Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

But are Russian troops going to deploy in Tianjin?

More drills?

What will it look like then?

Solovyov knew that the censors in the Qing Dynasty were not like those in the Ming Dynasty, after all, the imperial power had been strengthened to an unprecedented degree.

But there will definitely be people talking about it, and then we'll have to shut them up.

When he returned to the Prince of Qing's half of the mansion, he planned to stay indoors and rest for a few days.

However, the invitation arrived very quickly.

"Your Highness, why are there another invitation?"

"Oh dear, your reputation is quite good. Of all the envoys who have been to the Celestial Empire, General Suo is probably the first to establish a friendship with us."

"That's because they don't understand the etiquette of the Celestial Empire, nor do they know poetry and literature, so naturally they would have such an outcome."

The inability to communicate culturally, coupled with the lack of understanding of how to bridge the differences between the two sides, naturally led to a major problem.

Solovyov found it amusing when he opened the invitation.

It included people from the Hanlin Academy, Prince Zhaolian who had been dismissed from his post, and some princes and ministers who had previously attended the meeting.

Solovyov had no idea what was going on behind the scenes when a banquet was to be held.

It was just these people from the Hanlin Academy; they actually had the Jiaqing Emperor's approval to invite me to the banquet.

The situation sounds strange; a group of scholars are probably even more skilled at writing and painting.

It would be good to go, so he changed his clothes again.

When attending banquets, as the chief envoy, one should still wear the medals properly.

As for the vehicle arrangements, Yonglin arranged for his trusted servants to accompany them.

These lackeys were happy to do things because the prince usually gave them a lot of money, and the Russian envoy would also give them "American dollars".

However, the place to eat is still located in the Qianmen Dashilan area.

It's a fairly lively place. The chefs at the local restaurants are quite skilled, and the staff there all seem to have connections.

If it were only some refined and scholarly officials, they would probably choose an elegant place.

Zhao Lian was, after all, the former Prince Li. Even though he is no longer a prince, he is still a member of the imperial clan and a high-ranking official. In fact, because of his literary talent, his status is still very high.

Solovyov felt that his attendance at the banquet would probably be included in Xiaoting Miscellaneous Records.

However, the position of the Iron-Capped King is still vacant.

Solovyov found it strange that he was granted permission to attend the banquet.

Once you arrive and find out the details, there might be some benefits.

This prince was quite famous in the literary world; he was someone who had a real job.

Unlike Prince Yu's side, where even those who commit crimes can produce consecutive numbers.

But after Zhao Lian, because he was stripped of his title, the subsequent princes were so foolish that they didn't even know it snowed in the foreign country.

This prince, however, was very learned, and he also had a good appearance, unlike the other type.
However, it is true that he was imprisoned and stripped of his princely title for humiliating a minister.

However, this is a hereditary title, and someone must be designated to inherit it.

After all, such a large princely mansion must be inherited by a descendant of Prince Li, Daishan.

However, nowadays, Zhaolian is able to participate in public activities, but Jiaqing has not made any further decisions, so the position remains vacant.

It's a bit puzzling to look at, but that's not something the Russian envoy needs to worry about.

He brought his son, adjutant, and younger brother to the banquet, a total of four people.

The reason for bringing Pasha out was to broaden his horizons.

There's no table with children today either. When entertaining guests, the adjutant you bring must be able to drink. It doesn't matter if they can speak Chinese or not, as long as they have a high alcohol tolerance.

As for Anton?
If he wants to do business, his son probably won't follow his father's path.

But Anton and Vasily are fine; they were both born to stepmothers, and they have enough property to divide.

Anton is old enough to work, so bringing him along is also a way to build connections.

Here, one can meet with Qing Dynasty scholars, officials, and merchants, and thus become acquainted with them.

If these officials in the Hanlin Academy develop well in the future and don't remain editors in the Hanlin Academy forever, they have two paths to take.

One path is to move towards the central government, to hold a prestigious official position, and to advance towards the Six Ministries and the Censorate.

In addition, the positions that were assigned to local posts or those that were given to train and develop skills were much higher than those of ordinary Jinshi graduates.

This is how they are trained to become high-ranking officials in the provinces, and if they are lucky, they can eventually return to the capital.

Even Manchu officials, if they were in the Hanlin Academy, would follow this procedure.

However, if one is not careful along the way, he might end up directly heading for the position of garrison general of General XX.

The officials of the Six Ministries in the Qing Dynasty were divided into Manchu and Han groups, and the same was true for the vice ministers. The Court of Colonial Affairs, on the other hand, was staffed by Manchu and Mongol officials who dealt with various Mongol princes and dukes, with Manchu officials being relatively more numerous.

Now, seeing these people, they all bowed and clasped their hands in greeting, and Solovyov had to return the greetings to each of them.

They were all dressed like this, including both Manchu and Han scholars, as well as the top-ranking scholars from previous years who had not been sent out to other places, and the selected probationary scholars. This group of people all had similar official ranks and positions.

Xu Naiji, whom he had criticized, was also present at the last banquet held at Ziguang Pavilion.

Of course, Solovyov still had to go find Lin Zexu.

Zhao Lian also found it strange, as Lin Zexu had only just returned from presiding over the provincial examination in Jiangxi as the deputy chief examiner and had gained some fame.

The Russian envoy had probably only heard of him, so how could it have just passed by like that?
"You may not know this, but I had already met Shao Mu when I was summoned by the Emperor."

"So that's how it is. The general and Shao Mu have such a connection."

Now, we can't even recite poetry, which violates the Basic Law and we have to take responsibility for it.

Solovyov mentioned the previous incident and gave it special praise.

"When Shao Mu was working behind the scenes, he was an assistant in Xiamen, cracking down on smuggling. In practice, his ideas coincided with those of a certain person."

"General Suo is also an envoy, why is he making such a statement?"

In order to answer Zhaolian's question, Solovyov naturally had to go all out.

"All this is due to the harm caused by opium, which poisons the lives of countless people. This substance has existed for a long time, originally from the land where Gan Ying once traveled west. It was refined into a paste and used for its purposes. However, when smoked, it is extremely toxic and addictive. Once addicted, it is extremely difficult to quit, and smokers often end up bankrupt. It is also incompatible with the teachings of Islam. Such a poison should be completely banned. Occasional use for medicinal purposes is acceptable, but open smoking is extremely harmful."

"How do you know this, General?"

Who is this man?

"This is Wu Yuying, a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, who is the same age as Shao Mu."

In other words, he was the second-place finisher in the imperial examination of the sixteenth year of the Jiaqing reign. The third-place finisher, Wu Tingzhen, contracted a sudden illness while presiding over the Yunnan provincial examination and died on the road before being granted leave to return.

To be honest, the luck of this list in the sixteenth year of Jiaqing's reign wasn't very good.

Those who later became high-ranking officials in various regions inevitably faced many ups and downs in their official careers.

"Our country borders the Rumi Turkic people, whose custom is to cultivate hemp and poppies, hence this knowledge."

"May I ask if the general understands the reason behind this?"

"Well, if it's addictive, one will definitely think about it. If the editor also had a pipe and used tobacco, he would probably know. However, the tobacco in this pipe isn't as toxic, since it's not very potent, and stopping it for a while won't do much harm."

Zhao Lian's mind was already starting to conjure up images of a pipe he had once befriended.

Speaking of his social circle, going back to Yuan Mei and Ji Xiaolan, and going forward to Gong Zizhen and Wei Yuan.

However, Zhao Lian did not have the opportunity to witness the unseen changes; otherwise, the only thing he would know was the history of the Qing Dynasty from its peak to its decline.

"The harm of opium is that forced withdrawal can cause illness. I saw the plight of soldiers trying to quit during the Eight Expeditions against Lu Mi, and I have been paying attention to these things."

Of course, he has the advantage of information asymmetry.

Zhaolian agreed after hearing this.

"Does the general also pay attention to medicine amidst military affairs?"

"We should pay attention to things like disinfection and epidemic prevention. In the military, we must be careful about these things, otherwise the Marquis of Wu would not have been able to cause a commotion during the march."

When dealing with the Manchus, regardless of their cultural level, first send out a set of Three Kingdoms characters; it's guaranteed to be effective.

Zhao Lian also knew that even if Zhuge Liang's army was scattered, it would still be useful.

Solovyov couldn't elaborate, since his business essentially involved disinfection in hospitals, benefiting either the injured, pregnant women, or patients who needed long-term care in hospitals or at home, which differed from general medical treatment.

As for the fact that he personally delivered babies for his stepmother and the empress, that cannot be discussed.

If his wife suddenly goes into labor, as long as he has the tools and has boiled water, he can probably start working.

He thought to himself, "I hope this doesn't happen."

After hearing about the origins of these pathogenic "causes," Zhao Lian agreed wholeheartedly. As for their transmission, although it differed somewhat from the theories of traditional Chinese medicine, the purpose was the same.

"As for the opium produced in Rumi and Persia, the quality is even worse. If you want to obtain medicine, the opium produced in India is the best. However, its toxicity is very strong, and it is much more difficult to quit than the inferior opium."

His promotion of quitting smoking here made even a few officials who normally smoke pipes a little uncomfortable.

Some even considered quitting smoking after going back home.

But when it comes to smoking, different people are different.

Solovyov's presence at the banquet was also an opportunity for the scholars to extract more information.

It could be considered an instruction from Emperor Jiaqing. He had figured out Solovyov's logic: whatever the British did, he would definitely say about it.

This was beneficial to both the Qing Dynasty and Russia, with the aim of forging an alliance.

Therefore, as a soldier, he was always attentive to British military intelligence and naturally knew a great deal about it.

Moreover, the British army's biggest defeat since the 19th century was a gift from Sweden.

This is arguably the best way to understand it.

As for weapons, Solovyov was also willing to talk about them, because he also wanted to sell weapons.

Relying solely on the current weaponry and equipment of the Qing Dynasty would certainly not be sufficient for waging war.

As for a new type of army, that can only be developed after we have the weapons.

These Hanlin scholars were all top-ranking candidates in the imperial examination system, and many of them, like Lin Zexu, had served as staff members after passing the examination, possessing practical knowledge and expertise in their respective fields.

If they were to record what Solovyov said later and compare it with their own recollections, they would piece together a complete intelligence report on the British, which might be even more detailed than what Solovyov had mentioned on previous occasions.

With such a huge bunch of human-shaped recorders here, and everyone later getting a set of official-style transcripts, who could stand that?

Basically, they can record everything that is said, and then they will edit it later.

If the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries) in Jiangnan were unfortunately burned, the copies made by local scholars could quickly restore most of it. This is the power of scholars, rather than spending their entire lives studying for a few articles just to pass the imperial examinations.

Practical application is the greatest value of a scholar.

But sometimes, the fear is that they will embellish the story according to their own interpretation.

Some officials who dared to speak out in the late Ming Dynasty ended up like this.

Now Solovyov tells them about his experiences, mainly his inventions and their applications in various engineering fields.

Although he didn't drink much, the meal was definitely worth every penny.

Zhao Lian himself also made a record of his final assessment of the Tianli Sect's illegal fundraising and pyramid scheme activities infiltrating the Forbidden City, which was quite scathing.

That was a true record, and it was only because he was a prince that he didn't shy away from mentioning the Ai family's shortcomings when recording it, which was quite commendable.

Having heard this firsthand information, even though he was just a scholar and no longer a prince, he was still very diligent in taking notes.

"Since the general said that there are carts that can be pulled without animal power, they must be made of mechanical devices."

"really."

"It's just that the mechanism is too complicated. I suppose what the general has come to present to the emperor is only some of the models."

"That's right, but there's one thing we can still use?"

"What?"

"It's that hot air balloon. During the banquet held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony by the Emperor, not only were there fine horses purchased from all over the Western Regions, but also hot air balloon sets. Once assembled, it allows people to go up into the sky and enjoy the scenery on the ground."

"Such a thing can be described as having a panoramic view of all the mountains."

"Indeed, if you wish to see it, I fear you will need the Emperor's grace. After all, this item has already been presented to the Emperor. However, I have also brought along someone skilled in operating it, so we can give it a try."

"I'm afraid you gentlemen won't believe me."

"In the past, Emperor Kangxi had a school called Mengyangzhai to teach mathematics. Unfortunately, industry was not yet developed at that time, and Western learning had not yet come to the East. Among them, only a few mechanical skills were passed down."

That is, mechanical clocks and watches.

Hot air balloons only appeared during the Qianlong era, and they first appeared in France.

Even the first hot air balloon took off before Solovyov was even older.

This was a novelty for the Qing Dynasty.

They understand this principle to some extent; it's similar to that of Kongming lanterns.

However, once the medicine is actually implemented, that's another matter entirely.

Solovyov noticed that Ruai and the others were also interested, so he suggested that a demonstration be held at the Yuanmingyuan Garden. (End of Chapter)