Talleyrand squeezed his cane, thinking that the situation was indeed exactly as His Highness the Regent had predicted.
He produced the argument he had prepared long ago. "You need to look further ahead. As I told you before, Austria will soon begin purging the rebels and go to war with Hungary.
"At that time, Austria will certainly need vast quantities of logistical supplies. Look, Poland's wheat is being harvested right now, and the potatoes will soon ripen as well. The Holy Roman Emperor will pay high prices for these goods. Oh, and there are gunpowder, military uniforms, tents, and the like. Warsaw has stockpiled quite a lot of them already, and they can be transported to Brno in exchange for gold coins."
Count Potocki's eyes immediately lit up. Poland's finances had long been running at a deficit. It was only the entire nation's shared determination to resist invasion that had kept it from collapsing. This was also why so many Polish leaders were unwilling to accept a ceasefire while the war was going badly—if they failed to obtain war reparations, Poland would very likely descend into civil unrest.
But if they could make a fortune off Austria's civil war, it would certainly not cover their previous losses, yet it should barely be enough to stabilize the domestic situation. He promptly shook his head. "But Austria can buy these things from Saxony or Prussia. Saxony in particular is very close to Prague."
Talleyrand smiled. "I can assure you that Saxony and Prussia will not involve themselves in this transaction."
Count Potocki immediately said, "There is also Bavaria..."
"Their volunteers are fighting the Austrians in Switzerland. To be frank with you, I will be going to Zurich next week to mediate for them." As they spoke, they reached the red carpet in