Chapter 2 Military Discussions in Moscow Salon

Chapter 2 Military Discussions in Moscow Salon

Chapter 2 Military Discussions in Moscow Salon (Part )
This salon held in the lieutenant general's residence may not be considered a success, perhaps because of Bobulinsky's sensitive identity. After all, he is the illegitimate son of Grigory Orlov and Her Majesty the Queen, and some sensitive topics cannot always be mentioned too much in formal occasions. However, the marriage between Crown Prince Paul's eldest daughter Alexandra Pavlovna and the King of Sweden was always brought up.

Between countries, marriage also has its benefits. In short, there are some diplomatic channels, and there are also ways to strengthen family ties, or sometimes even like the Austrians, it may provide intelligence. More importantly, young noble women, based on their family situations, are also suitable for marriage.

You know, the man from Corsica was disgusted with Austrian women at first, but when he heard that women from the Habsburg family were good at giving birth, he immediately became attracted to them.

Before this, Grand Duke Alexander, the eldest grandson of Empress Catherine II who had high hopes, married Princess Elizabeth of the Grand Duchy of Baden. This marriage found the Grand Duchy of Baden, which was a weak German state looking for a powerful relative for itself in order to retain its own status.

Small countries always seek shelter and alliances when marrying off their daughters, but the situation between big countries is more complicated. Mikhail Solovyov was obviously too young to attend this party. He was just a 15-year-old second lieutenant. To put it in a joking tone, he had to go to the children's table and could not participate in the affairs of the adults.

However, he was also somewhat interested in the marriage between Sweden and Russia. If Gustav IV Adolf married Russia, it would actually help the already declining Sweden to protect the territory of Finland. At least Catherine II's attention was not on the north, and Crown Prince Paul himself was a natural follower of his father, naturally close to Prussia, and also had a good impression of Sweden. In this regard, he hoped to promote this marriage and send his beloved eldest daughter to the throne of the Queen of Sweden. This was also a rare time when the Queen and Crown Prince Paul, mother and son, agreed.

But the diplomats knew very well what kind of person the King of Sweden was. He was frivolous and prone to going back on his word, so such a person was indeed not very successful.

"The King of Sweden may refuse this marriage because of religious issues."

"Is the source of the information reliable, Mr. Count?"

"I think so. Although the Swedish regent knows what to do, he is not the king after all."

Speaking of which, Queen Christina, the daughter of Gustav Adolf, wanted to abdicate in the end, and no one could stop her. Most monarchies in Europe are absolute monarchies and enlightened despotism, while a monarchy like the United Kingdom is just an autocratic country disguised as a constitutional monarchy. In fact, in theory the king still has great power. In reality, the degree of its constitutionalism depends largely on the degree of the monarch's offline status.

And Solovyov heard a lot just by walking in the corridor. These noble gentlemen were holding a cocktail party and discussing the recent major events in the country. Also, some of them were still very afraid of the French.

After all, Russia has never had a day without an emperor. Even if it is a fake one, there must be a fake emperor. Even if he is appointed by the Poles, they have to make do with it.

The Russian nobles finally chose the Romanov family. It has been almost 200 years since then. Although there have been some changes in the middle, there are generally no problems. The next Tsar from the Romanov family who will ascend the throne after Peter III is also a descendant of Peter the Great's married daughter. If there is any doubt, just based on Crown Prince Paul's friendly attitude towards Sweden and his identical admiration for the Prussian military system, you can know that he is a genuine descendant of Peter III.

Crown Prince Paul was quite looking forward to this marriage, as it meant a de facto alliance with Sweden. Moreover, Catherine II had finally decided to join the anti-French alliance and teach those French people who had confused her monarch a lesson.

However, before that, she has to meet with the King of Sweden in St. Petersburg to discuss the specific details of the marriage. In fact, a marriage with Russia is good for Sweden, at least it can guarantee the temporary safety of Finland. The current target of opposition from the European monarchies is still mainly France, which has already become a republic. As for places like Venice and Genoa, it doesn’t matter whether they are republics or not, after all, it is a tradition. Moreover, a few fragmented principalities and republics like Italy pose no threat to the surrounding countries, not even to the Ottoman puppet states in the Balkans.

But it is not that simple now that France has become like this. After all, the upper class all speak French, and it is an absolute monarchy. If it is gone, it will be gone. How can it continue like this?
In Moscow, various nobles were still holding salons, and what they were discussing was still what was happening in the German states and Italy.

"Have you heard, Count? The French are still besieging Mantua, and have defeated the Austrian reinforcements."

"The Austrians are always better at fighting than the Swedes. They can fight and then run away. Since Charles XII, the Swedes have been running away."

"You can say it started with Karl XII, who wanted to come here from Poltava, but ended up with nothing."

The result was that he was shot in the head while patrolling the battlefield in Norway. Although bullets have no eyes, they will not target a specific person.

"So how did the Austrians perform in other battlefields?"

"Archduke Karl defeated Jourdan, but he did not directly achieve a decisive victory. This news has just arrived."

"So, General, what is the current situation of the Austrian and French armies?"

"We want to make it clear, we need to see a map."

Among the nobles gathering in Moscow, there were also some middle and senior officers in the Russian army. When they were still in the rear, some of them discussed the situation on the front line. Unlike those people in social occasions who only tried to please the emperor and sway with the wind, they used to flatter Frederick the Great, and now they are flattering the Austrian emperor and Russia's own empress. In the future, they will "praise" Napoleon's great achievements.

Some retired generals also came around the map, but they would not do the work themselves. In the salon there were also some young men who had just joined the army, and they could mark the situation on the map.

"This is a map of the Italian and German battlefields. The Alps divide this area into two halves. So, Marshal, what do you think of this war, especially since you once served as the commander-in-chief?"

The one that people are seeing now is Marshal Kamensky, the oldest man in the salon. He was the commander-in-chief of the Russian Army in 1784, but because of the conflict with Prince Potemkin-Tavrichsky, he has been idle for a long time since then. At this time, someone threw the topic to him because he is more senior and has more experience. "I think the French army has suffered a defeat here in Bavaria. If another battle fails, they will retreat to the west bank of the Rhine. There is nothing else to say. At that time, the Austrian emperor will also win a decisive victory and then send his army to the Italian battlefield."

However, the old marshal kept wiping his sweat. His physical condition obviously could not support him to say too much, and he even looked drowsy. However, what he said was not wrong. Besides, the Austrian army was now fighting with the French army in Würzburg and Jourdan, and Archduke Karl still had a chance to win.

"But what about Italy? What should Italy do? Let's put some symbols on the map. Children, can you help put those blue cavalry and infantry on it?"

As a low-ranking noble and a second lieutenant, Solovyov had no problem being ordered around by the older general. He was very fast. Standing on the left side of the table, he had already arranged the little blue men representing the French army, and their positions on the map were very accurate. On the other side, several young officers were still frantically checking the map.

"Second Lieutenant, you are from the Suzdal Regiment. Your regiment was once led by Alexander Vasilyevich and was praised by the emperor. It seems that it is doing well now. Whose family are you from?"

"Soloviev, Mikhail Sergeevich, from Ryazan, my father was an adjutant to General Grushetsky."

The latter is easy to say, but the Solovyov family came to power through smuggling and the favor of the Tsar's favorites. The only way to cleanse their name is to enter social circles or join the army.

Moreover, when he was looking at Kamensky, he felt that the marshal was a little boring. It might be that a common characteristic of the senior generals of the Tsarist Russian army was flattery, and another characteristic was drowsy boredom, especially some old men. Perhaps he had not met Suvorov yet. The generals present today always gave people a lifeless feeling, and were even less energetic than a skinny old man and a fat old man who was always eating.

The general who praised him had prominent thick eyebrows, a head full of white hair, and a stern look in his eyes. Solovyov always felt that he had seen this face in a portrait, or somewhere else, or that the face was related to something he knew.

"Prince Volkonsky is questioning you, Lieutenant. Why are you so absent-minded?"

"Uh, sorry, sir, I just think I've seen the Duke somewhere before."

"Ah, Lieutenant, how did you find out?"

"You have very thick eyebrows, Your Highness."

"My son, I think you must have met the Commander-in-Chief of the Army when you served in the regiment. The patronymic is naturally different, but the surname is only one letter different, so it is easy to confuse it, right?"

Then, the world that Solovyov came to was probably a stitched-together world, with original historical figures of Tsarist Russia, as well as some characters that only appear in books. It is certainly impossible to find a story by using a script.

Moreover, Prince Volkonsky was very satisfied with the lieutenant who was quick and nimble and responded quickly to make the arrangements shown in the map. Although he was young, he still had some energy and was more energetic than these generals who were on leave.

He walked over to the map table, looked at Soloviev, and said: "Lieutenant, there are always people who look alike. People say that the commander-in-chief has a twin brother who is a general of infantry. But our patronymics are different. This is obvious. There can be no twin brothers named Nikolai."

Then he turned around and signaled to Marshal Kamensky, indicating that he was about to begin his speech.

"Your Excellency the Marshal is right. Judging from the deployment of the French army, what they have to do is to capture Mantua, eliminate the threat to their rear, and then continue to advance eastward. The Austrian army is now separated on two battlefields. It depends on who wins first, General Bonaparte of France in Italy or Archduke Karl of Austria on the Rhine River. This war will be more advantageous to which side."

That was the truth, at least strategically speaking, but Prince Volkonsky only expressed his opinion and then stepped back. Apparently, he did not like such a lifeless place in social occasions. Instead, he stepped back and played with the child. His girl was still very young, but had beautiful eyes. In the salon, the child had no mother to take care of him, so he had to be taken care of by the family's servants.

As for his daughter, Solovyov couldn't remember it for a moment, but the prototype was still clear. He could only think about it himself. Evidence would always appear in this regard in the future.

The generals who spoke next all had their own opinions, some even worse than the sleepy Marshal Kamensky and the semi-retired Duke Volkonsky. At least in the general direction, what they said was the same: it was a privilege for noble lords to become generals in these feudal countries at that time. It was difficult for ordinary officers with low status to have room for advancement. Some people even had a frivolous attitude, as if war was just a game of cards. Before the next large-scale war, those who said this will be treated to peanuts by an uncle with a pipe in the future.

The young officers were all in a panic under the "instructions" of the generals, and then they had to review the situation. Obviously, staff work always requires cleverness and diligence. Of course, some lazy staff officers always have genius ideas, but that is only part of it. These adjutants are needed to quickly help the commander-in-chief and the generals grasp the situation.

Solovyov was very agile and could recover quickly every time, which always attracted the attention of the generals. So after all the gentlemen had expressed their "brilliant opinions", someone would always be called upon to speak.

As for what to say when it's his turn, he can't just speak directly according to Napoleon's actions, right? When asked about the details, even some mediocre generals can always find some flaws, which may be more socially fatal. It's better to speak according to the current performance.

(End of this chapter)