Chapter 49 The Austrians always have some tricks on the battlefield

Chapter 49 The Austrians always have some tricks on the battlefield

Chapter 49 049 The Austrians always have some tricks on the battlefield
While no major action was taken by any other country, the British were constantly at war with France, and it would not be surprising if their fleet were victorious anywhere.

If the French army had been like Prussia, which was accustomed to tearing up peace treaties, it would have launched a "defensive attack" against Austria by now.

But they were all respectable people, and they would not be like Frederick, who attacked Silesia and Bohemia in the same way.

Solovyov just couldn't understand why Frederick was so admired.

He has not left Marshal Konchanskoye Suvorov's estate yet, and the Jaegers took this opportunity to have a "holiday" around the estate. Except for assembling in formation these days, they are free under the old marshal's nose.

"This practice may come from the characteristics of our nobles. Misha, don't you also think France is great?"

"But I've never been abroad, and the farthest I've been is Petersburg."

"You are still young and there is still time. Perhaps this time, the Emperor will really participate in the war against France."

The old marshal's life in his own yard was much simpler than that of some other veterans. Even his sweet wine was not something too high-end, except for two glasses of champagne on special occasions.

"Remember, the Russian army should always act according to our own characteristics, not copy the Prussians. Perhaps the emperor has seen these problems, but he should not use such a violent method to offend so many people. He has many favorites, and he can use them to do it. The emperor himself should be the little father of the Russian people, not to deal with all problems personally. He is only loved by the people, but there are many people who hate him to the core."

"Why don't you use metaphors?"

"Look at this stretch of road. It's already very strenuous for me to walk this dirt road with a cane in hand. If you hadn't supported me, I wouldn't have the energy to talk to you. After all, I'm already very old. When you came to me, I was sick, and I've only gotten better in the past two days."

It can be seen that the old marshal has always been very strong. As soon as he recovered a little, he forced himself to follow his usual schedule. Because they were in the yard, he only asked Solovyov and Sergeant Sergeyev to accompany him, and everyone else was doing their own things. Even the most loyal old servant was asked to rest for a while.

"Yes, but the Russian army still needs your experience. If the French continue to move eastward and defeat Austria, it will soon be our and Prussia's turn."

"That's because France has changed so radically that the roofs would have been blown off the houses."

The impact of the picture is there. In fact, essentially speaking, Russia should not intervene too much in European affairs. Not only are there no core interests for Russia there, but it will also arouse high vigilance from other countries.

Going east is not wise either. Just look at the round trip distance to Siberia. Moreover, although one of the two heads of the double-headed eagle is facing east, that is not the east.

"That's right, Misha. You have a clear mind, but if the young eagle wants to learn to fly, it needs to struggle more and grow its wings fully before it can take off. Look over there, there is a nest of kestrels. Now is the time for them to take off."

He pointed his cane at the crown of an old tree. Solovyov knew that the old marshal's eyesight was not that clear. He just walked around the manor more often and was very clear about where the birds were.

"It's the Red Falcon. You probably didn't see it clearly."

"Yes, sometimes you have to listen, not only to the birds singing, but also to what others say, just like on the battlefield."

"But some of these lackeys are really annoying. Their alliance with Austria and Prussia is deplorable. I have always believed, and I can say it casually here, that the Prussian monarchs are all powerful on the outside but weak on the inside, and they are greedy for small profits. Even Frederick the Great is the same. If not..."

"I understand what you mean, but many of them are things of the past. It's the same with Austria, Britain and France. It's the same with all countries, sometimes including Russia. What I worry about most is not that our opponents are always changing, but that the flag of Petersburg is swaying with the wind."

This worry is indeed not without reason. Paul often acts on impulse, and compared with his practices at home, his diplomacy is extremely stupid.

Of course, there are always all kinds of stupid behavior among European countries. Vienna's plan is to use the Russian army to enter Europe to help them recover their land in northern Italy and southern Germany; the main purpose of the British is to grab benefits overseas, especially the overseas colonies of France and the Netherlands, and to plunder Spanish treasure ships. The loot in the Atlantic alone is worth millions or even tens of millions of pounds.
At this time in the world, which country is not harboring ulterior motives? Paul's own actions were somewhat impulsive, which could easily lead others astray.

While the Russian army was still on the way, Austria first sent Mark to Naples. Before that, the French army had entered Rome and established the Roman Republic. The republics were established in northern Italy and Switzerland in the same way.

Although most of the tens of thousands of troops now recruited by Naples are new recruits, the main strength of the French army is still in the Po River Plain, where the defense against Rome is relatively empty.

It was relatively easy to succeed at this time. The French army in Malta had now begun to encounter resistance from the locals, and was also blockaded by the British and Portuguese fleets.

The French Navy itself had only one battleship left that could sail in the Mediterranean, which actually gave these small Mediterranean countries great confidence. In addition to the British army, Admiral Ushakov's fleet soon arrived at Corfu. After the marines on the ship landed on the island, they disarmed the local French troops.

The speed at which the news returned to St. Petersburg might be even slower. The troops had already set out one after another, and even some Guards troops had been dispatched.

The current organizational reform of the Russian army is fine, but Paul also brought an additional set of reforms, which is to call the regiment after the name of the regiment leader. Even the Putin Regiment and the Semyonovsky Regiment were renamed "His Majesty the Emperor's Guards Regiment" and "Crown Prince Alexander Pavlovich's Guards Regiment", just like paperless office or online office has suddenly increased the workload.

But what Paul did was just to change the name and the system. He didn't squeeze you dry. In addition to the strict regulations and disciplines, at least the salary increase was unambiguous. The serfs' wages could not be delayed! Moreover, those who died, were disabled, and retired after serving for a long time were all guaranteed. Some soldiers could be promoted to officers because of their bravery.

After hearing this, the Russian soldiers always felt very powerful. If a serf soldier was lucky, he might be able to change his own or his entire family's fate in an instant.

Tsar Paul in St. Petersburg was reading the report on the Guards Jager Battalion's training in Novgorod. The soldiers performed very well and received strong support in the local village activities. Major von Bystrom learned a trick from Solovyov, which was to write in the report that the villages along the way supported the Tsar's new policies. In addition, the army's discipline was also guaranteed.

Anyway, what is reflected in the report is always in accordance with the traditional skills of the Russian court, and it must make the emperor himself happy.

It is always like this in Russia, but Paul's focus today was on the letters from Austria, so Major von Bystrom did not receive any commendation. However, in his reply, he also affirmed the effectiveness of the "training" of the Guards Jager Battalion.

What is important is that von Bystrom's reply also included Suvorov's opinion that if we want to fight the French, we should pay attention to their light infantry. But they didn't say anything unpleasant.

Solovyov heard some unpleasant words from the old marshal, such as "an army without its entourage and staff is like a roe deer." He could understand the unpleasantness of these words, because there are roe deer in Russia, and they are distributed very widely. They can be seen in at least one-third of the Russian territory.

And Suvorov's speech was like opening a zoo.

Crown Prince Alexander is now planning to build an aquarium to please his wife, and they are in the reading room.

"If you really want to do this, Your Highness, it will cost a lot."

"Liza, my dear Louisa, you must know, you must know that a garden or a fountain would be of little value as a memorial to our daughter, and to us."

This guy is like this, when he really wants to put in the effort to be with a woman, he immediately puts honey on his mouth.

"It's too common to have a zoo. That's why there's an aquarium with all kinds of rare animals sent to us. Every time a child is born, we expand a part of it as a memorial. Don't you like these stories very much?"

He was now trying his best to please his wife, holding the encyclopedia in one hand and hugging Louisa with the other. The colors of the pictures of marine mammals were made more vivid by the sunlight coming in through the window.

The couple's common hobby now may still be reading books here, and they still need to create topics in other places.

"And what shall you do to our daughter, Evdokya, our little Tonya?"

Speaking of which, Alexander's Russian is not necessarily as good as his wife's.

"What do you think of dolphins? Our aquarium covers a wide range. Even if we put captured dolphins here, there is still plenty of space."

"That's fine too."

It’s a bit ironic that the water area created by the crown prince may be too wide for an aquarium.

Compared with modern aquarium facilities, booking such a large area of ​​water is indeed a shocking move. I just don’t know how much it will cost in the future.

Proper aquariums did not appear in Britain until after 1850.

It is actually very clear where the idea of ​​this aquarium came from.

After all, the Russian territories in America already have a large reserve of rare animals, especially marine animals. Without considering that place, it is also possible to collect local seafood from many places in Europe and the Black Sea. Of course, this is open to the public, just like circus and theater performances, which always require ticket money.

It may be difficult to collect taxes from the gentlemen in St. Petersburg, but if you ask them to pay admission to such a national zoo or aquarium, they will still take out the rubles in their pockets out of curiosity.

After all, at this time, there are still relatively limited ways to understand the world.

As for Russia, it was at the end of the Age of Discovery, and actually formed an alliance with Britain to contain the European countries and complete their overall strategy.

It is common for Paul to make a 180-degree turn on his original approach. Now Britain, Austria and the Ottoman Empire have all joined, and Russia's statement is mainly a problem of information delay.

While awaiting the final decision, Petersburg lived in the same decadence and extravagance as before.

When Alexander was trying to please his wife, he would not reveal his true thoughts to others.

But Louisa told him a problem that had been bothering the Russian royal family for several years, which was marriage with European countries.

"Alexandra doesn't seem to be very interested in that Archduke Joseph, which is not a good thing."

"You girls are always together, did she ever say that?"

"She has only one more letter than you. It's like you've become a girl, with a bit of mystery and sentimentality at times. This is just Elena and Maria's guess. Your sisters are more clever than each other, and it's as if they have some connection with each other."

"Yes, Elena said so, so there is such a thing. I am not optimistic about Archduke Joseph's words, but according to what you guys said, Archduke Karl is not suitable. Although he is very outstanding, his health is not very good. We learned this from my uncle."

That's right. Queen Maria's maiden family is from Württemberg, and they have even more contacts with the Habsburgs than with Baden. Archduke Karl has mild epilepsy and some other illnesses. This family has an outrageous number of genetic diseases.

An anonymous article submitted to the Academy of Sciences mentioned that the problems that arise when raising livestock in the countryside may be problems that arise from the parent generation.

Although Mendel had not yet existed at that time, people still had a simple understanding of heredity. For example, the Archduchess's blue eyes were very consistent with her parents', which were definitely very different from those of the suspects.

(End of this chapter)