Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 38 038 This thing is much more expensive than potatoes, even more expensive than your life!

This winter is about to pass, spring is coming, the ice and snow are melting, and it is the season for all things to grow.

The scene of vigorous vitality and all things competing for growth will soon come into view.

Yes, spring is coming soon, and it is the time of the year for animals

Soloviev is in the barracks at No. 2 Million Street, and No. 4 next to it is the pharmacy. There are many people who get medicine here now, but in Russia, Paul probably doesn’t like bloodletting therapy. He believes more in drug treatment and hot spring treatment.

After the queen gave birth to a child, he finally had something to be happy about, but the delicate appearance of his daughter-in-law made him worried. After all, he was a man whose wife had died. For this, he still sought the advice of the imperial physician.

When the empress was in power, these doctors used drugs instead of bloodletting to treat Paul's critical illness. However, when they diagnosed the empress with a stroke, they used bloodletting again.

But Paul still wanted to listen to the opinions of these old Western doctors. He knew where he was not professional, and he had a lot of schedules recently.

After hearing that his daughter-in-law was in good health and just needed to walk more and live in a fresh environment, he felt relieved.

Now he decided to go to the countryside to see for himself. He wanted to know how the edicts he issued were implemented in the Russian countryside. He did not plan to go to Moscow on this tour.

Before that, he would see some new equipment in Gatchina, but he just wanted to see the concept.

Soloviev seemed to have become one of the more favored young officers recently. After Tsar Paul gradually began to prepare to add the new corps to the security work in the city of Petersburg, he was often caught to perform, and explained to the crown prince that reloading bullets was also very dangerous.

This time, on the way to Gatchina, Crown Prince Alexander rode a white horse, followed by a group of guards and grenadiers officers, and the carriages of the Crown Princess and other female relatives were on the road beside.

"Altesse, you have to pay attention to one problem, that is, the bullets cannot be reloaded too many times, otherwise it is easy to cause the rifle to explode."

"It doesn't matter, Solovyov, the two rifles and one hundred rounds of bullets you presented to your father have not been used up so far, and I don't use this gun every time I go out hunting."

After all, these are two limited edition handmade rifles on Earth, and they must be carefully taken care of. Solovyov looked at the servant who carried the gun for Alexander, and the gun was really carefully maintained.

However, when talking to the crown prince, you always have to get closer to speak, and his ears are still a bit problematic.

This future mysterious tsar is still very lively now, not the kind of person who will be hit by reality in the future, but his mind is more difficult to guess, which is also true.

Solovyov was able to get close to him purely to provide after-sales service. After all, the royal family was still the main consumer of his products, especially rifles.

"Your Highness, as for the grenades used by our grenadiers, although they are not commonly used now, they can still be used with some structural improvements, or emptying the bottles."

"Ah, I know that. The two drawings you submitted are both good ideas, but they should not be like the rifles and bullets for the Tula Arsenal. Prince Dolgorukov has written to Petersburg more than once, saying that this kind of rifle is difficult to produce and requires a large number of skilled craftsmen."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"And you are more suitable to be a designer, Captain, do you want to go to the Tula Arsenal as well?"

"I think I can play a better role in the Grenadiers Regiment, Your Highness, especially now that the Jager Company has just been fully staffed."

These words made Solovyov feel that Alexander and Konstantin were indeed brothers. At least one thing is certain. Before, he was a painting model next to Elena, sang at the tea party, and played with her in the game room, which may have aroused the vigilance of the crown prince.

And Czartoryski's departure may not be so simple. Although he is Alexander's close friend and a member of his inner circle, he has to be sent to Portugal.

Soloviev knew that if he went to Tula, he would only be able to work in the arsenal in the future. However, judging from the age of old Prince Peter, he is already 54 years old and will not be able to work in the arsenal for long.

If he stayed there, he would be away from the protection of his friends, and the new chief in Tula might not buy it.

And he had no idea what kind of person Alexander was.

Then Alexander looked at Louisa in the carriage. This person was really elusive, and no one knew what he would do next.

You know, Soloviev was summoned to the Winter Palace, and he was also very cautious, but there was no latest news from the Directory from France recently. Once the French made a move, although Petersburg was far away, the news would reach them quickly.

By then, we should be prepared.

Paul had a lot to do in Gatchina this time, including the new exercises on the parade ground in the spring.

However, considering that the Queen is recuperating and the Crown Princess's belly is finally showing some shape, the female members of the family will not be required to watch the training from behind this time. They can only hear the sound of cannons from a distance in the garden.

As for the new equipment at the test site, some of the items shipped from Dagestan according to the purchase list have now been delivered to the test site.

"This is a bit dangerous, Your Majesty, because it is a throwing weapon and it needs to be made on site. Please keep a safe distance."

It is about a distance of 20 feet, and Solovyov and a few grenadiers have prepared bottles of rum, sugar, shipped from Dagestan, simply fractionated oil, and some Something else.

"Fire things are still a bit dangerous, no wonder they do this. Kutaisov, bring the telescope."

"Yes, sire."

Paul saw from the monocular that Solovyov, who was lighting a fire with two soldiers, lit the cloth strip blocked on the rum bottle, and then threw it at the pile of dry firewood. Got out.

"The effect is pretty good. No wonder it's a dangerous job. Son, what do you think?"

"Like Greek fire, Father. You know, the stuff that was used against the Arabs in Constantinople."

"That means this is a Molotov cocktail that recreates something from a history book?"

"Yes, Father."

"But this is a bit dangerous. Although it is a new weapon, it can easily burn your own people. The fire bottle itself is not safe, and neither are the matches presented by Alyosha."

Paul is very concerned about safety measures. Although this kind of thing is easy to use, he has never been on the battlefield, but he can feel that it may not be easy to use in a field battle. If it is used in a siege, it will be used for arson. At that time, this was much more normal.

As the Tsar, he still knew that there had been many serious fires in Russia. According to official records, the fire in 1736 was caused by the improper handling of the servants of the Persian Embassy.

As for the Petersburg fire brigade, what they are most worried about is fighting fires in winter when the wind is extremely strong. Although serious fires have rarely occurred in Petersburg since the Queen's coup came to power, the wooden houses in the shipyard workers' residential area are more dangerous when thought of.

Therefore, he quickly mentioned the problem with this kind of thing to General Korsakov beside him: "General, if you take the army out and carry this kind of thing, you must pay attention to its safety. The most important thing is The first thing is to try not to burn your own people! Don’t forget the lessons of Yaroslavl and Tartu!”

While the pile of firewood was still burning, Paul lectured again. The fires he mentioned later were all events during the Queen's reign. Subsequently, Russian urban buildings were greatly improved, and a large number of masonry buildings were destroyed. Adopted, but when it comes to heating in winter, it always feels dangerous.

These two fires caused a lot of property damage, but very few casualties. However, they are indeed worthy of warning, because in many places, buildings still use a large number of wooden structures. What if they want to burn?

Next, it’s the next project. After several months of design, Solovyov finally made a grenade that can explode two lobes. There is no way, with Russia’s current technical level, this thing can be made Son, if you pull it over the fire, it will explode if you throw it. It is already considered a black technology.

If this thing had not been developed, it is estimated that during the Crimean War, the Russian army, which lacked artillery shells, would have filled wine bottles with gunpowder and thrown them out.

Of these two things, one is so powerful that Tsar Paul was frightened when he mentioned it; the other, you have to be careful not to explode if you hold it in your hand, and throw it out quickly, but it is the things used by grenadiers, this No problem, but the effect is not very good.

No way, this technical level is here.

When Solovyov and the helping soldiers, wearing white shirts that had been stained with black stripes, came to see Paul with a gray face.

The tsar smiled. Although his smile was sometimes uglier than crying, it did not hinder his reward.

"Captain, your invention this time is not as good as when you played with guns before."

"Your Majesty, not every invention can be successful. When I was in the military camp, I was always afraid of damaging the house because it was too close to the Winter Palace."

It was dangerous enough. Paul didn't want to read it anymore, and said that this invention would be shelved for a while until the technology matured before it could be brought out.

He didn't notice that Solovyov was staring at Rostopchin, and he didn't know the little theater in his heart.

If you dare to use this thing to ignite Moscow, I will dare to ignite your home.

Anyway, Rostopchin has fallen out of favor recently, and he will soon be kicked out of the court by Paul. This is considered a "shame". There are many people who can return to the court after being humiliated, but what can they do in the future? It's all a huge problem.

Rostopchin didn't understand why, and he didn't seem to be very familiar with this young man.

As for Paul himself, what he is holding now is a teaching grenade that has been cut open to see the structure of the weapon.

"This thing, if the captain is used in training, how are you going to conduct normal training?"

"Your Majesty, I think we should usually use 'earth apples' for throwing training. The portions are about the same."

"Why potatoes?"

"A grenade is much more expensive than a potato! If not, it will be more expensive than the lives of us soldiers!"

Paul was amused, but he also pointed out the problem seriously.

"I think talent is the most valuable, talent is the first treasure of the country!"

The price of grenades is a problem, but it can be used for jokes, the emperor of all Russia said so now.

That means we have to do it according to his wishes, and it is indeed not the right time to make some inventions now. Solovyov is also considering making relatively safe matches, not as dangerous as the fire bottle.

He himself was almost blown up just now, and Tsar Paul saw it very clearly in the telescope.

The grenadiers watching on the scene also said that these two things, no matter how brave we are, it is not the time to use them now.

Compared with the new guys used by the hunters, the new weapons they were assigned are obviously very dangerous.

Grenades themselves also faded out of the front line in the late 18th century, mainly due to the progress of artillery.

Now Solovyov is also considering how to make the model of the simple grenade in the Russo-Japanese War. The wooden handle thing he has made now is even worse than the "Border Region Made" in terms of performance. It is not necessarily smooth sailing when doing anything.

Paul now has more and more things to take care of. In addition to new weapons, the trends on the European continent are worthy of vigilance. On the other hand, it is necessary to improve the water transportation in Russia, especially the canals that have been dug. They all need to be repaired. This money is now allocated from the funds obtained by the orphanages under the name of the queen, and 400,000 rubles are used every year.

The huge consumption, coupled with fiscal reforms, although ordinary people may get more benefits, but he has also begun to damage the interests of some nobles.

At present, this is not bad in the Guards, but in some local troops, some officers have begun to form a conspiracy group.

These people can't get things done by themselves, but they always bring huge troubles.

Afterwards, Tsar Paul conducted a review of the Petersburg garrison at the review ground in the afternoon.

This time the event was a grand affair, and even some veterans who had been exiled home were invited. Logically, Marshal Suvorov should have been invited, but he was not seen at the scene, which was indeed very strange.