Chapter 148: Favoritism Seeing a group of ministers standing in front of her in fear, Catherine II was very helpless, and the empress was happy to see the ministers divided into several factions to fight against each other, because if the ministers were hugging together, then where should her majesty as an empress be reflected.
Welcome to Reading // In the past two years, however, dozens of high-ranking Russian leaders have fallen victim to party struggle, but the party struggle has not weakened but has intensified.
Just like the post of the supreme commander of the Russian army in Poland, if it weren't for Potemkin's decisive decision to remove the candidate of the Orlov faction for treason, perhaps Kutuzov would not have gotten such a prominent position at all.
But there must be a solution to the matter, is it really just sitting back and letting Kutuzov do it himself.
"Potemkin, you said that you were ready for war and sent troops to support Kutuzov, then I asked you where we are going to draw troops from," the empress asked Potemkin.
"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that at the moment the Ottomans in the Crimean region have no strength to oppose His Majesty's rule, so the minister thinks that the troops should be transferred from the Crimean region first, and secondly, the garrison in the Ukrainian region can also send a part of the army north to support General Kutuzov."
Seeing the empress asking herself, Potemkin talked eloquently, listening to Potemkin's words, the empress couldn't help nodding, with the defeat of Turkey in the two wars between Russia and Turkey, the Ottoman forces on the Crimean Peninsula can already be said to have been uprooted, and it is indeed feasible to draw a part of the army from there.
As for Ukraine, it used to be the front line of Russia's struggle against the Ottoman Empire, but now with the pace of Russian expansion, Ukraine has become a transit point for supplies, so it is also feasible to draw troops from there.
Catherine II calculated in her heart that if a part of the troops were transferred from Crimea and Ukraine, it should not affect the situation on the ground, but the limit of the transfer must be controlled, so that Russia should be able to draw more than 20,000 troops.
But more than 20,000 men was far from enough to fight Prussia, and even with another 100,000 troops, the Empress did not think that she could completely defeat the Prussians, and for the sake of a Morakot, was Russia worth paying such a big price?
"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that Marshal Potemkin's words are very problematic, first of all, although the situation on the Crimean Peninsula has been calmed, the strength of the Ottoman Black Sea Fleet still exists, and the transfer of garrisons on the Crimean Peninsula will only give the Ottomans hope for a comeback.
There is also Ukraine, although it is no longer the front line of confrontation with the Ottomans, but there are countless unruly Cossacks in the steppes of Eastern Europe, and the existence of the Ukrainian garrison is to deter those Cossacks, so that they can be used obediently by me, and the Ukrainian garrison has been transferred, who can guarantee that those Cossacks will not have any rebellious thoughts because the chains around their necks are untied" While the Empress was pondering, Orlov bowed to the Empress and said loudly, his words making the Empress feel even tighter.
"Marshal Potemkin, now is not the time to turn against the Prussians, you go and send someone to tell Kutuzov to withdraw his troops immediately, and after the army returns to Poland, let him immediately come to St.
Petersburg to explain this behavior to Zhèngfu, and Orlov, you go and contact the Prussians, convey our intentions to them, and at the same time, if the Prussians ask for it, we can give appropriate compensation, of course, you have to grasp this degree" After saying that, Catherine II ignored the others, stood up and walked towards the door.
Everyone in the room looked at each other, and this order of the empress was obviously unfavorable to Potemkin, because Kutuzov was the one who was brought up by Potemkin.
But Potemkin did not get anxious because of the empress's order, but exhaled a heavy breath, as long as the empress did not dismiss Kutuzov on the spot, as long as he was not dismissed, even if Kutuzov was given some punishment, Potemkin would admit it.
Orlov looked at Potemkin, who was a little lighter, and was very angry in his heart, but at the same time he had a new understanding of Potemkin's favor, Kutuzov almost caused a war between the Prussians and the Russians, and the empress actually did not announce his punishment, obviously for Potemkin's face, what is it called to be favored in this way.
But Orlov was not willing to give up, and he planned in his heart that after Kutuzov returned to St.
Petersburg, he would take this opportunity to deal a heavy blow to Potemkin's arrogance.
Kutuzov obviously did not know what was happening in St.
Petersburg, and now he had something more important to do, that is, to raise troops and baggage in various places.
The governor of Russian Poland reported to the empress that Kutuzov had borrowed his baggage, in fact, it was not only him, but also Russian officials and Polish nobles all over Poland were visited by Kutuzov one by one, of course, this visit was not Kutuzov himself, Kutuzov brought a full 600 cavalry with him, if the acquaintance agreed to Kutuzov's request, otherwise there would be only one result was the destruction of the family.
Kutuzov's perverse behavior made the nobles of Poland complain, the reason why the nobles are nobles is because of the army and wealth in their hands, without these things, even if your title is high, it will only be a scum.
Of course, in contrast to the anger of most Poles, some Poles were ecstatic, because they found that the number of Russian garrisons was decreasing, and this was a godsend for them.
Needless to say, this part of the Poles is the nationalists and anti-Russians.
Of course, the whereabouts of these Russian troops have also become a topic of concern for everyone, and just when people were speculating about the whereabouts of the Russian troops, a piece of news spread throughout most of Poland.
The news that Russia was about to go to war with Prussia and that the Russians had been transferred to East Prussia surprised the Poles at first, but then ecstasy, because both the Russians and Prussia were foreign invaders to them, and both were executioners in the partition of Poland.
However, compared to the Russians, Prussia did not have troops outside of Prussian Poland after all, and the Prussians did not act in Poland like the Russians did not provoke anger and resentment, so the feelings of the Poles were still inclined towards Prussia.
Under these circumstances, some Prussian intelligence officers came into contact with Polish nationalists, in which they confirmed the news of the war to the Poles, supported the activities of Polish nationalists on behalf of Prussia, and gave some weapons and money to the "Polish heroes" for safekeeping.
Of course, the activities of these intelligence officers were ordered by Sanssouci Palace, and after Wilhelm considered the current situation, he found that the nationalists in Poland were also a force that Prussia could use, and these Poles had been working against Russian colonial rule.
At the same time, the actions of these Poles were sympathetic and supportive to the Polish upper class, so William was more than happy to cause them some trouble in the rear of the Russians.
At a time when Eastern Europe was in turmoil, Vienna, Austria, was indeed in full swing, and Joseph II was taking his children to the opera at the Royal Theatre.
Joseph II was mesmerized by the beautiful music and captivating dance, and just as he was immersed in the sea of music, an untimely knock sounded at the door.
Joseph II, who came to his senses, was very dissatisfied with the sound that disturbed his enjoyment of the opera, but the king's reserve made him only frown slightly, and then he ordered his attendants to open the door of the box: "Your Majesty, our men have received shocking news in Poland that the Russians and the Prussians are at war," said the man who entered the door without waiting for Joseph II's command.
But the sound of music in his ears affected Joseph II's hearing, and he could only faintly hear the words Russian, Prussian, etc., so he said dissatisfiedly: "What are you talking about, tell me slowly, could it be that the Russians and Prussians are calling" to the back, Joseph II did not forget to quip.
"Your Majesty, I said that the Russians and the Prussians were at war in East Prussia," the visitor ignored Joseph II's self-righteous joke, and said loudly as he approached Joseph II's side.
This time Joseph II heard it clearly, he was stunned at first, because last year there was still friendship between the two countries, and this time there was no sign of war at all, how could the two countries fight, but then Joseph II was in ecstasy.
Joseph II was not pleased, but in Joseph II's mind, both Prussians and Russians were enemies of Austria, and just last year the two countries joined hands to invade Austria, and even now, the Prussians and Russia occupy many parts of Austria.
The fight between these two countries not only changed the situation in Eastern Europe, but also gave Joseph II hope for the resurgence of the Habsburgs.
"Is this news confirmed, and why did the war between Prussia and Russia start" Joseph II hurriedly grabbed the person in front of him and asked in ecstasy.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this news has come back from our intelligence officers in Poland, and it is said that the whole of Poland knows about it, and the Russians seem to be sending more troops to East Prussia, which is the territory of the Prussians" The visitor was first taken aback by Joseph II's actions, but then answered the emperor's question.
"You immediately send someone to confirm the news to Prussia and Russia, and if it is true, report it to me immediately, and you now go and gather the ministers of the cabinet and ask them all to assemble in the palace, and I will hold an urgent meeting" As soon as Joseph II's words were finished, the visitor hurriedly saluted and strode out, the corners of Joseph II's mouth rose in the box, and he tried his best to control the joy in his heart, but with a pop, Joseph II's laughter spread throughout the opera house.