Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 71 021 Russia's chameleon is a tradition

After the victory in Marengo, the coalition forces continued to advance westward and arrived at Turin, the capital of the Piedmont region.

When Suvorov entered the city, he found that there were still a large number of military supplies in the city. After asking the mayor of Turin and representatives of local nobles, he learned that because of the continuous uprisings against France in Piedmont and Genoa, and the coalition forces were nearby, Moreau had withdrawn his troops to the south and deployed defenses in the coastal areas around Genoa.

So far, the battles after the Russian army entered Italy have come to a temporary end. After large and small battles, except for the Mantua Fortress and parts of the south bank of the Po River, General Bonaparte's achievements in the Italian campaign have been completely lost.

He himself returned to Egypt at this time to prepare to deal with the Ottoman Empire army shipped by the British. He also learned about the war situation in Italy from the newspapers provided by the cunning Sidney Smith.

Let's not talk about whether he will return to France from Egypt, what he has to do.

Now Suvorov has also stopped temporarily, but his army is mainly resting around Turin and observing the movements of the French.

What the French need is MacDonald's army to return to the Po Plain, and the Russian-Austrian coalition is coordinating at this time. Archduke Karl has also driven the French Rhine Army and the Swiss Army westward in the battlefields of southern Germany and Switzerland. The Second Anti-French Alliance War has been very advantageous so far. Even the British have put the next stage of the joint landing in the Netherlands on the agenda. Their naval advantage is still very useful at this time.

It is rare that the British did not dig a pit this time, and they have not made less effort, which makes the battle against France unprecedentedly advantageous.

No matter how you look at it, the Directory of the French Republic is now in a state of pills.

However, in this case, if nothing unexpected happens, there will still be unexpected things in the future.

Putting aside the war situation in Italy, the news coming from the salons in Petersburg has also made progress one after another.

When the battle report from Brescia came, the salons in Petersburg were full of praise for Marshal Suvorov, and also for Prince Bagration's heroic fighting, as if there were no such generals and soldiers in the world.

But then, the nobles in Arcole and Basigiano also publicly expressed in social occasions that Marshal Suvorov was still old. Although he could win one victory after another, his energy was not enough to support so many battles.

This evaluation was much more polite than the evaluation of Kutuzov.

After all, Alexander Vasilyevich was invincible in terms of the final result on the battlefield. The failure of Basigiano to cross the river was also attributed to General Rosenberg's failure to launch an attack according to orders, and at the same time, he also lamented the bravery of Grand Duke Constantine.

"The Grand Duke kicked the Italian spy bribed by the French into the water with one kick!"

In some large gatherings where French is less used, this kind of public description is more eye-catching.

"Then what happened?"

"Then, there was another guy behind him, holding a dagger, rushing towards His Highness. At this critical moment, the Grand Duke remained calm and knocked the dagger into the water. They were both in the same place and fell into the river!"

"His Highness is in danger, there should be guards around him?"

Anyway, the rumors on the streets are all boasting about how brave and invincible Constantine was on the battlefield, and how brave and decisive he was.

But the actual situation was that because of his recklessness, the Russian army was almost severely damaged. It was the tenacious Russian soldiers who performed bravely on the battlefield, allowing most of the crossing troops to escape unscathed.

Then the French army released some Russian soldiers, so the loss was not very large.

Paul read the battle report carefully. He did not believe Rosenberg's so-called "fault". After all, he was also a 60-year-old veteran with rich battlefield experience. From the words between the lines of the report, it seemed that it was his son who caused the trouble.

"My son, ha, if he is really like what the war report says, then I will not send him to the front to train. He led so many troops out, and was almost defeated by the French? There is a big problem here!"

"Your Majesty, you have to consider that this involves the reputation of your highness. If you blindly advance on the battlefield and eventually fail, although your highness has children, he has no heir. Grand Duke Constantine is the second heir."

"Okay, don't say anymore. Those who have made contributions on the battlefield this time should be awarded medals. The hunters also performed well on the battlefield. Not only did they capture the French commander-in-chief alive, but they also performed well in two consecutive battles. All officers and soldiers should be praised!"

There is also a special report from Solovyov. When Constantine wrote to Paul, he said that he was very good as a guard and staff officer. He even fell into the water himself. When the guards wanted to rescue him, he was the first to jump into the water to help. He should be awarded medals according to his merits in previous battles.

However, Solovyov had previously won the Order of Saint Anna, third class, for inventing the breech-loading rifle and revolver, and was allowed to have the medal engraved on the weapon.

"Kutaisov, I want to go out for a walk, and also inspect the Knights' station."

"But, Your Majesty, I don't know whether I should tell you something or not."

"You are my close minister and the Secretary of State. What can't you tell me? There is not even a guard in this office today. There are only you and me."

"Your Majesty, it is Count Lita, the chairman of the Knights, and the widow of the former Ambassador of Naples."

Paul heard about this and didn't think it was strange. The family tradition of the Skavronsky family was not very good. The countess was Potemkin's niece. Although she had a high status in the court, it was not surprising that something happened.

Count Lita was deeply trusted by Paul. Now this nobleman from Milan, Italy, was from the Visconti family, which was not noticed by ordinary people.

If Solovyov knew about this in Turin, he would be embarrassed to death.

So far, in his social circle in Petersburg, everyone who was familiar with him was almost a close group of relatives and friends.

Let’s not talk about the Tsar’s family. The mother of the “little fairy” fell in love with an Italian nobleman this time. Her sister is the daughter-in-law of Prince Yusupov, and several sisters have married some nobles. There are also relatives with Prince Golitsyn’s family, Prince Volkonsky’s family, and Prince Dolgorukov’s family. From the time he left the novice village in Moscow to now, he has not yet stepped out of this family network.

He picked up a girl in Italy. If you calculate the generation and blood relationship, I’m afraid he still has to call this count uncle. They are all descendants of the Visconti family in Milan, although they are different branches.

This is not to mention that Paul has already planned to arrange a marriage for Prince Bagration after he can return triumphantly. Which unmarried girl is the most suitable, that is the “little fairy” himself.

If Countess Skafronskaya knew about it, she would cry, after all, she was optimistic about the little Count Palen, and this count was also going to be arranged to marry, and the bride was her sister Maria.

The reason for this is that although the "little fairy" always wants to "hook men", before she gets married, she mostly talks big. Although she has done it in theory, she has not put it into practice.

She is very active at a young age, but she is still quite "innocent" before she gets married.

Considering her future status in the upper class and her role as a source of material for many French and Russian novelists, the contrast is indeed great.

On the contrary, her sister felt strange in the atmosphere of the whole family after her stepfather came home.

This also made her unwilling to skip work at home, and she took the initiative to return to Elena. However, because the second princess will get married in the second half of the year, she has to find a good place for herself to be a court maid afterwards.

This system will not change before she gets married, and Elena suggested that she go to Louisa, which is also logical.

Maria and Catherine are not yet of marriageable age, and they don't need so many court maids around them. Alexandra's daily discussion of her marriage is not long-lasting.

The only problem is that the crown prince himself is also very romantic. Some time ago, he pursued Countess Stroganov again, but was rejected again by that lady using a clever method.

This confused the "little fairy". The crown princess's knowledge reserve is already a talented woman. Not to mention her understanding of history and poetry, she has also heard this prince talking about philosophy. Anyway, these noble ladies can't understand it. Only Grand Duchess Alexandra can communicate with the crown princess in poetry.

And in the aquarium that Alexander recently built to please her, many of the animals that have been selected were selected by the crown princess herself.

However, in order not to see that embarrassing scene at home, she still gritted her teeth and moved to the Winter Palace with her luggage. Before getting married, she also needs to study fully, that's what she thought.

And after her analysis, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince prefers women with great talent, at least in recent times, his taste has been like this.

However, he repeatedly hit a wall, and Louisa recently responded again, which led to Alexander, under Paul's order, not to hang out all day, come back to accompany his wife for a while, and fulfill his responsibilities as a husband.

And Paul now found that he had become the person he hated the most in the past - just like his mother, Empress Catherine, he began to urge the children to give birth.

Constantine's rude attitude towards his daughter-in-law also made Paul extremely embarrassed. Since there were already signs of pregnancy, he approved the plan of his second daughter-in-law to return to her parents' home for recuperation. However, when Elena was about to get married, she still had to prepare in advance and come back to attend the wedding ceremony.

Alexander, unlike his brother, was flirting with women everywhere, but he still hit a wall everywhere.

Paul himself, except for the time when the empress arranged a maid for him in order to test his fertility, only slept with his wife. Mistresses are only people to confide in, and loving your wife can help you have more children and increase the chances of giving birth to the next generation of heirs for the Russian Empire.

Regarding this point, Paul, a devout believer and a chivalrous "Don Quixote Tsar", prayed to God in the prayer room and also asked God to forgive the sins of his two sons.

It is hard to say whether he can move God. Anyway, in St. Petersburg, he is tired of changing his color all day long. If he continues with this mentality, he is afraid that he will get sick.

At this moment, he didn't know that Juliana didn't plan to come back this time. She had had enough of Constantine.

Although other family members were good, she was unlucky to have such a husband. The Tsar himself was very stingy in national affairs, but he was very tolerant at home. He also allocated money from the Russian royal family for his son's project of building an aquarium. Anyway, the Tsar himself didn't need to add new items except for the pomp left over from the empress's period. The saved budget was given to the children, including the luxurious dowry prepared for his daughters.

He himself was very concerned about scientific careers and various projects, especially the new weapons of the army, which were related to how the Russian army could perform on the battlefield in the future.

In the past, there were many ridicules for his new policies and new weapons. Now, at least Suvorov's victory on the battlefield is no longer questioned by many people. The Prussian military reform was also due to his loose attitude, which allowed the Guards and Grenadiers to adopt some other training methods. The combat effectiveness of the combination of hunters and new weapons has indeed changed many people's views.

In Russia, people change their faces as quickly as turning pages of books. Those who opposed Paul's policies in the past now stand up to support them, which is really funny.

In fact, Paul was mentally prepared for such a famous scene. He didn't know where he got a story collection, which contained some jokes that made people want to laugh after reading it.

At the royal family dinner in the evening, he told the story of the "chameleon".

"Your Majesty, your jokes are average, but this story is quite funny."

Kutaisov also flattered the Tsar, which made Paul think that many of the courtiers were like this.

He now feels lonely. Except for his wife, children, and a few loyal confidants, many people seem to live with masks. Even his children, do they also live with masks?

On the throne of the Tsar, he himself feels lonely, just like his idol, King Frederick the Great.

The King of Prussia once told him in person that I can only feel that my pet dog is loyal.