Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 207 The Tragic Family Affairs of a Reckless Prussian General
After staying in Mecklenburg for a while, Solovyov would set off for Berlin with Frederick Ludwig, Elena and other relatives from another branch of Mecklenburg.

Karl Ludwig already had three daughters who were married off. Amalia and Louisa had not been together for long, and they had already tried dating several nobles, but the results were quite average.
But this was not something the prince of the Margrave of Baden could control. Mary had two options for her wedding, one was to hold it in Karlsruhe, and the other was to hold it in the Duchy of Brunswick of the groom's family. Arriving in Berlin was also for transit, after all, this territory was located between the British territory of Hanover and Prussia's Brandenburg.

The German princes implemented the strict Salic law of succession, which denied women the right of inheritance. This caused a lot of trouble, and wars of succession often occurred.

Especially with the existence of an "illegal organization", and the intertwining territories of the electors, kings, dukes and earls, the map makers and publishers would probably go crazy. Moreover, the tariffs and various rights of passage between the German states were too complicated. Not to mention that Wang Anshi would die on the spot if he came, even Sir Humphrey would have to go through the hospitalization procedures on the spot.

It would be easier to deal with just two families in Mecklenburg, but Elena thought about the territories of the Queen grandmother and her great uncle, which were indeed very complicated.

In the past, when some families were prosperous, they would divide their land into pieces. This was easy to do among relatives, after all, they would take care of each other. When a family lost a male member, the land would be divided or inherited by other branches. However, this also caused many troublesome problems.

Traveling with these two families from Mecklenburg actually had many inconveniences, but Solovyov still had some solutions. After entering the Brandenburg area, he began to ride along the road.

When he arrived in Prenzlau, he saw a military camp of some size. The country of Prussia was like an army with its own country. In addition, many princes from Germany came to join the army, and they provided more opportunities to join the army.

However, considering Prussia's meager military expenditure, they can only fire live ammunition once a year. This training level is far inferior to that of the armies of neighboring powers.

When he walked here, he was naturally interrogated by Prussian soldiers on duty in black uniforms.

Solovyov thought about the black military uniform, and he had two more sets, which were obtained because of his military exploits and his service as the guard of the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion of the Putin Regiment.

"where u from?"

"Soldier, you see I am wearing a green uniform, which proves that I am a Russian officer. Our former Emperor Paul and our current Emperor Alexander both admired Frederick the Great's military prowess, and I am here to visit the commander of our regiment, General Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick."

He would not say that he was asked by Louisa to come and see what kind of man Mary's fiancé was and whether he was really a reckless person. This could only be said when he met the Duke in person. The "Black Duke" who would have some fame in the future was also considered a brave general.

Louisa was in St. Petersburg, but she always cared about her sisters, especially Mary and Wilhelmina. After all, their marriage was most likely a match made in heaven, with a queen and two queens to support the two younger sisters. In a marriage of this level, the other party would also have to bear considerable pressure.

However, as the actual successor of the old marshal, Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick, and his three elder brothers were actually excluded from the succession due to health reasons. His two elder sisters married the Prince of Württemberg and the British Crown Prince, commonly known as the Prince of Wales. Although it was just a ducal family working for Prussia, it had two ducal titles and a decent-sized territory, and had made many marriages with Britain and Prussia, so the status of the duchy was still very stable.

The presence of the Duke himself in the barracks was actually expected. According to the old Prussian military system, this regiment would be reorganized into the 12th Infantry Regiment in the future, but it was still named after the regimental commander.

Then, when the French quickly passed through Berlin, all these troops of the old military system, including the field troops and garrison troops, finally laid down their arms and were disarmed, and were reduced to ashes.

But it has not happened yet. Given the current state of the Prussian army, they are still using the old training methods from the time of Frederick the Great. When he first met Langgeron, the count's complaints were somewhat reasonable.

Now the formation of this infantry regiment is very strict, and any soldier who violates discipline will be whipped.

As for Duke Frederick William, with his appearance and the whip in his hand, when combined with Mary's lovely appearance, he looks a bit like Zhang Fei and Lady Xiahou.

"Your Excellency, this major of the Russian Guards has come from Petersburg and wants to see you."

"Ask him to come in."

When he met the Duke, considering the difference in military rank and title, he had to take off his bicorne hat, hold it with his arm, and nod to show respect when he entered the room.

"Sir, I am Major Mikhail Soloviev, aide-de-camp to Emperor Alexander. I am on a mission to Schwerin and Dresden under the orders of our Emperor. I passed by your place on the way and remembered the Empress's request, so I came to visit you."

"Oh, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth asked you to come. How is my fiancée's family doing recently? My father-in-law is in danger in Sweden. I heard that a Russian major risked his life to protect him."

"That person is me. Not long ago, Her Majesty the Queen and her family visited Sweden and spent the summer at Lake Mälaren, enjoying a rare and wonderful time."

This also included several intimate nights with him. Solovyov was even afraid that Louisa was pregnant with his child again at this time. Then he couldn't explain it clearly. After all, it wouldn't be as coincidental as last time.

"My father-in-law also wrote to me about this matter. They are on their way back to Karlsruhe. I think they will come to Brunswick in a few days. Mary and I are getting married. I'm sure Her Majesty the Queen is also worried about her sister, right?"

"I think so, otherwise His Highness would not have told me separately in Stockholm before returning to St. Petersburg to visit Brunswick before going to Dresden. The Crown Princess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin is our Highness Elena, who has already set out for a visit to Brunswick."

"Yes, we were very good friends when we were in Berlin. It's great that Frederick Ludwig and Helena can come. I am also looking forward to their visit. As a host, I must also do my duty to entertain them."

After he finished speaking, he leaned on the table and motioned Solovyov to sit down.

"Sit down, Major. You came here because you must have heard of my reputation." "You are right. After all, your father is also a famous general from the last era."

However, what will be more famous in the future is that he led the main force of the Prussian army to be divided by the French detachment, which led to the most glorious victory in Davout's military career.

The old man still had some command skills, and he was the nephew of King Frederick the Great. However, he was always very conservative in fighting and often let his opponents win.

The strongest member of the Brunswick family should be Prince Ferdinand, the uncle of Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, who once led the Prussian army to defeat the French army commanded by the Duke of Richelieu.

But what's even worse about their family is that among all the old duke's children, only the "Black Duke" is actually a normal person, and even his sisters are extremely bad.

Solovyov knew that William's mother's death was very strange, mainly because it happened suddenly, but for some reason, even the Russian side did not know what happened in the Estonian castle. The Princess of Wales herself was unfaithful to Prince George, and after the two had Princess Charlotte, they actually separated.

The rough man in front of him tends to speak in an impassioned tone. He is a warrior, and he is also very reckless, and he loves his fiancée.

But when he saw him, Solovyov always wondered if Louisa's worries were correct and whether the timid Mary could get the happiness that belonged to her.
After all, although this person is normal, he looks very aggressive and he didn't even go to the cavalry unit. With such a fierce general look, he should be among those reckless guys.

"Yes, but you can come home with me, too. I'm getting married, after all. And I found you interesting. People say the Russians are barbarians. Even my father's old soldiers often say so. They remember the battles with you at Zaundorf and Groß Jaegersdorf. The great old king also said that it takes two shots and a push to knock down a Russian soldier. But you look like a Frenchman, the Frenchman defeated by my great-uncle."

"It's true that my stepmother is French, but I don't have any French blood. You may be referring to my dress. Although I wear the uniform of the Guards, I dress more like a French person after the revolution. This may be because my stepmother added some decorations when she commissioned the tailor to modify the clothes. No wonder, when His Majesty Paul was here, I was the commander of his Guards Battalion, and I was not allowed to dress like this at that time. Now, our emperor is Alexander. The style of the military uniforms under his rule is unified, but there are also some personalities."

"I think so too. Can you drink? We can go and talk. I see that you are young and your family is not prominent, but you can still serve as an aide-de-camp. You must have some outstanding qualities."

"As long as you don't ask me to gulp down a large glass of draft beer, I can't drink much, but I can drink."

"Hahaha, that's fine too. How can there be a soldier who can't drink a bit of alcohol?"

The more Solovyov listened to him, the more he wondered how this guy could be such a lawless outlaw.
Especially on his weapon rack, there are Ulan lances used by lancers.
Of course, there were benefits to the drink, as the de facto heir to the Duke invited the Major to his home.

But at the dinner table, the duke was also complaining.

Solovyov knew about his family's situation, but he didn't expect it to be so bad.

"My father and mother gave birth to seven of us brothers and sisters, but now, this family... damn, has to rely on the old man and me to support it! After my great-uncle passed away, not to mention the old man, my uncle still has a fief in Silesia. He has no son, and I have to take care of him all the time! My eldest brother is a good man, but he can't even speak clearly. He only knows how to imitate the old man's style. Fortunately, he doesn't cause any trouble."

"Sir, you shouldn't drink like that either."

"You can't drink much, can't I drink more? Damn it, who said being a master is a good thing? As a master, my life is harder than being a soldier. The old man is old, and when he is gone, this family will have to rely on me, do you know that?"

Solovyov did not know what the Duchess of Södermanland, Gustav IV's aunt, thought of this family. If he knew, he would probably say that the description was very accurate.

If we meet him by then, there might be a lot of funny things to say. After all, the duke's three elder brothers are Emperor Hui of Jin, Emperor An of Jin, and a performance artist. His family is miserable enough, but he is the only one who is an outlaw and can be considered a normal person.

Living in the Prussian barracks would allow him to observe the army up close. The training level of the old Prussian army was now very poor after the loss of Frederick the Great and a series of veterans.

The main quality that Frederick William possessed was courage, which alone should not be of much use.

The last remnant of the Prussian army was his father, the nephew of King Frederick the Great. He was the only famous general in the Prussian army at that time, but he protested against Frederick William II's actions and chose to retire and go home to manage the territory of the Duchy of Brunswick.

Given the current situation of the Prussian army, it is no wonder that when Suvorov was still in office, he was always sarcastic and many veteran generals in the army expressed their opposition.

But there are still some things that can be learned and referenced in this army. Besides, I will go to Luneburg to attend the Duke's wedding later, so I have to pay him a visit.

Solovyov himself felt that when he met Suvorov, the old man was already old enough to be ready to meet God at any time, and there was very little he could teach him. If he relied on self-study, he would be able to be a battalion commander or a regiment commander, and would be better than many regiment commanders in the Russian army. But if he wanted to go further, there was really no master who could guide him.

When it comes to tactics and battles, the Duke of Brunswick's theory should be relatively solid. Although he has strict discipline, according to the description of his reckless son, he will always respond to requests from others, even if that person is a stranger.

And there is another point to note, the old duke is the brother-in-law of George III, the father-in-law of the future George IV, and the grandfather of Princess Charlotte of Wales. With this relationship, it would be very convenient to get a letter of introduction if he goes to the UK.

(End of this chapter)