Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Katya has many friends in the palace, but she didn't bother anyone, and at this time, she didn't want to say anything.

Since her husband was a general and held an important position on the front line, some people who wanted to find out news always came to her.

However, Katya does not hold salons, but Solovyov's mistress, Madame Recamier, holds such activities.

Solovyov did not tell his wife any news because she was French.

But things are not that chaotic in St. Petersburg after all.

Although Sergei Kuzmich and the tutor were often foolish, they had experienced a lot after all, from the most glorious Russia in the era of the Empress to the present time when Napoleon had broken through the main gate and even Moscow was on fire.

What kind of foreigners have they not seen?
Therefore, the two old ministers in charge of St. Petersburg affairs adopted an attitude of pretending to be confused.

The French here, because of their special background, most of them were former royalists, even the Minister of the Navy, which makes the situation much better than in Moscow.

Perhaps it was only the panic spread by Count Rostopchin in Moscow at this time that caused the most serious situation in Moscow.

Alexander still often visited Miss George.
A tsar, the tsar of Russia, at this time also developed a famous French actress into his mistress. Even this plump girl was made famous by Napoleon and may have slept with her.
But this did happen, and St. Petersburg was indeed less hostile to the French. This might be because many of the French leaders were also here, which was also a factor.

I even felt a little sympathy for Madame Récamier, since her husband had lost his head because of that demon after all.

Of course, a widow who is so rich and beautiful will always have people paying attention to her situation, and there are probably quite a few people who want to become her husband.

However, even when Madame Recamier was with Solovyov, and even when Katya was not yet engaged to him and had not decided to get married, she still kept her distance.

The outrageous result was that Solovyov accidentally had a daughter, Clara, with her after they got married.

Now that's a problem, those who covet the property don't want to have a little burden around them all the time, and this child is the first in line to inherit the property.

Of course, they wanted to get the news from the lady. After all, Katya had several children, and she always avoided talking about it even when attending social events.

However, Madame Récamier also used her daughter as a shield and always appeared in the salon holding her child.

These people even didn't dare to smoke, after all, the lady cherished her daughter more than anything else.

Therefore, they always want to change their way of getting information to other tracks.

For those whose husbands are on the front lines, this is obviously also a way to find out.

But only Wittgenstein's wife was happy to mention these things. Both of them were honest people and not very smart.

But Wittgenstein's side would not cause anyone's anxiety. The French were always intercepted there, and both sides had basically stopped large-scale combat operations.

The problem is Napoleon's side, as Moscow is already in his hands.

Seeing this, Louisa took the initiative to meet the Queen Mother, which was rare.

The Queen Mother understood when she saw her daughter-in-law coming, so she invited many noble ladies to the reception she held in Gatchina this time.

Seeing them, I roughly knew that some of their husbands were on the front line, so they gathered together, especially the wives whose husbands rarely wrote to them. Since there were no men on the "discharge" list that was sent out, it seemed that they were safe for the time being.

But when the fourth son of the Tuchkov family was captured, the fifth son was killed, and the eldest son was seriously injured, although the wives of these three people were still able to force themselves to remain calm, the spread of this news had already caused people to feel uneasy.

"Mother, they seem a little flustered."

Anna is the only unmarried grand duchess at present. She is not very favored by the Queen Mother, and her treatment is far worse than that of Catherine.

But she always tries to show herself, as for her insight.
Although there is no evidence, we can always guess the truth. Moreover, when these ladies are whispering to each other, they are discussing this issue.

"Don't worry about them, just do what you are supposed to do."

This is what the Queen Mother said. Anna felt a little embarrassed now, so she sat aside.

Queen Mother Maria's mentality was not very good either. After all, her hometown of Württemberg also sent troops this time, and was even among the army entering Moscow.

Unfortunately, her brothers and nephews had fought on the battlefield, and her most beloved nephew William probably ran back to Württemberg to avoid the limelight.

As for the rest, there were some things she couldn't control. Her current identity was the Queen Mother of Russia. Since she was against Napoleon, she had to support her son.

However, her favorite daughter was married to Paris. Although Napoleon would not imprison the daughter-in-law who gave birth to his heir, she was always unable to express her opinion on both sides.

At this moment, she thought of her daughter-in-law, with whom she had always had an average relationship. Although Louisa was weak and even looked like she would be blown away by the wind, she had some experience.

After all, Louisa reads a lot of books, which is always a plus.

"Mother, you asked me to come over?"

"Yes, Lisa. Are you feeling better lately?"

"Thanks to my mother, I am feeling better these days. But..."

"Whatever it is, it doesn't matter now."

"Yes, Queen Mother."

Louisa did not say much, she just stated her opinion according to the Queen Mother's wishes.

"Lisa, what do you think of the recent situation?"

The Queen Mother just went straight to the point and threw the question out without any room for preparation.

"We shouldn't spread panic. At least here in Petersburg, we are still far away from the war. We shouldn't be filled with worry and panic like those who left Moscow. What's more..."

"What else?"

The Queen Mother asked, and Queen Louisa had to continue her words: "Now from Moscow to St. Petersburg, it will rain in the autumn, and it will be very muddy and swampy. Unless Napoleon is crazy, he will not take this road. And your Majesty also said that it will snow. I was there when he was chatting with the Marquis of Caulaincourt in France."

"But what if the French soldiers come to Petersburg?"

"Mother, I can only say that in the most critical situation, I will be the last one to leave among the women. As long as His Majesty wants to stay here, I will accompany him."

Louisa was always angry, but she had no choice. "That's the only way. You can talk to the ladies later and stop worrying so much. And you should comfort the women whose husbands have suffered misfortunes. You can do that, after all, you are in charge of the Women's Association."

The Empress Dowager's department is mainly responsible for "charity", and the Women's Association is temporarily excluded from it.

What she should worry about is probably the Moscow Orphanage and Mr. Ivan Tutomin who stayed in Moscow. After all, this is still within her jurisdiction.

When the ladies gossip, they can't help but ask about Katya.

"Katya, your husband is very useful to Grand Duke Constantine, and Count Kutuzov has always been optimistic about him. Is there any news about him recently?"

"No, even my mother and sister only wrote to me before Moscow fell. They were going to Ryazan. My husband's family has an estate there, so it should be safe there. After the French arrived in Moscow, since everything was on fire, the logistics supply would probably be affected."

"Do you want to be a military strategist too?"

Some people even joked that Solovyov had actually taught his wife some basic military knowledge.

Katya heard this and said calmly, "I just like to hear my husband talk about what he saw and heard outside. When he went to Sweden and the Balkans to fight, he would write to me. When he arrived in Greece, he took me and the children to live on the Greek coast for a while. The children were very happy, and so was I. As for other things, Mishka always has a way. Although he is not the commander-in-chief, he always wins the battle. I will only choose to believe in my husband, except..."

She always sat at the same table with Madame Recamier, and now seeing Madame leaning lazily aside, she rested her head on her thighs.

"Except he always"

"But Michel is like this, he is very restrained now."

The lady would also complain about her lover, but compared with the Tsar, Solovyov was very restrained.

"But the important thing is that your husband is at the front. Hasn't he sent any letters recently? At least the servants in your house are good at riding horses, so they should be able to pass on any news."

"No, it was only Count Bezukhov's cousin who came to Petersburg. I knew nothing about Moscow any earlier than you did."

It's always boring to be with her. Katya especially likes to show off her children and she brings out her eldest son Pavel to show everyone.

The child is very beautiful and lively, but what will happen to him in the future? Solovyov is worried that his wife will spoil him too much, but he does not have the time to educate him. Given the cultural level of the Russian nobles who burn books and bury scholars, it is really hard to say.

If I mention children to her, it might become a common topic.

As for other matters, there is no need to discuss them for the time being.

Back to the Queen's side, some people also raised their concerns with Louisa.

"At least you don't have to worry yet. If the French get here, I will be the last to leave."

Considering that she often doesn't care about things, this statement is just a statement.

But this attitude is indeed necessary, because Napoleon's army is in Moscow and no one knows when they will come again.

As for whether they would panic, it was probably because these ladies had too many things to consider.

Besides, the Tsar himself was in the Imperial Village, just not with the Queen Mother. In order to get timely news from the front, Alexander specially went from St. Petersburg to the Imperial Village. Generally, royal family members would only appear here in spring and autumn, and return to the Winter Palace in winter, while there were more places to choose from in summer.

Alexander was in the palace in Tsarskoye Selo and had been keeping an eye on the front line. However, the news after the fire in Moscow arrived relatively slowly because of the situation on the road in the direction of Tver.

This guy Balashov wanted to tell a few jokes to the Tsar, but he was probably in a clown state at the moment. The Tsar was somewhat dissatisfied with him for sending Speransky away.

Of course, there will definitely be people who object to learning from the French at this time.

"Your Majesty, what do you want to do with this letter?"

"Your estate is in Novgorod, Count?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Arakcheev's properties are mostly in Novgorod and are always on the route.

"You have to arrange the messengers. If it's a Frenchman, we will send him here. If it's a Russian, we will detain him in your manor for various reasons. This is the only way at this time."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Alexander himself was feeling irritated and was pacing back and forth on the marble floor.

"Also, Count, if you see any news from the commander-in-chief, you must present it to me immediately."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Besides that, you have to do a lot of things, like stop these people in the court from making defeatist remarks."

"But we can't let everyone talk about other things, Your Majesty. If anything, the most serious thing is probably that many of the ladies' husbands are at the front."

"Then letters can always be controlled. Just ask the Postmaster General to pay attention to this. Some news that is not suitable for dissemination must always be suppressed."

"Also, your majesty, there is news from Vladimir that Earl Barclay is coming back."

"He's coming back?"

Alexander also realized at this time that Kutuzov probably had complete control of the command.

Bagration was seriously injured again, and this is the situation of his trusted generals now.

"Yes, but from the letter he sent me, it seems that he is in very bad health and needs to rest."

"Then let him rest, wherever he may be, in Petersburg or somewhere else."

"Your Majesty, there is another problem. What if the French really come?"

"Don't worry. We still have Konstantin on the Novgorod Road, and we have troops in Petersburg. That will only speed up Napoleon's own destruction."

It is difficult to guess his emotions now.

Perhaps Alexander was somewhat confident in defeating Napoleon, but judging from this statement and his ambiguous expression, it was unlikely. (End of this chapter)