Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 680 The conspiracy started early
Osterman Tolstoy told Grand Duke Konstantin the news he received from Solovyov when he returned to the court.

They are all on the same line, which is not a big deal. The Grand Duke himself has always been more protective of the people in his own system.

As someone who had always been in the military, he found it difficult to understand this strategy of disrupting both sides of the Atlantic.

"Your Highness, perhaps you should ask Prince Alexander Saltykov to explain this to you. He is very familiar with Misha's tricks."

"Haha, I forgot we have an expert here. Please write down everything Misha told you and we can sit down and study it."

However, Alexander Saltykov has never been taken seriously. Although he is a deputy minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Tsar himself does not like him. This is even more so because he is actually an honorary member of a literary society and is more or less on the liberal side.

If he had not been the only capable son of the Grand Tutor, and Alexander had not disliked him, he might have been in trouble.

But Grand Duke Constantine is not so bad. He is a rough man in comparison, unlike actors like Alexander. Although he has a bad temper, it is still easy to get along with him once you understand his temper.

The only trouble is that it doesn't matter who is his mistress, but if she is his wife, she will suffer when he can't control his temper.

He wanted to listen to Solovyov's tactics. This guy has some clever ideas.

This time, the British forces are also required to move away from the European continent, which sounds interesting.

Strangely enough, the brothers Alexander and Constantine had very different personalities, but Alexander, who preferred liberalism, became more and more autocratic, while Grand Duke Constantine, who had a hot temper and a more conservative stance, became more tolerant.

When the Russo-Turkish War broke out, he was able to prevent the Polish army from being sent to the battlefield while serving as the Governor-General of Poland. Although his rule over Poland was harsh and impatient, compared with the rule of so many people before and after him, it seemed more reliable and he was more tolerant towards the Poles.

Even so, he could not escape the Polish uprising of 1831.

But looking back now, Grand Duke Constantine is indeed more willing to discuss things with others. He knows where his shortcomings lie, and he is no longer as self-righteous as he was in his youth.

It's better for people to have self-awareness. He doesn't like the throne. He has two younger brothers and his sister-in-law is not incapable of giving birth.

But it is inevitable that people will ask about his affairs.

As for Balashov, although he didn't have the courage to cause trouble for the royal family, those who entered and left Grand Duke Constantine's Marble Palace were all under his surveillance.

His original focus was on the people around Speransky, and his current fiancée was Solovyov's stepsister, which somewhat put Solovyov on his radar.

This was an internal political struggle. Balashov also knew that Speransky was the most favored by Alexander among the civil servants. No matter where Solovyov served, from aide-de-camp to aide-general, he never left this position.

Considering that one of his earliest benefactors was the uncle of Peter Volkonsky, Alexander's most trusted general, and that he had saved the emperor at least twice, he was generally not someone you would want to mess with.

But if he had more contact with Speransky, or formed some unshakable power, it would be difficult for him to eliminate Speransky's influence in the future.

In fact, the decrees for the current reforms have already been issued. Speransky has caused dissatisfaction among some ministers because of his approach. In particular, although the ranks of civil servants and court attendants have been guaranteed, they still need to pass examinations or be evaluated by the local Duma before they can be promoted.

Even this revised plan aroused opposition from local nobles.

Balashov also wanted to use some means to make Speransky fall out of favor. This man was indeed very troublesome.

All along, there has been a dispute between the Secretary of State and the Minister of Police.

Now, Balashov had to deal with Speransky, but the breakthrough point was the Marble Palace.

Osterman-Tolstoy cannot be touched. He alone is the head of two major families. His great-grandfather is Count Osterman, the foreign minister during the reign of Peter the Great. The Tolstoy family has now recovered from the blow suffered by Menshikov, and several branches are showing signs of improvement.

The Grand Duke himself certainly could not be touched. As old neighbors of the Turks, the Luo family were truly friendly and respectful to each other. Even if there was a fool sitting next to Peter the Great and serving as Tsar with him, no one would have heard of anything that would have happened.

Ivan VI was placed under house arrest since childhood. Even though he was not closely related to Queen Elizabeth by blood, he was not killed. Just like the child who hanged False Dimitri, his death was also a "prison break" incident during the Queen's period.

Moreover, Grand Duke Constantine had a violent temper, so it would be unacceptable to cause trouble for him.

At this time, there is someone who is easy to deal with, that is the most capable son of the Grand Tutor, Prince Alexander. He is good in every way except for one thing, he is not trusted by the Tsar. Although he himself is probably unable to be touched because there is an old Grand Tutor above him, he can be used as a breakthrough point.

When Balasov was attacking his political enemies, he probably did not forget that Solovyov not only learned the skills of the Field Marshal, but was also very sharp-tongued, and was of the same type as the Field Marshal.

Solovyov, who has always been cautious, once mentioned to others when Balashov was not yet successful that he applied for a transfer because he was afraid of going to the Caucasus, which was an act of desertion.

Solovyov also looked down on Balashov, and it was obvious on his face even in the few times they met in public.

Balashov knew that Solovyov was a cautious person. Although he had a temper, he usually did not show his emotions on his face. However, he lacked the proper respect for Solovyov as the Minister of Police.

Not every family is like the Stroganovs, where the servants keep their mouths shut.

The rules in Solovyov's own family were not bad. He even entrusted many things to Adela. She was his stepsister and was very smart, so she could guard against people from outside to some extent.

But it may not be the case in other people's homes.

There have always been spies in Solovyov's father-in-law's house. The ones that Katya took away when she got married were nothing special, they were all caring old housekeepers and servants, but the new ones were a little different.

Once at a dinner party at home, Solovyov mentioned the Minister of Police, "He is said to be a soldier, but he has never fought in a war and is even a deserter."

Just this sentence, which was collected and directed at him personally, made him somewhat unhappy.

Minister of Police? It is inevitable that there will be a guy who likes to play tricks on others in this position.

Balashov and Speransky were in a competitive relationship, so naturally he would attack those who were on good terms with him. Prince Saltykov Jr. happened to have good relations with these two people. The three of them were promoted by Paul from the nobles, the nobles and the common people. In the early years, Prince Saltykov Jr. and Solovyov were the two generals of Paul's side, both civil and military. The sentences with the two of them together were very long.

Then, he and Speransky were long-time civil servants and they would see each other every day during meetings.

Speransky and Solovyov had known each other from Alexander's secret committee meetings, one as a clerk and the other as a long-time attendee-adjutant.

Balashov was also very clear about the relationship between these people. He was planning to get rid of Speransky, and Solovyov just wanted him to fall out of favor.

This boy was so favored that the Queen introduced him to a wife, and even the youngest Grand Duchess, the Queen was willing to arrange a marriage with his family.
Among the six grand duchesses mentioned above, only the oldest, Yevdokia, was almost old enough to be engaged. The engagement between Constantine's daughter and Gustav V was another matter.

Even if he falls out of favor, it is inevitable that this kid, together with Grand Duke Constantine and Grand Duke Nicholas, will have a chance to turn the tables in the future.

If Solovyov were also a jester, he would be easy to deal with.

The problem is that since 1805, the most capable generals in the Russian army have undoubtedly been Bagration and Solovyov.

Prince Bagration is good at covering the rear and organizing troops, while Solovyov is good at attacking and defending, and has some cleverness in military technology.

Such a capable guy, just the series of victories after the Battle of Pultusk alone is already a talisman.

Even because he is too young, sending him back to his own estate would not be considered exile, and it might even disgust Balashov himself.

The most outrageous thing is probably that Solovyov's estate is very close to Balashov's estate. It would not be an easy life to see this guy wandering around your doorstep every day.

To be honest, it was not possible to send him to Ryazan or Arkhangelsk, because the estates there were all owned by Solovyov's father, uncle and cousins, and if they wanted to put him in confinement, they could only put him in their own home.

This was absolutely impossible. What was even more terrible was that although the Queen Mother had always disliked Solovyov, her daughters were familiar with him before they got married, and her two young sons were also his students - Balashov could not be touched.

In comparison, although Speransky was a minister trusted by the Tsar himself, second only to the Tsar, he did not have a lot of backers like Solovyov. Even if it was said that Solovyov was a French spy, the feelings of the bigwigs had to be considered.

Is he so serious about his work, and besides being a bit lustful, has he always been helping the emperor deal with the spies of his uncle, the emperor?
But the ruthless work against Speransky had already begun, and the Secretary of State himself, who had recently relaxed a little and was preparing to get married and marry Adela, was completely unaware of the danger.

He is still working as usual and is improving the operations of the government agency.

But no one noticed that Balashov was introducing Karamzin, a traditional cultural person, into the court.

Solovyov, who had been at home all this time, had no idea about Balashov's conspiracy against his friend and future brother-in-law, but he was more or less shocked when he heard about Karamzin's deeds.

Alexander was probably not only good at acting like Octavian, but also a poor fighter and excellent diplomat.
When did Sima Guang change into a fur coat and run to the Winter Palace, St. Petersburg?
Although Karamzin worked as a magazine editor for a long time, he was also a person who adhered to Russian traditions. He began writing "History of the Russian State" in 1803, and published eleven volumes during his lifetime. After his death in 1826, one volume was published by a friend.

Moreover, before Balashov introduced him to Alexander again, he had already been officially recognized as a "Russian historian" by Alexander.

In addition, considering that this guy was going to the palace to present his works to Alexander, Solovyov felt something was wrong.

Of course, Solovyov had no way of knowing that although he had sent Catherine away and asked her to give birth to a child for Napoleon, Karamzin was still able to enter the court with Balashov's recommendation and present such a content to Alexander.

Notes on Political and Civil Relations in Ancient and Modern Russia

Regardless of what other people said, no one mentioned that Balashov was a big shot. What made Solovyov feel thorny was that Karamzin's attitude was inclined towards authoritarianism, the same as before.

If I were to deal with him, I would have spent too much energy and time on military affairs and would not be able to come up with a plan to oppose this memorandum.

According to Alexander's character, he would probably do this, appear to sneer and express his open-minded attitude.

But privately, this "note" touched the heart of the despotic monarch.

As for the things he had done, everyone knew that he was both civil and military, and was also good at writing. He might even be able to target Karamzin's content and hit his weak spot with every move.

But the attitude of the Tsar himself is a troublesome matter.

This kind of thing could only be accomplished with the tacit consent of Alexander himself.

Since he had been appointed a historian by the Tsar himself in 1803, even if Solovyov had read the "Strategy", he would probably have believed that it was the monarch's own intention and he simply could not express it himself.

Therefore, he also felt it was troublesome, so he left his estate on the shore of Lake Ladoga and drove to the city of St. Petersburg.

This time they had to find someone to make the decision, but Count Stroganov had already joined the army, and his old father had been in poor health recently. Although he was the chief chamberlain of the palace and the leader of the Petersburg nobility, he was no longer able to help.

These people from the former secret committee are not really suitable.

Going directly to Speransky would cause him even more trouble. Balashov might have been keeping an eye on him, and he knew that before. He was careful to send only Adela, and even if he wrote the letter, it would be like playing charades.

Therefore, when he returned to St. Petersburg, he only went back to his home in Laundry Lane first, and did not even go to his father. He just asked the servant to inform him of his return to St. Petersburg.

At this time, although he might not be able to dismantle the bomb made by Balashov, he had to think of a way.

He knew that if Speransky lost power at this time, it would definitely be a blow to his future career.

After all, the government and tax reforms he led have had obvious effects. What happens next will only make others take advantage of him and slander him maliciously.

Anyway, this is a Russian specialty and you have to try it.

(End of this chapter)