Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 186 A king who normally wouldn't survive more than three times in a novel
The city of Stockholm looked very beautiful from the sea when the fast sailing ship "Varyag" arrived here from St. Petersburg.

But there is still a problem. The city of Stockholm itself is built on a bunch of islands.

The latitude is similar to that of St. Petersburg, and the internal structure of the two cities is also similar. After all, both are cities built at the mouth of the river. St. Petersburg was built after Russia occupied Ingria, and it looks newer than Stockholm.

Even when passing by Schiphol Island and Riddarholmen Island, you can notice that the Swedish royal palace and parliament are on Riddarholmen Island. This small piece of land should be the core area of ​​Stockholm, which has existed since the beginning of the city, which is about 500 years ago.
Solovyov thought that Stockholm had a history of about 500 years, and it was only the stage when Monkey King went there to make some trouble. The main color of this city was not very bright and looked a bit gloomy.

Sweden seems to be on a downward spiral, especially when we arrived on such a grey day.

Such an island city with numerous docks can be said to be the Venice of the North, except that the water surface will freeze and there are no small boats like gondolas.

Gustav IV and the Queen were waiting in the Swedish Royal Palace. The welcoming team looked very spectacular. The guard of honor was composed of the Swedish Guards and Grenadiers. Although the king was a little stupid, he still attached great importance to the arrival of his father-in-law.

But the condition of this army does not seem to be very good. It may be that Putin is naturally good at restraining the Swedes, as it is written in the lyrics.

There was a dull look in their eyes, and they probably didn't catch up very well in their daily training.

Karl Ludwig actually has another identity, that is, he is also a general of the Russian Army. This is an honorary military rank awarded by Russia at the time of the marriage. Sweden should not have this. There are even many Swedish officers who go to serve in Russia and fight against the Swedes in turn.

As the attendant who escorted the Prince of Baden and his family all the way from Russia to Stockholm, Solovyov will not participate in the subsequent meeting ceremony. Instead, he will report to the Russian ambassador to Sweden, Andrei Yakovlevich Badberg.

"It seems that the Emperor and the Queen have given you a mission to handle national interests and family relationships. I can understand this, but you need to conduct reconnaissance activities. Sweden and we are at peace, right?"

"General Badberg, but you should know better the attitude of the King of Sweden on certain matters, and you also know where I come from."

"I learned from the letter from His Highness Constantine that you served as an aide-de-camp for a long time when you went abroad to fight, and also served in the Guards, especially in the palace for a long time."

"I was in Moscow at the time and had not come to Petersburg, but you should also pay attention to His Majesty the King of Sweden."

"Okay, you give me the emperor's letter. It must be one of those letters that are 'destroyed after reading'. As for the letter that Her Majesty the Queen asked you to pass on, it is a family matter. I will make a request to the Swedish Foreign Minister. You can go to the Stockholm Palace then."

After reading Alexander's letter, Badberg nodded. He had been Alexander's tutor for ten years, and there was some affection between the teacher and the student, but it was not as profound as Laharp's.

"Your Majesty is right. We have common interests with Stockholm regarding the French issue. Perhaps in the future, if France shows an aggressive attitude, we will need to unite with Sweden. This involves the security of the exit of the Danish Strait. As for the King of Sweden, we cannot predict what he will do. You should go and rest first. Also, we will arrange a suite for you in the embassy."

"Thank you, General."

"I have another question. Why don't you even have an entourage?"

"Although my family has a baron title and a good income, I don't have the habit of hiring servants or followers." What's even more strange is that Badberg came from an ancient noble family, but he did not have any personal title of nobility, especially since their family was certified with the baron title.

"Is that so? You are such an independent young man. The suite might be a little too big for you. You can hire a servant later. There are some diligent maids in Stockholm, and the wages are cheap."

This Mr. Ambassador is still interesting, but Solovyov has no intention of hiring anyone to do the job now. It would be more covert and safer for him to act alone.

His suite was not big. In front was the servant's gatehouse, and inside was the bedroom, study, and changing room. To be honest, the conditions here were really good and everything was clean.

As for the Swedish royal couple in the palace, it was not appropriate for them to let a Russian officer deliver the Queen's handwritten letter at this time as they were receiving their relatives. However, it was not appropriate for this family to deliver it either, so they became a third party.

Solovyov himself began to collect maps and hydrological data, which was actually related to the relationship between Russia and Sweden. This involved Finland, Gotland Island and the Aland Islands. These were several important directions of Russia's actions against Sweden.

Another point that needs to be noted is that when the Baltic Sea freezes in winter, some combat troops can pass through. The Gulf of Bothnia has the longest freezing period, and some areas have a freezing period of up to 7 months. Even in Polish Pomerania, the freezing period can reach more than a month.

If properly deployed, detachments could be used to move boldly from several directions, with powerful Cossack movements allowing a rapid assault across the frozen sea, across Gotland Island to the area south of Stockholm, cutting off the Swedish army's connection with the capital.

However, in order to accomplish all this, Solovyov was actually very clear that effective intelligence was needed, and an effective intelligence network should be developed to conduct topographic surveys and staff trips in many areas of Sweden in order to understand the situation in Sweden.

But from a personal point of view, I might feel a little sorry for Louisa. This little deer is always so innocent, pitiful and cute, and is forced to be involved in many events.

After all, when the sisters got married, they couldn't make their own decisions, and even their parents didn't have much choice.

Frederica was very happy to see her parents and younger brothers and sisters. She also learned that her eldest sister Amalia was at the home of her third sister Louisa. When she was entertaining her family, she was filled with unprecedented happiness.

Although Gustav IV was a man with strong needs, he still admired the queen very much, especially the maternal radiance she exuded when she was holding her belly. Although she was the younger sister, she looked much more mature than Louisa, even when they went to St. Petersburg for a blind date when they were young. Obviously, Louisa's figure had grown up, especially when she undressed to check, but her demeanor was more mature. As for the choice of the empress, it was probably Louisa who was gentle and well-behaved, but still had a little bit of her own shadow. Such a girl would not threaten Alexander's position, and she could only rely on her husband more.

However, she did not expect that this child would never let her down at the critical moment, and even gave a brief speech to the soldiers and mother-in-law to support Alexander's position.

At the Russian Embassy, ​​Louisa's handwritten letter, delivered by the new embassy military attaché, could only be submitted to the Queen a few days later.

By the way, as the former aide-de-camp to the Tsar, there was also a letter to be delivered to the King himself.

Solovyov still had to go into the palace. The Swedish Royal Palace was also very magnificent, and after many renovations, it was as large as the Winter Palace. It was just that the walls, as he was used to the fresher colors of the St. Petersburg palace, looked a bit old and lifeless here, especially when he saw this funny king with a mustache.

Queen Frederica was also very beautiful, but her facial features were not very similar to those of Louisa. Among the six daughters in the family, Louisa and Mary had more fresh faces like young girls. The Queen of Sweden looked much more mature and stable, and her body was much stronger than her sickly sister. Even if Louisa's body was nursed back to health, she would not have such a healthy complexion.

Another thing to note is that even though she was wearing a corseted dress and was not as revealing as the ladies in Paris and Petersburg, she still looked very tall. He had seen Louisa's appearance more than once, no matter what kind of clothes she wore. Although she had a soft body, a lovely figure, and smooth, white skin, which were all advantages, she was smaller than her sister. After comparing them, King Gustav still preferred Frederica.

"Major, thank you for coming to Stockholm with the personal letters from His Majesty the Emperor and Her Royal Highness the Empress of Russia. I wonder what you think of Sweden?"

It didn't matter how such a king spoke. After meeting him in person, Solovyov did feel that he was a little frivolous, and there was something wrong with the way he looked at him.

Although the king was a man and liked women, he still felt that the temperament of the Russian Guards major in front of him was different. The way he looked in military uniform reminded him of the Russian noble ladies at the masquerade parties. Although he did not marry Alexander's eldest sister Alexandra in St. Petersburg a few years ago, he was impressed by the girls there.

The queen also knew this, but when she thought about it, the king had even cut off most of his relationships with his mistresses for her sake. He was a relatively loyal and unreliable king, and a relatively different figure among the incompetent rulers.

"This is my second trip abroad. The last time I followed the Prince Marshal, Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, to Italy. The only difference is that we fought against the French, and this time, I am here to bring peace. As the assistant of our ambassador Andrei Badberg and the military attaché of the embassy, ​​I also have a special mission here. Your Majesty should have seen it in the personal letter of our emperor."

"Your queen is my wife's sister. We are relatives, and it is a good thing for relatives to visit each other. If your Majesty's health gets better, you can travel to Finland and Sweden to see the beautiful natural scenery of our country and come to Stockholm to experience the cultural atmosphere."

King Gustav's words were strange, and Frederica didn't know what to say. This was her husband, and the young officers below were sent by her sister and brother-in-law. If the two sides started talking, she couldn't interrupt. After all, her husband did things in a very abstract way. Sometimes his logic was clear, and sometimes it was difficult to understand.

"I will convey your Majesty's invitation to our ruler."

But letting him go to St. Petersburg would be rather unlucky. Solovyov knew that what Elena hated most was this stupid king. After all, she and Alexandra had a deep sisterly relationship. If he were to go again, even if the Swedish uncle had many friends in St. Petersburg and had a great reputation, it would be difficult to deal with him.

He himself didn't know the number, but when he talked about the relationship between Sweden and Russia, he mentioned that he was very impressed by St. Petersburg and even invited the young major to have lunch with him.

Solovyov felt strange, but he couldn't refuse. He couldn't talk nonsense at this time.

The classic rule of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that if you eat a meal, it is possible to destroy the achievements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the past few years.

The reason why he had dinner with the military attaché instead of the ambassador was because Solovyov himself was a special envoy. He was able to come to the Swedish Royal Palace as a courier after communicating with the Swedish Foreign Minister and the Russian Ambassador to Sweden.

There is no "ritual" for eating like this in Europe, but there are diplomatic etiquettes. Although it is not unusual, it is a bit whimsical.

Gustav even specifically asked Solovyov to sit next to him, which made the major a little nervous.

"Your Majesty, I feel that your hospitality to me has exceeded etiquette."

"I just think you're very handsome, and ordinary soldiers wouldn't be like that."

"But among the handsome warriors, there are also many classical Greek heroes. You cannot deny that, Your Majesty."

"Yes, but we all have the same demand, which is that we don't like the aggressive policy of the French now."

But Alexander also disliked the British, believing that the British government's decisions were arrogant and self-righteous.

"But I am only a 'messenger' and cannot express opinions on the relations between countries. As for my personal family relationship, my stepmother is French, so even if I am authorized, I cannot express any opinions. But if Your Majesty wants to discuss literature or art with foreign ministers, I am happy to serve. I think Your Majesty should have read some translated Chinese poems."

"Yes, I can feel the beauty of the words used in the original text, especially the ancient poems that describe romantic love."

The queen managed to change the subject, but King Gustav's performance was hard to describe.

(End of this chapter)