Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Napier was leaving England for the Qing Dynasty, with Guangzhou as his final destination.

The Qing Dynasty was not entirely unaware of what was happening in Britain.

Now, at least with European intelligence, Emperor Daoguang wouldn't be completely clueless.

Even some Manchu and Mongol princes had strange ideas, such as the unusual notion of marriage alliances with Europeans.

However, the other party will demand monogamy, which is indeed a challenge for the traditional Chinese system of one husband and multiple concubines.

But the Qing Dynasty was unaware of just how wild Europe was, where even with a wife, one could still have affairs everywhere.

If they knew, they would probably think the late emperor was really strict.

That's right, we're talking about the big, chubby, whiny guy, Emperor Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty. He had the most restrictions on the imperial family and the Eight Banners, but the effect was mediocre. However, the Eight Banners were also very difficult for him to manage.

Even compared to the Eight Banners, some of the Eight Banners descendants are now in trouble because the Emperor has brought in a new Eight Banners, many of which are foreigners.

These foreigners not only have knees that bend, but they also work incredibly hard for the Emperor.

The red-haired Irishmen who joined the two Red Banners were incredibly fast runners and worked exceptionally hard, sometimes making the Eight Banners soldiers feel as if they were letting down the salaries paid by the Emperor.

This is mainly because they don't know what kind of life the Irish lived back home. The British were incredibly poor, and they hadn't even caught up with the improvements made to the Irish after Queen Charlotte came to power. Their impression of their homeland was just those damned British, their tax collectors, and their lords who betrayed them.

The Qing emperors would distribute land, and at least one son in each family could join the army. In some areas outside the Great Wall, where the Willow Palisade was already ineffective, there were too many Han Chinese and too few Eight Banners, so they had no choice but to join the Irish.

It's all because of these Irish people, they're so prolific.

Officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Court of Colonial Affairs were curious about the Irish people entering the country. Some couples had as few as four or five children, while some older couples had more than a dozen.

If this continues, red hairs will probably grow out of the soil very soon.

But they were truly loyal to the Qing Dynasty and the Emperor, and they also paid attention to their relationships with their neighbors. Although they were foreigners, they were surprisingly the easiest to manage.

If Solovyov knew this, he would probably sigh and say, "Different places nurture different people."

In the Americas, the Irish, like the Chinese, were initially buried under railway tracks or involved in Irish gangs along the Atlantic coast. It wasn't until the time of the guy with the wild imagination and the old man that a few Irish people managed to rise to prominence and elevate their status in the social hierarchy.

When they arrived in the Qing Dynasty, they could be happy farmers, whereas before, when they were soldiers serving the king, they were whipped every day.

During the Qing Dynasty, these people happened to be in the two Red Banners, which meant they were guaranteed a stable income by the Emperor. Although they were still beaten, no one was ever heard of being whipped.

This only made them work even harder. After seeing the performance of the Irish, Drouot had to give the soldiers of the two banners he belonged to a separate assessment of their combat capabilities.

Even the original flag bearers of the two red flags could barely maintain their fighting strength, and it would be a long time before they could keep birds in cages.

Because the men, young and old, couldn't lose face in front of these foreign devils.

Napier would never know this; he still maintained his British arrogance.

Palmerston did offer some warnings before departure, but these warnings were of little use. However, Palmerston's Plan B, which involved sending warships to the Chinese coast to demand an explanation, was something that, although not yet announced, would likely be approved by Napier.

The warship he was on had to take a detour to reach the Qing Dynasty.

However, before heading to India, he was actually active outside the Persian Gulf.

This was Palmerston's arrangement, and Solovyov's activities in Persia were indeed likely to raise serious concerns within the Earl Grey's cabinet.

From Nicholas's official documents, the British ambassador to Russia already knew that Solovyov was holding a position that was typically held by members of the royal family.

Considering he is the father-in-law of the emperor's youngest niece, there is no problem. In terms of trust, he would be on par with the royal family.

Constantine was serving as Viceroy and Governor of Poland, while Solovyov was in Persia, and was arguably the only suitable candidate.

Napier arrived in Oman to gather information.

The Sultan of Oman is on good terms with Russia, but they have been longtime friends with Britain.

Therefore, they didn't hide anything and finally revealed some of the situation.

However, the Sultan of Oman did not participate deeply in the Russian military's operations in Persia, which involved transporting supplies to Russian-controlled ports by cargo ships and obtaining trade privileges there.

"Moreover, my friend! We also know that our Russian friends will retain your trade privileges, that remains unchanged. We're all doing business. If it were the Persians, they might not be so friendly."

Napier didn't want to hear this, but luckily he was just a special envoy to the Qing Dynasty, otherwise he would have resorted to the traditional British tactics.

He might even have to rebuke the Sultan here, but it's good that alcohol is prohibited here, so he won't get drunk and cause trouble.

The Sultan of Oman knew that Solovyov had a low alcohol tolerance, but the British were often heavy drinkers.

Therefore, the guests were not kept in Muscat for too long, and were sent on their way to India.

On the East India Company's side, they once again demonstrated their traditional skills, stating that in dealing with the Qing Dynasty officials, they should follow the advice of local experts.

However, they concealed the warning given by the Jardine Matheson family to the East India Company, which roughly meant that the Qing army had recently strengthened its defenses along the coast of Guangzhou. Apart from this, the Qing Dynasty's attitude toward foreigners remained unchanged.

Unless good relations are established with one of the Russian, French, or Dutch embassies.
Although the Wu family leaked the intelligence, they were right this time, because the Qing army's giant ships actually appeared near Humen.

This way, things will always be a steady, long-term endeavor. Jardine Matheson is still in the business of doing business, not ruining it.

However, the East India Company did not take this matter seriously; they only offered some well-intentioned reminders to pay attention to relations with Qing officials.

This is actually very important, but Napier doesn't seem to care.

What does that count as?

This was essentially an open-book exam, and the friends along the way had already revealed the questions to Napier himself to varying degrees.

Some provided solutions, some provided partial answers, and some mentioned the main points of the question.

But Napier didn't adopt any of his ideas, which, for the British, seemed rather arrogant. Palmerston, however, had no way to undo his mistakes, so he continued to seek other solutions.

As for Napier, the further he went, the less he listened to other people's opinions.

Even when he arrived off the coast of Guangzhou, the Royal Navy escort fleet that came to escort him encountered the "Wan Nian Qing".

On the giant ship at this moment was Guan Tianpei, the acting governor of Jiangnan.

"Shut up, there are British warships at sea."

Even his Danish instructor changed his way of addressing the British and spoke fluent Chinese, which is undoubtedly a possible racial talent among Danes.

The main duty of the main warships was to protect the Qing Empire's grain transport by sea from Wusongkou to the Bohai Sea. Guan Tianpei commanded this fleet because of his duties.

As for the co-organization in Guangzhou, it was merely part of the annual coastal defense training, and Emperor Daoguang personally issued an edict to strictly guard against possible disturbances by the British.

The main point is that foreigners can bend their knees, but these British barbarians really don't understand the rules.

In China, those who know proper etiquette are likely to receive basic respect.

The series of treatments Solovyov received were a bonus; he had flattered the late emperor and the Daoguang Emperor too well.

The British, however, did not have this prerequisite.

Even now, if it weren't for the naval officers signaling with flags to show a friendly attitude towards the Qing warships, Napier, a naval officer by training, would still have stubbornly stuck to his own opinions to express his arrogance.

Of course, he saw the "Wannianqing" at such a close distance. First-class warships have many gun ports on one side, so they are still somewhat intimidating.

However, Lord Napier stated that they had seen the Spanish "Holy Trinity" before; during the Battle of Trafalgar, there was a Qing Dynasty warship of this size, which was easily destroyed by Lord Nelson.

But who was Nelson, and who was Lawrence himself?

Nelson was a friend of the late king and the Duke of Clarence's best older brother. If the Duke hadn't been a member of the royal family, he would probably have been a member of Nelson's captaincy.

Several heavy frigates followed behind, all flying the Qing army's yellow dragon flag, representing the main warships of the Qing Empire's navy.

Guan Tianpei witnessed the British skillfully operating the frigate and couldn't help but feel wary of this adversary.

He had never met Solovyov, but judging from their ages, this famous Russian general was the same age as him. However, the foreigner who had such influence with the Emperor was only proficient in land warfare, and knew only the rules of naval warfare.

Unlike the Qing Dynasty's admirals, who might have to personally take on the duties of the navy.

Because of his merit in escorting grain shipments at sea, the Emperor entrusted him with the most powerful warship in the Qing Dynasty. At this time, Guan Tianpei thought that he would serve the Emperor wholeheartedly.

Because admirals and generals familiar with naval affairs were not easy to find within the Qing Dynasty, if Guan Tianpei hadn't taken the job, there would probably only have been the older Fujian naval admiral Chen Huacheng and his fleet of strangely domestically made small boats.

The reason it is called a domestically produced small ship is because the Fujian Navy has to outwit and outmaneuver pirates on a daily basis. With small frigates like the European-standard fifth and sixth class ships, they can go directly to the pirates' lairs to cause them trouble.

When the British operated in the Taiwan Strait, these small boats could constantly monitor British warships, and because they were fast, they could even circle around them.
Even if it was just because of the difference in tonnage, British warships would pay him respects as they passed by.

The Qing army, not wanting to be impolite, responded with a signal.

However, this was an optical signal, and the British army knew it was Russian technology.

This would then lead to some unpleasant experiences, such as the Royal Navy's two biggest defeats in recent years: one was being crushed by a giant ship by the Scotsman Kron, who was serving in the Russian Navy, and the other was being trapped and beaten by Ushakov in a Swedish port.

The whole signaling thing was Solovyov's idea.

The Danish coach even had his assistant, whom he brought from China, send a signal to the military commander, emphasizing that the announcement should be made in the English format.

What is the equivalent of an admiral?

He was at least an army general or navy admiral, so when the Danish signalman translated it, he specifically emphasized that this was the flagship of a Qing navy admiral, and that the admiral himself was even on board.

However, Guan Tianpei's position at this time was still that of the Army Commander, and there was a difference between the Jiangnan Admiral and the Yangtze River Naval Commander.

Even at their most arrogant period, the British had a Yangtze River Fleet, though it eventually became just a position; their arrogance remained unchanged.

"Their admiral?"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

"That's quite interesting. I didn't expect that the Qing Dynasty also had its own military officer system."

"Perhaps it's to facilitate communication with us, Your Excellency."

Napier didn't care, because the Qing army's previous attitude towards British warships was to send a group of small boats to monitor them. Sometimes they were the Chinese-made "junks," and sometimes they were frigates. Only such large ships were rarely seen operating in the waters off Guangzhou.

In fact, this was not the Qing Dynasty's navy at its peak at that time. Only the giant ship "Wannianqing" had arrived off the coast of Guangzhou because it was under the jurisdiction of the Jiangnan Admiral. Some of the other warships were still in the north, mainly used to protect the capital and safeguard maritime transport.

Napier did not see the third- and fourth-tier ships over there at this time.

However, the "Wan Nian Qing" is in very good condition and is easy to leave a deep impression. Under French control, it is unlikely that it will be able to sail in the open sea like this often. Moreover, the performance of the French Navy over the past thirty years has not shown much room for improvement.

When he arrived in Macau, he would send an official document to the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

Guan Tianpei, on the other hand, was somewhat wary after the British warships appeared.

He originally planned to conduct joint training with the Guangdong naval commander and sail towards Qiongzhou Prefecture, but he had to abandon the plan.

Whenever the British appear, even a commander like him, who has long enjoyed the emperor's favor, will be highly vigilant.

Emperor Daoguang was very dissatisfied with the British smuggling opium. Although several production areas had been eradicated, poppy cultivation and opium production in India had never stopped.

The order will also be sent from the capital to the various coastal commanders, instructing them to be on high alert. The commander of Jiangnan will also be brought here to assist in the defense.

He had no idea how capable the British were, or what kind of trouble they were capable of causing. (End of Chapter)