บท 61: 61 Behind The Scenes
"Prince, you did not bring Gustav Adolf to Warsaw, but you brought him to me. The king would reward you handsomely ... I do not understand your motives, what do you expect?" (Hetman Sapieha)
"I will explain my motives. The Grand Hetman of Lithuania can negotiate peace, it must be concluded without the King's knowledge ... he will learn about it after the fact." (MC)
"The king will be furious ..." (Hetman Sapieha)
"... And he won't be able to do anything about it. Sigismund III Vasa cannot get the Swedish throne. Swedes are Protestants, and he is a Catholic, a very religious Catholic. Not only the Swedes will not accept it, but also the Kingdom of Denmark, England, France, Electors and the Principality of Moscow." (MC)
"Do you think a religious war will break out in the country?" (Hetman Sapieha)
"If Sigmund sits on the Swedish throne ... then the war is certain. His son had a chance to the Moscow throne, but the King wasted this chance. If only the prince changed his faith to Orthodoxy, the east of the country would be safe." (MC)
The Hetman thought for a moment, stroked his gray beard. His finger traced the rim of the crystal goblet.
"You are young but not stupid and you are right in what you say, the King sends me letters all the time to punish Orthodox priests who refuse to join the Uniate Church." (Hetman Sapieha)
"Unfortunately, the king does not understand that there is more to gain with honey than with a stick. If you force people, the more they rebel ... People have to make their own choice, or at least think that they are making it." (MC)
"So what are you proposing, what kind of truce would be appropriate?" (Hetman Sapieha)
"Gustav Adolf renounces all claims to Livonia, his troops must leave all the cities and fortresses leaving their weapons. I think everything up to the Gulf of Finland must be ours. Of course, some compensation for the war... The annual income of the King is about one million ducats, so let the Swedes pay us two or three million, to the state treasury. There will be wages for soldiers, strengthening the forts or building a larger fleet." (MC)
"Alexander, you are sitting in silence. You'd better say what you think." (Hetman Sapieha)
Finally, Aleksander Gosiewski, who had been listening to our conversation so far, took the floor.
"I am silent because I do not know what to say, as far as the conditions of peace are concerned, I have no opinion, but I am worried about the King's reaction." (Aleksander Gosiewski)
"Kings come and go, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth must continue, but if you are afraid of the King's reaction, we can give him something ... The Kingdom of Sweden cannot decide who the next ruler will be without the consent of the Polish King. It will buy us a few years of peace." (MC)
I knew that in a few years both kings would die, which would give us time to deal with Moscow and the Ottomans.
"We are talking about peace, but there are other things to discuss. I would like to discuss a few things with you." (MC)
Both of my interlocutors looked at me with interest, they were not fools and knew that I would demand something in return.
"I would like you to use your political power and acquaintances so that I would be appointed Voivode of Podolia, and in the future Field Hetman of the Crown ..." (MC)
"You ask a lot." (Hetman Sapieha)
"It also gives a lot ... I would also like Aleksander Gosiewski to become the next Grand Hetman of Lithuania. Stefan Czarniecki, the coat of arms of Łodzia, is to be appointed as the starost of Podole. I also want to temporarily increase my private Cossack register." (MC)
They were both surprised that I wanted to make Aleksander Gosiewski the next most important military commander in Lithuania, probably everything else surprised them too.
"Why do you want Aleksander to become Hetman?" (Hetman Sapieha)
"We fought together in Livonia, Aleksander is a good commander, and because if he does not become one, the position will be given to Radziwiłł ... Please tell yourself whether it is good or bad." (MC)
Sapieha thought for a moment... The conflict between Sapieha and Radziwiłł was legendary and it was obvious that Sapieha on his successor would sooner choose the devil than Radziwiłł.
"Who is this Czarniecki?" (Hetmam Sapieha)
"One of the soldiers who serves under Hetman Koniecpolski. His older brother commands a light cavalry company. I met him once and he made a good impression on me, I would like to help him in his career." (MC)
"I will ask you about the Cossacks, why do you need so many soldiers?"
"I'm going to the Empire and times are dangerous so I need protection."
Then I presented them with my plan, it was to be announced that I together with Aleksander Gosiewski and Hetman's son, Jan Stanisław Sapieha.
Using the information I had gathered, he set an ambush for Gustaw Adolf. Of course it was a credible lie, I had already informed the King and the ministers that the Swedes were planning something and that I had spies.
Hetman Sapieha and Aleksander were not too enthusiastic about my idea, but it was enough to mention Radziwiłł's name several times and that he spreads rumors that he had to save Sapieha's son from the Swedes and Hetman agreed to my proposal.
I also had a hidden motive in it, although I was not afraid of the King's anger, he could make my life difficult, and thus Lew Sapieha became my lightning rod ... As an ordinary castellan, I had no possibility to oppose Hetman will and my influence on the peace treaty was not great.
I didn't like sharing my successes, but sometimes it was necessary ... as someone once asked... "Is it better to have a beautiful wife who cheats on you or an ugly wife who is faithful to you? ... It's better to have a cake in ten than to eat shit alone."
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