Chapter 601: Song of Poland, Concluded
The Patriot Party received 200,000 Złoty from this fund, so they temporarily ceased advocating for their "religious freedom" principles.
Prince Poniatowski nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Regarding the estates of the nobility, as long as they possess virtue and are defenders of freedom and the Constitution, we should recognize their legitimacy and ensure the security of their land and all other property."
His words immediately drew unanimous praise from the more conservative noble faction, the Hetman Party.
A Hetman Party leader from Ukraine reminded, "Your Highness, there are also noble privileges..."
"Yes, privileges." Prince Poniatowski gave the Patriot Party members a look, signaling them to be patient, then said, "As for harmless privileges, I believe they can be retained. Which privileges might harm other citizens will be decided by a vote in the Great Sejm."
This line of argument was exactly what Father Sais had taught him. First, he needed to stabilize the conservative nobility; otherwise, the constitutional alliance might well fracture. After all, the Conservatives held over a quarter of the seats in the Great Sejm.
In practice, the Constitution's promise to protect noble privileges was almost meaningless.
As long as the Great Sejm later passed a motion determining a certain privilege to be "harmful," it could be abolished by constitutional provision.
The senior members of the Hetman Party exchanged glances. No one raised an objection, effectively endorsing this provision.
The Patriot Party immediately protested. "How can this be?!"
"If we can't even achieve equality, then what is the purpose of the Constitution?!"
"You are stripping away the rights of the very people the Constitution should protect..."
The Prince raised a hand to quiet them. "We must avoid causing too great a shock to the nation. Moreover, this is merely a conceptual proposal. The provisions guaranteeing citizens' life and property, allowing citizens to freely purchase land, and granting any citizen the right to serve as an officer or government official—all these will be retained."
The Patriot Party, operating under the principle of maximizing unity and cooperation this time, immediately fell silent once more.
If ordinary citizens were guaranteed personal safety, property, and the right to hold public office, then they would essentially enjoy most forms of equality, and the nobility would only retain some advantages in terms of etiquette and "harmless privileges."
Joseph was well aware of the immense animosity a phrase like "all men are born free and equal" would attract in current Europe.
Historically, it was precisely this clause in the Constitution of May 3 that caused Poland to lose the support of almost all nations, with the exception of France, which was already in the throes of its Great Revolution.
That was why he had specifically instructed Father Sais not to let the Poles make such a provocative statement.
"Now, we will finalize the provisions regarding the Sejm." Prince Poniatowski looked at the assembly. "The Great Sejm's voting method will adopt a majority vote system. No one shall have a single-vote veto."
In fact, he had previously, under Joseph's advice, worked with the King to establish a decree "suspending the liberum veto," stipulating that no single-vote veto could be used for three years.
This had also significantly reduced resistance to the Polish Constitution. Now, this clause was to be formally incorporated into the Constitution.
Those who had gathered at the Tin-Roofed Palace were all progressive factions in Poland, and they had long detested the single-vote veto. A chorus of agreement immediately rang out.
Prince Poniatowski then read out provisions regarding the election of Sejm members and the curbing of vote-buying, before closing the manuscript in his hand.
Compared to the historical Constitution of May 3, he had not mentioned radical clauses such as abolishing serfdom, replacing the elective monarchy with hereditary succession, establishing a Polish government with separation of powers, or nobles and clergy paying tithes for military expansion.
These proposals were, in reality, merely the fantasies of Polish idealists.
For example, the last clause, the "noble tithe," not only failed to collect much money after its implementation but also pushed the vast majority of nobles and clergy to oppose the government.
The Constitution, streamlined by Joseph and fine-tuned by Father Sais, discarded these unrealistic contents, significantly reducing the impact on Poland.
December 6, 1791.
The Polish Great Sejm convened a constitutional assembly, and the entire city of Warsaw was enveloped in tension and anticipation.
The area outside the parliamentary hall was packed with citizens. No one shouted slogans; everyone simply watched in silence as the delegates, one by one, walked between two lines of guards into the Great Sejm.
This was completely unlike the furtive, sneaky atmosphere of the historical Constitution of May 3 vote, when everyone feared discovery by conservative nobles.
Warsaw's police were as busy as ever, not for maintaining order, but rushing to deal with the recently frequent and perplexing cases.
Outside a villa on the west bank of the Narew River, police officers were processing the body of Baron Osiskovich.
Several female relatives, supported by servants, were weeping loudly. However, a Police Bureau official soon approached the Baroness, cleared his throat, and said, "I'm sorry to say, but according to our findings, His Lordship the Baron appears to have accidentally fallen from the balcony..."
An agent from the Committee of Liberty and Security, hiding nearby, pulled his hood tighter after hearing the police officer's words, then turned and left.
He was a member of the Bar Confederation, a fervent patriot who had personally assassinated four Russian nobles more than a decade ago.
After receiving a royal pardon, he had joined Poland's intelligence agency.
Baron Osiskovich was precisely the man he had killed last night. However, he was very experienced and had disguised the death as a fall from a building.
Baron Osiskovich was a staunchly pro-Russian delegate. Today, he would certainly have cast a vote against the Constitution in the Great Sejm.
'So he had to die!'
Over a dozen pro-Russian figures similar to Osiskovich had been "eliminated" in recent months. The former members of the Bar Confederation feared death not at all; over a decade ago, they had even dared to kidnap the King. Assassinating a few delegates didn't make them bat an eye. Several pro-Russian delegates had been eliminated at the cost of the assassins' own lives.
Of course, they also tried their best to make these deaths look accidental, to prevent the Russians from taking notice.
At the same time the police were processing Osiskovich's body, on the south side of Holy Cross Street in Warsaw, Count Branicki's carriage was stopped by a group of fully armed soldiers.
This senior figure from the Targowica Confederation jumped down from his carriage, roaring furiously, "You fools, do you know who I am?"
However, he quickly noticed the emblem on the soldiers' collars, and his face immediately darkened. "You are Prince Poniatowski's guards?"
"Yes, Count," an officer saluted him by tipping his hat. "There are rioters ahead causing trouble. For your safety, please remain here for the time being."
"Nonsense! I need to go vote in the Great Sejm!" Seeing the officer unmoved, Branicki could only wave to his coachman. "Turn around, we'll go a different way."
But two soldiers suddenly stepped forward and pried his carriage's axle crooked.
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