Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Quasi-General East Brovsky spoke in very poor Polish, “All sacrifices are worthwhile, and we will eventually break free from Russia’s control and menace.

“Their bodies may fall, but their blood will congeal into the soul of Poland, and the motherland will forever be with them!”

He had been attending military school in Saxon since he was a teenager—at that time, Saxon and Poland were one country—until he returned to Poland four years ago, which led to his German being much more proficient than his Polish.

Historically, it was for this reason that Prince Poniatowski had always distrusted him.

However, Joseph was very clear that East Brovsky was a staunch patriot. He later joined the anti-Russian uprising led by Kosciuszko and had shown extreme bravery in the defense of Warsaw.

Therefore, upon Joseph’s suggestion, East Brovsky was put to use in the Polish Army, taking command as the Cavalry Commander for the army on the Dnieper River front.

East Brovsky pointed towards a narrow breastwork between two distant hills, “If there comes a day when I need to fight there, I will just as well use my life to block the Russian invasion.”

Kosciuszko nodded silently. Among the 50,000 Polish soldiers on the Mozhili defense line, a full 37,000 were recruits with less than four months of training. They were going to face the fiercest assault of the Russian Army.

Indeed, to complete the established operational deployment, this most important eastern defense line could only be bolstered by fresh recruits.

“Perhaps, we will all die in this war…”

Kosciuszko, feeling the topic somewhat inauspicious, raised his head and looked eastward, “When do you think the Russians will launch their attack?”

He asked this because Russia had already issued a formal démarche, essentially an ultimatum, to Poland five days ago, demanding the Polish Government immediately stop persecuting nobles and Eastern Orthodox followers, and to hand over the masterminds involved in the ‘Targowica murder’ to Russia for trial. It also demanded the abolishment of clauses in the Polish constitution that limited noble privileges, allowed commoners to freely purchase land, and permitted commoners to become officers.

The incident’s origin was that after the traitorous meeting at Tagowica Town was crushed, several members of the Potocki family fled to Russia, accusing the Polish Parliament to the Tsar of arbitrary arrests and assassinations of nobles within the country, requesting Russian intervention to stabilize the situation in Poland.

This was exactly like the historic betrayal of the Targowica Confederation. However, the influence of these reactionary nobles was greatly weakened now, unable to summon an army after the constant strikes by the Polish intelligence organizations.

Actually, Count Potocki had arrived in Saint Petersburg early in the year, but at that time, Catherine II, due to Stanislaw II’s ‘sentimental offensive’, had not been able to prepare for war actively, so she had to suppress this matter for the time being.

According to the plan left by Potemkin before his death, Russia should have invaded Poland in full force next spring.

However, when Catherine II learned through the intelligence system that Poland was passionately preparing for war, she immediately realized that her plans to invade Poland could no longer be kept secret.

After discussing with the Russian Army generals, she believed it would be more advantageous to act before Poland’s preparations were sufficiently complete.

Consequently, Count Potocki was brought out by the Russians, used as an excuse for declaring war.

“Who knows?” East Brovsky shook his head, “Maybe next month, maybe tomorrow, maybe in the next moment…”

Before he could finish speaking, a warhorse galloped towards them.

Before the horse had fully stopped, the officer riding it hurriedly jumped down and approached Kosciuszko, “General, the Russians have declared war! Just this morning.”

Kosciuszko and East Brovsky exchanged frowning glances. Before they could say anything, they heard distant thundering roars of artillery fire.

Joseph Kosciuszko placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and said to the messenger beside him, “Let the soldiers enter the defenses. Tell them not to be nervous, the Russians are still far away.”

The scope of such a large-scale national war would be immense; Poland had set up many forward outposts along the border line. The recent cannon fire was probably the Russian Army clearing these outlying defenses.

The main Polish defensive line was still seven or eight kilometers behind.

Kosciuszko continued to issue commands in an orderly manner, “Have the Cavalry Scouts report the movements of the Russians to me at all times, especially pay attention to the right flank. The terrain there is very conducive to a Cossack Cavalry sneak attack.”

Using the Cossack Cavalry for rapid maneuvers and then striking at an opponent’s weak point is a common tactic of the Russian commanders. Those who underestimated them invariably suffered great losses.

“Yes, General.”

The messenger left, and East Brovsky said with some concern, “I should personally keep an eye on the right wing.”

“No, leave it to Mocharavitz,” Kosciuszko stopped him, “Your battlefield is not here.”

The sudden Russian attack did cause a certain amount of panic among the Polish troops in Mozhili, but fortunately, Poland had already made extensive preparations for war, so the chaos didn’t last long. A large number of troops quickly deployed along the border according to pre-arranged plans.

Southeast of Mozhili, Zagazik Village.

This small village was located near the Polish border, and because of the impending war, the villagers had already abandoned their homes to flee, and now the village had become part of the defensive line.

“Boom—”

A cannonball landed heavily near a dilapidated farmhouse, shaking the ground.

Behind the rotting window, Sergeant Delasovitz glanced at the dozen young men beside him, some sitting, some standing, but all huddled together, and sighed inwardly.

Although the company commander had not said it explicitly, as the only veteran here who had fought in Slavonia, it was his responsibility to manage these recruits.

He was previously just a bricklayer and did not like speaking in public, but now he had no choice but to try to emulate the authority of the town officials, loudly saying, “Oh, don’t worry, the sound of the cannons is frightening, but the shells will not directly hit us.”

He thought for a moment and pointed to a small insect on the wall that had not yet frozen to death, “It’s as difficult as trying to hit that fellow with a pebble from 50 steps away.”

The distant cannon fire was still intense, but seeing Delasovitz’s relaxed demeanor, everyone began to raise their heads, their expressions visibly relaxed.

The sergeant nodded in satisfaction, but the next moment, another loud noise erupted nearby, followed by the trembling of the house and debris flying everywhere.

When the dust settled, everyone saw that a corner of the farmhouse and the pigsty next to it had been torn apart by a cannonball, leaving a mess of bricks and stones on the ground.

Delasovitz smiled awkwardly, “You see, I told you, even if it’s close, it won’t hit us directly.”

He glanced at the tottering structure of the house and frowned, “We need to get out of here.”

As the recruits exited the farmhouse, Delasovitz saw the young man with blonde hair at the very end, his legs visibly shaking. He went forward and patted him, “Yanick, be strong. There’s really nothing to fear about war…”

The young man turned his head, his mouth agape, his eyes seemingly dancing with light, “Mr. Delasovitz, I am not scared, I’m actually thrilled right now!”

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