Just as Aigron mentioned the "poor Polish round" in a casual tone at the Palace of Fontainebleau, his half-brother, Count Alexander Walewski, was experiencing this doomed round in Warsaw.
Tragedy has happened and is happening now.
Unlike Aigron, whether it was because of his Polish ancestry or because the war was getting closer and closer to him at this moment, his heart was full of clouds and he couldn't be happy at all.
Since the beginning of spring, the situation in Poland has become worse and worse, and now it can be said to be in danger——
After several months of mobilizing troops, the Russian Empire gathered a huge army of hundreds of thousands of people on the Polish border. Then, after the beginning of spring, the Tsar began to gradually invest his own imperial army and launched a counter-insurgency war.
In order to completely eliminate these hateful traitors, the Tsar appointed his favorite general, Marshal Ivan Fedorovich Paskevich, who had served with great success for decades, as the commander-in-chief of the Russian army.
Calm Poland's posture.
Under the effective command of the marshal, the Russian army, although logistically bloated and advancing slowly, was like a steamroller, slowly rushing towards Warsaw.
Although the Polish Independence Army resisted bravely, they were still unable to withstand the ruthless iron heel of the Russian Empire.
Not long ago, on May 26, 1831, the two armies fought in Ostrovinka. The two armies each suffered more than 6,000 casualties. For the Russian Empire, the loss of 6,000 people was simply a significant loss.
It was negligible, but for the weak Polish Independence Army, this was tantamount to a serious loss of blood.
The Independence Army had to swallow the bitter fruit of defeat and retreat, while the Russian army continued to roll towards Warsaw.
The defeat not only caused heavy losses in the military, but also dealt a heavy blow to the newly born Polish country politically, making the already extremely chaotic political situation in Warsaw even more chaotic.
Originally, in the newly established Polish Parliament, radicals and conservatives, civilians and nobles had already had fierce quarrels and criticized each other around issues such as war or peace, whether to mobilize the whole people, etc.
Not surprisingly, as the war situation became increasingly unfavorable, the verbal war of abuse escalated, and the factions hated each other, and even began to turn into internal strife.
On June 20, frontline general General Antoni Jankovsky and others were arrested and imprisoned by the government on charges of treason due to successive military defeats.
Now, as Poland is facing fierce internal and external struggles at the same time, the situation has become desperate. It is no longer appropriate to describe it as "precarious". It should be described as "life or death".
In short, as the Russian army approaches, fear and despair spread in Warsaw. In the atmosphere of approaching doom, everyone is living numbly, waiting for fate to happen.
Count Alexander Walewski had already known how the situation had evolved. In fact, when the Tsar began to mobilize his troops, the whole of Europe judged that this rebellion would be quelled by the Tsar's heavy blows.
However, the more he knew, the more painful he felt.
The greatest pain in the world is not to endure a disaster, but to know that the disaster is coming, but can only watch it come, with no solution or escape.
At this moment, young Alexander was experiencing this feeling of powerlessness.
God has abandoned Poland, and it is destined to be doomed. The Grand Duchy of Warsaw and the revolutionary Poland at this moment are destined to be short-lived, and every struggle only makes it shed more blood.
Although he is now a Frenchman and a confidant of the emperor, he is still half Polish and grew up in Poland. Now he sees this desperate fact happening in front of his eyes, even if
As a bystander, he could not help but feel pain and frustration.
Although he was depressed, in this increasingly desperate atmosphere, he was not afraid. It was more like he had a "watching the fire from the other side" mentality.
After all, he is now a French diplomat stationed in Poland. Although relations between France and Russia are currently very poor, they are not yet warring countries after all, so he enjoys a protected diplomatic status. Moreover, his relationship with the Bonaparte family is well known, and it is by no means
A person who can be imprisoned or executed at will. No matter how much the Russians hate the Bonaparte family, they still have to be measured on this issue.
Even if the Russian army invades Warsaw, they will not do anything to him. At most, they will declare him unwelcome and deport him back to France, which is equivalent to letting him complete the entire mission.
Therefore, he is prepared to stay until the end and witness the moment when Poland is destroyed again.
Even though he was depressed, he still had to cheer up and complete his task.
When he came here before, he was actually carrying the dual tasks assigned by his "brother". On the one hand, he provided some humanitarian assistance to the Polish people in the war (and also provided some arms assistance in private); on the other hand, he helped the Polish people.
The elite sought refuge in France.
Now, with the chaos of the situation, it is difficult to implement the previous task. The precarious situation in Poland makes it difficult for him to find people to help him distribute supplies. He has almost finished delivering the things on hand. Now it is difficult to send more goods from France.
New additions were obtained; the latter task was different, and was now in full swing.
——Since he can see that the situation is desperate, others can also see it. Unlike Alexander, who has "come ashore" to become a French diplomat and is destined to escape safely, this time Poland rebelled, and many high-ranking officials in Warsaw
Officials and intellectuals were deeply involved. They must be "heinous" traitors in the eyes of the Tsar. Once the Russian army returns to Warsaw, it will be obvious that there will be a liquidation waiting for them.
Even if he is not executed, he may be imprisoned or deprived of all his property.
Because they know this, these fearful people desperately want to find a way out before complete destruction. They privately and even publicly find Count Alexander Valewski, hoping to save themselves or their families.
Obtained permission to live in exile in France; and in compliance with Aiglon's order, Alexander would not refuse anyone who came to him. As long as someone applied to him, he almost agreed to it, quietly allowing thousands of people to find a way out.
These desperate people, it seemed like what he had done, they were naturally very grateful to him and Aigron behind him.
"Napoleon", a symbol they once loved and even worshiped, helped Poland recover. Twenty years later, his two sons have become their new talismans - although these two sons cannot protect Poland.
, but at least their lives, property and freedom can be saved.
In an instant, Alexander gained great popularity in Warsaw and was regarded as a "righteous man" by many people.
In addition to his fame, his personal wealth has also been greatly expanded - at this time, many wealthy Poles wanted to flee Warsaw and go into exile in France, in order to maintain their personal needs and at the same time to prevent the Tsar from confiscating their property
, they will naturally want to sell their family and real estate and exchange them for jewelry and cash that can be easily carried.
As a result, transactions in houses and land in Warsaw and surrounding areas suddenly became more active than ever before. Because there were so many sellers, transaction prices fell again and again, even reaching a low price that was unimaginable a few years ago.
In this "prosperous" trading market, Alexander also became a participant. He bought many assets at low prices. When the situation stabilized in the future, he could make a lot of money by changing hands. It can be said that he made a windfall.
He knew that this was a "national treasure", but since these exiles were going to sell off their family properties anyway, then if he didn't buy it, others would buy it, so it was better to make a fortune by himself, just as he had been doing this for a while.
"remuneration" for service to Poland.
On the other hand, many people sold their property to him at a low price because they actually valued his status as "not being liquidated by the Russians." After selling to him, they would have the opportunity to buy it back, which was better than having it confiscated by the Russians for free.
If you look closely, this can be regarded as a matter of taking what you need.
On this gloomy afternoon today, Alexander had just met another group of upper-class people who were preparing to take refuge in France, and issued the necessary documents to them. After sending them away, he was exhausted and slumped on the sofa to rest.
At this moment, his servant sent him news that someone was visiting him.
He originally wanted to ask the other party to wait first, but after hearing the other party's name, he changed his mind and asked the servant to bring the other party directly to him - because this visitor was none other than his good friend Anthony Kovals
base.
More than a month ago, Anthony secretly visited him, told him that he had joined the rebel army, and asked him for assistance.
And he also generously donated money and secretly helped the opponent with many weapons and ammunition.
Since then, the two of them have lost contact, and today, they finally met again.
Although it was only more than a month since they last met, Anthony's impression of Alexander at this time was completely different——
Last time, Anthony, the son of a university professor, was gentle and full of intellectual temperament; but now, he is thin and sallow, with dark circles under his eyes due to long marches and fatigue, his hair has become messy and dry, and there are also spots in his eyes.
His face was obviously bloodshot, and his previous demeanor could no longer be seen.
Although he didn't want to describe it this way, Anthony at this moment looked like a wounded beast.
But, thank God, at least he is still alive now, and he is still full of beards and tails...
Of course that's just for now.
The two people looked at each other, speechless, as if neither of them knew how to speak in this situation.
"Anthony...are you okay?" Finally, Alexander asked a stupid question awkwardly.
"Okay, you'll know just by looking at it..." Anthony replied with a wry smile, "We failed, we retreated, but thank God, I am still alive...although I lost many comrades."
When talking about himself, Anthony was still in the mood to smile bitterly, but when talking about his comrades, the corner of Anthony's mouth suddenly twitched, and a look of pain flashed in his eyes. Obviously, for him, the previous experience was too much.
torment.
"I heard that the situation is indeed very bad now." Alexander replied softly.
"To say it's bad, you're giving me face -" Anthony still smiled bitterly, "Now they are on the Vistula River, it is our last barrier, and the Russians are already very close to it - if the luck is bad enough,
They can cross this river and come to Warsaw."
Alexander could hear that the other party's tone contained a helpless and resigned numbness.
But, what's so strange about this?
He moved his mouth, but he didn't know how to comfort the other person.
He could imagine how desperate and painful Anthony would feel as he watched his motherland fall again.
This kind of pain, the more comfort it gives, the more uncomfortable it will probably be.
So, after a moment of silence, instead of comforting him, he asked the other party again.
"I'm sorry, I can't give you any help now, and even if I give it, it won't help... But if there is anything else I can do to help you, I will help."
At this point, although he knew there was no hope, he still persuaded the other party once more, "I said last time that I can help you go to France. Now as long as you nod, it's still not too late -"
Before he could finish speaking, Anthony shook his head and firmly rejected his proposal.
"My friend, don't talk about this anymore. I said, I will not leave... We have retreated again and again, and now Warsaw is the last position. I will not retreat anymore, I will only die here!"
Alexander was immediately speechless.
He knew that Anthony would answer this way.
He would die in this city, dying for those compatriots who were worthy of his defense or not worthy of his defense, and then witness the fall of his motherland once again.
For a moment, his eyes almost shed tears, not only for his friends, but also for the fate of this country.
So many officials and nobles are running away, but after all, there are still loyal children who are willing to sacrifice their lives for her!
"Is there anything else you need me to do for you? Anthony?" After a moment, he asked with a slightly trembling voice. "I'm sorry... I'm really sorry."
He himself didn’t know what he was apologizing for. Maybe it was because he had become a Frenchman even though he had Polish ancestry. Maybe he was sorry that he could only watch his friend die but was helpless. Maybe he was sorry that he was in this country again.
When it fell, it also enriched the country and became one of the people who devoured its corpse... maybe, it was a combination of both.
The young Alexander has not completely eliminated his conscience. Although he has the consciousness of a diplomat and knows how to make profits for himself and the country, he still has not completely eliminated his compassion after all.
"Then listen to my last entrustment, my friend..." Anthony gently hugged his friend, "I can't leave Poland alive, but after I die, please bury me in a land outside the Russian Empire.
"Sir, I can never become a subject of the Tsar again, even if I die. If one day my motherland is lucky enough to be resurrected, I will be buried back then."
At this point, he stopped again, and then laughed again, "I'm afraid you won't see that day either."
Smiling and laughing, he cried again, and howled like a child.
"I will... I will..." Alexander couldn't help but burst into tears, then nodded repeatedly and sincerely agreed to his friend's request.