Chapter 651: The Games Begin
Prince Poniatowski immediately looked up at Sieyès.
"What are you suggesting?"
"The Prussians," Sieyès said, tapping the map near Gdańsk in Poland's northwest.
"I guarantee that the moment Russia declares war on you, William II will immediately launch an attack here."
"While I understand your caution, all current indications show that Prussia has not betrayed the 'Polish-Prussian Alliance,'" the prince politely countered.
"In fact, His Majesty William II sent a handwritten letter just a few months ago, expressing his enthusiastic support for our new constitution."
Although Joseph had warned the Poles early on to beware of Prussia, William II's skillful deception made it hard for them to believe such a betrayal was possible.
For instance, Poland's intelligence services had detected Russian military activity. Thus, when France warned of a Russian invasion, Poland had wasted no time preparing for war.
But Prussia showed no signs of military or logistical mobilization, making it seem as if they had no intention of waging war.
Of course, only Joseph knew that William II had no plans for a large-scale war. Instead, Prussia intended to wait until Russia had drawn in all of Poland's forces before launching a backstab.
Historically, Prussia barely mobilized during this period, sending a mere handful of troops from their eastern garrisons. The campaign was practically a "military sightseeing tour," advancing to within 50 kilometers of Warsaw with minimal resistance.
If not for Prussia's deliberate decision to leave a portion of Poland intact as a buffer against Russia, they could have erased Poland entirely in that campaign.
Prince Poniatowski continued,
"To be honest, the Confederation's military council has a plan for responding to an eastern invasion, and it includes Prussian forces entering the Livonia region to counter the Russians."
Sieyès suddenly recalled one of the key points in the Crown Prince's plan for assisting Poland's defense. He quickly asked,
"So, are Prussian officers still serving in your military?"
"Indeed, they are. While I've done my best to remove foreign commanders from the army, some officers who have made significant contributions to Poland are difficult to dismiss," the prince admitted.
Sighing inwardly, Sieyès pressed the issue for a while longer. Seeing that the prince only offered vague assurances, he decided to drop the matter and move on.
"Do you think it's possible to expand the regular army to 100,000 within six months?"
"That… would be extremely difficult," the prince replied with a trace of helplessness.
"With Austria no longer requiring our assistance in suppressing uprisings, our funding and training resources have become very constrained.
"The Confederation's military council plans to recruit an additional 20,000 soldiers by the end of the year."
Sieyès could only nod in acknowledgment. This was already the limit of what Poland could achieve.
He continued,
"What about the construction of defensive lines in the east?"
"From Minsk to Pinsk and Volhynia, preparations are relatively thorough. The military council plans to build some star forts along the rivers east of Volhynia."
"Pinsk? Volhynia?" Sieyès asked in surprise.
"Are you saying you're preparing to abandon the western bank of the Dnieper and the entire Podolia region?"
"If we face a full-scale war with Russia, this is the only viable defensive strategy," the prince replied, clearly despondent.
Pinsk was already deep within Poland's heartland. In effect, Poland was preparing to lose its entire southeastern territory from the outset.
But the eastern regions of Poland, from Turov to Vinnytsia, were incredibly poor. Even maintaining logistics there would be a challenge, let alone waging war.
In reality, only the areas from Minsk to Okhtyrka were defensible. The rest of the region was either barren or so infiltrated by Russian influence that it was unsuitable for any meaningful resistance.
An hour later, Sieyès left the Tin-Roof Palace, his brow deeply furrowed.
Back at his residence, he immediately wrote a report detailing Poland's dire preparations and sent it to the Crown Prince. At the end of the letter, he expressed profound guilt for his "failure" in assisting Poland.
Unbeknownst to him, Poland's current situation was vastly improved compared to its historical counterpart.
At that time, Poland wasn't even preparing for war. Instead, its parliament was still debating whether Russia would invade. Lawmakers were busy perfecting the constitution, while the Targowica Confederation actively conspired with Russia, bribing the Polish military to welcome the tsar's "liberators."
A Few Weeks Later
Paris
In his second-floor office in the Tuileries Palace, Joseph read Sieyès' report and rubbed his temples in frustration.
When a country seems determined to throw itself into an abyss, not even the most strenuous efforts can stop it.
At best, Poland might hold out a year or two longer than in history, but its fate of being partitioned seemed inevitable.
The challenge now was figuring out how to make Poland follow his instructions completely.
After pondering for a long time, Joseph gestured to Aymon.
"Please inform General Berthier to recall the military advisory mission from Poland immediately."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Before long, Berthier hurried into Joseph's office.
"Your Highness, are we changing our strategic stance toward Poland?"
"Of course not."
"Then why recall the advisory mission?"
Joseph sighed.
"Invite Prince Poniatowski to Paris. I need to speak with him.
"It just so happens that next month we're hosting the 'Future and Peace Games.' His visit won't raise any suspicion, and his officers can accompany him as part of his entourage."
"Understood, Your Highness."
May 15, 1792
Several plain black carriages made their way through central Paris.
Inside the middle carriage, Prince Poniatowski stared wide-eyed at the scenes outside. His heart swelled with a mixture of awe and envy.
It had been only three years since his last visit to Paris, yet the city was now completely unrecognizable.
Elegant gas lamps lined both sides of the streets. Vendors operated under uniform awnings, and every shop had been freshly painted, many displaying banners that read, "Welcome to Paris" or "First Future and Peace Games."
The streets featured straight wooden tracks, along which large public carriages raced past at high speed.
Street cleaners were a common sight, ensuring the roads—paved with smooth asphalt mixed with gravel—were clean and free of mud. Public restrooms and garbage bins were readily available, leaving little litter in sight.
Of course, the prince was unaware that Paris' asphalt roads were not as expensive as they seemed.
Over the past year, the city's gas lighting system had spawned a fledgling coal tar industry. During the production of coal gas, large amounts of coal tar were generated as a byproduct. After basic refinement, at least a third of this tar could be converted into asphalt.
This made Paris' asphalt roads far cheaper than importing asphalt from the Middle East or the Caribbean.
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