Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 92 042 Back to the Winter Palace St. Peter's Castle

On the way back to Petersburg, widespread snowfall turned the north of Russia into a white world.

Grand Duke Constantine on the sled was always wrapped in blankets and furs and sleeping, no matter where he arrived, it was still a long journey to Petersburg.

At this time, Solovyov was also thinking about the possible situations he would encounter when arriving in Petersburg, especially if Korsakov arrived early and had already falsely accused the Generalissimo, saying that he was responsible for the failure in Switzerland. It's not his fault, he needs to throw the blame away.

If the Grand Duke returns to the palace, he must speak from the position of the Grand Marshal. After all, he himself was a witness to the entire campaign from the time the Russian army entered Milan until the army escaped danger, and he also participated in many actions. As well as endorsing the generalissimo against the Austrian nobles and persuading the Cossacks who accompanied the army.

This kind of false accusation will obviously have an impact on his own achievements in this expedition.

For yourself and for others.

And Solovyov, the general who retreated from Korsakov's defeat, already knew some of the situation of the Battle of Zurich. Although this problem was not entirely his, the Austrian retreat and the treacherous "enforcement" were all. He occupies a part of it, but the main responsibility still has to be placed on himself.

However, he may have overthought all this. After returning to Petersburg, what he sees on the interface is still very quiet. It has come to the end of 1799. This year it is still very quiet, and there are no entertainment activities on the street. .

Logically speaking, with two grand duchess getting married, the streets should be extremely lively.

After the sleigh arrived in Petersburg, because the stone pavement on the street would be stumbling, although Constantine did not curse out, he also wanted to complain in his heart. The civil servants and subordinates below Petersburg wanted to please Sir, you have always been a group of "chameleons". When you want to clean up the road in Petersburg, you have to expose the road surface, so that the sleds that are only run in winter will suffer like this on some surfaces.

"Your Highness, please keep your peace of mind. When we return to Petersburg, we will go directly to the palace."

Among the series of aides-de-camp of Grand Duke Constantine, Komarovsky was still the one with the highest position, and he had been with him for a long time. He came out to say this at this time, and Tsar Paul would immediately summon his son, but he would not talk about it. What matters ahead is to reunite with my family.

In a royal banquet hall in the Winter Palace, Ms. Scherer, the female official next to the queen, had already begun to ask the servants to decorate. Although in European tradition, the dinner party was more grand, but Tsar Paul had to rush back from Prague after a long journey. Son, prepare in advance and start decorating in the small banquet hall.

This was an exception for Tsar Paul, whose recipe consisted of kohlrabi, ham, water, bread and a small amount of red wine.

When the sleigh came to Million Street, it was not too far from the Winter Palace. It had to pass first the Pavlovsky Grenadier Regiment barracks and pharmacy, then the official residence of Grand Prince Konstantin, and then the Lita The official residence of the count and his wife - the mother of the "Little Goblin" also officially remarried, hence the name. All the way to the end of this road are the residences of nobles or the auxiliary buildings of the royal palace. At the end is the periphery of the Little Winter Palace, where there are always close Guardsmen are stationed.

When they arrived outside the Little Winter Palace, several female justices were listening to Maria playing the harp in the concert hall. This was a pastime that the sisters took care of themselves in the winter when there were no entertainment activities. Men were excluded, only Brother Nikolay has special admission.

However, this child may not have any musical talent, nor does he know how to appreciate Maria's harp. He really can't hear complex tones. It may be because he is too young. Of course, if he plays some simple tones, he will still clap his hands. .

At this time, an attendant came in from outside and told them.

"Grand Duke Constantine has returned. Your Majesty wants all your highnesses to come over."

The sisters were very excited that their second brother was back, and they hadn't seen each other for a while.

Paul's family, even the girls, are now lined up to greet him, like an army. His mood seems to have changed a bit recently.

When Constantine came over, he had to shake hands with the sisters first, then the Crown Prince Alexander and his sister-in-law Elizabeth, and finally Tsar Paul and Queen Maria.

As for the two brothers-in-law, since they have not been officially married yet, they will not appear here until the palace dinners and dances.

"Constantine, it would be great to have you back."

Then, he saw these adjutants again, and they were all following him.

"You've worked hard too. It's noon now. Let's all go to the small banquet hall. I heard in the report that you almost ran out of food in the Alps. It was really hard. Since I was a child, except when I went to Paris, During my trip, I was hungry for a whole day, and I have never felt like this before. You all have worked hard, and you will all be rewarded and have new places to go according to your own merits.”

Ever since he concurrently served as the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, the problem of issuing medals has appeared. Fortunately, his eyebrows are not thick, his body is not that broad, and his tongue is not curled in his mouth, otherwise he would A man who thought he liked to give out medals also came to Petersburg.

However, Paul's political level may be a little different from that of the medal lover with thick eyebrows. After all, he was born to be the tsar, and the struggle he needed was just to keep his position.

At the banquet, several adjutants were crowded in the back half of the table, and the tsar's family was in front. Constantine sat opposite the entire table this time, and Alexander and his wife were in the two seats on the right.

To be honest, Paul's banquet was really nothing new, especially lunch. This time, the quantity was large and full, because there were many people, and some dishes were added. It was not the shabby treatment when the tsar himself had his working meal.

These adjutants didn't eat well. Only Komarovsky and Solovyov could still maintain basic table manners. They were indeed hungry for a few meals in the front. After returning, they still needed to cherish the days of full meals every day.

Although Constantine himself was strict with his subordinates, he didn't care about the dinner table. His creed was not to care about other people's meals, and to serve whatever was edible.

The two adjutants who were still polite at this point, one was originally transferred from the cavalry regiment, and the other officially joined after arriving in Italy.

However, Solovyov also noticed that there was donkey meat in this meal, in the cold dish served at the back

Wow, this Western-style braised beef recipe is used for braised donkey meat, is this "Petersburg Lao Luo's secret braised donkey meat"?

He himself wanted to complain that Bobulinsky had acquired too many donkeys, and even the imperial farms under the jurisdiction of the crown prince had begun to raise donkeys for various purposes on a large scale. The changes on the Petersburg dining table were already big enough.

Originally, donkey-hide gelatin was only used for nourishing the ladies. It seemed that it was used once for the queen and the crown princess. The name became more and more famous. Even during the establishment of the anti-French alliance, the Crimea and Odessa ports of Russia began to import a large number of various donkeys. After all, there were still a lot of such livestock in Turkey.

The dining table of Russian nobles was going to change anyway, as for how it would affect the civilians, that was another matter.

After this meal, before the dinner, the adjutants will not leave the palace. They will have to wait until today's duty is over before they can go home the next day.

Anyway, it's no problem for Solovyov. Although he is from Ryazan, he still has a small courtyard passed down from his ancestors decades ago. It's very fast to go home in two steps.

Moreover, he also saw the princes opposite, Anna and Nicholas also came to the table today, but the raised children's chairs prepared for the siblings were also the style that Count Bobulinsky tinkered with with his "creativity". Of course, this host is well chosen. Although Russia does not have the large-scale patent protection like Britain and France, the count gave him and his old father a share of money. If this money is saved up, it will be very considerable in a few years.

The four sisters, who were inseparable and in pairs, had not seen each other for almost a year, and they looked more and more radiant, especially the two who were getting married. Alexandra could be said to dwarf the turbulent Dnieper and Volga rivers, while Elena was still at the level of the Neva River. Who would have thought that both of them would get married at the end of the year?

As for Maria and Ekaterina, they both had freckles on their faces and grew very fast. Now to distinguish them, we still have to look at the pockmarks on Maria's face - she had smallpox when she was a child, and there were still some scars left, but this did not affect it.

Of course, she was still talking today: "I don't want that Austrian painter to paint my portrait, he can paint me like an old lady!"

She started complaining about this matter in the spring.

"That's fine, Maria. While your two sisters are still in St. Petersburg, we should draw a family portrait as a souvenir. If you girls marry far away in the future, I won't be able to see you in the palace. Dad, if I miss you, looking at the portrait can help relieve my anxiety."

Paul's emotions became more and more difficult to control. He and Prince Bolkonsky didn't get along with each other, but they expressed their emotions in a similar way. No wonder he was considered a "Prussian" by the outside world, and the other was nicknamed "King of Prussia" in social circles.

Even at the dinner table, he was still discussing the positions of everyone in the portrait. According to the tradition of this family portrait, even Olga, who died young, had to be given a place in the background.

"No one has ever been so neat in our family. When William and Frederick come tonight, as well as their relatives in Petersburg, we will invite them. It will be even more lively!"

"Father, if you say so, tonight, whether it is a banquet or a dance, it will be a big deal!"

"Yes, Alexander, in the future, you and Constantine will have to build more achievements, have more children, and be better to your wife. Especially Anna came back from Saxony this time and added another child. We, like ordinary families, still want to have a large population."

Paul's political ability is a little bit off, and he looks plain and even a little thin, but as a tsar, his ability in this regard, plus raising children with the queen, can be said to be the strongest among all the Russian tsars. Moreover, even if he sleeps in a separate bed from the queen, I have never heard that he has any physical relationship with his mistresses outside. As a husband, father, and father-in-law, he is still qualified. The only difference is that as a son, he still has many opinions about the queen.

"Also, we will be preparing to move to the newly built Mikhailovsky Palace next year. Everything there is brand new. Although it doesn't look as luxurious as here, I have visited every bedroom and they are all well built."

That place is where Tsar Paul was born. He still has a lot of feelings for this location, so he demolished the old summer palace left by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and replaced it with a brand new fortress, and also arranged his guards there.

When talking about family affairs, Paul himself actually knew that apart from sleeping with women and having children besides the first heir, there was nothing private for the Tsar.

He also mentioned the rewards for several young adjutants and officers who were still in the army and had not returned.

"Also, you adjutants can't always be adjutants. I heard that you all performed very bravely. Komarovsky is undoubtedly the chief adjutant I personally selected for Constantine. In the spring, I will arrange for you to officially take over the command of the Guards Regiment, as well as the other young men. You will all go to your new units and I will make arrangements. It's just that... Solovyov, you were not Constantine's adjutant originally, but a liaison officer arranged by our invincible Marshal Alexander Vasilyevich. But when you went on the expedition, you were the company commander of the Guards, which is also... I sent him."

"Your Majesty, I am very satisfied with everything now. Besides, I am too young. If you want me to return to the Grenadiers or the Guards, that would be fine."

"Yes, you are too young. If you were a few years older, I would find a girl from the palace maids as your bride."

Hearing this, not to mention Solovyov himself was sweating. Starting from Alexander, everyone knew that the marriage designated by the Tsar was a disaster. It was always good intentions but bad results. Only the noble men and women he particularly liked could get this treatment.

"Yes, father, Misha is only 18, he is the son of a squire, and it is not like us brothers who need to get married early. I think it is better to discuss the arrangements for the ball."

This time, it was Constantine who interrupted and brought the topic back to the main topic.