50 50 Reward

(King / Grand Marshal / Vice Chancellor POV)

"Your Majesty, if you ask for my opinion. He is too young for this position, nobody contradicts his achievements, but the position of the voivode is too important to entrust it to someone so young." (Grand Marshal)

"And I think so. Prince Jazłowiecki lacks experience, apart from managing his lands, he did not have the opportunity to manage something bigger. Therefore, the position of castellan is the most deserving of what he deserves at the moment, maybe in a few years he will become a voivode." (Vice Chancellor)

"His father was a voivode, so when he was young he must have had contact with public affairs. From the information we have obtained, his lands are managed well, he treats peasants even too well, he develops trade and craftsmanship. There are no major religious problems there, compared to other provinces, the lands of Jazłowiecki look exemplary. Though personally I would like to put more emphasis on converting people to Catholicism." (Sigismund III Vasa)

"Your Majesty, we know all this, and God is my witness, I have nothing against this young man, but there is time and place for everything. There is also this matter with the Swedes that raises my doubts." (Grand Marshal)

"It is easy to check, we will send an envoy to Sich, there are many Cossacks friendly to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, we will ask them about the Swedish envoy. I believe in the information provided by Jazłowiecki." (Vice Chancellor)

"So how do you advise to reward him?" (Sigismund III Vasa)

"The position of the Castellan of Kamieniec and the land." (Grand Marshal)

"I think so too." (Vice Chancellor)

"And his request for a Cossack enlistment?" (Sigismund III Vasa)

"Your Majesty, you should agree, Jazłowiecki will pay them from his pocket, not from the royal treasury, and a thousand additional sabers will be useful against Turks and Tatars." (Vice Chancellor)

"Thank you for your advice ..." (Sigismund III Vasa)

"Your Majesty, if there is to be another war with the Swedes, you must appoint a new Grand Hetman of Lithuania, this position has been vacant for almost three years. It is a dangerous situation." (Grand Marshal)

"I haven't decided yet, we have time." (Sigismund III Vasa)

"We can't talk about the time we have when we don't know when the enemy will attack." (Grand Marshal)

"Sapieha and Radziwiłł will do well, unless Radziwiłł comes to an agreement with the Swedes again." (Sigismund III Vasa)

"Your Majesty, he made peace so not to prolong the war." (Grand Marshal)

"Sweden is my kingdom and my throne. Gusta Adolf has no claim to it." (Sigismund III Vasa)

(End POV)

I spent the next two days in the capital of the country visiting places of paid pleasure and shopping, although I did not like Warsaw, it was impossible to deny that it was better stocked than Kiev, not to mention a provincial town like Jazłowiec. Unfortunately, the prices of basic products were higher than in other cities, and one of the reasons was the lack of a permanent crossing over the Vistula River, and barge transport was much more expensive ... I managed to buy a few books, mainly related to science, botany, mathematics and astronomy.

Although I was from the future and probably my knowledge was greater than that of people at that time, it only concerned the areas I was interested in ... I could, for example, distinguish between common plants and fungi, but I lacked a greater understanding of the subject.

The royal messengers found me next morning at the inn where we had rented rooms. He handed me a letter in which I had a scheduled date for my next audience with the king ... on the evening of the same day.

There was nothing left for me to do but prepare and wait ... I was wondering what reward I would receive, I assumed that it would be some minor position, like staroste or castellan. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll get some land too ... or maybe he'll give me a watch.

The position of the starosta did not interest me, although it gave me certain privileges, such as supervising the fiscal administration in the poviat and the enforcement of court judgments, I would be also the chief judge of the town court. Despite all these privileges, this office did not have enough power. The position of the castellan, in the hierarchy was over the position of the starost, was also associated with receiving the office of senator. The scope of this office also included economic, judicial and military administration, although only concerned the defense of the provinces. Well I'll find out in a few hours ...

Just before 6 p.m, I went to the Royal Palace, after having passed the obstacle course in the form of guards and officials for the second time, I was again led to the king's private quarters.

Again, I saw the King, the Grand Marshal and the Vice-Chancellor sitting at the table.

"Your Majesty" (MC)

"Wilkomir, I'm glad to see you again." (Sigismund III Vasa)

The king got up, and so did the Grand Marshal and the Vice-Chancellor.

"Every evil deed deserves punishment, and bravery and courage deserve a reward. Not only did you defeat a larger enemy army, but more importantly you saved the lives of thousands of Christians who would be captured." (Sigismund III Vasa)

"Everyone would do the same." (MC)

"Maybe, but you did it and you deserve a reward. That's why... I Sigismund III Vasa, by God's grace, the king of Poland, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Masovia, Samogitia, Livonia, as well as the hereditary king of the Swedes, Goths and Vandals. I appoint you as the Castellan of Kamieniec and I grant you the land ... I also agree to your request to enlist a thousand Cossacks." (Sigismund III Vasa)

I had mixed feelings, I did not enjoy the position of castellan, but the expectation that I would become a voivode at 19 was ridiculous. I was certainly happy with the land I received, although there was not much of it, it was always an additional income and an opportunity to increase my influence. However, I was most pleased that I could recruit Cossacks, I could do it privately, but with the King's permission, I had a certain protective umbrella and prestige over me.