Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

As for Barclay, although it is obvious that his family is from Scotland and his surname is not Feng, he is always listed among those Germans because of his German ancestry, and the Germans will not get too close to him, after all, they are not in the same race.

Once he falls out of favor, he will always be alienated by others, and when he is proud, he is easily attacked by others. Even those who have no personal grudges against him will always have disputes with him.

Yes, it is Solovyov's senior brother Bagration, but the Georgian prince is not considered the senior brother. There are also rich idlers like Apraksin and lecherous old men like Kutuzov who are more like senior uncles.

There are too many arguments between them.

Solovyov has always had a good personality. He often does jobs such as chief of staff and director of military supplies. He has to deal with people from all walks of life, so he has to be smooth and get along well with the upper and lower levels of the six countries.

However, if he takes advantage of the situation to pressure others, he will not be vague and will still launch a counterattack.

"Soloviev, it's just right that you're here. His Majesty has approved the plan."

"But emotionally, no one wants this plan to be implemented in the end, and the losses it would bring would be extremely huge. Those British are in a really good position, they don't need to do this, but if they are landed, they will also suffer."

If we really talk about robbery, the French are actually more professional in this regard, and they are not easily hated. Even if they took away an obelisk from Egypt, they still made a big scene.

Just say that the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II went to France to make a model, and there was a guard of honor and customs passports. Isn't it a big show?

If it's the British, they can't do the things of stealing, murder and arson. If you look closely, they are all the same. If you compare the badness, everyone is the same, but the British are more mean and arrogant.

I have only seen Greece and Egypt accusing the British of looting cultural relics all day long. The French robbed a lot but didn't make such a big fuss.

"You look down on the British? This person seems to have French relatives. I'm going to Count Kutuzov's residence. Do you want to go with me?"

"It's good to go. The old man came from Kiev recently. There should be something going on, right?"

"I don't know. Several generals have been appointed. It seems that something big is going to happen."

"That's my business, and you are also involved."

The two people talked like this on the street, and they were afraid that Swedish spies would come to inquire about the news.

Although Russia's strength is absolutely overwhelming, it can't withstand an abstraction. Something will always happen inside.

For example, a few years later, if Catherine didn't get married, someone would even plot to overthrow Alexander and get Ye San out.

As for which side's spies came out, it was not a surprise.

When Solovyov talked about military and political affairs with others, he naturally looked at the person. The Barclay family has always been cautious, so this aspect is naturally easy to talk about. If it were someone else, he would not go to the carriage or sleigh to talk.

"Your plan is well-intentioned, but Bukhoden."

Everyone knows this problem, but Alexander still uses such a person. There is no other way. After all, Russia has a ancestral system of seniority. Even Kamensky, who has made great military achievements and whose father is a marshal, has some opinions about his promotion from major general to lieutenant general at the age of only 30.

For some old generals, it is a big threshold to go from major general to lieutenant general in their lifetime, and the cases of Bagration and Barclay are two extremes.

Bagration's military achievements and qualifications are too strong. Even in a disastrous battle, he can lead his troops to retreat in an orderly manner. He can command calmly without chaos when the enemy pursues him. In addition, he is a disciple taught by Suvorov himself, so obviously few people can raise any opinions about him.

As for Barclay, his promotion faces the criticism of these old generals.

Back then, Bukhoden rarely heard of such things. There were many veterans of the same era as him, including Solovyov's father-in-law. It can be seen that interpersonal communication is still useful.

However, he was more afraid that he could drink a lot, and his family also entertained guests. The family with the surname Bukhoden had already appeared in Riga in the Middle Ages, and was considered a more prestigious noble family among the Baltic Germans.

"Is there such a thing?"

"You can't drink, so you can only recite poems in front of girls. If you don't really have some skills, it's not easy to mix in the social circle of soldiers. Otherwise, you have to be like me."

Barclay is not self-deprecating, he always has this problem.

"Alas, it's like this in St. Petersburg and Moscow. It's the same in other places."

Solovyov has always been more of a map gun, but Bukhoden has always been proud. He performed poorly twice, and one of them was a mess. Surprisingly, he can still be promoted to a high position until now, and it is difficult to get a disciplinary transfer at the same level. He is indeed a bit capable.

Unfortunately, this old Deng has not made any progress in his fighting skills, and he often drinks too much and makes mistakes.

Listening to Barclay, Solovyov thought that his subordinates were all elite soldiers and generals. Basically, he configured Bukholden with a set of lineups under Kutuzov in 1812, except for Miloradovich.

But this lineup should not be easy to fight, as Finland is not an easy place to fight.

If Solovyov knew the strange operations of the Russian army in the next year or so, he might have nothing to say.

As for Kutuzov's house, it was a bit deserted. His daughters were married, and even the widowed third daughter Elizabeth lived in the mansion left by her deceased husband.

Barclay's presence was nothing special, but he was very happy that Solovyov came. Although the two came to talk about some things, it was more like caring for empty-nesters.

"Misha, how are you recently?"

"Katya and I went to travel to Crimea and were called back halfway. These days, I often have official business, so I don't live at home by Lake Ladoga. I often stay in the old house in Laundry Lane."

"I'm married and still live there. I heard from Nikolai of the Kamensky family that the manor was well built, but you are now."

This old man is actually quite interesting. It is said that he is greedy, sleepy, and lustful, but he is very smart in socializing, revealing a sense of cunning. He is still willing to give a hand to the young people he favors.

He also went to Solovyov's wedding, and even ran all the way from Kiev.

Just seeing him always reminds me of my third son-in-law, Tickenhausen. I was happy when I said that before, but now I am sad again.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing, but young man, if you don't have official business, you should enjoy life more. Except for your wedding leave, I rarely see you idle. After you have a wife, will you not go to the salon?"

This old man's words are very funny. He should be the best to Andrei, and then other young people.

"The salon can't be counted on. Mikhail Bogdanovich and I met on the road. He is still busy drawing up a new battle plan."

"Who will command the Vyborg Corps?"

"At present, it has been decided that it is General Bukhoden."

"This choice is not bad, but he must be patient at that time, so that the enemy will lose the will to resist, instead of rushing to capture the city."

Obviously, this is Kutuzov's usual practice. He is always very patient, and even has more means in diplomacy, which can force the enemy to accept the terms of peace talks in the end.

In fact, he and Suvorov are on two completely different paths.

The six "likes" in Sun Tzu's Art of War, Suvorov can bear the "fast as wind" and "aggressive as fire", Kutuzov is probably "slow as forest", but not as immovable as a mountain.

Bagration may be more in line with this. Recently, St. Petersburg is going to build a military academy. The "Art of War" translated by Solovyov has been selected as a textbook for the Staff College and used by students.

Even Kutuzov has this book, but he only has one eye, so it is still inconvenient to read the book, and he always has to ask his wife to read to him.

Now when he said this, he also motioned for the two to sit down.

"Barclay, and Misha, sit down. Why do we have the same name? It's very troublesome to call each other in private."

"Mikhail Illarionovich, probably has something to do with angels. I heard the Count Sergei, Misha's father, talk about the origin of his son's name in the cafe downstairs of his house."

"This child is indeed an angel, but to be honest, in military theory, even when translating, he has some attainments and can fully understand the content. This is amazing, not to mention a young man in his twenties. When we old guys were young, we were either fighting or having fun, but we didn't have the heart to focus on this. Misha, I really envy you. You are so young, and you haven't experienced the pleasures other than women except enjoying life. You have done everything else that we didn't do when we were young."

For a moment, Solovyov didn't know what to say, and he didn't know whether the old general was praising or talking about something else.

You know, Kutuzov is only a general, not a field marshal.

"What you said reminds me of a strange thing in Petersburg."

"What is it?"

"Our field marshals are often honorary. The truly talented generals are all lieutenant generals. Major generals are too young, and generals are often..."

Kutuzov laughed when he heard this.

"Hahaha, if you say so, I support this opinion. Alexander Vasilyevich has always been a brilliant military hero, but his promotion to marshal is very slow. Among our generals on the front line, only Rumyantsev became a marshal at the most suitable age and completed his military career, but unfortunately he did not finish it well. Even Nicholas' father became a marshal and then became unemployed."

Speaking of which, there is a more embarrassing thing that Kutuzov did not say even when Potemkin had been dead for more than ten years.

Rumyantsev and old Kamensky both offended Potemkin.

At this time, it is not gossip. Buckholden has a strange ability in this regard. He has always been more proud in the palace.

"As for this kind of thing, it should happen again, Misha. I actually agree with your translation of military theory. How should I put it? I know that you wrote the preface and asked my wife to read it to me, but she is out attending a salon banquet and is not at home."

"The preface mentioned that translating these books is to provide commanders and staff with a suitable methodology, or at least a means to build a new methodology."

"Speaking of which, you are like a philosopher. We need to use some good words so that young officers can understand. It is good to talk to the staff in this way. They usually read a lot and know that you are talking about methodology. But for junior officers who climb up step by step, other methods must be adopted."

"I understand this, and what you said makes some sense."

Kutuzov signaled the servant to bring the book over.

"I actually always like young people like you. You are talented and energetic, and you are enviable. But you can't always be like us old guys. When we are old, we want to do something. At that time, we may regret it. I also regret that I am not so resolute in doing things at some times, but patience is good."

He asked the servant to bring the book over and hand it to Solovyov.

"Misha, you should be very familiar with these contents. What I want to hear is the "Military~War~Chapter". Is it read like this?"

"Although your pronunciation is not standard, it is still understandable."

Russian has many tongue-twisting sounds, which is inevitable.

Soloviev took the book and began to read it.

"How about I start from here? It is the part about the command principle, how to mobilize the army."

"Of course, Misha, you can start from there."

"Okay," Soloviev turned the book to the corresponding page, and then found the dialogue and notes, "The principle of military command, the commander accepts the order of the monarch (from the ruling or parliament in the republic), from assembling the army, to planning the marching route, setting up camps, and then to arranging alerts, and finally fighting on the battlefield. The main purpose is to seize the initiative in strategy, and also in the battle. Take the initiative"

"Misha, have you ever thought about why we can only negotiate at the Neman River in this war?"

"I have thought about this issue. After all, I have been the chief of staff for a long time."

"Well, you can tell me what you think. I support Barclay's idea, but it is always difficult to implement it."

"We must have enough determination to take the initiative on the battlefield. If we want to talk about it, the generalissimo and the French emperor are both willing to fight for control of the battlefield. To be honest, there are problems with the supply of our entire army and the command system."