Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 375 017 Russian Mulan, but does not admit that she is a woman

They were also surprised by Alexander's willingness to approve Solovyov and Stroganov's plan to carry out a large-scale re-equipment of the Mariupol Hussar Regiment.

These two people were Alexander's adjutant and close friend respectively. They knew the Tsar's temper very well. Sometimes they had difficulty making decisions and were often indecisive when doing things.

Apart from those problems, even without royal status, Alexander was able to get along well in social circles and had many lovers, but he failed to succeed with the Countess.

Solovyov succeeded in a very secretive way. As for the fact that Alexander forgave Louisa's infidelity and confessed to his wife that he had been ten times more unfaithful, he really didn't know about it.

The important thing now is to reorganize the Mariupol Hussar Regiment and adjust the comprehensive training program according to the new tactics.

Prince Wittgenstein, the leader of the group, also expressed his support for this matter. After all, they were all trusted confidants of the Emperor, so this would definitely be easy to discuss.

However, when recruiting soldiers, some unexpected things always happen.

Count Stroganov has not been awarded a military rank yet, and he still came to the cavalry with a court rank. In fact, with his status, it would be no problem to be directly awarded the rank of general. However, he proposed to Alexander that to command a regiment, one must start from the rank of colonel, and promotion to general can be discussed after he has made meritorious services.

Speaking of this system in the Russian army, the situation has changed when a wealthy nobleman of such a high status enters the army.

Solovyov is also the one with a different style. He is not as conspicuous as the count. Pavel Stroganov is indeed the most handsome man in Russia. He will attract the attention of girls wherever he goes, even if he is disguised as a man.

"What a handsome officer!"

Near the Hussars' base, there is also a Polish Uhlan Lancer Regiment. The lancers here do not grow beards. When Paul established this regiment, he hoped to use Polish soldiers loyal to Russia to form a very powerful Polish Lancer unit. After all, the combat effectiveness of the "Birdmen" is still very strong.

But there is a problem. In the eastern territories of Poland divided by Russia, the residents of many towns are still Ukrainians and Belarusians, and it is not easy to replenish them with Poles.

As a result, the Ulan Regiment was supplemented with a number of new recruits from the aristocratic class from all over the country.

When Stroganov saw this heroic young cavalryman, he did not pay much attention to him at first. After all, some of the young men were in their early twenties and had handsome looks, such as Colonel Solovyov; or some of them did not have such a strong voice, like the young cavalryman in front of him.

He also saluted Count Stroganov with the Polish two-finger salute and said, "Sir, I am Alexander Sokolov of the Polish Ulan Lancers. I just saw that you are so handsome and I couldn't help but admire you."

The Stroganov family has always been quite tolerant and friendly to nobles, commoners and even serfs of lower rank than themselves. He did not feel that there was anything offensive about this young lancer.

After all, wherever he goes, people say he is handsome, his wife is beautiful, and his children are adorable. He doesn't even need his family's background as the richest man in Russia to support this. It is the sincere admiration of everyone who sees him.

"Ah, young Comrade Sokolov, how long have you been with the Lancers?"

"Comrade" was a title for privates in the Lancers, and the Count also noticed his identity.

“Just joined this year!”

"Well, very good. I see that you are very skilled in riding a horse. I guess you have been familiar with life on horseback since childhood?"

"Yes, sir. My father and uncles have carried me on horseback since I could walk."

"I can see that you are a good rider, but the lance seems to be a heavy burden for you."

Although the lance used by the Ulan cavalry is shorter than that used by the Cossacks, it is still four Arshin long, and it still requires strength to swing it on horseback or to pierce it for thrusting.

Although the young cavalryman in front of him was very skilled in riding a horse, he still lacked strength.

"But I volunteered to join the Lancers, sir!"

He was quite confident, but the more Count Stroganov listened, the more strange his accent seemed to him.

When Solovyov first visited his home, his voice was like this because he had not yet completely passed the puberty period, but after he came back from Italy, his accent was no longer like this.

But he was just suspicious and did not dwell on the identity of this lancer.

As for Solovyov, he was different from the count. Although he was far away, he could tell that the lancer might be a woman.

The reason why the count did not suspect the other party was that the other party looked more heroic than himself, even though the slight pockmarks on his face could not hide his superiority.

In other words, Count Stroganov, who was always known for his handsomeness, and Solovyov, who was known for his good looks, were not as heroic as this young cavalryman.
That's true. After all, the lancer in front of them was the famous "cavalry girl" Nadezhda Durova, now using the alias Alexander Sokolov, and serving in the Ulan Lancer Regiment.

Her noble identity was real. Her father was a hussar officer. After giving birth to her, her mother suffered from postpartum depression and even abandoned her daughter. It was her father and his comrades who picked up little Nadya and raised her in the regiment.

Therefore, she was not wrong in claiming that she had been familiar with the saddle since childhood, and even before she got married, her father indulged her in riding a horse.

But she has always ridden like a man, and has a carefree personality. She can even control a wild horse. If she were a man, she would have joined the cavalry long ago.

But she was a girl, so she had no choice but to get married. After her father retired and became the mayor of a small town, she married a local civil servant, Vasily Chernov, and gave birth to a son.

However, she was obviously not satisfied with this kind of family life. When she returned home, she angered her mother again, so she chose to run away from home.

This caused the old father to have a mental breakdown. Retired officer Andrei Durov found his daughter's coat by the river and thought the child had committed suicide, but since he didn't find the body, he had to continue searching.

As a father, he didn't know that his daughter eloped with a Cossack and joined the Cossack Cavalry Regiment, but for well-known reasons, she had to leave (deleted) the Cossack Regiment.

The Cossack Cavalry Regiment has to grow beards!
Now, she has come to the Polish Lancer Regiment. Anyway, she has a slender body, and with the chest wrap wrapped inside, her figure cannot be seen.

Even among Russian young women, not all have big breasts, and with her disguise, coupled with her behavior and deliberately concealed voice, it was difficult for others to notice.

Even today, if she hadn't been so talkative, Solovyov wouldn't have noticed it. Girls, no matter how masculine they are, can't help but chatter when they talk.

Moreover, this "tomboy" voice sounds quite good. The most masculine girl Count Stroganov had ever met before was probably Her Highness Catherine in the palace. That wild girl in the palace would not be like this one, who put on men's clothes and ran to the cavalry to serve as a soldier.

As for her being like this, it was entirely the result of her mother going crazy and abandoning the baby, and being educated by a group of hussar uncles who could not raise children but only little cavalrymen.

When it comes to horsemanship, she is even better at riding the warhorse than Count Stroganov, who has been familiar with horseback riding since childhood.

You have to know that the count was the only son of the richest man in Russia. He had grown up in the court of Louis XVI and the court of the Queen, so he had seen a lot, but the horses he rode were all well-tamed.

Such a young cavalryman would certainly attract his attention. But Durova was just a new recruit who had just joined the Ulan Lancers. Even if the count had a talent for talent, it was unlikely that he would recruit her from the Polish regiment right away. At least the formalities would take several months.

What's more, Stroganov didn't know that Alexander Sokolov in front of him was a woman.

Perhaps it was because Solovyov was too delicate and the count himself was too handsome, which gave him an illusion.

But after he rode away, Solovyov came up again on his Orlov trot.

"Good riding, comrade."

"Colonel, you are wearing infantry uniforms, why don't you join the cavalry? The infantry is not a place for real men!"

My goodness, this Hu Niu actually looks down upon the infantry.

"Comrade, you can't say that. I used to be the commander of the Guards Chasseurs. I led the infantry to defeat the French offensive during the Battle of Austerlitz."

"But there are more than just infantry in the army. If there were only infantry, I would not join the army. That's what I said when I was stationed at the Bryansk Regiment."

"You are even more manly than men. To use the Tatar expression, they always say 'Emir of emirs' and 'Berke of berks'. Sokolov, you are probably 'a man among men'."

Solovyov spoke in a joking tone, but he still admired her sincerely, what a heroic Russian Mulan! Although she looked a little ugly because of smallpox, her ability was not to be underestimated.

Compared to her, many cavalry officers looked like mere show-offs.

However, Durova did not expect that the count in front of her was already humble enough, and the young colonel in front of her was even more humble, and was willing to joke with her, who was at the soldier level.

"Colonel, you are really good at talking."

"In the Guards, you have to be smart. As for you, comrade, I think your clothes are not very good. A lancer should have good equipment, a pair of good boots and a beautiful uniform. You can't be like a hussar. You have to be more decent."

Solovyov then took out the bag full of silver coins from his waist. According to the current price, 20 rubles can do a lot of things.

You know, a 1777 rifle is worth half a pig, and pigs means rifles.

"These should be enough. When I went to Vyborg, I met General Kutuzov. The old man was stingy with even 200 rubles because his family was tight on expenses. I'm different. I'm still single. My father is a retired officer and businessman. He always helps some friends. Money is not a problem for me."

"I can not"

"That's not the case, Sokolov! Although you are a noble, you must have run away from home, right? If your parents were still alive, they would be very worried about you. My father was afraid that I would not be able to adapt to being alone in Petersburg, so he brought the whole family here from Ryazan. When I went abroad, I had to write to him to let him know that I was safe, even when I ran to New Spain."

"You have also been to New Spain?"

"Yes, it's a long journey and we have to take a boat. I really admire those sailors who always travel such far away."

What he said was incoherent, but he still asked Durova to accept the rubles as a superior.

Of course, he did not realize that this girl was the famous "Cavalry Girl". Although Durova was famous, Solovyov was not very clear about her early experiences.

As for Durova, she finally had enough money to buy a pair of boots that fit her feet, but she was still worried about food.

The Mariupol Hussar Regiment and the Polish Uhlan Lancer Regiment are both in the Baltic Marine Regiment. Because they are close to each other, they can also see what the Lancers are doing from the Hussar side.

The uniforms of the Hussars are more gorgeous, and another point is that their families are well-off, and they can often buy their own equipment. They also maintain such a beautiful Hussar uniform, which makes it very convenient to pick up girls whether in the city or in the countryside.

As for the Lancers, Solovyov saw some of them digging potatoes in the fields.

That "Sokolov", also known as Durova, dug potatoes from the landlady's field after a day of training, and put a lot of them into her Ulan cavalry quadrangular hat, which she peeled and put directly into the pot.

Solovyov was also quite curious. Even though she claimed to be seventeen years old and her behavior could be disguised, there were some things that were difficult to conceal.

For example, Captain Jia’s method of identifying women is actually quite useful to Durova.

Solovyov was more curious whether any Lancer officers or soldiers would say, "Brother, you smell so good."

For example, words like
The problem is, it’s not really spoken that way.

It can be said to be a miracle that Durova was with a group of Poles loyal to Russia and yet she was not discovered.

Except for Solovyov who passed by, no one noticed that she was a woman. Perhaps it was her carefree behavior that somewhat concealed her feminine characteristics.

(End of this chapter)