The Last Frontier of Fire and Sword

As Chechen set sail for Kafa, under the city of Warsaw, the army of Karl X and Elector Frederick Wilhelm was engaged in an unprecedented battle with the army of the Republic of Poland led by King Kazimierz. .

After regaining Warsaw, although King Kazimierz was reluctant, he still fulfilled his promise. He awarded the Generalissimo of the Republic of Lubaumacki, which is also the title of Great Crown Gateman. Having obtained this post, Lvbaumacki is basically equivalent to the commander-in-chief of the national army. His power and prestige are second only to the king himself, and he has the following powers:

1. Stay in the capital Warsaw to participate in politics during peacetime, be responsible for protecting the interests of the military and planning military strategies.

2. Planning and commanding military operations;

3. Recruiting, organizing and training standing troops and mercenaries;

4. Supervise the Zaporizhia Cossacks and Cossack chiefs who have registered to join the federation. The Cossack chiefs were appointed by the great crown Gatman for a term of two years (this power has become nameless with the rebellion of the Cossacks);

5. Nominate and promote officials at will;

6. Choosing where the army will levy military supplies;

7. Supervise army finances, including military pay;

8. Complete control of military courts and can issue military regulations;

9. Acknowledge all civilian complaints against the military and provide compensation;

Becoming the great crown Geitman means that Marshal Lubaumacki is the undoubted number two of the Republic, and even the king needs to respect him by three points. And his power is not only embodied in the military. The Great Crown Gateman can also directly send envoys to neighboring countries to obtain the latest diplomatic intelligence. Although in theory the great crown Gateman has no right to command the royal guard or the king's direct army, usually the latter voluntarily obeys the former's dispatch.

It is precisely because of this that after King Kazimierz awarded the position of Lubaumacki, he immediately awarded the title of Geitman, the crown of the two people of Sapega and Çarnetski.

The Territory Gateman is also called "Field Gateman", second only to the great crown Gateman. Although the power of the Territory Gateman is not as great as that of the great crown Gateman, it can be mainly responsible for the full-power military operations of a certain border or a certain area during the war.

From the eyes of the discerning person, it was the king who was distributing the power of Lubaumacki.

The commander of Saperga and Czarnetsky were both outstanding soldiers, and the actions of King Kazimierz did not violate his original promise to Lubaumacki, and in the recovery of Warsaw, the king's momentum Today, even if Lvbao Macki has complaints in his heart, he can only knock down his teeth and swallow blood.

However, since then, Lvbaumacki has played with the rod called Blava he got when he was in office every day. This rod is a symbol of the general marshal’s highest military power. Of course, it can also be used to smash the enemy's head under special circumstances, and the effect is outstanding.

On the Polish Republic’s side, the main force of the Republic of Poland and the Swedish-Prussian coalition forces will be decisive. In the highest military command structure headed by King Kazimierz and composed of the three Getmans, General Czarnetski is extremely unwilling. Yes. The famous general of the Republic had suggested to King Kazimierz before he took Warsaw that after the return of the army led by Karl X, the Republic should take the initiative to abandon Warsaw and make a big retreat.

Çarnetski has already clearly realized that there is a big gap between the Republic and the Kingdom of Sweden in terms of the quality of soldiers and the commanding ability of generals. It is very difficult to defeat Karl X in a major battle. . The Republic can only defeat the Swedish army by exchanging space for time, dragging the enemy into the vast ocean of People's War, and using guerrilla tactics to consume the vital forces of the Swedes. For this reason, he also put forward a famous call: "As long as you are alive, you should mount a horse (to fight the enemy).

In the past, King Kazimierz might agree with Çarnetski’s proposal. However, the recovery of Warsaw inflated the self-confidence of King Kazimierz, Marshal Lubaumacki and others. Even the leader of Sapega believes that the time is ripe to drive the Swedes back to Scandinavia.

They rejected the general soldier's proposal three to one, and instead made a decision to give Karl X a decisive blow under Warsaw.

After his plan was rejected, Çarnetski, who was worried about the safety of his country, went to find Queen Ludvik, Potocki, and Janusz. Çarnetski hopes to persuade King Kazimierz to change his mind through the influence of the three. But for different reasons, these three people persuaded Czarnetski, saying that the strategy of King Kazimierz and the two Gatemans in the decisive battle under Warsaw was correct.

Among them, Potocki told Czarnetski that Denmark, Austria, Tsarist Russia and other countries have come to congratulate the Republic for the restoration of the Chinese sofa. Elder Potocki believes that as long as the Republic wins another victory, these countries will definitely stand on the side of the Republic of Poland, and a siege of the Swedes will be formed.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade anyone, Çarnetski had to go away lonely.

After all, at any time in history, truth is in the hands of a few people.

Also because of Çarnetski’s opposition, King Kazimierz excluded him from the list of the Warsaw Battle, and sent him to Marshal Lupaomatsky to block the Brahma coming from Lithuania. Earl Wichensburg.

King Kazimierz left Saperga, who was loyal to him but the ruler of Lithuania, shared the glory of defeating Karl X (imaginary), but sent Lupaomatsky and Çarnetski to go. The idea of ​​blocking Brahe Wichensburg coming from Lithuania is clear.

Regarding King Kazimierz’s decision to divide his forces, the Mihavu Knight bluntly said to Andrzej and Pidro: "I don’t know what His Majesty the King thinks, but since we are going to meet Karl in Warsaw. In the decisive battle of the tenth army, shouldn't all its strength be squeezed into one fist? Brahe Wichensburg's army is a partial division, and there are less than 10,000 people. But we sent two famous generals and one. An army of tens of thousands will stop him. It would be great if these soldiers stayed here. We will have more troops."

But the words of the little knight were slight. Moreover, as a politician, King Kazimierz had to calculate not only military accounts, but also political battles. Let the Swedes wreak havoc on Lithuania, which he cannot afford politically.

The decision of the upper ranks of the Polish army to make the main decisive battle is undoubtedly the wish of Karl X. King Karl X led the main force of the Swedish army to return to Warsaw. It was originally aimed at taking Warsaw again and taking this opportunity to eliminate Poland. The main force of the army.

He believes that with the 20,000 troops of the Swedish-Prussian coalition, the main force of the Polish army will be eliminated and Kazimierz will be captured alive.

Although through reconnaissance and the Swedish officers released by Kazimierz, Karl X already knew that the main force of the Polish army was stronger than himself in terms of strength. Before the battle began, Karl X’s army had a total of 7,500 Swedish cavalry. Including 500 Swedish pistol cavalry as the ace, in addition to 5,000 black-shirted cavalry brought by Elector Frederik Wilhelm; 3,000 Swedish infantry and 3,500 German infantry. There are 12,500 cavalry and 6,500 infantry, for a total of 19,000. There are also 47 cannons. To contend with the Polish army, King Kazimierz assembled a total of 20,000 Polish cavalry, including 1,000 winged cavalry; Polish infantry 4,000. In addition, there are 10,000 noble recruits selected from the militia after screening, most of them are also riding on horses. The total force is 34,000. However, in terms of heavy artillery, the Polish army is far less than the Swedish army, with only 18 artillery pieces. (The total strength of the two armies is less than their strength in Königsberg and Warsaw. There is a reason: Encouraged by the recapture of Warsaw, the uprising in the Swedish occupation zone in Poland is in full swing, which makes Karl X. A large number of infantry had to be left to defend the supply lines and strongholds along the way. On the Polish Republic, the broken Warsaw city and surrounding areas could not supply more than 100,000 troops. King Kazimierz had to disband most of the militia and let them Back to their hometown.)

But Karl X is still very confident. Since the reform of Gustav, the Swedish army has not won more with less when facing the Poles.

After all, after Gustav's reforms and the Thirty Years' War, the Swedish army has long been a well-known force in Europe. Moreover, the Swedish infantry, which uses three-row shooting tactics, is invincible in the world.

The recent Warsaw War also provided a good proof of Karl X's conclusion. Even if the Poles were victorious in the Battle of Warsaw, their losses were far more than the Swedish army.

Carl X is confident, but it does not mean that Frederick William is also confident. The elector who often retreats after learning that the Polish army has many people and famous players, he is panicked, and is afraid that Karl X will be defeated, and he will pay for everything.

Frederick William several times suggested that Karl X retreat temporarily to avoid the edge of the Polish army. Or move to Lithuania, join the army of Brahe Wichensburg, and lure the army of Poles to Lithuania to fight.

How could Karl X not know what kind of idea the elector was making. He was nothing more than worried that he would be defeated with less fights, which would cause him to lose all the Prussian army.

It is easy to avoid the edge and rendezvous with Brahe Wichensburg, but Karl X has keenly discovered that this time he re-entered Poland is different from the last time. More than a year ago, Polish nobles surrendered to themselves one after another, but this time few Polish nobles have come to take refuge in their allegiance. Obviously, the backlash of people's hearts is not good for oneself. If you can't achieve a decisive victory and regain confidence in those cluttered walls, then you will have no "friend" in Poland—this is the political account of Karl X.

Moreover, Brahe Wichensburg is not without enemies in Lithuania. The troops of General Marshal Lubaumacki of the Republic of Poland and General Çarnetskiy will meet him in Lithuania. If there is someone who is afraid of Karl X among the generals in the Republic of Poland, that person is undoubtedly the General Czarnetski. In the heart of Karl X, even if he was going to deal with ten Kazimierz as an enemy, he was unwilling to fight with one Stefan Çarzczky.

Regarding the hesitation of the elector, Karl X had to comfort him: "Don't worry, William. I told you a long time ago that attracting the main force of the Poles to the city of Warsaw is a big game I am playing. . Now everything is under my control. You just wait to taste the taste of victory with me."

The elector did not speak, but his hesitant eyes still betrayed him—the elector was still worried.

Seeing that the elector was not inspired by his own rhetoric, Karl X had to give him a great sweetness so that Frederick William could willingly work for his own cause.

"Besides, William." Karl X said affectionately: "You once asked me to wish to marry Christina, but I never promised before because although you have the honor of an elector, UU reading www.uukanshu.com, but Christina is after all. The former queen of our country is more noble than you. As Chrissy’s cousin, I still hope that she can marry a king. But this time, as long as you and I work together to defeat Qazi Miri, in the future I will occupy the Republic of Poland, I will marry Christina to you, and will use Lesser Poland (the upper and middle reaches of the Vistula) as her dowry."

The temptation for Frederick William to marry Christina and obtain the Lesser Poland region is too great. Moreover, Karl X said this in front of the Swedish generals and Prussian officers. With so many witnesses, he absolutely cannot go back.

Elector Frederick William's breathing became heavy, and he no longer objected. The elector led the army to dream of becoming Christina's husband, and continued to follow Karl X to Warsaw.

The optional emperor would not know that Karl X marrying Christina to him is a blank check that will never be cashed. Because Karl X was convinced that Widenberg had already made Christina sacrifice for the country in accordance with his orders. The news that Wedenberg was imprisoned by Kazimierz in violation of the contract further strengthened Karl X's judgment.

The Swedish-Prussian coalition was stationed 30 miles from the city of Warsaw. That night, Carl X looked at the bright moon and suddenly thought of Christina.

Thinking of Christina's infatuation for herself and the death of her beautiful woman, Carl X's grief came from it. He wiped the corners of his eyes with his cuffs, and then said to the moon, "Cousin, don't blame me. As the King of Sweden, I can only do this for the sake of the kingdom."

At this time, an officer came behind Karl X. He brought the latest news from the Scout Cavalry: the Polish army is deployed in the east of Warsaw.