Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

On the way to Kaluga, Solovyov would also pass through Novgorod. Arakcheev was not in St. Petersburg recently, but returned to his estate in Novgorod.

At this time, obviously after he resigned as Minister of War because of the previous departmental reform, military guidance was mainly through a new committee, and he himself was actually also serving as a State Councilor.

It sounded like his hands would be sore while he was reviewing the parade. Solovyov even wanted to laugh, but his last name was not Gerasimov.

Solovyov came here to discuss the artillery formation with him.

The Russian army's artillery combat sequence at this time was organized according to the field artillery brigade. Solovyov always felt that the infantry regiment should have its own artillery company, carrying 4-pound or 6-pound guns.

It's just a matter of his personal habit, and the artillery does have this kind of organization.

But Arakcheev had objected before, and he still insisted on the use of the field artillery brigade, but he also welcomed Solovyov to his estate.

Strangely enough, Arakcheev also married a young wife, but he separated from her and always lived with his housekeeper, and he didn't even have any children.

He was the supreme monarch in his own estate in Arakchevo. Although it seemed that the serfs were treated well, he did not intend to liberate the serfs. Instead, he wanted to control everything, even the marriage of the young men in the manor.

Yes, he was able to give property to the serfs to avoid poverty after marriage. It seemed that the food supply and other aspects were good, but the serfs were still willing to escape.

As for the Suvorov family, although he had a lot of land, he was considered poor among the nobles of this level. The serfs also lived a poor life, but few of them fled and they had a good relationship with the master.

It was a sharp contrast. During the military reform, Solovyov always stood on the opposite side of Arakcheev because of his personal opinions and the fact that he was Suvorov's last disciple.

But Arakcheev admired Solovyov very much, it was a pity that his military branch was not artillery or engineering, otherwise he would not have to go to the front line, and there would definitely be a lot of things to talk about.

"Your place is really nice, Alexey Andreevich, and it looks very luxuriously decorated."

"Thank you for your compliment. You can stay at my place for a few days and experience the different customs."

"If you compare, my own home is better. Thank you for your invitation. I want to go to Kaluga to see Prince Dimitri. He has not been in good health recently. He also hopes to meet his nephew, but Petya is very busy recently, so I have to go."

"Is it Admiral Volkonsky who recommended you to Dmitri?"

"Yes, he brought me from Kaluga to Petersburg so that I could take part in the testing of the new rifle."

At that time, he went through Arakcheev's connections. After all, he was the director of artillery in Gatchina and had been in charge of the General Artillery Bureau under Paul. It would be inconvenient if he did not go through him on matters related to guns and artillery.

"You really have a lot of potential, that's why you were chosen by Alexander Vasilyevich. I just feel bad that you are a foot soldier, otherwise I would have let you come to me."

Solovyov also laughed when he heard this.

Arakcheev didn't know why the young lieutenant general was laughing. Perhaps he was recalling the beginning of his meteoric rise to fame.

In fact, Solovyov was lamenting his bizarre experience and almost got into the conservative base camp. What kind of plot is this?

However, if he follows this path, the future may look good, but the ceiling is limited.

Without military merit, he could only stay in the rear and probably wouldn't be promoted so quickly.

"If we come to you, we will spend all day studying the organization of artillery. I think we can assign an artillery company to the infantry regiment. This way, it will be more flexible and can ensure the firepower of the regiment on the battlefield."

"But this is too dispersed. Our artillery must be concentrated and used."

"But there is a problem. You have to know that if there is an accident in the command of the artillery, it will be difficult to deal with, especially since our means of communication are limited."

He obviously pointed out the problem with the artillery. If the command could be decentralized, the artillery would be more relaxed.

The problem is that the Russian army's command system is always relatively rigid. If there is a problem with the artillery command organization and there are no experienced artillery officers, there will probably be problems on the battlefield.

But Arakcheev still advocated the concentrated use of artillery, and his attitude was very firm.

This person is very strange. When it comes to soldiers, he is superstitious about sticks, but when it comes to officers, he pays attention to the application of knowledge.

Although it was not strange, as the officers were all masters and the soldiers were all peasants, he could still tell them apart.

Considering what Arakcheev did, this is not surprising.

He keeps livestock at home, but not pigs, because pigs would make the place dirty and make it untidy.

He wants to raise horses and cattle, but he won't be like the old man Bai, who would let Afanasiy be his horse if he lost a horse. If he lost a horse, he would replace it himself.

The living quarters of the serfs in the manor were carefully decorated and the food looked good too.

But Solovyov always had a strange feeling that if his servants stepped into the house with their left foot first, would there be any problem.

He had reason to think so, after all, even the cat was chained.

"That seems strange. If a cat has a chain, shouldn't the dog have two chains?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Your cat is chained because it must be too aggressive to catch nearby birds, but what about the mice?"

This question is still a bit controversial, but Arakcheev is much better than some narrow-minded guys, so he is still willing to listen.

"But we still have quite a lot of birds here, especially a lot of chicks and ducklings. You should also be familiar with the characteristics of cats, especially since you are an amateur encyclopedia scholar."

"But you can't suppress nature too much, Alexey Andreevich. If you keep your cat on a leash like this, I can hardly imagine how anything else can be special."

By saying this, he actually took Arakcheev's thoughts into consideration.

This person is okay. Although he has some opinions about his political opponents, he will not kill them all.

If it were Balashov, it might be a different story.

Arakcheev and Solovyov had a fairly pleasant discussion here. The former was already a Russian state councilor, and he was still able to show a relatively humble attitude.

However, his humility was probably only directed towards these civil and military officials of the aristocratic rank.

Solovyov happened to be one of them. When he saw the cat in Arakcheev's house, he couldn't help but tease it.

"You seem to like cats very much, Misha." "Before Her Highness Maria got married, she was particularly afraid of mice, so there were always cats in the palace. Once she was even scared to death by a mouse."

Everyone knows about this, and everyone also knows that Maria has a good relationship with Solovyov in private. After all, he is the designated flower protector of the palace. But few people know more about it.

"But your Highness went to Weimar, which is Goethe's hometown, but I don't like his works very much."

"But Mr. Goethe should be very interesting. When the meeting took place in Erfurt, I was fighting a naval battle with the Swedes at sea and had no chance to go with Your Majesty. And I heard that there was a performance by Paganini."

"Your level is very close to that of a musician, and your style is Russian."

"But on your side, I don't really like the Prussians' approach. They look very strong, but without Emperor Peter Fyodorovich (Peter III), Mr. Kant would be a Russian. Miloradovich's trip to Königsberg wouldn't even be considered going abroad."

"You're such a jokester, but it works."

"Music is Russian, and everyone thinks it's good. The same is true for military affairs. Alexander Vasilyevich once said, 'The Running Hare', you know the story, right?"

"Of course I know that you can hold your view and I will hold mine."

It looks like he'll stick with the old ways.

As for his housekeeper passing by here.
In fact, Russian nobles usually have a housekeeper at home in addition to their wives, and women of this status are always their mistresses.

It sounds like there might be some Rome in there, too.

Although this woman is beautiful, she looks like someone who is not easy to mess with.

The Arakcheev family, like the Solovyov family, also had a housekeeper, but the situation was a little different. Adela married as a countess, and the atmosphere in their family was also very relaxed.

Moreover, there will be no theft or escape.

"Nastya, you're here."

"Master, there are guests at home again. What do you want me to tell the servants to do?"

"Count Solovyov lives a simple life. If we follow our family's rules, it might be too sumptuous and a bit wasteful. After all, this is not in St. Petersburg, and we have to prepare a separate table for unexpected guests."

“Yes ma’am, you can prepare it as normal.”

"Misha, I heard you like foie gras?"

Arakcheev was able to notice some problems. Solovyov did like foie gras, but he also specifically mentioned it.

"If it's goose liver, a lot of the livers sold on the market now are duck livers. You can only eat good quality goose liver in a real aristocratic home, not the kind that looks a bit fatty."

"If you were particular about food, you might be Lucullus."

"If it were Rome, it would probably be some strange food, different from what we have here. If possible, I also hope that I will always be sober, not like tuna, and finally need my brother as a guardian to take care of me. And Cicero also said that their two wives are not satisfied in such a wealthy family. You sometimes live like a Roman, but the army does not always need whips."

He still emphasized this point later, and Arakcheev also smiled. If it came to showing off one's knowledge, among those who claimed to be educated in the army, only a nobleman like Count Stroganov who received French education could last a few rounds under his command.

Even after I just said something, he responded.

Moreover, it was a reminder that the Roman army was the kind of place where punishments were extremely severe.

"So what kind of army do you need?"

"An army with responsibility, courage and patriotism can cultivate patriotism even among serfs. If the French really invade one day, the promises made to them must be fulfilled, at least in a step-by-step order. Otherwise, it will be very troublesome."

Solovyov knew the peasants too well, and the situation of serfs in Russia was rather special. He already knew this when he followed Paul.

Perhaps the superstition about the Tsar’s promise came from the Tsar’s authority as a “little father” and Paul, a man who really took action when something happened.

As for Alexander, with his personality, he would definitely not issue an edict directly after making a promise like his father did.

But there are many strange things in Russian tradition. Serfs always rebelled to get a good emperor or to demand the fulfillment of promises.

If there was a more gentle approach, it would probably be that the peasants would have someone write a petition for them, wait on the street for the Tsar's officials to pass by, and then deliver the petition to the Tsar from there.

Of course, the effect will definitely be the same.

Arakcheev looked at the young man in front of him and could not agree with what he said.

His approach, however, is very similar to that of the French.

This is not surprising. Solovyov's stepmother is French, one of his mistresses is French, and his friends are all liberals who are inclined towards French culture. His adopted sister even married Speransky, who was called a "French spy" by Balashov, as his second wife.

Both of them knew exactly what the emperor was like, and they just took the paths that were beneficial to them.

Therefore, although the two have different positions, they can still sit at the same table and have a good conversation.

But if it were the opponent that Speranski encountered, it would be a different story.

He did not notice that someone was following him outside his office, and he also talked a lot with his assistant, which was recorded by Balashov's men.

As for Novgorod, Solovyov was well received at the home of the leader of the opposing camp.

"This foie gras tastes really good. Your chef uses fresh ingredients."

"If you like, you can come here often."

"But I must be in the army. Prince Bagration wants me to go to the Second Army."

"Isn't that perfect? ​​I can help you speak about this matter in front of the emperor."

Arakcheev was actually very good at winning people over, so Solovyov couldn't refuse.

If Speransky needs anything, he can go to this count who even keeps his cat on a leash. He is very generous. (End of this chapter)