Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

When the Russian army was at the front, the situation in St. Petersburg was always in great contrast.

It started in June 1812, when the French crossed the Neman River, and these people argued endlessly in the salons, and there seemed to be a prevailing pessimism that Russia would ultimately fail.

Especially during the pursuit
The French chased them all the way to Moscow. Some people were very frightened at the time. Many people even said that they should go to Sweden through Finland and leave the country from Gothenburg, Sweden, before the French attacked.

There were even rumors that the Queen would go into exile in Stockholm like her sister Mary, which had happened in Brunswick before.

But Louisa personally denied this and said that if the French called, she would be the last to leave.

Although she is so easy to bully at ordinary times, she is really reliable at critical moments.

Even Alexander has been very fond of her recently, and has neglected the Polish girl.

It is no wonder that many people had doubts about the pedigree of her son, Emmanuel Naryshkin (1813-1901), born the following year.

Of course, this is also because Alexander and his mistresses were diligent in having children, and his wives were all daughters, which inevitably led to some doubts.

"Why were you so sure we would win?"

Alexander couldn't believe that the Russian army had actually chased to Smolensk. After the great victory in Vyazma, he had ordered Kutuzov to be given the title of Prince of Smolensk. The place Vyazma sounded like the place of the Vyazemsky family, which also avoided misunderstandings.

"I think people always need to eat. It's difficult for 100,000 people to eat in a place far away from their country. And I also let the ladies whose husbands are on the front line communicate with their husbands to comfort them. Isn't this also a contribution?"

"But, some people may not have wives around."

"Your Majesty, that's only a portion of the people. Some people did reply. So I know some of the situation. This way I don't interfere in politics. At the same time, I can know the situation and the girls can feel at ease."

"Yes, they are all younger than you, and many of them have husbands and brothers at the front. Who have replied?"

Alexander was still a little curious. Louisa was held in his arms and was held down when she wanted to move, so she had to twist her body to try to get rid of him.

"You hold me too tight. I think it's time for me to get the letters. There are always some interesting things in them."

But Alexander also thought that Louisa's lover might be among the husbands of these young wives.

The intuition was accurate, but Solovyov had always been away fighting in recent years and tried to keep his distance in St. Petersburg, so Alexander couldn't pinpoint any one of them.

"This is a letter from Prince Sergei Volkonsky to his sister. It seems that many unexpected things have happened in Moscow."

"I know about that unfortunate Baron Winzengorod. He was captured by Napoleon and even needed my help. But I heard that he was rescued recently while being taken to France."

"Ah, thank God, at least the unfortunate baron did his part to protect the Kremlin."

"Sergey is a reckless person. He is not as impulsive as before. Are there any other letters?"

"Yes, it seems Katya wrote it to her husband."

"That poor girl, if Solovyov hadn't taken special care of her while he had a woman outside, I would really want to persuade her to remarry. But the relationship between the two of them is pretty good. This guy actually keeps thinking about writing to his wife."

However, what Alexander envied more was probably that Solovyov himself could take the initiative to maintain harmonious relationships at home, rather than his own wife taking the initiative to establish good relationships with mistresses.

He could only envy, but after seeing the content of the letter, Alexander probably knew the situation.

"This guy is discussing the plan with his wife, and also includes what he saw and heard along the way."

"He still has time to take care of family matters. Not everyone thinks as much as he does."

"It's a pity that he didn't want to be a staff officer, but now he has to do it."

Alexander couldn't hold it back and he laughed out loud.

"What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing, Lisa. He brought this upon himself. He sent his mature staff to strengthen Kutuzov's headquarters. Now he has to do a lot of things by himself. He even has to personally educate his adjutants and the new officers on what to do."

"It doesn't seem like a big deal. I think he has always been a very hardworking person, even when he was with our father."

"That's why he deserves it. If you can make it easier for yourself, don't make it so hard."

Alexander then read some more letters from the generals and gave them to Louisa. After reading them, although she could not make sense of all of them, she could still be considered a good wife.

The Tsar caressed his wife's body, wishing she had a fuller figure, like the Queen of Prussia.

It is no secret that Alexander likes women with strong and plump bodies. Louisa was chosen because of her slim figure. The Queen liked her very much and thought she was the most suitable candidate for her granddaughter-in-law.

In fact, Frederica had potential when she was young. She was the most plump among the six sisters when she was young. When she grew up and married in Sweden, she looked plump. More importantly, she gave birth to a son.
“But I envy him too.”

Alexander sometimes said strange things, and Louisa was a little confused.

"Why do you envy him?"

"He always does what he wants to do, and if we had a son, we'd probably teach him to ride by now."

"But girls can ride horses, too."

"I don't want them to be like Maria and Catherine. They were both spoiled when they were young, one by their father, the emperor, and the other by their mother."

Although Alexander said this, he has always been very good to his two sisters.

But this is normal. Among the nine children raised by Paul, except Anna who was raised alone because Olga died young, the others were raised in groups of two.

Among the boys, it seems that Constantine is Alexander's assistant, and Mikhail is Nicholas's follower.

Starting with Maria, Paul and his wife were the ones who paid more attention to their children and were able to take them home to raise, so they were the most favored.

If it were Alexandra and Elena, they would have been raised by the Queen with a group of little girls since childhood. They were treated differently from others and could even always receive the latest fashions.

This also resulted in the family having nine children. The four oldest ones seemed to be living a life in the French court, but Alexander lived a much simpler life after he became Tsar.

Among the five younger ones, except Anna in the middle, the other four probably lived a standard German court life.

It looks very clear, and it is also the daily routine of the Russian court.

"But these girls are not so enthusiastic about riding horses." "But there are some who like it. Last time in the stable, Katya's daughter went to feed the horses herself."

"You mean Soloviev's daughter?"

"Yes, I wanted to ask Katya to send the child to the palace to be raised with our children, but she didn't want to."

"If she doesn't want to, she still cares more about the child. Who made her follow you when she was a maid in the palace? You spend all day around the child and don't want to go anywhere else, all..."

After that, he pinched the soft flesh on Louisa's waist. It was obvious that it felt good and the Tsar himself enjoyed it very much.

"A little fatter and softer, it will be just right."

"But today is not the right time. There is a dance coming up."

Louisa also knew that even if Alexander planned to have a child, the time he calculated now was probably not very accurate.

"Okay then, let's do it some other time. I'll always come to your place for a while."

Louisa also felt that her husband, the Tsar, was becoming more and more eccentric, but there was nothing she could do. Her marriage here was fate's arrangement. This was the case for a small country like Baden.

Fortunately, Alexander was very kind to his father-in-law, mother-in-law and brother-in-law. Louisa remembered that when her younger brother Karl Ludwig succeeded to the throne, Alexander sent a lot of gifts and also sent the Russian ambassador to Karlsruhe Palace to pay tribute.

Louisa's grandfather had been through many battles in his life and had seen a lot. What kind of European monarch had he not seen?

What Louisa is more worried about now is the situation on her brother's side. Solovyov wrote to Katya, in which he even mentioned that the soldiers from Baden and Württemberg were unfriendly to the prisoners.

And Baden's position is awkward.
While she was thinking about this, Alexander had already pushed her into the locker room.

The Tsar's own clothes were all uniforms, which meant he just tidied up his appearance and wore medals.

But the Queen's status is different. The Queen Mother is taking care of her granddaughter these days, so the position of First Lady was briefly given to Louisa.

Normally she doesn't like to be in a crowd, but the people she summoned today are all her close girlfriends. The only men here are old guys who have not served in the army and some humble social officials.

Even Count Stroganov had gone off to serve, and today the Countess herself could be seen here, having been inseparable at the balls before the war.

And the venue for today's meeting is her home at No. 17 Nevsky Avenue.

"Your Majesty, you can come here."

"Ma'am, you don't need to say more. It's an honor for us to come to your home."

Alexander was somewhat embarrassed. After all, he had failed in his previous attempt to seduce the lady. For a "mysterious succubus from the north", it was somewhat embarrassing, so he decided to put it out there in advance.

"How is Pasha doing lately?"

Afterwards, he quickly turned the topic to his best friend. Among the former secret committee giants, he was the only one who joined the army.

He looked at Prince Czartoryski who had come to St. Petersburg with his wife and children because Lithuania was occupied by Napoleon.

If we really compare them, Pasha is more reliable.

"Pavel and the children are at the front line. They are doing well now. I think it's time for them to come back after the winter."

"It may be a long way to defeat the French, ma'am. I will be there when the time comes. I hope most people will come back, not like Prince Bagration and the Tuchkov brothers."

When the Tsar himself spoke of this, he actually thought of many things.

As for the gossip these people are talking about now, in their opinion, it is much better than the tense situation before October.

When they arrived at Katya's place, Alexander watched her and her daughter salute him.

"His Majesty."

"Ah, that's good, you always have the children with you, it's like the story of the Sabine women."

"But my husband is not Roman either. Misha writes to me frequently, including recently when he was in Yelnya."

"Yelnya, he still runs as fast as Alexander Vasilyevich."

"I remember hearing my father talk about the great marshal's deeds when I was a child, but because I am a girl"

"You are too well-behaved. Your personality is not suitable for the army. You should be in the palace."

As for the Tsar himself going to pull little Lisa, the girl didn't resist at all.

Well, when she was older, the symptoms of "black heart cotton" were much lighter, but she was very good at judging people and was really a cunning girl with a lot of tricks in her mind.

Of course, the mother brought the child here because she needed to take care of him.

As for the ladies who gathered here, the Tsar always felt that he had to say something, and in the end, he had to talk about dedication.

"Ladies, thank you for coming here. It is because of your dedication to your family that you maintain your family, allowing your husbands to rest assured at the front and devote themselves to the battle against Napoleon's invasion."

When he spoke, there was a certain element of performance in it.

There's no way around it. As a famous actor, it's normal for him to behave like this.

As for these noble ladies, some of them were also honored, especially the Tuchkov brothers and the widow of Bagvout. The Tsar not only wrote to them but also thanked these people's families for their contributions.

That's it now, it looks like it's getting better.

As for Paris, the situation is probably quite bad at this time.

The situation is even worse than in Spain. We have even lost contact with the front. At that time, it was just poor communication. Now, some news has come from France, and it may even be that the gossip has a lot to do with the defeat.

Napoleon's army was facing an unprecedented defeat and the army in Smolensk was on the verge of collapse.

The same attention was paid to the French side, and perhaps only the news censorship prevented it from causing more trouble.

However, the first mention of failure in the Grand Army Bulletin is not far away. (End of this chapter)