Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 105 005 The journey to my own village
Bagration has not returned yet, so his time as the general on duty will definitely be delayed. The permanent population of Pavlovsk Palace will not increase until summer, but Paul usually takes his family to Gatchina to spend the summer.

In the summer, only Queen Maria and her three younger daughters would stay in Pavlovsk for a while, and then go to Gatchina to meet the Tsar.

Now this plan is probably going to be cancelled.

Because Elena had just been married and had already shown signs of illness before leaving Russia, she needed further diagnosis from a doctor. The Spring Queen's plan to go to Pavlovsk was abandoned, and the entire family stayed in the Winter Palace.

Alexandra's situation is still unclear. She is indeed older and has better physical fitness than her sister, so it is normal that she did not react so early. You know, their Württemberg cousin does have his own way of identifying beautiful women.

The Guards' duty in St. Petersburg was not always the same. Solovyov received an order to go to Gatchina.

Although the Guards may not appear on the training ground, the Russian army conducts inspections, military exercises, and summary military meetings in Gatchina every spring.

As a Guards officer promoted by the Tsar, Solovyov had to prepare and assemble a sand table in the front hall of Gatchina based on this issue. He used several major battles in which the Russian army participated as reference for the sand table simulation.

This point was recognized by Paul. He believed that the deployment on the battlefield should be determined from exercises, but the sand table layout could refer to the pre-war deployment maps often used by Frederick the Great during his lifetime and could be used to a certain extent, so he approved this method.

At the same time, some facilities on the training ground also had to be adjusted. Some difficult problems, such as Korsakov's performance in the Battle of Zurich and some of the Russian maneuvers west of the Trebbia River in the Battle of the Trebbia, all needed to be solved while drawing maps and taking action.

In general, Paul wants to review the battlefield, and by doing so, the prescription he prescribes cannot be said to be wrong.

However, the workload was actually quite high because it was the first time. Just preparing the relevant maps, various raw materials for making the sand table, and those tin soldier models consumed a lot of time in the preparation stage.

Solovyov only came here to assign a task, and then he would return.

However, this time when he went out, he also wanted to visit the village near Pavlovsk that was rewarded to him by Tsar Paul as a military officer.

The reason he was able to get such a close "fiefdom" village was that he always made a good impression on the Tsar, so he got Pokrovskaya, a village with 200 people.

Actually, Paul was going to give this place as a reward to the "little fairy's" sister, but their family had already received a lot of rewards, so in the end it was given to Solovyov.

The actual population of the village was larger than the number reported to the Tsar, a fact that Paul himself would not have noticed.

This village is on the only way from Gatchina to Pavlovsk. When Solovyov was in the Grenadiers, he had passed by this village from the mainland, but he had never been there.

By the time the fiefdom came to him in the form of official documents, he had already joined the expedition of the Grand Marshal and had never been to the manor.

When he came to the village on a sled, the men, women and children in the village were all confused.

"Master, who are you looking for here?"

"I am Mikhail Solovyov, a major of the Imperial Guards of His Majesty the Emperor. Old man, if that's the case, you should know who I am, right?"

The old man was very surprised after hearing Solovyov's introduction.

"So it's our master who has come. I didn't expect you to be so young."

"Old man, please don't rush to pay me respect. As the 'master' here, I must follow the emperor's order to protect your interests. I came to the village only to follow the emperor's order to go to Gatchina to arrange military exercises after the spring. I came here to take a look on my way back."

"Master, you'd better go into the village. The weather is unpredictable."

"Well, old man, I will follow you into the village. I once went to a village with the emperor, and all the young and old men in the village surrounded us. There were 404 people in that village. How many people are there in our village?"

"In reply to your question, sir, our village now has 276 people, men, women, old and young. There are still more young people in our village. In the time of Empress Anna Ivanovna, there was such a village. Although it was an imperial village, no one came to manage it. It is because the women in our village are very fertile that the population of this village has risen."

"So that's how it is, old man, the wooden houses you have here are all well built!"

"Yes, because it has always been an imperial farm, so many emperors and empresses come here. Although there are people to collect taxes and perform corvée, it is not as hard as the villages nearby that work for the masters."

Solovyov felt relieved after seeing this. Although the village allocated to him by Tsar Paul was not rich, it was self-sufficient.

Especially in recent years, with the issuance of the Tsar's edict, the burden on these villages in the imperial farm has been greatly reduced.

In this time when pressure is less and the cost of living is not high, the village looks pretty good.

Moreover, the men, women, young and old here seem to be in good health and none of them are malnourished.

"Old man, how many people are there in your family?"

"I am an old man, with only one wife, one son and three daughters. My daughters are all married. My son is a soldier for the emperor, and he is going to Italy with our old marshal."

"He is now the Grand Marshal. Alexander Vasilyevich was appointed by the Emperor last year to become the Grand Marshal of the Army and Navy of Russia. By the way, your son is still in our army. I was leading troops beside the Grand Marshal. After I made meritorious service, I was transferred to the Guards."

"Sir, have you heard anything about my son? He is in Prince Bagration's Chasseurs. My name is Vasily Pokrovsky, after the name of my village. My son Ivan is in the prince's regiment."

"I know of such a soldier. He has made great achievements by capturing a French cannon in the battle. He should be in winter quarters now. When the generalissimo returns in triumph, you may be able to see your son."

"Thank God, my son is fine and has made a contribution, so he will get a reward. Thank our emperor too, for giving high rewards to these soldiers." These villagers would not act like chameleons in front of their master, and they did not quite understand that this master, who had not even grown a beard, was going to annul all the indentures of the entire village. They would gain freedom and actually become tenants. If they still had some land of their own, their land relationship could be upgraded.

However, he was also worried that doing so might win Paul's praise, but the Tsar's favor might be lost to court officials and some great nobles. As a major in the Guards and his father was only a retired major, it would still be too conspicuous to be protected by some active and retired generals.

Therefore, Solovyov actually set a very low rent for them, which was basically in accordance with the two-day corvee regulations in the most relaxed Ukrainian region under the rule of the Tsar, and this was also implemented quite thoroughly around Kiev.

That's it. The villagers are also grateful to him. Although it no longer has the status of an imperial farm, this young master who came here is really kind-hearted.

"But, old man, you don't have to thank me in a hurry. My father is still alive, and our family has always made money through business. The manor doesn't charge too much rent."

"Thank you, Master. It is really hard to find a master like you."

"Also, I want to see the village, how many streets it has, and what the local specialties are."

"Master, our village has ponds and wells, and we grow strawberries. You can see that our village has a street called 'Strawberry Lane'."

"That's great, old man. It would be a good thing if you could grow high-yield strawberries here."

However, it was difficult to increase the yield of strawberries in 1800. Solovyov planned to use some of the knowledge he had acquired before to grow high-quality strawberries here.

After he inquired, he found out that the local strawberries were all grown in the yard, and the taste was always good. It was not only because of the imperial farm, but also because the local water and soil were good, and they could be sold at a good price when sent to the city.

Speaking of which, Paul certainly didn't pay attention to what the products in the imperial estate were. He might know more about the villages around Gatchina that belonged to him. If he could target Russia's large natural villages and use them as a lever to pry open some liberal masters who supported the liberation of serfs, then during the reign of a relatively enlightened tsar, the reforms might be of some use.

But the difficulty lies in that the reactionary forces in Russia are simply too strong.

As the most famous British Prime Minister said: "The Russians are too strong."

The power of these reactionaries was only temporarily defeated by Paul's unconventional approach during his time. If they dared to collude with foreign forces, it would actually be very dangerous for the rulers.

Of course, Solovyov noticed that the village was very close to the city, which was naturally very convenient.

Pavlovsk is so close that it can be transported to Gatchina, sent to the Tsarskoye Selo, the Winter Palace or the Summer Palace, or to the estates of the lords. Vegetables that are not easy to preserve can still provide a stable supply to the palace if they are grown well and preserved for a long time.

In order for the villagers to earn more money while enjoying "de facto freedom", he could make use of his identity as an officer in the Guards. As long as he delivered fruits and vegetables during his vacation time, he would still be able to get attention.

He has spent more time in high society in recent years and knows a lot of people, so it is not impossible for him to sell it.

The same vegetables and fruits, if they taste better and are bigger in size, will be suitable for promotion in the future.

This is also a good way to adapt to local conditions. When he thought of this, he was a little dazed.

"What are you thinking of, sir?"

"I was wondering how many poods you can get from these strawberries, so I can find a place to sell them, and I don't have to have those merchants come to buy them directly. I am a major in the Guards, and I can see the emperor when I am on guard every day. It would be great if I could deliver the fruits and vegetables from our village to the emperor's table."

"Master, if the emperor is interested in the strawberries from our village, I would be willing to die. Russia has always needed a good emperor. Since Peter the Great, only two empresses were considered good emperors, but their taxes were also heavy, unlike our current father, Pavel Petrovich, who is really good to us farmers."

"If that's what you mean, wouldn't it be great if we could grow strawberries as big as in previous years? Listen to me first. Although I'm an officer and don't farm, if I plow the land deeper than half an Alshen and raise the ridges higher, I can get a better harvest."

"I remember everything, old man. If you want to do this, I think you are educated and an officer, unlike us farmers. That's why I think you can be a good fighter."

"Let's not talk about that for now. If an animal dies in the village, the bones can be ground into powder and applied to the fields like fertilizer. Also, I'll ask someone to get you some processed ore products, and then apply them to the fields. The strawberry seedlings in your yard will grow taller and stronger than usual."

Of course, Solovyov also had to calculate the numbers carefully, as this involved the proportions of the recipe, and if something went wrong, there would definitely be trouble.

He had a small problem, which was that he didn't have such a greenhouse at home. His family had one in the manor in their hometown, but it had been abandoned for a long time.

If I really need to use them, I may have to go back to the palace and ask a few young ladies to verify the planting of these fruits and vegetables.

He has a quick mind. After listening to him, the villagers all think that the young master has a lot of good ideas in his head, and that those who listen to him will definitely be able to grow good crops.

However, the verification of this had already been put on the agenda when Solovyov left the village.

However, he didn't expect that when he returned to the palace and told Maria about this, this is what she said.

"The Queen Mother's greenhouse in Pavlovsk happens to be empty, and nothing is planted in it. I'll take care of this matter. If it works, you can give it a try. I really like eating blueberries and strawberries!"

She even patted her still-developing chest and vouched that she had finally been squeezed out of surplus value by this young lady and could now see the money in return.

But, all of this ultimately serves the fruit that Maria loves.

(End of this chapter)