I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1197 Strategic Deployment
The surrounding guards immediately pinned the shooter to the ground.

The two assassins were still desperately looking up towards the carriage to confirm whether they had succeeded, while shouting at the top of their lungs: "For the motherland, kill the traitor!"

"Those who betray Poland will go to hell!"

After one hour.

Stanisław II rushed into the regent's bedroom like a madman and immediately saw the bandages on his nephew's ribs soaked with blood.

He turned to the royal physician at the Tin Palace and asked urgently, "Mr. Radvichius, how is the Regent?"

"The bullet struck His Highness in the right chest, damaging his liver and lungs..."

“I…I’m fine,” Regent Poniatovsky said weakly. “Your Majesty, you’ve arrived?”

He turned his head with difficulty and gestured to the doctors and servants: "Please, go out first... I need to be alone with His Majesty..."

Dr. Radvichius and the others exchanged glances, bowed, and withdrew.

“These fools,” Stanisław II said, his face pale, “what have they done?!”

"My Yozef, you'll be alright..."

The Polish regent smiled and said, "That's good, Your Majesty."

“I… I should have died when I signed that document… I handed over most of Poland… to the invaders…”

Stanisław II knew he was referring to the armistice agreement signed two months prior, and immediately shook his head vigorously: "No, you didn't! You're saving Poland, and everyone should thank you!"

Poniatowski tried to wave his hand, but it seemed to aggravate his wound, causing him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain. He still gritted his teeth and said, "After all, in Little Poland, Sandomierz, Volynya, Minsk, Gdansk… and many other places, the Poles are being enslaved and humiliated by foreigners…"

Someone has to be held accountable for all of this...

"Please release those assassins, they did nothing wrong..."

The king shook his head repeatedly, muttering, "This shouldn't be happening, oh God, why?"

“Don’t be sad.” Regent Poniatovsky took a deep breath, then trembled with pain. “I don’t have much time left… From now on, it’s all in your hands.”

“You have to keep playing the role of a ‘traitor’… I know it’s difficult, but you have to please the Russians and Prussians…”

"I, I will."

"There are some other things you need to know," the Regent said, forcing himself to be alert. "Those goods are all in Otvodsk. Kelvinsky's son is guarding them there with his men, in those rows of warehouses behind the church..."

Stanisław II nodded blankly. He was probably referring to the last batches of weapons the French had delivered, as well as the guns Poniatowski had secretly stockpiled before the war.

"The most important thing is the list... in my storage room's Bible... they are all the most reliable people..."

"When that moment comes, you can entrust everything to Marshal Koschushko..."

"Also, convene the Great Sham meeting as soon as possible..."

He rambled on for a while, then looked up at the ceiling and sighed, "May God bless Poland. I... failed to fulfill my mission..."

Two days later.

News of the assassination of Polish Regent Poniatowski, condemned as a "traitor" for "adopting a policy of non-resistance" and "signing a treasonous treaty," quickly spread throughout Warsaw. Citizens spontaneously took to the streets to celebrate, while the police allowed them to vent their anger and curses without doing anything to stop them—most of these police officers were soldiers who had been forced to retire after Poland's disarmament and also hated the "traitor" to the core.

Subsequently, Stanisław II announced that he would assume full power.

His first act upon taking control of Poland was to publicly recognize the Treaty of Prague, which was an armistice agreement between Poland and the three powers...

……

1798 8 Month 11 Day.

Northeastern France.

Joseph had just finished a high-profile inspection of the Rhine defense line in Cologne-Koblenz when he rushed to Nancy to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Royal Steam Locomotive Manufacturing Company.

It was also the trial run ceremony for the first prototype train designed by Trevichick.

Four fine horses pulled a spacious carriage across the brand-new railroad tracks—one-third of the railway from Nancy to Verdun had already been laid.

Because the sales of French government bonds exceeded expectations—140 million francs were sold in less than six months, with even the United States and Russia buying tens of millions of francs worth of bonds—Joseph was able to allocate nearly 50 million francs to simultaneously start construction on two railway lines, one in Verdun and the other in Nancy.

Inside the carriage, Berthier was reporting to the Crown Prince on the preparations for war:
"...At the end of last month, the Fifth Army completed all combat preparations and is currently en route to Nice. From there, they will transfer to Venice. However, due to the Fifth Army's short formation time, the proportion of new recruits is relatively high..."

"The stronger regional legions from Lyon, Toulouse, and other areas have also been transferred to the north..."

The Chief of the General Staff glanced down at his notes: "Currently, the number of troops in our directly subordinate corps has reached 20..."

"Based on the intelligence we have obtained so far, and the assessment of the General Staff, the enemy's main attack point is most likely in Baden."

He said this while looking at Lavallet beside him.

The security chief nodded and said, "At least 15 troops have been amassed in eastern Württemberg, including a large number of Prussian troops. However, the location of the main Austrian army is still unclear."

Yes, according to the French General Staff's previous predictions, the coalition forces would launch an offensive no later than early July, but it is now August and the enemy has not yet made a move.

This is understandable, though. Even in the 21st century, multinational joint operations would be a nightmare in terms of coordination and deployment, let alone in the late 18th century when communication methods were primitive.

Fortunately, both Pu and Ao have now built the Shapu signal tower, otherwise the speed might be even slower.

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

"The Fifth Army and the Twelfth Infantry Division in the Venice direction will abandon Udine and retreat south of Verona, luring the enemy into the Po Plain for annihilation..."

Joseph nodded.

Venice had a small population and was the most distant from France among the northern Italian states—their economy was heavily dependent on Austria, and they were ruled by merchants, so this was hard to avoid.

So making this a battlefield isn't so bad. Let their friendly Austrian soldiers wreak havoc on their land, dismantle the national structure, and then France, with the support of its pro-French faction, rebuild it—it's a once-and-for-all opportunity.

Berthier gestured to the location on the upper Rhine River on the map: "The First, Second, and Fourth Armies have all moved into Karlsruhe..."

The best possible deployment would have been to fortify Strasbourg on the left bank of the Rhine, but at the request of His Highness the Crown Prince, the French forces were deployed entirely on the right bank. Once the war began, they would use proactive offensive tactics to contain the enemy.

　Thank you so much, Alliance Leader Lin Jia Er Shi, for your generous donation of 150000 Qidian Coins! My admiration and respect for you are boundless! I am truly touched by your long-term support with donations and monthly tickets; it is you who have encouraged me to persevere in writing! I will continue to work hard to update more chapters for you! I hope to keep writing articles that satisfy you! Mwah!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)