Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

From Stockholm to the south, Solovyov traveled alone, which is not surprising. Russians always act and fight alone.

This is not surprising, as Vladimir Monomakh's nickname shows. This nickname comes from the Grand Duke's grandfather, the Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine IX. The Grand Duke's crown is still a prop often used in coronations, especially in the Moscow Grand Coronation.

So he also knew what to do, took off his military uniform, dressed like a young gentleman, and set off under an alias.

His own title is Baron, and he did not forget to make a spoof by using a name that is not very famous in Russia today.

"Baron Max Otto von Stirlitz? You are really good at playing tricks, but considering that you speak German very well and your accent sounds like someone between Bavaria and Austria, it doesn't matter if you go there like this."

"General, I didn't expect the King of Sweden to agree to my secret trip to these places."

"Go ahead, 'Stirlitz', I think it will be difficult for anyone to find out who you are if you do this."

Especially with his appearance, he doesn't look like a German except for his green eyes.

The next task is to buy horses.

The local specialty horse is a North Swedish horse developed from the Frisian horse, which can be used for riding or pulling carts.

"Sir, come and see this black horse, which can meet your needs."

"Have the horseshoes been made?"

"It is a non-slip horseshoe. Look at this. Compared with the Russian horseshoes, our horseshoes are made of better iron."

"Thank you, sir. I hope to go for a walk. Not all horses are good-tempered."

"Of course, the horses here are very docile."

Soloviev tried riding. These Swedish horse dealers are indeed honest people. The price of this horse is even cheaper than buying an ordinary horse in Russia.

"Good horse, good horse, this is it."

Soloviev got such a good horse without spending much money, and then he put everything he needed on the horse.

If you take the fastest route to Gotland, you have to walk 150 versts on the ice to get to the island. This route can only be used by cavalry detachments, rather than sending large-scale infantry to pass through the ice.

It is necessary to consider the hardness of the ice and the duration of the ice period, and this action is obviously bold and risky.

If you really want to fight, you have to consider many factors.

It's better not to fight. He left Stockholm on horseback. The first larger city he wanted to go to was Norrköping.

The Russian army had fought here during the Great Northern War. Under the cover of the Baltic Fleet, the Russian army completely destroyed the city.

This is also the reason why Solovyov felt that the city was newer than other cities after he arrived on horseback. The destruction of the Russian army was very thorough. Norrköping once had thousands of residents and textile factories, all of which were destroyed by the Russian army.

After Karl XII was shot in the head in Norway, Sweden went from bad to worse. The top hat faction wanted to go to war with Russia, but was defeated by Queen Elizabeth. The Queen's uncle was designated as the heir to the Swedish throne, and Peter III was determined to be the heir to the Russian throne at that time. Sweden's in-laws and bloodline were all here.

In fact, over the past few decades, Russia has always been angry about the Swedish capriciousness, and the Swedes are also very dissatisfied with the loss of a large area of ​​land. No matter what the hat party and the cap party did, except for the last war, the Swedish army has not even fought a draw.

The textile industry here is still slowly recovering. The main industries are snuff and sugar making, and the benefits are still good. It seems to have restored some of the past prosperity.

"Mr. Baron, you should know that here, His Majesty the King held a coronation ceremony here two years ago. Our queen is really beautiful and a... You know, His Majesty now has two children, and the queen is still so young and beautiful. She is only 21 years old."

Speaking of which, the Queen of Sweden is about a month older than Solovyov. The impression of the King of Sweden among the common people is neither good nor bad. For the Queen, this vase, everyone has a good impression.

"Old man, you were attacked by the Russians in the past, 80 years ago, right?"

"Yes, that was my grandfather's time, but compared to those barbarians, our masters here may be more troublesome."

The Swedish nobles have been acting recklessly for a long time, and they are not loyal to the king.

But compared with Russia, these people are just arrogant. If they are attacked with bayonets and grapeshot, they will soon be honest.

Compared with the powerful power of the Russian landlords, it is indeed the same.

There are also some small shipyards in the fjord terrain brought by the melting of glaciers, but now these places east of Norrkoping are not far from Stockholm and are also covered with ice and snow.

And the ships built are often not very large. In the past, the Swedish Navy had a certain strength, but it has been declining again and again in recent years. However, the Danish Navy and the Russian Baltic Fleet, as potential opponents, are not in a good situation either, and they are also in a state of chicken pecking each other in the Baltic Sea.

The ice here can be moved quickly in winter, but you have to pay attention to the route during the ice period, so that you can quickly enter Gotland and Öland, and then you can go ashore in southern Sweden.

The economic prosperity of these cities in Sweden does not seem to be fundamentally different from the situation in Russia. The benefits have been taken away by the nobles, and what is even more outrageous is that the resistance to the reform of these nobles in Sweden is greater than that in Russia.

After all, some of the top nobles in Russia can still realize the problem and have always united around the Tsar. The radical young people will evolve into a group that is even more radical in the future.

After visiting here, Solovyov was also thinking about the problem. He prefers such a small town with a small number of people. If there is no war in the future, it is not impossible to invest in Sweden. After all, the performance of these industries is also relatively outstanding.

When staying overnight, he did not stay in Norrkoping, that is, the city of Norrkoping, but rode to Southkoping again. The town is not much bigger than a village, but the environment is very good, and there is also room available in the inn.

When staying overnight, Solovyov always spoke German, and looked no different from an Austrian or Bavarian, except that he didn't drink.

Of course, whether he drank or not, people would not suspect that he was a Russian. After all, his alcohol tolerance was too low, not like a Russian, and the things he carried on his body did not reveal his identity.

Even if you open his pocket watch, there is a portrait of Louisa inside.

His notes are even written in French and German, which is no problem.

But Louisa had such a poem in her hand, and she copied it out herself and put it back in the drawer.

"I did say that she should wait for me to come back, but what will happen?"

Solovyov was still very worried about Louisa. After all, he knew that Naryshkina was pregnant, and the Queen Mother was partial. The reason why Alexander was not killed by the hatchet was that he was the Tsar and that he was very caring for his wife and mistress, good at acting and sweet talk, and as an artilleryman, he was still very responsible for the death of the artillery.

When he was writing notes, he also put Louisa's portrait on the top of the small table. It was not easy for such a young nobleman to be suspected of having a girl he loved, not to mention that the Swedish countrymen were unlikely to tell from Louisa's facial features.

Solovyov's idea was that the cavalry detachment composed of Cossacks and hussars would act boldly, walk 150 versts on the ice, reach Gotland, and then advance from here to Öland and the Swedish mainland.

With the current military discipline of the Russian army, the towns and villages here are unlikely to learn the advanced experience of the French. The reforms during the Paul period alone can rectify military discipline. In the eyes of the former emperor with chivalry, robbery is not in line with the discipline and moral standards of the soldiers and the aristocratic code.

He thought so, and it was indeed a clear stream of this era. After all, the supplies of the armies of various countries depended on local supplies. To put it bluntly, they liked to rob.

If the Russian army takes action along the way, the towns and villages here are generally richer and will not get nothing. The cavalry can carry some supplies. If they move fast enough, they can pass through Öland Island and land. The Swedish army in this area will have relatively weak defense.

As for how to plan the route of action, he has to go further south and ride from here to Kalmar Province. After seeing the actual situation there, he can finally make a proper judgment.

The current weather is indeed more suitable for this kind of staff trip, but the Swedes don’t seem to be talkative, so when talking, they are mostly cold.

There is no other way. He continued to go south from Southkoping. On this road, he could see many Swedish sleds passing by, just like the Swedish sleds seen when the carriage of the Baden family overturned before.

Sweden is not a big place, but it has a large number of provinces. A small area may be a province, but the area under the jurisdiction of this senior official is also limited.

Even if the villages in these provinces mobilized militias like Russia, they would not necessarily have strong combat effectiveness if they were not under the command of each other.

On the contrary, according to the intelligence obtained in recent years, the Swedish militia organizations in the Finnish direction were collected by the Governor of Vyborg, which was much better than that in Sweden.

Perhaps the Swedes' idea was to use the Finns to consume the Russian army, and such measures might be less effective in Sweden.

It seems that this is a problem that all countries may face. The masters in the capital may not be able to be mobilized, and it mainly depends on the people in the border and villages to arm themselves to defend the country.

The situation he saw along the way was not bad when he passed through Southmanland where Norrkoping was located. When he continued to go south, these villages basically had no defense.

Of course, he did not see any robbers, which proved that the local security was still good, and people in the future would always have to learn.

But the more he walked on this road, the more mature Solovyov's draft became. If he had to go through a long ice expedition, he would at least take out a cavalry detachment of thousands of people and pass through this road with great boldness.

If the main Russian forces on the front wanted to attack Finland, they should quickly advance to Turku, maintain a line of transportation, and launch an attack on Stockholm through the Åland Islands when the ice is thickest during the freezing period.

Only such a bold and rapid offensive can achieve a complete victory in the entire war. Once there is a country with strong naval power in the middle, it will enter the Baltic Sea through the Danish Strait during the thaw period, which will hinder the Russian army's actions in the entire war. Even if Gotland and Aland Islands are captured, it will be meaningless.

At this time, it is necessary to take a long detour from the north, which is not appropriate and consumes a lot of energy. It can be said to be a disaster to march in the snowy northern Sweden.

Thinking of this, although it is a bit sorry for Frederica, the plan has already been in his mind, and there is probably a simple route plan.

The rest is to wait until he returns home, and he will report to the Minister of War and even the Tsar himself, and finally complete the plan.

But Solovyov, who is heading towards Kalmar, does not know the new task sent to the embassy.

In addition to going to Vyborg to pick up the Queen's carriage, the group has to cross the entire Finland and take a boat through the Aland Islands to Stockholm, which has been discussed.

Solovyov will go to Berlin after Louisa returns home from Sweden, and will meet Her Highness Elena on the way. This trip will be to visit relatives on behalf of the Tsar himself, and then go to Karlsruhe, the capital of Baden, and then go to France.

The embassy in Paris still needs people, especially military attachés stationed abroad. Although Solovyov's rank is relatively low, he is a major in the Guards and is also the chief staff major in the new appointment of the Putin Regiment. This level is quite special and sometimes has more power than the lieutenant colonel in the legion. It is also very suitable to be stationed in Paris.

This is convenient for him to do a private matter. After all, his stepmother has lost contact with her family for so long. Who knows if he can help her find relatives in France.

If it doesn't work, he can go to Nantes and ask at the monastery school there.

Of course, going to Paris is indeed a good job. After all, all the nobles in Russia hope to have the opportunity to travel to France. What's more, you are traveling abroad under the emperor's order. If the emperor thinks that you have completed the task well, he can even reimburse the bills.