Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

With Vorontsov and Pushkin arriving together, even Solovyov found it difficult to remain composed.

They used to be friends, but Pushkin, that guy, he's always been a bit of a troublemaker; he's never well-behaved even when he's at home.

Vorontsov only gave him a slight slap on the wrist, which was already incredibly lenient.

Of course, there was also the factor that he was unwilling to offend the Tsar.

No matter how reckless Pushkin was, he maintained close relationships with the royal family and various commanders. Moreover, his wife, Goncharova, was the daughter of a former lady-in-waiting to the Empress, and they had close ties within the court.

The fact that these two people traveled together as imperial envoys was indeed quite interesting.

Count Alexander Stroganov was serving as the garrison commander in Tabriz, and what they saw here was this important military town in northwestern Persia, with somewhat deserted streets.

"How is this going?"

"We are under martial law here, and we are in a border area, so it's natural that this is the case."

"It's a pity, I heard that the Persian kings used to stay here often."

Pushkin said this, and Stroganov could only shrug.

"That's right. This is also a military stronghold. The Persians stationed troops here to guard against the Ottoman Empire. We station troops here to ensure the transportation route to Isfahan. There happens to be a group of Cossacks going to Isfahan, and you two can travel with them."

"But the prince mentioned that the social order in Persia is currently good."

"That was his own optimistic estimate, and after communicating with the Shia elders, the core region of the Iranian plateau was able to stabilize. It's not safe to travel from here to Isfahan via mountain roads. If you're going to Tehran, the security there is excellent."

Since Stroganov had said so, Vorontsov and Pushkin set off for Isfahan.

Solovyov didn't make many preparations for the reception; he simply did things as usual.

But the subordinate officials seemed to be on high alert.

"Your Excellency, why don't you do more preparatory work?"

"What is there to prepare? They are just two imperial envoys coming to Isfahan for an inspection. We have done a good job here. All we need is a decent welcome."

Here, Solovyov was somewhat out of touch with the bureaucrats, both the Persian and Russian bureaucrats, each with their own ideas.

Russian bureaucrats hoped to curry favor with Count Vorontsov and leave Prince Solovyov, who, as the Persian viceroy, was too strict in his management. Even some officials who received first-class performance evaluations had thoughts of leaving.

The Persian officials, on the other hand, had a much simpler approach. Just as they had done in the past to curry favor with the Shahs, governors, and officials at all levels, they hoped to secure a higher position for themselves in the future.

Because they were Persians, Solovyov's strict management, though harsh, resulted in much better pay and benefits than under the Shah.

They simply hoped that, in addition to the incorruptible vice-prince Solovyov, they could also get a few kind words from the imperial envoy, since their evaluation was in Solovyov's hands, but their promotion might still depend on the Tsar.

They actually hoped that the Tsar could appoint a Shah, but unfortunately there wasn't one in Persia at the moment.

That's the situation. After hearing this, Solovyov couldn't help but chuckle.

"Ha, if that's the case, you're all living too comfortably. After welcoming the imperial envoy, you can relax for a few days. Those who want to take leave or take care of other matters can take turns. Those on duty can also take a vacation after those who have taken leave return."

Solovyov's arrangement satisfied both the Russian and Persian bureaucrats, who were finally given a chance to rest.

Solovyov himself, in Isfahan, insisted on working 12 hours a day, and also reading and processing letters. Some people behind his back said that after he turned fifty, he had given up his lust.

However, to be fair, he was not entirely satisfied, as Katya's letter also mentioned her personal health condition.

Considering that Mrs. Stael was still able to have children at 45, Katya was truly a fierce Siberian golden shaggy dog. Solovyov himself felt that time flew by.

She also said that the younger children are growing up well and he doesn't need to worry, but the children also hope that their father can come back to St. Petersburg, even if it's just for a few days.

Solovyov himself proposed a compromise: Katya, Mihrima, and the children should all go to Tbilisi.

Before she knew it, even her second and third daughters had gotten married, and their husbands were both civil officials, arranged by Katya.

The reason is simple: although the officer was very promising, if it weren't for his father-in-law's help, Lisa would probably have lived with him in the mountains for the rest of her life.

Out of concern for her daughters, Katya personally consulted with several honest but also well-off civil officials, and the children agreed to the marriage.

Solovyov was too far from home, so he had his younger brother Vasily officiate the wedding in his place.

There are many destabilizing factors among military personnel, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also has people like Pushkin who are capable of courting disaster.

He had long since left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was now a court attendant. Nikolai knew that this classmate was unreliable; apart from literature and creating a lively atmosphere, he was incompetent in many other ways but had a lot of addictions.

However, being a poet in the court, making short trips to various places, and occasionally undertaking diplomatic missions were more suitable for Pushkin.

He's really not suited for any in-depth work, and he can't go on inspections alone; if he gets fooled, it'll be quite a mess.

Fortunately, they had come to Solovyov. Outside Isfahan, they had already seen the bustling trade and thriving businesses.

"Looks quite good, Earl."

“Stroganov wouldn’t lie to us; his father was my old comrade-in-arms.”

In a sense, Pushkin and Stroganov were of the same generation, while Vorontsov was one of the younger members of the previous generation.

Pushkin would mock him, sometimes calling him a British guy.

Vorontsov secretly thought that Pushkin wouldn't dare to misbehave at the Solovyov's house, given his dual status as mentor and superior, especially since his mother's side—the descendants of General Hannibal—had a good relationship with Solovyov. His in-laws also had a good relationship with the Solovyovs; after Goncharov's mental breakdown, when they lived in St. Petersburg, Katya had even visited her unfortunate friend on behalf of her husband.

Besides, why does he like to seduce other people's wives so much?
Natasha was already quite good; as a wife, she knew how to respect herself. Even if someone tried to seduce her, even if it was the Tsar, she would find a way to refuse. In this respect, she was very much like the mother of the Count of Tabriz. What's even more remarkable is that Nikolai and Pushkin, having become classmates, actually developed a closer relationship.

Nikolai was somewhat like his older brother, wanting to develop a relationship with his friend's wife, and Goncharova was relatively younger, only a 21-year-old young woman at the time.

The Nikolai couple also vaguely learned about the relationship between their master and sister-in-law from the diary and documents left behind by their sister-in-law.

He's truly a good younger brother to his elder brother and a good student to his master; they have similar tastes and interests.

However, Nikolai was better than Alexander. After Goncharova clearly rejected the Emperor's advances, he began to act as her protector, advising her to avoid conflict, which was to restore history. Nikolai did the same.

If that's the case, Nikolai probably wouldn't want Dantes and Pushkin to duel.

What's even more problematic is that these two men are brothers-in-law in history, so it's impossible that they don't know each other. This kind of dispute is quite intriguing.

“You know, Earl, there’s an old fortune teller who said I would encounter a calamity before I turn forty. If I survive this calamity, I will rise to great heights. Before that, I will also be able to have wealth and status.”

That's true.

Vorontsov wanted to mock him, but he was afraid that the boy was better at talking than him.

As they spoke, Solovyov, dressed in a Persian robe, appeared with his Persian retinue and Russian guards.

“Look at Darius, what a fine man.”

Pushkin interrupted, overshadowing Vorontsov, even though Vorontsov was the chief envoy, a general, and a count, whose status was clearly higher than Pushkin's as the deputy envoy and a fifth-rank court attendant.

But his words were perfectly timed.

"Sasha, this isn't a good idea."

"You are dressed like a Persian. Apart from your boots, it is also clear that you are a Russian prince and a field marshal."

"It's nothing. To win over the Persians here, you have to respect their customs. I don't dress like this every day."

If you go to India

"Spare me, Mikhail Semyonovich. India is a clean and hygienic place. It's fortunate that Russia hasn't been hit by the plague, because we changed our water supply strategy a few years ago."

"Yes, the British have suffered a lot. I mentioned this when I wrote to my sister. There was no problem in the Russian community in London, but cholera was really rampant around London for a while."

If Solovyov hadn't intervened, unrest would have occurred in Russia, possibly accompanied by a double whammy of military settlement rebellions and plague, not to mention Poland wouldn't have calmed down either.

Therefore, it was still Grand Duke Constantine who was in Warsaw at this time.

Solovyov hoped that the crown prince would grow up quickly so that Nicholas could send Grand Prince Mikhail and some nobles to succeed him. He was also getting tired of living in Persia for so long.

But he couldn't show it yet; when Vorontsov and Pushkin were received here, they were treated very well.

After the group entered Isfahan, Vorontsov was also scheduled to attend the Persian Empire Parliament meeting held there.

This involves budgets and taxes, which are areas that Nikolai is concerned about.

Russia's southern expedition conquered vast territories, but the immediate wealth it could bring was minimal. Although he trusted Solovyov and knew what his teacher could bring to Persia, he still needed to verify the information.

At this meeting, Solovyov gave a speech, which was met with prolonged applause.

That's pretty much the feeling: \O/\O/\O/\O/\O/
However, Solovyov always begins by stating that under the benevolent rule of Tsar Nicholas Pavlovich, Persia has achieved significant economic progress this year.
In short, the report was quite comprehensive, and Vorontsov listened to it for a long time without having any questions.

Those people in St. Petersburg were just jealous of Solovyov's achievements in Persia. They needed his ability to conquer such a vast territory in one fell swoop.

But those people, they can only say flattering things in the palace, it's quite difficult to actually get them to do any work.

Solovyov was still here voting on the next year's budget, but he was using the Islamic calendar because most members of parliament were Shia Muslims. There were two exclusive seats for Jews and two for Zoroastrians, and some others were represented according to ethnic proportions.

Vorontsov thought this method was excellent, and even that Solovyov's approach was the real constitutionalism, while the Decembrists' clamor for constitutional monarchy was indeed not as effective.

But it seems that Solovyov's gestures when he speaks always resemble those of someone in Rome.

Vorontsov couldn't help but think of Solovyov's romantic escapades in Italy when he was young. His father was still alive and now enjoying his retirement in Italy.

Italy is also on the list of major overseas settlements for Russians.

Russians themselves have always compared themselves to the Third Rome. Even when Yuri Dolgoruky founded Moscow, he identified seven hills that corresponded to Rome.

Solovyov's several southern campaigns were too Roman.

However, he has always lacked ambition beyond his abilities.

Therefore, what he needs to do is probably to return home as a triumphant hero, now that the situation here is settled, and find a relatively easy job.

It's important to understand that handling a large volume of official work while maintaining high efficiency is often beyond human capabilities.
Solovyov's work ethic was far superior to Nikolai's, and while he couldn't compare to the professional civil servant Speransky, he had surpassed that of many local officials.

Even someone as physically fit as him would find it difficult to maintain a good level of performance on the job for an extended period due to such a workload.

Therefore, when Solovyov later hosted a banquet, he also put forward his personal ideas.

Once Pasha returns from Kabul with the diplomatic agreement with Afghanistan and the affairs on the Persian side are settled, he will ask the Tsar to arrange for a suitable person to come to Isfahan to take over his work.

Even an Iron Man needs rest.

Solovyov's attitude was also clear: retreat, retreat, retreat resolutely. He could then leisurely serve as an advisor in St. Petersburg for a while. (End of Chapter)