Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 402 044 Prussia should be able to reach Berlin in 18 days, right?

The reason why Solovyov adopted this method was indeed due to his cautious consideration of the issue.

"We are doing this in secret now, Katya. You are still free and can change your mind at any time. This is also a kind of protection for you. Besides, I think that if things go wrong, there will be another war starting this fall."

Little Katya bit her lip and nodded in agreement.

"By then, I may return to the front. This may also be worrying. Even as a staff officer, I am always in a relatively safe place, but the bullets and shells are not accurate, and I don't know where they will fly to."

"We can all understand, Misha, you are very thoughtful."

"As for the next period of time, Katya and I will have very few opportunities to meet. If nothing happens and neither of us regrets it, we can make a formal vow. In addition, this necklace is a token of engagement, Katya, it should be very suitable for you."

Taking the color matching into consideration, the ruby ​​necklace can indeed be set off. After all, Katya's empire dress is light-colored and her skin is rosy, which looks very suitable.

"This"

"You can try it on, Vasily Vasilyevich, don't you?"

Obviously, this kind of honorific title should be used for father and future father-in-law.

As for the stepmother, she also came over to interrupt.

"I'll put it on for you."

But when she came closer, I had to consider her bulging belly, which might indicate she was about to give birth soon.

In this way, she had already accepted little Katya, but it seemed a little too enthusiastic.

"Ah, Prince Vasili, it seems that your daughter is very popular with my family."

"That's good, Baron Sergei. Everything is satisfactory. We just have to wait another year."

"My son is by the emperor's side, so he is well-informed. He also has some abilities that are not typical of our children. You know, my generation has been in the army, and the highest I have ever been is a major. And what about Misha? He should be a general soon. It's rare to see such a young general who has risen to the top with his own abilities!"

"Yes, but there is still a long way to go. I was promoted to lieutenant general at the age of 31, but it is not easy to go further in the army. Not only do you need your own abilities, but you also need some luck and connections."

What Prince Vasily was more worried about was his future son-in-law's luck. It was not easy for him to get close to Grand Duke Constantine by his own ability.

He even had some connections himself, after all, the late old prince was the former commander-in-chief of the army and governor-general of Moscow.

It is obviously not difficult for a colonel to be promoted to major general, and for a major to continue to be promoted upwards.

In such a happy atmosphere, although it was a secret engagement, the relationship between the two families became better.

In order to prepare Katya's dowry, Prince Vasily decided to take his family back to Moscow. First, according to Baron Sergei's advice, he would sell the Sparrow Hills estate to Prince Yusupov while the value of the estate was rising, and then use the money in more stable investment projects.

After all, when there are more real estate and less cash, these manors and properties may become a burden.

Besides, Prince Yusupov has always liked the land in the Sparrow Hills area, but he never had the opportunity to buy it. Now that Prince Vasily is selling it, it gives him an opportunity.

Considering that the Solovyov family's old house at No. 4 Laundry Lane is so close to Prince Yusupov's house in front of the Moika River Embankment, even Adela, who was looking after the house there, should have told her stepfather about this when she was having tea party with the Potemkin brothers and sisters.

This does not require any notification in between and can be done secretly.

As for the Yusupov family, they are now among the top three richest families in Russia and will be the richest family in the future. They still have the economic strength.

Considering the friendship with the Dolgorukov family, Prince Yusupov said that when they go to Moscow, they will definitely take care of the Sparrow Hills estate.

As for whether he could buy it, when the old prince was alive, he dared not give the queen face and retired in anger. At that time, he still had some prestige in the army, which was also his confidence. This manor in Sparrow Mountain was acquired by the old prince because of his military merits.

Prince Vasily and his late brother, on the other hand, were both of a milder temper.

But Solovyov had no time to pay attention to what was happening in Moscow. He would only be free for a few days, as he would still have tasks to do afterwards.

Prince Vasily had to take his wife and two daughters back to Moscow, where the weather was pleasant after the autumn, and to deal with these matters.

Solovyov still has to get back to work now, and the burden he will have in the future will not be light.

After Alexander set off, Van Suchteren suggested that Volkonsky and Solovyov make two plans based on the current situation.

However, Solovyov was a bit lazy and only made two plans under one set of directions, either Prussia failed or Prussia ended in a stalemate.

In the former case, the Russian army would have no time to provide rescue, and being able to send the vanguard to East Prussia was already considered fast.

If the Prussian army could hold back the French army, it would obviously be very beneficial to the entire war situation in 1806.

"So, you only made these two plans. Colonel, are you so sure that we need to mobilize troops in this way? Don't we need to consider mobilizing troops to the Danube front once peace is achieved?"

"I don't think it's necessary. Your Majesty has already gone to Berlin, and Prussia has been played around by the French over Hanover. It's like playing a monkey. Therefore, I dare to conclude that there will be a war in the central region of Germany next."

"Your reasons seem to be quite sufficient."

"As for the Turks, with their limited capabilities, the Danube Corps can still stop them. I'm afraid that they won't be able to cross the Danube until the French enter Berlin."

Van Suchteren was somewhat shocked. Solovyov actually despised the Prussian army so much. If Tsar Paul, who promoted him, knew about this, would he be furious? You know, Paul copied a lot of Prussian military regulations in his military reforms.

But thinking back, he was Suvorov's disciple, so it's not surprising to think so.

But while he was having a little drama in his mind, Solovyov continued, "I know you have doubts about what I said, but I have been to the Prussian military camps and have seen with my own eyes that their armaments are in disrepair and their discipline is not as high as rumored. Even under the leadership of the new generation of more outstanding commanders, some old infantry regiments have also experienced this situation."

"So, you think the Prussians will be defeated quickly?"

"Yes, the Prussian army will be defeated quickly, as long as it launches a battle, whether it is an active offensive or passive defensive battle."

Then Solovyov asked the adjutant who followed him to spread the map on the table.

Yes, he also has an adjutant.

As the Deputy Minister of Operations, he can choose a young officer from the Guards as his adjutant.

Therefore, as the former chief battalion commander of the Putin regiment, he chose Lieutenant Nikolai Isrenyev. After all, he would only choose an officer he thought had a promising future.

When doing things, you should at least be as quick and agile as yourself when you were 15 years old.

He was not wrong in his choice. This Isreyev would become the commander of a regiment in the future, and would eventually become the commander of the 1st Guards Division, retiring with the rank of general of infantry.

Of course, it's not the ones with more outstanding abilities. It's quite difficult to find a few young officers with outstanding abilities in the Russian army. Most of them are the type where courage is greater than ability, and brawn is greater than brains.

"Okay, that's it."

After the map was unfolded, Van Suchteren could see it very clearly.

"You came here directly with a map of northern Germany. It seems that you are well prepared. Colonel, if it were you, what would you do?"

"If I were the commander-in-chief of the Prussian army, I would definitely set up defenses along the passes of the main mountain ranges, and at the same time pay attention to shrinking the troops to the Elbe River, stretching the French army's supply lines, while strengthening my own strength and waiting for Swedish reinforcements. Although the Swedish army's combat effectiveness is not very good, at least they are in Pomerania, the closest distance. At the same time, according to King Frederick the Great's usual tricks, I will persuade the nearby German princes to join my army. After that, I will wait for the arrival of reinforcements from Russia or Britain."

"If I were the King of Prussia, I would agree with your plan. However, Colonel, you have to consider that Prussia is a country where one army owns the entire country, which is not the case with our country. The Dutch recognize money, the Russians value honor, and the Prussians want everything."

Van Suchteren has already become a Russian citizen, and it is not clear whether he was making fun of himself when he said this.

"That's true, so the strategy they should adopt is probably to attack proactively. Judging from the situation of the anti-French coalition that didn't try its best and was defeated in Valmy, I'm not optimistic. Moreover, the Duke of Brunswick is a veteran left over from the era of Frederick the Great. Although he is experienced and very stable, he can't change the views of Hohenlohe and others. In addition, there are the king and queen, as well as those young officers. They are all eager to gain benefits in the war, so they will inevitably take an active offensive approach."

"I don't find it strange that you think so."

Peter Volkonsky was standing nearby. He did not speak until this moment, and continued, "Our Operations Department also believes that the Prussian army will take the initiative to fight, but it is difficult to predict what will happen on the battlefield."

"Although it's hard to predict, it shouldn't be a problem that the Prussians will fail in the end. Their army is currently performing even worse than the Austrians."

Solovyov said this because there is no illegal organization now.

"In this case, let's proceed according to this plan. We need to gather the troops at the western border and be ready to go at any time."

"But the order will be issued after His Majesty returns. We don't know what Berlin's attitude is."

"Yes, it depends on how the Emperor and the King of Prussia talk. Solovyov, you need to continue to improve this plan when you go back. As for you, Prince Volkonsky, you need to communicate with the Minister of War. We need to fully replenish the army's supplies. As for logistical issues, I am the Quartermaster General, so I naturally have to take responsibility."

The discussion was finally completed, and the General Staff had no confidence or expectations about what the Prussians would do next.

As for Solovyov, his subtext was even that Prussia would definitely be quickly taken to Berlin by Napoleon.

The reason for thinking this way is that the French army was very strong at that time, unlike more than 130 years later.

If Prussia were to be conquered quickly now, probably the retired Russian veterans would say, "Only lazy people don't fight the Germans. Bonaparte is still very diligent." This idea is not uncommon.

But the 21st century is still the time for strong breast milk methods.

French only sounds gentle when it is spoken by women. The nasal tone of French men when they speak, or the sound of them speaking with a mouthful of phlegm, is really intimidating and not as rumored.

As for the Prussian army, they only looked strong on paper, with hundreds of thousands of troops that could be deployed. However, their real strength was more or less due to the reputation left by King Frederick the Great.

Although Volkonsky knew that the Prussian army's strength was exaggerated and that Frederick the Great's army was not the army of Frederick William III and that there must be many problems, he was not as sure as Solovyov.

"Misha, why do you think so?"

"It's like the French tiger, who is a donkey. Hearing the bray of the Prussian donkey, he will also feel scared. But when he gets closer, he will find that this opponent is just a show-off and looks scary."

"Ah, your 'Khitan Fable' again?"

"You could say it's the 'instinct of the beast'. The French will find it easy to deal with the Prussians. That's why we need to develop a plan to quickly assist the Prussians. But I'm also worried that they will think they can deal with the French by then."

"Would a Prussian have such courage?"

"That's because they don't know it. We can wait for the news from Berlin to see what the result is. How the Emperor talks with the King of Prussia, they may not need our help yet, unlike Emperor Franz, who has some self-awareness. In addition, there are also stupid guys like Mark in the Prussian army."

After hearing this, Volkonsky felt helpless. Mark had become a complete negative example. Solovyov must still be resentful of him for losing the little notebook for Napoleon!
(End of this chapter)