Chapter 195: Europa Universalis 4
Joseph, however, seemed to have more to say, waving his hand emphatically: "Regrettably, Ottoman fortresses still remain on the northern Black Sea coast. Only by sweeping them away as quickly as possible can we ensure the stability of the ports vital for Black Sea trade.
"After that, Russia should advance its forces south of the Danube River, seizing control of the Danube estuary from the Ottomans!
"And on the eastern Black Sea coast, Georgia—that small nation under Russian protection—is still occupied by the Ottomans at its Black Sea outlet and suppressed by the Persians, urgently awaiting Russia's salvation."
He looked at Paul earnestly. "If necessary, France can provide you with assistance at any time!"
Crown Prince Paul was dumbfounded. He felt as if the French Crown Prince was even more aggressive than his own mother, directly claiming all areas—except the southern Black Sea, which was the Ottoman homeland—for Russia. If an outsider were present, they might think Joseph was the Russian Crown Prince.
In truth, Joseph was merely reiterating the historical circumstances of several Russo-Turkish Wars. These regions represented the very interests Russia coveted, and any Russian would be stirred upon hearing such a proposition.
Indeed, Paul nodded excitedly again and again. "This is also His Majesty the King's..."
Joseph immediately interjected, "These are all His Majesty the King's intentions. Please be sure to convey them to Her Majesty the Empress."
As the Crown Prince of France, his words carried significant diplomatic weight.
Paul immediately returned the favor. "I assure you, we will also provide support for France's actions in North Africa at any time!"
After parting ways with the Russian Crown Prince, Joseph returned to his chambers and saw the servants gathered around the Spanish Crown Prince with helpless expressions. Antonio had clearly drunk a lot; his hair was disheveled, and he looked utterly dejected.
Antonio saw his cousin return and immediately stood up with his wine glass, his eyes reddening again.
Joseph sighed, drank a few more glasses with him, and silently patted his back in comfort.
Soon, Antonio passed out. Joseph instructed the servants to carry him to bed. Turning, he saw Fouché approaching swiftly, bowing as he asked, "Your Highness, should we continue monitoring the second floor of the South Wing?"
He was referring to the person assigned to watch the Spanish Crown Princess.
"No need," Joseph shook his head. Antonio was so utterly incapable; there was truly nothing more Joseph could do.
He glanced back at Antonio and casually asked Fouché, "Is there any way to give him the courage to deal with that unfaithful woman?"
Fouché paused, then murmured, "Your Highness, dealing with the woman herself might be troublesome, but her lover should be easy enough to handle."
"Oh?" Joseph queried. "How do you propose to do that?"
Fouché broke into an excited, sinister smile. "Destroy him. It shouldn't be too much trouble."
Joseph frowned. He disliked using overly "dirty" methods to solve problems, often unconsciously overlooking such options.
However, he then remembered Antonio's tormented expression and narrowed his eyes. Godoy was merely a minor guard with no significant background. Perhaps a simple, direct approach would be the most effective.
He looked at Fouché. "Can you guarantee it will be foolproof?"
"Rest assured, he will merely suffer an 'accident.' No one will suspect a thing."
"Tomorrow is His Majesty the King's birthday. Don't cause too much of a stir."
"Yes, Your Highness, I understand."
At lunchtime, a tall, handsome man in his thirties met Joseph in the corridor and immediately stepped forward to bow to him.
Eman quickly whispered at his side, "Your Highness, this is Prince Poniatowski of Poland."
Joseph gave a slight nod but deliberately turned his face away, ignoring the Polish Prince, and departed haughtily under the latter's awkward gaze.
Eyes were everywhere in Versailles. Since Joseph had chosen a path of closeness with Russia, he had to demonstrate a stance of keeping Poland at a distance.
Poniatowski wasn't particularly offended. After all, Poland's national power was in decline, plagued by internal ailments, especially after Russia, Prussia, and Austria had carved off large swathes of its territory a decade earlier. It was only natural for a great power like France to look down on them.
But as soon as he rounded the staircase, an unfamiliar young man suddenly bowed to him, then slipped a note into his hand.
Poniatowski, surprised, clutched the note in his hand, not opening it until he reached a secluded spot.
The note was from the French Crown Prince, containing a single, simple sentence: inviting him to wait at a certain location outside Versailles Palace at two o'clock that afternoon.
The summer afternoon was scorching, especially since France hadn't seen rain in a long time.
Poniatowski wiped sweat from his brow, about to check his watch again, when two of France's most popular "Gem" luxury carriages pulled up beside him.
A moment later, inside one of the carriage compartments, Joseph observed the rather valiant Polish Prince before him and smiled. "I apologize for meeting you this way. But please believe me, our upcoming conversation is extremely important to both you and Poland."
Joseph knew well that the current King Stanisław II of Poland was utterly unreliable. He had ascended to the Polish throne by being Catherine's lover, placed there by the Empress.
Perhaps throughout his earlier life, Catherine had appeared too formidable to him, and even after becoming king, he remained greatly afraid of her.
This fear led to Stanisław II ordering the entire Polish army to surrender during the Second Partition of Poland, despite the bulk of their forces still being intact, firmly believing they couldn't defeat Russia.
Across Poland, most nobles formed factions for their own political gain, either siding with Prussia or colluding with Russia, with no one truly caring about Poland's fate.
Only the Polish King's nephew—Prince Poniatowski—and the renowned general Tadeusz Kościuszko consistently advocated for military preparation and readiness. They even repelled the Russian army during the second partition war a few years later, making them suitable candidates for cultivation.
Especially since Kościuszko had yet to make a name for himself, the task of reforming the Polish army was entirely Poniatowski's responsibility. As a prince, he also wielded considerable influence over Polish politics.
Now that he was visiting France, Joseph naturally seized this golden opportunity to introduce him to some methods that could help Poland 'stand tall' again.
As for how much of it he could implement, that would depend on Poland's luck.
Poniatowski looked at the young French Crown Prince for a few seconds, then nodded solemnly. "I believe you, Your Highness. Please speak."
Joseph let out a soft sigh and said, "First, you must understand that Poland faces a very dangerous situation. Perhaps in only about five years, it will face the danger of national annihilation."
According to historical trajectory, the Second Partition of Poland would occur five years later.
Poniatowski was startled, shaking his head slightly. "Your Highness, aren't you being a bit alarmist?
"Although Poland faces many threats, we are still a great nation, and we have an alliance with Prussia. Should we face a threat, Prussia will send troops to assist us."
Joseph felt a little speechless. The Poles were truly naive. Prussia was the most zealous country in partitioning them, even more so than Russia!
However, Prussia believed it might not be able to handle Poland alone, so it secretly incited Russia to act together, while outwardly feigning an alliance with Poland.
Historically, as soon as Russia deployed its troops, Prussia immediately tore up the alliance and attacked Poland from two sides.
Joseph immediately stated in a grave tone, "If you want to preserve Poland, first and foremost, you must remember never to trust Prussia!"
The Polish Prince asked in surprise, "Why do you say that?"
"I..." Joseph wanted to tell him that he had studied historical records, but could only say, "France's intelligence system has received absolutely reliable information that acquiring northwestern Poland is Prussia's primary strategic objective."
"This, how can this be?!"
"You can absolutely confirm it through your own intelligence channels." Joseph didn't expect him to believe it instantly, but as long as the Poles remained vigilant, he believed they would eventually uncover some clues.
Poniatowski nodded, then asked, "Why are you telling me this?"
"First, I do not wish for Prussia's plans to succeed."
Poniatowski naturally had no reason to doubt this—Prussia was closely allied with Britain, and France and Britain were ancient enemies. France certainly wouldn't want Prussia to grow stronger.
Joseph continued with a sincere expression, "Of course, more importantly, it's because I deeply sympathize with Poland and do not wish for more suffering to befall the Polish people."
Poniatowski automatically disregarded this point. Sentiments like "sympathy" and "goodwill" were merely useless decorations in international politics.
"Thank you very much for your warning, Your Royal Highness."
"It's nothing," Joseph continued. "Furthermore, the constitution Poland is establishing will likely need to be accelerated."
"Ah? A constitution?" Poniatowski hadn't expected the French to comment on Poland's internal affairs.
"With all due respect, the constitution you are currently attempting to draft is far too expansive, leading to an excessive amount of discussion and slow progress."
Joseph stated, "Poland's biggest critical issue right now is the 'Liberum Veto.' The process of abolishing it absolutely should not be intertwined with the new constitution. From what I can estimate, your Sejm will not be able to complete the entire constitution within three or four years."
The 'Liberum Veto' referred to the system in the Polish parliament where a single member could unilaterally block any resolution.
This allowed foreign powers, such as Russia and Prussia, to bribe a minority of members to prevent Poland from passing any legislation they found disagreeable.
At the same time, members, motivated by self-interest, would veto numerous proposals beneficial to national development. The ultimate result was that Poland had virtually no effective policies implemented for over a century, and the nation steadily deteriorated.
The Polish Sejm planned to include the abolition of the Liberum Veto within the new constitution, meaning Poland would remain stagnant until then.
"Your meaning is?"
"Enact a separate law to abolish the 'Liberum Veto,'" Joseph added. "Poland is truly on the brink of disaster; you must act quickly!"
He wasn't sure if the Polish Prince had taken his words to heart, but continued, "The Polish army also needs to be expanded as quickly as possible. To achieve basic national defense security, a standing army of 100,000 is essential. Currently, you only have 10,000 men."
Poniatowski was somewhat surprised. According to the Polish military's repeated research, they also believed an expansion to 100,000 was necessary, which perfectly coincided with the French Crown Prince's statement.
In fact, Joseph was merely pre-emptively informing him of the 100,000-man expansion plan that the Polish constitution would demand four years later. However, at that time, only one year would remain until the Second Partition, and Poland ultimately only managed to expand its army to 37,000 men, still far from the 'lifeline'.
Joseph continued, "Furthermore, advise your Sejm not to rush the abolition of serfdom.
"I know that abolishing serfdom can significantly enhance Poland's national strength, but all reforms have a 'period of painful adjustment' before ushering in great development. And Poland cannot afford such pain right now.
"Of course, you can improve the condition of the serfs, but the prerequisite must be to unite as many forces as possible to resist foreign enemies."
Historically, Poland's overly radical serf reforms offended many Old Nobility factions. These individuals passively resisted during the invasion of Poland, greatly weakening the forces against foreign aggression.
Poniatowski found it somewhat amusing. Poland's current reform trends were towards liberty, equality, and constitutionalism, and weren't these ideas all originating from France? From figures like Rousseau and Montesquieu?
Yet, the French Crown Prince was advising Poland to temporarily retain serfdom...
Inside the moving carriage, Joseph further conveyed to the Polish Prince that France would provide some aid to Poland through America, hoping they would complete their war preparations quickly.
After he had said most of what needed to be said, Poniatowski returned to his own carriage and circled back to Versailles Palace via another route.
...
On Louis XVI's birthday.
The entire city of Paris entered carnival mode. Several government-sponsored food distribution points became gathering places for citizens.
Every three hours, theater troupes hired by the government performed for free.
During the intermissions, people would pull out instruments, sing and play for themselves, enthusiastically praising His Majesty the King's wise leadership and benevolent love, presenting a scene of peace and prosperity.
No one remembered that France was facing its most severe harvest failure in centuries.
Meanwhile, the various celebratory activities at Versailles Palace had also reached their climax.
Both singing and dancing performances and fencing competitions had reached the top eight, with professionals commenting on the contestants' characteristics, periodically drawing loud cheers from the audience.
And in an inconspicuous small room on the second floor of Versailles Palace, Fouché was intently questioning his subordinate in a low voice: "Are you certain there are no exceptions?"
"Yes, sir. Godoy has been at Versailles Palace for four days, and every night at 9 PM, he faithfully attends Madame Guérin's musical salon."
Fouché nodded inwardly upon hearing this. He had long discovered that Godoy had gained the Spanish Crown Princess's favor precisely because of his skill at playing the guitar and singing. Music was his bread and butter.
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