Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 190 Alexander convenes a ministerial meeting
When Solovyov got out of bed and started to do translation work and collect intelligence from various sources, Alexander issued an edict in St. Petersburg to carry out a thorough reform of the committee of the Empress's period. The reorganization was expected to take place in the second half of 1802. All major committees and the Diplomatic Academy had to be adjusted. The edict was not only conveyed to major domestic departments and local officials, but also to several major embassies.

As Alexander's teacher, Badberg naturally also received a copy. However, his knowledge of the content was limited to senior officials of the embassy, ​​who wanted to understand what direction the Emperor's new policy would take.

According to the decree issued by Alexander after he ascended the throne in March 1801 after the coup, he expressed his willingness to rule Russia according to his grandmother's wishes. This was obviously to overturn Paul's policies in recent years. The young tsar was always afraid that the great nobles would rise up to oppose his rule, and it was hard to say what would happen.

The wrangling with the British continued. Von Paalen was stripped of his noble status and sentenced to hanging, which was publicly executed in the Peter and Paul Fortress; Count Platon Zubov was sentenced to exile to Arkhangelsk; Lieutenant General Tarezhin of the Guards committed suicide in prison; although Count Nikolai Zubov participated in the beating of Paul and caused his death, he was pardoned because he was the son-in-law of Field Marshal Suvorov, and was only placed under house arrest in an estate in Novgorod; the officers directly involved in the murder were sentenced to execution; the generals and officers who directly participated in the coup that night were all demoted to serve in the Caucasus, and among these people was Bennigsen.

These judgments also show that Alexander needed an explanation from the British government about his "principles of enlightened despotism" and that the message would be delivered to the embassy in London through Gothenburg, Sweden. The reinstated Count Vorontsov would convey the Tsar's opinions to the British royal family and cabinet.

Without mentioning London’s attitude, we need to study the imperial edict sent to the embassy in Sweden.

Solovyov does not need to stay in the hospital all the time. He has now returned to his own small suite in the embassy. Although it is inconvenient for him to work with his arms slung, considering that he has a lot of tasks to do on this trip, he really needs to participate more.

Badberg called him aside, in fact, because he was an aide-de-camp before, he always knew something about what Alexander was doing.

"Soloviev, I heard that the Emperor has established two committees in Petersburg, one public and one secret. I think the reforms of these committees described in the edict should be modeled after the British establishment of departments."

"Establishing a department? Is the emperor trying to test the British by doing this?"

"Count Vorontsov once told me that they would try every possible means to trip up any British government that is against them."

"That's it. They have to organize several more alliances against France. I think the emperor will be able to see this problem. If we start negotiations, it will take a long time to bargain."

"It has nothing to do with us. We just need to pay attention to the movements of the British ambassador to Sweden and the recent actions of the Swedish royal family. It's a pity that your arm is injured. After all, you are close to the emperor and queen, and you can pass on messages to the queen of Sweden."

"But I also protected Her Majesty the Queen's father! When I raise him to April, when spring comes and flowers bloom, and I can participate in social activities again, I can help with this matter."

"Yes, Her Majesty the Queen will also visit Sweden at that time, and as the military attaché in Stockholm, you will have to go to Vyborg to welcome her."

He loved the task of picking up Louisa.

"I'll also take a look at Finland along the way, which is full of forests, lakes and swamps, and the road to Turku."

"Why are you still thinking about friendly countries?"

Badberg was asking knowingly. He was not so confident about Sweden. Who knew if Sweden would do something because of the friendly relationship between Russia and France? What Gustav IV had done before was enough to explain the problem.

"Who knows when and for what problem, what action will be needed? It may be a special military operation. Of course, we need to find out the situation. And what I am worried about is that if something happens in Stockholm, the British will transport a force through Gothenburg."

Sweden is pro-British to begin with, and if there is any disturbance, it will indeed waver greatly. St. Petersburg is not far from the border, so who knows what some people will do.

"This is not a problem we are facing at this stage, so it doesn't matter if you go and have a look."

Badberg looked out the window. It was still some distance from here to Riddarholmen. There had been a war between Sweden and Russia during the time of the Queen. Gustav III at that time was restless. He sent a detachment wearing Russian uniforms to attack the Swedish military outpost on the Finnish border. It sounded familiar. Then between 1788 and 1790, the two sides fought a war. In the end, the Swedes had a slight advantage at sea, but they also fell into a stalemate.

Sweden, the opponent, was indeed very restless. As allies, Gustav III and Gustav IV were somewhat unreliable.

It is still necessary to test the Swedish royal palace, especially to find out what Gustav IV is doing.

Solovyov's idea was that Stockholm could not be ruled by outsiders in the future. This was just a stupid ass. He was a relative and brother-in-law of Alexander, and Louisa's brother-in-law. After driving out such a wonderful man, everyone knew who would be the future king of Sweden.

After all, they were not close relatives, and even if Finland was swallowed up, people would feel uneasy. You know, Gustav III wanted to use the navy to directly raid Petersburg and overthrow the empress's rule.

After the decree on the reform of the Council of Ministers was issued, opinions were solicited. The foreign embassies were only responsible for notification and required all countries to pay attention to the changes in Russia's future diplomatic writings.

Looking back at Alexander in St. Petersburg, when he convened the first "secret committee" to discuss the reform of the Council of Ministers, the four giants of the committee still agreed with his opinion. And today, when it comes to military reform, Constantine was also called to attend the meeting.

"I think it's appropriate to do this at this time. You should also listen to my idea. The Diplomatic Academy will be reorganized into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will be directly responsible by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, instead of the collegial system of the past academy. At the same time, the situation of each committee is the same. Constantine knows the joke of the Grand Marshal. What did he say?"

"Brother, I remember telling the Austrian generals that Carthage must have had a military committee, which was why Hannibal didn't go straight to Rome."

"Although it was just a joke told by the Grand Marshal, the collegial system of the Army Military Committee and the Navy Committee does have major problems, and..."

Russian civil servants had little way to stop the Tsar's decision. Alexander wanted to organize the reform from top to bottom. The bureaucrats in Petersburg had to bear it, and local officials were relatively free. Speransky was responsible for drafting the bill. He just listened to the speeches of Alexander and the "Big Four". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Navy had been confirmed to be established, and the remaining major departments were tentatively designated as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Public Education. Ministers were to be appointed for the eight major departments. In addition, there were the National Treasury and the National Tax Bureau, which had treasurers and directors respectively. Their status was slightly lower than that of ministers, but they could attend meetings.

Above this, according to later statements, there is actually a "Chairman of the Council of Ministers". When there is an imperial chancellor, this position is held concurrently by the imperial chancellor. If there is no administrative civil servant of this level, the foreign minister must hold the position concurrently.

No matter how you look at it, the little Poland will have some advantages, but this guy is still unwilling to give up. When he came back, he saw Louisa who was pregnant. In addition, she has become a little plump recently, so he has some ideas.

However, Alexander felt that he could not treat his good brother unfairly, especially since he was still single, so he introduced Louisa's sister Amalia to Czartoryski.

Alexander definitely had good intentions. After all, although Amalia's appearance was not good, she looked relatively strong and had a fuller figure than her sisters. Even the Queen of Sweden, who had a very full figure, was inferior to her in this respect.

Czartoryski was crying out in his heart. He only loved Louisa now. Her sister Mary was quite cute, but unfortunately she was already engaged. If he wanted to replace her with this eldest sister, then forget it.

If he was offered a blind date after the meeting, Czartoryski would have run away. He would rather hide in his office than attend such a salon in the palace.

Alexander also found it strange. What was wrong with being his brother-in-law? Amalia was only a little less pretty than her "fairy sisters", but her personal cultivation was still better than many girls. The education received from the Margrave of Baden was really not given in vain.

Even if I go back to Louisa's place at night and can't be intimate because she is always taking care of the children, she will still strongly support me if I tell her some basic things.

"Your Majesty, everything you are going to do is good, and I will definitely support you silently behind the scenes."

"But it would be better if you could show me the front view, especially since you are in the bathtub now and look like a lovely water fairy."

Louisa looked at herself. After all, she was taking a bath, so she shrank her body into the water, leaving only her head outside.

"You are so cute like this, Lisa. We have been together for nine years, and you have always been the girl with the wreath on your head. You have never changed."

"But your majesty, you have to consider that the children are here too, playing with their nanny on the other side of the pool."

Alexander really found this excuse irresistible. He was somewhat satisfied to hear these words from the shy Louisa. After all, according to the doctor's examination, she still needed to recuperate for a period of time, especially the accident that happened to her father-in-law in Sweden, which scared her to death.

"Well, for the sake of the children."

After changing her clothes, Louisa returned to her bedroom wrapped in her nightgown. She was finally able to keep all the children by her side during this time. She especially liked children. Even if they were her rival Naryshkinna's children, she would hold them in her arms if she liked them.

This young mother, overflowing with maternal love, did not like the lively atmosphere of St. Petersburg. She preferred to hold all her children in her arms. She put the twins who were too young in the crib, and the two older children came back to live with her for a while, which made her in a good mood.

But during this period, Alexander would go to Maria Naryshkina again. She didn't care about political affairs, unlike Czartoryski who always brought Polish interests into it.

That is how Alexander's life seemed happy and stable, except that Louisa had four girls and Naryshkina was pregnant, and considering that Dmitri Naryshkin had not been with his wife recently, Alexander was sure that it was his child.

"Your Majesty, you come here again at this time, but..."

"But Louisa is taking care of the children. She has raised four girls. This is the first child for you and me, and you make me feel at ease. Every time Louisa enters the delivery room, I feel scared, but you are very strong, so I am not so worried. I only came here because I like you. Don't resist. My 'Muse' is too weak."

Alexander often talked about Louisa at home, but he could not forget the ladies outside. Moreover, these two were of similar age, but looked so different in appearance.

Of course, Maria Naryshkina is still relatively low-key now. She has always dressed simply, which forms a wonderful contrast with Louisa.

She had just the right amount of fat, and her strong body was also very flexible. Even when the doctor came to check on her, he wasn't worried about her condition, but was more concerned about her nutritional needs.

"Your Majesty, you don't have to worry too much. When I gave birth to Marina, I didn't feel anything. You know this. Your Majesty and I were not very familiar with each other at that time."

"Yes, now we are familiar with each other. I feel happy when I am with you. Lisa is too shy. She always locks herself in her bedroom, study or nursery, as if the children and the library are everything to her."

But Alexander didn't quite know that the Queen Mother actually privately supported his Polish mistress more, and also hinted behind the scenes that Alexander knew who his wife and who was his lover. His thoughts were often difficult to guess, but the Queen Mother's purpose was very clear.

Next time there’s a fire in his backyard, there’ll be something exciting to watch.

(End of this chapter)