Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 161 018 Petersburg Unrestricted Fighting Tournament (Part )

When Maria heard that Lady Leven wanted her to take her younger brother and sister to the royal stables, she was a little panicked. She was just a young girl in every sense of the word, and when she was asked to make the decision, she certainly never thought about what would happen.

But after slapping herself on the butt, she calmed down, and then she pulled Nicholas and asked Catherine to lead Anna and the nanny to hold Mikhail, and they came to the royal stables through the secret staircase.

"Your Highness, where are you going at this time?"

"Get the carriage ready, we are going to the Winter Palace!"

The coachmen didn't care about that. The carriages were prepared at night. After all, there were many trips at night. As for going to the Winter Palace, it was just a normal arrangement. Besides, it was so chaotic outside, and it had been noisy since nightfall. Going to the Winter Palace was also their responsibility as coachmen.

After the children got on the bus, they saw their cousin Eugene from Württemberg also riding out on a horse, and they knew that something big must have happened today.

Anna and Nikolay are sensible enough, but Mikhail still doesn't know what has happened. However, with the nanny here, there won't be any accidents.

The carriage soon passed the Pavlovsk Regiment's base, and the sentry on night duty there saluted with his gun when he saw that it was the royal carriage approaching.

This place is a little distance away from the Mikhailovsky Palace. If the soldiers on duty leave their posts and look at the Mars Square, they will see that it is also a mess.

“Who are the ones running away?”

"Governor, the ones running away are the unmarried Grand Duchess and the two young Grand Dukes. Three royal carriages have been arranged. They are heading to the Winter Palace."

"I see. Looks like I missed something."

Bennigsen was still making sarcastic comments on Count von Paaren's performance today. He wanted to find an opportunity to escape. Although the coup was partially successful and he had contributed to it, it was obviously a life of suicide.

"How to do?"

"We must do it once and for all. First, we must rush to the Marble Palace and capture Grand Duke Constantine. Then, we must go to the Winter Palace and meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

This was all he thought of, but in the panic, the number of guards that could be mobilized was not large, only three battalions of troops. You have to know that a fully staffed guards regiment is composed of four battalions.

At the same time, Davydov had already brought people into the Winter Palace, and the carriage coming from Million Street also came in quickly.

When Agapeev saw Alexander, he knelt on the ground and cried: "The emperor has been murdered!"

When Alexander heard this, he collapsed in his chair. The result of the coup was regicide, and now he was a little panicked.

Count Pavel was still relatively calm, and he asked Agapeev: "What's going on?"

"Everything was fine in the first half of the night. I was standing guard at the door of the emperor's bedroom with the hussar Kirillov, and then I heard the night alarm sounding, and then the guards outside were changing shifts. There was nothing wrong at first. I saw a group of drunken officers coming up the stairs. I wanted to warn them to stop, but I don't know which bastard hit me on the back of the head from behind. When I woke up, I saw that the two doors of the bedroom were all open. Not only were the hussars inside knocked unconscious, but the servants were gone. When I entered the palace to see, the emperor was lying straight on the bed, his face covered in blood, and there was a red mark on his neck. He must have been murdered!"

Although the back of his head was cut, he was not stupid and still remembered everything very clearly.

"Okay, you did the right thing. Can you see what that group of drunken officers looks like?"

"I can't tell clearly. Some of them are wearing cavalry uniforms, some are wearing guards uniforms, and it's hard to tell beyond that."

"You should leave and find a doctor to see him."

Count Stroganov is very calm now. He and his wife are here, and the Countess is still inside with the Crown Princess.

"Your Highness, we should mobilize the troops now and tell the general on duty to take action."

"Okay, Solovyov, go find Prince Bagration and ask him to take action according to the plan we agreed on earlier."

Bagration was still dragging these three guys to play mahjong. He had already lost 40,000 rubles at the table, but his luck was pretty good at the moment. He won two rounds in a row, one of which was a self-drawn hand.

Although the Russians have just introduced mahjong, they are having a lot of fun playing it, with the main focus being on an abstract concept.

After Solovyov came in and whispered a few words to Bagration, the prince suddenly looked fierce and shouted, "Come here, arrest these three traitors!"

When Bagration entered the palace, he brought with him the soldiers of the Guards Chasseurs, who had been hiding behind the door, waiting to take action.

"What are you doing?"

"Humph! What are you doing? You are participating in a conspiracy group and trying to use the Guards to plot a despicable plan to overthrow the regime. Do you really think I don't know anything about it?"

Bagration did not mention the regicide, but the core officers of the Semenovsky Regiment were actually involved in the rebellion. There was no guarantee which faction they were loyal to, so they had to be captured on the spot.

This also avoided interfering with the command of the army, and then Bagration went to Alexander's bedroom to ask for instructions.

When he came over, he saw Alexander and Louisa already dressed and waiting there.

"Peter Ivanovich, pass down the order now to mobilize all the Petersburg Guards and garrison troops, especially the Guards Cavalry, and block all entrances and exits to the city. If you encounter any suspicious persons, arrest them all!"

Alexander's voice was still a little trembling at this time. On the one hand, he was performing, and on the other hand, under the influence of many factors, it was a bit difficult for him to keep his emotions stable.

Louisa, on the other hand, was very calm, which was different from her usual self.

After receiving the order, Bagration asked Solovyov to take the order to the Pavlovsk Regiment's barracks, which was the barracks closest to the Mikhailovsky Palace. He also had to go to the Marble Palace at No. 5 Million Street to ask Grand Duke Constantine to mobilize his troops.

"What did you say?"

Constantine couldn't believe that such a conspiracy of treason could have happened in St. Petersburg and now it had succeeded.

"Your Highness, no one could have imagined such a thing. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants you to lead two regiments of troops and line up at the Ares Square, but do not launch an attack."

"I know that my mother should still be in the palace, so we really can't act rashly."

As for the mobilization of troops, Constantine quickly mobilized a battalion of the Izmailov Regiment in the Marble Palace, and sent his adjutant to the Winter Palace to report, and then went to the Guards station to ask the other three battalions of the Guards to gather immediately and go to Nevsky Avenue to block the rebels' southward movement. Solovyov then went to the Pavlovsk Regiment, many of whom were from the Moscow Grenadiers, so it was easy to mobilize them.

"How is the emperor now?"

"According to the guards guarding the palace, yes"

These old officers knew what Solovyov was saying before he finished.

"No need to say more. You are here to convey the orders of the two princes. We also know the general idea. You are the one who used the Jaeger Company. There is no use for them to stay here. You take this team of soldiers to the princes. As for how to arrange them, it is up to you!"

At the same time, Alexander's adjutants were also rushing to the various troop stations, mainly the Guards cavalry.

Count von Paalen now realized that although he had completed the task of getting rid of Paul, all the roads ahead were blocked.

"The Pavlovsk Regiment has come out of its barracks and is arrayed on the north side of the square."

"Are there any cannons in the palace?"

"No, in the previous military reform, all the artillery directly under the Guards were transferred to the Guards Artillery Battalion."

"At a time like this, we still need artillery. Go and pass on my order, asking the 1st Artillery Regiment and the Cavalry Company of the Petersburg Garrison to come to the Champ de Mars to deal with the rebellious Guards!"

When the Zubov brothers heard this, they knew they were being dragged into this time.

Count von Paalen is the governor of St. Petersburg, and he has the power to mobilize general troops. In addition, he can also come out to forge the imperial edict. After all, he believes that not many people outside know about Paul's life or death.

After all, the ones who went out from the front were only a few young royal family members. They didn't know what was going on, but Mrs. Lieven arranged for the children to leave the place of trouble. As for Agapeev's affairs, many people didn't notice it, so Count von Palen was now considering mobilizing troops to deal with the Pavlovsk Regiment on the Ares Square.

However, this idea was not so easy to implement. The messengers sent out were all on horseback, but the Royal Guards Cavalry had already begun to block all major intersections, and in the end, only a few people actually delivered the order.

That night, the Russian Hussars stationed in St. Petersburg were arresting people.

Von Paalen's plan could not be guaranteed to succeed, and Count Tickenhausen, who was responsible for conveying orders to the Guards Artillery, also found the gate of the Guards Artillery.

"By order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, all members of the Guards Artillery Battalion are dispatched. Bring all artillery pieces and any shells you can find, and assemble at Gongdi Road!"

The artillery of this regiment was well-equipped, including 6-pound guns, 12-pound guns, cavalry guns and unicorn guns, a total of 36 guns.

Russia's Unicorn Cannon is generally divided into two types, namely the 10-pound Unicorn Cannon and the 20-pound Unicorn Cannon. It can use grenades, solid bullets and grapeshot to fire, and its firepower is very powerful.

This type of cannon was invented as early as 1757. It was not until the end of the Empress's reign that it was used to equip the Russian army on a large scale. It was not until Tsar Paul ascended the throne that it was promoted by force.

The performance of grenades is actually very unreliable, especially the misfire rate is extremely touching. They often become time bombs and solid bullets, and sometimes they will be hit back by the opponent.

However, there are no cannons in the palace. Now that the guards artillery come out and want to fire, they can still crush the enemy unilaterally.

The only person who was clearly recruited by the conspiracy group was Tuchkov, the commander of the 1st Artillery Regiment. The regiment did not receive any orders that night, but an adjutant sent by Prince Bagration informed them that there was an order from the crown prince and all the garrisons in St. Petersburg had to be mobilized.

And Count Tickenhausen, as Kutuzov's son-in-law, also had to visit his father-in-law's house.

Kutuzov had gone to bed by now, and since he was not fighting at the front, he slept with an eye open.

When Count Tickenhausen dismounted and knocked on the door, the butler was stunned to see him.

"Sir, what are you doing here at this time? The master and the mistress have gone to bed!"

"Something happened, I didn't have time to tell you, let me in!"

Seeing that it was an urgent matter, the old butler did not stop him, but took him to Kutuzov's bedroom.

The old man was wearing pajamas and sleeping soundly in bed. He didn't expect that his son-in-law would come in at this moment.

However, the old man had a very strong mental quality. After he sat up, he looked at his panicked son-in-law and still sat there very calmly.

"What happened? You came home so late at night. Did Lizanka treat you badly?"

"No, something happened in the palace."

"Oh?"

Kutuzov thought about what the Tsar himself had told him and felt strange. Although there were many strange signs, such a thing would not happen.

However, he had no time to think about it and could only listen to his third son-in-law reporting on the changes in the palace and the crown prince's orders.

"Well, I will make arrangements. Go back and tell His Highness that I, Kutuzov, will send someone to Vyborg to mobilize troops. Go back, child, and report to His Highness!"

However, if Kutuzov wanted to send people to Vyborg to mobilize the garrison, it would take some time. Only a Cossack force close to St. Petersburg could be mobilized quickly.

There is no need to worry about it anymore. Since Kutuzov has already replied, Alexander, who was still trembling before, is now somewhat confident. It can be said to be a medical miracle.

"Your Highness, the adjutant and the messenger have reported back that we currently have three Guards Infantry Regiments, one Grenadiers Regiment, and three Guards Cavalry Regiments that can be mobilized. Unfortunately, it seems that two of the Guards Cavalry commanders have sided with the rebels."

"Don't worry about them. The troops that have been mobilized now will be commanded by Konstantin and Bagration. Surround the Mikhailovsky Palace first. Don't act rashly. We still need to talk about the situation of the rebels inside!"

Alexander didn't want to make too big a fuss. After all, Queen Maria should still be in the palace, and some female relatives and civil servants were also there. He couldn't just fight directly. It would be best if he could persuade them to surrender through negotiation.

However, he somewhat underestimated how Count von Paaren would struggle in this situation.

(End of this chapter)