Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 391 033 Elena, who came back to visit her relatives in the name of returning home, actually went home to seek refuge (Part 2)

The palace in Gatchina was indeed quite strange during Alexander's time.

The Queen Mother herself obviously did not intervene in politics enough. When she said in 1801 that she had the ability, no one believed her. Even Louisa, who had never dared to disobey her mother-in-law, dared to stand up and express her opposition, publicly supporting Alexander's legitimate succession to the throne.

However, in order to maintain her influence in the court, the Queen Mother was still very resourceful.

This time when Elena returned from Mecklenburg to visit her relatives, she set up a big show in Gatchina, and there were receptions and banquets.

Those nobles who wanted to curry favor with the Queen Mother would still gather here.

Therefore, as long as this large-scale reception ball can be held, there will still be many people who respond.

In fact, it is even more grand than the ball held in the Winter Palace.

However, Alexander didn't care much about these things. When the waltz was played at the ball, people could see that the Tsar himself and the Queen Mother entered together.

As for the Queen, although she participated in the family dinner within the royal family today, she did not attend such occasions.

Of course, there are many people who sympathize with Louisa, and it is not surprising to interpret this incident in any way.

In addition, she is pregnant again. Taking Elena's child to the Alexander Palace also allows the Grand Duchess, who has been away from Petersburg for a long time, to devote herself to this large-scale social event.

During this period, some people came to mention this question. What does Elena's return mean?

The more sensitive soldiers were also whispering in the corridor.

Solovyov saw a bald man passing by today. He rarely dealt with this person before because he was not in the same legion, but his identity was indeed easy to attract attention.

That is Barclay de Tolly, a descendant of Scottish nobles. The fact that he is of German descent is also related to the Hanseatic League among his relatives.

Therefore, he was sometimes in a strange and awkward position. Russian officers regarded him as a German, and German officers did not let him integrate into the circle.

Moreover, among generals, according to the seniority list, length of service and military exploits always cause criticism from others. Barclay was very unfortunate because he only participated in the war against Sweden and suppressed the Warsaw resistance. He had not fought for 12 years and was always said to be a relative.

And it was so unlucky that this happened every time he was promoted.

Although the protagonist today was Elena, who came back from Mecklenburg to visit her relatives, the people attending such a reception ball always attracted more attention.

As for Bagration, he did not have the hostility he would have in the future when he mentioned Barclay de Tolly.

"Misha, it's strange that you have to deal with that bald guy."

"I'm just curious, a Scotsman is always mistaken for a German."

"You can ask him, I can also introduce you. In addition, you should also prepare. In the officer yearbook, you can skip the qualification limit when you are promoted from colonel to major general."

If Bagration didn't say it, Solovyov would not know this either.

"What did you say?"

"You are very meticulous in doing things, but you don't know this. According to the annual officer and general qualifications yearbooks, the emperor can select officers of all levels for promotion."

"But what does this have to do with me?"

Seeing that Soloviev really didn't know, Bagration said: "That German from Scotland promoted generals based on performance, not qualifications. You are busy making battle plans all day, how could you forget this?"

"Huh?"

"You can be promoted to general through special channels! You don't understand qualifications, even worse than I don't understand my wife."

Soloviev really didn't pay attention to this. He has been promoted to colonel for some time. In the past, promotions in the officer class were qualified after one year, but at the general stage, there are still some explanations.

It is no wonder that the children of the noble families always take advantage of their youth to register in the Guards to brush up their qualifications.

But Bagration's self-deprecation is unnecessary. Soloviev finally understood that there is a fast-forward channel.

With his current status, he can be promoted according to this convention. No matter from the perspective of qualifications, military exploits, or positions, no one can say anything.

But this is secondary. Solovyov is going to greet Barclay.

"Hello, Mikhail Bogdanovich, I am Solovyov from the Operations Department."

"I have heard that although you are young, you are very good at fighting."

Barclay himself felt that he had no sense of existence. Generally, no one would come to him, but this kid actually came up to greet him when he saw him for the first time.

I can't figure out whether Solovyov is familiar or what's going on.

"Thank you for your compliment, but I have a question. You are obviously Scottish. Logically, you should be the same as Earl Bruce, not German."

"That may be because of the origin of my mother and wife, as well as the surname De Tolly. Even if you are Scottish, you may have relatives on the European continent."

"Maybe you have to play the bagpipes to identify them."

"You are very good at joking and you are very playful."

"Besides that, what do you think about the problems of France and Prussia?"

"We are all soldiers serving Russia. We should obey the will of the emperor and fight for the motherland and the people."

When he said this, Solovyov thought of Andrei. He didn't know how this guy was doing in Smolensk recently.

"Yes, but France and Prussia, it seems that they will definitely fight."

"You mean"

"Yes, but it's still early now. As soldiers, we have to wait for orders before we can go to the battlefield."

"That's indeed the point of view. We will all go to the battlefield at that time."

"Yes, but I'm surprised that you have made great contributions, but you are still a colonel."

Like Barclay de Tolly, Solovyov also has curious characteristics. The speed of promotion of military rank is obviously not consistent with his contributions.

"That's not surprising. Whether it's seniority or military exploits, it always takes a suitable time."

"I wish you to become a general soon, and have the opportunity to command a division in the future."

"Isn't that the French 'divisional general'? It really has to start from here. You have good administrative skills. Perhaps your majesty will be useful in the Ministry of War in the future."

"Speaking of administrative ability, my father was once the mayor of Riga, and my family's estate is in Courland, which will have some influence."

"Yes, many local officers have suffered from lack of education, while German officers and foreign officers always receive better education, so they have some advantages when they are promoted."

Of course, some strange words cannot be said, only cultural level can be said.

"But you are different. Young officers who are self-taught are rare nowadays."

While they were chatting here, Alexander and Queen Maria also came out of the back room, and everyone had to salute where they passed.

Soloviev couldn't go back to where he was sitting because of the separation of the crowd, so he stayed and continued to chat with Barclay.

"Self-study is only a means to improve personal knowledge reserves. Military academies are still needed to strengthen learning and change personal habits, so that knowledgeable young people can become qualified officers."

"There is some truth. We have always prepared for war in peacetime."

"But everyone hopes for long-term peace, Mikhail Bogdanovich, isn't it?"

Barclay didn't say much here. Next, he started dancing on the dance floor. This is usually an occasion for girls and single officers. Barclay, who has a wife, generally won't join.

And Solovyov didn't plan to enter the dance floor today. He still wanted to discuss military issues, and he hid deeper, using Barclay and several other officers to block his figure.

For example, Colonel Yermolov, this big guy is most suitable for blocking the view.

"But it's meaningless. You don't want to start a war now, but someone wants to. In the past, we had the idea of ​​attacking the Turks, just like the French are always aggressive."

"The means that the strong side is willing to take. As for you, Yermolov, what are you doing there?"

"I don't want to go down to dance, but I'm too conspicuous."

"Your size is too obvious. Standing here can completely block me."

"Maybe, but someone has done a full "reconnaissance", and you are not so easy to hide."

"I don't want to move my position yet, artillery."

"But what if the hussars come over?"

Yermolov, this big guy, has some sense of humor, and Barclay also wants to laugh after listening to it.

Especially this person, still tells jokes with a serious expression, even if it is a cold joke, there will be a big contrast effect.

Yermolov was four years older than Solovyov. He was also single. However, because of his service and because he was poor as a colonel, he had the idea of ​​getting married, but he never got married.

Later, his lifelong friend Osterman Tolstoy got married very early, but his wife was weak and sick. As long as he was not in service, he would always take his wife to the sanatorium.

"It's a pity that we can't form a battle here. The palace is always different from the battlefield."

When they said this, the girls had already entered the dance floor. This time, in addition to the palace maids and the noble ladies who came here, the female school students who had not yet obtained the social qualifications would also go on stage.

"Ah, it's really unfortunate today. My sister Yulia will be here for the first time to enter a social occasion. However, she has to wait until she graduates from the Smolny Girls' School to be eligible."

"That will take some time. Which one is it?"

"Among the girls in the girls' school, the tallest one in the first row is this girl. If she grows up, she will be taller than me. She is only fifteen years old."

"There is also a very tall princess in the palace. Princess Anna Pavlovna is also the same age. Look over there."

When Barclay said this, Solovyov and Yermolov both looked over there. Next to Alexander, the two unmarried sisters were there. It was indeed the case.

"Her Majesty the Queen Mother is a big guy. It's not surprising that Princess Anna is tall. When I was an aide-de-camp in the palace, I gave early childhood education classes to the princesses. At that time, she was only a 5-year-old child, but she was obviously taller than other children."

"Yes, you have this relationship."

When Barclay said this, he was a little envious.

But when Solovyov looked at him, he thought in his heart: You will also be proud in the future, but I am afraid that my time will be even further behind.

But being a teacher to Nikolai and having a job in the General Staff did have some benefits.

As for the girls, after the opening dance, they will each look for a dance partner. The number of single young and middle-aged officers is still very large, especially the number present today.

In such social occasions, there are always people coming out to dance.

Moreover, when Yulia appeared on this occasion, as the eldest brother, Solovyov could not hide it. His younger sister's appearance always required his brother's help.

He himself didn't notice that Nicholas and Mikhail were also on Alexander's side today, but these two boys were behind the Queen Mother's throne and were blocked by several attendants and adjutants.

The two of them were making plans, and even said to their second sister, who had been away from home for a long time and was a bit unfamiliar with them, "Sister, you are very familiar with our teacher!"

"Yes, at that time, I brought him into the palace to be a model."

"So what does he like?"

"There are many hobbies, Nicholas, what are you thinking about?"

However, Nicholas was too straightforward. He said to Elena: "Sister, I think the boss, as the two of us call him in private, should find a wife."

"Kolya, you and Misha, are you two going to help your teacher get a wife?"

When Elena said this, she didn't know what to say about Nikolai and Mikhail. Was this precociousness, childishness, or something else? In short, children nowadays are really scary, and she didn't know what her son would be like in the future. What will happen.

She also considered introducing a girl to her brother-in-law, but Christian August obviously had no such considerations.

But Solovyov, since he usually comes to the palace to teach his two young brothers, and he is very familiar with him in the past, he has to help him to some extent.

After getting Nikolai's affirmation, she said: "Don't be anxious, there are so many girls here today, maybe there will be a suitable one. But you two don't be so obvious, there will always be If you can, you can entrust the people around you to handle this matter. If it doesn't work, I can also help. After all, the baron is also at our mercy. "

This situation is indeed rather subtle.