I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1411 Liberals and Revengeists

However, more than half of Poland's territory had been occupied by Russia, Prussia, and Austria, and years of war had left the impoverished Poland exhausted, even with French aid.

The Polish parliament imposed a series of war taxes, with approximately 60% of the population's income going towards taxes. Driven by immense hatred, the people gritted their teeth and supported the war against Russia.

Even so, supplies at the front lines were already extremely scarce, which made Koschusko's offensive efforts in the past two months almost fruitless.

Unexpectedly, at noon yesterday, two people claiming to be messengers from the "Happiness Association" came to the Polish military headquarters and told Kosciuszko that they were preparing to launch a revolution in a month and hoped to get the cooperation of the Polish army.

Koschushko had heard of the "Happiness Association," a liberal organization operating in southwestern Russia. Its original name was the "National Salvation Association," but it was forced to change it to the seemingly harmless Happiness Association after being targeted by the Tsar's secret police.

These people advocated abolishing the Tsar and establishing a republic similar to the United States.

According to Koschusko's understanding, this organization is not very strong; it is basically a group of minor nobles who have read Rousseau's works and are "entertaining themselves."

The two men who came this time claimed that they could gather at least a thousand soldiers to launch an attack behind the Kutuzov Line and quickly capture several nearby cities.

Hearing the arguing of his officers, Koschushko's gaze fell on a pamphlet on the table beside him, the cover of which bore the words "Russian Truth".

It was left behind by the Happiness Association. He had roughly read it. The content was the future Russian law compiled by those people. It mainly included "deposing the Tsar and establishing a people's assembly", "completely abolishing serfdom, nationalizing half of the land and distributing the other half to serfs without compensation", "guaranteeing freedom of speech, publication, and belief", and the content of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which was obviously added later.

For some reason, Koschushko suddenly felt that this couldn't be Kutuzov's conspiracy; that guy couldn't possibly come up with something like this.

Perhaps this is an opportunity.

More importantly, he needs such an opportunity.

Poland no longer has the strength to sustain a prolonged war. Ordinary soldiers can only eat two meals of black bread a day, and it is estimated that by the end of the year, even black bread will be difficult to guarantee.

If they could break through the Dnieper River defenses, they would have a chance to force the Tsar to sign an armistice agreement that would be favorable to Poland.

He raised his hand to signal the officers to be quiet, his tone as steady as ever: "Regardless of whether there is an internal rebellion in Russia, we are heading to the left bank of Ukraine."

"The precious drought period is already more than halfway over, and we must hurry up."

"Of course, we must also be prepared for different scenarios. Even if this really is a Russian trap, we can still defeat them!"

Mokronovsky immediately stood at attention and shouted, "For the Motherland!"

Seeing that the Marshal had made his decision, Madalinsky and the others also raised their heads and shouted, "For the Motherland!"

Immediately, the Polish General Staff began to formulate detailed operational plans.

Following Koschuszko's orders, all the troops in eastern Poland, including militia groups, were concentrated in Mogilev. It was estimated that the total force would reach an unprecedented 9 men within a month.

Meanwhile, Poland's Grand Sem also quickly passed a new "arms tax" bill, temporarily levying a total of 750 million Grosschen in military spending. Sixty percent of this will come from Lithuania, where the tax rate was previously slightly lower.

...Southwest Russia.

On the outskirts of Pereyaslav, a military transit station located on the east bank of the Dnieper River, Begozerov, one of the leaders of the "Happiness Association," frowned at the messenger: "Did you tell them we would pay them?"

“Yes, sir. But you know, Kutuzov’s troops are nearby, and they’re worried about being…”

Kishchenko, standing nearby, slammed his fist on the table in anger: "These cowards! It doesn't matter, we can still complete the plan even without them!"

He had been here for more than half a year. Thanks to the consistently poor battlefield situation of the Russian army, he and the dozen or so officers who came with him were able to recruit many soldiers who were already tired of the war into the organization.

In particular, in March, Chadov used "Paul's Curse," which was Tsar Paul's blood-written letter before his death, to successfully persuade Major Nestetov, the commander of the Tikhnov Regiment stationed in Pereyaslav, to rebel against Alexander I, greatly increasing the organization's strength.

This infantry regiment had more than 800 men, two artillery pieces, and control of the Perejaslav supply depot—enough military supplies to supply 3 soldiers.

The only thing that displeased Kishchenko was that Major Nestetov was very cold to him, but was persuaded by Chadov, a guy who had only served as a second lieutenant.

Afterwards, using the funds funded by the mysterious factory owner, they quickly expanded their influence to the two surrounding military settlements and made contact with the Cossacks in Sechi to the south.

However, the serf soldiers in the military settlements clearly lacked ideals and courage, and no one has come to join them to this day.

Of course, there were also some people who were driven crazy by the military settlement system, who said they would consider joining if the uprising went smoothly.

Begozerov remained gloomy: "Without the troops in those military settlements, we would be no match for Kutuzov. In fact, they might even launch an attack on us on the Tsar's orders."

Another senior member of the association nodded and said, "The St. Petersburg army will be here in a month and a half at most. We need at least 5 soldiers to have any chance of holding out."

Kishchenko shouted, "The Tsar's troops have been sent to Minsk, Tbilisi, and other places."

"And as soon as we raise our flag, countless people who yearn for freedom will follow us!"

As he was speaking, there was a rhythmic knocking sound from outside the door.

Seeing that the code was correct, Begozerov signaled to his men to open the door.

A short, dusty-looking man walked in, his face beaming with joy, and said, "The Poles have agreed to launch a full-scale attack at the appropriate time!"

Chadov, who had been silent all along, suddenly stood up and made the sign of the cross: "God has sent down his wrath, and the sinners will be burned!"

"Great!" Kischenko jumped for joy. "If we just take advantage of Kutuzov's dealing with the Poles and launch a surprise attack on his flank and rear, the Tsar's army will be finished!"

Chadov frowned and shook his head: "We only have a little over a thousand men. If any of Kutuzov's legions reacts quickly enough, we'll be bogged down."

(End of this chapter)