I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 727: War and Generals (Additional chapter for the leader Lin Jiaer)
Tormasov saw that Suvorov looked unhappy, so he asked hurriedly, "Marshal, what happened?"

Suvorov had a dark face. He threw the battle report to him and exhaled: "Perhaps, we won't stay in Minsk for too long."

Tormasov quickly read the battle report and frowned: "The losses... are indeed quite large."

He suddenly reacted and looked at Suvorov: "You mean, we should leave here?"

"Yes."

"But we have just made a breakthrough, we should continue to move westward..."

Suvorov waved his hand and said, "I'm afraid the empire's finances can no longer sustain the war here. Unless His Majesty the Tsar decides to give up Crimea."

Tormasov understood at once.

Crimea was almost destroyed by the Poles, and its reconstruction will inevitably require huge investment.

Previously, in order to encircle and annihilate Kosciuszko, the empire had mobilized a total of 60,000 to 70,000 troops.

In particular, the Kakhovsky Corps made a long march from Mozyr to Crimea, and it was a forced march without any baggage.

This requires continuous delivery of supplies to the army along the way.

The hundreds of miles of area from Mozyr to the south, from Severia to Yekaterinoslav, are extremely barren, so the supplies can only be transported from central cities such as Lipetsk.

To travel such a long distance, at least hundreds of thousands of serfs would be needed for logistical transportation, and the cost would be incredibly high.

As for the destroyed city of Bryansk and the captured Kursk Fortress, the losses they caused were not so obvious.

Originally, the empire's finances were sufficient to support the army in fighting the Poles for about a year, but after Kosciuszko's actions, it was only enough for four or five months at most.

And now, nearly four months have passed since the war broke out.

Tormasov said unwillingly: "We can seek a loan."

Suvorov seemed uninterested: "Even if we can get the military funds, we don't have enough troops."

"How can this be?" Tormasov asked in amazement, "We still have more than 8 troops in Poland, while the Poles have at most 8 troops.

"I think you can defeat them with only 6 soldiers!"

He automatically ignored the Kakhovsky Corps. Although the battle report did not mention the specific number of casualties, it can be seen from the fact that it took half a year to rest and recuperate that many organizations were probably broken up.

Suvorov sighed: "But I will soon no longer have 6 troops."

"what?"

"Don't forget the Ottomans," Suvorov said. "Crimea is so empty, they will have ideas."

Tormasov paused for a moment.

Indeed, Bakhchisarai was destroyed, and if the Ottomans suddenly sent troops, they could easily capture Crimea.

Russia would have to station at least 20,000 to 30,000 troops there to defend it, and could not leave until Bakhchisaray was almost completely repaired.

He immediately remembered that he had previously mobilized the garrison in Moldavia. The Ottoman Empire still claimed to be the suzerain of Moldavia and did not recognize Russia's control over it.

Therefore, the troops there also need to be replenished.

After all the calculations, the number of troops that can remain in Poland may not even reach 6.

Tormasov was still a little unwilling: "If Your Majesty mobilizes the troops of the central provinces to fight in Poland..."

Suvorov was no longer in the mood to visit Minsk. He turned his horse and said, "Let's go back to the headquarters. The empire needs at least three years of recuperation before it can mobilize on a large scale again."

Tormasov hurriedly chased after him: "No, there must be another way..."

……

St. Petersburg.

Hermitage.

Catherine II clenched her fists tightly and said in a deep voice, "There must be a way!" Zubov took two cautious steps forward and said, "Your Majesty, if we can get a loan, we can continue to increase our troops."

The Tsar thought for a moment and looked at Rumyantsev: "How much military expenditure do you think is needed to continue Suvorov's offensive?"

The latter groaned and said, "At least 800 million rubles, Your Majesty. And if there are 1 million rubles, it would be safer."

This figure made Catherine II feel nervous. Russia's total fiscal revenue was only 1 million rubles a year.

She quickly went through the possible loan recipients. The finances of the German states were tight, France was in debt, and Spain... probably wanted to borrow money from Russia.

Therefore, only the wealthy United Kingdom can provide this huge loan.

She stood up suddenly and said to Zubov, "You must go to England immediately and get a loan of at least 800 million rubles. Oh, and let Bezbelodiko go with you."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Just as Zubov was about to turn around, an officer walked quickly along the wall and whispered something in Rumyantsev's ear.

Rumyantsev's face suddenly turned ugly.

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He hesitated for a moment, but still said to Catherine II: "Your Majesty, I just received news from Crimea."

"Ok?"

"Kościuszko was not found among the bodies. Of course, he could have been blown to pieces by a shell."

The Tsar rubbed his brows irritably: "Anything else?"

"It seems that there are still nearly 2,000 Polish troops still active in eastern Crimea. General Kakhovsky has sent people to pursue them..."

"Bang!" Catherine II threw the pen holder next to her to the ground.

……

Kosciuszko was awakened by the pain.

He opened his eyes with great effort and struggled to look towards the place where the severe pain came from. He saw that his left leg had disappeared below the knee, and half of his thigh was tied with a blood-soaked bandage.

He opened his mouth and took a deep breath. It took him several minutes to get used to the pain.

"I, am not dead?"

He looked around. It was a small gray-yellow house, and he was lying on a dirt bed, his military uniform replaced with a Cossack shirt.

The door opened and an old woman in Ottoman clothes came in. When she saw that he had woken up, she said a lot of things anxiously.

Seeing that Kosciuszko didn't understand, she turned around and went out again, bringing back a middle-aged man.

The latter said in Russian: "Respected sir, it was Mesih who asked me to hide you here. Oh, he joined the resistance."

After asking weakly for a long time, Kosciuszko finally figured out that he had been hit in the left leg by a shell and fainted that day.

The guards led him back to the riverside, where someone from the resistance organization saw him from the other side of the river. They managed to get a small boat, drifted him downstream, and hid him in the farmhouse.

"Thank you. Excuse me, am I the only one here?"

"Yes, Messih only brought you here."

……

Vienna.

Schönbrunn Palace.

Francis II looked at Baron Turgut and frowned, "Are you saying that Russia might cease fire with Poland?"

"At present, it is like this, Your Majesty. The Russian offensive in Minsk and Mozyr has stopped, and some soldiers have withdrawn back to the country. It is said that their losses in Crimea are very heavy."

(End of this chapter)