Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Sometimes, it's hard to tell who is more conservative and reactionary.

Solovyov, living in Tsarist Russia, felt that although the politics were autocratic, the rule was oppressive, the military and police were mobilized, the people were not free.

But at least the Tsar allowed people to speak and express their opinions.

This is unlike Rome; it's more like the absolute monarchy of the Greek era.

Solovyov went to Khersones again, where the ruins of a temple had been cleared out. Pushkin, that kid, some of his learning was worthwhile.

In the future, he may be able to add archaeologist and historian to his list of professions, in addition to poet and writer.

"How is it, Sasha?"

“You are the governor, a high-ranking official appointed by the emperor, so naturally you have to deal with those corrupt officials. I am just a lowly civil official, digging dirt for you.”

"For Russia, digging is also a great undertaking."

Solovyov stood atop the mound, looking at the cleared temple ruins.

"We also need to know who has lived on Russian soil, so that Napoleon won't say we are descendants of the Scythians again. My uncle always likes to talk nonsense and cause trouble for others."

“But there is indeed some Scythian style here, Mikhail Sergeyevich, look at this jar.”

Pushkin showed him a ceramic jar, and Solovyov was amazed when he saw it.

"The centaurs are depicted here, which tells us their origin. Those Scythians were swift as the wind, using bows and arrows to cause trouble for their enemies. They were defeated by the Parthians in Kalaykrasu using similar methods, but times have changed, times have changed."

Are you referring to the Battle of the Pyramids?

The compulsory course for Napoleon fans, as well as the now-published "Selected Works of Napoleon," contain accounts of Napoleon's expedition to Egypt, and Solovyov is also willing to read this section.

In fact, he had been thinking about how to deal with the Ottoman Empire and where the entry point for the next war should be.

However, dealing with the Ottoman Empire sometimes inevitably involves the British.

Dealing with the British.
"Sir, there is a letter for you, sent from England."

"Is it from London?"

"No, sir. You should see for yourself. It's a letter from Liverpool."

"Liverpool, Liverpool. Why Liverpool?"

Solovyov simply sat on top of the mound to watch; after all, since 1815, few people wore those white trousers except on formal occasions.

Solovyov himself liked these black military trousers, and if the dark gray hadn't reminded him of kimchi, he probably would have advocated for some changes.

Upon opening the letter, Solovyov noticed that it was from Henry Hunt, a middle-class activist from Manchester, England.

This person was a famous radical liberal who came into contact with the Jacobin doctrines during the Napoleonic Wars.

In fact, the more chaotic things are abroad, the better, so he can focus on farming. Although his children are away from him because the Empress Dowager summoned Katya to St. Petersburg, he can still visit them during events each year.

Unlike Napoleon, Solovyov was more like his Aunt Joseph had hoped, yearning for family life.

However, just as Napoleon encountered problems on his path to conquering the world, Solovyov could not settle down with family life.

If he had known this would happen, he should have shamelessly asked to retire after marrying Katya and then moved to Vienna.

But without the battles of the following years, there would be no achievements today. After Barclay's death, he was undoubtedly the chief general in the Russian army.

Now he can also advise the monarch on how to play cards at the card table.

After all, this is an autocratic country, and the monarch is the one who has the final say.

But Solovyov was known as a liberal, and while others gradually put their ideas into practice, he had been doing so ever since the old Tsar died.

To be honest, although these serfs are still on his estate, they are free, have signed labor contracts, and have been allocated land.

Solovyov also frequently wrote to the Italian strongman Borzoni, suggesting what should be done. Although he spent two years on expeditions and two years back helping Solovyov manage his hometown of Ryazan, he still managed to do things very well in Ryazan.

However, because Solovyov always wanted him to return, many of the discoveries made in Egypt were no longer his responsibility.

Many cultural relics, treasures, and mummies still lie buried underground at this time.

When Egyptian scholars discover these things in the future, Tutankhamun's wife will probably still be whole.
Solovyov has been having these kinds of ridiculous jokes on his mind lately, because Berzoni did a great job in Ryazan, and after Petya and her husband returned to their hometown in Ryazan, they started to use the same method and made considerable profits.

Although he used productivity to drive institutional change, this hands-on approach would still receive support from some members of the European bourgeoisie.

Solovyov then received a letter from Henry Hunt, who mentioned that in 1817, while Solovyov had traveled to China and achieved great diplomatic success, Britain was in dire straits.

The cause was the passage of the Corn Laws, which led to persistently high food prices in Britain, creating a truly desperate situation.

These days, the only issues are rising rice prices and high tariffs; other grain prices are still manageable.

However, in Britain, food imports will not be made unless the price of grain falls below 80 shillings and 1 quart.

Before George III went mad, no matter how much he wanted to strengthen royal power, he would never have thought of such a spur-of-the-moment idea.

Moreover, although George III ruined his daughters' marriages, made his sons unhappy, and caused immense suffering to the people of the colonies, things were still relatively better in Britain. At least he would actually tour the territory, and even personally inspect the postpartum care of sows, as well as the grain and meat production of nearby farms.

Prince Regent George can be quite disappointing at times.

In 1817, workers in Manchester, England, marched and went on strike with blankets and rations to protest rising food prices.

This was a terrible time for British workers and farmers.

Starting in 1816, due to the eruption of Mount Tambery in 1815, the temperature in Britain was lower than in previous years for arable land, and the temperature on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean dropped sharply. This allowed Britain to maintain its original grain production in the first year, but the second year it began to decline.

By 1818, grain production had decreased further, and grain prices had soared.

In addition, Britain imposed high tariffs on agricultural products and raw materials from continental Europe, and continental European countries retaliated by imposing retaliatory tariffs on British industrial products. This fierce economic struggle has left British factory owners and their workers in dire straits.

The reason is that, due to the increase in food prices, some factory owners with a modicum of conscience have to raise wages for their workers, which increases production costs.

Workers elsewhere are clearly facing problems as well. Factory owners are forced to raise wages for their workers in response to their competitors' practices. But with capitalists' products unsold, they can't even extract surplus value from workers; if they can't pay their workers' wages, they'll be living off their savings.

This was also the primary topic of Henry Hunter's letter.

Coupled with the labor movements of the early years, especially the Luddite movement which destroyed machinery, the situation in Britain was not optimistic.

Furthermore, because angry workers threw stones at the Regent's carriage, the Tories quickly passed several bills, mainly restricting personal rights and addressing certain issues.
Using an Eastern concept, these "non-citizens" should all be suppressed.

They were indeed Tories, and their reactionary actions revealed their true nature.

However, the fact that most political parties in Britain are like vermin is a topic that can never be avoided.

Solovyov sat there, watching Pushkin digging a pit below, while he himself was engrossed in reading.

"Mikhail Sergeyevich, what are you looking at?"

"A letter from an English gentleman, though I do not know him. It seems that my fame in Europe is so great that he is willing to send this letter to Crimea."

Moreover, Solovyov had almost no measures for censoring letters, especially since those who wrote to him were always important figures.

Therefore, Henry Hunt's letter, after being sent from the port of Liverpool, drifted on the ship for a while and arrived in Solovyov's hands without any hindrance.

Pushkin was a man with a strong sense of curiosity. Solovyov had always disliked the British in his competition, but he was not without British friends, and even had a close relationship with the royal family there.

The man who saw Solovyov couldn't suppress the smirk on his face.

“You must have something to be happy about, Mikhail Sergeyevich.”

“There have been strikes in Britain recently. If worker petitions and strikes don’t work, then violent revolution might be an option.”

"But, Britain?"

"We want to learn their constitution, but we don't know that the British monarch has always been utterly reactionary and there won't be any improvement anytime soon."

Now that Victoria is gone, there will be no more Empress Dowager. In the British royal succession, Princess Charlotte is now second in line to the throne, and her son is third in line.

Solovyov couldn't say for sure what would happen to Princess Charlotte, but at least she held radical Whig views and always indicated that her father wasn't tough enough.

But George III was conservative and the regent was incompetent; the latter even received two years of potato-digging work stamps in England because a poet described him as a "50-year-old fat Adonis."

Expecting them to do anything advanced is really asking too much.

However, the one Solovyov truly befriended, Duke Clarence, although he lost his right to the throne because his beloved niece was still alive, still carried weight because of his position in the navy.

While you can't expect a monarch to be particularly enlightened, William IV was one of the few British monarchs who truly accomplished much throughout the 19th century.

Why do you say that?

“It’s true, Sasha, it’s true.”

Solovyov showed the letter to Pushkin. Although Pushkin was familiar with French from childhood, he could only say he knew English very well. Although there were many pro-British nobles in Russia, such as the Vorontsov family, not all of them knew English. After all, English was not the common language of that time; French was more widely spoken.

Henry Hunt, as a social activist, probably spoke English more often, so his letters to Solovyov were mostly in English.

Solovyov had to be quite cautious in his reply to such a letter.

After all, the British, despite talking about "freedom," were not free at all.

If the letters are inspected, it could even trigger a diplomatic crisis.

So when he wrote back, he was still very careful with his wording.

The main objective is to analyze the current situation faced by British workers.

The working class, as a powerful and active group, will still be able to unleash tremendous energy in the future.

This is undeniable.

Then, Solovyov's idea was more ingenious.

His advice to Henry Hunt was that workers should not damage the machines.

Anyway, when the British gentleman sees this, he'll definitely be able to fool them.

In recent years, British workers have been vandalizing machinery in factories, which has been a headache for the men.

Solovyov's opening remarks were like this, followed by a rather lengthy explanation that would give anyone checking the mail a headache.

He was worried that in Britain, Henry Hunt might be being monitored because he was an active radical liberal.

British police officers are very responsible, no matter where they are.

If they were to actually check the letters, they would have to let them read them and then lose the desire to check them because of the lengthy, nonsensical literature.

Moreover, Solovyov still has ties to the royal family, so he can't go too far in checking the letters of royal family members' friends.

Solovyov's long and complex sentences left Pushkin completely baffled.

What is your purpose in writing this?

"I think the British should also know that the working class has two ways to solve problems: one is strikes, and the other is violent revolution."

“Mikhail Sergeyevich, you also spoke of violent revolution in Russia.”

"That's because it would benefit the British. If the British themselves cause trouble, then things will get interesting."

Solovyov knew that Henry Hunt was good at boosting morale and giving inspiring speeches during workers' strikes; his writing was very persuasive.

He later dealt Edward Stanley a blow, defeating a future British prime minister in the Preston constituency, which shows he has some skill.

The more chaotic Britain becomes, the more advantageous it will be for Russia. Even if both countries descend into chaos, it remains to be seen who recovers first. (End of Chapter)