Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Napoleon was a great man. Even though he was narrow-minded, stubborn, made mistakes in basic arithmetic, was unkempt, was always wiping ink on his white trousers, had problems with spelling, his handwriting was like incomprehensible writing and he had all kinds of minor flaws, he was still a great man after all.

It means to know him in more detail. Although I have stopped being a fan, as a relative of Solovyov, I still have to admit this.

And this time, it was a close contact with Napoleon.

In addition to a team of Russian guards led by Solovyov, those who set out from Fontainebleau included some old guards, court attendants, and several generals who voluntarily followed Napoleon.

Drouot would have had a promising future in the French army, as he was an outstanding artilleryman, but he decided to follow Napoleon.

None of the marshals came. Davout is still in Hamburg, but given his temper, he would probably have come along too.

It was not surprising that Pauline sent her eldest son, Demid Leclerc, to Napoleon after packing her luggage.

For Demid, Solovyov's identity is a bit complicated.

He is the nephew of his ex-aunt, and naturally the nephew of his uncle as well.

But he was also his mother's lover and the father of his younger brothers and sisters. If he didn't have a stepfather, Prince Borghese, he would probably be more like his stepfather. He taught him skills, made study plans for him, and even often mentioned him when greeting his mother in letters.

In addition to this, he was the biological father of his beloved stepsister Octavia. Although Aunt Silvia did not marry, she did give birth to three daughters with the count. Now she had a mother-in-law and might very well become a father-in-law in the future.

In other words, the child has been smart since he was young, otherwise he would have a headache sorting out the relationships among relatives.

"Uncle, my mother asked me to come to you."

Napoleon was also very happy that his nephew came here, but he was curious that he was still wearing an officer's uniform.

"Demid, didn't I say that I wouldn't let you join the army this year?"

"Aunt Catherine approved it. When you went to the front, didn't you give Aunt the power of regent?"

"You look like you've been practicing horse riding a lot at home."

There was still a doting expression on Napoleon's face.

Speaking of which, he is still very doting on Polina. Although this sister spends money like water normally, she can be relied on at critical moments.

What's more, if Solovyov and Shuvalov took turns in shifts, Solovyov and Napoleon were relatives, so the supervision on his side would be looser.

Demid was very smart, so when he was taking a break, he took out an envelope.

"what is this?"

Napoleon, to put it bluntly, sometimes had an appallingly low EQ. Even when his nephew handed over an envelope with Paulina's signature on it, he still asked questions knowing the answer.

"It's given to you by your mother. You'll know when you open it. Mr. Count, this is a private matter. Please don't read it."

"I'm still Giuseppe and Letty's dad, so maybe we're still a family!"

“But it’s also a little secret.”

Solovyov was actually very smart. When he was with Polina, he had already discovered some clues, such as the fact that Polina usually dressed up with a lot of expensive jewelry.

Apart from this, Polina's figure is indeed becoming more and more curvy. She is 34 years old, but she still dresses like she is in her twenties, which is the age when women are full of charm.

But what about jewelry?
After Napoleon had read Pauline's letter and a check payable at the Bank of France, he sat in silence.

Pauletta, the second sister who loved luxury, was out of touch, always went out to pick up men, did not manage her own territory well, and spent all day dressing herself up. She was the most unreliable sister in the family. She sold most of her jewelry and some real estate and got her brother a check for 45 francs.

In addition, she also mentioned in the letter that she planned to sell the Charles Palace and exchange it for a French Bank check that could be cashed for her brother.

When he was in trouble, besides his eldest brother who had to take care of the family, his second sister was the best to him.

"What about your mother in the future?"

"Uncle, there is also the property left by my father, and the villa in Guastalla. Uncle, you usually take good care of my mother, this is also a kind of reward. But sir, you won't tell anyone, right?"

"Why should I tell anyone? If I were French, you'd probably have to call me dad."

When Napoleon heard this, he also laughed.

"Hahaha, Michelle, if you were here with me, you would indeed be worthy of Pauletta. She has had so many men, but you are the one she loves the most. You didn't use sweet words to coax her, but treated her sincerely. And my precious nephew's illness was cured by the tonic you sent."

The abdicated emperor also relaxed his vigilance. After all, Alexander was his brother-in-law, and Solovyov was his nephew. They would be more or less partial to him.

He was even sure that as long as he didn't cause any big noise, Solovyov would keep it a secret.

Apart from this, Alexander must have had some purpose in sending these two trusted followers.

Shuvalov himself said that if anyone wanted to take revenge on Napoleon, as the special envoy of the Russian emperor, he would be obliged to protect the safety of the ruler of Elba Island.

Solovyov was an aide-de-camp general, and he came with his troops, so it was obvious that he had some mission.

Solovyov could not say that he had reported to Alexander, and that Alexander generally agreed with his opinions, and that if the Bourbons dared to do anything, Russia would take some action.

Napoleon could not have thought of this. Although he knew the content of the negotiations between Talleyrand and Russia through Caulaincourt, he could not have imagined that Alexander would agree to Plan B for the sake of his sister and nephew.

At least his safety could be guaranteed. Napoleon did not change his clothes during the journey and just sat in the carriage.

When Napoleon arrived at an area where the royalists were more rampant, Shuvalov would provide cover for him in the carriage.

The Guards Chasseurs led by Solovyov, together with the Polish Lancers who followed here, were responsible for protecting Napoleon's personal safety.

This way, the journey will be smoother, and even if some unruly people dare to stop us, that will be another matter. When we arrive at the accommodation, Solovyov and Demid will be guarding outside, in addition to Drouot and Cambronne, who is famous for his "pooh".

Napoleon was even in a good mood. He even took the time to dictate some content these days and send it to Josephine and Catherine. In short, he also wanted to ask about the children.

"Your Majesty, there is also news from Milan."

Drouot brought Napoleon the newspaper, which contained the latest news in Italy.

"So Murat has made peace with the Austrians just to save his kingdom?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Very good. He is the King of Naples now and has his own territory. If the Austrians were allowed in, someone would stab him in the back if it weren't for Elisa's territory between him and Eugene."

"Your Majesty, you have to consider that there are always some people who have ambitions. I have known Prince Bagration's widow since childhood. She wrote to me and said that it seems that Prince Metternich had some relationship with the Queen of Naples in the past. There should be nothing wrong with this news. Speaking of which, this princess and Metternich were also lovers."

Solovyov got along well with Bonaparte's family, but he could not bear to see Carolina betray her brother and make trouble for him at least twice.

Of course, he was also a relative of Napoleon and could represent Paulina's opinions even better than Demid.

"It's not surprising that there are such things. Even I know about them."

"Your Majesty, it's interesting to say that some people always have too much energy, while others may have some financial problems. I'm afraid that your intelligence agents at the time already knew something about our Russian general."

"Ah, Michelle, there are yours too, and I'm impressed."

Napoleon then recited the file cards that the French intelligence officers had made against Solovyov. Solovyov also knew that the emperor had a good memory, but he just liked to cheat sometimes.

"So I am like this. There are some things I don't know."

"Yes, this is just information and does not represent the actual situation. Besides, some people are just doing it for 50 francs."

"But, sir, two millions of francs is probably all a banker has."

Napoleon was also surprised that Solovyov seemed to know a lot of things.

"You are very clear about the current market situation."

"Julie told me. She is the widow of Mr. Recamier, the banker who was guillotined."

"That beauty actually refused to serve in the palace. As for her husband, it was because the banker was involved in a conspiracy against the Consulate that the gentleman was sent to the guillotine. Of course, Michel, you are very lucky to have that lady fall in love with you and get along well with your wife."

"But Julie will be back in Paris soon. After all, some things need to be handled in person, and the winter in Russia is a bit cold. When everything is decided, we will probably live in Italy for a while. My father is going to retire, and he needs to find a place to live in his old age, and he will also find a place in Italy."

But when they mentioned Madame Récamier, they had to talk about the inheritance left by her husband. In addition to the property brought to Russia, the liquidation and reorganization of the Récamier Bank's business and its eventual sale to other banks probably brought in an income of about 300 million francs.

Mr. Lafayette, the current chief director and president of the Bank of France, is quite optimistic about this business.

Napoleon then turned the subject to the bankers, not even concealing his purpose.

"Those bankers probably hope that the Bourbon dynasty will be restored, and then maritime trade will be resumed so that they can benefit from it."

"But this also involves business in Spain and the Mediterranean. My father was also a manager for a noble family, so he knows a little about this. To do overseas trade, unless you go through the land route of Kyakhta and China, you can't avoid the British. Those bankers probably think that restoring peace with Britain will bring about the recovery of the financial and industrial sectors."

"But they look down on the British. The monarch you serve probably feels the same way, right?"

"I don't know His Majesty's true thoughts. After all, he also has his own areas of expertise."

The area of ​​expertise refers to performance.

"Yes, he always hides his intentions. But on the Bourbon issue, I think Alexander and I should agree. He said on the Neman River that he also hates the British. What's more, my friend Emperor Paul was murdered by the British and his cronies. I think you know this very well because you were a guard officer at that time."

Napoleon still tried to set a trap for Solovyov and even tested his attitude.

"But the British problem will be solved one day. What I know is that His Majesty intends to send me to China as an envoy at the right time."

"Good idea! The British went there more than 20 years ago, but the effect was not good."

"Count Golovkin also went there, but he returned empty-handed in Kulun and was not able to meet the Chinese emperor."

Solovyov was unwilling to express his opinions on some key issues. He only provided some irrelevant intelligence and gave his own analysis.

Napoleon couldn't get anything out of him, but he was still very interested in China's affairs.

"The count should do as the Chinese ask, but you know more details. In the past, the Russian delegation was able to send so many people. It seems that the Chinese emperor still values ​​relations with neighboring countries."

"But that was 100 years ago, and the Chinese emperors at that time were much more open-minded than those today."

"But according to what you said, Michel, it is indeed possible that the Chinese emperor was deceived, because the imperial edict allowed the envoys to meet at the palace outside the Great Wall. But how does the Great Wall of China compare to Hadrian's Wall?"

"It may take a field investigation to come to a definite conclusion. In addition to Hadrian's Wall, there is also..."

Napoleon then interrupted Solovyov and said, "China and Rome are similar in many ways."

Well, his achievement is in the same vein as “Something like China”, but in the opposite direction.

Then, considering that Napoleon had always been a Roman, although he wanted to go to Rome to be an officer, but.
All in all, it was not surprising that he came to this conclusion.

Then they discussed the banker problem again.

Solovyov knew from what Napoleon said that he admired Lafayette very much. At the same time, Finance Minister Gao Dan was also an expert. If possible, he might be able to take over the Bank of France in the future. (End of this chapter)