I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1192 "Traitor"

"I swear on my life that as long as France survives, I will do everything in my power to save Poland!"

Although the French prince only said two short sentences, his slightly naive yet incredibly sincere expression moved the King of Poland.

Stanisław II stepped forward and bowed very solemnly to the boy: "Józew and I have never doubted that France is Poland's most reliable friend, and we both agree with His Highness the Crown Prince's plan."

Regent Poniatovsky continued, “But the councilors are very difficult to persuade. You know, getting them to agree to bow down to the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian aggressors is more painful than burning their souls.”

Poland is now a constitutional state, and the king cannot make major decisions without the parliament.

Following his brother's instructions, Charles asked, "Your Majesty, are you and His Highness the Regent willing to give up everything for Poland?"

Stanisław and his nephew exchanged a glance and said at the same time, "Of course."

“I can do anything for Poland.”

Charles took out Joseph's handwritten letter and handed it to Stanisław II: "This is my brother's advice to you."

After reading the letter, the latter nodded silently with a melancholy expression, and then handed the letter to his nephew.

Regent Poniatovsky's gaze swept across the letter, but he frowned and said, "I'm willing to try, but the army will likely refuse the order to retreat."

Charles immediately took out another letter: "This is from my brother to Marshal Koschushko."

……

three days later.

An "earthquake" has occurred in Szym, Poland.

The reason was that senior member of parliament Koonte suddenly proposed a bill to Søren Söder, demanding the emancipation of all serfs in Poland except for Mazowieckie and Podlačić. Moreover, the bill was very radical, allowing serfs to regain most of the land they had previously cultivated with almost no ransom.

Because Regent Poniatowski showed support for the bill, the liberals and patriots in parliament were immediately excited and began to push for its passage.

Meanwhile, the Gehman Party, representing the conservative aristocracy, vehemently opposed it.

The two sides' lawmakers even nearly came to blows at Wednesday's Grand Theme meeting.

Then liberals and conservatives began giving speeches all over Warsaw. The former even organized a march of thousands of people to petition around the parliament building.

After more than half a month of this commotion, the Emancipation Law was barely passed thanks to the efforts of the Polish Regent.

Except for Warsaw and Drosiczin, the serf registration process began nationwide. Land redistribution was planned to be completed within six months.

Now it was the conservatives' turn to stir up trouble, first by organizing marches, and then by launching an impeachment campaign against Koonte.

The Polish Grand Sham was almost rendered unable to function properly because of this.

A week later, Regent Poniatowski dissolved Parliament, citing "the chaos in Great Tham that was hindering preparations for war," and called for new elections within three months.

Dissolving parliament is the prerogative of the King of Poland, currently being carried out by the Regent. While liberals and conservatives are still accusing each other of "undermining the federal system," Regent Poniatowski has quietly promoted Dominique Laczywiło and Henrik Hodkiewicz to senior advisors to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

One of them was a pro-Russian nobleman from Kyiv, and the other was a Prussian member of parliament.

Meanwhile, the elite 3rd Royal Division, originally tasked with protecting Warsaw, was transferred to the northern city of Wiezyna—essentially Poland's rear area, even further back than the capital. The defense of Warsaw was then entrusted to the 7th Royal Guard Brigade, reorganized from the former Regent's Guard.

In mid-April 1798, large numbers of Prussian and Austrian troops began to assemble on the Polish border.

A dark cloud hung over Poland; everyone knew that war was imminent.

Soon after, Russia, Prussia, and Austria formally declared war on Poland, citing the Polish government's failure to strictly implement the Dresden Treaty.

Meanwhile, military preparations within Poland appeared extremely chaotic.

The garrison in the Minsk direction numbered less than 13,000 men, and the main force of the Lithuanian Legion was almost impossible to mobilize effectively due to severe shortages of parliamentary funding.

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

Just as the commanders of both Prussia and Austria were ordering the attack to proceed as planned, the Polish regent's envoy unexpectedly arrived in Vienna and Berlin.

In a small room at Schönbrunn Palace, Count Mavakhovsky, with a fawning expression, said to Kobutzl, “His Highness the Regent has always hoped for peaceful coexistence with the Empire. But as you know, those Patriots have been inciting the army to make futile resistance.”

The latter glanced at him coldly and said, "Hmph, then let them face their fate."

Mawachowski hurriedly said, "We all know this is a war we are destined to lose, but you see, it will also cause some casualties among the Austrian soldiers."

"Therefore, His Highness the Regent hopes to exchange some benefits for His Majesty the Emperor's forgiveness."

Kobzl scoffed dismissively, about to utter a few sarcastic remarks, when the Pole said, "If our country is willing to give up the whole of Little Poland, do you think you can persuade Russia and Prussia to withdraw their troops together?"

The Austrian Foreign Minister almost thought he had misheard—the Austrian army's strategic objective this time was to occupy the Lesser Poland region, and it would be ideal if they could get there without losing a single soldier.

He narrowed his eyes and asked, "You mean the entire Henzine region and the area south of it, including Krakow?"

Mavakhovsky rubbed his hands and nodded: "His Highness the Regent does indeed mean that. However, as you know, the Tarnovsk silver mine involves too many interests, so we hope to delay the transaction by a few months... Oh, don't worry, it won't be later than the end of July at the latest."

Seeing the Austrian's still suspicious expression, he quickly added, "To show our sincerity, His Highness the Regent is willing to withdraw all troops from the Lesser Poland area. You can send someone to inspect it at any time."

Kobutz finally smiled slightly: "I will consider conveying this to His Majesty the Emperor."

Berlin.

Inside the city palace, Prince Heinrich squinted at Count Hodkiewicz: "The French troops in Gdansk have all withdrawn, and His Majesty's army can easily occupy the port. So this is not enough to be their condition."

The latter immediately nodded obsequiously: "You're right. According to what I've heard, the Polish Regent's bottom line is all the provinces west of Vinccia. If you make a request based on that, he'll most likely accept it."

This guy always considered himself a pure Prussian, and that he was just an official in Poland, so he didn't hesitate to sell out Poland.

(End of this chapter)