Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The fleet's journey inevitably attracted the attention of the Royal Navy.

In particular, HMS Grace was the flagship that defeated the Royal Navy detachment. If HMS Victory hadn't been fast enough, it would have been wiped out as well, becoming a spoil of war for the Baltic Fleet.

Even before returning this time, the Russian Navy returned the French battleship that had been captured by the British to France.

Standing next to Solovyov was Mikhail, the second of the Lazarev brothers. The three brothers' sister was Yulia's best friend. In addition, these guys had known Solovyov for a long time in the naval cadet corps, so they were naturally the first choice.

It's worth noting that all three of them became naval admirals.

For Mikhail Lazarev, the most famous of them all, it was on his way back that he had just seen Kronstadt and his hometown when Solovyov called him onto the ship.

"Won't you feel tired?"

"Sir, that's no problem. I've sailed at sea before, but I just had less time to rest."

This 28-year-old captain doesn't have to command any fleet or worry too much during the mission; he's merely Solovyov's adjutant.

Solovyov wasn't building his own faction; he was doing it so that Nikolai would have a group of excellent officers available when he succeeded to the throne.

As a civil servant, he really couldn't do much. Unlike his father, who allowed him to interact with some local officials, Solovyov's direct connections were in the military and business circles. He would have to rely on friends to help him with civil servants and diplomats.

Although they are more capable, they are not without some shortcomings.

The three Lazarev brothers were naval officers he highly regarded, especially Mikhail, who in 1813 broke through the Denmark Strait and circumnavigated the globe, reaching as far as the North American colonies.

After hearing about the situation in Rosberg, Solovyov also began to think about the problem carefully.

How should we plan for the future?
The colonies might also need separate fleets, and they would also need to keep an eye on the Americans.

The issues Lazarev raised with him were mostly about American smuggling on the West Coast.

"Isn't Mexico to the south? I could understand if the British came to smuggle, but the Americans are just able to get their ships to the Pacific Ocean."

"I think it's because of the huge profits from fur smuggling; the British would have a hard time stopping their activities on land as well."

“We have already killed enough sea otters. We should ensure their reproduction in certain years so that we can continue this trade in the long term. If the Americans continue like this, we and the British can forget about the fur trade. Sea otters are not easy to raise and breed in captivity, unlike Her Majesty’s dolphins and beluga whales.”

"Your Excellency, what do you suggest we do?"

"Sink their smuggling ships with cannons, that's the Russian way, no questions asked. And how are Kamchatka and Alaska?"

"The settlements there are very difficult to supply, and our ships also have difficulty obtaining supplies there. After all, they themselves are also in a difficult situation. It is difficult to even have a thousand troops stationed in a single place."

"That's conceivable, and it's all very difficult. We'll occupy the Roseburg area to produce food to supplement Alaska's supplies. We can't keep eating rotten pickles; that would be a disaster."

"Sir, you really shouldn't have brought your wife and children on board. This adventure is extremely dangerous and bad for their health."

"That's alright. We'll make plenty of rest stops along the way. These are all fast boats. When they're fully loaded at sea, even the British ships have a hard time catching up with them."

Solovyov always had his own confidence in the application of ships, and this type of ship finally became popular in the Russian navy and merchant fleet in the later stages of the Napoleonic Wars.

The British do not know much about clipper boats.

They only knew that the Russian ships were fast, especially their outrageous merchant fleet, but they didn't get much useful intelligence.

The Royal Navy was willing, but the Admiralty lacked the resources and was also short-sighted in terms of design.

Solovyov had also considered exchanging their superior naval designs with the French.

Although the French often lose in large-scale naval battles, they possess extensive shipbuilding and design experience, as well as a large number of excellent warships.

When the frigates were engaged in large-scale battles, the French were formidable, not to mention the privateers who had long been a source of anxiety for the British in the Indian Ocean.

Solovyov also learned from the message brought by Nei that Sukuv, who originally planned to go to Newfoundland to fish and make money, was looking for a job.

This guy has achieved great success in the Indian Ocean, so it would be ideal to hire him as an advisor.

Solovyov had at least two outstanding naval officers as advisors in the hydro-meteorology of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans: Bellingshausen, a navigator, and Mikhail Lazarev, a navigator and an excellent naval commander.

But he didn't know much about the situation in the Indian Ocean.

Therefore, when they stopped in Brest, Solovyov left a letter in this stronghold of French pirates for Sukuv, who was supposed to be returning soon.

If he wished, he could take his 19 armed merchant ships and fishing boats south, passing through Madeira and Cape Verde, and catch up with Solovyov's large fleet at Bioko or the Dutch Cape colony.

Moreover, Solovyov's attitude was very clear: he would wait for Sukov in the Cape Colony, even if it meant spending a hot Southern Hemisphere summer there, just to see him come.

This shows a thirst for talent. Although Solovyov assisted Admiral Roman Kron in defeating the Royal Navy's squadron, he was at the time merely a Tsarist envoy, acting as a military supervisor within the fleet.

Although he helped the fleet command make up their minds to fight, he didn't know much about naval warfare.

Therefore, he also needs the navy to supplement his personnel.

On Bellingshausen's nautical charts, the fleet commander was also calculating the course and estimating when Sukoff might arrive.

He still couldn't understand why the infantry general was so interested in the French, who were familiar with the ocean conditions.

Solovyov himself, however, was discussing some new issues with Lazarev.

“If you’re going to the Indian Ocean, you’ll need someone familiar with the sea conditions, which is certainly not a problem. After all, we took the return route, and not many people have taken this direct route.”

"We have some other tasks before we enter the Indian Ocean. I will be going to Rio de Janeiro on the 'Flora', and the rest of the ships, besides taking people to Bioco Island and conducting reconnaissance around it, will be going to the Cape. We can also conduct some research on the cape, and we should try to make contact with the tribal people."

What kind of person was Solovyov?
He was determined to do everything in his power to create trouble for the British. Although the Cape colony had been returned to the Netherlands, the British were not without their schemes to harm the local inhabitants, especially the warlike Zulus.

Solovyov's trip to Rio was also a quick one, and he even traveled alone aboard the "Flora".

The fleet had many plans for this voyage, including surveying the sea conditions in the Indian Ocean and taking note of the situation of the countries and their colonies along the way.

The reason the French publicly stated was that Alexander and Talleyrand established a rapid channel of direct communication to ensure consistency among the three parties—Paris, Berlin, and St. Petersburg—and to gain the understanding of the Vienna side.

French pirate ships were actually no less powerful than British Royal Pirates. In fact, back when the French Navy was still very strong, they dared to team up small, dilapidated ships to take on bosses like Royal Navy battleships.

It's because the British were robbing everywhere, and with the added hype from the media, British pirates seem to be more famous.

Just think about the Caribbean pirates. Who were they? It must have been a group of British and French raiders robbing Spain.

"You're conducting a scientific expedition, except that a fleet like this is enough to wage a naval battle."

“Lazarev, do you know that during the last dynasty of China, their fleet only reached the western coast of the Indian Ocean, but that was it. They didn’t continue forward through the Mozambique Channel. If they had, or entered the Southern Ocean, they would have had the opportunity to discover the whole world.”

"It's an interesting observation. In our navy, people say you're more like a scholar than a soldier."

"Napoleon's artilleryman, my uncle, always called himself a scientist!"

Lazarev couldn't help but laugh after hearing this.

"His Majesty is very knowledgeable about ballistics, but does he really understand mathematics?"

"At least he was passionate about geometry, while I probably just preferred paleontology. Back when my great-grandfather's generation lived in Arkhangelsk, there were some strange fossils there that would make you question God."

"No wonder people often say you are an atheist."

"But sometimes, you have to believe it."

Solovyov also carried the icon that Katya had asked for him, and Lazarev was able to deduce the location of the bullet wound, indicating that it had been the site of a dangerous battle.

"In Borodino, a bullet hit the icon, or it would have gone through my heart. It was probably my wife's piety that worked. Although I am not a devout believer, I respect other people's beliefs, whether it's my wife or my housekeeper."

Speaking of which, Mihrima looked quite cute when she wore imperial dresses or European-style pajamas and prayed in the morning. Although she had a child, she was still a young girl at heart.

Solovyov even gave him a white silk scarf to cover his hair, otherwise it would look very strange.

"You are like that, but others may not be."

"I think that's just how the British are. The East India Company is one of the least respectful groups in the world."

Lazarev heard that Solovyov had this tendency, that his hostility toward the British stemmed mainly from opium and their disrespect for various faiths.

If the third Mughal Shah Akbar had heard of Solovyov's tolerance of religious beliefs, he would probably have considered him a kindred spirit.

So what exactly did the East India Company do?

Solovyov didn't even want to mention that he was quite capable of getting several groups with obvious conflicts of interest to eventually stage the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

As for the things that poison the world, many of them were also poisoned by the East India Company in both the East and the West.

No wonder Solovyov always liked to secretly recite poetry, and no one could understand what he was saying.

Especially now, he sometimes wears glasses, and they're black-rimmed.

Considering he's a soldier and always resorts to violence, this is a bit too violent.

As the fleet continued its journey, Solovyov and Lazarev discussed their voyage plans, some sailors had already spotted Madeira.

Reaching Madeira is essentially arriving in Africa.

They wouldn't resupply here either. The fleet already carried supplies, including military canned goods and pickles, but there were diplomats, scientists, women, and children on board.

Solovyov wasn't the only one who went to war with a child, but the only girl was the heartless Cotton Lisa.

The rest were all boys, and then all the boys on the ship started trying to please Lisa.

This made her twin brother Pavel a little jealous. Girls were indeed more popular. However, no one brought any girls with them. He knew he had other sisters, but his father only brought Lisa.

For these special crew members, fresh vegetables need to be prepared. They need to replenish these in Madeira, and even on the coast of West Africa, as long as they don't go deep inland and cause trouble, they can replenish some supplies in the British or Dutch colonies along the coast, where at least there are some fresh vegetables available.

Solovyov was always on long marches, so it was alright for him to eat pickled vegetables, but his wife and children couldn't be neglected, just like other people's wives and children.

However, apart from his own female relatives, the rest of the crew on his ship were all relatively old, so Katya didn't have to worry that her husband would relapse into his old habits of liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Moreover, although Solovyov is a gluttonous and cunning fox, he is very picky about food.

The prey includes French hens, Italian geese, Baden lynxes, Balkan lynxes, Corsican pikas, Mecklenburg she-wolves, and a relatively common prey: the Siberian golden shaded dog.

Now the Tsar has given Katya the power to control him.

He was also incredibly devoted to his wife; during their brief stay in Madeira, the family of four, along with Mihrima, even visited the area.

If we delay the resupply process, we can wait for Sukupv to arrive.

And the European royal families' delegations that went to Brazil to offer condolences could not all make it at once.

Solovyov is traveling on the "Flora" ship and can bring representatives from several other families along, making it a group trip to offer condolences. (End of Chapter)