Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Suleng'e, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, had already received the "British barbarians," which had caused quite a stir. Afterwards, the officials in charge were all reprimanded by the Jiaqing Emperor.

As long as you didn't poison the imperial envoy or commit any heinous acts while in office, Emperor Jiaqing wouldn't hold it against you.

He was neither as petty as Emperor Qianlong nor as confrontational as Emperor Yongzheng. He wanted to reform the bureaucracy, but because he was always lenient, the results were not very effective.

However, one thing is clear: Emperor Jiaqing was still able to control the court, had some understanding of the situation below, and was generally quite prudent in his dealings, so there were no major problems in his responses.

The decline of the dynasty was not so obvious during his reign; it was not until the Daoguang era that a series of misfortunes occurred.

Sulengge was appointed again to receive the Russian envoys, which was also his idea. It was always the same group of people, and things couldn't be messed up twice.

Moreover, according to Jiang Youxian's memorial, the Russian envoy was respectful and obedient, and was a trusted confidant of the Russian monarch. He was even somewhat versed in poetry and literature, and even composed a poem at the farewell banquet held by the Pan family of the Thirteen Factories.

Judging from the content of the poem, there is still a sense of respect and deference.

Surely we won't do it again like the British did, will we?

At this time, Zhili Governor-General Na Yancheng had just left office, and the newly appointed Zhili Governor-General Fang Shouchou had just taken office. Therefore, the reception work was still handled by low-ranking officials along the way.

However, Solovyov's flagship, the Grace, could be considered one of the finest warships in Europe at that time, and it attracted attention wherever it passed by when it sailed at sea.

When they reached the Bohai Sea and arrived in Weihai, Shandong Deputy Commander Yinbin also boarded the ship.

Compared to guerrilla leader Mike, he was of a higher rank, considered by the Russian and French sides to be at the level of a brigade general to colonel.

After boarding the giant ship, the vice admiral read out a document.

Because Solovyov's official position was transferred from Russia, he was considered a relatively young member of the reserve echelon of important officials in the Qing Dynasty, even equivalent to the level of a governor-general.

Therefore, when Inbin read the document to him, Solovyov and Ney were of such high rank that they were able to stand and listen to the whole thing.

"We appreciate Governor Fang's kindness, but we'd like to know who will be receiving us this time?"

Upon hearing this, the deputy general understood that the people coming were not entirely barbarians, and their Mandarin was much better than that of some officials from the south.

"Your Excellency needs to wait a few more days until Zhang Daotai from Tianjin arrives, at which point he will naturally introduce you to Governor Fang."

"Thank you, General."

However, the deputy general's promise to wait a few days was just a figure of speech. The next day, Zhang Wuwei, the Circuit Intendant of Tianjin, arrived and said the same thing, except that he also sent naval vessels to guide them.

This time, Solovyov handed over the list of gifts and the list of people coming ashore to the governor.

“Since the general is familiar with the etiquette and laws of the Celestial Empire, it is naturally easy to talk to him. However, he must restrain his subordinates and not act like the British barbarians.”

"My lord need not worry. Our sovereign has been in power for over two hundred years since the founding of the country by Mikhail I. He has always maintained friendly relations with the Celestial Empire. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, an envoy was sent to pay tribute. Later, Emperor Yongzheng sent an envoy to our capital to offer congratulations. As for etiquette, our Court of State Ceremonies and the Ministry of Rites have also established rules and regulations to be followed. This can be considered a set of procedures."

"Since you know, it seems I don't need to say anything more."

The mission went relatively smoothly; Solovyov even hosted a banquet on the ship, treating the governor to a Russian meal.

However, they even prepared chopsticks.

The official also noticed that the Russian envoy and his wife, along with their two children, all knew how to use chopsticks. However, the wife and children used their left hands, while the envoy himself used his right hand properly.

They are foreigners after all, so there will be some deviations in the Xi-Wang influence, but it's still much more comfortable to look at this way.

Moreover, this foreign woman was the daughter of a prince in Russia, which would make her a princess and a noblewoman, a position of great prestige.

It's no wonder there are different ways of addressing them.

After he returned to report, it was Suleng'e's turn to handle the matter.

He had previously served on official business and had received Macartney, back when there were still living adults present.

Moreover, he had worked at the Guangdong Customs and was therefore familiar with foreign affairs.

He was now waiting at Dagukou to see what kind of Russian envoy, formerly known as the "Russian Empire" or "Old Russian from Hubei," really was.

The only minor trouble was that it wasn't just one country that came; each country was displaying its own flag, and at least eight countries had sent envoys.

The reason is that some of Russia's in-law countries are not only small countries, but also often landlocked. Therefore, they formed groups and came together with the leading power with whom they had marriage ties.

Even this letter of state had to be translated into Chinese by Solovyov and the few foreign ministry translators he had.

There were also people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who were fluent in Mongolian and Manchu, but translation was always needed in Kyakhta and Tarbagatai, so Solovyov had to bring his own team.

In truth, aside from the French and Italian missionaries Ney brought, he himself was probably the most capable, even more so than some of the missionaries.

When the mighty fleet arrived, it astonished the Qing officials who came to receive them.

The warships that arrived were even larger than the British ships from before; they were clearly very impressive.

There was even a small boat that entered the harbor first to inquire whether it was permissible to exchange cannon salutes in accordance with international etiquette.

However, the officers of the Russian Navy generally did not understand Chinese, and they could only bring Solovyov's handwritten letter.

The Yan style calligraphy written above is also very clear.

"What a fine example of 'it is impolite not to reciprocate'! They even want to fire cannons at sea to show their respect for the emperor."

"My lord, what should we do?"

"Go ask Lord Nara how to handle this."

This old man, Nara, was also a banner commander at the time, but his name was quite peculiar. He was called Nara Eighty-Six, and Eighty-Six was his name. He was not a special agent, but an Eight Banners general.

He will later serve as the General of Guangzhou and the General of Jiangning, and is currently a commander-in-chief in the Eight Banners.

That old man is quite a joker; if he were to fire a cannon, it wouldn't be out of the question.

Solovyov then ordered the battleship "Brave" to fire 21 gun salvos as the "Grace" entered the harbor.

On the Qing Dynasty side, the Dagu Forts also fired 21 shots; however many shots you fired, I will fire the same number.

When the giant ship "Grace" entered the port, it raised a flag with Chinese characters that could be seen to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Qing Dynasty and to celebrate the enthronement and birthday of Emperor Jiaqing.

Good heavens, here comes a savvy one. This is no ordinary approach. Starting from the time when the Qing Dynasty rose to power outside the Great Wall, these Manchu and Mongol officials also calculated the time.

Emperor Taizu Wu, at that time he was already an old Khan. Since he established his title as Khan, he had indeed reached the age of 60.

This Russian envoy was quite shrewd; he had clearly planned everything meticulously. Given his understanding of protocol, it's no wonder the Emperor granted him special permission to bring a barbarian woman.

Before entering the port, Solovyov was still carefully dressing up. He and his son were both wearing green Russian Guards uniforms. The son was wearing a tricorn hat, while Solovyov himself, in accordance with his rank as an infantry general, was wearing a bicorn hat and his chest was covered with medals and awards, especially the Order of St. Andrew and the Order of Malta around his neck.

As for his walking stick and sword, they were all provided according to the standards for a military officer of his rank.

"Dad, how should I greet him when I go downstairs?"

"Just come with your father. When you see officials, you must remove your hat to show respect, understand?"

"What about Nalisa?"

"She should naturally pay her respects as well."

Speaking of which, Emperor Jiaqing also issued an imperial edict, which was delivered through Zhang Daotai.

The emperor knew that the Russian envoy's wife was pregnant on the way, so he exempted her from formalities.

This is more humane than the European court. Think of Grand Duchess Paul, who went to a ball and went into premature labor and died. This happened in the late Tsarist period.

Although formal greetings were still required, some places granted special privileges, demonstrating the benevolence of the Chinese emperors.

In this respect, Emperor Jiaqing was probably quite worthy of his temple name "Renzong" (仁宗), and the arrangements went smoothly.

As for Qing Dynasty officials, they all wore court robes and winter hats, not summer hats.

Looking at the official's hat, one could tell that the highest-ranking official sent by the Qing Dynasty this time was only a vice minister.

What the Qing officials saw was that after the gangway was lowered, Russian and French officials disembarked from the ship.

Solovyov was leading the way with his son, a first for father and son.

However, Pasha was not intimidated at all; he walked down the aisle with his head held high and his chest out, holding his father's hand.

Following behind were envoys from various countries. To avoid the hassle of diplomatic protocol when they first entered the port, even Ney came from the Medusa to the Grace. When they disembarked together, Ney stood behind Solovyov.

Further back were the female members of the Russian delegation. Some people were always allowed to bring their wives and daughters, but the number of adult women would not exceed ten. Bringing children was also fine.

However, only Solovyov was bold enough to bring his daughter along.

Moreover, given Katya's physique, if the negotiations between Russia, France, and the Qing Dynasty were prolonged, she would probably have had to give birth in China.

Suleng'e will still need to mention this in his memorial to the throne.

Although Jiaqing already knew about it, he felt that the Russian envoy was indeed polite but also a bit philandering, bringing his wives and concubines along without any restraint.

In short, it will result in death, but adding a new member to a family is a good thing.

The Qing Dynasty was not without its own ceremonial procession. They ultimately agreed that the reception of the Russian delegation would be conducted according to the standards for entertaining a first-rank official.

In this respect, Solovyov benefited from Ney's position, since he was the "Marshal of the Royal Guard".

Because China is a superior nation, it always considers the rank of envoys from other countries when evaluating their tribute missions.

Since all those who came were high-ranking military officers, each with their own titles and stipends, their treatment during the purge was reduced from half to one grade.

Ney heard that he was being received as a French local commander or a Russian governor, but he didn't say anything.

What bothered him was probably having to kowtow and kneel later on, but following the instructions of Catherine the Great brought by that annoying Talleyrand, everything was to be done according to Count Solovyov's suggestion for the sake of France's free trade in the East in the future.

That's true. Solovyov is knowledgeable, and following his advice won't be a big mistake.

Moreover, when they were in Guangzhou, the Chinese official-merchant who knew some Latin and Portuguese, and even a few words of French, reminded them that the British were rude and they should not follow their example.

If we succeed this time, my knees probably won't matter much.

That's just his temper; you can actually understand it.

Originally, they planned to send Davout and Demid, but one of them was rather stubborn and not good at socializing, and the other was the young emperor's cousin. Since the Bonaparte family was really short of capable people, and Demid and Octavia were still young and always together and reluctant to part, they sent Ney instead.

Even though he was the son of a cooper, he was always quicker to react than people of noble birth, which wasn't a big problem.

However, Chinese etiquette is different in Europe.

Chinese people always bow with their hands clasped in front of them, greeting each other with a deep bow.

Ney had seen it before, but rarely had he seen a handshake.

Even Suleng'e, who had worked at the Guangdong Customs and dealt with foreigners many times, bowed in the same way.

However, seeing that the barbarian officials all removed their hats and bowed, he knew that this was a matter of courtesy and had no objection.

Solovyov even introduced the identities of the Qing officials one by one, and the one who commanded the fleet was a third-class naval general who had sailed to Guangzhou ten years ago.

There was also a count from Sweden, a friend of the former Queen of France.

The Dutch and Russians have a marriage alliance; the Russian emperor's younger sister has just married into the country.

Of the other small states that came along, only the principality of Baden was the maternal home of the Russian queen. Although it was a small country, it had kinship ties with several countries, and the current "Duke" had even married the adopted daughter of the abdicated French king, so it could not be neglected.

As for the prince of Imreina, he made friends with Russia on the way and heard of the Celestial Empire's prestige. On the way to Russia to study, the prince even made a special trip to pay homage and brought tribute with him.

Even if they didn't understand the rules, the fact that they prepared such thoughtful gifts made the British seem rather clueless in comparison.

"General, you are being overly formal. His Majesty values ​​frugality and does not seek extravagance."

"Lord Su, our sovereign is aware of this intention, and therefore the tribute we have brought is more practical. There are firearms and clocks, as well as illustrated books, which represent the pinnacle of Western natural history. As for the rare birds and exotic animals, these are from countries along the way that have heard of the Celestial Empire and have come to offer their congratulations. Please do not take offense, my lord."

"Since that's the case, it's a kind gesture from the general. I should also report to the emperor to explain the reason. Until then, please wait for me in Tianjin."

When he mentioned Ney, Solovyov quickly translated it for him.

Nei simply nodded in agreement and even took off his hat to show that he understood Sulenge's opinion.

Suleng'e returned the greeting with a bow, and the first meeting between the two sides went fairly smoothly.

Having only arrived in Tianjin, there were still formal meetings to come. Solovyov and Ney would have to meet the governor-general twice more. The Qing Dynasty indeed had quite a few governors-general, and later they would also have to go to Beijing to meet the emperor; etiquette was something they had to be mindful of. (End of Chapter)