Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 110 Petition from the Aleuts
The women also needed to rest in the wooden house in the hunting ground in Pavlovsk. This place was expanded after Paul became Tsar. There was even a temporary bedroom for rest, and the fireplace was kept particularly warm.

"Your Majesty, these are petitions from Siberia and the American territories collected in accordance with your edict."

Kutaisov actually wanted to say one thing, which was that after going out for a walk, he came back here and said that the emperor was really addicted to replying letters, and he happened to arrive at the hunting ground with the petitions from these distant territories.

"Kutaišov, go and have a rest. These young people are here. They can take turns guarding and can also chat with me."

The Tsar was a little too confident about his personal safety. Although there were four officers on duty here today, one was promoted by him, two were the sons of his confidants and also friends in Alexander's small circle, and the last one was Count Palen the Younger, the son of his most "loyal" confidant.

However, Paul still misunderstood one thing: the young count was the more loyal to him, so the old count did not let his son participate in the conspiracy, for fear that he would expose it directly to the Tsar on a whim.

Similarly, Count Zubov, who had recently returned to Petersburg, did not involve his sister-in-law, the daughter of the Grand Marshal, nor did his eldest brother Nikolai Zubov.

Young Count Palen is not good at current affairs, but he can talk about horse riding.

"Misha, you are so unlucky to fall down in a place like that. I know you have been on the battlefield and served as a liaison officer to pass messages between legions."

"As long as both the man and the horse are fine, it's a really good horse. Count Orlov must have put a lot of effort into breeding it."

"The horse you picked is not the best. The count picked one from his stable and galloped it along the river in Moscow."

It can be seen that the count loved horses very much and might even have personally watched Count Alexei Orlov's riding test when the Orlov Trotter was successfully bred.

The Tsar himself was reading a petition for Siberian horse policy, which was related to China. The Qing government's demand for horses in the trade in Kyakhta decreased, causing market prices to plummet.

The most glorious time was undoubtedly the mutual trade during the Empress's period, when a horse could be sold for three times the price around Moscow, and horse dealers made a fortune through the mutual trade.

Paul would like to ask this question to the young Count Palen. After all, he loves his woman as well as his horse and is very familiar with horses.

"Pasha, what do you think of those Siberian horses?"

"According to the report from the Guards Headquarters, many of the horses we imported from Siberia and the Ural Mountains are not suitable for riding, but they have good endurance and can be used to pull cannons or baggage carts."

"Yes, that's what I thought too. The garrisons in various places reported a huge shortage of horses, and the trade volume from Siberia to China has dropped sharply. In this case, the infantry regiments stationed in the south and around Moscow, as well as the garrison regiments in various places, will have to start importing draft horses from Siberia."

"But your majesty, we also have to consider the quality of the horses. You know, the horses that pull the artillery carts need to have better leg strength."

"Soloviev, you have been to Italy and accompanied the Field Marshal throughout the campaign. What do you think?"

"Your Majesty, I think what Count Palen said is right. We rely on Cossack war horses to carry our baggage in the mountains of Switzerland. The Austrians did not prepare any mules for us. I'm afraid we will need to prepare a large number of war horses in future wars."

Paul himself was also thinking about it. He had previously denounced the poor quality war horses provided by some places at the military committee. Siberia was too far away and there were not many troops stationed there.

However, considering the vast territory of Russia, even inferior horses had to be used.

Regardless of what the Tsar’s final decision was, they still had to perform guard duties while being asked random questions.

Considering Paul's personality, it's not surprising that he did anything.

The Aleuts' petition was about the extensive management of Russian-American companies in their American territories and forcing the Aleuts to hunt for furs.

"It's Baranov again. It's all my money!"

Paul had considered the possible consequences of the extensive management of the Russian-American Company some days ago. The first year after the merger of the four companies had already led to a serious decline in profits. Without outside competition in the territory, they had done such a cruel thing.

As for the root cause, anyone with normal brain circuits can perceive it, and this is the reason.

But another problem is that these overseas companies are generally far away from the emperor. The same is true for the British and Dutch East India Companies. Each of them has actually formed an independent political entity, and can even depose and enthrone local kings. As a company, it has actually exceeded its proper authority.

Baranov himself has been active in the American territories for a long time and is not in St. Petersburg. Rezanov has always been the mediator here.

But the Tsar himself sending an imperial envoy is nothing more than a traditional Russian farce, and such things have happened in the past, are happening now, and will happen in the future.

Paul didn't have much time to deal with the Aleut issues. For him, that place was too far away. It was still a question whether he could get a piece of land on the Gold Coast or somewhere else in the future through the "South Sea Company" listed by Count Tickenhausen's family.

"Okay, let's stop here for today!"

He read some more petitions and didn't even plan to reply. There was a secretary beside him who was responsible for taking notes.

"Your Majesty, how should these petitions, which you have read, be approved?"

"I have already written a formal reply to the Siberian horse issue. Please polish the words and submit it tomorrow morning. As for the Aleut issue, Baranov is still irreplaceable. He is familiar with local affairs, so leave it there for now. Just reply according to general affairs. It will take a year or so for this letter to reach Pavlovskaya."

It was even questionable whether his order could reach Alaska while he was alive. After all, 1801 was a near-death experience for him and was also known as an extremely unlucky year for the Russian royal family.

Then he felt upset and sat by the fire, taking out the latest issue of the Petersburg News and reading the poetry on the literary page.

"Why is there no serialization today, Solovyov?"

"Your Majesty, these days I have either been on duty in the palace or in Gatchina. In between, I also went to the village you gave me. When I come back, I will prepare to grow strawberry seedlings. The translation work has been delayed."

"Where did you translate?"

"Now the little overlord of Jiangdong, Sun Ce, has been assassinated, and his brother, Sun Quan, has become the ruler of Jiangdong."

"The Khitan Prime Minister and the northern tyrants are about to have a decisive battle, right?"

"The decisive battle is about to begin, Your Majesty. Do you want to see the results now? Or do you want to wait for the newspaper serials?"

"Don't worry. It looks like the chancellor will win. He has already driven the emperor's uncle away. The forces threatening his rear in the east have been eliminated. He can now focus on fighting the Yuan family along the Yellow River."

This question was relatively easy, and Paul could still figure out the pros and cons. In addition, he suddenly remembered that when he left Petersburg, Maria had told him that Mr. Fomin, a musician at the Imperial Theater, was in worse and worse health. He was a famous musician in early Russia, good at music teaching and rehearsing operas.

Sometimes he also guides Maria, but because he has an infectious disease, in order to ensure the safety of those around him, the musician is in the hospital and probably won't survive this spring.

"Soloviev, I remember you often sang for Maria and collaborated with her on some folk songs?"

It's always impossible to avoid it, but Paul's tone seems like he's not very interested in this matter.

He preferred to be with soldiers. He was the first person in Europe to award medals to soldiers. Napoleon's Legion of Honor and a series of medals that could be awarded to soldiers came second.

Music, he was only willing to learn some of it because he doted on his third daughter who was almost disfigured because of smallpox when she was a child.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Do you know Mr. Fomin of the Theatre Royal?"

"I have some impression of him. I met him before when I was helping His Highness record the music score. I haven't seen that gentleman in the palace for a while. I think he is not in good health. He looked like that when I first saw him in the Little Winter Palace."

"He has not been in good health. Musicians are all talented people. Maria asked me to care about his condition because Mr. Fomin taught her to play the harp. He is indeed sick. And the situation is not good. Maria wanted to go see him, but he has an infectious disease."

Since he was hired by the Royal Theatre, he actually still had a certain income. Although he was not as rich as Mozart, he was not doing too badly either.

However, there are still many musicians of this era who are not satisfied with their performance.

When Paul thought of this, he suddenly remembered the Arabian horse that Orlov first introduced, and whose skeleton was finally kept and carefully preserved in his stable.

The most important thing about a musician is his works.

"It's an infectious disease. His life may be in danger, Your Majesty."

"Yes, so Maria wanted to save all his scores, which are kept at the Royal Theatre. There is an opera in it, the Story of the Golden Apple, which has just been completed but has not yet premiered."

"Your Majesty, if it's the golden apple, it's the story of Paris and the three ancient Greek goddesses."

"Yes, the golden apple is not a good omen. And this story takes place in Troy, whose location is not even confirmed. Where is this place?"

"Perhaps in Türkiye, your majesty."

"But it's just a story. I'm not stupid enough to stop the show just because it takes place in Turkish territory."

Solovyov couldn't tell any jokes because Yan Laoxi was no longer around, but Paul himself had already grasped the essence of a certain character in the crosstalk.

"But this play is very interesting. Iphigenia is related to Troy, and there is also a legend from the Athenians that claims that this poor girl was taken to Chersonesus."

"Your Majesty, that's a play by Aeschylus. When Crimea was still called Taurica, although it was far away from the mainstream European world, it had close ties with mainland Greece. If you sailed along the shore of the Black Sea, you would reach the destination."

"That's right. There is a close connection. How did the Greeks come to Crimea? There are many Greeks living there now. They should have come from Mithridates' Pontus or from Byzantium?"

"The name of Cape Chersonesus must come from Greek, right? If we dig there, we might find out."

"If we dig, we may find something. We may find something on that cape, but in Crimea, more importantly, Sevastopol and the Black Sea Fleet. Besides that, there is Odessa."

When he mentioned Odessa, he thought of Potemkin, but now his hatred for Prince Potemkin was not as serious as when he first ascended the throne.

"Potemkin's nieces all married well. Countess Skafronskaya was his favorite, and Alexei's favorite too. If he had begged his mother more, he might have been married long ago. I know that he couldn't walk when he saw a pretty girl with a big breast. Madam, you have two daughters. Pasha, you proposed yesterday, didn't you?"

"Yes, I proposed to Maria. Both sisters are lovely, but I can only choose one."

"When Alexander and Constantine got married, they also chose one of the sisters. My mother liked the three Saxon sisters very much at that time and wanted to keep them all, but only one could be Constantine's wife, so only the youngest, Juliana, was kept."

"Your Majesty, you mean Her Highness Anna?"

"Yes, but this useless boy, who beats his wife at home, is not a village man. This is really shameful. The whole of Petersburg knows about it. Pasha, you have to love your wife, understand?"

"I know that, Your Majesty."

Paul doesn't have the auspicious physique that would mess up the marriage of that adviser. He is just giving instructions to the cavalry major general whom he has high hopes for.

"Those two guys out there don't even have wives. Mikhail often plays with Ekaterina, but it's a pity that my sweetheart is not yet old enough to get married. The King of Bavaria wants to propose marriage, but it's too hasty now."

The same goes for Prince Peter. None of the three brothers have formally discussed marriage.

"Your Majesty, don't look at me either. I am the youngest officer on duty today."

"I know, you 'little hunter', but I also saw the little one crying in your arms. But you two seem like good friends, definitely not lovers, I can still tell that."

"Your Majesty, I don't want to get married too early. I still have a lot of things to do."

Paul laughed when he heard this.

"I know you still have a lot of things to do. How are the grenades and Molotov cocktails going?"

"Your Majesty, don't worry. Now that I'm back, the grenade will be ready soon. As for the Molotov cocktail, the only problem to be solved is the ignition. The formula itself is not a big deal."

He is still very confident about this.

(End of this chapter)