Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

This mansion at No. 17 Nevsky Avenue is also the most important asset of Count Stroganov's family and their place to spend the winter. Now that spring has come and the weather has become warmer, the old count has moved to the manor in the suburbs. Usually only the young count and his wife and their four children live here.

Of course, the count came back from London early. The couple had been struggling for a while, and it seemed that someone was going to die.

The count called Solovyov to let this Tatar doctor feel his wife's pulse.

"Well, I can only say congratulations to you. Madam Sonya should be pregnant. At least if couples interact more, like you, they will always have more children."

"You kid, why don't you get married quickly? It's not good to fool around outside all the time. Although Madam Recamier is a very charming lady, she is not suitable for marriage. Now in Petersburg, there is a lot of opposition to the French. Patriotic enthusiasm is good."

"No, you misunderstood, Pasha. She and I will only be lovers. If I really want to marry a wife, Her Majesty the Queen once said that she would choose a girl with a good family background for me from her "kittens". Vasily Yurievich also proposed to introduce me to a wife."

When he said this, the gossiping spirit of the Count and his wife was also ignited. Although they were in love, it didn't prevent them from asking about other people's gossip news.

Due to the special family structure of the Count's family, the old Count and his wife separated but did not divorce because of the court scandal. Count Pavel's sister followed her mother to Moscow. The relationship between the brothers and sisters was actually quite weak. Instead, the daughter-in-law Sofia who married in had more contact with her sister-in-law.

Solovyov, who often came here, was more like their nominal brother. In addition, due to the relationship in the social circle, the two sides moved around a lot. The old baron was still doing business with the old count's relatives. The Count and his wife naturally cared about what kind of daughter-in-law he would marry in the future.

"Lisa will introduce you to a wife, or a maid around her. Exclude those who are married, have been around for a long time, are not liked, and are always with the Queen Mother."

The Countess has already started to plan. After all, she is one of Louisa's few best friends. She soon narrowed the scope, but she was still not sure.

What's more, the marriage that was announced in advance may not count.

Unlike other couples, the Stroganov couple is like this. Pavel is more beautiful than his wife, but in terms of intelligence, his wife is slightly better than her husband.

She guessed that it was little Katya. With Louisa's habits, it must be like this. The reckless little Natalia and other girls are unlikely.

"Sonia, don't say anything more. Mishka will be embarrassed."

"Ah, Pasha, if you want to say that he is like this, although he has several lovers, he is unexpectedly innocent! Misha, I think you must have invested a lot of feelings in each lover."

The countess said this, and she actually spit out the actual situation.

The problem with Solovyov is that he is popular and will not refuse. Even his lovers, except Sylvia, are older sisters.

"Well, that's me. But now, this is not the point."

Although the countess is gossipy, she also knows that she still needs to discuss business when she calls Solovyov today.

But there is no need to arrange accommodation for him, after all, he lives in Laundry Lane, not far from Nevsky Avenue.

"Then, let's discuss the core of the problem."

Count Stroganov signaled his wife to prepare food, and the countess understood and went out.

"I want to go to the cavalry. After all, when I was 5 years old, I was listed in the Guards Cavalry, and I also have the qualifications of the Guards. If you say it, I am still your big brother in the Putin Regiment!"

Solovyov was not surprised, after all, there are many nobles who have been in the army since childhood.

"Pasha, if you go to the cavalry, I think you are very suitable for a kind of tactics."

"What are you going to do?"

Count Stroganov knew that Solovyov still had a lot of tricks, although sometimes he would make some small mistakes and have some personal shortcomings, but compared with other people in Petersburg today, he was still much better.

It's just a pity that he has always been a soldier. If he can transfer to the civil service or the court system, he can let his father help him.

But now, it seems that he still has to accept the "advice" of military experts.

Of course, he would also be curious about what Soloviev was going to do, so he listened attentively.

"You have lived in France since you were a child, and you were even a member of the Jacobin Club. Of course, what I want to talk about is not political stance, but you are very familiar with the living habits of the French. If you get familiar with the French in our army, you can still do a lot of things with the French military regulations."

Soloviev's idea is simple, but he still wants to inspire Count Stroganov. Broadening his thinking is always more reliable than cramming.

The count is a smart man. When Alexander went to war, he finally caught up with the main Russian army before the defeat at Austerlitz, but he did not meet Soloviev along the way, nor did he meet Prince Bagration. He just watched the defeat of the Russian army in Alexander's headquarters.

Therefore, he did not know about Bagration's magical operation, but he was also thinking about it and found the problem.

"You don't want me to pretend to be a Frenchman, do you?"

"That's it. In the village of Shengraben, our troops were surrounded by the French army during the retreat. It was because a young officer who knew French spoke French to the French that we were able to escape. No matter how you look at it, our green uniforms look like chasseurs, or they are similar in form to the uniforms of some French infantry regiments, so we have such an opportunity."

The count listened and agreed with it.

So he said, "I can give it a try, but most of our reconnaissance cavalry are Cossacks, and a small number are hussars. Even if our soldiers are proficient in French, they should try not to have an accent. This is still feasible."

Since he was willing to give it a try, Solovyov also had confidence.

In fact, what needs to be done is also very simple, that is, to organize some special operations with the elite troops of hussars and Cossacks, to carry out harassment and reconnaissance missions behind enemy lines, and to enhance the effect of makeup reconnaissance.

However, there is also a problem, that is, special forces are definitely not omnipotent. No matter whether it is cuirassiers or lancers, they are extremely powerful on the battlefield, but individual cavalry may also be stabbed to death by tough infantry with bayonets.

There is no need to look for others for the answer to this version. Although the Russian infantry was defeated in Austerlitz, the tenacity of the Russian infantry still left a deep impression on the French.

Solovyov never believed in the theory of the invincibility of special forces. No matter how high their skills are, they cannot defeat bullets on the battlefield. In many places, they are not opponents of sabers, lances and bayonets.

Special forces are not super soldiers when fighting with others. The key is to play their own role.

However, he did not understand the Russian army. Elite scouts were often used as elite infantry on the battlefield. I am afraid it started before Peter the Great.

Even the nuclear recruiters who were not doing well in their daily lives sighed: "Your scouts are excellent, but they should not be used in the trenches."

The formation of troops is one thing, but how to use them is another.

When Solovyov talked to Stroganov about this issue, he would not have thought about how the Russian army used scouts and special forces.

"For the use of these special forces, we still let the troops disperse in various cavalry regiments to perform important reconnaissance tasks. The feedback is reported to the brigade or division-level staff through the chief of staff of each cavalry regiment, and the intelligence can still be shared."

To do this, we must mainly work hard on establishing the staff system and intelligence system.

Among military intelligence personnel, in addition to the military attachés in embassies abroad, intelligence collection and analysis in combat are also very important. This is why Solovyov and Peter Volkonsky attached great importance to intelligence when they were tinkering with the Russian staff.

The failure of the Battle of Austerlitz was largely due to the failure of intelligence processing, which led to the coalition forces being fooled.

If sufficient battlefield reconnaissance had been done, even if a wrong judgment had been made, the defeat would not have been so complete.

It is precisely because of this that Solovyov attaches great importance to the collection of military intelligence, and the issues he mentioned in the memorandum have also been supported.

"I can consider doing this, but I have no experience in military command."

"But the emperor has no experience either. It is much easier to command a cavalry squadron or a cavalry regiment than to command a large army. It is not that I say that when facing Napoleon, it is already good for a novice to do so."

Although Solovyov always wants to complain about Alexander's arrogance, he dares to confront the big boss Napoleon in this version. Others should not have this courage.

Courage and ignorance are always put together, and there is nothing to be done about it.

After listening to it, Count Stroganov did not say anything. He did not want to leave excuses for praising people like this, but it was a protection for the person involved.

After all, they did not know whether there would be spies at No. 17 Nevsky Avenue. The old count has always been more tolerant of his servants. Maybe something will get mixed in. There are many people and many mouths.

After 1805, the atmosphere in Russia did change. Count Stroganov, who had returned from abroad, was also very clear about this.

What the liberals wanted to do would always cause a counterattack from the conservatives. Even Alexander, the emperor of all Russia with almost unlimited power, had to face this problem and balance the factions among the various factions.

But it was indeed more euphemistic to say so.

"Well, then, I should have no problem commanding the cavalry squadron."

"Yes, even those French ruffians, who had not undergone rigorous training, dared to charge forward with cavalry swords. And you, although you have never been on the battlefield, this should not count in the emperor's camp. What I want to say is that you should still be very talented."

There was actually no problem for the count himself to command the cavalry regiment, he could do it.

"If that's the case, I can go and sponsor a hussar regiment or a Cossack regiment."

If he personally sponsored it, with the financial resources of Russia's richest family, Solovyov could not imagine what kind of luxurious army it would be.

After all, if you are the richest man in Moscow, you will be able to set up a fully equipped militia regiment in the future, and the equipment will be no less than that of regular infantry.

"Since that's the case, you can write to the emperor. You can mention the construction of the Hussars. If possible, I think the Mariupol Hussar Regiment is good, and this regiment has good combat effectiveness."

Soloviev was a little selfish, because his friend Davydov was still in the Belarusian Hussar Regiment, and he was quite capable.

However, the Belarusian Regiment's garrison was far away from here.

The Mariupol Hussar Regiment was unfortunately transferred to the Baltic coast recently, and appeared here as a reserve force. It was also to put the Baltic coast regiment on the battlefield when something changed in Prussia.

Such a force is of course more suitable for reconnaissance missions, and it can also strengthen its equipment.

Soloviev also knew that in addition to the Tula Arsenal, Izhevsk could also start production recently.

The weapons he designed, regardless of the patent fees, can be strengthened for such a regiment.

After all, Count Pavel is his good friend, good brother, and important sponsor and partner. He really can't let him have any accidents on the battlefield. He still has to be armed in advance to prepare for any eventuality.

As for a hussar regiment armed to the teeth, it can indeed be used for experimentation. In addition to cold weapons, the cavalry can come up with a "Mamluk" weapon configuration, and the equipment is more advanced. What effect can it have?

If there is no accident, with the stupidity of the Prussians, by the winter of 1806, both sides must fight with the French in Poland. At that time, it will be a good time to test the combat effectiveness of the troops.

Solovyov told Count Stroganov with this idea, and the other party readily agreed. This is also a good thing.

So, the next day, the count wrote to Alexander, applying for him to go to the cavalry regiment, join the battlefield as a volunteer officer, and pay out of his own pocket to sponsor a cavalry regiment.

Alexander was very happy to see the count's letter. After all, he was his closest friend, and he could always share his worries at such times, so he also approved this plan.

As for what kind of weapons the Hussars will be equipped with, that depends on how much money Count Stroganov is willing to spend.