Chapter 71 021 Russian Chameleon is a Tradition

Chapter 71 021 Russian Chameleon is a Tradition

Chapter 71 021 Russian Chameleon is a Tradition

After the victory at Marengo, the Allied forces continued to advance westward and arrived in Turin, the capital of the Piedmont region.

When Suvorov entered the city, he found that there were still a large amount of military supplies in the city. After asking the mayor of Turin and representatives of local nobles, he learned that Moro had withdrawn his troops to the south and deployed defenses in the coastal areas around Genoa because of the continuous uprisings against France in Piedmont and Genoa and the Allied forces nearby.

Up to this point, the fighting after the Russian army entered Italy had come to a temporary end. After battles of all sizes, except for the fortress of Mantua and parts of the south bank of the Po River, the results achieved by General Bonaparte in the Italian campaign had been completely lost.

He himself had returned to Egypt at this time, preparing to deal with the Ottoman army shipped by the British by sea. He also learned about the war situation in Italy from the newspapers provided by the cunning Sidney Smith.

Regardless of whether he should return to France from Egypt, he should do something.

Now Suvorov also stopped temporarily, but his army mainly rested around Turin and was also observing the movements of the French.

What the French needed was MacDonald's army to return to the Po Plain, while the Russian-Austrian coalition was coordinating. Archduke Karl also drove the French Rhine Army and Swiss Army westward in the battlefields of southern Germany and Switzerland. The Second Coalition War against France had already gained a great advantage. Even the British had put the next stage of the joint landing in the Netherlands on the agenda. Their naval advantage was still very effective at this time.

It's rare that the British didn't dig a hole this time and put in a lot of effort, which gave the war against France an unprecedented advantage.

No matter how you look at it, the Directory of the French Republic now looks like a doomed nation.

However, in this case, if nothing unexpected happens, there will be accidents in the future.

Putting aside the war situation in Italy, news from the salons in St. Petersburg has also been coming in about progress.

When the battle report from Brescia came, the salons in St. Petersburg were filled with admiration for Marshal Suvorov and Prince Bagration's heroic fighting, as if there were no such generals and soldiers in the world.

But later, nobles such as Arcole and Basiggnano publicly stated in social occasions that Marshal Suvorov was still old, and although he could win victory after victory, his energy was no longer enough to support so many battles.

This evaluation is much more polite than the one about Kutuzov.

After all, Alexander Vasilyevich was invincible in terms of the final results on the battlefield. The failure of crossing the river at Bassignano was also attributed to General Rosenberg's failure to launch the attack as ordered, while also lamenting the bravery of Grand Duke Constantine.

"The Archduke kicked the Italian spy hired by the French into the water!"

In some large gatherings where French is less used, this kind of public description is more eye-catching.

"Then what?"

"Then, there was another guy behind him, holding a dagger, and he rushed towards Your Highness. At this critical moment, the Grand Duke remained calm and knocked the dagger into the water. Then they both fell into the river together!"

"This prince is in danger, he should have guards around him, right?"

Anyway, these street rumors are all about how brave and invincible Constantine is on the battlefield, and how brave and decisive he is.

But the actual situation was that because of his recklessness, the Russian army was almost severely damaged. It was the tenacious Russian soldiers and their heroic performance on the battlefield that allowed most of the troops that crossed the river to escape unscathed.

The French army then released some Russian soldiers, so the losses were not too great.

Paul read the battle report carefully. He did not believe Rosenberg's so-called "fault". After all, he was a 60-year-old veteran with rich battlefield experience. From the words in the report, it seemed that it was his son who had caused the trouble.

"My son, ha, if he was really like what the war report said, I wouldn't have sent him to the front to gain experience. He led so many troops out, and was almost defeated by the French? There's something wrong here!"

"Your Majesty, you also have to consider that this involves the reputation of His Highness. If you advance blindly on the battlefield, it will eventually lead to failure. Although His Highness the Crown Prince has children, he does not have an heir. Grand Duke Constantine is the second heir..."

"Okay, stop talking. All those who have made contributions on the battlefield this time will be awarded medals. The Chasseurs also performed very well on the battlefield. Not only did they capture the French commander-in-chief alive, they also performed well in two consecutive battles. All officers and soldiers must be commended!"

There is also a special report from Solovyov, which was written by Konstantin to Paul, saying that Paul was an excellent guard and staff officer. He even fell into the water himself. When the guards wanted to rescue him, he was the first to jump into the water to help. He should be awarded a medal based on his merits in previous battles.

However, Solovyov had previously been awarded the Order of St. Anna, third class, for inventing the breech-loading rifle and revolver, and he also allowed the medal to be engraved on the weapon.

"Kutaisov, I want to go out for a walk and inspect the Knights' base."

"But, Your Majesty, there is one thing I should not tell you."

"You are my close minister and the Secretary of State. What can't you say? There is not even a guard in this office today. There are only you and me."

"Your Majesty, it is Count Rita, the chairman of the Knights Templar, and the widow of the former Naples ambassador."

When Paul heard about this, he didn't find it strange. The Skavronsky family didn't have a good family tradition, and the countess was Potemkin's niece. Although she had a high status in the court, it was not surprising that something happened there.

Count Lita is deeply trusted by Paul. Now this nobleman from Milan, Italy, who is from the Visconti family, is not noticed by ordinary people.

If Solovyov knew this in Turin, he would be extremely embarrassed.

So far, his social circle in Petersburg is almost a close-knit group of relatives and friends. Not to mention the Tsar's family, the "little fairy"'s mother fell in love with an Italian nobleman this time, her sister is the daughter-in-law of Prince Yusupov, and several sisters each married some nobles. There are also relatives with Prince Golitsyn's family, Prince Volkonsky's family, and Prince Dolgorukov's family. From the time he left Moscow's novice village to now, he has not yet stepped out of this family network.

I picked up a girl in Italy. If you count the generations and blood relationship, I'm afraid I have to call this count uncle. We are both descendants of the Visconti family of Milan, although from different branches.

That's not all. Paul has already planned to arrange a marriage for Prince Bagration after his triumphant return. The most suitable unmarried girl is the "little goblin" herself.

If Countess Skafronskaya knew about this, she would cry, after all, she had her eyes on young Count Palen, and the Count was also going to be married, and the bride was her sister Maria.

The reason for this is that although the "little fairy" always wants to "hook men", before she gets married, it is mostly just talk. As for real physical contact, although she has the full theoretical requirements, she has not put it into practice at all.

She was very young and very smart, but before she got married, she was still quite "innocent".

Considering her later status in high society and her role as a source of material for many French and Russian novelists, the contrast is indeed quite great.

On the contrary, after her stepfather came home, the whole atmosphere in her sister's house felt weird.

This made her unwilling to skip work at home, and instead she took the initiative to return to Elena. However, because the second princess was going to get married in the second half of the year, she had to find a good place for herself to be a court maid afterwards.

This arrangement remained fixed until she married, and it was natural for Elena to suggest that she go to Luisa.

Maria and Catherine were not yet of marriageable age, and they did not need so many court maids around them. As for Alexandra, her daily discussion of marriage was not likely to last long.

The only problem was that the crown prince himself was a very romantic man. Some time ago he tried to pursue Countess Stroganov, but was rejected again by that lady using clever methods.

This puzzled the "little fairy". The Crown Princess's knowledge reserve was already a talent. Not to mention her knowledge of history and poetry, she had also heard the prince talk about philosophy. Anyway, these noble ladies couldn't understand it. Only Grand Duchess Alexandra could communicate with the Crown Princess about poetry.

And many of the animals that had been selected for the aquarium that Alexander had recently built specifically to please her were chosen by the Crown Princess herself.

However, in order to avoid seeing that embarrassing scene at home, she gritted her teeth and moved to the Winter Palace with her luggage. She thought that she should study thoroughly before getting married.

And according to her analysis, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince prefers women who are very talented. At least in recent times, this has been his taste.

However, he encountered many setbacks and Louisa had recently responded, which led to Alexander, under Paul's order, to stop hanging out outside all day and come back to accompany his wife for some time to fulfill his responsibilities as a husband.

And now Paul found that he had become the person he hated the most back then - just like his mother, Empress Catherine, he began to force the birth of children.

Constantine's rude attitude towards his daughter-in-law also made Paul extremely embarrassed. Since there were already signs of pregnancy, he approved his second daughter-in-law's plan to return to her parents' home for recuperation. However, when Elena was about to get married, she still had to make preparations in advance and come back to attend the wedding ceremony.

Alexander, unlike his brother, flirted with women everywhere, but always encountered setbacks.

Paul himself, except for the time when the empress arranged for him to have a maid in order to test his fertility, only slept with his wife. Mistresses were only people to confide in, and loving one's wife would help him have more children and increase the chances of giving birth to the next generation of heirs to the Russian Empire.

Regarding this, Paul, a devout Christian and chivalrous "Don Quixote Tsar", when he prayed to God in the prayer room, also asked God to forgive the sins of his two sons.

It is hard to say whether he can move God. Anyway, in St. Petersburg, the color changes all day long, which makes him feel tired. If he continues in this state of mind, he might get sick.

He didn't know it at the moment, but Juliana didn't plan to come back this time when she went back to her parents' home. She had had enough of Constantine.

Although the other family members were very good, she was unlucky to have such a husband. The Tsar himself was very stingy in state affairs, but he was very tolerant at home. He also allocated funds from the Russian royal family for his son's project of building an aquarium - anyway, the Tsar himself did not need to add any new items except for the pomp left over from the Empress' period, and the saved budget was given to the children, including the luxurious dowries prepared for his daughters.

He himself is very concerned about scientific undertakings and various types of projects, especially new weapons for the military, which are related to how the Russian army will perform on the battlefield in the future.

In the past, there was a lot of ridicule for his new policies and new weapons. But now, at least Suvorov's victory on the battlefield is no longer questioned by many people. The Prussian-style military reform was also due to his relaxed attitude, which allowed the Guards and Grenadiers to adopt some other training methods. The combat effectiveness demonstrated by the combination of jaegers and new weapons did change the views of many people.

In Russia, people change their minds as quickly as turning the pages of a book. Those who opposed Paul's policies in the past are now standing up to support them. It's really ridiculous.

In fact, Paul was mentally prepared for such a famous scene. He got a story collection from somewhere, which contained some jokes that would make you laugh after reading them.

During the royal family dinner in the evening, he told the story of the "chameleon".

"Your Majesty, your jokes are average, but this story is quite funny."

Kutaisov also flattered the Tsar, which made Paul think that many court officials were like this.

He now feels lonely. Except for his wife, children, and a few confidants who are loyal to him, it seems that many people live with masks on. Even his children, are they also living with masks on?

To some extent, he himself felt lonely on the throne of the Tsar, just like his idol, Frederick the Great.

The Prussian King once said to him in person, Now I can only feel that my pet dog is loyal.

(End of this chapter)