Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 1052 Solovyov's mission to the Qing Dynasty can be considered a complete success.

After Solovyov's inspection, Ruan Yuan hosted a banquet for him at the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi.

Besides thanking the Russian envoy for providing improvement plans for the Sifang Fort and Shajiao Humen Fort, Zhao Lian and others also "consoled" the European countries this time. Of course, the relationship between France and Russia was still equal, and as for the other smaller countries, Solovyov also explained the European situation at this level.

It's roughly the same principle that the monarchs of small countries would rise to receive the imperial edict, while the monarchs of large countries would simply sit and wait for the envoys to pay their respects.

Zhao Lian's rank is relatively high. For some duchies, his title of prince is even higher than theirs, and his cultural level is also top-notch.

As for today's event, both host and guests enjoyed themselves, but Solovyov declined the offer to write poetry.

"If the governor were to ask me to write poetry again, I fear I would lack the talent. But this journey south brings no familiar faces overseas. For me, it is more like a return home."

Solovyov did not give a positive response to Nguyen Nguyen's proposal.

But the meaning is also very clear: it's to send off Zhaolian.

This mission was not to travel west beyond Yangguan Pass, but rather south.

However, the concept of overseas Chinese did not exist during the Qing Dynasty.

The statements were still based on those of Emperor Qianlong, but Emperor Jiaqing did not give any instructions on this matter when he sent Zhaolian as an envoy.

Solovyov saw through the true nature of these places in Southeast Asia and did not advocate any activities there.

Which route to take between Vietnam, Siam, Cambodia, the Aceh Sultanate, and even Myanmar, is also a question at this point.

On his return journey, he still wanted to see India.

Yes, it's that magical India.

This would likely have been the first time the Qing Dynasty had contact with the British colonial authorities during its overseas missions.

At that time, the capital of British India was still Calcutta, while Mumbai was an important port city.

The situation in India is also related to Solovyov's overall strategy.

The firsthand information he needed was right there; in fact, he only needed to sit down in Calcutta and observe the British attitude to get a general idea.

Even for Qing Dynasty officials, this was the first time they had been so close to the place of origin of opium.

The East India Company might face serious trouble at that point.

After all, Russian troops also came along, and there were even Manchu soldiers on the ship.

Although Britain and Russia were allies, Solovyov had a good personal relationship with the regent and his daughter, and even acted as Princess Charlotte's matchmaker.

However, sometimes things are not so easy to solve.

There will be many things to happen along the way.

Even for Qing Dynasty officials, it was an unprecedented eye-opening experience.

In her private notes, Zhaolian also mentioned that this trip was to a place she had never heard of before, and that she was also favored by the emperor, so of course she had a great responsibility.

As for any novel or unusual events he had never witnessed before, as the King of Gossips of the Qing Dynasty, he naturally had a responsibility to record them.

After the banquet, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi bid farewell to the Russian envoy and the delegation of envoys led by Prince Li.

The scene was spectacular, with drums and firecrackers going off everywhere, and a huge crowd of people, including many Guangzhou residents who came to watch the spectacle.

As for the 608 Banner soldiers also setting off, this was the first time in the history of the Qing Dynasty.

As Zhaolian's honor guard, they always need to make a grand entrance.

Although it was still a cotton-padded jacket outfit, it was very imposing.

If it's just a line of soldiers, with swords and spears everywhere and everyone carrying bows and arrows, you can't tell their fighting strength from their appearance; they might even look intimidating.

After all, Fukang'an's trip to Gurkha had left a lingering influence.

On the other side, the Russian troops wore both black and green uniforms, and some were naval infantry.

They also appeared to be in neat formations. The previous battle in Okinawa was the first time the Russian army had witnessed the fighting power of East Asia at that time.

It might become a monster room in the future, but for now, the fighting power of a powerful domain under the shogunate seems rather weak.

On the contrary, although the Qing army did not play a major role, the Russian military unanimously believed that these small-scale Qing troops were competent in protecting the flanks and harassing the enemy.

However, due to Solovyov's troop deployment issues, it was indeed difficult to discern his actual combat strength.

Perhaps I'll be able to see it on the way back.

On his way back, Solovyov will still encounter many African tribes and Indian princely states.

Some places may not even be friendly to Europeans.

If things go wrong, a real fight could break out somewhere along the coastline when we cross the Arabian Sea.

However, when they arrived at the Arabian Peninsula, it was during the hottest time of the year.

But the palaces of the sultans and emirs are still a good place to visit.

When the fleet set off, all of them, except for Sukoff's armed merchant ships, were already here.

It was only then that Zhaolian realized just how weak even a single Russian squadron was.

Delin and Ancheng, although they still had some confidence in foot combat.

But this Russian navy was not the best in Europe, which shows how the British and other foreign powers were able to dominate the world.

Solovyov also arranged for them to depart from Guangzhou instead of going to Vietnam.

At this time, the Nguyen Dynasty had some relations with France, which the Qing court knew but had no intention of interfering with.

Moreover, Jiaqing was not Qianlong.

Moreover, the Tay Son Dynasty, which was opposite Annam when the conquest was launched, had already been destroyed. The current Nguyen Dynasty was named by Emperor Jiaqing. The Nguyen Dynasty itself is relatively submissive and will not cause any major trouble.

Our first destination was ultimately Batavia.

When Zhaolian arrived in Batavia, she was also amazed by the architecture there.

It's like a Southeast Asian version of a European water town, and there are even quite a few Chinese people living there.

Solovyov even made a veiled reference to Lanfang, but Zhaolian did not express any opinion on this separatist behavior.

However, for a player like Solovyov who focuses on coloring maps, looking at Lanfang's control area felt rather awkward.

However, his mission was diplomatic, and Russia had never had any interests in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, Russia's overseas colonial plans did not include any presence in Southeast Asia.

This place is not suitable for Russian activities.

Moreover, there is a marriage alliance with the Netherlands. Anna married into the Netherlands to become the Crown Princess and even had to protect the Cape of Good Hope, which the Netherlands had finally managed to reclaim.

As for Ceylon, it had fallen to the British, and in the tea market, it might still pose some threat to the Qing Dynasty. At that time, the Russian fleet would also pass through Trincomalee and then turn towards the Arabian Sea.

The Dutch governor of Batavia also received a warm welcome, which greatly pleased the Qing dynasty princes and ministers.

Solovyov had to admire the Dutch; they truly deserved to be called the most honest businessmen in Europe, and of course, they were equally adept at murder and robbery. They served their potential customers so well that they deserved a five-star rating.

Upon arriving in Batavia, the Qing officials also noticed that this place was now the land of Rinan.

The name of Rinan Commandery in the Han Dynasty also comes from this, although that refers to Vietnam.

Heading west from Batavia, one leaves the sphere of influence that traditionally existed within China.

The possible stopover in Myanmar means that it was still within the Chinese cultural sphere and the network of tributary diplomacy.

Many of the tribute missions during the Ming Dynasty were actually just for the purpose of deceiving people into trade and securing official positions.

Although the Qing Dynasty was also incompetent, at least they knew which radish occupied which position.

When the Ming Dynasty might be in a period of tribute trade, if the other party used someone else's credentials to impersonate them as tribute, the Ming Dynasty would not notice at all.

Moreover, this has happened more than once.

So how should we evaluate it?
It's hard to say anyway.

As for the fleet's westward journey, Zhaolian was also very curious about the scenery along the way, which was very different from that of Guangdong and Guangxi.

This means that this is the tropics. If you travel west from the Strait of Malacca, you will be heading towards India.

Based on Bellingshausen's report, Solovyov also knew that the recent wind direction was still favorable for the Russian fleet to reach Calcutta quickly.

Heading towards Myanmar would take up some time.

Solovyov then ordered the entire fleet to sail to Calcutta.

The Marquess of Hastings had been the Governor of Fort William, which was in effect the Governor of India, for four years.

During his term, Britain won the Gurkha War, turning the land that Gurkha had acquired from the surrounding princely states into a British colony.

In addition, he completed the final conquest of Maratha and, during his reign in 1819, purchased Singapore, making it an important British colony.

In early 1817, while Solovyov and his party were still celebrating the New Year in Beijing, he had already led his army into the heart of Hindustan.

At this time, the governor himself was not in Calcutta, and they were completely unprepared for the arrival of the Russian fleet.

It was precisely because he was completely unprepared that Solovyov was able to perform at his best.

The British were aware of the situation beforehand; Russia had sent a large tribute fleet to Guangzhou. The subsequent events were clearly much smoother than those of the Amherst mission.

Amherst encountered great trouble on the way. After their ship ran aground, they were attacked by pirates, and the ship was eventually burned. Amherst and his men escaped danger by traveling to the Spanish colony in the Philippines, and then continued their journey back.

When they returned, they already knew about the Russian activities.

With the loss of his fleet, Amherst was forced to remain in Calcutta.

Solovyov was still arranging for the "Grace" to enter the port of Calcutta, and he had been arguing with British colonial officials for a long time.

In the end, he drove the colonial bureaucrats who were receiving him to the brink of collapse. One of them was a Russian general who spoke English and was very good at using long and complicated sentences, which caused him to try to go in circles, only to find that the other side was going in an even bigger circle.

The British were also concerned about the movements of the Russian fleet and therefore hoped that only supply ships and small vessels would enter Calcutta.

Compared to the third-class battleship "Illustrious" that had suppressed the French Navy in Île-de-France, Russia's three battleships consisted of two first-class ships and one second-class ship.

This second-class ship, which had previously positioned itself between the Humen Fort and the British warships, prevented a series of incidents.

This posed a significant threat to the Royal Navy in the colonies.

However, the Russians' attitude was also very clear: we were only going to resupply and land along the way, and we would stay in Calcutta for a few more days.

If the Marquis of Hastings were to return, a meeting would not be out of the question.

There was even something that particularly alarmed the British: Russia and the Qing Dynasty signed a trade agreement, and a Russian trading post was established in Guangzhou.

The Chinese emperor was so pleased that he dispatched a diplomatic mission led by Prince Zhaolian, the "head of all princes," to board a Russian warship and make friendly visits to various European countries.

If Amherst dares to show his face in Calcutta, Solovyov would love to give him a good thrashing.

After all, the mission was accomplished, and the Qing Dynasty even gave back a large amount of gifts, and even sent a delegation and a guard of six hundred men.

Of course, Solovyov didn't know Amherst was there when he disembarked.

As for the Qing Dynasty princes and officials dressed in official robes, wearing official hats, and some even with peacock feathers, when they disembarked, they also witnessed what British rule in India was like at that time.

"The soldiers of the British are no less capable than those of General Suo."

Delin and Ancheng were quite impressed with Solovyov. His command of troops was excellent. Although he didn't lead the charge like their father, his strategic planning made commanding tens of thousands of troops seem effortless.

The Russian army's performance in Okinawa was also characterized by its powerful firepower, whether in artillery or infantry formations.

Both of them were sons of famous generals, and in the end, they were the ones who finished off the enemy.

Aside from the Satsuma Domain's miscellaneous soldiers retaliating and getting hit by a hail of arrows, that was about it.

The British troops lined up at the dock were also well-ordered and disciplined.

In addition to the "true barbarians" of the British, there were also auxiliary troops called "turbaned barbarians" composed of local soldiers.

When these two saw the British troops lined up, they knew they were no ordinary opponents.

This was the first time that Qing generals had seen a large-scale British army. The cannons and cavalry nearby also indicated that these troops were elite.

After the two of them told Zhaolian, the prince nodded in agreement.

Anyway, among those below the top echelon of the East India Company, only Staunton Jr. could probably understand what they were saying.

Zhao Lian started by saying "Confucius said," and no matter how fluent Xiao Sidandong was in Mandarin, Zhao Lian was going to increase the intensity, which was already on the level of encrypted communication.

"In that case, when you return to the country to report, both of you should submit a memorial to the Emperor. I am not knowledgeable about military affairs, but you two are both seasoned generals with meritorious service in suppressing rebellions. The Emperor will naturally be pleased to see it."

But if Emperor Jiaqing knew Delin and Ancheng's opinions, he would probably turn into a whiny, fat man again.

The British had an astonishing number of soldiers in India and even hired a large number of locals to join their colonial army.

In other words, resupply is not going smoothly right now, otherwise the British might actually come looking for trouble.

The key point is actually in Singapore.

A few years later, the Marquess of Hastings bought the place, giving the British a springboard into the South China Sea and increasing their influence in Southeast Asia.

For Southeast Asian countries, the good days are over.

(End of this chapter)