Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The Russian army is still advancing, but its fatigue is already visible.

The Russian troops advancing near Warsaw seemed to have been issued new uniforms as they passed by here, and their military appearance looked quite good from a distance.

But the problem is that the pursuit from the heart of Russia to the border, and then from the border to Poland, the cost was enormous.

Napoleon originally attempted to advance towards Kaluga and plunder and destroy areas in Russia that could provide supplies. Fortunately, he was intercepted by Kutuzov halfway, so he did not succeed. The final result was a disaster on the way back.

The miserable situation of the French when they arrived in East Prussia had already been told to all Prussians. It was like a small loudspeaker, and the news naturally spread very quickly.

But when it came to Russia itself, the pressure on logistics supply was very great before Prussia officially joined.

The Governor's residence that Solovyov arranged for himself was actually the former residence of Prince Poniatovsky's family.

This is not a big deal, as Grand Duke Constantine once took in Prince Poniatowski's uncle - what's more, this gentleman had a good relationship with the Empress back then, so if he lived in his house, he would actually be considered an old friend.

Solovyov himself was also careful about protecting this place. After all, he was born into a merchant aristocratic family. Moreover, over the years, his own expenses, except for the clothes he was wearing, were relatively simple.

Any orders issued from here would have to wait until the Tsar left.

Alexander was preparing to have a meeting with King FW. At the same time, the Queen moved to Königsberg first. However, when other nobles fled or came here on their own, most of them still went through Warsaw.

Reception is a job, and dispatch is also a job, which essentially means providing supplies to these people.

He had to solve the problem of what to eat for the army and the nobles.

But the trouble is that many nobles came and asked for this and that.

The trouble is that those guys who have connections may still be there, and it will be a troublesome problem to deal with what they want when the time comes.

This is the case in Russia. In Europe, even in France, where many aristocrats were sent to the guillotine, there is still a privileged class. Even in more advanced social forms, this situation cannot be avoided.

If your background is strong enough, you can probably deal with these people, but if you encounter someone of equal standing, it will still be quite troublesome.

But Solovyov was more concerned about the supply problem on the army side.

He could indeed take care of things for the nobles, but it was rather troublesome to do it all by himself.

If Katya and Madame Recamier were brought here, one would take care of the children while the other would host a salon to entertain these nobles.

Speaking of which, the lady's life was quite luxurious. The clothes she wore, which looked very light and thin, were actually quite expensive, yet they looked very simple.

If she continued to spend money the way she was, she would probably become poor soon, even with the large inheritance left by her late husband.

Sometimes, Solovyov even had to pay the bills for her. Fortunately, his old father always sent a cousin to help his wife audit and manage the accounts, otherwise it would be very troublesome.

But there are indeed many benefits for her to come here, especially some nobles will come here because of her reputation.

Madame Recamier was well-known in Warsaw, and even when she was with Solovyov, others could only envy her.

Although she has a lover and dresses like that, the lady is still a bit conservative at heart. At least keeping a distance is a good thing, and a sense of distance always creates beauty.

Opening a salon also seems to help promote stability.

Fortunately, the Solovyov family’s biggest enemy, Balashov, is not the Minister of Police now, so he can easily send some spies here.

In this way, we can also see what the Poles are up to.

However, he did not expect that shortly after he sent the message, his lady would arrive in a carriage.

"Julie, why are you here at this hour?"

"I've been missing you a lot, too. You've been away on the battlefield for so long, and you mentioned in your letter to Catherine how dangerous it was on the battlefield."

"But where's Katya?"

"She was carrying the children, so she walked more slowly."

Indeed, although there is a ten-year age difference between them, they are as close as sisters. The lady is already in her thirties, but she looks like she is in her twenties, and even from the corners of her eyes, it is difficult to see the erosion of time.

If there is something even more outrageous, it would probably be the "little goblin". Although she has become a young widow now, she still looks like that beautiful girl with a baby face and big breasts. It really makes people sigh that sometimes God just favors some people by feeding them.

"You two are as close as sisters, but as the elder sister, how can you just leave your child to Katya?"

"Clara likes her better, probably."

isn't it?
"This child, is it possible that he is still addicted after being weaned?"

"No, she just likes to cuddle. I'm always doing salons. Clara is very nice when she's with me, but Catherine's..."

"Okay, I understand. But if this goes on, someone will always have a hard time."

Madame Recamier was really lucky. She even had someone to help take care of her children, so she could live the life she wanted. Besides Solovyov, who had already succeeded in getting her, she had many suitors.

She could do whatever she wanted, but it was a long way from Paris.

"But I want to go back to Paris."

"But the salon on Mont Blanc Street has been sold to a local businessman. You told me so."

"Michel, we will have to go back and buy it eventually, and the property prices in Paris will probably drop by then."

Solovyov has always been trying to please his wife. In fact, it is because she still has connections in the French banker circle even though her husband has passed away.

It might come in handy someday in the future, and we can always make some secret agreements behind the lady's back.

But that was later, now it was in Warsaw.

"That will have to wait until we get back to Paris. The outcome of this war is still unknown. French troops will come to Germany, and the French emperor will not surrender easily."

"I know that, but you should be in the army, so why are you assigned such a position?"

"Who made me know so much? There are many generals who can only lead troops."

When Solovyov said this, he felt a little self-deprecating.

However, it is not a problem to ask the lady to produce a bill and get reimbursement from the Privy Council.

After all, this is an official action. If you work at your own expense, you will have to lose money.

This is especially true in areas that are not currently under Russian control.

After all, there was nothing to gain, and Solovyov had a heavy task. He was responsible for the dispatch of the army, and besides that, he was also responsible for restoring agricultural production in Poland and supplying food and horses to the front line.

In fact, not letting him go to war is also beneficial. In his recent letter, Kutuzov mentioned that his health was getting worse and worse. Although he had two sons-in-law to take care of him, he was always worried, especially his youngest daughter Darya, who had been married for only a few years. The commander-in-chief was also very worried about her life.

The hard work at the front was one thing, and another was that Kutuzov probably felt that his time was near.

If he died at this time, there would be a big problem, that is, the commander-in-chief of the Russian army would have to be replaced.

Being sent to consolidate the rear and monitor Austria's every move is actually a good thing for Solovyov.

He could bring his wife, lover and children and enjoy himself in Warsaw while staying away from the vortex of internal struggle on the front.

If it could be like this throughout 1813, that would be his greatest wish.

But he also knew that given the current level of the Russian army, the people at the front were good, but the coach's situation was very bad.

Kutuzov was old and cautious, and he might even be dying. Although he had not been ill these days, at his age, he might even be killed by a cold.

As for the struggles of others, Solovyov himself was now on good terms with every faction. Prince Bagration, with whom he had the closest relationship, died of his injuries. In addition, Count Kamensky the Younger, with whom he had a good relationship, also died of illness.

It would be bad to offend any of the remaining people.

Things were actually going well in Warsaw, and he told his wife about his thoughts.

"That's great. I can help you hold a salon, but you have to give me..."

It’s not that he was too intimate with her, but having such a beauty as his mistress and maintaining this relationship was already enviable.

But the expenses are there, and the lady spends money lavishly.

"I know your bills, and I will prepare all the things you like for you, including exquisite furniture, accessories that don't look too glittering but still give people a noble feeling, and exclusive painters and sculptors."

"A painter is enough, but it's a pity that he is not in Paris, otherwise we could go to Monsieur Gerard."

Solovyov liked David's paintings very much, but his wife was always dissatisfied with the painter because he painted her soles and they looked covered with mud.

"Ah, it looks like we'll need a portrait. But by then you and Clara..."

"If possible, I can hold my daughter and hire a painter. You will have to pay the bill."

"Well, it's not impossible, and we need to hire an excellent painter, not just a French one."

Of course, Maria would get angry when the Austrian painter was mentioned. She was only 13 years old at the time, but he painted like a middle-aged woman.

However, the later portrait when he was in his thirties looked younger, which reflected the actual situation.

This matter is all due to the painter's low level of skills.

And the place where the lady wanted to hold the salon was the Wilanów Palace.

The scenery there is indeed nice, and it is the former summer palace of the Polish king, with more French Baroque style.

However, this kind of "big pillar" may sometimes be impolite in front of architects.

She will only occupy a small part of it, but it will be convenient to entertain people when they come here.

Although it has become a museum according to the French idea, the living environment is relatively good.

What about the wallet?
Solovyov will be heartbroken for a while, because of his relationship with the two queens, he seems to be the pretty boy.

The story with Maria was a common scene in the palace. The princess would fall in love with the attendant or even the general who served the monarch on her own initiative, and she would ignore whether the other party was already married or not, and the other party was a bit clingy.

Polina was supported by her brother, Solovyov's former uncle.

The only thing is that when Madam was in Finland, it didn't cost much because of the conditions there.

However, the expenses in Odessa and in the Balkans were indeed not small.

Fortunately, he lives on the franchise and the income from the family business. With just the salary in the army and the bonus from every victory in the war, it would be difficult to support his wife. His mother-in-law is now worried about the expenses of her two sons and the dowry for her youngest daughter.

But it's not like Solovyov's aunt, who spends millions of francs a year.
But compared with Napoleon's military expenditure, this is a small part.

Of course, after his wife arrived, Solovyov took a few days off under the pretext of inspection and traveled around Warsaw with his wife.

During the day, he actually re-planned where to set up the military camps, where to cultivate land, and where to set up pastures.

The lady was a little curious when she saw him like this, but they continued to circle Warsaw like this for many times.

“The southern route from Koblenskiy to Menzies to Warsaw passes through here.”

With his left arm held by Madame Récamier, he only had one hand to mark the picture while in the carriage.

"Although I have been to the Balkans with you, I have rarely seen you in the army."

"That's because you 'angels' are always kept away from the army, and ladies are always kept away from war, if you shed too many tears."

"Yes, Katya was very worried about you when you wrote to me."

"I probably owe her a lot."

As he spoke, he took out the icon with a deformed projectile embedded in it.

"Julie, if it weren't for this icon, you probably wouldn't be seeing me now."

"You are very lucky. Catherine is much younger than I am. Maybe you will still be hers in the future, and I will go back to Paris."

"Back to Paris?"

"Yes, I am going back to Paris with Clara. That is probably where I belong."

"I'd hate to see you go, Julie. If you really go back to Paris."

"Although I am still very beautiful now, I won't be very attractive when I get older. If I become ugly, I won't be like Madame Staël."

"How about it?"

"You should know about her. She wrote to me and mentioned that she had a child with her lover. She was that age."

"But her statements have become vulgar recently. The public's taste needs to be properly guided, otherwise it will probably be very bad."

"You think so?"

"But you are not like that 'old lady', who was born in the Chancellor's family and received a good education since childhood, and can speak well in this regard. Your advantages are tolerance, beauty, and enthusiasm for others, which are far inferior to the nonsense of that lady." (End of this chapter)