Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 379 021 Little Katya was favored by the "old witch" (Part )
Solovyov's main task in recent times has indeed been to teach the two young grand dukes.

He didn't have to worry about military affairs, and the inventions he had tinkered with before had been perfected by professional engineers and craftsmen. Except for the translation work that he had to do because of his special skills, and the introduction of the "Heroes of Liangzan", his main task was teaching.

So, knowledge still changes destiny.

Moreover, he can often attend special meetings in the North American territory.

On the way back from the office in the Little Winter Palace, Solovyov took Nikolai for a walk along Million Street. Although the child was very stubborn, he was still very obedient out of respect for his "big brother".

Solovyov was very strict with him and increased the amount of homework, but the class could not proceed that day because of Alexander's summons.

"Kolya, I can't give you homework today, but you can stroll around Million Street."

"Then where are we going?"

"Just keep going forward. This street is full of Guardsmen, and there is a barracks of the Grenadiers in front. It's very safe."

As for the young master Nikolai, he was willing to follow Solovyov.

The person Solovyov fears most on this street is undoubtedly the "little goblin" who used to live at No. 7. In the blink of an eye, she is only 23 years old and is already a mother of three children.

It is also interesting to think about her statement that she would "reward" Bagration after defeating the French.

Solovyov thought, this senior brother won the individual competition, but lost the team battle. This "reward" is indeed not easy to get.

As for matters within the Russian army, they are naturally also responsible for the Minister of War and the General Staff Headquarters. One is responsible for tightening the screws, and the other is responsible for formulating combat plans and grand strategic commands.

There were no telegraphs in this era, so micro-control was not convenient. I wanted to move the Unicorn Cannon to the left, but forget it.

Take Nicholas for a walk along this street, pass the Marble Palace, and you will arrive at the square. Further ahead are No. 1 and No. 3 Million Street, the latter of which is the mansion of Prince Saltykov, the Grand Tutor.

But Nicholas had some impression of the Mars Square and Mikhailovsky Fortress, but not as much as his two brothers and third and fourth sisters.

But the child only knew that his father was dead.

And Solovyov was a guard officer that his father liked very much, and he also understood this.

You know, many of the officers Paul favored became generals in their twenties, and some were promoted to lieutenant general when they were less than thirty years old.

"Boss, I want to ask you a question."

"Don't address me like that, Your Highness. After all, I am just your teacher. It's a bit... weird to address you like that."

"But you are really amazing. You are the one who captured the most flags when fighting against the French in Austria. I think you will become a great general, but why are you still a colonel now, with all your merits?"

Nicholas is a bit stubborn and one of the more stubborn "kids", but he has his own judgment at his age, and I don't know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing.

"Your Highness, what do you want to say?"

"You should have been a general long ago. My brother trusts you so much, but he won't even give you the rank of major general."

Nicholas felt somewhat aggrieved that his teacher was a colonel, and he crossed his arms over his chest.

Although he was only ten years old, he was tall and almost as tall as Solovyov was when he was fifteen.

It is really exciting to see how big it will grow to in the future.

You know, in Württemberg, the Queen Mother's hometown, there are many giants in the royal family, including strongmen weighing 200 kilograms and strongmen weighing 200 kilograms.
"Your Majesty's trust in me is indeed equal to that of the late Emperor, and sometimes even exceeds it. But let's go to Mikhailovsky Castle."

Today he really wanted to tell Nicholas about Paul's deeds. Although the outside world had a very bad opinion of him, that was the opinion of the great nobles. The people and progressive young nobles still loved the late Tsar.

Nicholas' personality is actually more like Paul's, especially his stubbornness, trust and even tolerance towards people around him, which are simply cast in the same mold.

Solovyov paid special attention to his education because he saw the shadow of Tsar Paul, who had been very kind to him.

At least we must prevent the Grand Duke Nicholas in front of us from taking that path in the future. Even plants and trees have feelings, like this stubborn boy whom he has watched grow up. If Alexander has no son, or uses a decree of succession to designate a successor, Nicholas will most likely become the next monarch, as he is of the right age.

No wonder the Queen Mother and Alexander were both very strict with this boy. If there was any small problem with his schoolwork, Solovyov would have to come back from the garrison and continue to assume his duties as "junior tutor".

In particular, Solovyov himself proposed to use homework and monthly exams to test Nikolay and Mikhail's academic achievements.

Although Alexander's tutor, Prince Saltykov, was responsible in raising his son, he was not so strict in his studies.

Solovyov led Nikolai forward and, by chance, they ran into the Princess.

Solovyov had also heard of this lady in social circles. After all, he had shown off quite a bit in her salon that year, making this witch-like old lady a little embarrassed.

It is also because of this that Solovyov has some fame in the social circle. After all, this old lady does not leave a good impression on people.

But he brought Nicholas here, and as the princess's wife, the old lady also had to come and pay her respects.

After all, Nicholas is the second in line of succession, and his two elder brothers have no sons, so currying favor with this child can be considered an investment in the future.

However, Nicholas did not like this old lady very much. Although he respected the master, his wife...
He had heard this from his chattering sisters when he was a child. This old lady was indeed very strange.

"Your Highness, it's an honor to see you here. Are you out for a walk?"

Although Nikolai did not want to answer, Solovyov was signaling with his eyes that even though the child was so stubborn, he still responded politely.

"Madam, Baron Soloviev and I are going to the Champ de Mars. Where are you coming from?"

"Ahaha, I came from the Moika Canal. Perhaps you know that when Prince Vasily Dolgorukov comes back from abroad, he needs someone to introduce him to social occasions again. The old man in my family used to have some friendship with Prince Krimsky. This prince is a close relative from my mother's family, so naturally I have to take care of them, ahaha." Nikolay looked at the old lady and thought she was weird. Moreover, she kept talking when she talked to him, giving people the feeling that: enough.

But out of courtesy, he did have to deal with them. Nicholas also knew that he was the Grand Duke and had a high status, so he also needed to deal with these nobles below him.

"Yes, you have always been generous in entertaining guests."

Solovyov found that Nikolai had made some progress. At least when he was in a high position, he could still say flattering words, which was not impolite.

If there was something impolite, after all, this lady was the wife of the Grand Tutor and was also very familiar with the Queen Mother. Although it would not implicate himself, it would involve General Langzdorf, who was like a "father", and the "boss", so he would be forced to do business.

"Well, Your Highness, if you would do me the honor of visiting you, you may come to my humble abode."

If the "luxury house" at 3 Million Street near the Palace Embankment is also a "humble abode", then the number of official residences worth mentioning in St. Petersburg is very limited.

"Of course that's fine, but I don't have any followers today. Only my teacher is with me."

Although the Princess hated Solovyov, after all, the boy had embarrassed her in the past, but Nicholas was one of the top five children in St. Petersburg in terms of reputation, so she had to put up with it.

There is another problem. That is, Solovyov has indeed learned the "business smile" and taught it to Nikolai. Unexpectedly, the first time Nikolai used it was on this "old witch".

It's interesting, Solovyov thought, but going to 3 Million Street should also involve some social activities.

Moreover, Nikolai and Solovyov had already walked to the Marble Palace and wanted to say hello to General Langzdorf who was there.

Although they both looked like "tutors", Prince Saltykov had a higher status than General Langzdorf in all aspects, and the first heir was Constantine, whom the general could not afford to offend, so he gave him a few instructions and asked Constantine's adjutant to go with him.

"Matvey Ivanovich, I will accompany your Highness."

"That won't do. I heard that place," General Lanzdorf said seriously, whispering in Solovyov's ear, "is always haunted. I heard it's the ghosts of Peter the Great and a young woman."

Although Solovyov was not superstitious, he had to endure the nagging and superstition of his leader, who was also Nikolai's "class teacher".

And, it’s with good intentions.

There is just one problem. If it is really haunted, even ten adjutants will be of no use. You will need to ask the Orthodox Patriarch for help. But if Peter the Great is the ghost, it will be difficult to "exorcise" him.

As for another legend, there is also the ghost of Tsar Paul in the Mikhailovsky Fortress.

This kind of atmosphere makes Petersburg like a large Hogwarts.

Of course, the distance between these two steps is also very close.

Solovyov counted the days and looked at the date in his notebook.

"Today is little Katya's name day!"

By the way, this child now lives with her parents and two brothers at No. 3 Million Street. When she was less than fifteen years old, she became an official palace maid.

Louisa liked her very much and called her "the black-haired little cat". She also made fun of herself for "employing child labor".

However, precisely because she knew the rules and was popular in the palace, she soon attracted the attention of many noble ladies.

If these noble ladies have unmarried sons at home, they would have to consider whether they should go to Prince Vasily's house to propose marriage when the girl grows up a little.

However, they were just thinking about it. Prince Vasily Dolgorukov's family lived at 3 Million Street. If Prince Saltykov's family moved first, no one else would be able to catch up.

The Princess herself just happened to have this idea. Her youngest son Sergei is still single. Before Her Highness Maria got married, he used to work as "stable manager" in the court of this princess. Although it sounds like "horse keeper", his actual status is not low even in the court of the Grand Duchess.

Therefore, Solovyov had some impression of this person, but the one who impressed him more deeply was Alexander Saltykov, the talkative man in the family and the man who was best at speaking long and difficult sentences in St. Petersburg.

"Your Highness Nicholas, it is our honor to have you visit us."

Nicholas felt a little embarrassed when the old prince said this.

"Nikolai Ivanovich, you are my brother's teacher and my respected elder. How can I let you do this?"

"Your Majesty, please do me a favor."

After listening to Solovyov's hint, Nikolai connected the rest of the words. It is quite difficult for a ten-year-old child to pretend to be an adult, so he also thinks this is a kind of "torture."

Compared to socializing, class time is better!
Nicholas felt helpless when he thought so.

The Saltykov family currently has three sons here. The eldest son, Dmitry, is blind, but he has also married a wife, the daughter of the fable writer Leontiev.

The second son, Solovyov, was very familiar with the place. Today he also appeared here with his wife and daughter, but his father-in-law, who had failed in his diplomatic mission, was still in Irkutsk.

As for Sergei, although his reputation is much better than those playboys in the social scene, he also has a problem. Due to his personality rather than physical factors, when talking about marriage, many mothers are actually worried about whether their daughters can get the happiness they deserve if they marry him.

As for the indecisive Nikolai Ivanovich, he sat in the master's seat, but at home he had to be directed by his weird old wife. At the court he always followed the crowd and adopted an opinion, but it cannot be said that he had no contribution at all.

After all, he had always acted as a mediator and lubricant between the Empress, Tsar Paul, Alexander and Constantine. There were even rumors that he was Paul's biological father because he cared too much about Paul in his early years.

But this statement is ridiculous enough.

Today, the seventy-year-old man is in good health. He wanted to entertain guests at home, and His Royal Highness Grand Duke Nicholas was called over by his wife at short notice.

Anyway, the reception was about to begin. As for the theme, since it was Katya's naming day, it had some purpose.

(End of this chapter)