I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1357 An Unsettled World
Twenty kilometers southwest of Karlsruhe, a caravan of carriages, escorted by imposing French SS grenadiers, is slowly making its way along the east bank of the Rhine.

In the carriage at the very center of the procession, Chief of the General Staff Berthier was preparing to report the latest military intelligence to His Highness the Crown Prince when he suddenly remembered something and hesitated for a moment before saying:

“Your Highness, it is said that Archbishop Briand has something very urgent to discuss with you. Judging by the time, he should have already passed Mirku. If you wait here for him for a few days…”

Before he could finish speaking, the security chief sitting next to him gave him a strange look, thinking to himself that these officers really only knew how to fight, and that the Crown Prince was clearly trying to avoid their Prime Minister.

Lavallet coughed lightly and said:
“General Berthier, you’ve forgotten that Nancy has been experiencing torrential rains lately. Perhaps by the time His Highness returns home, Archbishop Briand will still not have reached Strasbourg. You know, his health isn’t very good, and he can’t travel by train.” Joseph mentally gave Lavalette a thumbs-up.

The Chief of the General Staff racked his brains for a few seconds, but couldn't recall the weather in Nancy, so he nodded and returned to the main topic:
"Your Highness, news just arrived from Warsaw that the Polish Wojciechowski Army recaptured Minsk last Wednesday. Currently, the main Russian forces are withdrawing to the east bank of the Dnieper River."

"More than 5 Polish soldiers have amassed in Mozyri and Mogilev, preparing to cross the river in pursuit..."

Joseph frowned.
Why didn't they attack Kyiv first?

Kyiv is located in southeastern Poland, on the west bank of the Dnieper River. More than a century ago, Russia, through a series of wars, forced Poland to sign the Armistice of Andrzej Sovo, and subsequently occupied Kyiv.

According to the French General Staff's plan, after Poland recaptured key cities such as Minsk and Vilnius, it should concentrate its forces to besiege Kiev, creating a situation of encirclement and suppression of Russian reinforcements.

And now, the Poles are launching a major offensive against the east bank of the Dnieper River!

Lavallet chimed in from the side:
"Your Highness, the radicals in the Polish parliament believe that Kiev, separated from Russia by the Dnieper River, is easy to conquer. Therefore, they demand that the army quickly invade the left bank of Ukraine before the Russians can establish a solid defense."

The so-called "Left Bank Ukraine" refers to the Russian-controlled territory of Ukraine. The Polish-controlled area is called "Right Bank Ukraine." However, in reality, the left bank here is on the east side of the Dnieper River, and the right bank is on the west side.

Joseph rubbed his forehead.

The Poles, having just enjoyed a few days of favorable battles, immediately recalled their glorious history of "pacifying Du and suppressing Lu".

The "Du" in Pingdu Town refers to Germany, and "Lu" refers to Russia. In the 16th century, at its peak, Poland attacked from both east and west, defeating German territories to the point of submission by its winged hussars. It held Russia in contempt, and when in a bad mood, would send troops to plunder it at will. [Note 1]

But Joseph knew very well that Poland's national strength was now too weak to support a full-scale war against Russia.

Just kidding, even when Napoleon led an army of 60 men in a personal campaign, he still couldn't completely defeat Russia.

Lavallet continued:

"In fact, the most radical part of Poland even wants to send troops to Tuchel in order to take over the buffer zone of the Gdansk Corridor."

Joseph felt utterly exhausted. Did the Poles not know their own limitations?
This is understandable, really. The Poles had been suppressing their emotions for over a decade, and now that they had suddenly achieved a military victory, they simply couldn't control their inner turmoil.

He hurriedly ordered, "Immediately send someone to Warsaw to have His Majesty Stanisław II recall the troops that have crossed the Dnieper River and fight according to the original plan..."

"Never mind, let Father Siege go instead."

Siegfried had been the special envoy for Polish affairs and wielded considerable influence in Warsaw.

Berthier then reported:

"Your Highness, the main force of the Russian Army's Gudvich Corps in the Transcaucasus has retreated to Tbilisi and has been replenished with some soldiers and logistical supplies."

Joseph asked in confusion:

"How did he manage to retreat to Tbilisi unscathed? Didn't the Persians attack his supply lines?"

Berthier said helplessly:
"According to what we've heard, the Ottoman army has halted near Lake Palavani, while the Mirza Legion is resting in Ganja."

"Well, they seem to be waiting for the other side to have a decisive battle with the Russians first." Joseph really wanted to say, "Serves these two right for getting beaten so badly in the 19th century that they were almost unable to take care of themselves." Victory was just around the corner, and they were starting to have these little schemes.

He gritted his teeth and said:

“I will send Archbishop Talleyrand to Constantinople.”

After the Chief of the General Staff finished speaking, Lavallet took out a stack of reports and handed them to Joseph, saying:

"Your Highness, this is intelligence compiled from a large number of merchant ships returning from the Far East."

"The British raised tax rates by 60% in many states from Bengal to Maratha, sparking riots in several areas. Mysore seized the opportunity to declare war on Britain at the end of October."

Joseph frowned again: "Why didn't Tip consult with us?"

"They probably won't be able to break through the British naval blockade."

Joseph sighed. "And we can't provide him with any support right now. The Ottomans are probably too preoccupied with him to care."

The Ottoman army was engaged in a power struggle with the Persians in the Transcaucasus, and even if they were to aid Mysore, the scale of their assistance would be very limited.

He instructed Lavallet: "Try to get in touch with Tip and tell him to avoid rash advances and focus on defense. As long as we are not defeated by the British army within a year, we can wait for the British to negotiate a ceasefire."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Joseph suddenly smiled and leaned back in his chair.

There's really no need for me to be too upset. Let these countries do what they want; after all, it's not the French who are dying.

Regardless of the final outcome of the war, it will deplete the strength of both Britain and Russia, especially Britain.

Even if they win in the end, it will take them several years to digest the benefits of the war.

Meanwhile, France has been focusing its efforts on development.

Once the British were finally extricated from the quagmire of war, it was France's turn to launch a fatal blow when they were at their weakest.

As he was thinking this, he felt the carriage slowly come to a stop.

Ksold's voice came from outside the car window: "Your Highness, it's Mr. Tresagay."

Joseph was somewhat surprised: "What's he doing here?"

The Minister of Transport should be busy with the World Expo right now, and this place is nearly 20 kilometers away from Karlsruhe.

Lavalette and Berthier had finished reporting their respective matters, and seeing this, they took their leave together and returned to Strasbourg by car.

A moment later, Teresague arrived at Joseph's carriage, bowed anxiously, and said:
"Your Highness, you'd better avoid Karlsruhe. There are hundreds of people waiting for you on the outskirts of the city."

"As far as I know, they are planning to 'damage' our country's fiscal revenue..."

[Note 1] The phrase "Hiradoshi-shiro" comes from a later Japanese pun; it did not exist in the early 19th century.

　Many thanks to: Yuan Guangji, Qu Yun, Ye Yuhan, Tiantian Dubai O, ZephyrArrow, and readers 20251019220610327, 20220919120357620, and 20210301106608504748 for their generous donations to this book! The author is deeply grateful and wishes everyone a happy Winter Solstice! Mwah!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)