Chapter 66 016 Grand Duke Constantine's old habits cannot be changed

Chapter 66 016 Grand Duke Constantine's old habits cannot be changed
Sylvia's home had quite a few collections. In addition to staying overnight, Solovyov also viewed some of her collections.

Even in the home of such an ordinary lord, one can see quite a few works of art. Some are imitations of works by famous painters. It is not surprising that there are imitations of works by Botticelli, Titian, Caracciolo and others. Some of the paintings are relatively old, and during the restoration process, those skilled painters also have some tricks.

"Is this a knockoff? I have to say, it's quite interesting. Italians really like to tell ancient pagan myths in paintings!"

"This is our Italian history. Look at me, I am different from you. You, a 'barbarian', actually like to take a bath so much."

"Why? I live on Admiralty Island in the Admiralty District. My place is called Laundry Lane because there are bathhouses and washhouses nearby. In front of it are the residences of nobles and the Russian American Company, which provides furs from America, especially the precious sea otter skins."

"Can you help me get some sea otter skin?"

"It's just a little thing, it's a little expensive, like the silk clothes you wear."

After Solovyov and Silvia had conducted military exercises, they were still very intimate. The silk underwear worn by this Italian girl was made of very fine materials. It should be high-end European materials produced in Como and other places in Italy.

"It feels so good, and you're as beautiful as a Bernini statue."

"My hands and feet haven't turned into laurel trees, don't say that!"

"But I am not Apollo. Mortals are never compared with gods. In polytheism, a person is considered a god only after he has made immortal contributions. It's like the church canonizing some martyrs."

"If it were someone else, they might not be so humble. I met General Bonaparte in Milan. When he spoke, he had the accent of the island of Corsica. This general was not humble at all."

"He has the capital to be proud of. After all, people like General Bonaparte who have achieved great things are still qualified to be proud. He went to Egypt, perhaps to imitate Alexander, but sometimes we have to consider the course of history."

"That's right, and his wife seems to be taller than him, although that's because the general's head is relatively broad."

Considering that General Bonaparte later became Emperor Napoleon, and had the image of a fat Italian man with a big head, thick neck, and a little belly, it is not difficult to understand that, in fact, the work of beautifying his portrait and photo retouching, without the technology of Madame Le Brun, was actually a considerable amount of work to depict his early image.

"Is this what he looks like?"

"Well, he is still very handsome, but I am not optimistic about his future image. After all, he is only 30 years old this year. I also met his brother Louis. All of us unmarried girls were introduced to the young men around General Bonaparte. There are many arrogant and ignorant fanatics among them. Although Louis is a bit gloomy, I have a good impression of him."

"Oh? And what about General Bonaparte's wife?"

"She is a widow, but she is well-maintained. She is from the West Indies, but it is not the same island as the one you asked about when you captured the French soldiers. Michele, didn't you say that your stepmother is from Guadeloupe? The wife of General Bonaparte is from Martinique, but her salon only allows married ladies to go. I don't know the details."

"Okay, let's not talk about these things anymore. I think we should get ready for bed."

The next day, Solovyov left Silvia's house and rode his Austrian white horse back to his residence in Milan.

The Russian headquarters was still in Milan, but Suvorov, with a few entourage and General Werosser, went to the Austrian camp in front, followed by the Bagration column. The old marshal received intelligence in the morning that the Czech column, which was advancing in the Austrian army, encountered the French rear guard on the road. In order to eliminate this force, Suvorov decided to go to the front line in person to see it, as the distance was relatively close and he could observe the actions of the French army on the battlefield.

As for the task of welcoming Grand Duke Constantine, he only sent General Rosenberg to Milan.

This impatient Grand Duke led the Guards to Italy and had not fought a battle so far, but the order given to him by Tsar Paul was very clear, that is, to obey the orders of Marshal Suvorov.

He and Crown Prince Alexander respected the old marshal very much. After all, he was invincible wherever he went, and no battle or siege had ever been lost. Constantine came to serve in the front army also to learn from the old marshal.

On a bridge in Milan, Grand Duke Constantine, riding at full speed, saw General Rosenberg and the grenadiers lined up in formation.

"Your Highness, welcome to Milan. The Marshal and the Bagration Column have gone to the Austrian side. General Melas encountered the French army and is now engaged in battle."

"It looks good, General Rosenberg. If we keep going like this, we can defeat the French very quickly."

"Yes, Your Highness. But now our troops have been marching and fighting for half a month, and the brothers are very tired. Especially the Guards troops led by you, who have been on the road all the time and are very tired."

"I know, but we didn't come to Milan to rest, but to fight!"

Grand Duke Constantine's problem was probably that he was too impatient. Although he was a little impatient when he heard Suvorov's order, he had to obey his father's order. Even if he was a dragon, he had to coil up, and even if he was a tiger, he had to lie down.

But when he comes to the front, his wife can relax a little. After all, this guy sometimes does things that are a bit too wild. The princess of Saxony has been living in fear all day since she married here. During this time, she can have a good time with her sister-in-law and several sisters-in-law.

Speaking of which, Solovyov's current impression of this prince is not very good. He is brave and resolute, and as a soldier he is a good guy, but as a man, this performance is indeed far from mature.

Look at Alexander's performance. Although they are brothers, there is still a big gap between them.

"Ah, Solovyov, why aren't you with Alexander Vasilyevich? The Jaegers are the guards assigned to His Excellency the Marshal by the Emperor, but you are in Milan now!"

"Your Highness, you must know that soldiers must obey orders. His Excellency the Marshal wants me to follow the Moscow Grenadiers, not just to serve as his guard. Alexander Vasilyevich understands the performance of new weapons, and he thinks it is a waste to keep the Jager Company as a guard!"

After listening to this, Konstantin did not say anything, but asked Solovyov's old partner, Major von Bystrom, to come over. According to the order of the Field Marshal himself, the Guards Jager Battalion, Solovyov's company, and two scattered Jager companies formed a joint regiment.

The combat effectiveness of this small regiment is also considerable. On the way, sparks flew while they were fixing screws at the Tula Arsenal, and only then were they able to fully equip the Guards Jager Battalion with equipment.

However, as the designer of this weapon, Solovyov had no idea about its performance.

Russia's military industry was still somewhat crude and sloppy in this era.

Of course, Grand Duke Constantine also brought the Unicorn Cannon that was urgently needed in the battle. Tsar Paul had high hopes for the artillery, hoping that these terrible monsters could exert greater power on the battlefield.

However, considering the misfire rate of this era, the grenades they use are more likely to become solid bullets.

"Your Highness, there is one more point. His Excellency the Marshal wants us to pay attention to the movements of the Austrian friendly forces nearby while we are stationed in Milan." Rosenberg was telling the truth. The subsequent Austrian columns fell behind a lot during the march, but the situation of the Russian army's advance from Verona to Milan was not so serious.

Constantine still wanted to fight, but he had to obey orders when he first arrived.

At this time, Bagration's column had assisted the Austrian army in blocking the Sérurier Division. After a brief resistance, the French laid down their arms after negotiations, and more than 4000 French soldiers were disarmed.

But Moreau escaped again. This time he had gathered 3 men. It was not so easy to destroy him this time. On the contrary, the Russian army sent General Bellegarde of Austria to the Alps to observe Massena's movements. The troops led by Kray advanced towards the Mantua Fortress, which was surrounded by water on three sides. It was impossible to hide inside and run away, but some troops had to be sent to block the gate.

As the battle continued, Suvorov's choice was to continue westward to try to expel Moreau's troops, allowing him to move further and further away from MacDonald who might return from southern Italy during strategic maneuvers.

"Your Excellency Marshal, Moro's army is now like a fox in a hunting ground. We only need to send out the hounds to catch his army. Why do you choose to just drive him away?"

"General Melas, our troops are now beginning to disperse. We encountered the same problem in the Italian campaign of 1796 and the French army we faced before. You should also realize that once the troops are divided, there is a danger of being defeated one by one. Therefore, I have placed the recent reinforcements, the Guards led by Grand Duke Constantine and the newly arrived cavalry, in Milan, so that we can protect our core areas."

"What about the subsequent transfers?"

"If Moruo is unwilling to come back and bite us, we can teach him a lesson. If he retreats like he is doing now, that is what we would like to see. A fox cornered will not only use its brain to save its life, but will also turn around and bite back!"

Instead, he used the metaphor of Melas. The two veterans, who were 140 years old in total, were very old but still quite patient and ready to have a good talk with Moreau.

As for Grand Duke Constantine, he was eager to make achievements, and he must have been dissatisfied with coming to Milan only to be kept in the city.

In this case, hunting activities should be arranged for him.

Solovyov was always considered to be a good shooter, so he followed Konstantin to hunt.

The hunting target is the deer in the nearby mountains.

This time Solovyov did not dare to delay, so he prepared horses and set off with the Grand Duke.

His impatience could not be corrected in a short time, and he might get into some trouble before he was able to curb this bad temper.

Anyway, although Solovyov heard from the tea parties of the grand duchesses that the second brother was very good to them, but not so good to his sister-in-law, and that he had no lover outside so far, but instead worked out every day to keep fit, he sounded like a character in the Water Margin.

Sometimes, Solovyov felt that there was something wrong with his translation.

He also brought a set of manuscripts with him, and started some translation work in his spare time.

This is always more valuable than hunting deer all day long. He has always been helpless about the hunting habits of European lords.

Sylvia also saw the group of people coming and saw that the young captain was still here.

"Michele, why are you here?"

"His Highness Constantine has come here. He is our noble Grand Duke of Russia, the commander of the Guards, and a brave warrior. But since he has no war to fight, he is leading his men to hunt deer on the hillside."

"This is not a good thing. My ancestors almost lost the Duchy of Milan because they only knew how to hunt. But that happened more than four hundred years ago. You should dissuade His Highness by using this example."

"You don't know, Sylvia, he has such a bad temper that he won't change his ways unless he gets some setback."

"Is this the Grand Duke who 'follows the Russian traditions' you told me about?"

She really couldn't hide it from him. This girl was quite clever. "Russian tradition" was a joking term used by Solovyov. Now that Konstantin had such a bad temper, she guessed it.

Solovyov just nodded. After all, it was not okay to speak publicly.

Constantine was actually granted the title and authority of heir by Paul, but the order was still strictly after Alexander and his male legitimate heirs - but because Louisa gave birth to a girl, it did not have any impact.

Moreover, he himself had no idea about the throne and was only loyal to his brother and the chosen heir.

What Grand Duke Constantine needs to change is his bad temper. The unfortunate princess of Saxony who beats his wife at home every day always wants to run back to her parents' home in Saxony after being treated roughly by him. This strange relationship between husband and wife would be a royal scandal if it were to be spread.

"It seems that Russia also has nobles who can cause trouble just like those French people!"

Sylvia's good impression of Russian aristocrats was probably due to the fact that these officers at the Milan ball were generally polite.

But Constantine's appearance, merely stating the facts, could be said to have ruined half the impression.

"Yes, you will understand in the future that Russia is a magical place. However, I will not stay here for too long, Sylvia. I will follow the Guards to chase the French. If we can meet again, this cross is for you. I also wish you good luck and hope you can find your happiness in the future."

"Michele, you are really nice."

The girl was wiping her tears like this on the horse, and she also knew that Solovyov would most likely never return to Italy.

"This snuff bottle is for you. I hope you can think of me when you need it."

"Ah, this is your family logo. Of course I won't forget you. If there is a chance to travel to Italy, maybe we can meet again."

(End of this chapter)