153 Returns and Departures

Eight days later, we were back in Warsaw, I was almost immediately summoned to an audience with the King... but to my surprise, I was neither punished nor rewarded. My uncle Tomasz Zamoyski, Chancellor Zadzik and Hetman Potocki made sure that I would not suffer any repercussions for my actions. The only thing that was suggested to me was to leave the capital, which was quite understandable... Of course, things did not end only with the fact that Chancellor Zadzik was responsible for the incorporation of Prussia into the Kingdom of Poland, several thousand soldiers were also sent to the north under the command of Hetman Potocki, and an emissary was also sent to Vienna to hand over letters and documents to the emperor proving the cooperation of the prince Hohenzollern with the Swedes.

There was nothing left for me to do but pack my things and return to Jazłowiec and prepare for the next disasters that will befall this country.

A few days before my departure, Jerzy Ossoliński visited me.

"King had to take a bitter medicine... for fear that it would spoil the relationship with the nobility, he was unable to do anything to you, but I don't understand why you always stand in opposition to the King?" (Jerzy Ossoliński)

"I am not against the Kings, I am against the Vasa dynasty. They are not of our blood, they do not love this land, nor understand it... remember how much their unfulfilled ambitions cost us. We'd better change the subject... I go back to Jazłowiec, what are your plans?" (MC)

"I am going to Gdansk, and from Gdansk to The Hague. My task is to negotiate the wedding of the King and Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate, daughter of the late Frederick V and Elizabeth Stuart. The King wants to gain the support of the Kingdom of England and Denmark against Sweden." (Jerzy Ossoliński)

The king had already told me about these plans and I even supported him strongly in them, because I knew that they were doomed to failure. I didn't know much about the future queen candidate... all I knew was that she was a Calvinist, she refused the king and not much else, she was not a significant historical figure despite being the daughter of a former Bohemian king and being a relative of the King of England and the King of Denmark.

"Good luck, but don't put your expectations too high. Sometimes the tasks we get are overwhelming." (MC)

As a goodbye, we drank one more for successful journeys... but a man has two legs, so we drank one more, but we will not travel on foot, but on horseback, and the horse has four legs, so... I woke up the next day with a big hangover... in a place I didn't know that looked like a room in some inn. I was naked and a woman was lying next to me... calling it a woman turned out to be generous, from the neck down it was definitely a woman, but the face... the gods have a sense of humor... a horse's jaw, one eyelid drooping and a crooked nose. I got dressed quickly, left a few ducats on the table and ran away without saying goodbye and on the same day I left for Jazłowiec with Sveta, Galina and the children.

(King Władysław / Masovian Voivode Stanisław Warszczycki POV)

"Your Majesty, such an opportunity may not come up again, you could have indicted and prosecuted Jazłowiecki, and then somehow punish him." (Stanisław Warszczycki)

"God knows that I wanted to, but in this country any nobleman can match the king, and Jazłowiecki has a lot of support, he also received a decoration for the Pope... I tried many times to win him over to my side, but without success. I do not know if this is a coincidence or purposeful action, but I am always with him on opposite sides." (King Władysław)

"If your marriage plans succeed, you will have England and Denmark on your side, you will not need Jazłowiecki and his like, Sweden will be yours, Your Majesty." (Stanisław Warszczycki)

"Right now I'm going to keep him in Podolia, and then when the world forgets him a bit, I'll send him to Rome as our emissary... and then to England or beyond." (King Władysław)

"I heard that Your Majesty's brother has been called to Rome and is to be appointed auxiliary bishop in Jerusalem." (Stanisław Warszczycki)

"It's true, unfortunately the Pope is relentless and does not want to change his mind..." (King Władysław)

"Maybe that's not bad news, Your Majesty will have someone to watch and spy on the Ottomans." (Stanisław Warszczycki)

(End POV)

Now having more time to myself, I decided to fill it in so that I could complain again that I had too much on my mind.

Being away from the capital, I had to change the system of publishing my newspaper again, I switched from being a weekly to a monthly magazine, once a month a courier will take my articles and sketches to Warsaw where they will be printed.

Now I had the opportunity to take more care of my lands, looking through the financial reports, I decided to change the tax system from next year, I also intended to decentralize the power I had, at the moment all investments had to gain my approval, it made sense in the case of large sums of money, but with less amounts it was a waste of time.

"From next year we will change the tax system, there will be one tax rate for all... 20% of income, but first we will divide the land into counties, each county will have county capital where all taxes from the area will be collected. 15% of the collected money will be transferred to Jazłowiec, the remaining 5% of each county will be able to spend on their own needs." (MC)

"Lord, but you will lose a lot of money. Jews and Armenians pay more taxes, and we do not know whether or not someone will cheat." (Secretary Kowalski)

"We can always carry out an unexpected inspection... and besides, sometimes I am not in Podolia for several months or even a year and many things are waiting for my return. It is not effective." (MC)