Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Order has now been restored in Thessaloniki. After the Russian troops separated and stationed, only the grenadiers were left here. Solovyov appointed Christian as the garrison commander of Thessaloniki and left the elite grenadiers here as well, waiting for Langeron's troops to come from Bulgaria and continue to monitor Aziz Ahmed Pasha who was still in East Macedonia.

After the defeat, the Turkish army also replaced the one-eyed Grand Vizier and replaced him with Ahmed Pasha.

This is not an easy job either. Although it seems to be a high-ranking position, it is a hot potato.

At the same time, the Ottoman Empire's "Yamen" agency responsible for diplomacy showed no signs of relaxation at this time and still refused to engage in formal diplomatic negotiations, but because of the current environment, it agreed to a ceasefire in the winter of 1810 to 1811.

At this time, the situation was extremely bad for the Ottoman Empire. They had lost the whole of Serbia. Wallachia and Moldavia were under the control of the Russian army. Albania and Epirus were under the rule of Ali Pasha, and they only nominally regarded the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire as their monarch, but in reality they had become local emperors.

In addition, Algiers and Egypt in Africa had already become disloyal, and the Ottoman Empire could only barely maintain its ruling order in Asia. The only European territories that could obey their direct orders were Thrace-Rumelia around Constantinople and the relatively isolated Aegean islands, as well as Bosnia under the eyes of the Austrians.

That’s right, the frontline area of ​​Sarajevo is still able to obey orders at this time, which is also due to the relative stability of the situation after Muslims moved in over the years.

Instead, the entire Balkan Peninsula behind me feels like my body has been hollowed out.
This is also the price the Ottoman Empire paid for its own dysfunctional rule over the years. It has been less than 120 years since the Siege of Vienna, and it has already declined to this state.

You have to know that at this time in modern times, the pace of decline may be relatively slow.

In the past, it was able to make European countries tremble, but now Russia has fallen before it has even used its full strength. It is not because of its accurate shooting skills, but because this country has become weak to a certain extent.

After all his family members arrived, Solovyov spent a rare happy time with his family in Thessaloniki. His younger sister Yulia will also become a mother at the beginning of next year. It can be said that the family is now prosperous.

"Christian, if you become a father, you must not raise your voice like you did in the past. It will scare the child."

"I know that. I held your child a lot."

After all, he is the children's uncle.

"We are going to Athens in a few days. You can stay here with Yulia and don't have to take on so much work."

"All to Count Langgelon?"

"He will definitely be willing to do it when the time comes, and if the Turkish army attacks, they will definitely follow his command."

"how about you?"

"I'm going to Athens. These Greeks will quarrel among themselves if no one is in charge."

This kind of autonomy brought about by the bayonet obviously also has big problems, because if victory comes too easily, there will definitely be problems.

Demetrius and his father Alexius were only one of the various rebel forces in the Peloponnese Peninsula, and their power was not very strong. All the forces were now vying for it.
It seems that these places controlled by the Ottoman Empire have all degenerated to a certain extent, and everyone is like a tribal meeting.

More than a hundred years later, Lawrence and Prince Faisal faced the same problem in Damascus.

The only thing Solovyov brought with him to Athens was the Kazan Dragoon Regiment, which was sponsored by Maria.

She gave birth to a daughter, Princess Augusta, but fell into sorrow again because her son was seriously ill and had been weak since childhood. Even with the help of a professional pediatrician, his condition did not improve.

I hope she won't be affected too much by this sadness.
The dragoons led the way along the way, and the Greeks along the way naturally gave way. The journey from Thessaloniki to Larissa and then to Lamia was very smooth.

Greeks could be seen waving to the Russian soldiers along the way, and some even brought them rations and supplies.

For Russia itself, due to the special situation in the Balkan Peninsula, it is impossible for them to annex all the territories here. It would be ugly. In addition, there are still some cultural differences between the various ethnic groups and Greeks in Yugoslavia and the Russians and Ukrainians in East Slavia.

This problem will only get worse due to the population size here.

The best solution is to establish a pro-Russian regime.

But Solovyov obviously did not have enough time to do these things.

In order to help him complete this task, he also needs the support of Ioannis Kapodistrias. After all, he is not only a Greek, but also an important official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He even holds the title of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. His actual ranking is after Prince Alexander Saltykov.

But it would take time for him to get here. His brothers were in Kamensky's army, but they couldn't come until the armistice came into effect.
Solovyov had to face these Greeks alone. Odysseus, who was traveling with him, was still inexperienced, and his father had a mixed reputation.

There was no other reason, except that Andreas and Ali Pasha were not only good friends, but also used to be bandit leaders. Although many people in the Peloponnese had fought alongside his father, they also despised the background of their father and son.

After hearing what Odysseus said, Solovyov felt a little embarrassed.

"I have to say, this is very Greek. Will they think I'm a Gallic barbarian?"

"I don't think so. You're talking about the Greeks from two thousand years ago."

"But in essence, there probably won't be any changes. We may only be respected because we liberated Greece. If the Russian army stays here for a long time, it may bring about some strange changes."

"I know you read a lot, but there are some things I don't understand."

After all, the current Greek world cannot be compared with the city-state era, and there are not even any famous scholars.

Solovyov was more like a spiritual Greek, which was quite different from his uncle who was a Russian.

Solovyov did not do any of the strange things that Napoleon did in Italy in Greece. After he arrived, he found that if he had not asked those Jewish businessmen to contribute, most of the Greeks might have become paupers under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

Therefore, he still advocated holding a meeting to discuss the future of the Greeks.

"But Greece, after a long time, it's easy to be like this. If I tell you about Epirus, you will probably understand."

Solovyov then told about the unfortunate experience of King Pi in Magna Graecia, that is, southern Italy and Sicily. He was a relatively fair person among the second-generation successors, but he also suffered a disgrace in Sicily. There was no other reason. The Greeks were used to being lax and did not want someone to rule over them.

Even if they were to form their own country in the future, there would probably be endless debate.

Judging from Greek tradition, establishing a republic seems to be a more reliable option.

But Solovyov clearly remembered that there was a huge difference between the Germans of the classical era and the modern ones, and if things got out of hand, it would just be a gathering of incited interest animals, with such destructive power.

Think about Athens, where tile exiles often occur, even earlier than in the old districts of Shandong, and will be taken advantage of by others. There will only be endless debates and unlimited competitions on the spot.

Therefore, what they should do is actually a problem.

Even this time he went to Athens to see what the situation of these people was like and to understand the political demands of all parties.

Among them, some are close to Britain, and some are close to Russia. In the early years, the Fanario Greeks still had some influence in Russia. If they want to be close to Britain in the future, they have to look at where the kings came from after Greece became a kingdom.

Over time, someone was finally elected who was more pro-British but also on good terms with the Russians.

Solovyov noticed this and felt that he had to see the situation.

When he arrived in Athens, he was not disappointed.

At this time, there were still people living in the Acropolis of Athens. It was not like the tourist attractions of later generations. The buildings here, from the Parthenon at the highest point, included buildings from the Roman era, as well as those from the Middle Ages and the Ottoman Empire. Some were built when the Venetians controlled this place.

As for the temple itself, the situation was not so good. Because it had been used as an ammunition depot, its structure had been intact for two thousand years. Once the gunpowder was piled in, even the strongest building could not withstand it.

But this is also because of the war, not the warring parties, and the protection of cultural relics in this era
If they were demolished and painted all white, it would not necessarily be the original appearance. These temple buildings used to be colorful, and the Acropolis also has a large number of various buildings accumulated over the past two thousand years.

Solovyov had some thoughts when he saw the siege. The situation in Athens was very bad now. It had become a place no different from a large rural area. The strangest thing was probably that wherever the Ottoman Empire ruled, except for the capital Constantinople, many places were in a precipitous decline.

If that is the case, the Sultan's level may be inferior to that of his groom.

There will be even more outrageous things in the future. Sultan Mehmed V was not even familiar with the situation in Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, which were so close to him, but he became the Sultan.

A dynasty has been passed down for more than twenty generations since its establishment, with thirty sultans. Considering the Ottoman inheritance law and the princes who have been spoiled, it is not surprising that people who are higher in the line of succession to the Ottoman Empire will drive taxis in the United States.

If this continues, this country would have been destroyed by Russia long ago if it had not been backed by external forces.

But now he didn't want to think about the problems on the Sultan's side, but came to the Acropolis.

Here he and Odysseus Andrus were greeted by representatives of the local militia who temporarily controlled the city.

As for Greek names, Solovyov also feels that modern Greek names are rather tongue-twisting, especially the tongue-twisting surnames.

On the contrary, in the classical era, there was no need to worry about this problem, and all you had to do was report the family name.

Alexander the Great was from the Argead family, descendants of the Argos heroes. In the Greek world, he was finally recognized in the Olympics and had the qualification to participate that only Greeks could have.

Think about the Greeks today. Think about a person's surname. The Greeks two hundred years later will be the same. There will be few short ones.

The length of the name alone is already very difficult to pronounce. Fortunately, Russia still has some relatively simple surnames and given names.

Solovyov was also quite fortunate. Although he knew Greek, he was not proficient in it. He might use it more in mathematics, so he didn't have to torture himself like this. He could just find a Greek translator to translate it.

However, among the people who came to greet them, there were always such heated arguments, which was a bit awkward.

He could probably guess it, but he didn't comment and just asked Odysseus beside him.

"What's going on?"

"I think they had some minor misunderstandings about which protocol to follow for the reception."

"That won't do. Can they speak French or Russian?"

"I know what you mean, and it's easier to explain this way."

Odysseus patiently explained the current situation to these representatives and finally calmed them down.

The two sides of the dispute came from the Petrakis and Ierontas families, the latter of which was considered a long-standing Greek aristocracy and could even be considered aristocracy of the Eastern Roman Empire.

The young Angelos Yerontas is only 25 years old this year. He is considered a young man with some fame in the local area. At such a young age, he is already considered a local elder.

The same is true for the Petrakis family, but the Yerontas family also has some political allies, such as Venizelos.

Solovyov's decision was to not make any statement, but just watch both sides state their opinions, and finally he would make a decision and act as a fair judge.

The Greeks today, without the threat of the Turks, are not so united and have even been arguing for a long time over the jurisdiction of their cities.

This has been the case since Yeronkas took control of the outer perimeter of the Acropolis with his militia.

But now, Athens alone can't even muster 10,000 people. You have to know that when this was a city-state in the classical era, the number of citizen soldiers alone was more than this. This shows how serious its decline is now.

After listening to their statements, Solovyov did not immediately make any comments. After all, this was a question related to food supply, which was also a very urgent matter at the moment. (End of this chapter)