Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

The railway project will certainly not be completed so quickly. A lot of Russia's annual budget has to be used to settle previous debts. If we look at it in 1802, the debt is also very high, but it is not yet so high.

Alexander is still willing to invest money in shipping and road transportation, especially when he went to Gatchina to pay respects to the Queen Mother in the spring, he did feel that the roads in some places were really bad. Even if it was to make himself more comfortable, he still had to approve the improvement of the Russian road network.

This is just the first step between Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk. There will be more projects in the future. There is also a prerequisite, that is, sufficient funds.

Russia's finances have never been optimistic, and some places often cannot collect taxes. Everyone knows this. Alexander now sees a lot of documents and he has a headache.

Compared with Paul, his biggest advantage is that he has a group of close friends who are sincere and willing to work with him and are willing to pay and sacrifice for him, while Paul's confidants murdered him in turn.

"Pasha, how many times have we discussed departmental reform?"

"This is the fifth internal discussion. In addition to departmental reform, we still have a lot to do."

"There is endless work to do every day. When I sit on the throne, I feel that this is my prison."

"Sashka, this is also your responsibility and mission as a monarch!"

"What about your mission?"

"As your friend, there are ministers to help you."

"Thank you, you and Sonya are the most sincere to me. Sonya will reject me because she loves you deeply, and you love her deeply. Except for God's call, there should be nothing that can separate you. But I am so sentimental that I will fall in love with one when I see one."

When Alexander was alone with Count Stroganov, he acted less. He had a lot of troubles now, and Maria Naryshkina gave birth in the next two days.

With the strong body of this Polish girl and abundant physical strength, it did not reduce Alexander's worries. He was frightened by the dangers of Louisa's three births and two of them.

As for the naming, he named the child Elizabeth for some reason. Alexander's thoughts were hard to guess, especially since both Constantine and Louisa were to attend the baptism on this day.

"To put such a young child in for baptism, even though it was just a process"

The current relationship between Louisa and Maria Naryshkina cannot be said to be bad, but having a lover who gave birth to a child for Alexander was somewhat unpleasant from the perspective of women.

Although Louisa loved her eldest daughter very much and had taken her to Alexander's palace to play with her children, this kind of defenselessness would one day cause something.

In the next few days, Alexander did go there often, and Louisa was about to start her family visit, and the first destination along the way was Vyborg.

Spring had passed, and the scenery had changed. Summer had just arrived, and there was no feeling of heat yet. Riding on the road to Vyborg was a very pleasant thing.

Queen Elizabeth was about to start her visit to Sweden. This time she was traveling with her sister Amalia who stayed in Petersburg. However, what made her feel uncomfortable was that her favorite maid Natalia and "little" Prince Golitsyn were already engaged. This time when they returned from Sweden, they were going to get married officially. The closest sister around her always had to get married, which made her feel happy and sad at the same time.

"Lisa, it doesn't matter. I will come to see you often even if I get married. Sasha is very good. Although he is not tall and has a long face, he is witty and humorous."

It seems that Princess Shakhovskaya, the granddaughter of the former Attorney General, was fascinated by the eloquent and wealthy prince. Both of them were from wealthy families and their status was also very compatible.

"That also requires him to treat you well, if you are wronged"

Louisa thought that she seemed to be wronged more often, and Natalia still had her own way, and her family would not let her be bullied by the other party after she got married.

We also need to consider that "little" Golitsyn is a person who is consistent in appearance and heart, so there is no need to worry too much. Therefore, Louisa did not say much. She was just sad that another sister around her got married. Fortunately, this one can come back often.

"It won't be a big deal. We are just in Vyborg. Lisa, we can rest here for a night. Starting tomorrow, we will leave Russia and go to the Finnish territory of Sweden."

Vyborg is also a rare place for the queen to come in person for a long time. However, think about how many years Russia has not had a proper queen. In the 18th century, there were five empresses and female regents. It is really rare for a queen to travel as a queen.

Moreover, when they arrived in Vyborg, the local governor here also had to come out to greet them, and there were also many onlookers. After all, the young queen came here and still attracted the attention of the people around her.

Probably just sighed, Her Royal Highness the Queen is young, beautiful, and can speak fluent Russian. The only shortcoming is that she is not good at socializing, and because of physical fatigue, she settled down in a corner on the second floor of the provincial government building.

Then Louisa kept everything simple. She asked everyone to go to dinner and only left two maids by her side. As usual, she took a bath.

But the tub was a little shallow, so Natalia called Solovyov over.

"Mr. Major, on this trip to Viborg, I remember that you arranged the daily life in the place where His Highness stayed."

She pointed to the bathtub and said, but Solovyov couldn't help it. If you wanted to take a bath in Vyborg, it would be good to find a shallow ceramic bathtub like this. The rest are made of iron or wooden barrels.

"There's nothing we can do about it. The bathtubs here are relatively shallow. Even if we go to the homes of local gentry, we have to go to manors far away to pick them up. If there are some, I can't tell you."

It was Louisa who spoke for herself and rescued Solovyov.

"It doesn't matter, Natasha, I'll just wash it with my clothes on. When we get to Friedrichshafen, there will be a Swedish reception there, and they should make arrangements."

"Your Highness, I think this is not good."

"If you feel bad, ask Mr. Major to find a wooden bathtub. It happens that we take turns to wash it. We just need the hard-working servant to boil more water."

Louisa doesn't care much about her daily life, but she doesn't use it too hard on her subordinates. This time the situation is special. She comes out to be with her sister, as well as the accompanying maids and servants. Everyone must keep clean. .

This is easy to do, Solovyov also has arrangements, and the local coopers will also have the opportunity to make a fortune. After all, a wealthy queen wants to use their barrels, and maybe a "Grandeyev" will come out of them.

I got a large wooden bucket, and Louisa also felt that it could hold two people.

"It's such a big bathtub, Misha, you really have a way."

"Every time I go to a place, I always like to ask about what is available there. When I was in Italy, I asked where the food is better. When I went to Sweden, I also visited many places along the way. As for Viborg, Your Highness, you will Just make do with it, I’ll just go on duty outside.”

Solovyov still paid careful attention to Louisa's affairs.

After the maid stopped at the door, it didn't take long for the sound of limbs thrashing in the water and the sweet singing voice of Natalia Shakhovskaya to be heard inside.

They have a deep love for each other as sisters, and when they want to wash together, they still have an artistic touch.

But I can’t see it, I can only listen to it.

Solovyov himself was standing guard under the stairs on the first floor, but he was a little tired today. He had been riding on a horse all day, so he could take a rest at least now. There was also the Vyborg Governor's garrison outside, so it was safe. Very.

It was an old habit for Louisa to sing with her maids when taking a bath. The young queen often did this to relieve her nervousness. She was extremely relaxed like this in Vyborg. After taking a bath, she Ask the maid to change the bath water, and ask my sister and several other maids to take hot baths to relieve the fatigue from the journey.

The next day, when we arrived at the national border, there were also Swedish and Russian outposts in Finland. Sweden sent local garrison troops to escort them, and the Russian Vyborg garrison that followed all the way, now only the accompanying cavalry remained. and Adjutant.

In addition, even Solovyov is also paying attention to these Swedish garrisons. Their condition is very lax at first glance, and these people will be needed to escort them later. It doesn't matter if they just put on a facade. When there is a real fight, like this The army probably isn't very good either.

Solovyov also had to negotiate with the local Swedish garrison commander, but what was more embarrassing was that the other party did not understand Russian, and he did not speak Swedish, so he had to rely on a translator.

But one thing that can be confirmed is that Sweden arranged for the Russian Empress to stay in Friedrichshafen. It was in a small villa in a quiet environment outside the fortress. Only Russian personnel came and went here, and the Swedish army was only at the intersection. guard.

This place has a pretty good environment, but because it is located near the border between the two countries, it is not so prosperous. After all, the war between Sweden and Russia has not long passed, and the Russian Baltic Fleet suffered a humiliating defeat in the last Russo-Swedish War. , happened around here.

However, there is no need for Sweden to demonstrate with the Russian Empress about regional arrangements, but to simply stay here.

And this kind of relatively quiet place is indeed suitable for meeting at night.

Luisa also sent signals during the day asking him to come to her bedroom at night, but only to chat with her.

Of course, when they meet, they will still kiss each other.

"Thank you for the hard work on this journey, Mishka. Is everyone asleep?"

"We've all gone to sleep. The confused kitten at your door kicked off the quilt, and I went to cover her."

"Okay, I'm calling you here now, and you're also going to read this script in a low voice to me. I think this is your unfinished work, right?"

"Yes, Louisa, this is still a semi-finished product and needs to be modified according to the situation in Russia. After all, the girls here prefer handsome cavalry officers who are brave and fearless and dare to do anything."

The bedroom here is not that big. Louisa asked Solovyov to read to her in a low voice. It was also in this small space, so as not to make too much noise, and the two of them could lean together and be closer.

Especially a girl like this who has just taken a shower and dried herself is really tempting. It was just impossible for two people to lie on a deck chair together. Solovyov asked Louisa to put her feet on his knees, while he leaned his back against the wooden wall.

"If you feel confused after reading for a while, you can go back to sleep."

The script is actually simple. It needs to be modified to be closer to a stage play acceptable to Russians, and it also needs to be a French version, which requires some language guidance. Solovyov was not very good at imitating a girl's tone, so he had to make some corrections when he read it to Louisa.

"Your tone in this paragraph is a bit stiff, even when you read it literally."

Louisa herself began to yawn. After giving birth this time, although her body recovered faster, she became sleepy more easily. Soon the "Archangel's" eyelids began to fight, and it was Solovyov who was under her eyes. A few gentle scratches on the soles of her feet with her fingers only caused her legs to move. It was obvious that the young queen was sleepy again.

"Louisa, shall I take you to bed?"

Seeing that she had fallen asleep, there was nothing he could do. Solovyov picked her up again, let her lie down on the bed, and covered her with a quilt.

Her sleeping appearance was indeed quite cute, but after a while, she started to say the names of her daughters, missing them a little.

Thinking about how she looked when she was raising her children, she was really a clumsy young mother.

Solovyov was still afraid that she would not sleep soundly, so he gently stroked her back. He didn't know whether this method was coaxing the child or petting the cat. He also sang a lullaby not far from her ear, only to However, it is difficult to say whether this behavior is infringement or not.

After all, he was singing Schubert's work. If this piece of music was injected into Louisa's ears, who knows whether she would have a sudden idea the next morning and run to the piano to play it herself.

"Good night, sweet Louisa."

After confirming that she was sleeping deeply, Solovyov kissed her cheek and then sneaked back to his guest room. After returning from Sweden, there were not many opportunities for the two to meet each other. During this period, Louisa's life was not too easy. Queen Mother Maria was in the current situation where Alexander was exposed to both his favorite mistress and his wife. , the fault with Louisa probably turned out to be that so far, she has not been able to give birth to an heir.

This is a big trouble for her. After all, she is still breastfeeding and her body has not yet returned to normal. But the Queen Mother's statement also carries the "argument" that Louisa's sisters, who are already married, have given birth to sons.