Dominate the Country

The warm sunlight shone into the house through the gap in the curtains. It was already about 7:30 in the morning.

Today was a rare good day, with bright sunshine. Although there was no spring breeze, there was still warm sunshine on the banks of the Seine. As a Pole who had lived in St. Petersburg for a long time, Adam Jerzy Czartoryski liked the warmth and brightness of winter.

Czartoryski walked to the window and opened the curtains. The bright sunlight made his eyes a little uncomfortable for a while. He squinted his eyes and looked out of the window. The street was a little deserted, and there were more patrolling police than pedestrians.

This is the center of Paris, a private hotel, very close to the French Imperial Military Academy. You can see its gate after a few streets. This is a school that was established very shortly but is very famous. The comprehensive Chinese teaching made this university praised by countless people as the first military academy in Europe during the heyday of Napoleon.

Even now, if you want to list the most famous military academies in Europe, it must be a famous school that cannot fall out of the top three.

Czartoryski had just checked into this private hotel the day before yesterday. As a Pole working for the Russian government, Czartoryski was relatively lucky. He had not been shot during this period, let alone assassinated. He came to Paris secretly from St. Petersburg, and at least he was safe now. Whether on the way from St. Petersburg to Paris or in secret contact with the French government after he arrived in Paris, he at least did not encounter those terrible assassins.

To be honest, Czartoryski could not believe that after the fall of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, such a sharp assassin organization would emerge among the remnants of Poland. They used suicide attacks and human bombs, iron and blood, and in less than a year, they earned a huge reputation in Europe.

Even Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich, who was appointed by Emperor Alexander I as the commander-in-chief of the Polish armed forces and exercised the power of governor, was assassinated by that organization. On that day, two-thirds of Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich's 30-man guard were killed or injured in the explosion, and even the Grand Duke himself was hit in the shoulder by a shrapnel.

Czartoryski came to Paris on a French cargo ship sailing from the port of St. Petersburg. To be honest, he really didn't dare to take the public route. Although the other party had just "come to prominence" for less than a year, the deterrent power was really strong.

Bombing and bombing at every turn, but the social control in Europe was loose, and no matter which city, a large amount of gunpowder raw materials could be easily collected. There was no need to mention the musket.

Czartoryski was also a Pole. He was really afraid that after his identity was exposed, he would be hunted down by the other party tirelessly.

This was a necessary worry. After all, for most people, traitors were more hateful than enemies.

Moreover, Paris was the place of exile for many independents after the fall of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw.

Yes, Napoleon put Poniatowski under house arrest. But in the French army, the Polish Legion still exists. Without Poniatowski, the Polish prince, there is still the spiritual leader of the Polish Colonel Tadeusz Kościuszko. This was Poniatowski's deputy at the time and a founding member of the Polish Republican Association, which has existed for more than ten years. In addition, there is Jan Henryk Dombrovski, a military leader second only to Poniatowski in fame. The latter is an outstanding cavalry general. Under his leadership, the Polish cavalry can often easily crush the Cossacks.

Napoleon was very good to Poniatowski. It seemed that he was under house arrest, but Poniatowski just couldn't leave the manor where he was imprisoned. He could meet with Tadeusz Kościuszko, Jan Henryk Dombrovski, and representatives of officers and soldiers of the Polish Legion at any time.

He was appointed Marshal by Napoleon and was the 26th Marshal of Napoleon. All his bounties and annual salaries were donated by him to the Polish Republican Association. The strength of the Poles in Paris is extraordinary.

Czartoryski dared to bet that if he came to Paris publicly as an envoy of Alexander I, he would become the assassin's must-kill person and the first target to be eliminated.

As a close friend of Alexander I, he once served as the royal adviser of the Russian government and the actual foreign minister. He almost got on the blacklist of the assassin's organization. Fortunately, although Czartoryski once truly controlled the direction of Russia's diplomacy, he persuaded Alexander I to give up his friendship with France and instead form an alliance with Britain, and participated in the two wars against France in 1805 and 1806, but he was nominally only Russia's diplomatic adviser.

In the Third Coalition War against France, Czartoryski was one of the important promoters.

Since 1804, as a diplomatic adviser, he actually controlled the entire Russian diplomacy. His first action was to actively oppose the assassination of Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien [Prince of Condé, France]. At that time, the French royalists failed to assassinate Napoleon. Napoleon ordered the search for the party members and sent troops out of the country to kidnap Louis XVI's possible successor, Louis Antoine Henri de Bourbon-Condé, Duke of Enghien [son of the 9th Prince of Condé], who was executed on the way, thus shattering all hopes of reconciliation between Napoleon and the Bourbon royal family. Czartoryski immediately announced the severance of diplomatic relations with the French revolutionary government. In June, the French envoy, Gabriel Marie Joseph, Count of Edouville, left St. Petersburg; in August, a letter dictated by Czartoryski to Alexander I was sent to the Russian ambassador in London, persuading Britain to form an anti-French alliance. The framework of this anti-French alliance was also established by Czartoryski. At the conference on November 6, 1804, Russia agreed to send 115,000 troops and Austria agreed to send 235,000 troops to counter Napoleon.

Finally, in April 1805, he signed a military alliance agreement with George III, and Russia and Britain formed a military alliance.

And in the same year, Czartoryski also completed the most outstanding masterpiece of his political career, which was the memorandum drafted at the 1805 conference. This memorandum did not further mark the date except for the year, and its purpose was to change the political map of the whole Europe: Austria and Prussia divided the entire German region equally. Russia got the Dardanelles, the Sea of ​​Marmora, the Bosphorus, Constantinople [Istanbul] and Corfu Island of the Ottoman Empire. Austria got Bosnia, Wallachia, and Ragusa. Montenegro got Mostar and the Ionian Islands and established an independent country. If Austria and Prussia obtain the territory of the German region, they will agree to Poland's independence. Poland's territory extends from Danzig (Gdansk) in the north to the source of the Vistula River in the south, and is under the protection of Russia.

At that time, this plan could ensure the restoration of Poland under the greatest conditions. So from a certain perspective, Czartoryski still has a lot of feelings for Poland.

It was this memorandum that made Czartoryski win a certain reputation in Poland, and then the assassin organization actually led by Chen Han's Military Intelligence Bureau did not put him on the blacklist. Moreover, Czartoryski's manor and land in Poland were exchanged to the Czartoryski brothers before Catherine II died of illness. They were actually the leaders of the Polish pro-Russian nobles.

But Czartoryski dared to guarantee that if he dared to work for the Russians openly this time, he would not be at peace.

He is no longer a favorite and close friend of Alexander I. In 1805, Czartoryski accompanied Alexander I on a visit to Berlin and Olmutz (in Moravia) as chancellor. He considered the visit to Berlin a mistake, mainly because he did not trust Prussia; but Alexander I ignored his objections and in February 1807, Czartoryski fell out of favor and was replaced by Andrei Budberg.

However, although no longer a chancellor, Czartoryski still enjoyed Alexander I's personal trust, and in 1810 the Tsar confessed to Czartoryski that his policy in 1805 was wrong, but that Czartoryski had failed to seize the opportunity.

In the same year, Czartoryski left St. Petersburg; his relationship with Alexander I was no longer as good as before. The two friends met briefly in Kalisz (in Poland) before the armistice with France in 1813, and Czartoryski became a member of the Tsar's retinue again during the Anglo-French merger of 1814, and played a major role in the Congress of Vienna. But he and Alexander I could never go back to the past.

When he came to Paris as the Tsar's envoy, Czartoryski felt that his safety was still very much guaranteed. No matter how powerful the Assassin Organization was, it was no match for two countries, whether it was Russia or France, they would do their best to ensure his safety. Even if he was assassinated or shot, he would not necessarily be hurt.

But, but what happened after this? After the envoy's mission was completed, Czartoryski could not guarantee that he would still have such a strong protection force. Just like this hotel now, the rooms above, below, left and right were all booked, as well as the opposite and downstairs, which was all-round protection. But can he still enjoy this high-standard protection code afterwards?

The answer is self-evident.

Besides, once Czartoryski was on the blacklist, his relatives would suffer. For example, his younger brother.

Czartoryski had a younger brother, a real younger brother. After the third partition of Poland, Czartoryski's family estate was confiscated, and in May 1795, Adam and his younger brother Constantine were summoned to St. Petersburg. The brothers were ordered to serve in the Russian army, Adam as a cavalry officer and Constantine as a guardsman.

His brother Constantine still serves in the Polish army under Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich.

Unless the Czartoryski family (including the brothers) are willing to live a secluded life before the Assassin Order is destroyed, the Czartoryski family will definitely face one trouble after another.

The assassination attacks of the Assassins will be like the birds pooping in the Czartoryski family manor, bombarding in waves. There is no doubt that the emergence of the Assassins has made Czartoryski re-recognize the Poles, no, the whole of Europe has re-recognized the Poles. No one dares to ignore their deterrent power.

Now the independence organizations in Ireland are evolving in this direction, and the independence activists in Finland and Italy are learning from Poland.

When the governments of all European countries are twisting together, the collisions in various places are also crackling.

Now the Russian ambassador to France is trying his best to persuade Czartoryski to finish the matter as soon as possible and leave Paris as soon as possible. The power of the Poles in Paris is really not to be underestimated. But Czartoryski has been dragging it on until now. It is not that he is unwilling to leave Paris, but that he has not completed his mission.

Russia and France are as deep as the sea. The previous series of transactions only stopped the war between the two sides, but it did not say that the two sides would restore all their previous friendship. The Franco-Russian War lasted for half a year, and Russia suffered heavy losses.

Although the diplomatic relations between France and Russia were normalized after the merger of Britain and France, and envoys were sent to each other, the gap between the two countries was still as deep as the Mariana Trench.

The purpose of Czartoryski's trip was to deepen friendship with France, put aside past unpleasantness, and face the threat of the Eastern world together.

Alexander I knew very well that the war next year would be a serious test for him. If he failed the test, it would be fun. Who can Russia count on at this juncture?

In addition to holding London's thighs, it can only hope that the French can be more powerful in North America.

The Chinese are attacked from both sides, two battlefields, and the Pacific Ocean in the middle. If Napoleon can add 50,000 more troops in North America, it will be more effective to contain China than the British adding 100,000 troops in Russia.

It can be said that Russia was forced to do so. Alexander I made a helpless choice.

Czartoryski's mission was not difficult to accomplish. France and Russia hit it off immediately. So before Czartoryski arrived in Paris, France and Russia simultaneously announced the upgrade of each other's diplomatic level, from the previous minister to ambassador. And it was precisely this announcement that aroused the dissatisfaction of the Poles in France.

Czartoryski had just arrived in Paris for a few days and experienced several large demonstrations that frightened him.

A large group of Poles, even some Polish soldiers, took to the streets to protest against the "reunion" between France and Russia. They felt betrayed in their hearts.

The Polish soldiers were very restrained. They did not pick up their guns, but walked to the streets empty-handed. But this put a lot of pressure on Napoleon's government. After the establishment of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, the Polish army has always been the main combat force under Napoleon, with a strong fighting will and loyalty to Napoleon. Even after the defeat in the war against Russia, a large number of Polish soldiers continued to follow Napoleon, including generals such as Poniatowski and Dombrovsky, and tenaciously won the victory in the Sixth Anti-French Coalition War.

Napoleon did not want to lose this army, and he did not want to transform his image into a politician. So after he placed Poniatowski under house arrest and completed a series of negotiations, he immediately lifted the restrictions on Poniatowski. Although it was limited, it had already shown his attitude.

The protests of the Poles put pressure on the Napoleonic government and also made Czartoryski Alexander. He came to Paris this time, and incidentally, he had a small task, which was to get as much information about Polish independence elements as possible from the French government.

Although St. Petersburg got some information about Polish independence elements from Paris when Russia and France ceased fire and Britain and France merged, St. Petersburg believed that the French must have more confidential information about independence elements in their hands and did not confess.

In fact, the French really have some in their hands, which is human nature.

The existence of the Polish Assassin Organization has made Russia feel very uncomfortable, and they naturally hope to annihilate it. Of course, this is only a small part of Czartoryski's main mission.