Warsaw.
Royal Castle.
In the recently renovated Knights' Hall, France's Minister of Trade, Bayei, nodded at Stanisław II with a forthright expression. "Yes, Your Majesty. The Crown Prince has instructed that all seized supplies be left to you."
The King of Poland and his ministers immediately beamed with delight. "I truly do not know how to express my gratitude to His Highness. His generosity is God's mercy upon all Poles."
"Praise the Crown Prince! May God bless him."
"Poland will forever be France's most loyal friend!"
No wonder they were so excited. What Bayei referred to were the supplies seized when the Franco-Polish Allied Forces had swept through Austria. Because they were difficult to transport, most had been left in Erzgebirge and Kraków.
These included more than thirty thousand intact percussion cap guns, over a hundred cannon, and great quantities of military supplies such as wagons, tents, and war drums, with a total value possibly as high as three or four million francs.
Yes, Joseph had only brought most of the captured mules and horses back to France. The other items differed from the standard French equipment and could not be used directly; nor would they sell particularly well. He had simply left them to Poland.
He knew perfectly well that the Poles' next step would certainly be to reclaim the eastern lands occupied by Russia, and these weapons and equipment would be just what they needed to strengthen their combat power.
Russia had yet to abandon its alliance with the United Kingdom, much less surrender to France, so Joseph also needed to use the Polish army to weaken Russia's national strength.
But Poland alone was certainly no match for Russia, so he had arranged other "gifts" for Alexander I as well. Naturally, Joseph would never repeat Napoleon's historical mistake