Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Pavel Solovyov was born when his father's family title had changed from a baron to a count, and now his father was a prince. He himself was a second lieutenant in the 1st Battalion of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, the lowest rank of flag bearer, but he had already surpassed many people at the starting line.

After the war ended in 1815, the Russian Guards returned to their garrison in St. Petersburg, and their selection criteria for soldiers were stricter than those for regular troops.

However, considering that the soldiers came from the countryside, they were tall and strong and almost certainly not honest people. Therefore, there were quite a few troublemakers in the Imperial Guard, whether they were officers or soldiers.

However, Pasha had nothing to do with these things. He always served in the palace, near his office in the Little Winter Palace. This was due to his father's military achievements, and also because he was engaged to the youngest princess, Anastasia, and was the fiancé of the Grand Duchess, which gave him some preferential treatment.

He knew that his soon-to-be brother-in-law, Peter Konovnitsyn, was always with a group of people, and that all of Konovnitsyn's sons who were already serving in the military were involved in that activity.

Although he was curious, his post was in the vital Winter Palace, and Nastya would always take him for a walk in the small garden after her dance class, either to show him the dolls she had collected or to visit her younger siblings in the children's room of Grand Duke Nicholas's bedroom, and to say hello to her uncle.

Then, he became a familiar face, and since his father was Grand Duke Nicholas's tutor, he was always kept in the palace.

He once made a statement in the guard's inner circle, talking about constitutional monarchy, the abolition of serfdom, and that his father had long ago given freedom to the uncles and their children in the family, but the original dependent relationship was still maintained in form.

Well, if it weren't for his little aunt constantly pestering him, he probably would have joined the Northern Association. In fact, Kakhovsky felt that with the Konovnitsyn brothers and Pasha joining, there was always a chance to influence Solovyov. His most precious son and son-in-law had both joined, but Old Deng at home just wouldn't participate or make any money. Shouldn't he be given some guidance?
Then, Solovyov cleverly sent several key members of the Northern Association to North America, promoted them, and kept them away from the troubles of St. Petersburg.

This was a brilliant move, but Solovyov misjudged the situation.

Because these young people gathered together to save the country, the more stable and mature they were, the more easily they were swayed by the later radicals.

Some people say that if necessary, Nikolai's family should be controlled and executed. Not to mention the deep mentor-student relationship between Solovyov and Nikolai, if the royal family were controlled, Pasha would definitely go berserk.

Needless to say, Nastya and he have been childhood friends and like each other. That's enough for them to become pure love warriors and go on a rampage through the crowd.

Furthermore, Trubetskoy had always found it strange that a constitutional monarchy was sufficient, and that the attempts to control or even execute the royal family were unnecessary. He had finally managed to persuade Pestor of the Southern Association not to make such a fuss, but his own stronghold was now facing a new problem.

Their ideas were even somewhat unrealistic.

But now, these people have already begun plotting.

While Nikolai and Constantine were still bickering over there, the two brothers confirmed the matter once again using the fastest letters between Warsaw and St. Petersburg.

Miloradovich's stance also changed. His initial attitude actually made Nikolai somewhat hesitant. When news of Taganrog first arrived in St. Petersburg, Miloradovich had advocated that Constantine should succeed him.

Of course, he was closer to the Grand Duke in Warsaw; they were old comrades who had fought side by side. Nikolai himself was not very popular in the court because of his temperament.

Although the Grand Duchess was not a homebody like the Empress, she was still a quiet person. She spent most of her time taking care of the children or having private salons with a group of noblewomen in the palace.

She didn't like that kind of grand display, which meant she only had a small circle of influence, unlike the Empress Dowager who could influence many people. Therefore, she couldn't change Nicholas's reputation.

If the serfs and soldiers below saw Nicholas, they would probably think that Emperor Paul had returned.

Given this, it's no wonder it won't be welcomed.

If the court hadn't later learned of Alexander's edict and the archives published by the Privy Council, they probably would have welcomed Constantine back directly, and even the first round of allegiance by the Praetorian Guard was to Constantine.

The problem was that Constantine refused to succeed to the throne, though his opinion was rather vague.

So at this time, the military was to prepare for another oath of allegiance, which would take place in Senate Square.

At this juncture, many radical members of the Northern Association saw it as a good opportunity.

While on duty at the palace, Pasha met Ivan, her brother-in-law's younger brother. They were about the same age, with Pasha being even younger. If it weren't for Lisa's connection, everyone would have treated him like a little brother.

But this little guy is a bit too tall.

When Solovyov was that age, he could stand next to Tsar Paul and not appear so short. His son, however, was tall and strong. Solovyov's height was improved, probably to make him appear less tall, like the kind of adjutant Nicholas would be used for in the future.

But for now, he is still the flag bearer, in charge of the 1st Battalion's flag.

"Pasha, what have you all been up to lately?"

"Besides duty and training, we just took the oath of allegiance, and now..."

"Why don't you join us?"

"What for? My father rarely participated in secret societies. He only participated in public activities, but he didn't go to gentlemen's clubs. He believed that although secret societies could exchange ideas, there were too many people who would cause trouble for no reason. My aunt Adela also said that some members of the Guard used to throw bears into the causeway in front of our old house."

"What are you thinking about all day long, with your size of stature?"

"Although I support your views, I must remain loyal to the Emperor for now."

In short, it was the kind of conversation that was always awkward, and Ivan Konovnitsyn found it boring, so he left on his own.

Another reason he courted Pasha was that he was the battalion flag bearer and was very familiar with the officers in his battalion. Some of the officers in the battalion were even trained by his father. The rebuilt Semyonovsky regiment was also composed of its own officers drawn from the veteran regiment, and Solovyov recommended many people among them.

The 2nd Battalion of the Prussian Regiment was spared to form the Guards Lithuanian Regiment, which is now the Guards Moscow Regiment. The progress of winning over and uniting officers in the old regiments was not fast, because these places followed some old rules. Except for the Semyonovsky Regiment, which was reorganized after a mutiny in 1820, the performance of the regiments was generally good, and the officers were also very united.

This meant that the Northern Association members were able to recruit mostly officers from the newly formed regiments.

The Jäger Regiment of the Imperial Guards remained silent. Within the Imperial Guards, the Tsar himself was the commander of the Prür Regiment, Constantine was the commander of the Sährür Regiment, Nicholas and Mikhail were the commanders of the Ismailov Regiment and the Jäger Regiment, and then the other Imperial Guard regiments.

However, the newly formed regiments were more successful in connecting with officers.

According to estimates by Ryliev and others, half of the Guards infantry regiments, one-third of the Guards cavalry regiments, and a portion of the Guards artillery were affected, as well as the Guards naval infantry.

If they could gather people together and have them take an oath in the square, they could eventually rally more than five thousand people. At that point, they could take advantage of the situation and bring the Imperial Guards into the streets.

As for the specific plans, they intend to perform traditional arts from the Slavic region.

Although Russians always want a good emperor, Constantine sent a letter stating that he refused to become Tsar.

They wanted to exploit the information gap, demanding that these soldiers pledge allegiance to Constantine, but in reality, "Constantine" and "Constitution" were homophones in the declaration. They were going to shout about constitutional monarchy and lead the Janissaries who had already "pledged allegiance" to Constantine to occupy the Winter Palace.

To maintain control over the royal family members, those not currently in St. Petersburg—namely, Grand Duke Constantine and Empress Elizabeth—it was even necessary to execute them if necessary.

If Solovyov had seen this plan, he would have thought that the people in the Yekaterinburg countryside did a much better job than them.

They even had to curse a bit. Some of the people killed in Yekaterinburg were only placed under house arrest. The Cheka even left a loophole for the brother of the Grand Duke Dmitry, who assassinated the sorcerer monk. He just had to sign a statement severing ties with the royal family, and the Red Guard would escort him to a safe place.

He just didn't sign it. The royal family members on both sides of the mine and the basement were collectively executed. They wouldn't have died even if the White Army hadn't come.

This is not only procedurally unjust, but the plan itself is also utterly brain-dead.

The proper procedure should have been to win over officers by appealing to their progressive ideas and questioning the legitimacy of Nicholas's succession. They did do this, but in reality, very few people joined.

Peter the Great and Paul each created their own regiments, but neither of them mobilized them. These regiments were always stationed at key points around the Winter Palace, especially the Pavlovsky Grenadier Regiment on Million Street, which was positioned to block the Champ de Mars.

On the night Paul was assassinated, Solovyov reminded Alexander to keep the regiment under control and also protected Constantine.

It's not like no one in the Imperial Guard has ever mentioned this example; they just haven't learned it at all.

Moreover, they assumed that since many members of the Guard had doubts about their loyalty to Nicholas, this alliance would succeed.

Furthermore, even among the guards, in Senate Square, those guard regiments that were not won over would not fire at each other.

After reading their statements, Trubetskoy felt like he was with a bunch of incompetent teammates.

"We should try to recruit the two most senior regiments in the Imperial Guard; without their participation, the operation will surely fail."

Why are you so pessimistic?

"Brothers, you should make your plans more thorough. Since you have now 'elected' me as dictator, let me state my opinion. To seize the Peter and Paul Fortress and the armory would divide our forces. The Guards regiments we can muster are from the Moscow Regiment, the Finnish Regiment, the Guards Grenadiers, and the Ismailov Regiment. We're not even sure if the Guards Naval Infantry will join us. The brothers in the regiments might not even join us. If less than half of each regiment reaches Senate Square, some will be left in their barracks by their commanders and battalion commanders. After excluding those necessary for duty, we might not be able to muster many men. Under these circumstances, we shouldn't take action. At least on this occasion, we only have our own reliable comrades. I can speak so frankly."

Trubetskoy's attitude is a basic quality he should have as a staff officer.

If he hadn't been the leader of the Northern Association, and if these people hadn't believed he had the ability and qualifications to be a "dictator" and their leader, he probably would have gone home before the meeting even started.

“Your Highness, at this point, the cause of revolution is great, and you have always been our like-minded partner.”

When Ryliev said this, the others echoed his sentiments.

But Trubetskoy disagreed, arguing that dividing the forces was already a major taboo.

"Kondrati, as an officer, you're only in the reserves. You must know nothing about the role the army's general staff should play. Although I often send Petya to Prince Solovyov, it's not just to let him read those thoughts and gauge his attitude. Another reason is that we need sufficient troops. If we can't win over many people at the beginning, officers will need to lead their men to incite the troops inside and outside the city. Without at least six thousand men, including cavalry and artillery—that's the minimum—we cannot accomplish our mission. If we don't have enough troops, I refuse to join."

Another problem was that Trubetskoy knew that some important members of the association were abroad at this time and not in the country.

Most of the people around Reliev were radical republicans. Getting them to elect him and acknowledge constitutional monarchy as the goal of this action was already the limit.

In fact, this time, it was Reliev and his faction who played the main role.

That's all he can say now.

Without six thousand people in the square and surrounding streets, they would have little chance of success.

Given Trubetskoy's attitude, Reliev couldn't force him, so he contacted Kakhovsky privately.

They all agreed that Nikolai was the biggest obstacle to their operation this time.

However, they hadn't yet decided how to handle the situation. (End of Chapter)