Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

This appointment is not surprising, it is a temporary appointment.

Because the Russian army always needs a logistics center, the biggest benefit of taking action in Warsaw is probably that it will be able to control the potentially restless Poles locally.

Solovyov actually didn't like this kind of work. Poles were different from Swedes, and they were also different from the various ethnic groups in the Balkan Yugoslavia.

They will definitely not stay still, and now they are just intimidated by the power of the Russian army.

Of course, as Napoleon's adopted nephew, the risk of assassination would be much smaller.

This job is not easy, but since the Tsar has appointed me personally, I have no choice but to accept it.

In other words, the locals are not crazy. If they were like the Serbs, or if they were in that period when populism was rampant, who knows what would have happened.

As in 1794-1795, the Poles were actually more aggressive at home.

However, this also has an advantage, that is, Solovyov and Paskevich were left near Warsaw and did not have to go to the front line for the time being.

Solovyov was actually a little dissatisfied. After all, he still wanted to make more military achievements. The Napoleonic Wars lasted only a short time. Although the French were still very strong, they had weakened significantly compared to before June 1812. But the overall situation seemed to be able to achieve a huge victory over France according to his own analysis.

The French army even lacked horses. The Austrians had cut off the supply of horses and equipment support, which had greatly reduced the originally powerful cavalry strength of the French army.

If any mediocre person were to command the battle now, the front line would probably be defeated.

Solovyov still hoped to end the war as soon as possible, and even prevent the Austrians from joining in. He could use the Russian-Prussian coalition forces to defeat the opponent.

However, considering the Tsar’s current series of personnel appointments, his strategy may not be wrong, but the Russian army’s own execution capabilities are not good enough.

While in the pursuit, Admiral Chichakov, because of the dissatisfaction of his country with his performance on the Berezina River, finally chose to resign in anger and left the army and Russia forever.

It doesn't sound like the style of this former Navy Minister, but he did it. He did not participate in the actions of the Sixth Coalition and even withdrew from the war during the period when the Russian army acted alone.

While other forces were besieging Toruń and Danzig, Platov's reconnaissance troops had already reached the Oder River and brought back some information about the French movements, including the recent actions of the Prussian royal family.

The Prussian royal family seemed to be preparing to flee Berlin, but the direction of action was different. Since the couple had become divided, they had always agreed on the direction but acted differently.

King FW now wishes to go to Silesia, but the Queen, contrary to her usual practice, thinks that the children should be left in a safe area for the time being and go to East Prussia to join Alexander first.

There had indeed been many conflicts between the two of them ever since Napoleon had mentioned the "charm of the queen" so rudely that they had been slow to act.

You must know that the Russian army arrived in Poland earlier than expected, especially the cavalry detachment that acted in the front.

The bold Figner and Davydov even planned to go west and directly into the territory of the Rhine Confederation to spread anti-Napoleon ideas and recruit German troops.

The soldiers of the German princes captured in Russia formed a force, which was recruited from captured personnel and soldiers from various German countries who volunteered to join the Russian army, with a strength of nearly 10,000 people.

This is the case. The bold actions of some Russian officers are indeed aimed in these important directions.

Now, what about Poland?

Poland seemed insignificant, and even after the failure of the Polish army mobilization, they themselves were greatly affected. The government agencies of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw were moved to Krakow, which was still a Polish city after all.

But the situation doesn't look good. No one knows when the Austrians will join in, which would be a disaster for the Poles.

However, Alexander's statement is indeed very attractive.

The Tsar himself organized a committee in Warsaw to be responsible for city management. In fact, only two people were Poles, and the rest of the staff were arranged by him.

In fact, it was the Russian government that was manipulating the situation, and Alexander was determined to make some parts of Europe part of Russia's sphere of influence.

Solovyov actually has deep concerns in this regard, that is, Russia looks more like a security guard for these European countries, and once something happens internally, they may ask Russia for help.

But they are very reluctant to see Russia interfere in European affairs, unless the rebels force them into a corner with bayonets.

For Russia, its core interests are actually towards the south, looking for outlets in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.

This is Solovyov's personal opinion. The expedition to Persia before the Queen's death ended abruptly, and the wars against Persia during the Paul and Alexander periods probably also ended in failure.

The most it could do is make the Shah of Persia surrender. If Russia moves deeper into Europe, it will probably be difficult to get away when progress is needed elsewhere in the future.

However, in Alexandria's overall strategy, he was only concerned with affairs related to France and the Qing Dynasty.

He conquered half of Sweden, and he also made great contributions in the Balkans.

Some things cannot be said, especially seeing Alexander playing the role of Messiah in front of these people, promising freedom to the Poles.

It’s just that the Russian monarch will be the king.

Alexander himself was not so bad. He was probably a very popular monarch wherever he went, and he was very good at pleasing his subjects.

After hearing that the Russian Tsar wanted to give them more rights, the nobles who remained in Warsaw naturally supported a Polish kingdom under Russian control.

They are even less moral than the Swedish nobles. Many of them came here because their property is in Finland, and they made it very clear.

When it came to these Poles, they were really only concerned about their own interests. After Alexander untied them and made some verbal promises, they seemed to have no idea what they were.

As for the nobles, they probably did not resist because their land interests were guaranteed.

It seems that whether there is a Poland is also a small issue on the table.

Of course, Solovyov only attended this one official event.

He had more things to do next. After the Russian army entered the territories of Mecklenburg and Saxony, that area also became a war zone. For the Tsar's sisters, except Alexandra who settled in Württemberg, or Catherine who simply married Napoleon, even some of the Tsar's relatives in Europe had to temporarily leave their country because of the threat of war.

This reception becomes a big problem, and if it is in a small place, it is even difficult to take good care of it.

Coupled with the fact that the Prussian royal family was preparing to flee, the final result was obvious.

If we want to host a banquet, the most suitable place seems to be Warsaw.

The number of troops stationed here is currently small, and Alexander plans to have Bennigsen form a reserve corps here, while Solovyov will be responsible for the basic work before that.

Because Bennigsen's work in this area was not so detailed, and Solovyov had experience in the East Prussian Army and the Danube Army Group, so he was asked to do the preliminary preparations. No one else could do this job. In addition to organizing the army, meeting with local nobles, and handling petitions, the Tsar's relatives also had to come.

My past experience in the Guards seems to be very useful now.

The escape of the Prussian royal family at this time did shock Napoleon.

But for him, the news is now nothing.

Because Eugene's army was finding it difficult to resist the Russian advance between the Vistula and Oder rivers, he moved from Poznan to the vicinity of Berlin.

Although this route seems familiar, it is completely different from the one in Kimchi.

As the war approached, life became difficult for the German princes, and they would naturally seek refuge with their relatives.

In addition to the Oldenburg relatives who had already come to Russia, Alexander also had several brothers-in-law, and even Constantine's daughter-in-law's family - although Constantine's marriage was about to officially end, the relationship still existed, especially Anna's sister who married a nobleman serving in Russia.

With such relations, there are naturally many people coming to Warsaw to visit relatives.

And Solovyov knew very well that Maria would come.

The area of ​​Saxony-Weimar is also very close to the war zone. Since it is all Saxony, places like Dresden and Leipzig are inevitably related to the war.

For this purpose, Alexander also sent Guards officers to pick up these relatives as soon as possible when the detachment was active, at least in Warsaw and Königsberg, away from the war zone.

It is also possible to set up a cultural salon, making the local area look lively and satisfying the vanity of these Poles.

"You seem to be very interested in Poland, Count."

When someone tried to force a lecture on him, Solovyov could only endure it.

“Maybe you’re right, but I’m here.”

"You should have some wonderful experiences here, just like those French generals."

"I think it's better to forget it. His Majesty has just allowed me to bring my wife and lover over."

Katya may not be well-known to the Polish nobles in Warsaw, but Madame Recamier is very famous.

Although Solovyov preferred younger ones, he was always in the arms of his "sister". Madame Recamier was very famous in Paris and was a famous salon hostess.

Among the "Three Graces" of Paris, she was the most beautiful and also the youngest. After all, this was during the French Revolution, and the lady was even only around 20 years old at that time.

Now she is coming to Warsaw. After the French generals have left, the French ladies are coming here.

Those ladies stranded in St. Petersburg seemed to be moving collectively from St. Petersburg to Warsaw to turn it into a cultural center.

After hearing these remarks, Solovyov also knew what he, the military governor of Warsaw, did.

Of course, he actually has his own ideas. In the future, Alexander will probably send him to a governorate under a military district system, where civil management will also be a very important part.

Solovyov himself did not believe in the whip, so he and Arakcheev often argued about this issue.

He always increased the amount of training rather than using his superiors' whip.

But this was because he won battles to convince his subordinates. If he were to govern the local area, he would probably have to make achievements as well so that the locals would have a better impression of him.

When he was in Sweden, he temporarily judged cases and participated in court work, and his performance was quite good. The Swedes later missed this young general very much, and even the young King Gustav V knew it.

When he arrived in Odessa, he only carried out road planning, made some suggestions on the manor's industry, and strengthened the epidemic prevention work in the port.

This played a significant role in 1812, and ultimately Odessa did not suffer a large-scale outbreak of plague. The Duke of Richelieu had completed the quarantine work before plague patients were discovered in the city, which affected local trade.

This situation was not completely settled until January 1813, and for this reason a large number of Russian troops could be mobilized from the south.

Alexander wanted Solovyov to come over because he was quite talented in this area.

If possible, he really hoped that Speransky could be released from house arrest. After all, he was an outstanding civil servant with a solid resume at all levels.

But this suggestion cannot be realized for the time being.

Count Arakcheev, a political enemy, first tried to test Alexander's attitude, but in the end nothing came of it.

The Tsar himself is not interested in this now, which is consistent with his usual characteristics.

Alexander wanted to focus all his attention on Europe, and diplomacy and military affairs were also what he preferred to do. As for domestic affairs, Shishkov, who came from the navy, was not directly responsible, and all were handed over to the father and son of the tutor who remained in the country.

There is definitely no chance of Speransky's comeback.

However, in Poland, due to climate conditions, spring plowing can begin in February, and the entire work is expected to be completed by the end of April.

This aspect was something Soloviev was quite concerned about. Last year, the French army's grain collection work, coupled with a large number of conscriptions, did affect the economic development of the Grand Duchy of Poland.

If you want to win back the hearts of the people, don't think about those things like having an independent Poland.

It seems that what is more important is to start farming in 1813 on this relatively fertile land.

Solovyov was thinking of the Swedes, some of whose soldiers were "granted land".

The problem he has now is that there is nowhere to place the tens of thousands of conscripted Polish soldiers.

Asking them to go home doesn't seem realistic.

But if we organize these people to participate in this year's spring ploughing and give them something to do, we might be able to maintain stability.

Solovyov was worried that the war would not end as quickly as expected, and he always had to make long-term arrangements.

Not only this year and next year, but even if a Paris newspaper really reports big news, we must be adequately prepared.

We should always have a long-term vision. (End of this chapter)