Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

When we disembarked in Brighton, the area was relatively calm, with no major incidents occurring.

This place is, after all, a resort destination that is popular with everyone from high-ranking officials and nobles to ordinary people.

But the common people here include farmers near Brighton and dockworkers at the port.

Because the Duke of Clarence often came here, and he was casually dressed and greeted people warmly. Even as an old sailor, he didn't refuse the dirty hands of the dockworkers.

Solovyov, having spent a considerable amount of time with the Duke of Clarence, Prince William, began to suspect that he might be an arrogant member of the British royal family.

That's how approachable he is; it's clearly not an act.

When Paul arrived in the village, he needed a while to adjust before speaking, whereas the Duke was on the streets of Brighton, where the transition was seamless.

Many people came to congratulate him on marrying a noblewoman and to wish him a son soon.

But don't forget to add, "Don't forget that Irish woman; she gave her youth for you."

William, however, didn't care about these things at all.

He had ten children with his Irish mistress, many of whom were still very young.

His new wife had to adapt not only to the huge age gap between the couple, but also to the fact that the Duke of Clarence had spent a long time in the navy, sometimes even serving as First Lord of the Navy, and was known for his rudeness and busy schedule.

Adelaide had to be the Duke's legal wife, bear his children, and also take care of William's young children from his previous relationships with his mistresses.

Speaking of which, a wife like this, apart from not being very good-looking, is the ideal type for men. She is tolerant, capable, and doesn't cause trouble for herself. She can appropriately restrain her husband's behavior and doesn't excessively interfere in his life.

The Duke of Clarence's reward was that, unlike the Regent, who was old and obese and still looking for young lovers, he was content with his life, devoted to his young but not beautiful wife, and respected her greatly.

For a womanizing old man, this is enough.

“Your Highness, you have a good relationship with the common people, just like when we met on our way to Ireland.”

"We should listen to what they have to say, at least we should listen."

In this respect, the Regent was not as enlightened as his brother and daughter. After being pelted with stones by impoverished workers, he went into hiding. The House of Commons also passed a bill, and in effect, the control over the British Isles has become stricter again.

Food prices are soaring, and workers are not getting their wages.

Under normal circumstances, the Irish are probably the most miserable group of people in Britain.

But with the Corn Laws in place, they were exploited and squeezed dry by the lords, and now they are so poor they can't survive.

If a group like that were to appear on the streets of London, something bad would definitely happen.

Unfortunately, although the regent was intelligent, he was also timid, which led to his incompetence.

He would only hide away and dare not face the people directly.

His brothers, and even the heir Princess Charlotte, performed better than him in this regard, even the worst of them.

“Your Highness, this is Brighton, which is certainly a good place. But what if it were London, Birmingham, Manchester, or Liverpool?”

Solovyov's questions were always rather pointed, and after hearing them, Duke Clarence simply smiled and remained silent.

Although he wasn't like the other members of the royal family, he always knew where the problem lay.

He simply invited his friends to a party at Brighton court to celebrate his marriage.

However, in reality, only some old comrades from the navy and some of the Duke's close friends were invited.

Solovyov was not the only foreign friend invited; surprisingly, the Prince of Orange was also present.

Because Maria's brother-in-law Bernhard was serving in the Dutch army, he came along with her.

This young duke was a true mathematician, with considerable expertise in geometry.

“Count, you are my sister-in-law’s good friend and childhood playmate. I must also express my respect to you. You made my sister-in-law’s life very happy. Before I left home, she always mentioned you.”

"Because of what?"

"In the Netherlands, we will inevitably have to go to the Cape Colony and the East Indies, and we will probably have to trouble your merchant fleet then."

“I will certainly help, Your Highness. But how is Maria doing lately?”

"I'm taking care of my precious nephew. Thank God, my brother finally has an heir. It would have been a bit more troublesome if it were a girl."

This was commonplace for the German princes.

There are often cases where a family line ends because there are no sons, and a younger branch of the family line, or even a distant relative, has to be brought in to inherit the family business.

Solovyov had seen the Tsar write a letter to his aunt in Oldenburg when he was with Paul.

And Napoleon, Paul's uncle, was incredibly shameless; upon entering Oldenburg, he conveniently confiscated his aunt Paul's lands.

This was because it was transferred to the Queen. When the Queen was disposing of the territory, she took pity on her sister-in-law who had no children and left her this territory to live out her old age. After her death, it would be transferred to the Queen's direct control.

The only problem is that the old lady was really alive; she lived to see Napoleon's army come for a stroll.

Later, Alexander gave the land to his cousin Oldenburg, and Russia no longer had any exclaves.

As for Bernhard saying this, the main reason was that he was being called back to Weimar. Firstly, he really hated court life and could be more active in the Netherlands.

Secondly, as a genuine mathematician, he also dislikes anyone touching his diagrams.

In the military camp or at home, only his wife can bother him.

Attending events in the Netherlands is relatively simpler.

Bernhard also mentioned that although Maria often visited her sisters, she also missed her family and friends.

They even suggested that Solovyov could make a trip to Weimar on his way back.

This younger brother-in-law only knew that his sister-in-law missed her friend, but he didn't know that Solovyov and Maria could get him a niece at Versailles.

Goethe also hoped that Solovyov would come to him, and bring some young Russian friends with him.

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Do these people in Weimar really want me to go there? Things are different now. He not only takes his wife out with him, but also Mihrima. Katya left her here to keep an eye on him and prevent him from acting like before.

Solovyov thought he couldn't hurt his wife's feelings.

And there are many more important things to do now.

But if Weimar doesn't go, it will also be a problem.

Maria was someone who loved and hated fiercely.
This is something that inevitably happened when she and Ekaterina were raised together; they influenced each other.

The Duke of Clarence used the Royal House in Brighton to entertain his guests. It has Indian-style columns and was the regent’s residence in Brighton where he could escape outsiders.

This place is magnificent. The Regent is currently in London, and he generously lent it to his brother to entertain guests.

After all, when William was recalled from the navy, he often defended his elder brother in Parliament, explaining the purpose of his extravagant lifestyle.

The regent trusted his younger brother, which allowed him to use these palaces while he was in Brighton.

He only needed a few rooms, and before Solovyov could even speak, his chattering daughters were already commenting on how beautiful the decor was.

Girls always like shiny things, especially huge chandeliers; this was the Regent's personal taste.

Solovyov thought to himself, "You probably didn't take in 90% of what I told you back then."

Princess Charlotte and Duke Clarence, on the other hand, were in a better position; at least they maintained a respectable demeanor.

During the banquet, Solovyov also heard some rumors that although Duke Clarence was mediocre in political ability, he was still quite concerned about the common people.

He received this title because he threatened his father that if he wasn't given a knighthood, he would run for councilor in Devonshire. This finally convinced the stubborn George III to grant his son, a rear admiral, the title of duke.

To be honest, it's a bit unfair. Even in terms of military achievements, he spent more time in the army than the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York, and he also shared the hardships with the sailors.

He actually commanded warships on the battlefield and had real combat achievements, capturing many enemy ships.

The city he's referring to now is London and other cities.

Solovyov just mentioned those industrial cities, and William also complained about these things, but he wouldn't openly criticize the current cabinet's policies; he would only say that people's lives are so hard and their treatment should be improved.

In fact, if the Corn Law, this terrible law, could be repealed and a trade war with continental Europe could be avoided, the situation could be greatly alleviated.

But the British parliamentarians do not represent the interests of the workers, nor the interests of some "voters," but the interests of unscrupulous businessmen, from which they can profit.

Before George III went mad, he was driven by the inertia of his rule, and he would make things difficult for anyone who dared to offend his authority, such as the Irish, Catholics, and Americans.

The officials in the parliament, on the other hand, are truly lacking in morality.

Although there aren't that many civil servants now, it has become a moral vacuum, and they probably aren't as ruthless as the cabinet composed of parliamentary officials.

When George III first went mad, they even discussed the future of the royal family.

Now, seeing the incompetent regent, they want to take back the power from the royal family, or at least prevent that power from being used.

Ideally, there should be an incompetent, sound monarch; a regent would fit the bill perfectly.

If it were the Duke of York, he would be much harder to control.

Although Duke Clarence lacked political acumen, he was not aligned with the members of Parliament and even had his own ideas, such as providing benefits for his old naval comrades.

Although a female heir like Princess Charlotte is the easiest to control, or can be "hidden" behind the scenes, which would satisfy the cabinet.

However, it should also be considered that Princess Charlotte is too opinionated. She dislikes her father's inability to stick to his principles and dislikes the Tories.

Generally speaking, the monarch and the heir should support opposing parties in the British Parliament, but this father and daughter both sided with the Whig Party.

The only problem was that the regent was rather timid, while Princess Charlotte was quite radical.

Solovyov recalled in his mind that the now impossible Victoria was still around. Although she was a Whig supporter, she had authorized Peel to form a government and had lost control of parliament.

From the time George III began to show signs of madness, Parliament gradually gained the upper hand, and the Regent had already shown some signs of this during this period. Once the Regent is officially recognized, Parliament will gain even more power, unlike during George III's reign when the Prime Minister was like a mouse before a cat when meeting the King, or Jerry provoking Tom while having to worry about being caught by Tom, right?
Princess Charlotte's advantage is that she has the support of Londoners since birth, and her picture cards from childhood to adulthood have always been best-selling merchandise in London.

If she wanted to, she could even make a gesture that might cause a certain member of parliament to lose a lot of votes in his constituency.

Especially in these constituencies around London, there could be some interesting developments during the general election.

Because she survived childbirth, Solovyov also witnessed a variable.

He didn't even know that the pamphlet he had carefully compiled had probably fallen into Princess Charlotte's hands.

Therefore, this Charlotte, apart from a more resolute liberal stance, does not restore history at all.

As for the workers' movement, Solovyov wrote a letter to Henry Hunt, which in itself wouldn't bring anything significant.

However, the damage workers cause to the machines is tantamount to improving their own treatment, so it is very important to organize the workers' own organization.

In particular, there is the English Football Association, which organizes football matches in various regions.

Even though it's still roughly considered "League One," each team already has a large number of supporters both on and off the pitch.

With life being difficult and the economy in a slump, it's natural that some people will put up protest signs.

Solovyov never imagined that by letting the regent dabble in football, this lazy man could manage to organize a team, and now many of the fan groups come from among the workers.

Of course, if football hooligans existed, it would be enough to give the British police a hard time.

In London alone, there are many football clubs and their respective supporters, who could potentially attack each other and cause riots.

But if one day these people were to rebel like the Nica uprising, which even Justinian of the Eastern Roman Empire cowardly considered fleeing, the pressure on the British royal family and the Lords of Parliament would be considerable.

As an observer, Solovyov listened patiently to what Duke Clarence had to say.

After the Duke finished speaking, he also expressed his opinion.

“Your Highness, if the workers really come together, they might not throw stones at you. But those gentlemen in the council, especially those who support the Corn Laws and let the people go hungry, I think they will be beaten up too.”

He's currently in Brighton, unaware of the exciting events that are about to unfold in Britain. (End of Chapter)