Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 94 044 Ball in the Winter Palace (Part 1)

With so many people to be summoned, it is no wonder that there were no entertainment activities on the way back to St. Petersburg. Apart from watching performances in the theater, these nobles rarely participated in outdoor activities. They were all preparing for Tsar Paul's ball.

It is not surprising that the largest hall in the Winter Palace is used, and there are not enough to entertain the nobles who will come to the ball.

After all, in addition to the top nobles, the middle-class nobles in St. Petersburg and many gentry and merchants with status will also come.

To be honest, Paul has always been simple in terms of ceremonies. This time, before Grand Duke Constantine came back, he had already made arrangements in advance to celebrate the victory of the Russian army.

In this regard, Korsakov's defeat in Switzerland turned the unprecedentedly glorious victory, the honor shared by the Tsar and the Grand Marshal, into a farce of funeral celebration, which must be said to be a feature of Russia.

Tsar Paul knew this very well. He would conduct a committee inquiry at the meeting of the Military Committee in January next year. Now he wanted to celebrate and arrange a grand wedding for his two daughters in the Winter Palace Cathedral.

Korsakov had been able to gain his trust in the past, so it was a reprieve. He was not immediately overthrown by Tsar Paul, which also reflected the kindness of the Russian emperor.

There are so many halls in the Winter Palace. The overall layout of the current Winter Palace is no different from that of the 21st century Winter Palace. It just lacks some buildings of the New Winter Palace, and the structure is still before the fire of the Winter Palace. Many halls are still named according to the old habits.

So the name of the hall may be "Cossack Hall" or "Hussar Hall". Paul's bedroom in the Winter Palace is located in the southeast part of the Winter Palace. Alexander and Louisa's bedrooms and the bedrooms of the unmarried grand duchesses are in the space transformed from the old throne hall. The reception venues are generally St. George Hall and the Front Hall. These spaces are large enough to handle general large-scale receptions.

And today, the scale surprised the old ministers of the empress's era. It was not so large before. Most of the activities held during the reign of the tsar are real. At the same time, there is also a problem. He has never made a big show. This kind of reception in the palace is not necessarily as large as the salon in Prince Saltykov's house.

For the tsar's sudden turn, the old ministers said that they were a little uncomfortable.

Even the balls and receptions had to be held in several halls, and the guards were still standing guard as usual.

The bedroom used by the Queen or Paul was separated by an "Apollo Corridor", which ensured that the area used by the royal family and the area used by the public were isolated from each other after the main porch was closed, and did not affect the visit and the royal family's daily life and work.

If you really compare, the British are small compared to the courts of Paris, Vienna and St. Petersburg, but the infighting among the monarchies in Europe finally gave the British an opportunity.

If Louis XIV had not crippled the Netherlands from the land, the British might have had difficulty fighting the Netherlands now. Of course, the Russian army, which called for a golden assist, was defeated by the French-Batavia coalition last time, and there seemed to be no substantial changes.

This luxurious palace, this time, you have to walk several circles to reach the actual venue. Even for Solovyov, his trip to the Winter Palace is to familiarize himself with the defense environment of the 1st Battalion of the Pavlovsky Regiment. In the past, the Pavlovsky Grenadiers were only in reserve in the barracks or rotated in the Little Winter Palace and several battalions of the She Regiment. It is rare to walk such a big circle.

When he was summoned by Elena, he always took a "shortcut". He never thought that there were more than 300 rooms in the open area of ​​the Winter Palace. The area where Alexander and his four sisters lived was already complicated enough.

This daily guard mission is not an easy job. He has not officially taken office today, and he is still following Grand Duke Constantine around the palace, and he has been to a place he has always been familiar with.

Constantine now has to prepare gifts for his sisters separately. When he was in Prague and Vienna, he had arranged for servants to prepare some, especially for Alexandra and Elena's wedding, which is also a matter of the next few days.

According to the requirements of the Russian royal family, the newlyweds must get married in Russia and then go home with the groom. However, given the current delicate situation in the Holy Roman Empire, Paul and his in-laws wrote letters to express that the newlyweds should live in St. Petersburg for a period of time, also for safety reasons.

For the monarchs of the two small German princely states, they did not raise any objections, and the queen was from Württemberg, so there was no problem at all.

It is also necessary to consider that if the two brides stay at home for too long after marriage and give birth to children after being intimate with the groom, there is also a solution.

When Prince Saltykov was summoned from the Diplomatic Academy, he proposed that the delivery room used for childbirth in the Winter Palace could be used as a temporary territory for Württemberg and Mecklenburg, so there would be no need to worry about the issue of the heir being born abroad.

When he was explaining this issue to the newlyweds here, Anna, who was childish, suddenly raised a question: "What if the sisters' babies arrive on the same day?"

"Your Highness Anna, if the babies of the two princes arrive on the same day, then it won't have any impact if the room is divided into two. I have already considered this."

It has to be said that this child is the sixth among the girls, and she is a bit "sixth" in doing things, and no one would have thought that it was she who raised this question.

No wonder, she was present when the Crown Princess and the Grand Duchess gave birth to their children. If the Grand Duchess, who is about to turn 5 years old, is smart enough, she can actually understand a lot of things.

When she said this, both sisters blushed. If they were noble ladies below the prince, they might not care much about chastity. Silvia and the sister of the "little fairy" that Solovyov met in Milan were in this situation. Unfortunately, they were all related to the Visconti family, but it was true that the circle of nobles was really messy.

Before marrying his daughter, Paul had to arrange for the head lady and the nanny to give the girls some extra lessons.

As for Anna, her sisters were also dressing up. She came in with her nanny, like the Spanish princess who broke into the painting by Velázquez, although she was just joining in the fun and sticking with her sisters.

Prince Saltykov's ability to speak the truth and nonsense without blushing or beating his heart in any situation would be very useful if others could learn it.

However, Anna would not go to the ball and would eventually be driven back to her bedroom to sleep.

This part of the old throne hall was obviously separated from the activity venue, so as not to disturb the children in this area.

Constantine also came to see his daughter who was sleeping soundly. Paul named the child Sophia, which reminded him of the reason why the empress grandmother named him.

Although Paul still tried to go against the empress's original policy, his actions sometimes sent a signal that some of Russia's basic national policies would not change, especially for the two unfriendly neighbors in the south.

"Your Highness, the child is asleep now. You have to attend the ball later."

The Crown Princess already has two girls, each of whom has arranged a nanny, so they can take care of the child together and take turns.

"When the child wakes up, can I hold her?"

"Your Highness, this is your daughter. When she wakes up, you can hold her however you want, but Madam also said that you should be gentle. Although the child is very healthy, she is a little light and needs to be taken care of carefully."

When he mentioned this, Constantine's face fell.

Juliana was not as good at handling interpersonal relationships as Louisa, and could cater to Alexander. Constantine's eccentric temper might even be secondary.

But for the sake of the child, Constantine did not have a tantrum like he did in his own palace, but just clenched his fist.

It is really the most difficult project in Russia to repair the relationship between this couple.

The grand duchesses in the dressing room couldn't wait to put on all the little gifts Constantine gave them.

Alexandra and her three younger sisters received agate, amethyst, emerald and garnet, which were related to their birthdays; Elena received amber, and the reason was simple. The place where she married was on the Baltic Sea, which was a famous source of ancient amber, and it couldn't be the same as the ruby ​​given to Juliana.

Besides, this Grand Duchess also likes insects, so a bee was encapsulated inside.

If it is taken for identification, it may be an ancient bee tens of millions of years ago, which is very precious.

The large reception at the Winter Palace will start soon.

Paul finally looked dignified when he sat on the throne of the Emperor of All Russia. The things he inherited from Peter III also made him lack these things. However, because of Suvorov's victory and the current good domestic environment, the royal family has also had children born one after another. Although girls cannot be heirs, they are also important bargaining chips when it comes to marriage.

The noble families who came up the grand staircase of the Winter Palace one after another represented the most active part of the aristocratic circle in Petersburg, but they also mainly came from several big families.

Some great nobles who had already had a high status in the era of the empress, such as Prince Saltykov and his own family's Count Saltykov, and the Dolgoruki family's Prince Dolgorukov, Prince Volkonsky, Prince Gagarin, Prince Kropotkin, Count Shuvalov, Prince Yusupov, etc., have always been indispensable in social occasions of these local nobles, and there are also British and French ambassadors in Petersburg.

Although the news did not spread that fast, more than a month later, Tsar Paul also received news from Paris that a coup had taken place on the 18th of Brumaire in the French Republican calendar.

Count Rostopchin had reported the changes in France to the Tsar himself in the afternoon, and also proposed that in order to restore relations with France at this time, at least some diplomatic probing should be done.

And the relationship between Lord Whitworth of Britain and Tsar Paul was indeed worse than in the past period of time.

In the gentlemen's club and the British Embassy, ​​there were British people sending relevant news. Dissatisfaction with Russia's withdrawal from the anti-French alliance had spread among the pro-British faction in Petersburg. In Petersburg, there were pro-British people everywhere, and the real local Russian faction was probably some frontier nobles.

Such a large-scale reception and dance party is naturally a very convenient "information exchange center", especially when the young women go out to dance, the men can discuss some things with the background music and the people around them.

As for what to talk about, standing next to the dance floor, you can talk a lot, but when you eat, you should not say anything.

The Tsar himself ate as usual at the reception, but the dishes he served to guests now tended to be French cuisine, especially fresh seafood and truffles. The reason why caviar is rare is that Russia has not completely conquered the Caspian Sea coast, and the highest quality places are not under control.

Solovyov can sit at the table this time, unlike in the past, when he either sat at the children's table when he first arrived in Petersburg, or stood behind as an adjutant.

And the area where the adjutants sat can also see some arrangements.

Komarovsky was with the staff officers of the Guards, and the others were among the noble officers of their own regiments. Solovyov wanted to be with his father and stepmother, but the three prince brothers dragged him over and invited him to meet some friends of Vladimir, the eldest of the three brothers.

To be precise, they were the cellmates who had been in the same cell before.

Among them was Nikolai Laevsky, the defender of the Borodino Battery. Now he is a rural noble and was ordered to retire.

"This is the inventor, exactly as General Langgeron said."

That big-mouthed Langgeron was keen on sharp comments. Except for the two old marshals, everyone else was inevitably shot.

But from Laevsky's tone, it seemed that when Langgeron complained, he gave him good comments instead of the often sharp comments.

"Hello, but you are here without a military uniform."

"That's because I was relieved of my duties by order of the Emperor. Some time ago, I was helping my mother manage the estate in my hometown. It was Valodia who invited me to Petersburg, so I could attend the Emperor's reception at the Winter Palace this time, and the invitation would not be sent to my estate in the countryside."

At the same time, Laevsky's identity is also very interesting. His stepfather has a nephew who is the young cavalry poet Davydov. Solovyov met him during the expedition. He is still an attendant officer and has little reputation. In addition, his uncle is the nephew of Prince Potemkin.

In addition to the fact that his social circle has not jumped out of the circle of Prince Potemkin's family, he has to add that he has basically not jumped out of the future social circle of Pushkin, who is now one year old.

Your circle can be big or small, and it is difficult to jump out of the palm of Buddha's hand.