Chapter 65 015 Women love to change their minds, feathers blowing in the wind
Chapter 65 Women love to change their minds, feathers blowing in the wind
This ball was originally just a social event. Solovyov didn't understand what this lady from the Visconti branch, whose full name was even longer than that of a Russian, so he could just call her Sylvia, wanted to do.
When dancing, you can feel that she is too close, and she looks very slim, but it's a bit interesting! The other party is just a girl of sixteen or seventeen, who has just started to talk about marriage in this era. However, although her figure is smaller than that of the cake queen's daughter, she is still equally spectacular because she is shorter.
As for this soft brown hair, I can't help but want to touch it once it gets comfortable.
"Sylvia, you dance really well. I think you must practice a lot, right?"
"When the French were here, there were always balls, but at that time, those French officers..."
"What's wrong with the French officer? Don't be so hesitant. You've aroused my curiosity."
"They are like a herd of fighting bulls. Have you ever been to Spain?"
"I haven't been to Spain. I guess you mean 'bullfighting'? I saw an introduction to Spanish customs in the library. Are the bulls angry because of the shaking red cloth?"
"I think that's it."
"No, Sylvia, I think they are more like fighting cocks. In ancient times, that part of France was the territory of the Gauls, and this is 'Southern Gaul'. No wonder they always want to come and 'visit relatives'."
"If you put it that way, then they are more like fighting cocks, always there to pick quarrels, and duels in the streets are commonplace. Our Italian men love duels enough, and they are more aggressive. There are men in the streets every week with pistols or rapiers, just like that."
When she said this, she stopped dancing, and the two of them moved to the edge of the dance floor. The lady from the Visconti branch made a fencing gesture with her left hand.
Although this girl is only a little over 1 meters tall, her movements are very standard.
"Sylvia, you seem to have practiced before, as can be seen from this starting position."
"Yes, in addition to dancing, I also practice horse riding and fencing, and I can also shoot. To be honest, those noisy 'Gallic cockfighting' are always inaccurate. How about you? You are wearing a hunter's uniform, so you should be able to shoot very accurately?"
In response to Sylvia's speech, Solovyov could make one point: although his fencing skills were only above average, he was still capable with a gun.
"That's natural, but it's all fed with bullets. If a hunter wants to shoot accurately, he needs to do more shooting training."
This is a basic principle that even the Cupids decorating statues should know.
However, he did not brag about his performance on the battlefield. Sometimes secrets had to be kept, especially since this was an area previously occupied by the French. It was still unknown whether the girl herself or her family members were pro-French or pro-Austrian, or whether they supported the independence of Italy or the Grand Duchy of Milan.
"Come to think of it, you seem to hold the gun with your left hand?"
"No, I dual wield weapons, both in my dominant hand."
"No wonder, your hands are really coordinated. My master only uses weapons with his left hand."
She is also left-handed, and the girl's eyes are now rolling around. I don't know what she is going to do.
Solovyov was not seduced by the "little goblin", but he learned from her how to deal with the "fainting" of noble ladies. The important thing is to see when the man takes action.
Pay attention to the girl's eyes. Fortunately, she didn't do that. She just sat down and asked for lemonade.
"This dance party lasted too long. Do those Austrians like waltzing so much?"
"After all, it's a kind of dance for country folk, so they naturally like it more, and it's also freer, what do you think, Misha?"
Come to think of it, it is true.
"I think so. We came here to make the French go back to their homes, not like these Austrians."
Of course, he couldn't show contempt.
The party was gradually ending and Sylvia was going home. As a dance partner, Solovyov had to take her there.
According to her, her father was working for relatives in Spain and was not at home in Milan.
In this situation, if it were the French guys whose hormones were dominant, they might have some ideas, but they would not be like Solovyov who noticed that this girl had practiced.
Especially when holding her little hand, it was not like the one he had seen with the Crown Princess and several Grand Duchesses in the palace before. If he had only practiced dancing, it would not have been so powerful.
She has received combat training and is probably a veteran.
The next day, the Russian headquarters was still in Milan and did not take any further action.
Now that the Jaeger Company was assigned to the Moscow Grenadiers, Solovyov had more freedom. When he visited the streets of Milan in 1799, he felt that Italian cities were relatively clean and tidy. Although the "Little Goblin" said that the embassy district in Naples was very clean, the city area was very bad.
It seems that in some places in Italy, poor garbage disposal is a tradition that is as old as the great Italian left-back.
But this is much better than the urban area of Paris. At least when the French and Allied forces were stationed on the streets, there were people to clean up the garbage and maintain the city appearance.
Of course, when he walked in front of a cathedral, he also saw a cavalry officer in red passing by.
This is Komarovsky, the adjutant of Grand Duke Constantine. His arrival here means that Grand Duke Constantine should be arriving soon.
In other words, the subsequent Guards will also arrive at the Italian battlefield, and the Russian army's strength will be further strengthened.
But Grand Duke Constantine has always been rather reckless.
"Misha, what are you doing there?"
"Good morning, Sylvia, what are you doing here?"
"I would like to invite you to a salon for the Allied officers stationed here. Of course, I also know that you will be chasing the French soon."
Although this girl's words were roundabout, her meaning was very straightforward. After all, the Russian army was going to leave, and she wanted to do this, so it was obvious that she had some ideas.
Yesterday Solovyov was worried about what she would do, but nothing happened, so he let down his guard.
The girl held a folding fan in her hand, which she held against the side of the carriage, and invited Solovyov to come up. She was very proud of herself, and it seemed that the young captain had taken the bait. As long as she played a little trick in the salon, he would have to show his gentlemanly manners and send her home again. This was better done quickly, because the young captain might never come back again.
Solovyov had not thought of this, but after hearing the stories of Prince Potemkin and his nieces in St. Petersburg, he felt that nothing was surprising in these European countries, especially in Russia, France, Spain and Italy, so he was mentally prepared.
The salons were mainly populated by young officers, especially those Austrian cavalrymen who liked to brag about themselves. It was difficult for them to get promoted because there were too many old men in Austria. It might take only 30 years to be promoted to captain, so they had to show off more in social occasions.
But these guys, Solovyov recognized them at a glance, were the Austrian cavalry in Melas's marching column. Although General Melas himself was still very capable and Marshal Suvorov respected him very much, most of the previous battles were carried out by General Krei, the 64-year-old old comrade, and his old officers. So far, they have not had any chance to show their abilities.
Solovyov found it funny to brag about his achievements here.
But he didn't want to say anything. There were not many Russian officers present. It seemed that the officers invited by the local women were mainly Austrians.
"What do you think, Sylvia? Just these Austrians?"
"If they were really so powerful, how could they be driven away by the French? When the French held a salon here, they boasted even more. No, I feel a little unwell. Please take me home."
Well, the disguise was so conspicuous that Solovyov really thought she was suffering from periodic pain, so he helped her out and went back to her residence.
What she didn't notice at night was that her home was halfway up the mountain and there was a castle.
It is one of the castles still owned by the Visconti family, and they even have people guarding it.
Although the girl's father was just an ordinary lord, the family business was quite large. In her house, you could see shields, armor, and the iconic emblem of the Milanese Visconti family.
But don't confuse them with the Visconti of Sardinia and Pisa, whose family symbol is a black rooster.
Whenever he saw this logo, Solovyov always thought of the ancient Greek god of medicine. Because he saved so many people, Hades, the god of the underworld, saw a significant drop in business. So he asked his brother to kill the doctor with thunder, and then Zeus regretted it. This was a problem caused by the conflict between the funeral department and the health department, but Hades obviously didn't know that people will always die, and his total business volume will increase with the population, and he will usher in a wave of dividends in the future.
If Sylvia knew what he was thinking, she would probably laugh until her stomach hurt. She was still pretending to be unwell, and at this point, she took the opportunity to wink at the servant.
This tactic of "closing the door to fight the wolf" does have some meaning. In the future on the battlefield, no one will ever be able to catch Solovyov, so she has already succeeded.
As for when she was helped to the bed, Sylvia's acting skills were pretty good, she just pretended to faint.
Solovyov did not panic. He first felt Sylvia's pulse, then checked her breathing and neck condition.
Everything was normal and there was nothing wrong with it, but when he was about to shake her arm, Sylvia suddenly grabbed his wrist, which caught him off guard.
I was careless and didn't dodge, so I was caught by this girl.
"Sylvia, what do you want to do?"
"You know, it's not easy to lure a young and honest officer back, Michele. I'm not going to give you to the French."
Michele is the Italian way of writing his name. The girl lost her well-behaved look and revealed an expression like a native Roman she-wolf. I wonder if she saw Solovyov and felt the scent of the same kind.
"Sylvia, I think you should, hey, do you want the grenadiers to attack the city wall directly?"
What he said was very clear. The grenadiers' attack on the city wall was just like the cavalry's direct attack on the phalanx, both of which were hard tactics.
"It's the grenadiers attacking the city wall. If it were you, it would be the hussars directly attacking the square. Don't worry, I think you don't have much experience in this. It's my first time too. Both of us are rookies in this area and don't have much experience. You have to 'cover' me well!"
Apart from feigning illness, this girl was very much to his liking in other aspects, and even had a deep understanding of military theory, but she used it in the wrong place. It was a pity that she was just a passing visitor in Italy, and they were destined not to be together.
From the perspective of conscription, Sylvia is also a good soldier, but she is a little short. According to French standards, she is a "vaulter", the most powerful group of French light infantry. Although she is not tall, she is generally about 1 meters tall. She can jump up and pull the cavalry off the horse. She is the king among the skirmishers except for the guards. These short soldiers sometimes like to complain about the "complainers" of the Guards, who have a lot of strength but can't use it.
This girl was considered a queen among the hunters, and she even kissed him.
She must have used a perfume with a scent similar to that of Italian daisies. She must be a clean girl in normal times. A kiss like this is really powerful.
It has come to this. On the battlefield, since we are advancing in the middle, we must cover the flanks of our comrades.
But they were both new recruits, and they were even more nervous than when they were on the battlefield with real guns and swords.
But relying on the "Crazy Horse Effect", the cavalry was still able to break through the hollow square formation. In fact, Solovyov was very clear about this. Some cavalrymen had talked about this experience in the military academy textbooks, but he never thought that this experience could not be used on the battlefield.
In terms of the current battle situation, he has achieved the results of the Hussars against the French army in Prince Bagration's post-war summary of the Battle of Shengraben. You should know that there is an animation in which a dragon will spit fire when it hears the name of daisy. This era is also quite old.
"You little rascal Sylvia, I was worried yesterday that you would do the same thing as today, but I didn't expect you to just fake it."
"I have read a lot of books. I have read Frontinus's Art of War and Strategy in the original Latin version. To deal with a guy like you, you have to use some strategies. Otherwise, you can't be fooled by ordinary methods."
"Yes, a girl told me in a salon in Petersburg how to prevent other girls from fainting suddenly."
"I know you are the disciple of that short old man, the most powerful commander in Russia. Would anyone say that an officer is missing? There is a medal pattern on your sword. It is a big deal for a meritorious commander to suddenly disappear."
"Don't worry, as long as we go back before the march, everything will be fine. I've just left the headquarters, and the company has received an order to wait here for follow-up reinforcements. After all, I used to be stationed in Petersburg, and the reinforcements are the Guards from Petersburg. What do you think?"
"I'll go with you! I happen to have a set of Hungarian hussar uniforms, so I'll pretend to be a lost cavalry returning to the troop, what do you think? This way, even if we can't be together in the future, I can still keep you company for a while."
Solovyov looked at Sylvia, his mind filled with the love story of the "female cavalryman", but in the end he politely declined her request to join the army.
"Your figure is hard to hide even with some restraint. The front of a hussar's coat is quite wide, so you can try it yourself. It doesn't matter if I take you there. If some reckless hussar wants to talk to you about 'brotherly friendship', just pat him on the shoulder and you'll know. Besides, you don't speak a word of Russian, how can I help you hide it?"
The biggest problem was that Sylvia didn't speak Russian.
"Michele, then"
"I will keep in touch with you. If you want to find me, you can write to No. 4, Laundry Lane, Petersburg, in the Admiralty District. This is the Russian address. I saw your house number when I came in."
"You are really good at scouting, Michele. It would be much better if you were a local noble instead of coming from far away Russia."
This woman really fits the original words in Puccini's pattern:
La donnaè mobile qual piuma al vento, muta d'accento e di pensiero.
What do you think of this Alfa Romeo?
(End of this chapter)