Take a Gamble

But no matter how carefully you guarded against outside threats, it was hard to guard against treachery from within. Several laborers who had worked for the Jasiński Family for decades attacked Wichli, injuring his left hand.

Now Franz had brought five thousand men to Jasiński Manor. Wichli Jasiński simply didn't believe that Franz had no designs at all on the Jasiński Family's lands and property.

At the thought, his hand trembled, and he nearly dropped his cutlery.

"This..."

Wichli Jasiński instinctively glanced at Colonel Bordeaux. Seeing that the other man was watching him, he swallowed and said,

"I believe they are a band of incorrigible traitors who have utterly betrayed the kindness of the House of Habsburg. I'm willing to contribute two hundred thousand florins to help the Empire quell the rebellion!"

Wichli Jasiński delivered an impassioned speech, cursing the Polish Restoration Army and the rebellious nobles up and down. He repeatedly distanced himself from them, then produced a list of military supplies he was prepared to provide, to show his resolve.

Franz had heard this sort of thing countless times along the way. Some people meant it; others were simply trying to disassociate themselves. But Wichli Jasiński was different.

That night, a carrier pigeon beat its wings and flew away from Jasiński Manor. Kraków had already received a letter with much the same contents three days earlier.

The letter detailed the Austrian army's movements, troop strength, and weaponry, even including logistical information.

When Józef Bem, newly released, saw the intelligence, he was so astonished he could hardly close his mouth. More than a hundred heavy siege guns could reduce the entire city of Kraków to rubble.

The Polish Restoration Army's few long-barreled sixteen-pounder guns were no match for them. And with the Austrian army numbering nearly three hundred thousand,