Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 215 027 Soloviev entered France

The group left Dresden and went to Paris. On the way, Soloviev also met William and Alexandra.

For Alexandra, her situation is actually very delicate. Württemberg is currently under the actual control of France. Once a war breaks out, William will need to transfer his wife overnight. Something will inevitably happen between France and Russia.

So when he met him, he brought this letter. In fact, William also knew that Alexandra would leave Stuttgart at that time.

"If a war breaks out, the entire southern Germany should become a war corridor. Your Highness can go to Oldenburg or Mecklenburg to avoid the limelight temporarily. If not, you can take refuge in Jelgava."

"Misha, why do you have such an idea? I think peace should last for a while."

"Your Highnesses, you should know that Archduke Karl publicly visited Saxony to participate in hunting activities, right?"

"I heard that you came from Dresden, right?"

"Yes, Archduke Karl revealed some information, that is, France and Britain are not honest, and they are now preparing for war, and Austria"

William's attitude is inclined to Russia and Austria. In order to preserve Württemberg, his father is considering joining France, and Napoleon can indeed give some benefits.

"I understand, I will make arrangements for this."

"Misha, go back and tell my brother about the situation here. Stuttgart itself has many pro-French nobles and spies sent by France. As for the specific situation"

Soloviev did not expect Alexandra to be so good, probably because William told her something.

"Your Highness, if something goes wrong, you have to arrange to escape to the north. It may not be safe in Mecklenburg. You have to return to Russian territory or Austria to be safe."

Soloviev did not say anything more. Archduke Karl's sense of confidentiality is not strong, and the chaos of Vienna's political orders is not a one-day or two-day problem, but a long-standing and difficult problem.

Alexandra also knew that this was difficult, and she was still stroking her belly. When she attended the wedding of the "Black Duke" and Mary in Luneburg, her condition was not visible, but now her belly was bulging.

"At least when the children can be in my arms and withstand the bumps, there will be no war."

Alexandra was also afraid of the physique inherited from her mother. William touched her a few times and she would get pregnant at the right time. Like Elena, she was still very young. If it was peacetime, this would be nothing, but the problem is that there is always no certainty in war.

However, there was a long time between 1802 and 1805, which was enough for Alexandra and William to make arrangements, especially since Stuttgart would soon be able to leave the French route to the north, and the French government and army would not make things difficult for women and children. As long as they left the troubled place, they would be safe.

With Alexander's temper, he would definitely join the anti-French alliance at the right time, until Tilsit was beaten by the French and had to accept peace.

There were many troubles involved during this period, especially Alexander's sisters would most likely marry German princes, while Louisa's sisters were better off. As long as they did not marry into countries hostile to France, there would be no major problems.

Louisa was fine in St. Petersburg, which was far away, and Mary might suffer a little, but each kingdom, electorate and principality had its own arrangements.

But the problem was that Britain and France were competing for dominance in Europe and even the world. The fact that Austria and Russia could tolerate France's actions did not mean that Britain and France were willing to accept each other's small moves on and off the stage.

Leaving Stuttgart, there is Karlsruhe ahead, which is Louisa's hometown, but Solovyov has not received any mission to go there. Duke Enghien's residence has been changing back and forth between Edenheim and some other German states, so it is unlikely to visit him.

Going further, it is about to enter France.

Compared with Prince Dolgorukov's family who are very much looking forward to entering France, Solovyov can't feel any relaxation, but is highly alert.

After all, his public identity is also a staff member of the Russian Empire Embassy in Paris, which is very inconvenient for both public activities and secret operations.

Of course, he has not been assigned any intelligence work tasks. When he came to Paris, he still had to observe some changes in the French public opinion field and receive Russian nobles who came to Paris from Britain and Italy.

These people bought a lot of luxury goods from Paris in peacetime. Even Count Vorontsov, the ambassador to London, couldn't help but ridicule some of them, especially a nobleman from the Demidov family who bought a lot of ceramic tableware inlaid with precious metals. He called this matter very stupid.

If Solovyov wanted to do such a business, with his profiteer nature, Count Bobulinsky's friends in Paris, and Madame Lebrun, he could quickly set up this trade route.

The problem is that Russia doesn't know when it will start a war with France, so this preparation is meaningless and only has some intelligence value. At the same time, he is just a mid-level officer and has no power to act beyond his authority.

When he arrived at the French border, he did not know that he was already a lieutenant colonel of the Guards, and that the promotion order had been sent to the Russian ambassador in Paris, Count Arkady Ivanovich Morkov.

His promotion speed is already a rocket given his origins. Being promoted to a military rank may represent another problem - if he has no special achievements in a few years, don't think about being promoted to colonel. He still needs to be the kind of person who is on the battlefield. Especially outstanding.

When entering France, they did not go to Strasbourg, but went directly to Paris from the border between Baden and France.

This road passes through the south of the Vosges Mountains, passing through Nancy, and heading west. Without taking the main road, you can take a more convenient road and go directly from the south of Reims to Paris.

Of course, after arriving here, there are also some strange things, that is, the French are always talkative.

"Sir, where are you from? I see that you are wearing a green military uniform. Are you a Russian officer?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"A lot of Russians have come to France recently. You Russians are the best to talk to. You give them money easily and ask for little. You just like drinking too much."

"It can't be helped. Russians all like to drink, with a few exceptions. But it's strange here. Why is it going to be shut down so early?"

"We who run hotels do not accept guests at night. If you come here a little later, you will have to find a place in the countryside to stay. Although we are no longer at war with those Germans, the damn British have also signed a peace treaty. But we have too many merchants and travelers of some status like you."

"How many more can there be? I heard French immigrants in Petersburg say that Paris is the center of the world, but it is impossible to squeeze everyone in."

"That's it, that's it. Mr. officer, how are your guest rooms arranged?"

"You should be very discerning, boss. Did you see that the master, his wife and two young ladies are here? Except for me, an officer, the rest are all servants."

"Then if you say that, I can really see it."

The innkeeper had already seen the coat of arms of the Dolgorukov family and the medal hanging on Solovyov's chest. You also know that the status of the guests who came back this time is not low.

"Our mayor here is a businessman."

"What else? Could it be more terrifying than a tax collector? Or a door-to-door conscription, or something else?"

"Anyway, the officials are not much better than when there was a king. Mr. François-Antoine Lalemand doesn't like the sans-culottes club. Those of us with small businesses are fine. Those people are in the market." Mr. Chang is..."

"It doesn't matter, I also know two members of the Jacobin Club."

What he said is true, one is Count Stroganov, this is a formal member, and it is registered on the file.

The other one is a czar who calls himself a "spiritual Jacobin", both of whom are heavyweights.

"But at that time, not to mention us provincials, there were quite a few people coming to Paris to collect food."

Although it sounds familiar, there's nothing you can do about it, Parisians are like that.

In France, Parisians have always looked down on provincials. Solovyov had heard about this for a long time, and he was also aware of the arrogance of Parisians.

Of course, the French in the countryside are still very simple, and some of them still have their own unique French cunning and witty humor.

"Your mayor, isn't he bald?"

"If it was a bald mayor, that would be fine. We have had several big shots here. Unfortunately, it was too chaotic at that time. These people either went to Paris or went into exile abroad. The only advantage now is that they are the First Consul. We have the ability to fight, and France is at peace again. Only when there is peace, those of us who run inns will have a better life, otherwise we will be very nervous. "

"I heard that the First Consul is a great person."

"Except that he is from the island, we have heard about him in Nancy. He speaks French with an accent and can spell French words incorrectly."

"But he is an artilleryman, so his calculations are always correct, and people who can do mathematics are good at learning."

"Well, I heard that he has a good relationship with Mr. Kano. Maybe people with knowledge and skills can attract each other."

However, Kano is also about to retire from politics for a period of time due to political differences, at least not from the core stage.

"Ah, that's true. How do you like my French?"

The owner of the inn listened carefully, and then smiled when he recalled what Prince Vasily had just said to him.

"Your French is authentic, much more authentic than that of the gentleman just now! It seems like you came from the south, with a bit of a Marseille accent."

"If you say that, I feel relieved. But I want to ask you one thing. My stepmother is French. Do you think I am a relative in France?"

"That should count, but sir, do your stepmother and your father have any children?"

"I am the eldest son in my family. I have two younger sisters and a younger brother who was just born. Do you think I am a relative in France?"

"I'm a relative in France. But from your tone, it sounds like you're looking for a relative."

"But my stepmother is from the West Indies. I wonder if there is such a lady from there. She is my stepmother's cousin. Her name is Rose. She also has a plantation at home."

"That's not easy to find, but I saw in the newspaper that General Leclerc won a victory in Haiti, maybe we can find your relatives there."

"Thank you, I don't think it's that easy to find out. When we crossed the border, we filled out a form. On it, I said that I was going to Paris to work, and I was looking for relatives. When I asked them, they didn't know anything."

"The West Indies are too far away, sir. If your stepmother had been to mainland France, maybe she could find some relatives, no matter whether they were in Paris or our provinces."

"She went to Nantes and attended a church school there."

"Then you have to go to Nantes on the seaside to ask. We usually don't have many people from the West Indies here, except for those blacks. Maybe you can find out something from them. Some of the citizens serving in the Republic's army are liberated blacks."

From the tone of this boss, he should be against slavery. But the First Consul also wanted to do this in Haiti, so he sent his brother-in-law.

Moreover, General Leclerc probably won't live long. After all, some diseases in the West Indies are very fierce.

"Thank you, I don't have anything else to ask. In addition, the two young ladies are young, and the family of that master are all nobles. We will stay here for a day, so you have to be more careful here."

"That's no problem, sir. In addition, if you want to rest for a day, you can go to the City Hall to have a look. It is the palace of the father-in-law of the king in the past. It is worth seeing."

Speaking of which, this place used to be the jurisdiction of the Duke of Lorraine, and the City Hall was the palace where Louis XV's father-in-law, the unfortunate abdicated king of Poland, lived before.

But Solovyov didn't look at the nature of the City Hall. He has come to France now and will live there for a while.

If there is a chance, he will naturally go to Nantes, but this is something after work.

And Nancy is still under curfew. Since 1792, places in eastern and northern France are still very vigilant at night, especially after the assassination case. It is also a normal operation to strictly control the night in recent years.

As for which side to attack, in fact, there is no difference between what the First Consul did and what Robespierre did, and both sides will be attacked in the end.

As for whether foreigners may be followed and monitored after entering France, in fact, Solovyov thought that Montaki was wrong, and the Minister of Police, Mr. Fouché, might have an explanation.