Chapter 23 A Duel with a Predestined Outcome

Chapter 23 A Duel with a Predestined Outcome

Chapter 23 A Duel with a Predestined Outcome
To initiate a duel challenge, ladies, elders, or young people can invite an agent to serve as one of the duelists. However, considering that Madame Lebrun's connections in St. Petersburg are mostly concentrated among the female members of the nobility, it would be difficult to find such a person.

Solovyov dared to challenge for a duel because he was confident in his strength. Although Dolokhov believed that his fencing level would be difficult to improve in the short term, he picked up his pistol, a more traditional flintlock pistol, and was able to hit the target at a distance of 25 steps. It seemed that he had a great chance of winning the duel.

However, when provoking a duel, one must sometimes take into account that St. Petersburg is actually a place where there are many idle people. The foreigners who come here are generally officers and high-ranking nobles, and they usually receive a lot of this kind of training. As for some famous duels in Russian history, there are also foreigners.

Once someone died in a duel, although the case would be brought to court, the sentence would rarely be actually carried out. Even the death penalty might be deported abroad or commuted to exile because the Tsar wanted to show his "mercy". This was also a common practice, especially since there were many foreigners and respectable people involved in the duel, and it was considered a means of resolving diplomatic disputes.

However, this secretary was not within Solovyov's consideration. After all, he was from a foreign country and was not an officer. In the eyes of the locals, he was just a piece of trash with a combat effectiveness of only 5.

Even before he issued the challenge, he was worried whether Negris would accept it. If the other party really backed down, it seemed that the problem would not be so easy to solve because the offense and misunderstanding could not be resolved. This would continue to cause disputes and lead to a scandal involving the Empire Theater.

The resolution of disputes has reached the highest level when it escalates to a duel.

In the end, if the opponent accepts the challenge, you have to find a place to decide the winner, and you also have to find an assistant and a referee, so the options are quite diverse.

The deputy may only help the duelists carry weapons, or he may participate in the duel. In this regard, Solovyov is not difficult to find people. Through Dolokhov's recommendation, he found Count Fyodor Tolstoy, a young man from the Naval School. According to Dolokhov, he has good marksmanship and is a good duelist. If they really want to take action together, he will be a very good deputy.

However, Solovyov paid off the gambling debts he had incurred in school for this poor noble branch of the count's family. He owed hundreds of rubles in the Naval Academy, and it was unknown what would happen to him after he graduated - probably everyone at his card table was a master of cheating, so it was hard to say what would happen to him afterwards.

"Well, I'll go with you, but I want to know why you, a lieutenant of the grenadiers, would want to take the lead in this matter?"

"If I told you it was to sell guns, would you believe me?"

This cold joke is not funny at all. If people from the shogunate heard it, they might think it was about finding someone to try beheading.

To some extent, this duel was filled with personal grudges.

As for Poor Count Tolstoy, he also thought so. Those guys in the military academy who were bored without any tasks would always take some "private work". For example, after Solovyov helped him pay off his debts, he would always be asked to complete the reconnaissance work as his deputy.

That secretary must be a person who is good at using guns but not good at using muskets. There are many such people in social occasions in St. Petersburg. For example, there is Duke Kurakin who has been single for many years but has many lovers. However, the duke has a noble status and a huge amount of property that can be used to solve various problems. The salary that can be provided by the secretary of the director of the Imperial Theater, according to the fourteen-level official rank table, can reach the level of an eighth-level civil servant. You must know that the eighth level of civil servants is the hereditary nobility recognized by Russia.

The rank of an average provincial secretary is below 11th grade, which means he is just a small-time official around a big shot. The secretary is probably a small-time official PLUS. His father was just a secretary in the past. Unlike the British secretaries, he cannot hold any real power, unless the secretary has another meaning. In fact, it was said by a nobleman from Simbirsk that things are universally connected.

Unexpectedly, Solovyov was most worried that this guy would not come, but Mr. Gaetan Bertrand Nigris, secretary of the director of the Imperial Theater, actually brought an assistant with him and carried two brand new flintlock pistols.

"I think this duel should be conducted under fair conditions. I need to check your weapons."

Although the referee was Peter Dolgorukov, Mikhail's second brother, he might be too young, but he was close to the crown prince and had great prestige. Except that he was easily fooled by the old foxes, everything was fine.

He was here and was a witness recognized by both parties, but the secretary questioned Solovyov's weapon right away.

"Is this six-shooter a prohibited weapon?"

There is actually nothing wrong with this suspicion. After all, the standard pistols used nowadays are still flintlocks. What Colt has come up with should be a product of the next century. Even if it is a flintlock revolver loaded with black powder, the firepower intensity is indeed a bit unfair.

There was nothing wrong with protesting. Peter Dolgorukov would not let off the hook just because one of the duelists was his third brother's friend, so he accepted the secretary's protest.

"I think you should use a regular pistol. This gun may be a good thing on the battlefield, but in a duel, I think you should know that I still need to accept this protest. You need to use a regular pistol, I emphasize again." (I think you should use a regular pistol. This gun may be a good thing on the battlefield, but in a duel, I think you should know that I still need to accept this protest. You need to use a regular pistol. I emphasize again.)
Fortunately, he was talking to one person instead of two people, otherwise Solovyov would have thought he had met Dupont and Dupont, the silly Belgian policemen.

As for his "Captain Dragonfly" declaration at the beginning, that he would not act on impulse, would never let go of a bad thing, and would judge fairly and beautifully? It also made Soloviev a little embarrassed. We are not shooting special effects! Prince, are you also a time traveler? However, judging from their previous interactions, it is definitely not the case.

Of course, there was no point complaining to Peter Dolgorukov, as he took Solovyov's gun away.

However, this problem was also expected. When the opponent protested, Solovyov also brought two spare French pistols. After inspection, the referee agreed to let him use one of the pistols to duel.

"He will think it's fair, Biejia, but I don't think this secretary, your brother's friend, will win. He is too steady in holding the gun, and his opponent is in this situation now."

"Don't look at this. Sometimes in a duel, there will be some unexpected things. The weaker party may sometimes win by firing first."

Although he himself has rarely participated in duels, he has served as a referee and spectator on several occasions.

The duel took place at a hunting ground near Tsarskoye Selo. Solovyov was actually very familiar with the terrain here. There was a "Chinese Garden" under construction nearby. He was confident of ambushing someone here. However, he would probably never have the chance to use this skill near St. Petersburg in his lifetime.

"You have to be careful, Misha. If you shoot first and the other party is not knocked down, then you must cover yourself and not rely too much on shooting." "I know this, you can rest assured. I am more worried that the other party will shoot first, especially if the shot is a blank. It will be difficult for me to deal with him in this way."

"Then you should also know that if the first shot doesn't solve the problem, you can always reload and fire a second shot, or use a sword."

Firing a blank can express different situations. Sometimes it is for a peaceful solution, and sometimes it is to express disdain. It depends on the occasion of the duel. As Mrs. Lebrun's agent and Julie's friend, Solovyov obviously did not want to use this mediation method. He actually knew how Pushkin and Lermontov would die in the future, especially Lermontov. He was shot dead by his opponent after firing a blank.

Since he had provoked this duel, he always had to consider winning, rather than just being beaten to death and then having the show end.

Of course, when the opponent was 20 steps away, he picked up the gun even worse than Pierre did in the duel. His hands were shaking, but he pulled the trigger at the same time.

The shot actually knocked off one of Solovyov's shoulder straps - he was lucky that he could hit the target even with his hands shaking like that.

In the current situation, this duel actually has no meaning. Solovyov holds the gun with his left hand. He can actually wield two weapons. He feels that he can shoot more accurately if he uses his left hand.

Now it was the turn for the assistants on both sides to shout "find cover", but the secretary adopted a posture of leaning sideways and using his weapon to protect his body, and was still hit in the waist by Solovyov's shot.

The bullet hit the stomach, avoiding several organs that might have caused heavy bleeding, and went through the body behind the kidney on one side, saving the trouble of even removing the bullet.

The other person immediately falls to the ground. At this time, first aid should be given and then sent to a doctor. If there is too much bleeding, it will cost his life.

This marked the end of the duel. Solovyov acted as an agent to vent the anger of Mrs. Lebrun and Julie. Moreover, the opponent's injury was so serious that even if there was a doctor to treat him, he would probably have to lie in bed for a while.

Whatever the outcome, victory in the duel would damage the reputation of her opponent while saving some face for Madame Le Brun.

Of course, Solovyov was also worried about one issue. If the governor of St. Petersburg investigated the matter in the future, or if the Tsar personally intervened because someone was beaten to death, he might be dismissed from his post or demoted to a soldier. He had considered all of these issues.

However, after a week, he had nothing to do, and Madame Le Brun also sent an invitation. This lady often stayed in the homes of those noble ladies. This time she invited him to have afternoon tea at No. 6 Million Street, the residence of Stanislaw Poniatowski, who was the Queen's old lover and the last king of Poland. This residence was later the residence of Grand Duke Constantine, and the ownership was also in his hands at this time, but there was only one resident in it.

Grand Duke Constantine himself was not here. There was a military exercise in Gatchina, and Tsar Paul asked both grand dukes to participate in the exercise. Only some elderly people and women were here.

The troops that Solovyov was in were stationed in the Moscow Governor's District and had nothing to do with the exercises of the St. Petersburg Governor's District and the Guards.

You know, in a few days, it will be the official "Flintlock Competition" time, and he has to present all these weapons. It can be said that Grand Duke Constantine is not here today, which is very unfortunate.

However, Countess Slavronskaya and her two young ladies, Madame Lebrun and Julie, as well as several young officers were all here, as was the unfortunate last king. However, he had a tall and strong adjutant brought from Poland, which aroused Solovyov's curiosity, but the other party did not introduce himself.

Just looking at this physique and face, he seemed a little familiar, but he was not the driver he knew.

PS: According to some Polish and Russian sources, Marshal Rokossovsky's great-grandfather was a cavalry lieutenant in the Polish army and received a written commendation from Prince Poniatowski. In 1812, he was on the French side.

It looked familiar, but this kind of thing was impossible. Solovyov eliminated his unrealistic thoughts.

Julie was grateful to him, especially for discovering some of the secretary's actions.

This naive girl needs to be careful. If she really follows this man in the future and is abandoned by her husband in Paris, breaks up with her mother, and inherits her father's huge debts, she will die in poverty due to the huge debts, which will be a big blow to her mother.

Mrs. Lebrun had been drinking tea, but after Julie finished speaking, she promised to paint a portrait of Solovyov's family in the future. This lady's art is very valuable, and her appearance fee is not low. She took the initiative to ask for gratitude, which came from the heart.

The only thing that Solovyov was curious about was that Russia had no dueling tradition before Peter the Great. This imported product was even more lethal and had a higher mortality rate in Russia, which led to the issuance of decrees during the reigns of several empresses in the 18th century to strictly prohibit dueling - after all, the reigns of Peter II, Ivan VI and Peter III were too short, and the empresses were basically in charge.

However, no one invited him to have tea, even that annoying Duke Kurakin, who was the Minister of the Interior and was in charge of private duels between nobles, but nothing happened.

It was Countess Skafronskaya who did the work behind the scenes at the request of her daughter, so that Solovyov actually realized that as long as he was not hit in the vitals during the duel, nothing would happen.

As for the secretary, although Solovyov's shot did not take his life directly, it did ruin his reputation. In addition, in the duel, he was the one whose opponent's client's reputation was tarnished, so no one came out to find fault with him.

Especially after the Countess found her younger sister, Tatyana Vasilyevna, who was married to Prince Yusupov, to mediate, although that lady was separated from her husband, she was still very powerful and was the hostess of a large salon somewhere in St. Petersburg, so this matter was not a problem at all.

This way everyone is happy, and the only one who got hurt is the secretary.

(End of this chapter)