Chapter 38 038 This thing is much more expensive than potatoes, even more expensive than your life!

Chapter 38 038 This thing is much more expensive than potatoes, even more expensive than your life!

Chapter 38 038 This thing is much more expensive than potatoes, even more expensive than your life!

This winter is about to pass, and spring is about to come. The ice and snow will melt, and it will be the season for all things to grow.

The scene of vibrant life and flourishing things is about to come into view.

Yes, spring is coming, and it is the time of the year for animals to
Solovyov is in the barracks at No. 2 Million Street, and the pharmacy at No. 4 next to it has quite a few people coming here to get medicine. However, in Russia, Paul probably doesn't like bloodletting therapy very much. He believes more in drug treatment and hot spring treatment.

After the queen gave birth to the child, he finally had something to be happy about. However, his daughter-in-law's delicate appearance made him worried. After all, he had lost his wife, so he sought the advice of the imperial physician on this matter.

When the Queen was in power, these doctors used medication instead of bloodletting to treat Paul's critical illness. However, when they diagnosed the Queen with a stroke, they used bloodletting.
But Paul still wanted to hear the opinions of these old Western doctors. He knew where he was unprofessional, and he had a lot of schedules recently.

After hearing that my daughter-in-law was in good health and just needed to walk more and be in a fresh environment, I felt relieved.

Now he decided to go to the countryside himself to see how the decrees he issued were implemented in the Russian villages. He did not plan to go to Moscow on this tour.

Before that, he will see some new equipment in Gatchina, but he just wants to see the concept.

Solovyov seemed to have become one of the more favored young officers recently. After Tsar Paul gradually began to prepare to add new regiments to the security work in the city of St. Petersburg, he was often caught to perform, and also to explain to the crown prince that reloading bullets was also very dangerous.

This time, on the way to Gatchina, Crown Prince Alexander rode a white horse, followed by a group of Guards and Grenadiers officers, and the carriages carrying the Crown Princess and other female relatives were on the road nearby.

"Altesse, you have to pay attention to one problem. The bullets cannot be reloaded too many times. If you do so, it will easily cause the rifle to explode."

"That's all right, Solovyov. The two rifles and the hundred rounds of ammunition you presented to my father have not been used up so far. It's not like I have to use these rifles every time I go hunting."

After all, these are two limited edition hand-made rifles on Earth, and they must be carefully cared for. Solovyov looked at the servant who carried the gun for Alexander, and he found that the gun had been carefully maintained.

However, when talking to the Crown Prince, one always has to speak closer as he still has some problems with his ears.

This mysterious future Tsar still has a lively personality now, and he is not like the one who will be hit by reality in the future. However, it is also true that his thoughts are difficult to guess.

Solovyov was able to get close to him purely to provide after-sales service. After all, the royal family was still the main consumer of his products, especially rifles.

"Your Highness, as for the hand grenades used by our grenadiers, as you know, although they are not commonly used now, they can still be used with some structural improvements. Alternatively, empty those wine bottles."

"Ah, I know that. The two drawings you submitted are both good ideas, but they should not be like the rifles and bullets for the Tula Arsenal. Prince Dolgorukov has written to Petersburg more than once, saying that this kind of rifle is difficult to produce and requires a large number of skilled craftsmen."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"And you are more suitable to be a designer, Captain. Do you want to go to the Tula Arsenal as well?"

"I think I can play a better role in the Grenadiers, Your Highness, especially now that the Jaegers Company has just been fully staffed."

These words made Solovyov feel that Alexander and Konstantin were indeed brothers. At least one thing was certain. Before, he had been a painting model for Elena, sang at tea parties, and played with her in the game room, which might have aroused the Crown Prince's vigilance.

And Czartoryski’s departure may not be that simple. Although he was a close friend and member of Alexander’s inner circle, he had to be sent to Portugal.

Solovyov knew that if he went to Tula, he would have to work in the arsenal. However, considering the age of old Prince Peter, he was already 54 years old and could not work in the arsenal for long.

If he stayed there, he would be away from the protection of his friends, and his new leader in Tula might not buy into his ideas.

And he had no idea what kind of person Alexander was.

Then Alexander looked at Louisa in the carriage. This man was really unpredictable and no one knew what he would do next.

You know, when Solovyov was summoned to the Winter Palace, he was also very cautious, but there was no latest news from the Directory from France recently. Once the French made any move, although St. Petersburg was far away, the news would be spread quickly.

By then, we should be prepared.

Paul had a lot to do during his trip to Gatchina, including new exercises on the parade ground in the spring.

However, considering that the Queen is recuperating and the Crown Princess's belly is finally showing some shape, the female members of the family will not be required to watch the training from behind this time. They can only hear the sound of cannons from a distance in the garden.

As for the new equipment at the test site, some of the things that were shipped from Dagestan according to the procurement list have now been brought to the test site.

"This is a bit dangerous, Your Majesty, because it is a throwing weapon, and it has to be made on the spot. Please keep a safe distance."

It was about 20 feet, and Solovyov and several grenadiers had prepared bottles of rum, sugar, simply distilled petroleum from Dagestan, and some other things.

"It's a little dangerous to make fire, no wonder they do it this way. Kutaisov, get the telescope."

"Yes, sir."

Paul saw through the monocular telescope that Solovyov, who was making a fire with two soldiers, lit the cloth blocking the rum bottle and threw it towards the pile of dry firewood.

"It worked pretty well. No wonder it's such a dangerous job. What do you think, son?"

"Like Greek fire, Father. You know, the stuff they used against the Arabs in Constantinople."

"So this is a Molotov cocktail that's a reproduction of something from history books?"

"Yes, father." "But this is a bit dangerous. Although it is a new weapon, it is easy to burn your own people. The fire bottle itself is not safe, and the matches that Alyosha presented are also not safe."

Paul was very concerned about safety measures. Although this type of device was easy to use, he had never been on the battlefield, but he could feel that it might not be very useful in field battles. If it was used for arson during a siege, it would be much more normal.

As the Tsar, he was aware that there had been many serious fires in Russia. According to official records, the fire in 1736 was caused by improper handling of the servants of the Persian embassy.

The fire brigade in St. Petersburg was most worried about having to put out fires in the winter when the wind was extremely strong. Although serious fires had rarely occurred in St. Petersburg since the empress came to power through a coup, the wooden houses in the shipyard workers' residential area were more dangerous.

So he quickly mentioned the problem of this kind of thing to General Korsakov beside him: "General, if you take the army out and carry this kind of thing, you must pay attention to safety when using it. The most important point is to try not to burn your own people! Don't forget the lessons of Yaroslavl and Tartu!"

While the firewood pile was still burning, Paul gave another speech. The fires he mentioned later were all things that happened during the reign of the empress. Afterwards, Russia's urban buildings were improved on a large scale, and a large number of brick and stone buildings were adopted. However, when it came to heating in winter, it always made people feel dangerous.

The property losses caused by these two fires were huge, but the casualties were minimal. However, it is indeed worth being vigilant because in many places, buildings are still using a large number of wooden structures. What if they were to burn?
Next, it was the next project. After several months of design, Solovyov finally managed to make a grenade that could explode in two pieces. There was no other way. With Russia's current level of technology, being able to make this thing, which could explode after being pulled to the right height and thrown out, was already considered a black technology.

If this thing had not been invented, during the Crimean War, the Russian army, short of artillery shells, would have had to fill wine bottles with gunpowder and throw them out.

Of these two things, one is too powerful, and Tsar Paul still has lingering fears when he mentions it; for the other one, you have to be careful not to let it explode if you hold it in your hand, and you have to throw it away quickly. As for the things used by the grenadiers, there is no problem with this, but the effect is not very good either.

There is no way, this is the level of technology.

When Solovyov and the soldiers who helped him came to see Paul, they were wearing white shirts stained with black stripes and were covered in dust.

The Tsar smiled, although his smile was sometimes uglier than crying, but it did not affect his reward.

"Captain, your invention this time is not as good as the one you made with guns and cannons before."

"Your Majesty, not every invention can be successful. When I was in the military camp, I was always afraid of setting the house on fire, after all, it was too close to the Winter Palace."

It was dangerous enough that Paul didn't want to look at it anymore after seeing it, and said that this invention should be shelved for a while until the technology is mature.

He didn't notice that Solovyov was staring at Rostopchin and was unaware of the little drama going on in his heart.

If you dare to use this thing to light up Moscow, I will dare to light up your house.

Anyway, Rostopchin has fallen out of favor recently, and he will soon be kicked out of the court by Paul. This is considered a "shame". There are many people who can return to the court after being humiliated, but what they can do in the future is a huge problem.

Rostopchin couldn't understand why this happened, and he didn't seem to be very familiar with this young man.

As for Paul himself, what he was holding in his hand was a teaching grenade that had been cut open to show the structure of the weapon.

"This thing, if you use the captain during training, how are you going to conduct normal training?"

"Your Majesty, I think we should use 'earth apples' for throwing training. The weight is about the same."

“Why potatoes?”

"A hand grenade is much more expensive than a potato! If things go wrong, it may even be more expensive than the lives of soldiers like us!"

Paul was amused when he heard this, but he also pointed out the problem seriously.

"I think talent is the most valuable. Talent is the country's first treasure!"

The price of grenades is a problem, but they can be used for jokes, the Emperor of All Russia said now.

That means we have to do as he says, and it is indeed not the right time to make some inventions now. Solovyov is also considering making relatively safe matches, not as dangerous as the fire bottle.

He himself was almost blown up just now, and Tsar Paul saw it very clearly through the telescope.

The grenadiers who were watching the show also said that no matter how brave we are, now is not the time to use these two things.

Compared to the new weapons used by the Jaegers, the new weapons they were given were obviously very dangerous.

Hand grenades themselves faded from use on the front lines in the late 18th century, largely due to advances in artillery.

Now Solovyov is also considering how to make the model of the simple grenade used in the Russo-Japanese War. The wooden-handled grenade he has made now is even worse than the "Border Region-made" one in terms of performance. No matter what he does, it may not be smooth sailing.

Paul now has more and more things to take care of. In addition to new weapons, the developments on the European continent are worthy of vigilance. On the other hand, he needs to improve water transportation in Russia, especially the canals that have already been dug, which need to be repaired. The money is now allocated from the funds obtained from the orphanages under the name of the Queen, and 40 rubles are required each year.

The huge consumption, coupled with fiscal reforms, although ordinary people may have benefited more, it also began to harm the interests of some nobles.

This is still the case in the Guards, but some officers in some local garrisons have begun to form conspiracy groups.

These people can't get anything done themselves, but always cause huge trouble.

Later, Tsar Paul reviewed the St. Petersburg garrison on the parade ground in the afternoon.

This time the event was a grand affair, and even some veterans who had been exiled home were invited. Logically, Marshal Suvorov should have been invited, but he was not seen at the scene, which was indeed very strange.

(End of this chapter)