Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

According to the original plan, the engagement ceremony would be held first, then the queen would go to Taganrog, and Alexander would also go there in the autumn.

Asking wouldn't have been of much use; Solovyov knew that the Tsar had a strong tendency to withdraw from the world.

On their way back from the parade, Solovyov and Miloradovich heard the Tsar himself muttering to himself: "The people are starving, and I can't do anything about it. All I can do is pray to God."

His tendency to give up treatment is quite in line with his personality.

Solovyov could sense that the Tsar himself had begun to have some self-destructive tendencies after his reforms had been thwarted for various reasons.

He did eventually exhibit some Russian characteristics, but these characteristics were rather negative.

"What can we do then? Since His Majesty has said so, we can only do our jobs well. Solovyov, although His Majesty is not in your governorate, you should still try your best to meet all his material needs."

Even the high-ranking officials were uneasy. Arakcheyev simply summoned all the ministers trusted by the Tsar to his residence. Since the secret agents under the Minister of Police were effectively under his command, there was nothing to worry about now.

Arakcheyev invited Miloradovich, Neserrodie, Kochubey, Speransky, Balasov, and Solovyov, as well as Novoseltsev, who had always been by the Tsar's side. Although it was a core circle, these people had different opinions.

There's even a history of power struggles. Solovyov and Speransky have always disliked Balasov, but this guy has always been a trusted close advisor of the Tsar.

According to another interpretation, he is probably the kind of scoundrel who makes politics impossible when he's around.

Everyone in this room had some kind of grudge against Balasov, even those who were on his side, like Arakcheyev.

Everyone can be an entomologist, and Balasov couldn't help but feel a little uneasy being stared at by these people.

Especially since Solovyov was carrying a gun on his waist. Everyone knows that guy's gun is fast, so you can't gamble that there are no bullets in his gun.

However, Solovyov himself sat there unusually calm.

"His Majesty will also visit my place. Crimea is very close; he only needs to travel by carriage, and it will only take him a day to travel from the coastal road to the isthmus. Of course, I will treat him well."

"But now, with His Majesty in the imperial palace, what arrangements should be made?"

Nesherrodie was also quite worried; if the monarch remained offline for an extended period, things would become very bad.

“Karl, you don’t need to worry so much. The Emperor has been like this for seven or eight years now. If it weren’t for the princes getting engaged and married one after another, he would probably still be the same and wouldn’t attend events often.”

"There's another issue now, which concerns the succession law. Do you know whether His Majesty intends to hand over the throne to Prince Constantine according to the succession law, or will he draft a decree of succession as in the past?"

This is indeed a core issue.

Among those present, more or less, they knew that the Tsar had left a decree two years ago, but the specific contents were kept secret. Solovyov, however, knew that the decree was addressed to Nicholas.

But that's because he knew history and was familiar with the ways in which the four Alexander brothers acted, which allowed him to make a judgment.

However, before the edict was issued, it could not be confirmed that all the information was accurate.

"Alright, we'll keep that in mind. The Emperor would entrust such an important matter to the person he trusts most, and any imperial edicts would be kept secret in a suitable place."

What's the point of you saying that?

When Balasov spoke like that, Arakcheyev became impatient with his reply.

"We should all just focus on our own jobs and do our jobs well. There's no point in worrying about those things."

Moreover, everyone believed that the Tsar was in good health and had not been sick in recent years.

On the contrary, the Empress was sickly. She would fall ill for a while after each childbirth. The miscarriage she had suffered also seriously damaged her health. It took her a while to recover before she could continue to have children. The fact that she has been able to hold on until now shows that she has a tenacious will to live.

This time, when it came time to send her to Taganrog, Katya arranged maids and entourage for her in the palace. As a high-ranking state lady who had always worked in the palace, she was naturally very familiar with these matters.

Of course, it wasn't very convenient for her to do these things while she was heavily pregnant, so she always had servants carry her in a sedan chair around the Winter Palace.

"Thank you for your hard work, coming to help me prepare at a time like this."

“I have been by your side since I became a palace maid. You also chose my husband. Later, you called me back. It is only right that I do these things.”

"But what has your husband been doing lately?"

"After he was recalled, he rarely participated in activities. However, recently Count Arakcheev summoned him, and he had no choice but to go."

“That’s natural. This count is His Majesty’s most trusted minister. Whatever needs to be done, he has to make the arrangements.”

Because of her deteriorating health, Louisa no longer thought about things as much as she used to. She was unaware of the ministers' recent actions and simply went south.

The itinerary is quite convenient, as the railway is open and she can take a train from Tsarskoye Selo to Moscow and then transfer to Kharkiv. It's not too strenuous, and for her current physical condition, it's an acceptable travel option.

Along the way, Solovyov also had to return to Crimea after his son's engagement. He had to take good care of his mother-in-law, who was of such high status and whom he had once been her lover.

Before that, the most important thing is probably the engagement ceremony.

A one-year cooling-off period before marriage is common in Russia. Since it is not a marriage with a foreign country, the traditional customs must be followed when marrying into the country.

There are actually many troubles that are saved, especially the troublesome matter of conversion. Alexandra encountered such a thing in her marriage. At that time, Solovyov had just arrived at the court. Even when he was still in Moscow, he had already heard about the cause of the matter. He witnessed the process in St. Petersburg. He saw the final consequences when he went to Sweden to fight.

Since his son was to marry the princess, he naturally needed to make proper arrangements.

Now he is a prince, and the title of special prince that comes with military merit still needs to be earned by him on the battlefield. It is considered a good match when the Grand Duchess marries him.

Alexander himself was present, but he had Nikolai hold Nastya's hand. The meaning behind this was obvious and didn't need to be guessed. Nikolai handed his niece to Pasha, looking at the boy with a touch of emotion.

The engagement ceremony was held in the chapel of the Winter Palace. It was very brief, also to take into account the physical condition of the royal family members. Even the Queen Mother herself had to make it to the ceremony.

Solovyov instinctively felt a bit wary; could it be that some kind of epidemic was spreading?

However, even after consulting doctors, relying on his own experience, and even consulting with traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, he still couldn't find the cause.

The floods last year did not bring about a serious epidemic.

Solovyov was always a little worried, but he himself was fine. The tuberculosis patients he had previously encountered were all from aristocratic circles, and he had never had any problems. It was important to be healthy.

He also instructed his son to follow the rules in the palace, and even after formal marriage, to cherish his wife and be tolerant of the servants.
In short, a lot of things were explained. Nastya would stay at home and still have her own palace. After the engagement, the two of them would temporarily live in the Marble Palace of Constantine, since the Grand Duke himself was in Warsaw for a long time, and this palace would be reserved for their use.

However, the official wedding is still some time away. It's just that the Tsar and Tsarina doted on their youngest daughter that they settled down there. The place where they will live is still under renovation and construction.

Although Nastya was young, she was very sensible. She only asked to use an empty official residence for renovation, which would save a lot of trouble by not building a new one.

On the train to Moscow, Solovyov didn't say much. He had both Western and traditional Chinese medicine doctors take Luisa's pulse and knew that her health was very bad. Some conditioning medicine had provided some relief, and only going to a place in the south with a better environment would be of some benefit to her health.

“I’ve always been like this, Mishka, so don’t worry too much.”

“It’s not just you, Louisa. At this age, it’s inevitable to be sick. You’ve told me about your past; you were very weak when you were born.”

"Yes, that's how it was back then. And now I'm not good-looking anymore, so there's no benefit for you to be by my side."

"But my duty is still to escort you to Taganrog. The environment there is different from Baden, but it's better for recovery. I've always felt that if we can maintain peace on the Black Sea side, we could perhaps build a lot of sanatoriums for the public. Resting for a while is always good for the body. If you're always working, your body won't be able to handle the strain."

“But in the palace, according to your definition, I am the kind of person who lives a life of luxury.”

"Ah, that's another issue. I know you're very popular among those young people."

"You know so much. I'm not pretty anymore."

"They idolize someone because of your inclinations. You always seem to suffer these kinds of undeserved misfortunes. Staying away from St. Petersburg might be a good thing."

Solovyov himself believes that the current environment in St. Petersburg is a place of great turmoil.

He himself wanted to leave, and if there were a war now, allowing him to go south and avoid contact with that place for a long time, it might be a good outcome.

But the truth is, what he hopes for never happens, and the intensity always has to be added to his own expectations.

The train travels from Moscow to Kharkiv. The railway has only been built up to this point. A direct railway line from Luhansk leads to the Donets Basin, the place where Peter the Great sent people to explore for coal mines.

The coal here is of decent quality, and the combustion efficiency is quite good after adding it directly to the locomotive.

Aside from the carriage decorations, the most striking feature of the Royal Train is probably its new locomotive.

If Louisa hadn't been in such poor health, she probably wouldn't have chosen this mode of transportation; in her opinion, trains were more suitable for passenger transport.

But simplicity also depends on the time. In her current state, she only changed to a horse-drawn carriage when she arrived in Luhansk, and she was not traveling very fast.

As for Taganrog, the residence where the Queen used for recuperation was only slightly more upscale than the local buildings, but that was still limited, though much better than the place where Vyborg had stayed.

"Your Highness, I hope you have a pleasant time here."

Solovyov could only utter this one sentence as he departed.

He also needed to return to Crimea, and as governor, he wanted to see what his officials had been doing over the past two years. Although writing to him would allow for a clearer account, as the highest-ranking official, he still needed to understand the situation thoroughly.

Keeping track of your subordinates' real-time activities is also very important.

In addition, he was also worried about the Southern Association. Among these people, those of lower rank would always be dangerous elements, and if the young people acted impulsively, they would probably cause a lot of trouble.

Alexander's trip to the south was also intended to inspect the three army groups there, especially the 2nd Army.

The 3rd Army, the Danube Corps, and the Caucasian Corps are all on Solovyov's side, and their combat readiness can be fully trusted.

Because the south is still in a state of war preparedness, if war were to break out, action could be taken quickly from here.

However, it wasn't without its problems. The Southern Association planned to stage a mutiny when Alexander reviewed the 2nd Army, and they were acting according to a pre-arranged schedule.

Alexander came to the south in the second half of the year, and he even spent the entire winter in Taganrog before returning north the following year, which gave the Southern Association ample time to prepare.

Solovyov was also worried about this issue; he didn't understand the plan, but he knew the outcome.

These young people overestimated their appeal, and then some of the fools made things even worse.

When things get out of control, they must be suppressed. At this point, personal feelings cannot be considered.

While the Northern Association may have influence within the military, it also has its share of idiots, particularly those of noble birth, who ultimately mess things up.

If it really comes to that, the soldiers might not even know who they are fighting for. If it's just a constitutional monarchy, it might not actually be applicable in Russia. If the Duma is convened and the trouble caused by voting and debating might be even worse than the Tsar's own foolish decision.

Some demagogues might even thrive, but Solovyov needs to guard against those fools who, with just their words, stir up trouble, ruin things, and drag the people into war. Such people are not uncommon in Europe. (End of Chapter)