It is obvious that neither Nicola Ionescu nor Constantinescu really listened to Cuza's suggestion, or that they were not interested in the national liberation cause of Wallachia at all.
What really matters is the struggle for power and gain.
Otherwise, the more critical the moment, the better you can see through people's hearts! But Kuza also has this intuition, or he has always known that those two people are unreliable. The reason why he has been cooperating with them is because Kuza has not yet.
There is another way to go.
And once Kuza has the strength to go his own way, he will definitely not continue to compromise with these two people. These are just expedient measures for Kuza.
After negotiating with Constantinescu and Ionescu, Cuza couldn't say how disappointed he was. He even felt more at ease inside, as if something had settled.
Perhaps it was at this time that he realized that it was time to part ways with these two so-called friends, so he did not return to his base, but rode directly to find Mikhail Kogelniceanu.
"Mikhail, I just went to see Constantinescu and Ionescu. They are still dragging their feet and stalling for time. They are not willing to mobilize the masses at all, and they still want to take advantage of Constantine and George.
Stribe gets the best of both worlds in a confrontation."
"It's impossible for these two people to fight together with us. At most, they will just help make things better after the job is done!"
This result was a bigger blow to Mikhail Kogorniceanu. For him, he still hoped to gain more political allies because of the power of Jan Constantine and George Stribe.
It's too big, and without a few friends to help wave the flag and cheer, I really lack the confidence to rush forward and fight hard!
"What do you think we should do next?" Kogelniceanu asked worriedly.
"Continue to mobilize the masses and do everything possible to collect weapons, ammunition and food. This is the key to our next battle!" Kuza thought for a while and added: "We must also try our best to contact the militia organizations that have been mobilized.
Try to reach an agreement with them and form an alliance to make our power stronger!"
Kogelniceanu nodded slowly, and then said with some hesitation: "It is relatively easy to win more militia allies, but collecting weapons, ammunition and food is very problematic!"
Speaking, Kogelniceanu let out a long sigh: "Our country has no arsenal to begin with and cannot manufacture its own guns at all. Most of the guns of the National Guard were imported from foreign countries during the Bescu period. The quantity is not large, and
After the last turmoil, quite a few of them were lost and scattered..."
"Nowadays, we rely on some small workshops and weapons shops to barely build some weapons. It's really a drop in the bucket and it's not enough at all!"
Cuza naturally knew about this situation, and this was the most important reason why he went to find Constantinescu and Ionescu, but unfortunately those two people probably wouldn't be of much help.
"Why?" Kogelniceanu was confused and asked doubtfully: "Even if they don't have the courage to mobilize the masses, they don't know the importance of weapons and ammunition, right?"
Kuza also sighed: "I'm afraid they have never thought of fighting Russia with real swords...and even if they could think of it, they wouldn't be able to do it, because they don't have the money!"
Isn't it true that a penny is a hero? No matter what you do, you need money. Buying weapons and ammunition requires money, and buying food also requires money. Expanding the National Guard and the armed militia does not cost money!
The problem is that both Constantinescu and Ionescu have limited financial strength and cannot afford so much money.
Kogelniceanu sighed: "As much as you can collect! If you go and ask for it, they will still have to give you something..."
Kuza shook his head and said decisively: "We can't put all our hopes on those two people, they are absolutely unreliable... We have to find a way by ourselves, I'm afraid the day lilies will be cold when they wait!
"
Kogelniceanu wondered: "Then how should we find a solution? Food is okay, if you have money, you can buy some, but weapons and ammunition are really out of control!"
Kuza didn't know that what Kogelniceanu said was true. Weapons and ammunition were a fatal problem. For a small country like Wallachia that had no self-sufficiency, most of its weapons and ammunition had to be purchased from abroad.
In the past, when we were enslaved by Russia, we were able to buy arms from Russia under the pretext of being on guard against Türkiye, but now this path is definitely unavailable.
Kuza thought for a while and replied: "Can you find a way from Turkey? Although they seem to have reached an agreement with Russia, I think their two families are feuding. This agreement is more the result of Russian coercion. The Turks may not really
We are on the same page with Russia, and we should be able to get arms from Turkey through various channels!"
Kogelniceanu sighed: "This is possible, I can find some connections, but don't hold out too much hope. Although the Turks may not necessarily be of the same mind as Russia, they may not necessarily want to see us either...
…”
Kuza also smiled bitterly. Wallachia has been wandering among the great powers in the past few decades, always playing on the sidelines, always trying to use the contradictions of the great powers to find room for survival. It is not that there is anything wrong with this strategy, as
A pragmatic foreign policy of the weaker side is the first choice.
But being pragmatic does not mean that you don’t work hard. Wallachia’s current problem is that it is too dependent on foreign countries and has no ability to stand up on its own. It is completely stunted. The correct approach is to maintain a pragmatic foreign policy while also doing a good job in both directions.
own business.
It is a pity that Wallachia is obsessed with the former and indifferent to the latter, which leads to its current passivity.
"It's too late to talk about this now..." Kuza spread his hands helplessly and sighed: "We can only try to make ends meet. We can get as much as we can from Turkey, as much as possible..."
Kogelniceanu nodded and was about to give instructions when Cuza stopped him: "Is there no other way besides getting it from the Turks? Can we get it from China?"
Kogelniceanu was completely stunned, unable to follow Cuza's thinking, and asked confusedly: "Do it from within the country? How to do it?"
Cuza rubbed his chin and thought about it for a long time, then whispered in a very troubled voice: "Can...can we get some from the National Guard's arsenal..."
Kogelniceanu was immediately shocked. He looked around and saw that there was no outsider, then lowered his voice and said, "You are crazy! If you do this, it will be easy for all parties to jointly target you, and then we will be the target of public criticism!"