The Last Frontier of Fire and Sword

An old man is being held in the Zamość Fortress in Lublin Province. The old man was dressed in Swedish-style clothes-a blue coat, bloomers, a wide-brimmed hat and yellow boots, which made it easy for the nearby residents to identify him as a Swedish prisoner of war.

But apart from that, no one knows any other information about this old man-who is he? what is it call? Why are you locked up here?

I don't know at all.

Some curious residents once tried to inquire the guard guarding the old man, but all they could get was a fierce look. If one day the guard is in a bad mood, he will even get a bit of a touch on his forehead.

Although he was a prisoner of war, the freedom of the old man was not restricted too much. He can walk around the fortress, but the scope of his actions is limited to the moat; he can read books. When the weather is good, more than one villager once saw the old man sitting on the wall of the fortress basking in the sun with a book; With the power of meeting friends, the great nobleman of Lublin, Jan Zamois, visited him more than once in the fortress and brought him fine food and clothing.

"It's really more comfortable to go to jail than being a nobleman." More than one person has expressed this emotion.

From spring to autumn, nearly four years have passed since the old man was detained. On one day in March 1659, a team of cavalry escorted a carriage into Zamosc.

The attentive person noted that this carriage is different from the previous carriage. Carved on this carriage is the coat of arms of the crowned white eagle, which is exclusively reserved for the king of the Republic of Poland.

The commander of the fortress, Matvi Zamoyski, led a squadron of defenders who stood with guns on the square inside the fortress. When the carriage door was opened and a middle-aged lady came down from above, Matvi Zamoysky shouted: "Salute!"

The Polish Musketeers of a squadron raised their muskets at the same time. They looked ahead and paid tribute to those who came.

After a while, Matvi Zamoyski shouted again: "The ceremony is over."

Then, in the midst of the gunshots, Matvi Zamoyski walked to the middle-aged lady and knelt down on one knee, and then took the middle-aged lady's outstretched hand and kissed it.

After Matvey stood up, the middle-aged lady asked him, "Major Matvey, how is that one?"

"Back to the queen, that one is all well. He is praying in the room right now." Matt Wei replied respectfully.

The visitor was the Queen of the Republic, Queen Ludvika, the wife of King Jan Kazimierz. She came to see the old man here.

And he was once a prominent figure.

His name is: Alvid Widenberg. He is the marshal of the Kingdom of Sweden and the former commander-in-chief of the Swedes in Warsaw.

After four years of imprisonment, Queen Ludvika will come to see Arvid Widenberg. It is not the queen or King Jan Kazimierz who wants to demonstrate to the defeated or wants to meet up with a smile. , But hope to invite him out of the mountain.

Due to Karl X's extremely bold use of troops against Lithuania in the Republic of Poland in winter, Marshal Lupaomatzki was caught off guard and lost thousands of troops and dozens of castles and fortresses. In this head-on confrontation with Karl X, the Marshal was beaten and fled by Karl X.

King Karl X is worthy of being a famous general. His attempt to attack Miatersk was rejected by two Boguslav stewards, Sakovic and Ostrow, on the grounds that "the prince has not returned, no one will come" as the excuse. Later, he promptly released false information pretending to attack Miatelsk, and lured Lyubao Macki's cavalry to rescue Miatelsk in the snow. And he himself led the army in an ambush halfway, using the favorable opportunity of the wind and snow to cause the cavalry's power to drop sharply, killing more than 3,000 Polish soldiers with the loss of 200 men.

The roads from Lithuania to the Polish interior were once again full of people fleeing. They exclaimed, "The Swedes are here, the Swedes are here!"

The atmosphere of horror and despair was like that in 1655 when Karl X suddenly tore up the peace treaty and invaded Poland.

At the same time, the situation faced by King Jan Kazimierz at this time is so similar to the 1655 advantage: the main force of the Republic of Poland fought against the army of Tsarist Russia in Ukraine for supporting Wigowski; it was comparable to Karl X. The contending Stefan Czarnetsky general was in Poznan, and the king simply could not send suitable generals and could not draw a single soldier to support Lithuania.

The shocked King Jan Kazimierz did not know that Karl X was a desperate fight after he was dying, in order to force the Republic of Poland to agree to his agreement.

Unexpectedly, after Karl X lost the support of the elector and Boguslav, Jan Kazimierz feared that the situation in Lithuania would be out of control and the overall situation would collapse. The king rushed to the doctor and accepted Queen Ludvika. One of his suggestions, hoping to create enough trouble for the maddening Karl X.

This was the journey of Queen Ludvika to Zamohic.

Under the guidance of Major Matvi, King Ludwig went to the place where Arvid Wedenberg was imprisoned.

Through the bars, Arvid Widenberg, as the major said, was kneeling and praying to God. He was so religious that Queen Ludvika walked in and opened the iron gate and appeared behind him. The former Swedish marshal still did not notice.

Queen Ludwig did not interrupt Arvid Widenberg’s prayers. She stood behind Arvid Widenberg, carefully observing the enemy who had not met in four years.

Compared with four years ago, Alvid Wedenberg's hair is more white and his figure is thinner.

At this moment, Alvid Wedenberg stood up. He slowly turned around and met Queen Ludvika's eyes.

At this time, Queen Ludwig couldn't help but worry that even if she could persuade Alvid Wedenberg, the old man would be able to fulfill the important task she entrusted to him.

Arvid Widenberg, who stood up, still looked hunched, with sunken eye sockets and pale face, as if the dye was about to die.

Arvid Wiedenberg was not subjected to any abuse in the fortress. In fact, there is only one reason for him to become the way he is now-aging.

"Count, I've been greeted for a long time." Queen Ludvika put her thoughts behind her mind and greeted Alvid Wedenberg with a smile.

Due to aging and the vague memory of Queen Ludwig, Arvid Wiedenberg was a little stunned for a while. But he eventually recognized the Queen of Poland.

"It turned out to be Queen Ludvika, what a long time to greet. We haven't seen each other in four or five years? Please don't blame my forgetfulness. There is no sun or moon in the prison. I can't remember whether it is 1660 or 1661. Already.” Alvid Wiedenbena spoke with a demeanor and tone, as if chatting with a friend.

"1659. Earl, we haven't seen each other for three years."

"Really, is it?" Arvid Widenberg laughed.

"Count, I'm here to let you out this time." Queen Ludvika said again.

As soon as he said this, Alvid Widenberg smiled immediately.

His waist is tighter.

"So, is Sweden defeated?" Alvid Wedenberg asked.

His tone was full of sadness.

"No. Although it was fierce for the time being, it was only a matter of time before the final defeat~www.readwn.com~Queen Ludwig did not intend to deceive Alvid Widenberg, she said the current situation of the battle was 15 to 10 Told him.

After hearing the words of Queen Ludvika, the former Swedish marshal sat down on the bed. He closed his eyes in contemplation, motionless like a sculpture.

After a while, Alvid Widenberg said in a low voice: "I thought I would go out for this life. Unless Sweden was defeated and signed a contract, I didn't expect the war to continue. My King won the victory, but the Queen wanted to go out. Let me go. I think this is not unconditional."

After speaking, Alvid Wedenberg raised his head and looked at Queen Ludwig, who was standing in front of him.

Queen Ludvika secretly praised Arvid Widenberg, although her body is aging, but her mind is still there. She bluntly said: "Yes, my husband King Jan Kazimierz did have a request."

As soon as this remark came out, Alvid Widenberg seemed to have guessed something, and he immediately refused: "I will not betray my motherland. Please come back, Queen."

Queen Ludwig had long expected that Arvid Widenberg would not agree so easily.

If the former Swedish marshal had surrendered so easily, he would have succumbed long ago when he was captured and when he was in prison.

So Queen Ludvika did not give up. She opened her mouth and said to Alvid Wedenberg: “We did not want you to betray Sweden. In fact, my husband is also the heir to the Swedish throne. It's a civil war in the sense."

Alvid Wedenberg snorted coldly.

"His Majesty King Carl X is the orthodox of the Swedish throne."

Regarding this statement, Queen Ludvika shook her head and expressed different opinions.

"No, Christina is the most orthodox heir to the Swedish throne."