Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The place where Pierre held the banquet was all too familiar to Solovyov.

This is where he first arrived, the Volkonsky House, which has changed owners several times.

Pierre recently bought this place and moved in.

"The first time I came to Moscow on business, I came here."

General Grushetsky was one of his father's former superiors, and what's even more ironic is that he was also Katya's great-uncle, though he had passed away twenty years ago.

Compared to nearly forty years ago, things have indeed changed, but even when the people have changed, my friend's family still lives here.

"Is it a coincidence of fate, Misha?"

“Yes, Pierre. But it’s quite interesting that this place now belongs to you. Your relationship with Prince Volkonsky is probably not as close as mine.”

"That's true, but as you know, after our house in Moscow was destroyed by fire, I had Natasha take the children and frequently travel between Ryazan and Moscow."

"At least we can finally settle down here. By the way, how's your railway business going? I heard you've always wanted to develop more powerful locomotives?"

"That's true. The current speed from Moscow to St. Petersburg is too slow; it needs to be faster."

“It’s necessary. Russia is still too big. If it were the British, they might not have such an urgent need. Let’s talk about the future. What should the future be like? Andrei has been gone for so many years. The only time we talked was when we were at the railway company.”

“Well, to be honest, you’re right. I haven’t participated in any secret society activities, and I’ve been in Moscow doing charity work and busy with my personal career, which has already taken a toll on my energy.”

"But what you've done is a great undertaking. How much of Russia's railway network you've invested in, Pierre, is clearly beneficial to the people. Even the journey from Kazan to Moscow is no longer the long, dusty, snowy, and turbulent road it once was."

"Misha, it sounds like you have something to say."

"Yes, yes. We've known each other for thirty years, and this friendship has lasted all this time."

"We will always be friends, until the very end, my friend."

Solovyov sang it out, and he was quite emotional this time.

In his youth, he might have enjoyed copying, but over the years, he rose from second lieutenant to first lieutenant, then continued to climb the ranks, becoming a major under the Tsar, later a colonel, and finally a general after marriage.
Along this journey, many good comrades have left him.

"Pierre, do you have a guitar?"

“I’d like to ask Natasha about that. After her uncle passed away, he left all the musical instruments to us.”

"That uncle also had a balalaika, but I was in the Balkans at the time, not here."

“He’s a cheerful man, Misha. Wait a minute, Natasha, where’s Uncle’s guitar?”

"Pierre, it's in the cabinet in the concert hall. What do you need the guitar for?"

"It's nothing. Misha just thought of a piece of music. He's probably going to express some sentiments again."

“Our Prince has not played in a long time. Pierre, I’ll go get it. You must take good care of our guest.”

“Natasha is still the same as ever. Apart from getting older, she is still so lively. You and I both have good wives. Although their personalities are very different, they both make silent sacrifices for their husbands.”

Katya may even have more to do.

"Yes, they sacrificed a lot. I feel the same way. Do you know about Dolokhov?"

"Is he going to take another risk? We're all getting on in years. He was pursuing Sonia, which left Nikolai in debt. When I was just a junior officer, my father's annual income was only this much."

“If you hadn’t joined the army, you would probably be a rich man by now and wouldn’t need your father and brothers to help you.”

"But I am a soldier, and I am also very lucky to always get good opportunities by the emperor's side."

Even at this moment, Solovyov was thinking that, just like Pierre's luck in the face of fate, he couldn't help Kuragin escape the troubles because he and Andrei were both in the army at the time, and it was too late for them to come back and do anything.

After the fire in Moscow, Pierre's life took a different turn, and he still managed to help him, thus avoiding trouble with the Decembrists.

Solovyov then wanted to release those people through an amnesty, but Nikolai consistently disagreed.

If Pierre and Andrei's son, Nikolai the Younger, gets involved, things will be unpredictable, and it will probably take even longer to get them out of trouble.

Soon, Natasha brought the guitar.

"It looks like it's rarely used; the strings are a little loose."

“Pierre isn’t very good at musical instruments, and the kids don’t use guitars much either, so that’s about it.”

"But that's good too. If I've adjusted it myself, it should be more accurate."

Solovyov had tried it before. When he was encamped, he would take his balalaika and find a place to play "Sashtushka". Then some veterans would come over and complain, "Sir, please stop playing. We all miss home."

That's why he and Mihrima came up with the idea of ​​"Under the Stars of the Balkans" at that time, which was supposed to boost morale.

In the blink of an eye, even Mihrima was no longer the little girl nestled in his arms.

“Let’s give this a try, Pierre. You listen to this tune too.”

“But I’m not very good at this, while Natasha is very good at it; she loves to dance.”

"Yeah yeah."

After Solovyov started playing the piano, he also began to sing. Now he had let go of many things and was finally able to relax.

As he played, Pierre's servants and guests came over.

Natasha also recalled the past. When she first met Pierre, she was just a little girl. It was a reception her father hosted at home, and many people came to eat. It was her name day before the war started.

Although she doesn't appear often in this book
Solovyov continued playing, and he was even shedding tears.

So many good comrades-in-arms will never come back.

Countless fine young men are buried in foreign lands.

"Misha, I rarely see you shed tears."

"Yes, Pierre."

He put the guitar aside and sat down on the sofa.

The guests, and even the servants in Pierre's household, applauded.

"Thank you, thank you very much, you are all great listeners."

"Have you considered composing some music again, like you did when you were in the palace?"

“Natasha, I may not have that much talent in this area. A person’s energy is limited, how can one always be full of passion for creation?” Besides, he considers himself to have plagiarized, and even when Maria blocked his door, he never put his name on it.

There's an old saying in Belgium: you can't ride a stolen camel.

He's just a porter, and even after more than thirty years, he's still the same.

"But this one is also great. Please don't say those things anymore. I've been living in Ryazan since I was a child and I've never heard these pieces before. You're being too modest."

In other words, Solovyov and Natasha spend relatively little time together, and since she is the daughter of a local nobleman, Maria and the others rarely see her. Otherwise, what I said before would not count.

Maria might even think he's being too modest, when he's clearly a musician.
Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

But the awkward thing wasn't reminiscing about the past, but that his daughter with Maria married Prince William.

That's Emperor William. His son is already three years old. If that's the case, then isn't the great-grandfather who smiled so confidently himself?
This own goal was truly remarkable.

Maria usually stays in Weimar; she's coming back to visit relatives, but it's unclear when.

She might even prefer visiting her sisters and nieces, except for a few who married far away to the Americas, all of whom were within her travel range.

In the blink of an eye, the young men and women of yesteryear have all become old men and women, though they still look quite energetic.

“I think there is still a long road ahead, Pierre.”

"I feel the same way. It's the same from your perspective; I completely empathize."

"Alright, Pierre, you're a sincere person, but you're really not good at describing things in this regard."

That's right, thirty years have passed, and it's still the same.

When the dance was about to begin, Katya and the children arrived, and the atmosphere became even more lively with the whole family there.

But Pasha is not here; he remains in Isfahan.

“Every family has so many people, and we will become even more numerous.”

"Yes, but children aren't like you; they have the right to choose."

Katya is in good health, which is why the two of them have many children. However, being in their forties, they are still in some danger.

"If we want our children to live happily, we can also go back to the countryside, to the shores of Lake Ladoga, away from the hustle and bustle of St. Petersburg."

"You finally have this idea."

"But the Emperor might not agree, and I'm not old enough to go back to my own estate."

Solovyov also knew that Nikolai couldn't do without him for the time being.

At the ball, he danced with Katya and felt that he had regained a lot of energy.

He can now be said to be a free man for the time being, or in Tatar parlance, "Darahan," but only for a period of time.

The younger generation might have some children who are still running around at Pierre's house, while the older ones have already started their own families. The gap between them is quite significant.

Some people are also discussing recent events.

Coincidentally, Europe has been very peaceful lately.

Since the Polish armed uprising in Warsaw, there has been little news about war in Europe, unlike when he was a second lieutenant.

The general who ordered him to set up the troops here has already passed away.

Although Pierre had renovated the house, the layout remained largely unchanged, and time certainly flew by.

However, this is where he begins, and it's not the end yet; the road ahead is still long.

He has already accomplished enough, and he should leave something for future generations; it's impossible for everything to be his.

No matter how great a person is, there are limits to what they can do; they cannot be all-encompassing.

There are some problems he can see, but he can't solve them immediately.

By the time he returned to St. Petersburg, the proportion of serfs in Russia had decreased over the years.

From the perspective of the state's serfs, it is appropriate to take some action to remove the shackles imposed on Russia by this system.

The core issue, in fact, stems from the strengthening of aristocratic power during the reign of the Empress.

From this perspective, Solovyov could certainly offer some opinions. It seems that Russia's strength increased and its territory expanded during the Empress's reign, and the old lady could indeed boast a bit about it.

The problem is, they've been fighting Turks all along, which is nothing to brag about, and in all these times, they've never been killed with a single brick.

The expedition to Persia was not launched during a period of internal turmoil in Persia, thus missing the opportunity.

Solovyov, on the other hand, crushed both of these southern enemies. One lost his European territory and ended up in the ICU, while the other died on the spot and effectively became part of Russia.

Although the two opponents were weak, they were finally defeated this time.

If he were a member of the royal family, he would inevitably have some outrageous remarks about the Queen's past actions.

After all, he knew that the most intense period of the Russian serf uprisings was during the reign of the Empress, when the Volga River basin was even able to deindustrialize, and the serfs even rallied together with the Kazakh herders, causing heavy damage to Russia.

From this perspective, the Empress's achievements were merely superficial and ultimately sowed the seeds of future troubles for Russia.

But she ruled Russia for over thirty years, which is hard to say.

Fortunately, Solovyov joined the army when he was thirteen or fourteen, back when he was still the original Solovyov, not the one he is now.

His major experiences were all intertwined with Paul and his son.

Paul himself couldn't do it, and Alexander wasn't determined to do it either; now the problems all fall on him and Nicholas.

He had already heard in Moscow that Nicholas, as the Tsar and the head of the serf landowners, had repeatedly lashed out at serfdom in the Privy Council, arguing that the serfs should be liberated at the appropriate time.

However, he himself is not yet determined to finish all of these things.

Solovyov still had things to do after he returned, which was also quite troublesome for him.

Because of his relationship with the Tsar himself, this matter is very complicated and cannot be generalized; it requires more official jargon.

This is obviously much more difficult than defeating the enemy on the battlefield.

The victory he brought, however, presented an opportunity to resolve these problems. (End of Chapter)