Chapter 123: 123 Revolving Door
After the meeting was over, most of the guests returned to their chosen activities, and I made my way to my office... two minutes later I heard a knock. Bishop or Prince? I was sure they would visit me, but I wasn't sure which one would come first. Kowalski appeared in the door and informed me that Bishop Mohyła wanted to speak with me... So the first will be the priest, and the second nobleman... I thought it would be the other way around. I invited the Bishop inside, I pointed to the chair, implying that he should sit down.
"Wine or maybe mead?" (MC)
Without waiting for his reply, I poured him a goblet of Hungarian wine.
"Before you say anything, let me guess the purpose of your visit... My proposal surprised you a lot, and you want to make sure that I was serious. You are not sure if I can be trusted or if I can be relied upon... Well, I was serious, I can be relied on and I can be trusted... unless what I am fighting for is at stake... then I will even stab a knife in the back of my best friend." (MC)
"And what is Hetman fighting for?" (Bishop Mohyła)
Good question for which I didn't know the answer myself... I knew what I had to do, but I didn't know what the consequences would be... Maybe I'm just delaying the inevitable and this country must fall.
"I am fighting for the soul of this nation... As I see it, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a Mother, and we are her children. It does not matter if you are a Catholic, Orthodox or Calvinist, the blood that flows in us is the same... In my eyes our mother is more important than religion, lineage or origin. Therefore, I would like to eliminate one of the barriers that separates us... language. One country, one language, a shared history." (MC)
My request was not particularly difficult to implement, the Orthodox Church, in contrast to the Catholic Church, did not require a special language during the liturgy. It happened that in one Orthodox church, at different times, services were celebrated in different languages, so the Polish language should not be a big problem... The bishop thought about my words, pondering their meaning for a few minutes.
"Prince, do you think you can do it?" (Bishop Mohyła)
"I don't know, maybe, maybe I'll die trying... but is there anything more beautiful than dying for my mother?... You probably know I conquered Moscow, during the fighting, all Orthodox temples were plundered... As a gesture of good will, all icons, crosses, relics and other devotional items will be handed over to you, the carts are already loaded and when you leave Jazłowiec they will go with you to Kiev." (MC)
The recovery of holy icons, relics and other things will surely strengthen the Bishop's prestige among his fellow believers... despite the initial surprise, indignation, the Bishop's face now showed a gentle smile... we talked a few more minutes, and then I was alone in my office again. One down... but there is still a nobleman.
I didn't have to wait long when there was another knock... and it was indeed Prince Wiśniowiecki.
The conversation was similar, though I chose my words more carefully. I wanted to send him to Moscow because there will be a need for a person who can rule with an iron hand, but is also not an idiot... unfortunately he also had flaws... ambition and pride. However, being far from Warsaw and Ukraine, he won't have the opportunity to spoil anything. I also did not fully trust him...
"I know that it will not be easy to manage these areas, it can even be dangerous... peasant revolts or some ambitious boyars. Maintaining an army costs money, so I have a solution, although it is not perfect, it may be helpful. In many cities, especially large ones, there are many beggars or prisoners. Settle them in these areas, marry them to local women, and let them create local defense structures." (MC)
"Their combat value will be marginal..." (Jaremi Wiśniowiecki)
"They can be cannon fodder, even if they die, it won't be much of a loss... and I think the Prince will be able to control them." (MC)
It was a quick way to get rid of the undesirable element in the cities, and maybe even some of them would turn out to be decent people if given the opportunity... anyway, nothing good awaited them in the cities, nothing but poverty, imprisonment or death.
The conversation lasted an hour or so, then I said goodbye to the Prince and my office was empty... though not entirely, six empty eye sockets stared at me.
"I can see you guys get along well... even Tsar seems to be happier." (MC)
Unfortunately, it was not the end of my work for today... each of my guests also had their own problems, and they were mainly of an economic nature... The price of grain has dropped and everyone's pocket has suffered.
I had long stopped seeing grain trading as a profitable business, but with Mokosza help, even my worst crops were above average and I was able to afford to sell at low prices.
Now I had to persuade my guests to focus on innovate. Invest in land, people and look for talents. Production of soap, perfumes, clocks or even alcohol... there were customers for this and many other things, it was only necessary to change the old way of thinking.
I was sitting in an armchair behind my desk thinking about how to sell them my ideas and advice well when there was a knock on the door of my office. I think I need a revolving door and... I have more guests today than a brothel on payday.
"Please come in." (MC)
Galina appeared in the doorway.
"Why are you knocking? You and Sveta don't have to do this ..." (MC)
I walked over to her, grabbed her chin gently and lifted her head up.
"... as my lover, you have certain privileges that others do not." (MC)
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