Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Emperor Jiaqing was also troubled by the situation in Ryukyu.

Solovyov clearly knew the key points, and his revelation of them was so obvious that even Emperor Jiaqing would have been suspicious if he hadn't been so honest.

In short, if it were Emperor Qianlong, he would have definitely taken a much harsher stance against Japan's oppression of Qing Dynasty vassal states.

After all, they used to keep it hidden. Although Ryukyu customs are slightly different from Japanese customs, once the clothing is changed and the Japanese sword is no longer carried, it is really impossible to tell.

Moreover, something even more abstract is that the Satsuma Domain was always reaping benefits, and when Ryukyu encountered trouble, the Tokugawa Shogunate had to help Ryukyu resolve the issues.

For example, when Zheng Jing was in Taiwan, he levied taxes on goods on Ryukyu merchant ships.

It was only after the shogunate imposed additional charges on the Zheng family's merchant ships in Hirado that Ryukyu was able to regain its footing.

The envoy from Ryukyu went to see Tokugawa Ieyasu, but died of illness on his way back. It was the old tortoise who took pity on him and gave him a proper burial.

If an envoy from Ryukyu came to Edo on business, he would have to stop by to pay his respects.

However, the shogunate did not receive any benefits, and Solovyov was well aware of this through intelligence provided by the Dutch.

He now hopes to learn the latest intelligence through the Dutch, but the Hirado Trading Company's trade volume dropped sharply during the war, the East India Company became a Dutch territory, and was later controlled by the British for a period of time.

Latest information indicates that Solovyov is indeed not found either.

Moreover, he is currently living in the Prince's Palace and is extremely anxious.

Katya is about to give birth, so naturally he's getting anxious.

Although he can deliver babies, forceps haven't been used for many years.

In the Qing Dynasty, you still needed to find a midwife with steady hands.

Anton, standing to the side, didn't forget to complain to his older brother.

“Well, that’s great, Brother Mishka. It’s like we’ve returned to the countryside of Ryazan.”

"You were born in St. Petersburg."

“I know, it was you who took me out back then, brother.”

They can make encrypted calls in Russian inside their house, but those waiting at the door are just waiting there.

"General Suo, will your wife give birth to a boy or a girl this time?"

"I think it's a boy. Katya's temper has been very good lately."

"Katya?" Yonglin was puzzled. If it was the Han Banner Army, perhaps there were Wei Jia clan, Ma Jia clan, or Russians doing this too?
“My wife’s name is the same as that of the late emperor. However, we don’t observe any taboos in our country. Having the same name as the emperor, and with dignitaries present during her baptism, is an honor. Unlike in the Celestial Empire, where names are often related to ancient people and church stories, it’s not fair to generalize.”

"Master, the lady has given birth; it's a boy."

"Is this a good idea?"

"I also wish to congratulate the general on the birth of his son."

"It's another son; we'll have to set up a business for him in the future."

"Why is this?"

"If it's a girl, a dowry should naturally be prepared so she won't be mistreated when she goes to her husband's family. As for the son, no matter how close the brothers are in the future, they will still have to divide the family property. My father has three sons, and he also has to take care of the youngest brother. Each of them will receive a share of the family property and will have their own estates and servants to live on."

This was also because Count Sergei had accumulated considerable wealth through managing his property.

Solovyov is a good man, and now he makes a lot of money through his inventions.

He and his two younger brothers would naturally live separately; Julia married Christian and went to Mecklenburg, and his younger sisters would also get married eventually.

This place naturally needs to be calculated clearly. After hearing his introduction, Yonglin didn't say much, only praising Guan He.

"But we still need to choose a name. I wonder what General Suo would like to name it?"

"Yes, Russians are religious, and their religion is related to Nestorianism, so naturally they should choose names according to the customs of the church."

But the eldest and second sons had already taken the names of two Tsars, so the third son could no longer receive any favors from the monarch.

Even if Nicholas were to rise to power, it would have to wait until after Alexander the Great, but fortunately, there was a nearly twenty-year age gap between the brothers.

If we have another son in the future, naming him Nikolai won't be a problem.

Solovyov sat in the yard, also thinking about what name to give.

He didn't want to use his own name or his father's name either. A son born in China always needs a name with commemorative significance.

This would require some connection with missionaries, and Solovyov thought of Ferdinand Verbiest, the only person in the Qing Dynasty to have a posthumous title, with Emperor Kangxi personally writing a eulogy for him.

Nothing else, Matteo Ricci's name, Matteo, is roughly transliterated as Matvey, a name rarely used even in Solovyov's own family customs.

And Johann Adam Schall von Bell's name was John.

John became Ivan, which is a rather common name.

Ferdinand's words, in a different format, left Solovyov momentarily at a loss for how to respond in Russian.

"It would be easy to choose a Chinese name."

Because Emperor Jiaqing had previously shown concern for his unborn child, he came up with the ingenious name "Bodhisattva Bao," a name only Manchu and Mongol princes and officials would use.

Although this name is the same as the name given to the fish on the cutting board for my son.

However, it is still useful. Normally, the church name is officially chosen at the time of baptism.

The capital of the Qing Empire happened to also house the Eastern Orthodox Church.

This really brought in business, since not many of the Russian sergeants in the Upper Three Banners were still Orthodox Christians.

These useless priests of the Eastern Orthodox Church were subject to far more lenient restrictions during the Qing Dynasty. They were even freer than Jesuit missionaries, able to move about freely, resell church goods, and entertain traveling merchants.

But when it comes to missionary work, they really didn't do it well at all; they messed it all up.

It's only now, because Solovyov's child is about to be baptized, that they've hurriedly started the process.

The church needs to be temporarily decorated, as envoys from various European countries will be attending the child's baptism and naming ceremony.

Then, some Qing dynasty princes, for reasons unknown, also came to watch the spectacle.

They stumbled upon Russian customs by sheer chance.

Because when Russian nobles baptized their children, they always invited someone to witness it, and even have that person act as the child's godfather.

For someone of Solovyov's rank, when he got married shortly after becoming a general, almost all of Moscow's high-ranking nobles attended.

When he had children, the Tsar and Tsarina personally took charge. In fact, Louisa was the godmother of all his children, and she even betrothed her eldest son, Pasha, to her.

This time, the distance was too great, and the social status among the women was quite disparate. Emperor Jiaqing appointed Prince Zhi as his representative. "You foreigners, your rules are quite interesting."

“Mianning, in my opinion, you and General Suo are about the same age, however…”

"Seventeenth Uncle, if you ask me, you should do it."

Thus, before Solovyov and Katya's three sons even took Russian names, they already had a heretic godfather, a Qing dynasty princess, and the name Bodhisattva Bao, with the emperor of the Qing dynasty protecting them.

Princess Ten still adores Solovyov's two children, and now there's another one.

"In my opinion, General Suo's child would be too tired from the long journey. It would be better to raise him in my household."

Indeed, she was Emperor Qianlong's favorite youngest daughter. She had a very strong personality and was quite opinionated. Even though she was almost an old lady, she still exuded the power of a large feline.

In other words, Solovyov was extremely intelligent; he always managed to come up with a solution.

"It is difficult to part with one's own flesh and blood. Although it is the princess's good intention, my husband and I cannot agree."

Katya's status was equivalent to that of a princess, only slightly lower. Although the tenth princess liked the doll, she did not force her to have it.

As for this chubby little boy weighing over eight pounds, after a simple quality inspection, he looked perfectly healthy.

And all he did all day was eat and sleep, sleep and eat; the Solovyov family revolved around him.

Even negotiations with the Qing Dynasty to finalize the trade regulations and border agreements were delayed.

Solovyov thought about it a little more. Janus was born in January and was the Roman god of doorways.

It's already February, which is January in the Qing Dynasty, making it difficult to decide on a name.

Tuojin and Zhang Xu were not in a hurry. They had other matters to attend to at the Grand Council, such as the recent report from the General of Ili on the conflict between the Khojas who had returned from abroad and the locals in Kashgar, as well as the latest situation in Kokand.

They still had to help Lord Dong with these matters, so they weren't in a hurry to negotiate.

After all, Solovyov could handle most things himself when he met with the Emperor.

After congratulating the family on the birth of their son, I went to offer my congratulations and then returned to the Grand Council to continue my duties.

As for Solovyov, having gained a son, he received a gift of thanks from the emperor and had to go and express his gratitude.

However, after the first month of the lunar calendar, Emperor Jiaqing was no longer in the Forbidden City; he was at the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) at that time.

After Emperor Yongzheng acquired this land and began constructing this garden, the Qing emperors continued to expand it and all loved it very much.

When Solovyov came to the Jiaqing Emperor to express his gratitude and mentioned his name, the Jiaqing Emperor smiled.

"I can invite a lama to chant sutras and bestow blessings. It is not easy for you to have a son. The journey has been arduous. Although you rested for a while in the capital, you and your husband have worked hard enough."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. On behalf of my wife and son, I also thank Your Majesty for your kindness."

“You are a renowned general in Europe, a formidable warrior. How can your son be called a worthless son? He will surely be as fierce as a lion or tiger in the future. Wouldn’t it be a great thing if he could gallop across the battlefield?”

Well, the name came about just like that, since Jiaqing just said it offhand.

Leon, when transliterated into Russian, is Lev.

That's great! It will be much easier for this child to write his own name in the future.

"Thank you for bestowing this name upon me, Your Majesty."

"And they even bestow names upon them?"

After Solovyov explained, Emperor Jiaqing smiled.

"I didn't even know there was such a saying. Your knowledge is quite impressive."

"This is because you pay attention to things regularly, and naturally you will accumulate knowledge and experience; as the saying goes, many small things add up to something great."

"That makes sense. If you study, you will surely succeed, just like Long Ruyan. He was discovered by me during the imperial examination and unexpectedly became the top scholar."

When this matter was mentioned, Jiaqing was quite proud, after all, it was after he personally "guided" the student that the student passed the imperial examination with flying colors.

Although there was some personal intervention involved by Emperor Jiaqing himself.

However, Long Ruyan lived up to expectations. At least his scholarship was beyond reproach, and Jiaqing was right to judge him. Moreover, he was extremely loyal and volunteered to go to Europe to comfort the emperor.

"Although there was some coincidence, His Majesty's judgment of this top scholar's learning and character was extremely accurate, and I, as an outsider, also sincerely admire him."

"It's fine if other people say this, but why are you joining in?"

"Sometimes it is straightforward speech, and such words come from the mouths of foreign ministers. Foreign ministers have never lied or deceived others, but in the treacherous places of the battlefield, they often set up feints, which is the art of war."

"That makes some sense. Even a person who is usually a sincere and virtuous gentleman may still be resourceful and adaptable when fighting in battle."

Emperor Jiaqing then stood up in the hall and looked at the scenery outside the door.

"But your son is also very good. I had someone analyze his birth chart, and it looks excellent."

Well, while the Qing emperors weren't as superstitious as the Tsars of their time, there were still a few who were quite superstitious, and they were all grandparents who were particularly fond of them.

Jiaqing's actions inevitably bring to mind Yongzheng.

However, he was just giving a child a fortune reading, which was a minor matter, but it was just to curry favor with Solovyov.

"However, even Zhu Jianping, a fortune teller during the Three Kingdoms period, misjudged Wang Su. While the fortune teller's theories may have some merit, they cannot be entirely trusted."

"You do have some insight, Suo Qing. That's what I like about you."

Jiaqing then took a few more steps toward the door.

"I know you need trade regulations and to demarcate the borders. Demarcating the borders will naturally be done according to the existing boundaries. As for the matter of opening trade offices, I will issue an imperial edict to the Grand Council another day, instructing them to draft the regulations. You also need to finalize your own text. This way, everything will be settled, and both sides can rest assured."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Anyway, he doesn't have to kneel now; his status speaks for itself.

There will be many more things for him to handle in the future; Solovyov's hard days are yet to come.

As for Emperor Jiaqing, he also needed to clarify a few things.

"Regarding the Ryukyu Kingdom, what further insights do you have, Lord Suo?"

"That's all. In Ryukyu, news is likely kept out of reach. Although I know that merchant ships from various countries used to travel there, I rarely receive any information. As for Japan, the shogunate has always kept the country closed off. This vast island nation only has one trading port. In the past, island nations profited from trade, but in this case, Japan only trades with its neighboring countries and also interacts with the Celestial Empire. As a result, news from all sides is scarce."

What Solovyov didn't mention was that the Russians had previously been refused trade with Japan due to their contacts in Sakhalin and Hokkaido, and their expedition ships were almost seized, which also created considerable enmity.

He had no idea what method Jiaqing would take. (End of Chapter)