Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 231 043 An Italian hydraulic engineer Hercules

"Sometimes it is not a good idea to sail on the Mediterranean Sea. Fortunately, there are no pirates in the Mediterranean Sea now."

"Michele, you are in Italy, why do you speak like a Roman? You mentioned pirates to me yesterday."

"Silvia, do you know that Caesar and Pompey have an inextricable relationship with pirates? In addition, in the late Roman Republic, after the beginning of the Principate, until the Vandals sacked Rome, food had to be transported to Rome by water. No matter whether it was from Carthage or Egypt."

"Are you sure?"

Silvia's knowledge was not very rich. When she heard Solovyov talk about these things, she had an expression of admiration.

"This is the result of reading a lot of books. You have more knowledge about dressing yourself, understanding fashion, and managing household chores."

"That's it. Unlike you, when you were at my house, your bag was filled with marching notes, maps, and a book."

"Now it's changed. I'm reading Caesar's "The Gallic War" recently. After all, I was in Gaul before. Now that I'm in Italy, I may start reading other people's books, and I'm very interested in Rome."

Of course, he was not very interested in the old man in the melon-shaped hat, but more concerned about the eternal city of Rome. It would be more meaningful if he could see the House of Augustus and the House of Livia.

After all, this is the "first couple" after the beginning of the Roman principal system, and in Europe, no matter what you are good at, even the Turks are good at Rome when you come back.

After they arrived in Rome, they first went to Silvia's own apartment, which was near the Pinzia Gate, near an entrance to the Borghese garden.

"This prince's garden is really big!"

"More than two hundred years ago, the Borghese family came to Rome from Siena, and later produced a pope and three cardinals, and their status in Rome was very prominent."

"But wouldn't it be good for this Prince Camillo to be a rich man in Rome? He probably doesn't have any political talent, but he is very handsome and single. He can marry a good woman and then be a free and easy prince in Rome. How good it is. Then as a patron of art, and study some science, he can be great in Rome and don't have to go to France to join the army."

"That's how I say it. I know from my family relatives that he has always believed that as a prince of Rome, he can take advantage of the opportunity of the French entering Italy and go from north to south."

However, Silvia's geographical knowledge is just like that of ordinary noble ladies who know north and south. There are some places that are not as accurate as those of Louisa and her sisters-in-law, whether on the map or in their minds.

"From the Po Plain to Sicily, what is he going to do? Make Rome great again?"

"Why are you suddenly speaking the language of the British barbarians?"

"Ah, nothing, I just think that speaking in this language makes the meaning clearer, and the British...ah, forgive these people, after all, they can't speak French, and they are not familiar with Italian and Latin, they are really a group of poor people. No matter how rampant the British are on the sea, they can't change the fact that Latin is used to standardize scientific terms, and French is used by nobles to communicate and sign treaties."

Soloviev's daily hobby is to make fun of English, which is much more interesting than making fun of French, especially now that France is too strong, and it can fight against several people without losing.

When the Sun King was in power, Charles II was often fooled, and then the British were in chaos for many years, until they found a German from Hanover to be the king, and then Britain stabilized.

"Then you still want to learn their language? I know you have a talent for languages, Michele, but you can't even speak Italian well now."

"People's abilities are always limited, and learning sign language may be more useful than learning Italian."

Indeed, when Silvia spoke, she also used a lot of gestures. If you hold her hands down and put her on the bed, she would seem to be unable to speak, and even her vocal cords seemed to be unable to make any sound.

Then he let go of his hand.

"Yes, you are so cunning. If you hold me down, I can't speak."

"Octavia is the same. This child is very smart, but it is still difficult for me to communicate with her."

"I can't teach my child Russian. Your Italian. Octavia will say that Dad is a weirdo."

"It's my strange accent, right?"

"Yes, when you speak any language, your accent is very correct, but Italian is the only language that needs more study."

"Learn from you? Right here?"

"You are so smart and know so much. I think this is probably the only thing that can make me your teacher."

She and Louisa have never met, but she still likes being a teacher.

It's just learning foreign languages. Solovyov touched his thick hair, which even had a braid. Baron Sergei's hair is also thick. The people in their family have flowing hairstyles. They should not be as bald as the British at an early age. This is still very reassuring.

What's more, learning foreign languages ​​is a good idea!

After arriving in Rome, Prince Borghese did not seem to be in a hurry to prepare. He was waiting to be received by the First Consul. The letter he sent to the Roman headquarters only asked Silvia to prepare servants to go to the official residence in Paris, and also asked his butler to transport a batch of property out of Rome, specifically to bribe officials of the French and Italian Republics.

Therefore, Silvia only arranged for the maid to go to Paris, and there was nothing else to do. She could spend more time with Solovyov and walk around the streets of Rome with her daughter.

"This is the Aurelian Wall. Look at these stones, Michele. It was built 1,500 years ago and is part of the Roman wall rebuilt by Emperor Aurelian."

"It's a very majestic wall. Even if you use heavy artillery for siege, you need to concentrate your firepower to attack several key places. Moreover, siege warfare is very difficult, no matter where you attack."

"You are thinking about war again, but it's no wonder, you are a soldier."

"But it would be better to make this a tourist city. There are also jugglers there, who look like big guys."

Soloviev looked back at Sylvia's back and saw a strongman performing.

No matter whether it was a 200-jin strongman or a 200-kilogram strongman, he really had seen quite a few.

And the clothes this guy was wearing gave people a very strange feeling.

"Michele, the robe this man is wearing."

"We just came to see the performance of a strong man. He is not only strong, but also very clever in his movements. He can support the actors."

"Bravo! Bravo!"

There are still many people cheering in the crowd, and some people will pay tips for such public performances.

"Michele, why did you give him silver coins?"

"This performance is worth it, and there is no need for Seth copper coins, and..."

"Thank you, sir, I can see that you appreciate our performance."

This strong man stood in front of Solovyov, with a sense of oppression like a mountain. In the past, he didn't have this feeling in front of Bykov.

After all, Bykov is a "dwarf musketeer". He is strong, but not so tall.

"Giovanni Battista Belzoni, I'm from Padua. I'm performing here because I'm going to England, but unfortunately I spent all my money on the way, and I always want to drink a little, so I'm performing here to save some money so that I can go to London."

"Why go to London?"

"I don't like the French. They took Padua and finally made me homeless, so I came here."

Soloviev had some impression of this Belzoni. Before Champollion deciphered the Egyptian text, this guy's barbaric exploration destroyed a lot of cultural relics, but also made people understand Egypt better, but his methods were really barbaric. The female mummy destroyed in the Temple of Hatshepsut was caused by his momentary mistake.

Soloviev remembered some things very clearly, especially when he was reading magazines. In the DNA test of Tutankhamun, a mummy with almost complete damage above the abdomen seemed to be done by him. That mummy might be Tutankhamun's wife and sister.

This adventurer appeared here now, and Solovyov didn't shoot him because he was quite polite, and this man had no hostility, but was quite friendly to him.

"I am Mikhail Solovyov, a Russian officer, traveling in Rome, but I am a military attaché in France, and I have fought against the French."

"You have fought against the French?"

"Yes, just three years ago, in the expeditionary force of Marshal Suvorov."

Belzoni used to be a monk in a monastery, and now he happened to be stranded in Rome. He didn't have to go to London, and he couldn't say what he could do there.

"Then you beat up the French, didn't you?"

"I wrote a script, which is not shown much now. It's about the Gauls fighting the Romans. Of course, if it's shown in Rome, I can change it to the Romans fighting the Gauls, the amazing Roman warriors."

"Your bottom line is quite flexible, young officer."

Belzoni was only 24 years old at the time, but he was tall and strong, and looked older, while Solovyov looked handsome and looked younger.

"But the Italians are more flexible. I have seen that the Russian army was welcomed by the Italians when crossing the Po River, and then attacked our Grand Duke and his entourage. If we hadn't reacted quickly, we would have become the victims of the Italians. Then there were people on the other side, welcoming the French who came back again. This seems to be much more serious than writing a script to please the audience."

He didn't say it too seriously. He didn't intend to fight, and the other party actually dared to mock him and had something to say about his script design.

"I'm sorry, sir, maybe I spoke a little harshly."

"But I don't recommend you go to London by yourself. I'm going there in a few days. If possible, you can go with me, or I can ask a former monk to be my follower. Is that okay?"

Belzoni could see that the young officer and his family (to be precise, Sylvia and her daughter were his family) were all dressed very decently. Solovyov had two medals on his chest, and Sylvia was wearing very fashionable clothes, and she looked rich.

Indeed, Solovyov and Silvia were both relatively wealthy, and there were overseas offices of Russian and French banks in Rome, which could be used to exchange cash.

Rome was also an important destination for nobles from various countries to travel, and in addition, Naples was also included. Many people spent the winter here, and even in the hot summer, many people were reluctant to leave. There were many villas to rent along the coastline of Naples, and many people even bought real estate here. Bagration's daughter-in-law, the grandmother of the "little fairy", had always lived in Naples, leading her notorious personal life.

Therefore, Rome, like other places in Italy, had a very developed financial business for personal redemption, just like the financing channels of Paris, London and the Netherlands.

Besides, banks and insurance started here, so there was still some value, especially on the river bank.

Belzoni was willing to accept Solovyov's employment. This strongman was not only extremely strong, but also had some basic knowledge of water conservancy and machinery, and was also an excellent barber.

"You know, Giovanni, in Russia, barbers used to have a very promising future. When I was in St. Petersburg, there was a barber who eventually became the Tsar's attendant and a high-ranking official. He was not as educated as you, and he learned a lot of skills."

"That's because our family is a barber in Padua, sir."

"And you have learned so many skills, but you still want to serve the British. Many British people like to travel and steal cultural relics. If there are some metals and gems, they will make a lot of money."

"You are disparaging the British in this way, sir, but it is a bit of an image. They also stole a lot of things."

These Italians have always been like this to their boss. He dare not believe in Belzoni's character. After all, there are many thieves around the Mediterranean.

However, Belzoni fulfilled his responsibilities when fulfilling the contract, especially recently serving as a bodyguard for Sylvia.

Moreover, putting him and Adela together, the contrast is really too great.

Adela looked at the Italian with a certain vigilance. Moreover, he did not seem to be that reliable as a new hired henchman for his master and "big brother". To him, making money was more important.

Going to Russia might give him more opportunities to make money.

After all, in Western Europe, Russians always give people the impression of being rich, and their luxurious lifestyle is somewhat famous in Paris, London, Vienna, Rome and Naples.

But Solovyov was not like that. He wore decent clothes because it was a Guards uniform, and he was very careful when spending money.

But he had money, which Belzoni knew very well, so he was willing to work for him.