I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1113 The Direction of Russia

The enormous losses fueled the resentment of the Sovereign Order of Malta. So, two years ago, when the British and French fleets were locked in battle in the Mediterranean, they refused to allow French warships to enter port for resupply and even provided intelligence to the British.

After the British Navy withdrew from the Mediterranean, Admiral Bruyès, the commander-in-chief of the Toulon fleet, sent marines to the island and arrested hundreds of members of the Order of Malta who had ties with Britain—at the time, the Order of Malta had only about 400 members in total—and declared the port of Malta a permanent neutral port, where no military facilities could be deployed.

The Knights of Malta, having suffered a series of blows, were greatly weakened. Just then, Paul I ascended the throne, and they were overjoyed.

The Tsar had been fascinated by chivalry since childhood, and the Sovereign Order of Malta is currently the only knightly order in the world recognized by the Vatican. Therefore, decades ago, they had close ties with the Russian Crown Prince.

The Knights of Malta immediately made a decision, and almost the entire order went to St. Petersburg to curry favor with the new Tsar, even appointing Paul I as their protector.

Paul I was very generous and directly granted them a palace to use as a camp, and provided them with 50 rubles in operating expenses each year.

Then, Paul completely let loose, not only setting up a knight's chapel in the palace and requiring nobles to pray there, but also forcibly implementing a complete set of chivalric etiquette and rules, including but not limited to:

When meeting His Majesty the Emperor, one must kneel on one knee; one must wear a full set of classical knightly attire, otherwise one will not be allowed to enter the Gatchina Palace; one must abide by chivalrous virtues, and refrain from extravagant banquets and adultery; all nobles must follow the schedule of medieval monasteries, and must go to sleep after 9 p.m., etc.

Most critically, he also established a Court of Chivalry, with 12 Maltese knights serving as judges, specifically to adjudicate cases involving nobles who violated the code of chivalry.

For a time, this caused great distress to all the Russian nobles, and many even fled St. Petersburg under the pretense of undergoing "chivalrous training."

As for the fact that Paul I himself was an Orthodox Christian, while the Knights of Malta were Catholic.

He didn't see it as a problem at all.

From his youth, he believed himself to be the "incarnation of the savior" and had an obligation to unify Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy and establish a "universal church" belonging to all Christians.

Of course, because the Eastern Orthodox Church is still very powerful, Paul I only dared to make some small moves for the time being, and the universal Church is still in the stage of secret preparation.

General Orlov pondered for a moment, then said with a bitter expression, "I don't know who can get in touch with those Maltese. They seem to only listen to His Majesty the Emperor."

“I met their special envoy, Giulio Lita, twice…”

As Suvorov was speaking, Zubov caught up from behind, panting, "Marshal, that's great! We've finally found you!"

Suvorov frowned inwardly.

He felt a strong aversion to this old Tsar's lover. The two had previously been quite distant; why had he suddenly come to see him?

Zubov showed none of the arrogance he had displayed when Ye Er was alive. He bowed respectfully to Suvorov and Orlov, then took two steps closer and whispered:
"Your Excellency Marshal, we're in deep trouble. For the future of the Empire, we must unite!"

"What happened?"

"I have heard that His Majesty the Emperor intends to withdraw all troops from the South Caucasus."

Suvorov was taken aback: "Are you sure?"

“My men heard it from Rostopchin.”

Rostopchin is a close confidant of Paul I and currently oversees Russia's foreign affairs.

Suvorov immediately said urgently, "You should go find Count Khlabovitsky and Count Bezberodiko. I'll contact Marshal Rumyantsev... No, His Majesty doesn't like him very much..." "Count Osterman, His Majesty should still listen to him."

"Okay. I'll go find him."

Suvorov nodded and walked side by side with Zubov toward the carriage: "Why did Your Majesty do this?"

"It is said that His Majesty believes that there are no interests for us in the Middle East and that it would only be a waste of military funds."

Suvorov's brow furrowed even deeper.

Although Russia's offensive in the Persian direction has been thwarted, it has now occupied a large area of ​​land north of Myane. How can it give up so easily?

As for Zubov, he had to do everything in his power to preserve Russia's gains in the Middle East.

Because his brother was in command of the Persian campaign.

After losing Ye Er as his patron, he pinned his hopes on his younger brother gaining political prestige from the battlefield. That was the future of the Zubov family!

The following day at noon, Marshal Suvorov, along with a host of highly influential ministers including the Russian Foreign Minister, the former Tsar's secretary, and the former State Minister, arrived at the Gatchina Palace.

On the palace walls, a squad of guards, armed with halberds and dressed in tight-fitting uniforms, patrolled back and forth. Upon spotting Suvorov and his men, several flintlock muskets immediately emerged from their firing ports.

Yes, when Paul I was crown prince, his favorite thing to do all day was to train troops. He personally trained a Gatchina Legion and decorated the Gatchina Palace to resemble a military camp.

An officer stepped forward, saluted Suvorov and the others, then glanced at the gun barrels on the wall and whispered, "Please don't mind, this is what His Majesty ordered. Hmm, 'We must never let our guard down.'"

Suvorov waved his hand dismissively. He knew that there used to be barricades at the entrance of the Gatchina Palace, but they were removed after the Tsar ascended the throne.

Not far after entering the palace, Suvorov heard the sound of military drums and leather boots pounding on the ground coming from the square.

It is clear that His Majesty the Tsar is personally training the army again.

"You're wrong again! Is your brain made of stone? You can't even keep such a simple step!" Paul I, dressed in standard Prussian military uniform and wearing a tricorn hat, pointed his sword at a soldier and scolded him, "Go to the disciplinary officer and get five lashes."

The soldier's face turned pale, but he dared not disobey and could only walk tremblingly toward the corner of the square.

Suvorov frowned: "What did that young man do to deserve being whipped?"

In the Russian army, whipping is usually only used for serious offenses such as unauthorized robbery or damage to weapons.

The officer who brought them in turned his head and said, "It's a step error, Marshal. His Majesty requires that the infantry take one arshen with each step in formation."

Count Hrabovitsky, standing nearby, asked in confusion, "But that soldier didn't go the wrong way..."

He was halfway through his sentence when he saw an officer lying on the ground with a ruler, measuring the stride of each soldier, and he immediately shut his mouth.

Immediately, he heard Paul I shout at an officer: “Your soldiers have made more than a dozen mistakes today. This proves that you have not taken the task of training them seriously at all. Give them ten lashes.”

(End of this chapter)