Storms over the European Continent 4

Joseph, however, seemed unsatisfied and waved his hand forcefully. "It's a pity that Ottoman fortresses still exist on the northern shore of the Black Sea. Only by sweeping them away as soon as possible can we ensure the stability of the ports needed for the Black Sea trade."

"After that, Russia should march its troops to the south bank of the Danube River and wrest control of the Danube River estuary from the Ottoman!"

"And on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, Georgia —that small country under Russia protection—still has its Black Sea outlet occupied by the Ottoman and is oppressed by the Persia, urgently needing Russia rescue."

He looked at Paul intently. "France is ready to provide assistance to you at any time, if necessary!"

Crown Prince Paul was stunned. How could the Crown Prince of France be even more radical than his mother? He had directly placed everything except the southern coast of the Black Sea —the Ottoman homeland—under Russia control. If outsiders were present, they might think he was the true Crown Prince of Russia.

In reality, Joseph was simply recounting the events of several Russo-Turkish War throughout history. These were all areas of interest that Russia coveted, and no Russia could remain unmoved by such a recounting.

Sure enough, Paul nodded excitedly, "This is also His Majesty the King..."

Joseph immediately replied, "It's all His King's will; please be sure to convey it to Her Empress."

As the Crown Prince of France, his statement carried significant diplomatic weight.

Russia are straightforward, and they believe in doing things directly, whether it's repaying kindness or seeking revenge.

Paul immediately reciprocated, saying, "I assure you, we will also provide support to France's operations in North Africa at any time!"

After parting ways with the Russia Crown Prince, Joseph returned to his Bedchamber and saw Servant surrounding the Crown Prince of Spain with helpless expressions—he had clearly drunk a lot of alcohol, his hair was disheveled, and he looked extremely dejected.

When Antonio saw his cousin return, he immediately stood up with his wine glass in hand, his eyes reddening again.

Joseph, feeling helpless, drank a few glasses with him and silently patted his back to comfort him.

Soon, Antonio was drunk and passed out. Joseph ordered the Servant to move him to bed, and as he turned around, he saw Fouche hurrying over, bowing to him and saying, "Your Highness, do you think we should continue to keep watch on the second floor of the South Hall?"

He was referring to the person responsible for monitoring the Crown Princess of Spain.

"No need." Joseph shook his head. Antonio was useless, and there was really nothing he could do about it.

He glanced back at Antonio and casually said to Fouche, "Is there any way to give him the Courage to confront that unfaithful woman?"

Fouche paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Your Highness, dealing with that woman is a bit troublesome, but dealing with her lover shouldn't be too difficult."

"Oh?" Joseph asked, "What do you intend to do?"

Fouche revealed an excited yet sinister smile, "Destroying him should be enough; it shouldn't be too troublesome."

Joseph frowned. He didn't like using "dirty" methods to solve problems, so much so that he subconsciously ignored this option.

However, he immediately recalled Antonio's pained expression and narrowed his eyes. Godoy was just a lowly Guard with no background; perhaps a simple and direct approach would be the most effective.

He looked at Fouche: "Can you guarantee that everything will go perfectly?"

"Please rest assured, it was just an accident; no one will suspect anything."

"Tomorrow is His Majesty the King's birthday, so let's not make too much of a commotion."

"Yes, Your Highness, I understand."

At lunchtime, a tall, handsome man in his thirties met Joseph in the corridor and immediately stepped forward to bow to him.

Eman quickly whispered from the side, "Your Highness, this is Prince Poniatowski of Poland."

Joseph nodded slightly, but deliberately turned his face away, ignoring the Prince of Poland, and left proudly under the latter's awkward gaze.

Everywhere in the Versailles Palace was being watched. Since Joseph had chosen the path of aligning with Russia, he needed to demonstrate an attitude of distancing himself from Poland.

Poniatowski wasn't particularly angry. After all, Poland was in decline, plagued by internal problems, especially since it had lost large swathes of territory to Russia, Prussia, and Austria a decade or so ago. It was normal for a major power like France to look down on them.

Just as he turned the corner of the stairs, a young stranger suddenly bowed to him and then slipped a note into his hand.

Poniatowski clutched the note in surprise, only unfolding it when they reached a secluded spot.

The note was written by the Crown Prince of France. It contained only one simple sentence, asking him to wait for him at 2 p. m. somewhere outside the Versailles Palace.

The summer afternoon was very hot, especially since it hadn't rained in France for a long time.

Poniatowski wiped his sweat and was about to check his watch again when two of France's most popular "Gem" luxury Carriage pulled up beside him.

A moment later, inside the Carriage, Joseph looked at the rather dashing Prince of Poland before him and smiled, "I'm sorry to meet you in this way. But please believe me, our conversation that follows is very important for both you and Poland."

Joseph knew full well that the current King of Poland Stanisław II of Poland was completely unreliable. He had been placed on the Polish throne by the Tsar because he was Catherine's lover [Note 1].

Perhaps because of her past experiences, Catherine had appeared too powerful in his presence, and even after he became King, he remained very afraid of her.

This led to Stanisław II's belief that the Polish army was no match for Russia during the Second Partition of Poland, even though the main force of the Polish Army was still intact. Consequently, he ordered the entire army to surrender.

Throughout Poland, most Nobility formed factions for their own political gain, either allying with Prussia or colluding with Russia, with no one caring about Poland's fate.

Only Prince Poniatowski, the nephew of the King of Poland, and the renowned general Tadeusz Kościuszko consistently maintained Armaments and even repelled the Russian Army during the Second Partition War a few years later; they were worthy of being cultivated.

In particular, Kościuszko has not yet made a name for himself, and the task of reorganizing the Poland army is being handled by Poniatowski, who, as Prince, also has considerable influence over the Poland political situation.

Since he happened to be in France, Joseph naturally seized the opportunity to introduce him to some ways to help Poland gain leverage.

As for how much of what he hears will be implemented, that depends on Poland's luck.

Poniatowski looked at the young France Crown Prince for a few seconds, then nodded solemnly. "I believe you, Your Highness. Please speak."

Joseph sighed and said, "First of all, you must understand that Poland is facing a very dangerous situation. It may face the danger of national annihilation in about five years."

Following the historical trajectory, Second Partition of Poland in five years.

Poniatowski paused, then shook his head slightly, saying, "Your Highness, aren't you exaggerating a bit?"

"Although Poland faces many threats, we are still a major power and have an alliance with Prussia. If we are threatened, Prussia will send troops to help us."

Joseph was speechless. The Poles were really naive. Prussia was the most eager country to partition you, even more so than Russia!

Prussia believed it couldn't handle Poland on its own, so it secretly encouraged Russia to join in, while outwardly feigning an alliance with Poland.

Historically, as soon as Russia sent troops, Prussia immediately broke the alliance and attacked Poland from two sides.

Joseph immediately said in a deep voice, "If you want to save Poland, you must first remember that you must never trust Prussia!"

The Prince of Poland asked in surprise, "Why do you say that?"

"I..." Joseph really wanted to tell him that his brother had read the historical records, but he could only say, "The France intelligence system received absolutely reliable information that acquiring northwestern Poland was Prussia's primary strategic objective."

"How... how is this possible?!"

"You can confirm it through your own intelligence channels." Joseph didn't expect him to believe it immediately, but as long as the Poles were on guard, he believed they would discover some clues sooner or later.

Poniatowski nodded, then asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"First of all, I do not want Prussia's plan to succeed."

Poniatowski had no doubt about this – Prussia and United Kingdom were very close, and Britain and France were sworn enemies; France certainly did not want Prussia to become powerful.

Joseph continued sincerely, "Of course, more importantly, it's because I deeply sympathize with Poland and don't want more suffering to befall the Poles."

Poniatowski automatically ignored this point, arguing that "sympathy" and "goodwill" are merely useless ornaments in International Politics.

"Thank you very much for your reminder, Your Crown Prince."

"That's nothing," Joseph continued, "And the Constitution that Poland is currently drafting probably needs to be accelerated."

"Huh? The Constitution?" Poniatowski hadn't expected the France to bring up Poland's internal affairs.

"Excuse my frankness, but the Constitution you're trying to develop is far too ambitious, resulting in too many issues requiring discussion and slow progress."

Joseph said, "The biggest problem in Poland right now is the ' Liberum Veto,' and its repeal should never be mixed up with the new Constitution. I estimate that your Sejm will not be able to complete the entire Constitution within three or four years."

The so-called "Liberum Veto" refers to the ability of members of the Polish Parliament to veto a resolution with a single vote.

This allows foreign countries, such as Russia and Putin, to use the ability to bribe a few members of parliament to prevent Poland from passing any bills that displease them.

At the same time, members of parliament, driven by their own interests, would also veto a large number of bills that would benefit the country's development. As a result, Poland has had almost no good policies implemented over the past century, and the country has become increasingly worse.

Meanwhile, Poland's Cholm is preparing to include the abolition of the veto system in the new constitution, meaning that Poland will remain stagnant until then.

What do you mean?

"Enact a separate law to abolish the ' Liberum Veto '," Joseph added. "Poland is truly in grave danger; we must act quickly!"

He wasn't sure if the Prince of Poland had taken his words to heart, but he continued, "The Poland army also needs to be expanded as soon as possible. To achieve basic national defense security, a standing army of 100,000 is essential. You currently only have 10,000."

Poniatowski was somewhat surprised. According to repeated studies by the Poland military, it was also believed that the army needed to be expanded to 100,000, which coincided with the statement of the Crown Prince of France.

In fact, Joseph had informed him in advance of the Poland Constitution's requirement to expand its army by 100,000 troops four years later. However, at that time, there was only one year left before the Second Partition, and Poland ultimately only expanded its army by 37,000, which was still far from the "lifeline".

Joseph continued, "Furthermore, tell your Sejm not to rush into abolishing Serfs."

"I know that abolishing Serfs would greatly enhance Poland's national strength, but all reforms have a period of growing pains before great development can take place. Poland cannot afford to experience growing pains now."

"Of course, you can improve the plight of the Serfs, but the prerequisite is that you must unite as many forces as possible to resist foreign enemies."

Historically, Poland offended many Old Nobles families due to its overly radical Serfs reforms. These people were passive and uncooperative when Poland was invaded, greatly weakening the ability to resist foreign enemies.

Poniatowski found it somewhat amusing. Poland's current reform trend is towards freedom, equality, and constitutionalism, and aren't these ideas all derived from France? Rousseau, Montesquieu, and so on.

As a result, the France Crown Prince suggested that Poland temporarily retain Serfs...

On the moving Carriage, Joseph again conveyed to the Prince of Poland that Congress provide some assistance to Poland through the United States, and hoped that they would complete their preparations for war as soon as possible.

After he had said what needed to be said, Poniatowski returned to his Carriage and took another route back to the Versailles Palace.

On Louis XVI's birthday.

All of Paris went into celebration mode. Several places where the government distributed free food became gathering places for citizens.

Every three hours, a government-funded theater troupe performs here for free.

During breaks in the performance, people would take out their musical instruments and sing, praising His Majesty the King's wisdom, might, benevolence, and love, creating a scene of peace and prosperity.

No one seems to remember that France is facing its worst crop failure in centuries.

Meanwhile, the various celebrations at the Versailles Palace have reached their climax.

The singing and dancing competition and the Sword Competition both produced eight finalists. Professionals were commenting on the contestants' characteristics, which frequently drew loud cheers from the audience.

In an inconspicuous little room on the second floor of the Versailles Palace, Fouche stared at his subordinate and asked in a deep voice, "Are you sure there are no exceptions?"

"Yes, sir. Godoy has been at the Versailles Palace for four days, and he attends Madam Galan's music salon every evening at 9 pm sharp."

Upon hearing this, Fouche nodded inwardly. He had already discovered that Godoy had won the favor of the Crown Princess of Spain precisely because of his skill in playing the guitar and singing. Music was his livelihood.

[Note 1] At this time, Poland practiced a system in which the King was elected by the Nobility. Moreover, the Poland political situation was chaotic. Catherine bribed Poland Nobility and forced Stanisław to be elected to the Polish throne.