Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

After Solovyov finished speaking, the Persian delegation quickly returned to Persia from St. Petersburg.

Unlike the Ottoman Empire, Russia did not issue an abstract declaration of war; Nicholas would still give the Persians time.

Moreover, the Persians must have made some preparations at this time, but whatever they prepared would be of no use.

"Your Majesty, if feasible, the Caucasian Legion should be strengthened, but we should try not to draw troops from the Imperial Guard."

"Why is this again?"

"We don't need the Imperial Guard to deal with the Persians, and the mountainous terrain here isn't suitable for heavy artillery. The elite troops we'll send out are just the grenadiers from the 3rd Army and a portion of the dragoon regiment."

"Is this really okay?"

Nikolai was actually a little worried, because once his master's command ability was several levels higher than the opponent's, he would start to act recklessly, even more outrageously than his uncle Napoleon.

The marching speed was nothing short of a frenzied surge. When Nikolai of Thrace finally witnessed Solovyov personally taking charge, and when Napoleon was not in their sights, it was an absolutely terrifying and overwhelming force.

Marmont was one of the more capable French marshals in his later years. He commanded the Turkish army, which had been upgraded from garbage, and they were defeated very quickly after he beat them severely.

In this situation, the Russian military only needs regular troops to prepare for combat.

Solovyov mobilized the 3rd Army because the grenadiers themselves had experience in the war in the south. Although the veterans who had fought alongside him in Turkey had all retired, this group of soldiers still demonstrated their skills on the Danube front.

He also made arrangements for the operational plans, the personnel of the command headquarters, and the commanders of the various armies.

Just then, Paskovich sent a letter indicating that the Persians seemed to be taking some action.

Based on the timeline, the Persian prince should still be near Tsaritsyn at this point, and has not yet returned home.

This confirms that although the Persians brought these jewels, demonstrating their sincerity, they did not relax their efforts.

Even if they can't win, they'll fight to the death if the Russian army comes.

Under these circumstances, Solovyov also knew that this southward campaign would not be so easy.

Therefore, he decided to allocate some of the Volga River shipping vessels to Astrakhan to transport supplies to the front lines, rather than relying solely on land transportation.

Astrakhan itself was a thriving commercial center, and when the tailor Nikolai Ulyanov came, he mentioned the situation in Astrakhan.

Solovyov's first priority is to prepare enough supplies for the army before he can mobilize troops.

It would be relatively easy for him to mobilize his troops, because the nomadic tribes in the south all trusted him.

The Kalmyks, in particular, had mostly followed Solovyov's column on several campaigns. Now that their old commander had become the general and was conscripting Kalmyks into the army, upon hearing the news, a whopping 10,000 of them came, except for those who stayed at home tending the parade grounds and livestock, and those whose homes were too far away to arrive in time.
We also need to advise some people to go home, or to come and take turns fighting halfway through.

Recruiting the Tatars went smoothly. Persia relied heavily on cavalry for combat, although infantry was needed to solve problems on the battlefield, but the local conditions had to be taken into account.

Therefore, Solovyov did not bring the Circassian heavy cavalry this time, as their impact was useless in mountain warfare.

Similarly, the cuirassiers basically didn't come either.

Solovyov planned to streamline his cavalry force, so he only brought a group of dragoons and hussars as regular cavalry.

On the light cavalry side, the Tatars and Kalmyks were mainly responsible for reconnaissance and rapid maneuver, while the Terek Cossacks were later deployed for counterinsurgency operations.

Solovyov wouldn't leave his precious regular troops behind; he had many other things to consider.

Before setting off, Nicholas made a special trip to Solovyov's house, where he also needed to arrange a grand reception to entertain the Tsar himself.

Nikolai also inquired about the current situation: "You want 80,000 men, isn't that too few? Back when you were in the palace, you only needed a small number of elite troops, and the majority of them were still soldiers from the Caucasian Legion."

“Your Majesty, the Caucasian Legion was used because they are familiar with the current battlefield environment. The Imperial Guard is not suitable for that, as you know. For some time now, I have been considering whether to change the form of the war. Because in the war against the Persian Empire, we are not only facing the regular Persian army, but also possibly armies organized by civilians, as well as the jihad they have launched. There are many things we need to consider. War is only one aspect; how to win hearts and minds is another.”

"You don't mean the story of Prime Minister Zhuge capturing barbarian chieftains seven times, do you?"

"That's roughly it. In some parts of Persia, due to Turkification, a tribal structure has formed. Under this situation, we need to win their hearts and minds. Only when all other means fail will we resort to force. That's why when I later arranged the army, I specifically asked the Terek Cossacks to carry out counterinsurgency operations in the rear. Of course, the appearance of the Tatars is also a form of intimidation. If they still want to return to the state they were in when Timur came four hundred years ago, we are happy to fight them to the end."

To be fair, Solovyov has never been a chosen one of Confucius, but this time he really is going to turn the Analects into a collection of proverbs.

Sometimes the other party doesn't understand reasoning, so it's necessary to persuade them with (material) logic.

"This is too terrifying; it's not how we usually do things."

Nicholas said he preferred to emulate his father Paul, who, while strict with the nobility, was relatively tolerant of the common people.

But Nikolai's imitation doesn't resemble anything he learned, which is what Solovyov is worried about. But it's still uncertain whether the two of them will live longer.

Because members of the Solovyov family, even his eldest nephew who suffered the devastation of Siberia, lived for a very long time throughout history.

My dad is currently in Italy, where he recently celebrated his and his wife's 30th wedding anniversary.
There is a considerable probability that I might outlive Nikolai.

Moreover, very few members of the Russian royal family live to be seventy, and Solovyov plans to remain in the south and not be active in St. Petersburg.

"Your Majesty, after I go to the south, you should..."

“Speak your mind, Mikhail Sergeyevich. We’ve known each other since you were still by Father’s side. You even taught us all sorts of things during my brother’s early education.”

“Your Majesty, but that is in the past. In politics, do not blindly trust others, even close allies; always keep a backup plan. I do not mean to offend anyone.”

“It’s alright, Lottie has known you since she was a little girl, Your Majesty the King of Prussia.”

Of course, the secret between Solovyov and Queen Louise was also taken to Louise's coffin.

"Yes, I'm not interested in politics. If you're going to do anything, it's about my father and brother. In short, I'm not suited to be here to hear about these things."

The Queen herself was quite sensible; she didn't care about politics, but rather about her children. Because the doctor advised her to take care of her health, Nicholas and she haven't been scheduling a baby recently.

However, after Solovyov returned, Katya and Mikhelima were unable to accompany him on his trip to the south.

For Katya, this is probably her last child. In the past, she felt happy to have many children, but now she is a grandmother. If it were just the children in front of her, it would be fine, but her children will all get married in the future.

She wasn't good at math, but she could sense that now that she was 38, if her children were all like her in the future, and if they had gatherings at home, she probably wouldn't be able to invite a single guest to the banquet hall; it would be a completely family-run dinner.

This doesn't even include Mihrima's side. Although Solovyov doted on her, as a housekeeper, she tried her best to avoid having more children. In Russian noble families, being a favored housekeeper with a semi-official title was already a relatively good result for a foreign woman like her.

Of course, since Adela was married off as one of their own sisters, Mihrima did not convert to Christianity and was always willing to serve her master, so she stayed at home.

Katya invited the Queen to the children's room, where she had young children who could play together.

The Queen also particularly liked children, and since Nicholas's niece had married into the family, she naturally wanted to visit her as well.

Speaking of which, Pasha's family is quite harmonious after having a child; there haven't been any fights over his nephew.

It seems that being a generation apart can make these children think like little adults.

"Now that's settled, what else do you want to say?"

“We must be wary of the European direction, and we must also think carefully about France. We cannot be completely unprepared in terms of diplomacy just because Her Highness Catherine is your sister and His Majesty the King of Prussia is your father-in-law.”

Actually, these words didn't seem to be directed at Nicholas. He had performed quite well in his years as Tsar, although he hadn't yet reached Solovyov's ideal situation, but he was still much better than the monarchs of Europe.

After all, the Tsar himself had to contend with the cabinets of various countries, which was determined by the nature of the Russian autocratic regime.

Nikolai was very diligent in his duties, which set a good example for his son.

Solovyov was more interested in reminding His Highness the Crown Prince, who was sitting to the side.

The Crown Prince was raised on Katya's milk. Among his companions was Lev, the third son of Solovyov. He had a close relationship with the Solovyov family, and when he was a child, he even threw these "companions" who were as close as brothers and sisters to the ground.

This cannot be measured by personal preferences or the closeness of friendships.

Alexander II was practically idle throughout Prussia's rise to power, playing virtually no role.

If we help those Austrians, they might come back and dig a hole for us later.

You can't invest your emotions in politics. It's okay to be a little unrestrained in your emotions, but not in politics.

According to Solovyov, the Austrians were shameless.

These outrageous remarks even affected his brother-in-law, Nikolai, who recently resigned from the Austrian embassy and returned to his estate in Moscow to live a secluded life and take care of his mother.

However, Solovyov and the Austrians' experience mainly stemmed from the fact that the Austrian emperor and foreign minister had previously severed all credit with them.

The relationship between Nicholas and his son and France and Prussia was still tinged with kinship, which is difficult to assess.

Even if Weiwei just laughs it off, the fact that he went to England to see Mrs. Victoria off on her deathbed, and that gas canister died in his arms, won him a lot of goodwill from the British, but in the end, when it was time to fight, he still had to fight.

However, according to recent rumors, Maria and Solovyov's daughter is to marry Prince William. This is the decision made by the King of England after seeing the situation of the Crown Prince of England.

If Weiwei could still crawl out of the womb, both her maternal and paternal bloodlines would be somewhat altered.

Solovyov hoped that the Crown Prince would involve less personal feelings in politics, but the ruthless political machine of Russia in this state is difficult to cultivate.

The Luo family members are all somewhat impulsive and emotional.

In this respect, Paul should be considered a descendant of Peter the Great, and his descendants also share this problem to some extent.

But he is only eleven years old, and he only recently became the heir apparent. The crown prince still has a lot of time to think about these issues.

If it weren't for the Persian affair, Nikolai had planned to bring Solovyov back as tutor to teach his son alongside Speransky.

Now Solovyov is going on another expedition, this time heading south, just like before he was preparing to enroll in Tsarskoye Selo.

Back then, there were also his sixth sister Anna and his younger brother Mikhail. During the days when the three of them went on adventures together, Solovyov returned and even gave them lessons.

My own son, at this age, is facing the same problem.

When will you be back?

"After the war ends, there will be a period of governance. I don't know how long I will be there, Your Majesty."

What about Sasha's classes?

"The Imperial Village Middle School has the best teachers, and His Highness should also greatly need the 'Imperial Village Examination Questions' and the 'Ryazan Secret Examination Papers,' as well as..."

Solovyov was about to speak when Nikolai quickly gestured for him to stop.

It was compiled under the supervision of Gauss; it's the Moscow University Mathematics Problem Set, and that's quite difficult.

According to Solovyov, this is an advanced test designed for the Jewish community, whose education level is reportedly very high, hence the increased difficulty.

When Nikolai saw it, he felt like he was reading a book written in a foreign language. He had at least passed the first two types of tests, but after seeing this, he was completely dumbfounded.

He doesn't plan to touch mathematics again; Solovyov himself says he finds it somewhat difficult.

Even his own teacher, who assists great mathematicians in statistics, said it was difficult, which shows how difficult it is.

After leaving the exam papers behind, Solovyov was about to embark on his southern expedition. (End of Chapter)