Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Unlike before, Solovyov did not go directly to the Caucasus. On his previous trips, he went to the garrison commander's place, and last time he also made a side trip to Tbilisi.

He was going to Astrakhan first, and it was clearly written in his letter to his daughter that after this letter, his next reply would be mailed to Astrakhan, where he would stay for a while.

We should also take a look at the port construction. The Caspian Sea was very important for Russia's southern conquests and control of Persia, and it also had significant economic value.

He himself traveled light, taking only a few people with him to Tsaritsyn, and even after arriving there, he continued to wander around.

While visiting the canal, I stopped by Mamayev Kurgan to see this small town, which could even be considered a hamlet.

"This location is very important. A canal can be built from the bend of the Don River to this place, which would connect the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea."

As he gave instructions, he glanced at the coachman, Zha Zha, standing to the side.

If your great-grandson has the opportunity, although this is a somewhat rigid and inflexible idea, it may actually happen in the future.

"Sir, you intend to dig a canal?"

“Yes, let the boat pass. That way, we won’t need Mr. Dzhugashvili to drive us here.”

“Sir, driving the carriage is my duty.”

"It's your job, but what if you could take a boat or a train?"

"I'll probably go back to the countryside to herd sheep."

"Don't be so pessimistic. Let your children get an education too, at least so they can learn to read. It'll be better for them to be managers on the farm than to drive a cart."

In fact, Solovyov was quite different from other gentlemen.

He rode horses more often than he traveled by carriage, and he liked to survey the terrain and learn about the local conditions wherever he went.

Now he will ride a horse for half a month to Astrakhan, and then stop.

He hadn't done this kind of staff trip in a long time.

Of course, being in their own rear, the Persians wouldn't have such long tentacles to figure out what was happening there.

If it weren't for the urgent need to investigate these places, he would probably have visited the Kalmyks, as he had promised.

There aren't many troops stationed in Astrakhan, as it's far in the rear, although the district fleet has some ships there.

Solovyov also noticed that the warships here were mainly second-generation "Enterprise" sailing ships with only 18 cannons, and there weren't even any small frigates.

However, this level of firepower was sufficient; the Persians only had sampans and galleys.

It might not even have cannons, and it would be a step backward from Napoleon: Total War to Attila: Total War.

He said that because he couldn't operate naval warfare in the Middle Ages.

Upon arriving here, Solovyov also observed the condition of the port.

"It looks a bit desolate here."

"Yes, sir. In recent years, due to the poor relations with Persia, there are very few ships going to other places in the Caspian Sea. It is basically a fishing port."

"The fish here must taste delicious."

"If you want to try caviar, the ones here in Astrakhan are quite good."

"It would be even better if we could raise sturgeon."

Solovyov knew about this thing after it was caught, because overfishing had drastically reduced its yield.

We need to start paying attention to protection now. If we combine wild and farmed production, we can probably achieve a large output.

Solovyov also took a bite, but because he was never home, he was often left out when entertaining guests.

"Pasa, this tastes good."

"Dad, you're never home, so of course you don't get to eat this."

"When your mother is home, when she's entertaining guests."

"Would you like me to show you the menu?"

"No need, the food must be plentiful."

Solovyov and Paul have similar habits: as long as it tastes good and is nutritionally balanced, it's fine.

When a wife entertains guests at home, she shouldn't be too stingy. This is fine, and it can even help her get closer to the guests.

Katya was able to obtain information relatively easily among those guests. In addition, she had been helping the Empress raise the Crown Prince, so there were always people who would try to curry favor with her. This was a back door left for her when the Empress Dowager was still alive, and she could quickly find out many things.

It seems that Solovyov's continued existence in the court was also due to the influence of his wife at home.

Next, Solovyov walked the streets of Astrakhan, intending to redevelop the area, transforming it into a crucial support base for future rule over Central Asia and the Caucasus.

If advancing into Central Asia, it might be more convenient to travel to Khiva via the giant Caspian Sea.

“This place can be developed into a port, or even a shipyard. We can produce level 6 ships and merchant ships here in the future.”

Of course, if the Volga and Don rivers were connected, these ships, with the aid of steam power, could also coordinate with the Black Sea.

Peter the Great wanted to build a canal, but he failed.

Furthermore, Russia's main focus was on the north, so the matter was shelved for a long time.

Did industry actually develop during the reign of the Empress?
In comparison, Solovyov felt that Peter the Great did more, because the Cossack and serf uprisings launched by Pugachev and others led to the deindustrialization of some parts of Russia during the Empress's reign, and a considerable number of machines and mines were destroyed by the serfs.

Although Russia defeated Prussia, Sweden, and France, and seized large tracts of land from the Ottoman Empire, its domestic industrial development was not rapid.

By the time of Paul and Alexander, the imminent threat led Russia to once again intensify its industrial development.

Solovyov's real target was oil, even though he wasn't a U.S. soldier.

This was one of the considerations when I helped Carnot study heat engine theory.

He intends to move into the Middle East next, where he will seize benefits for Russia, and then tip the scales of victory back over the British.

We no longer need to worry about those rotten lands in the Far East; they simply can't be developed there.

In this way, it's possible to maintain good relations with the Qing Dynasty and its successor regimes. Sometimes, acting arbitrarily on the border for personal gain can lead to significant trouble later. After all, even Nicholas II of the Hailanpaotu people could suddenly have a bizarre idea and, upon meeting Prince Zaitao who came to inspect the area, unexpectedly bring up the issue of marriage alliances.

Russians are the type who, after benefiting from your situation, still want to be your close friend.

Solovyov was also afraid that Nicholas I would sometimes make such basic mistakes, so he reminded him not to be too emotional in politics.

During his visit to Astrakhan, Solovyov also met some of his acquaintances in the area.

"Ulyanov, is this your home?"

"Yes, sir."

"It was cleaned up very well, but it was a bit shabby, like a farmhouse."

“Sir, this place feels just like when I used to live in the countryside. I’ve gotten used to it.”

“I’ve stayed in places like this when I was on a march. It’s nice to have a clean place.”

He also saw Ulyanov's wife and eldest son Vasily. Ilya's children had mentioned an uncle when they were reminiscing about their relatives, but it had been too long ago.

He was holding a book, and Solovyov realized that the child not only knew how to read, but could also read fluently.

“Vasha”.

"My lord, what are your orders?"

What book are you reading?

“It’s a collection of Mr. Krylov’s stories. We have a school here, and it was a prize my teacher gave me.”

"You've been studying very hard?"

"Yes, my lord."

Do you know how to keep accounts?

"I will help Dad with the accounts."

“Pasha, children from ordinary families don’t live like you did when you were young, with tutors and nannies around, living carefree lives. They have to learn life skills from a very young age, like Vasha.”

"Master, aren't all children from families like ours like this? Young Master, on the other hand, has married His Highness. How can this be compared?"

"No, no, no, Ulyanov. Nobles and commoners may differ in status, but they will eventually be equal under the law. If you have another son, make sure he gets a good education. By the way, I didn't bring anything with me when I first visited your home. I know you're a skilled tailor, but your wages are low. Even when I asked you to go to St. Petersburg, you didn't earn much. This bag of money..."

“Sir, you have been very good to me, there is no need for this.”

“We’ve known each other for twenty years. We became acquainted when you went to the Swedish army with the Tatars and mended my clothes. This bag of money is for when your family is in trouble. If you can make ends meet, you can save it for your children’s education. Maybe your son will become a university student someday. After he goes to university, he will become a civil servant and eventually become a gentleman. You are a free citizen, not a serf in the countryside. You still have these rights.”

Given these words, and the fact that Solovyov was indeed considered a gentleman by him, the tailor had no choice but to accept the money. However, he would not use the money for anything other than his children's education unless he was in dire need.

"Furthermore, Vasily, if you have younger siblings in the future, and you get married, you must see for yourself whether this matter is right or wrong. You cannot listen to only one side of the story."

In addition, he took a book out of his backpack.

"This is a poem by Pushkin. He was, in a way, my student back in Tsarskoye Selo Lycée. But never mind, sometimes it's not a good time to reminisce about the past."

I wonder what Ilya Ulyanov and Vladimir Ilyich will say when they recall these events in the future. The former will remain an excellent educator, while the latter is destined to be the one who overturns the table and brings about earth-shattering reforms in Russia.

As for objective analysis and philosophical theories, Solovyov has never been fond of philosophical topics, nor is he good at them.

That bearded man is almost of middle school age now, and he doesn't have a beard.

The world is changing. Solovyov himself, standing in the position of these people from the old era, could see the future, but he could probably only ensure a soft landing for his own family and do his best to make arrangements for Paul's descendants while he was still alive. As for how many people would die in the future, that would depend on their fate.

Solovyov then ate at the tailor's house, where, although the food was simple, it was more comfortable than having a table laden with delicacies.

“That’s good. Actually, it’s even better to eat like this. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten at a commoner’s house. When I was traveling through the villages with King Paul, I often ate in the villages, but when I was far away from the commoners, I couldn’t hear what they were saying.”

Solovyov said these words to his son. Pasha, after all, was not like him. Even without considering the soul of a transmigrator, he helped manage various affairs for the family and did a lot of work as a country nobleman.

His generation has already distanced itself from ordinary people.

When it came to his son, Misha, Solovyov could also imagine that the distance would be even greater.

He can see his great-grandchildren, the fourth generation, and even his grandchildren if they progress quickly enough.

In short, the divide between nobles and commoners still existed.

Solovyov could only address this by abolishing serfdom and improving the living standards of ordinary people.

Generally speaking, time travelers who arrive in a feudal system often instantly become moral defenders. Solovyov, however, was a bit of a contradiction; he had a very good reputation among commoners and even serfs.

Because it's rare to see a gentleman as approachable as him.

When they were at the fishing port, he didn't mind that the children playing there wore dirty clothes that might soil his uniform as a prince.

On the battlefield, uniforms can get dirty too.

Solovyov was well aware of this; upon arriving in Astrakhan, he had another important task.

Because Nikolai always did not want his nephew-in-law to go to the front lines immediately, Solovyov respected Nikolai's opinion and left Pasha in Astrakhan to oversee the port's construction.

The war was still some time away, and Solovyov needed to ensure stability in the rear first, so leaving his son here was quite reasonable.

“Father, things are not like they used to be. Please take care of yourself when you go to the Caucasus.”

“Pasha, I’m not some random old man. Your dad is in great health. The Caucasus region, apart from the threat of war, is actually quite suitable for people to live in. Georgians are very long-lived. I heard that a distant relative of Dzhugashvili’s family lived to be a hundred. Is that old man still alive?”

“Sir, he’s still alive. He must be 105 years old.”

“Oh dear, when he was born, Emperor Peter was still alive.”

Solovyov, on the other hand, was worried about whether his son could do the job well.

“You used to be by the Emperor’s side, which is not a place to train talent. Your staying in Astrakhan and working here is a test for you from your father. Now you are a father too.”

Around the same time, Pasha actually knew about his father's affair with an Italian housekeeper. He also had several sisters in Paris, especially the eldest sister Octavia, who took him along when she visited Paris.

"Show some soldierly discipline. As my son, you must do a good job." (End of Chapter)