Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 108 008 It’s too useless to learn this kind of scene

In addition to the Tsar's decrees against speeding carriages and stray dogs, his obsessive but effective decrees also included making the buildings in Petersburg look like a chessboard with distinct colors. The reason is that Petersburg is in a In high latitudes, there are no street lights in this era. People who are trapped in the severe cold can use the weak light to find the guard room and rescue station to seek help.

Some of the things he did may seem strange to modern people, but they were also very reasonable.

But keeping cats at home is a common practice among Russians.

Solovyov also has cats at home. At the same time, he can also see cats in the palace, in the city, and in the countryside. This is a Russian custom.

The Tsar himself preferred horse racing and dog walking, and cats belonged more to these female relatives.

This was the first time Solovyov came to Maria's bedroom. It didn't look like a princess's room in the usual impression. The wallpaper was carefully selected sky blue, the cabinets were filled with music scores, and there were also many things in the room. Various musical instruments. On both sides of the bed, there is a piano on one side and her favorite musical instrument, the harp on the other. And His Highness himself is currently leaning on a recliner and playing with the cat.

But Solovyov always felt that Maria’s cats, dogs, and canaries

"Your Highness, don't you have any mice here?"

"Don't mention rats, Mr. Major. Rats are what I'm most afraid of."

The configuration of her place, considering these species, this bedroom was not demolished because there were no mice.

The white paws and coat color of the cat she is holding in her arms are so reminiscent of TOM.

What he was thinking about was that he had a white female cat at home, and she had recently given birth to a litter of pups in various colors, but he didn't say anything about it.

If these little kittens grow up, his yard will definitely be able to accommodate them, and some will also be given away to other families.

"But there may not be mice in the palace."

"I saw it in the Winter Palace, and I fainted from fright."

The Queen calls you "Dragoon", why are you so frightened? Aren't you just a rat?

Solovyov thought so but did not say it out loud.

"I'm not afraid of this thing, but rats are indeed a dangerous pathogen and must be eliminated in the palace."

"You are a member of the Guards. If you are afraid of mice, then you are a ghost!"

Maria is right to say that. Solovyov has another mission here, that is, the women will go on a horseback trip. Alexandra, Elena and Anna are all on the carriage. The Queen asked Maria and Ekaterina is going on a horseback ride today.

Guards officers in Pavlovsk also accompanied their Royal Highnesses to select horses.

After putting down the cat, Maria, accompanied by the maid, walked through the corridor to the palace stables in Pavlovsk.

"Your Highness, you have grown taller again. However, I do not recommend that you ride a horse that is too tall. You must consider that women ride with their legs on one side, which is too unstable."

Solovyov went to bring a Siberian pony over. After petting the horse, he confirmed that there was no problem.

"Your Highness, it's good like this."

"Then what horse are you going to ride?"

"Me? The new breed bred by Count Orlov is quite good, and he recently donated a few horses to the palace. If the Emperor himself does not ride such horses, it will be an advantage for us Guards officers."

After all, this is the earliest Orlov trot bred. Although it was bred by Count Orlov, who is said to be "not good at riding", it is also very famous. It is the main horse breed in Russia and has a very good personality. Very docile.

The unlucky third of the five Orlov brothers was in exile abroad during the time of Tsar Paul. He wanted to test the Tsar's attitude towards him by offering a horse.

However, most of these bred horses are now in the royal stables and are ridden by Guards officers. Although the Tsar did not allow Orlov to return to the country, he never confiscated any of his property. He only expressed that He could choose to return to Russia if he wished.

However, such a speech was not enough for the earl to dare to make the decision to return to the country, and he could only continue his self-exile.

The horse Solovyov selected this time is a second-generation gray Orlov trot. The riding feeling is very comfortable, probably because of the horse's huge hooves and special horseshoes. It can play some role, and the stability is really strong.

"It would be great for cavalry to have such a horse on the battlefield!"

Solovyov thought so. After galloping around in a circle, he turned back.

However, he is a member of the Guards. When he goes to the battlefield in the future, he will probably be in the infantry group. It is unlikely that he will be in the cavalry group.

"You are an excellent rider, Major."

In response to Maria's praise, Solovyov responded: "Your Highness, the Guards are not only infantry, but also more professional cavalry. My friend Dolgorukov, the 'Blue Hussar' Prince, he rides very well."

When this string was brought up, although the key words were separated, Ekaterina blushed. She didn't know whether this girl really liked the prince or because she was held in the arms of the prince after she fell recklessly. feeling inside

It sounded like the same thing. Maria saw her sister blushing and wondered what the little girl was thinking.

"Everyone must have a great time during today's trip."

After meeting the queen, she said this, but it turned into a cross-country horse race for several officers of the Guards sent to escort.

They all wanted to show their faces in front of the queen and the unmarried girls. The two grand duchesses might be married abroad, but the queen and the maids around them were all favorites of the Tsar and descendants of those famous families, so it was necessary to win the favor of these girls.

Girls from any family also hope that their "prince" is handsome and capable.

Solovyov ran a lap before, just because he couldn't hold back after choosing this good horse.

You know, the Orlov Trotter was a good breed for horse racing and carriage racing for a long time in the 19th century. It was surpassed by the American Trotter in the late 19th century, and then it was revived in continuous breeding and cultivation. It is an extremely good horse.

Owning such a good horse is like owning a sports car.

But today Soloviev faces a strong opponent, Count Pavel von Palen, the son of Count von Palen, the favorite of Tsar Paul, the head of the Cuirassier Regiment, and an excellent rider.

This burly German, still wearing the Cuirassier uniform, looks tall and mighty.

During the conversation between Soloviev and the "little fairy", he knew that the little girl was in love with the count, but he didn't know that her sister Maria was the same.

If he knew, he might have sighed first, what a heroic cavalry officer, and then cared about his gossip.

He rode an Oldenburg warmblood horse, which was selected through strict breeding. When matched with him, it can really be described as a tall man and a big horse.

"Hello, Count."

"Hello, Major. I have heard about you from Katish's letter. You are a brave little officer. But you don't look like an infantryman when you are on horseback. Are you interested in leading the cavalry regiment? The real warriors are either the Guards or the Grenadiers, but the Guards are the bravest of the brave!"

Although the tone of this remark was gentle, it highlighted his arrogance as a Guards cavalryman.

And this guy is really strong. If he doesn't use a gun, Solovyov thinks he is definitely not his opponent.

Another problem is that he is a major general of cavalry and has become a general before he is 25 years old. Solovyov is just a major of the Guards. Except for his greater responsibility, he is inferior to him in everything else.

"Although I am only the commander of the first battalion of the Emperor's Guards, I have captured three enemy flags on the battlefield, commanded my men to capture the commander-in-chief of the Italian Legion, and rushed across the Devil's Bridge. I followed the Grand Marshal in Italy and Switzerland, participated in more than a dozen battles, and walked the most difficult road. If I say that as a warrior, I am no worse than you!"

The Count saw that this kid still had some courage and told him about his achievements in commanding the troops, so he asked for a horse race here.

"Major, in addition to you and me, there are also the officers present. Today, since Her Majesty the Queen said that she wanted to have fun. We warriors cannot spoil the fun. We have to have a horse race in front of Her Majesty. Although we can't compare who is braver, we can also know who is the best rider!"

In terms of horse riding, it is obvious that this general has a great advantage. He is quite confident in his riding skills, and the officers present are of similar age. The oldest were Prince Peter, the "professional referee" and Count von Palen, and the youngest were Soloviev and William of Württemberg. Everyone was excited and held the reins tightly for such an impromptu competition.

Especially this grassland was very open and there were no pedestrians, which was very suitable for horse racing.

The queen herself was different from ordinary noble ladies. Her brothers were all soldiers. They loved these brave young people and hoped that they would have a place to give full play to their abilities.

In this event, Prince Peter was not allowed to participate in the competition, but because he was fair, he served as a referee.

"You always come to be a referee, and you must be like in the past."

"I know, Major. But I have to say that your opponent is very strong, and you may not be his opponent. My brother is also in it."

This time the opponent is indeed strong enough. Think about Alexandra's husband William riding all the way from Budapest, and this is not an easy opponent to mess with.

They will not use sprinting in this competition. Instead, Peter has specified a route from the map that Soloviev brought with him. Before that, several guards cavalrymen will be sent along the way as pacesetters. After completing the specified route, they will return to complete the race.

The infantry officers all picked horses from the stables, except for Count von Palen and Prince Mikhail, who were cavalrymen and each brought a horse. Especially the latter was a hussar and was always very confident. Before he set off, he saw Catherine waving her handkerchief at him with a blushing face.

"Sisters, who do you think will win?"

"I don't know, Catherine, but cavalry officers will always be better than guards infantry officers, right?"

As Prince Peter fired a gun into the sky, the 14 officers in this horse race galloped forward. Once they sprinted, they didn't care about anything and wanted to seize a favorable position.

Solovyov's start was not fast. Several guys from the cavalry regiment rushed to the front at the start, leaving him and the prince of Württemberg behind.

William was told by Alexandra not to fight before the start. The prince listened to his wife and cousin's advice, so he didn't rush too fast at the beginning.

As for Soloviev, it was purely based on experience. If he rushed too hard, he would be knocked down and withdraw from the competition, because it was not a good idea to get injured in the fierce collision at the beginning.

Prince Mikhail saw Ekaterina's encouragement and didn't want to lose to the count. They were both professional cavalrymen, so they naturally had to fight hard.

William was actually not bad in terms of skills. When Soloviev surpassed his opponents, he found that the prince was on par with him all the way. He and the good Wurttemberg horse were very compatible. In fact, according to the prince's own thinking, if he competed in classic dressage or obstacle race, he was confident that he would not lose to those present.

This temporary rule of trotting racing made him dissatisfied.

The Earl's riding skills were indeed superb, but he did not expect that there were several people following behind him. Although he had maintained his advantage, his advantage was still narrowed. At this time, he could not save his horsepower. After passing several pacesetters in a row, he could sprint before reaching the finish line.

At this time, for Solovyov, he wanted to compete with the Earl, so he sprinted forward on the widest part of the road.

This Orlov trot horse was really competitive. In the sprint stage, it relied on its strong leg strength to almost catch up with the Earl, but at such a critical moment, a horse stumbled.

When Solovyov fell, he was more worried that this good horse would not break its leg. He fell into the grass, which was not a big deal.

When he saw the horse get up and come to him without a rider, and put his nose close to confirm that the rider was fine, he was relieved.

It was really a good horse. When he fell out, he was just too anxious.

Seeing this scene, the frightened women were relieved when they saw Soloviev coming out with the gray horse again.

The Count finally won, but it was a close win. Prince Mikhail chased him all the time and finally came in second.

The winner was more worried about his new friend. He was relieved to see that he was fine. This was an upright knight, and his father who was conspiring with him was completely different.

Of course, he did not forget to wave to Countess Maria.

At the same time, Elena also noticed that the "little fairy" was crying on the side, wondering what was wrong with her.

In fact, this is what happened. It was obviously her first, from writing letters to courting, why did the sister win in the end?