I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1454 The Days That Left the Crown Prince Most Confused

Joseph hurriedly flipped through the battle report sent by the General Staff, and his heart tightened.

The main Polish forces were all concentrated near Smolensk, which means that the nearest Polish city, Minsk, is 330 kilometers away.

Once the Polish army's offensive is thwarted and it tries to retreat back to its homeland, Kutuzov will relentlessly pursue and kill it from several directions.

The severe cold would exponentially amplify Polish casualties.

Back then, when Napoleon retreated from Moscow to Vilnius, he lost more than 80% of his soldiers.

Joseph did not believe that Koschusko's organizational and cover abilities could surpass Napoleon's.

If the Polish army suffers too many losses, the strategic situation in Eastern Europe will quickly become unmanageable.

As for whether Koschushko really performed exceptionally well and completely crushed Kutuzov?
Joseph admitted that although the probability was extremely small, it was still possible.

Even so, the Polish army would face a scorched-earth policy in Moscow and would eventually be worn down by the Russians.

Russia could also use the Great Patriotic War to cover up domestic contradictions and increase cohesion among all social classes.

After defeating the "Polish invaders," Alexander I's prestige will be at its zenith, and he will most likely, as in history, begin to desperately expand his military power, heading towards becoming the "gendarme of Europe."

Joseph shook his head, so the best strategy for Poland right now is to retreat as soon as possible to the west of the Dnieper-West Dvina River and confront the Russian army.

He quickly wrote a few lines, signed his name, and handed the letter to the major who delivered it: "Please send this back to the General Staff immediately. In addition, I need more detailed battle information from the Polish and Russian armies."

His order to the General Staff was to immediately assist Poland in developing a withdrawal plan and to inform Koscuško of the enormous risks currently facing the Polish army.

"Yes, Your Highness."

The next day, Joseph had just entered Arles when he received an urgent report from the Palace of Versailles.

The sender this time was Alexandra.

Joseph thought his wife missed him, so he casually opened the Sharp signal tower file, but after reading only a few lines, his face turned pale.

The Crown Princess told him that His Majesty the King had unexpectedly contracted a serious illness called typhus, and Versailles Palace was in chaos. The royal physician said that the King had to go to Brittany for treatment, but Her Majesty the Queen requested that the news of the King's illness not be announced to the public for the time being, and specifically emphasized that the Crown Prince should not be told yet.

She was worried that the royal physician's diagnosis or treatment might be flawed and delay the king's recovery, so she secretly sent him this letter.

Furthermore, at the end of the letter, she subtly mentioned the possibility of a coup d'état by the Count of Artois, the Duke of Broy, and others. This was actually the main reason she was so eager to inform her husband.

Joseph, of course, did not take the coup seriously. With his current prestige, anyone who dared to utter the word "coup" would be chopped to pieces by the Parisian military, police, and citizens within half an hour.

But his father's health was causing him great anxiety.

It's not surprising that my father's diet is high in oil and sugar, and he often works all day in the royal workshops, so it's not surprising that he would have health problems.

Joseph clutched Alexandra's letter tightly, thinking to himself: He had been helping his father exercise for the past few months, so his resistance shouldn't be that bad; he should be able to pull through.

He suddenly remembered something and immediately wrote a letter, which he handed to Emmanuel: "Please send it to the Paris pharmaceutical factory laboratory immediately."

In his letter, he instructed Lamarck to take penicillin to Versailles Palace and give his father two injections.

He didn't know if penicillin was effective against typhus, but it was the most potent drug he had, so he had to give it a try.

Penicillin was a French state secret, and its use required Joseph's personal authorization. However, that very afternoon, an intelligence report was delivered to Joseph.

Rhondalie gave a detailed account of the king's illness, diagnosis, and the reactions of the more influential people in Versailles.

In the latter part of the report, Joseph was surprised to see that the renowned doctors of the Health and Medical Bureau unanimously agreed that the King's condition was not life-threatening and that if he went to Fontainebleau Palace for treatment immediately, his chances of recovery would be very high.

Joseph was somewhat bewildered, unsure whether the royal physician or the health bureau was the real incompetent one...

However, two hours later, a message sent by Lamarck through the Shap signal tower answered his doubts.

According to this top French doctor, who was influenced by Joseph's modern medical ideas, he swore on his own honor that, based on his observation, the king did not have typhus and that the condition was not serious. However, he still administered a "type one antibiotic" to the king, as instructed by the crown prince.

This made Joseph even more anxious. It was good that he was diagnosed, but the worst part was not knowing what disease it was.

He simply abandoned the carriage and rode on horseback with his personal guards.

Around 7 p.m., it was too dark to continue traveling, so Joseph had to stop in Alamon for the night.

As soon as he entered the city, the mayor, accompanied by more than a dozen officials, came forward to greet him, bowing deeply and saying, "We respectfully welcome His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Regent with the deepest respect."

The mayor then solemnly presented a copy of the royal decree, newly issued by the King and registered by the High Court two hours earlier.

"The Regent?"

Joseph, completely bewildered, looked at the Sharp signal tower document by the firelight, and his eyes widened in surprise.

It was clearly printed with the words "Regency Charter." Below it were the King's signature (or the signature of a descendant of the King), the countersignature of the Senate, and the registration of the High Court.

Then he saw the contents of the edict.

In short: The King is seriously ill and has authorized the Crown Prince to act as regent.

Joseph turned to Emmanuel: "Immediately have the intelligence agency and Baron Brettius submit detailed reports to me. I need to know exactly what happened at Versailles."

……

Traveling at full speed, Joseph arrived in southern Nemur in just six days and boarded a train there.

At 5 p.m. that day, he finally met his father at the Fontainebleau Sanatorium.

The royal physician, Petit, holding a thermometer, solemnly declared, "39.7 degrees Celsius, Your Highness."

Joseph ignored him and tried pressing his own forehead against his father's forehead.

It's not hot at all!

He even saw that his father seemed to have secretly glanced at him.

He gestured for all the doctors and servants to leave, closed the door himself, and turned to his mother: "So, is Father sick or not?"

Queen Mary avoided his gaze somewhat nervously and nodded: "That... cough, it should be typhus..."

Louis XVI squinted around to make sure no one was watching, then sat bolt upright in bed, scratching his neck vigorously: "What kind of paint is this? It's making me so itchy all over..."

(End of this chapter)