Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 505 017 Development of Lake Ladoga

These children had to be settled down and treated to meals. The Queen Mother had always been strict with her family education, so the princes were not picky about their food.

But Solovyov's hospitality was not neglected, and Nikolai and Mikhail were two of them. In an ordinary family, even if they were on a diet, they could eat up the old man's appetite.
“How does it taste?”

"This sturgeon tastes much better than the food provided by the palace."

As Nicholas spoke, he did not forget to add more food to his plate.

"But boss, after you come here alone, the way the food is served is a little different from that in Petersburg."

"I only asked the chef to prepare these dishes and served them all in the kitchen."

Even the way Chinese people eat often changes, but it is not divided into separate meals.

As for the sturgeon, Solovyov pointed at the fish and said, "Lake Ladoga is very rich in products. Although it is a freshwater lake, there are often some fish from the sea. Why is that?"

Actually, this was an inspiring topic, and he really wanted to give Nicholas some extracurricular knowledge while he was staying at his house.

Some things are not so easy to get in the classroom, so it can be considered as on-site teaching here.

This is an opportunity to talk about fish migration and why some marine fish that do not migrate appear in freshwater lakes.

Just saying this, for Nikola, the problem may be even bigger.

Everyone knows that the piety and superstition of the Russian royal family are not the feudal superstitions.

Charlotte found Solovyov's talk about the evolution of the Earth interesting, but the Orthodox people at the table did not.

In contrast to Paul's attitude, Nicholas asked back: "Boss, what you said is different from what the Patriarch said. He said that human history is 4,000 years old. According to the Bible, it was just like that at the time of Genesis."

"Ah, that can only be said to be from the perspective of the Lord creating all things. But this kind of understanding can only be said to be a religious sustenance. Of course, it's not that the Patriarch is wrong, but he is talking about religious theories, and what I am talking about is the content of science. Moreover, religion and science are not in conflict."

We have to break it down for them. There are even some people among them who sometimes have a bad brain due to religious belief.

Yes, I'm talking about Katya. She is also very pious, and her faith can be silly and cute at times.

"Ah, so what you're saying is, Boss, the directions of scientific and religious inquiry are inconsistent?"

"That's true, but it may be difficult for you to understand what I'm saying now. But let's go back to the Bible. No one tells us why salmon and eels migrate. If we follow the teachings of God or those pagans, we may not know that eels reproduce in sea water and grow in fresh water, and salmon reproduce in fresh water and grow in sea water."

At this point, Anna interrupted.

"Count Mikhail, where were the dolphins at the aquarium?"

"Dolphins are mammals, which means they feed on milk, just like babies."

As he said this, he put his arm on Katya's belly.

"When the baby in Katya's belly is about to be born, it will naturally need milk just like you did when you were little. Dolphins have the same habits. As for the more detailed details, I will tell you later. That's all I will tell you during dinner."

If I talk too much, they may not be able to understand it, especially Nicholas. It’s not that his brain is useless, it’s just that he’s a bit stubborn.

Education is also crucial. If Solovyov does not correct some of his mistakes now, he will not find that what he has in his mind is useless and needs to learn again when he needs to participate in official duties in the future.

It has to be said that based solely on Queen Mother Maria's words, the education of girls was fine, except that she was a little biased. However, when it came to educating boys, it was obvious that she was a complete failure. Not only did she fail to find a suitable teacher for her son, she also failed to correct his wrong behavioral habits.

In this respect, there is a big difference compared to the Queen. No wonder Alexander and Constantine were taken away from birth.

Solovyov looked at Katya again. If it was a girl, it would be fine to educate her in any way, but if it was a boy, he would have to educate Katya as well.

Given his habits, it's not wrong to say that he is a child-rearing general. And he really likes children. He has children with his lover, he has children with his wife, and he also likes other people's children.

In the afternoon, it was time for Nikolay and Mikhail to have lessons. Anna was easy to deal with, Katya just had to take her to the dance room and stretch her legs.

Speaking of Katya, the baby in her belly doesn't seem to affect her flexibility, but constipation makes her feel unwell often.

But Charlotte was not taken to the training room by Anna, which made Solovyov feel strange.

"Charlotte, what are you doing here?"

"Boss, can we let her go to class with us?"

"That's fine. Let's go to my house on the shore of Lake Ladoga and talk about the geographical environment of Lake Ladoga and the resources around the lake."

"If nothing else, the fish soup is delicious."

This kid Mikhail still can't change his "little habit" of eating too much.

"These are just fish in the lake. Since the Viking era, this place has been an important trade transit point. When I was in Sweden, I read a chronicle. If we count from the Rurik Dynasty, it can be said to have a long history."

By the way, I have some fond memories of Sweden and Luisa.

“But it doesn’t look like that here.”

"Nicholas, it doesn't look like it. But have you ever considered that what we see on the ground is only the present appearance. If we really want to see the past appearance, we need to look at the records on the one hand, and archaeological verification on the other hand?"

"have not thought."

"Moreover, the hydrology of Lake Ladoga is not very similar to that of other places. The water is shallow in the south, but deep in the north. What's going on? This is a question for us to think about. Let's take a look at the resources along the shore of Lake Ladoga."

So, he pulled out a bunch of maps. If they were put out in order, it would be like making a PPT, but his ideas were also very clear.

"We have to remember that Lake Ladoga is rich in fish, including salmon, sturgeon, perch, pike, whitefish and bream, as well as crayfish, which is the shelled shrimp dish served at the end."

Nikolay recalled this dish, and the lobster meat tasted very chewy. But Solovyov obviously didn't mean for him to recall this dish.

"Nikola, if you were asked to develop Lake Ladoga, what would you do?"

"I will. Anyway, we need to build a fishing port first, and then gather fishermen here to fish on the lake. In winter, we can also fish by breaking ice."

Come to think of it, his reaction was pretty quick.

"Well, that's true. If you want to develop fishery resources, there are many ports in the south and west of Lake Ladoga, which are indeed suitable for this. And one thing to note is that after the establishment of the Russian states, this area has always belonged to the Principality of Novgorod, and there were indeed some fishing ports. This seems to be correct, but why are there not so many ships on Lake Ladoga?"

While Nikolai was thinking about the new problem, Mikhail was also eager to try.

"Mikhail, what are you going to do?"

"I know. Did all the ships go over the canal?"

"This is a phenomenon, there is nothing wrong with it. Of course, Mikhail, if you answer correctly, there will be a reward."

Solovyov took out his notebook and gave Mikhail an extra point, which was also what the Queen Mother asked for.

But there is still a core problem. Charlotte's brain is not very smart. When she saw Nicholas worried like this, she could only stare blankly.

As a local, Nicholas has to think about it, as he certainly doesn't know it.

Mikhail was able to answer the question quickly because he knew that the exclusive waterways obtained by his master's steamships included the canal on Lake Ladoga.

As for why, it was actually quite simple. In the end, Nicholas remembered that he had encountered a strong wind when he was in Lishesheburg.

"Boss, is it because there are often strong winds on the lake?"

"What will happen to the boat if there is a strong wind?"

"That's sailing, it's dangerous."

"That's right, but I'll give you one point as well."

Then he pulled down the second map, which showed the settlements around Lake Ladoga, including fortresses, ports and towns. The next map was the distribution of resources, which had not been pulled out yet.

"Because Lake Ladoga has particularly strong winds and waves in the autumn, Peter the Great dug a canal on Lake Ladoga to facilitate navigation. But before that, in 1323, Novgorod established Oreshek at the source of the Neva River. But before that, even when Novgorod was the capital of the Rurik Dynasty, Ladoga had already been established."

"But this is the land that Peter the Great seized from the Swedes."

"Yes, there are many historical events involved. Charlotte is a Prussian princess. She is here, so it doesn't matter if we talk about these things. After all, it only involves historical disputes with Sweden."

Charlotte would not have thought that by beating Sweden hard, Prussia would also benefit and take over many towns and cities along the Baltic Sea coast.

"what about now?"

"Nikola, although I have made a plan, I don't want to answer questions about this. Besides, what is another valuable area around Lake Ladoga that can be used for development?"

"Of course it's wood. If we farm here, I don't think we'll have a very good harvest in this weather."

"That's true, otherwise Alexander Vasilyevich's estate wouldn't be so barren, but these places can still be transformed. Moreover, we can also build greenhouses, just like growing strawberries in the greenhouse at my house, which is also a way."

“Are there any strawberries now?”

"Not now. I will move here at the end of the year. This is a brand new plot of land and has not been developed much. But it will be a paradise in the future, and..."

"Boss, if you marry Sister Katya, you will be like your father and mother, right?"

Nicholas started to tell the truth again. Paul was indeed very productive. He had thirteen children in total, including his illegitimate children, and ten with his wife.

"Well, that's something we can consider. But it depends on Katya's opinion. And don't you think it's a bit inappropriate to say this in front of Charlotte?"

Anyway, after you two got married, you would have had 7 children. If Charlotte, who changed her name to Alexandra, had not had a poor health and suffered several miscarriages, she would have stopped at the age of 34 because of the doctor's advice.
It seems that this student of mine, although a bit more serious, is still very lustful.

Of course, the two of them were still children, and they were already familiar with each other and had a good impression of each other before the marriage plan came up, which was a good thing. It also saved the adjustment period for both sides when the marriage was formally proposed in the future.

Because of this, Nicholas was a little too bold and mentioned the matter of having children in front of Charlotte. It was somewhat inappropriate to speak like this.

Solovyov also looked at Charlotte. This little dragoon was not the standard Prussian dragoon. Considering her mother's appearance, she would not be bad in the future.

Of course, she was a little too cute when she blushed.

"Nicholas, sometimes you can't say strange things in front of a lady. I'm going to take that point back."

Seeing his brother being humiliated like this, Mikhail laughed heartlessly, but the two brothers have a good relationship and it will not affect their brotherly relationship.

Then, Solovyov began to talk about the geographical environment of Lake Ladoga and the development of its resources.

No matter how you look at it, it's either fishing or logging, and then there's farming and building houses.

If you take the nearby stone mines into consideration, you can even start a game of Age of Empires.

On the one hand, this was also an enlightenment course for Nicholas and Mikhail. In the future, they would have to lead troops like Constantine or serve as royal governors in important places, and perhaps even have a seat in the cabinet. They could not be completely clueless.

As for Nicholas' habits, they have changed a lot over the years. At least in order to focus on military affairs in the future, he still attaches great importance to learning.

However, Solovyov still didn't want him to focus on this. You know, since the Romanov dynasty, even Peter the Great, who was the most martial, did not have very good military capabilities. He was even defeated once by the Turks, and in his later years, part of his land was taken away by the Persian Empire. I don't know where Nicholas got this confidence from. Even Paul was just an expert in training soldiers and logistics. He had some self-knowledge and would not interfere with the front-line command.

It seems that there is still a long way to go in educating Nicholas.

(End of this chapter)