Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 367 009 Louisa's New Maid and the New Teacher of the Imperial Village
What Count Golovkin did was somewhat troublesome, and Solovyov knew that this was not an easy job. Moreover, given the current attitude of the Qing government, it would certainly not allow the expansion of the scope of trade, let alone the land issue.

Moreover, when leading the Qing delegation in the future, it would be bad if the chief envoy's status was too high, nor too low. But there was no need to worry about this problem now.

What we should focus on is what is happening right now.

After leaving the Tsar's office, Solovyov had to go to Nikolai and Mikhail. Although the two naughty children were given a day off this afternoon, General Langzdov, their "father", was not there today, so Solovyov still had to assume the responsibility of guardianship.

Louisa raised only girls, as did Constantine's daughter Sofia. The girls all liked to play with their two uncles since there was not much age difference between them.

And Solovyov, in his current capacity, is also rather cautious.

Although he still loved Louisa, the previous approach would have been too risky to go to the Tauride Palace or the Winter Palace.

As for today, the children were playing here and it was actually a small concert.

Although the girls' courses were also very intensive, they also had to take into account that after Paul amended the inheritance law, they would not have to bear those political tasks. They would only have the possibility of inheritance if all the male members of the Russian royal family had died or were unable to fulfill their obligations.

Therefore, in the palace, they are mainly learning the knowledge that aristocratic girls should know. In the future, they will get married, marry a noble in the country, or marry a foreign country, so they cannot relax in cultural and etiquette courses.

When Solovyov opened the door of the Queen's bedroom, he saw Anna and little Katya stretching their legs there. The two girls were pressed tightly together, and little Katya, who was hugged by Anna from behind, was blushing a little.

"Ah, Baron, you've arrived just in time."

Solovyov hadn't seen Louisa for a while. The low EQ view would be that she had gained weight, while the high EQ view would be that she had become plump. Of course, she was actually quite beautiful this way, much better than her previous appearance when she was always skin and bones.

If Louisa hadn't been so thin for a while, Solovyov might have succeeded earlier. She looks quite tempting now. I don't know why Alexander hasn't come back recently.

So the Queen's bedroom became a children's playground, and Solovyov felt a little embarrassed standing here.

"Your Highness, I think..."

"Oh, it's okay. Just sit here. After all, you are Nikolai and Mikhail's teacher."

"I am a new teacher, just Kadis."

It was somewhat strange that little Katya appeared here. After all, although Alexander pardoned her father's crime of "disrespect" and allowed their family of six to officially return to the upper class society of St. Petersburg, the progress was not what he expected.

"I chose Katya as my maid of honor. Isn't that a good idea? Anna always comes to my place, so the two of them can keep each other company."

Besides, after Mikhail, the age difference between these girls is not very big. According to the practice of previous empresses, they are raised in groups of two.

Although Constantine's daughter Sophia the Elder and Alexander's daughter Sophia the Younger were released alone, they always had companions.

The elder Sofia and Luisa's second daughter Maria are often together, but the younger Sofia is too young to worry about.

As for the girls, their dance lessons continued, but they also went to the outer rooms.

Next, Nikolai and Mikhail were the only light bulbs here. Solovyov and Luisa looked at each other, winked at each other, and understood each other.

"Your Highness, I think there is a way to arrange the courses you want. We can set up a 'preparatory school'."

"I knew you would do this. Even if you were to build a middle school, you would do the same."

"When I arrived in the United States, I met some local gentlemen who had received their education at the Louis the Great Lycée. I think at this time, we should refer to the private schools for the nobles in St. Petersburg and establish a new school."

"As for the location, Your Majesty has already considered it. It will be located in the Imperial Village. The side hall of Catherine Palace is very suitable. However, the number of people to be recruited in the first batch has not yet been determined."

This school, unlike ordinary middle schools, is a school where the children of Russian imperial aristocrats gather.

To be honest, the quota of students recruited in each session is just one class, and the teachers also have to be screened, or even carefully selected.

It was just that the list that Louisa brought out was somewhat surprising, as it was drawn up by Alexander himself.

"How come the French teacher is Marat's brother?"

"Ah, you discovered it. This was chosen by His Majesty himself."

Well, Alexander, even after being the Tsar for five years, he still couldn't change his nature as a "spiritual Jacobin".

The list of teachers currently selected by Royal Village High School is as follows:
Professor of Political Science: Alexander Petrovich Kunitsyn, but he was preparing to go to Göttingen for further studies and had not yet returned.

Professor of Aesthetics, Russian and Latin: Nikolai Fedorovich Kochansky, Doctor of Philosophy, expert in rhetoric.

Professor of Mathematics and Physics: Yakov Ivanovich Kartsov, an outstanding graduate of the St. Petersburg Pedagogical Institute.

Professor of Music: Ludwig William Tepper de Ferguson, a Scotsman, was the Russian court music conductor and the royal family's permanent music teacher.

Professor of Russian literature: Alexander Ivanovich Galich, is currently studying in Germany and has not returned yet.

Professor of Military Science: Baron Fedor Bogdanovich Elsner. If you only look at the Russian list given by Louisa, you can't tell that he is of German descent. It's just that his main research area is military engineering, and he has no front-line experience. Of course, the students of the Royal Village Lyceum are not like the military academy, where all students have to become officers.

French professor: David de Boudry, also known as David Marat, Marat's brother. He was also a very famous French professor in St. Petersburg. He worked in St. Petersburg Middle School for a long time and wrote standard French grammar in Russian.

Dean and Professor of Fine Arts: Sergei Gavrilovich Chirikov, a famous artist in St. Petersburg and an outstanding graduate of the Imperial Academy of Arts. He is probably more famous for painting the portrait of the young Pushkin.

After looking at the list, Solovyov also saw his own name at the bottom.

"Your Highness, do you still want me to teach military science, philosophy, and Oriental studies?"

"I think you are very suitable for this job."

"But I'm self-taught and received military education. I haven't audited any courses." "But you have a strong ability to learn on your own, Mikhail."

Louisa felt very tired when she said this. The two of them always had to hide their close relationship in front of others. She felt a little tight in her chest. It might be a congenital disease.

"For an officer who has not attended a military academy, my academic qualifications do not look very impressive."

"If you want, you can take advantage of this period of time to study at the Teachers College. I think the professors there will welcome you. Prepare a paper."

"Yes, Brother Mishka, you have to prepare the paper."

Nicholas, this stubborn child, is very good at agreeing with others and looks a bit like a little adult.

Moreover, considering Nikolai's identity, Solovyov could not retort like General Lanzdorf did, and he could even use the corporal punishment.

He advocated guidance, and seeing that Nicholas admired him very much and he was handsome, it was no wonder that the Queen Mother was reluctant to spank him.

However, we can't let this kid get too proud.

"Your Highness, if you can publish a paper, I will treat you to a feast at the most exclusive restaurant in Paris."

For the Russians, even the princes who lived in luxury would have some expectations when they heard about having a grand meal in Paris.

Nicholas had no idea about money, but from Louisa's lifestyle since childhood, her knowledge of how to compress the budget for the Queen's expenses, and her grandfather, the Elector of Baden, who was very familiar with Paris, he knew that this would be a considerable expense.

Of course, Solovyov came from a family of profiteers, his father was good at business, he had many clever ideas and was quite rich, so he could afford such bills.

Even the mansion that Madame Récamier was forced to sell could be bought if she gritted her teeth.

"Okay then, it's a deal."

"But if you want to write it yourself, you are still young and can only write a short essay. There is still a long way to go."

Nicholas is quite trustworthy and persistent in achieving his goals, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage.

Teaching him is not an easy task.

Moreover, the good relationship between him and Mikhail, the two grand dukes and their sister-in-law, makes people feel it is unscientific.

Why is it that in the Russian royal family, only the relationship between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law is tense, while the brothers have always been friendly and respectful to each other, and the relationship between uncles and sisters-in-law is also very good.

Solovyov couldn't figure this out, and he wasn't interested in getting involved in these issues. After all, his family was harmonious, so he didn't need to worry about it. He wasn't someone who would destroy other people's family atmosphere.

After all, Alexander himself did not do anything to those who coveted his wife's beauty, but Czartoryski's term as Foreign Minister was about to end.

"As for the appointments to the Imperial Village School, I'm afraid we'll have to wait for a while, because many of our professors haven't returned. And with this amount of teaching staff, I think we can establish four colleges."

Solovyov said that the arrangement of the four colleges in a certain Scottish castle is actually very scientific, and it should also be taken into consideration that this can also form a confrontational format to promote competition between colleges.

"But you also have to consider how much space the Catherine Palace can provide."

After hearing what Louisa said, Solovyov remembered that the Smolny Girls' School was able to accept so many girls because it was big enough and the girls were easy to manage.

As for the students of Tsarskoye Selo, boys of that era were not easy to discipline and had heavy schoolwork. Furthermore, the space provided by the Catherine Palace was obviously not enough.

I'm afraid that we can only recruit thirty students in the first batch, and now these students will probably have to take an academic ability test for admission.

Although it is aimed at the children of aristocrats, not just anyone can come in.

You know, the first batch of students who enrolled in this school, as long as they lived past the age of 35, all achieved good results, no matter in which field.

It would be difficult for students like those troublemakers in the Guards Cavalry to be selected into the Imperial Village Middle School.

So, this is an elite education through and through.

Now it seems that Solovyov really needs to cheer up and pay more attention to education.
The students of Tsarskoye Selo Lycée more or less represent the future elites of the Russian Empire, and being a teacher to them would also be beneficial to one's future career.

Solovyov is different from other selected professors. He is not a purely academic talent and still has to return to the army.

Alexander himself was not in a hurry to promulgate the charter of the new academy. For Russia, 1806 itself was not a good year, as there were too many problems to face.

Due to Austria's failure, after the armistice agreement was reached, Russia had no reason to directly confront France, and the two sides had to enter a new round of negotiations.

Meanwhile, Russia's war in the Caucasus and against the Qajar Empire in Persia continued and even made some progress, destroying some Azerbaijani khanates and besieging Baku.

As Alexander planned to build the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, reform the education system, and redeploy against France and the Ottoman Empire, the Russian army had already surrounded Baku.

It’s just that the Qajar dynasty of Persia and its vassal states always failed to abide by diplomatic norms, even when they were preparing to surrender.

When the Georgian prince Tsitsianov, who was leading the Russian army in the Caucasus, accepted the surrender of Baku, he was assassinated by Hussein Kuli Khan, the last Khan of the Baku Khanate. His head was cut off and sent to the monarch of the Qajar dynasty. The Persian Shah was delighted and sent the crown prince Abbas Mirza to the front after the Russian army retreated.

This kind of despicable and shameful method was rare in the Middle East in the past, but the Ottoman Empire was particularly fond of killing envoys, and the subjects of the Persian Shah were particularly fond of betrayal.

After the Russian withdrawal, the situation in the Caucasus theater looked murky.

Therefore, Alexander also found an opportunity and sent Bennigsen back to the Caucasus Front to assist Marshal Gudovich in launching operations in this direction. Obviously, Alexander also wanted to make a big move.

But this is a matter for the future, and it seems to have no impact on St. Petersburg at the moment.

(End of this chapter)