Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Solovyov knew, of course, that these people were going to the New World, and that it must be a great dereliction of duty by the British.

But what shocked him was that these people were simply blindly heading to the United States on the east coast of North America.

For them, being able to break free from British rule was a relief.

"Why are you leaving? I bought a brewery near Dublin, and the beer there is pretty good."

"Sir, you have seen Dublin, but have you seen anything outside of Dublin?"

"Ireland is not like England and Scotland, where there are factories and mines. In Ireland, there are endless fields."

"Sir, perhaps for someone as important as you, it is a beautiful sight."

Solovyov frowned upon hearing this, as well as the other person's tone and expression.

"Then what will happen?"

"The taxes levied by the British are very high in our country, and when crops don't grow, we become very poor."

“I can understand. My father was an aristocrat, but also a merchant. Investing in workshops, factories, or businesses would yield far greater profits than agriculture. For farmers, the biggest problem is the harsh tax rates. In England, such taxes might be a minor issue, but the same proportion would be unbearable in Ireland. I can imagine, and I can imagine, that British officials would push the problem away instead of solving it. Or rather, many officials across the world are like that.”

After the translator translated Solovyov's words, the Qing Dynasty officials standing nearby were also amazed.

It's strange that Ireland is so close. Those corrupt officials from the Qing Dynasty would probably be considered good officials in Ireland. After all, they would still do the most basic work that the emperor asked them to do.

Unlike the British, who didn't even know how to implement a basic system like the land tax reform, and who also had a lot of exorbitant taxes.

For Irish farmers, escaping this place was a relief, even if it meant becoming fish food in the sea.
Zhao Lian himself, along with three Hanlin scholars and several attendants, were all members of the imperial family and members of the Eight Banners who had received some education. The only thing they heard on the ship was Confucius's words.

“Oppressive government is more ferocious than a tiger.”

Moreover, when famine struck Ireland, the British did not offer any assistance.

Even if the British officials had the last vestiges of conscience left by Lord He, they should know what to do now.

Even the most despicable corrupt official will put on a show, but here they don't even bother to pretend.

Moreover, while the UK, with its more developed industry and commerce, certainly has higher taxes than Ireland, its tax rates are not the same.

This kind of exploitation of Ireland is also a form of cannibalism, except this time it's not the British officials feeding cannibals, but the British officials themselves are the ones eating people.

As for the idea of ​​officials forcing the people to rebel, there have been instances of Irish people rising up in rebellion before, and many of them have probably already gone to Australia by now. Some of the leaders of the uprisings have even fled to the United States.

What the Irish prayed for was a better environment, even if it meant just being able to farm without such high taxes, so they could simply survive.

"General Su once said before the Emperor that this place has suffered from the tyranny of the British for too long. Now, looking at it, it is truly against the principles of Heaven and the will of the people. Sooner or later, there will be a popular uprising."

Zhao Lian was right. After the Irish famine of 1845, the Irish people no longer trusted the English. The result was that Ireland gained independence after World War I, but Northern Ireland remained under British rule.

Furthermore, even the often confused Old Deng and his family still harbor deep hatred for the British in the 21st century, and they even went so far as to shout a few words in Northern Ireland, purely to annoy the British.

Zhaolian felt sorry for these people, so he suggested to Solovyov that they take them to Russia first and then find a way to arrange things for them later.

"That's alright. I have plenty of spare rooms at my estate on the shores of Lake Ladoga. If there's not enough room at the estate, there are also stables and farmhouses. I can always accommodate a thousand or so people temporarily."

In addition, Solovyov is indeed wealthy.

In addition to the monopoly granted to him by the Tsar, there were also the property and dowries that his father divided among his brothers and sisters.

However, as the eldest son, Solovyov lived separately, while Anton inherited his father's title.

Because their circumstances as father and son were different—the father's counthood was a promotion from the French imperial nobility, while the eldest son's was accumulated through military achievements.

Even in Russia, many people believe that if Solovyov, at his age, were to achieve great merit in the future, he might be worthy of being a prince of the highest rank, just like Katya's grandfather.

Therefore, the three brothers inherited different titles. Vasily was still too young, and given the Tsar's favor towards Solovyov, he would probably give his younger brother something in the future.

After all, Anton was about to return home and marry Tsar Paul's illegitimate daughter, that skinny little girl.
Solovyov was incredibly capable; he rose through the ranks based on military merit and connections, not just connections, and at that age he was already an infantry general.

The two younger brothers and the younger sisters also benefited from the situation.

With the addition of rewards, he was quite wealthy among the soldiers.

Maintaining a thousand or so Irish people wouldn't be a problem, especially since this is a temporary arrangement.

The Solovyov family was also gradually being freed from serfdom; even the worst member of their family was a tenant farmer.

This was a small step forward in reforming the feudal serf system, but a giant leap forward in Russia.

However, none of these serfs left their master; they all remained dependent on him.

These Irishmen were taken back to see where they would voluntarily go.

If it were in Russia, they would probably be like the Volga Germans, only farming and not serving in the military.

However, compared to the Germans, their advantages in farming are not obvious, and they also have some special tools.

Solovyov used those Irish farming tools when he was growing vegetables with two grand duchess at Pavlovsk Palace.

But if Irishmen were to serve in the military, they might be more useful than Germans, except for their tendency to cause trouble when drunk, and some minor mischief and petty theft.

However, these can be overcome. If the salary is sufficient, and land and food are provided, and the tax rate is reduced, then people can live a life of basic sustenance, and that will be a different story.

Those who can survive are definitely not the type to cause trouble.

Solovyov's promise to these people was nothing more than that they could choose where they would go in the future.

However, Russia is too cold, the northern United States is cold, and the areas outside the Great Wall in China are also cold, and some places may even be colder.

However, if there is land, and the land is fertile, there will be some benefits later.

As for the Irish, they now see Solovyov and Zhaolian as if God has descended upon them.

Although it's somewhat absurd, the two emperors behind them would never be able to repay their kindness once they reached their destination. In Russia, if one only farmed and wasn't allowed to serve in the military, there were fewer avenues for advancement.

However, during the Qing Dynasty, there were many advantages.

Joining the army provides security, and being under the two red flags forms a separate Zuo Ling (military command).

As a descendant of Prince Li, Daishan, Zhaolian could not make decisions on certain matters, but she could still offer some suggestions.

Moreover, Solovyov had made a verbal agreement with the Jiaqing Emperor in the palace. Jiaqing always valued his reputation, and these "red-haired barbarians" were quite hardworking, so having a group of foreign lackeys wasn't a big deal.

Moreover, many Irish people had served under the British and probably knew some of the details about the British.

Even Solovyov was unaware that some Irish officers and non-commissioned officers, who couldn't make it in the Lobster Corps, had fled to the colonies and America to seek a living.

They can pack them all up and send them to the Qing Dynasty emperor, which would be a win-win situation.

The sound of this abacus could be heard from Ireland to Khitan.

And this time, the task was indeed to transport people from Ireland to Khitan.

There are actually quite a few ways to guard against the British.

Next, the boats approached the Irish coast, and some people, having received the money, released them.

Those who were rescued by the Russians during a shipwreck would receive a reward if they brought back a few people or one or two families with them.

Although some things develop into pyramid schemes, the act of recruiting people is extremely dangerous.

However, this method would be more than enough to recruit a thousand or so poor tenant farmers to immigrate to other places in Ireland.

Moreover, the British lords were indifferent to whether these Irish people stayed or left.

After all, it's really difficult to collect taxes, so it's better to turn a blind eye. In fact, with the land consolidation, some English lords might even come here to acquire land.

At that time, the land abandoned by the farmers can be resold to the officials, which will bring them some income. It's better than the farmers not being able to get anything out of the land.

In this way, the Irish would face little resistance if they wanted to flee.

This was also unexpected for Solovyov, who now had to worry about whether his supplies were sufficient.

Fortunately, their next stop was France, in Brittany, where the French were able to resupply their ships.

The Irish didn't bring too many this time, maybe three or four thousand people.

Solovyov's fleet was ridiculously large, with each ship carrying dozens of people, which was enough, and there was also plenty of food.

When the news reached London, the Prince of Wales turned a blind eye.

Ultimately, he was quite different from George III; he was intelligent yet lazy, which is why he appeared to be obese.

However, his attitude towards the Irish and Catholics was relatively good, better than that of George III.

As for his daughter, Princess Charlotte, and his brother, the Duke of Clarence, they were even more friendly to Catholics and advocated for their exemption from persecution.

Princess Charlotte shared a similar political stance with her father, while the Duke of Clarence's old flame was Irish, and many of his sailors were poor Irishmen.

He still felt some sympathy for these people.

The navy is sometimes different from the army and those old men. Even the most reactionary figures in the navy are probably considered enlightened compared to some others.

Princess Charlotte, heavily pregnant, was still praying, essentially asking God for mercy and blessings.
Because she was pregnant, she had a certain aura about her, an overflowing maternal instinct, even though she was only twenty-one years old.

Princess Charlotte was already a young woman, and she was very grateful to the Russians for arranging the marriage, which brought her such a suitable husband as Leopold.

But Solovyov's return from the Far East did not seem to be very friendly to Britain.

To be fair, Solovyov was not very friendly to Britain in the past. He did make some friends in Britain, but they were mainly from the royal family and upper class, or naval officers and engineers who had immigrated to Russia from Britain.

The failure of the Amherst mission was a severe slap in the face for Dai Ying.

The Russian delegation, that special envoy was quite remarkable; not only did he complete his mission, but he even invited a hereditary prince from China to visit Europe in return.

When the transport ships left Europe, they were fully loaded with gifts for the Chinese emperor, as well as goods to be traded at ports along the way.

When they returned, the ship was laden with gifts from the Chinese emperor, as well as a large quantity of goods purchased in China. In addition, there were many Irish people on board.

Well, on the cabinet side, the Liverpool lords' reputation is definitely going to be severely damaged.

But now the Chinese envoys have arrived and will soon be landing in France. They should disembark at Le Havre and travel through Rouen to Paris.

Thus, Lord Liverpool instructed the ambassador in Paris to contact Mr. Talleyrand to see if there was an opportunity for the British envoy and the Chinese prince to meet in Paris.

If possible, the prince should also be invited to London.

Lord Liverpool had actually obtained the intelligence, which came from the Portuguese Clippers returning from Brazil.

The mission given to the returning mission by the Chinese emperor was to appease various countries and familiarize themselves with the situation in European countries. They probably wouldn't refuse Britain's invitation.

After all, Solovyov's trip also included taking the Qing Dynasty delegation to Venezuela, Santo Domingo, and the United States. Later, he even acted as a human trafficker in Ireland, taking away more than three thousand poor Irish people.

However, the publicly disclosed itinerary of the Chinese delegation was to visit the capitals of the countries that had previously sent delegations to China, and there were no arrangements made for the British side.

Lord Liverpool remembered this: Prince Leopold, the Regent's son-in-law, was the former brother-in-law of the Archduke of Constantine, and had a good relationship with Solovyov.

Although the Regent himself was familiar with Solovyov, Leopold did have some kinship ties with him.

There are also rumors in St. Petersburg that one of Solovyov's sons will marry the Grand Duchess, and based on his age, it should be his eldest son, Pavel.

So, in a way, after all the twists and turns, we can be considered family.

Now we'll use this relationship to see just how shameless the British can be. (End of Chapter)