Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

This time, being his official inauguration, Solovyov will proceed with his inspection tour as is customary for governors.

Doing this job always reminds people of the imperial envoy, which is also a traditional Russian play. Even the Tsar wouldn't ban it; he would give it a thumbs up.

Moreover, he appeared to be an imperial envoy, but when he traveled, he looked like a retired colonel.

That was relatively easy. He changed into a Guards uniform, looking like a retired officer, and rode off to Georgia with his entourage.

Although these Kalmyks wanted to send him a few attendants and ensure his safety on the journey.

However, Solovyov declined the suggestion. He went to the Cossacks in Kuban, found a few companions, and set off for Georgia.

The war between the Ottomans and Persia was nearing its end, and Georgia, despite being so close to the battlefield, seemed largely unaffected.

The reason is simple: the two countries are too busy fighting each other, and Russia's strength is undeniable. Although they are verbally abusive, neither country dares to do anything rash.

"Sir, the Vladikavkaz Fortress is just ahead. Shall we stop here today?"

"Don't rush when you're traveling and climbing mountains. Take a good rest first and make some reserves."

When Solovyov arrived in the Caucasus, even as a colonel, he was someone these garrison commanders needed to curry favor with.

After all, the lords of the Imperial Guard rarely come here.

When Solovyov visited Yermolov before, he went to the front line in the Azerbaijani direction and did not come here. Some people know his name, but many people do not know his appearance.

The Vladicaucasus Fortress is located in North Ossetia, where the majority of the inhabitants are Alans. Since the Roman Empire, the area has provided high-quality cavalry, and the locals are brave and warlike.

The caravans we saw along the way were all heavily armed here. The reason was simple: the traditional financial and commercial sectors of the Caucasus needed to be more vigilant against them.

That's right, there are an absurd number of bandits here.

Solovyov even saw many people in the garrison's prison, but rarely caught any bandits.

"How is this going?"

“If we want to catch those bandits, we need to send men into the mountains. That way, there won’t be many people guarding the fortress. Besides, they won’t provoke the garrison of a large fortress. If the Terek Cossacks receive the mission, sir, they will go into the mountains.”

"I understand your situation. Are you Georgian?"

"Yes, I am a Georgian nobleman."

How long have you been in service?

"I've been an officer for twenty-two years now."

“I can understand why they’re not going into the mountains but staying here to guard the fortress. But how come so few of these people who were captured are bandits?”

“There are always those who resist taxes. Georgian serfs are different from those elsewhere; they are relatively freer, and some lords even rent their land to serfs. But, sir, as you know, there are some tricks involved when it comes to collecting taxes. After all, Georgia has been Russian territory for a much shorter time than we Georgian nobles have served in Russia.”

“That’s true. The prisoners here are managed quite well. I’ve punished some people in Crimea before. They couldn’t even manage a prison properly. We need to make sure these prisoners know what mistakes they’ve made. We’re here on behalf of the victims to discipline them and bring them to justice.”

Of course, Solovyov himself didn't say the next thing: the more laws there are, the worse the local security is.

And this Estrov, whose Russian name is like this, was indeed a traditional Georgian nobleman. His relatives even lost their heads along with Prince Tsichyanov during the Baku surrender incident.

Although the prison in his fortress was strictly managed, the food rations were sufficient, and no mental injection techniques were used on prisoners unless they committed serious offenses.

The problem is that most of those imprisoned here are serfs, and most of them have participated in tax resistance movements.

Then an even more troublesome thing happened for Solovyov: although he recognized the Georgian alphabet, upon closer examination, there were still many parts he didn't understand.

After all, the intellectuals among the Bagration Princes were probably from their own independent Georgian kingdom, or from the later Soviet Union period, where a few poets emerged.

These people are all soldiers. It's already quite good that Solovyov can recognize some Georgian; many Georgian nobles don't necessarily know as much as he does.

However, he had never practiced this language before, so he found a local priest to help him translate.

The serfs here don't necessarily speak Russian. If you're lucky, one or two unlucky ones might have been former stewards of their masters and could say a few words.

Solovyov was prepared to personally interrogate these prisoners to see if any of them were innocent.

The garrison commander is only responsible for imprisonment; the trial is a matter for the court.

The first few cases I saw involved minor fights; if Li Kui were to solve them, he would probably be able to figure them out.

Those who resort to violence, if they can't win, go home and practice a few moves; if they win, do they dare to fight someone even stronger?

If he only uses his fists, Solovyov might be at a disadvantage due to his height and size, but as long as he has a weapon, his fighting ability will increase with the attack range of the weapon.

After interrogating some of the prisoners, Solovyov arranged for those who were innocent to go home and sent a formal document to the court that had tried them, explaining the situation.

The idea of ​​seeking compensation from the governor and the state was quite novel. These simple, honest farmers, upon hearing that they could be released without charge and go home, were already grateful to the magistrate for being so impartial.

It's hard to believe that someone dressed as a Guards colonel is actually a general, a count, and a favorite of the emperor, a gentleman who knows many people in Georgia.

Those who made minor mistakes are easier to deal with.

Finally, we come to an important part: those who led the resistance against taxes.

They weren't necessarily bad people; it's possible that the tax laws were poorly enforced, that local authorities had increased exorbitant taxes, or that a tax levy had sprung up during a year of famine. Solovyov was different from others; nationalism wasn't so prevalent at that time, and many monarchies still operated under the autocratic system of universal empires.

Otherwise, the Russian emperor wouldn't have had Tatar and German blood.

"My lord, let's call it a day."

“Father, the French emperor only rests for four hours a day. When he goes to bed with his mistress, he has to time it precisely. Sometimes when he is at his mistress’s house, the woman will deliberately adjust the clock in order to keep him longer.”

“But the one you’re talking about is the Emperor of France, and it’s almost time for dinner.”

"Then let's eat here. As long as it's not Ukrainian cured fatty meat, and the diet should be balanced. Besides, I've heard that Georgians tend to live very long lives if they don't encounter any disasters?"

"It's also related to our environment. Sometimes we see elderly people who are over seventy and still healthy. It's all because of the good environment in the mountains."

"This place is really nice. I might buy a manor here someday, preferably near the sea."

“If you’re looking for a place like this, Sukhumi would probably be a good fit, but you’d have to cross the mountains to get there.”

Sukhumi was in Abkhazia, a place Solovyov knew about, and he even always carried a map in his luggage and backpack.

"You have to cross the mountains. In the territory of the Turks and Persians, there are also many Georgians and Armenians, right? Some of them have converted to religion. When I was in Bulgaria, the people who came to the bathhouses were not only Christians, but also Muslims. They were very clean and their lives were not much different from those of the Romans."

However, Roman bathhouses offered many such services, and some even specialized in this type of business.

Of course, if a French painter were to paint it, what about the scenery?
Solovyov had seen him before; he was talking casually here, waiting for his meal, and then he would call the next prisoner.

"What's this name, Zaza? Is he Italian? There's a problem with the spelling at the end. Sometimes our officers really need to pay attention to spelling. Just because the French emperor's spelling was terrible doesn't mean a soldier can misspell words. Napoleon had staff officers and secretaries, and the communications chief was my son-in-law. Gentlemen, you officers may have adjutants, but you still need to get the spelling right."

“Zhaza is indeed this person’s name, sir.”

"So what about the surname? Never mind that for now. Just bring that person here. If the prisoners need to eat at this hour, a few pieces of bread and some smoked meat won't make a difference. This smoked fish looks pretty good."

"Sir, this is a specialty from a nearby village. Apart from being a bit salty, it's pretty good."

"This stuff needs to be salty to keep. Okay, let's get that guy here."

Then, a farmer was brought out of prison, and the way he grew his beard left a deep impression on Solovyov.

Sometimes, the genes that determine a person's appearance are just that powerful.

Fortunately, he had met Rokossovsky, Manstein, Falkenhausen, and Levinsky. He had also met his lawyer father, a bearded old master craftsman, and his tailor grandfather, a bald mentor.

Now it's the turn of the "ruthless bandit" great-grandfather, who is also a kind-hearted but iron-willed father. All I can say is that his beard is quite well-groomed.

"When I see these people, the things they spell out sound awkward to me. They don't sound like Georgian surnames at all, but the given names should be correct."

"Yes, sir. But we don't know what you're going to do. We country folk locked up here are all at your beck and call."

“I am the governor-general sent by the Emperor to oversee the entire south, although I am only wearing the uniform of a Guards colonel. I am Mikhail Solovyov. Many of the gentlemen here, though they live in St. Petersburg, are my friends and colleagues. Please introduce yourself; you seem like an acquaintance of mine in Gori.”

“Sir, if you mention my name, it is Zaza Dzhugashvili. I was imprisoned here because I led my fellow villagers to help you resist taxes, including our own poll tax.”

It was indeed a surname that sounded very familiar. It was the surname of the famous Caucasian banker before he started using an alias. His beard and face shape made him look like the man himself, who was around forty years old, but slightly thinner. However, his arms looked very strong, so he must have been a skilled farmer.

"If it's a problem with the tax farmers, I, as the governor, will take care of it. Your master has also been taxed, and even overpaid. You can submit a petition! Since it involves your master, a petition can always be submitted. Georgia is different from other places; there are no old, harsh laws here, and the officials are all newly appointed. Which master doesn't have connections?"

Solovyov found it strange that the petition could not be submitted.

In Georgia, there must be something going on. Yermolov is mainly in charge of military affairs, so even if he were in charge, Solovyov could figure it out. A general who has made great contributions doesn't even have the money to get married; he's just keeping a local girl in the Caucasus.

He's so poor, he wouldn't do something like that.

There are quite a few debts owed outside, and the creditors will come knocking on the door to collect the money. It's quite strange that the cunning Yermolov doesn't know how to use the land-hanging trick.

So the real problem probably lies with the local officials.

And what kind of family tradition or corporate culture is this?

Zaza Dzhugashvili was arrested once in 1805, and later worked as a shepherd for the Georgian nobleman Ilizbar. Recently, he was unlucky enough to be arrested twice more for resisting taxes.

It was only because he was arrested three times that he was not thrown into the Tbilisi prison, but instead imprisoned in the Vladikavkaz fortress.

If there were problems with the officials, Solovyov could imagine it, because he often dealt with such a group of people in Crimea, and the tax collectors below must also have problems.

Moreover, it was the last king of Georgia who voluntarily requested to become part of Russia, and it was the documents signed before Paul's assassination that confirmed the annexation of Georgian lands belonging to the Kakheti lineage.

However, after Alexander reaffirmed this, although the Georgian nobles generally performed well, such taxes and economic benefits would inevitably cause problems in the future.

Even if the lord and the serfs unite to resist taxes, the lord will naturally be fine, but those who farm, herd sheep, or have skills, who do not have noble status, will naturally be arrested.

Some of the better lords might even offer them some shelter.

Zaza's family was taken in by the nephew of his first master, Lord Machaberi, a nobleman who had fled from Persia.

No wonder these serfs stood with their masters when they resisted taxes.

Solovyov needed to teach these unruly tax farmers a lesson, but he still needed to go to Tbilisi himself. (End of Chapter)