Chapter 1412: Pincer Attack
Seeing that everyone in the room was looking at him, Chadov recalled the strategy told to him by "that gentleman," took a deep breath, and declared:
"For us, the most important thing right now is to expand our strength."
He pointed to the southwest: "The military settlements in Lubny and Poltava have a large number of potential soldiers, and the people there are full of hatred for Alexander. We should quickly seize these areas while Kutuzov is preoccupied. As long as we promise land to the serfs in the settlements, perhaps with a few rubles added, they won't resist at all and will likely join us."
"Following that, we can continue heading south. There are many Cossack camps there, and we can even go to the Danube River and ally with Katerleitz's Cossack Sich."
A "Sich" was originally a fortified Cossack settlement in the wilderness, later becoming synonymous with a large, autonomous Cossack region. Such a large Sich was governed by its own Rada—a type of council—and possessed its own army, churches, and a system of mutual aid among its members, essentially functioning as a small, independent state.
More than twenty years ago, the largest Zaporizhzhian Sich in Ukraine was conquered by Empress Catherine II. Cossacks who refused to submit to the Tsar fled to the Danube River, establishing new Sich settlements in the border region between Russia and the Ottoman Empire.
It could be said that these Cossacks harbored a deep, bloody grudge against Russia. In the subsequent Russo-Turkish War, they even fought for the Ottoman Empire until the mid-19th century, when the Ottomans were so badly beaten by Russia that they could no longer sustain themselves, and these Cossacks finally lost their settlements entirely.
Joseph knew very well that historical Russian liberal officer uprisings had relied only on their own small numbers of soldiers, invariably leading to their swift suppression by the Tsar's army.
If Kishchenko and the others were left to their own devices, the hundreds of thousands of Francs he had invested in Russia would amount to little more than a "loud bang."
Chadov clenched his fist, stating gravely, "Please don't forget, our goal is to eliminate the guilty Alexander! So even if we succeed in attacking Kutuzov, it's impossible for a thousand-plus soldiers to march all the way to Saint Petersburg. What we need is an army of tens of thousands—that is the only guarantee of successful revenge!"
Kishchenko and the two liberal officers exchanged glances, their thoughts diverging.
They weren't interested in "eliminating the Tsar for revenge"—if Alexander was willing to accept a constitutional monarchy, they would immediately switch their support to him.
However, leading an army to besiege Saint Petersburg was indeed the most effective way to force the Tsar to compromise, so they tacitly agreed to Chadov's proposal.
The more radical members, such as Begozerov and other high-ranking figures in the Society of Happiness, absolutely advocated for the Tsar's demise, and immediately supported the plan to expand their influence southwest.
Nevertheless, Chadov and the "revenge faction" were only targeting Alexander I; if they truly succeeded in killing him, they would most likely crown a new Tsar.
Thus, these three factions, "sleeping in the same bed with different dreams," were temporarily united under the guidance of "that gentleman."
...
Transcaucasia.
Tsalka city, 35 kilometers southwest of Tbilisi.
Ahmed Pasha, commander of the Ottoman vanguard, saluted the overall commander Mustafa, placing his hand on his chest: "General, a message has arrived from the Persians."
Mustafa took the scroll and pulled Ahmed down to sit beside a large iron pot simmering over a campfire, smiling, "Is Mirza urging us to attack again?"
Ahmed nodded, looking somewhat anxious: "Yes, sir. His wording was very stern this time. He said if we don't act soon, he will withdraw his troops."
The Persian and Ottoman armies, positioned to the east and south of Tbilisi respectively, had been in a standoff with the Russian forces for half a year without making any progress.
The Persian army's daily logistical consumption was enormous, and voices in Tehran were already questioning Prince Mirza's competence.
Mustafa snorted. "If they dare to retreat, the tribes in Shiraz will soon revolt."
He gestured for an attendant to ladle out a bowl of cooked meat from the pot and handed it to Ahmed: "Go tell the Persians that in ten days, I will send at least 20,000 soldiers to launch a fierce assault on Tbilisi, and they must give me their full cooperation."
Ahmed took the bowl, looking somewhat surprised: "Twenty thousand soldiers? Are we going for a decisive battle?"
The Ottoman army sent to Transcaucasia was nominally over 100,000 strong, but only about 70,000 to 80,000 actually reached the battlefield.
The Janissary Corps suffered from severe corruption, which meant many soldiers couldn't even be guaranteed weapons and equipment, and logistical supplies were frequently short. The truly combat-ready forces numbered less than 40,000.
In fact, the absolute core force had always been the fewer than 2,000 Topçus.
So, committing 20,000 men to an attack at once was practically an all-in gamble.
Mustafa served himself a bowl, saying triumphantly, "The fleet just delivered over 20 cannons last week—French-made. This time, I'm going to teach those Russians a good lesson."
What he didn't mention was that the same ship also carried over 6,000 Charleville Flintlock Muskets. However, the Janissary Corps was rather resistant to these new weapons, so only a few hundred were distributed, with the rest given to the Topçus.
Ahmed's eyes widened instantly: "France gave us so much aid?"
Mustafa laughed: "Don't spread this, but apparently, the Grand Vizier redirected some of the weapons France sent to Mysore."
Indeed, Yusuf Ziya, the current Grand Vizier who had just taken office this year, was eager to open up the Transcaucasia front quickly to solidify his position. He had learned that a large shipment of supplies was passing through the Ottoman Empire on its way to India.
Ten days later, Tbilisi suffered an unprecedentedly fierce artillery bombardment, followed by an assault launched by tens of thousands of Persian and Ottoman coalition forces.
...
France, Paris.
The area around the Tuileries Palace was adorned with ribbons and flowers, and sounds of music and audience applause echoed from within the palace.
The inaugural European Theatre Festival officially opened today, with two plays simultaneously showing in the East Wing and South Wing.
Even though tickets for the furthest corner seats were priced as high as 5 Francs each, the theaters were still packed to capacity.
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