Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 121 021 Some people still have to pay the price

This inexplicable night attack ended with the perpetrators being shot dead.

But Solovyov now has a big problem. The information obtained by Fyodor is very ridiculous, and how Paul will deal with these people is also a problem.

In the café downstairs from his house, only one person mentioned the delicate situation of the Crown Princess, but this rumor was everywhere on the streets of St. Petersburg, and both Tsar Paul and Queen Maria had heard of it. The former was more sympathetic to his daughter-in-law, while the latter only restrained herself from always being the "evil mother-in-law", but she always talked about how Louisa lacked the charm to attract her son.

In fact, Louisa has some advantages. The more pitiful she looks, the more she will arouse men's desire to protect her, and public opinion is also very sympathetic to her.

"But this is another problem. How should I explain this to the Emperor?"

Count Stroganov also came. This handsome man was a close confidant of the Crown Prince. Everyone knew that Tsar Paul had a fickle mood. The kindness he showed when he was calm and the "tyrant" called by the rebellious group when he was furious seemed like two completely different people.

The position of Tsar is actually a very difficult position.

Alexander's successor Seleucus once said that if he had known that he would have to deal with such a wide variety of affairs and a huge amount of official documents after ascending the throne, he would never have allowed himself to wear the crown.

Paul himself did not sleep well that night. He thought that the things that happened in the palace were all palace conspiracies against him. Although he did not go to listen to the report at that time, but let the eunuchs and the officers of the Guards handle the matter, it was indeed unreasonable to attack the Crown Prince's bedroom.

On the other hand, Count Stroganov looked at Solovyov who was at the scene, and he always felt that although the matter was simple, it would be disadvantageous to Alexander himself if it was said in the original way.

First, the officer who was shot dead was Rogachev, a lieutenant of the Crown Prince's Guards, and it would be easy to track him down, but the commander of the regiment was the Crown Prince himself, so it was a problem of lax military discipline; second, the news that Fyodor got back in the tavern, although it was a drunken revelry by a group of young Guards officers, and the Guards Regiment at Peterhof Palace had stepped up its vigilance afterwards, but this matter was somewhat absurd, as it was directed at the harmless Crown Princess, and it was not an assassination or a kidnapping, but a case of forcing a kitten to steal fish; third, the rumors on the street, although this was not the main factor, it also sounded like a scandal of the royal family.

Since the Crown Princess Elizabeth in the palace was so charming that the young officers of the Guards were willing to sacrifice their lives to love her, then the Crown Prince stayed at the Naryshkins' house and was not as diligent as the Tsar himself in his official duties.
Count Peter von Paalen was as excited as a fly encountering a rotten egg. This was a great opportunity to alienate the relationship between the Tsar and his son. However, he had to wait until Paul himself began to deal with the incident before he could start spreading rumors in St. Petersburg.

However, this also depends on how the palace solves this problem.

"If I were to speak to your majesty, I would still have to protect the honor of the two highnesses."

Count Stroganov set the tone for this matter. In such a ridiculous matter, both he and his wife had to defend the reputation of their friend.

Because of his good relationship with the Countess, Solovyov would not refute his opinion, but in the whole incident, Louisa herself was the most innocent. As for Alexander himself, this incident would inevitably cause conflicts between father and son.

You have to know that the Queen's close ministers were all willing to bet on the Crown Prince, even some people around Paul were the same. They obviously hoped to turn the tables in the future and did not necessarily look at long-term issues. The sooner Paul stepped down due to various accidents and formal procedures, the more beneficial it would be for them - after all, among these people, except for the Zubov brothers, most of them are already quite old.

"Pasha, no matter what I say, it will make His Majesty angry. I have thought of several excuses, but given the style of our emperor, he will definitely hold many people accountable."

"Among the Guards, you're probably the only one who won't be in trouble, because few officers from the 1st Battalion participated in the carnival. Fyodor also brought back intelligence."

"But because this kind of thing is too absurd, the emperor would not believe it after reporting it, so I adopted this method. Strengthen the vigilance, but I didn't expect that there would be stupid intruders who would directly open fire."

When Count Stroganov heard this, he also realized that there were many absurd things.

"Fortunately, apart from the deceased, no one was injured."

"But, Count, the marble pillars at the entrance to the palace have been damaged, and many people in the palace have been frightened."

It was a good thing that it was far away from the bedrooms of the young ladies, otherwise who knows what kind of trouble would have happened, Solovyov thought.

"You still have to report to His Majesty. This is your responsibility as the commander of the Guards. You are also the officer on duty."

"It's only me who can do it."

Tsar Paul was furious about this and he quickly summoned the officers on duty.

It was just that Solovyov first rushed out a report and then appeared before the Tsar.

"So you got the news in advance?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, but this is a bit absurd. I would rather believe it than not. I added more sentries, but I didn't expect someone to sneak in and this attack happened."

"You did a great job and even killed the assassin yourself. However, our evidence was all interrupted by this man's death."

"Your Majesty, as far as I know, this was caused by some young officers of the Royal Guards who got drunk and boasted. With all due respect, Your Majesty, the Royal Guards are filled with desperadoes and adventurers, and many officers did not come here to serve the Emperor or fulfill their military obligations."

"I know this. There have been many cases before, including people pretending to be the late emperor, pretending to be Empress Elizabeth and Razumovsky's daughter, and pretending to be me."

"Your Majesty, there have always been many swindlers in the countryside of our country, but those who impersonate the late emperor are not only in our country, but I heard that there are also some abroad, and they even have their own territory in Montenegro."

Speaking of this, Paul still remembered that the empress was so angry that she laughed when she heard it. That happened after the Pugachev Uprising was suppressed.

When he thought about it, he couldn't help but start laughing. Sometimes his laugh was uglier than crying.

"That's true. I can only clean up the officers of the Guards. But it's impossible to dismiss them all. They should be rotated to the Caucasus, which is a long way away and not many people will know about it."

"Your Majesty, you are indeed a benevolent emperor and commander."

"Don't flatter me, Solovyov, for you are a man who makes a living by your own ability."

Paul motioned for him to sit down, and then asked the eunuch to call Prince Bagration who was on duty.

"Sit down, Prince. You should have heard my conversation with Major Solovyov." "Yes, Your Majesty. You have always been kind, but I think that at this time, thunderous means should be used. This is a stain on the reputation of the two princes."

"That will only let more people know, Prince. You are still as hot-tempered as ever. Before the Grand Marshal died, he was even more worried about you than his son Arkady. Public executions or announcements will only create more trouble. Let these people go to the Caucasus and Odessa. Once there, officers from the Guards will usually be promoted to a higher rank and will not complain. And they are far away from me. They act recklessly outside of Petersburg. Unless it is written in a memorial, I will not know about it."

The Tsar himself adopted this attitude because he actually felt that his position was very secure, and replacing a group of officers would indeed help to improve the military discipline of the Guards.

As it turned out, the Guards of Grand Duke Constantine performed very well after returning from the battlefield.

But what he didn't know now was how loyal the new people would be after the replacement of the Guards officers. Perhaps it was the love that the common people and low-level nobles had for him that made him a little forgetful.

However, this also disrupted Count von Paalen's arrangements. A group of Guards officers who had been instigated by Count Panin were packed up and sent to the front garrison.

But no one knows how the new people will perform. However, Count von Paalen has started secret activities by taking advantage of the large number of new officers, so he always has to be prepared in advance.

It seemed that the conspiracy group had been thwarted again, but when all the close ministers left, Tsar Paul called Alexander and the father and son had a big fight.

Solovyov didn't know about this. He went to Count Stroganov's villa and killed an intruder in the palace. Then, Tsar Paul gave him a holiday.

Here he also saw the Crown Prince himself, who entered the Earl's residence in a rage.

"I think the entire Guards should be reorganized. There are too many dangerous elements sneaking in!"

As he said this, he was still looking at Solovyov, which made the major feel scared.

"Your Highness, what's wrong with you?"

Count Stroganov still wanted to comfort his good friend and boss and poured him a glass of red wine.

"This is port wine. Have a glass and you won't have to worry."

Alexander took the wine glass and seemed a little impatient. He had always been a good actor and Paul rarely got angry with him.

Today's incident was caused by a reckless person in the Guards under his jurisdiction. Naturally, he was resentful, but he could not resist the Tsar himself.

As for Louisa, he had no intention of returning for the time being. Paul, mindful of the scandal, said that there was an assassin and asked everyone who knew about it, including Count Stroganov, to keep it secret.

"I think so, Pasha. At this time, you two are the most trustworthy people."

He didn't care that there was a major officer next to him who reported directly to the Tsar, and he just poured out his troubles and talked about his emotional entanglements.

But Solovyov's face was full of question marks. If Louisa seduces you a few more times, will you be able to throw yourself into her warm arms?

".Louisa is special, she is so cold, but warm, soft and fragrant to the touch"

This prince was so abstract that Solovyov couldn't figure out what was going on.

He deliberately kept his distance. Since you like your wife, she is right in your bedroom. You can just open the door and lift her skirt. Do you need to be too romantic with your wife?
".As for Maria, she is passionate like a ball of fire. When I am with her, I feel like I am burning up."

Nonsense, the Naryshkins deliberately pushed their daughter-in-law in front of you, and she is so full of desire and so coquettish, it would be strange if you didn't get excited.

If everyone in the Russian court were like the owner of this villa, there would be world peace.

When the Countess heard that the Crown Prince was coming tonight, she went to the wooden house in the yard to take care of her children in order to avoid too much contact with Alexander.

This Crown Prince, when he can't get something, he has a strong desire to conquer it, but when beautiful and precious people or things are in his hands, he doesn't know how to cherish them. The Crown Princess has not established a stable private relationship with anyone yet. The psychological comfort she is currently seeking is her children. It would be good if Alexander could return to family life.

However, he did not have this idea, and Queen Maria had spoken out more than once about how great Crown Princess Elizabeth herself was.

Moreover, this has become an established fact spread by the female nobles in the court. You must know that if there is a deviation in the reporting, you must be responsible.

Solovyov could only continue to watch Alexander's performance on the spot. After he drank the aperitif, the count asked for dishes, especially fresh sturgeon soup.

"Also, Your Highness, we have a cold dish today, which is a platter of raw meat of several kinds of sea fish. The fish were all alive when they came here."

The Earl planned to divert Alexander's attention with the delicious food he prepared at his home. He and his wife were loyal friends of Alexander and his wife, and they hoped that the couple could have a relationship like that in their newlywed days. For a model couple like them, they would actually benefit more in the palace.

However, the competition for favor among the great nobles often puts model couples at a disadvantage. Although Alexander highly trusts Count Stroganov and regards him as his confidant, one thing is one thing, and the Naryshkin family or other noble families will always provide him with women.

The size of his team of mistresses was indeed enough to support the occasion, and the quality was pretty good. There was no need to worry about being sanctioned by the Tsar himself. After all, Paul was not Ivan the Terrible or Peter the Great.

This is just the official Russian statement, which is sometimes simply disgusting, but many of the revised content appeared during the reign of Nicholas II. This did not exist in 1800.

Solovyov could confirm that there was nothing wrong with the health of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

The problem is obvious. He is still indulging in beautiful women and doesn't want to leave.

(End of this chapter)