Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 186 043 A king who would normally not survive three times in a novel

The city of Stockholm, when the fast sailing ship "Varyag" arrived here from Petersburg, looked very beautiful from the sea.

But there is another problem, that is, the city of Stockholm itself is a city built on a bunch of islands.

The latitude is similar to that of Petersburg. The internal structure of this city is also similar to that of both sides. After all, they are both cities established at the mouth of a river. Petersburg was established after Russia occupied Ingeria. Compared with Stockholm, it looks newer. .

Even passing by Ship Island and Knight Island, you can also notice a situation, that is, the Swedish Royal Palace and Parliament itself are on Knight Island. Such a small area should be the core area of ​​Stockholm. It has existed since the beginning of this city. The area was about five hundred years ago.

Solovyov thought that Stockholm had a history of more than five hundred years, which was just the stage when Brother Monkey went to make trouble. The main colors of the city were not very bright and looked a bit dark.

For the country of Sweden, it feels like it is going downhill now, especially on the day we arrived, the sky was so gray.

Such an island city with many docks can also be said to be the Venice of the north, except that the water surface will freeze and there are no boats like gondolas.

Gustav IV and the Queen were waiting in the Swedish Palace. The welcoming team looked very spectacular. The Swedish Guards and Grenadiers formed a guard of honor. Although the King was a little stupid, he was still excited about the arrival of his father-in-law. Take it very seriously.

However, the state of this army does not look very good. It may be that the generals are naturally restrained by the Swedes. It is written in the lyrics.

Their eyes were so bland, and they probably didn't do a good job in training on weekdays.

Karl Ludwig actually has another identity, that is, he is also a general of the Russian army. This is an honorary military rank awarded by Russia at the same time as the marriage. This should not be available in Sweden. There are even many Swedish officers who went to Russia. to serve, and in return to fight the Swedes.

In the subsequent meeting ceremony, Solovyov, as the entourage who escorted the Baden Crown Prince and his family from Russia to Stockholm, will not participate. Instead, he will go to the Russian Ambassador to Sweden Andrei Yakovlevich Badberg. Report there.

"It seems that the Emperor and the Queen have given you a mission to handle national interests and family relations. I can understand this, but you have to conduct reconnaissance activities. Sweden is at peace with us, right?"

"General Badberg, but you should know better about the Swedish King's attitude on some things, and you also know where I am from."

"I know from His Highness Constantine's letter that you served as an adjutant for a long time when you went abroad to fight. You also served in the Guards, especially in the palace for a long time."

"I was still in Moscow at the time regarding the marriage of His Royal Highness Alexandra, and did not come to Petersburg. However, we should also pay attention to His Majesty the King of Sweden on this matter."

"Okay, if you give me the Emperor's letter, it must be the kind of letter that is 'destroyed after reading'. As for the letter Her Royal Highness the Queen entrusted you to deliver, this is a family matter, and I will make a request to the Swedish Foreign Minister. You can go to the Stockholm Palace then.”

Badberg also nodded after reading Alexander's letter. He worked as a tutor for Alexander for ten years. There was still some affection between teacher and student, but it was not as profound as Laharp's.

"The Emperor is right. We have common interests with Stockholm on the issue of France. Perhaps France will show an aggressive attitude in the future, and we need to unite with Sweden. This involves the safety of the exit from the Denmark Strait. As for the King of Sweden Your Majesty, we can't predict what he will do. You should go and rest first, and we will arrange a suite for you in the embassy."

"Thank you, General."

"I have another question, why don't you even have a follower?"

"Although my family has a baron title and a good income, I don't have the habit of hiring servants or followers." What's even more strange is that Badberg was born in an ancient aristocracy, but he does not have any personal title. , especially since their family is certified by a baron title.

"That's right. He is such an independent young man. It might be a bit big for you to live in your own suite. You can hire a servant in the future. There are some diligent maids in Stockholm, and the wages are cheap."

This Mr. Ambassador is still somewhat interesting, but Solovyov has no idea of ​​hiring anyone to do things now. It is more hidden and safer for him to act alone.

His suite is not big. In front is the servant's concierge. Inside is the bedroom, study room, and dressing room. To say the least, the conditions here are really good, and they are very clean.

As for the Swedish royal couple in the palace, it was not appropriate for them to receive relatives at this time, so it was not appropriate for Russian officers to deliver the Queen's personal letter, but it was not appropriate for this family to hand it over, and they became a third party.

As for Solovyov himself, he began to collect maps and hydrological data, which were actually related to the relationship between Russia and Sweden. This included Finland, Gotland and the Åland Islands, which were all There are several important directions for Russia's actions against Sweden.

Another point to note is that in the Baltic Sea, when it freezes in winter, some combat troops can pass through. The longest frozen period is the Gulf of Bothnia, where some areas have a freezing period of up to 7 months. Even in Pomerania, Poland, the freezing period is more than a month.

If the arrangement is proper, the detachment can be used to act boldly from several directions, and the Cossack troops can quickly attack from the frozen sea surface through Gotland Island to the area south of Stockholm, cutting off the connection between the Swedish army and the capital.

However, in order to do all this well, Solovyov is actually very clear that effective intelligence is needed, an effective intelligence network is developed, and topographic mapping and staff travel are carried out in many areas of Sweden to understand the situation in Sweden.

But from a personal point of view, it may be a bit sorry for Louisa. This little deer is always so innocent, pitiful and cute, and is forced to be involved in many events.

After all, when the sisters got married, they could not make their own decisions, and even their parents did not have that much choice.

Frederica was very happy to see her parents and younger siblings, and also knew that her eldest sister Amalia was at her third sister Louisa's place. When she entertained her family, she was also filled with unprecedented happiness.

Although Gustav IV was a bit demanding, he still admired the queen very much, especially the maternal radiance she exuded when she was holding her belly. Although she was a younger sister, she looked much more mature than Louisa, even when they went to Petersburg for a blind date when they were young. Obviously, Louisa's figure had grown up, and it was even more so when she undressed to check, but her demeanor was more mature.

As for the queen's choice, it was probably Louisa who was gentle and well-behaved, but still had a little bit of her own shadow. Such a girl would not threaten Alexander's position, and she could only rely on her husband more.

However, she did not expect that this child would never fail at a critical moment, and even gave a simple speech to the soldiers and mother-in-law to support Alexander's position.

On the Russian Embassy side, Louisa's handwritten letter delivered by the new embassy military attaché could only be submitted to the queen a few days later.

By the way, as the former aide-de-camp of the Tsar, there is another letter to be delivered to the king himself.

Soloviev still has to go into the palace. The Swedish Royal Palace is also very grand, and after many renovations, its scale is not inferior to the Winter Palace. However, the wall, he is used to the fresher colors of the Petersburg Palace, and this one looks a bit old and lifeless, especially when he sees this funny king with a mustache.

Queen Frederica is also very beautiful, but her facial features are not very similar to Louisa. Among the six daughters in this family, Louisa and Mary have more fresh feelings of young girls. The Queen of Sweden looks much more mature and stable, and her body is much better than her sick sister. Even if Louisa's body is restored, she does not have such a healthy color.

One more thing to note is that even if the clothes she wears are corseted and not as revealing as the ladies in Paris and Petersburg, you can feel that her figure is very tall. Louisa's appearance, no matter what kind of clothes she wears, he has seen it more than once. Although her body is soft, her figure looks cute, and her skin is smooth and white, these are all advantages, but she is smaller than her sister. Compared with this, people like King Gustav still prefer Frederica.

"Major, thank you for coming to Stockholm with the handwritten letters of His Majesty the Emperor of Russia and Her Majesty the Queen. I wonder... what do you think of Sweden?"

For such a king, his words don't matter. After meeting him, Solovyov did think he was a little frivolous, and his eyes looked a little wrong when he looked at himself.

Although the king is male and likes women, he still feels that the temperament of the Russian Guards Major in front of him is different. The appearance of wearing a military uniform reminds him of the appearance of those Russian noble ladies at the masquerade. Although he didn't marry Alexander's eldest sister Alexandra in St. Petersburg a few years ago, he was impressed by the girls there.

The queen also knew this, but when she thought about it, the king had cut off most of his relationships with his mistresses for her sake, so he was a relatively loyal and unreliable king, and a relatively unique figure among the incompetent kings.

"This is my second trip abroad. The last time I followed the Prince Marshal, Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, to Italy, but that time we fought against the French, and this time, I am here to bring peace. As the assistant of our ambassador Andrei Badberg and the military attaché of the embassy, ​​I also have a special mission here. Your Majesty should have seen it in the handwritten letter of our emperor."

"Your queen is my wife's sister. We are relatives. It is a good thing for relatives to visit each other. If your Majesty's health improves, you can travel to Finland and Sweden to see the beautiful natural scenery of our country and feel the humanistic atmosphere in Stockholm."

King Gustav's words were strange, and Frederica didn't know what to say. This was her husband, and the young officers below were sent by her sister and brother-in-law. If the two sides started talking, she couldn't interrupt. After all, her husband did things in an abstract way, sometimes with clear logic, and sometimes difficult to understand.

"I will convey your majesty's invitation to the ruler of our country truthfully."

But asking him to go to St. Petersburg was unlucky. Solovyov knew that Elena hated this stupid king the most. After all, she and Alexandra had a deep sisterly relationship. If he went again, even if the Swedish uncle had many friends in St. Petersburg and had a big face, it would be difficult to deal with him.

And he himself didn't count. When he talked about the relationship between Sweden and Russia, he mentioned that he was very impressed with St. Petersburg and invited the young major to have lunch.

Solovyov felt strange, but he couldn't refuse. He couldn't talk nonsense at this time.

The classic law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that if you have a meal, you may destroy the achievements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the past few years.

Eating with the military attaché instead of the ambassador is also because Solovyov himself is a special envoy. He can come to the Swedish Royal Palace as a messenger after communicating with the Swedish Foreign Minister and the Russian Ambassador to Sweden.

There is no "Zhouli" in Europe for eating like this, but there are diplomatic etiquette. Although it is not out of line, it is a bit whimsical.

Gustav even specifically asked Solovyov to sit next to him, which made the major a little nervous.

"Your Majesty, I feel that your hospitality to me has exceeded etiquette."

"I just think you are very handsome, and ordinary soldiers would not be like this."

"But among the handsome warriors, there are also many Greek classical heroes. You can't deny this, Your Majesty."

"Yes, but we all have the same appeal, that is, we don't like the aggressive policy of the French now."

But Alexander also doesn't like the British, and thinks that the British government's decision-making is arrogant and self-righteous.

"But I should be just a 'messenger' and cannot express opinions on relations between countries. From the perspective of personal family relations, my stepmother is French, so even if I am authorized, I cannot express any opinions. But if Your Majesty wants to discuss literature or art with foreign ministers, I am happy to serve. I think Your Majesty should have read some translated Chinese poems."

"Yes, you can feel the beauty of the original words, especially the ancient poems describing romantic love."

The queen still successfully changed the topic, but King Gustav's performance was hard to describe.