Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 104 004 Russia should not only have the Russian-American Company

What has recently made Tsar Paul unhappy is actually the profit sharing of the Russian-American Company. After they merged together, although there was profit, it was obvious from the company reports that the four companies operated in several different regions. However, no matter how "beastly" they operated at that time, there was still some competition.

Doing it this way now can be said to be a one-time exhaustion of fish, which also led to a sharp decline in the profits of these fur traders in 1799.

Paul returned to his office in the Winter Palace and raised this question.

"We don't need a company that operates at a loss. If they can't even handle the franchise granted by the emperor, we can build a new company opposite their company to compete with them!"

Paul was really a little angry. The land of Russia connected to Siberia is also in a harsh environment. Although there are rich resources buried underground, it is not yet time to develop it. Moreover, Russia has a vast territory and the output is often unable to be transported out. The loss in the middle is shocking.

Especially when the territory of a country is concentrated in such a cold region, it is difficult to use it even if some ice-free ports and islands in the Far East are taken as bases.

"Your Majesty, if this is the case, you can issue an edict to the Russian American Company's office in St. Petersburg and the company's headquarters in Irkutsk, ordering them to make improvements."

"That won't work. The Tsar of all Russia is not the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in the past, who tours the territory everywhere and even moves the court. Our country has such a vast territory that we can't adopt the methods of the Alemanni."

He used the French word "German", and Kutaisov also knew that at this time, there was no way to rectify the Russian American Company.

"Your Majesty, then you can consider using your trusted confidant to do this matter."

At this point, Paul began to sigh that he only had a younger brother and a younger sister. It would be great if Anna could grow up. If she got married now, the empress would only find a son-in-law for her in the country, and a brother-in-law could also be sent to take on this task.

Paul cherished his only brother very much. After the death of the empress mother, he made him a count. This brother has now started a family and established a career. His wife is a German noble in the country, which may be of some use, but not much.

And if Paul counts the nobles who are related to the royal family and can work hard on these matters, there is not even a male child. The one mentioned is the Count Skavronsky family. This family is a branch of the brothers of Empress Catherine I. The former ambassador to Naples is the most male representative of this family.

The marriage of the Russian royal family is mainly with the German states. There is no descendant of the branch of Prince Alexei. He also knows his sons. Alexander and Constantine are too high in rank, and Nicholas has just begun to receive tutoring from a tutor.

If his unpromising father had a useful illegitimate son, Paul would be able to accept this matter with a pinch of nose. After all, he can't put all the property in the name of his most trusted brother, and his daughters are destined to marry abroad.

As for the other illegitimate children, Paul has a say. After Alexei and Anna, he has never seen his empress mother's belly bulge!

"It's only when you need it that you feel that you have too few relatives."

Russia's overseas operations can actually establish colonies and trading posts in relatively blank places in Africa, or rent ports in allied and neutral countries to operate.

This requires that you can't be hostile to Britain. The Netherlands, which has always been friendly, is now under control, and the East Indies and Ceylon, the British have long coveted them and are ready to take action.

There is a simple way to solve this problem, which is to directly use Persia. Although it deviates from the original plan to march into Constantinople, it is more convenient in the Caucasus.

This is also the reason why three generations of Russians have troubled Persia since the empress, but they have always been minor.

But after thinking about it, he had to let the relatives of his brother and sister-in-law solve this problem.

The Countess's father was Baron von Ungern-Sternberg, and her mother was from the German noble family of Tickenhausen. The most prominent of this family was Ivan Andreevich, the Empress's loyal chamberlain. The Countess's family was related and certified.

This was the only way at the moment, and his wife had always liked his sister-in-law. Empress Maria liked this sister-in-law very much, and she often summoned her when she lived in Pavlovsk and Tsarskoye Selo.

But it was rare for him to summon this lady.

It can be confirmed that the two families are also very close cousins, and Count Tickenhausen did not make much arrangement in the marriage.

"Your Majesty, my mother is indeed very close to Ivan Andreevich, and they are not distant cousins."

"That's just right. I have thought about developing overseas business. After returning from Kotlin Island, I had this idea."

"But Alexei already has a job. If Your Majesty rewards him too much, it would be too much for our family."

Yes, in addition to palaces, jewelry and manors, the Tsar's rewards to his brother also include many profitable businesses in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tula and Ryazan, and even recently a 3% stake in the Russian-American Company.

"I know that, so I considered that I would need the help of Count Tickenhausen's family, which is your mother's family, Anya."

It's just that the Tsar always has a whim. When he heard about the clipper, he wanted to start trying. The brand of this company has been thought of. He is indeed full of malice towards the British, "Russian South Sea Company".

Think about the modern bubble crisis caused by the British back then, which is comparable to the Ponzi scheme of "Tulip Mania". These business-loving people are like this, they can always make bubbles.

And the Russian Tsar is not too worried about getting along well with African chiefs and kings, because they really have black nobles here. The descendants of General Hannibal, after several generations, the skin color difference is no longer so obvious, and they all have the characteristics brought by their grandfather.

"This time the emperor is not whimsical. He should have thought of it after returning from Kotlin Island. At present, he just wants us to make preparations."

And there are still many places along the coast of Africa that have not been occupied by colonists yet, and there are opportunities.

But Africa also has various terrible diseases. The coast of West Africa is still good. There are still a few countries in the inland area. In fact, they are all going back and forth between slavery and feudalism, and the trade there is mainly slave trade.

Since the Dutch are engaged in the immoral slave trade, Paul is against serfdom, but his country is in such a mess that he has to implement a three-day decree very slowly, which is to give serfs a break, and they cannot be bought and sold at will, but he cannot accept the naked slave trade in Africa.

He still remembers his good friend Louis XVI and his wife who have lost their heads. The little cake queen does not like to regard black slaves as "objects" or "property". The little black slave presented to her was adopted as a nominal son, and someone was sent to teach him the craft. Louis XVI also acquiesced to this practice.

Although it sounds a bit abstract, the French royal family did not like slavery. When Marie-Thérèse was in St. Petersburg, she mentioned her adopted brothers. One of them seemed to have died in the army. She also remembered that the little black man learned the skills of locksmith and carpenter in the courtyard of the Palace of Versailles.

But she probably didn't know that her "black brother" also died of illness.

Paul's thoughts at this time were more naive, but it was true that he had set his sights on the overseas colonies of the Netherlands.

Whether the Russian "South Sea Company" could be opened still depended on how fast the Tsar acted. His understanding of the world was not only through the huge Russian map, but also through those overseas places.

In the past, when the Tsar was chatting, he heard his younger brother talking about geography. This younger brother was not good at other skills, but he still had the ability to dig. When his two nieces got married, in addition to sending gifts, he also submitted a memorial to his royal brother, indicating that coal mines had been dug out in Ryazan, and the output was not low.

Although he was "my stupid brother", the count was still very competitive. He did not spare his brother's worries in the few projects he was good at, especially mining.

This was what Soloviev wanted to see the most. He stood guard for the Tsar for a day. When it was time for dinner that day, the Tsar suddenly called him and the two brothers, the adjutants of the Putin Regiment, and three officers of the Guards to go to the Tsar's bedroom.

"Your Majesty, why did you go to His Highness again?"

"Nothing, I am a grandfather, I want to see my granddaughter."

But Paul was really ugly, and Tonya was used to her grandfather's face. Maria burst into tears when she was picked up.

"It seems that I am ugly. Children are honest, especially babies who can't speak."

Then he didn't hand his granddaughter to the nanny, but to Major Soloviev.

"Misha, I heard that you are very good at taking care of children."

It must have been Maria who told her. She was the most favored by Paul, and she must have said something in front of the Tsar.

Solovyov felt that he might have owed Maria this little girl a debt in his previous life, otherwise he wouldn't be like this.

He already had this idea, and except for the idea in his mind, he was not too different from the Russians around him, just like another major who came to the Crown Prince's Guards recently. If he rubbed his face, he would look like a handsome middle-aged uncle. He would say the same thing in Germany.

Solovyov stroked little Maria's back like this, and after putting her in the crib, he began to gently pull the child's arm.

She was not crying now, but felt it was fun and began to laugh.

"Major, you really have a way. It would be better if you were a maid."

But when Paul thought of this, he remembered a painting by Elena, "Officer in Maid's Clothes", and the model was this kid. He was really handsome. If his title was not too low, he would really like to arrange a wife with a high family background for him.

He actually thought about arranging such a husband for Maria. After all, his third daughter had said so when she was gossiping. He could arrange a husband for Maria even if it was a hereditary earl.

Paul's idea was simple. After all, he didn't want all his daughters to get married during his lifetime. Thinking of this, he was even a little afraid that in the future, all five of his precious daughters would marry abroad, and except for Alexander and his wife, they would move to their own palaces, and the Tsar's palace would be empty.

After all, he couldn't imagine how many children Louisa would have in the future, nor could he imagine his own fate.

After the princess finished reading, she came to see her father-in-law again.

"I'm very sorry, Lisa, I made the child cry just now. After all, I, a grandfather, don't look that good-looking. Alexander isn't here?"

"His Royal Highness went to Count Stroganov's residence today, where the Grand Marshal's nephew and their girl will be officially engaged."

"Ah, this is also a good thing, Lisa. You should also participate in social activities more and don't always leave Alexander outside."

"Your Majesty, I just prefer to be with children. Not only my own, but if my siblings have children and they are raised in the palace, I will also like it. Do you know, Elena had vomiting this morning? I asked Countess Skavronskaya to see her, but the doctor couldn’t confirm it because it was only five weeks before her wedding.”

Louisa said this as if she wanted to change the Crown Prince's palace in the Winter Palace into a huge nursery. She preferred the children too much.

Paul was not too surprised by this incident, but he was more worried that Elena was too young (she was indeed going to give birth to Mecklenburg's heir this year), and that a mother who was too young might have some problems during delivery. Very high risk.

As for Alexandra, the same is true. Paul is afraid of these, and as a father, he is also worried.

This is indeed one of the strange "cursed" names among the Russian royal family. Alexei is no longer used because he was the crown prince of Peter the Great. Two girls named Alexandra died in childbirth and one was 7 years old. He died of meningitis at the age of 18, and there was no more girl with this name in the future.

Then, these two cursed names were all used by Nicholas II at that time, and Paul's daughter Olga had also died in infancy. It was not surprising that his family ate peanuts together in the mine.

After all, these names are poisonous. Paul did meet a magician who told him that some names should not be given to girls in the royal family. He mentioned this when he told Alexandra and Elena's fortunes, and also said that With some superstition, if these two girls pass a difficult time, although they will go through hardships in this life, they will still be happy.

Paul, a devout believer, still believed what the fortune teller said, especially since the superstitions in the Russian countryside were very serious. That is to say, after Paul became the tsar, the decree would gain the support of the serfs, otherwise Peter III would have to punish him. The sky "fake corpse".