Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 231 043 An Italian Hydraulic Engineer Hercules
"Sometimes it's not a good idea to sail on the Mediterranean Sea, but fortunately there are no pirates in the Mediterranean Sea now."

"Michele, you're in Italy, and you speak like a Roman now. Yesterday you mentioned pirates to me."

"Silvia, you know that Caesar and Pompey both had an inextricable relationship with pirates. In addition, in the late Roman Republic and after the beginning of the Principate, until the Vandals sacked Rome, grain had to be transported to Rome by water. It didn't matter whether it was grain from Carthage or Egypt."

"Are you sure?"

Sylvia's knowledge was not very rich, and when she heard Solovyov talk about these things, she had an expression of admiration.

"This is the result of reading a lot of books. You have more knowledge about dressing yourself, understanding fashion, and managing household chores."

"That's right, unlike you, who always had marching notes, maps and a book in your bag when you were at my house."

"It has changed now. The book I am reading recently is Caesar's Gallic War. After all, I was in Gaul before. Now that I am in Italy, I may start reading other people's books. Besides, I am very interested in Rome."

Of course, he was not very interested in the old man in the melon-shaped hat. He was more concerned about the eternal city of Rome. It would be more meaningful if he could see the House of Augustus and the House of Livia.

After all, this was the "first couple" after the beginning of the Roman principal system, and no matter what you are good at in Europe, even the Turks were good at Romans when you came back.

When they arrived in Rome, they went first to Silvia's own apartment, which was near Porta Pinzia, near one of the entrances to the Borghese gardens.

"This prince's garden is really big!"

"More than two hundred years ago, the Borghese family came to Rome from Siena. Later, they produced a pope and three cardinals, and their status in Rome was very prominent."

"But wouldn't it be great for Prince Camillo to be a rich man in Rome? He probably doesn't have any political talent, but he's very handsome and single. He can marry a good woman and be a free and easy prince in Rome. That would be great. Then, as a patron of the arts and by studying some science, he can become great in Rome without having to go to France to join the army."

"That's what I mean. I know from my family relatives that he always thought that as the prince of Rome, he could take advantage of the French entering Italy from the north to the south."

However, Sylvia's geographical knowledge was only at the level of an ordinary noble lady who knew the north and the south. There were some places that were not as accurate as those of Louisa and her sisters-in-law, whether on the map or in her mind.

"From the Po Plain all the way to Sicily, what is he going to do? Make Rome great again?"

"Why are you suddenly speaking the language of the Britons?"

"Ah, nothing, I just think that speaking in this language makes the meaning clearer, and the British...ah, forgive these people, after all, they can't speak French, and they are not familiar with Italian and Latin. They are really a group of poor people. Even if the British are rampant on the sea, they can't change the fact that Latin is used to standardize scientific terms, and French is used by nobles to communicate and sign treaties."

Solovyov's daily hobby is to play with England, which is much more interesting than playing with France, especially since France is so strong now that one can play against several without losing.

During the time of the Sun King, Charles II was often played tricks on him, and the British were in chaos for many years until a German was brought from Hanover to be king, and only then did Britain stabilize.

"And you want to learn their language? I know you have a talent for languages, Michele, but you can't even speak Italian well now."

"People's abilities are always limited, and learning sign language may be more useful than learning Italian."

Indeed, when Sylvia spoke, she used a lot of gestures. If you held her hands down and laid her on the bed, it was as if she couldn't speak, and even her vocal cords seemed unable to make any sound.

Then he let go of his hand.

"Yeah, you're really cunning. Hold me down so I can't make a sound."

"Octavia too. The child is very smart, but I still have some difficulty communicating with her."

"I can't teach my child Russian, your Italian. Octavia will say that Dad is a weirdo."

"It's my weird accent, isn't it?"

"Yes, your accent is perfect no matter which language you speak, except Italian, which you need to learn more."

"Study with you? Right here?"

"You are so smart and know so much. I think this is the only reason why I can be your teacher."

She and Louisa had never met, but she loved being a teacher just the same.

It's just learning a foreign language. Solovyov touched his thick hair, which even had a braid. Baron Sergei's hair was also thick. People in their family had flowing hairstyles. They shouldn't be as bald as the British at a young age. This was reassuring.

What's more, learning a foreign language is a good idea!
After arriving in Rome, Prince Borghese did not seem to be in such a hurry to prepare. He was waiting to be received by the First Consul. The letter he sent to the Roman headquarters only asked Silvia to prepare servants to go to the official residence in Paris, and also asked his butler to transport a batch of property out of Rome, specifically to bribe officials of France and the Italian Republic.

So Sylvia just arranged for the maid to go to Paris, and there was nothing else for her to do, so she could spend more time with Solovyov and walk around the streets of Rome with her daughter.

"This is the Aurelian Wall. Look at these stones, Michele. They were built 1,500 years ago as part of the Emperor Aurelian's reconstruction of the walls of Rome."

"It's a very majestic city wall. Even if you use heavy siege artillery, you still need to concentrate your firepower on a few key locations to launch an attack. Moreover, siege warfare is very difficult, no matter where you attack."

"You're thinking about the war again, but that's no wonder, you're a soldier."

"But it would be better to make this a tourist town. There are also jugglers there. They look like big guys."

Solovyov looked back behind Sylvia and saw a strongman performing.

No matter whether it is a 200-jin strongman or a 200-kilogram strongman, he has really seen quite a few of them.

And the clothes this guy is wearing give people a very strange feeling.

"Michele, the robe this man is wearing."

"We are just here to see the performance of a strong man. He is not only strong, but also has clever movements and can hold up the actors." "Bravo! Bravo!"

There were quite a few people cheering in the crowd, and some people would pay tips for such public performances.

"Michele, why did you give him the silver?"

"This performance is worth it, and it doesn't require Seth copper coins, and..."

"Thank you, sir. I can see that you enjoyed our performance."

When this strongman stood in front of Solovyov, there was a sense of oppression like a mountain. He had never felt this way in front of Bykov before.

After all, Bykov is a "dwarf musketeer". He is strong, but he is not so outrageously tall.

"Giovanni Battista Belzoni, I come from Padua and am performing here. I was going to England, but I ran out of money on the way, and I always wanted to have a drink, so I am doing this to save up some money so that I can go to London."

"Why London?"

"I don't like the French. They took Padua and left me homeless, so I came here."

Solovyov had some impression of Belzoni. Before Champollion deciphered the Egyptian writing, this guy's barbaric exploration destroyed many cultural relics, but also made people understand Egypt better. However, his methods were really barbaric. The female mummy destroyed in the Temple of Hatshepsut was caused by his mistake.
Solovyov remembered some things very clearly, especially when he was reading magazines. In the DNA test of Tutankhamun, a mummy that was almost completely destroyed above the abdomen seemed to be done by him. That mummy might be Tutankhamun's wife and sister.

This adventurer now appeared here, and Solovyov did not shoot him because he was quite polite. Moreover, this man had no hostility and was quite friendly to him.

"My name is Mikhail Solovyov, a Russian officer, traveling to Rome, but I was a military attaché in France and I have fought against the French."

"You fought the French?"

"Yes, it was three years ago, in Marshal Suvorov's expeditionary force."

Belzoni used to be a monk in a monastery and now happened to be stranded in Rome. He didn't have to go to London, and he couldn't say what he would be able to do there.

"And then you beat up the French, didn't you?"

"I wrote a script that hasn't been shown much yet, it's about the Gauls versus the Romans. Of course, if it's shown in Rome, I can change it to Romans versus Gauls, the amazing Roman warriors."

"Your boundaries are quite flexible, young officer."

Actually, Belzoni was only 24 years old at that time, but he was tall and strong, and looked older, while Solovyov looked handsome and younger.

"But the Italians are more flexible. I have seen it before. When the Russian army crossed the Po River, they were welcomed by the Italians. Then they attacked our Grand Duke and his entourage. If we had not reacted quickly, we would have become victims of the Italians. Then there were people on the other side who welcomed the French who had returned. This seems to be much more serious than writing a script to please the audience."

He didn't say anything too harsh and didn't intend to fight. Moreover, the other party had the audacity to mock him and had something to say about his script design.

"I'm sorry, sir. Maybe I spoke a little harshly."

"But I don't recommend you go to London by yourself. I am going there in a few days. If you can, you can go with me, or I can ask a former monk to be my assistant. Is that okay?"

Belzoni could see that the young officer and his family (to be precise, Sylvia and her daughter were his family) were all dressed very decently. Solovyov had two medals on his chest, and Sylvia was wearing very fashionable clothes, and it was obvious that she was a rich person.

Indeed, both Solovyov and Silvia were relatively wealthy and had overseas offices of Russian and French banks in Rome that they could use to exchange cash.

Rome is also an important destination for nobles from all over the world. In addition, Naples is also a place where many people spend the winter. Even in the hot summer, many people are reluctant to leave. There are many villas to rent along the coastline of Naples, and many people even buy real estate here. Bagration's daughter-in-law, the grandmother of the "little fairy", has been living in Naples and leading her notorious personal life.

Therefore, in Rome, as in other parts of Italy, the financial business of personal repayment is very developed, just like the financing channels in Paris, London and the Netherlands.

Besides, banking and insurance started here, so there must be some value, especially on the river bank.

Belzoni was willing to accept Solovyov's employment. This strongman was not only extremely strong, but he also knew some basic knowledge of water conservancy and mechanics, and was also an excellent barber.

"You know, Giovanni, that in Russia barbers were once very promising. When I was in Petersburg there was a barber who became a page and a high official of the Tsar, and he was not cultured like you, and he did not learn a great deal of the trade."

"That's because our family are barbers in Padua, sir."

"And you have learned so many skills, but you still want to serve the British. Many British people like to travel and steal cultural relics. If they have some metals and gems, they can make a lot of money."

"You are quite fair in disparaging the English, sir, and they have stolen a great many things."

These Italians have always treated their boss like this. He couldn't trust Belzoni's character. After all, there were many thieves around the Mediterranean.

However, Belzoni did fulfill his responsibilities when fulfilling the contract, especially recently serving as Sylvia's bodyguard.

Moreover, putting him and Adela together, the contrast is too great.

Adela looked at the Italian with great caution. Moreover, he did not seem to be very reliable as a newly hired follower of his master and "big brother". Making money was more important to him.

Going to Russia may provide more opportunities to make money.

After all, in Western Europe, Russians always give people the impression of being local rich people, and their luxurious lifestyle is well-known in Paris, London, Vienna, Rome and Naples.

But Solovyov was not like that; he dressed respectably because it was a Guards uniform and he was careful with his money.

But he had money, and Belzoni was well aware of that, so he was willing to work for him.

(End of this chapter)