Chapter 149: Going in person Although St.
Petersburg sent an envoy to Poland as soon as the meeting was over, he was always late, and while the envoy was still on his way, Mikharilev had already joined up with the Russian troops who had come to reinforce him.
Fastest update // Although the number of reinforcements exceeded Mikharilev's expectations, and the Russian army's camp was a little cramped, the arrival of reinforcements greatly boosted the morale of Mikharilev's army, and at the same time gave Mikharilev a greater grasp of the Russian army's follow-up military operations.
Of course, the Prussian army discovered the noise of the Russian battalion, and the Prussian scouts never relaxed their surveillance of the Russian battalion, and they would report it immediately if there was any disturbance When the scout told Henry the news, Henry just nodded hastily to indicate that he knew, and put all his strength on a document in his hand.
The document was sent by Sanssouci Palace, this document did not say much, there was only one subject on it, that is, William was about to personally conquer East Prussia, and this news made Henry's mood more upset than the increase in Russian troops.
At this time, William's pro-campaign can be regarded as dissatisfaction with Henry and other front-line counterinsurgency soldiers, the situation in East Prussia has taken three full months and has not calmed down, which makes William's dissatisfaction with the counterinsurgency higher-level more serious, and now it's good, I don't know how to do it, I actually involve the Russians again, and the original complicated situation is even worse, so William feels that if he wants to solve the East Prussian problem as soon as possible, he must go to it himself, otherwise he is not very relieved to anyone.
The reason why William personally went on the expedition was that he had received the news of the capture of Königsberg, which made the rebels have no place to stand, and at the same time made William have more confidence in the situation in East Prussia, but after all, seeing is believing, and only seeing it with his own eyes is the most reassuring, and being on the front line can also allow William to make an accurate judgment.
William's decision was naturally opposed by Locks, of course, Locks's opposition was also within William's expectations, if Locks did not object, William would feel strange, when William and Locks talked about the chaos in East Prussia, William pointed out that it was necessary to let the Russians see Prussia's toughness in the East Prussian region, so that those Russians knew the difficulties and retreated, and the most effective way to do this was that William personally led the army to East Prussia.
Originally, William met with Locks to discuss the mobilization of conscripts, but in the debate with Locks, William found that the old duke did not have the slightest intention of agreeing to the war between Prussia and Russia.
Locks reported to Wilhelm the statements of Prussia's taxes and expenditures for the last five years, and said to Wilhelm: "Your Majesty, Prussia has taken out the last share of the family in order to quell Morakot's rebellion, and at the moment there is no money in the treasury for Your Majesty to wage a war with the Russians, if Your Majesty insists on being a minister, there is nothing to say, but the minister is willing to resign as Prime Minister of the Kingdom" Locks's words made William panic, the threat in Locks's words, William heard it clearly, but William couldn't help but pay attention to it, if Locks really resigned, William could not find a second such an excellent housekeeper in Prussia, and Locks was still the link between William and the civilian group, only Locks could integrate the entire civilian group to better serve William, but the situation in East Prussia made him worry all the time.
"Your Excellency, you are the pillar of the kingdom, how can you resign, if you resign, won't the kingdom collapse in half, and if the kingdom's finances are really difficult, I can use the royal property to support the country's finances, of course, I have a premise, that is, you must support me to fight this war" William comforted the old duke kindly, and at the same time proudly promised to use the royal family's finances to supplement the treasury, but Locks did not borrow the donkey because of William's words, but became even more excited.
"Your Majesty, do you think that you are only opposed to a war with the Russians because of the country's lack of finances, Your Majesty, you are still young, do you know how many people our country has lost in previous wars, and now the kingdom has just finished ploughing, and you are going to war with the Russians at this time, it is necessary to recruit a large number of strong laborers, and when the crops in the field are not taken care of, maybe this war will continue for a long time, in this way, how much can you expect to grow in the field, without food, what will we do to fight" Locks stood up excitedly, and the foaming stars in his mouth smashed into the face of William, who was sitting opposite.
William wanted to deny it, but he had to admit that Locks was right, although Prussia had gained a large territory through the conquest in recent years, but it was accompanied by a large number of casualties of middle-aged men, and the Bavarian Succession War and the Austro-Prussian War made many Prussian men spill their blood.
And now it is 1781, according to the age calculation, most of the soldiers in the army were born around 1761, and 1761 is the most fierce time of the Seven Years' War, when Brandenburg was even occupied by the enemy, and after the war, because of the trauma caused by the war, the whole Prussia broke out famine, and the fertility rate of the population in such an era can be imagined.
Therefore, although William's national mobilization can recruit hundreds of thousands of troops, this number is already the majority of the prime men in the whole Prussia, once all these prime men are called into the army, then the main labor force will be lost, and Prussia's land harvest this year can be imagined.
So even if William was unhappy, Locks still had to say, not only to say, but also to make William understand that Prussia was not capable of fighting another war at all.
The quelling of Morakot's rebellion had already exhausted the logistical baggage that William had prepared for Denmark, and not only that, because the war was taking place on Prussian territory, and Prussia would definitely have to re-establish the prosperity of East Prussia after the war, so that every penny of the kingdom's treasury would be of its own use, and it would be impossible to draw money for the war.
"Well, Duke Locks, you convinced me, but I think we have to show the Russians that we are determined to defend our territory anyway," William decided that since he couldn't break through Locks head-on, he would go around in circles and convince him.
Locks nodded at William's statement, Locks was only against going to war with the Russians now, but he was not against fighting back when the Russians had already attacked, and those who had experienced the test of war would always have more blood than those who had not.
If the Russians really declared war on Prussia or launched a large-scale attack, then Locks would definitely support Wilhelm's mobilization resolution, even if it was financially difficult, Locks would firmly support it, because he was a Prussian.
"But since the kingdom's finances do not allow it, and the kingdom's troops have their own tasks and cannot leave the garrison without permission, how do you think we should declare our determination to the Russians in such a situation?"
Hearing William's words, Locks fell into deep thought and sent someone to protest?
International condemnation?
This is simply a joke, and this will not only not let the Russians know Prussia's determination, but will make the Russians laugh at Prussia, and maybe the Russians will think: Prussia is such a soft egg, maybe it will just talk twice.
No matter how history changes, it is always true that the fist is hard, and if the protest is useful, the army is used to see the monkey.
"Duke Locks, I think it is better for me to go to East Prussia myself, and by the way, let Brandenburg and other front-line areas start to mobilize for emergencies, now that East Prussia has our army of 30,000, I don't think the Russians will act rashly" Before Locks could come up with a solution, William continued.
"Your Majesty, this, you must not do this, the current situation in East Prussia is complicated, a bad Prussia will go to war, and there are remnants of the rebel army in action, aren't you in danger of going, and the whole of Prussia can't do without you" Locks was stunned for a moment when he heard William's idea, but then began to object.
What are you kidding, in case Prussia really goes to war, East Prussia will be the front line, and in terms of troops, if the Russians are willing, they can pull up an army larger than the Prussian army, plus Königsberg has just been captured, there must be a lot of rebel remnants in East Prussia in action, how can William not worry about Locks when he goes.
"Your Excellency the Duke, think about it, as the king of Prussia, if I go to the front line of East Prussia in person, this will be tantamount to declaring our attitude to the whole of Europe, and those Russians will definitely understand, of course, if the Russians still insist on going their own way, then we will not have to back down, and we must let those Russians understand that Prussia is not easy to bully."
"But Your Majesty, your safety" "Needless to say, my safety will naturally be taken care of by the royal guards, Your Excellency Duke, do you think there is a better way than for me to go to the front?"
Under William's questioning, Locks was speechless, and indeed in terms of efficiency, there was indeed no more suitable method than William to go to East Prussia himself.
After William persuaded Locks, he could not wait to send someone to convey the news of his arrival in East Prussia to Henry, and at the same time William also passed on the order to start mobilization in Brandenburg and other places, and on the eve of leaving Sanssouci Palace, William handed over the right to handle political affairs to the Duke of Locks and the Empress Dowager Louise.
After a brief goodbye, William set out on his journey with a thousand royal guards.