Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 404 046 Recommending the Commander-in-Chief is like a farce

In Berlin, Alexander exchanged views with Frederick William III. In principle, Prussia wanted to go to war with France, but just like Russia's participation in the last anti-French alliance, it was waiting to see what price Britain and Russia could offer.

Especially the British, who originally had a close relationship with Prussia, so it was naturally their duty to support as many talers as possible in terms of military expenditures.

As for the Russian army, it was natural to send troops.

However, the Prussians turned in the opposite direction and began to think about Suvorov's support for Krei.

Suvorov rushed to help Krei, on the one hand, for the sake of the war situation, to form a more favorable situation for the coalition forces, so that the previously passive Austrian army could receive support; on the other hand, he also wanted to share the honor of the victory of his Austrian comrades.

When it comes to the Prussians, they are extremely confident in their own strength.

Using the same idea, the Prussians are like this: they believe that they are powerful enough to challenge the French, but they have little hope that the "barbaric" Russians can come to support them.

This consideration itself is inappropriate, and when Russia and Austria joined forces before, they were unable to win.

Among the young officers of the Prussian army, there was a strange argument that they just wanted to start the war quickly and give the French some color.

However, the Duke of Brunswick is also a little worried now. This is not the case when he was young and followed his uncle to fight on both sides, beating the French army in Rosbach and the Austrian army in Leuthen. After several years of entanglement, Peter III suddenly suddenly Defection allowed Prussia to survive by chance and ensure that it had received benefits.

Among the Prussian officer corps at that time, there were very few who had participated in the Seven Years' War. Many of them did not rise to the position based on their military exploits and abilities, but on the basis of their status as Junkers.

Although they were all related households in the past, their generation, as well as the earlier veterans, all came from the dead. They are indeed very different from the arrogant and arrogant young people today.

But even for such an army, he had to bite the bullet and come out to command. The young king, his nephew is very incompetent, but his daughter-in-law, Queen Louise, is very assertive. It's a pity that this girl is not the king, and important matters have to go through the king. Give orders and make decisions.

The old Duke was obviously not familiar with the current situation of the Prussian army. The army he took to suppress the Dutch uprising was no longer the strong army of his uncle's era and was on the decline. Later, it was defeated by the French militia in Valmy. Block it there.

No matter how experienced the old Duke is and his skills are there, this army does not match the requirements.

Regardless of whether it is based on the military principles of the new era or the old methods of King Frederick's time.

In this environment, the Duke of Brunswick only had a bridle on his horse, so he got off the slope and reluctantly commanded an army that did not fully obey his orders.

"Father, if we start a war now."

Before his son "Black Duke" could continue, the old Duke had already interrupted his speech: "Son, you have to know that we can only go with the flow. If it was more than ten years ago, I could master this When we build an army, maybe I can dissuade His Majesty the King and shrink the army to defend and wait for our friendly forces to arrive. But now, you can use your brain to know what will happen. "

"Even if we wait for the Russians, I'm afraid it will be too late."

"Yes, our King, I am afraid that the Russian Emperor will take action before he is ready. At this time, it will definitely be detrimental to us, but although I am an elder, I have no say."

Queen Louise, who asked him to come back, was only very influential and could not resist Frederick William III's love and take advantage.

As the coach, he can only take one step at a time.

However, compared to his peers, at this age, he still maintains energy and sufficient physical strength to be able to command an army, which is not easy.

"Besides, my son Frederick William, when you return to the army, you should still be diligent in running the army and don't be like those arty young people."

"Father, you also know that when I look like this, other women will stay away from me except Mary."

"Send her to Sweden or Russia for refuge. The Russian Queen and the Swedish Queen are both her sisters, and they are willing to give her shelter. The Baden family is also interesting. The relationship between the sisters is really good. Maybe you can Use this relationship.”

Although the Black Duke didn't say it, he also knew that his father had no expectations for his aunt and second sister in England, but he wanted to make a fuss about his brother-in-law.

His brothers-in-law do have a strong lineup, including the Prince of Poland, the King of Bavaria, the Emperor of Russia, and the King of Sweden. Although they may not be used now, they can still be used in the future.

On the other hand, on the British side, although Brunswick and Hanover have been related by marriage for generations, and Brunswick is still considered a subordinate of Hanover under a certain legal relationship, this has nothing to do with Britain, and the spirit of George III It would be okay if he was in normal condition. If he went crazy again, the British cabinet would only use the power of the Brunswick family.

At this time, the old Duke himself prefers to arrange funeral arrangements in advance.

He thought so in his heart, but the war had not officially started yet. Prussia and France were still in a delicate peace. He needed to see what the British were doing.

Meanwhile in St. Petersburg, after Alexander returned, Arakcheev proposed his candidate for commander-in-chief.

"If it's Mikhail Fedorovich, he's a tough veteran, but as our commander, he's a little too old. He's older than Kutuzov, and we can't always choose our commander from the 'old man club', right?"

"Your Majesty, but our War Department and the Artillery General Directorate have made precise calculations and retrieved the past victory rates on the battlefield and the prestige of German officers. In these aspects, Marshal Kamensky is undoubtedly the most suitable. He and Alexander Vasilyevich were the only two commanders who maintained a very high victory rate, and among the marshals, we can only choose him."

Alexander still trusts Arakcheev, not to mention that when it comes to victory rates, Kutuzov does not look very good, but this kind of behavior of judging heroes by statistics will still arouse his suspicion.

"He is still too old. He is already 68 years old."

"Your Majesty, I know you are worried about this, but Alexander Vasilyevich was about the same age at that time. We cannot give up a military expert because of his age."

"Well, it's just that the commanders of each corps and the staff personnel need to be properly arranged."

When Arakcheev saw this situation, he knew it in his heart. He was just selecting a suitable chief of staff, but he was afraid that there was no suitable candidate.

In essence, this matter depends on Paul. There was an apprenticeship system in the Russian army, or promoting suitable staff officers from "servants". However, in this situation, if Kamensky is the commander-in-chief, there is no suitable Russian chief of staff.

So he had an idea and thought of a candidate: "I think we can let General Langgeron serve as the chief of staff. After all, the French are more knowledgeable about staff business."

"Okay, always use the French to deal with the French."

Although Alexander didn't like Langgeron very much, especially his advice before the Battle of Austerlitz, he was somewhat unhappy.

But now there is no one to use him, so he can only use this guy. Anyway, he is not asked to command a corps. What Arakcheyev said makes sense. Someone needs to assist Kamensky.

But at this time, Alexander also needs to send a "person of his own" to the army.

"Arakcheyev, according to our existing staff arrangement, there should be departments below, right?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Under the corps staff, there are operations, intelligence, quartermasters and communications."

"Then the operations department is responsible for making plans?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Who do you want to arrange as the director of the operations department?"

"Soloviev can do it. He is doing staff work all day long. Sukhteren has also praised his ability in this regard."

Arakcheyev thinks this candidate is okay. Solovyov has already proved his ability. The only problem is that he is young.

And, his rank is only a colonel, but it is highly matched with the position of the director of the operations department.

According to Arakcheev's plan, the chief of operations is a colonel, or at most a major general. Solovyov is very suitable for such a position.

After the person concerned knew about it, he was inviting Langeron to have coffee downstairs in his house.

"How about this appointment?"

Hearing Langeron's joking tone, Solovyov knew that it was not a good thing.

"Probably because they think that you are a Frenchman and understand military theory better, and the French military's staff work, whether it is the Bourbon army or the current French army, is quite capable."

It also includes the excellent organizational ability of those Scottish French officers when the Jacobites counterattacked London, and they frequently led the English by the nose.

"It's really hell, they let me be the chief of staff just because I am French, which is a deadly job."

"That is also a recognition of your ability. Look at me, the chief of operations, and the arrangements for the intelligence department, the quartermaster department and the communication department, but three officers with completely different backgrounds and different native languages ​​are used."

Anyway, there are not many customers in the cafe today, and the two of them are just opening a private room here.

"This is a test of our abilities. If it doesn't work, let's all speak French together."

"Well, the worst thing is that he used a rusty sword. And I'm afraid he doesn't even want to unsheathe this sword."

This is a very appropriate evaluation of Kamensky. He is indeed very powerful. He used to have a great reputation in the army, but he hasn't directly commanded the army for more than ten years. Because Potemkin didn't trust him, he gave the command of the army to Kahovsky, which led to him going home in anger.

"Michel, it seems that you have mastered the art of speaking. This description is very appropriate."

"But we have no choice. When the Prussians are defeated and run to East Prussia in disarray, it will be our turn to appear."

"Yes, there is not so much time for us to prepare."

"Remember when you first met me, you talked about those Prussians."

After hearing this, Langeron also smiled and said: "Ah ha, that's it. At that time, you were still serving as a guard in the Guards. A few years later, with your ability, you were able to be promoted to colonel at the age of 25. What's more, Is it time for you to get a wife? Although Mrs. Recamier is a good girl, her arms can only provide comfort, not an ideal wife. "

Given Langeron's age, there was nothing wrong with saying this to Madame Recamier. When he spoke, there was even a bit of joking and envy.

This boy has passed the age where he looks like a girl, and he is still very popular in the circle of ladies, but he is also quite "picky about food", as people know, that is, at Mrs. Recamier's place.

For French people, this is more inevitable, they are just so relaxed.

"But I'm already engaged, but for that girl, I have to keep her secret, so that she can have a freer choice."

"Well, I do support this. Although I am a little curious, I also have some expectations when the time comes, so I won't ask about the secret."

These French ladies love to gossip, and the men are particularly passionate and gossipy. Langeron not only has a wife, he also has a mistress accompanying him wherever he goes.

"When I get married, I will definitely send you an invitation."

"Ah, there will definitely be a lot of acquaintances coming over by then, regardless of whether they are close friends with you or they are just friends with you."

"The more hated you are, the more promising you are!"

When he said this, Solovyov himself laughed. He had indeed offended many people in the past.

The verbal lawsuit with Langeron is still "mutual harm" between bad friends who have been friends for many years, but Marshal Kamensky's words

Because Solovyov is a close disciple of Suvorov, even if he fights side by side with the marshal's youngest son and has some friendship, there is no guarantee of anything.

Langeron and Solovyov also knew that Marshal Kamensky actually did not want to go out.

When this old marshal, the last marshal who could command an army in the Queen's era, received an order from Petersburg at his manor in Orel, he resisted in his heart.

Unlike Suvorov, Kamensky still relied on strict discipline and effective organization to command the army, and was not as popular as the generalissimo.

Moreover, he had been out of the army for so long, and he knew very well that he was out of touch, and he might as well live this "Asian Tyrant" life in Orel.

However, he had to go. This was an order from the Tsar himself. Even Alexander knew that he had messed up the military governor's errand in Petersburg before going home. Conducting is different.

However, we must also look at individual abilities and the course of history.