Chapter 40 Tsar Paul, who was deeply loved by the serfs during his tour

Chapter 40 Tsar Paul, who was deeply loved by the serfs during his tour

Chapter 40 040 Tsar Paul was deeply loved by the serfs during his tour

Tsar Paul in Gatchina was actually very annoyed by Suvorov's absurd behavior of coming but not attending the event. However, at the same time, he was very tolerant of the old marshal and did not impose any punishment measures or the kind of "personal humiliation" that was common among the aristocracy.

The old marshal is not holding any position now and is unemployed at home, so there is no punishment available.

So the final result was that Paul lifted Suvorov's house arrest measures at his own estate in Novgorod, but as for any further job arrangements, there was only one word: "no".

Of course, Paul thought that this skinny and withered old man was really interesting. He had obviously agreed to more than 70% of the contents of the New Deal, but he refused to give in on the "Prussianization" of military reform. That was why he was so cautious in dealing with others and left room for the old marshal.

The premise is that he must not know that some conspiracy groups are doing things secretly under the banner of the old marshal.

Now, he was in a good mood in Gatchina. Chatting with the serfs he had liberated when he was the crown prince in Gatchina was a kind of entertainment and a way to understand the people's sentiments. Although these serfs were still "serfs" in name, this place was the place where the "Three Days' Decree" was most strictly enforced. The local officials once asked the Tsar in a petition: Are peasant women also considered serfs?
This issue is not a joke. There are some funny situations happening across Russia.

The big landlords in the Ukrainian region kept shouting "Long live the emperor", because the local traditional labor was "two days of corvee". Although everyone was a serf owner, some honest landlords here only had two days of corvee, which was considered a local tradition.

At the same time, the serfs were also shouting "Long live the emperor" because some of their landlords were even more ruthless than those in Russia! As for the change from two days to three days, according to the tradition of village self-government, whether it can be implemented is still unclear. In addition, some people would say that the emperor only allows us to work for the master three days a week, and this is the upper limit!
Sure enough, in Russia, some things cannot be guessed by common sense.

As for the issue of peasant women raised by the local officials of Gatchina, some of the wives of serfs refused to break up the family due to the prohibition of breaking up the family. Considering the tough nature of Russian women, they would raise a question, that is, the decree was about their old men, not them, so there were always people who refused to go to make bread.
This problem actually exists around St. Petersburg, and it is not unique to Gatchina. Paul's declaration seems to be very standardized, but both the pros and cons are taking advantage of the emperor's new policy to find bugs for their own profit. It's really lively now.

However, wherever the Russian emperor went, as long as his procession appeared and was seen by the passing serfs, there were still people waving their fur hats or straw hats and shouting "Long live our little father, Pavel Petrovich."

On the Russian side, there are still many problems.

After reading the petition from the local officials, Paul summoned the second-level secretary in charge of Gatchina and several surrounding towns in the province for questioning. After listening to their opinions, he also believed that there should be more standardization.

"Gatchina has always been my territory. This is also the first place where the Three Days' Decree will be implemented. It is necessary to regulate the behavior of all people and ask them not to take advantage of loopholes in the state law! Not only the landlords, but also the serfs, and the wives of both families should not cause trouble all day long."

"Your Majesty, what about the actors in the Peasant Theater?"

A secretary actually asked a question, which required Prince Saltykov's second son, the young but experienced civil servant Alexander, to come out and sing.

Today, it happened that an officer from the Pavlovsky Regiment was on duty in the palace. Solovyov saw this guy explaining the problem with a set of long and difficult sentences that flowed smoothly. He really looked like Sir Humphrey, and his skill set was exactly the same.

"What's the conclusion?"

"No one is allowed to violate the meaning of the decree, Your Majesty. If anyone tries to circumvent the law, necessary measures must be taken."

"Then do it this way, Sasha. When you return to Petersburg, ask your father to convene a committee of the permanent members of the Privy Council, and also an expert in Russian grammar."

"Your Majesty, don't you want a French grammarian?"

"How many peasants in our country can understand French? We only need Russian experts!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

And he had a tendency to do Bernard's work as well.

Then Paul was a little impatient. It was still morning, earlier than working hours, and he came out to gather these civil servants and secretaries. They all came in a hurry from their respective residences the night before. You have to know that during the Queen's time, there was no such amazing move when she went to inspect anywhere. She just summoned officials and local gentry all day long, and issued one oral order after another.
Even bystanders felt that she was a little too eager for quick success, but it was no wonder. The empress's path to the throne was actually a bit similar to that of the empress of the Tang Dynasty, both of whom squeezed out their sons' positions.

It's not surprising that Paul is impatient.

Now he dismissed the officials, even sent little Prince Saltykov to draw up the papers, and prepared to go and take a look at the garden.

"You officers on duty, go and prepare the horses first. Solovyov, Karpov, you two follow me."

Since they said we needed to "prepare the horses", I think we needed to go out on horseback to patrol the territory. Paul was a very impatient man. He felt that the officials in Gatchina were relatively loyal, but that might not be the case in some neighboring places.

But the reason why they were asked to follow was probably because Karpov was good at swordsmanship, and Solovyov could wield two pistols and shoot at will, and his brain was much smarter than the average officer who could only say "Ura".

But when he entered the garden, he went straight to his daughter-in-law.

If Paul were an ordinary wealthy man, he would definitely be a good head of the family.

"Louisa, you are becoming more and more radiant. This is good. You should move more. If it is not convenient, you can ask the servants to carry you out to relax."

Paul even called the Crown Princess by her real name, which shows that this "biased father-in-law" is indeed not much different from ordinary parents-in-law, even if this is a royal family.

"Whether it's a boy or a girl, it's a good thing. Don't worry too much."

This daughter-in-law is even more likable when she is pitiful. Alexander just happened to hit the mark this time, and there was no need for the maid to explain that "God is omnipotent."

Alexander was not in the garden, but went to the legion with Constantine. This was a task arranged by Paul. When the Tsar summoned the civil servants, they also had to take responsibility.

Paul had recently been dissatisfied with Constantine's ridiculous behavior, so he pulled him into the army so that his second daughter-in-law could have a few days of peace and quiet - of course, he also hoped that this kid would learn from his brother as soon as possible.

In his personal life, he still pays great attention to his family, but no matter how you look at it, the Russian stage is too big for him.

You know, feudal serfdom existed prevalently in Europe, and even Russia had this decree earlier than the German states, but it got up early and arrived late.

Paul, accompanied by several grenadier officers on duty and outstanding riders selected from the hussars, rode out of Gatchina and headed for the nearby villages to inspect.

This was not an "incognito visit"; it was entirely the Tsar's own initiative. He suddenly led a few officers, without even taking his personal servants, to visit the nearby villages.

His image, wearing a black Prussian military uniform and holding a cane, was all too familiar to the serfs living near Gatchina.

In the past, when Pugachev revolted, there was a strange thing. Pugachev called himself "Peter III" and said that after overthrowing the empress's rule, he would return the power to "Pavel Pavlovich" and serve him with all his strength. Whether Paul was the crown prince or the tsar, his "headshots" of different ages had long been widely publicized in Russia, so no matter how high or low a person's status was, he roughly knew what his "tsar daddy" looked like.

It was true that she was not good-looking, but it also allowed the serfs to know for the first time that there was an emperor sitting in the palace who cared about them.

As soon as he arrived in the village, he attracted a strong crowd of serfs.

"Come and see, our emperor is here!"

There was a shout at the entrance of the village that today was Sunday, and the three-day decree made it very clear that three days were for work for the master, three days were for work for oneself, and the remaining day belonged to God - in fact, it was a day of rest.

The whole village, men, women, and children came out, and the young officers were frightened. My goodness, our emperor has a bad reputation among the masters in Petersburg. How come when they arrived in the village, these people had never seen the Tsar himself, at best they could see his portrait in the master's house, but when they saw the real person, they recognized him very well and shouted "Ura".

This is a big village with several hundred people. As a result, every household told each other that the climate near St. Petersburg is still relatively warm and the frost had already thawed. Some people did not wear shoes and just wrapped their feet and went out.

Before Paul could ask about the situation in the village, the villagers had already brought out bread and salt.

Except on the windowsill of the Winter Palace, the Tsar had not yet seen so many people crowded below. Moreover, unlike usual, he only brought a few followers today, and there were no guards blocking him.

"Your Majesty, I didn't expect you to come to our village of Bolshevo. All the men, women and children in the village, a total of 404 people, are here."

Note: This data is taken from the census during the reign of Emperor Nicholas I
Others were just shouting "Ura" there, except for a few older people who looked like they had served in the army before. They came over and reported to Paul.

"Your village is not small. Which family is your master?"

"To answer your Majesty's question, it is Prince Wittgenstein's home. There is also a sawmill in the village. However, I have never seen the master come here, but your Majesty is here."

It's a good thing that he has never been here. If their master cared less, he might not even bother to take care of the sale and leasing of serfs. On the contrary, it would be easier for the serfs. It has to be said that this is a kind of black humor.

"Ah, that's quite a coincidence. I listened to the report of the civil servants in Gatchina this morning and wanted to come down to take a look, so I came to your village. You look like a veteran. What's your name and surname? How many people are there in your family? Which regiment did you serve in before?"

The old man didn't expect that their emperor was concerned about his family, and he burst into tears, which was a spontaneous traditional Russian art.

The serfs were simple-minded. They had rebelled in the past, resisted taxes and hoped to have a good emperor. They would thank God if they could collect less taxes. But they did not expect that the current Tsar would come with a few followers and directly pass by the main road north of the village to inspect.

"In reply to the emperor, my last name is Smirnov, Ivan Ivanovich. This last name was given to me by my superiors when I was serving the empress. At that time, I served in the Ingria Regiment. When I fought against the Turks, I made three contributions and received three rewards. Before I joined the army, I married my wife and had two sons. My sons also married wives and they have children. If I fight those Turkish barbarians again, I will lose an arm, but I can still provide a few good soldiers for the emperor."

His two sons and several grandsons were standing behind the old man. They had strong backs and strong muscles and looked like good laborers.

"I say, old soldier, your children and grandchildren are all good men. What if your master is reluctant to let them go?"

Paul still knew a little about the situation. When recruiting soldiers, these landlords always hid their best laborers. As soon as he came to power, he started to compete with these nobles in a battle of wits and courage.

It was a daily occurrence that good soldiers could not be found during conscription, and the conscripted serfs were misappropriated by their masters.

"As long as the Emperor and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince need us, we will go even if they don't allow us to!"

In fact, sneaking up to join the army is a Russian tradition and you have to try it. There are even women who dress up as men to join the army.

Paul was moved by his words. In St. Petersburg, he could only hear some truth from his confidants, but he heard more flattery. This time, he walked into a random village and found that these serfs were at the bottom of Russian society, but they were simple and strong, and they spoke the truth.

Among Paul's new policies, the one that benefited them the most was definitely the "Three Days' Decree". Secondly, when the army passed by, the services provided by the village were no longer free of charge. Everyone who provided services to the army's officers, soldiers and horses had to receive an additional 15 kopecks in addition to the prescribed remuneration.

Another key point was the abolition of the old grain tax law, which was a disaster for serfs, and the adoption of a more relaxed new law, which also exempted the head tax of nearly 700 million rubles.

Based on these three points, as well as salt and bread, the imperial edict was to stabilize the market, lower prices, and give the serfs a break.

Paul was also invited to the home of this old soldier. In addition to bread and salt, they also served a piece of roasted venison. However, the meat was seasoned with too many ingredients. It was because the price of salt was forcibly lowered by the Tsar himself that cooks were willing to add salt.

This Tsar was probably the first Tsar after Peter the Great who could sit in an ordinary peasant's home like this. However, he lacked courage. His policy guidelines were correct, but he lacked tact.

Looking at these enthusiastic serfs, he was so moved that he almost shed tears and took out a handkerchief to wipe his eyes.

"You are all my good people, but there are many villages like yours in Russia. I can't visit them one by one. Solovyov, you take notes!"

Solovyov had been offline for a long time, standing behind the Tsar. He didn't expect that he had something to do here. He didn't bring his secretary with him, so he was the one taking notes.

Who made you recognize so many words and write so fast?
"Today I went to the village of Bolshevo. The villagers are simple and honest, loyal to the emperor and patriotic. They will be exempted from state taxes for two years!"

Anyway, if the "master offline system" of Prince Wittgenstein's family really dares to collect more than the limit of the master's own miscellaneous taxes? This place is also close to Gatchina. Find a priest to recite a "forbidden spell". No, write a petition. The master is afraid that he will really go offline in Russia.

Paul will go to several cities and villages near Moscow next. This time he visited the villages. In the past, those who came to see the Russian Tsar were all local lords. Now when Paul came, there was a circle of lords inside and two circles of serfs and citizens outside.

He was still a tsar after all. In the letter that Kostroma wrote to Queen Maria, he mentioned: "Serfs can be given freedom, but they cannot be allowed to exist as a political class. If they make their voices heard, the final result will be the fall of the crown." From what he said in the past, it can be seen that this tsar was definitely underestimated.

Being able to think of this made him better than many European monarchs at that time.

He personally opened and read all the petitions: in 1797, he received 3229 petitions, responded to 854 in writing, and responded to 1793 orally by his secretary. Some of them were also published in full in newspapers in St. Petersburg and Moscow after being approved by the Tsar himself.

It is no wonder that the Russian nobles at that time and the later populists hated him to death, while the serfs, citizens and reformers loved him from the bottom of their hearts.

Even in the Decembrist Manifesto, there were praises for his promotion of reforms.

(End of this chapter)