Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

During the period of talks, the affairs of the German princes had become extremely complicated.

Alexander also had to attend this meeting because his mother, wife, uncle, brother-in-law, cousin, brother-in-law, brother-in-law and many other relatives were involved.

The British were the same. Both sides felt uncomfortable listening to this meeting.

Because Hanover has its own bureaucratic system, but the two families share the same king, and the British are also in the audience.

Both sides will also argue with each other, and the British will also propose to annex some small countries for the benefit of Hanover.

As for Alexander, he sat there very calmly.

The only problem now is how to protect Oldenburg's interests. In order to compensate them, several territories inherited from the grandmother will be given to Oldenburg's relatives after the Marquise's death.

If his cousin hadn't reminded him, he would have even forgotten about this tiny piece of land.

Paul had lost this kind of land before, and was dissatisfied with the Queen for that.

But the situation then was different from now.

The negotiations that day ultimately resolved that Hamburg would continue to exist as a free city, while Danzig became part of Prussia.

One more or one less will not have any impact on Russia.

Even Alexander felt that if it continued like this, it would be difficult to end even next summer.

At this moment Solovyov came in.

"Sire, letters have come from Milan and Rome."

"Misha, you came at the right time."

Alexander could no longer bear to sit there and listen to the British's long-winded arguments against Prussia's occupation of Saxon lands.

It's like in the Roman Senate, when a senator keeps speaking without interruption, causing the next topic to be unable to proceed.

"What's going on?"

"Her Highness Catherine has arrived in Rome. She plans to give birth there and has already hired a doctor."

"Do you know the due date?"

"According to the doctor's inference and the letter from Mr. Bertrand to me, it should be in early November."

"It's good this way. She has a child and can be at peace for a while."

"But the point is, there is a letter from Napoleon here. It was also received by your Highness after he arrived in Elba, but it is not his own letter."

"Ah, you told me that your uncle's own letters are incomprehensible."

"Yeah, worse than my Latin."

"Your Latin?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. If my Latin were better, I would probably go into academia."

"Let's not talk about that for now. What did Napoleon mention?"

"He said that Louis XVIII had not given him the two million francs which he was supposed to receive, not a cent. He wanted to improve his treatment, and to stop the conspiracy against him."

"Conspiracy?"

"I think it was Viscount Castlereagh who said that whenever Napoleon appeared in Europe, people would feel unsafe."

"So what? Sell him to the Berbers?"

Solovyov wanted to laugh because the second half of the sentence was said by Finesse in The Crazy Nobles.

But this was in front of the Tsar, and sometimes he had to remember that he was a professional.

Therefore, hold it in, don’t laugh, don’t lose face, and be more cheerful.

"Your Majesty, that's certainly not good. My stepmother was rescued from the Barbary pirates by Admiral Ushakov. But if the British arranged it, she would probably be sent to somewhere in the south-central Atlantic."

"What is that place?"

"Your Majesty, although we have acquired Bioko Island, that island is not far from the African continent. The British want to arrange St. Helena Island, which is far away from the African and American continents. Even when I was there looking at the map, I felt strange."

Solovyov knew about the theory of continental drift, but Alexander did not.

After he told this story, it only diverted Alexander's attention a little.

"What does that mean?"

"Your Majesty, it's nothing. It's just that the coastlines of these two places are so coincidental."

By the early 19th century, maps were already quite accurate, so perhaps some people might be interested when I mention this.

But this is not the point. If they reached St. Helena, the British would have eliminated the threat.

But now, Russia can sometimes play the Napoleon card.

When Talleyrand first started interjecting in September, he seemed to be in control, but not any more.

This chameleon is always ready to intervene and take action on any possible issue in order to gain some benefits.

But this time, it was not about openly asking for money from the Americans as in the past, but about making profits for the Bourbon government.

Just like he treated Napoleon in the past, if Napoleon was willing to listen to him, he would give him a series of diplomatic advice.

But Napoleon didn't listen to him, so he started to make trouble behind the scenes.

When they get to Bourbon, Louis XVIII might listen to him, but the Count of Artois would not.

Therefore, Talleyrand might still change color.

Alexander was prepared to play the Napoleon card, but he did not take the initiative to do so.

Instead, this card jumped onto the table and became a topic of conversation.

"If he went there, it would be too far away, and it would put Napoleon under British control. It would not be appropriate, even if he were exiled to Hawaii."

Hawaii was one of the places farthest from Russia that Alexander could know of.

"Your Majesty, if this is the case, should we bring it up and improve his treatment?"

"That's all right, but I'll have to ask Talleyrand about that next."

"You should do this, after all, you and Napoleon are related."

Although the Tsar was also like that, it was a bit outrageous for a monarch to be involved in such matters.

Solovyov had many excuses. Everyone knew that Polina gave birth to his child willingly. It could be said that the message was sent by Polina from Elba to Florence, or there could be other versions.

It could also be through a friend, or Napoleon's chief minister Bertrand.

Anyway, he knows these people, so it doesn't matter what they say.

Napoleon was also doing secret work at this time, sending his spies to Genoa and inquiring about the situation on the European continent. He also knew that Alexander encountered resistance from Britain and France during the meeting.

But the only way to win over Alexander was to send Catherine's letter.

He even knew that Solovyov was now Russia's ambassador to Austria.

As long as this cheap nephew is willing to speak, he will have a chance.

Napoleon didn't know that his bet was right. Solovyov had never liked to take the initiative, but on the battlefield he was perhaps a very proactive person who was able to change the situation on both battlefields.

But in diplomacy, he is still relatively cautious.

It was also unexpected that he was going to find Talleyrand.

"Everyone says you hate dating me the most. Why?"

"Mr. Talleyrand, your question is too straightforward. It's a good thing that Mr. Fouché is not eavesdropping here. When you were in the Tuileries Palace, your legs were not good, but Mr. Fouché liked to find some spies. He is not even like you. As a diplomat, you can still follow the rules of the game, but you will change your camp according to the situation. But Mr. Fouché is different."

Talleyrand was a smart man and he could understand what Solovyov was saying.

This young general was hinting at something, but he was unwilling to say it out loud.

"Because Mr. Fouché doesn't play by the rules?"

"You may say so, if the Count of Artois..."

Talleyrand's expression was originally calm, but he suddenly realized that when Solovyov looked at him, he was like his own shadow.

Soloviev is like Talleyrand, and it seems like an imitation, but he is also here.

He paused for a moment before continuing, "If it's the Count of Artois, what measures will he take in the future? If it's Citizen Capet or the current king, they are all moderate monarchs and will not do anything. But the Count of Artois will use any means to drive away those who offended the royal authority during the Revolution, those who betrayed the royal family, and those who voted for the execution of Louis XVI and his Austrian women. He didn't go to the guillotine only because he still wanted to maintain superficial mercy."

Although Talleyrand felt strange that Solovyov spoke to him as if he were another self, this young general was nothing like him except for his lust.

Even the Austrian nobles said that the 33-year-old count was a "handsome boy".

But what he said now was also a cruel fact.

This can actually be seen from the fact that Talleyrand served as the head of the provisional government, but in the end he only came to Vienna as a representative of the King of France.

"Tell me, what do you want?"

"Amazingly blunt, sir. Some people are just that blunt when they're in Russia, and that always pays off."

At this time, Solovyov chose to sit on the sofa and took out a check from Recamier Bank.

Although the bank still had this name, it was now in Lafayette's hands, and the restructuring had not yet been completed.

"Although I came here to talk about Bonaparte, there is another matter that perhaps only you can change with a flip of your hand. If there comes a day when Bourbon's rule is unpopular, what problems will it cause, and what will be the final result?"

"Either the Jacobins or Bonaparte. I know you are the nephew of Empress Josephine. Are you going to help Prince Eugene to the throne?"

"Our emperor insisted that he should rule Milan as a buffer between the French and Austrian forces. You heard about this at the previous meeting. Eugene is my cousin, but not everyone agrees with him taking the French throne, especially the Austrians."

Because Eugene was the son-in-law of Bavaria, this made the Austrian even more uneasy, even more uncomfortable than if Napoleon had blocked his door.

"So."

"Whatever happens, the bottom line is that France should not have a strong monarch. No matter where he comes from, as long as he is an adult monarch, it will cause huge trouble in the short term."

Talleyrand realized that Solovyov was referring to Napoleon's sons.

"You mean Queen Catherine's child?"

"I think so, but not now. If something happens in France, it will be beneficial to your future position in France if a young monarch takes the throne, just like Louis XIV and Louis XV did before they took power."

Solovyov is actually expressing his own point of view here. If the French monarch was an adult, the relationship between the Bourbons and Orleans and Britain would be better. If it was the Jacobins and Napoleon, the relationship would be very bad.

But if you find a young monarch, all this will be very convenient.

Talleyrand actually liked this kind of environment, but Solovyov found it strange.

He did not completely trust the Russian count in front of him, even though this was in the official residence of Princess Bagration, not a more appropriate place to conclude a secret agreement like the Russian Embassy in Austria.

But there, it might be another matter.

In fact, Alexander and Nicholas were eavesdropping next door.

The Tsar himself was actually very happy with the plan, otherwise he would not have approved it.

But how to get rid of Napoleon is actually a very difficult step.

After all, he would probably only agree if he was defeated on the battlefield.

But if Paris was controlled by Napoleon, it might be a different story.

Talleyrand was a means of intervention, but we also have to consider that Napoleon hated him.

As for the price, Talleyrand actually knew it very well.

He wanted to name his own price, so he wrote down 50 francs.

“There are a lot of risks involved, and there are no guarantees.”

"This property belongs to the cousin of our emperor. Since I can make these suggestions to you, the emperor must know about it."

"And he himself should be nearby."

"Yes."

Solovyov turned back to open the door, and Alexander and Nikolai were behind him.

"Your Majesty, I didn't expect you to be here."

Although it was just a polite remark, Talleyrand still gave the Tsar enough face.

"Mr. Talleyrand, I have always believed that with your diplomatic talent and your familiarity with French politics, you should become another Richelieu."

Solovyov didn't expect that Alexander would blurt out this.

"And what Count Solovyov said to you also represents my opinion."

Although this was only verbal, Talleyrand knew it very well and put a check for 50 francs from Recamier Bank into his pocket.

"But Count, does the lady know that you did this?"

"If Julie doesn't regard me as a lover, then she regards me as a brother. For the sake of a peaceful life in Paris in the future, she will also support it. Otherwise, she would not have taken out a blank check with Mr. Lafayette's signature on it when the bank was cleared."

"But Mr. Lafayette probably doesn't know."

"Mr. Lafayette also needs stability in France, and he will adapt to the situation."

As for the treatment of Napoleon, Talleyrand could only express regret.

"The Count of Artois will not agree, and the King will be horrified." (End of chapter)