Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 166 023 Issues of Etiquette and Status in the Court

Paul is currently resting in the Mikhailovsky Palace, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is drafting a notice to foreign countries, because the commotion is really too big, and it can't be ended by calling it a "stroke", but it should be done well. Conduct an investigation.

"Your Majesty, at this time, we need to find out everything. Who are the people behind this poisonous snake?"

"Then how to check?"

Chavon Palen's conspiracy group, this task is actually extremely complicated. All the ministers present know one thing clearly, that is, the regicide must have overseas contacts.

At this time, it was Privy Councilor Nikolay Rumyantsev who spoke: "Your Majesty, at this time, either the investigation must be completed quickly, or it may be delayed for a period of time. Judging from what we all know, the British are likely to be involved in the conspiracy. , but no one knows how deeply they are involved.”

"Nikolai Petrovich, what do you think we should do?"

"If the investigation is carried out quickly, although the conspirators can be dug out quickly, I am afraid that the public sentiment will fluctuate, and it will also affect the diplomatic situation and relations between countries within a few months. If the investigation is slow, I am afraid that the conspiracy is behind the scenes. All parties have the opportunity to eliminate the information in their hands. If I were Lord Whitworth, I am afraid that I would have started to destroy the documents by now, so I could send someone to the door of the British Embassy to have a look."

At this moment, Prince Kuragin came in and interrupted: "It was just reported that the British really burned something in their embassy, ​​and we have no right to inspect it."

"Everyone knows now, but it's not easy to handle. Alexander Sergeyevich, you have the highest status. I'm afraid I need you to say a few words to stabilize the situation."

"What I'm thinking of is to first seal off the official residences of the people who were mainly involved in the conspiracy. Instead of searching the property, we just need to find those confidential letters and then follow the clues. What we want first is evidence, that is, the real evidence from the British There are no clues left. Just by using the information we have about the correspondence between British diplomats at the British Embassy and some of the great nobles in our country, we can know what they did. "

"I think this is what should be done. In addition to von Paalen's own official residence, there are also the official residences of some of his friends, who must also cooperate with the investigation."

Count von Palen, who is imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress, does not yet know about the confiscation of his home, but he will not reveal any information about his contact with the British. Condolence activities during the national mourning period are also continuing.

Since the Mikhailovsky Palace restricts the entry and exit of people, only those with noble status can enter the palace in order. Many of these citizens in Petersburg are concentrated on the Champ de Mars Square. , there are not so many palaces here, and many citizens gather in places such as Peter the Great's Summer Garden and Mikhailovsky Garden.

As for Paul's death, the news was already known in Petersburg. The nobles celebrated a lot, while those who spontaneously mourned were always the bourgeoisie and ordinary citizens. They also received some benefits from Paul's reforms. Most citizens and businessmen There was no need for military service, and having them pay taxes only made these citizens happier, thinking that the emperor was on their side.

There were even serfs from the imperial estates near Pavlovsk and Oranienbaum and workers from the imperial factories.

After all, although the old emperor was moody, his personal character was nothing to say, and he was willing to contact the citizens. When he was young, he secretly rode out on horseback to chat with the serfs. He was even called "our Pugachev" by some people.

When Paul was still alive, he had always been worried about the betrayal of Peter III by the great nobles. It is no wonder that the nobles who did not support him were a little complacent.

That is to say, many of these people turned to Alexander and formed a political force. Otherwise, Alexander might really have dismissed a group of nobles from their official positions because they did not cry hard enough.

"Now, it's time to confirm the etiquette in the palace."

However, Alexander looked at the royal family members around him. The younger brothers and sisters from Maria on down were all at the children's table, and they must not listen to the children's opinions. Louisa was very weak, so she spent a whole night struggling with the coup, and helped him spread the call among the soldiers, finally ensuring a smooth accession to the throne, while Constantine still had to reorganize the Guards.

"Your Majesty, at this time, you need to make your own decision. After all, when it comes to etiquette, we are all your subjects."

Alexander also had a headache. After all, the status of Queen Mother Maria was not so easy to arrange, and it was not easy to arrange it in the palace etiquette.

At this time, he even needs to come back and ask Louisa, even when she is lying on the bed in a daze.

"Your Majesty, you came here at this time and didn't even tell me, when you are only wearing pajamas like this."

"Lisa, you are so cute like this. Are you feeling better?"

"My head is no longer dizzy, and fortunately, I don't have a fever. I just feel a little tired."

"You have worked so hard, and you need to rest more. I think you should rest more, and"

Alexander is not like normal now. The poor poems he wrote to Louisa are very sincere, praising Louisa's eyes as "sapphires", and there are a lot of gorgeous and empty words. Now he is not very good at speaking.

"Your Majesty, you are the monarch of Russia. If anything happens, just tell me that I am your wife. If I can help you in any way, just tell me. Alexander, if you do this, I will not feel good. "

Alexander stroked Louisa's back and made her lie down on the sofa.

"It is difficult to be an emperor, and now it involves the issue of palace etiquette. The palace ministers, chamberlains and ministers and I have not come up with a charter, which involves the queen mother and you."

Louisa actually knew very well that Queen Mother Maria was very strong. Even though she was called "crazy" and sent to the Winter Palace to "calm down", she had a very strong influence on her children.

Louisa herself always felt tight in her chest, which was the result of being suppressed by the Queen Mother. She had never been so nervous when the more majestic Queen was around.

The Queen liked her very much and always hoped that she could give birth to an heir as soon as possible so that the four generations could live together. However, her marriage to Alexander, fresh from the beginning, repeatedly swung back and forth between coldness and passion. Alexander's mother was such a person.

After the death of the Queen, the diligent Paul had no time to care about things in the harem. He also took care of Louisa in a limited time, but now he is no longer there.

Alexander is going to make a deal with her now, and this kind of thing will definitely make her sad.

After all, it was Louisa who stood up that night, and this made Maria completely become the Queen Mother, and she had to exchange some benefits in the palace.

"Tell me, Alexander, what do you want me to do."

"The status in the palace, according to the latest rules and regulations, is this. The most distinguished lady in the empire is the Queen Mother, my mother, and you are the second."

Alexander is a political animal with emotions and an excellent actor. He is now putting on a guilty posture to take advantage of Luisa's character, which is so pliable and always gives in, especially when he says a few sweet words to her. After the good words - this is the result of her longing for her husband's love.

"I think it can be like this, Alexander. After all, the queen mother has lost a lot, and this is a kind of compensation for her."

"As for you, Lisa, I love you. I have ordered jewelry for you, and I don't know if you like the look."

Alexander himself held the pattern, which was a dolphin pattern inlaid with a series of small diamonds. The size of this piece of jewelry was not small. In addition to the necklace, it also had a crown and earrings.

Louisa was not very happy about this. Thinking about her status, she could only accept it by default. Alexander could come to please her only if she could accept it psychologically.

"Your Majesty, everything will be done according to your wishes. This is what the queen deserves."

Alexander did not continue to explain that he had already met the Queen Mother, and the Queen Mother was very satisfied with this arrangement. As long as she was here, Elizabeth, a little girl, could not make trouble - even though Louisa hated appearing in public, She also prefers to enjoy a quiet life in the palace garden, and is no match for her in every sense.

Luisa still had to restrain herself. When Natalia came over, she didn’t know what to say. Alexander had already decided and just came to tell her.

If she had not stood up to refute the Empress Dowager late at night, although she might not have become Empress Maria ruling Russia, the situation would have been much worse.

"You look like this, it won't be good if you break your body from crying."

"Natasha, you should go and rest too. I want to calm down by myself."

If it had not been for the period of national mourning, Alexander might have gone to his mistress for comfort. Although the Polish woman did not pose a great threat to her status, it always made her unhappy.

She returned to the Winter Palace and came to the queen's bedroom. The furnishings here were luxurious, but they made her uncomfortable.

However, at this time, she did not intend to ask others to come over to comfort her. Instead, she only wore pajamas and buried her head in the pillow to cry.

She is a queen, but her position in the palace is very embarrassing. There is also the Queen Mother above her. Considering that Baden's natal family is relatively weak, even weaker than Württemberg, there is nothing much that can be said.

The Empress Dowager targeted her everywhere because she had some residual shadow of the Empress. Although this was somewhat redundant, the person involved thought it was necessary.

At the same time, Alexander is still arranging other ceremonies, including the coronation ceremony half a year later. Now he has only set the time. How to arrange it then will need to be gradually adjusted in half a year.

As for politics, he is not ready to make immediate adjustments. He just sent the little Prince Saltykov, whom he disliked, to manage the diplomatic archives - it looks like a gardening leave, but for this prince His father, the old lady Prince Saltkov himself, still gave him a very high standard of treatment, and Alexander also hoped that many official positions in Russia could be replaced by his own people.

However, everything had to be done step by step. He also had to recall Adam Czartoryski from Lisbon and set up a new secret committee. There were still many things to do according to his ideas.

With his actor personality, he can easily paralyze his opponents, but if he plays hard, he will also paralyze himself and his allies.

As for what he had to do, Soloviev had only one solution: "Yes, Your Majesty!" Then he did it. His past intelligence was indeed restrained because of his low status. He was the last one to come among Alexander's confidants, and he was Paul's personal guard.

What he didn't know was that Alexander was very satisfied with him, but because there were too many nobles who needed to be rewarded, his matter was not important. However, like in Paul's period, the silver pocket watch, jewelry and manor were rewarded, and only the old father's title certificate was implemented.

Soloviev's own idea was very simple. He wanted to go abroad to see it. He couldn't stay in Russia all the time. During the Paul Tsar period, there were many restrictions on traveling abroad.

For Russia, there will be a period of peace next, until 1805, when the next anti-French alliance was organized. This is a rare period of peace.

For Soloviev, when he was old and confronted Napoleon, he could only move up through military merits, and he couldn't consider other things. It was too early to exert his energy in politics.

A major of the Guards can only do so much.

However, he also noticed that during the national mourning period, many citizens came to the Mikhailovsky Palace to mourn spontaneously.

He had no duty at the moment, so he came to the square.

At this moment, he saw several serfs from his village. It was very convenient for them to come to Petersburg.

"Master, are you on duty today?"

"I'm not on duty, I just came out of the palace."

"Master, you are a good person, just tell me, shouldn't God punish bad people? How come Emperor Paul was killed by bad people at his age?"

"Old man, I don't know, I don't know."

"If you ask me, I may not meet such a good emperor in the future, which is harder than meeting a good boss like you, Master."

"Yes, may Pavel Petrovich's soul ascend to heaven smoothly and rest there. When I was on duty, I always saw the emperor praying in the morning. He was so pious and a good man. How could he leave like this?"

Soloviev had a lot of things to say, but he couldn't say them. These country people and citizens in the city loved this tsar who was willing to punish illegal nobles. In the future, there was indeed no tsar who was willing to listen to the opinions of his subjects like this. Alexander could only perform.

While alive, Russia may look peaceful, but as time goes by, there will certainly be more unknown dangers, and one day the flood will overflow the dam.