Chapter 607 Lithuania
Poland and Romania were both preparing to start a confrontation, but the first shot was fired from Vilnius.
Duke Vytautas of Lithuania has been looked down upon since he was released from Romania. If Wladyslaw hadn't thought he was still useful, he might have been driven to the manor long ago.
In the past few years, he has been thinking about revenge. The news he received from Warsaw indicated that the king was preparing to attack Rome. This was his opportunity for revenge.
In the Vilnius Grand Council, members were having a heated debate over the news just returned from Warsaw.
"Everyone, we can no longer give in! A few years ago, because of our concession, the Livonians who were close to us suffered heavy losses, allowing the Russians to completely control the Dopat region, and the gold, silver and materials we assisted It's all wasted! Now the greedy Russians and the Romanians are targeting our ally in Poland. We can no longer just watch the Romanians conquer Poland. What other country will be there by then? Can we stop Romania and Russia, which have vast territories? And are such powerful countries still willing to live in peace with us?..." The hardliners waved their arms excitedly and shouted loudly at the head of the parliament.
His passionate words moved some people.
Centrist MP Taraki stood up and said calmly: "Calm down, you are too excited. I remember that the news that came back was that Romania had no intention of going to war with Poland. And he and Russia have annexed each other over the years. If we have acquired too much land, we should stop and sort out our internal affairs. The conflicts between the nobles and the common people in the country are so fierce. If this continues, they will have big problems sooner or later. "
"I said, you are really confused!" Another hard-line congressman stood up and accused: "Did we spend so much gold, silver and supplies just to help Poland and Livonia become a prosperous country? We are here to make them capable of stopping the expansion of Romania and Russia!
Now, Romania is aware of the situation in Poland, and they are doing their best to help Russia. They may also join forces with other opposition forces to expand their influence here. With the support of Romania, these countries will continue to fight against Poland, and eventually Poland will be conquered by Romanians and Russians just like the territory we lost! "
"I think this is not what any wise member of Congress here wants to see! It is not in our interests at all! Therefore, we must fully support the Poles and let them declare war on Romania!"
"Quiet, please note that what you said about fully supporting Poland is to allow them to attack Romania, which will eventually lead to war with Romania?!" the speaker stood up and asked loudly.
"Yes, it may eventually lead to such a situation." There was another commotion at the venue.
"Poland alone cannot compete with Romania. By then, as allies, should we join the war?!" the speaker asked.
"Whether it is to abide by the oath, fulfill the military alliance, or to protect our interests, we must declare war on Romania!" the other party said categorically.
The MPs were in an uproar, and the venue was filled with controversy.
"When Russia and Romania took away Kiev and Minsk, didn't we already regard them as enemies in our hearts?! Are you still holding on to illusions at this moment and looking forward to wiping out one force after another in the future and becoming incomparable? Can powerful Romania live in peace with us?" The congressman asked loudly, making the previously noisy venue much quieter.
"Declare war on Romania?! Do you know that we just sent troops to assist Livonia in suppressing the rebellion a few months ago, and it has not been completely suppressed yet?!" the Speaker reminded loudly.
"There are also rebellions in Russia, and they are much more numerous than us, but this does not prevent them from continuing to launch wars and conquer other forces!" The other party looked angry and said loudly: "They can do it. We have ruled this land for so long, so we should be able to do it!”
Taraki stood up immediately, trying to eliminate the impact of what the other party had just said on the congressmen: "Do you know that Romania now is much more powerful than Rome back then! They can mobilize at least 200,000 troops, and it is said that there are 20 million Its population and territorial area are far beyond comparison with other countries, but can we do it? Therefore, it is not appropriate for us to go to war with Romania now, but to strengthen our strength so that we can compete with Romania in the future!"
But such words brought a sneer: "In the future? When is it in the future? When Romania completely occupies the entire Poland? I think now is the best time to go to war with them! As long as we are quick enough, we can regain Minsk and Polotsk , you can force Russia to negotiate, and then go south to fight Romania to the death.
And we have Poland, Livonia, and Teutonia as our allies. And I heard that some Ruthenians are also very dissatisfied with Romania now, and it is entirely possible that they will be won over by us, as well as Easterners who are afraid of Russia's power... You see, Romania seems strong, but in fact it has many enemies. Our chances of winning are Big! "
At this time, Vytautas stood up and said to the members: "Everyone, I know you don't like war. The war with the East caused many people to lose their sons, but I want to remind you one thing. Our territory was once very vast, but it was the Russians and Romanians who took it away from us, and the former glory of Lithuania is now dim.
Our Lithuanian ancestors came here, operated for generations, gradually prospered, and finally became today's powerful. Now, two evil nations want to take this place away, which must arouse our vigilance! We must also make a strong counterattack! "
Vytautas's speech was deafening, and it resonated with the parliamentarians. They all have large tracts of land in the south, and now they can only shrink in this small area of Samogitia, which is very aggrieved. No, they must fight back.
"Your Excellency the Duke is right! Only a few people buy my family's food now, and this is all the Romanians who are making trouble!"
"It is not enough to make Romania make concessions. As long as it continues to expand, there will be less and less land for us to cultivate. Lithuania will have to succumb to it in the future because of the depletion of food! If we want trade to continue to prosper, we must eliminate Romania!"
"Yes, we will unite with Poland and wage war against Romania together! Win back our dominance!"