Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Soloviev returned to his job as an aide-de-camp. There were differences in rank between aides-de-camp. With his qualifications and family background, he was still a captain aide-de-camp.

Because he had won the Order of Malta and the Order of St. Anna, although he was young, his qualifications as an officer, plus his military exploits in this expedition, could still dominate the headquarters.

After all, the medals he received were only awarded during the Paul period. Those who received such medals were the emperor's own people, at least the Russian emperor himself thought so.

And his current task was to survey the marching route.

Those Austrian staff officers liked to work on the map rather than on the spot.

He rode a mule and dressed like an Italian, but he couldn't speak Italian, and Latin was not suitable for him to use, and he didn't speak it very well.

"Captain, we still have to speak German here, at least in these places in Switzerland."

"That's because we are in the eastern part of Switzerland. If we were in the west, we would have to speak French, because we are more familiar with the French there."

Soloviev only brought two Cossacks to the southern part of Switzerland, mainly to find a suitable mountain pass to advance. The Russian army's goal is the St. Gotthard and other mountain passes, and the road ahead is very difficult to walk.

If we follow the idea of ​​deployment, it will be very difficult to mobilize from the mountainous area. It is difficult to enter the mountain and it is difficult to leave the mountain. It is a problem whether Archduke Karl can reach the front line of the Rhine River on time. As for Suvorov, in the coming September, they will enter the Swiss mountains and start the small-scale but thrilling battle in this expedition.

As for the Jager Company, because the Guards use the same equipment, the guns of the soldiers who were killed and seriously injured were handed over to the supplementary reserve soldiers. Even so, there is still a shortage of one-third of the staff, and many of them are "temporary workers".

The town that Solovyov and the two Cossacks rode to was Bellinzona, a town in the mountainous area of ​​southeastern Switzerland.

"Captain, look, the town below is so beautiful, we should go and see it."

"Yes, it's on the map, what's your name?"

"Samoilov, my son is also a Cossack."

Ah, this surname always feels a bit dramatic, especially when Samoilov is holding a duck in his hand.

"Ah, Samoilov, let's go to this town and take a look, then you take the letter and go to our marshal to report the situation here."

At the intersection of the town, they also saw a road sign marked in Italian.

"It's Bellinzona. If it's French, there's no a at the end. Let's go to the town and take a look."

Of course, we have to go to the tavern. This town has a strong Italian style, because it used to be the land of the Duchy of Milan. It was occupied by Louis XII who invaded Lombardy in 1499. Then in the second year, the locals drove away the French soldiers and joined the Swiss Confederation.

When the French entered Switzerland, this place became a border town of the new republic.

However, the locals did not welcome the French.

It was nothing. The French royal army often crossed the border in northern Italy and fought with the Austrians. They did not like either side. It was also a place where Italians and Romansh people lived.

In order for Solovyov to understand what the Romansh people said, he had to know that they had begun to be culturally assimilated after the Romans arrived here. At the same time, there were not many such people in the local area, only about 20,000 to 30,000 people in total.

But if you want to find a guide, you may need to find them.

For this, Solovyov went to a tavern.

"You two, don't talk too much, so as not to let people find out that we are Russians."

When he needed to negotiate by himself, he also found that there were still many people speaking German in the local area.

"Where are you from, young man?"

"From Bergamo, we are just passing travelers. But these days, there are wars everywhere, French, Germans, and recently Russians."

"Yes, your accent doesn't sound like a local."

"Where does my accent sound like?"

"It sounds a bit like Linz and Vienna. Are you from Austria? Judging from the clothes you are wearing, you should be a young master from a wealthy family."

"Maybe I have been in Vienna for too long. I came here to see if this road can pass through Switzerland and go directly back to Salzburg."

"There is a war ahead. Ah! The Germans and French are in the Zurich area. "

"That's right. How much does it cost to hire a guide?"

"It's not a matter of money, but people who are familiar with that place are unwilling to go. Maybe some old shepherds will agree to it. They are familiar with those roads and can accompany you through."

"Thank you, boss. I want to give me and my two servants a big glass of your local specialty."

"Speaking of specialties, in addition to drinks, do you want food? A young master like you should not be short of money, but you should make yourself more comfortable."

"Well, boss, give me everything you have."

"You can see, young master, our sweet wine Rteli tastes great when mixed with some cherry juice. If you want some beef dishes, we have Bündnerfleisch, which is mixed with white wine, salt and onions. The taste is amazing."

"With wine and meat, there must be dishes and soup. You can't have sauerkraut like those in Germany."

"If you want soup, you can order Capuns, which is made of beets, noodles and beef, wrapped in vegetable leaves. The taste is very good."

"Boss, then you should come up, use Austrian Thal or something else?"

"You just need to pay with money. In our Switzerland, which is what the French call Helvetia, we welcome everyone who comes here."

Soloviev and the two Cossacks didn't eat anything good along the way, so when they got here, they feasted.

The two soldiers really didn't pay much attention to their eating manners, but the captain himself still maintained his eating manners.

And these two guys are really hard to describe. On the way here, I kept telling them not to speak Russian!

But the locals have no ill will towards the Russians, and they are always better than the French and Austrians.

Switzerland still hopes to maintain its independence. They don't like a Swiss puppet government controlled by Vienna or Paris, but to maintain the original independent status of the federation.

Otherwise, Bellinzona, an important gateway under the control of the Duke of Visconti in Milan, should just return to Milan. After all, there are still more Italians here.

As for some people saying that Switzerland is eating up the whole family, this cannot be denied, but it has not happened yet. In addition, another point cannot be denied. How many white lotus have you seen in politics?

"See, after eating good food, you forget your identity. I won't hide it, boss. I am a Russian officer."

"But you can't hear that Russian accent when you speak, if your two subordinates didn't drink and start speaking Russian. And you have won the Knight's Medal?"

"This is the emperor's commendation for military merit. Let's not talk about my business. Let's arrange a room for them to stay in. I will have a room alone. In addition, do you have any French spies here?"

"We don't like the French here for 300 years! Their garrisons have never come. There should be no spies in the open, but it's hard to say if there are any underground intelligence stations in secret."

"Ah, I understand, boss, I will pay for the hotel. Just clean up the guest rooms, and put the tips for the waiters under the tablecloth. The child is very smart and will be a good helper in the future."

Soloviev gave up the idea of ​​finding someone to report immediately today because the two Cossacks drank too much Rteli and cherry wine and made themselves drunk.

But judging from what the tavern owner said and the attitude of others towards the Russians, these Swiss people hate the French.

This contradiction happened 300 years ago after Louis XII entered Italy. What we need to pay attention to now is the situation here as the only way to St. Gotthard.

The Russian vanguard will arrive in three days, and he needs to find out the situation.

There are three fortresses in Bellinzona, namely the Great Fortress, Montebello Fortress and Sasso Corbaro Fortress. Except for the local self-defense forces who sometimes go to see them, they have been abandoned and actually have no military defense function.

The Austrians are not active in this area, and there is a lack of material supply.

Before Solovyov set off, the Russian army headquarters was extremely dissatisfied with the Austrians' security measures in the rear.

Originally, according to the coordination with the Austrian side, the Austrian side should provide 1,429 mules, but when the Russian army arrived at the assembly point, they found that there was not a single mule.

Crossing the Alps requires not only soldiers but also their artillery vehicles. Mules are always needed when crossing the mountains, no matter where they go, whether to pull people or transport supplies.

This made the old marshal very dissatisfied. Another annoying thing was that the guide that the Russian military command asked the Austrians to hire had not been found so far.

Solovyov also took this task. When arriving in Switzerland, at least he had to find out the situation at each intersection. The maps of the Austrian staff were not completely reliable.

It would be best to find a guide who was familiar with the local mountain roads. The Russians were very unfamiliar with the road through St. Gotthard.

The owner of the tavern had made it very clear for this task. It was not good to find someone in the town. To find a reliable one, he had to find those herdsmen who were familiar with the local mountain roads.

The next morning, after Samoilov went to deliver a letter to Suvorov, Solovyov asked another Cossack Titov to guard the hotel and wander around the town first.

According to the boss's description, herders come to the market to sell cattle two days a week, and the cattle dealers here buy cattle at a high price during the war.

Therefore, many herders will come to the market, and you can ask about it at this time.

However, many herders are unwilling to take this road when they hear that they are going to St. Gotthard.

Only an old man in his sixties said that he knew the way.

But he was too old, and others said that he was confused and had almost forgotten his family.

But when Solovyov talked to him, he knew German.

"Master, if you want to walk on the Gotthard road, I can still do it, old man."

"Old man, just tell me the way to the Gotthard. It's still a bit dangerous for you to go by yourself."

But telling him this way didn't seem to make the old man flinch.

"You young people, don't think that you are an old useless old man who can't use your legs and feet, so you can't walk this way. If you really want to go up the mountain, you can come to me when you get to the town of Taverno. Old man Antonio Gama, no matter how many people there are, even if the soldiers come, they can still take you over the mountain pass!"

Solovyov did not take the map out of his briefcase, but he paid attention to the topographic map. The town of Taverno was really on the only way to the Gotthard.

However, he still didn't want to ask this old man for help. After all, he was too old and it would be difficult to explain if he made a mistake.

But when the army is stationed, before crossing the mountain, we have to go here. What will happen then is not clear.

"Thank you, old man. When I go over the mountain, I will come to you if necessary!"

Then he returned to the hotel and returned with Titov to find the vanguard.

They were traveling very fast, but what they didn't expect was that the vanguard troops commanded by Bagration actually arrived at the scheduled location ahead of time and were resting there.

"Misha, how about going to the front?"

"We arrived in Bellinzona, where we asked the tavern owners and herdsmen that we should continue on to the Gotthard Pass, pass through Taverno, and then climb over the mountains. This road is not easy to walk, and there are many herdsmen. None of them were willing to lead the way. Only an old man said he had crossed the mountain there, and I wrote down his name and address. But I was too old, so I didn’t feel confident, so I sent the messenger and came back. "

"Okay, Misha, go to Alexander Vasilyevich now and report to him everything you learn along the way!"

After hearing Solovyov's report, Suvorov deduced based on the marching route drawn by the Austrian staff that he must pass through the Gotthard Pass. Through an intersection here, he could quickly climb over the mountain and arrive at Near Zurich.

This time it was the turn of the Russian and Austrian troops to attack the French from both sides.

Among other things, although Solovyov was very confident in Suvorov's deployment, after he came to the battlefield, he found that this kind of confrontational tactics relied heavily on coordination and communication between the armies. In an era without modern communication equipment, it is obviously not feasible to play this game, which is very demanding on the commander's command ability.