shadow of britain

Chapter 637 I have connections in the Caucasus!

"What about you? Do you have any activities planned for the next few days? Maslenitsa has just begun, and there will be parties almost every day in Petersburg in the next week."

"Activity?"

Arthur counted on his fingers and muttered: "The first day is the meeting day, the second day is the play day, the third day is the sweet day, the fourth day is the square day, the fifth day is the mother-in-law day, the sixth day is the sister-in-law day, and the seventh day is the forgiveness day. Except for the first day of meeting day and the fourth day of square day, I will probably stay at home and warm myself by the fire."

Pushkin asked: "Don't you have anything to do tomorrow? Playday is a good day for unmarried young people to find a partner."

Arthur was amused by Pushkin's words. He put down the teacup in his hand and said with a smile: "Mr. Pushkin, do I look like an unmarried young man? Besides, it is true that I am unmarried, but I did not come to Petersburg to find a partner. My mission is 'cultural exchange', not 'interpersonal marriage'."

Pushkin raised his eyebrows. "Then you should go out even more. After all, the Day of Play is a traditional Russian custom. By the way, have you received an invitation to the concert in April?"

"I would have almost forgotten about this if you hadn't mentioned it," Arthur asked. "Princess Dolgorukaya and Countess Shuvalova came to the embassy to see me the day before yesterday. She said this was a charity performance to raise funds for the poor, and she hoped that I could do my part to help with the charity."

"How much money did they ask you to donate?"

Arthur leaned back on the sofa. "It's not about the money. They want me to play a song. They also said that His Majesty the Tsar and Count Benckendorff and others would be there that day."

"You agreed?"

"Not yet." Arthur picked up his teacup and recalled the scene of that day. "I saw some complaints in the newspapers saying that these two ladies should not organize concerts, so I haven't made an official reply yet. Have they ever done anything wrong?"

Pushkin didn't know how to answer Arthur's question. He pondered for a long time but couldn't come up with a good answer, so he could only lower his voice and confess: "Well, about these two ladies. Princess Dolgorukaya, she is Count Potemkin's concubine and the lover of all Italian eunuchs. As for Countess Shuvalova, she is a coquettish Polish woman, that is to say, a notorious person. I must admit that our upper class does not attach much importance to the moral standards that should be followed."

Arthur's eyes widened when he heard this, he had seen fickle women before, so this was not something too strange.

However, he was determined to get to the bottom of the "Italian eunuch's lover" mentioned by Pushkin.

"The lover of an Italian eunuch? Are you joking, or are you stating the truth?"

"It's half a joke, half a fact," Pushkin asked. "You know that Italian castrati are very famous in the music world?"

Arthur nodded and said, "Of course I know. Because they were castrated in childhood, they can maintain the high and clear voices of children when they grow up, while also having the volume and control of men. However, because great composers like Rossini and Bellini increasingly prefer to create bel canto operas, they almost always use tenors, so castrati singers are becoming increasingly rare now."

Pushkin smiled and shook his head. "Perhaps in France, castrati are slowly disappearing, but in Russia, there are so many hymns to sing, so castrati are still popular. Moreover, these castrati have delicate skin and fair looks, so there will always be ladies chasing after them. Of course, Dolgorukaya doesn't always need castrati. For her, as long as she looks as fair as a castrati, that's enough."

Arthur shook his head regretfully: "Then what do you think? Should I reject their invitation to perform?"

"Why?" Pushkin joked, "Are you afraid that they have bad intentions? I still remember the story you told me about fighting with East End hooligans in London. Can they be more terrible than knife-wielding gangsters?"

"How could that be?" Arthur shook his head. "These two ladies are both beautiful. Of course I am not afraid of them. But from what you just told me, if I get too close to them, I might run into a group of armed Italian eunuchs on my way home one night."

"More than that." Pushkin laughed. "Some of them may not be castrated completely. They may still hold the title of general."

Upon hearing this, Arthur jokingly asked, "Is Paskevich among them?"

When Pushkin heard the name, he couldn't help but pause.

There were many nobles with the surname Paskevich in Russia, but Pushkin was sure that the one Arthur was referring to was Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich, the Governor-General of Poland, Prince of Warsaw, and Count of Yerevan.

If we were to ask which living Russian general is the most famous, Paskevich would definitely be one of the strong candidates.

Not only did he participate in the trial of the Decembrists with Count Benckendorff, but he also made outstanding contributions in almost every war launched after Nicholas I ascended the throne.

During the Russian-Persian War of 1827, Paskevich, then Governor-General of the Caucasus, led his troops as the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Expedition to defeat the Persian New Army led by Persian Prince Abbas Mirza and captured the fortress of Yerevan.

The following year, the Eighth Russo-Turkish War broke out, and Paskevich was sent to fight in the Caucasus region under the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Empire. He completely eliminated the influence of the Ottoman army in the Caucasus and forced the Ottoman Empire to give up its sovereignty over the Caucasus.

After the war, Paskevich was not idle either. He soon joined the Caucasus conquest war launched by Russia. In accordance with the will of the Tsar, he tried to suppress the local indigenous forces that were dissatisfied with Russian rule.

But man proposes, God disposes. Originally, Paskevich's advancement in the Caucasus was going very smoothly, but then news of the Polish uprising arrived.

Marshal Zabarkansky, the commander of the rebellion army, suffered a series of defeats in the process of suppressing the rebellion, and was criticized by the Tsar for his slow progress after gaining a foothold. Even more unfortunate was that Zabarkansky had just reversed the situation and won the Battle of Ostrjeka, but he died of cholera in Poland.

At this moment, it was Paskevich who was dispatched by the Tsar to put out the fire. And this veteran general of the Tsarist Russia did not disappoint the expectations and completed the task assigned by the Tsar, defeating the Polish uprising army in the Battle of Warsaw.

To commemorate this victory, the Tsar also sent the title of "Prince of Warsaw" in a timely manner.

Of course, Paskevich was already famous in Russia and did not need a prince title to help increase his fame.

The successful suppression of the Polish uprising brought him more fame in Europe.

As the sharpest knife and the most effective executioner in the Tsar's hand, the liberals in Germany, France and Britain all spat on him.

Arthur took out a book from his bag. "A few days ago, my French friend sent me a new book published in Paris, "Journey to the East Commissioned by the French Government". This book mainly talks about the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire in 1829. I originally just used it as a storybook for entertainment, but I saw a passage in it about you."

"About me?"

Pushkin, who had a good command of French, took the book, glanced at it and immediately found his name.

—Among the poets who participated in the Turkish expedition, I know only Khomyakov and Muravyov. Both served in the army of the commander-in-chief, Count Dibich-Zabalkansky. The former wrote some outstanding lyric poems at the time, and the latter traveled to many holy places, and those trips made a very deep impression on him. However, I have not read any satirical poems against the Erzurum expedition.

— The commander of the Erzurum expedition was Prince Paskevich, and among the generals of the Eastern Expedition under his command, the following are particularly noteworthy: General Muravyov, Prince Titsevadze of Georgia, Prince Bebutov of Armenia, Prince Potemkin, General Raevsky. Finally, Mr. Pushkin, who left the capital to seek inspiration and sing the praises of his compatriots.

Arthur took a sip of Earl Grey tea and quietly observed Pushkin's expression changes.

As expected, even the most cultured people find it difficult to stand the French people's sarcasm.

Although these two paragraphs seem to be merely narrating facts, the first paragraph deliberately praises Khomyakov and Muravyov, and does not mention Pushkin, who participated in the Erzurum Expedition. Instead, it makes a vague statement - no satirical poems against the Erzurum Expedition have been read.

Although Pushkin's name was mentioned in the second paragraph, it was the leading general who was praised. Then Pushkin was dragged out at the end, saying that he followed him to sing praises.

Although this kind of weirdness cannot be appreciated without careful observation, Arthur feels that if he can see it, there is no reason why a poet like Pushkin who is extremely sensitive to words cannot see it.

Sure enough, while Arthur was taking a sip of tea, he discovered that Pushkin's face was visibly red.

"I must admit that these lines from a French traveler, though they may seem like words of praise, irritate me more than the insults in a Russian magazine. To seek inspiration? This always strikes me as a ridiculous, absurd quirk! Because inspiration cannot be found; it comes to the poet on its own."

Pushkin put down the book and pressed his clenched fist on the cover: "To me, coming to the battlefield to sing the praises of future exploits is both vain and shameless. I never get involved in military discussions. This is not my business. Perhaps, Marshal Paskevich's military action of crossing the Saganlu Mountains to cut off the connection between the Ottoman commander and the Ottoman Pasha, the defeat of two enemy armies in a day and a night, and the rapid expedition to Arzrum are worthy of ridicule in the eyes of some soldiers or people like Mr. Tanier, the author of this book "Journey to the East". However, I would feel ashamed to write a satirical poem about a famous commander who received me warmly in his tent and praised me in his busy schedule."

Pushkin cursed: "Who does he think I am? Does he think I am an ungrateful guy?"

Arthur put down his teacup apologetically. "I... I didn't expect you to be so angry. I was just curious. I thought you were strictly prohibited from leaving Russia. So, when I saw the book, I thought Mr. Tanier must have made a mistake, or that the Pushkin in the book was someone else... Did you really participate in that expedition?"

Pushkin was obviously very angry: "I was indeed not allowed to leave the country. This expedition was the only time I was allowed to go abroad. I applied to the emperor several times at that time. One was to go to Paris, another to BJ, and the last time was to join Marshal Paskevich's expeditionary force. Although following the combat troops is not as happy as going to Paris and BJ, many of my exiled friends are serving in this expeditionary force, so it is always more comfortable than staying in St. Petersburg and Moscow."

When Arthur heard Pushkin admit that he had indeed been to the Caucasus and witnessed the battle between the Russian army and the Ottomans, the old spy suddenly became interested.

"Which unit were you with at the time? Your friend's unit?"

"At first, I followed General Burtsov. General Burtsov was the most talented commander in the Caucasus Army, and Marshal Paskevich always gave him the most important tasks. At the same time, he was my senior and guide. It was he who recruited me and several of my classmates into the 'Happiness Association'. However, due to the influence of the Decembrist Party incident, General Burtsov was demoted to serve in the Caucasus."

Pushkin explained slowly: "But because the troops under General Burtsov had too heavy an offensive mission, I was eventually assigned to the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment, which was commanded by a friend of mine, Nikolai Raevsky. Similarly, he was sent here due to the influence of the Decembrists. Although Raevsky's talent is not as comprehensive as General Burtsov's, he is indeed a cavalry genius that cannot be ignored. In crucial battles, Marshal Paskevich would always give him the command of all the cavalry."

Pushkin's words seemed to open up a new world for Arthur.

He never imagined that Pushkin, a writer, had such extensive connections in Russia's Caucasus Legion.

But on second thought, it is not unreasonable that Pushkin had such a wide network of connections in the Caucasus.

Among the noble officers who participated in the Decembrists, all the leaders had been beheaded, and the remaining accomplices were either exiled to Siberia or the Caucasus.

Russia's military deployment in Siberia was obviously not enough to accommodate so many airborne officers. On the contrary, the Caucasus Corps had enough space to accommodate these exiles from St. Petersburg because of its long-term preparation for war.

When he thought of this, Arthur couldn't help but smile from the bottom of his heart. "I absolutely support you on this issue. But I still don't understand why you want to defend Marshal Paskevich so much? Could it be that he showed some extraordinary qualities in that war?"

(End of this chapter)