"Well, brother, I really can't blame you, at least you are not on the side of the Tsar! We can still be friends."
He was "forgiven" by his old friend, but the young Count Alexander Walewski was not happy at all and could only smile bitterly in return.
When he is no longer a Pole, the friendship between the two is destined to lose some spiritual resonance.
What makes him even more sad is that his young and enthusiastic friend may lose his young and precious life in an upcoming war (or suppression).
He knew his friend too well. This enthusiastic young man loved his motherland extremely. Since he took up a gun to fight against the Tsar for the motherland, he would fight to the end for the motherland and would never give in to the iron hoof of the Tsar.
But even knowing this, Alexander still wanted to make a last effort to save his friend's life.
"Anthony, I'm not surprised that you would join the rebel army, but with all due respect, your career is not too optimistic." So he cheered up and warned the other party in a low voice.
Although he spoke euphemistically, the implication was obvious - he believed that the current uprising of the Polish people was a cause destined to fail and was destined to bring many sacrifices.
After arriving in Poland, although he knew in his heart that this uprising was destined to fail, in order to avoid spreading "defeatism", Alexander never said any depressing words when meeting celebrities from all walks of life. On the contrary, he gave all kinds of encouragement and praise.
Slogans such as "Our cause will surely succeed" and "Poland will never perish!" are said every day.
But in front of his friends, he finally put aside his usual false pretenses and spoke his heart out from the bottom of his heart - this was definitely a rare behavior for him.
Anthony, on the other hand, did not get angry after hearing his friend's defeatist remarks. Instead, he curled up the corner of his mouth and showed a chic and heroic smile.
"Not optimistic? Are you saying that too politely, or have you learned their pretentiousness after staying in France for a while? You should say that we will be wiped out soon, or even crushed into powder.
right."
Although Anthony's face was full of smiles, facing this smile, Alexander's mood became even lower.
"Anthony, you are my friend, so I won't hide it from you. According to the news from the French Embassy in Russia, the Russian Empire's offensive is about to start, and it is expected to be next month... It is different from before.
This time, preparations have been made, and weapons and ammunition have been stored. Considering their superior numbers and quality of soldiers, this offensive will bring great difficulties to you - or in other words, it will make your
The career is in dire straits.”
When the revolution first broke out, the Russian troops stationed in Poland were caught off guard and suffered heavy losses. Then, relying on their enthusiasm and high morale, the new Polish army defeated the assembled Russian troops many times.
But when the angry Tsar began to mobilize the domestic army, the situation was different.
Russia's territory is vast, and it takes time to deploy troops. Therefore, the Russian army chose the method of constantly entangled with the Polish rebels on the front line and emergency mobilization in the rear. As time passed, by the spring of 1831, Russia was already in Poland.
Hundreds of thousands of troops were assembled at the original border.
In comparison, the Polish rebel army was small in number and lacked training and weapons, making it impossible for them to have the ability to fight head-on.
Between April and May, the Tsar will launch a decisive offensive, and then it will take two or three months to completely defeat the Polish armed forces. This is not only the judgment of the French embassy, but also the judgment of diplomats and military officials from various European countries.
A conclusion generally drawn by observers.
Even the Poles themselves, who are actually a little knowledgeable, can realize this - Anthony, as the son of a university professor and quite knowledgeable himself, is naturally one of them.
But, even if you know this, so what?
Alexander's response was just his fearless and heroic smile.
Ah! Then you really brought me good news. At least we still have two or three weeks to have some fun, and by the way, leave a last message to our relatives and friends——"
"Anthony!" His seemingly indifferent attitude made Alexander even more anxious, "Did I not make it clear enough? You will be finished..."
"Yes, I am definitely not naive enough to think that I am a special person. Maybe I will indeed be finished..." The smile on Anthony's face finally showed a hint of bitterness, and then he nodded lightly, "But, if
If no one stands up and fights in a hopeless battle, wouldn’t our nation be even more doomed? If everyone is afraid of hitting an egg with a stone and risking his or her own life, then we will forever become slaves to the subjugation of our country!”
"If you don't want to be a slave to the subjugation of the country, you can also take a better approach-for example, like me." Alexander gave his final patient advice, "I am now a special envoy of the French government, and I have the ability to make decisions on behalf of the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Every Polish person with my permission goes to France and accepts asylum from the French government... You can survive, and then use your knowledge to cultivate more people with lofty ideals like you, waiting for a better time next time..."
At this point, Alexander stopped talking, because at this time Antony suddenly raised his finger in front of his lips, making a silencing gesture.
"Thank you, my friend. Even at this time, you don't mind trying to find a way out for me." Then, Anthony spread his hands, "But please allow me to refuse. If each of us wants to run away first,
Then wait for the next opportunity, how could there be a next time? There are already enough people who choose to escape. Poland needs someone to stay and become role models and martyrs. Only in this way can the Polish nation have the possibility of continuing to survive, right?
?”
Alexander was stunned by this rhetorical question.
Then, with a look that was both heroic and sad, Anthony gently crossed himself on his chest.
"I know that we may die, but our resistance will not be meaningless. Our blood will let our descendants know that Poland will never perish... We will inspire them and let them remember their nation and country. , so that we can have the next chance and the next one. Alexander, if I am destined to shed all my blood, then I am willing to shed it happily! A real man will not care about dedicating himself to his beliefs."
Alas, it's useless to say anything.
Seeing Anthony's decisive look at this time, Alexander knew in his heart that it was useless to say anything.
He will definitely die...but he will die with lofty belief. At this moment, Alexander no longer has any luck in his heart. He has already foreseen what will happen next - because Anthony doesn't seem to want to live at all. , he is willing and even happy to make himself a martyr for the nation. Even if the cause is destined to fail, he can still inspire those who come after him.
No matter how cold and realistic the world is, there are always some idealists who are willing to make sacrifices for their beliefs. Sadly, the most enthusiastic and selfless people often become victims first.
"I don't know what will happen to future generations, but I will remember you." In the end, he could only leave this reply, "I will never forget you."
Of course, that's what he said, but he also has his own position. Although he hates the Tsar and the Russian Empire extremely much at this moment, if in the future, if the interests of France require him to be pro-Russian, he will not hesitate to take such measures. pro-Russian stance.
Position determines everything.
The world is like this, both passionate and cold, both emotional and rational, the sublime and the humble coexist.
"So, besides not forgetting me, can you provide some more practical help?" Anthony asked with a smile.
Perhaps because they knew that the two people would soon be separated forever, the harmony between Alexander and Antony at this moment was extremely harmonious. Only the friendship between friends remained, and there was no longer any calculation of interests.
"You really came to me for help..." Alexander also laughed, "As long as there is anything I can do to help you, I will definitely do it."
"I heard that you secretly gave a lot of arms to the gentlemen in Warsaw...can you send some to us too?" Anthony asked immediately.
Alexander was stunned for a moment.
He was not surprised that the other party was well-informed, he was surprised by Alexander's wording——
“The old man from Warsaw”
Since the Warsaw Uprising and the formation of the National Assembly in Poland, now, in theory, the Polish Assembly is in charge of the country's governance. The National Assembly elects the main members of the government and appoints the commander-in-chief of the army.
Therefore, Antony's wording seems very strange, as if he is independent from the Polish army.
"Then who are you working for now?" So, he immediately looked at the other person with suspicion.
"Awesome." Anthony admired his friend's sensitivity.
Now that it was now, he had no intention of covering it up anymore, so he simply told Alexander the whole story.
It turns out that after the uprising was successful and Poland was restored, Poland, which seemed to be united in striving for independence and freedom, actually had undercurrents surging inside, with various forces and various ideas competing with each other.
In parliament and the government, in addition to conservatives who hoped to negotiate with the tsar and radicals who hoped to further break with Russia, there were also fierce debates around whether to liberate the peasants and start a national war against Russia.
The reason is obvious - Poland's newly formed army is small in number, and has insufficient ammunition and training. This strength alone is definitely not enough to confront Russia and strive for independence. Therefore, the entire people must be mobilized to fight, so that there can be
It may cause enough damage to the Russians and gain a chance of survival.
If you want to launch a nationwide resistance war, you must mobilize the farmers, who account for the vast majority of the population.
If you want to mobilize farmers, you must provide tangible benefits.
Therefore, at the beginning of the revolution, some politicians such as Joseph Kozlowski and others called at various meetings and newspapers to give farmers land ownership, and then mobilized the farmers to establish militia and mobilize the whole people to resist.
However, at this time, most of the land in Poland was in the hands of a small number of nobles, and government agencies and the capital, Warsaw, were in the hands of the nobles.
On the one hand, these nobles really hated the Tsar and wanted to fight for independence, but they were absolutely unwilling to give up their land to the peasants.
They also spoke out in parliament and the press, firmly opposing any radical social reform, especially land reform. Therefore, in February, the bill proposed by the new bourgeois aristocracy and the civilian faction to implement leasing on state-owned land within 10 years was rejected.
Another bill that would have ensured that farmers on Polish land could purchase their own tenanted properties was also rejected by the parliament not long ago.
It is conceivable that if these nobles had to "choose the lesser of two powers", they would even choose the tsar.
Under the obstruction of the aristocracy, all attempts to mobilize the peasants came to nothing, and even the most moderate reform measures were rejected. When the peasants saw this situation, their enthusiasm for joining the army to defend the country instantly cooled down.
After all - if you are destined to be an extremely poor landless peasant, is there any difference between farming for Poland or farming for the Tsar?
The farmers' enthusiasm decreased, and the expansion of the army naturally came to nothing. Under the current precarious situation, the fierce debates within the Parliament and the government increased.
The faction that supported the mobilization of peasants and the national resistance war accused the conservative nobles of being traitors, while the conservative nobles accused the other party of being thieves who robbed property. The fierce quarrel between the two groups wasted several months of precious time. In addition, the army
There was also a feeling internally that they did not dare to act rashly due to their weak strength, so in response to the continuous build-up of Russian troops, the Polish army did not react at all and could only passively wait for the Russian army to roll in.
Once he heard what Anthony told him, Alexander's originally negative mood suddenly became even darker.
Although he was also a Polish noble landowner in name, at this moment, he felt extremely discouraged by what these conservative nobles were doing.
At this time, they are still fighting each other endlessly and are unwilling to give up the slightest benefit. So what hope is there for the future of Poland's independent cause?
"So you are a civilian who supports the national war of resistance?" he asked Anthony.
"Of course!" Anthony nodded immediately, "I died for the motherland, not for them. Although our plan cannot be realized, at least we should try our best to resist... They will retreat, we
Won't."
Try your best to resist...
Haha, the result of trying your best to resist is that you devout patriots died, and this group of people changed their faces again and continued to enjoy their privileges under the protection of His Majesty the Tsar.
Even knowing this, Alexander just nodded sadly.
"Well, I will try my best to give you some weapons and ammunition, but it's just a few. It won't change anything."
"That's enough. I will always be grateful to you, whether in Poland or in heaven." Anthony stretched out his hand to Alexander and shook his hand tightly again, "Goodbye, my friend..."