Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Solovyov's demands can be summarized into five points.

1. Guangzhou and Tarbagatai were opened to trade with Russia;

2. Establish consulates in Guangzhou, Kyakhta, and Tarbagatai;

3. Customs duty pricing;
4. The fees for irregular practices and customs duties are combined;

5. Russia and the Qing Dynasty exchanged envoys and each established an embassy.

Although it may seem that Russia's demands were only one less than the British demands—that a certain island in the Zhoushan Islands be ceded—they were actually more acceptable to the Qing Dynasty.

Upon seeing this requirement, Tuojin and Zhang Xu were not too surprised.

Actually, similar issues arose when negotiating with adults and Macartney before.

However, the adults also discovered what they were doing at the time. They had cleverly fooled Macartney, preventing him from accomplishing his task.

But Solovyov was different; he genuinely understood Mandarin and could even sing opera.

Prince Qing can attest to this; Solovyov was singing something in his courtyard with his "concubine."

The parts that can be discerned are still that Mihrima is playing the young male lead, while Solovyov's role is that of a female lead, and it seems that he is also the matchmaker.

This family has a really fun way of having fun.

This alone proves that although he came from Russia, he was very familiar with the situation in the Qing Dynasty.

It's not easy to fool him; he might even turn the tables on you.

Of these five items, the Emperor also accepted gifts. Even though there were many gifts in return, he still sent people to comfort the European countries as a way of returning the favor.

Some of the content was still difficult for Qing Dynasty officials to accept at that time.

"The above five points are also the clauses that foreign officials must bear responsibility to the Emperor, to you all, and to the sovereign upon returning home. They are also for the sake of the friendship between our country and the Celestial Empire. I hope you gentlemen will understand them."

The purpose of this opening is also very clear.

The princes and nobles listened and whispered among themselves.

But they were just there to listen, and to give a boost to the bigwigs on the stage.

"We must report these five points to His Majesty and request his judgment."

"However, we are also aware of Macartney's situation. His six demands were indeed somewhat excessive. As His Majesty's plenipotentiary representative, I also know that the superior nation has its own rules, and these points have been modified accordingly."

"The general knows the rules of the Celestial Empire, which makes things easier."

For you gentlemen, this kind of opponent who cannot be hidden is someone who, even if you come to him, there won't be a good way to deal with him.

Moreover, among the five key points, the Russian side also proposed that trade permits in Russia required the approval of ministers, and upon arrival in the Qing Dynasty, they would be valid only after being signed and sealed by the Guangdong Customs and the officials in charge of the two ports; otherwise, they would be considered smuggling.

The Russians are a bit too stubborn when it comes to getting things done.

This is how you all approach it when you're thinking about it.

Therefore, Suleng'e, as the lowest-ranking of the five ministers, also spoke on behalf of the four officials and put forward the opinions of the Qing Dynasty.

"According to General Suo, Russia also came for trade and friendship, but foreign officials and merchants need to obey the arrangements of the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi, the General's Office of Ili, the General of Uliastai, and the Minister in Charge of Affairs in Kulun. Is the General already aware of this?"

“My own family are merchants who frequently trade in Kyakhta, so naturally I know about it.”

If they know the rules and regulations, things will be easier for them.

If Kyakhta and Tarbagatai were opened to the public, these two places would still have some value, and Russia has always maintained a rather "submissive" attitude.

However, the five ministers were unable to make a decision on the matter of appointing officials in a short time.

Although Solovyov wrote it very clearly under this point.

Since the Emperor has designated Russia as the "Chaghan Khanate," which is to be treated as an equal, then we must proceed according to the established rules.

They couldn't follow the rules of tributary states, but Russia also compromised, coming this time under the guise of "tribute," and even adding a congratulatory message for the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Qing Dynasty.

This doesn't seem like the British using this pretext; Solovyov genuinely timed it perfectly, only he set off a little late.

Nurhaci declared himself Khan in Hetu Ala in 1616, establishing the Jin dynasty. Twenty years later, his crown prince changed the dynasty name to Qing. The Jurchen ethnicity, after being mixed with the Han and Mongol Eight Banners, also became known as "Manchu".

Therefore, all of you should report back to the Emperor and let Emperor Jiaqing make the final decision.

They wouldn't discuss things too directly, and Solovyov was well aware of this, so he returned to Prince Qing's residence to await news.

If the Jiaqing Emperor were willing, many of these matters could be addressed.

As for imperial edicts and decrees, those also depend on the emperor's decision.

A major problem with Emperor Jiaqing was that he still followed the methods used during Emperor Qianlong's reign in many matters.

With his personal abilities, it was already quite difficult for him to manage such a vast empire.

Even after the death of the retired emperor in the fourth year of Jiaqing's reign, although Jiaqing had the official killed and sent him to keep his father company, he still frequently wrote poems expressing his feelings and longing for his father.

Therefore, his imperial policies were not significantly different from those of the Qianlong era.

However, since the Russian envoy was now clearly adopting a humble stance, and one cannot easily refute someone who is smiling, Jiaqing could not refute each point.

Solovyov also provided him with a lot of intelligence about the British. In addition, given the rift between Russia and France and Britain, and the potential actions the British might take in the future, it was clear that Russia was selling arms to the Qing Dynasty at a low price. This indicated that there was something significant going on in Europe.

But this is a bit beyond the scope of the task. If it were Huang Taiji, Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, or Qianlong, they would probably have been able to solve the problem very well and identify some of the issues.

However, if Emperor Jiaqing hadn't encountered such an unprecedented upheaval, he would probably have been a decent ruler who maintained the status quo, but creating something new would have been a bit of a challenge for him.

After seeing Solovyov's five points and the following words, he was somewhat overwhelmed.

"Is this what Russia is demanding?"

“Your Majesty, apart from the fact that Russia already has trading posts and warehouses in the capital, and has not requested an island, it is not much different from the request made by the British more than twenty years ago.”

Emperor Jiaqing was also somewhat dissatisfied. Although adding two ports, one by sea and one by land, was not a big problem, and the goods supplied from the three directions did not conflict with each other, it was still acceptable.

In the past few years, Emperor Jiaqing also instructed successive generals of Ili to meet with Russian officials in Tarbagatai.

However, Solovyov revealed his true intentions, informing the Jiaqing Emperor of the ranks of Russian officials and explaining that the official structure differed somewhat from the Three Departments and Six Ministries. His explanation created a sense of déjà vu, like the Han Dynasty looking at the Qin Dynasty. It was reminiscent of China, and the Solovyov father and son even wore queues, a popular hairstyle in 20th-century Europe.

Actually, it has some similarities to the Qing Dynasty.

"Since that's the case, then we can reply. Of these five points, the matter of the consulate is a matter of trade at the port, which Kyakhta already has, so we can follow the old precedent. As for the matter of Tarbagatai, the General of Ili should consider and handle it, but he cannot agree to it immediately. I still want to see what kind of mechanisms are involved."

"Your Majesty, what about the matter of trade?"

"It is clearly written here that Russia also has territories in the Yaksha Kingdom and the Liugui Kingdom. They import furs and medicinal herbs from here, and there have indeed been some problems with the sales channels in the past. I hereby grant special permission to open two new trading ports, and the Guangzhou 'Consulate' can only be located in Macau in accordance with the old practice of trading houses, following the old practices of various countries."

As Jiaqing mentioned this, he also made some annotations in vermilion ink on the memorial submitted by Tuojin.

When Solovyov received the Emperor's first reply, he couldn't say he was satisfied, but it was still within his expectations.

The issues of tariffs and corrupt practices were less prevalent at the Russian ports. Kyakhta was a place where barter was common, and although Shanxi merchants were known for their stinginess and cunning, they didn't cause as much trouble as the Thirteen Factories did.

Moreover, the main problem with the various fees under these irregularities lies with the Guangdong Customs in Guangzhou.

The "petition to the Emperor" in the twenty-second year of Qianlong's reign was due to the huge difference in customs tariffs between Zhejiang Customs and Guangdong Customs.

Of course, in reality, the "single port trade" policy also restricted the British, because they were the ones who caused the most trouble.

Other countries can occasionally trade through ports other than those in Guangdong.

As for Russia, the last time they were able to unload their cargo in Guangzhou was a special case.

This time, however, there was a negotiation to be held, so the Jiaqing Emperor was still somewhat cautious.

The consulate was downgraded to a commercial mission and did not have any diplomatic authority.

The practice of accepting bribes was associated with a close relationship between Russian merchants and the two sides, who often did not use money in their transactions.

Regarding trade, negotiations had been ongoing, with the agreements in Tarbagatai and Guangzhou being granted by special permission.

However, Emperor Jiaqing still disagreed with the idea of ​​exchanging ambassadors at this time.

He stated that a courtesy return visit was like when Thurishman visited the Russian capital, only to find Peter the Great out fighting the Swedes. Or it could be an old custom from the Yongzheng era, where the two countries exchanged envoys, which was still acceptable.

However, according to the old practice of the Kangxi era, resident ambassadors were often temporary in nature, so this point was rejected at this time.

However, the way it was described to the British was much milder.

Solovyov was relieved after seeing Emperor Jiaqing's imperial reply.

If you can accomplish even a few of these things, you've won.

However, considering the cooler weather, the impending freezing of the Bohai Sea, and the lack of favorable winds for returning by ship, Solovyov decided to stay there.

As the season was approaching winter, it was not appropriate for the Russian envoys to return by land and sea.

However, the governor of Siberia in Russia had now been replaced by Speransky, who was also Solovyov's brother-in-law. The ministers of Kyakhta and Tarbagatai also informed the Jiaqing Emperor of this matter.

It seems that Russia is showing some sincerity, so Jiaqing is not in a hurry.

In a few days, if I have some free time, I will also summon the Russian envoy to the Hall of Mental Cultivation alone.

Solovyov was left waiting at Prince Qing's residence for a while longer. Emperor Jiaqing treated foreign envoys quite well, and he was quite comfortable living in the prince's residence.

As Katya's belly grew larger and her movements became increasingly difficult, he really couldn't walk around for a while.

Emperor Jiaqing requested a reply from the two Grand Councilors to demonstrate the "tolerance" of the Celestial Empire, granting special permission for foreign envoys to stay in the capital while their accompanying soldiers spent the winter in Tianjin and Guangzhou respectively.

Then, there was another matter that touched a nerve with the Jiaqing Emperor.

That was a report from Jiang Youxian, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, that the British ships had requested to dock due to weather conditions on their return journey.

Because of Emperor Jiaqing's reprimand to the British, Jiang Youxian and Dong Jiaozeng also strengthened their defenses and did not allow British warships to come to Guangzhou.

Then the British ship acted on its own, but because the Russian "giant ship" was anchored in the main navigation channel near Humen, it turned south.

The Russians had left a second-class warship there, and French armed merchant ships were transporting goods between Guangzhou and Manila. The British hadn't brought the HMS Victory, so they couldn't afford to provoke the Russian warships.

Moreover, according to Jiang Youxian's report, the Russian warship "Gabrier" carried a secret order left by Solovyov when he headed north, requiring them to obey arrangements in Guangzhou. Therefore, the Russian ship also adopted this method to avoid conflict.

It's amazing that the Russians could come up with the idea of ​​mooring a giant ship in an important waterway.

As for Amherst's troublesome journey, it was not yet over.

Their ship would run aground on the way back and eventually be burned by pirates.

However, Solovyov still received a reward from the Jiaqing Emperor because of this unexpected incident.

Of course, the main beneficiary was Colonel Xiao Kelang at Humen, who received a reward silver, which was considered a commendation from Emperor Jiaqing for foreign military officers.

As for Solovyov, the benefit he received was that the emperor finally agreed to summon him alone after winter began.

This time, the audience was not held in a formal place like the Qianqing Palace or the Taihe Hall, but in the Yangxin Hall, where the emperor usually conducted his business.

Since we're spending the winter here, we might as well stay longer and celebrate the New Year together.

However, the activities of the foreign missions in the capital were all arranged by Qing Dynasty officials.

The merchants in the trading post were still able to move around within a certain area. During the Kangxi era, there was even an incident where a drunken Russian accidentally wandered into the Forbidden City.

But diplomatic missions will certainly be monitored.

As for the emperor's summons, Solovyov naturally had to make some preparations.

What specific issues of mutual concern should be discussed in a thorough exchange of views?
In fact, Solovyov had conducted thorough research on the environment surrounding the Qing Dynasty, and he could explain many things.

After all, the "Comprehensive Gazetteer of the Qing Dynasty" contained content related to Russia, and it was impossible for the Qing Dynasty to be completely unaware of it.

The trade negotiations are now halfway through, and although progress has not been as expected, the Jiaqing Emperor has agreed to the terms of trade. However, the two sides will likely have to hold another round of negotiations.

There was also a call from within the Qing Dynasty to follow the precedent set during the Qianlong era and ultimately reject the proposal.

However, given the series of events that had occurred and the fact that the Russian envoy had offered so much, Emperor Jiaqing could not simply refuse.

Therefore, summoning them separately is also a solution. (End of Chapter)