Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

One thing that has been giving Viscount Castleray a headache is the Russians' current attitude toward demanding money.

He knew that Russia's economic situation was very bad. The previous war with France had led to a serious domestic fiscal deficit, and the country had also issued national bonds in London.

Russia's poor credit and the possibility of defaulting on its debts in the future have caused a major headache for London bankers.

They are short of money, and although Britain could use this to exert pressure, Alexander would demand a price.

Moreover, the Tsar's close friend was a family of royal merchants for generations, and Solovyov's "shady merchant" background also had to be taken into account.

To be fair, Solovyov did participate in quite a few of these schemes, and he was also shrewd and had a good understanding of the financial industry.

This also includes the banker's wife, Mrs. Récamier, who spent the most beautiful years of her life with him, so he knew to some extent what the banker's wife's mindset was like at different ages.

This also makes it easier for him to deal with those bankers.
Although what he probably preferred was to execute all those speculators, he couldn't do that in Tsarist Russia.

If it were the Jacobins, or a more radical faction, it might be possible.

Now there's a Tsar on top, and Alexander especially likes to pretend to be the Messiah, unlike Paul who likes to personally take charge.

If it were Paul, he could probably get the nobles to offer tributes and make annual donations, but Alexander couldn't do that.

Therefore, when asking for money, they always keep an eye on the British mindset.

It is now the de facto seventh anti-French coalition, but there are different attitudes from all sides regarding what to do with France.

Murat, who was the first to jump out, was quickly defeated, and now Naples has been successfully restored and is once again under the rule of the Bourbon.

However, the Congress of Vienna has not yet finalized the exact territorial divisions to be restored to the 1790 level, which only confirms the retention of the 38 major states, dioceses, and free cities within the German Confederation.

One is missing: Brunswick.

The "Black Duke" had in fact moved from his home to Brussels, and the locals were still willing to accept him, including the Prince of Orange, who had always coveted the land.

Of course, because of the war, he sent his wife, two sons and daughter to England.

Marie has moved to another place to seek refuge, though she actually longs to return to her mother and brother in Karlsruhe.

As a result, the current situation is somewhat absurd.

She went to England, while the "Black Duke" remained in Brussels.

He was met by Wellington and some British reinforcements, but their numbers were limited. He also had to call in the Dutch and some German princes' armies.

What's more interesting is that there was a general in the Dutch army who was the younger brother of the former assistant to Marshal Suvorov.

But these troops are giving the Duke himself a headache.

The quality of the troops varied greatly; only the Brunswick Legion he brought, the King's German Legion, and the elite British troops were truly capable of fighting.

He didn't even count on the Dutch or the Prussians, considering that the old duke was Frederick the Great's nephew and had been the Prussian commander-in-chief for many years.

The old Prussian army was rather rigid, and because it suffered too many losses, it turned into a large militia battalion.

The new Prussian army, on the other hand, would flee in droves; he and Solovyov had witnessed this many times during their battles in 1813.

A whole battalion of Prussian soldiers could desert, including the officers; at least the old Prussian army had to be beaten before they would break apart.

The only hope is that the coalition forces can quickly regroup.

But even the fastest estimates, apart from Solovyov who knew Napoleon would act quickly, meant that no one else knew how fast the French army was assembling.

However, the alliance still needed to be worked on. Alexander finally secured increased British support for military spending by sending 20 troops and providing reserves.

In fact, to deal with France, the Russian army really needs to perform well on the battlefield.

The Tsar could hardly contain his excitement at the sight of the new anti-French alliance treaty.

"Your Majesty, there is still one thing we need to be aware of."

“Solovyov, you have too many things to take care of. Right now, your wife and your housekeeper have both just given birth. You should go and keep them company.”

"Yes, two lovely daughters."

Solovyov was very proud of himself; he was a doting father to his daughter.

But before he went back to spend some time with his wife, he needed to explain some things to Alexander.

“Your Majesty, the situation in France is currently quite united. Napoleon has only lost Naples as an ally, but Eugene has maintained armed neutrality in Italy, preventing Austria from disrupting the established order. Moreover, there was an armistice agreement there last year.”

What are you trying to say?

"I think the French army can probably muster more men; intelligence from the Northern Corps suggests their total strength is about 20,000 more than we previously anticipated. But our allies are now weakened, and the situation in Saxony..."

Alexander knew that both the Saxon and Vendée mines were tailor-made for the Prussian situation.

Solovyov almost never told outsiders about the purpose of these two arrangements. Only Alexander himself knew something about them. Even Nikolai, who had a close teacher-student relationship with Solovyov, did not know what the arrangements were all about.

Solovyov will give Nikolai some extra lessons later, and now he has also marked the marching route on the map.

“Your Majesty, if I were to return to the army, I would order the 1st and 2nd Armies to pass through Berlin, without going through Saxony.”

"The Dresden problem is complicated, and we cannot abandon our Prussian ally."

Although the mines were planted by Russia, Alexander was still reluctant to abandon this ally.

"If we go, we'll be stuck there too. Saxony now knows that it was the secret agreement between Russia and Prussia that ultimately led to the crisis of Saxony's land being partitioned. The important thing is to act quickly. We need to use our army to quickly pass through Prussia, cross the Elbe River, and reach the Rhine. But we also need to control the marching time. We need to reach the Ruhr by the end of June."

"This pace of action is a bit too fast. Misha, although you are intelligent, your statements are contradictory."

“We also have allied forces. Apart from the British and the Prussians on the Rhine, no one can be faster than us. Moreover, the Austrians have always had a problem: their reaction speed is very slow, and they can't even choose a qualified commander.”

The reason is quite simple: although everyone knows Archduke Karl's abilities, the current Austrian system doesn't seem to be a place where he can fully utilize them.

Therefore, the team was still led by Prince Schwarzenberg, who had Radecki constantly doing pull-ups, given his speed.
"Therefore, we need to give our allies confidence, at least letting them know that Russian troops are nearby and can secure their retreat. But there's one more thing."

“You’ve always told me that Russia should arbitrate.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The final decision rests with you, therefore one thing should also be stipulated in the new alliance terms: Russia shall arbitrate the affairs of Paris, especially when our army is about to advance and defeat Napoleon.” “Are you that confident?”

Alexander knew that Solovyov had previously held off Napoleon in battles involving small legions.

However, his current confidence stems from the fact that he has the upper hand, and he's become somewhat overconfident.

Solovyov wasn't arrogant; he was actually very clear about the current situation in Paris.

If the French were to win a major victory, it could indeed boost morale, but the French army is currently limited in strength. After the army was reduced before Louis XVIII, it will take time for Napoleon to restore its size.

Even when he preemptively decided to strike the coalition forces in the Low Countries, his army was already insufficient in number.

Moreover, the anti-French coalition forces, in any case, far outnumbered the French army.

Even Napoleon's Northern Army, taken alone, was smaller than the combined forces of either Russia or Austria in the Allied Powers.

Moreover, once he leaves French territory and enters a region of Belgium or Germany, he will inevitably have to send troops to occupy it and secure transportation lines.

The Russian army would not need this, and even the rear supply lines could be handled by Prussia and Britain.

If their army gets beaten on the front lines, they will have to rely on the Russian army to bail them out.

That's the reality. Within the coalition, Britain actually provided the money and Russia provided the personnel each time. What role did Prussia and Austria actually play?

They love to boast and always portray themselves as incredibly capable, but in reality, their last performance was just a mediocre attempt because they arrived just in time.

This refers to Prussia. The British weren't particularly bad, but they overemphasized their role, making Waterloo synonymous with ultimate defeat. And in many places in British colonies, it should have been called that.

The Prussians also had their own name for Waterloo.

Solovyov couldn't remember the thing; he just disliked the boastful Germans even more.

From the French Revolutionary Wars to the Napoleonic Wars, the Prussians were consistently seen as treacherous, betraying their allies and often getting beaten up.

To understand this, it's important to know that, historically speaking, the French were defeated, and Grouchy even captured a Prussian army and defeated them, covering Napoleon's retreat, although ultimately it didn't have much effect.

But now the script has changed, and Solovyov wants Russia to dominate this victory.

Finally, Russia could also arbitrate European affairs.

The important thing is that the British benefited the most, and we will have to find a way to deal with Britain later.

Solovyov didn't want to be in his seventies or eighties and still have to clean up his apprentice's messes.

He needed to either wage war before any signs of a Crimean War emerged, or weaken Britain and strengthen Russia.

In fact, France is a very important part of this.

He had originally opposed Catherine's marriage to Napoleon, but now he might be the most supportive of this union.

Napoleon and Catherine had a good relationship and had children, even a backup plan.

Such a marital relationship can better maintain the alliance between France and Russia.

If Russia were to gain access to the Mediterranean or open a breach in the Indian Ocean, and France were to expand its sphere of influence in the western Mediterranean and the Atlantic, it would be a heavy blow to Britain.

It seems that if Britain wants to find allies, only the United States and Austria meet this requirement.

But that's for later. What we need to focus on now are the final issues to be decided in the protocol of the Seventh Coalition against France.

Although Metternich objected, these terms ultimately led to the Russian army remaining in Poland and not advancing towards the Rhine.

That would be a disaster for Austria.

With several variables having changed, Solovyov has actually devised a suitable script for this overall strategic concept.

After everything had been stated, Alexander nodded in agreement.

“In that case, I think you should go back to the army. I want you to serve as Barclay’s deputy commander-in-chief, since he has always had his own staff.”

Solovyov's partner, Clausewitz, returned to the Prussian army, specifically the Third Corps, where the commander was still General Tillmann, who had defected from Saxony.

Solovyov, who currently lacks his own team, is considering bringing Yomini into the General Staff.

However, the Tsar wanted him to be an advisor, and he couldn't be hired.

Solovyov is more likely to take over the army group in the future.

"Your Majesty, if that's the case, when should I set off?"

"The sooner the better, but I still need to let you go back to see the children. You're really something, knowing how to manage your time."

Solovyov could only sigh, after all, Katya and Mihrima gave birth around the same time.

“Your Majesty, you should know that when Napoleon was triumphant on the battlefield, he also had many women at home. Now, however, he is only by Your Highness’s side.”

These words did indeed have a hint of mockery towards the Tsar.

Although Alexander has now returned to Louisa's side, he has not completely severed ties with his other mistresses.

But the Tsar himself didn't mind, or perhaps he simply didn't understand what it meant.

Solovyov was also quite careless when he returned to his bedroom in the embassy.

When Mihrima saw him, her face turned red, like a freshly tanned hue, or even fresher.

"Master, I am..."

"Alright then, I'll go out first. Once you're all done, I'll come back in to see the children."

As for holding two daughters, one in swaddling clothes on each side, Solovyov also told Katya about his itinerary.

"Go ahead, it's not the first time, this should be over soon too."

"Yes, it's time to end this." (End of Chapter)