Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 498 010 The Goncharov family owns a shipyard
If Katya hadn't told him, Solovyov would have almost forgotten about the confused little Natalia.

After all, he was a soldier and was often not in the palace, but rather at the front line leading troops. Even if he knew about the situation of the maids, he often chose to ignore it.

Moreover, even he found it a bit difficult to remember Natalia's long surname before marriage, but after she got married and changed her surname to Goncharova, it finally became clearer.

But there is also a problem. It seems that little Natalia is the future mother-in-law of Pushkin and Dantes!
The Goncharov family is a family in St. Petersburg, and their most famous family is the one that runs a naval shipyard. However, the quality of their ships always gives people a feeling of being unreliable.

Another thing to mention is that the sailing warships built by the Russian Empire during the Tsarist period have always had problems with poor quality control. In the early days of the Romanov dynasty, the battleship "Orel" of the Caspian Fleet was once stranded in the port due to severe damage to the ship. It was then seized by Stepan Lazin's rebels and finally burned.
Since then, it is rare to see large surface ships of the Russian Navy being used for more than 15 years. This has a lot to do with Russia's environment.

If it were the French navy in the early days of Louis XV, the Duke of Orleans would really be a traitor in the traditional French arts.

The Goncharov family has been an industrialist since the time of Peter the Great.

Natalia's husband, Nikolay Goncharov, Pushkin and Dantes' father-in-law, wore a pair of small glasses and had a small mustache. He looked like a smart young man.

However, at the age of 21, he took over the family business in place of his father Afanasy Nikolayevich, who was in poor health and not very smart. He always had some skills, but he was just an ordinary fourth-generation rich man.

His great-grandfather established the Goncharov shipyard during the reign of Peter the Great, but it mainly built frigates and small ships, and sailing battleships were mainly produced by the Admiralty Shipyard.

"Count, I didn't expect you to come to visit me at this time. What's the matter?"

"Are you still building warships here?"

"Of course, but the bulk of the navy's orders are still at the Admiralty Shipyard. We only build fifth- and sixth-class ships here, and sometimes we also take orders for fourth-class ships. The navy's battleships decay so quickly, but subsequent orders are limited."

"I know. This is what I am worried about. Do you all know the wind direction in Petersburg?"

"Is it possible that the British are going to enter the Baltic Sea to fight us? Anyway, they can't reach Kotlin Island, and they can't burn down my shipyard. I can only continue to work on orders. What's more, my family's main businesses are flax mills and some other industries. The navy's orders for ships from us are not as profitable as orders for civilian ships."

Although it sounds a bit strange, there are many tricks and benefits in normal naval shipbuilding, but what about civilian ships?
However, because Solovyov always went to the front line, he did not often deal with people in the navy. He only came into contact with a few navigators who were familiar with the sea conditions. He even overlooked that the development of the clipper ships currently used for transportation in Russia was somewhat related to him. He was the one who conceived the structure at the beginning, but when it was implemented, all orders for the navy went through the Navy Department, while civilian ships were built at Goncharov's shipyard.

As for the transport ship, it must be able to deliver the goods quickly and, by the way, leave the British "pirate ship" far behind, so that they can only see the fastest legend on the sea. This will be considered as completing the mission.

"There is such a thing."

"My family also deals in a lot of civilian products. To be honest, we have received fewer military orders in recent years because the competition is so fierce."

Goncharov said this because of the market conditions.

Their family is also a family of Russian industrialists for generations. As for Goncharov, he suddenly mentioned something extra.

"Come to think of it, Count, in addition to being the Deputy Minister of Operations, is your current position also a Regimental Commander?"

"Yes, I am the commander-in-chief of the Selenginsk Regiment, commonly known as the 'Seleng' Regiment. What else is there to do with me?"

"My father once served in the Old Selenginsk Regiment. He also met your father-in-law, Prince Vasily Vasilyevich. My grandfather was also familiar with Prince Krimsky. So our two families have been friends for generations."

That being said, it seems to be correct.

Even the fact that little Natalia became his wife was facilitated by Solovyov's attempt to drive away his rival by conducting a physical examination in the Guards and sending the unlucky guy who had hooked up with little Natalia back to his hometown.

Little Katya and little Natalia were both Louisa's maids, and the two families had a three-generation friendship. He was the grandson-in-law of Prince Krimsky, so the friendship was even more binding.

What about Count Sergei? Dad must have had contact with Nikolay Goncharov's confused father in the business world.

"Indeed, and I served as a guard in the palace for a long time."

"Yes, that makes us even more of family friends, and my wife is pregnant recently."

"It's just that there are a lot of young mothers giving birth in St. Petersburg recently, Kolya, you can't be one of them."

"If both your wife and I can give birth to children successfully, we may still be together in the future."

Although there is no such thing as child marriage in Russia, engagement or proposal usually starts in the teens, but considering the relationship between the two families, it can indeed be considered.

"If they are all sons, then we can follow the story of the Khitans and marry them as brothers with different surnames. If they are all girls, the same thing applies. But as for marriage, we are not really in the 'East'."

"Yeah, that's why I asked for your opinion."

However, if his child is a girl, it will be for the little curly-haired Pushkin.

The most abstract thing is that Dantes is Natalia Goncharova's brother-in-law, and after the duel, Nicholas once considered killing Dantes. If he were not a foreigner, he would have really enjoyed one-stop service.

This is completely different from Nicholas's reaction to the death of another poet, Lermontov, in a duel. Nicholas was even scolded by his sister Maria who came home to visit her family.
But Lermontov was not born yet, Pushkin was having a headache over a pile of "Tsarskoye Selo Secret Scrolls", and Nicholas was still Solovyov's student. They might all have a bright future.

Solovyov also wanted to visit the Goncharov family's shipyard.

The slipways here are generally small. This is conceivable when you consider that during the reign of Peter the Great, when Nikolai Goncharov's great-grandfather Afanasy came here from Kaluga to start a business, the Russian Navy's sailing warships were not large ships, and even a number of galleys were used.

It's no wonder that he said that military orders are not profitable. Whether it's the construction period or the acceptance, it would be more cost-effective if these small boat platforms were small and specialized in building small and medium-sized sailboats that can transport quickly.

The only relatively large slipway in the Goncharov Shipyard is capable of manufacturing third-class battleships with 74 to 80 guns, but it is now occupied by large transport ships.

"This ship looks good, but it's winter now, so the construction has been suspended, right?" "Yes, if the order was placed earlier, it would be fine. It will be completed next year, and the performance of the ship will probably be affected. But considering the cost of transport ships, it's not hard to explain. The last time we built a fifth-class ship, the Navy took a long time to accept it. Many of our good ships were damaged during the acceptance inspection."

"I can't help it. Two rifles in the army cost the price of a pig. Your ship might cost 50,000 pigs. Do you mind if my analogy is not appropriate?"

"Fifty thousand pigs, that's really interesting."

Goncharov nodded after hearing this. The army would be allowed to use what the navy had left over, no matter whether it was heavy artillery or flying props.

Although Russia attaches great importance to both the navy and the army, it also has to take national conditions into consideration.

The main opponents of the Russian Navy are still the two countries that still exist in the Prussian military song. Generally, there is no conflict with other countries. It only fought with the French for a short period of time during the Mediterranean expedition, and now it is in a de facto hostile state with the British.

The army, on the other hand, has more things to do, having to attack in several directions, and has only recently achieved a general peace - if you don't count the war with the Qajar dynasty of Persia.

As for Goncharov's previous relationship, it was indeed true, but that was a long-standing friendship between the Goncharov family and Prince Krimsky's family, and as a son-in-law, he only acknowledged it in passing.

Nikolay Goncharov also had his own little thoughts. He actually knew from his wife that although Solovyov was a new upstart, this status was also very strange. He had a close relationship with the four Alexander brothers, had a bright future, and even had "cheap" relatives of high status in France.

If they could make friends with him, the Goncharov family's business might be able to develop in the future.

Taking advantage of the fact that his father was away from home recuperating from illness, he really hoped to take control of the management of the family property. His father's expenses were huge and shockingly extravagant.

It is no wonder that when Pushkin came to propose marriage later, the Goncharov family had already begun to go downhill.

As for Nikolai Goncharov's situation, little is known to the world. He later became mentally ill after falling off a horse and lived a lonely life in Moscow.

In terms of ability, he is a decent heir and has some talents that can keep the family business running.

Solovyov also heard from Nikolai's words that he had to wait until his father Afanasy came back.

"If something happens now, praying to God will definitely not work. I don't expect your shipyard to build a 'Grace'. If we can arrange steam engines on fourth-class or fifth-class ships in the future, our warships may be more powerful."

All he was thinking about was next season, but whether the Goncharov family would have such luck was another matter.

Nikolay Goncharov was also very happy. The patent for the steamship was in the hands of Solovyov's father. If it could be introduced, it would naturally make the shipyard more competitive.

"But this will take time. We can't just use steam engines on inland vessels in the future."

"You're right, that's all there is to it."

The Goncharov family shipyard is easier to access than the Admiralty's shipyard. Even though Solovyov's status is not low, it is still the traditional skill of the Russian chameleon.

Therefore, he was unwilling to go there.

Considering that what he was going to do was not a large-scale project that could be launched all at once, but just some minor repairs, he was really not familiar with the shipbuilding industry, especially since they all manufactured sailboats here.

If conditions permit, he even wants to build a larger sailing vessel, like the "Shedov" training ship that has been used from Tsarist Russia to the Russian Federation.

The next step is to submit the new plan from the Operations Department.

As in the War Ministry, after Sergei Kuzmich, it became Arakcheev.

Similar personnel changes were also taking place in the General Staff. At least Admiral Sukhteren did not like to stay in such a position all the time. He went to Vyborg to inspect in person and reorganized the engineering corps, leaving all the work of the headquarters to Peter Volkonsky.

This was also what Alexander meant. He also arranged the generals he trusted to suitable positions. Peter had always been his confidant and personal military adviser, and Arakcheev had always been trusted by him.

Compared with the emperor's grandson who was a bit immature and called himself a "Jacobin" at the beginning, he has become more and more accustomed to autocratic means since he seized power. Although his ideals seem to have not changed much from the past, the times are different and the things to be done are also different.

What Arakcheev had set up was a system under strict supervision, and Alexander now thought it was useful, so he took it over.

However, the actual effect of this plan was not as promised by the Minister of War, but he was more determined to implement it.

On the way back, Solovyov saw Barclay again, and his bald head was too obvious.

This guy is sitting in a carriage without a hat on his head, and it's reflecting light like this
"Where are you going?"

"I just came from Vyborg. The combat readiness there is not very good. I came back to submit a report."

"Do you think it's appropriate to start a war in February?"

"No problem, but it depends on General Buckholden. His plan is too simple, and there is no contingency plan."

"It's like this again. If it's like what happened at Austerlitz or in East Prussia, it's bound to be trouble again."

"But what can we do? He is still trusted by His Majesty, and his daughter has been chosen by Her Majesty the Queen Mother as a maid in the palace."

This kind of relationship-based household is indeed a Russian feature. Even the Russian royal family often gave important positions to these trusted ministers, and granted their children high-ranking sinecures in the court to show their trust and favor, which also greatly shortened the speed of promotion in the rank hierarchy.

(End of this chapter)