Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 303: The Amazing Experience in Letters from North America

The Guards Chasseurs resumed Suvorov's cavalry shock training, which made it difficult to avoid casualties during training when the hussars charged.

But this method can make light infantry more familiar with the cavalry's attack methods, and they will not be easily afraid on the battlefield, whether they appear in formation or in a skirmish line.

In addition, when the light infantry is fighting against cavalry, whether it is a triangular bayonet or a bayonet on the rifle, they must form a back-to-back anti-cavalry formation of at least two people. As for the hollow square or solid square at the company or battalion level, they must also be trained diligently in peacetime.

There is nothing wrong with the fact that the faster you move on the training ground, the more adaptable you will be on the battlefield.

However, some people in the Guards Chasseurs could not help but complain, because the officers in Alexander's time were no longer as strictly disciplined as in Paul's time, and they did not have Suvorov's high-intensity training, so this was inevitable.

However, as the commander of the Guards, Grand Duke Constantine publicly praised the training of the Guards Chasseurs and advocated that the training of the three major Guards regiments should be strengthened. It is a pity that they only increased the intensity but did not change the training methods.

As for shooting training, it is obvious that only the Guards Jager Regiment received the most thorough training due to their special ammunition. Although other troops have also strengthened their shooting training, the frequency is still not enough for the soldiers to shoot accurately.

On the battlefield, the longer the fighting lasts, the harder it is for soldiers to shoot accurately, especially since they are now using black powder. Whether it is paper bags of gunpowder, gunpowder loaded in cannons, or grenades that have recently returned to the soldiers' equipment sequence, they will make the entire battlefield filled with smoke.

In this environment, it is also easy to make wrong judgments.

But Solovyov has always been curious about one thing, which is why the Indians are always so accurate when using flying props, no matter whether they are bows and arrows or muskets. It is simply a racial talent, and it should not be just the factor that they have been hunting since childhood.

But he had no way to go to America. The last time he went to Mexico City was a year ago. By now, Duke Enghien should have found a place to start construction in a remote area of ​​the Spanish colony, and the news should have been reported back.

He himself sometimes found it strange that when the Russians were colonizing Siberia, they even went all the way to the Aleutian Islands, and the methods they used were quite barbaric. But how come they seemed to be a lot more lenient when they reached the west coast of North America?

If it was not the local people's bellicosity, then something else must have happened. However, near the Northwest Territory, both Russian and British colonists encountered more warlike tribes, and even several Russian strongholds were forced to be abandoned.

He wanted to know the answer, so when he was not training on the training ground, he would go to the office of the Russian-American Company to wait for news.

The news sent back from North America all arrives here first. The message is delivered from the Aleutian Islands to Irkutsk, and it depends on the bad weather to see if there will be any delays along the way.

Plus the sea conditions in the North Pacific are indeed not very friendly.

Hawaii today is a very suitable transit station, and even though all parties are aware of this problem, no one has gone to Hawaii to colonize it.

Although it was not because of the battle with the King of Hawaii, this place was indeed too far away from other continents and it was a complete paradise.

However, this place is very important for transportation in the North Pacific and Central Pacific, and will definitely be useful in the future.

However, the decision-making power lies with the Tsar, and no matter what he does now, the monarchy is still very effective.

Alexander did not pay much attention to affairs outside Europe. It was a rare spectacle that only occurred once in many years for Russian cabinet ministers to visit the colonies.

But he also had to pay attention to reports from the Russian American Company to find out what the colonists in North America were doing.

What surprised him was that the local indigenous Chinook people were quite friendly. They had come into contact with Vancouver's expedition team before, and were not as hostile to white people as the people in the central Great Plains. They even took the initiative to engage in barter trade, using leather and some valuable local products to trade with the settlers who arrived there.

"I think it would be more appropriate for you to give this to the Emperor. You should even read it in advance to understand the situation so that you can make an explanation."

What Solovyov held in his hand was a report from Duke Enghien in Rossburg, which Alexander was very concerned about. The expedition report of the Russian-American Company had aroused his interest.

In addition to his expeditions to America, Alexander also sent two missions, one by land and one by sea, to China.

Of course, when the Russians went to Beijing, they were more or less well-behaved. If they were asked to kowtow, they would kowtow when they saw the emperor. They were not like the British, who were completely uncultured barbarians.

But what will happen is obviously something many people cannot predict.

Solovyov took the letter to the palace and handed it to Peter Volkonsky, who was Alexander's aide-general and main military adviser. The content regarding overseas colonization was also within his scope of responsibility.

"I have checked at the Russian American Company's office first, if the Emperor needs someone to explain it to him."

"Okay, no more words, just follow me."

Peter Volkonsky also knew that the original plan to pull people out of the French colonies eventually sent most of the population to the west coast of North America, with a small number of people going to New Orleans or other places to live with relatives.

Alexander has also read the first report of the Russian-American Company in his office today. Of course, this is a review.

"Your Majesty, may I ask Soloviev of the Guards Chasseurs to come in?"

"Let him in. After all, the North American affairs include his report and the plan to move the French from Saint-Domingue. It is most appropriate for him to explain it."

Volkonsky turned around and looked at Solovyov, asking him to come in. The two of them had served as gatekeepers behind Alexander for a period of time in the past, so there was some tacit understanding between them.

"His Majesty."

"Sit down, Solovyov. You should have read the report first, right?"

"I also asked the manager of the Russian-American Company in Petersburg to open the letter from Duke Enghien so that we can know the contents in advance and make reports."

"It's perfect for you to deliver the letter. I think the contents must be very interesting, right?"

"Your Majesty, do you want to look at it yourself before asking questions? Or do you want me to explain it directly?" Alexander also found it a little funny. After all, he himself did not understand the customs of North American tribes.

"Soloviev, I'd better ask questions while I watch."

This is something Alexander often does, and the letter from Duke Enghien is not something that can be solved with just a piece of stationery. It is filled in an envelope, and one can also know what the situation is in America.

"Your Majesty, I want to start by establishing contact with the natives. Even if there are language barriers, we can still trade goods and exchange axes and pipes to make them less hostile."

"I thought it would be like some warlike tribe somewhere, right?"

"Your Majesty, although the Indians are warlike, they are also very smart. Some tribes are even peace-loving and willing to accept new things."

"Are you referring to the tribes that welcomed the Puritans on the east coast of America?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. But what the British did was even more cruel than what we did in the Aleutians. If we really want to compare, only the Dutch have ever done such a thing in the Spice Islands."

"Ah, you reminded me that we still need to maintain friendly relations with these Indians who have traveled halfway across the world. We may even need to make use of them, just like we did with the Tatars and the Cossacks."

Alexander continued to look through the report, but he also began to frown, but he did not ask Solovyov about this.

That is, when the Duke of Enghien visited a Chinook tribe, the chief was very hospitable and asked the girls in the tribe to serve him enthusiastically. However, this kind of service was a bit shocking to the Russians, but for the French, the most lustful people in Europe, they really enjoyed it.

The Duke of Enghien said that his men basically had close relationships with local girls, and he himself had close and friendly contact with the chief's daughter.

However, the indigenous people of America were still practicing nomadic marriage, so it was inevitable that this kind of situation would occur when they came to Rossburg.

After all, it was the French who were there. They organized a group of young widows to spend the night with these strong Indian warriors. It was considered an equal exchange. The two sides had actually established an alliance. Moreover, the Chinook tribe was very prestigious in the local area, and the two sides had organized a meeting.

As for the tribes further north, they had also heard of them, but the two sides were still cooperating in trade and had not developed into this primitive wandering marriage relationship.

Alexander looked very embarrassed. As expected of French people, they can always solve such problems easily.

This is not even the first time. In the past, when French explorers arrived in the Sioux territory, they married local native girls. It is no wonder that the French were able to establish so many trading posts and large and small strongholds in such a large area as Louisiana, when there were very few colonists from their own country coming to the North American continent.

If there was a more flexible mind among the French or Indians who thought of uniting more tribes, perhaps a large-scale tribal alliance could be formed.

In this case, even if the Americans built railways when they moved westward, they would still face huge challenges.

According to historical facts, Lewis and Clark's expedition should have crossed the American continent in this year.

If they arrived at the west coast of North America and found such a large settlement in addition to the dozens of Spanish strongholds, they would probably be very surprised.

"That's great, but the colonists we will send in the future to expand the settlement will also have to maintain good relations with the locals, and even have them become residents of the city and enjoy the treatment of our citizens."

The Tsar of a feudal serfdom country is much more advanced than English speakers. The city of Seattle was named after the local chief, but someone eventually passed a law to drive the indigenous people who had cooperated with the settlers to build the city to the reservation. Even the white friends of Chief Seattle could not stand it and expressed their protest.

Alexander also noticed the friendly attitude of the local tribes towards the white people. In addition to the British ships, if there were thousands of French people, hundreds of Russian colonists from the Aleutian Islands, and more than two hundred Aleuts, it would be obvious that the other side also knew how powerful you were.

The Indians are actually very smart. The letter from the Duke of Enghien also mentioned the horses obtained by the locals. The horse breeds being bred now were originally stolen from the Spaniards. These local horse breeds are even very distinctive and have been bred for decades.

The Cheyenne people called horses "ridable dogs" and muskets "magic staffs."
Because the Cheyenne introduced the horse to friendly tribes and their trading partners, these Indians were also called that.

This is quite magical, and Alexander found it very interesting after watching it.

"Soloviev, if it were you, what would you do next?"

"If we don't consider transportation capacity, I think we should first provide horses to the Indians, establish stable trade relations with them, and even sign an alliance treaty. The Cherokees and Iroquois, who have already accepted European civilization, generally prefer formal treaties."

It’s just that the British will still abide by some agreements, but the Americans will never agree to it.

"We should bring civilization to those natives. Since they are friendly, we can give them medals and grant them some titles and official positions."

"Your Majesty, but you should also understand their customs. Some of the tribes in the northwest are still very warlike, which is different from these friendly Chinook tribes."

Speaking of which, many of the fighting tribes were named armed helicopters, but their ending was not very good.

But if these people are used well, no matter how many Americans come to the Great Plains in the future, it will indeed be quite troublesome.

Solovyov even thought about cutting off the source of the problem, that is, could the British move the Irish to Australia in the future?

Or the German princes in Europe and their citizens should not go to a place as far away as America. Look at the grasslands in southern Russia, they are quite a nice place.

If these two can be achieved, the number of white people in North America will drop by one level.
Moreover, the Indians are the best light infantry and rangers. If they form a powerful force, they will be able to defend their homes in the Northwest.

There is still a lot to do here.

(End of this chapter)