Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Why the Americas?

"Many places there are blank spaces, unknown. Of course, it's not that we have no way out, Your Majesty."

Solovyov looked at Nikolai. Although Nikolai had made considerable progress under his tutelage and through practice, he still needed proper guidance.

Otherwise, he will go astray again. For example, his understanding of some things is part of self-taught knowledge. As a Russian Grand Duke with German family blood from Oldenburg and now the Tsar of Russia, he will still have some deviations.

"You must have some plan."

"Like when I went to Santo Domingo in the past, I would send the French there through Spanish territory to Rosberg. Although the Spanish had some objections, it was a border area under their control, and they couldn't resolve many internal issues, so they could only leave us there."

Now, in addition to the small towns in northern Russian America, there are also the territories that Chief Seattle and his uncle bought and gave away, as well as the allied tribes around Roseburg.

The biggest problem in Russian America is not actually a lack of manpower.

After all, some of the original inhabitants have settled down and formed an alliance with the "Russian tribes," which has also benefited them.

For the Russian governor, the biggest problem at this time was the lack of management talent.

If people need to settle here, they can even recruit the Native Americans. They can make the Russian governor their leader. The biggest advantage of these people on the West Coast is probably that they are in the early stages of slavery, can understand some of the Russian system, and will join if given benefits.

Solovyov's plan was not limited to the western coast of North America; it extended beyond the Rocky Mountains to the northwestern Great Plains, where the Sioux tribes were natural allies.

Moreover, Russia's policy in the Americas was to recognize the territories of various tribes. Only the Americans would do something like this. In Siberia, Russia eventually subdued the locals and brought in the Cossacks. While those tribes expressed their submission, they also retreated into the forests.

If they are willing to come to the city or serve in the military, Russia, which is short of manpower, will naturally welcome them.

The westward expansion of the United States was not just a matter of being unethical.

Solovyov's current concern is winning people's hearts and minds.

Furthermore, if Russia's influence could extend to the Great Plains, especially the lower Mississippi River, it would be able to establish contact with those slave-owning states.

Rather than sending these valuable laborers north to work as consumables, it would be better to bring these black guys to Russian territory to clear land, and even the Native Americans probably wouldn't object.

If the Native Americans had implemented feudal serfdom, it might have been considered a progressive system.

In the minds of North American Native Americans, all members of a tribe are family, from the lowest-ranking tribal members to warriors, shamans, and chiefs. Even in the Chinook tribe, which had already entered a slave society, the slaves would soon be freed and become tribal members.

If the serfdom system of self-governing Russian villages before Ivan the Terrible were reformed, tribal elders would have an obligation to protect tribal members who would serve as laborers on the territory.
It seems to be more progressive than the serfdom system in Russia at that time. It can only be said that Russia's problems are the result of the continuous strengthening of aristocratic power over the past two hundred years.

When Russia moves to the next stage, it needs a centralized monarch and some capable ministers to remove the forces hindering reform from Russian territory and clean the house before inviting guests.

A constitutional monarchy, for example, would likely end up strengthening the power of the nobility and capitalists, which is something Solovyov is unwilling to see.

Because these people are even more selfish than the peasants that Tsar Paul mentioned in his letter.

As for the members of the Northern Association, some of them are beneficiaries of Russian and American companies.

However, the major shareholders do not have the same opinion.

Solovyov wouldn't believe the so-called withdrawal from political life. Ryliev invited Battenkov to give a speech in the Privy Council and announce his own political platform, which was no different from seizing power.

Although he had a wife and a daughter, and some business dealings with his family, Solovyov did not want to protect him.

"It's just a simple tragedy to make a wife lose her husband and a daughter lose her father."

"Why would you say that?"

"If they cause unrest, and more wives lose their husbands and children lose their fathers, and they call it a noble cause, when all of this could have been avoided, then such people are guilty. Those hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of families are not just statistics."

This time when he came back, he didn't bring Zaza Dzhugashvili. His great-grandson said something similar, and then a bald man was shot.

Ninety years later, it was clear that the situation was critical and surgery was necessary, which was quite different from the situation in Russia at that time.

One's stance depends on the context, and some nobles are drawn into the situation, even if it is simply due to their past stance.

For example, retired Major General Feng Weijin held the Saint-Simonian doctrine and was an early member of the Salvation League. However, he was not currently serving in the military and did not come from any famous family. It was just that he and his brothers had accumulated military merits early in the war and became generals.

Solovyov himself even felt that his constitution was more likely to attract this type of person and their relatives, the opposite of Muravyov, whose family also had relatives like Bakunin.

It's just that he got married early, has many children, and prefers stability rather than rebuilding an order; he always tries to fix things within a framework first.

He might even have someone ready to overturn the table in the future. Although this way of thinking is rather rigid, what are the possibilities for the future?

At least the bearded lawyer already has a son who will grow a beard in the future. Once he appears, things will get interesting.

"Your Majesty, it seems that some thought prisoners do have some value in their research, which may provide some reference for the future social structure."

"So you just marked Major General Feng Weijin on the list with a pencil?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Although Saint-Simonism is absurd, it is a new and progressive idea, and it may well become a viable path for human society in the future."

"But such disregard for the monarch—if it weren't for you saying such things, but someone else..."

“Your Majesty, if it were someone else, they might not tell you these things.” “Yes, only you will always tell me the truth, and I thank you for your efforts.”

However, Nikolai kept Solovyov by his side and wouldn't let him return to Crimea anytime soon.

He really needs his own people to consolidate his power and to conduct trials in the coming period.

"From a legal perspective, some people's crimes are serious, while others' crimes are minor. They cannot be generalized. Some people have only heard about the plan to destroy the monarchy, and they are imprisoned, which is not enough to warrant the death penalty."

“I will issue a second verdict for these people at the appropriate time, and some can appeal. In addition, you can help me identify these people, but please do not appear here.”

Solovyov quickly understood after hearing this, as there were some private rooms in the Winter Palace where one could listen in, just like when he was with Tsar Paul.

Nikolai did this to confirm the situation of these people, and he also wanted to interrogate some people and bring the members of the Southern Association to St. Petersburg for further interrogation.

The questioning of these people from the Northern Association now seems to be the main event.

Solovyov went to the room next door, where Mikhail was also there.

“You come and listen too. We might even leave the door open so that Your Majesty can have one-on-one conversations with them.”

“It is necessary to demonstrate the monarch’s majesty and benevolence.”

"And some people may need to be pardoned, their fathers are meritorious. But Konovnitsyn's eldest son is your future son-in-law, and my brother has suggested that his crimes be pardoned."

“Your Highness, we must get to the bottom of this. Instead of granting a pardon now, we should investigate thoroughly and have sufficient evidence to convict you. Even if you grant a pardon or reduce your sentence, it will be out of His Majesty’s grace, not because of my connections as an ‘old guy’ who has served in the army for over thirty years.”

Mikhail understood that his master was giving Nicholas all the credit for this performance in order to establish the monarch's authority, and only then would he show mercy.

As for Peter Konovnitzen, judging from the investigation files, his file is the simplest. He knew about the Northern Society's activities, but did not participate in them. At most, he was a criminal of the eighth or ninth rank, and might be demoted to private.

After all, his father was a general, and his future father-in-law was also a general. He himself wasn't deeply involved, and the girl he was going to marry... Lisa could be considered one of Alexander and Louisa's goddaughters. Nikolai would definitely reduce his sentence or pardon him.

However, Solovyov failed to realize that Konovnitsyn's other son, Ivan, who had directly participated in inciting the cavalry artillery regiment, had already been pardoned before his return and was merely placed under surveillance at home.

Sometimes he couldn't even figure out what Russia's standards for conviction were; his actions could have sentenced him to fifteen years of hard labor in Siberia.

Like his own nephew, whose actions were close to starting a rebellion, if he hadn't controlled the Chernihiv Regiment and a few other units, he would have been in Siberia and wouldn't have been able to return without a pardon.

In fact, his and Raevsky's ruthless methods saved many people. Nikolai did not implicate these veterans and their families. In fact, as soon as Raevsky's report arrived in St. Petersburg, he was promoted to State Councilor.

Those famous ministers and generals in Chinese history who were unjustly killed must probably envy that these Russians, who clearly wanted to kill their monarch, were not necessarily executed themselves, and their families were not even implicated.

Even during Peter the Great's time, when countless people were killed, it was only at the beginning that he eliminated those who opposed him. Supporting the Tsar's reforms and demonstrating loyalty would not cause trouble; you could continue doing what you were doing before.

Unlike Empress Anna, who was petty, anyone in the Dolgorukov family with the same surname, except for Katya's grandfather, would be promoted or even demoted while she was alive, and returning home to become a landlord was also an option.

This is why, even in Solovyov's current era, the prominent Rurik family, including the Dolgorukov family, the founders of Moscow, despite their large number of members from over a dozen branches holding official positions, still largely consisted of gentry. Although some still held high positions, they could not regain the glory that Peter the Great had before.

Solovyov also believes that this is because after the development of Orthodox Christianity in Russia, it still adhered to the rule of law to some extent, even during the Dark Ages, and even when it was adjudicated using customary law.

As for Nikolai's interrogation of these people, it was more like he was having a heart-to-heart talk with them, and there was no indication that he was trying to induce them to confess.

Trubetskoy was then interrogated again, and Nikolai was very lenient with him. Although he talked incessantly and even made some threats, he was generally very tactful.

“You shouldn’t be involved in these activities, Trubetskoy, what a noble name! Did you think of your wife when you participated in these activities? You ruined your wife!”

Trubetskoy didn't care about anything else Nikolai said, but when he heard "ruin your wife," he thought of his wife Katerina, and knelt down, repeatedly making the sign of the cross.

"Oh, God!"

"I should have shot you dead."

"Your Majesty, you may carry out the execution by firing squad."

“But you should be glad, Your Highness, that you have no children, so I won’t execute you like this.”

Moreover, Trubetskoy was only involved in the planning and as a leader; he did not appear in the procession in Senate Square. Therefore, Nikolai would not execute him.

Although he was initially sentenced to death, he was later pardoned.

This was also the consistent way the Tsars used to demonstrate their benevolence and magnanimity.

Solovyov had witnessed this before. Even during Paul's reign, when discipline was strict to the point of being nitpicky, Tsar Paul would often forgive some people, especially older senior civil servants and young officers who had made minor but harmless mistakes.

At this point, it seems that only Reliev and Kakhovsky will die.

Although the former was also a high-ranking nobleman, he was married and had a young daughter. He and Pestor were the masterminds behind the actions taken between the North and South, and during interrogation he confessed to using drastic measures to completely destroy the Tsarist regime, etc.
As for the mentally ill gunman Kakhovsky, who killed a regimental commander, seriously wounded the governor, and planned to assassinate the Winter Palace, he was bound to die.

He was a poor nobleman with no powerful connections or background, and no one would plead for him.

Solovyov wouldn't plead for this bastard, but he would occasionally write letters from his cell in the Peter and Paul Fortress, denouncing the Tsar's autocratic system and, incidentally, "greeting" Nicholas and the current dignitaries.

Even Solovyov himself was involved, "that lecherous scholar."
On this point, Solovyov genuinely agrees with the possible first-instance verdict of "dismemberment by five horses," and might even ask, "How skilled are the executioners in your region at the art of slow slicing?" (End of Chapter)