Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

To initiate a duel challenge, ladies and the elderly or the young can invite an agent to be the duel party. Considering that Mrs. Lebrun's connections in Petersburg are all concentrated among the women of the nobility, it would be difficult to find such a person.

Solovyov dared to challenge the duel because he was confident in his strength. Although Dolokhov believed that his fencing level would be difficult to improve in the short term, he picked up the pistol, which was a more traditional flintlock pistol, and could hit the target at a distance of 25 steps. It seems that he is very sure to win the duel.

However, to provoke a duel, sometimes you have to consider that Petersburg is actually not a place where idle people are kept. The foreigners who come here are generally officers and senior nobles, and they usually receive this kind of training. As for some famous duels in Russian history, there are also foreigners.

Once someone dies in a duel, although it will go to court, few people will actually be sentenced. Even the death penalty may be expelled abroad or changed to exile because the Tsar wants to show his "mercy". This is also a convention, especially among the people involved in the duel There are many foreigners and respectable people, which is a means to resolve diplomatic disputes.

And this secretary is not within Solovyov's consideration. After all, he is a foreigner, not an officer. In the eyes of the locals, they are all scum with a combat effectiveness of only 5.

Even before he issued the challenge, he was worried whether Nigris would accept it. If the other party really backed down, it seemed that the problem was not so easy to solve, because the offense and misunderstanding could not be resolved, which would continue to cause disputes and lead to a scandal involving the Imperial Theater.

The resolution of disputes has risen to the highest level when it rises to duels.

In the end, if the other party accepts the challenge, he will have to find a place to decide the winner, and find an assistant and a referee, and the options are more diverse.

The deputy can only help the duelists carry weapons, or participate in the duel. In this regard, Solovyov is not hard to find someone. Through Dolokhov's recommendation, he found Count Fyodor Tolstoy, a young man from the Naval Academy. According to Dolokhov, his marksmanship is very good, and he is also a good duelist. If they really want to fight together, this is a very good deputy.

However, Solovyov paid off the gambling debts owed by the poor nobles of the count's family branch in school. He owed hundreds of rubles in the Naval Academy. It is not known what he will become after he graduates - maybe the people at his card table are all masters of cheating, and it is hard to say what will happen next.

"Okay, I'll go with you, but I want to know why you, a grenadier lieutenant, want to take the lead in this matter?"

"If I tell you that it's to sell guns, can you believe it?"

This cold joke is not funny at all. If the people in the shogunate heard it, they might think of finding someone to try beheading.

To some extent, this duel was filled with personal grudges.

As for the poor Count Tolstoy, he also thought so. Those guys who were bored without any tasks in the military academy would always take on some "private work", such as Solovyov helping him settle his debts, and he was always asked to complete the reconnaissance work as his deputy.

That secretary must be a person who is good at using guns but not good at using muskets. There are many such people in social occasions in Petersburg, such as Duke Kurakin who has been single for many years and has many lovers. However, the duke has a noble status and a huge amount of property that can be used to solve various problems. The salary that can be provided by the secretary of the director of the Imperial Theater, according to the fourteen-level official rank table, can reach the level of the eighth-level civil servant. You must know that the eighth level of civil servants is the hereditary aristocracy recognized by Russia.

The general provincial secretaries are below the 11th grade, and this level is just a small official around a big man. The secretary is probably a small official PLUS. His father used to be just a secretary. Unlike the British secretary, this cannot grasp any real power, unless this secretary means something else. In fact, it was said by a nobleman from Simbirsk that things are universally connected.

Unexpectedly, Solovyov was most worried that this guy would not come, but Mr. Gaetan Bertrand Nigris, the secretary of the director of the Imperial Theater, actually brought an assistant and carried two brand new flintlock pistols.

"I think this duel is conducted under a fair environment, and I need to check your weapons."

Although the referee found was Peter Dolgorukov, Mikhail's second brother. Maybe he is too young, but he is a person around the crown prince, and he is still very prestigious. Except that he is easily fooled by old foxes, everything is fine.

He was here, and was a witness recognized by both parties, but the secretary questioned Solovyov's weapon right away.

"Is this six-shot pistol a weapon that violates the law?"

There was nothing wrong with this suspicion. After all, the standard pistols used now were still flintlocks. What Colt had invented should be a product of the next century. Even if it was a flintlock revolver loaded with black powder, the firepower was indeed a bit illegal.

There is no problem with protesting. Peter Dolgorukov will not let the secretary off just because the duelist is his third brother's friend.

"You should use a pistol that conforms to the regulations. If you choose a champ in battle, you must accept the protest. You should use a pistol that conforms to the regulations. I will enforce it." (I think you should use a pistol that conforms to the regulations. This gun may be a good thing on the battlefield, but in a duel, I think you should know that I still need to accept this kind of protest. You need to use a pistol that conforms to the regulations. I emphasize it again.)

Fortunately, he was not talking to two people, but one person, otherwise Solovyov would think he had met Dupont and Dupont, the silly Belgian police.

As for his declaration in front of "Captain Dragonfly", he would not act on impulse and would never let go of a bad thing, and he also wanted the referee to be fair and beautiful? It also made Soloviev a little embarrassed. We are not shooting special effects! Prince, you are also a time traveler? However, judging from the previous interactions, it is definitely not the case.

Of course, it is useless to complain to Peter Dolgorukov, he took away Soloviev's gun.

However, this kind of problem is also expected. When the other party protested, Soloviev also brought two spare French pistols. After inspection, the referee agreed to let him use one of the pistols for the duel.

"He will think it's fair, Biejia, but I don't think this secretary, your brother's friend, will win. His gun-holding posture is too steady, and the opponent is in this situation now."

"Don't look at this. Sometimes there will be some accidents in a duel. The weaker party sometimes shoots first and wins."

Although he has participated in duels very few times, he has been a referee and spectator several times.

The place where the two sides dueled was a hunting ground near the Imperial Village. Solovyov was actually very familiar with the terrain here. There was a "Chinese Garden" under construction nearby. If he ambushed someone here, he was still very confident, but he probably wouldn't have the opportunity to use this skill near Petersburg in his lifetime.

"You have to be careful, Misha. If you shoot first and the opponent is not knocked down, you must cover yourself and not rely too much on shooting."

"I know this, you can rest assured. I am more worried that the opponent will shoot first, especially if he fires a blank. It will be difficult for me to get rid of him."

"Then you should also know that the first shot cannot solve the problem. You can reload and shoot a second shot, or use a sword."

Firing a blank gun expresses different situations. Sometimes it is for a peaceful solution, and sometimes it is to express disdain. It depends on the duel occasion. As Mrs. Lebrun's agent and Julie's friend, Solovyov obviously does not want to use this mediation method. He actually knows how Pushkin and Lermontov will die in the future, especially Lermontov, who was shot dead by his opponent after firing a blank gun.

Since he has provoked this duel, he has to consider winning, rather than being killed and then the play ends.

Of course, when the opponent was 20 steps away, he was even worse than Pierre in the duel. His hands were shaking, but he pulled the trigger at the same time.

This shot did knock off one of Solovyov's shoulder straps - he was lucky that he could hit the target even though his hands were shaking like that.

This duel, in the current situation, is actually meaningless. Solovyov held the gun with his left hand. He can actually hold two weapons. He feels that he can shoot more accurately with his left hand.

Now it was time for the assistants of both sides to shout "find cover", but the secretary adopted a posture of turning sideways and using weapons to protect his body, and was also hit in the waist by Solovyov's shot.

His shot hit the stomach, but avoided several organs that might bleed heavily, and penetrated the body from behind one side of the kidney, saving the trouble of removing the bullet.

The opponent fell to the ground immediately. At this time, first aid should be given first, and then sent to the doctor. If there is too much bleeding, it will cost him his life.

This also declared the end of the duel. Solovyov, as an agent, vented the anger of Mrs. Lebrun and Julie. Moreover, even if there were doctors who could treat the other party's injuries, he would probably have to lie down for a while.

No matter what the result is, the victory of the duel can hit the opponent's reputation and save some face for Mrs. Lebrun.

Of course, Soloviev was also worried about one problem, that is, if the governor of Petersburg investigated in the future, or if the Tsar personally asked about the killing of someone, what problems would arise, such as being dismissed from office and demoted to a soldier, he had considered all of these.

However, after a week, he had nothing to do, and Mrs. Lebrun also sent an invitation. This lady often lived in the homes of those noble ladies. This time, the place where he was invited to have afternoon tea was at the mansion of Poniatowski on Million Street. He was the old lover of the Queen and the last king of Poland. This mansion was the residence of Grand Duke Constantine in the future. At this time, the ownership was also in his hands, but there was only such a resident in it.

Grand Duke Constantine himself was not here. There was a military exercise in Gatchina. Tsar Paul asked both grand dukes to participate in the exercise. Only some old people and female relatives were here.

The troops where Soloviev was stationed were in the Moscow Governor's District, and had nothing to do with the exercises of the Petersburg Governor's District and the Guards.

You know, in a few days, it will be the official "flintlock competition" time, and he has to present all these weapons. Grand Duke Constantine is not here today, which can be said to be very unfortunate.

However, Countess Slavronskaya and the two ladies, Mrs. Lebrun and Julie, and several young officers are all here, as well as the unfortunate last king. However, he has a tall and strong adjutant brought from Poland, which aroused Solovyov's curiosity, but the other party did not introduce himself.

Just looking at this body and face, it is a bit familiar, but it is not the driver he knows.

PS: According to some sources in Poland and Russia, Marshal Rokossovsky's great-grandfather was a cavalry lieutenant in the Polish army and received written commendation from Prince Poniatowski. In 1812, he was on the French side.

It looks familiar, but this kind of thing is impossible. Solovyov eliminated his unrealistic ideas.

Julie thanked him, especially for discovering some actions of the secretary.

This girl, who is still a bit naive, should be more careful. If she really follows this man in the future, she will be abandoned by her husband in Paris, break up with her mother, and inherit her father's high debts. She will die in poverty because of the high debts, which will be a big blow to her mother.

Mrs. Lebrun has been drinking tea, but after Julie finished speaking, she promised to paint a portrait of Solovyov's family in the future. This lady's art is very valuable, and her appearance fee is not low. She was quite grateful for taking the initiative to speak, which is from the heart.

The only thing that makes Solovyov curious is that Russia did not have the habit of dueling before Peter the Great. This kind of imported product is more lethal and has a higher mortality rate in Russia, which led to the issuance of decrees during the reigns of several empresses in the 18th century to strictly prohibit duels - who made Peter II, Ivan VI and Peter III reign for too short a time, and basically the empresses were in charge.

However, no one invited him to have tea. The annoying Duke Kurakin was the Minister of Internal Affairs, and he was in charge of private duels between nobles, but there was no movement.

It was Countess Skafronskaya who did the work behind the scenes at the request of her daughter, so that Solovyov actually realized that as long as he was not hit in the vitals during the duel, nothing would happen.

As for the secretary, although Solovyov's shot did not kill him directly, it also ruined his reputation. In addition, he was the one who tarnished the reputation of the other party's client in the duel, so no one came out to find fault.

Especially after the countess found her younger sister, Tatyana Vasilyevna, who was married to Prince Yusupov, to mediate, the lady was still very powerful although she was separated from her husband, and was the hostess of a large salon in St. Petersburg. This matter was not a problem at all.

This was still a happy ending for everyone, and the only one who was hurt was the secretary.