Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 284 Andre and Pierre

By July 1804, things seemed to have calmed down in St. Petersburg.

The social topic this month is that although Napoleon has become emperor, his coronation ceremony has not yet arrived, so people are more likely to talk about Maria's marriage to Saxe-Weimar and where Catherine, the most favored princess, will marry.

However, it is still a bit early to talk about Catherine's problem, although she is sixteen years old and her second sister has already given birth to children at this age.

But Elena's body developed well and she did not suffer too much. Although she was a little weak now, she was recuperating and resting in the old palace in Schwerin. She wrote back to tell Constantine that she had recovered and was looking forward to Maria's visit to Weimar.

In this way, the three sisters who married into the German princes would have found it easier to move around in peacetime.

Solovyov recalled the scenes when these girls played games together and how they often ordered him around. However, he did not make the same sigh as the webmaster. He could only say that time is like a galloping wild donkey. He is still young now, and it will be the same for another five years. But if a few more girls come, he will no longer be young.

But today, when he saw the petite Lisa at Andre's place, he didn't know what to say.

Apparently there really is a plot, but it has not yet been triggered. At present, Andre and Lisa have just gotten married, and Pierre has not been back from Paris for long.

"It's really interesting. We all know each other, but this is the first time we sit together."

"Yes, in Paris, Mikhail and I were already familiar with our apartment on the rue Montmartre."

"And your story in Paris is indeed very interesting."

"But it would be more interesting in Petersburg."

"But that's not all, Mikhail. You have a good reputation in Petersburg, but you can't compare with some other people in the Guards."

Andrei was referring to some officers in the Guards who often caused trouble. Perhaps the only thing that Solovyov had in common with them was that he was also a Guards officer.

"And I'm going to Smolensk. Is your Bald Hills estate there?"

"Yes, I first met you in Moscow, before my father was banished to his homeland because of his dispute with the Emperor."

"He must have been thinking about making a summary for Alexander Vasilyevich, right? Nikolai Nikolayevich himself refused to write, and he was also at the Danube front in Remnik at that time."

“My father still hopes that young people will look at the war history of the generalissimo from a fresh perspective, rather than what was written by their generation.”

"I know that for this, no matter if he writes it carefully or asks his secretary to record it, it will not make people feel satisfied."

"So you, the translator, are you interested in writing it?"

“If I didn’t have so much work to do and it was a tough economic time, I would do that.”

"Yes, you are no longer an adjutant. There will be a lot of things to do in the regiment, especially in a new regiment like the Selenge Regiment. There is a regiment leader who doesn't appear often, and there are only new recruits below. It will be very hard."

"Andre, forget it. You are still working in the headquarters. People are needed everywhere. And Pierre, I'm sorry that we didn't take your feelings into consideration. We are all active military personnel, so we always talk a lot about this aspect."

"No, what you said is still very insightful. At times like this, I can try to be a listener, or..."

"Yes, Pierre is right, you guys are always talking about the war and we don't know what to say."

"Lisa, can you tell me what happened in Petersburg and what is going to happen?"

Apparently, Andre is still accommodating to Lisa, and he is not cold towards his petite wife.

"That way we can both talk more, can't we, Pierre?"

"Well, I suppose there will be some pleasant things, too, like the latest play that came on, a play from France."

"But the author is right here, Mishka, you are really talented, are you a genius?"

"No, madame. I had the idea in my salons when I first arrived in Paris, but I had not expected to perform in French when I came back."

"But everyone who has seen it likes it very much, and the stage effect is also very satisfactory. I saw one when I was in Paris. When I returned to St. Petersburg, I also saw a performance of this kind."

"But this is Russia. It seems like there are two worlds. We always speak French here, but below the ninth-rank civil servants, most people still speak Russian. This kind of separation is not good. We should break down these boundaries and barriers."

"Mikhail, I don't think that's the kind of talk you heard from Count Stroganov."

Andrei thought that the environment in St. Petersburg was not good. Even an open-minded family like Count Stroganov was quite restricted.

"No, Andrei, you have to consider the situation in Russia. Have you been to Paris? The situation I saw in Paris is even worse. Although I admit that the new French emperor is a great man, he should not be free of worries. He needs a legitimate son to inherit his career."

This is indeed an unstable factor. After all, Solovyov's aunt is not young anymore. When designating a family member, she can only give priority to the children of Louis and Hortense.

"Sometimes you hit the nail on the head, Mikhail, and more often you do it unintentionally."

"Yeah, sometimes I don't know what's going on either."

"Pierre, what do you think?"

"Perhaps Mikhail has his own judgment, or even his instinct."

What Pierre meant was that fear is a "killer's instinct," Solovyov thought.

Of course, there are so many differences between the three of them, and perhaps what Andre said is right, Pierre is the only living person in the circle.

Everyone here seems to be wearing a mask, including Solovyov himself.

And Lisa was still somewhat patient with their discussion, at least she loved Andre very much.

But fate played a cruel joke on her. With her petite figure, it was quite dangerous for her to give birth.

For a girl who has just married at this age, giving birth to her first child may be a near-death experience, but things will get better in the future.

Perhaps, there will be improvements in medical issues and many changes will occur.

Looking at her, she felt as lively as Natasha, but much more obedient. If someone teased her, she would not fall into any trap. Such a girl was obviously very suitable for Andrei, but after a period of time, although his love might not disappear, his attitude would change.

As for Pierre, he is a different case. He does have poor eyesight and is easily deceived, but he is also a true friend.

We should cherish such friends instead of causing them trouble and adding unnecessary worries.

"Pierre, if you are talking about instinct, I am finishing a book, but it is only available to a few people. It may be made public in the future, and perhaps it will contain the answer you are talking about."

"You like to set up puzzles, Mikhail, which is not a good thing."

"But we have to keep it secret at this time, Pierre, you should understand."

"Yes, I have to keep a secret for many people. Sometimes, I feel the same way."

That is, Solovyov did not really need his comfort, but Pierre always did this when he did not know what to do and was still free and unrestrained.

Then, his bad luck and the fact that he is indeed severely nearsighted will affect many problems.

If someone comes to cheat others, he will definitely suffer a lot.

In St. Petersburg, one must be especially careful of a swindler named Kurakin, who covets other people's property.

When Solovyov returned home, he could also hear about this property issue, mainly his father talking about Yulia's dowry.

The dowry now has obviously increased with the changes in the situation in St. Petersburg.

Tsar Paul prepared dowries for his five daughters during his lifetime. However, there was a small problem. At that time, not so much was needed, so Alexander sometimes had to give his sisters a one-time subsidy. The later they married, the more this was the case. However, Catherine should have received more than Anna, after all, she was the most favored.

No wonder Anna sometimes complains about her mother's partiality.
Nowadays, a group of jewels are added to weddings, and some of them have to be selected from the royal treasures.

However, Weimar has always been a city of culture and art, so there are not so many theft cases. This kind of thing is more likely to happen in the Low Countries and France.

The French palaces were robbed on a large scale when the country lost order. When it came to the lowlands, the thefts were much more numerous. It was not like the French queen who only lost a few things.

Queen Mother Maria was also very satisfied with this son-in-law, and there was also a blood relationship between them. The groom and Maria were distant cousins, but he was a closer cousin with Luisa.

This is reasonable, except that Maria also used "plagiarized" music at her wedding. Although good music would seem vulgar in the future due to excessive use, it is obviously ahead of its time to appreciate excerpts of Wagner's works here, and it also satisfied Maria.

After her marriage, she would live in St. Petersburg for a while, and then go to Weimar at the end of the year.

It is said that another girl in the palace has been married off, making this home seem less lively than before.

Louisa's children were still too young, so the two older daughters served as flower girls for their aunt this time.

They may be considered a "professional team" in the future. Before they get married, they will most likely assist the other two unmarried aunts in completing this ceremony.

Then, it is their turn.

However, if these girls want to get married, they have to wait until the war in Europe is almost over. That is when it will be a truly peaceful era.

Maria was also satisfied with her husband, but the troubles she would encounter in the future had just begun. They had nothing to do with them, but came from Western Europe.

Next, Solovyov and Count Bobulinsky will go to Moscow first, and then return to Ryazan to take care of the affairs of the estate and study the coal mine owned by Count Bobulinsky and how to install a steam engine for the coal mine.

Only after that did he go to Smolensk to officially take up his post.

On the way, he was also thinking about what to do in the near future.

He was indeed very busy. He didn't need to arrange anything at home, but when he arrived in Moscow and Ryazan, he had a lot of people to visit.

There is still more to do in Smolensk. The Selenge Regiment has been established for several years, and he still needs to test its level on the training ground.

Paul's method actually has little effect on "field exercises", but it is very effective in streamlining the training intensity of the army and the daily performance of officers.

As for Moscow, he was still looking forward to it, as he would spend a considerable amount of time there, and would also attend a conference at the Moscow Imperial University.

By the way, because of her lover, Louisa is also very interested in the fossils of ancient creatures. She will not participate in such academic exchanges, but she will discuss those cute animals and interesting animal fossils with Solovyov.

In this way, even if Alexander read the letter written by his wife, he would not be able to realize what kind of relationship they had.

Of course, he didn't care too much. After all, his wife had a good relationship with his lover, and this kind of harmonious family relationship was what he wanted.

Next, Alexander's main focus was on government reform rather than the military.

For the Russian generals, the later the emperor turned his attention to military affairs, the better it would be for them.

Therefore, if Alexander had been a tyrant, it might have been a good thing for Russia, as the offline monarchy has many benefits.

Although that was the "system" he adopted later, he was not stupid at all, but rather very smart.

But he just likes to interfere in a lot of things, but he doesn't have the ability to do so now, do you know?

Who can guarantee that he will be able to perform normally in the key battle of the anti-French alliance in 1805?

However, the Russian army's inherent training problems do need to be corrected.

Suvorov once felt very strange that many generals, when leading their troops, often did not train some very practical subjects, and even lacked shooting training.

As for his own theories, they are often misinterpreted.

As for Solovyov, he once had high hopes for him, but it was a pity that such a smart child who could understand things quickly only appeared when he was very old, and he was unable to correct many of his shortcomings.

Therefore, he also entrusted several of his old friends to supervise this de facto closed disciple.

(End of this chapter)