Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Countess Sophia's mother's nickname was "The Queen of Spades". This story was later told in Pushkin's works, and there is no such saying now.

But this old lady looks very majestic at first glance.

Even a guest like Solovyov seemed to have to behave well in front of her.

"Sonia, this is the kid you sponsored in the past. Who would have thought he was a soldier? He has a good physique, but his face..."

The old lady once again criticized Solovyov. Although they had appeared in the same occasion many times before, they had never said anything to each other due to their age, identity and status.

".Tsk tsk, if my son grew up like this, I'm afraid he would always be arranged to be a eunuch in the palace instead of a general."

Even though he is already 30 years old, Solovyov's appearance is still easily mentioned.

But considering Princess Natalia Golitsyna's character, it was fortunate that it was not her son.

If it was her daughter, although she would be strictly controlled when she was young, she would still be able to get a large amount of property as a dowry.

The old lady was very strict with her son, and even had a bad relationship with her eldest son, Prince Boris, and they have had no correspondence until now.

"Mom, he was by the emperor's side, and he was promoted from aide-de-camp to aide-de-camp general."

The Countess looked at Solovyov and knew that he was a promising young general, but he had no ambition.

Therefore, she also teased Solovyov that he was more like a eunuch, but since her daughter said so, the old lady laughed.

"Yes, it was a little fellow following behind the Emperor. He didn't look like he was thirty years old. I remember seeing him from a distance when we went to your sister's house in Moscow. He looked like this then, except that he looked a little stronger."

"My Lady, that's because I've been in the army all these years. I've participated in all the wars except the one with the Persians."

"Then you should be more successful. You married that old man, Prince Klimsky, and married his granddaughter. Naturally, you should be more successful and not be like those little hooligans in Petersburg."

By the way, what about the portrait of Prince Krimsky?
The old lady had a sharp tongue, but seeing that Solovyov was satisfied, she gestured to the maid behind her.

"Get the Earl another cushion. Even a soldier would feel backache if he keeps standing like this."

But the old lady had no say. After all, she was the elder, so Solovyov and Katya couldn't say anything.

Katya had never met her grandfather, and although she had some opinions about what the old lady said, she took back the second half of her sentence, which was about asking her husband to "be more successful."

Finally, I sat down, but the Princess's wife's reception had not yet begun, so naturally I had to chat with the old lady.

There was once a rumor that the princess received special care from Empress Elizabeth when she was young because her father, Count Chernyshev, might be the son of Peter the Great.

In fact, it was just a godson. The old man who made their family prosperous was an important diplomat of Peter the Great, so it was not surprising that he was taken care of at home.

Just like Menshikov, he used a empress and a tsar as puppets. Because of his past achievements, part of the confiscated property was returned to his descendants.

As a descendant of Prince Menshikov who escaped the net, Solovyov had heard this many times from his father and relatives.

He was used to this situation in Russia.

As for when today's guests will arrive, that is another question.

There was no way to endure this old lady. He was very familiar with her two daughters and sons-in-law. The old lady's eldest son-in-law, Admiral Apraksin, was the eldest brother in their family because he was the oldest.

I have received a lot of favors from her brother-in-law, so that's it.

After chatting for a while, the topic gradually turned to Katya. Although the old lady was sharp-tongued, she didn't care about other people's affairs. It was not appropriate to talk about it in front of the parties involved in such an occasion, not to mention that they had a good relationship.

"Natalya Petrovna, your Excellency, I hear you have met the Count of Saint-Germain?"

Katya was still a little curious. Count Saint-Germain was somewhat famous in France and Central Europe. This adventurer and alchemist was quite famous.

"That's true. The Duke of Choiseul was planning to arrest him, but because of the order of Louis XV, he went to the Netherlands and then to Russia. Katya, although your husband looks like this, he is very talented and should know about the Count of Saint-Germain."

"But Mishka only knows more, and you have seen the count himself."

"Ah, this person is also very amazing. He must be a very famous person, isn't he?"

The old lady looked at Solovyov again. Although he nodded, he still wanted to express some opinions.

"But Count Saint-Germain is probably really dead. Even if he is a real alchemist, he may not live long as he claims. Such people are often called quacks in the East. According to rumors, they are even related to the Medici family. But these are all rumors. There are not many things that can be confirmed. Moreover, alchemy... If we analyze it from a scientific point of view, it is probably difficult to change an element of a basic substance into another element in science."

Thinking of this, Solovyov even wanted to laugh, but if he explained alchemy as nuclear fusion and nuclear fission, it would still be somewhat funny.

But he was professionally trained after all. After chatting with the old lady for such a long time, he finally waited for Mr. Karamzin, the historian appointed by Alexander himself.

"Mishka, Mr. Karamzin is here. He is also a guest today." "I'm sorry, Natalia Petrovna, respected Princess, I came here today to meet Mr. Karamzin as well."

"But you are indeed very knowledgeable, child, which is not consistent with your appearance. Go and do what you have to do."

Finally I got away. This old lady was just an aristocrat with a lot of airs, but when we got to know each other better during the chat, she turned out to be quite easy to talk to.

The old lady even prepared pendants for Katya's three children. She was really generous.
No wonder her grandchildren would ask their grandmother for money when they lost a card game, which is the beginning of the story of the Queen of Spades.

When Karamzin saw Solovyov, he was also very enthusiastic towards him.

"Count, it's a pleasure to see you here."

"Me too, Nikolai Mihajlovitch. I heard that you recently sent a memorandum to the Emperor."

"Yes, you would like to make some suggestions, right?"

Karamzin knew that Solovyov's stepsister was Speransky's fiancée and that the two had a close relationship. She might have some opinions about his conservative views, so he brought up the matter straight away.

"I don't have any opinions. What I think is that in the Russian village communities, there is no fixed way. If you talk about it, the French always say that we are the descendants of the Scythians, but many of us are descendants of Rurik, like my wife."

"That's true. Prince Krimsky is also a more prominent branch of the Dolgoruky clan."

"Everything comes from nothing. Whether you are a believer in science or theology, based on a material world or a world created by God, one thing should be beyond doubt: everything comes from nothing."

"You don't seem to completely deny my opinion, but you insist on your position."

"That's right. You are an expert in Russian history and you should know what life was like before Ivan the Terrible. In the village communities at that time, people were not deprived of their freedom and turned into serfs just because they had served for a certain number of years. This is ridiculous, just like saying that Labianus became Caesar's slave because he served Caesar for a long time."

“Although it may sound incoherent, your suggestion is novel and interesting.”

As for who Labianus was, he was a Roman civilian officer and an important assistant to Caesar. However, before the civil war began, he switched to the Senate and Pompey's faction, and ended up losing battles all the way, from Pharsalus to being beheaded in Spain.

"But it should be noted that nothing is static and will definitely change. Thoughts are always formed for a goal. You think that they should not change, but under the framework of 'tradition', each individual is an atom and everyone does things differently. Although the serfs may be ordered by their masters to do something at this time, they also have their own ideas. When Emperor Paul issued the Three Days' Edict, it was proposed in response to the difficulties encountered by the peasants."

He brought up Paul right away, and obviously had no intention of being polite, but just wanted to make it clear that changes were definitely needed.

In fact, a strange thing happened. Although Tsar Paul was clearly an autocratic monarch, some more radical liberals seemed to admire him.

Solovyov was not a radical, he just wanted to put forward his own point of view.

"But the lords also have the responsibility to protect them. You should be aware of this. Emperor Paul is also fulfilling his monarch's obligations by doing this."

"But at this time, have you learned about the situation in Ukraine?"

"I know this very well, although I have been at Prince Vyazemsky's estate the whole time."

Well, another acquaintance, he is Peter Vyazemsky's brother-in-law (although his wife is an illegitimate daughter), and he is even suspected of being a gigolo. Although his royalties are enough for him to have a comfortable life, marriage with his new wife will allow him to live and work in a more stable environment.

That Peter, with glasses, looked like a slightly thinner Pierre. Solovyov had been interviewed by him when he was in the Balkans.

As the army was on the march at the time, Solovyov was in a hurry to get on with his journey, so he simply stated the situation at the time. However, it still caused a sensation in St. Petersburg, especially among the young nobles.

They were eager to achieve success and were still yearning for the military feat of defeating Russia's two old enemies and winning.

But the person involved was more worried about dealing with the French and was more concerned about the affairs of the peasants.

"You only see the surroundings. If you actually live with the peasants, you should be able to find that some places are different, such as the boatmen on the Volga River, the serfs on the manor, and the handicraftsmen in the city. After all, if we want to oppose or support something, we always need to investigate. Without investigation, we have no right to speak. After all, you saw the state of the peasants in Andrei Ivanovich's manor. But what about outside of that? Maybe the Vyazemsky family has always been a kind family and would not easily punish or sell those souls, but what about others? If you go to Marshal Kamensky's house and take a look, even if you have heard some rumors in his army, you may know why a tragedy happened in Oryol."

This example has to be cited, and Solovyov also mentioned the famous Saltykova case, a female landowner who tortured and killed a young girl. The empress personally tried the case and finally made a severe judgment.

"So, what is your point?"

"Although your argument is based on the traditional village structure, we all know that this is an ideal result. Not all monarchs are philosophers like Marcus Aurelius, and not every city manager is a thinker among the Greek tyrants. No matter which party or group, or political parties like the British, they should be carefully investigated instead of listening to other people's opinions. I may be a little excited, but this is probably my opinion."

He would not deny Karamzin. Solovyov knew that his debating skills were erratic, and he still preferred to solve problems with direct means.

Karamzin did not give a definite answer, but he also heard what Solovyov said.

"I know what you're thinking. Maybe this is a good idea, but it also requires..."

"You have been an editor, so you are naturally good at expressing your opinions through writing. As for me, I am a soldier, and I always like to study problems through practice and investigation. You know, without pre-war reconnaissance, adequate planning, and flexible mobilization, we cannot win the battle. I think this is the case everywhere."

In short, he had stated his opinions, and Karamzin had been an editor, so he must be very familiar with Haq's style of play. Even Solovyov was prepared for his words and interrupted his chanting.

As for what will happen in the future, who knows? (End of this chapter)