Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Solovyov was extremely bored in the palace and really wanted to engage in some sports, so he began to collect various materials.

That is to say, the traffic is relatively congested, otherwise, except for a few sports such as basketball, all have been invented. Even if we look back, Western Europe is the birthplace of many sports.

But to impress the Tsar himself, these sports must be combined with military training.

"Polo? Isn't that what Persians play?"

The Tsar himself really knew. After all, Russia and Persia were bordering each other, and he knew everything that happened on the other side.

"Your Majesty, do you know this kind of sport?"

"I know it from the notes of some travelers, but you said that this kind of movement also appeared in China."

"That's what it is, but now the movement has waned there."

In China, many sports have declined. Even many sports that originated in China are not so popular now.

The reason should not be attributed to the Qing Dynasty. Polo began to decline in the Southern Song Dynasty.

During the Tang Dynasty, even during the reign of Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty, polo was a very popular sport and spread widely in Asia. Apart from being a little dangerous, there's nothing scary about it.

"If it is such a project, it will actually be beneficial to training cavalry, but it sounds a bit dangerous."

Paul still cherishes soldiers, especially those participating in this project. There must be many people who are officers.

"But the excellent cavalry your Majesty needs will not appear if you just rely on ordinary training. The generalissimo used to practice infantry and cavalry, letting the light cavalry pass through the soldiers. Although it is usually dangerous, it can train bravery. Come the fearless soldier."

"Even so, I can't agree. You mentioned here that a Sultan who once ruled India died because he fell while playing polo. It is too dangerous for athletes."

"But playing tennis is also very dangerous. The deaths of Louis X and James I of Scotland were both related to tennis."

And this kind of tennis is the legendary "Royal Tennis".

"This is quibbling, but for the polo project, we have to see the real thing before making a decision. For example, in India or Persia, where polo is popular, someone is playing this game. We can ask the Persian sand Ah, write this request and have an exhibition match in Russia."

But the Shah of Persia had two A's, and their attitude towards Russia had never been very friendly.

However, Paul said that Solovyov was not helpless. He knew that there were actually tennis courts in the palace, and there were many other places where sports could be provided.

Under this premise, he still thought of several other projects.

Especially the game of throwing the ball into the basket. The Russians have so many tall guys, so they must be more enthusiastic about it.

If you are worried about the strength of the basket during the game, then don't jump up and dunk.

Besides, Solovyov himself, with his height and bounce, cannot complete this action.

But there is one person who can still do it, and that is Paul's son-in-law, Prince William of Württemberg. He is that tall and looks like the "Silver Horn King", so there should be no problem finding him.

After leaving Paul, Solovyov went to the nearby palace of the Prince of Württemberg. Today he was accompanying Alexandra for a walk in the garden.

"Good morning, Your Highnesses."

"Ah, it's Misha. Shouldn't you be on duty at His Majesty's place right now?"

"I'm not on duty today, I'm just here from the Emperor."

"I haven't seen my father in the past few days. How is his health?"

"Your Majesty is in good health recently. He insists on riding a horse to inspect the team every day, and his appetite is as usual."

"That's good."

However, Alexandra's belly is very prominent, and she doesn't know how many babies she will give birth to in this pregnancy.

"Your Majesty is also concerned about the situation of you, Your Highness, and Your Highness Elena."

"We are all fine. It's just that when it comes to giving birth to a baby, William seems more scared than me. He is a very timid person despite being so tall and powerful. He has also been on the battlefield."

"Alexandra, we are husband and wife, and we are cousins. Of course I am afraid that something will happen to you."

Although this burly prince knew that he was a playboy, he was still a good person. When Alexandra's belly was getting bigger and bigger, and it was no longer convenient for her to move around, he personally took care of her in this way.

Being tall at this level is indeed of great use when accompanying his wife. Moreover, he also likes sports and often plays on the tennis court.

"It doesn't matter. Although our doctors here always use quacks when making diagnoses, the level of midwives is still very high. If it doesn't work, there are so many experienced midwives in Petersburg and the surrounding countryside. There is a way."

This girl has a big heart. If she marries to Austria, it will be a hell.

"But that's it, Your Highness, you still have to pay attention to hygiene. Before and after delivery, you have to wash your body every day and keep it clean, and"

Alexandra knows that this Solovyov is good at everything, but he has a small problem. He likes to care about people from all angles. He can be a little reckless when he is careless, but most of the time, he is careful and follows his hair. Same.

"You even thought of this, I have to thank you twice."

"It's just that your belly is similar to Julie's, if it's two children."

"Then I have to thank you three times, Misha, you are really good, I hope the emperor will not give you a marriage. If one day the mother or sister-in-law wants to arrange for the maids around them to get married, it should be very happy to marry you."

When this girl spoke, she seemed to have "great prophecy", but this is also a daily routine in the Russian court. In addition to being brides for the children of the nobles, the maids often marry the more outstanding guards officers in the court.

"This also depends on my blessing, your highness."

When talking to Alexandra here, she seemed to feel some pain and stroked her belly. Seeing this, William supported his wife and asked the maid who had been serving her to come over and help her to the bedroom to rest.

"Alexandra is very strong. I have such a marriage with her, and I even feel that I am not worthy of her."

"Your Highness, why do you have such an idea? If you are not suitable, then change to the donkey in Sweden? Among the single princes at that time, only Archduke Karl and Archduke Joseph of Austria are good."

"You think so too?"

"Your Highness, let's not talk about this for now. I thought of a sport. There are five people on each side, and then they throw the ball into the basket."

However, considering the current timing level, some things cannot be done, especially the timing of calling a timeout. It is not easy to stop the clock. After all, the timer of this era may be more reliable than the hourglass.

"But this is a sport suitable for big men, right? That's why you came to find me. If you find four giant grenadiers, you can dominate the basketball court!"

William's idea is really simple, but it is not wrong. Protecting rebounds and paying attention to the inside are all right, as long as there are no guards with strong shooting ability.

"You are right, Your Highness, but there must be someone who can carry the ball across the half court. If His Majesty only heard what I said, he would not be impressed. But if he saw it, it would be interesting. At least, it is a kind of competition that can cultivate team consciousness and discipline."

William also wanted to, but because Alexandra's due date was approaching, he spent most of his time with his wife and did not have much time, but he still supported his idea.

"You can find Frederick Ludwig, his brother is also serving here, Elena is about to give birth with my Alexandra. When they are both safe, we will definitely help."

The son-in-law of Mecklenburg is also a big guy, not to mention that he has a younger brother here. These Germans are all strong, that is, the Queen's brother, the Prince of Württemberg, is even more of a giant.

Although the Queen herself is not a "double-door" figure, she is also relatively strong, and her family members are also tall.

This also brought a relatively tall stature to her and Paul's children, but it should not be all of them. Although Maria and Catherine are more lively and healthy than their two sisters, they are indeed not as tall as their sisters.

In terms of sports, there are actually many projects that can be carried out in the palace. If you want to play football, you can find the British, but given the Tsar's strange temper that he doesn't like France, if he can come up with any sports, he will definitely give priority to sports in these European countries.

If it is football, triple jump, hockey, ice hockey and cricket, that is, ice hockey may be more popular because of Russia's ice and snow.

Solovyov thought of this and let it go, but when he left William and Alexandra's palace and walked towards the Guards' garrison, he met another friend on the road.

"Ah, it's you, Prince Vyazemsky."

Prince Vasily Vyazemsky, he used to be Suvorov's messenger, he is 25 years old this year, this prince has many relatives, and their family is also prosperous.

Today he brought several cousins ​​and appeared near the English Park.

"Misha, good afternoon, I want to introduce you to my cousin Peter"

"How old is this child, and he has glasses on his nose?"

And this shape, it can be said that it is too much like Pierre in the book is shrunk.

Pierre is transcribed into a Russian name, isn't that Peter!

"There is no way to deal with this. Sometimes the eyes can become nearsighted. Don't you know that Her Majesty the Queen is also nearsighted?"

"I have always been with the Emperor, and I rarely go to Her Majesty the Queen."

"You are sometimes careless in some places. Her Majesty the Queen has been wearing glasses when she works since she married to Petersburg."

"Let's not talk about this for now. Where are you going?"

"We are going to play tennis at the court. My uncle has been with me these days because he has no time to take care of him recently. It just so happens that my hunter regiment is on rotation these days, so I can take him out and be a caddy."

"I remember that Andrei Ivanovich is often in Moscow."

"Yes, you know my uncle, aren't you a 'busybody'?"

"Let's not talk about that, let's go to the tennis court!"

There were no hard courts on tennis courts in this era. When modern tennis appeared in the British, it was still played on grass, or on the traditional hard court of the Royal Tennis Court, or on the red clay court of the French.

As for the speed of the ball, playing on the grass court, although the soil here is relatively soft, the ball speed is very fast, and it also tests the reaction speed of both players.

If it is a red clay court, it will be fatal, the ball speed is very slow, and it also tests patience.

Such a court near the English Park is naturally a grass court, and it is also rebuilt from the construction site of the Queen's original expansion plan, which can be regarded as making the best use of it.

Solovyov did not play tennis before. He had a little problem. Although he had a good sense of space, he was always easy to miss the ball because of misjudgment when throwing the tennis ball.

However, he was still a good hitter, but because his serve level was really not good and he had no time to practice, he was unwilling to appear on the court.

This time, at the request of Prince Vyazemsky, he had to come to the court.

People hold rackets in their hands, so it is hard to imagine that the earliest form of tennis was actually played by hand, and the ball speed would not be so fast.

When Solovyov picked up the serve, his serve landing point was really not very good, that is, this is still traditional tennis, not as confrontational as modern tennis, and it will not directly give away the serve points.

But if you really want to be serious, he and Vyazemsky's doubles team, both of them have relatively strong hitting power, which always makes the other party suffer.

"You play well, the power of the hit is very strong, and the speed is fast."

"This is grass, it will be like this naturally, the ball speed is more difficult to defend, but the landing point of my hit is really not very good."

"Practice more, if you have time, find the feeling more, you will come out, you look thin, but you actually have some skills!"

Seeing the affirmation from his partner, he was also very satisfied.

But when he looked at Prince Peter Vyazemsky now, he felt that his face was a smaller Pierre.

That's right, if you look at his later portraits and know his deeds, you will understand what happened.