine region: "The First, Second, Fourth Army Groups have all been stationed in Karlsruhe..."

Actually, the best deployment strategy was to fortify the left bank of the Rhine River in Strasbourg, but at the Crown Prince's requirement, the French Army was all deployed on the right bank, ready to restrain the enemy by proactive attacking once war begins.