I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1122 A Nation in Suffering

The sixty or seventy members of Parliament sitting on the east side stood up and passionately voiced their support for Jan Kirlinsky:
"To curry favor with the Russians is to betray the brave soldiers who died in the Great Patriotic War!"

"The Russians have deceived us with lies for decades, and we must never trust them again!"

“Count Branitsky, you may kneel before your Tsar and beg for mercy, but we will never do so!”

"Damn it, we drove the Russians out with our blood, we will never let them come back..."

Although Count Branitsky's side consisted of only about ten people, they stubbornly and loudly retorted:

"We can't keep dragging this on forever."

"Why don't you go to Bobruisk or Turov and see how people there are forced to flee east of the Dnieper River because they can't afford to pay their taxes?"

“We can hate the Russians, but we still have to trade with them.”

"If this continues, riots will break out in the eastern provinces!"

Kirinsky's men immediately silenced them with an even louder voice.

The two sides argued for a full half hour, and it looked like they were about to come to blows. Speaker Cartoresti had no choice but to order the guards to separate the two sides, and then adjourned the parliament. The bill submitted by Blanitsky would be voted on a week later.

A dozen or so members of the "peace faction" were escorted out of the parliament hall first. As Gorsakovsky reached the main entrance, he turned and, through a gap in the guards, shouted to the other members, "I must remind you, if the bill fails to pass, chaos will surely ensue in the east!"

As Kirinsky watched the "pacifists" disappear, he said worriedly, "We can't just sit idly by and watch these Orthodox guys continue like this."

Hugo Kovantai, standing nearby, sighed: “The situation in the eastern provinces is indeed not good. I just went there last month, and there are many people there doing business with the Russians in private.”

Yakub Yasinsky leaned closer and said, "These despicable traitors! They are the ones who supported the Russian army in Smolensk. They should be arrested immediately!"

Kovantai whispered, "They're just trying to survive..."

According to a resolution of the Polish Parliament, all Poles are strictly prohibited from doing business with Russians, and violators will be prosecuted for treason.

This is understandable, given that Russia's invasion nearly wiped out Poland, so anti-Russian sentiment is currently the most politically correct stance in Poland.

However, although Poland barely managed to withstand the attacks of Russia, Prussia, and Austria in the last war, its national strength was ultimately weak, and it had to cede three or four provinces in exchange for a ceasefire.

Although this was much smaller than the losses in the two previous wars, Poland was still a defeated country in terms of the outcome of the war.

The current situation surrounding Poland is as follows:
Russia to the east was unable to conduct trade.

Because Prussia occupied the most Polish territory to the west, there were many resistance forces operating in the border provinces such as Poznan, and the two countries were in a state of high tension.

Only Austria to the south still does business with Poland, but Vienna, believing itself to be the only buyer in southern Poland, has driven Polish grain prices down to only 60% of what they were a few years ago—grain exports are Poland's main source of income.

While grain from the central and northern regions could be exported from the port of Gdansk, this meager income was far from sufficient to effectively restore Poland's finances, which had suffered a huge deficit due to the Great Patriotic War.

It is important to know that in order to guard against its three neighboring countries that are eyeing it covetously, Poland has always maintained a standing army of more than 9 people, and the annual military expenditure will consume the income from grain exports.

Fortunately, the Krakow silver mines provide the Polish government with 900 million złoty annually, which is more than 1400 million francs. This barely saved Warsaw from bankruptcy.

Well, Joseph gave Poland the majority of France's share of the silver mines as loans—France owned a 40% stake in the mines. Then, the eccentric King Paul I suddenly sent an envoy to Warsaw, expressing a desire to restore relations between the two countries.

This is as absurd as a robber who just broke into your house suddenly showing up and inviting you to the opera.

However, even so, many people in eastern Poland, especially the Orthodox Christians, still wanted to accept the Tsar's peace proposal.

Several days later, at the Tin-top Palace.

Polish Regent Poniatowski frowned as he looked at key members of parliament such as Jasinski and Kielinski: "So, what are your opinions?"

“This is absolutely a Russian conspiracy to divide us,” Yasinsky said, clenching his fists. “If we open up the eastern border, the Russians can cultivate another Tagovicha Confederation in just a few years.”

Ignach Pototsky said in a deep voice, "We should even send more troops to the east."

Although he also shared the surname Pototsky, he was a staunch anti-Russian.

Prince Poniatovsky nodded: "It must be admitted that the Russians' trickery has worked. The parliamentarians in the east have reacted strongly, and I worry that vetoing the peace bill will lead them to..."

Yasinsky immediately said, "It's very likely that they secretly asked the Russians to do this. I don't think there should be any Orthodox Christians in Great Sham!"

Potocki loudly echoed, "That's right! These people will destroy Poland sooner or later!"

"We should purge the traitors in Great Sham before they cause any more trouble!"

Just then, a court official hurriedly knocked on the door and entered, bowing to Poniatovsky and saying, "Your Highness, I have just received news that a demonstration of several thousand people has broken out in Bobruisk."

"They are demanding the resumption of trade with Russia and a reduction in troop presence. Currently, there is a trend of expansion towards Minsk."

Bobruisk and other eastern provinces have long been among the poorest parts of Poland, and the lives of the lower classes have become nearly unsustainable after trade with Russia was banned. Recently, upon learning that Russia was willing to restore relations, people flocked to the city hall to express their support.

Pototsky immediately looked at Prince Poniatovsky: "We can't hesitate any longer, Your Highness. Please order the army to suppress these traitors immediately!"

Hugo Kovantai hesitated, saying, "But they didn't do anything. Demonstration is a right granted to them by the constitution."

"It will be too late by the time they do something!"

"We can't just throw all these people into jail, can we?"

Just as the two sides were arguing, they heard a creaking sound from the wooden wheels, and then a wheelchair appeared at the door.

Everyone, including Prince Poniatovsky, immediately went to greet him: "Marshal Koschushko, what brings you here?"

Yes, the visitor was none other than Koschuszko, the great hero of Poland, who led his troops in a daring raid into the heart of Russia. He lost his left leg in the war, and after returning home, he retired to recuperate and never became involved in politics.

But no one can ignore his enormous influence.

Koschusko looked around at everyone and said solemnly, "Gentlemen, Poland is once again at a critical juncture of life and death!"

(End of this chapter)