Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 309 011 It is better to have canned food during the march than to have nothing

In fact, the French began to upgrade their logistics and military supplies and started planning for long-term food storage very early on.

Napoleon was merely publicly soliciting such an invention, as it was already an urgent matter for the army, as the problem of transporting and storing food for long periods of time was an ancient one.

However, not every tribe could be like the Mongols. Before the lethality of gunpowder weapons continued to grow, the mobility and logistical pressure of nomadic peoples were extremely low, which also made it convenient for them to maneuver on a large scale on the great plains.

By the time of the flintlock, these tribes were no longer as powerful.

Later, when machine guns were invented, these grassland peoples generally became good at singing and dancing.

Solovyov placed the construction of the factory in Ryazan, giving priority to supplying the garrisons around Moscow.

However, Alexander had already prepared to go to war in 1805, so it was unlikely that the Russian army would be supplied with canned food on a large scale. Now they were just trying to make a small batch.

The Tsar himself attached great importance to this project, so he personally held a meeting at the headquarters of the Guards to confirm several early products.

"Let's get started, gentlemen. Don't be so restrained. Our soldiers will eat these things in the future. Although what we have now are just pickles and pickled lard, putting these things in jars will also make it easier to store and carry."

"Your Majesty, the infantrymen usually envy the artillerymen the most, because they can even carry food and drinks on their artillery carts."

Although this is what I said, don't make it so obvious.

Although Alexander himself was not dissatisfied with Sergei Kuzmich for interrupting at this time, the Minister of War was somewhat inconsiderate in his words.

The admirals sitting here today have the most comprehensive military experience, and even the chief military engineer is present.

"Well, bring up all the jars. Our general can't always have good food and wine. During the expedition, he might have to eat these things."

The Tsar himself said so, and a pile of glass jars were placed in front of the generals.

General Apraksin also came to St. Petersburg from Smolensk. He had just used a staff for a few months, but was transferred back to the Guards. Therefore, he had to ask the Minister of War to arrange a new staff for him.

He sat there with these glass jars in front of him, and he knew that it was Solovyov's "little trick".

"Your Majesty, these glass jars look like they can be opened with a knife."

"Of course. Each of our officers and soldiers is issued a knife or dagger, and of course some of them bring their own."

After all, although the design of government-issued products may not be bad, their reliability is not very good, especially the boots produced in Moscow.

Therefore, no matter whether you are an official or a soldier, you are willing to buy some things with your own money. At least custom-made ones are more reliable, and you can find the real owner if there are quality problems.

It was only in front of the Tsar that these generals were exposed, and it was clear which ones needed to be served on a regular basis and which ones did things on their own.

Generals who came from cavalry backgrounds used to wield swords and guns, so it is unlikely that they have lost their skills now.

As for some old guys who lived a life of luxury, it was also revealed that they were far away from the battlefield and had even neglected some basic life skills.

The commanders of the three major Guards regiments are all here. As the commander of the Guards Chasseur Regiment, Solovyov can only be considered second-tier among the commanders of the Guards. If he had not been the commander of a battalion in a general regiment, his status would probably have declined along with his military rank.

Solovyov had to watch their performance. What surprised him most was that the commander of the Semyonovsky Regiment was the guy who was held down by Bagration while playing mahjong, Major General Depreadovich.

Obviously, Alexander had to keep the people he trusted by his side, even if they were connected to the conspiracy group.
This is probably the case in Russia. Solovyov doesn't care too much. After all, he is the commander of the troops here and he doesn't have to be overly involved with these people.

"Misha, if it's just pickles and pickled fat, it's too simple."

"So what do you want?"

"If you bring a few dishes, it can't be just these things."

"Oh, that's okay. We still have canned peas and meat, and we'll make canned fish in the future. But the current batch doesn't taste that good. It tastes just like seasoning, or it's canned fruit with no flavor. But even so, it's much better than nothing."

"Yeah, at least there's something to eat."

The commander of the Izmailov Regiment, Lieutenant General Malyutin, simply changed the subject, which did not make the situation worse.

Of course, the conflict between these two people was not as deep as those old guys he had met before.

Solovyov knew the traditional skills of the Russian army in Tannenberg, not for any other reason.
There have always been some trifling things in the personnel arrangements within the Russian army, starting from Peter the Great. Even until the army was finally disbanded, there will still be some remnants of this poison in the future.

He also had no intention of ruining his relationship with the head of the Semenovsky Regiment. Besides, the other party's business was pretty good. It was unlike the Putin Regiment, where the previous and current heads were not that competent.

Although, they are all generals, when a war really breaks out, they can command at least 10,000 people on the battlefield.

The abilities of these people are just so-so. We have to wait until young people come up and gradually replace some of them, but they will become old guys in the future.

As for the current commander of the Putin Regiment, Lieutenant General Peter Tolstoy. Yes, his last name is Tolstoy, and he is also a count. They basically come from the same family.

The size of this family is quite large. In the past, Count Tolstoy and Prince Menshikov were political enemies. As for how to count the population of this family, it is still unclear.

There's no way to count it, right?
If you look at the roster of the Tolstoy family, you will find that the number of people with noble titles alone is dazzling, and even more complicated is their family tree.

Solovyov already felt that they could refer to the family background to establish a "prestigious status" for themselves.

As for how these people reacted after eating, he didn't pay much attention.

After all, these masters usually eat well, and the food given to the soldiers may not really end up in their stomachs.

Even Solovyov himself was concerned about the strength of his stomach and intestines, so he tried his best to ensure the quality of his diet.

Of course, there's no need to eat weird things like the Romans did.

As for eating the same thing as the soldiers, that kind of pretentious attitude would be better used to helping the soldiers get more supplies.

Therefore, Solovyov's track is different from others.

However, the food that was distributed to the soldiers for tasting was actually found to be quite good by the soldiers themselves.

After all, it will be more convenient to find snacks in the future, and they can also be loaded into the army's luggage cart, so you can carry more in personal luggage and the baggage for the entire regiment.

As for canned bacon, it is a bit too salty. After all, we need to ensure that the food will not spoil for a long time. In this case, it is inevitable that it is very salty.

But the solution is simple. Make a big pot of soup, put all the food you can find into it, and then you can start eating. Everyone should prepare their own lunch box.

Summer pigeon.
This would put Solovyov himself in a difficult position, but there are still many ways to solve the problem.

On the battlefield, looting was also necessary, which was a daily routine in this era, and sometimes one even had to do it on credit.

After the Italian expedition, he found that the discipline of the Russian army seemed to be better than those of European countries, which was completely inconsistent with the stereotype.

Even the seemingly rough Cossacks rarely "plundered", but instead supplied their own horses to the army to replace the donkeys that the Austrians had not sent.

Moreover, in the Eastern Church, the Russian army is equal to the royal army, but the royal army is never the royal army as it should be.

Why is this so?
What Solovyov thought of was that the Russians had always been blamed. People in Western European countries knew that everyone was doing this. In fact, some English-speaking guys did even worse things, but when they were promoting it, they gave the black material to others.

If you watch the Lobster Soldier, like the scene in Barry Lyndon where they rob the livestock from the Hanover folks, this kind of scene is not easy to see.

Then, some people just follow the crowd, but when you compare them, the Russians are simple, strong and a little bit naive, and they haven't changed much.

However, those guys in Western Europe are becoming more and more perverted. They are no longer satisfied with alcohol and want to use more outrageous things.

And now at this meeting at the soldiers' table to decide what to ration in the future, it is obvious that the masters' stomachs are not as strong as those of the soldiers.

Their appetites were obviously not as good as when they usually enjoyed a big meal.

After all, the canned tomatoes at the back were so bland that I didn’t even feel anything.

The soldiers, on the other hand, didn't care. They could just add some seasonings and eat it. Being able to fill their stomachs was always better than having nothing at all.

As for some more magical foods, Solovyov couldn't produce them yet.

Productivity will still limit the scope of imagination. For example, things like protein powder made from insects may be enjoyed by Germans 140 years later, if there is still a mustache guy who dares to come over.

At least now glass canned food is still approved, but due to limited conditions, the taste of canned fruit is very poor, with only the taste of sugar water.

If we can really go through the Pasteur disinfection process, there will be some guarantee.

Moreover, with this type of trial canned food, it is easy to tell if the food inside has gone bad.

For example, a general whom Solovyov looked down on was given a can of expired beer.

But at this meeting in the Menshikov Palace, he was just a spectator, and he didn't know who was so capable of making trouble.

"Don't open this can. It's already gone bad. You have to throw it away."

“Aren’t they all canned?”

"If you make a fool of yourself in front of the Emperor and let everyone smell this horrible smell, then you will be making a fool of yourself."

At least that's what Major General Peter Volkonsky said. After all, the nephew of old Commander Solovyov was the Tsar's aide-de-camp and senior adviser, so whatever he said would carry some weight.

While he was talking, the Tsar himself, who was tasting canned fruit, suddenly turned around.

"Soloviev, do you want another medal?"

Apparently, he is a Russian leader who, apart from his mentor comrades, likes to award medals, but it is unclear how deep his addiction to awarding medals is.

"Your Majesty, it is an honor."

You couldn't spoil Alexander's mood, so you had to agree.

However, Solovyov should be awarded the Order of St. Anna, Second Class, according to his rank and contribution.

In fact, when he received medals, he worked his way up step by step, according to the level.

If this continues, sooner or later his chest will become a medal wall of Russian traditional art, and he is probably the instigator.

After all, it is relatively rare to fill in each form step by step from bottom to top.

Many young officers in Tsarist Russia fast-forwarded through the grassroots and middle-level stages because of their titles and family connections.

One thing that was a bit lucky for him was that when Suvorov went on the expedition, he was just a junior officer, but because of his merits he was appreciated by Paul and joined the Guards.

Now he is a regimental commander. Although he is at least two levels lower than several generals and regimental commanders of the Guards, he does a lot of things.

That's it, every step he takes is very solid.

As for the arrangements for the cannery in the future, it is not just the Ryazan one. Every military governor's jurisdiction, as long as it is close to a factory, can be arranged.

If conditions permit, the main military governorates and the jurisdictions of senior officials on Russia's transportation lines can still be expanded.

Even Solovyov had the idea of ​​developing five small industries.

But he didn't have a system, nor did he have his own technical information. With only his physical body, he could only do things according to local conditions.

It is useless to say those things now. We still have to act based on Russia's current actual situation.

It is indeed unjustifiable not to reform this backward serfdom system.

But the current Tsar is Alexander, who loves acting and will definitely win an Oscar, a Golden Lion, a Golden Bear and a Palme d'Or, as well as the Moscow Gold Award.

Even if Paul were still alive, it would be of no use. Although he was an iron-fisted man, he was too kind and too tolerant to his subordinates. In the end, he died because of his kindness and naivety.

When it came to dealing with these Russian masters, it was Peter the Great and Empress Elizabeth Petrovna who were ruthless enough, but this kind of ruler is indeed rare.

Of course, the Russian people are still hoping for a good emperor, and Alexander at least performs well and does have the self-cultivation of an actor, which is in line with the Stanislavski system.

(End of this chapter)