Chapter 32 Travelers are not destined to change their fate

Chapter 32 Travelers are not destined to change their fate

Chapter 32 032 Travelers are not destined to change their fate

It was a pleasure to chat with this young officer. Most of the "peers" Solovyov had met before were impulsive young officers, most of whom were from the Guards. These people were more like a group of adventurers.

Guards officers like Nesherrodie looked rather different. Of course, he himself was not satisfied with his military career. He hoped to display his abilities in social occasions. For a foreigner of German descent born in Lisbon who arrived in St. Petersburg after his father came to serve in Russia, there was a natural separation between him and the environment here.

At No. 17 Nevsky Avenue nearby, there lives a count and countess who have lived abroad since childhood. They have learned Russian and are trying hard to adapt to the environment here. Some local nobles are rather Western-worshiping (for Russia) and hope to be recognized by the social circles of mainstream European countries.

Everyone has his or her own way of living. Whether it is life or a period of history, it is a river and there will always be a time when it reaches its end.

If there really is a system that can change one's fate, it would be boring. Anyway, Solovyov drank tea without sugar, which made the young count, who had very sensitive taste buds, curious. You know, he was a gourmet and could feel the original appearance of the food as long as it entered his mouth.

“You drink tea without sugar, so that you can taste the original taste of tea?” (Do you drink tea without sugar so that you can taste the original taste of tea?)

"Yes, that's how it is in China. Our way of drinking tea still follows the European method."
The Earl is actually very interested in China. As a soldier he is really not very good, but when it comes to diplomatic occasions and court etiquette, he does have some insights. It's just that he is now serving as an aide-de-camp in the court, so he can't use these skills.

But when it comes to other aspects, he is still very interested, such as discussing the origin of tea, which does not prevent him from drinking coffee.

Solovyov knew very little about this. He simply introduced the customs and habits of Chinese and Japanese tea to the young count, talking about some novel things in a relatively shallow way, which was actually very suitable for getting started.

"I have always longed to go to the East, but when I was engaged in diplomatic work and met the Emperor of China, the situation was different from that of other countries."
"If it is the British, they are too arrogant and will not achieve their goals through diplomacy." (If it is the British, they are too arrogant and will not achieve their goals through diplomacy.)
The Earl nodded in agreement on this point. Although the British sent the Macartney Mission, it achieved little results and did not achieve the intended goals.

When it comes to China, envoys from other countries may be more sensible. After all, in China, you have to do things the Chinese way. The Dutch were the first to learn that money is more important than people. It is also because of this that the Dutch can still have a trading house in Japan, while merchants from other countries have long been driven out. The results of Russia and Japan's exchanges have always been not good.

Anyway, the world is so big, and not everything is according to the will of the "time traveler". You should be thankful if you can do well in the things around you. If you don't have enough ability, level or the occasion is not right, it will not work. How can you not lay a solid foundation so that you won't fail at the critical moment?
If Solovyov knew about the count's attitude towards China, his jaw would drop.

All in all, the conversation between the two was very pleasant. They talked about everything under the sun. Nesherrode talked about what he saw and heard when he was at school in Berlin, as well as some past experiences, while Solovyov mainly talked about his experiences in Moscow and St. Petersburg. As for the countryside, he had been serving in the army since he was 13, so there wasn't a lot to talk about there.

But there is one thing that is worth telling. When the old baron was in the countryside, he often wrote letters to tell me about his experiences. Obviously, the country lord and the city lord sometimes cannot resonate with each other, but because they have never met, they both yearn for each other's lives.

"It's a pleasure talking to you. I hope we can meet more often in the future." (It's a pleasure talking to you. I hope we can meet more often in the future.)
This kind of relationship may not be useful now, but there are still many people to make friends with in St. Petersburg.

Of course, the count also reminded Solovyov where otter fur capes and cloaks were now for sale.

However, after seeing the price, thinking about that willful "little goblin" and the things she had helped him to settle, he didn't mind spending all the bonus given by Tsar Paul.

What's more, if you want to seek an official position in the future, it is not enough to have merits alone, you always need connections, and these relationships always need to be maintained.

As for trying to please a palace maid who rarely serves in the palace, this kind of thing would feel weird to anyone else.

But it was indeed useful. After all, her aunts had an unclear relationship with their uncle Prince Potemkin. In addition to "taking care" of his nieces, the prince also arranged husbands for them, or they met their husbands through introductions. This network of relationships was very useful.

That "little goblin" is still the most favored one among the four sisters of the next generation. At least now, when the sisters get together, what they discuss most is what kind of husband the emperor will find for her when she comes of age, or whether she should be bold and reckless enough to seek true love on her own.

The old baron also mentioned this matter, which was about a princess of Prince Menshikov's family who had an interesting story of free love many years ago. However, that era was quite long ago, and after the status of the special prince's family was restored, they had only fame but no real power, and were relatively far away from the core of power. It was just an interesting story in the court.

It is conceivable that the Countess has had a life of luxury and well-clothing, and she doesn't like the atmosphere in the palace. What does she want?

However, given the Tsar's temper, she could not escape this issue, especially since she had been included in the list of maids. Moreover, her mother and the Tsar's only brother had a previous relationship in the court, which inevitably forced the "head of the family" to always think of some solutions.

Of course, Solovyov didn't know, because although Count von der Palen who appeared in the correspondence had been in long-term correspondence with the Countess, the lazy Countess did not check her daughter's letters at all. The old sisters did not know the current target of the "good girl", but the two single brothers of Prince Peter Dolgorukov's family had come into observation.

It's completely off target!
After finding the otter fur cape and cloak and buying them, Solovyov once again visited No. 7 Million Street. He was also afraid of causing misunderstanding, so he made a special statement to the Countess.

"I came to thank the lady and her family for their help in that incident. This is a shawl and cape for the young lady, and this one is made of silk and is more suitable for the lady."

"You've spent a lot of the bonus the Emperor gave you, right? These are all good materials. Although they are 'common' in Petersburg, they are not cheap. Of course, thank you for coming over to chat with us often. It also helps Mrs. Lebrun's worries. After all, we have known each other for many years, not just the relationship between a painter and a customer."

"I also wish Julie and her fiancé happiness. I have met that gentleman. Although he is a little frail, he is very energetic and has excellent painting skills. He even went to the palace to give Elena lessons these two days!"

The Countess was probably talking about Julie's fiancé, who, because of his excellent painting skills, also went to the palace to teach the Grand Duchesses. At least the second Grand Duchess Elena loved painting and even dragged the maids in the palace to be her models all day long.
From her tone, it seemed that they had a pretty good relationship, but it was also because she was dragged to be a model so many times that the Countess preferred to stay at home or go to the homes of several young Grand Duchesses. It was better to accompany them to play the wooden horse in the palace garden than to be a model for Elena. After all, she always asked others not to move. Of course, the girl thought of some other problems.

"Mikhail, you're a grenadier. Are all soldiers good at staying still?"

"Why do you ask that question, Countess?"

"I just thought that Her Highness Elena might need a model, and I think you'd be a good fit. Don't soldiers have to obey orders? Can you stay still?"

"Ah, in that case, we can find the guards or young officers on duty in the palace?"

"They can't. There are too many people with bad intentions."

Yes, among the officers of the Guards, the earls are almost gone, and many of the newly recruited young officers have good family backgrounds. They might have some ideas about the archduchesses. Since the marriage between the eldest princess, Archduchess Alexandra, and the King of Sweden was frustrated, Paul even considered letting his daughters marry in China, so that they would not marry far away in the future and not see each other. If the queen was not from Württemberg, and always wanted to use the marriage of her daughters to interfere in the internal affairs of the Holy Roman Empire and improve the status of her own family, this old father who was still responsible for his children might really do so.

After saying this, the countess, who was still on the sofa, jumped down and began to look at Solovyov, who was standing at attention without moving.

"Well, you're not the only one who looks good. If not..."

"Ahem." Seeing that her daughter was about to talk about a very dangerous topic, the Countess coughed twice, which made the "little goblin" of humanity stop.

"I think it's you. If you want to enter the palace, you have to prepare in advance."

Solovyov was devastated. This girl had finally been quiet for a few days, but now she started to act up again. She even wanted him to enter the palace to be a painting model for the Grand Duchess. In short, Grand Duchess Elena had always been lively and well-educated, but one could not enter the palace casually; arrangements had to be made in advance.

The only advantage is the opportunity to meet the Tsar and the Crown Prince, which is a chance to show off. But if you don't perform well, you will expose your butt, which will be difficult to deal with in the future.

In short, there were very few things he could decide on his own, and he could only be forcibly dragged back into the palace.

He didn't like that place at all. There was no war now, otherwise he would definitely apply to join the front-line legion.

Of course, starting from the end of 1798, military mobilizations will be very frequent, and there will be many wars to fight in the future, but this winter, if there is no service, because of the heavy snow and weather, all the legions will spend this winter in the new barracks. The troublemakers among these officers will definitely go to some places to gather and cause trouble. Although Dolokhov gave him a "quarantine zone" to ensure his safety, it would be very troublesome if he was not sociable in such occasions unless he was a senior officer.

Therefore, it was not a bad thing to work as a painting model for the Grand Duchess without moving for a long time.

And he didn't even have time to think about it, as the matter had already been decided without his permission.

Looking at the Countess, he couldn't stop complaining in his heart. If someone makes "arbitrary decisions" for you in the future, you will have to bear the consequences, and you might even have to ask me for help!
As for entering the palace, Grand Duchess Elena herself welcomes it. Although the Queen herself does not need to inquire about it, the housekeeper in the palace must be informed.

If Solovyov really wanted to enter the Winter Palace, he would actually prefer to go with his brothers from the Grenadiers.

It was only a few days' wait, and the court actually knew about his performance in Gatchina.

Then, Solovyov had to give up his plan to make grenades and enter the palace.

He had no choice at all in this regard, but when he came to the court, he came to the court with Karl August Christian, the fourth son of the Duke of Mecklenburg.

How should I put it? This duke came to Russia for a trip, intending to find a place to serve in the army. For these noble children of the various states of the Holy Roman Empire who are lower in the line of succession, it is indeed not a problem for them to often go to various countries to serve as officers.

However, another problem has now emerged. In order to enhance the status of her mother's family in Württemberg, the Queen is still prepared to dispel Paul's request to marry his daughters in the country. This seems to be beneficial to Russia's position in Europe, but in fact it will end up involving Russia more in European affairs, which does not bring any real benefits to Russia.

In the cafe, Count Karl von Nesselrode had already explained to him the direction of Russia's diplomacy and which direction was more advantageous. Russia's interests were not in Central Europe, but in fact were more on the two wings. One side was the Baltic Sea towards Sweden, and the other was Constantinople, which the double-headed eagle always had one head "focusing on". In fact, there was no more benefit for Russia to enter Central Europe too much.

However, judging from the recent activities of various states under the Holy Roman Empire coming to St. Petersburg, the Queen's opinion should have prevailed.

(End of this chapter)