Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 454 Pierre wants to open a factory in Riga (Part 031)

"The wound heals quickly, and he will be fully recovered in a few days."

"Fortunately it was a knife wound. If it was any other wound, there might be shrapnel left. Thank you, doctor. It's just the suture line."

"That's the only way. I'll remove the stitches for you, but there will still be a scar. Why, you don't look good because you haven't married yet? This is much better than having surgery on your face, and generally no one will notice this spot."

It's not for women to see. If they are held down, no one will notice this.

As for the Venus painting that Solovyov had long had his eye on, its current market price is not high, but it is a work of art, and a fine piece from the time when the Spanish Habsburgs were just beginning to decline.

The reason why the impression is so deep is probably because it is one of the earlier paintings of Venus with a hazy beauty.

Belzoni should succeed, and Solovyov no longer wants to live in the Jelgava Palace.

Even the gossipy Queen Louise was nothing. Maria was always pestering him, and it was only a matter of time before they would end up having sex.

Maria is not as cautious as Louisa. If she accidentally reveals the secret, it will be much more explosive than Catherine's story.

After all, they are sisters who were raised together. The younger sister is more talkative, while the older sister is quiet and makes a fortune in silence.

However, the situation of Maria and Ekaterina was different from the sister plots he was more familiar with before. After all, these two were on different tracks, while other scenarios always had two women competing for a husband.

Going to Riga might help me relax, and Pierre wrote to say that he would be going to Riga soon to inspect his property.

This unfortunate Pierre, who got married, still cheated on his wife, especially on Pierre's friends.

Dolokhov's fearless temper and the fact that he attacked later in the duel without hitting the target were not like him at all.

You know, the winning streak record in the duel arena has always been a competition between Dolokhov and Fyodor Tolstoy. Dolokhov may only be able to pursue the record of total wins in the future.

As for Pierre's matter, he really couldn't help.

Unlike Andrei, who left the army to take care of his family after returning home, Solovyov continued to serve in the army, made many contributions, and won many medals.

The scale of the industry left by Count Bezukhov is indeed quite shocking. This is probably the strength of the richest man in Moscow.

If all the properties are counted, Prince Yusupov, Count Stroganov and Uncle Alexi can be said to be ranked in the top three in Russia. Although the total scale of the property left by Count Bezukhov is smaller than the above, it is huge in scale and is located in many places in Russia, so it is not an easy task to manage.

Pierre had been feeling rather worried, and although the old Count Rostov had been trying to comfort him, it still did not sound like a happy thing.

As for Riga, Solovyov was also very clear that in the current situation, he might have to keep slacking off.

After all, Alexander heard that a foreigner and a rookie chief of staff who took the field temporarily actually managed to tie with Napoleon in the end, and even promoted it internally as a victory. In this case, there must be masters in St. Petersburg who would be eager to find a way to get in front of the army to score points.

Because of this, Grand Duke Constantine had to step in to solve the problem, drive away those who wanted to score points, and actually formed a front-line corps with a total strength of 16 people with the East Prussian Corps and the Baltic Navy Corps.

Although Solovyov wanted to change the name of Konstantin's large army group to "Western Front" at this level, and the Danube Front to "Southwestern Front", this idea was rejected.

"After all, there is no battle line. Although I am a palace eunuch, I have heard about military affairs. You are still a little fanciful, Misha. What I mean is that although you are capable and you and Count Langgelon can fight against Napoleon without losing to that great man, it is a great achievement anyway."

"Thank you, Pierre. You are still so sincere and genuine, unlike those other people. What I am worried about now is the problem in your family. After all, Peter Ivanovich and I are from the same school, and we are both close to the emperor. If you want a divorce and submit a petition, we are not afraid of breaking up with the Kuragin family. Moreover, Prince Alexander himself can understand this situation and will not stand with Prince Vasily."

"Yes, but it is not in accordance with the doctrine after all, and you know that"

Pierre was always hesitant in his speech, and although his misfortune was worthy of sympathy, he was so rich that it was hard to say what would happen to him.

Even if Helen extorted a large sum of money from him and then separated from him, this was only a small part of the property left by Count Bezukhov.

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. I heard that you joined the Freemasons?"

"Yes, that priest."

"I don't mind what organization you join. Although I am against Freemasonry, it does not affect our friendship. Also, my suggestion to the Emperor to impose taxes on inheritance and gifts, and to protect the distribution of inheritance and prevent it from being embezzled, seems to have some effect on you."

Pierre couldn't have imagined this either. After all, the problems faced by Bruce's daughter before had a wide impact.

This even directly affects the issue of property inheritance among the nobility, and a will may not necessarily guarantee the inheritance of property.

Prince Vasily Kurakin apparently took advantage of some loopholes, and even a petition to protect the great nobles could not stop him from forcing a wife on Pierre.

To be honest, that family is full of bad people. The old men and the women are after money, and the men are after beautiful women.

He and Ippolit are friends, but Anatoly is a similarly dirty brother. Ippolit usually only flirts and flirts with him, and both of them have offended Andrei.

"But this is also a bit troublesome. Prince Vasili, as you know, wanted to interfere in the management of my family property before."

"Your family's fortune is so huge that my father may not be able to help. Although my family is a professional housekeeper, the descendants of Great Uncle Fyodor are now working as housekeepers. In this case, you might as well let your cousins ​​intervene. Countess Kadisch is fighting for the family fortune just to give her sister a generous dowry when she gets married."

This method is only one of the options. After all, if you compare them, those ladies are still closely related by blood, and they are not as wicked as Prince Vasily.

In addition, Solovyov named both himself and his future father-in-law Vasily, which somewhat reflected his opinion of "you don't deserve the surname Zhao".

But this is just a thought, after all, the other party is from the Kurakin family, a great noble family.

As for the original novel, only this family's surname has not been changed at all.
There was always a feeling that something was going on. But putting these issues aside, Solovyov really had to help Pierre run the business.

"I can understand the idea, but..."

"Pierre, if we only use hundreds of thousands of serfs to work in the manor, it is obviously a backward practice that does not make up for the cost. I also have some ideas, but I have never had the opportunity to implement them. If we liberate the serfs in the manor and let them have a certain amount of knowledge, even if they are only 'half free' and attached to your manor,

Pierre would support the liberation of the serfs, as would the Solovyovs' neighbor, Prince Yusupov.

In the feudal serfdom of Europe and slavery of the United States, the big landowners and slave owners were more inclined to gradual liberation. Strangely, there were always some capitalists with bad intentions.

Although it is progressive compared to the feudal land dependence relationship, I still hope that this one, which is sandwiched between the advanced form and the primary form, can sometimes be a human being.

Solovyov's ideas can help change the world in many ways.

One of the most important aspects is education.

He was the teacher of Grand Dukes Nicholas and Mikhail, and could influence these two children just as Laharp had influenced Alexander.

In the meantime, through education in aristocratic elite schools, whether it is girls' schools or middle schools and universities, these relatively progressive elite children will also be made aware of the problem.

However, the situation of the Decembrists is somewhat embarrassing.

Their idea was good, but their execution was terrible.

If they receive a more standardized education, they can think relatively rationally. This path is actually not optimistic. After all, Alexander II got out of the car to take the bomb, which also proved that the quality of the bulletproof carriages produced in France is still excellent.

But some people should not be so radical. Their main business should be to do practical work first and understand the real sufferings of the Russian people. It will not be too late to overthrow the emperor later.

For the vast majority of poor Russian people, giving them education is the most important thing.

With Pierre's financial resources, he has the ability to open schools in his larger estate.

"Pierre, I think you should open a school first. In every manor and village with a solid building, you can start a school and form rules and regulations. It won't be too difficult to have such standardized supervision in the property under your name."

If manpower was needed, the literate servants in his house alone could provide effective management.

For them, there is no essential difference between working for a deceased master and working for their current master.

Due to the particularity of the Russian environment, these people are always dependent on their masters.

Even during the reign of Catherine I, when all four Soloviev brothers were ennobled and three of them held the title of baron, they were still dependent on the Menshikov family.

Later, when the master fell from power, they became local masters of Ryazan, but they did not lose their traditional skills and continued to work as managers in the aristocratic circle.

It is indeed not surprising for middle and low-level nobles to curry favor with others in this way. As for Baron Sergei, he can get some opportunities by working for the son-in-law of the Dolgorukov family.

Even in the royal family, there is no escape from this practice. For someone as ambitious as Paul to change the status quo in Russia, his most trusted confidant, Count Kutaisov, was also his personal barber. In the final analysis, he was still a servant of the monarch.

As for Alexander, there was even a group of "minions" of a higher level gathered around him. Solovyov could always feel that if he went to Beijing, it would not be much different from St. Petersburg.

Even a large number of young nobles who were influenced by the Jacobins and the French Revolution became aware of Russia's problems.

Although the problem is related to the system in Russia since Rurik, the role of the Tsar as a little father has always existed, but he is not necessarily a strong monarch.

Think about the time before Peter the Great, only Ivan the Terrible had a relatively strong presence. The remaining tsars probably had no path dependence, and some had no presence at all, and were even attacked by the Poles.

In this way, Pierre could also agree with his idea.

"I think this can be done. Besides, I came to Riga because I am related to several estates here. One of my stewards received a letter mentioning that many buildings in local estates are in disrepair and should be put up for sale or..."

"It would cost some money to renovate it."

"Misha, money is not a problem. I would like to do something according to your idea. Especially in Riga, which is close to Petersburg. You and Sergei Osipovich are often here. It is not difficult to hire a manager to take care of the affairs of the estate."

"Well, I think there should be some changes in Riga. If you just build on the estate according to my idea, then repainting the houses so that the children of freed serfs can study in the classroom and use knowledge to change their fate will also be very fulfilling."

Although such truly kind-hearted masters can be found in the Russian upper class, and there is a certain size of such a group, it is relatively rare to find such obedient and willing to follow the arrangements of their friends.

In addition, Solovyov could also see that although Pierre was not suitable for participating in politics, he would become depressed in social situations because of his wife's problems.

But it is still feasible for him to transform himself into a philanthropist, or from a large landowner aristocrat to become a lord who is a combination of capitalist and landlord and protects the peasants in the territory.

This was also caused by the environment in Russia at that time. Solovyov now had a family and a business, and his father and himself together were in a state of "quite wealthy", so naturally he was not in a hurry to join the revolution.

However, even if he became a master, he would not change his idea of ​​always wanting to betray his class.

But if he became a master, he could betray the ruling class at the level of the "three mountains", but in modern times, he could not be the master's accomplice.

Doing bad things and oppressing others will always make you feel guilty, but if you change it to doing good things, it will be easier to accept psychologically.

(End of this chapter)