Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The palace in St. Petersburg was quite quiet at this time.

Alexander's palace was quiet when he didn't hold any events; he used to host balls quite often, though they weren't particularly lavish.

However, the banquets hosted by the nobles and their wives were often exceptionally lavish.

At number 28 on the Moika River embankment, the residence of Sergei, Solovyov's father, was relatively small, but it was a convenient place for several noblewomen to have private conversations.

According to the French, it's probably a salon.

“That’s right. My husband was the governor of Crimea. He did a lot of things, especially in starting schools.”

"Katya, if you were there, you might be able to help him."

“But there is no life like this in the palace, and there is no social interaction with my sisters. My young children have all grown up and no longer need to stay at home as they used to. They each have their own attendants and servants to take care of them, so I don’t have to worry about them too much.”

"Pasha will be joining the army in another year or two. Aren't you worried then?"

"They don't fight in the army, and now is a time of peace. The Imperial Guards are all around the Emperor."

Of course, Katya would not mention her son's marriage to the little princess, or that her brother-in-law had married Tsar Paul's illegitimate daughter.

The wealthy women envied her; her husband's only flaw was his philandering, but that also proved how charming he was.

In other respects, Solovyov did very well and was very capable, earning the trust of the Tsar himself. They also envied Katya's good fortune.

The couple often separated, and Solovyov himself became much less so after being appointed governor.

He has now gone to the Caucasus and is waiting for the Tsar's reply.

Solovyov still had many strategic ideas. He planned to launch an attack on the Azerbaijani region from both sides of the Caspian Sea, with the main force of the Russian army and the assistance of the Tatars, totaling more than 6 troops, and to advance into the highlands of northern Iran.

To the east of the Caspian Sea, there are Turkmen tribes and various nomadic tribes.

They may have been Kangli, Kipchak, or Nogai people in the past, but now, due to the division of the Khanate, they belong to various tribes of the Kazakh Khanate. In addition, there are the Tatars of the Kalmyk Khanate and Astrakhan, as well as troops conscripted from various Cossacks.

This army, with a total strength of no more than 40,000 men, mainly composed of cavalry, crossed the borders of Khiva and Bukhara and marched eastward into the Persian Empire.

Solovyov's strategic vision was so grand that it essentially covered the route the Golden Horde had taken to expand southward.

The eastern shore of the Caspian Sea was the route that Shaybani often took when he went south, and Timur always came from this direction as well.

He also took into account the characteristics of the nearby nomadic and settled peoples.

And the Qajar dynasty of the Persian Empire at this time was always more outwardly strong but inwardly weak than in the past.

In response, Alexander, who had been living in seclusion, suddenly appeared before his ministers and convened a cabinet meeting to discuss the issue.

"I am here today to hear your opinions. Solovyov's plan is to launch a military attack on the Persian Empire in the future, but both of these southern countries have someone backing them. In the past, it was the French, and now it is the British."

"Your Majesty, I think that at this time, we should avoid fighting two countries at the same time."

“Count Nesherrodie, you are being far too cautious.”

Arakcheyev still holds a very high position, and today's meeting is mainly attended by generals.

Neserrodie attended as Foreign Minister and Imperial Prime Minister, and as the head of the civil service, his opinion reflected the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' consistently cautious approach.

"This involves more issues. In the Caucasus Mountains, we are simultaneously facing the Ottoman Empire, the Persian Empire, and their vassal states. We have two enemies on one major battlefield, and there is even a possibility that they may unite."

“Indeed, Neserrodie, that’s something to consider.”

Alexander spoke up, saying he genuinely didn't want war. Now he spent his days praying in the morning, meditating during the day, and engaging in mystical activities at night—a very fulfilling life.

Is war good? War is not good, and some military leaders are indeed difficult to control.

Not everyone is like Solovyov, who is obedient, capable in fighting and handling affairs, and can also govern the region, punish corrupt officials, and greatly improve the administrative efficiency of the Crimean "Great Governor-General's District".

Even if the military leaders were too far away, the Tsar would grant them decision-making power.

This thing is deadly.

Once a governor gains military power and can make decisions independently without consulting the Tsar or the St. Petersburg cabinet, or reporting to the regional governors, his power as a local governor is limitless, and he can also accumulate merits for himself.

Sometimes, having too much territory isn't a good thing.

If it were a colonial governor, it would be understandable that he would have such great power, but these territories of Russia were all on the periphery of the empire.

The three viceroyalties of Crimea, Caucasus, and Orenburg were all filled with the Tsar's favorite generals.

Meanwhile, in Siberia, it was Speransky.

The Foreign Minister, for the sake of the overall situation, will certainly avoid some foolish actions.

The Tsar himself is the same now.

As for the generals, they are not so resolute on the issue of launching a war at present, due to the Tsar's own attitude.

"Count, what should we do then?"

It's always a good thing when someone asks a question.

Neserrodi proposed that by exchanging territory, some of the land ceded under the Treaty of Gulistan would be given to the Persian Empire, thus pacifying the border region.

It is often said that Russia is greedy for land, but on the borders of the Persian Empire, it was sometimes quite generous, perhaps even giving up more territory.

"General Konovnitsyn, why aren't you saying anything?"

"I'm considering Solovyov's opinion. In my current condition, I'm not fit to go on the expedition. However, he would be very suitable, but his attitude..."

Solovyov's letter mentioned battle plans, but his conception of the war was quite strange.

The Minister of War was in poor health. Although he requested leave from the Tsar, Alexander insisted that he stay in Tsarskoye Selo in the winter and Peterhof Palace in the summer, so that he could provide some advice nearby.

He joined the meeting at the last minute today; if the absence of the Minister of War hadn't been so abrupt, he probably would have chosen to rest.

“Peter Petrovich, you should talk.”

Recently, it has been reported that Konovnitsyn's son has a good relationship with Solovyov's eldest daughter, Lisa, and Katya sometimes invites the Countess to her home, leading to rumors that the two families are considering a marriage alliance.

It's quite normal for the children of generals to marry, especially those generals Borodino fought so hard for. It's not surprising that he also received letters from Solovyov.

The problem is these attitudes
"If it were up to me, Solovyov's suggestion would be to first sow discord between the Persian Empire and its neighboring countries, including the Ottoman Empire."

“If Count Vorontsov were to return from England, he would probably be very familiar with this.”

When Neserrodie heard this, he knew what Solovyov was up to: he wanted to create a divided eastern Mediterranean region so that both the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Empire would be constantly harassing their neighboring countries.

Then Russia can take action.

Relations between the Ottoman Empire and any regime on the Iranian plateau will never be good; war between them is inevitable.

In particular, some Sunni vassal states on the borders of the Persian Empire often sought refuge with the Ottoman Empire.

In that case, the war will not stop.

The Persian Empire also had poor relations with Bukhara and Khiva, especially Bukhara.

The talent market in Bukhara had many people captured from Persia. When the Zand Dynasty was defeated by the Qajar Dynasty, the trade volume of the Khanate of Bukhara increased sharply.

Although the Shah's own attitude was unknown, the local common people did not have a good impression of these slave traders.

In addition, Solovyov's strategy on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea was also crucial.

The ministers discussed the matter for a long time at the Winter Palace, but no final decision was reached.

However, they unanimously agreed that the bearded Persian Shah Afatih Alisha Qajar was indeed an incompetent, short-sighted, and tyrannical ruler.

He became Shah after the assassination of his eunuch uncle. During his many battles with Russia, he was also instigated by the clergy to launch a "jihad," but he suffered repeated defeats.

The funniest thing is probably that on the Russian side, apart from Suvorov and his apprentice Solovyov wanting to get the Persian Empire's gold coins, everyone else really didn't want to fight here.

The place was far away, and the land's produce was generally mediocre. The only treasures that the Shah possessed were those looted by the Afshar dynasty from the Mughal Empire.

There was no oil available at the moment, so naturally there was nothing to offer.

The problem is that the Persian Empire was not the same as the Ottoman Empire.

At least the Ottoman Empire and Russia had a legitimate reason to fight, as there were instances where they initiated wars on each other.

What was the situation with the Persian Empire?

Alexander himself was also pondering this question at the meeting.

Why did the Persian Shah always want to attack? Even with British support, they shouldn't have attacked so mindlessly.

But he couldn't understand it either; it was even harder for him than for his ministers to guess his actions.

At least Alexander would leave his ministers with a mystery, sometimes a note.

If he wanted to recall Solovyov, he would have been in the Caucasus and not in Crimea for the time being.

Moreover, Solovyov is an indispensable general in operating in the south.

In truth, if it weren't for his youth and the fact that the rewards would be left to Nicholas or his son to handle, Alexander would have already made him a marshal.

And that kid has started doing riddles now.

Solovyov had stayed by Alexander's side as a way of repaying Paul's kindness.

Because Alexander lacked resolve, Solovyov could only operate within his own governorate, and Arakcheyev wouldn't touch him.

However, even though Alexander was essentially idling, at least his ministers were given free rein to do their jobs. It was just a matter of internal conflict, but Arakcheyev's police system would bring things back to a rigid track, preventing them from veering too far off course.

What kind of strange way of ruling was the Shah of Persia?

No one knows for sure, but having the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Empire each cause trouble for their neighbors was indeed a way to prevent them from causing trouble on the Russian border for the time being.

Alexander's final decision was to hand over all the Armenian prisoners of war from 1795 onwards, as well as civilians on the border, to the Russian side.

Russia may even make significant concessions on territorial issues.

Solovyov was in Tbilisi when he received the Tsar's order to Yermolov.

This place was burned down by the Persian Shah 25 years ago.

"Speaking of which, these Persians and Khwarezmian troublemakers really like to set fires in Georgia."

"Yes, sir. Fortunately, we are now under the Emperor's protection, and things have finally settled down here."

"I heard that Griboyedov has come to Tbilisi?"

"Would you like to see that young poet?"

"It's nothing. He's somewhat interested in Persian culture, and perhaps he can offer some assistance in his research in the future."

"Aren't you also interested in Persian culture?"

"Having too many interests will make it hard to concentrate. Besides, I'm not more interested in contemporary Persia. That Shah seems to have some mental issues. The court of the Persian Shah—you have to be careful with your neck there, unlike here."

Solovyov was puzzled by the Persian Empire's historical tradition of indiscriminately killing ministers. Of course, there were also ministers who killed the Shahs. From Cyrus the Great onwards, this was commonplace for any autocratic regime that ruled Persia.

There are far too many scenes of fathers and sons attacking each other, and brothers killing each other.

Those who read more books have more say.

In addition, the Qajar dynasty has always been rather incompetent. After the death of their first Shah, they not only failed to have a strong leader, but were also repeatedly nailed to the pillar of shame, either because of rebellions by the poor who could not survive, or because they signed unequal treaties with foreign powers.

What's even more ridiculous is that they possessed the treasures of the Afshar and former Safavid dynasties, which, at this time in 1820, were estimated to be of enormous value, serving as a huge amount of start-up capital.

However, they let their treasures gather dust in the Shah's treasury, levied exorbitant taxes domestically, and launched inexplicable wars abroad, thus limiting the dynasty's progress.

Compared to them, the Ottoman Empire was managed quite well, and it was only a hundred years before it collapsed.

Of course, someone like Solovyov who resorts to brute force would probably be smashed to pieces with a single brick. (End of Chapter)