Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

As long as the emperor needed it, the Ministry of Personnel was very efficient and quickly found the person.

The Hanlin scholar who came to the Hall of Mental Cultivation was Lin Zexu, so Solovyov still tried his best to manage his facial expressions.

Indeed, after passing the imperial examination, Lin Zexu served as a staff member and participated in combating piracy and smuggling, gaining some experience in this area.

As for his fame, if any city were to build a drug-free plaza in the future, he would be the first person they would think of.

In addition, those two lines of poetry have long been used as a secret code for crowdfunding projects.

There is also a statue of Lin Zexu in New York, but drug addicts often pass by it.

He demonstrated the correct method by burning opium at Humen, but later generations still couldn't apply it, and many people abroad are still burning opium.

If it were a large, sparsely populated country like Russia, then it would be somewhat understandable.

In other places, people get confused and end up even getting wild animals high.

As for him, a Hanlin scholar, he should have been frequently seen teaching the princes at the Imperial Lectures. However, now, he was summoned by the emperor simply because he had some experience as a staff member after passing the imperial examination.

He even had to meet foreign envoys, so naturally Lin Zexu had to dress formally and go from the Hanlin Academy to the palace.

Solovyov also talked about smuggling before Lin Zexu arrived.

After all, his family did this job for Prince Menshikov, and even his father had been whitewashed and became an agent, so he knew some of the methods.

It wasn't enough to just board the ship and inspect the cargo; there was cargo on the lower decks as well.

But is there a hidden layer in between?

Furthermore, Dutch merchant ships generally had larger bellies and less armament, allowing them to carry more cargo.

If the tax is usually determined by size, then the tax is probably too low.

However, Dutch merchant ships were frequently attacked at sea by the British and various pirates, and nowadays their numbers are not so large.

"In your opinion, what about Russian merchant ships?"

"Russian merchant ships are naturally fast ships, and are the 'clip bow' type ships advocated by the foreign minister. They are even faster at sea, so much so that warships have a hard time catching up with them."

"Among the congratulatory gifts, I also saw ship models. Oroli."

"The slave is here."

"Go to the back hall and fetch the model ship."

"Whoo."

As for Solovyov, he has also been given a seat, and is now close to Jiaqing, so he cannot take away Dong Gao's seat.

So he sat down next to Tojin, slightly behind him.

Tuojin was a Manchu official, so he didn't care much about seating arrangements.

Moreover, Solovyov even stepped back a little, which showed him some respect as the Grand Councilor.

Although this person was a foreign envoy, he was still manageable.

Eroli summoned several eunuchs who carried the model ship out from the back and placed it on a table in the middle.

Among the gifts Jiaqing received were models of Russian warships and merchant ships.

Leading the pack is the "Grace," followed by frigates, the newly built "Leipzig" warship, clipper bow merchant ships, and models of armed merchant ships.

"Your Majesty, please look. This is my flagship, the 'Grace,' built during the reign of the late Emperor. It has 130 'General's Cannons' on board, making it extremely powerful. This is the 'Leipzig,' built to commemorate the Battle of Leipzig in which the French King was defeated. It also has 130 'General's Cannons.' This is the frigate 'Flora,' with 50 'General's Cannons.' This is a clipper ship, and this is an armed merchant ship with 12 'General's Cannons.'"

"Your warships have cannons mounted on the sides of the hull. What will you do in battle?"

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

Solovyov requested that the model be designed with some mechanisms so that it could be demonstrated to the Jiaqing Emperor.

Then the cannon door was opened, and the "General Cannon" inside was pushed out.

"Suleng'e, is this true?"

"Your Majesty, when I greeted General Suo, cannons were fired from the gun ports in turn, aiming at the sea as a sign of respect. The officers and soldiers of the fort also witnessed this when welcoming officials."

"In that case, Lord Suo, you should also ride on a giant warship capable of fighting."

"However, it is very costly, unlike frigates."

Solovyov also considered selling second-hand ships, or if the Qing Dynasty was willing, he could start construction on new ones directly.

As Jiaqing watched the Russian envoy fiddling with the model of the giant ship, he was reminded of Jiang Youxian's previous memorial.

The Russian warships left at Humen were smaller than this giant ship, and Solovyov had previously explained the situation with the British warships.

Coincidentally, the British flagship was a frigate captured from the French Navy, which was smaller than the Flora.

Emperor Jiaqing was recalling that during the reign of his father, Emperor Qianlong, there was a certain fear of insufficient firepower on land, and many cannons were often set up.

However, the Qing army's combat strength declined again after the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong's reign, and it even struggled to fight the White Lotus Rebellion.

Even Emperor Jiaqing himself couldn't say how effective the Qing army was now.

Although the veteran general Yang Yuchun was still very useful, and many of the generals from the late Qianlong period, as well as their sons, nephews, and subordinates, were still alive, the emperor himself was still wary of what had happened in the early Jiaqing period.

If the British came from the sea, the Qing navy would not be able to withstand them.

Solovyov's actions even somewhat frightened the emperor.

But there were always people who told him the truth, and Jiaqing's good temper always came in handy in many situations.

At this moment, Lin Zexu entered.

"Your subject, Lin Zexu, a junior compiler in the Hanlin Academy and a scholar in the Imperial Study, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

"Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lin Zexu, after all, still spoke with a southern accent. However, he was not one of those strange officials from Hainan who couldn't even speak Mandarin properly, which led Emperor Yongzheng to mistakenly believe that lychees were seedless. In the end, he was so angry that he ordered all officials to diligently learn Mandarin.

But if you let the officials in Guangdong speak now, some people will still "die young".

Emperor Jiaqing then gestured for Dong Gao to come and ask him questions, as the old man was, after all, the leading Grand Councilor.

"Shao Mu, the Emperor wants to ask me a question, and you must answer truthfully."

Although Jiaqing already knew what Lin Zexu was talking about, it served to reinforce his memory.

After all, being an emperor is a tough job. If you have to approve all the memorials yourself and frequently summon ministers, it is a very arduous task.

Inevitably, there will be some errors and omissions, and it is also unavoidable to forget some things. So Lin Zexu truthfully recounted his previous experiences, from passing the imperial examination to serving as a staff member in Xiamen in the eleventh year of Jiaqing's reign, assisting in the fight against smuggling, and later, while serving in the governor's staff, participating in the fight against the major pirate Cai Qian.

After he answered, Dong Gao submitted another memorial to Emperor Jiaqing, in which he spoke to him.

Emperor Jiaqing was very satisfied. It was quite rare for a Hanlin scholar to work tirelessly on the front lines before he even passed the imperial examination.

After all, the Lin family was somewhat poor. As an assistant to the chief advisor, he could use the allowance that high-ranking officials received to pay their subordinates and staff, thus supplementing their household expenses.

Unlike those from wealthy landowning families who passed the imperial examinations twice, they sometimes still had to rely on connections.
Lin Zexu's reputation in official circles was excellent when he went to Jiangxi to preside over the provincial examination.

The provincial examination in Jiangxi this time was relatively fair, with candidates selected based on their abilities.

His reputation for integrity was already established, and he also received praise from many senior officials.

Lin Zexu had a long road ahead of him. Even Cao Zhenyong, a man who never caused trouble, thought highly of him. Cao, who never caused trouble in his life, gave Lin Zexu a great recommendation.

This also shows that he not only has a good reputation, but also strong personal abilities.

"Raise your head. I am very satisfied with what you have said, Minister Lin. However, today I will also test you on the matter of coastal defense."

"What matter does Your Majesty wish to clarify for me?"

Lin Zexu raised his head and finished speaking. Besides the senior officials, there was Qingpu, the Minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs who came to assist him, as well as Su Leng'e, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, and several military secretaries. There was even a foreigner sitting behind the left of the Grand Councilor, Tojin.

"I have summoned the Russian envoy, and Minister Su is also a first-class general in Russia. Although his expertise lies in infantry warfare, he also has ingenuity in naval matters. The secret lies in the models of these warships in front of him."

"When I was in charge of the provincial examination in Jiangxi, I heard about the Russian envoy's visit to the court. I never expected to meet him here when Your Majesty summoned me."

"When I went to the capital to pay homage, I asked about the many learned scholars in the Hanlin Academy. Since Shao Mu had assisted in coastal defense affairs, he must have seen many ships."

Of course, what Lin Zexu usually saw were pirate ships.

Eliminating them was not too difficult for the Qing Dynasty navy.

Because the Qing army was always facing land battles in the surrounding area, there was no maritime threat after the Zheng family surrendered at the end of the Kangxi era.

Therefore, the Qing Dynasty navy was mostly fighting pirates and did not actually encounter any ships with strong individual combat capabilities.

When Lin Zexu saw these ships, his expression turned serious.

He was still young at that time, and his self-cultivation skills were not yet up to par, meaning his facial expression management was not up to par.

"In my opinion, given the state of Russian warships, and considering that among the Western nations, the British are the foremost in naval warfare, we must take precautions."

Since Solovyov was a Russian envoy, and the other side had come with a friendly attitude, it was not easy to refuse him.

Otherwise, Lin Zexu would probably have had to be wary of Russia as well.

Solovyov was also aware that Lin Zexu had mentioned many enemies he wanted to guard against throughout his life.

It was about the Taiping Rebellion. When Lin Zexu arrived, Feng Yunshan admired him. If he hadn't died of illness on the way, it wouldn't have been impossible for him to surrender.

Although Lord Lin was ruthless towards foreigners, he still had some compassion for his own people.

Of course, he was also quite ruthless towards foreign lackeys.

However, the Russian envoy's friendly attitude, including explaining the ships to the Emperor, naturally indicated that he had come with a friendly attitude.

"As for the ingenious aspects of the naval warfare, I wonder what General Suo's insights are?"

After all, including the military secretaries present, Lin Zexu's official rank was relatively low, while Solovyov's rank was certainly high, and the way he was addressed was very polite.

Solovyov, in such a high position, was addressed by his courtesy name by a scholar so fluently.

If it weren't for the certainty that the two of them had never met before, Dong Gao and the other elders would probably have been quite surprised.

Solovyov still admires Lin Wenzhong, although he is currently only a Hanlin scholar.

The problem has come back again, and Solovyov is quite capable of speaking.

"In naval warfare, a nation's fleet typically consists of dozens of warships, while escort ships patrol the seas with greater agility. The British navy, though honored as 'royal,' is ultimately loyal to the King. Therefore, the King's son, the Duke of Clarence, has extensive experience at sea and is on good terms with his admirals."

Solovyov explained the situation with the British.

As for Russia's previous victory over the British fleet in the Baltic Sea, it was also due to its advantage in the waters, using its own giant ships to block the entrance and win.

Even Zhang Xu, who was somewhat unfamiliar with military affairs, felt something after hearing it.

Isn't this Huangtiandang?

The only difference is that Jin Wuzhu's entire army eventually fled, and Lao Han failed to catch up.

This time, the British encountered a seasoned Russian naval commander skilled in warfare, as well as a Scottish admiral familiar with the British situation. Before they knew it, the British fleet was defeated.

However, the Qing Dynasty's navy did not have these massive warships, nor did it have those densely packed "general cannons".

"That's how it is. I wonder what Shao Mu's explanation is?"

Incidentally, Solovyov also mentioned the opium problem brought by the British.

"General Suo, if you cut off people's source of income, I'm sure the British will invade your territory. When you were in the West, although you were on good terms with the British Regent, you also fought with him. You must know the ins and outs of this better than anyone else."

"That's right. That's why I, as a foreign minister, have traveled across the ocean to seek good relations between our two countries. I have come here to offer a strategy to guard against the British. Right now, the envoys of all countries are outside the city. Only His Majesty the Emperor, the ministers, Shao Mu and I in the palace know the details of the situation."

"In this way, it will be inevitable to spend money on coastal defense, repairing the forts in various places, and especially protecting the trading ports, especially Guangzhou and the Yangtze River waterway, which are also the grain transport routes."

How did Shao Mu know this?

Dong Gao was an old minister, and he was quite old. He probably wouldn't live to see the day when the British invaded, but he still wanted to find out the truth.

After all, he was the chief Grand Councilor, so he had to be in charge of this aspect.

"The British are skilled in naval warfare, possessing large warships and smaller vessels. Even if iron chains were laid across the Yangtze River, they would not be able to defend against them. Moreover, when Du Yu conquered Eastern Wu, his warships sailed down the river and the city was pacified with a single proclamation. Now, the British have large warships and can fire cannons, so we must defend them with fortifications. In addition to the key waterways and land routes, we must also protect the capital."

The matter was quite clear, and Solovyov wasn't surprised.

Lin Zexu, after all, had participated in military affairs as a staff member, so he certainly knew more about this than the other Hanlin scholars.

If he could come up with a plan, it would certainly be useful.

As for artillery emplacements, he's actually more of a professional in that area.

Solovyov wanted to know about the fortifications. He believed that if the cannons were deployed, the British would be in serious trouble unless they launched a massive attack.

With this in mind, and wanting to sell weapons, he naturally had to be careful and attentive.

His plan has now been launched.

With at least a Hanlin scholar knowledgeable in coastal defense speaking up, and several Grand Councilors endorsing him, the emperor himself seemed inclined to consider it. (End of Chapter)