Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Katya didn't say anything, Solovyov had almost forgotten about the confused little Natalia.

After all, he is a soldier, and he is often away from the palace and goes to the front line to lead troops. Even if he knows about the situation of the maids, he often selectively ignores it.

Moreover, little Natalia's surname with a long string of letters before her marriage was a bit awkward even for him to remember, but after she got married and changed her surname to Goncharova, it finally became clearer.

But there is also a problem. It seems that little Natalia is the future mother-in-law of Pushkin and Dantes!

The Goncharov family is in Petersburg, and the most famous one is the naval shipyard. But the quality of their ships always gives people an unreliable feeling.

Another thing to mention is that the sailing battleships built in the country during the Tsarist Russia have always had problems with lax quality control. The "Orel" battleship in the Caspian Sea Fleet in the early Romanov Dynasty once suffered serious damage to the ship. He lay down in the port and was later captured by Stepan Rajin's rebels and finally burned to the ground.

Since then, the large surface ships of the Russian Navy have rarely been seen to be used for more than 15 years. This has a lot to do with the Russian environment.

If it were the French navy in the early days of Louis XV, the Duke of Orleans would really be the traitor to France's traditional arts.

The Goncharov family has been industrialists since the time of Peter the Great.

Little Natalia's husband, Nikolai Goncharov, the father-in-law of Pushkin and Dantes, wore a pair of small glasses and a mustache, and looked like a smart young man.

However, at the age of 21, he replaced his father Afanasy Nikolayevich, who was in poor health and not very smart, to run the family business. He always had some skills, but he was just an ordinary fourth-generation rich man.

His great-grandfather established the Goncharov family shipyard during the time of Peter the Great, but it mainly built some frigates and small ships. Sail battleships were mainly produced by the Admiralty Shipyard.

"Earl, I didn't expect you to come to visit my house at this time. I wonder what the reason is?"

"Are you still building warships here?"

"Of course, it's just that the bulk of the Navy's orders are still at the Admiralty Shipyard. We only build fifth-class and sixth-class ships here, and sometimes we also take orders for fourth-class ships. The Navy's battleships decay so quickly, but Subsequent orders are limited.”

"I know, this is also what worries me. Do you all know the wind direction in Petersburg?"

"It's not like the British are going to enter the Baltic Sea to fight with us, right? Anyway, they can't reach Kotlin Island, and they can't burn down my shipyard. I can only continue to work on orders, not to mention that my family's main industry is For flax mills and other industries, the navy is not as profitable as ordering ships from us. "

Although it sounds a bit strange, normal naval shipbuilding has a lot of tricks and oil and water, but what about civilian ships?

However, because Solovyov always went to the front line, he did not often interact with people in the navy, that is, he had contact with a few navigators who were familiar with sea conditions. He even ignored the clipper-head sailboats that Russia currently uses for transportation. The development had something to do with him. The original structure was his idea, but when it was implemented, orders for the navy were all sent to the Admiralty, while civilian ships were at the Goncharov family's shipyard.

The transport ship must be able to transport the goods quickly, and by the way, it must be able to leave the British "pirate ship" far behind, so that they can only see the fastest legend on the sea. This is considered to have completed the mission.

"There is such a thing."

"My family also sells many civilian products. Speaking of which, there have been few military orders in recent years. The competition is really fierce."

Goncharov said this because of the market conditions.

Their family was also a Russian industrialist for generations. As for Goncharov, he suddenly mentioned some additional things.

"Speaking of which, Earl, in addition to the Deputy Minister of Operations, your current position also includes a regimental leader, General?"

"Yes, I am Selenginsk, the general leader of the commonly known as the 'Selenge' regiment. Does it matter?"

"My father also served in the old Selenginsk regiment. Speaking of which, he also had a relationship with your father-in-law, Prince Vasily Vasilyevich. My grandfather and Prince Krymsky were also very familiar with each other, so the two of us were familiar with each other. Family is a friendship of several generations.”

It seems correct to say so.

Even little Natalia became his wife. It was Solovyov who, in order to expel his love rival, did a physical examination in the Guards and drove the unlucky guy who had hooked up with little Natalia back to his hometown, which made this happen. Marriage.

Little Katya and little Natalia were both Louisa's maids. The two families have a three-generation friendship. They are Prince Krymsky's grandson-in-law, and this friendship is even more binding.

Where is Count Sergei? Dad must have had contact with Nikolai Goncharov's confused father in the business world.

"It is true, and I have been a guard in the palace for a long time."

"Yes, that's even more of a family friend, and my wife is also pregnant recently."

"It's just that there are a lot of young mothers giving birth in Petersburg recently, Kolya, you can't be one."

"If you and my wife give birth to children successfully, we may still be able to date each other in the future."

Although Russia has never heard of betrothal marriages, and people usually start betrothals or propose marriages when they are teenagers, but considering the relationship between the two families, it can indeed be considered.

"If they are all sons, then we can follow the story of the Khitans and become brothers of different surnames. If they are all girls, the same is true. But we are not really in the 'East' when it comes to marriage."

"Yes, that's why I asked for your opinion."

However, if his child is a girl, it will be for the curly-haired Pushkin.

The most abstract thing is that Dantes is Natalia Goncharova's brother-in-law, and after the duel, Nicholas once considered killing Dantes. If he was not a foreigner, he would have really enjoyed a one-stop service.

This is completely different from Nicholas's reaction to another poet, Lermontov, who died in a duel. Nicholas was even scolded by his sister Maria who came home to visit her parents.

But now Lermontov has not been born yet, Pushkin is having a headache with a pile of "Tsarskoye Secret Scrolls", and Nicholas is still Soloviev's student. They may all have a bright future.

And Soloviev is also going to see the Goncharov family's shipyard.

The slipways here are generally small. Considering that during the reign of Peter the Great, when Nikolai Goncharov's great-grandfather Afanasy came here from Kaluga to start a business, the sailing warships of the Russian Navy were not large ships, and even many oared ships were used.

No wonder he said that military orders do not make money. Whether it is the construction period or the acceptance, it is indeed more cost-effective for these small slipways to be small and specialize in building small and medium-sized sailing ships that can be transported quickly.

The only relatively large slipway in the Goncharov Shipyard is a third-class battleship that can manufacture 74 to 80 guns, but it is now occupied by large transport ships.

"This ship looks good, but it's winter now, so the construction has been stopped, right?"

"Yes, if the order was placed earlier, it would be fine. It will be completed next year, and the performance of the ship will probably be affected. But considering the cost of the transport ship, this is also easy to say. The last time we built a fifth-class ship, the acceptance of the Navy Department was delayed for a long time. Many of our good ships were finally broken during the acceptance."

"There is no way. The two rifles of the army are the price of a pig. Your ship may cost 50,000 pigs. My analogy is not appropriate. Do you mind?"

"Fifty thousand pigs is indeed interesting."

Goncharov nodded after listening. The army will only use the leftovers of the navy, no matter whether it is heavy artillery or flying props.

Although Russia attaches great importance to both the navy and the army, it also needs to take into account the national conditions.

The main opponents of the Russian Navy are still the two countries that still exist in the military song of the Putin Group. Generally, there is no contradiction with other countries. That is, it fought with the French for a short period of time during the Mediterranean expedition, and now it is in a de facto hostile state with the British.

The army, on the other hand, had more things to do, and had to attack in several directions. It had only recently achieved a general peace - if the war with the Persian Qajar dynasty was not counted.

As for Goncharov's previous relationship, it was indeed true, but it was a family friendship between the Goncharov family and the Krymsky Prince's family, and as a son-in-law, he only acknowledged it in passing.

Nikolai Goncharov also had his own little thoughts. From his wife, he actually knew that although Solovyov was a new noble, his status was also very strange. He had a close relationship with the four Alexander brothers, had a promising future, and even had a "cheap" relative of high status in France.

If he could make friends with him, the Goncharov family's industry might be able to develop in the future.

Taking advantage of his father's absence from home to recuperate abroad, he really hoped to gain control of the family property. His father's expenses were very large and shockingly extravagant.

No wonder when Pushkin came to ask for marriage later, the Goncharov family had already begun to decline.

As for Nikolai Goncharov's situation, it is rarely known to the world. He later became insane after falling off a horse and lived a lonely life in Moscow.

In terms of ability, he was still a well-behaved heir, and he had some small talents to maintain the operation of the family business.

It would take until his father Afanasy came back. Solovyov also heard from Nikolai's words.

"If something happens now, it will definitely not work to worship God temporarily. I don't expect your shipyard to build a "Grace". If the steam engine can be arranged on the fourth-class or fifth-class ship in the future, our warships may be more powerful."

He was thinking about the next season, but whether the Goncharov family had this luck was another matter.

Nikolai Goncharov was also very happy. The patent for the steamship was in the hands of Solovyov's father. If it could be introduced, it would naturally make the shipyard more competitive.

"But this also requires a process. We can't just make steam engines on inland ships in the future."

"You're right, that's the only way."

The Goncharov family's shipyard is easier to get in touch with than the Navy's shipyard. Even though Solovyov's status is not low, it is still the traditional art of Russian chameleons.

Therefore, he is not willing to go there.

Considering that what he wants to do is not a large-scale project that can be launched at one time, but only minor repairs, he is really not familiar with the shipbuilding industry, especially here they all make sailboats.

If conditions permit, he even wants to build a larger sailing ship, like the "Sedov" training ship that has been used from the Tsarist Russia to the Russian Federation.

Next, we need to submit the new plan from the Operations Department.

Like the War Department, Sergei Kuzmich was replaced by Arakcheev.

Similar personnel changes also took place in the General Staff. At least Admiral Sukhteren did not like to stay in such a position. He personally went to Vyborg to inspect and reorganize the engineering corps. He threw all the work of the headquarters to Peter Volkonsky.

This was also what Alexander meant. He also arranged the generals he trusted to the right positions. Peter has always been his confidant and private military adviser, and Arakcheev has always been trusted by him.

Compared with the grandson of the emperor who was a little bit second-year and called himself "Jacobin", he has become more and more accustomed to autocratic means since he took power. Although his ideals seem to have not changed much from the past, the times are different and the things to be done are also different.

Arakcheev's system is completely a system under strict supervision. Alexander now thinks it is useful, so he took it over.

However, the actual effect of this set of measures was not as promised by the Minister of War, but he was more determined to implement it.

On the way back, Solovyov saw Barclay again, and his bald head was too obvious.

This guy is sitting in the carriage, with no hat on his head, and it's reflecting light.

"Where are you going?"

"I just came from Vyborg. The war preparedness there is not very good. I came back to submit a report."

"Do you think it's appropriate to start a war in February?"

"No problem, but it depends on General Buchholden. His plan is too simple, and there is no contingency plan."

"It's like this again. If it's like in Austerlitz or East Prussia, something will definitely go wrong again."

"But what can we do about it? He is still trusted by His Majesty, and his daughter has been selected as a maid in the palace by Her Majesty the Empress Dowager."

This kind of relationship is indeed a Russian feature. Even the Russian royal family often gives these trusted ministers important positions, and their children are granted higher-ranking idle positions in the court to show trust and favor, which greatly shortens the promotion speed in the rank table.