Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

But if you want to get oil, you also need to prepare for development.

Solovyov thought the Dubinin brothers would be a good fit, but they were busy developing oil in the Caucasus and would even have to overcome the language barrier before coming to Ploiești.

Prior to this, he had seen a document sent from the Caucasus front, which was also a battle report.

After the Persians were repelled, the Russian army was unable to expand its gains because the Caucasus Legion itself had limited manpower, and the Russian army could only deal with the Balkan problem first.

Although the French army will come, they will only land in Greece to support the insurgents, and only a force of 20,000 men will come, commanded by Marshal Soult.

He was willing to come purely because this operation could bring him further honor. The Empress Dowager had promised him an estate and a reward, and he was the most suitable marshal to lead the troops alone.

The British Army was responsible for protecting sea lanes and for the addition of British volunteers. With Lord Liverpool's health deteriorating further, it was almost a foregone conclusion that George Canning would form a government in Britain.

"If George Canning were to form a government, the British might be less likely to cause us trouble, Your Majesty."

"You are friends with the Duke of Clarence and were also Princess Charlotte's matchmaker, yet you are always wary of the English."

“That is a must. I think Princess Charlotte is very familiar with the pamphlet I gave to His Majesty the King, perhaps even knows it by heart. She would certainly like to have a group of humble public servants in the future to wield the power of Britain and dedicate themselves to the supreme authority.”

As Minister of War, and having previously served as a staff officer, Solovyov inevitably talks a lot; that's just how it is in the position of Minister of War.

Nikolai decided to go to the front lines himself. They also had to travel by land to Odessa, first passing through General Langeron's defense zone, and then to Wallachia.

According to the plan at the time, a Dacian or Romanian kingdom was to be established in the future, and Nicholas also hoped that one of his relatives would be in that position.

It's worth noting that having closer royal bloodlines might lead to greater consideration of kinship in future diplomatic decisions.

In this respect, Nikolai was perhaps judging others by his own standards, but he wasn't entirely wrong.

Even favors can be betrayed between nations, especially Austria, which has a history of turning its back on others.

But this time Europe was united enough. Lord Byron’s deeds in Greece made even the usually troublesome British want to be all-powerful. On the one hand, they protected the reliefs that Elgin had stolen, and on the other hand, Mr. George Canning was planning to return some of the Greek artifacts to Greece after the war.

At this point, Britain still had some sense of shame, unlike later on. In fact, their help this time was already quite generous, as they completely annihilated the Ottoman Empire's fleet.

If George Canning had continued to run the company, there might have been some chance for things to turn around, but his health wasn't very good.

Don't be fooled by Mr. Talleyrand's limp; he is actually very healthy and energetic, though he is quite old and looks like he has several years left to live.

After all, in this day and age, even a minor cold can take a person away very quickly.

When the Duke of York passed away at the beginning of the year, many people attended his funeral. Although it was not confirmed that he was really dead, but rather that members of the British upper class went to pay their respects, this seriously worsened Mr. Canning's health.

Considering the terrible medical conditions in Britain, if Solovyov hadn't brought in doctors, how old would Victoria be now?

Indeed, Mr. Canning did not have a suitable doctor. Even if there were traditional Chinese medicine doctors in Russia, they could not save the Tsar.

It's commonly said that studying medicine probably won't save Europeans.

The news from London is that Mr. Canning is now repeatedly advocating that European countries unite to liberate Greece, the birthplace of European civilization, as much of the knowledge they have acquired over the years is derived from the Greeks.

By marrying Princess Sofia, Russia began to call itself the "Third Rome" and paid close attention to matters in the eastern part of the empire. Otherwise, it would not have been able to wage war against Turkey repeatedly. There were eight formal wars between Russia and Turkey, and nine if you include informal ones.

The French have a similar attitude.

European countries have put these things aside, which has led to a significant increase in efficiency.

When the Tsar's camp arrived in Odessa, the latest news from London arrived.

"It's unbelievable, Mr. Canning is very ill now, and he can't run the cabinet like this."

"Your Majesty, this is a good thing."

"Why is it a good thing?"

"If Mr. Canning recovers, he will proceed as previously agreed. In that case, British foreign policy is in our favor at this stage. If Mr. Canning is unable to fulfill his duties as Prime Minister for some reason, then Britain will need to choose a new Prime Minister. And since Lord Liverpool suffered a stroke, there is no suitable Tory member to hold the two parties together. It is even possible that His Majesty the King will need a prestigious but unsuitable Prime Minister."

"Is it?"

"I think that's it, after all, I'm very familiar with the British way of doing things."

Nicholas now realizes that while his elder brother had previously planned to implement constitutional government but ultimately failed, he had managed to control the British in the civil service.
For an absolute monarchy, constitutionalism seems unreliable, at least for now.

If we follow Solovyov's advice, the first step should be to improve the civil service system, which would allow civil servants to express the monarch's will. In addition, the oversight system would allow us to see what they are doing and then take charge.

Once there's a party, things will be much better. If the Russian monarch really can't steer the ship anymore, there's nothing wrong with changing the approach.

But right now, the system still requires the monarch to make the final decision. His mentor-student relationship with Nicholas, as well as his own interests, mean that he still has to follow the old methods.

Whether Nikolai can master it skillfully in the future, and whether he has the talent, can be determined by his determination.

The most important thing is that at this time, the British were on a pro-European stance and did not intend to create a divided Europe. Instead, they united because of the Greek issue.

Whether they will be able to unite in the future is another question.

Because the policies of the British Foreign Office, both current and past, are highly consistent. If Greece becomes independent, and Nicholas wants his relatives to become kings in Athens and Bucharest, then he could take everything and leave the rest. Would France still side with Russia then?
The young emperor is about to assume full power. When Catherine retires from the limelight, will she still be willing to side with her uncle?
Solovyov couldn't even guarantee that his son-in-law, a French general, would share his views, even though Demid had married his favorite daughter and his first child.

What needs to be done now is to take advantage of the fact that Europe is still united, completely shatter the Ottoman Empire, and use Greece as a pretext to stir up trouble and provoke all the European countries.

It is precisely because of the Greek problem that Europe will unite, and then become like the crowd under the Tower of Babel, and may even fight each other.

At that time, Russia could withdraw from Europe, and after gaining access to the Mediterranean, it would need to offer a suitable condition to maintain the balance of power in Southeast Europe.

That's how it is; you could call it a grand blueprint.

Once Russia has secured its share of the Balkans, it can leave the chaotic Europe to the Europeans to deal with.

Especially in Serbia, despite the considerable assistance Solovyov had previously provided, they have consistently faced threats from Austria.

In fact, whoever sides with Austria, even if they win, will inevitably suffer a beating along the way.

When things get chaotic or there are disputes in Europe, they won't have time to deal with Russia suddenly turning around and going straight to deal with Persia.

Solovyov thought the plan was good, but he also needed to see how the Europeans would cooperate.

Not only Britain needs a divided Europe, but Austria needs it, Russia needs it, and even France and Prussia need it, otherwise they wouldn't be able to gain any benefits at this point.

In addition, the Poles are about to cause trouble again, and they might be relying on the independent city of Krakow.

However, Austria and Prussia have also occupied a lot of Polish land, and if they were to cause any trouble, things could get quite lively in Warsaw.

Although Warsaw could become chaotic in the future, causing considerable trouble for Russia, since the heart of Poland is under Russian control, such chaos always accompanies the whole of Europe, especially since Paris and Warsaw are always in sync. And just as the French have Polish mistresses, so do the Russians.

But Solovyov never did. Because of the large number of Polish women in the Russian court and his personal stance, he always maintained a cautious and friendly attitude towards Poland.

If they don't cause trouble, the Tsar won't mind giving them some benefits.

If they start causing trouble, we'll have to send Cossack cavalrymen one by one to their deaths.

Nikolai's problem is that he always uses excessive force, sometimes employing methods that are unnecessary.

While dealing with the British, we must also take into account the attitudes of various European parties, and the key point now is that Europe is willing to unite for a common goal.

George Canning, despite being ill, delivered a speech in the House of Commons, which was like a zoo, expressing his support for Greek independence at the time. Although the Royal Navy's actions were somewhat excessive, it was only out of self-defense that they fired when the Ottomans lit fire ships in an attempt to attack Royal Navy warships.

In that case, the Whig Party wouldn't have anything to say.

The British also supported using gunboats to solve the problem.

Therefore, while their warships were returning to Italy and France for repairs, the British also transferred a number of well-maintained warships from their home naval fleet to the eastern Mediterranean, and also added troop transport ships along the way.

In reality, although all parties share common interests on the Greek issue and the right of passage through the two straits, each party hopes to gain a larger share.

The Greek common people were more supportive of France and Russia, while the upper class was closer to Britain. The current president of the Hellenic Republic was the former Russian Deputy Foreign Minister. These three parties, in addition to sharing the ultimate goal of resisting the Ottoman Empire, were able to unite at this time.

At the same time, they all hated Austria. Nikolai even sent a letter to Chancellor Metternich during the march, stating that the Greek independence movement leaders imprisoned by Austria were all outstanding officers who had served in Russia for many years and had shed blood in the Russian army to fight against Austria's enemies.

These people were imprisoned for a long time, and many of them suffered great damage to their health. In fact, they were all nobles. Austria did a very disgraceful thing.

After reading Metternich's reply, Nikolai understood why his brother disliked Austrians. Apart from being friends with Archduke Karl, Solovyov had few friends in Austria and didn't even have an Austrian mistress.

"These Austrians always side with the reactionaries at crucial moments; we shouldn't save them anymore."

An autocratic monarch who constantly uses the word "reactionary" gives you an idea of ​​what kind of person Austrian Chancellor Metternich was.

As the Foreign Minister, Neusserrodie would get into trouble because of his personal relationship with Metternich.

However, since Russia's foreign policy is always announced through the final decision of the court, and the Tsar's decision is also required, the Foreign Minister is always still in office.

Solovyov's position as Minister of War was a different story altogether.

At least Nikolai agreed with what he did in the Ministry of War.

"But Austria should adopt a 'defensive' posture in Moldova to let them know the situation."

Solovyov thought to himself, "If it weren't for me, Nikolai would probably have gone to help the Austrians in the future, and then been abandoned by them."

Austrians have always been like this, even worse than the British, at least the British only get involved when you're causing them trouble.

Solovyov had witnessed firsthand how the Second Coalition against France was ultimately defeated when Austria became wary of Suvorov's brilliant victory in northern Italy.

In the pursuit of the Austrian Netherlands, which was unlikely to be reclaimed, Russia ultimately sacrificed a victory, allowing the French to wreak havoc in Europe for another fifteen years, resulting in heavy bloodshed on both sides. Although the final outcome was favorable to Russia, the price paid was also substantial.

Those idiots, who knows what they're up to this time.

To quell their actions, Nicholas also needed to write to his father-in-law, the King of France, and inquire with his sisters about the possibility of forming a united Europe to control the Austrians. (End of Chapter)