Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 291 058 Go to Tongshan Manor
Major General Zubov did not interfere with the arrangements of military training, and his military rank was only that of major general. He was even more unknown. Compared with the Zubov family in St. Petersburg, the only thing that might be closer to them was their surname.

Solovyov was actually in charge of the Selenge Regiment, and the reason was not anything else. Although the old Selenge Regiment and the current Selenge Regiment had no inheritance, the composition of the troops was still highly consistent, and the source of the soldiers was still the soldiers along the Siberian settlements.

Then, Solovyov felt that the world was still very wonderful. There were many brothers who were contractors in his regiment, including Tuvans, Buryats, Tatars, and mixed-race people. The races were quite complete.

But their Russian accent is also weird, there's nothing we can do about it as it's limited by the conditions.

"Master, you are so young, yet you are sitting in such a position. You should know that we have all traveled thousands of miles from our hometown to get here."

"At least you all know Russian, but what do you believe in?"

"We still believe in the Tengri, but there's nothing wrong with us worshipping Christ with you."

Well, this is no longer the original Tengri belief. Russia has Eastern Orthodoxy as its state religion. It has not learned the Jesuit way of adapting to local customs, but it still relatively respects local customs. It is not like the Roman Catholic Church. Don't think that the emperor of China, the king of Korea, and the generals of the shogunate do not buy into their practices. It is not like the small Southern Ming court can write a letter for help begging the "heavenly soldiers" and the Holy See can control them.

Solovyov did not interfere with their beliefs. It would not be impossible if they could provide a shaman or monk to accompany the army. After all, there were Kalmyks in the Russian army, and those who returned to the east were the Torghut people.

But he also thought of a question, which is how good are these soldiers' shooting skills.

"What do you do in your hometown?"

"Master, we are all hunters."

"Ah, no wonder."

It was obvious that Solovyov intended to incorporate them into the jäger company and use them as skirmishers.

But he was not sure whether he could really use it, as it required training.

But before winter, there was no shooting training and no bullets were distributed, so he had no choice.

You have to know that based on the strength of a regiment, the money spent is often beyond the personal affordability of the regiment leader, and they have to make some money from it. This is actually a daily routine in Europe, especially in Prussia. This was already commonplace in the old Prussian regiments. Even the "problem" that Tsar Paul found for Suvorov included about 10 rubles of unclear military expenditure accounts. Even the field marshal himself did not have this problem, and it was a common phenomenon in the Russian army.

He wanted to raise his own troops, but this would be very costly, and he would have to be transferred in the future, so it would not work if the money issue was unclear.

This is not like the Guards, when the army in front of the Tsar had sufficient budget.

Therefore, he could only increase the training of the chasseurs, but he was still waiting for orders from St. Petersburg.

If the standards of shooting training can be improved every year, the combat effectiveness of this army can be raised to a higher level.

Of course, in the battle between line infantry, it is inevitable that there will be funny scenes of both sides firing guns into the sky.

Therefore, he also thought about making adjustments to make the soldiers' shooting more accurate.

At this time, he also thought about asking General Apraksin for instructions in the name of testing, but the Governor was not in the city recently.

I have to put this matter aside for now. I have told Andre before that I want to go to Tongshan’s estate to visit his father, the old duke with a weird temper.

Maybe he could hear some interesting things from him, so he decided to set off.

"Stachenko, what are you selling lately?"

"Your Excellency, we are just buying some pickled meat from the countryside. This stuff is durable in storage. If we sell it to other groups as frozen fish, maybe we can make a profit."

This guy learned very quickly and directly learned the "frozen fish" that he used to say when he was insulting others.

"So what price will Quartermaster Staschenko offer to the other regiments' quartermasters for the 'frozen fish'?"

"It's just a few dollars more per barrel. Of course, I only take a small commission. The rest of the fee will be handed over to the group. I can't hide it from you."

"It's good that you know what you are doing. Can you use the money in your regiment's account to buy some good things for the brothers? They still need to eat well during the holidays."

"But Carnival is still a long way off, and winter is almost here. I don't know what you think."

"Ah, we'll talk about it later. I'm going to the estate at Tongshan to visit Marshal Bolkonsky who is unemployed at home. Several battalion commanders are not at home these days. You have to take good care of these people in the regiment. If they don't listen to you, you know what to do, right?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel, make them all stand on the playground, sticking to the ground like frozen fish."

"Ah, Statzenko."

Speaking of which, the quartermaster looks quite funny indeed.

"When the commander of the first battalion, Petrov, returns, your mission will be lifted. Just hold on for a few days."

But looking at his condition, he really can't hold on for too long.

But going to Andre's house is already on the agenda.

His Orlov trotter had remained in Petersburg and had not been brought to Smolensk.

But the regiment still had some good horses, so he picked one out and rode to Tongshan.

The distance was not far. He set out on horseback in the morning and arrived there quickly.

When we arrived at Tongshan's manor, the gate was also closed, but the scenery in the garden was indeed very beautiful.

Autumn is indeed what it should be like, with fallen leaves all over the ground.

When we got here, we didn't have to wait too long. Andre was walking and chatting with the old duke in the woods.

By the way, the old duke was indeed particular and arranged for four musicians to play a quartet in the courtyard.

"Look there, Mikhail is really coming here on horseback."

"He is at Suvorov's place, and he brought his jaegers and band with him, playing drums and gongs. Among your friends, this playful kid is the most troublesome."

"Father, you asked to see him."

"Yes, I want to see what he can do. When Kutuzov passed by me, he praised him highly. Besides, you have to make your own choice of where to go in the army. Kutuzov asked you to be an adjutant."

The old duke thought that the job of adjutant was not very good and he should be changed to another position.

He ordered the servant to open the door of the manor. Solovyov came in with a horse. Although he had seen the old prince a long time ago, he was not familiar with him, and he could not be as casual as he was with Suvorov. The "Prussian King" said this when he saw the young lieutenant colonel coming in with a horse.

"Son, you are the Solovyov that Andrei mentioned, right? I have some impression of your father, a retired major with a broken leg. He was an adjutant in Crimea. I never thought he would raise a son who is so brave."

"Nicholas Andreevich, you were quite famous in the past when you were fighting the Turks in the Crimea."

"We were in Remnik at the time. Poor Kutuzov was shot twice in the same spot in his eye. He only had one eye, but he was very good at judging people. He said that your father could not change his nature as a smuggler and was just a shrewd quartermaster. But you are different. You look very energetic. Have you ever made military achievements in Italy?"

"Yes, Your Excellency the Marshal."

The old prince always spoke in a sarcastic tone, but his attitude did not necessarily mean that he was dissatisfied with Solovyov.

"Ah, your family background is not bad. It is said that your grandfather was the money manager for Menshikov. But that is nothing. Your family started out much higher than a pancake seller. Besides, people of 'noble' birth are bound to have some fools."

As for who he was talking about, Solovyov didn't know either.

But there were a lot of such fools in St. Petersburg, so he didn't continue with the conversation.

Andrei is now a colonel. He was promoted quickly in the army and was on the roster of the Guards when he was very young. This speed of advancement is not fast compared with that of Prince Peter's three sons.

However, after becoming a colonel, it is hard to say how far you can go.

In fact, he was somewhat envious of Solovyov, who came from a small noble family. Although luck played a big role in his success at the beginning, luck could no longer be used to explain his success when he went on the expedition to Italy.

"Your chasseur tactics are pretty good, young man, but you need to be equipped with the right weapons. Infantry tactics are not that simple. Now you are a regimental commander. If one day you are asked to command a column, a temporary unit, to cover the retreat of the main force in a rearguard battle, that would be the most challenging task. Bagration did a great job. He performed very well in Italy and Switzerland. You haven't experienced this kind of battle yet, right?"

"When we retreated from the Swiss valley to Austria, I did not participate in the rearguard action, but was always in the Guards column."

"In the future, we may have to go through this test. The enemy's infantry may move very quickly, especially the French."

This field marshal left the front very early. Not everyone could offend Prince Potemkin and then anger Tsar Paul, but the former allowed him to serve on the front line, while the latter directly let him return to his estate.

"Are you also worried that we might come to blows with the French?"

"According to the current situation, we are likely to have to fight. Since the news has reached Smolensk, I think the Emperor in Petersburg should also be aware of it."

"Your Majesty is very clear. But it also depends on the timing. When I was a military attaché in Paris, Napoleon was still training his army in Boulogne."

"This Corsican is a good trainer. He has a lot of energy and can do anything. But he will not defeat us in the end."

Perhaps this is a kind of self-confidence of the old marshal. The setbacks encountered by the Russian army in the past few decades are often related to its stupid teammates, especially Austria and the Tsar sitting at home.

Yes, it’s not someone else, it’s Peter III.

"But this opponent is not so easy to deal with. I met him at the Tuileries Palace with Count Morkov, our ambassador in France. He is indeed a remarkable man. As long as he does not do anything beyond the current capabilities of human beings, he will not be so easy to defeat."

"I can hear the tone of your words. Although you are determined and have not become a spiritual captive of Napoleon like those who blindly approach France, you don't quite believe that we can defeat him."

The reason is that although Napoleon was very powerful, contemporary people could not see his limit.

But Solovyov was not like that. He knew what the ending would be, but he just changed the script into a mess. It seemed that that man was also chosen by fate, and his upper limit was limited by this era.

"But this guy is really energetic, and we don't know what he can do."

"As long as you hold the sword in your hand, my child, you must not give up fighting your opponent."

In fact, the old duke was somewhat bored at home, which made him very stubborn sometimes.

"Yes, Your Excellency the Marshal."

"Andre, I think your friend is at least honest. He treats his friends and seniors like this." But Andre said nothing. He just listened to his father.

He was still leaning on his cane, walking slowly in front.

"Also, Lieutenant Colonel, do you like math?"

"Although I'm not an artilleryman, I think mathematics is still very useful."

"What we're going to talk about at the dinner table."

The old duke's life has always been unshakable. He looked at his pocket watch and it was time to give Maria a math lesson.

By the way, it also includes correspondence inspection, and a few letters will be missed.
"Andre, I remember you said that your family has always been like this."

Looking at the prince's receding back, Solovyov sighed again.

"Yes, but father is more lenient with Lisa."

"Probably because she's new here. If she's been here for a long time, she'd probably be considered part of the plan."

"You have only passed the first level now."

"I know Andrei, your father is too serious, and Alexander Vasilyevich is too lively."

"But they had a close relationship in the past, including with Count Kutuzov."

When you arrive at the reception room, you can also feel the rules here. There is also a family tree painted on the wall, which records the origins of the Bolkonsky family. The history can be traced back to before Ivan the Terrible.

"Andre, I am still somewhat interested in your family history."

"Is this your hobby?"

"Besides writing, there are many things to do. I also find it strange that many people in the British royal family have the same face shape. This should be a genetic thing."

"That's the realm of science. Father will probably like it."

Andrei said so, but Solovyov thought that only the old duke who was more serious might be able to make something out of peas, after all, he was still a scientific person.

(End of this chapter)