Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 381 023 The war in the Danube and Caucasus in the south resumes
Katya's naming day was in April, and it looked like Europe would have a brief peace, but on the streets of St. Petersburg and in the salons, there was an uneasy message.

St. Petersburg and Constantinople are so far apart that the speed of transmission of information should not be very fast. However, according to the news from the civilian governor of Tavrid Province, the Governor of Odessa and the military governor of Kiev, the Ottoman Empire was about to take action against Wallachia and Moldavia.

Because of this issue, Alexander quickly summoned Foreign Minister Badberg, War Minister Sergei Kuzmich and Quartermaster General Van Suchteren.

The speed of the Ottoman Empire's actions far exceeded Alexander's expectations. He had always judged that after France forced Austria to surrender, it should first maintain peace with Austria, as it had done in the last anti-French alliance, and then make peace with various European countries in succession in exchange for a favorable external environment, and finally turn around and stare at the British across the strait.

If the usual progress had been followed, this would have been the case. However, since Russia had shown no intention of coming to the table for negotiations, Napoleon instructed General Sebastiani, the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, to instigate the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire to depose the rulers of Moldavia and Wallachia.

Then, the Ottoman Empire, which could easily be provoked, made up its mind to depose the rulers of the two principalities.

But there is a problem involved here. Once Constantine Ypsilanti of Wallachia and the rulers of Moldavia, including the church leader Metropolitan Veniamin, are deposed, according to the Treaty of Jassy signed by Prince Potemkin during the last Russo-Turkish War, Russia must be notified before this happens.

This unauthorized decision would give St. Petersburg an excuse to declare war.

However, the Russian army had just been defeated by France in the Battle of Austerlitz a few months ago, and most of the troops that had retreated back to the country were currently resting, and the garrison troops scattered across the country had just begun to assemble.

It was not appropriate to start a war at this time, but Alexander also despised the Ottoman Empire.

"Your Majesty, I think that at this time, using diplomatic means to mediate will only waste time. This is not the first time that the Ottoman Empire has not followed diplomatic conventions. This time it deposed the 'Fanarios' nobles of Wallachia, and I don't know what it will do next time."

Badberg said this, Sergei Kuzmich said nothing, and Van Suchteren only expressed his opinion on the military point of view.

He was not the most favored among Alexander's teachers, but opinions should always be respected, and Alexander still had his own ideas.

Although we can't defeat the French, the Russian army is still very good at dealing with the Ottoman army under any circumstances. If I can't defeat the French, can I not defeat you?

Therefore, after Badberg finished speaking, he nodded in agreement and thought of the teachings that his grandmother, the Queen, had given to the two brothers when she was still alive.

The one who was more obsessed with Constantinople was actually the empress who married from the German princes. When Paul was in power, he also encroached on part of Georgia. However, the Ottoman Empire was relatively quiet at that time and was in conflict with France, so there was no reason to fight the Turks.

Now, a ready-made opportunity has been presented.

Many of the newly formed infantry and cavalry regiments in the Russian army are now in Odessa and can be dispatched nearby, but he still needs to think about it for a while and asked Badberg in return.

"In this situation, what should we do if we want to send troops to protect Constantine Ypsilantis in Bucharest?"

"Your Majesty, at this time we should use the Treaty of Jassy as a basis and send troops to Bucharest."

Badberg is a soldier after all, and his ideas are rather simple and crude, but this is indeed appropriate.

"Your Majesty, the logistics of marching on the bad roads of Wallachia are still difficult. We can mobilize troops immediately, but maintaining the supply of the army is a problem."

"So how many men can we mobilize, General Sukhteren?"

"It would be more appropriate to mobilize 30,000 to 40,000 people now. And given the Turkish army's troop deployment, it would take several months for them to complete the assembly on the south bank of the Danube. Before that, we have to mobilize troops from Kiev and Odessa and complete the preparations in about a month."

"So, who should we send? Sergei Kuzmich, we should send another suitable commander-in-chief."

As for Sergei Kuzmich, this time he did not burst into tears but sobbed. This old Petersburg joke had always made him feel uncomfortable.

"Your Majesty, at this time it would be more appropriate to send the military governor of Vitebsk and Mogilev, Ivan Ivanovich, or Johann von Michelson, as the Germans would say. He has participated in suppressing the Cossack rebellion in the past and is familiar with the situation on all fronts. He has also fought against the Turks."

Now Alexander did not want to transfer other generals to the Danube River, and it was impossible for the unemployed Kutuzov to be re-employed at this time.

But Michelson alone was not enough, and Alexander was considering sending other generals.

At this time, Miloradovich, who had been transferred to Kiev after the Battle of Austerlitz, was assigned to lead a detachment from Kiev to support Michelson.

The matter was settled, and there were some rumors in the salons of Petersburg.

Anyway, Kutuzov is old and blind, and has always been regarded as such. An even older Michelson is nothing.

But there was another thing that attracted a lot of people's attention, that is, someone of Arakcheev's level could actually be promoted to Lieutenant General of Artillery.

You know, during the Battle of Austerlitz, he led a division to launch a counterattack against Murat's cavalry unit, and not only was he defeated, he was also injured.

More or less in the core area of ​​St. Petersburg, if these people want to be promoted, it depends not only on your ability but also on your interpersonal skills.

Even when Soloviev finally had the chance to visit Madame Recamier, even this lady who only loved literature found it strange. She even asked questions after listening to Soloviev reciting poetry.

"Michel, you are a very talented soldier. You captured the most flags during the fight against Bonaparte, but you only received a medal and failed to become a general. How could this be?"

This lady is dressed like a Greek goddess, leaning back in her famous chaise longue, she is so beautiful, but she is not dressed like this for intimacy, this is a literary salon.

If Solovyov had not tried it himself, he would have thought that his wife was a "dead fish" who liked to wear Rococo style.

She is quite exciting, just a bit reserved.

"I am still very young. Although I have the emperor's trust, the army is always lacking an experienced commander to support my promotion. And there is no need to rush. When there is another war, I will also be able to make meritorious service. At that time, it will not only be a medal."

"Ah, so you will become a general too?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Madame Recamier has two modes of smiling. One is the innocence of a young girl, but if she squints her eyes, she looks like a vixen.
But a vixen who seduces men but rarely goes to bed with them is a little too pure.

Moreover, she seemed to have no plans to remarry. To outsiders, she was such a good widow, so young and rich, but she just didn't want to get married.

"Then I still hope that you can become a general, and you are a rare friend with some talent in my salon." "Is that really the case?"

Solovyov was always fascinated by this lady, but this was different from the feeling he had towards Louisa.

"That's right. I have never lost a small-scale battle since I joined the army, and I didn't win any military honors by fighting those Turks."

"You're not afraid of others being jealous when you say that."

This kind of small salon of Madame Récamier is sometimes very private and does not allow others to attend, which also facilitates more intimate interactions.

She came closer like this, and it obviously made Solovyov a little nervous.

"You are not young anymore, my lovely little brother. You will get married sooner or later. Do you have any suitable girls?"

"Her Majesty the Queen said that she wanted to choose one from her maids, but because Her Majesty is pregnant recently, it is not convenient to arrange such a girl."

Of course, no one except Solovyov and Louisa knew who the culprit was. Alexander knew that he was somewhat guilty of returning to see his mistress but not being with his wife. Even if Louisa was found cheating, it would still arouse great sympathy from St. Petersburg and Moscow, so he kept the matter secret.

Madame Recamier didn't know what was going on, but she had been intimate with Solovyov many times, but surprisingly she had never been cheated.

"Then I will also wish you happiness, but by then, you will have few opportunities to come to me, right?"

"If my wife is a generous girl, maybe I can come to her salon often. I hope she won't be like General Moreau's wife, a troublemaker who came back from Reunion and is a gossiper."

Madame Récamier agreed with this point. She was General Moreau's wife and used her ability to trick her husband into going to America.

"It's a pity. As for my poor husband, even though he was older, he still loved me very much. He was also sent to the guillotine."

"That's because there are so many people involved. Madam, you are safe, it's God's blessing."

"Thank you, Michelle."

At this time, the lady came down from her chaise longue and put her arms around Solovyov's neck, apparently asking for a hug.

A princess hug and then the kind of hugging.

"You've become a lot stronger than before. When I first met you, you looked quite thin."

"These few years of military life have made my body stronger."

"And you are very elegant, and you write good poems, but it's a pity that you are a greedy little fox and always like to hunt secretly."

"Oh, what do you know?"

"Of course she went to Pauline's place! Her housekeeper knew about the affair between you three when I was still in Paris. You are so lucky. Bonaparte's sister is not very 'picky' about men, but she likes you very much. If you were a Frenchman, you would probably stay with her."

"Ah, but His Majesty the Emperor of France would definitely not agree, so he found a Prince Borghese, who is only good-looking, to be her husband. In fact, that guy."

"Italian men are full of energy, love to look for women everywhere, and the poems they write are always very bad. That idiot couldn't walk when he saw me. I knew he only saw my beauty, not my love for poetry and culture."

"Ah, you are indeed different. To be alone with you requires a high level of cultural attainment."

At this moment, Solovyov thought of the Frenchman, the young and middle-aged writer who could impress Madame Récamier, and he was probably Chabdorion.

As for the others, I'm sorry, I'm not very familiar with them. Dumas père is only a 4-year-old child now, and his mother is still worried about the pension left by Alexandre Dumas senior after his death.

"And you have satisfied me today. The translation of this love poem is very good and has successfully moved me."

Soloviev picked up Madame Recamier, but since she was so close, he could see her increasingly plump figure through her clothes, with the fat growing just right.

"I like you too, ma'am."

"While you are still a happy single nobleman, we..."

Although Madame Récamier was not like Mérimée who later spread rumors and was afraid of pain when encountering such things, she was always embarrassed when she talked about it, even blushing a little, and her breathing was a little rapid.

"You can feel me better, just like in Paris and before you went to war."

"Yes, Madam, I have been with His Highness Nicholas for some time. As His Highness's teacher, I have to set an example, sometimes."

"You little fox who loves to steal fruits, I want to reward you well too!"

So the lady took the initiative to kiss him, and Solovyov could feel that her breathing quickened, and her face turned redder and her heart beat faster.

Speaking of which, she is quite innocent.

After the kiss, the lady calmed down, adjusted her breathing, and slowly said: "Michelle, this is a reward for you. It's a pity that you will eventually get married, if it is a little girl who can control you."

Madame Recamier said this because the "old witch"'s embarrassment had become a big news in Petersburg and a topic of conversation among the nobles after dinner. And there was also a strange news that a brave warrior like Solovyov could be controlled by a 15-year-old girl.

"Do you also think Catherine is right for me? I just treat her as a sister. I've known her since she was only 6 years old. She and my sister Yulia are very good friends. It always feels weird."

"Don't you realize that children nowadays are very smart? His Highness Nicholas spoke at that time just for you, his teacher!"

Come to think of it, this may be true. Precocious children are not uncommon.

(End of this chapter)