Chapter 596 Polish Song 2

No. 5

Although Poland has a vast East European plain, rich mineral resources, and convenient inland shipping, it has been ruined by an extremely stupid political model.

At present, Poland has almost no decent industry. The financial pillar is grain exports, but due to the serfdom, the grain output is not particularly high.

So Poland is quite poor, and military expenditure is even more stretched.

Under the previous wave of nationalism, there are many Poles willing to join the army, but the country can't afford it.

France's finances are also quite tight, so naturally it will not directly "throw money" to aid like Britain.

The solution Joseph thought of for Poland is to fully exploit the Tarnovsk Mountain Silver Mine.

In his memory, this is the world's largest silver mine in the 21st century, with an annual output of thousands of tons.

And he learned from Brian that the current output of this silver mine is less than 30,000 pounds, or about 14 tons, and all the coins are worth about 2 million francs.

Therefore, Joseph judged that most of the silver mine had not been explored yet. If the mining volume could be increased by six or seven times, Poland's military expenditure could be easily solved.

This time, he even asked Sieyès to bring several French geologists to Poland. When the new mine begins to be excavated, France can also invest in shares and make some extra money.

Prince Poniatowski heard this but shook his head helplessly: "You may not know much about the situation in Krakow. We have mined all the places that can be mined there."

"There are indeed many places around where mineral layers have been found, but the mineral veins there are deep, and underground tunnels need to be dug for mining. There is a lot of groundwater in Krakow. After the tunnel is dug, it will be submerged by groundwater in three or four days at most..."

This is beyond Sieyès' professional scope, so he had no choice but to say: "I will consult Mr. Peche about this matter. "

Peche was the geologist who came with him to Poland.

The dinner ended quickly, and the next day Stanislaw II and his nephew took Sieyès to the military camp to visit Poland's most elite infantry division.

In the camp, thousands of soldiers fully equipped with Prussian equipment lined up in neat square formations for inspection.

An officer with a high nose and tough facial lines waved his sword and shouted: "Begin!"

The surrounding military music sounded immediately, and the soldiers began to demonstrate the transformation from square formation to charge column. The whole process was quite fast and neat, reaching the level of the old French army.

Prince Poniatowski pointed to the officer and introduced Sieyès: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince once recommended General Tadeusz Kościuszczuk to me. Oh, he was only a lieutenant colonel at that time. So I tried to hand over an army to him.

"Obviously, Your Highness is right. General Kościuszko quickly demonstrated his talent for command and has now been promoted to Lieutenant General, serving as the commander-in-chief of the Third Royal Infantry Division guarding Volyn."

Volyn is a strategic location in south-central Poland, where 60% of the Polish army is stationed. In other words, Kościuszko is now almost the second-in-command of the Polish Army.

This Polish national hero, who has never lost in the "Two Melons", was reused two years earlier under Joseph's intervention.

With these two years of running-in with the army, I believe he will be able to play a stronger role in the fight against aggression.

Prince Poniatowski continued: "Of course, except for the two Royal Divisions, the combat effectiveness of other troops is far less than that of the Russian army, not to mention the newly recruited soldiers.

"If you give me a few more years, I am confident that I can train the army to a level that exceeds that of the Russians."

Sieyès said: "But I'm afraid you don't have so much time, we have to find ways from other aspects.

"I brought gunsmiths with me this time. They will help you improve the output and quality of your weapons."

"Oh, by the way, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also suggested that you restore the organization of the Winged Hussars."

"Winged Hussars?" The prince smiled and shook his head, "Their glory has been left in the legend. In the current battle, the wings are no longer useful except for majesty."

"No, they are useful." Sieyès said, "They are the pride of Poland and the symbol of spirit. You don't need to equip the Winged Hussars with heavy armor like before, but as long as they have those wings, they can boost the morale of all soldiers!"

"This," the prince hesitated, but out of respect for his French friends, he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll try to form a cavalry battalion first."

Sieyès repeated Joseph's suggestions on military construction to the prince, and finally said: "Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince has another suggestion that can buy time for Poland, but..."

He looked at Stanislaw II on the side: "This requires His Majesty the King to make certain sacrifices."

"I can give everything for Poland. "The latter said without hesitation.

He was not shouting slogans. In history, he was even willing to give up the throne to promote the unity of Poland. However, in terms of his ability to govern the country, he was relatively average, and in the end he could only watch the country fall apart.

Sieyès first bowed to him, and then said: "Your Highness suggests that you can go to St. Petersburg more often and talk to the Tsar... to reminisce about the past. You should show her a submissive attitude as much as possible, so that she feels that Poland can be conquered without war. "

Stanislaw II used to be Catherine's lover. He also ascended the throne with the support of Russia.

"How can this be? !" Prince Poniatowski immediately objected, "Your Majesty represents Poland, and he has to manage the entire country!"

"This is just a suggestion." Sieyès said calmly, "Excuse me, those nobles have been slandering your Majesty as an agent of Russia, so...Excuse me, your Majesty's support in the country is not very high."

Stanislaw II took a deep breath and nodded, "You are right, and I can go to Russia. However, if the Polish people know that their king is trying to please the Tsar, they will be disappointed and their hearts will collapse..."

Sieyès also took a deep breath and looked at Prince Poniatowski: "As long as there is another hero who can unite the people, this will not be a problem."

"What are you talking about? This is absolutely not possible!"

"This is indeed a good idea. I think we can try it."

The first sentence was said by the prince, and the second sentence was said by the King of Poland.

...

The second floor of the Tuileries Palace.

Joseph frowned slightly as he looked at the report that Sieyès had just sent.

No wonder the mining rate of the silver mine in Tarnovsk Mountain is so low. It turns out that the Poles have tried it.

He found the exploration conclusion attached to the report - there is still serious water seepage at a depth of 80 meters in the underground tunnel. Although the silver reserves are high, it cannot be mined.

"If it is just groundwater..."

Joseph suddenly thought of something and asked Emman to find a geology expert from the University of Paris.

Two hours later, an old scholar in his 50s or 60s sat opposite Joseph, looked at the exploration data, and shook his head and said: "Your Highness, according to the amount of water here, it is impossible to drain it with the current equipment. Although the steam engine is nominally capable of pumping water from a depth of 90 meters, that is the conclusion drawn in a laboratory environment."