Chapter 1122: A Nation in Suffering
The sixty or seventy members of the Great Sejm sitting on the eastern side of the hall rose to their feet as one, voicing their impassioned support for Jan Kilinski.
"Appeasing the Russians is nothing less than a betrayal of the brave warriors who fell during the War of Defense!"
"The Russians have deceived us with lies for decades; we can never trust them again!"
"Count Branicki, you are welcome to kneel and beg for mercy before your Tsar, but we shall never do so!"
"Damn it all! We paid in blood to drive the Russians out; we will not permit them to return..."
Though Count Branicki's faction numbered only a dozen or so, they remained stubborn, shouting back their rebuttals.
"We cannot continue to waste away like this forever!"
"Why don't you go see Bobruisk or Turov for yourselves? The people there are forced to flee east of the Dnieper River because they cannot afford their taxes!"
"We can hate the Russians all we want, but we still have to trade with them."
Kilinski's supporters immediately drowned them out with an even louder roar of disapproval.
The two sides argued for nearly half an hour, and just as it looked as though they might come to blows, Speaker Czartoryski was forced to order the guards to separate the factions. He then declared a recess, announcing that the motion submitted by Branicki would be put to a vote in one week.
The dozen or so members of the peace faction were the first to be escorted from the legislative hall. As Kossakowski reached the main entrance, he turned back, shouting to the remaining representatives through the gap between the guards: "I must warn you! If this motion fails, the east will certainly descend into chaos!"
Kilinski watched the peace faction disappear from sight, his expression clouded with worry. "We cannot simply sit by and let those Orthodox agitators continue like this."
Beside him, Hugo Kołłątaj let out a heavy sigh. "The situation in the eastern provinces is indeed dire. I was there just last month; many people are secretly conducting business with the Russians."
Jakub Jasiński leaned in and muttered, "Those wretched traitors! They are the ones feeding the Russian Army in Smolensk. They should be arrested immediately!"
Kołłątaj whispered back, "They are only doing what they must to survive..."
According to the decrees of the Great Sejm, all Poles were strictly forbidden from trading with Russians, and violators were to be prosecuted for high treason.
This was understandable. After all, the Russian invasion had nearly brought about the total annihilation of Poland. Anti-Russian sentiment was currently the most powerful political force in the nation.
However, while Poland had narrowly managed to repel the combined assault of Russia, Prussia, and Austria in the last war, its national strength remained fragile. To secure a ceasefire, they had been forced to cede three or four provinces.
While this was a far smaller loss than the historical Second Partition, in terms of the war's outcome, Poland was still a defeated nation.
The current geopolitical situation surrounding Poland was grim.
To the east, trade with Russia was non-existent. To the west, because Prussia occupied the largest portion of former Polish territory, multiple resistance groups were active in border provinces like Poznan, keeping relations between Poland and Prussia at a knife's edge.
Only Austria to the south continued to trade with Poland. However, Vienna, knowing it was the only buyer for Poland's southern exports, had suppressed the price of grain to a mere sixty percent of what it had been a few years ago. Exporting grain was Poland's primary source of national income.
While grain from the central and northern regions could still be exported through the port of Gdańsk, that revenue alone was nowhere near enough to repair the massive fiscal deficit caused by the War of Defense.
To defend against its three predatory neighbors, Poland maintained a standing army of over 90,000 men. The annual military budget alone consumed nearly all the proceeds from grain exports.
The only saving grace was the silver mines in Krakow, which provided the Polish government with nine million złoty—roughly 14.4 million francs—in annual revenue. This was the only thing keeping Warsaw from total bankruptcy.
In a show of support, Joseph had arranged for the majority of the silver mine dividends owed to France—which held a forty percent stake—to remain in Poland in the form of loans.
It was at this critical juncture that the eccentric Paul I suddenly sent a special envoy to Warsaw, expressing a desire to restore relations between the two nations.
It was an absurdity akin to a bandit who had just robbed your home suddenly showing up at your door to invite you to the opera.
And yet, despite the irony, many in eastern Poland—particularly within the Orthodox communities—were desperate to accept the Tsar's peace proposal.
Several days later, at the Tin-Roofed Palace.
Prince Poniatowski, the Regent of Poland, frowned as he looked at the high-ranking officials before him, including Jasiński and Kilinski. "So, what is your collective opinion?"
"This is undoubtedly a Russian scheme to divide us," Jasiński said, his fists clenched tight. "If we open the eastern border, the Russians will have cultivated another Targowica Confederation within a few years."
Ignacy Potocki added in a low, grim voice, "If anything, we should be sending more troops to the east."
Though he shared the same surname as some of the notorious traitors of the past, this Potocki was a staunch anti-Russian patriot.
Prince Poniatowski nodded slowly. "I must admit, the Russian ruse has been effective. The representatives from the east are reacting strongly. I fear that rejecting the peace motion will drive them to..."
Jasiński interrupted immediately. "It is highly likely they are the ones who secretly asked the Russians to make this offer. In my view, there shouldn't be any Orthodox members in the Great Sejm at all!"
Potocki voiced his agreement. "Exactly. These people will eventually be the ruin of Poland!"
"We should purge the collaborators from the Great Sejm before they can do any real damage!"
At that moment, a court official knocked hurriedly and entered the room. He bowed to Poniatowski and said, "Your Highness, we have just received word. A protest involving thousands of people has broken out in Bobruisk."
"They are demanding the restoration of trade with Russia and a reduction of the local garrison. The unrest is already showing signs of spreading toward Minsk."
The eastern provinces, including Bobruisk, had always been the poorest regions of Poland. Since the ban on Russian trade, the lives of the common people had become nearly unsustainable. Upon hearing that Russia was willing to restore relations, the populace had flocked to their local city halls in a show of support.
Potocki immediately turned to Prince Poniatowski. "There is no more time for hesitation, Your Highness! You must order the army to suppress these traitors immediately!"
Hugo Kołłątaj, however, looked hesitant. "But they haven't actually done anything illegal yet. To protest is a right granted to them by the Constitution."
"By the time they 'do something,' it will be too late!"
"Surely we cannot throw this many people into prison?"
As the two sides argued back and forth, the sound of wooden wheels creaking against the floor reached their ears. A moment later, a wheelchair appeared at the doorway.
Everyone in the room, including Prince Poniatowski, immediately rose to greet the newcomer. "Marshal Kościuszko! What brings you here?"
The man in the chair was none other than the great hero of Poland, the man who had led a desperate, daring raid into the heart of Russia. Having lost his left leg in the war, Kościuszko had retired to recuperate upon his return and had stayed out of politics ever since.
Yet, no one could ignore his immense influence.
Kościuszko looked around at the assembled men, his expression grave. "Gentlemen, Poland has reached another moment of life or death!"
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