Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The last time I attended a wedding on the territory of a German prince was at the wedding of the Black Duke and Mary in Brunswick.

This time it was in Berlin, where Princess Charlotte of Prussia was to be married off to Russia.

Fortunately, she and Nicolas had known each other since childhood and even had some emotional foundation, so they arranged a marriage early on. When the Allied forces entered Paris in 1814, it was officially confirmed.

Queen Louise was naturally reluctant to send her daughter to Russia.

Moreover, her health deteriorated after the war ended.

Even after her body was recuperated and her life was extended by a few years, this was still unavoidable.

When Solovyov saw her this time, she had aged considerably.

Due to her aging, she is always supported by maids in public, unlike when she was sick in the past. For Solovyov, the recovery and ability to travel were precious memories that she could only dream of.

"Lochin, once you arrive in St. Petersburg, you must get along well with Niki and treat your servants kindly."

"Yes, Mom."

"I don't know when I'll see you again. I hope you'll mention it when you get there."

Queen Louise noticed the generals accompanying Nicholas and mentioned Solovyov.

“Like this Earl, you’re quite familiar with him, Luo Qin. He became a grandfather at the age of 34. We’re still waiting.”

"Your Highness, you mean this?"

"It's only by bringing this up that I can feel at ease. Your expedition this time has brought back a lot of results."

"Yes, that also includes some congratulatory gifts."

When opening the gift list, some porcelain, jade, and various handicrafts should also be displayed.

Among them are Guanyin statues made of Hetian jade, and jade pomegranates crafted from Hetian jade, gemstones, gold, and silver.

This exquisitely crafted artifact is truly astonishing.

"This pomegranate is actually made of such precious jewels, it's really rare."

"This was a gift from His Majesty the Chinese Emperor. It was originally kept in the palace of the late Emperor Qianlong. Knowing that His Highnesses Nicholas and Charlotte were about to get married, he specially selected it from the palace treasury. This pomegranate has many seeds, which is also a wish for the newlyweds to have many children and grandchildren in the future, and to be happy forever."

Yes, the quality of this handicraft is indeed astonishing.

A single jade pomegranate seed is already so exquisitely crafted, demonstrating that the skill of Chinese artisans is no less than that of European jewelers.

However, because it is made by combining and processing different pieces, its value is far less than that of jade cabbage or similar items.

But it was also quite precious, and Nikolai bowed to Zhaolian to express his gratitude.

Now these European nobles also know that although the Chinese are very polite, they rarely make intimate gestures, nor do they shake hands. Instead, they bow to each other or clasp their hands in thanks.

Zhaolian returned the greeting, and after exchanging thanks, both sides expressed their hopes for a long and happy marriage and for the friendship between the two countries to last forever.

The Tsar was also very prestigious in front of European countries, after all, the Chinese emperor sent a hereditary prince, a doctor from the Academy of Arts, a duke, and a hereditary duke to attend Nicholas's wedding, and they would have a formal meeting in St. Petersburg in the future.

This prince also gave Alexander a lot of face, mentioning that countries should live in peace and citing a lot of historical allusions.

Alexander had seen some of it in Nicholas's lessons, but he never expected that there would actually be someone here advocating for peace.

But many people in Europe don't know this.

Now it was Nikolai's turn to show off what he had learned from Solovyov.

"His Highness Prince Zhaolian, the peace conference he mentioned was held in the 6th century BC. Due to years of war, the various duchies of China held a peaceful diplomatic event at the suggestion of the ministers of the Duchy of Song. Compared with the Treaty of Westphalia, it was more than two thousand years earlier, and it was truly a remarkable achievement. As a result, the core areas of China maintained peace for several decades. Earl, this should be a lesson you taught me before."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Solovyov could no longer act as a translator at this point, and the French Academy's translator was needed to explain things to Zhaolian.

Zhao Lian then went on to quote extensively from classical texts, noting that it was quite remarkable that Nikolai was also well-versed in the Spring and Autumn Annals, which explained why General Solovyov had praised the prince's virtue in China. She further stated that a royal family as loving as the four Russian emperors was also very rare in ancient Chinese history.

However, when the current Jiaqing Emperor ascended the throne, there was no fierce struggle for succession among his nine sons, and the four brothers had a very good relationship.

It's quite interesting that the Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia always seemed to find common ground with each other, unlike others who were picking fights.

The painting of mandarin ducks playing in the water, created on the spot by Yu Shiliu and Long Ruyan (accompanied by poems, prose, inscriptions and seals from a prince and three Hanlin scholars), is considered a very precious congratulatory gift.

The next activity will take place inside the church.

Compared to the churches established by missionaries during the Qing Dynasty, the churches in Europe were much more impressive.

Solovyov sat in the third row, watching Charlotte walk toward the altar, behind him.
Queen Louise was quite amusing, having her youngest daughter serve as Charlotte's flower girl.

Others might not know, but Solovyov did; she was his daughter.

This queen, even though her health wasn't very good, was someone who loved watching the drama unfold.

But the child is really cute. Solovyov is quite confident in the looks of his children. Whether they look like him or their mother, they all look like angels.

The child's name was also a long list, but the final name chosen was Amalia, which was also part of Queen Louise's own name.

Before the birth of the FW King's eldest son, the FW Crown Prince, Queen Louise had given birth to a stillborn baby girl, and she had wanted to use this name at the time.

However, she and Solovyov only had one daughter, and the queen herself did not have a rich romantic history. That period was also the time when her relationship with King FW was at its most strained.

This is also related to Napoleon's loose tongue; he would often say things that led to misunderstandings, and perhaps he always had that thought at the time.

However, it is always someone else who takes advantage of the situation.

Fortunately, it was a girl. Solovyov loved his little girls who were prone to drafts.

As for King FW himself, he walked forward holding his daughter's hand.

In the church, Zhaolian inevitably joked with Solovyov, using allusions that others might not even know.

"General Suo, this His Majesty must be a man of extraordinary magnanimity sitting in front of you."

"The Queen was the one who wrote the sword, and our Emperor greatly admires this heroine."

"I see. But judging from the Queen's complexion, it's because she's been ill for a long time. She used to be a radiant beauty."

Zhao Lian couldn't help but sigh, sometimes beauty fades with age.

As for their conversation, it's practically an encrypted call; even if a translator were sitting next to them, they might not be able to understand it.

The newlyweds were already upstairs, waiting for the Protestant pastor to complete the Lutheran ceremony before Charlotte's wedding.

Upon arriving in St. Petersburg, the bride is required to convert to Orthodox Christianity and be given a Russian name, a tradition that has been followed for generations.

As for Charlotte's future name, Alexandra Feodorovna, the naming pattern can be seen.

Of course, in this way, King FW in the Russian context is just F, without W. Solovyov's inner complaint is that now he is nothing.

After all, the country represented by this king, although it has a marriage alliance with Russia, has a history of troubles, and it's hard to say what the future holds.

Moreover, Solovyov had many Prussian friends, and his best-matched chief of staff, Clausewitz, also returned from Russia to serve in Prussia.

Solovyov was simply worried that Prussia might cause some trouble again, as the country's power would still be considerable in the future.

If a British civil servant knew what Solovyov was thinking right now, he would probably consider him a kindred spirit.

The only difference is that the Russians always seek an ally to divide the rest.

What the British created was a divided Europe.

Fortunately, this is Eastern Orthodox and Lutheran, without Catholics or Middle Eastern Orthodox Christians. There are Chinese and Jews here as guests, and if you include Pushkin who came to support his classmate, the element of black people is complete.

All that's missing is Napoleon; he's currently in the Caribbean.

Pushkin, on behalf of Russia, offered his blessings to Nicholas and Charlotte.

Zhaolian also noticed the young man and asked Solovyov who he was.

As for reciting poetry, most of those present, apart from the Qing delegation, understood French, so Pushkin also used French to compose his own poems.

After the poetry recitation, the newlyweds' relatives and friends in the front row applauded.

Even the slowest person would realize that this poem is really well written.

Of course, Pushkin also wrote a poem for Anna when she got married.

However, there was one strange thing about him: he would write a poem for the Empress whenever he had free time, which puzzled even Solovyov, who knew him very well.

But if you read his poems later, you will know that Pushkin was expressing his political leanings.

This kid is quite troublesome; who knows what kind of trouble he might cause in the future.

As for his character, Zhaolian had some thoughts after hearing Solovyov's introduction.

The previous one was Goethe, whose work was longer than Bai Juyi's "Song of Everlasting Regret" and even the combined works of Bai Letian.

Here comes another curly-haired lad, who, despite being a nobleman, has a certain disdain for the powerful (even though he and the Grand Duke are classmates and friends). This young man's characteristics are just like those of Li Bai in the legends.

However, his dueling skills were too poor, far inferior to those of Li Bai who could clear the game with just one sword.

Alright, if we follow Solovyov's description, Zhaolian probably imagines that all those famous Tang and Song dynasty figures rushed to Europe to be reborn.

As for Solovyov, it's hard to tell who he was reincarnated from.

After all, the situation in Europe is still quite complicated.

After Pushkin's poetry recitation, there was a choir and orchestra playing together. Europeans are indeed quite particular, and there was a certain Western-style ritual music.

Zhaolian thought so, but he also had some doubts.

Like bowing to heaven and earth
"Your Highness, our customs are witnessed before the servants of God, which is quite different from Chinese customs. Even in the past, before we believed in Jesus, in the era of polytheism, we would always invite priests from temples. If Your Highness is interested, on your return journey, I can arrange for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact the Ottoman Sultan and the Hellenic Republic, and Your Highness can also visit some of the ancient sites under their rule."

"That won't be necessary. General Suo, His Majesty only entrusted me with the task of pacifying foreign lands overseas, not with sightseeing."

"But there are some places to visit in Russia. After accompanying the prince to St. Petersburg, my emperor will probably arrange for me to serve as governor in the south. If the prince is willing to come along, we can go together. If there are any inscriptions, we will have to interpret them."

"General Suo is too kind. I don't understand any of the languages ​​of Europe, while you, General, are well-versed in both Chinese and Western learning."

There's still some mutual flattery here.

On stage, after exchanging tokens of love, Nicolas and Charlotte embraced and kissed each other. At this moment, it was inevitable that...
Fortunately, there weren't any friends from Middle Eastern countries here, otherwise we would have created a noisy atmosphere.

Once the newlyweds leave the hall, this part of the ceremony in Berlin will be over.

The newlyweds will then travel to St. Petersburg for an Orthodox ceremony to complete the wedding.

This kind of platter is not the first time Alexander has done it.

He currently holds the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. When the next monarch succeeds him, he will be crowned King of Poland in Warsaw, which can be seen as a sign of Poland's importance to the country.

In addition, the Kingdom of Poland also has its own independent army.

During Russian rule, specifically during Alexander's reign, there weren't many Polish disturbances. The Poles who returned from France, as well as those who had previously been pro-Russian, were able to coexist peacefully.

Zhao Lian felt that this was somewhat similar to the Emperor also serving as the Great Khan.

His notes on Russia indicate that, although the country's system differs from China's, there are still many similarities.

Moreover, the Grand Duke of Russia, the second in line to the throne, actually knew some Confucian classics under Solovyov's guidance.

Although it was all spoken in French and then relayed by a translator, this proves that Russia placed great importance on education.

Solovyov is a good man to get along with; he's genuinely helpful when needed. The Russian monarch is also intelligent and seems to be the kind of person who's adept at social maneuvering.

Such a country is indeed worth befriending.

However, Zhao Lian did not reach the level of Zhang Wen's sycophancy towards Shu; he simply recorded it faithfully.

The "Miscellaneous Records of Xiaoting" will need to be expanded considerably. In addition, his memorials from his return journey will also be very rich in content. (End of Chapter)