Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 125 Coach, what kind of ball should I play?

Solovyov was extremely bored in the palace and really wanted to do some sports, so he began to collect various materials.

That is to say, the transportation was relatively blocked, otherwise, except for a few sports such as basketball, all other sports had already been invented. In fact, if we trace back, Western Europe is the birthplace of many sports.

However, in order to impress the Tsar himself, these sports had to be combined with military training.

"Polo? Isn't that something the Persians play?"

The Tsar himself really knew it. After all, Russia and Persia were bordering each other, and he knew what was happening there.

"Your Majesty, are you familiar with this sport?"

"I know this from some travelers' notes, but you say this movement also occurred in China."

"That's the truth, except that the movement is now fading there."

In China, many sports are declining. Even many sports that originated in China are not that popular now.

Don't blame the Qing Dynasty for the reason. Polo has been declining since the Southern Song Dynasty.

During the Tang Dynasty, even during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang, polo was a very popular sport and was widely spread across Asia. Apart from being somewhat dangerous, there was nothing to be afraid of.

"If this is the case, it would actually be helpful in training the cavalry, but it sounds a bit dangerous."

Paul still cares about his soldiers, especially those participating in this project, many of whom are definitely officers.

"But the excellent cavalry that Your Majesty needs will not emerge if it is just through ordinary training. The Grand Marshal used to train infantry and cavalry, letting the light cavalry pass through the soldiers. Although it is a bit dangerous at ordinary times, it can train brave and fearless soldiers."

"That's right. I also cannot agree with what you said above. A sultan who once ruled India died because he fell while playing polo. It's too dangerous for an athlete."

"But playing tennis is also dangerous. The causes of death of Louis X and James I of Scotland were both related to tennis."

And this kind of tennis is the legendary "Royal Tennis".

"That's just a quibble, but for the polo sport, we have to see the real thing before making a decision. For example, in India or Persia, where polo is popular, if someone is playing this sport, we can write to the Shah of Persia and ask for a demonstration match in Russia."

But the Shah of Persia, with two A's, has always been unfriendly to Russia.

But after hearing what Paul said, Solovyov had a way out. He knew that there was actually a tennis court in the palace, and there were many other places that could provide sports.

Under this premise, he still thought of several other projects.

Especially in the game of throwing the ball into the basket, there are so many tall and strong Russian guys, so they must be more enthusiastic.

If you're worried about the strength of the rim during a game, don't jump up and dunk.

As for Solovyov himself, with his height and jumping ability, he couldn't complete this move.

But there is one person who could be the candidate, and that is Paul's son-in-law, Prince William of Württemberg. He is tall and looks like the "Silver Horn King", so there should be no problem if we find him.

After leaving Paul, Solovyov went to the nearby palace of the Prince of Württemberg, where he was walking with Alexandra in the garden today.

"Good morning, Your Highnesses."

"Ah, it's Misha, shouldn't you be on duty with His Majesty right now?"

"It's not my turn today. I just came here from the Emperor."

"I haven't seen my father in the past few days. Is he in good health?"

"Your Majesty has been in good health recently. He insists on riding a horse to inspect the troops every day, and his appetite is the same as usual."

"That's good."

However, Alexandra's belly is very prominent, and I don't know how many babies she will give birth to this time.

"His Majesty is also concerned about you, Your Highness, and Her Highness Elena."

"We are all fine, but William seems even more scared than I am when it comes to giving birth to a baby. Even though he is tall and strong and has been on the battlefield, he is a very timid person."

"Alexandra, we are husband and wife, and cousins. Of course I am afraid that something might happen to you."

Although everyone knew that Alexandra was unfaithful, this burly prince was still a very nice person. Even when Alexandra's belly was getting bigger and bigger and it was inconvenient for her to walk, he still came to take care of her personally.

His size is really helpful when he is accompanying his wife. He also likes sports and often plays tennis.

"It doesn't matter. Although there are always quack doctors here, the level of midwives is still very high. If it really doesn't work, there are so many experienced midwives in Petersburg and the surrounding countryside. There is always a way."

This girl is really bold. If she were to marry to Austria, it would be the gate of hell.

"But even so, Your Highness, you still have to pay attention to hygiene. Before and after giving birth, you must wash your body every day and keep it clean, and..."

Alexandra knew that Solovyov was good in every way except for one small flaw: he liked to care about people from every angle and could be a little reckless when he was careless, but most of the time, he was as meticulous as a strand of hair.

"You even thought of this. I want to thank you twice."

"But Your Highness, your belly is about the same size as Julie's, if you were carrying two children."

"Then I have to thank you three times, Misha. You are really good. I hope that the emperor will not arrange a marriage for you. If one day the queen mother or sister-in-law wants to arrange for the maids around them to get married, it would be very happy to marry you."

When this girl spoke, she seemed to have the "great power of prophecy", but this was also a daily routine in the Russian court. In addition to being brides for the sons of great nobles, maids would often marry more outstanding guards officers in the court.

"That's only if I'm blessed enough, Your Highness."

When Alexandra said this, she seemed to feel some pain and began to touch her stomach. William supported his wife and called the maid who had been serving her to help her to the bedroom to rest.

"Alexandra is very strong. I have such a marriage with her, and I even feel that I am not worthy of her." "Your Highness, why do you have such an idea? If you are not suitable, then change to the donkey in Sweden? Among the single princes at that time, only Archduke Karl and Archduke Joseph of Austria were good."

"You think so too?"

"Your Highness, let's not talk about this for now. I thought of a sport where there are five people on each side, and they throw the ball into the basket."

However, considering the current level of timing, some things cannot be done, especially the timing of calling a pause. It is not easy to control the timing of stopping the watch. After all, the timer in this era may be more reliable than the hourglass.

"But this is a sport for big guys, right? That's why you came to me. If you find four giant grenadiers, you can dominate the basketball court!"

William's idea is really simple, but it is not wrong. Protecting rebounds and focusing on the inside are not wrong, as long as there are no guards with strong shooting ability.

"You are right, Your Highness, but there must be someone who can carry the ball across the half court. If Your Majesty only hears what I say, he probably won't be impressed. But if he sees a performance match on the spot, he might find it interesting. At least, it is a kind of game that can cultivate team consciousness and discipline."

William also wanted to, but because Alexandra's due date was approaching, he was spending most of his time with his wife and didn't have much time, but he still supported his idea.

"You can find Frederick Ludwig. His brother is also serving here. Elena is about to give birth to my Alexandra. When they are both safe, we will definitely help."

The brother-in-law of Mecklenburg is also a big guy, not to mention that he has a younger brother here. These Germans are all physically strong. The Queen's brother, the Prince of Württemberg, is an even bigger guy.

Although the queen herself did not have a "double-door" figure, she was relatively strong, and her family members were all tall.

This also gave her and Paul's children a relatively tall stature, but that shouldn't be the case for all of them. Although Maria and Catherine were more lively and healthier than their two older sisters, they were indeed not as tall as their older sisters.

In terms of sports, there are actually quite a few activities that can be carried out in the palace. If you want to play football, you can find the British. However, given the Tsar's own strange temper of not liking France, if he can come up with any sport, he will definitely give priority to sports from these European countries.

If it comes to sports such as football, triple jump, hockey, ice hockey and cricket, ice hockey may be more popular because of the ice and snow in Russia.

Solovyov thought of this and let it go, but when he left William and Alexandra's bedroom and walked towards the Guards' base, he met another friend on the road.

"Ah, it is you, Prince Vyazemsky."

Prince Vasily Vyazemsky, who used to be Suvorov's herald, is 25 years old this year. This prince has many relatives and his family is also very prosperous.

Today he appeared near England Park with a few cousins.

"Misha, good afternoon, I would like to introduce you to my cousin Peter"

"How old is this child? He already has glasses on his nose?"

And this shape looks like a smaller version of Pierre in the book.

Pierre is transcribed into Russian name, isn’t that Peter!

"There's nothing we can do about it. Sometimes people get shortsighted. Don't you know that Her Majesty the Queen is also shortsighted?"

"I have always been with the Emperor, and I seldom go to Her Majesty the Queen's place."

"You are not careful sometimes. Her Majesty the Queen has been wearing glasses at work since she married and moved to Petersburg."

"Let's not talk about this matter for now. Where are you going?"

"We are going to play tennis on the court. Beijia has been with me these days because my uncle has been too busy to take care of me recently. It just so happens that my hunting corps is on a break these days, so I can bring him out and let him be a caddy."

"I remember that Andrei Ivanovich was often in Moscow."

"Yes, you know my uncle. Aren't you a nosy person?"

"Let's not talk about that, let's go to the tennis court!"

There were no hard surfaces on tennis courts during this era, and when modern tennis appeared in the British, it was still played on grass, or on the traditional hard surfaces of the Royal Tennis Courts, or on the red clay courts of the French.

When it comes to ball speed, playing on a grass court, although the soil here is softer, the ball speed is very fast, and it also tests the reaction speed of both players.

If it were a clay court, it would be terrible, the ball speed would be very slow and it would test your patience.

Such a stadium is built near the England Park, and it is naturally a grass field. Moreover, it was rebuilt on the construction site of the Queen's original expansion plan, which can be regarded as making the best use of the resources.

Solovyov had never played tennis before, and he had a small problem: although he had a good sense of space, he would always miss the target due to misjudgment when throwing the tennis ball.

However, he is still a good hitter, but because his serving skills are really not that good and he has no time to practice, he is unwilling to appear on the court.

This time, at the request of Prince Vyazemsky, he had to take the stage.

People are holding rackets in their hands, so it is hard to imagine that the earliest form of tennis was actually played with hands, and the ball speed would not be so fast.

When Solovyov got the serve, the landing point of his serve was really not good. This was still traditional tennis, without the confrontation of modern tennis, and he would not directly give away points in the serve.

But if you really get serious, in the doubles match between him and Vyazemsky, both of them have relatively strong hitting power, which always puts the opponent at a disadvantage.

"You hit the ball pretty well. You hit it with great force and at a high speed."

"This is grass, so it's natural. It's harder to defend when the ball is fast, but the landing point of my shot is really not that good."

"Practice more. If you have time, you will get the hang of it. You may look skinny, but you actually have some skills!"

He was also very satisfied to see the affirmation from his partner.

But when he looked at Prince Peter Vyazemsky now, he felt that the more he looked at his face, the more it looked like a smaller version of Pierre.

That's right, if you look at his later portraits and know his deeds, you will understand what happened.

(End of this chapter)