Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 11 011 The old cunning General Kutuzov has the art of pretending to be confused.

In this upper-class salon, there are still more people who speak French, but some people will be more embarrassed. This is the case for Colonel Miloradovic on this occasion. He is from Herzegovina. He says this because he His great-grandfather came from the Balkans, but he was actually born in the estate in Poltava given to his father by Catherine II for her military exploits against the Ottoman Empire. He was still considered a Ukrainian noble.

His father has a good relationship with Suvorov, Kutuzov and others, and he once studied in Europe. However, he has the same embarrassing situation as Solovyov last year. He can speak German well, but French It's really nonsense. Fortunately, he has been to Strasbourg. , and when studying abroad, he studied French and German, arithmetic, geometry, history, architecture, law, painting, music and fencing, military science: fortification, artillery and military history, and even studied with Kant when he was in Königsberg. Studied philosophy.

It's just that it's not clear what the usefulness of what he learned while studying abroad was. Moreover, Colonel Miloradovich has always been known for his bravery and performed outstandingly in the Russo-Swedish War from 1788 to 1790. At that time, he was only a lieutenant.

Solovyov's impression of him before the meeting was probably Lieutenant General Khalilov's "March of General Miloradovich". Foreigners who know more about Russian history, It was when they were fighting. When talking about revolution, everyone always mentioned the February Revolution and the October Revolution. To the Decembrists, it was just a concept.

He is handsome and has a good family background. Although he is a descendant of the nobles brought out by Peter the Great, he is handsome. When he returned to China, he ordered 365 tuxedos and was attracted by the swingers in social situations. They are jealous because he is so popular with women in his life. From a young girl in love, a wealthy young lady to some middle-aged ladies, he is always a friend of women. He can always receive letters from ladies, and he has always been Collect them.

However, today's occasion was relatively formal. The ladies in the salon were all separated according to age, group, region and familiarity. Most of the men were talking about serious things. Even a few young people, after seeing them, he I find it interesting that these guys, whose milky smell has not yet faded away, are actually discussing how to do business, and even making plans in a serious manner.

He had seen the two Dolgorukov boys, but not the one with brown hair and green eyes. His uniform belonged to the Moscow Grenadier Regiment, which should be Dmitry Volkonsky's team. He didn't pay attention to it, but walked straight over and talked with several commanders of similar age.

Don't worry about him for now. The content discussed in this salon was initially just some popular "fashions" in Petersburg and the recent family feuds here. Then it suddenly went deep into General Bonaparte's past battles in Italy, which quickly defeated them. defeated the Austrian army and forced the Austrian emperor to sign a peace treaty.

At this time, the Russian nobles did not know much about General Bonaparte himself. The only ones who praised the speed of his advance were Marshal Suvorov and his people who were imprisoned in his own manor in Novgorod. Emperor Paul also He was emphasizing discipline, and the ladies probably just knew that this was a general from Corsica.

"Corse, où est cet endroit?" (Corsica, where is this place?)

Some people also came to ask Miss de Rivery. Russian ladies usually don’t need to know geography. Maybe there are some nice clothes in Paris, and that’s what they are more concerned about.

"Ma ville natale aux Antilles, la Corse, qui est aussi unele. Mais je ne suis pas soldat. Peut-être que ma cousine le sait. Elle aépousé un officier franais quand j'étais enfant. Mon beau-frère le sait peut -être, mais je ne me souviens pas clairement de son nom." (My hometown is in the West Indies, Corsica, which is also an island. But I am not a soldier. Maybe my cousin knows. She married a French officer when I was a child. My brother-in-law may know. , but I can’t remember his name.)

Solovyov on the sidelines didn't know if she was just pretending to be confused. The clues we already had about his stepmother were that she was born in the West Indies, and her cousin was also in the West Indies and married a French officer. , but it is not clear who this person is, and it is not surprising that the islanders' plantation owners and local nobles are marrying each other, and it is sometimes regarded as a means of protection.

Perhaps Miss de Rivery has been in Algiers for too long, but she still remembers some things. For example, she has three cousins, the eldest one is named Rose, and she is familiar with the Berber language. After all, it was beneficial to save her life. Fortunately, she had not forgotten French. It was just that learning Russian was somewhat difficult for her. On the contrary, it might not be so for the British.

Soloviev could also see the British ambassador to Russia appear in this salon. The fat General Kutuzov moved slowly and toasted with the British. When he heard the tongue-twisting sound of "for Britain", he was sure that the British ambassador was familiar with Russia, but he was not sure whether he had the potential to become a Russian spy. However, it was hard to say about Count Vorontsov (Russian ambassador to Britain).

After all, Emperor Paul's temper was like that. These people tried to get information from the smooth General Kutuzov. They thought he was very good at dealing with people, but he kept pretending to be confused. It seemed that he was unwilling to participate in some things.

Among the generals trained by Suvorov, they rarely had anything to do with the conspiracy group. Even the marshal himself was just a complainer. Of course, he really opposed Tsar Paul's set. After all, since he was a regimental commander, the Prussians had always been defeated. Even the Russian generals at that time could always break up an army during the march, and many times they could not effectively mobilize the troops to their positions. However, the Prussian army, which was very fast, was often defeated by them. Moreover, Frederick the Great praised Russian soldiers. Everyone remembered it clearly when it came to Guderian.

Kutuzov only hummed and hawed in agreement with the British diplomat, but cast his eyes on another female companion of Countess Saltykov, and didn't care much about what the British said.

He even pretended to be confused and answered in Russian to waste the British diplomat's time: "Yes, your idea is very good. I think we can continue to exchange ideas in the future."

He just laughed it off. As for the lady he was staring at, she was the famous French painter Madame Le Brun. Although she was 42 years old this year, she looked very pretty.

Soloviev didn't understand how Kutuzov could use one eye and that fat body to make the same expression and demeanor as Captain Jia. The old general did have many advantages, but also a lot of disadvantages, such as drinking, gourmet, lust, and laziness. On the way here, Baron Sergei and the general met on Bolshaya Moskaya Street. The other party even laughed at his long-term laziness. And now he really went there, just to get closer to Count Saltykov and take a look at the beauty - the old beauty is also a beauty, right?

If we exclude his noble status and military power, he is a kind and amiable old man. The Dolgorukov brothers also saw Mrs. Lebrun's only daughter Julie, who has been her mother's model since she was young. She is 17 years old this year. After seeing her face, Prince Mikhail whistled happily.

"Oh, Bejianka, that girl is so cute, with such rosy skin and waterfall-like hair, she is more beautiful than her mother's portrait."

"If you say so, it seems that you have underestimated Mrs. Lebrun's paintings."

Dolgorukov looked at Solovyov. The two Mikhail obviously had a little disagreement, but it can be seen that this girl is too attractive.

"Why do you say that?"

"The little Katya who likes to put on makeup, her mother, the Countess, has a portrait painted by Mrs. Le Brun. I saw it in Moscow. It was exhibited in the salon at that time."

"It seems that the other 'you', Mishchenka, has a lot to say about this matter, but you told my brother that you couldn't even speak French well last year."

Prince Peter's statement was obviously a joke, and his expression was friendly and kind. He was a good person, but he was not very good at observing people's words and expressions. If he met an old hand, he might suffer.

"You never know what will happen. If you speak French with a Russian accent, you will probably be laughed at by the French. Even if these masters have lost their homes, it will still be the same." (If this is a book written in Russian, it may be translated into "pidgin French")

"Now that you have said this, we will talk about what happened in France. What do you think of the revolution?"

Obviously, Prince Mikhail is still a passionate person, but the official attitude of Russia towards the Great Revolution has always been negative, but the tutor that Catherine II hired for her grandson is a republican. Whether it is the crown prince or the current emperor, they have not completely denied the revolution. Of course, as representatives of feudal monarchy, or the most backward feudal monarchy, their official attitude is to firmly oppose it.

"Revolution certainly has a huge impact on the world, but sometimes the people who are sent to the guillotine are not only those who are considered counter-revolutionaries by the republican government of the French Revolution, but in fact they are counter-revolutionaries. There are also some French elites, artists and scientists. Otherwise, Mrs. Lebrun would not have brought her lovely daughter to St. Petersburg. Do you know Mr. Lavoisier?"

Some people, even if they leave their original environment, can't forget that things have to be seen from both sides. In Russia, this matter must be said more implicitly, considering Solovyov's own position and the era he lives in. The limitations are not only the era, but also the class issues. Even Crown Prince Alexander, who was influenced by the republicans since childhood, can't say some things casually. After all, he is the crown prince of the Russian Empire.

Seeing that this kid didn't express his opinions on politics very much, but focused on scientists and artists, and also wrote a sentence in French on a piece of white paper, the two princes understood after reading it.

Liberté, que de crimes on commet en ton nom!

This is the famous quote by Madame Roland, the heroine of the Girondists, before she was executed. Then Soloviev said it with a serious expression and tone that exceeded his appearance age.

"I still like order very much. Even if someone pursues revolution, innocent people should not be harmed. Take France as an example. If there is really a problem, the Jacobins, Girondists, and royalists can learn from the ancient Gauls and solve the problem with long sword duels. It is not forbidden to duel. There are too many times when innocent people are hurt. I think sometimes the biggest crime of Queen Marie is that she is an Austrian woman, and the role she played when Louis XVI fled. In addition, she is the queen. She should have a proper trial to announce it to France, and post the trial results on the squares of every city in France, instead of the Jacobins doing that. In the end, Robespierre also paid the corresponding price. Some At that time, executing others seemed to be a way to solve the problem. Killing people, the head falls into the basket and that's it, and what's left is the body without a soul."

"Bravo, Misha, it seems that you have been thinking about life a lot after living in the home of Duke Volkonsky for a winter."

Peter had just finished speaking, and then Prince Mikhail came next: "So, what do you think should be done?"

"Lock up all these guys who have not committed a capital crime. After all, they are a group of "negative examples". Before they rot in the cell, they can always let us know why these people committed crimes, and it also has a warning effect."

"That's all?"

"Really that's all?"

"Les Opinions exprimées par les enfants ici ressemblent un peuà celles du roi philosophe." (The opinions expressed by the children here do have some meaning of the philosopher king.)

This is a real Parisian who speaks French, and he still powders himself like that. Although this kind of dress has become less common in the Russian court at the end of the 18th century because of Tsar Paul, those who speak like this are obviously real Frenchmen.

Or, in other words, a noble lord of the authentic old Parisian bed sheet flag.

Eugene François Léon de Béthune, fortunately he pronounced his own name, and he was also the holder of a long list of titles such as Marquis de Herdinho. If he pronounced his full name, there might be some spelling errors, and Béthune (Béthune) might be changed to Bethune (Bethune), which is only one letter different. Dr. Bethune's family is still a fur trader in Canada, and they are Scottish, and have nothing to do with the French bed sheet master, especially this former chamberlain of Emperor Joseph II, who is actually an Austrian.

Considering the mutual flow between the masters, it is not a strange thing, and the approval of this master is just the same.

However, when she thought of Madame Le Brun painting a portrait of Madame du Barry during the heated exchange between the two parties in the Bastille, the mistress of Louis XV thought: "If Louis XV were still alive, this would never happen."

In other words, if the monarchy strikes hard, the scene will be just as bad, and many people obviously don't want to see the content of bloodshed, so the Austrian master agreed with Soloviev's opinion.

But it is impossible to reconcile now. When it develops to the top, the bloodiest state will definitely appear. Russia will encounter it more than a hundred years later. In fact, it is also a problem that Russia will face since Paul.

This problem is too complicated. Soloviev knows why Kutuzov always pretends to be confused. This is a practice full of life experience.

However, these people do not intend to have a fierce debate. They just agree with this statement, and the salon is coming to an end.

Of course, there is also Prince Peter Dolgorukov, who is curious, trying to inquire about Miss Julie Le Brun.