Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Emperor Jiaqing repeatedly emphasized that Russia was not a "tributary state" but rather an equal country.

France received largely the same treatment, while the Netherlands and Portugal were historically subservient and only cared about money.

Sweden does value money, but it doesn't have as many high-quality colonies. However, Sweden does have companies operating along the trade route between India and China.

Now that it's peacetime, everyone wants to make money and quickly restore their economic strength, otherwise their families will go hungry.

Especially between 1816 and 1818, the temperate regions on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean experienced extremely poor harvests.

Although Russia and the Qing Dynasty also experienced disasters during these years, the impact on them was not too great.

With the Himalayas acting as a guide, along with the Iranian Plateau and the Caucasus Mountains, these volcanic ash particles were swept towards Western Europe.

If one could obtain special permission from the Qing emperor to conduct trade, one could further sell tea and raw silk among the wealthy urban class, and the profits would be substantial.

Russia's in-law states are mostly there to receive a reward. Oldenburg is close to Hamburg, and Mecklenburg has its own port, so they can barely be considered to have some trade revenue to share. This is mainly due to dumping goods into the German Confederation, but they also have to watch out for the outrageous tariffs there.

Solovyov was allowed to stay in the city, and his whole family came.

But living in Heshen's former official residence felt somewhat strange.

This place already had an owner. Even after Heshen was forced to commit suicide and most of his property was confiscated, the Tenth Princess and Fengshen Yinde still had the right to use half of the Heshen Mansion, while the other half belonged to Yonglin, the younger brother of Emperor Jiaqing.

After Yonglin and the Tenth Princess passed away, the He family mansion was finally recovered by the Prince Qing lineage during the Xianfeng era.

As for the faction of Prince Qing, how they eventually developed into hereditary princes is another story altogether.

Yonglin is no longer a hereditary prince; his title is inherited through a process of demotion. Moreover, because he is rather unreliable, although Emperor Jiaqing takes good care of his younger brother, he only granted him the title of Prince of the Second Rank.

In the twenty-fifth year of Jiaqing's reign, when he was nearing his death, he was finally granted the title of Prince, which was considered a final favor to his younger brother.

But punishment is still due when it is due. Yonglin was previously reprimanded and had his salary reduced by Jiaqing for violating regulations when delivering memorials, and he was feeling resentful at the moment.

The arrival of a foreign envoy, who brought his family to stay at his home, was mentioned by the emperor the night before when he met with Jiaqing.

"Seventeenth Brother, do you know why I made this arrangement?"

"Your humble servant is foolish and truly does not know."

“The British envoys came three times in total. I only found out about it after seeing the memorials from the Russian envoys.”

"Your Majesty, I also remember that when Father Emperor was still alive, the British sent Macartney to pay homage. Just the other day, it was the British Amherst who came, and because he did not perform the proper courtesies, Your Majesty reprimanded the officials who were on his behalf. That was only twice, so how could it be three times? Could it be that Father Emperor abdicated?"

“Yonglin, you are usually quite muddle-headed, but you remember these things very clearly. The Dutch envoy who came sixty years ago was translated by a French interpreter. The other day, Nan Mide gave me a lecture on the affairs of Western countries and mentioned this point as well. However, he has been in our Great Qing for many years, and we can only know about the affairs of the West through correspondence with the trading post in Guangzhou.”

This is why, despite the fact that Emperor Jiaqing and his officials had always done a good job with intelligence gathering, news was always delayed.

The information that Nan Mide obtained from Staunton was outdated, and might even have been deliberately exaggerated by the British.

As for Yonglin, Emperor Jiaqing remembered exactly how he became a prince.

This was only because of some affection for her deceased mother; otherwise, she would probably have the same status as her twelfth brother, who fell from grace because his birth mother ate the melon.

But he was very clever. When the four brothers who were still alive sat together, he wanted Heshen's house.

He never wanted the throne, nor was he interested in it.

Moreover, he kept making small mistakes, but he never made any major errors, and he even remembered them quite clearly. This strange attitude is a real pity that he didn't learn his fifth uncle's skills, after all, his fifth uncle passed away early, and they were still young at that time.

Then Jiaqing mentioned that before Macartney, Britain had sent an envoy, but the mission failed to take place because the envoy died of illness on the way.

As for the abdication ceremony in the 60th year of Qianlong's reign, Qianlong also invited the British, but they did not come again.

"I see."

"I only learned about this matter from this report. Just these matters concerning the British barbarians alone are enough to warrant that this Russian envoy stay in your home and be treated well."

"How could your humble servant not do his utmost in fulfilling his duties, especially regarding this particular task?"

"Oh dear, if I tell you to do it, then do it. He's come with his family, so you must treat them with the utmost hospitality, to show the courtesy and majesty of our Celestial Empire. Besides..."

Yonglin admired his elder brother, who was very detailed in explaining things to him.

If the hospitality is good, his penalty salary will be recovered. Although he may not be able to be given the salary of a prince, he will still receive the double salary of a duke.

As for chatting more with the Russian envoy, we might be able to talk about some things related to foreigners.

It seems that the Emperor was really angered by the British, otherwise he wouldn't have acted like this.

Even if the British didn't know what was going on, it was still something to show the world, and incidentally, the Russian and French envoys would relay these things back to Europe.

Yonglin accepted the assignment and then returned home.

At this moment, the Solovyov family was getting off the carriage and changing into a sedan chair to enter the city.

Unfortunately, I entered through Xizhimen, and Chegongzhuang is right below. People who have taken the subway in Beijing might remember it.

For example, saying that in the 1990s you could see the Apple Orchard subway terminus, etc.
As for the entrance tax, he had already prepared it, but it was in Russian silver rubles, which was considered a type of "double-headed eagle dollar" in the Qing Dynasty.

Suleng'e insisted on accompanying him into the city. He felt that the Russian envoy was becoming increasingly sinister, as if he were a subject of the Qing Dynasty, yet there were many things about him that were not like that.

They even prepared in advance for the step of entering the city gate, which shows they are much more sensible than the British.

The Russian merchants trading with Kyakhta seem to be gradually changing. The people coming to the trading city have become more shrewd, and they might all be connected to him.

Suleng'e had handled foreign affairs at the Guangdong Customs, so he had some understanding of foreigners and was one of the few Manchu and Mongol officials at the time who understood economics.

He was right. From the moment he started asking for books in Kyakhta, Solovyov frequently wrote to the merchants, reminding them of the proper etiquette of the Chinese.

As for entering the city, you need to go to the west bank of Qianhai Lake and enter from there.

This place is actually in front of Qianhai, but the lake hasn't been filled in yet.

“Mishka, although this is the capital of the Khitan, the architectural style is different. It feels like we’ve returned to the front of the palace dike.”

"Yes, but this is also a royal residence. I heard it was once the official residence of a high-ranking official in charge of the imperial seal in China." His translation on this matter was quite accurate, and he explained it clearly to his wife.

However, when Prince Qing Yonglin came out to greet him, Solovyov noticed something different.

How come Fengshen Yinde is still alive?
The news of Heshen's downfall actually reached Europe through some means, but no matter how detailed the Europeans knew, they probably didn't know as much as Solovyov did.

As the Qing Dynasty minister who appears most frequently in various films and television dramas about the Qianlong era, Heshen's affairs may not be known to every household, but his reputation is undeniable, and with some publicity, whether real or unreal, he must know more about them.

Logically speaking, Fengshen Yinde went to Uliastai on business a few years ago, contracted an illness there, and never recovered. He should have died long ago, but now he is here again.

Prince Qing Yonglin, Fengshen Yinde himself, and Suleng'e all saw the surprised expression on the Russian envoy's face.

The prince was puzzled. His elder brother said that this man was very capable and knowledgeable, so why did he have such a surprised expression when he saw his unfortunate brother-in-law?
Suleng'e, who had followed along the way, thought that if General Suo were in the Qing Dynasty, he would have entered the cabinet as a Grand Secretary sooner or later at this age, and might even have reached the level of the Grand Council. How could he have such an expression when he saw the son of He Zhongtang, the son-in-law of Emperor Qianlong, and the brother-in-law of the Emperor?

"What troubles the General?"

"Nothing happened. When I was in Russia, around the eighth year of the Jiaqing reign, I returned from an overseas mission and heard that a great upheaval had occurred in the Celestial Empire."

It seems that quite a few people outside know about what happened between the two men.

Furthermore, Solovyov also stated that Macartney had mentioned in London that the Central Hall was quite well-known in Europe.

Yonglin believed that this misunderstanding stemmed from a lack of understanding of the Qing Dynasty.

He probably thought that anyone who committed a crime would be implicated and punished along with others.

Being too "China expert" can cause problems, but no one could have imagined that he just felt the timeline sometimes had some humorous twists.

Yes, it's also related to those fictional stories that pollute the environment, causing modern people to make biased judgments.

After all, there was a generation gap between him and the adults, Liu Luoguo and Yandaizi, and their relationship was not bad.

But this is good too; at least it proves that he's not some kind of monster, and there are always things he doesn't know.

"No one can know everything. Even Zhuge Liang, whose plans were flawless, still suffered the loss at Jieting and the rain at Shangfang Valley."

Even though it was Yonglin's first time meeting a foreign envoy, his words greatly increased Yonglin's goodwill towards him.

He always talks about Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, and even quotes from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

It's important to know that Manchu and Mongol nobles all owned a copy of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and were very familiar with the stories within.

Solovyov himself translated the Romance of the Three Kingdoms into French and Russian versions, and even personified some of the official positions in the novel according to European contexts, which is why he is very famous in the European translation community.

As for his mission, it is not surprising that he received unanimous praise from both Manchu and Han officials because he was able to write poetry and prose and had a basic understanding of the classics.

Yonglin thought to himself, "No wonder my brother assigned me this task. The other party isn't that ill-mannered British barbarian. It's much easier to deal with him. As long as I don't submit memorials indiscriminately, nothing will go wrong."

In order to receive double pay, he also needs to do his job well.

As for entering the mansion, with his family, he would inevitably see the Fujin (wife) and the Gulun Princess in the mansion.

Women from that place, once they meet, always want to get together and chat.

At this point, the benefits of the whole family learning Chinese become apparent.

Under normal circumstances, envoys from various European countries, especially the British, would always be kept separate from the locals, that is, contact would be avoided.

However, this time, because of the previous incident with the British, and because Solovyov always sent a report on the British and a letter showing the respect of the Russian envoy whenever the ship stopped or made a stop somewhere, plus that extremely long list of gifts, Jiaqing became more lenient.

Originally, half of the He Mansion was used by Yonglin and his wife, and the other half by Fengshen Yinde and the Tenth Princess. But this time, when receiving guests, they all sat together.

Katya, however, was not intimidated at all. With her daughter and Mihrima by her side, they awkwardly started chatting.

Seeing that she was pregnant, and that this was her sixth child, both the princess and the wife said she was very lucky.

As for Yonglin on the other side, when he came to entertain Solovyov, the two sat down and immediately dropped all airs.

Yonglin's greatest virtue was that he could sit with ordinary people without any airs of nobility.

"I never imagined that the princess and her consort would become such good friends with my wife at first sight."

"I have heard that General Suo's wife is also a princess in your country."

"Indeed, although I am an official outside the capital, I am quite knowledgeable about the affairs of the Celestial Empire, and I know the laws and regulations and some etiquette, but not very comprehensively."

"The general has probably already adapted to local customs, and his Mandarin is quite fluent."

“My younger brother is going to inherit the family business, so he needs to be taught how to do business. He also needs to learn Mandarin. Our family business consists of all kinds of property management.”

"I see, so it's a viable maritime trade?"

"Even if you're a maritime merchant, you should still trade with the Celestial Empire; that's the right path. Staying in Kyakhta would be a bit lacking."

When Yonglin heard this, he understood that the other party's demands were precisely this: trade.

In other words, the focus of his upcoming negotiations is actually no different from that of Macartney's visit years ago.

Solovyov was more interested in the teacup in his hand.

"This is truly a fine imperial kiln piece; you can't find anything like it in Europe."

"The general also likes porcelain?"

“In Europe, you never see official kilns; they are mostly private kilns. Although the quantity is huge and they can even make custom orders, they are still far inferior. So Europe also has its own porcelain made from kaolin, which is not as exquisite as that of the Celestial Empire, but it is close in fineness.”

Since that's what they said, Yonglin knew that the other party really liked porcelain.

Everything I saw in the Prince's Mansion was a treasure, and I couldn't bear to part with it.

"However, the Celestial Empire also has its rules. Is the general aware of them?"

"Of course, I would like to hear more from Your Highness." (End of Chapter)