Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The Dragarevsky Monastery was founded in 1345 during the reign of Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Alexander.

It sounds like both Ivan and Alexander are very powerful, but the good days of the Second Bulgarian Empire are almost over.

Then the Ottoman Empire entered Europe, which not only caused the heart and lungs of a series of Balkan countries to stop, but also destroyed many local towns.

The monastery was abandoned in the early 15th century and was not rebuilt until the end of the 15th century. The monastery was called "Our Lady of Vitosha Monastery" in its early years, and its current name is still related to the river next to it.

Speaking of the scenery here, it is probably the Vitosha Mountain, from which you can see the entire city of Sofia, and the other is the beech forest on the side.

The flowers planted nearby include cornflowers, acacias, carnations, peonies, tulips, hyacinths,
What can be seen are mainly tulips and peonies, and it seems that the varieties are not very complete.

"It's nice here and very clean. Thank you, we still have so many troops stationed here."

However, the troops Solovyov arranged to perform guard duties were the Fanagory Grenadiers.

Although the current commander-in-chief of this regiment is Great Kamensky, it still has a close relationship with Suvorov. When the position of commander-in-chief of the regiment was first set up in 1790, it was Suvorov who held this position.

From then on, the Grand Marshal himself always appeared in the roster of this regiment.

The reason why this group was arranged to come here was partly because Arkady would also stay here.

His wife was at home taking care of their one-year-old son. Otherwise, Suvorov asked these young generals to bring their wives, fiancées or mistresses over to promote their relationships.

Except for Count Zuccato who stayed in Vidin due to illness, these were all acquaintances. If the female relatives were brought over, it would probably be quite lively.

Solovyov did this because Katya gave birth to another son for him. If he wanted a child, he could only ask Madame Recamier to bring their daughter Clara over. Although the child was not yet one year old, she was very healthy. In addition, his wife actually brought her to Bucharest, so it would not be good not to let her come.

So Christian also wanted to bring Yulia over. Uvarov's wife was in St. Petersburg, which was too far away. As for the other commanders, many of their wives were in their hometowns, so only a few older commanders brought their eldest sons who could follow them into the army.

Socializing is sometimes also a part, and the eldest son in the family also needs to exercise.

As for picking up the families, it is obvious that the Russian army is not ready to set off in the short term.

Although Solovyov had once performed a trick of hiding the truth with Madame Recamier in Finland, he had no intention of doing it again.

This time he just wanted to have his own child by his side. He is still a typical child slave, especially a daughter slave.

Even though he had run into trouble with his "black-hearted little cotton princess" before, he still remained the same.

He also knew that once he was sent out, he would not be able to return home until the war was over, and he would fight to the fullest, so he was not too worried about his time in the Balkans.

It would even be better if we could go to Greece next. Although it rains there in winter, it is also a very suitable place to spend the winter.

The plan is very serious, even his wife has to come over.

He didn't know at the moment that Katya was hosting Princess Maria Volkonsky at home and the two were having a pleasant conversation.

"Your husband has gone across the Danube. Aren't you bored?"

"I'm very happy to have a child here. Masha, I heard that it was your father Nikolai Andreevich who recommended Misha to the Grenadiers."

"Yes, my father mentioned him on the way from Yasnaya Polyana. At that time, he was just a clever boy, and now he is a general who can stand on his own. It's a pity that my fiancée is gone."

It is said that this princess has always had difficulty getting married as her fiancé died early and she has remained single ever since.

"Don't think about those unhappy things, Martha. You will definitely be very happy, just like me. Although Misha is a sentimental person, he is really good to me when he is at home, and he is not like other people."

"You seem to have very low standards for happiness."

"No, Masha. Some husbands are not so suitable, like Kirill of the Naryshkins. Or like Prince Sergei, to whom I was almost betrothed, if Grand Duke Nicholas had not come to visit Prince Saltykov that day, I would have been..."

"Sometimes you are really unfortunate. Your husband is really a talented and passionate man. But if he were like Prince Sergei, it would be a pity that you, who are so lovely, would not be able to reap your own happiness."

"Martha, don't worry. My husband has plenty of promising young men around him, and the marriages he has arranged for his sisters are very good. We can also help you with your affairs. You are still a good sister to me. After all, we have known each other since childhood and have taken dance lessons together."

However, Katya's idea probably has to wait until Solovyov returns.

In the Petersburg social scene, there were also rumors that Katya's husband was a passionate man, but he loved his wife and mistress very much, and he let them do what they wanted. His wife stayed at home to take care of the children, lived in the most fashionable mansion in Petersburg, and wrote to him every week; and as for his mistress, he took her to the south because he couldn't persuade her, which was really in line with Mrs. Recamier's wishes.
But if it were someone else, like Sergei Saltykov's recently married wife, his wife would be very unhappy at home.

"Thank you, but at this time, many people don't like soldiers."

"They are also ignorant. If their husbands are promising, they won't be like those flowery-talking playboys."

Although Katya is still a little limited in her experience because she positions herself as a housewife, she still knows what kind of man she should look for at her age because she has seen a lot of such people at home.

Moreover, these words were more or less directed at his elder brother.

She has always had a better relationship with her second brother Nicholas, but she must find her own second brother herself.

"Soloviev is now very far from home, and it is also a long way to the other side of the Danube."

"Yeah, I want to go too, but with Sasha here, it's not easy for me to go."

She actually hoped that Solovyov would not go to the front to fight. If her husband stayed at the manor all day, he might not be so unfaithful. They could also travel to the countryside and visit friends together, instead of being separated for a long time. Although Mishka wrote to her frequently, he was thousands of miles away after all. From St. Petersburg to Sofia, it is 1996 kilometers in a straight line.

Katya chatted with Princess Maria at home, and the latter also wrote about it in her diary.

Solovyov was in the monastery at the moment, and he was indeed writing letters to his wife. As Katya had given birth to another son, he was more concerned about his wife, and the son had to be raised slowly, and even in their family situation, it was not necessarily possible to guarantee that every child could be raised.

Therefore, the relationship between husband and wife is still more important.

"Why, you're writing to your wife again."

"Karl, you should also bring your wife over, so that you can have a writing secretary."

"No, she may not be able to adapt to military life. She can help in peacetime. Besides, Mary got pregnant while you were in Paris. Considering the time, she probably can't move around now."

"Look, only in a place like Russia, with all the boredom in the winter, can you focus on your wife."

As Solovyov was speaking, he sealed the letter to Katya. He was worried that his wife, who was less than 20 years old, was already the mother of three children. She should always take care of her health and take good care of herself during his absence. If she liked, she could go to Jelgava for summer vacation. The palace there was nice. After the Bourbon royal family moved out, it was also managed by the Russian court.

As the youngest "State Lady", Katya is eligible to live and summer there.

"It always feels weird when these words come out of your mouth."

"Don't worry about it. We all live in a monastery. Don't disturb the monks' meditation. In addition to monks, there are also nuns here. Don't disturb them."

"Okay, but someone wants to see you."

"Who is this person? Since we arrived in Sofia, it seems that there have been constant local petitions."

"Who told you to be so efficient? You always reply on the spot after seeing the documents. Aren't you asking for trouble? When you were governor, you were on Russian soil, which was fine. Now in Sofia, although we control it now, you are too diligent."

"I can't help it. This is just my personality."

Then came the local Orthodox Christians, those wearing turbans, who also discovered that this Russian general who had killed 60,000 troops, although he was brutal in battle and could be considered another "Bulgarian Butcher", was unusually diligent in dealing with local petitions.

The Baiyi masters in the past had never seen anything so fast.

Initially they just wanted to give it a try, but they didn't expect that they all got approval.

Moreover, the way of judging cases was very fair and did not favor Christians. Instead, the secretary was entrusted to add customary law at the end of each reply. Such a "man of the book" master was simply "Allah's pen" and "Allah's sword". Even if Suleiman the Magnificent and his grand vizier came in person, their level was probably about this.

Therefore, more and more people came to the gate of the monastery to submit petitions. There were many masters, but it was rare to find such a responsible master.

When a lawsuit comes with the basis for the judgment, it always makes people feel that justice has been done.

"I'm causing trouble for myself because we have to stay here for a long time and make sure everyone feels fair. And this is also a psychological warfare. If you say that war is a continuation of politics, I'll have to explain how to do it."

"What are you going to do?"

"Attacking the heart is the best way. You have to remember this."

"what?"

"Fighting on the battlefield is a tactic, or what Frederick the Great called 'grand tactics'. It should be considered a kind of battle science, but strategy is more important, and it involves many aspects. If we occupy a place and carry out large-scale looting, we will naturally lose the support of the people, just like the French, and sooner or later cause a large-scale resistance. The Russian army has a bad reputation, that is, it is always regarded as barbarians. As for the Prussians, we will talk about it later, you have too much information."

Now he had to receive a guest who came from far away and claimed to be an old friend from the Peloponnese, which made him a little suspicious.

Although he was the son-in-law of the Dolgorukov family, his father-in-law, Prince Vasily, and the father of his two deceased friends, Prince Peter, were not from the same branch, although they were close relatives and the young people often visited each other.
It does not rule out the possibility that there is something strange going on. After all, the speed at which things spread was such that even if he was delayed on the road for half a month and stayed in Sofia for such a long time, it would be difficult for a Greek from the Peloponnese to run so quickly and reach Sofia.

He also calculated the distance from Athens to Sofia.

The Greeks who came here were tall and strong guys, more like the stereotypical Turks.

"Where are you from, my friend?"

"I come from Sparta, Count Soloviev. Are you a friend of Prince Michael?"

"How straightforward! Bearded man, my name also happens to be Michael. There was a Prince Dolgorukov who was also my friend, but he died in Finland two years ago. I feel sorry for what happened to him, and I will mourn for him, and I will defeat the Swedes and avenge him."

"That's right. I'm Demetrius, son of Alexius Phocas, an old soldier under Prince Peter. We heard that the Russian army had crossed the Danube, so we asked along the way. We learned from some of your old soldiers that you were here. I'm sure you'll find it strange, but I know Russian."

"That makes sense. Welcome, nice to meet you, Demetrius. You are such a tall and handsome man."

"Thank you for the compliment, but the Spartans today are a little different than they were in the past."

"In the past, even an old man in Sparta would give up his seat to an elderly person of the same age. Do you have any connection with Greece when you come here?"

"We know the time is not right yet, but we have a request. It would be best if your army could reach the edge of Greece in the winter. I think there will be many people to support your army by then. We haven't seen Christian troops here for many years."

Solovyov knew that many people were looking forward to the royal army. (End of this chapter)