Chapter 39 039 Marshal Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov
Chapter 39 039 Marshal Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov
Solovyov was given a holiday, and he was in such a state that he had to take a shower first. Tsar Paul thought that he could not come to the review in such a dirty state. Only one battalion of the Grenadiers Regiment joined the review, and the Jagers were still in the barracks at No. 2 Million Street.
He changed into clean clothes, just like the officers in the Paris taverns. Wearing a white shirt would make it easier to draw a gun or a sword during a fight. It would not be good if the Tsar saw him like this.
At this moment, you should quickly get a clean uniform and put it on.
However, there was a small surprise. On the way to the locker room, he saw an ugly old man who looked like a servant and was about sixty years old.
"who are you?"
"You ask who I am? I want to ask who you are! You look like this, with a sword on your waist, you must be an officer, right? But you are quite handsome, much better than our master when he was young."
I don’t know why, whether they are French or Russians, they all pay attention to his face first, and he seems to give people a good impression.
"Who is your master then? From the tone of his voice, he seems to be quite powerful!"
"I won't tell you."
The little old man is quite strange. Judging from the things hanging around his waist, he seems to be an old serviceman.
Such a weird old man, his owner must not be any good either.
Gatchina is not far from Novgorod, and Solovyov would never guess who this man's master is.
Of course, based on his usual good character of respecting the elderly and loving the young, he didn't intend to argue with him.
In Europe, the only people who strictly abide by personal ethics are probably the legendary Spartan men, who should give up their seats to other elderly people.
"You don't intend to tell me, and I don't want to ask. Go back to your master. But be careful. The steps here are new and polished too smoothly. It's easy to fall down!"
That's what I said, and it is indeed the case. I don't know who came up with the idea to get so much marble to pave the floor here.
After saying this, the old man became a little cautious. However, before he walked out, a lean, thin and skinny old man came from behind. Compared with the portrait, he was even thinner.
But from his clothes, it can be seen that his position in the army is not low. Before this, Solovyov had only seen one field marshal, old Kamensky.
This person is most likely Marshal Suvorov.
"Proshka, you are already old, and your grandson will be able to join the army in a few years, but you still like to joke with children!"
This is not a typical Suvorov sentence structure. He always likes to use a bunch of strange abstract metaphors with people, but that was when he was around people who were familiar with him. Now it is a way of speaking that everyone can understand.
"Master, this officer just reminded me! He is a nice guy and didn't make a fuss with me."
"When you are in the forest, don't mess with the little bear. Proshka, how many years have you been with me?"
"Sir, it's been 35 years. I've been following you since you became the head of the Suzdal regiment."
"Still don't learn his lesson." This old man is Prokhor Dubasov, the orderly who was inseparable from Suvorov. He even has a place in the biography of the Grand Marshal.
Then Suvorov turned to Solovyov with a kind expression, as if he was looking at his grandson, but his son was three years younger than the young man.
"Which unit are you from, young man?"
"Your Excellency, Marshal, I am Captain Mikhail Solovyov, the commander of the Jager Company of the Pavlovsky Grenadiers!"
"Misha, the way you speak makes you sound like a soldier trained by my 'old friend'." His voice was loud, which made the old marshal very satisfied.
However, he sometimes likes to act crazy or speak in very abstract ways. This statement requires guessing. It can be said that enemies meet on a narrow road. There are not many people in the army who have grudges with Suvorov. However, the reports in the army of Marshal Kamensky, who has strict military discipline and whips soldiers at any time, are so long-winded. Although Kamensky is also in semi-retired status, he has not been targeted by Paul and still has some say.
"Your Excellency, Marshal, that's not entirely correct. When I was 13, I joined the Suzdal Regiment and served there for two years. Then I went to the Moscow Grenadiers and then came to St. Petersburg."
Hearing this, Suvorov was quite surprised. This kid was actually a young officer from his old regiment!
"My child, when you were in the regiment, the commander was that Obukhov, right?"
"Yes, Your Excellency the Marshal."
"Then how did you change two regiments in a row?"
Then Solovyov reported everything in detail with a very clear mind. In fact, although Suvorov himself spoke in an abstract way, he particularly liked young people who were quick-witted, spoke clearly and were brave and fearless. At least two out of three would get his special attention.
But no matter how you look at it, the more famous officers he promoted seem like a team of pilgrims.
After all, Bagration looked a bit like a monkey. General Kutuzov was a fat man, and Miloradovich didn't care what the order was, he just said "the commander is right" and then took his men out to fight.
Solovyov's train of thought was more abstract. He accompanied the old marshal to the lawn. The old man, regardless of his image, held his stomach and laughed, rolling on the ground.
"Uncle Prosha, what's going on with His Excellency the Marshal?"
"That's how the master is. He does whatever he wants, just like our Russian hare!"
"Why not the Eagle?"
"That's because the eagle is hovering in the sky, and the hare always sees danger and changes position at any time. Child, do you want to learn some skills from me, an old man?"
I don’t know what happened, the old marshal’s thoughts were too erratic, even Solovyov could hardly keep up.
But this was a great thing. After all, it was unexpected that such a "military god" old man was willing to teach him something. But he still liked to ask questions, and then he asked: "Alexander Vasilyevich, respected Marshal, why do you want to teach me some skills? This is the first time I meet you in person!"
"But I'm at home and I know what you did."
He was really Kutuzov’s predecessor. The fat old man was blind in one eye, but he could even "see clearly" the soldiers' foot bindings. And this old marshal, who had "kind eyes" in his later years, just sat at home, probably communicating with his daughter and a few confidants, and knew what was happening outside.
He now sat on the ground with a cane, and motioned Solovyov and the loyal Proshka to sit on the lawn as well.
"Kid, have you invented a new kind of gun?"
"Yes, but because the copper shell is too difficult to use, it was changed to a paper shell. The bottom of the bullet is a copper primer, and then by pulling the trigger, the firing pin is fired and the bullet is fired. This kind of rifle has a very fast firing rate."
"It's a good idea, but it's like a premature baby. Your invention is good, but it appears too early, so it's weak and needs to be constantly improved, just like letting a child grow up slowly, that's it."
He really likes to use metaphors. If he were more concise, he could probably have a metaphor competition with the Tatars in Kazan or the Kalmyks in the southern Russian steppes.
Moreover, this little old man was a naughty boy. As he spoke, he hit Solovyov's boots with his cane.
"You need to use your brain more and also consider the situation in Russia!"
"Yes, Alexander Vasilyevich."
"It can be seen that you have good upbringing and are very polite. It would be great if other people could be like you."
Actually, he was talking about Bagration. The prince was a good person, but he had two flaws: one was his bad temper, and the other was his addiction to gambling. Suvorov could do nothing about this. He always educated his children in accordance with their aptitude. He could do nothing about the flaws brought by his family, so he could only cook dishes based on the ingredients.
To bring out the real abilities of the children has always been a very daunting task for the old marshal.
However, the apprentices he had taught and the subordinates he had promoted in the past were not as full of questions as this kid.
We were sitting on the lawn and chatting. The weather was very good, and the old marshal was in a good mood today. He was chatting the whole time, using metaphors one after another. If you were not smart enough, you really couldn't keep up with him.
However, Solovyov raised a question at this time: "You have come to Gatchina today, and the emperor is also reviewing the military parade. I came here on horseback with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I heard an order in the middle, which is to invite all the old generals in Gatchina to come and watch the military parade!"
“Who wants to see a bunch of cabbages lined up by a vegetable vendor at the market!”
In fact, when the Prussian army was arranged in three rows, the big ones were placed in the front, the small ones in the second row, and the rest in the back. This statement really hit the nail on the head.
"Then you should see that the Emperor has this problem. If you make him unhappy, Alexander Vasilyevich, he will let you stay at home."
The old orderly, Prosha, followed up on the conversation and said, "Our emperor, sir, don't you praise him often?"
Wow, it turns out that the old man is a tsundere! Although he keeps complaining, he still thinks about Paul in his heart.
However, according to the old marshal, it is not enough to just learn from Frederick, but we still need to have our own characteristics as Russians.
Because he had defeated the Prussians on the battlefield, the old marshal was reluctant to introduce the Prussian military system. However, he still appreciated Paul's new weapons, improved treatment of soldiers, and strict military training.
At the same time, there is a small problem. Those generals who were sent home for opposing Paul actually still have the opportunity to be reappointed. However, for those who are not competent in the military reform, it is very difficult for them to come back after being removed from their posts.
In fact, the old marshal’s nephew, Prince Gorchakov, arrived at his estate in Novgorod in February. The Tsar himself "generously" stated that as long as the marshal himself no longer publicly mocked the military reforms, even if the old marshal still did things his own way, he would allow the old marshal with outstanding military achievements to return to St. Petersburg, hoping that he could serve as the dean of the new military academy.
Then, this arrogant old man, seeing that the Tsar himself had softened his attitude, refused to give in and said some very impolite words to his nephew.
This left the prince with no good solution. He downgraded what his uncle said before he dared to relay it to the Tsar himself.
Paul had a very low tolerance for other people except being relatively polite to the old marshal. It was not because Marshal Rumyantsev's son had previously reported the old marshal's "rebellion" to him. After arresting his adjutant and entourage for interrogation, even the great memory recovery technique could not bring any evidence.
From then on, at least Paul knew that the two old generals, Suvorov and Kamensky, who had led troops, were still loyal to him. Although they were enemies of each other, they did not add insult to injury on this issue. Once they quarreled, it was still within the military field.
Now, the Tsar, who is very concerned about his reputation, needs these old marshals and generals to make a gesture. However, given the old marshal's arrogant temper, even though he has praised Paul in many aspects and has heard many good things about the emperor from the serfs on his own estate, he will not give in at all on the issue of Prussian military reform.
Then, although his house arrest order was lifted, he was still unemployed at home. This time when he came to Gatchina, he finally chose not to go to the parade ground, which was also a statement.
But Paul didn't care about this. Even if you didn't show up, it was still considered as attendance, and the seat in the first row was left empty.
The king and his minister began to compete with each other. Anyway, his name would still appear in the newspapers in St. Petersburg, so they gave each other half of the face, but not the other half.
The reason they are competing with each other is that Russia currently has no external crisis. It seems that Paul has not done a bad job over the past year or so. At least it has been relatively stable without any major chaos.
If someone outside makes trouble, Paul will definitely give in, but time is merciless. The old marshal is already 69 years old. He is not afraid of young people who do not abide by the moral code of martial arts, but he is afraid of the old man.
Because of this, when he was at home, the faithful old servant often heard his master say: "I am useless before I get old."
What made the old marshal very happy today was that Solovyov was able to keep up with him, and even when asked quickly, he could answer fluently.
Unfortunately, I am very old now and the child is too young, so there is not enough time no matter how you look at it.
When they parted, he asked the old servant to take out a book called "The Science of Victory" published two years ago and gave it to Solovyov.
"You have to take good care of this, but you can't stick to the textbooks, otherwise you can only be a tutor for nobles."
This old man is indeed a bit "divine".
It is really hard to write about Suvorov’s pretending to be crazy
(End of this chapter)