Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 513 025: On the battlefield but without changing the general, Solovyov decided to go home to accompany the patient.

In fact, when Solovyov went on several warships next, he heard news that was not satisfactory to Khanikov.

At the same time, the fleet commanders seemed dissatisfied with the relatively younger Chichakov as the Navy Minister, and each had his own channel to express his opinions.

The Black Sea Fleet is quite far away, but strangely, the person currently serving as the fleet commander there is a Frenchman.

Even the current French fleet commander, the Marquis of Travisi, Solovyov's stepmother's fellow countryman, has resigned, and the Duke of Richelieu is scheduled to take over the command of the Black Sea Fleet.
This is also caused by the strange system of the navy. There are always foreign admirals. In addition, training is often related to the British.

Solovyov stayed in the fleet until May. After listening to the opinions of grassroots officers and sailors, he wrote a special report and placed it on Alexander's desk.

"Your Majesty, that's right. The situation of the Baltic Fleet is roughly the same. In the past few years, military expenditures have often been invested in the army. When our enemy becomes an enemy that we have to deal with both on land and at sea, it is inevitable that some people will have opinions. Some people's thoughts have not yet changed."

After reading it, Alexander thought for a moment and then spoke.

"Since this is the case, we naturally have to take some action."

"Your Majesty, we can have the Baltic Fleet's frigates cruise around Gotland and the Aland Islands to scout the Swedes' current movements."

Chichakov said this to save face for himself.

Since Solovyov had already raised the issue of funding during his speech, as well as issues concerning the fleet’s leadership, Admiral Khanikov’s current duties were very problematic.

"Which ships should we send? Chichakov, after all, you are the Minister of the Navy, and Solovyov is only an inspector, and he is also an army officer."

"We can let the Tragedy go. This ship is in good working order and they can complete this mission."

Alexander agreed with this, but the people on the ship were also relocated.

Lazarev, who was still a trainee officer, was transferred to the battleship "Grace" to continue serving. The ship also served as the flagship of the Baltic Fleet and was ready to join the military operations in the Baltic Sea.

But what puzzled both Chichakov and Solovyov was that Alexander did not immediately choose to replace the fleet commander.

Ushakov was on his way from his estate in Tambov these days. He had no family of his own and moved about like Suvorov, always moving back and forth with a few loyal old servants.

If he was just a naval adviser, he could just remove Khanikov from the position of fleet commander. Compared with Ushakov, who was never lacking in courage, this man had good sailing skills but was far behind in courage.

It’s just the mess on Gotland Island, and it is obvious that the Baltic Fleet is unwilling to take over. Taking this into consideration, Chichakov only sent a few frigates to investigate the situation on the front line.

After all, he was a captain of the Baltic Fleet and his father was an admiral, so he understood this kind of situation to some extent.

When Solovyov saw this situation, he naturally didn't say much. He was only responsible for finishing the tasks at hand.

As for the navy's affairs, he really didn't want to interfere, as long as it didn't cause any trouble.

But before that, he also had to put something in front of him.

"Your Majesty, we should also consider that the British will probably interfere now."

"Your prediction is correct. According to the intelligence sent by France, a British army has already arrived in Sweden, but it has not landed yet. The specific situation is unknown."

If Alexander knew what King Gustav was doing, he would probably be secretly happy.

The British sent an expeditionary force of 14000 men led by Sir John Moore to Sweden, and a squadron of the Royal Navy was also active there.

Then, Sir Moore argued with Gustav over how to use the British army.

What the British meant was that these lobster soldiers of ours should either be used to help you defend, or to bluff on Finland's flank so that the Russian army would not dare to continue its large-scale attack.

And King Gustav is still thinking about attacking Denmark!
It was only because the Russian army's progress was too smooth, and the entire territory of Finland, except Lapland, had almost been captured by the Russian army at this time, that Gustav made up his mind to keep the British army. If history were to be restored, Sir Moore would have taken his army to Spain and would have been defeated by the French soon.

In fact, it was the guerrillas spontaneously formed by the Finns who were able to maintain fierce resistance, causing great trouble to the poorly disciplined Russian army under Buchholden.

But these had nothing to do with Solovyov. When the "Tragic Goddess" was about to go out on patrol, he left St. Petersburg again and returned to his estate on the shores of Lake Ladoga.

The reason is very simple. Katya is about to give birth. This is the first child he will have after marriage.

Because Katya was the granddaughter of Prince Kremsky, Solovyov's marriage to her always attracted a lot of attention, which also caused some rumors among the nobles in St. Petersburg.

Under such circumstances, there are still many people visiting his home.

My stepmother was very happy to have more guests coming. She is French and loves to have fun.

But Count Sergei just had a sullen face, like he was wearing a mask of pain.

After all, according to Russian customs, the more people who know about a woman giving birth, the more pain she will suffer. Although this is a superstitious belief, so many people came at once.

Solovyov was also very embarrassed. This happened not long after he returned home.

Countess Strodianova was still reliable. This talented woman found many reasons and asked most of the guests to go back.

"Everyone, as I said, the Countess needs to rest, and Her Majesty the Queen Mother will hold a reception at Peterhof Palace soon and is considering the guest list."

"Since Countess Sofia said so, we all know it, but Katya is the granddaughter of old Prince Vasily after all, and we all benefited from her in the past."

However, Solovyov's second brother-in-law Nikolai did not think so. He grabbed Solovyov and said.

"My grandfather took good care of them, but when my father lost power, no one spoke up for him. Misha, they came together again after seeing you and your sister gaining favor in the palace." "People are like this, seeking benefits and avoiding harm. In Russia, we have no shortage of chameleons. They looked disgusted one second ago, but now they know you are useful to them, and they welcome you with smiles. This even includes our aunt Praskovya. Is she plotting anything recently?"

"If there is any, it is probably some undistributed property left by grandpa and uncle. Some of it was given to Katya and came to your family with the dowry. I don't want to care about these things anymore. Going to Vienna to be a diplomat, even if it's just the current trainee status, is much better than being with these people."

"Kolya, when you get there, give this letter to Princess Bagration. As for the contents."

After Solovyov told Nikolay these things in his ear, he also laughed.

I have to say that Katya’s two brothers are both very handsome, but when it comes to being handsome and humble, it’s Nikolai.

It’s just strange that although he is so handsome, he has never pursued any noble girl, and there is no news that he likes anyone now.

Come to think of it, the relationship between Prince Vasily the Younger and Solovyov could not be so close.

"How about it?"

"Well, if that's the case, it can indeed avoid some embarrassing situations. Anyway, the Princess can't always be in Vienna. If she continues like this, it will have a bad impact. After all, she was also raised by Her Majesty the Queen."

"Peter Ivanovich is in Finland commanding the war and is not here. He really wants his wife to come back, instead of staying in Vienna and bringing back only bills."

"Also, you have to take good care of your sister. Although Katya is married, she is still so young and we are still worried about her. And you have also heard that Vasya always fails in his pursuit of girls because he is a soldier and the situation in Finland is like that."

"Don't worry about that. I'm unlikely to go to Finland during this period. His Majesty seems to be interested in deeper cooperation with France. My identity is sensitive and special, so I can't get involved. You can help our ambassador to get information in Vienna."

"That's natural."

Nicholas then put the letter away and waited until Countess Sophia had sent away all the nosy guests. The only ones who were still willing to stay were her closer relatives and friends.

When Katya was in the palace, she had a few good friends among the maids who stayed and could help. In fact, they were all quite experienced. After all, when Louisa gave birth in the palace, she always needed someone to lend a hand.

Besides him, there was Pierre who had recently come to Petersburg on business. But he was still like that, sometimes when he spoke...
"how is it now?"

"Katya is fine now. The doctor said there is no need to worry and we need to see how her body is doing."

"Well, I've had this painful experience too. I mean, the tense and anxious waiting, you know."

"Well, Pierre, if you can help us, you and Kolya will wash your hands first, and then get the cart ready. Also, the delivery table must be cleaned first."

"OK then."

Pierre also knew that Solovyov would not say it directly, but would choose some way to resolve the situation.

Expressing it directly is obviously a very stupid behavior.

As for Katya's condition, Solovyov still needs to ask the doctor in person.

"How is my wife doing?"

"She is healthy and flexible, and there is no problem with the position of her pelvis. I am just more worried that the baby may be too heavy, or that she may be pregnant with twins, which is still very dangerous for the mother. But the good thing is that we have encountered this kind of thing several times in St. Petersburg, and you may have had this experience yourself."

"Yes, while on duty at the palace, I helped the doctor of the Royal Guards deliver the baby for Her Royal Highness the Queen."

"Since you understand, this is good. Sometimes it depends on how wide the mouth is opened. At least there is nothing to do today, and the Countess can still have some food."

The reason why Solovyov was able to remain calm before was either because his relationship with his lover could not be made public, or because the distance between them was relatively far and there was no such tension.

Now it was his turn, and he was still a little nervous, and became clumsy instead.

Young Prince Vasily also had to arrange for his father-in-law and mother-in-law to stay, as they were also exhausted from the journey from Moscow.

When the doctor also went to the lounge, he couldn't calm down and decided to take a walk in the yard.

Seeing him like this, Pierre accompanied him out.

"Thank you, Pierre, for staying at this time."

"As a friend, I can help with this kind of thing. As I said earlier, Nicholas and I will set up the delivery table and call a doctor later."

"Now I'm also thinking about what I should do. Have you heard about what happened in Finland?"

"I have heard that Count Kamensky sent a letter to Moscow saying that the fighting at the front has been very fierce."

"Stupid Buckholden, such people should not be employed anymore. We are always full of stupid people here. They don't have the sense of responsibility like Andre, but they are all fighting for power. Andre may have said something similar to you, but I feel tired and can't leave this circle. You are an upright person and should not be involved in too much politics. It is actually good to have a position as a senior court attendant. You should do good things instead of people like us who are scheming and fighting all day long."

"But I can't completely walk away from this situation, and you should know what I've been doing lately."

"Pierre, you even joined the Freemasons. Others think it's some mysterious organization, but secret societies are just that. Sometimes the people in those organizations are not trustworthy. As I said just now, you can't get involved in politics. Besides, what should your wife do?"

"It is what it is now. What else can I do? Andre told me this before, but it is a done deal."

"I will always have a way to deal with that family. I am upset now. Katya may give birth tomorrow or even today. There are many things I can't help you with. But not everyone in the Kurakin family is like Alexander Borisovich."

(End of this chapter)