Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 474 051 The Winter Palace has so many stairs for people to walk down

"Your Majesty, this mission is a huge responsibility. Do you want to..."

"No need. The State Council has already held a meeting to discuss it and decided to send someone. I think you should not be modest."

This Tsar is a little too violent.

Moreover, it is really hard to deny this matter. Think about it, he has been to Paris before, so he might be familiar with the people there. If the parties involved in both camps had not taken the initiative to reveal this speculation, no one would have known about this relationship, and it has not been confirmed.

At this time, Solovyov needed to go home and ask his stepmother how to deal with these things.

You know, after Josephine married Napoleon, her name and personality seemed to have been reshaped, so much so that the Baroness couldn't figure out who the queen was.

In fact, there is no reconstructed chain of evidence on this issue, and Solovyov is not so sure.

"So, that's when you came back home and found my family in France? If you're talking about my hometown in France, it was in Normandy. If you go to the church of the De Buk family, maybe you can find some results."

"I mean business, or rather, Queen Josephine's real name, just as you told me."

"And you're from Martinique, too. You need evidence. Otherwise, you'll be treated like those adventurers who pretend to be someone else. Mikhail, they won't do anything to you because you already have a legitimate aristocratic identity."

"You will not believe the truth, even if it is so absurd. Besides, I am to go to the French camp as an envoy."

As for the rest, Solovyov sorted out this network of relatives by comparing it with the known clues. It seemed that it had nothing to do with himself and his elder sister Yulia. It was mainly about his father, stepmother, and the children they had, as well as...
When his stepmother talked to him, she placed a tray of candy on his stomach.

But his extra points are that he participated in several field battles that defeated and tied the French army, and even once completely annihilated the French puppet army.

And Napoleon is the child's second uncle. It seems that only Julia was ignored on this issue, but it doesn't seem to make any sense to the sister.

Before she graduated from girls' school, some people wanted to propose marriage to her, and they were from families that seemed to be well-off.

Of course, it is easy to be distracted when seeing the last name Gagarin, but Solovyov and the American reporters had exactly the opposite assumptions.

But Gagarin's family also has many branches, and perhaps some free people in the countryside also have this surname.

Baron Sergei rejected all of them, with a very good reason: "My daughter is not yet an adult, and has not reached the legal conditions for engagement."

It's not like this is his unmarried daughter-in-law. Little Katya's engagement was arranged by the Tsar and his wife, so it's OK as long as she's not too young to be allowed by custom. And it will only count after they get married.

Julia's future path will probably be that because her brother is such a good fighter, she will marry a promising young or middle-aged military officer. Before that, she should have the opportunity to be chosen as a court maid, or even directly serve the queen.

But we have to take into account the relationship between Louisa and her brother, which is a bit more delicate.

In fact, Solovyov had many friends in the army, and a marriage was more appropriate at this time, especially since Yulia was very beautiful, but her brother's eyebrows and eyes were more feminine and looked very gentle.

When Solovyov pretended to be a maid, he gave people a very heroic feeling. If we really want to compare, perhaps Durova, who is serving in the army at this time, should be able to experience it.

Now, asking him to go to Napoleon's camp was indeed an unexpected arrangement.

This kind of thing is probably the person squatting under Odawara Castle. He will become the protagonist in every Taiga drama, and this time it's his turn.

And a decent explanation would indeed have to be agreed with Alexander's entourage before departure.

This time it was Novolsitsev, Count Pavel Stroganov's cousin.

"Your Majesty needs to make sure that you bring peace, not seek peace."

"I know that, but Napoleon sometimes threatened his opponents with force during peace talks."

"This is inevitable, so what you have to do is to observe his attitude. Besides that, you also have to consider the way you speak."

"Also, don't let people notice the slightest changes in your eyes and expressions."

"Where did you learn this?"

"From the French Foreign Minister Talleyrand, my friend Karl von Nechelrodie highly praised Metternich. Metternich once met with Talleyrand and had some conversations with him. His performance was recorded in the letter."

"You are really very smart. If you were not in the army, you should be allowed to return to the embassy in Paris."

"I don't want to go there anymore. Diplomatic occasions are not suitable for me. This kind of red tape is too torturous. It's even better to go to the countryside."

"You, a job as a diplomat is something that other people would be happy to have."

“That’s just the way it is.”

So he rested for two days in St. Petersburg, and before Alexander set out, he rode back to the military camp on the north bank of the Neman River and brought Alexander's orders to Langeron and Bagration.

The hostilities between the Russian and French armies remain suspended, and negotiations will be carried out within a period of time. Everyone in the headquarters knows this.

"But the emperor wants to send you to the opposite military camp. This arrangement."

"Nothing. The talks at that time will probably be between monarchs, unlike the Austrians, who will have to bargain between foreign ministers."

He knew everything, so he revealed it to these old friends.

"It's just that this errand always sounds a little subtle. If someone writes about your affairs in a memorial, it can only be said that the emperor has a good sense of humor."

"maybe"

According to Langgeron, Solovyov also had a psychological expectation that there is no wall that is impenetrable.

He also needs to pack up and go to the French side. As an envoy, he has steps to go down on both sides.

The most important factor for Alexander to send him on the mission was that he participated in defeating the French army several times in a row. This one thing was enough for the Tsar to give himself a way out. The French army was not completely defeated, and we even won.

Although Napoleon was narrow-minded on some issues, he was also happy to give the Tsar a way out at this time, and pretend that he was still very capable. As for the days when the two armies confronted each other on the Neman River, there were actually a lot of exchanges between the generals of both sides. Even the talkative French invited the Russian generals to meet in a neutral area. There were also many small-scale banquets and exchanges.

As for Solovyov, he has been busy with official duties during this period.

Being with Maria, one has to follow the rules and prevent her from reacting in return. The ambiguous behavior she has shown recently is nothing new in European royal families.

Nothing further happened, for now.

Crossing the river to meet Napoleon did not cause him too much psychological pressure.

After all, there will always be a point in time when Napoleon will go too far because of his ambition.

In terms of kinship, if he divorced Josephine and married another...
This seems to be even wilder than the rumored unofficial history of Napoleon III that his stepmother was the Queen Mother of Turkey. Of course, he lived very well in Russia, and it would make him feel somewhat uncomfortable to go to Napoleon.

As for him in Russia, he doesn't make anyone uncomfortable and he lives a good life here.

To get to the other side, the French also sent someone to get a small boat to receive us. The Neman River was not that narrow, but we still needed to take a boat to cross it.

Solovyov had seen the person who came to receive him. It was Marshal Mortier, whom he had captured.

"What brings you here?"

"I'm here on the orders of His Majesty to pick up the Russian envoys across the river. I had planned to send a general. I made this arrangement when I heard that you were coming." Besides, Mortier is two meters tall. Apart from the Württemberg strongmen in Queen Mother Maria's family, this height does give him a strong aura and makes him a good target.

"Then I have to thank the Emperor of the French people. I came here on the orders of our emperor."

He would never talk about peace. Anyway, he could only bring the letter after meeting Napoleon. Alexander was actually quite arrogant in his heart.

It's like being pushed down, but still having to... Everyone knows, you always have to maintain a noble attitude. The way to say low emotional intelligence is that you are pretentious.

However, the French now have a complete lineup, as if they are ready to continue fighting.

But if you look closely, even the French soldiers, who had won many victories, were actually unwilling to fight any longer.

“Although they appear to be elite soldiers, they are like Alexander the Great’s army when it arrived in India. They can no longer move towards the Ganges.”

What he said was that Motier had not read as many books as he did. If it had not mentioned the emperor's expedition, he would probably not have understood the meaning of this passage.

Many of the records of Alexander's expeditions have been lost. It is unlike the time of Caesar, who wrote them himself in great detail, even recording the names of outstanding centurions.

Solovyov said this so that Motier could understand him. Otherwise, if he told the story of how the Hellenistic Kingdom of Bactria later fought all the way to Pataliputra, people would probably not understand him.

As for the French army's fatigue, it is also a consistent characteristic of military dictators. Not everyone can easily settle things like Caesar.

"When you meet His Majesty, you won't have to worry about so much etiquette. France is different from Russia. They don't need to pay so much attention to etiquette, but pay more attention to efficiency."

"In other words, this is an emperor of a republic, just like Caesar, except that he was not elected by the Senate, but by the people. But I also want to say that there is no need to modify the voting results. The army has so many votes, but in fact it is not necessary. The number of votes cast by veterans is almost more than the standing army of Britain."

"More than the standing army?"

"Yes, the British only have so many soldiers, and their navy often asks gangsters to pick up captives on the shore. How many standing troops can they have? With the number of Poles, I can defeat them if I fight them a few times."

Motier was a little surprised to hear him say this with such confidence.

But it is no wonder. In the past, when the French and British armies met head-on, both sides won and lost. It all depended on the on-the-spot command of the generals.

If this guy meets the current British troops, he might be able to defeat them.

Motier had suffered from him and had some experience with it. In the divisional and army-level battles that Solovyov participated in, no one could stop him unless he was a guy in India.

The boy is not tall (compared to Mortier, if he is replaced by Archduke Karl who is 150+, he is a giant), but he is smart and his tactical thinking is flexible and changeable. He said that he is a relative of the emperor, and he is indeed much stronger than the emperor's mediocre brothers.

Even as a brother-in-law and stepson, Eugene may have some potential in the future. However, among these brothers-in-law, the late Leclerc has some skills, and Murat is just a rough man on horseback. Can they really talk about infantry tactics?
This disciple has been trained by Suvorov for a while, and his specialty is probably infantry tactics.

But Motier was thinking too much. Like Napoleon, Solovyov was a latecomer in infantry tactics. He was better at logistics and construction. He was considered a logistics officer and did more of the work of an adjutant on a daily basis.

Napoleon learned his infantry tactics after the Battle of Toulon. He was originally just a professional artillery general.

Solovyov had no idea what Mortier was thinking, as he couldn't read minds or carry a mind-reading technology box with him. The two of them rode forward together, escorted on both sides by Napoleon's "Gods" Guards Grenadiers.

This is a clever trick. It makes Solovyov look short. Even if a tall and strong guy from the Guards is brought in, he will be out of place.

As for the military camp, Solovyov also noticed that most of the French troops did not have tents, so he could see the emperor's tent very clearly.

By doing this, he also thought of a way to defeat the enemy. After all, it was winter, and if he did this, he would freeze to death faster. The Battle of Eylau was actually an example of this.

Barclays's move might actually work.

As for the guards who lined up to welcome them next, they also lined up in front of the tent. It was obvious that they were here to establish their authority, not to show off.

Even if the emperor knew that there was a relationship, he would not have made such a scene.

When they arrived in front of the big tent, Solovyov and Motier dismounted and had to meet a guy dressed as a Mamluk face to face.

"You don't want to search me, do you?"

"No, General. His Majesty the Emperor is waiting inside. Let Rustam greet him here."

The way he speaks is actually the old way of speaking in the third person, which is really very retro.

(End of this chapter)