Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 516 028 Supervisor Solovyov and Deputy Commander Robert Crown

Old Chichakov is already senile, but although he is old and weak, his mind is still clear.

After listening to the conversation between Alexander and Solovyov, and then looking at his son, who was the Minister of the Navy, he asked little Chichakov this question.

"Pasha, Khanikov is indeed a coward. Although he has a good command of the squadron, we can only let him be the deputy of the fleet. If he is the leader, something will happen."

"Dad, but now the emperor has no idea of ​​​​changing people, but he is willing to have a supervisor and a deputy commander. If it is feasible, I should leave the Admiralty and command the Baltic Fleet. It is better than Khanikov. The old guy is strong.”

Speaking of which, Chichakov's abilities are not bad. He fought side by side with Khanikov in a naval battle, and he also knows something about this man.

People, sometimes as they grow older, they may become more timid. Although Rear Admiral Khanikov was timid back then, he would not talk about running away every day.

After all, the Lord Admiralty is only 41 years old this year. For the command of the naval fleet, it is the golden age and the best time in all aspects.

"But you are the Minister of the Navy, and the Emperor will not let you go to Kotlin Island."

"Yes, otherwise you can let Fyodor Fyodorovich go, but he has not spoken today."

"Didn't that young earl get angry with Ushakov?"

"But the emperor will not let him go. After all, he served as fleet commander earlier than Khanikov, and he has meritorious service."

"Son, just watch. The Emperor will always make his decision. It's a pity that those young and energetic ones have all sailed away with the fleet, otherwise we can always find some way."

This is Alexander asking for trouble. Corfu was ceded to France. The Baltic Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet were scattered everywhere due to overseas combat cruises. By the way, the experienced and motivated Senyavin and Xiaoke of the Baltic Fleet were also taken away. Reg was left abroad, and they were probably being detained by the British in Lisbon.

After that, he can only use veteran commanders like Khanikov. Now that Alexander wants to find a proactive commander, he may need to find someone from the Black Sea Fleet, such as the French Marquis Travers. But his status , once he comes, he can only be assigned the position of Commander of the Baltic Fleet or Minister of the Navy, which is definitely not the first choice.

After the father and son talked for a few words, Alexander and Solovyov were almost finished talking in front of the desk.

".Since this is the case, you cannot send an admiral directly to the ship. This is not appropriate. It is better to replace him directly, Solovyov. If you insist on doing this, you can only send an admiral to the ship. Looking for a suitable candidate among them, Marquis Travers, a fellow countryman of your stepmother’s, will definitely not work. If Yazkov is too old, he is already 70 years old.”

"If possible, it would be better to let Lieutenant General Crone. Although he is a Scotsman, he has served in our navy for twenty years."

When old Chichakov said this, his son was shocked.

But thinking about this Scotsman, if he hadn't been an Englishman, he would be a very suitable candidate. After all, not everyone can be like him. He is already over fifty years old and can be as nimble as a monkey on the boat.

"But Vasily Yakovlevich, although he is an excellent commander, is an Englishman after all."

Alexander did have some doubts, but Ushakov, who had been silent, spoke up.

"Your Majesty, what you need is a suitable naval fleet commander, not what country he is from, not to mention that Robert is now your Majesty's subject."

At this time, Solovyov followed the wishes of the two veterans and said it.

"Your Majesty, since there can be Swedes fighting Swedes in the army, it is not strange for us to let an Englishman fight the British in the navy."

Moreover, the reason why old Chichakov and Ushakov reached a consensus was that Lieutenant General Krone came from a poor background and had no sense of belonging to Britain. As old bosses, they knew it all too well.

After all, his British wife died of tuberculosis when he was still a trainee officer. His second wife returned to England with their children after the divorce, leaving only Krone in Petersburg.

Although he is a "naked official", considering that he must be very dissatisfied with his wife and his excellent service over the years, there is no need for him to squat in the manor.

Moreover, most British people have a characteristic. They are very responsible when they work abroad. Typical examples include those who worked as pashas and beijers in the Ottoman Empire, Langweili who came to the Beiyang Navy as a teacher, and Sir A from Hong Kong. them.

Seeing this situation, Alexander agreed and asked Vice Admiral Robert Crown, often called Roman Vasilyevich Crown in Russia, to serve as Khanikov's deputy.

Solovyov had never heard of such a person, and he was not surprised that the British beat the British. After all, in Russia, there are too many foreigners who come to work as lords, such as the typical Scotsman Earl Bruce. The atypical Scot Barclay de Tolly.

The last female member of Earl Bruce's family, Ekaterina, is the daughter-in-law of Katya's aunt Praskovya. The matter of property division scared this little aunt out. After all, she eats photos. It was quite ugly, and it led the last heir of the Bruce family to simply move to Switzerland and separate from her husband.

When the Scots came to Russia, their performance was actually quite good, and there was nothing to complain about.

Of course, Solovyov, who didn't know much about Krone, still wanted to find out.

Even now, he will take the initiative to help the 83-year-old Chichakov. He is still qualified in respecting the elderly.

The old general took great advantage of the young man's flattery, and even made a joke before Solovyov opened his mouth.

"Count, you are a general after all. There is no need to support me like a servant. At my age, I am about to go to a land with abundant water and grass. There is no need to flatter me like this. But if it were my son Pasha, What he hates most is being flattered."

"Well, Vasily Yakovlevich, I want to know something about Lieutenant General Krone."

"That Rome? Just leave this matter to the attendant. You can talk to my son. He is the Lord of the Navy and knows this British guy better. He didn't listen to Emperor Paul's advice and married a British girl as his wife. "

Speaking of which, there are actually quite a few people in the Russian Navy who are related to the British. People in Russia often joke that Nelson stole Ushakov's tactics, such as the Admiral of the Navy, who married a British wife, or simply found one. A group of British people came to serve. This was nothing new.

Seeing his father raising the question, Chichakov, the navy minister, started talking to Solovyov directly.

After all, this boy is also an attendant general, and the status gap is not that big. He is also quite responsible when he becomes a naval inspector this time. It would be great if he was born in the navy.

"Well, my dad's name is Kromma. It's because he did an outstanding job in the Baltic Fleet. As the commander of the 'Mercury' frigate, he made rare achievements and received a special pension from Her Majesty the Queen."

Speaking of special pensions, you don’t wait until you retire to receive them. Instead, you can apply to receive a lump sum directly after winning the award.

To be able to get such a reward was obviously because he had done something extraordinary back then.

Seeing that Solovyov was very interested, Chichakov began to continue talking: "The 'Mercury' was a 22-gun frigate purchased directly from the United Kingdom in 1788. At that time, Krona bought it with this ship. "

"What happens after that?"

"During a maritime patrol in 1789, the Mercury encountered the Swedish frigate Venus. The Mercury itself was a sixth-level ship, but its opponent was a fifth-level ship. You always have some basic knowledge. Yes, Misha, I think you can understand what this means."

"It is always difficult to win when a small ship fights a big ship, unless the ship conceals its level and installs artillery, or its command level. Oh, gosh!"

"I know your English is not bad, and you will definitely get along well with Krone, although his Russian level is only that much. Next is the key point. The 'Venus' with 44 guns was eventually defeated by the 'Mercury' , and was captured.”

"This is really great, but what happens after that?"

After all, Solovyov's main attention is on the army and does not have much in-depth understanding of the navy.

Chichakov then said: "On the 'Venus', he commanded this frigate to capture the Swedish Navy's battleship 'Letvizan'. Speaking of which, I also used this Swedish ship as a pawn 'flagship'."

"As a captain, he's already very good."

"Just because he is British, he has been placed in reserve recently. But you are right. The Swedes are attacking Sweden. It is okay to let a British man with a strong sense of belonging be the deputy commander of the fleet. "

As for Krone's subsequent performance, as a subordinate of Hanikov, he also captured a large number of French warships and transport ships during the Dutch expedition, and his performance can be said to be quite outstanding.

It would be a waste of talent for such a naval commander to be idle at home.

As for the bigger flaw in this, "Letvizan" is an extension of the Swedish word "justice". It was actually used in the Russian Navy until the Battle of Tsushima, and in the end it allowed a group of people to live a good life. It doesn’t matter if the guy is defeated.

When Krone heard that he had been re-appointed, he ran non-stop from his family estate in Smolensk to Petersburg. He didn't even wait for the Baltic Fleet's transport ship to pick him up. He commanded a small group of sailors and sat on the oars. The sailboat, a rowing boat, came to Kotlin Island.

He was quite positive, and Solovyov couldn't help but sigh inwardly when he saw his majestic appearance.

This is simply the Scottish Monkey. Considering that Wales will have a number one figure like Bale in the future, it is not surprising that there will be a "Big Horse Monkey" in Scotland.

"Robert, welcome back to the Baltic Fleet."

"It's really strange. Why is there someone from the Army here?"

When he talks like this, others want to introduce him.

"Robert, this is Major General Count Mikhail Soloviev, the inspector of the Baltic Fleet sent by the Emperor. Count, this is Vice Admiral Robert Crown, a hero who has made military achievements in many naval battles."

"Ah, I heard from the Minister of the Navy that there is an army general who wants me, an Englishman, to deal with the British. To be honest, it is not a good idea, but as a Russian vice admiral, I must naturally fulfill my duties at my post and let those London masters see how powerful we are!"

Crown is 54 years old this year, but he is very flexible. When he was at the dock, his hands and feet felt a little unsteady, but when he got on the ship, he immediately became a different person.

As for why he had to squeeze into a ship with his old boss as deputy commander, he didn't understand it, but with his flexible state, he quickly figured out the situation of the "Grace".

"If you want to go to sea to fight, such a large ship is definitely useful, but why can't that ship not raise the flag?"

He pointed to the "Varyag", and obviously he still wanted to express his opinion.

"The 'Varyag' is an improved version of the 'Grace'. It has just arrived at Kotlin Island. The crew is still familiar with the situation on this new ship."

"It's a pity. If two such large warships appear on the sea together, give me a battleship squadron, I can block the exit of the Great Channel and not let a single British warship in."

He said this in a very arrogant tone, but his ability is also here.

It's just that Hanikov frowned a little when he saw Kron return to the fleet.

This guy is indeed very good at fighting, but there is also a problem, that is, he often commands his ship or squadron to unexpectedly complete a lot of tasks, and even overshadows the fleet commander.

Hanikov was somewhat dissatisfied with being sent here at this time, but he could not say anything. After all, Kron's appointment was stamped by Alexander himself, approved by the Minister of the Navy, and endorsed by two senior admirals as consultants.

Moreover, this guy from the army was not completely ignorant. He even sailed to the New World with Senyavin's fleet. He was not even sure how much power he had as a military supervisor.

Solovyov had not taken out Alexander's secret decree, and he did have some considerations. After all, the power of a military supervisor was unlimited. He could even support Kron to take over Hanikov with the endorsement of the Tsar and the Minister of the Navy.