Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 492 004 Sevastopol's Fortification Plan

This kind of discovery of Khersones is not rare. After all, the Greeks in the Crimean Peninsula have existed for a very long time. It was only during the reign of the Crimean Khanate that their importance was overshadowed because the Khan's court was on the peninsula.

Even when this place was still a large city-state and a kingdom, nomadic peoples were generally in the north of the peninsula, so the remains must be very rich.

When conducting hobby-style excavations, we cannot learn from a German who really dug out Troy, or Belzoni, the hydraulic engineer of Soloviev's family, who made great contributions and great destructive power.

Therefore, Soloviev was more careful in the places where he had to use a shovel, especially after he dug out a column, he also found traces of color, which was even more important.

In the early restoration of ancient Greek and Roman buildings, Western European countries also forcibly turned the white marble parts into their original colors, but forcibly ignored one point, that is, the ancient Mediterranean civilization still had to paint the surface of their buildings with colors.

The profession of plasterer is still very old, but modern Europeans have turned it into the original appearance of white marble when restoring it.

It may look magnificent, but it cannot restore history.

"General, this place looks very suitable for building a fort."

"Yes, but we must pay attention to one thing when building defense facilities. Our most powerful heavy artillery can point to the sea and fire at enemy warships, but we must also pay attention to the fact that the landing enemy will not come from the beach head-on. Therefore, our position must take into account the protection of the flanks. If the port area of ​​Sevastopol or Odessa is fortified, then there must be mobile forces to protect the flanks."

Soloviev asked the Governor of Sevastopol for several retired officers and veterans and began the survey.

"Why must it be like this?"

"You should know that our Grand Marshal Alexander Vasilyevich defeated the Turks who landed at the Kinbensha Spit. What if an opponent other than the Turks comes? The most typical example is the British. They are likely to send a fleet to contain and then land from the flank to launch an attack."

For these old guys, when they mentioned Suvorov, some of them had served under the Grand Marshal, but not in the battle of the Kinbensha Spit.

Soloviev is now a well-known figure in the Russian army. In the previous war, he was one of the generals who rarely suffered losses at the hands of the French.

What's more rare is that he was able to win the battle. Although the battle to defeat the French army did not affect the overall situation, it also saved a lot of face.

As for the fact that he was the last disciple personally instructed by Suvorov, this was also a halo added to his head.

"You are right, but we have not fought with the British. How do they fight?"

"Speaking of which, I have never fought with the British. I have fought with the French before. Even our former opponents, the Germans, have been friendly forces with us on the battlefield for many years, and we have never seen any record of fighting."

However, Solovyov himself is not sure what level he is at when facing opponents other than the French.

Now he is in Sevastopol. 1807 has not yet passed. The distance between Sevastopol and St. Petersburg is so far that he doesn't even know what happened there.

In short, Alexander made the last diplomatic effort against Gustav IV, who was seeking death, and suggested that Sweden should not stand on the side of Britain in the next war, and the attitude it can take can be to join the alliance with France or remain neutral.

This is already very considerate of the Swedes' ideas. The two sides are cousins ​​and brothers-in-law. In the previous marriage storm, Russia's attitude has always been relatively moderate since Paul. The main person who is serious about this issue is Queen Mother Maria, after all, it is her eldest daughter who has been wronged.

However, Alexander's goodwill did not receive an effective response from Gustav IV. The King of Sweden rejected Russia's request and was planning to join the British side to do something.

King Gustav's target was the neighbor to the west. At this time, Denmark was not only the territory seen on the current map, but also Norway and Iceland.

The King of Sweden's idea was simple, that is, to put the main force of the Swedish army in the southwest of the country and seize some benefits from Denmark.

The two sides have always had a certain degree of enemy relationship since before the Thirty Years' War. If they can occupy the entire Scandinavian Peninsula, this is naturally good.

Moreover, the British actively supported his idea. Since France and Russia concluded the Treaty of Tilsit, the British have also felt the pressure from the continental blockade. This kind of internal consumption between the two sides means that the British can still occupy the advantage at sea. Otherwise, it will be a serious injury.

At the cabinet hearing, whether it was the House of Lords Botanical Garden, which still had some real power, or the lively House of Commons Zoo, they all advocated giving Russia some color from both sides.

In the past, they just did it secretly, supporting from the outside and trying to murder a Tsar or something like that.

Now, it is openly fighting. In the past, they wanted to win over Russia to fight against the Ottoman Empire. Now they want to win over the Ottoman Empire to fight against Russia. At the same time, they also want to help Sweden in Northern Europe. Apart from Portugal, this is the only remaining European ally of Britain.

In the last Russian-Swedish war, although Sweden was at a disadvantage for a time, Gustav III and the main forces of the navy and army were blocked in Vyborg, and almost staged a Nordic version of Huang Tiandang, but in the end they learned from Jin Wushu's unadvanced experience through convergent evolution and successfully broke through.

The difference is that Lao Han encountered a traitor, while the Swedes were killed by weather factors and the Russian navy.

In this atmosphere, the Swedes actually thought they could do it.

This also made the British think that they could benefit from holding Russia from both wings. The idea is indeed good, and with the current level of General Buckholden, the governor of Vyborg, Russia, it seems that he is not very smart.

At that time, the British army will dispatch troops led by Sir Moore from the mainland to Sweden to support King Gustav's operations.

As for the French? France's attention is now in the southwest. After all, Northern Europe is not far away, but the cost is not low. I'm afraid that the "benefits" in Spain are greater.

Solovyov reminded Caulaincourt when he got married. Caulaincourt is loyal, easy to talk to, and reliable. He will definitely convey it truthfully.

But Napoleon, he only takes the opinions he wants to hear.

This is the problem. After the Lodi Bridge and Alcole, Napoleon has always been quite conceited. He will not care too much about the problems in Spain.

It is definitely impossible to manage it. In Spain, it is just to improve the sanitary environment in hospitals and barracks and reduce a certain degree of non-combat casualties. In this regard, the old French military doctors have a highly consistent attitude with the Russians.

On the Russian side, Solovyov still has to consider his own business more.

When he saw the defense zone of Sevastopol, he knew very well that the British would not attack the port directly even if the Russian side was unprepared. Even if they built temporary artillery on both sides, according to the specifications of Toulon, it would be enough to give the attacking fleet a hard time.

Speaking of which, in the Crimean War, the British and French coalition forces had an advantage in this main battlefield. No matter whether the navy rushed into the Gulf of Finland, seized the Aland Peninsula, fought the monastery in the Arctic Ocean in vain, or suffered a humiliating defeat in Kamchatka, they did not do anything to Russia.

Nicholas, who is so cute now, must not take the path of becoming a bad disciple in the future. He is close to villains and far from wise ministers. That's why Solovyov asked the Queen Mother to recommend some extracurricular reading materials when she sent a letter to Sevastopol.

Solovyov started the translation project without saying a word, and suggested to Nicholas a complete set of hardcover French illustrations of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as well as some books that have been translated, and classic works of Greece and Rome.

The Queen Mother was very satisfied, but the unfortunate Nicholas would probably be strictly disciplined by his tutor, Mrs. Leven, during this winter vacation.

As for whether he would become a bad disciple, he would definitely discipline him strictly when he returned.

Now, it is very important to strengthen the defense of Sevastopol. If the British enter the Black Sea, the Black Sea Fleet can naturally deal with them if they come in small numbers, but it will be difficult to deal with if they come in large numbers.

From the coastline around Sevastopol, there are many places that need to be strengthened. If we consider improving the front-line supply of the Danube Corps, controlling the ports on the west coast of the Black Sea and starting from here to provide supplies for the army, it is still feasible.

In the coming 1808, the Black Sea is still relatively peaceful, and the British will not deliberately come here to cause trouble. If they want to help the Ottoman Empire, they must also provide equipment and assistance behind the scenes, rather than taking direct action.

After their investigation of the key areas, Solovyov immediately wrote a letter to Petersburg, stating that he would strengthen the fortifications of Sevastopol, Yevpatoria, Feodosia and Kerch on the Crimean Peninsula, improve the transportation on the peninsula, establish a transportation hub in Simferopol, and ensure the transportation line of the Isthmus of Perekop.

After this series of operations, the governor of Tavrid Province was very happy. After all, Count Solovyov was also a close minister trusted by the emperor. Although he was not as good as Count Zubov, the favorite of the Empress during her early years, and Count Kutaisov, the favorite of Paul, he still had personal ability.

What's more, there was a large-scale construction here, and the local masters could get more benefits.

But this was a national-level engineering project, and the governor didn't know that Solovyov's memorial clearly stated that the entire project should be budgeted and audited on the way.

In this case, digital management is more needed, including large-scale statistical work.

When writing down the suggestions on "statistics", Solovyov was somewhat thinking of Ryazanov's comedy film "Office Story". It's not that there is any other meaning, that is, statistics are always more important. Even if it cannot form a scale, there must be a certain processing capacity, especially the budget for Crimea-related projects.

In addition to this, the entire Black Sea northern coast system he planned is still relatively complete. The first thing to consider is the transportation line. Fortifications can be slowly built in peacetime, and these strongholds are enough in wartime.

With the level of the British, they were thankful that they could mobilize 20,000 to 30,000 troops from their country for the expedition.

At present, the Russian army can quickly mobilize a 40,000-man army to Crimea, whether it is from the Danube Army or from other places, to arrange garrisons. This is not a problem.

The Crimean War, in the final analysis, was Napoleon III. He brought in a large number of French troops and the British fleet at sea, and Russia's own backward system and stupid commanders, that's it.

Solovyov felt that it was still necessary to solve the problem in advance, which naturally meant creating a favorable external environment, or patching it up in the past few decades.

Among his suggestions, there is another important one, that is, in addition to the military warehouses built in Kerch and Feodosia, the shipping route of the Sea of ​​Azov should be improved, and an experimental railway should be built from the Isthmus of Perekop, extending all the way to Sevastopol and the northern coastline of the Sea of ​​Azov.

It costs money anyway, and Alexander should be under great pressure on this point. Because there is no suitable steam locomotive, the railway in Tsarskoye Selo has always been operated by horse carriages, which can be said to be better than nothing.

The nobles in the palace have no choice, and they are indeed worthy of the title of lucky ministers.

That is, Arakcheev, who Solovyov has always disagreed with, saw the benefits of this issue. Although he has a reactionary position, he is still very efficient in doing things.

Sometimes, you need some people with black hearts and black hands to do things. Except for strengthening artillery, Arakcheev's military reforms in other aspects are relatively inefficient, probably because he himself is an artilleryman and is more familiar with firing artillery.

But the railway is a key project to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Queen Mother. Arakcheev is very concerned about it. If the railway in Tsarskoye Selo can be built well, then the Isthmus Railway will also have some experience.

The entire project cycle is expected to be five years. Since the transportation of the Crimean Peninsula has always relied on the water transportation of the Sea of ​​Azov, it doesn’t matter if this road is closed for a period of time.

And he can also benefit from budgeting and auditing.

If Solovyov knew Arakcheev’s idea, would he have a sense of déjà vu, and it would be particularly funny.