Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1506: 1412: Two-Pronged Assault

Capítulo 1506: Chapter 1412: Two-Pronged Assault

Seeing several people in the room looking over, Chadov recalled the strategy “that gentleman” had told him, took a deep breath, and said:

“For us, the most important thing right now is to expand our own strength.”

He pointed southwest: “There is a large source of troops in the military settlements of Lubny and Poltava, and the people there are filled with hatred for Alexander.

We should take advantage of Kutuzov being unable to attend to us, and quickly occupy these places. As long as we promise the serfs in the settlements land, and at most a few rubles, they will not resist at all; they may even join us.

“Then we can continue heading south, where there are many Cossack camps, and even head towards the Danube River to ally with the Cossack Sech of Katerynivka.”

The so-called “Sech” refers to a type of fortification that Cossacks built on the plains, which later became a synonym for a large Cossack autonomous region. [Note 1]

A large Sech is managed by its own Rada, an institution similar to a Congress, with its own army and church, with members helping each other—basically an independent small country.

More than twenty years ago, the region’s largest Zaporozhye Cossack was attacked and destroyed by Ye Er, and Cossacks unwilling to submit to the Tsar fled to the Danube River, establishing a new Sech in the Russian-Turkish border area.

It can be said that these Cossacks have a deep hatred against Russia. In the later Russian-Turkish War, they even served the Ottoman Empire until the mid-19th century, when the Ottoman Empire was defeated by Russia and could no longer sustain itself, and this group of Cossacks completely lost their settlement.

Joseph knew very well that military officer revolts by Russian liberals in history relied only on the few soldiers under them, which invariably were swiftly suppressed by the Tsar’s army.

If Kishchenko and others were left to play on their own, the hundreds of thousands of francs he had invested in Russia would almost only “make a sound.”

Only by mobilizing as many Russian serfs and Cossacks as possible can the Tsar truly be made to feel pain.

Chadov clenched his fist, saying grimly: “Let us not forget that our goal is to eliminate the guilty Alexander! So even if we succeed in attacking Kutuzov, it is impossible to march to Saint Petersburg with just over a thousand soldiers. What we need is a large army of tens of thousands, which is the guarantee for a successful revenge!”

Kishchenko and the two liberal officers exchanged glances, with different thoughts in their hearts.

They did not want any “revenge against the Tsar.” If Alexander were willing to accept constitutional monarchy, they would immediately turn and support the Tsar.

However, to make the Tsar compromise, surrounding Saint Petersburg with troops is indeed the most effective means, so they tacitly agreed to Chadov’s proposal.

The more radical Begozarov and the “Happiness Association” high-level absolutely supported eliminating the Tsar and immediately agreed to the plan to expand influence southwest.

However, Chadov and the “Revenge Faction” were only targeting Alexander I. If they could actually get rid of him, they would most likely support a new Tsar taking power.

Thus, three groups of “same bed, different dreams” temporarily united under the amalgamation of “that gentleman.”

…

Transcaucasia.

The city of Charca, located 35 kilometers southwest of Tbilisi.

Ahmed Pasha, the Ottoman front-line commander, saluted the overall commander Mustafa with a hand to his chest: “General, a message has come from Persia.”

The latter took the message cylinder, pulling him down to sit by the large iron pot set over the bonfire, smiling: “Is Mirza pressing us to attack again?”

Ahmed nodded, looking somewhat anxious: “Yes, sir. This time he used very stern language, saying if we delay any longer, he will withdraw the troops.”

The Persian and Ottoman armies were divided to the east and south of Tbilisi, confronting the Russian army for half a year without making any progress.

Now, the daily logistical consumption of the Persian army was enormous, and voices questioning Prince Mirza’s capabilities had already appeared in Tehran.

Mustafa snorted coldly: “If they dare to retreat, the tribes of Shiraz will soon revolt.”

He signaled an attendant to scoop a bowl of cooked meat from the pot and hand it to Ahmed: “Go tell the Persians that in ten days, I will send at least twenty thousand soldiers to launch a fierce assault on Tbilisi, and have them fully cooperate with me.”

The latter took the bowl, surprised: “Twenty thousand soldiers? Are we going to have a decisive battle?”

Nominally, the army sent by the Ottoman Empire to Transcaucasia was over a hundred thousand strong, but only seventy to eighty thousand actually reached the battlefield.

And due to severe embezzlement within the Yeniceri Guard, many soldiers were even unable to secure weapons and equipment, logistics were often insufficient, and actually less than forty thousand could be used in combat.

In fact, the absolute main force has always been the less than two thousand members of the Topizis New Army.

So deploying twenty thousand in one go for an assault was almost tantamount to “going all-in.”

Mustafa served himself a bowl as well, saying with satisfaction: “Last week, the fleet just delivered over twenty cannons, made in France. This time I intend to give the Russians a good lesson.”

In fact, what he didn’t say was that more than six thousand Chaleville Flintlock Guns had also been delivered on the same ship. However, the Yeniceri Guard was relatively averse to these things, so only a few hundred were distributed, the rest went to the new army.

Ahmed’s eyes widened: “Did France give us that much assistance?”

Mustafa laughed heartily: “Don’t spread it around, but they say the Grand Vizier diverted some weapons intended for Mysore to us.”

Yes, the current Ottoman Grand Vizier Yusuf Ziya, who assumed office this year, was very eager to open up a situation in Transcaucasia to secure his position, and he happened to learn of a large batch of materiel passing through the Ottoman Empire to be delivered to India.

Ten days later, Tbilisi City was subjected to an unprecedented intense bombardment, followed by a large-scale assault by tens of thousands of Persian and Ottoman allied forces.

…

Paris.

The Tuileries Palace was filled with ribbons and flowers, and inside the palace, music and applause from the audience could be heard.

The inaugural European Theater Festival officially opened today, with two performances occurring simultaneously in the East Wing and the South Wing.

Even though ticket prices even in the farthest corner of the back row were as high as 5 francs each, the theater was still packed.

[Note 1]Many people might have the misunderstanding that Cossacks were tied to Tsarist Russia, but in reality, Cossacks are just a form of organization and culture. Members can be Russians, Poles, Mongolians, or even Ottomans. As long as you believe in Eastern Orthodoxy, agree with collectivism, martial valor, and equality, you are a Cossack.

Later, under constant suppression and co-optation by Russia, many Cossacks joined the Russian army, ultimately even becoming one of its iconic representations.