Two months later, the funeral of Tomasz Zamoyski took place, to gain the favor of my aunt and my cousin Jan, I gave a beautiful speech over my uncle's coffin, of course it was another plagiarism... and I also gave a small bag of earth from Jerusalem.
"Your father was a great man, we were not only a family, but we were also united by a shared vision about the future of this country... but now it does not matter anymore... Make him proud of you, and if you need something always you can count on me." (MC)
The boy could hardly hold back his tears.
"The same applies to you, aunt. If you have any problems, let me know. I will be in Warsaw for a few more months, and then I will return to Jazłowiec." (MC)
In order to better control the boy, I also need to control his mother, which shouldn't be difficult... The funeral was also an opportunity to meet Gryzelda and her husband, who thanked me for sending prisoners. After the funeral, me and Elisabeth returned to our palace in Warsaw and our lives slowed down again.
Everything was organized and planned, we went to the theater three times a week, I taught Elisabeth Polish every day... and after a horse was sent from stud in Lesser Poland for my wife, I started teaching her how to ride. Apart from that, Elisabeth started helping me with the newspaper, it was not much help, but I didn't have to write all the articles myself.
Her texts mainly focused on philosophy, natural history, astronomy and broadly understood science... she also exchanged correspondence with some of the well-known scientists and scholars of this era... it was even funny when I wrote letters to them, my name was an obstacle, well, not so much my name as infamy which accompanied my name... and I couldn't hold it against anyone, my reputation was well deserved.
Wroński managed to buy a small piece of land, three kilometers from Warsaw. I was going to build a track for horse racing and equestrian competitions there. I had several reasons for this, apart from the obvious ones like gambling and entertainment, there were other less obvious reasons as well... Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a cavalry country, but too much emphasis was placed on heavy cavalry, instead of fast and agile horsemen such as lancers or dragoons... perhaps horse racing and equestrianism helps people see the value of light cavalry... but despite the simplicity in design and construction, it will have to wait until spring.
My article a few months ago on the creation of the Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth also gained fame, and had as many opponents as supporters. The division was easily noticeable, the nobility with lands in the east, the Orthodox people and the Cossacks expressed their support for this idea... Catholics were the main bastion of resistance. I was not discouraged by this, I even expected resistance, especially from Catholic clergy and the Catholic population ... for me the most important thing was that the seed was sown.
A new prototype of the weapon was also delivered from Tarnów, it was the prototype and protoplast of the Nock Volley Gun that I knew from history, and unfortunately it had the same disadvantages as the original. On my first shot... I got my hair burnt and almost a dislocated shoulder. I expected a strong kick, but firing seven lead bullets at once with nearly 19 grams of gunpowder... I could only compare it to being kicked in the balls by a horse... The weapon was too heavy, it took too long to load and the recoil was too powerful, its only advantage was firing seven barrels at the incoming enemy could wreak havoc in his ranks... but despite its flaws, I was satisfied with the effect, my gunsmiths were able to make a bastardized version of Nock's Volley Gun and Puckle Gun, only on the basis of short descriptions and a few drawings... maybe they will be ready to implement some more modern projects like the Prussian needle gun or the French Chassepot.
With the onset of April and the end of winter, the time has come to go to Jazłowiec. Elisabeth regretted that we had to leave the capital, she would probably miss the entertainment provided by the big city, but I convinced her to treat it as an adventure... twenty days later we were there.
"The servants will show you the castle and take all our things inside... I will come in a few or several minutes, I have to talk to someone." (MC)
"Where are you going?" (Elisabeth)
"To the family crypt, I have to tell my parents that I got married." (MC)
"Maybe I'll go with you... I know they're dead, but I'd like to show my respect." (Elisabeth)
"Maybe another time, I don't want you to start your stay in Jazłowiec from visiting the cemetery." (MC)
Without waiting for her answer, I went to the church where the Jazłowiecki family's crypt was located.
After a few moments, I was there, went downstairs and opened the metal door... I felt an unpleasant smell and cold.
I passed a few catafalques on which stood the metal coffins of Kowalski, my uncles, aunts, grandparents and my parents. I stopped only at the coffin where Sveta was resting.
"Hi Beautiful, I haven't been here for a long time... Many things have happened, but more on that in a moment. As far as I know, Piotr is doing quite well in Rome, because of the distance we don't write to each other too often, sometimes two or three letters a year. Katarzyna... she will tell you what's going on with her, as far as I know, she will probably come here soon. I will probably surprise you with it, but I got married... no, it's not love, it's politics. Elisabeth, because that is her name, we have a lot in common, I even liked her... but I'm going to hurt her, cause her a lot of pain... I don't even know why I'm telling you this..." (MC)
The next day after our return, Rotmistrz Czarniecki gave me a report on this year's volunteer training, there were even a few people who stood out with their talent.
"Recruit them permanently, they will be the backbone of my infantry. Let them train all year, and next winter they will be responsible for training more new recruits." (MC)
"They're mostly peasants, can they handle such a task?" (Rotmistrz Czarniecki)
"You know why peasants don't matter in wars?" (MC)
"Lack of training, courage..." (Rotmistrz Czarniecki)
"No... Most peasants do not care who will be the new Lord, they will exchange one Lord for another and the only thing that changes for them is taxes, so they see no reason to die for it. Therefore, they need to be given a sense of identity, something that will be theirs and of which they will be proud... something for which they will fight, something they will kill and die for." (MC)
"I understand, but I don't know how to do it." (Rotmistrz Czarniecki)
"It's quite simple... a sense of identity and belonging will be provided by uniform, banner, training. We will tell them that they are part of something bigger and more important... and these first recruits will become officers and non-commissioned officers." (MC)
Czarniecki thought about what I said for a long time.
"I don't know if I'm the best person for this task, Lord. I can teach peasants to shoot, use pikes or other weapons, but my whole life is cavalry and I don't know much about infantry training." (Rotmistrz Czarniecki)
Although I understood his fears, I did not have anyone better and trustworthy at the moment. So I explained all my plans to him in detail... from training, uniforms, backpacks, tools, weapons, hierarchy to tactics. It was a collection of various ideas from the Roman times, through the Napoleonic period to the present day. Obviously I understood the time constraints in which I lived and could not transfer exactly the 21st century training methods to the 17th century, but some concepts were possible.
And I was finally home... but for the first few weeks Elisabeth could not find a place for herself in Jazłowiec, the only entertainment that was available here was reading books, playing cards, horse riding and hunting... and the last two were not her forte, just like playing cards, but at least after long persuasion I convinced her to strip poker... and our intimate life had improved, but it happened slowly. Despite the fact that sometimes I managed to persuade my wife to do new things, deep down she was a princess from a good home, who only fell on her knees before god... therefore, on this point I had to rely on Galina, who knew that the mouth was not only for eating and speaking.
In mid-May, Saddat returned from Crimea with a letter from Khan and wedding gifts, it was some Eastern-style jewelry and ornate fabrics for Elisabeth... and I got a golden musket that was as useful as a woman's hymen... broke after the first shot.
"I know what Khan writes, but what have you seen and heard in Crimea?" (MC)
Khan, of course, willingly agreed to the attack, the more that he did not lose anything on this attack, and his profits could be enormous.
"Khan was pleased with the proposal to attack the Muscovites, but more pleased was Islam. He has built up a reputation as a good warrior and leader in Persia and wants to uphold that reputation." (Saddat)
"So his position is strong?" (MC)
"Yes, if the present Khan died now, Islam would probably become the next Khan. He has the support of powerful families and most hordes. From what I have seen he has friendly relations with the Turks and Persians, but he is closer to the Persians... Perhaps because he fought for them against Ottoman." (Saddat)
It was not something I wanted to hear, nor did I have a good solution to this situation... Our vassal showed signs of rebellion and we had to remind him that he was helpless without us, and the Tatars were the perfect tool for that. However, the military success of the Tatars will strengthen Islam's position as the future Khan... but ultimately more important for me was the potential of the Muscovites, which was much greater and more dangerous than the Tatars, even though now weakened they could regain their lost strength and position, and I cannot let that happen... Crimea will have to wait.
"At least he's not fraternized with the Ottomans, and Persia is far away... I'll have another task for you, another long journey. You know the Nogai hordes?" (MC)
"I have had contact with them, but they are not trustworthy... these are not people like us, but they are also not stupid, they will not conquer cities, and when someone gives them such an order, they may rebel." (Saddat)
I didn't know a less trustworthy person than me, even I didn't trust myself... but I understood what Saddat meant and knew the reputation of the Nogai hordes.
"My brother-in-law wants to regain the throne of Bohemia, I promised to help him. Do you think they will fight for gold?" (MC)
"Yes, but for them to stop fighting... it will cost you more, Lord." (Saddat)
"We'll come back to the topic, now rest. Take care of your family, you haven't seen them for several months." (MC)
The following months passed calmly, not much happened in our life ... Elisabeth focused most of her attention on writing, articles for the newspaper and letters or on reading, and I dealt with local matters, I watched garrisons stationed in Kamieniec Podolskin and Bar, I also helped Czarniecki in training my infantry.
With the arrival of early fall, Elisabeth received a letter from The Hague saying that her mother, sisters and brothers would be coming to us for Christmas and all winter... I was fucking delighted.
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