Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 391 Elena came back to visit her family, but actually went home to seek refuge (Part 033)
The interior of the palace in Gatchina was indeed quite strange during Alexander's time.

The Queen Mother herself apparently did not interfere in politics enough. Even when she said in 1801 that she had the ability to do so, no one believed her. Even Louisa, who had never dared to disobey her mother-in-law, dared to stand up and express her opposition, publicly supporting Alexander's legitimate succession to the throne.

However, the Queen Mother is still very resourceful in maintaining her influence in the palace.

This time when Elena returned from Mecklenburg to visit her relatives, she made a big show in Gatchina, with a reception and a banquet.

All the nobles who want to curry favor with the Queen Mother will still gather here.

Therefore, as long as this kind of large-scale reception dance can be held, there will be many people who respond.

In fact, this was even more grand than the ball held in the Winter Palace.

But Alexander didn't care too much about these things. When the waltz was played at the ball, people could see that it was the Tsar himself and the Queen Mother who entered together.

As for the Queen, although she participated in the royal family's family dinner today, she did not attend such occasions.

Of course, there are many people who sympathize with Louisa, and it is not surprising how this incident is interpreted.

In addition, she was pregnant again, and taking Elena's child to the Alexander Palace would allow the Grand Duchess, who had been away from St. Petersburg for a long time, to devote herself fully to this large-scale social event.

During this period, someone brought up this question: What does Elena's return mean?
The more sensitive soldiers were also whispering to each other in the corridor.

Solovyov saw a bald man passing by today. He had rarely dealt with this person before because they were not in the same legion, but his identity was indeed likely to attract attention.

That was Barclay de Tolly, a descendant of Scottish nobility. The fact that he was of German descent was also related to the fact that one of his relatives was a member of the Hanseatic League.

Therefore, he was sometimes in a strange and awkward position. The native Russian officers regarded him as a German, and the German officers did not help him integrate into the circle.

Moreover, among generals, according to the seniority list, length of service and military exploits always cause controversy. Barclay was very unfortunate because he had only participated in the war against Sweden and the suppression of the Warsaw Resistance and had not fought in a war for 12 years. He was always said to be a relative of the generals.

And unfortunately, this happens every time I get promoted.

Although the protagonist today is Elena, who came back from Mecklenburg to visit her family, the people attending this kind of reception ball always attract more attention.

As for Bagration, he spoke of Barclay de Tolly now without the hostility he would later show.

"Misha, it's strange that you want to deal with that bald guy."

"I'm just curious, a Scotsman, always being mistaken for a German."

"You can ask him. I can also introduce you to someone. Also, you should prepare yourself. According to the military officer yearbook, you can skip the seniority limit when you are promoted from colonel to major general."

If Bagration hadn't told Solovyov, he wouldn't have known this either.

"What did you say?"

"You are very meticulous in your work, but you didn't know about this. According to the annual officer and general qualifications yearbooks, the emperor can select officers of all levels for promotion."

"But what does this have to do with me?"

Seeing that Solovyov really didn't know, Bagration said: "That German from Scotland was promoted to general based on performance, not seniority. You are busy making battle plans all day, how could you forget this?"

"Ok?"

"You can be promoted to general through special channels! You don't understand qualifications, which is even worse than me not understanding my wife."

Solovyov indeed did not pay attention to this point. It had been some time since he was promoted to colonel. In the past, promotion among officers required one year to be eligible, but when it came to the general stage, there were still some explanations involved.

It is no wonder that the children of great aristocratic families always take advantage of their youth to join the Guards and gain experience.

But there was no need for Bagration to make fun of himself, and Solovyov then realized that there was a fast-forward channel.

With his current status, he can more or less be promoted according to this convention. No one can say anything about his qualifications, military achievements, or position.

But this is secondary, Solovyov is about to go and say hello to Barclay.

"Hello, Mikhail Bogdanovich, I am Solovyov from the Operations Department."

"I have heard that although you are young, you are very good at fighting."

Barclay felt that he had no sense of existence and generally no one would come to him, but this guy actually came up to say hello when he saw him for the first time.

I can't figure out whether Solovyov is very sociable or what.

"Thank you for the compliment, but I have a question. You are obviously Scottish, so you should be treated the same as Lord Bruce, not as German."

"That may be because of my mother and my wife, as well as the origin of the surname De Tolly. Even if they are Scottish, they may have relatives on the European continent."

"Maybe we need to play the bagpipes to identify it."

"You are very good at joking and your words are quite witty."

"Besides that, what do you think of the French and Prussian problems?"

"We are all soldiers serving Russia. We should obey the emperor's will and fight for our motherland and people."

What he said reminded Solovyov of Andrei. He wondered how this guy was doing in Smolensk recently.

"Yes, but France and Prussia, it looks like they will definitely fight."

"you mean"

"That's right, but it's still early. As soldiers, we have to wait for orders before we can go out."

"That's indeed the point of view. We will all go to the battlefield when the time comes."

"Yes, but I am surprised that you have made great contributions, but you are still a colonel."

Like Barclay de Tolly, Solovyov also had the curious trait of being promoted in rank at a rate that was clearly inconsistent with his merits.

"This is not surprising. Whether it's seniority or military exploits, it always takes a suitable time."

"I wish you will become a general soon and have the opportunity to command a division in the future."

"Isn't that the French 'divisional general'? Indeed, we have to start from here. You have good administrative skills. Perhaps your majesty will find it useful in the Ministry of War in the future." "Speaking of administrative ability, my father was once the mayor of Riga, and my family's estate is in Courland, which will have some influence."

"Yes, many local officers suffer from lack of education, while German and foreign officers always receive better education, so they have some advantages when it comes to promotion."

Of course, some weird things cannot be said, we can only talk about cultural level.

"But you are different. Young officers who are self-taught are rare nowadays."

While they were chatting, Alexander and Queen Mother Maria also came out from the back room, and everyone had to greet them wherever they passed.

Because of the crowd, Solovyov couldn't go back to where he was originally sitting, so he stayed and continued chatting with Barclay.

"Self-study is only a means to improve one's knowledge reserves. Military academies are still needed to strengthen learning and change personal habits so that knowledgeable young people can become qualified officers."

"There is some truth in this. We always prepare for war in peacetime."

"But everyone wants lasting peace, doesn't he, Mikhail Bogdanovich?"

Barclay didn't say much, and then he started dancing on the dance floor. This was usually an occasion for girls and single officers. People like Barclay who had a wife usually wouldn't join in.

Solovyov, on the other hand, had no intention of entering the dance floor today. He preferred to discuss military issues, and he hid himself quite deeply, using Barclay and several other officers to block his presence.

For example, Colonel Yermolov, this big guy is most suitable for blocking the view.

"But it makes no sense. You don't want to start a war now, but someone wants it. In the past, we had the idea of ​​attacking the Turks, just like the French are always aggressive."

"The stronger party is willing to take such measures. As for you, Yermolov, what are you doing there?"

"I don't want to go out and dance, but I'll stand out."

"Your size is too obvious. If you stand here, you can completely block me."

"Perhaps, but someone has to conduct sufficient 'reconnaissance', and you can't hide so easily."

"I'm not too keen on moving position just yet, Artillery."

"But what if the hussars come over here?"

Yermolov, this big guy, actually has a sense of humor, and Barclay felt like laughing when he heard it.

Especially this person, he still tells jokes with a serious expression, even if it is a cold joke, it will have a significant contrast effect.

Yermolov is four years older than Solovyov. He is also single, but because of his service during the military service and the fact that he is relatively poor as a colonel, he has thought about getting married, but has never done so.

Later, his lifelong friend Ostermann Tolstoy got married very early, but his wife was frail and sickly. Unless he was in military service, he always took his wife to a sanatorium.

"It's a pity that we can't form a battle array here. The palace is always different from the battlefield."

When they said this, the girls had already entered the dance floor. This time, in addition to the court maids and the noble ladies who came here, the female school students who had not yet obtained the social qualifications were also going to take to the stage.

"Ah, what a coincidence today. My sister Yulia will be entering a social occasion here for the first time. However, she will not be eligible for this until she graduates from the Smolny Girls' School."

"That'll take a while. Which one is it?"

"Among the girls in the school, the tallest one in the first row is this girl. Even if she grows this tall, she will be taller than me, and she is only fifteen years old."

"There is also a very tall lady in the palace. Her Highness Anna Pavlovna is about the same age. Look over there."

When Barclay said this, Solovyov and Yermolov both looked over there, and next to Alexander were the two unmarried sisters, and it was indeed the case.

"Her Majesty the Queen Mother is a big person, so it's no surprise that Her Majesty Anna is tall. When I was an aide-de-camp in the palace, I gave early childhood education classes to the princesses. She was only five years old at the time, but she was obviously taller than other children."

"Yes, you still have this relationship."

When Barclay talked about this, he felt a little envious.

But when Solovyov looked at him, he thought in his heart: You will have your time of pride in the future, but my time will probably be much later.

But being Nikolai's teacher and having a job in the General Staff did have some benefits.

As for the girls, after their opening dance, they will each go looking for dance partners. There are still a large number of single young and middle-aged officers, and there are especially many who came today.

In such social occasions, there are always people who come out to dance.

Moreover, Yulia appeared on this occasion today. As the eldest brother, Solovyov could not hide. His sister's appearance always required the help of her brother.

He himself did not notice that Nicholas and Mikhail were also with Alexander today, but the two guys were behind the Queen Mother's throne and were blocked by several attendants and adjutants.

The two of them were thinking about it, and even said to their second sister, who had been away from home for a long time and was a little unfamiliar with them, "Sister, you are very familiar with our teacher!"

"Yes, at that time, I was the one who brought him into the palace to be a model."

"So what does he like?"

"Very wide-ranging interests, Nicholas, what are you thinking about?"

However, Nicholas was too straightforward. He said to Elena: "Sister, I think the boss, as we call him in private, should find a wife."

"Kolya, you and Misha, are you two going to help your teacher find a wife?"

When Elena said this, she didn't know what to say about Nikolai and Mikhail. Was it because of her precocity, the careless words of children, or something else? In short, children nowadays are really scary, and she didn't know what her son would be like in the future.

She also considered introducing a girl to her brother-in-law, but Christian August obviously had no such thoughts.

But as for Solovyov, he usually had to come to the palace to teach his two younger brothers, and he was very familiar with me, so he had to help him in some way.

After getting Nicholas's affirmation, she said, "Don't worry. There are so many girls here today. Who knows, there might be someone suitable. But you two shouldn't be so obvious. There will always be a way. You can entrust someone around you to do it. If it really doesn't work, I can help. After all, that baron has been manipulated by us a lot."

This situation is indeed quite subtle.

(End of this chapter)