Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

What can I say about this child? Although she has some truth in her heart, Solovyov has obviously not been going down this path in recent years.

She can see it this way, more or less
This child is not her own, so she cannot be beaten. Moreover, according to Louisa, she will be her daughter-in-law in the future.
Forget it, let’s just move on to this article.

"Speaking of long hair, this kid Nicholas..."

Solovyov's words attracted the attention of several nieces to their uncle.

"Come to think of it, Uncle Nicholas really looked like a girl before, more like a girl than the Count."

"Yeah, he looks more like uncle."

Come to think of it, the twins love to interrupt, so let’s put this article behind us.

If Louisa hadn't brought him here, he would probably have gone back to squat in the corner.

I'm so capable, but I still act like a woman?
But this kind of fun is just a joke, and it is a story within a very small range. The previous coronation in the Winter Palace is still under confidentiality.

After the confidentiality period, the parties involved probably won’t pay attention to this matter anymore and will just keep it in their memories.

The biggest advantage of spending the summer in Tsarskoye Selo is probably that the environment is nice and very quiet.

The nearby training grounds would only be bustling in the spring, but now, except for the guards on special duty at the palace, several main regiments of the Guards have been transferred to the Baltic coast for training.

Although preparations for war had already begun, there was no such atmosphere in St. Petersburg. Perhaps only the generals still in service could feel it.

He is considered to be in active service, but he is currently in the palace.

By the time Vasily Trubetskoy returned from the Balkans, he realized that Russia must be preparing for war.

But right now, to be honest, serfdom may sometimes be an obstacle.

And I'm not joking. Most countries in Europe still have feudal serfdom at this time. If Prussia had not been quickly conquered by France, it probably wouldn't have been so anxious to reform.

However, smaller countries took further steps during the Enlightenment.

In Russia, the situation is rather strange.

The monarch was aware of the problem, but the resistance was greater than that of other families.

But to be honest, these masters are just too full.

But the top nobles were relatively open-minded, while the middle group was the more troublesome.

Speransky wanted to reform the official table of the aristocratic system, but was opposed by the nobles.

And there is all-round opposition from all sides, except for those who have joined the army and navy.

After all, there are still many places to place some people among the three systems of civil service, judiciary and court.

Some of the great nobles opposed this, after all, this was their privilege.

Among the small and medium-sized nobles, soldiers could be transferred to officers as special cases, which was a special and preferential way of promotion.

But for an ordinary person, who is a ninth-class civil servant for ten thousand years, if a precedent of assessment is set, those small civil servants who are ninth-class civil servants will have the opportunity to make a leap and become eighth-class civil servants and become low-level nobles.

In this environment, the poor nobles actually opposed it, probably because their hereditary status was challenged.

Speransky has been very busy with official duties recently, as he is getting married to Adela, but he lets the woman take care of all the important matters. After all, he works 18 hours a day, and even when he is drinking coffee, he usually has documents or drafts in his hands.

Alexander traveled back and forth between the Summer Palace and the Imperial Village, and he needed to make arrangements in advance if he wanted to meet the Tsar himself with the reform draft.

The Tsar is no longer the same as he was when he first came to power. After fully tasting the power, he is trying to maintain this absolute monarchy. Although he still maintains open-minded ideas, it is only a means to maintain his rule.

When it really comes to taking action, his actor's personality becomes a big obstacle.

When you want to do something, you always look ahead and behind.
I guess this problem of his will never be cured.

Speransky now knew very well that he had come to Tsarskoye Selo from the city because he was scheduled to meet the Tsar tomorrow. Alexander himself would come to Tsarskoye Selo from the Summer Palace.

It happened that Solovyov was in the Alexander Palace at the time, and they met as soon as they came out.

"Mikhail Mikhailovich, you have come to Tsarskoye Selo at this time. I think the Emperor wants to see you."

"Yes, it has something to do with departmental reform."

"Isn't it still the proposal of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers?"

"That's it. The powers of past reforms were not perfect, so there must naturally be amendments."

“Departmental reform seems to be relatively easy, but the road ahead, whether it is in the judicial field or other areas you want to promote, is somewhat difficult.”

"It's good that you know. Sometimes what you say makes sense, especially the one you showed me before."

"I showed you the sample translation earlier. What do you think?"

"This statement was made more than 2,000 years ago, but many people today still cannot change their minds."

What Speransky said was very clear. Solovyov dared to show him the words "People are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least important" because he has always been a relatively calm civil servant, and is not like a politician or those young and impulsive revolutionaries.

Judging from his Mediterranean look, he is a mature and steady man. Adela married a talented man, but it seems that he may lack fatherly love.

"There's nothing we can do about it. More than a decade ago, I heard someone say on the streets of Moscow that Russia couldn't live without an emperor. But there are some things that can't be told to outsiders. How about we discuss this alone on the avenue while riding horses?"

Although Speransky frowned a little, he nodded in agreement.

You know, it is easier to keep secrets when traveling on horseback. If outsiders talk about something, the two of them can even coordinate their words to avoid Balashov causing trouble for them because of this.

However, for someone like him who has been studying since childhood and has always been a civil servant, this is also a bit troublesome.

But if you want to avoid being disturbed by spies, this method is still the best.

"I was selecting horses in the stables when His Majesty Paul was still around. Who could have imagined that things in the world would be so troublesome?" "It's not that easy. I was working as a secretary at the time. If you read the petitions, there are many stories in them."

As soon as these words came out, Solovyov probably realized that not only was there great resistance from below, but most civilians also had little say.

Writing petitions for literate people was probably a feature before education became universal.

Even when everyone could read and write, lawyers and legal advisors still had work to do.

"I was still an officer in the Imperial Guards at that time, but you must have been with the Emperor earlier than I was. Civil servants and selected officers are quite different. After all, you got here based on your own abilities."

"Many petitions come from landlords and merchants, and of course more from nobles. As for the common people, how many petitions from serfs can we see?"

"Knowing their situation, I'm afraid I'll have to go to the village to check it out."

"But how many of us, the masters, are against it?"

"Too many! When I was in Moscow, I heard a lot of rumors, and the country lords naturally didn't agree with them."

"What will happen in the future? If the French come, what will they do to cause trouble for us? Especially in places like Poland and Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Poland is at least abolishing serfdom on the surface, which will be very attractive."

"You mean, maybe it's better for us to do this ourselves?"

"That's right, but the emperor's temperament, you and I are both close ministers, so we naturally know his habits."

There is no hope for this. Alexander has always been an actor. Unless he is pushed into a desperate situation, he will not try to take one side.

"If the emperor can't do it directly, there is probably another way. We can gradually eliminate serfdom through technological progress. If it is done by outsiders, it will be too uncomfortable for us."

"You mean let the French come in?"

"If they come in, I think Napoleon will only take action against the areas that originally belonged to Poland. They would not dare to go deep into Russian territory. As for the emperor, we might as well hope to cultivate a truly enlightened and resolute monarch. Since there is no way to establish a republic in Russia now, we have no choice but to do this."

"If it's Grand Duke Constantine, he has a very tough character."

"No, His Highness Constantine. I have been following him in the Royal Guards. How could I not know his temper?"

"Yes, he still doesn't like politics, although he admires the French way."

"The Grand Duke has no interest in the throne and even feels a little guilty. As for the Emperor himself, if no prince is born, he will probably choose between Grand Duke Nicholas and Grand Duke Mikhail to succeed him."

According to the order of succession and the Luo family's rule of raising two sons or two daughters together, the younger one is usually the follower or partner of the older one.
Constantine and Mikhail were obviously like this, and little Mikhail had no idea what the throne was. He just wanted to be a good boy to his mother and a good brother to his brothers and sisters, always following behind Nicholas and Anna.

After hearing this, Speransky also thought it made sense.

However, he was not sure about preparing for the next stage so early. After all, the Tsar and the Queen were only in their early thirties, and they could have another child if they tried hard.

Although there were seven daughters before her, it is not without opportunity to talk about this. After all, when Louisa had a miscarriage, the Queen Mother was so anxious that she fell ill for a long time.

Grandmas all have the same problem. They would definitely be very happy if they had a grandson.

What's more, there is a throne to inherit in this family?

Besides, Alexander has always been in good health, so it’s hard to say what he will be like in the future.

Speransky did not dampen Solovyov's interest by mentioning the scumbag Henry VIII.

But Solovyov knew very well that Henry VIII was an erratic tyrant, and actors like Alexander were not like him.

However, Alexander may die early in the future, so he cannot be a prophet.

And to be honest, Paul's inheritance law was also a big pitfall. He had four sons, but he had not considered their situations.

Alexander had already made preparations to come up with a will to pass on the throne.

Fortunately, Nikolai and Mikhail are still children and there is still a long way to go in the future.

Oh, if you are afraid of this trouble, you can talk to the Queen Mother. Refer to what happened when Paul was still the crown prince. When Nicholas and Mikhail are almost grown up, you can find a mistress for each of them. This is too Roman. This kind of verification was first done by the Roman families.
"But by doing this, you are just betting on the future."

"There's nothing I can do. Education can always change people. I've been teaching Nikola and it has helped to shape his character, which is better than I expected. When I first took over his education, I was worried that he would be like..."

Like Peter III or young Paul, that would be terrible.

After Paul had a son, the Queen rewarded him and his wife with a trip in Europe, which broadened their horizons and changed their minds after they returned.

If it weren't for this trip, I would have really become Peter III's second unit.

But Nikolai had a strong character, and Solovyov also found that if he assigned him homework, he would work hard to complete it.

At least the master is here, he is aware of the problem and will naturally work hard.

If he can be educated well, there will naturally be some hope for the future.

However, the performance of the Decembrists frightened Nicholas, who was relatively not so reactionary. Although Herzen's words were correct, we also have to take into account what the Decembrists wanted to do.

These people don't even have a common agenda, they are just a collection.

Naturally, I have a great responsibility in educating Nicholas.

It’s also because he was born in the wrong place. If he were in another country, or eighty years later, he would probably be on the side of the revolutionaries.

At this moment, in Tsarist Russia, we might as well hope that the Tsar will come to his senses and promote reforms from top to bottom.

Paul became wiser in his later years, but his temper, although useful in terms of government policies, made it too easy for him to offend people, and he was too lenient with his subordinates, which led to his death at the hands of a villain.

"Just do your best, but you will have to go back to the army in the future."

"You better hold on. You will be the one teaching political science in Kolya in the future. A person like you is worth a minister of a kingdom. It's rare to meet someone like you."

In fact, Speransky was actually Alexander II's teacher, and Solovyov was promoted earlier. (End of this chapter)