Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 237 004 The biggest "female devil" in Marseille

Count Vorontsov's actions were actually very smooth. After all, after the assassination of Tsar Paul, the two sides had in-depth exchanges of views on various aspects through the embassy. Although the Tsar's death sounded a bit in vain, Britain and Russia still reached a lot of consensus in the diplomatic field.

In particular, an agreement to strengthen bilateral trade activities by exporting raw materials from Russia and importing capital and industrial products from Britain.

At this stage, both Britain and France still hoped to win over Russia, so whatever they had to do was to get themselves more allies.

However, after the French had a fight with the Ottoman Empire, they invested some money in this friend of the "sacrilegious alliance" in the past. The French ambassador in Constantinople was trying to win over the Ottoman Empire.

At the same time, Britain was also using those pro-British factions in Russia who had not been cleared out after Alexander ascended the throne to work for the Russian Tsar.

Here we have to talk about the four key figures in Alexander's secret committee. Czartoryski is a Pole, Stroganov is a pro-French liberal, Kochubey is a pro-British liberal, and the remaining Novosiltsev is Stroganov's cousin, but he has no obvious inclination.

In addition, there was Speransky, but as the extra person among the "Four Heavenly Kings", his main task was to transform the results of discussions between the above four people and the Tsar himself into specific administrative measures, submit them to the Privy Council for discussion, and transfer them to various departments for implementation.

Now, Czartoryski became the Russian Foreign Minister, but he told Alexander that the restoration of Poland should also be part of Russia's foreign policy.

Just this. Alexander actually agreed to it. This is only true for his close friend with whom he can talk about anything. If it were someone else, it would be a different situation.

Of course, Count Stroganov was also in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and he did not comment on Czartoryski's suggestion.

However, he was more concerned about any news coming back from England and France.

"My Lord, this is a letter from France. The postmark shows that it was sent from Italy, but this is the wax seal of the military attaché in France."

"That's no problem. I know that Solovyov went to Rome. He went there to avoid the limelight. After all, even Louis XVIII, 'His Majesty', has sent a letter to protest against such a severe attack on friendly forces."

Of course, Stroganov would not have said that if it had not been for the reckless Misha who accidentally hit the jackpot and was a witness to the secret engagement between the semi-secluded French princess and Archduke Karl in Dresden, he would have sent it through a secret letter.

"The contents of this letter must also be transcoded."

Stroganov knew that Solovyov was going to do something, so he translated the secret code from a book he carried with him, "On the Rights and Duties of Citizens" by Father Mabury.

However, this is still a relatively basic version of the code. Solovyov would not have written it like this unless it was some important letter.

"Let me see. According to all the information I have received from Italy, war between Britain and France is still unavoidable."

After seeing this, Count Stroganov thought about it and realized that, as he had previously estimated, Britain and France would definitely not give in to each other.

Although Austria and Russia could make concessions to France on the issue of the Treaty of Lunéville, France's arrangements in Italy and Switzerland were nothing more than a garrison, a change in the political entity to the Swiss Confederation, and a report to the court in Vienna, which was also within the tacit consent of the defeated Austria.

However, both Britain and France believed that they had not lost to each other on the battlefield, so they were inevitably faced with a war.

Therefore, he also decided to go to Alexander. After all, as a member of the secret committee and the closest friend of the Tsar himself, he needed to be responsible to Alexander as both a friend and a minister.

Moreover, including Speranski, he was the only one among the five who had no selfish motives at all.

In terms of status, wealth and family, his life was perfect. He became Deputy Foreign Minister at a young age. His father was the richest man in Russia, and he, as the legitimate son, would be the only heir after his sister got married. He also had a wife who only loved him and their children. Even the temptation from the Tsar himself could not shake the Countess's focus on her family.

No matter how you look at it, he is still a template for a perfect personality.

Now, he came before Alexander.

"Pasha, what do you have to do today?"

"Report from Italy, sealed with the seal of the military attaché at the Paris Embassy."

Alexander was somewhat concerned about Solovyov, but he didn't know that his wife was madly in love with this young lieutenant colonel and that they had a close relationship. The reason for his concern was that his analysis reports were quite good and even a short letter could capture a lot of important intelligence.

For example, the last time Archduke Karl of Austria went to Dresden, Solovyov included a cartoon in his letter. Looking at the gloomy face, those who have seen him in person would know that it was Archduke Karl, and the cute girl was obviously the exiled French princess, and there was a Cupid shooting arrows from behind.

This time he was more direct. After Stroganov handed over the letter, he read it very clearly.

"What do you think?"

"I also think that a war between Britain and France is inevitable, but we won't see any signs of it until after the summer. But for us, it's still a long way off. If France really takes action, they will go to Hanover before winter, while the British will use the old method of blockading the main ports of France and its allies, and then sending the navy to attack the fleets and merchant fleets of France, Spain and the Batavia Republic in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. That's about it, Alexander. I don't think the situation is very optimistic."

"The two Count Vorontsov brothers believe that we should form a defensive alliance with Britain to curb France's aggressive posture."

"But there's no need to be so deliberate. First of all, the secretary and military attaché of the embassy should pay attention to the recent movements of the French. At least Misha is very responsible in his work. He sent two letters on the way to Italy, one to me and one to my wife. He reminded us of both official and private matters. He thinks it's not a good idea to invest in Western Europe now. He also mentioned that we should pay attention to the St. James Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. The quality of the dark beer there is very good. If we can expand production."

"He is indeed the son of a merchant, Pasha. Your family is also a royal merchant family. Compared with this kind of 'profiteer', you are still a little inferior."

"After all, his status allows him to move freely. If I go to France, I will get into trouble because of my father's friendship with Mr. Voltaire and my membership in the Jacobin Club. Count Morkov mentioned that Napoleon has recently used the bomb attack on Saint-Nicaise Street more than two years ago to attack the royalists and Jacobins at the same time."

"I hope Misha doesn't get into any trouble. He's a 'pretty boy' and it's easy for girls to pick on him when he's out there."

Alexander was also very generous. Not long after Louisa came back from Sweden, Alexander had an intimate life with her for a while. After the pregnancy test revealed she unfortunately had a miscarriage. It was confirmed that from the shape of the fetus, it was a boy - this made Alexander very sad, but he was sad only because he accompanied his wife for the next few days.

Louisa was very weak, so she went back to the Tavrid Palace to rest, where she was accompanied by her maids and sister Amalia. Then Alexander threw himself into the arms of Maria Naryshkina. Judging from the physical condition of the Polish girl, she has not yet responded, but it is very likely that she will conceive successfully. He still doesn't know the relationship between Louisa and Solovyov. Of course, his evaluation of his aide-de-camp was indeed correct.

After Solovyov arrived in Marseille, he was stopped by a tall but not very powerful police chief as he was riding into the city.

"Sheriff, I think if you think I was speeding, you should also consider that I was riding a horse, not driving a carriage. The speed of a horse must be faster than that of a carriage. A horse only needs to bear the weight of a person, not a carriage, so of course it will be faster."

"But, sir, even if you are a Russian diplomat, I still have to remind you that in Marseilles, you must ride slowly on the street and not let the horse run too fast."

"Captain Gilbert, you know that Italian horses are like this. They will be happy as long as they are moved. If it is an Orlov trotter from Russia, bred on Count Orlov's horse farm, it will usually behave very obediently."

What he said left Sheriff Gilbert helpless, but the "traffic police" of that era would not issue tickets.

"You can keep your horse in a stable, or sell it to a horse dealer because it is untamed, sir. This is a little advice."

"Thank you, Sheriff, but you look more like a Viking to me."

"Ha, maybe. My growth to this size may have something to do with those Nords."

But Solovyov was also wiping his sweat and said, "I've entered Marseille. Fortunately, there are no taxis here."

But it is not ruled out that there is another type, that is, the horse-drawn carriages running in the city of Marseille, which also have coachmen but do not require drivers.

When he arrived at the hotel, he also had to find someone to take care of the horse.

Now I need to relax, find a restaurant to have a meal and relax.

But this was his first time in Marseille. To be honest, the name of this city was derived from the ancient Greek colony Masseria. It would be more obvious if the root of the word was taken out.

The city is now actually divided into three parts, with three mayors. In fact, the administration of the entire city is somewhat chaotic.

But business was still prosperous. Whether it was maritime trade, or the route along the Cote d'Azur to Italy, or from the coastline through Perpignan to Catalonia, they were all very busy trade routes.

At this time, if he went to a restaurant and ordered a bowl of bouillabaisse, a baguette and coffee, it might be troublesome without a reservation.

But he was lucky and found a seat in a high-end restaurant.

Of course, he didn't notice that there were dangerous people lurking nearby.

At least, he had learned from his previous lessons and would not suddenly pull out his gun and shoot people.

But a lady noticed him. After all, he was good-looking and could easily attract ladies' attention.

As for the Corsican dialect, Solovyov was unlikely to pay attention to it. He was sitting near the window and did not pay attention to what was inside.

The young widow Polina has a problem: she falls in love with everyone she meets, and she is not a bit picky about food.

Of course, if she meets someone very unique, she will pay special attention to him.

"Look, that young man is really handsome."

Solovyov took off his hat at this moment. His hair was well taken care of. He didn't even need a wig. He could braid his hair with his own hair and style it on both sides if necessary. His hair volume, hair color and hair quality were very enviable, even for girls.

Moreover, he had neglected to take care of his beard during the journey and even grew a small mustache, which he would shave off when he arrived in Paris.

From this perspective, fewer people would say that he "looks like a girl", except for Count Stroganov's mother-in-law. After all, that lady was nicknamed "The Queen of Spades" and "The Mustache Lady".

In addition, compared with the average white male's skin, his skin is not the rough type, but looks more delicate. Indeed, after shaving and dressing up carefully, he looks handsome and more attractive.

Then, Polina kept her eyes on him, but because Solovyov ate so quickly, he quickly tipped the waiter, paid the bill and left, so Polina didn't pay any more attention to him.

The fact that he eats very quickly is very similar to his second brother.

"Pauletta, did you find an interesting bird?"

"No, I think it's a little bear, a little bear from Russia. Such pretty boys are my type, ah"

Seeing her being so infatuated, Julie, as her sister-in-law, could do nothing.

Joseph Bonaparte and his wife returned to Marseille to comfort the wounded heart of poor Pauline. She had been depressed for a while after losing her husband. Although she still liked to flirt with young officers as straightforwardly as before, because her son was sick and she herself was not feeling well, she moved from Toulon to Marseille and stayed there for a month before she recovered.

"If you find a Russian man, Napoleon might mind it. As your sister-in-law, I know the tempers of your brothers."

"Well, Julie. It's not easy to find a boy like this. He looks younger than me. You know, Jerome is a stupid brother who makes trouble for his brother and hides in America."

Solovyov should be thankful that he escaped danger and was not monitored by this "female devil" in Marseille.

(End of this chapter)