Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 450 027 The Prussian King's Unrealistic Idea
It was indeed unexpected that Clausewitz had come so far.

Of course, he was so unlucky that Solovyov didn't understand the situation for a while.

But because he had experienced a series of Prussian defeats around Jena, he could still ask why the Prussian army suffered such a humiliating defeat.

Prince August's adjutant would definitely have the opportunity to sit in on the pre-war military meetings.

As for Madame Récamier, whom Prince Auguste wanted to overthrow, that was another issue. It was because he had been keeping a mistress at home, and even in public, which hurt Madame's feelings.

Although that lady is difficult to conquer, she is very tolerant. As long as you don't do such things in public in front of her, she won't meddle in other people's business.

After all, France was in such a state, and Napoleon wanted her to enter the palace as a senior maid. Who knows what he was thinking.
Solovyov would never show off that he was the winner, whether it was because he did not lose to Napoleon in a series of coquettish moves, and the Russian army won several small battles in the local area, or in the competition for his lover.
He was willing to have a good chat with Clausewitz, and the other party's attitude was quite good, and they talked about almost everything.

"There was no problem with the deployment, but the French acted too quickly and ended up like this."

"I am surprised, Michael, that you were able to escape the French pursuit."

"It's probably because of the strategic maneuvers and rearguard battles. The reason for the defeat around Jena and in the pickle field was determined when Hohenlohe violated orders and attacked the French army on the way to Weimar. If they could have waited for one or two days, even if the marching speed was very slow, after the reinforcements arrived, the forces of both sides were roughly equal, and they would not have been defeated so badly."

"Yes, we were unlucky. When the grenadiers broke through, they encountered the French Hussars. Although we formed a square formation with a battalion of troops to prevent them from approaching, there would always be a time when we ran out of ammunition and food. In the end, we were captured on the edge of the swamp during the breakout."

"This is inevitable. At least your grenadiers performed well and did not collapse directly like the flintlock soldiers."

Speaking of which, the Prussian army's performance was indeed eye-catching.

"So, is there anything new recently?"

"I'll take you to see your King. He seems to think it's wise to make peace now. If the decision is delayed for a few months, it will be more disadvantageous to Prussia. Although our Emperor is willing to arbitrate Central European affairs as a friend and has formed an offensive and defensive alliance with your King, with Prussia's current strength, there is no room for bargaining at the negotiation table. Accepting a flat price at this time is an acceptable result."

"I think so too. After all, war is a continuation of politics. The final outcome of the peace talks is more or less related to the battlefield."

It seems that he had already started preparing for the writing of "On War", but after cholera killed a large number of people, he did not complete the series of works. In the end, it was his wife who completed the work.

"That's it, I'll come to meet His Majesty the King this afternoon, and we'll see what happens then."

What would Frederick William III think?
In fact, Solovyov did not want to think about this problem. According to the forecast, Barclay, who was recovering from his injuries recently, should propose his strategy to Alexander. This scorched earth strategy is generally to trap and kill the European army that attacks Russia in the future, or to retreat in the face of difficulties.

But whether it will work is also a question. No matter how good the strategy is, it will fail if the people who execute it are not good enough.

As for this visit, another task to be completed is probably to thank King Prussia for the medal awarded.

The Order of the Red Eagle only had one level at that time, and it would not be completed until after 1810. Langeron, Bagration and Solovyov were awarded this medal in recognition of their heroic performance in a series of battles with France by the King of Prussia.

Solovyov received this medal, although it was awarded after Eylau, but the award was for the Battle of Pultusk, which dealt a heavy blow to the French Fifth Army.

"Your Majesty, it is an honor to be summoned by you at this time."

However, Frederick William III also knew that Solovyov and Clausewitz had met by chance in Memel, and that the unfortunate theorist had to change into a Prussian military uniform before appearing at court.

"Thank you for your efforts, young general. I just wonder if the Russian emperor has also felt relieved recently in his court. We finally did not lose to Bonaparte."

"But now, your Majesty, most of your territory is still being ravaged by the French. I think Clausewitz has already explained this to you."

"Yes, I hope to return to Berlin, but I should not give in to the usurper."

As soon as he said this, Solovyov knew that he did not have much room to convince the king, but he could still give him advice on the strategy starting in the spring of 1807.

He couldn't explain it directly. After all, the Elbe River was the boundary, and Prussia's loss was the investment in Prussian territory in the Rhine River basin over the past 20 years.

If Russia decides to make peace in the summer, it will be disastrous for Prussia.

"Your Majesty, regarding the strategic deployment after the muddy season in the spring of 1807, I think it should be like this. When I was recuperating in Jelgava, I, His Royal Highness Grand Duke Constantine, and Commander-in-Chief Langeron all agreed that the entire battlefield should still revolve around East Prussia, but it should not always be around Königsberg."

"General, there is a problem now. Königsberg is the only major city in East Prussia that is still in our hands. It is not appropriate for you to hope to change the strategic direction like this, right?"

If the other party had been just a Prussian general, Solovyov would probably have refuted him bluntly, as he had done in the past.

But this is a king, and he is just a major general chief of staff, so he is still clear about the rules.

"Your Majesty, in our current coordinated operations, if we continue to fight around the city, it is obvious that we are only calculating the gains and losses of a city or a place."

What Solovyov is more worried about is that Alexander is too face-conscious. In diplomacy and military, the two sides are currently an offensive and defensive alliance, and therefore are equal in name.

This strategic plan was the conclusion Solovyov came to after observing a series of mobile operations conducted by the Russian and French armies in the previous few months. He believed that it was highly feasible.

Therefore, he continued to point out the problem on the map. "The main strongholds behind the French are only Danzig and Kolberg, and the other places are useless. We can see from here that it is right next to you. This is Memel where we are. We fought a battle with the French in Eylau, south of Königsberg, and the outcome was inconclusive. But this also proves that it is possible to defeat the French with proper deployment. And if we want to defeat the French army, we naturally have to study their combat methods."

"You always talk about the French way of fighting, but we..."

Frederick William III was always indecisive and was not qualified to be a king. However, he was born into a good family and was able to marry a good wife. This only shows that knowledge is not about how well you study, so you should just do the fill-in-the-blank question well.

In fact, when he said this, he stopped again.

"Your Majesty, what is your point? If we need to adopt mobile warfare, we have to mobilize the French. In a place like Poland, they are obviously not familiar with the terrain. Over time, the Poles will also find that the French are not so friendly, especially when they are collecting supplies. Therefore, the Polish people have not yet completely turned to the French. Ja und nein, that's probably it."

"You have to move the troops to Poland. If Königsberg is lost."

"Your Majesty, I think this is a good idea. If General Lestock and Chief of Staff Scharnhorst were here, they should be able to agree with this idea."

Clausewitz was, after all, Prince August's adjutant, and one of the few people in the Prussian king's temporary residence who was knowledgeable about military affairs.

As for the king himself, the people he lost in the pickle field are still being reported in French newspapers.

"Do you think this strategy is feasible? But what about Königsberg?"

Since Clausewitz interrupted like this, Solovyov felt there was still hope.

"Your Majesty, if we retain our territory and fight a battle, we will lose manpower. If we cannot win the battle, then we will not be able to save Königsberg. If we can jump out of this area and not stick to Königsberg, and concentrate more of our forces to attack the enemy's transportation lines and small troops, and consume the French in the battle, perhaps even Brandenburg and the vast German regions, which are oppressed by the French, can spark resistance. At this time, it may be more advantageous for us. Especially by concentrating our forces and acting on the flanks, we can also threaten Warsaw, and Napoleon will definitely be mobilized back by us. At this time, there may still be a chance, not just in Königsberg."

"I think this makes sense, Your Majesty. You know, when Rome couldn't defeat Hannibal, it adopted the Fabian strategy while attacking Hannibal's rear and Carthaginian reinforcements, and finally won the victory in Zama."

Clausewitz still agreed with Solovyov's opinion, but Frederick William III was not Frederick the Great after all. Without Berlin, he continued to fight even when he was almost forced to commit suicide.

He had wanted to keep Berlin before, but had failed, and now he was stubbornly circling around Königsberg.

Seeing such a king, Solovyov understood that the old duke was angered to death. Queen Louise, who had always been in poor health and suffered from chest tightness and shortness of breath, although she loved her husband, the root of her illness was largely related to this incompetent king.

This man did not choose to be tough when he should have been, but at this critical moment, he interfered with the command of the front line, and even the Russian army was affected.

Your Majesty, you can actually consider shaving your head.

But it is not a good idea to lose your temper in front of the monarchs of friendly countries. Even in front of Alexander, you don't have to think so much when giving advice.

There is no way, this involves diplomatic issues.

"General, your idea may make sense, but I cannot adopt it. We still have to focus on Königsberg. I will write to His Majesty the Emperor of Russia to explain our strategy in this regard."

Since he is hard at this time, I can only let him do it.

You can imagine that if an incompetent king is like this, the kings who are more incompetent than him are probably the jellyfish and pigs of Spain. It is difficult to persuade these monarchs, so all plans will fail.

Alexander, on the other hand, was not a man of strong will. He was used to playing the role of Messiah between opposing parties, but he would not easily step forward to adjudicate disputes.

Especially since one party was the King of Prussia and the other was just his general, this was obviously the only way to deal with it from a diplomatic perspective.

But Clausewitz thought it made sense, and even when Solovyov left the Prussian king's residence, he came to the hotel.

"What you said makes a lot of sense. I think only with this strategy can we have a chance of defeating the French emperor."

"You were captured by the French, at least during that time you studied their behavior and some of their habits. As for me, I met Napoleon himself when I was in Paris. This man is decisive and resolute in his actions, but it is not easy to mobilize him. You can only attack and rescue the enemy on the battlefield. The defeat in Weimar was probably due to this. The Prussian army was fully mobilized."

"It's a pity. If you follow your idea and don't worry about the gains and losses of Königsberg, but boldly adopt external operations, there may really be a glimmer of hope."

"But this is not something I can consider. Perhaps one day I can adopt this strategy. I have learned a lot from Marshal Suvorov. I originally hoped to use the skills I learned to compete with Napoleon without any constraints."

"Michael, I understand your idea. It's just that if our country could join the war at Austerlitz, maybe even if Bonaparte wanted to win, it wouldn't be that easy."

"But this is politics. You are right. Wars always serve political purposes. There can no longer be great expeditions like those in ancient times. We can only take things one step at a time."

"So where are you going next?"

"Let's go back to Jelgava. I'll rest there for a while and think about the whole strategy. Besides, if life is not satisfactory, how about serving in the Russian army for a while? We are also short of experienced staff officers here."

He was openly extending an invitation to undermine the Prussians' feudalism.

(End of this chapter)