Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

We are hosting a dinner in Moscow as it is spring, and there is only one thing: no one goes there to escape the summer heat, and no one comes to Moscow to spend the winter.

Not many people come here, but this is what Solovyov and Katya hope for. They would rather have some good friends come here to celebrate, rather than a group of people from Moscow.

The reason is simple. Solovyov felt a headache looking at the foreign debt left by his father-in-law. He had reduced part of it in previous years, but it has now reappeared.

This kind of income is indeed worrying. Many Russian nobles are in large debts for their lifestyle, which is indeed a bit strange. Some people even mortgaged their own estates.

Even someone like Pierre, who was made the heir because his father favored him as an illegitimate son and thus avoided the division of property, could not escape the covetousness of Prince Kurakin's family.

Unfortunately, Prince Vasily used his daughter as bait to get Pierre to marry her, which would then give him a good opportunity to divide the property.

However, Solovyov had previously set up an inheritance trust to protect the property because Katya's aunt had embezzled Count Bruce's family property.

This was Pierre's good luck, as all of Count Bezukhov's property was included in it, and this secret trust was archived in St. Petersburg. No matter how cunning Prince Vasily was, he couldn't extort much out of it.

Because it also stipulated portions for Pierre and the count's three nieces, as well as the future protection of Pierre's personal property, Helen only got the large houses in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

When Solovyov was in France, he asked his father why the house was divided so easily.

Count Sergei's answer was simple, and he did not hide anything from his son.

"A house is just there, but the real useful wealth is not here. This is the truth you taught me, my good son, Misha."

Solovyov has indeed been persuading Pierre to give up those real estates that cannot generate immediate value. Only when funds can be circulated can more wealth be generated.

Therefore, the houses were left there, with no food or drink available, and often when they were in financial difficulties, they had to sell these manors and properties to pay off the debts. Some nobles inherited huge fortunes, but were left with nothing when they died, either because they did not know how to manage the business, or because they had entrusted their wealth to the wrong people.

This kind of thing is probably a common occurrence in the aristocratic circles of any country.

Solovyov was happy to watch the fun. Although he had a good relationship with Kamensky Jr., his relationship with his brother was average. Due to his mother's favoritism, the eldest son inherited almost all of the old marshal's property, and his nephew could only inherit his mother's property.

Although no matter how you look at it, Anna inherited more property from Count Alexei Orlov, there are still some stories behind it.

Among the topics, things in the Balkans came up.

Although Kamensky the Younger and Solovyov defeated the Turks in a year, one of them fell ill in Odessa when he returned triumphantly and was dying; the other one went to Moscow, but did not get any new position as expected, although he did receive medals and bonuses.

The former was because his body could not bear it anymore, and the latter was because some subtle changes had taken place in things in St. Petersburg.

But this is just speculation. Solovyov is wearing medals here, the most conspicuous of which is the first-class Order of St. Anna that he recently won.

"Pierre, I think the things these people discuss are always a little inappropriate."

"It could be that they prefer to talk about some rumors rather than the situation we are facing."

"That's right. I'm coming back from the Balkans. Although I don't have any plans, I do know that the relationship with the French seems to have changed."

When Pierre heard this, he also knew that Solovyov's identity was right in the middle. The countship of his family was upgraded from France. Probably only by changing his stance to that of a royalist could he avoid being attacked.

"There's nothing we can do about it. There are always many pro-French people here. But even though I have some kinship with the French emperor, we are still far from that. When we fought the British before, we used the crown and still won the battle."

Solovyov mentioned this with some confidence, as part of Langgeron's achievements in fighting the French in Poland and East Prussia was the result of his planning when he was chief of staff.

"But in your case, I also heard in Moscow that some people were talking about sending Bonaparte's nephew to the Caucasus front. Since he had a way to deal with the Turks, he could definitely deal with the Persians as well."

"Forget it. I don't intend to cause trouble for the country founded by eunuchs. It's a thankless task, although it won't cost me my life."

He really looked down on the Qajar dynasty of Persia. If he really fought, if he hadn't taken into account the harsh environment there, the mountains everywhere, and the poor mountains and bad waters that produced unruly people, especially the Chechen people
They don't even understand the diplomatic rules over there. Although they do have envoys in various European countries, it's not like the Ottoman Empire dealing with Europeans on a daily basis. At least things are clear.

It has only been a few years since the last time a Persian vassal chieftain murdered the Russian commander. Clearly they have no bottom line, so who knows what they will cause.

To be honest, the ignorance in some places can be seen.

It’s better to stay away from it if possible. Now it’s a name day party, and Solovyov doesn’t want to talk about more military matters.

However, as the one who performed the most outstandingly in the Russo-Swedish War and the current Russo-Turkish War, he will always attract attention even if we don't want to mention it.

Even Petya, who is still of school age, would pay attention to this matter.

After all, old Count Rostov was the noble leader of Ryazan, and the aristocratic relationship of the Solovyov family has always been linked to Ryazan. The two manors of the family were also next to the huge mansion of Prince Menshikov.

Therefore, Petya will also pay attention to him.

"You are Katya's husband, aren't you?"

Although Solovyov mentioned that he had considered Petya when arranging a blind date for his sister-in-law, he seldom saw him. Even when he was in St. Petersburg and Moscow, he always met with the old count, and at most he would visit Nikolai and Natasha.

Petya was still a child then, and although he has not grown up yet, he already looks a bit like an adult.

"Young man, where are you from?"

When Pierre saw her, since he had always been Natasha's protector, he naturally introduced her brother.

"This is Petya, the youngest son of Count Ilya." Pierre said this, and Solovyov had some impression of it.

"You have grown up a lot. I remember you were still a child. Do you have a tutor at home or are you studying in school?"

"Misha, it's quite popular among children nowadays in school. Tsarskoye Selo High School is a representative example. However, Ryazan doesn't have the conditions yet, so Petya still needs to hire a tutor."

"Speaking of which, there may be a need to build many schools that can be attended by both nobles and commoners in the future. Such public or private schools can also change one's destiny through knowledge, but it requires a lot of investment."

“Yes, there is this problem.”

"Pierre, where have you transferred all your assets over the years? I have been in the army all the time, although we discussed this last time in Riga. But after all, I have been in the army all the time, and I am not very familiar with the affairs at home."

"It's the same as always. It's just that we can't leave everything in Moscow. It would be better to go to Ryazan or somewhere else."

"As for the grain business, our current way of working is actually not very efficient. If we can cause a revolution and use machines to gradually replace human and animal power, that should be the future. However, it is hard to say what will happen now."

"If it were now, the manors in the south could improve some of their production methods. Andre and I have tried it before, but the results were not very good."

"If possible, we should make some manuals and let the children have some social practice. Petya, do you know how farmers work?"

"Although I have seen them, my father never made me study. If I went out and met those farmers, it was always when I was hunting."

"Yes, everyone likes hunting. I saw Her Highness Catherine and her husband, the French Emperor, hunting ducks in France. Speaking of which, Her Highness's shooting skills are even better."

This topic is interesting, but think about it, Napoleon's aiming posture with a gun was not standard, which was on par with Catherine in this regard.

This is not funny, kids.

"Ah, they say in Moscow that you are a relative of the Emperor."

"To be exact, he is a relative of Queen Josephine. Before they divorced, I had to follow my brothers and sisters and call him uncle, although there was no problem in terms of age."

But what's a bit ethically funny is that his relationship with Polina is like him sleeping with his aunt in a roundabout way, which is a very complicated relationship.

"But you are a great hero, and you are much more handsome than Prince Bagration."

"If we talk about the most handsome man, it's still Count Pavel Stroganov. Everyone in Petersburg knows this. But his brother-in-law went to North America recently, which is also interesting. He became the deputy of Duke Enghien. It seems that the construction of the North American territory is going smoothly. It's just a pity that there are more French people there than Russians, although this matter has something to do with me."

In the eyes of a boy like Petya, Prince Bagration was probably the most powerful hero in the army, but his big nose was really hard to describe.

Solovyov may be considered as an idol with a heavy burden. The battles he fought in recent years, combined with the Three Kingdoms novels he translated,
Although it was Miloladovic who often went in and out unscathed, the role of the young player in white robes was always played by him.

What he did also attracted a lot of attention.

If he had not already married and had not developed any relationship with the noble ladies after getting married, it might have been even more troublesome.

Of course, more of it is his image among young people. From Grand Duke Nicholas to the noble children in the countryside, they all still hope to be like him.

He was instructed by the Grand Marshal when he was young, and he had a bright future in his youth. He also made many unexpected military achievements. Can he really be considered to have lost a battle so far? It is probably like the Grand Marshal Suvorov, who has never lost a battle under his command so far. Even with the situation of Switzerland's crappy teammates, the Russian and Austrian armies both escaped from the mountains of Switzerland unscathed.

In this case, the image of an idol on him is indeed very heavy.

But Solovyov looked at Petya and felt that sometimes it didn't have to be all about that.

"Speaking of which, you should study hard. You don't have to join the army. Not everyone is so lucky that they can get away with shells. You should read more, learn more knowledge, and have a clear judgment of things. This is more suitable, instead of having to become a soldier. It looks like wearing beautiful clothes and riding tall horses, especially those riding white horses. In fact, in the army, you have to train every day and listen to orders, which is always very hard."

"But if the enemy invades, soldiers will still be needed."

"It's not always like this. You should go play with kids your own age, even a girl?"

It seems that winning a war is not always a good thing. If the French really attacked, Petya would probably join the army, after all, all the children younger than him had joined.

This is unavoidable and it is impossible to take care of everyone, but within the scope of one's ability, one can give appropriate reminders.

"But it's not interesting. There are too many girls here."

"Maybe it's because the guests we invited are all girls who are about your age. I envy you. If I were on duty in the palace, I would be older than you and be ordered around by the princes all day long."

But the details cannot be discussed. The fact that Elena asked him to dress as a woman cannot be mentioned, and as for his relationship with Maria, that is even more impossible to talk about.

But that was it, and it probably didn't do anything, and he couldn't reduce Petya's interest no matter what he did.

It was only after Pierre talked to him that he was willing to go out with the girls.

Speaking of which, my sister-in-law was still a little chubby girl when I first met her. When I was little, I thought she would develop into a lady.

What is unexpected is that she is different from Katya. She actually likes to wield swords and guns. Maybe she inherited her grandfather's military talent.

This is far from the truth. The only grandson in the army who was awarded the title of special prince for military merit is about to retire. The best fighter is the grandson-in-law. But the granddaughter likes riding horses and giving orders. These are all strange things. (End of this chapter)