Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The Tsar himself was aware of the secret society, and his secret police were quite efficient for that era.

But strangely, Alexander never punished these people, and even spoke to Sergei Volkonsky about it to his face.

He was the brother-in-law of his close assistant, and also the brother of the former Queen's maid and the Lady of State; he might even have thought such advice was more effective.

"Your Majesty, what do you think of this schedule? Shouldn't we move the inspection forward?"

"No, there's no need. If we want to inspect the Guards, the Guards regiment in St. Petersburg is enough, and it's quick to prepare. The Guards will always be brought to the reviewing stand anyway."

"And what about Sergei Volkonsky?"

“This prince is too close to us. I think we should persuade him not to participate in those activities. Their thinking is not wrong, but such an environment is lacking in Russia.”

Although Alexander stayed in the palace indulging in feudal superstitions, he still maintained control over Russia through a few ministers, administrative bureaucrats, and the secret police. He was lazy and slacking off, but he didn't completely ignore the situation.

Moreover, by Russian standards, he was a well-known traitor in his youth.

Metternich cursed the Tsar behind his back as a "Jacobin," but his close friend Count Stroganov was one, and he himself had the same inclination.

It has a kind of "my family is full of them" feeling, and there are several typical examples among the civil and military officials he appointed.

Even Solovyov, the Tsar himself did not expect that his most trusted general, though not at all passionate, was, in his opinion, cold-blooded when it came to women and reforms, just like those other people.

However, he was merely presenting his own viewpoint, and when he did speak, it made some sense. His gradual and steady approach could appease the conservative nobles and bureaucrats, thus avoiding angering them.

If only those young people could heed his advice after seeing his views.

Although Alexander was lazy in politics, he was very intelligent. When Nicholas praised his mentor, he did not notice that Mikhail Solovyov, the State Councilor of the Russian Empire, General of the Infantry, Count, former Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Minister of Operations of the Southern Provinces, and who had served as acting Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in 1815, actually held much more radical political views than those young people.

However, he was able to see the situation clearly, and apart from when he got carried away and fought with others, he had always been a resourceful and calm person in front of people.

Because of this, Alexander dared to entrust him with an army of over 200,000 and even put him in charge of managing the south. He wouldn't do anything on a whim with a few comrades; instead, he was very concerned about the consequences.

Another important reason is that he was a very responsible father. At home, he was always a kind father. In the army, he emphasized rules and regulations, but he was not strict. At home, he was even more so with his children.

"Could the Earl be involved in these matters? Your Majesty, I think you should also consider this."

“No, Balasov. Solovyov has been serving in the court since he was 17. His loyalty is due to my father’s promotion and instructions, and also to some things I can sense, but I have no evidence.”

Compared to Chaltoretsi and that unfortunate guard cavalryman, Solovyov had never had any evidence against Louisa. He never wrote love letters; those few poems were probably given to other girls in the palace, which would have been plausible.

Alexander did have his doubts about his two green-eyed daughters, but they resembled Louisa more, and Polina looked a lot like him, so his doubts dissipated.

But he always remembered that Solovyov used to be very popular with the ladies in the palace.

However, it cannot be used as evidence; we should be grateful for the imperfect science at that time.

Even if things were perfected, Alexander wouldn't really matter. Czartoreski was his best buddy, always pursuing his wife and having close ties with Polish Zionism. He could live a life of folly without making a fuss. He could also let others pursue Luisa, or even some people who were actually preparing for a secret uprising, as long as they didn't cause any major trouble.

If Solovyov knew, he would be both amused and exasperated.

He returned to St. Petersburg partly to visit his children, and partly because Katya had become pregnant again when she visited him in Crimea last winter. This time, he was too busy managing spring planting and the large-scale summer exercises to return to St. Petersburg. In the fall, she gave birth to another child, this time a son.

He had no choice but to return. This time, he was relatively more free to name his child. When Solovyov replied to St. Petersburg, he mentioned that the child's name was Sergei. There always had to be a child in the family with the same name as the father. When Russians named their children, father and son were always interdependent. This was even more obvious in the royal family. Nicholas was going to start a Nicholas-Alexander cycle, but because Crown Prince Nicholas died young, it became a cycle of peaks and troughs.

"You rushed back just to see this child?"

"It was also to see you, Katya."

"Boys always come unexpectedly, they're always a pleasant surprise. I know you prefer girls."

“Girls can get married in the future, and with our status, we can even let them marry someone near St. Petersburg. They can come home anytime. If they are bullied in their husband’s house, I, as their ‘old father,’ can stand up for them.”

"Mishka, you're only 42 years old, and you're already calling yourself an old man?"

"That's because I always look young, but I do have wrinkles around my eyes, look closely. I'm definitely aging faster than you, and I've also gained weight."

"But you're not like the French emperor. You're fine this way."

"Alright, that's enough. I won't disturb your rest any longer, Katya. I'll visit you again tomorrow. Get some rest."

Although Solovyov was good at making money, he rarely spent it. This time, Katya took the initiative to buy the official residence on the Kutuzov Causeway, which had actually been there for a long time.

Solovyov incorporated many Rococo elements into the renovation of his estate on Lake Ladoga to satisfy Katya's girlish sentiments, which she had just married into the family at the time. Solovyov himself also liked it, so the new house is also in this style.

There always felt a bit awkward and mismatched between him and a general who commanded thousands of troops on the battlefield.

When they got downstairs, Solovyov saw Lisa and Konovnitsen.

“You look very well, Petya. What brings you to my house today?”

“Mikhail Sergeyevich, we have all heard that you have returned, so I have come here to pay my respects on behalf of my friends.”

"If that's the case, Lisa, take your sisters to play. Petya and I have something to talk about privately." "Dad, what about us?"

The second son, Alexander, is here with his younger brother. Pasha has already become a second lieutenant in the regiment and is not at home.

"Sasha, take your little brother and go play too."

After hearing this, Lisa actually knew some of the details; her lover and father had something to discuss.

Solovyov's daughters are all very intelligent. Lisa actually enjoys reading her father's manuscripts. Although she has been a black-hearted cotton-like person since childhood, she wants to understand her father. He is always out in the world, and everyone says he is a great hero. Perhaps through his writing, she can understand his inner world.

Because Konovnitsyn was able to freely enter and leave Solovyov's home, he was indeed recommended by the Northern Association to visit Solovyov, who was always busy with his work and rarely expressed political views.

However, in this letter to Pierre, after Nikolai returned, he publicized the railway construction extensively, but unlike Alexander, he was not as quick-witted and could not see the deeper meaning.

Solovyov himself felt that Nikolai was indeed too impulsive at times.

If it were Alexander, he would continue to maintain a distance within the atmosphere of mysticism; he would know but not do anything.

The effective and safest approach is to separate Solovyov, who supports the regime but whose ideologies differ from those of these young people, from the latter.

Although Alexander was well aware that Solovyov was a very steady man and would not join any secret society on a whim, he was only nominally affiliated with Speransky's Freemasonry and the old poetry society. He was just a figurehead there, having many friends and sometimes participating in exchanges through letters, but only as an inspirer.

Then, Nicholas was still young, and at that time he did not know that he would become the Tsar in the future. As a result of his lack of experience, he exposed his mentor's views to the public.

Therefore, the Northern Association felt that it was indeed worth trying to win over this count.

He was a figurehead in the army, with a strong appeal to the troops, and may even represent the disciples of Marshal Suvorov. At least he had a very close relationship with Miloradovich and Prince Bagration. Although the prince was no longer alive, Miloradovich was the governor of St. Petersburg.

Although it's somewhat presumptuous, it's not entirely wrong.

"Petya, you mean, what do we need to do?"

"Yes, we all look forward to your views. Your wisdom is of great importance to Russia."

"This is very dangerous, and the conditions are not right now. Passion is good, but excessive impulsiveness always leads to bad results."

Solovyov knew he couldn't pretend to be confused, nor was he old enough to do so, so his approach was always to directly refuse.

He also has a plan for how things will turn out.

However, it won't be a radical approach. A patient whose symptoms may not seem serious, but whose consequences could be severe, can still be saved now, but it will require several courses of treatment. It won't be until nearly a hundred years later, when surgery on the tumor is unavoidable.

Why do you say that?

"Petya, use your brain. A brain on the table is worth 100,000 rubles. Why? Because it's brand new, never been used, and can be put into someone else's skull and used. Of course, that's a joke. But in this situation, we must consider the consequences. Russia is not France. It's a vast country. Whatever we do in St. Petersburg will become strange rumors in Moscow. When we get to my hometown of Ryazan, nobles and serfs might be saying, 'My God, what have those lords in St. Petersburg done?' Even when Peter the Great was alive, chasing a runaway slave might not be effective beyond 30 versts. This place is all deep forests and swamps, with bears, tigers, and wolves."

As for the wicked fox Solovyov, he is not a threat at all.

When Konovnitsyn was born, Marshal Suvorov had already passed away, so he naturally had never seen the Marshal's life.

Solovyov was his last disciple, joining the school later than Arkady, his own son, even though Suvorov's disciples were always arranged by age.

His way of speaking was difficult for young Konovnitsyn to understand.

However, in the Russian countryside, the distances between villages are too great, and if problems are not addressed from the top down, they will always cause very serious chaos.

The Northern Association members were more composed; their advocacy for constitutional monarchy was still within the Tsar's tolerance. If it were the Southern Association, it would be a different story.

Solovyov has not yet met Trubetskoy and the others, because Konovnitsyn the youngest son is always at his house, and that's the only person he comes into contact with.

The count himself didn't know what other people were behind him, such as Kakhovsky, Ryliev, the Muravyov brothers, and Pestor, or how far the Southern Association and the Northern Association had developed.

If they rashly seek his support, Solovyov's instinctive self-preservation mechanism will kick in.

Moreover, in his view, Konovnitsyn Jr. had a bright future as a soldier. If he wasn't so eager to participate in the activities of the Northern Association, entrusting his daughter to him would be a very good choice, and it would also be a way of giving an explanation to his deceased old comrade-in-arms who was older than him.

"Petya, can you understand?"

"I think you mean there is danger, and that Russian communication is slow."

"Even after I developed optical communication, the speed is still not fast. Relay stations are still needed to reach remote areas. Compared to the French, whose signal systems are more dependent on the weather, Russia is so vast that any construction would be very costly. The key is to get the message out. That's it, Petya. You need to think things through. If it's a 'revolution,' then it's just crossing the Rubicon and seizing military power at the Nora barracks. To transplant the systems of Marius, Sulla, Caesar, and Pompey from Rome to the Third Rome? That's too dangerous. To know the consequences, just read more books."

Solovyov did indeed read a lot of books, a fact that Konovnitsyn also knew.

Even when reminding his future son-in-law, he deliberately kept it a secret, which was a way of protecting both parties.

"However, I still think you should let everyone see you."

“Then let’s hold a salon, but my wife needs to rest; she just gave birth.”

"Then let's go to Trubetskoy's house. He's a reliable man among us, and at least he appreciates your opinion." (End of Chapter)