Road to the Crown

Chapter 322: Storming the Senate

11th November 1574

"Make way for the general! Make way for the General!"

It had to happen either while I was busy conquering the Ostros or most likely as soon as the news of my victory reached the capital.

Thinking back, this could be considered to be an ingenious play by the senate. Even without any information about my involvement in either solving or putting the problem of invasion for the later, just the things that I managed to achieve in my crusade against the rebels were enough to greatly elevate my standing in the minds of the country's populace.

Walking down one of the main halls of the royal castle in Krakow, I couldn't help but notice the familiar ramp that led to the main gate to the castle, visible from the window right beside me. In the history that I was familiar with, in a few hundred years from now, this place would fall under the Austrian control, only to be retaken by the polish protectorate established by the Russian Empire, later to be annexed back to the Russian motherland and keep changing hands all the way until the end of the second world war. After those few hundred years of struggle, this gatehouse that I was looking at now, would become a house for all the thirsty students, looking for a place where they could down a few tins. 

It would suffice to say, that I could even recall the times when I myself was hiding from the sun under the shade of the castle walls, enjoying my lovely pint of Guinness that I splurged on in a moment of idiocy!

But right now, instead of looking out for the possible police patrols that would eagerly gift me with a ticket for drinking in a public place, I was actually refusing a cup of wine that a passing servant offered me from his plater!

"Is it really alright for me to come with you?"

Walking beside me, the sole reason why our group was moving so slowly through the corridors asked with clear worry in her voice. Yet, if anyone were to protest against my act of taking Elia along for the Senate summons, I would be ready to hack him down with the lovely sabre that was hanging down my side!

"It's okay. They might've summoned me, but if they are unwilling to pay you your respective honours, then we might use this opportunity to push our agenda even further."

That was the official reason why I insisted on taking Elia with me. But the reality was starkly different. From the moment the summons would be over, I could tell that my position in the country would change. No longer would I be able to enjoy the benefits of being a second-rate noble in the country, so it was the last moment for me to take a stance at how seriously I treated the matters related to my family.

If I were to fail to accent how important Elia was to me, then there were bound to be some nobles that would take this as a chance to play against me. For those relationships without love that were so common today, taking one's partner would be considered as nothing more but a dirty trick aimed at obtaining a hostage. But by forcefully bringing Elia to the senate, I could at least tell everyone that would ever have any ideas about going against me, that I would not tolerate any action taken against those that I cared for!

"If that's what you say"

Still clearly not convinced, Elia hanged her head a bit but kept her moves steady. She was already slowing everyone down and was clearly not willing to slow us even more. As much as I hated to see her like that, I wasn't yet ready to reveal what I had in mind to her.

This moment was simply too important for me to act as I would normally do, putting not only the safety but also the comfort of my wife at the very front. No matter how painful it was to watch the beads of sweat appearing on Elia's forehead as she pushed herself a bit too much if I wanted to make her safe in the future, I had to kill all my mercy right now.

"Welcome, victorious general."

My mind was still occupied with Elia's state when we actually passed by the doors to the senate hall only to be welcomed by the same group that sent me off to conquer Ostros some time prior.

"I do not recall accepting this title."

Instantly taking a hard stance against the primate, I bluntly refused the tittle that they offered to me. In fact, if not for how much they were trying to force it on me, I would gladly take advantage of the specific benefits of this proposition and position. 

But in the light of the ongoing election, accepting a military title would effectively put me at their leash!

"Ah, forgive us our haste. Given how we never thought that any of the royal elects would manage to fulfil their objective without the help, this senate unanimously decided that if someone has to be the head of the Crown's army, then it might as well be you."

A general title, or rather, a hetman's title, was a matter actually far more serious in Commonwealth's environment than it would be in any other country. Not only was this kind of honour related to one's personal prestige, but it would also come in with a huge chunk of royal lands that were supposed to pay for the current quarter's army. 

Right now, what the Senate was doing, was putting me through the ultimate test.

Once I would take the reins of the army, there would be no force in the Kingdom that would be able to stand against me. Only the joint effort of all the nobles would have a chance of succeeding against me. That meant, that if I was unwilling to stand down during the elections as per the orders that would surely appear, I would have to turn into rebel whose defeat would be ultimately through and ensured!

Yet, as much as a power play from the senate it was, I could simply ignore it and do my job the way I always did. Instead of allowing those damned great nobles to pull me into the net of their intrigues, I could simply lay low for one or two more years, so that my power would reach such unimaginable degree, that senate's words would be worth absolutely dogshit!

As much as my national pride was brimming when I thought about noble democracy that existed in the commonwealth of my current time, I also knew what would it cause. This democracy simply had no right to work in the long term, just due to the cultural differences in the Commonwealth itself!

With nationalities ranging from Polish, through Lithuanian all the way to all sorts of groups from Rhuthernia, the system that was initially developed for the highly civilised society of former Poland, was mixed with the greatly different universe once it was merged with the Lithuanian one. 

Not only was the east more focused on singular, powerful families that held most of the power, but there was also no history of the political debate of the Polish kind in the Rhuthernian world. While this kind of political system could work in the vast and loosely inhabited lands of the Rhuthernia, it was counterproductive in the densely populated land of the polish hinterlands. 

By merging those two greatly different political systems, the young Commonwealth parliament was currently testing the limits. With no King to speak off, for now, there was no upper limit to how much power high nobles would like to accumulate in their hands.

And this was the motion that I had to fight with. The systems that created the Senate, were not inherently bad. It was just their mix that introduced some unhealthy elements that made it ultimately fail. 

"I'm sorry, but accepting any form of official positions or titles would infringe on the right of my fellow royal elects to stand on the equal footing. The difference in our starting situations already influences this election greatly, so I would appreciate it if we could hold dearly to all the remnants of fairness that somehow survived so far."