Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 288 055 It is an HBO tradition to have fun at a party, but not here

When the food was about to be served, Solovyov also noticed the long table in the Rostov family and the tableware on it.

Considering the financial resources of a local earl, the ceremony was so luxurious that it even surpassed that of some Moscow nobles.

Of course, one must also consider Count Rostov’s status and position, which must be matched, but considering his financial ability, it must be gradually declining.

Even if a family is well-off, if they want to maintain such a grand occasion with limited daily income, they will not be able to bear it in the future.

Of course, it’s not clear now.

Guests sat down at the long table one after another. Count Rostov was indeed very hospitable and he also asked the waiter to wait in the back to serve the dishes.

Solovyov looked at the dishes and found that the most common one was grouse.

Speaking of grouse, I have to say it is.
However, eating donkey meat is not popular in Ryazan yet. Perhaps it is because Count Bobulinsky pays more attention to the "coastal market". There is only one hotel opened in Moscow in the hinterland of Russia, so it does not have much impact on Ryazan.

But his idea of ​​having a donkey feast on Count Rostov's table was quite a bad idea.

Because he had served as an aide-de-camp to the Tsar, Count Rostov let him sit closer to the emperor. Of course, this table was not in Moscow, so there were not so many rules.

"Misha, I heard you've been to Paris before, how was it there?"

"To be honest, Paris is not that good. A lot of things happened when I was there, mainly the conspiracy against Napoleon. Before I left Paris, all kinds of rumors were already circulating on the streets there. Louis XVIII has never been selfish. In general, the revolution is like a scalpel that directly removes the diseased parts of the internal organs. France is already so conflicted that this kind of thing is bound to happen, but it's a bargain for the British."

It sounds strange, but Solovyov still likes to set traps for Britain on a daily basis. As for support for the French Revolution, the situation in Russia is different.

"And in Russia?"

"My Lord, I think the Emperor will naturally have his own ideas. What Russia needs to do now is to dismantle the dangerous bombs one by one step by step. Once a revolution occurs, it will be extremely violent. At this time, it may be an advantage for the powerful enemies around us, or even the Turks who cannot defeat us."

After hearing this, the senior official didn't say anything more. Anyway, this person's attitude was similar to that of the Tsar himself. He called for gradual reforms, but Russia did not need a revolution now.

Solovyov would not tell outsiders his true thoughts. He believed that the revolutionary groups in Russia were immature and that such a revolution would only result in rivers of blood, rather than the results that people expected.

Of course, the revolutionary actions became somewhat of a disaster under the British propaganda. They have always been like this, regarding any country that threatens their status as an enemy.

Now it's France. After defeating France, it will be Russia, Prussia and Austria. No matter how strong they are, they will not threaten the British within 50 years.

If there is no enemy, they will create one.

However, the British also sometimes make mistakes. After several generations of the "Great Game" in Central Asia, the British themselves finally believed that they were just one step behind.

This was the result of Britain striking Russia at the doorstep of Crimea, but that was 50 years later.

Speaking of Crimea, Solovyov has many connections with Crimea. His stepmother and father met there. Louisa often lived in the Tavrid Palace. The title of Prince Vasily Dolgorukov's father was "Prince Krimsky" to commemorate his contributions in the Crimean War. He himself was also considering visiting Tavrid Province and, if he had the opportunity in the future, he could serve there.

But it also depends on luck. Alexander wants him to go to Smolensk to strengthen the armaments.

Once a war breaks out with France, the army departing from the heart of Russia will have two main directions to go. One is to advance along the Baltic Sea, and the other is to follow the route of Suvorov's last expedition, the latter of which he is obviously more familiar with.

General Apraksin did not participate in the expedition, but going to him could also be helpful.

After the banquet, there were still receptions, and Count Rostov was also interested in introducing his family to friends who came to his estate for the first time.

Nicholas obviously had some respect for Solovyov. After all, he was from the Guards, and apart from the early letters of recommendation, he had the help of noble people, and his promotions afterwards were basically all based on his own abilities.

"Mikhail, you are also a role model for us."

"But I have always been an infantryman, and you are a hussar, which is different. I also have friends who are hussars. They are very majestic when riding on horses. If your family is not well off, you will probably be stretched to the limit in terms of daily expenses."

Well, his perspective is always rather peculiar.

Petya, who was still very young, came over, stood at attention in front of Solovyov, and saluted.

The child had been likable since childhood, and Solovyov returned the gift.

"But my brother Petya is not in the military. My father said that it was enough to have one soldier in the family, and he wanted him to study more."

"He's still young now. When he's thirteen or fourteen, he insists on joining the army, and you won't be able to stop him."

Nikolai nodded in agreement, and then he began to introduce his two sisters and Sonya.

"Vera and Natasha, my sisters, and Sonya, we..."

"What is your relationship?"

"This is my cousin."

In fact, Sonya's ending was not good. It was all because of the dowry. The Rostov family had already declined before the war began. If Nicholas had not been lucky enough to meet Maria and run the estate with his wife to turn things around, it would have been just another declining noble family.

And in the current situation in Russia, if you have enough bullets and your wife has many sons, your children will have titles from birth, and they may even be princes rather than counts. After all, some families have many children and are able to raise them all.

"I understand, Nikolay, but will you take your pistol with you when you go to the Hussars?"

"Of course I will use it. I really like revolvers. I think you invented them. Even our regiment commander suggested that all officers buy carbines made in Izhevsk at their own expense."

"Then the Hussars will become the French chasseurs?"

“I thought it made sense, so I bought one.”

"Then you must choose a good horse to ride, one that can bear the weight of you and your pile of weapons."

"But sometimes even the officers of the infantry don't ride horses in the battlefield. It must be very hard for you to travel."

"yes."

Nikolai is a good man. He is the most normal-minded among the Rostov family, but he is always betrayed by his "friends". However, he also has a sincere friend, Denisov.

As for Natasha, who was still young, she was lively and cute, but not very beautiful. For a child of this age, growth might be more important. Who knows what she will look like in the future? As for Vera, she seemed to have no sense of existence. Solovyov had no impression of her at all.

Actually, the dowry for her was a considerable sum, and it almost put the old earl into a financial crisis.

After all, this family was a respectable one in Ryazan, and Count Rostov was the leader of the provincial nobility, so it was inevitable that they would show off.

"Anyway, I'm glad to meet you here. Speaking of which, my sister Yulia is about the same age as Natasha, and I have younger brothers and sisters. The reason for this is that my father remarried and married my stepmother, but it would be awkward to call her mother, as she is only five years older than me."

"What's your name, then?"

"Vera, it's more convenient to call each other by name, but with my brothers and sisters, that's another matter."

Come to think of it, Vera seems to be a bit rash, just like Natasha.

But she was lucky enough that a German officer serving in Russia proposed to her. As to which state he was from, it was indeed a bit complicated.

While dancing, it was obvious that Polish music was also popular here, but Solovyov had no intention of going on stage to dance.

He went over to Count Rostov and prepared to continue talking about some serious matters.

The count agreed with his idea. The senior official himself was appointed by Alexander, and he would only obey the orders of the Tsar himself unconditionally. It would not be strange if he opened a letter, could only read the beginning, and then burst into tears.

After all, in Russia, such chameleons, from top to bottom, are not rare, and are a wonderful subject for satire.

"You are going to build a factory. From now on, even in winter, it will start working. I hope it will be finished in spring."

"So it has to be divided into two parts, Ilya Andreevich. One part is the construction of the factory building, and the other part is to find a suitable place to make the samples. If it is a fountain pen factory, it is relatively simple. However, to build a canning factory for military supplies, it is also necessary to cooperate with a glass factory that makes glass bottles and a tinplate canning factory. These all need to form a chain. If canning cannot be done in the form of a factory, a manual workshop can also be established. The number of cans that one person can make every day is only a few dozen, so a skilled blacksmith is needed."

"I understand. You can make a list for me. The senior officials only approve it, but if you want to do things, you still need to find various parties, including those small civil servants. The current ninth-rank civil servants will not do anything without money. Even if there is an imperial edict, there is still a way."

Although the old earl prefers fun, he still has some rules when it comes to serious matters.

The problem of these bureaucrats is not unique to Russia. Bureaucracy has always existed since the day officials came into being. If they want to mess something up, it is visibly easy.

"Thank you. Now these things are ready to go."

"Have you any Tatar relatives?"

"No."

"Your statement is either Tatar or..."

"It must have something to do with the Khitans. They call themselves the Central Kingdom, and they have a long history, and their civilization has been passed down."

"You must be very knowledgeable about this."

"Yes, but Oriental studies is a very profound subject. The study of China is only a part of it. It also involves the surrounding civilizations. If you take this project seriously, it is a very large-scale system."

The Kazan Imperial University, established in 1804 and later known as Kazan University, conducted research in this area.

"If you hadn't joined the army, you would have achieved something in your studies."

"That's difficult, Ilya Andreevich. I can only translate some literary works, and that's the limit."

"Ah, that would be interesting."

Although the old count himself did not read much, he was still willing to get some interesting books for the children.

But what Solovyov has to do this winter is.

Is he going to tell the story of the Don River?

After all, Water Margin gave the Cossacks a strong sense of déjà vu.

After the show, Solovyov also wanted to stay here. After all, Lanenburg was quite a distance away from Ryazan, and he needed to rush back the next morning.

That night, Nicholas came over and chatted with him all night.

Anyway, they had to go back the next day and sleep in the carriage. Solovyov chatted with the enthusiastic Nikolai for a long time.

But the Rostovs are all so generous, it's really outrageous.

"If you think it's appropriate, Nicholas, you should do it. I believe in you."

"Thank you, Mikhail, but I've always been curious, why don't you grow a beard?"

"You mean a mustache like yours?"

"That's it." Nicholas twirled his beard with his hands. The mustache was trimmed well.

"I think I'd better forget it. My hair isn't thick enough to grow a beard, so I'll just shave it off. This way my face looks neat."

Also, beards aren't very popular in St. Petersburg.

What's more, the early Romans did not grow beards. The statues with big beards all date back to the Roman Empire period.

Since Russia calls itself the "Third Rome" and Peter the Great liked to trim his beard, Russian men's chins are still very clean.

After chatting with Nikolay for a while, he seemed a little exhausted. He didn't rest well in Moscow and he kept working non-stop after coming back.

As a result, he overslept that day and didn't get up until almost noon.

I could even catch the Rostovs' lunch.
However, during this trip to the Rostovs' house, Solovyov did make a friend named Nikolai, although the threshold to becoming his friend was relatively low.

(End of this chapter)