Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 402 044 Prussia should be able to reach Berlin in 18 days, right?

The reason why Solovyov adopted this method was indeed due to his cautious consideration of the problem.

"Now that it is carried out in secret, Katya, you are still free and can change your decision at any time. This is also a kind of protection for you. Moreover, I think that starting from this autumn, there may be another war."

Little Katya bit her lip and nodded in agreement.

"At that time, I may go back to the front line. This may also make people worry. Even as a staff officer, I am always in a relatively safe place, but bullets and shells are not accurate, and I don't know where they will fly."

"We can all understand, Misha, you are very thoughtful."

"As for the next period of time, I should have few opportunities to meet Katya. If nothing happens and neither of us regrets, we can make a formal vow. In addition, this necklace is a token of engagement, Katya, it should be very suitable for you."

Considering the color matching, the ruby ​​necklace can indeed be set off. After all, little Katya's empire dress is light-colored, and her skin is pink and tender, which looks very suitable.

"This"

"You can try it on, Vasily Vasilyevich, don't you think so?"

For the father and the future father-in-law, it is obvious that this honorific should be used.

As for the stepmother, she also came over to interrupt.

"I'll put it on for you."

But she came closer, and considering her bulging belly, she might be about to give birth in the next few days.

She accepted little Katya in this way, but it seemed a little too enthusiastic.

"Oh, Prince Vasily, it seems that your daughter is very popular with my family."

"That's great, Baron Sergei, everything is satisfactory, but we have to wait for another year."

"My son is by the emperor's side, and he is well-informed. He has some skills that don't seem like our children. You know, my generation is still in the army, and the highest I have been is a major. And what about Misha? He should become a general soon. It's rare for such a young general to rise to the rank by his own ability!"

"Yes, but there is still a long way to go. I was promoted to lieutenant general at the age of 31, but it is not so easy to go further in the army. Not only do you have your own skills, but you also need some luck and connections."

Prince Vasily is more worried about the luck of his future son-in-law. He got close to Grand Duke Constantine by his own ability, which is not easy.

He even has some connections. After all, the late old prince was the former commander-in-chief of the army and governor of Moscow.

It is obviously not difficult for a colonel to be promoted to major general, and for a major general to continue to be promoted.

In such a happy atmosphere, although it was a secret engagement, the relationship between the two families became better.

In order to prepare the dowry for little Katya, Prince Vasily decided to take his family back to Moscow. First, according to Baron Sergei's suggestion, he took advantage of the rising value of the manor to sell the Sparrow Hills manor to Prince Yusupov, and then use the money for more stable investment projects.

After all, when there are more real estates and less cash, these manors and properties may become a burden.

Besides, Prince Yusupov has always liked the plots in the Sparrow Hills area, but he has no chance to buy them. Now Prince Vasily's sale here has given him an opportunity.

Considering that the old house of the Solovyov family at No. 4 Laundry Lane is so close to the mansion of Prince Yusupov's family in front of the Moika River Embankment, even Adela, who is watching the house there, should tell her stepfather about this when she has a tea party with the Potemkin brothers and sisters.

There is no need for any notification in the middle, and it can be done secretly.

As for the Yusupov family, it is now one of the top three richest families in Russia and the richest family in the future. The economic strength is still there.

Considering the friendship with the Dolgorukov family, Prince Yusupov said that when they go to Moscow, they will definitely take care of the manor in Sparrow Hills.

As for whether it can be bought, when the old prince was alive, he dared not give the empress face and retired home in a rage. At that time, he still had some prestige in the army, which was also the confidence. This manor in Sparrow Hills was half bought and half given away because of military merit when the old prince was still alive.

On the contrary, Prince Vasily and his deceased brother have a milder temper.

But Solovyov has no time to pay attention to what is happening in Moscow. He can only be idle for a few days here, and then there will be tasks.

And Prince Vasily will take his wife and two daughters back to Moscow, where the climate is pleasant after the fall, and he also has to deal with these things.

Solovyov still has to return to work now, and the burden will not be light in the future.

After Alexander set off, Van Suchteren suggested that Volkonsky and Solovyov should make two plans for the current situation.

However, Solovyov was a bit lazy and only made two directions under one plan, either Prussia failed or Prussia was in a stalemate.

In the former case, the Russian army would not have time to rescue, and being able to send the vanguard to East Prussia was already fast.

If the Prussian army could delay the French army, it would obviously be very beneficial to the entire war situation in 1806.

"Therefore, you only made these two sets of plans. Colonel, are you so sure that we need to mobilize troops in this way? Don't you need to consider mobilizing troops to the Danube front line once there is peace?"

"I don't think it's necessary, since His Majesty has already gone to Berlin, and Prussia has been fooled by the French on the Hanover issue, just like playing a monkey. Therefore, I dare to conclude that in the central region of Germany, There will be a fight."

"Your reasons seem to be quite sufficient."

"As for the Turks, with their little ability, the Danube Corps can still stop them. I'm afraid that when the French enter Berlin, they won't be able to cross the Danube."

Van Suchteren was somewhat shocked. Solovyov actually despised the Prussian army so much. If Tsar Paul, who single-handedly promoted him, knew about it, would he raise his coffin?

You know, Paul copied many regulations of the Prussian army in his military reforms.

But thinking about it in retrospect, he is a disciple of Suvorov, so it is not surprising to think so.

But while he was having a small theater in his mind, Solovyov continued to speak: "I know you have doubts about my statement, but I have been to the Prussian military camps and saw with my own eyes their depleted armaments. , Discipline is not as high as rumored, even under the new generation of better commanders, this situation also occurs in some old infantry regiments. "

"So, you think the Prussians will be defeated quickly?"

"Yes, the Prussian army will fail quickly, as long as a battle is initiated, whether it is an active attack or passive defense."

Then Solovyov asked the adjutant who followed him to spread the map on the table.

Yes, he has an adjutant too.

As the Deputy Minister of Operations, you can choose a young officer in the Guards as your adjutant.

Therefore, as the former chief battalion commander of the General Regiment, he chose Lieutenant Nikolai Isleniev. He would always choose an officer who he thought had a future.

When doing things, you should at least act like yourself when you were 15 years old, with nimble hands and feet and quick reactions.

He was right. This Islayev would become the commander of the General Regiment in the future, and would eventually become the commander of the 1st Guards Division and retire with the rank of infantry general.

Of course, it is not those with more outstanding abilities. It is still very difficult to find a few young officers with outstanding abilities in the Russian army. Most of them have more courage than ability, and more muscles than brains.

"Okay, that's it."

After unfolding the map, Van Suchteren could see it very clearly.

"You came directly here with a map of northern Germany. It seems you were prepared. Colonel, what would you do if it were you?"

"If I were the commander-in-chief of the Prussian army, I would definitely set up defenses along the passes of the main mountain ranges. At the same time, I would pay attention to shrinking my troops to the line of the Elbe River. I would lengthen the French army's supply line, strengthen my own strength, and wait for Sweden. reinforcements. The fighting power is not very good, at least in Pomerania, they are the closest. At the same time, according to King Frederick's usual tactics, he wants to attract the nearby German princes to join his army, and then he has to wait. Russian or British reinforcements arrive."

"If I were the King of Prussia, I would agree to your plan. However, Colonel, you have to consider that the country of Prussia is an army that owns the entire country, not our country's national conditions. The Dutch will recognize the money, and the Russians will value it. Honor, and the Prussians, they want it all."

Van Suchteren has become a Russian citizen. I don’t know if he is trying to make a fool of himself by saying this.

"That's true, so the strategy they should adopt is probably to take the initiative to attack. Judging from the situation of the anti-French coalition that failed to do its best and was defeated in Valmy, I'm not optimistic about it. And Brunei Duke K is still a veteran left over from the era of King Frederick the Great, although He is experienced and very stable, but he cannot change the views of Hohenlohe and others. In addition, the king and queen, as well as the young officers, are all eager to gain benefits in the war, so it is inevitable. , will take an active offensive approach.”

"I'm not surprised that you think so."

Peter Volkonsky was on the side. He did not speak until this moment, and continued: "The opinion of our operations department is that the Prussian army will take the initiative to fight out, but what will happen on the battlefield is not easy to predict."

"Although it's hard to predict, it shouldn't be a problem that the Prussians will eventually fail. Their army's current performance is even worse than that of the Austrians."

Solovyov said this because there is no longer an illegal organization.

"In this case, let's proceed according to this plan. The troops must be assembled on the western border and be ready to go at any time."

"But the order still needs to be issued after His Majesty returns. We don't know what Berlin's attitude is."

"Yes, it depends on how the emperor talks with the King of Prussia. Solovyov, you have to continue to improve this plan when you go back. As for you, Prince Volkonsky, you need to communicate with the Minister of War. We need to control the military's We need to fully replenish supplies. I am also the director of military supplies, so I naturally have to take responsibility for logistical issues."

This discussion was finally completed, and the General Staff had no confidence or expectations about what the Prussians could do next.

As for Solovyov, his subtext is even that Prussia will definitely be rushed to Berlin by Napoleon.

The reason for thinking so is that the French army at this time is very strong, which is different from more than 130 years later.

If Prussia is rushed now, those retired Russian veterans will probably say that "only lazy people don't fight the Germans, Bonaparte is still very diligent", and this idea is not uncommon.

But the 21st century is still the time for strong French.

French only sounds gentle in women's mouths, and the nasal sound of those French men when they speak, or they speak like they are holding a mouthful of phlegm, which is really deterrent, not like the rumors.

As for the Prussian army, they only look strong on paper, with hundreds of thousands of troops that can be dispatched, but their real strength is more or less the reputation left by Frederick the Great.

Although Volkonsky knew that the Prussian army was exaggerated, and that Frederick the Great's army was not Frederick William III's army, and that there must be many problems, he was not as sure as Solovyov.

"Misha, why do you think so?"

"Just like the French tiger, the donkey, will feel scared when it hears the cry of the Prussian donkey, but only when it gets close will it find that this opponent is just a show and looks scary."

"Ah, is it your 'Khitan fable' again?"

"You can also say that this is a kind of 'beast instinct'. The French will find that Prussia is easy to deal with. It is precisely because of this that we need to make a plan to quickly assist the Prussians. But I am also worried that they will think they can Deal with the French."

"Would the Prussians have such courage?"

"They would be so ignorant. We can wait for the news from Berlin to see what the result is. How did the Emperor talk with the King of Prussia? They may not need our help yet. They are not like Emperor Franz, who has some self-knowledge. In addition, there are stupid guys like Mark in the Prussian army."

After hearing this, Volkonsky felt helpless. Mark has become a complete negative example. Solovyov should still be holding a grudge against him for losing the little notebook to Napoleon!