Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 112: News from the Money-loving Count Kutaisov
The only monument currently erected on the Field of Mars is the obelisk in memory of Marshal Rumyantsev, which was erected in 1799.

Creating a monument for Marshal Suvorov posed a difficult problem for the artists.

There is no other reason. After looking at Suvorov's portrait, you will know that he is a thin old man. Even when he was in good health, he looked very skinny, not the great commander that people want to see.

In fact, when making the monument, the sculptor Mikhail Kozlovsky did not refer to the image of Suvorov himself at all, but made it into the shape of an ancient Greek-Roman hero.

When Paul saw the design of the monument, he was quite satisfied, but he did not show it to the Grand Marshal himself, as that would have been a waste of time.

Suvorov saw this and could only make some abstract remarks on his sickbed to express his dissatisfaction.

This pair of king and minister, who have always had conflicts, sometimes still maintain a tacit understanding between them.

This doesn't look like the real person, it just has a symbolic meaning and reflects more of the sculptor's own style.

If it was given to the second daughter Elena who knew painting, she probably wouldn't give it any good reviews, but would compliment it for the sake of her father.

Besides, this young lady has recently become fascinated by cartoons, which in this era are satirical cartoons rather than comic strips. When she arrives in Mecklenburg, she wants to recruit a group of cartoonists who work for newspapers to create her own work book, which is said to be for herself and her children.

Looking at her stroking her bulging belly, and considering her age, she is basically a big child. It is inevitable that she would show it to herself, not to mention that good things should be shared with sisters.

As for comics, they were mentioned when Solovyov was communicating with His Highness at 23 Kryukov Canal. However, he also knew that he had no talent for painting and could only come up with some concepts.

Speaking of which, he saw the content drawn in the British tabloids and remembered that there could actually be other ways to spread culture. However, there has never been such a thing as Superman, so no matter how much one knows, there will inevitably be omissions.

What's more, he was half-baked in many aspects, so he wrote to Elena because this princess still understood art.

The comics she wanted to create were based on stories from Greek mythology. Who could blame her for being named after the queen? Although it is pronounced the same way in Russian, the more formal name is Helen, so you know her name comes from Troy.

In fact, the first four children of this family have very strong meanings.

After seeing His Highness's reply, Solovyov was pushing Suvorov to the garden to bask in the sun.

"You have been communicating with the princes in the palace, Misha."

"Yes, Alexander Vasilyevich, when I was in the palace, although I was an officer, I was assigned a lot of work to take care of children."

"You do have some wonderful ideas sometimes, but don't be too distracted. You still need to be focused on your achievements. If the First Consul of France had been distracted too much by matters other than military affairs, he would not have been able to fully display his talents on the battlefield."

"You're talking about this again. What we should do today is to get some sun. And the weather is warm today, so I told the doctor that getting some sun like this will be good for your recovery."

"Are you an Egyptian?"

Suvorov liked to say strange things, and his words made Solovyov think for a while, but he couldn't think of the answer.

"You say I am an Egyptian. From what book do you draw your conclusions?"

"I heard that the ancient Egyptians didn't wear any hats or headscarves when they were young, while the Persians wore headscarves when they were young. This made the Egyptians' skulls look thicker."

At this point, Solovyov realized that what the Grand Marshal said was an unconfirmed rumor in Herodotus' "History", but there is a way to verify it.

"I just think that the sun is shining and giving off heat, and absorbing some of that heat in the spring is good for the body."

"That makes some sense, I need to gather some energy. But I guess I'm really old."

He is still speaking clearly, but he is weak and a little drowsy. Considering his age and the fact that he is seriously ill, this is inevitable.

But one thing should also be noted, that is, no tsar in history lived to his age, neither before nor after, and the closest one was the empress.

“You should too.”

Solovyov also found that the Marshal had fallen asleep with his head tilted in the cushion of the special wheelchair.

He was indeed tired due to his old age and could only be a "sleepy marshal" at the moment. According to the doctor's advice, he should go back to bed in half an hour.

As for the stories he wanted to hear, he didn't always have the energy to finish listening to them.

That afternoon, the Tsar's favorite and state secretary, Count Kutaisov, came to visit. He came to visit the patient and would report to the Tsar when he returned.

"Count, the Grand Marshal is a little tired today and slept for a long time. He was still feverish yesterday, but it has subsided today. I even pushed him to the garden this morning."

"That's good, Major. I'm here to ask questions on behalf of the Emperor. If the Field Marshal keeps sleeping like this, I can only wait. After all, he is so old and sick. From his past performance, I also know that he will not pretend to sleep like Count Kutuzov, and always make himself look energetic."

"Yes, wait here. I'll ask Uncle Proshka to get you some drinks."

"Just brew some good black tea. You seem to have a lot of experience in caring for patients."

"During the Battle of Novi, I got a bite from shrapnel in my leg."

"From the writing style, it seems that you wrote the anonymous petition. Why do you want to hide your ability? The emperor likes you very much. There is no need to do this when it is good for both nobles and commoners." "How old am I? If I add too much firewood when burning the stove, it will either burn the stove or cause thick smoke. Neither of these is a good thing."

"Ah, you are very cunning. No wonder the Grand Marshal said you are as cunning as a fox. But you are loyal to the Emperor, reliable around the Grand Marshal, and take care of the princes. You have been to all the places in the palace where you can show your face. If everyone in the palace was like you, there wouldn't be so many people vying for favor."

Kutaisov himself didn't care. As long as Tsar Paul was there, his position could not be shaken. Moreover, as a Turkish prisoner, he was able to reach his current position entirely by relying on his ability to read people's minds in the palace.

At first he thought Solovyov was on the same track as him, but he found out that this guy was able to tinker with all kinds of new weapons and wanted to pursue a military career. After he came back, he was promoted to battalion commander of the Guards, so he was no longer in competition with him.

Even when he was arranging the wedding of his son Pavel, he also thought about finding a husband for his 13-year-old daughter Maria. In this regard, he was optimistic about Vladimir, Count Vasilyev's nephew of the Minister of Finance.

The biggest benefit for him was that he could make as much money as he wanted in the position of the Tsar's State Secretary. The reason why Paul never touched him was that, on the one hand, this loyal servant had worked for him for thirty years and they had a deep relationship; on the other hand, he never took money directly from the treasury, but took advantage of the Tsar's favor to buy estates in remote areas and gain benefits from bribes from all sides.

This greedy guy had no way to deal with the Grand Marshal, who had a high reputation but was extremely poor and had just paid off his debts. However, he had always observed the old man's words and expressions and knew that the old man would not give him even a kopeck. He also had some respect for him, so as a court official, he wanted to please the old general.

This is not a problem, because the Grand Marshal has now handed over his military power. When Kutaisov had a good relationship with him before, Suvorov did not have military power. This is not a taboo in both China and Russia.

But when it came to money to Solovyov, he was not so polite.

Although the major of the Guards had no business asking him to do anything, this little baron, who owned a village, had some property as he and his father worked for Count Bobulinski.

Whenever the count saw him, he sometimes needed to use some things to deal with him, and Solovyov was no exception.

"I didn't manage to get anything new, so consider this a gift for your daughter Maria."

"Everyone knows you can pick things and coax children. If you wear this necklace at the engagement ceremony, it would be very suitable. But Maria is still too young."

"But the girl from Prince Lopukhin's family that your son is going to marry is only sixteen this year. Was she fourteen when she got engaged?"

"Haha, you really got it right."

However, Kutaisov, because of the mischief of several female grand duchesses, had the servants strip Solovyov of his military uniform in the locker room and put him in women's clothes. As Solovyov looked more delicate and even more like a girl, he mistakenly believed that the major's sexual orientation was unclear.

Considering that there was already a handsome crown prince with some feminine features in the palace, it was barely acceptable to have a major who had not yet fully grown up. There was also Prince Golitsyn, who obviously did not like women, so it was not surprising to have another one like him.

However, Solovyov had always been avoiding Prince Golitsyn, who did not like women. He did not know that he had caused the count to be known as someone who did not like women.

After all, such a petite blonde girl with big breasts and a big butt cried in his arms for a long time. It was outside the guard time that night, so something should have happened, but nothing happened.

The count gave a rumor that the major commander of the 1st Battalion of the Guards did not seem to have much interest in women.

Such rumors had been going around since he had dressed up as a woman, and the gossipy count had spread them further, although no one had connected him with the situation with Prince Golitsyn.

After waiting for a long time, Suvorov woke up and saw Kutaisov coming here.

Although the nobles in St. Petersburg were dissatisfied with the fact that such a "Figaro" beside the Tsar became a count and secretary of state, Suvorov's opinion of him was not as strong as others.

And since he came here like this, he must have something to ask.

But Suvorov had nothing to say. He just mentioned: "I have nothing to say to the emperor. If I have anything to say in the future, I will say it to God when I am called by God."

"Your Majesty, is there anything else the Grand Marshal needs?"

"The Emperor has forgiven my debts and is going to erect a statue on the Champ de Mars. That's enough. I just ask the Emperor to note that when Marshal Rumyantsev and Prince Potemkin were the commanders of the Russian army, we were running like wild Russian hares. I have said before that when we reform the army, we should adopt the advantages of others instead of writing them down according to the drill manual. As for personal issues, the Emperor has graciously approved my personal will. That's enough."

Then he lay down again, and his condition indeed became worse.

Solovyov went to see the guests off, and left the affairs of the palace to the loyal old servant Dubasov.

Count Kutaisov was also very talkative and he mentioned Tsar Paul's arrangements for Suvorov.

Korsakov's previous attempt to shift the blame was immediately bounced back by Grand Duke Constantine and Solovyov. In addition, the problems of the conspiracy group and the generals on duty were no longer a problem because of the illness of the Grand Marshal.

"The marriage that the Field Marshal arranged for his son Arkady is not something that even someone like me who makes a living by pleasing the Emperor at court would approve of. The princess is already 19 years old, three years older than the little prince, and the girl is said to be pregnant. I have to say that this is a strange arrangement."

After hearing this, Soloviev realized that it was not just in St. Petersburg, but in this circle that the scene was so explosive. Wilhelmina, the daughter of the Duke of Courland, could be said to be a great beauty. When Soloviev was with the field marshal, he had seen her portrait and they were also discussing whether this marriage was feasible.

However, this girl had an affair with her mother's lover and tutor, General Armfeldt, but the outside world knew very little about it. The courts on the Baltic coast were not like those in St. Petersburg, where any news would be exposed quickly.

It must be that the Field Marshal is ill now, otherwise Arkady would have had a lovely sister with a chubby belly as his bride.

The Field Marshal also had an interest in the daughter of the Duke of Courland and Sagan, the eldest daughter of Duke Peter von Byron, the heiress to a fortune of 300 million thalers and a large tract of land, and was said to have good personal knowledge and character. Judging from her letters and poems, she was certainly talented, but her personal character was not good.
"How did you hear this news?"

"I intend to have good relations with the ministers around the emperor, so I arranged for someone to inquire. But the Grand Marshal is so ill, I can't tell him. You are the only outsider around His Highness who can keep secrets. Prince Bagration's hot temper is really worrying. He can't keep secrets and may do something dangerous. Besides, the emperor is preparing to arrange a marriage for him, and there must be no mistakes at this time."

Of course, the two of them probably didn't know that there would be more explosive things to come, they just said it casually. And Wilhelmina also left Hamburg and went to Silesia. After her father died, she was arranging the funeral and the wedding date would be postponed until after May.

(End of this chapter)