Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 365 007 Nicholas's understanding of convincing people with reason
Solovyov's course was prepared very carefully, and he even made plans for every paragraph.

Although Nicholas has been known to be a bit stubborn and hardworking since he was a child, but not very smart, this is indeed quite troublesome.

However, considering the future situation of Russia, he is indeed an important backup and his education cannot be neglected.

Otherwise, there will be no shortage of jokes in the future.

The Queen Mother was very satisfied with the new teacher and invited Constantine to stay for dinner.

And Nikolai is going out with Solovyov today.

The Queen Mother thought that in order to dilute Nicholas's interest in military affairs, he needed to distract his attention.

But Solovyov's behavior seemed very strange, and he still took Nikolai to the training ground.

When Empress Dowager Maria heard about this, she was not happy with this move. After all, when Solovyov's syllabus was brought out, there was no content on this aspect.

Therefore, General Langsdorff, who was usually in charge of education, also went to the training ground.

The former teacher has become the current inspector. This is what Langzdorf thinks now. However, he also wants to see what kind of lesson this young man, who is known for his bravery and wit on the battlefield, can teach His Highness Nicholas.

"You promised me that you would teach me the most powerful military tactics."

Although Nicholas was only 10 years old, horse riding was a compulsory course. All Russian nobles had to serve in the military, and as a prince, he would be no exception in the future. However, like his father Paul, he was too enthusiastic about this.

It must be said that Alexander, out of respect for his mother and in order to show an open-minded attitude, or from the liberal views of his education, did not interfere with the education of his two younger brothers, nor would he provide any guidance.

However, Constantine was the commander of the Guards, and his appearance would somewhat lead his younger brothers and sisters astray.

In addition to being a brother complex, Catherine also likes soldiers, which is probably due to this influence.

Nikolay and Mikhail will also face this problem, that is, Anna, who has suddenly become a rebellious girl recently, has not yet shown such a situation.

In this environment, Solovyov's choice was to bring Nikolai to the training ground to teach him the truth.

"Your Highness, on the way here, I told you the story of Overlord. Do you have any impression of it?"

What Solovyov told was the story of Xiang Yu, who was unable to learn anything when he was young.

"Well, this general, when he was young, did not learn anything, whether it was literature, swordsmanship, or military theory."

"Very good, you have grasped the core of what I said. Then why did Overlord fail in the end? You know, he, Hannibal, and Scipio Africanus were from the same era. I accidentally discovered this fact when I was sorting out the Chinese chronology."

Speaking of Hannibal, Nicholas did have some interest. After all, he loved military affairs, and without knowing that Alexander had high hopes for him to be a pillar of the country or even a candidate for the crown prince, he actually hoped to be able to gallop on the battlefield.

Therefore, it was inevitable that he liked to listen to heroic stories, and General Langsdorff reluctantly told him about Hannibal's journey across the Alps, his victory in the Battle of Cannae, his defeat in the Battle of Zama, and his own final demise.

"It turns out that this invincible general ended up being defeated in this way."

"There are always many things in the East and the West that have common developments, either in the same era or in mutual verification. Matvey Ivanovich, don't you think this is the case?"

"Yes, that's true. Your Highness, although Colonel Solovyov is young, he is well-educated, not only in military science, but also in other fields."

"Speaking of which, it's just like my sister-in-law."

Nicholas' hobbies were obviously different from Louisa's. What impressed him most about his sister-in-law was the hugs and caresses, but she did not preach like his mother, and sometimes the discipline was even very strict.

If she wanted to relax, it would be most fun to be with her nieces. Nicholas and Mikhail were only slightly older than them. The Queen Mother had given birth to ten children, and when it came to Mikhail, Louisa started having children too, so there was not much age difference.

Louisa looked naturally relaxed as she took care of her children like a bourgeois housewife.

"Her Majesty is indeed well-educated and even understands some philosophy."

"That's not you."

After Nikolai's first lesson, he was still taught a lesson by General Langzdov, but this was Solovyov's routine.

After all, he was a student of Field Marshal Suvorov, and although he always suffered in battles with the Russian army since his debut, he rarely suffered losses on the tactical level, and he deserved the reputation of being a knowledgeable soldier.

Under this halo, the cute and handsome little Grand Duke Nicholas, who was only 9 years old, thought he could learn some profound military tactics from the youngest disciple of the Grand Marshal.

Bagration and Miloradovich were also to blame, as they were obviously not as good at speaking as Solovyov and they also liked to write.

In Nikolai's view, this was just a young theorist, and since his sisters had a good relationship with Solovyov, they trusted him very much.

He respected General Langsdorff, but he was not happy that his teacher did not allow him to study military affairs.

As for Solovyov, looking at what he was doing now, if Langzdorf didn't know that this was a trick to coax a child, he would have protested.

"Then you have to study hard with me. If you want to learn military affairs, you have to understand the origin of things. I have told you this before. You need to convince people with reason and influence them with outstanding morals, instead of just using force. Sometimes you also need strategy."

Solovyov's idea was also to proceed step by step and not to ruin Nicholas.

As the royal family's spare tire, Nicholas' education was extremely biased when he became the Tsar due to the influence of his second brother, which was indeed quite embarrassing.

The change now is that Constantine sent the captain of the guards whom he trusted, and he kept talking about "convincing people with virtue" and "convincing people with reason."

Although it was a bit strange, Nikolai was still very enthusiastic. As for Solovyov's teaching method, it was indeed rather strange.

"But I think we can still use force to make our opponents submit to our 'truth'."

When Nikolai said this, Solovyov had to hold his forehead with his hand, after all, this was the true meaning of "抡语".

"But Your Highness, if I fight with you, will someone say that I am bullying the weak?"

Nikolay nodded after hearing this, and Solovyov knew he could continue. "A big fist can't solve all problems. The victory that can be achieved on the battlefield is like your name, Your Highness."

“My name should be associated with Saint Nicholas, not Victory.”

"This needs to be broken down. When Her Majesty was still alive, there was a pattern to follow when naming the princes."

However, generally speaking, they are referring to princes and grandchildren of the emperor. Elena's case is an exception. That is the name given to her granddaughter by her grandmother, who cares about her very much.

But when it comes to the science of naming, Nicholas's face changes.

What he feared most at home were his Greek and Latin teachers. He had no interest in listening to those old pedants when they came to teach him.

Finally, a lecture came that he was willing to attend, but the courses that he was afraid of were inserted like commercials.

"No, Your Highness, I was just saying. Besides, my Greek is not very good. I only learned it because I need letters for mathematics."

Hearing this, Nicholas relaxed.

"Also, if Your Highness needs a math teacher, I can find an excellent one in Germany."

Of course it’s not Gauss. If a great man of this level could be invited, he would be the pillar of the Academy of Sciences.

"Ah, mathematics, what good is that?"

"Bonaparte is just an artilleryman, and he is pretty good at math, but don't learn the French emperor's spelling mistakes."

Anyway, no one will care too much if you say bad things about my uncle.

After all, after that incident, Napoleon was concentrating on dealing with Prussia and had no time to take care of trivial matters at home.

It’s hard to say whether the other party takes this matter to heart.

So, speaking ill of others in St. Petersburg is not a big deal and you don't have to take it too seriously.

Besides, his purpose was to help Nikola, a somewhat stubborn child, to make some progress in his studies.

Alexander and Constantine were not very well off in terms of knowledge, but they were not like Nicholas, who was obsessed with military affairs and whose toys at home were wooden horses and tin soldiers.

Moreover, for a 9-year-old child, this head gives people the feeling of a stupid son of a landlord.

When he is 12 years old, he will be able to ride a military horse like an adult. As for when he becomes an adult.
Speaking of which, the framework is good, but the brain needs to be filled with things, it can't be empty-headed.

Soloviev wanted to arrange a new course for him, so he had to guide him step by step: "As for Hannibal's inability to learn to take advantage of his victory, Your Highness, what I can teach you, in addition to military theory, is how to make good use of victory and stop losses in time when you fail. As for these contents, they are not simple military studies that can be learned."

Nikolay really listened to him, and took hold of his arm, and, without regard for his status, addressed him as he was wont to be: "Brother Mishka, you must teach me all your skills!"

Seeing that the boy had fallen into the trap, Solovyov nodded and agreed.

"Your Highness, as long as you are willing to study hard, follow the courses arranged by General Langzdorf, and listen to the teachings of our teachers, I can guarantee that you will become an outstanding general in the future, and... help the emperor relieve his worries."

Solovyov didn't dare to think that Alexander died without a son, and then Nicholas became the Tsar, because that would be too much of a restoration of history.

But Alexander has been a little depressed recently because of the defeat in the war. He doesn't work hard for Louisa, but often goes to the Polish girl. After all, she gave birth to a daughter for him.

This is strange. Does Alexander really have to do a lot of pull-up shots and miss three of his four layups if he wants to have a son?
He had so many mistresses, and what Solovyov knew in the palace was that none of them had given birth to a son, but they did have a room full of dolls. Although this made Alexander, who was a daughter-slave, very happy, without a son as an heir, he could only consider one of his three younger brothers.

Considering the relationship between Constantine and his wife, and the fact that they only left a daughter at home, it is obvious that he has to pay more attention to Nicholas' education.

General Lanzdorf was also amazed that Nikolai listened to Solovyov so much.

He didn't know that Solovyov had always been good at coaxing children, from letting Louisa's daughters sleep on the cat climbing frame in his arms to coaxing the big and small children in the palace to be obedient.

Today at the training ground, Solovyov didn't even arrange any drill training, but instead arranged some more interesting activities.

While others might be mechanically practicing guns and marching in formation, after the lecture, Solovyov placed two 1803-style Soloviev rifles, the standard weapons used by the Guards Jager Regiment, on the table.

Because the structure of this rifle is relatively sophisticated and it is loaded from the breech, it also requires careful daily maintenance and care.

Among the Russian army, only the Guards Chasseurs were so equipped, and they served as the rear guard in the Battle of Austerlitz. Their dense and accurate free shooting prevented the French army from advancing rashly.

As an entertainment, Solovyov performed the disassembly and reassembly of guns on the spot.

Langzdorf watched from the side and did not object. It was much better for the prince to learn how to disassemble a gun than to be stuck in queue all day. Even if he could shift his interests to hunting or other things, that would be good too.

As for this rifle with a simple structure but relatively complicated processing, Nicholas was able to disassemble it quickly, but when putting it back together.

"Your Highness, there is still one screw missing and it has not been installed."

As a teacher, Solovyov was quite strict. He had discussed this issue with Louisa before.

Alexander and Louisa wanted to build a school in Tsarskoye Selo to specifically recruit children of aristocrats. It was the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, Pushkin's alma mater, and it seemed that it would appear ahead of schedule.

This idea is actually not bad. If possible, it can be formed into a system. We must also work hard on basic education in the future.

Solovyov also had some ideas. That is, many young noble officers, especially infantrymen, although courageous, their skills did not live up to their military service.

There is no way around it, since their service time starts from childhood.

Precisely because of this, we must pay attention to education, at least to identify and fill the gaps.

(End of this chapter)