Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Moscow was celebrating the birth of Grand Prince Alexander Nikolaevich, and soon a communiqué was issued in Moscow as well.

This is something to celebrate, and Solovyov has indeed noticed that things are bound to change in the future.

It's impossible to do everything according to predetermined goals; the world isn't static.

Even if there's no Big Beard Ma, there might be Big Beard Niu. The world in the future will probably be even more unfamiliar.

Although some of the characters may be the same as those in my memory.

When he was just a regimental commander and adjutant, his influence on the world was almost zero.

But now that he's a general, he has more influence and decision-making power.

For example, Grand Duke Alexander's birthday is May 1st (Gregorian calendar).

He couldn't possibly know such details. For example, Alexander II's birthday is April 29th, and he's not an expert on that.

However, the situation in England was indeed affected by the anonymous letter he wrote to Paul years ago. Charlotte in England was doing well after giving birth and with her son. In fact, after the news of the birth of the Archduke of Alexander reached London, the princess even wrote a personal letter to congratulate him on the event.

Princess Charlotte also made a rather meaningful mention about the possibility of a future marriage alliance between the two countries.

That young lady from England was quite opinionated. On the one hand, she disliked that her father, Prince Regent George, had made too many concessions to the insignificant members of the House of Commons and the Cabinet, completely lacking the Whig party principles of the past.

In addition, Charlotte, who was still recovering from childbirth, used her circle of friends to oppose some of the cabinet's actions that persecuted Catholics and Irish people, especially the former, who were only favored by the princess because they were Catholics.

The Duke of Clarence also agreed with this view, which is not surprising, given his consistently friendly attitude towards Catholics.

What happens after that card is placed in the hall?
If this young lady were to take over power directly from her grandfather, George III, and operate according to the methods George III used before he went mad, it's hard to imagine how chaotic the House of Commons Zoo and the House of Lords Botanical Garden would become.

Britain itself was already in chaos, and although Princess Charlotte maintained the arrogance of the royal family, she was still relatively approachable. Even if she didn't like it, she would pretend to, waving to commoners when she rode in a carriage on the street, and even going to places where citizens gathered.

In this respect, she is much better than her pleasure-loving father.

The competition between Britain and Russia at this time was not only at the strategic level. After its defeat, France would be severely weakened for a long time and would not be able to become a continental power in Europe until it recovered.

Prussia and Austria were in similar situations at this time, and Germany, as a confederation, could not make any waves for the time being.

The competition between Britain and Russia at this point will have to come down to a focus on national strength.

Nicholas met Pierre when he received representatives of the Moscow nobility at the Nikolayevsky Palace after his son was born.

“Count Bezukhov, you are also a friend of Count Solovyov. I heard that you were in charge of the railway investment.”

"Your Highness, that's true. I established a railway company and have been building and operating railways around Moscow."

"It also played a significant role in the war of 1812, transporting many wounded soldiers to cities outside Moscow, such as Ryazan, Vladimir, and Tver. I have always been very interested in railways, and Count Solovyov often mentioned their benefits in court. In particular, the steam locomotive, such a groundbreaking invention, will remain an important means of transportation for the next hundred years."

"That's one way to put it, but most rail transit still uses horse-drawn carriages. The reliability of the carriages themselves is not yet sufficient, and once a malfunction occurs, repairs are very difficult. Therefore, we have been using horse-drawn carriages for a long time."

“What if we increase the investment in you every year? Although you are very wealthy, with personal assets of more than ten million rubles, you are also an entrepreneur and philanthropist, and there is always an investment required in this area.”

"Yes, Your Highness. These expenses are insignificant for my family's livelihood, but the factories I run, the railway company, and the shipping companies on the Volga and Dnieper Rivers require a large investment every year, and even if there are profits, they always have to be reinvested. That's how it is."

"Although you are also in business, you are an honest and upright person. My teacher always prefers to make friends with people like you."

Because of Pierre and Solovyov's relationship, Nikolai also valued him highly.

Moreover, judging from his current state, he seems to want to invest in the railway industry.

Although the Tsar and Tsarina's royal expenses were always budgeted very high, in reality, the Empress's personal expenses, even with several daughters living in St. Petersburg, amounted to only tens of thousands of rubles per year. Louisa saved a large sum of money for the construction of mutual aid organizations such as the Noble Women's Association, as well as for the investment in welfare homes around St. Petersburg.

The Tsar himself was the same.

Along with his three younger brothers, the royal family's low expenses actually saved a large amount of budget.

In recent years, Queen Maria has not been as fond of luxury and enjoyment as she used to be; there are times when the old lady can no longer indulge in such things.

Therefore, she began to learn from the French Queen Mother and started saving money for her two young sons and grandsons.

When the granddaughters get married in the future, their parents will have to handle the arrangements. Since Constantine's daughter is already married and he lives in Warsaw for a long time, he doesn't need to worry too much.

What she needs to care about is mainly what's in front of her.

Even regarding favoritism, because Nikolai had a son, while she was holding her grandson, she told Nikolai that if he needed money, he should just tell her.

Then Nikolai and his brothers were the same; they didn't really need to enjoy this kind of thing themselves.

The Grand Duchess brought her dowry from Berlin. Although her expenses were slightly more than the Queen's, they consisted mainly of small rings and earrings, and she did not crave large pieces of jewelry.

In that case, we can't subsidize the daughter-in-law, so we'll just have to ask Nikolai if there's anything he'd like to do recently.

Then Nikolai said that he and Count Bezukhov had a lot in common on railways and steam engines, and that royal investment in these areas would be very helpful to Russia, especially the construction of a railway from St. Petersburg to Moscow that would connect Novgorod and Tver. That would be about it.

The Empress Dowager had always been very interested in railways. She had strongly supported the railway from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoye Selo in the past, and she was even present at every test run in the early days.

The son wanted to invest in the railway. In addition to the annual grants from Nicholas himself, the Empress Dowager could also provide additional investment. Pierre's railway company also received additional investment.

He could then focus his energy on development in the south: the ports and ceramic factories of Crimea, the coal of Donbas, the manganese of Nibelk, the chromium ore of Kremenchug, and the steel of Zaporozhye.

At this time, Zaporizhzhia may not have had any steel, or even the local Cossacks. Southern Ukraine has abundant non-ferrous metals.

Solovyov's industrial layout, particularly the Novo-Russia and Little-Russia sectors, primarily provides resources to cities at key waterway hubs, but Kyiv is not included in this category.

He didn't really think much about it; he just felt that it would be safer to place the industrial zone in the Volga River basin, and that the railway line should also be planned along the way.

Nicolas and Pierre talked for quite a while about this.

Nikolai has one good quality: when he talks to people, he always speaks from the heart.

Of course, not in a physical sense. He wasn't inherently cruel. If Peter the Great had encountered him in that situation, he probably would have piled up a tower of heads, or been torn apart by four horses. After all, Peter the Great had actually witnessed the musketeer rebellion.

Nicolas's friendly attitude surprised Pierre.

Although he knew Nikolai through Solovyov, he never expected that this young Grand Duke would have such lofty ideals as to make Russia truly prosperous and strong, and was even more enlightened than the young people of the Prosperous Union.

However, since he was trained by Solovyov, although he has great ambitions, he is not ambitious enough. Therefore, in the game, he is destined to have fewer attribute bonuses.

However, in reality, he is still more popular.

Nikolai had his own ideas about reform, but investing in national wealth and military strength was clearly Solovyov's habit.

Pierre knew his friend well; he was much busier than Andrei, who at least managed to return home to run the estate during lulls in the war.

Solovyov fought the entire war. Except for the war against Persia, he appeared on the battlefield in Russia's recent wars, making outstanding contributions. At this time, he was even a well-known general on the European front.

His style was very down-to-earth; he was steady in battle, and he was the same when he was governor.

This affected Nikolai, despite his possession of the same undesirable traits that had always characterized the Romanov royal family.

For example, his academic shortcomings, such as being a poor student, easily trusting others, having only a short attention span, and having a short temper, were only alleviated after his sons were born.

It is also a troublesome thing for a country's monarch to have enthusiasm but lack knowledge.

Pierre and Nicolas quickly became friends, but Nicolas's approach, being too low-key and down-to-earth, was not to the liking of those young people who were pursuing radical reforms.

Although they were taught by Solovyov, one of the "Big Three" whom these young people admired, their views differed, and there were always some who wanted to abolish the monarchy at this time.

Therefore, as members of the royal family, they are bound to become targets.

However, some of them still admired Paul's past edicts to improve the treatment of serfs.

This results in a complex contradiction.

Pierre sensed this as well. He wasn't a member of the Prosperity League, and when the Salvation League tried to recruit him, he happened to be traveling with Natasha from Moscow, so they were unable to persuade him to join.

Moreover, Pierre's personality meant that he wouldn't do anything radical, and he always considered others.

Nikolai's plans were ambitious, and fortunately, Solovyov was at the Empress Dowager's place and not here at the moment.

Otherwise, he would also like to give a thorough critique of this railway that connects Europe, the Urals, and Western Siberia.

At this moment, he was unaware that the Empress Dowager was also considering who would take care of the young Grand Duke in the future.

The main reason was that the Grand Duchess was indeed in poor health, so an experienced noblewoman was needed in the court.

Although Katya is pregnant again, she has a lot of experience in taking care of children, comes from a good family, and is considered one of the royals.

"Because of this, I must ask your wife and children to leave you temporarily. Earl, can you accept this?"

“Your Highness Maria Feodorovna, if it is your request, although I love my wife, I have no choice but to accept it. I now have a mission entrusted to me by the Emperor, a heavy responsibility on my shoulders, and I cannot be in St. Petersburg or Moscow.”

"Since that's the case, and your wife is pregnant again, you could let her stay in the palace and teach these clumsy maids a thing or two. Compared to the previous maids, they still have a lot to learn."

Yes, Katya is indeed excellent in etiquette. The Empress Dowager wanted her to stay in the palace, not only to take care of the Grand Duchess and her young grandson, but also to set rules for the maids.

The fact that the Empress Dowager would give such a task is unlike Alexander the Great, who would always consult with others before asking him to do anything.

When the Empress Dowager arrives, she issues orders.

Considering Katya's current condition, Solovyov had no choice but to live apart from her.

If they go to St. Petersburg, they will need to hire more maids. Mikhryma will stay with Solovyov, Katya and the younger children will go to St. Petersburg, while the older ones can stay in Crimea.

Although Mihrima is slender, she can do the work of three strong maids by herself, so she should not be underestimated.

She was a competent housekeeper and was also very obedient to the master and mistress.
In that case, Katya would probably have to stay in the palace for a long time. Solovyov was even a little worried that since his wife was so lovely, others might come to his house to borrow salt.

Although Katya was convinced of his identity, such things were bound to happen.

However, considering his status, and the fact that if he pulled out his revolver, the other party would either be killed or seriously injured, Katya herself is indeed the Siberian Big Cat, but Solovyov is usually a fox, and now he's baring the fangs of a saber-toothed tiger.

That's safe enough.

Moreover, the Empress Dowager had relatively few palace attendants; she was usually surrounded by maids and low-ranking servants, as they had to take care of her daily needs.

After careful consideration, Solovyov finally agreed. (End of Chapter)