Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 486 Guests Arriving from All Directions

"Vassily Vasilyevich, your suggestion is not wrong. Guests should still be invited. However, if we want to send out invitations, the composition of my relatives and friends is also quite complicated."

The situation is awkward because he has three waves of French people on his side: Napoleon will send Marquis de Caulaincourt and General Savary, royalists like the Duke of Richelieu and Langeron, as well as a group of expatriates and bystanders who come to work.

The political spectrum is complicated. Iraq and Iran cannot be put together, and neither can squid and Jordan.

Besides these, there were other relatives and friends, and he had involved too many people, from representatives of the Russian emperor to soldiers of the Selenge Regiment.

As for the relatives of little Katya, it would be very monotonous if they sat in the church. Except for the closest relatives, even a count with a title would be embarrassed to show his/her title. The civil servants who entered the church had to be at least fourth-class civil servants, and the military officers had to be at least colonels.
Perhaps, this is the difference in family background. The girl from Rurik's famous family and the young man who was promoted from a low-ranking officer to a general, the relatives and friends on both sides are quite different.

Even according to Solovyov's idea, the great nobles in St. Petersburg and Moscow could be considered as Katya's maternal relatives, while his side was mainly composed of minor nobles and foreigners.

If Bagration and Miloradovich are included, they should also be considered foreigners, one is a "black-faced man" from Georgia, and the other's ancestors came from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In addition, he was a disciple of Suvorov, who was ruthless in fighting. It can be said that he was really a very evil person.

"It doesn't matter. They are all guests, so we have to make arrangements."

Prince Vasily was an optimist and was very hospitable to guests, but his family's business was not very good and his expenses were quite high.

"But spending is a problem and we should control it a little bit."

Solovyov also knew that even if his father-in-law sold the Sparrow Hills estate, the expenses would still be huge.

Compared to Count Vorontsov's later sale of his farm to pay off debts to his officers and soldiers, the expenses were probably very wasteful, after all, it was just a wedding.

"But for Katya, my daughter is going to be your wife, and we can't owe her anything."

Now that my father-in-law has said this, it is indeed difficult to save money any further.

He was used to being thrifty. The nobles all lived a life of luxury, which was quite different from him.

Not only Solovyov, who came from a minor noble family, was not used to it. Louisa, who was born in Baden and was also a princess of the Elector's family, was not used to such a luxurious life when she came to Russia, not to mention Queen Louise, who was currently visiting St. Petersburg and whose daily life was more like that of a commoner.

A scene, a scene is definitely needed!
In addition, the band had to be arranged, the food for the table, the chefs that could be hired in Moscow, the tailors needed to make wedding dresses and evening gowns, the jewelry to be worn, and the jewelers needed to be purchased. The existing family heirlooms needed to be maintained by craftsmen.
Well, none of them can be missing, and the more prominent branch of the Dolgorukov family is going to marry off their daughter, so the dowry cannot be missing either.

Solovyov wanted to ask his father what was going on, but he had to give face to his father-in-law, so he had to agree.

In addition to these, in the Sparrow Hills manor, although it has become the property of Prince Yusupov's family, he is still willing to help with the reception, so the cost of guest rooms has been saved.

There was no need to entertain guests separately at the old house in Moscow, but if Sparrow Hills became full, some of the guests might have to be accommodated there.

In addition to these, Pierre was also willing to help his friends, and his official residence on Smolensk Street was also able to entertain guests.

"Thank you, Pierre, you are always so hospitable. If all the nobles in Moscow were like you, maybe things would change."

Prince Vasily said this, and of course compared to Vasily of the Kurakin family, he was obviously very sincere in his words, the kind of old nobleman who was kind and generous.

"What should I say?"

"Pierre, you have always been devoted to your friends, which is a good thing, but sometimes you have to see clearly and not look at people without your glasses."

Solovyov said this probably because Pierre had failed to judge people well in the past.

It was great that he was willing to help without having to use his official residence to entertain guests.

Fortunately, Dolokhov, the adventurer and dangerous man, recently went to the Caucasus, otherwise it would have caused some trouble.

At this point, Prince Yusupov came over and said, "Count, what do you think of this dish?"

Although it's crude, it's effective.

"This steak is very good, but it has too much seasoning."

"But this is fresh food, raised on a ranch near Moscow, transported here quickly, and served shortly after being slaughtered."

"Of course, it's very fresh and doesn't need so much sauce at all."

“Isn’t that the original taste of the ingredients?”

Yusupov said this to avoid some "small problems".

There was no need to trouble Pierre for help. In addition to the guests staying at home, some of them would go to their respective homes in Moscow. It was not winter, so there was no need to make a fire. Also, the wild animals in autumn were fat and strong, which was also suitable for hunting.

Solovyov likes to hunt deer. In the countryside of Ryazan, people may hunt foxes and wolves more often. In some places, bear hunting is popular.
Naturally, there were no large game to hunt in the Sparrow Hills area, so Prince Yusupov invited everyone to go to the Istrinsky area.

But everyone else came hunting. The only guest was an active-duty soldier and the groom who was about to arrive at his wedding. Solovyov went to Mozhaysk or Istrinsky to survey the terrain.

"You still want to survey the terrain at this time?"

"Yes, Vasily Vasilyevich, I always feel that the terrain of the Smolensk Road coming from the west and the Old Smolensk Road is relatively flat if we march from west to east."

"Kid, you've been in the army for too long. When I met you, you were an active-duty officer. You haven't really enjoyed the life at the manor, have you?"

"Yes, it has been like this for a long time. I seldom take a vacation. When I go home on leave, my family moves to Petersburg and live at home."

This distance is equivalent to not taking a leave. After getting married, moving to the manor is more like a formal vacation. "You should experience this kind of life in the manor more. It's not good to be tense all day. Relax your body and mind and enjoy this kind of life."

Since it was his father-in-law who said so, Solovyov could not refute it, and looking at the terrain of the Istrinsky area, he might not be able to use it.

Even if the French really want to attack in the future, it is still a question whether to fight in Mozhaysk.

Moreover, it would be unnecessary to worry about this now.

It is better to enjoy the fun of hunting, and from here you can also see the guests coming to Moscow.

Especially the guests coming from Smolensk. Admiral Apraksin, who was once Solovyov's superior, returned to Moscow from this route. After all, he was also a famous nobleman in Moscow.

Besides him, the guest that Solovyov and Pierre were waiting for was Andrei, who wrote to say that he would come over with Lisa in the next two days.

As for the logo on the carriage, Andre's family has always been low-key, so the logo is relatively simple.

When the group was resting near the hunting ground, Andre's carriage arrived.

However, the women stayed in Sparrow Hills and did not come here, so except Lisa who came with Andre, there were no other ladies present here.

However, if Andrei wants to see Natasha, it is not that kind of meeting, after all, his wife is still here.

"Lisa, we heard about your situation and we were worried about you."

"I'm still fine, thanks to the doctor you recommended, Misha. I'm just a little scared to think that my son was pulled out of my stomach like a carrot, afraid that I might hurt him. But Kolya is doing well, so you don't have to worry."

"Yes, it must be very hard for the mother to have such a big baby when she was born."

When Andre spoke, he still looked cold on the outside but warm on the inside. He was like this on the surface, but he had rich emotions inside.

As for Lisa's bulging belly, it was naturally because she was pregnant again.

"Congratulations to you too, you're going to have another baby. Although the second birth will be a little painful, it won't be like the first time. As the saying goes, the beginning is always the hardest."

"Misha, you are not married yet, in this regard..."

Of course, since Solovyov was called "Flower General" by the little girls, it was not only because he was handsome, but also because he was quite emotional.

But when speaking, you should naturally know when to stop.

After Andrei said this, Solovyov continued, "Who asked my family to run a business that also includes this? If you need medicinal herbs for pregnancy protection, a new batch of medicinal herbs has been imported from the market in Kyakhta recently, especially Eucommia ulmoides, which has some gum threads when broken open. This 'Khitan rubber tree' is still very valuable for medicine. I have also thought about introducing it for cultivation, but it is difficult to obtain seeds."

"Can we also find some young branches or use root grafts?"

It was obvious that in addition to Maria's mathematics lessons and lathe work at home, the old Duke Nicholas sometimes also did gardener's work, which influenced Andrei, because he did know some gardening knowledge after all.

Moreover, as a master, you have to know a few things about running a manor in the countryside.

"Andre, you reminded me. And according to the pharmacopoeia I know, the Chinese also have a pharmacopoeia of herbal medicines, and even started botanical classification before Linnaeus, but the progress has been relatively slow. Compared with our combination of theory and practice, their empirical science has more front-line experience and even unique features, but some practical reasons have led to theoretical research and experimental research not keeping up."

"Your schedule is really tight, but after you get married, you have to take good care of your wife. After returning from the expedition, I also thought a lot about returning to my family and spending more time with them."

"Yes. But I just can't sit still! I don't know what results the envoy sent by the emperor to China will get from the Chinese emperor this time."

Solovyov changed his previous approach. He took advantage of the fact that Russian merchants had cargo yards in Beijing and regularly sent merchants to cross the border from Kyakhta. In terms of diplomatic means, he was more like the Bourbon messengers of the past - except that the French had always used missionaries to deliver messages and had even invited the prince of the Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam.

If children could travel across the ocean to the Palace of Versailles, it was only natural for Russian merchants to serve as messengers.

As for what Emperor Jiaqing would think, Solovyov had no idea, but considering the emperor's personality of being afraid of trouble, he might even agree.

After all, this is not a war, it is just inviting the old doctor to come and open a business, and it is also a "request for grace". Apart from this, it is also an opportunity to clarify misunderstandings.

In addition to the diplomatic letter, there are also portraits of the Russian royal family. After reading them, Jiaqing might even suggest that Alexander go to the temple of Guanyin Bodhisattva to pray for a son.

There are too many daughters in your next generation. According to Chinese standards, they can all be married off as legitimate princesses.

Perhaps, this is how the Qing Dynasty emperors viewed kinship relationships in these European countries, or perhaps they were using the standards of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

"Are you really going to ask for a clinic to come over?"

"I also want to grow medicinal herbs. I think some places around Liangzan are very suitable. Some shady places are more suitable for growing ginseng. The places in my hometown are fertile and more suitable for growing medicinal herbs. There is a reason for this. The requirements for growing grain are not as high as those for growing vegetables. The requirements for the growth of medicinal herbs are even more stringent."

Andrei looked at Solovyov and just smiled. He was already a count through his relationship with the French. He had made so many great contributions on the battlefield, but he still couldn't forget his family craft. Even Count Stroganov, who came from a royal merchant family, was not like this.

After they gathered here, it was time to return to Moscow. Guests also arrived one after another during these days, even Duke Richelieu, who was far away in Odessa, arrived relatively early.

I hope nothing will happen, Solovyov thought, but the royalists in Russia are obviously much stronger than those dangerous elements in Britain who are thinking about overthrowing the Paris regime all day long.

Duke Richelieu and Langeron came here to have a feast and to congratulate.

Given the friendship between Langgeron and Solovyov, it is natural that this should be the case. After all, the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle, Russia's highest military honor, was earned by this guy.

(End of this chapter)