Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Mikhail's grand wedding was the last grand ceremony held in St. Petersburg in 1824, but it took place quite early, in February of that year.

That year, St. Petersburg suffered a flood, but the water conservancy facilities played a role in preventing major damage.

Alexander also saw his daughters get engaged one after another, including his illegitimate daughter Sonia. However, Vasily was unsuccessful this time, and the girl eventually chose a suitable husband for herself.

Overall, it was a win-win situation.

After returning to the south, Solovyov continued to reorganize the administration and defense of the entire Grand Governorate. Most notably, the oil refinery in Mozdok produced finished products. Although kerosene was still the only usable oil at the time, fuel oil could be produced from the distilled products if there were more advanced fractionation facilities.

With oil burning, coupled with Carnot's theory of heat engine cycles published that year, the pace of progress in both gasoline and diesel engines will accelerate.

However, the materials must be available; otherwise, there will be no usable heat engines.

Airships, cars, and ships—without a suitable engine, they should all be relegated to the back of the line.

Solovyov always had hope after seeing Kano's paper.

However, the situation in Russia did not make him happy.

People from the Northern Association and the Southern Association are bound to meet. Generals like Solovyov and Raevsky, although they don't participate in the association's activities, will still know something from their relatives and friends.

The most outrageous thing is that both of these channels through which they obtained the information were their own sons-in-law.

Raevsky's daughter Maria was more than ten years younger than Sergei Volkonsky, but the two still got married.

On Solovyov's side is Konovnitsyn Jr., who is officially engaged to his daughter Lisa. Solovyov is quite optimistic about his future son-in-law's future as a staff officer in the Guards.

The problem is, this kid is involved in the Northern Association's activities and is able to leak information.

The actions of Pestor and others were extremely dangerous. They came from the Southern Association, and Trubetskoy had a hard time calming him down and telling him not to come up with the idea of ​​abolishing the monarchy as well, because in Russia such a plan was too risky.

"It was already quite an achievement to get them to accept a constitutional monarchy, Mikhail Sergeyevich."

“If your actions are limited to words, the Emperor will not pursue them, given his temperament. He was like this even when he was young. I have served two emperors for nearly thirty years, and I know them very well. To carry out reforms from top to bottom, we need centralized power. Constitutionalism might actually lead to the decentralization of power, and there would be a lot of opposition from local nobles.”

"I understand what you mean."

"Don't do anything dangerous, Petya. You're getting married soon. Since you like Lisa, you'll be together, get married, and have many children like us."

"Yes."

Solovyov brought it up because Katya... Anyway, that's how it is. Mikhelima was even somewhat in sync. For someone his age, having two women on his left and one on his right was indeed a bit strenuous. His wife and maid were both much younger than him. He could handle one-on-one, but that time, the two of them insisted on coming together, and that's how things turned out.

"We old folks share the same attitude as the Emperor. If it's just a discussion, no one will do anything to you. You are all respectable noble sons, your fathers at the very least generals or high-ranking civil servants. You have more exposure to advanced ideas, some have been to Paris, some have French church families, so naturally you hope Russia can have an ideal social environment. But philosopher-kings, starting from those ancient Greek tyrants, at most philosopher-kings, those regimes that governed by reason and aimed at the well-being of the people are extremely rare. I don't expect those things. I only hope that you can live happily while you are young. If your father were still alive, he would probably think the same way. During my youth, I was always on expeditions, fighting one war after another, with very little free time. But now it's still peaceful."

Solovyov's attitude was also very clear: he wanted Konovnitsyn Jr. to listen to him.

But he's a son-in-law, and even his son might not listen to him. Pasha spends all his time at the Winter Palace, and he's going to get engaged to Nastya soon. Louisa's heartache is finally resolved, but her illness still bothers her. She'll be going to Taganrog for treatment in the spring.

Louisa didn't allow her unmarried daughters to come along, even though they wanted to. The environment in Taganrog was not as good as in St. Petersburg, and it would be inconvenient for the aunts to come and squeeze into the palace converted from the governor's building.

By the summer of 1826, Nastya would be getting married, and Louisa would have recovered somewhat, at which point she would return.

Solovyov couldn't be sure what his son's mindset was, even though he was in the palace.

But Konovnitsyn said that Pasha had no connection with the Northern Association, the Southern Association, or the Slavic Association, and that no such person could be found in these three major organizations, which put Solovyov at ease.

Otherwise, the fact that the prince consort is a rebel would be a source of amusement, and whether Alexander succeeds in overcoming his tribulation or Nicholas ascends to the throne, it would be difficult to resolve.

"And, Petya."

"What other orders do you have?"

"I think you should take a good look at my manuscript."

After reading it, Konovnitsyn knew that it contained some of Solovyov's insights on staff work.

The implication is quite clear: don't get involved in these activities, and focus on mastering your professional skills.

There isn't a single word of political ideology in it; at most, it contains the insights exchanged between Clausewitz, Solovyov, and Archduke Karl.

"You need to keep an eye on these things. If you do this job as an adjutant for too long, everyone will know that it's a dead-end job."

Solovyov has also reached the age where he complains about this. Although Andrei's father, Prince Nikolai, was quite old when he spoke, he looked much younger, but he is now a general.

"Yes, Mikhail Sergeyevich."

There are some things Solovyov won't say, but if the Northern Association really causes a huge disaster in the future, he will definitely try to mediate.

Unlike Raevsky and others, he played a decisive role in Nikolai's development, and Alexander would also give him some face.

He couldn't say anything about what was happening in the south.

"Get things done. That's all I can say. Petya, go back now."

Solovyov was also hoping that after his daughter got married, he and Katya would have grandchildren to hold. In short, it's not surprising that such thoughts arose.

Another noteworthy event in St. Petersburg was the opening of a branch of Tongrentang, which sourced authentic medicinal herbs and made appropriate adjustments based on the situation in Russia, receiving rave reviews.

As for the Qing Dynasty establishing an embassy in Russia, it was probably only a matter of time, since the Daoguang Emperor had already allowed Russia to open an embassy in Tianjin, after all, a permanent diplomatic mission was always needed.

The trading post in Guangzhou was transformed into a consulate, and Anton took on the post, bringing his wife and children to Guangzhou to assume his new role as consul.

Vasily was recommended by Speransky to go to the War Department, and the three brothers had to part ways at this time.

"Anton, when you get to China, take this letter with you. If Lord Ruan Yuan is still the governor, he will naturally take good care of you, which will benefit our trade in Guangzhou. If it is someone else, my previous interactions with the Chinese emperor's officials were just to set an example for you, so you must learn from them."

"Brother, don't worry about that. I traveled with you back then, and I've seen a lot of things."

Andong had many missions to shoulder. In addition to diplomacy and trade, it also handled the naval equipment that the Qing Dynasty imported from France and Russia, especially the ships and cannons, which all passed through Guangzhou.

Even when the Qing army needed to recruit a new batch of foreign officers and instructors, it was Anton who handled the process.

Although he was only 25 years old, he had married Paul's illegitimate daughter and was a fifth-rank civil official, which was considered a third-rank official in the eyes of the Qing Dynasty. Although it was lower than the previous fourth-rank "second-rank" official, he had more say.

After all, he was Suo Junmen's half-brother and had served as his adjutant when he was sent on a mission before. All three brothers were quite proficient in Mandarin, and the eldest brother was even scholarly, displaying some of the demeanor of a Confucian general.

Anton's route was somewhat different from the past. He went through the Black Sea to Cairo to meet with Mohammed Ali Pasha, then from there to Aqaba, then from the Red Sea to Oman's trading post in Somalia, and finally took a fast ship from there to take up his post as Sultan of Oman.

This was clearly a mission-driven endeavor; Nesherrodi wanted to use this event to ascertain the Egyptian Pasha's stance and to establish formal diplomatic relations with the Sultan of Oman.

All of this serves the strategy Solovyov had previously planned: to take action against the Ottoman and Persian Empires. Although the current situation must be taken into account, the intelligence must be thoroughly investigated.

Then Anton sent the intelligence back from Guangzhou, which must have greatly puzzled the Ottoman Sultan.

Because there was no rush, Niesherrodie did this. Anton's journey to Guangzhou would probably not arrive until the Spring Festival of the sixth year of the Daoguang Emperor's reign.

The news didn't arrive until around 1827.

He wasn't a prophet, and the Persian route wasn't part of Russia's main historical timeline, so he probably didn't know that much.

Even Solovyov thought there was no problem with this, as the timing of the Russo-Turkish War would be just right, but the war between Russia and Persia was a different matter.

Solovyov couldn't figure out the Persians' strange ideas either; the Ottoman Sultan was prepared for a fight long ago.

As for guaranteeing Greece's independence, the European powers, except for Austria, were particularly enthusiastic. Those with money contributed money (officially, Britain and France), those with strength contributed manpower (the British, French, and Russian civilians), and those who couldn't send large teams could send instructors (Prussia), along with a group of people who cheered them on.

Alexander believed that the time was not ripe to send troops, and the Greeks had been locked in a stalemate with the Ottoman army near Larissa. Neither side could afford to push the battle lines forward. However, the Ottoman army was mainly concerned that Russia might pass through Wallachia and march south to Constantinople from the Danube River.

Russia was to defeat the Turkish army, which had undergone reorganization and was armed with new guns and cannons, in front of it. Although Russia had the advantage in the quality of its soldiers and its weapons and equipment, the gap had narrowed significantly.

Before the fighting in Greece escalated further, the British armed the Ottoman Empire's new army, most of which was used to defend against the Russian army.

Solovyov had considered this direction. If the main army were to be deployed, 15 to 20 troops would need to break through the Danube from the front. This would require even more supplies, which would be difficult for Russia's finances to bear.

In this environment, Alexander neglected state affairs and became deeply immersed in mysticism, so he naturally did not actively intervene in Balkan affairs.

Solovyov also had to wait; he wasn't in a hurry to send troops. In his view, if reinforcements were to be sent from the Danube side, the activities of the Turkish army on the Danube side and the specific situation on the other side had to be taken into account.

In addition, Wallachia and Moldavia, as Russian protectorates at the time, still had room for maneuver for their rulers.

Although Alexander was lazy in governing, he was still planning to send one of his sons-in-law to Bucharest to rule.

Russia has no territorial claims to Dacia, but it has always been interested in Constantinople. Empress Elizabeth II took this factor into account when naming Alexander and Constantine.

Constantinople, also known as the Imperial Palace of the Russian Emperors, is the same as de Gaulle's Palace.

The emperor has conquered this place, so naturally he's happy, right?

However, given the current situation in Russia, it's hard to say what the future holds.

Another area to watch is the Persian Empire. Several rounds of negotiations by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have not gone smoothly, so Alexander is preparing to send another diplomatic mission to Tehran to redefine the border between Russia and Persia.

It's important to understand that the Ottoman and Persian Empires were incredibly weak at this time, and the diplomatic treatment they received was no different from that of the major European powers.

Napoleon's eloquent speech when signing the Treaty of Amiens even included the pirates of Algiers, suggesting that the Persian Empire would only be of higher status.

However, based on their performance at this time, the Ottoman Empire could barely be considered a bottom-ranking power among the great powers, while the Persian Empire, which was inept at fighting battles of all sizes and even somewhat barbaric in diplomatic situations, was gradually being relegated to the position of an uncivilized country.

However, due to the interactions between the Qing Dynasty and Russia during the reigns of Emperors Jiaqing and Daoguang, the Qing Dynasty held a formidable position as a major power, even attracting the attention of the Royal Navy. The Qing Dynasty even spent a considerable sum to purchase a batch of second-hand warships.

The Qing Dynasty, which was originally described as having "dilapidated first-class warships," now actually had first-class warships, and they were even built by France and Russia. The size of the fleet was such that even if the Royal Navy were to send a fleet with third-class ships as its main force to the Far East, it would be difficult to handle.

This shift in power is also a significant achievement of Solovyov's diplomatic activities.

He needed to preserve his gains, appease Russia domestically, and achieve further successes in foreign wars.

Beginning in 1825, many uncertainties began to emerge in this game. (End of Chapter)