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Chapter 704: The Tsar's Glory Shines on the Eastern European Plain

Marshal Rumyantsev, the most senior officer in the conference room, surveyed the silent officers. He cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, we don't have many troops available along the Oka River," he stated. "If these Poles continue to push east, Kaluga, Mozhaisk, and Kolomna will all become their targets... The only thing that can halt their advance is probably Moscow itself."

Catherine II declared icily, "I don't need you to remind me. What I need are solutions—strategies to counter the Poles!"

The northern bank of the Oka River was home to many wealthy cities. Any one of them coming under attack would be a severe loss for Russia. Even if the Russian army successfully occupied eastern Poland, these losses would slash the war's profits by half, or even by two-thirds.

Rumyantsev responded at once, "Your Majesty, the safest approach right now is to recall Morkov's corps back home and utterly annihilate this Polish force..."

"Absolutely not!" Catherine II shot him a glare. "The Poles ventured across the Dnieper River precisely to force our withdrawal. I absolutely refuse to be led by the nose by them."

The Tsarina's lover, Platon Zubov, immediately chimed in loudly, "The Poles' fighting strength is nothing to fear. Besides, there are only 17,000 of them; our domestic garrisons are more than enough to deal with them."

Marshal Repnin shook his head. "The Moscow garrison has only about 10,000 troops," he stated. "If we fail to annihilate the Poles, the situation will become extremely dire. While Saint Petersburg and Saratov have sufficient troops, they are both too far away."

The northern bank of the Oka River was the boundless Eastern European Plain. Should the Moscow garrison lose in a field battle against the Poles, the entirety of central Russia would be exposed to the Polish army's guns.

In truth, Rumyantsev's proposal was the safest.

But recalling the army from Poland would, first, severely disrupt the pace of the invasion, allowing Poland to catch its breath. Second, moving such a large army back and forth would also incur considerable military expenses.

Though Russia currently appeared to first strike the Ottomans, then clobber Sweden, and subsequently invade Poland—displaying an air of invincibility—after repeated major wars, its national treasury was already quite depleted.

Catherine II was absolutely unwilling to waste such a large sum of money for a Polish force of less than 20,000.

The conference room fell silent once more.

The Tsarina, gazing at the map before her, a smile suddenly touched her lips. "Logistics," she murmured. "The Poles' most fatal problem is logistics."

Rumyantsev was momentarily stunned, then nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. The Poles cannot cross the Dnieper River to supply this isolated force."

Zubov immediately interjected eagerly, "Then we'll find a way to trap these fellows and starve them out!"

Catherine II looked at him and asked, "What is the specific plan then?"

"Uh..."

Rumyantsev hastily stepped in to help the Tsarina's lover. "Your Majesty, we can have the Moscow garrison advance and tie up the Poles," he explained.

"Over 3,000 cavalry from Morkov's corps have been on the move for several days and will soon catch up to the enemy from the west."

"After that, we can mobilize troops from Rzhev, Zubtsov, Kashin, and other areas north of Tver, amounting to roughly 6,000 men."

"This way, we can assemble nearly 20,000 troops in the central region, who will simply shadow the Poles closely, without engaging them in a decisive battle."

"Concurrently, all supplies from Bryansk and west of Kaluga should be transported to Moscow to ensure the Poles cannot obtain provisions locally."

"In two months, at most, the Poles will starve to death!"

Zubov exclaimed loudly, "If we have 20,000 troops, why don't we just wipe out those Poles directly?"

Catherine II immediately shot him an exasperated look.

These 20,000 troops were completely scraped together from here and there, and couldn't even be effectively commanded as a single unit. There was no full certainty they could defeat 17,000 Poles.

Marshal Repnin expressed his concern. "But in that case, Moscow's defenses would be extremely vulnerable," he said. "If the Poles bypassed our forces and launched an attack on Moscow..."

"Bypassed?" Rumyantsev chuckled, shaking his head. "Vasnetsov would certainly seize the opportunity to fiercely attack the enemy's flank."

"Even if he overlooked something, he would immediately pursue the Poles. Moscow isn't that easy to breach, and at that point, the enemy would find themselves caught in a pincer movement."

Vasnetsov was the commander of the Moscow garrison.

Catherine II nodded with satisfaction and instructed, "Discuss the operational details among yourselves."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

As the Tsarina was about to rise and leave, a court official quickly entered, bowed, and handed her a confidential dispatch. "Your Majesty," he said, "General Morkov just sent this."

Catherine II returned to the table and broke the seal on the dispatch.

The letter was written in plain text. She merely glanced at it, and a look of surprise and delight immediately crossed her face as she looked up at the officers in the conference room.

"Gentlemen," she announced, "the King of Poland has decided to compromise."

Everyone immediately rose and bowed, with a torrent of flattery following: "Your Majesty's wisdom and courage forever lead to victory!"

"Your Majesty's glory shines on the Eastern European Plain!"

"Your Majesty's glorious name will be forever etched in history, like Peter the Great!"

Catherine instructed Zubov, "Prepare a grand surrender ceremony. Oh, and regarding the armistice agreement, you will go and negotiate with the Poles."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

A week later.

Stanisław II humbly sought an audience with Catherine II, under the watchful eyes of hundreds of arrogant Russian court guards.

He began by lavishly praising the Tsarina's army for its unparalleled might, and how those in Poland who dared defy Her Majesty the Tsarina had suffered horrific casualties.

Then, with tears streaming, he pleaded that he had no involvement with that maid in the past, that it was all a misunderstanding, and hoped Her Majesty the Tsarina would grant him another chance.

Catherine II smiled, indicating she wasn't concerned with such matters, and merely instructed him to promptly conclude the armistice treaty negotiations with State Secretary Zubov.

The next morning.

Zubov watched smugly as his old romantic rival sat on a small chair, submissively fawning over him. His heart swelled with an almost overflowing sense of satisfaction.

After savoring Stanisław II's flattery and pleas, Zubov tossed the drafted treaty onto the table and declared haughtily, "Please sign, Your Majesty."

Stanisław II offered a conciliatory smile, opened the document, scanned it quickly, but immediately shook his head. "Esteemed Count," he said, "I'm afraid the terms outlined here are unacceptable."

Zubov scoffed angrily, "Then await our nation's grand army to flatten Poland..."

"No, no, you misunderstand," the King of Poland hastily rose, pointing to the first clause of the treaty. "You see, merely handing over the territories east of Volhynia to Kaunas for Her Majesty the Tsarina's administration, that's not enough."

"Courland and Raseiniai also have a significant Eastern Orthodox population. These regions, too, ought to be illuminated by Your Majesty's glory."