Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 32 032 Travelers are not destined to change their fate against the odds.

It was a pleasure to chat with this young officer. Most of the "peers" Solovyov had come into contact with before were impulsive young officers, and there were also many from the Guards. These people were more like a group of adventurer.

Guards officers like Nesiel Roddie seem to be a bit different. Of course, he himself is not satisfied with joining the army. What he hopes more is to use his skills in social situations. For a person As a German born in Lisbon, and a foreigner who only arrived in Petersburg after his father came to serve in Russia, there is still a natural separation between him and the environment here.

At nearby No. 17 Nevsky Prospekt, there still lives a count couple who have lived abroad since childhood. They have learned Russian and are trying to adapt to the environment here. There are also some local nobles who worship foreign countries (for Russia ), and hope to be recognized by the social circles of mainstream European countries.

Everyone has their own way of living. Whether it is life or a period of history, it is a river, and it will always reach its end.

If there really was a system that could change one's fate against the odds, it would be boring. Anyway, Solovyov drank tea without adding sugar. This made the young earl, who had always had very sensitive taste buds, curious. You know, he was a For gourmets, as long as you eat something in your mouth, you can feel its original appearance.

“Vous buvez du thé sans sucre ajouté, vous souhaitez retrouver le got original du thé?” (Do you drink tea without sugar to feel the original taste of tea?)

“Oui, c’est le cas en Chine: la faon dont nous buvons le thé suit toujours la méthode européenne.” (Yes, this is like this in China. The way we drink tea still follows the European method.)

The earl is actually very interested in China. He is really not good as a soldier, but he is quite knowledgeable when it comes to diplomatic situations and palace etiquette. However, now that he is serving as an aide-de-camp in the palace, these skills are not used.

But when it comes to other aspects, he is still very interested, such as discussing the origin of tea, which does not prevent him from drinking coffee.

Solovyov knew very little about this. He simply introduced some customs and habits of Chinese tea and Japanese tea to the young earl, and talked about some novel things, which was relatively simple. In fact, this Still very suitable for getting started.

"It's a great place to be, it's a great place to be, it's a great place to be, it's a great place to be, it's a great situation" pays." (I have always longed to go to the East, but when engaging in diplomatic work and meeting the Chinese emperor, the situation is different from that in other countries.)

“Si ce sont les Britanniques, ils sont trop arrogants et n’atteindront pas leurs objectifs par la voie diplomatique.” (If it is the British, they are too arrogant and will not achieve their goals through diplomatic means.)

At this point, the earl nodded in agreement. Although the British sent the Macartney mission, they had little effect and did not achieve the intended goal.

When going to China, the envoys from other countries may be more polite. After all, things must be done in China according to the Chinese way. The Dutch, who recognize money but not people, were the first to learn this. It is precisely because of this that the Dutch can still have business offices in Japan. Businessmen from other countries have long been driven out, and the results of the exchanges between Russia and Japan are not always good.

Anyway, the world is so big, and not all of it is based on the meaning of "travelers". If you can do the things around you well, thank God. If you are not capable enough, the level is not enough, and the situation is not right, it will not work. How can you If you don't lay a good foundation, you won't be able to pull your hips at the critical moment?

As for this count, his attitude towards China would actually make Solovyov's jaw drop if he knew about it.

In short, the conversation between the two was very pleasant. It could be said that they talked about all kinds of things. Nesserrodie talked about what he saw when he was a student in Berlin and some past experiences, while Solovyov mainly talked about his time in Moscow and Petersburg experience, as for the countryside, I started serving in the army at the age of 13, and there are not many things that can be said about the countryside.

But there is one point that is worth mentioning. When the old baron was in the country, he often wrote letters to share some experiences. Obviously, the gentleman in the country and the gentleman in the city could not get along with each other sometimes, but because they had never met before, they both yearned for each other. life.

"It's a pleasure to talk to you, I think we can meet often in the future." (It's a pleasure to talk to you, I think we can meet often in the future.)

This kind of relationship may not be useful now, but there are still many people to make friends with in Petersburg.

Of course, the count also reminded Solovyov where to sell otter fur shawls and capes.

But after seeing the price, thinking about the willful "little fairy" and the things she helped him to settle, it doesn't matter if he spends all the bonus given by Tsar Paul.

What's more, if he wants to be an official in the future, it's not enough to have merits alone, he always needs to have connections, and these relationships always need to be maintained frequently.

As for pleasing a palace maid who often doesn't go to the palace to serve, this kind of thing will feel weird to others.

But it is indeed useful. After all, her aunts had an unclear relationship with their uncle Prince Potemkin. In addition to "taking care" of his nieces, the prince also arranged husbands for them, or introduced them to husbands themselves. This network of relationships is very useful.

That "little fairy" is still the most favored one among the four sisters. At least now when the sisters get together, what they discuss most is what kind of husband the emperor will find for her when she comes of age, or whether she is bold enough to seek true love on her own.

In this matter, the old baron also mentioned that it was a princess of Prince Menshikov's family who had an interesting story of free love many years ago, but that era was relatively long ago, and after the status of the special prince family was restored, it had only reputation but no real power, and was relatively far away from the core of power. It was just an interesting story in the court.

It can be imagined that the countess has no worries about food and clothing in her life, and she doesn't like this kind of atmosphere in the court. What does she want?

However, given the Tsar's temper, she couldn't escape this issue, especially since she had been included in the list of maids, and her mother's relationship with the Tsar's only brother in the court before, inevitably made this "head of the family" always have to think of some ways.

Of course, Soloviev didn't know that although Count von der Palen, who appeared in the correspondence, had been in long-term communication with the Countess, the lazy Countess did not check her daughter's letters at all. The old sisters didn't know the current target of the "good girl", but the two single brothers of Prince Peter Dolgorukov's family had entered the observation range.

It was completely off target!

After finding the otter fur shawl and cloak and buying them, Soloviev visited No. 7 Million Street again. He was also afraid of causing misunderstandings, so he made a statement to the Countess.

"I came to thank the lady and her family for their help in that incident. This is a shawl and cape for the young lady, and this one is made of silk, which is more suitable for the lady."

"You have spent a lot of the bonus given to you by the emperor, right? These are all good materials. Although they are "common" in Petersburg, the price is not low. Of course, thank you for coming to chat with us often, which can be regarded as solving Mrs. Le Brun's worries. After all, we are friends who have known each other for many years, not just the relationship between painters and customers."

"I also wish Julie and her fiancé happiness. I have met that gentleman. Although he is a little weak, he is also very energetic, and his painting skills are very good. He has excellent skills and has been to the palace to teach Elena these two days! "

The Countess was probably talking about Julie's fiancé. Because of his excellent painting skills, he also went to the palace to teach the Grand Duchesses. At least the second princess, Grand Duchess Elena, loves painting and even drags the maids in the palace to be her models all day long.

From her tone, it seems that the relationship is pretty good, but it is precisely because she has been dragged to be a model too many times that the Countess prefers to stay at home or go to the young Grand Duchesses. It is better to accompany them to play the wooden horse in the palace garden than to be a model for Elena. After all, she always requires others to stay still.

Of course, this girl thought of some other problems.

"Mikhail, you are a grenadier. Are all soldiers good at staying still?"

"Why do you ask this question, Countess?"

"I just thought that Her Highness Elena might need a model. I think you are suitable. Soldiers must obey orders and stay still, right?"

"Ah, in that case, we can find the guards or young officers on duty in the palace?"

"They can't do it. There are too many guys with bad intentions."

Yes, among the guards officers, the counts are almost gone. Many of the newly added young officers have good family backgrounds. They may have some ideas about the grand duchesses. Since the marriage between the eldest princess Alexandra and the King of Sweden was frustrated, Paul even considered letting his daughters marry in the country, so that they would not be able to see them in the future. If the queen was not from Württemberg, she always wanted to intervene in the internal affairs of the Holy Roman Empire by marrying her daughters to improve the status of her own family. This old father who is still responsible for his children might really do this.

After saying this, the countess, who was still on the sofa, jumped down and began to look at Solovyov, who was standing at attention without moving.

"Well, you're not bad, you look good, otherwise..."

"Ahem." Seeing that her daughter was about to talk about a very dangerous topic, the countess coughed twice, which made the "little demon" of humanity stop.

"I think it's you. If you want to enter the palace, you have to prepare in advance."

Soloviev's heart was broken. This girl finally calmed down for a few days, and now she started to make trouble again. She also wanted him to enter the palace to be a painting model for the Grand Duchess. In short, Grand Duchess Elena has always been lively and well-educated, but the palace is not open to casual entry, and some arrangements must be made in advance.

The only advantage is that there is a chance to meet the Tsar and the Crown Prince, which is a chance to show your face, but if you don't perform well, you will show your butt, which will be difficult to deal with in the future.

In short, there are very few things he can decide on his own, and he can only be forcibly dragged into the palace again.

He doesn't like that place at all. Now there is no war, otherwise he will definitely apply to the front-line army.

Of course, starting from the end of 1798, military mobilization will be very frequent, and there will be many wars to fight in the future, but this winter, if there is no duty, because of the heavy snow and weather, all the corps will spend this winter in the new barracks. The troublemakers among these officers will definitely go to some places to get together and cause trouble. Although Dolokhov put a "quarantine belt" on him to ensure safety, it is very troublesome to be unsociable in such occasions unless you are a senior officer.

Therefore, it is not a bad thing to work as a painting model for the Grand Duchess for a long time.

And he has no time to think about it himself, this matter has been decided without authorization.

Looking at this countess, he couldn't stop complaining in his heart. If someone "decides on your own" in the future, you will suffer, and you may have to ask me for help!

As for entering the palace, Grand Duchess Elena herself welcomes it. Although the Queen does not need to ask about it, the housekeeper in the palace must be informed.

If Soloviev really wanted to enter the Winter Palace, he actually preferred to go with his brothers in the Grenadiers.

After waiting for only a few days, his performance in Gatchina was actually known to the court.

Then, Soloviev had to give up the plan to make grenades and enter the court.

He had no choice at all, but when he came to the court, he came to the court with Karl August Christian, the fourth son of the Duke of Mecklenburg.

How to say it, this duke came to Russia to travel and was going to find a place to serve. These noble sons of the Holy Roman Empire states who were later in the succession order often went to various countries to serve as officers, and there was really no problem.

However, another problem has now emerged. In order to enhance the status of Württemberg's mother's family, the queen is still going to dispel Paul's request to marry his daughters in the country. This seems to be beneficial to Russia's position in Europe, but in fact, it finally involved Russia more in European affairs, which is actually not really beneficial to Russia.

In the cafe, Count Karl von Nesselrode had explained to him the direction of Russian diplomacy and which direction was more advantageous. Russia's interests were not in Central Europe, but in fact were more on the two wings. One side was the Baltic Sea towards Sweden, and the other side was Constantinople, which the double-headed eagle always had one head "focusing on". Too much entry into Central Europe would not actually bring more benefits to Russia.

However, judging from the recent activities of various states under the Holy Roman Empire coming to St. Petersburg, the Queen's opinion should have prevailed.