Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Solovyov finally completed the work of the Constituent Assembly in Isfahan, but during the year or so he spent there, counterinsurgency operations began to become more frequent.

Mainly in the eastern part of the Iranian Plateau, near Afghanistan.

After a series of difficult, tedious, and boring counterinsurgency operations, the Russian army has surrounded Herat.

This place was once a capital of the Timurid Empire. Although the original city walls may not still exist, the remaining walls are still very sturdy.

Furthermore, subsequent rulers here would likely repair the city's defenses to some extent, allowing their troops to be stationed here safely without fear of being attacked.

Then, the Russian army surrounded the area, and Solovyov ordered a batch of 1-pt Unicorn Guns to be brought to the front line, just to teach the locals a lesson.

This was a form of deterrence. Solovyov, through his correspondence with the Grand Ayatollahs, also hoped to maintain peace, promising that Herat, as part of the future Persian Empire, would enjoy the privilege of exempting caravans from customs duties upon reaching Isfahan and Tehran for twenty years, provided they were willing to submit.

In addition, there needs to be at least one regiment of Russian troops stationed here. They don't need to bear the military expenses, but they need to be provided with a stable supply of food.

These were considered generous terms, but the garrison in Herat refused, so war was the only option.

Solovyov would also leave some military merits to his subordinates. He couldn't be on the battlefield every time he fought, especially since he had just completed the inspection of water sources in major cities within the Persian Empire.

Fortunately, these places showed little sign of contamination, and the cholera outbreak from India only affected the southeastern region, where Russia had less control.

It didn't spread from the Afghan side either. Cholera patients are already very vulnerable to travel, and dehydration alone is enough to kill them.

When the kings and chiefs closed the mountain pass, it became relatively safe, but still poor.

Solovyov had the audacity to confront the Afghans, but Dost Muhammad Khan, the ruler of the Bakr al-Zaiya dynasty in Kabul, was quite sensible. He took the initiative to contact Gorchakov, whom Solovyov had sent to besiege Herat, hoping to establish friendly relations with Russia.

Solovyov himself was even referred to as "Shah" by him, while Nikolai was "Padisha".

"Since Shah is so kind, what do you expect us to offer in return for the friendship between our two countries?"

When Solovyov met with representatives from Kabul, he was still wearing a Persian-style robe. However, he was so cultured that if he had put on a turban and grown a beard, he would have looked like a mullah.

But if he were dressed in white, he wouldn't be a fat man or a bald man, so he wouldn't be able to play Afanti.

"If possible, I hope Padisha can grant Herat his favor."

"Herat is under siege by Russian troops, which is unacceptable. However, I've heard that His Majesty the Shah has some territorial disputes with local lords on the other side of the Khyber Pass. And there are quite a few Pashtuns living near Peshawar?"

“Yes, Your Highness. Pashtuns live in many places there. If Herat cannot serve as a testament to our friendship, then Your Highness’s recognition of these places south of Peshawar would certainly be a very precious gift.”

"But you also need to be careful of the Sikhs, and some local tribes as well; they are not easy to deal with either."

"Yes, Your Highness. Therefore, we also need your assistance. Before that, we will send four thousand elite warriors to Herat to help in the battle."

"That won't be necessary. Just send three hundred cavalrymen and corresponding officers to Herat to observe. The Russian army has already set up cannons outside the city. I've been to many beautiful cities. I heard that Herat was granted by Timur to his fourth son, Shah Rukh."

"Yes, Your Highness."

“That must be a beautiful city. I also hope to visit Herat. If possible, send your envoys there to persuade them to surrender, saying that His Majesty Dost Muhammad Khan has become an ally of the Russians, and if they can submit now, the massacre of the city can be avoided.”

"But as far as we know, His Highness is merciful and never massacres cities like the Tatars, and even makes the Tatars willingly serve you, yet he never brings down the terrible punishment of Allah."

"So it seems you all knew?"

"Yes, Your Highness. Your reputation for benevolence has reached Kabul, and I think the Indians will soon find out as well."

"That's probably not scary enough. I can frighten the Turks and Persians, send the Sultan of Egypt back to Gaza, and even defeat my uncle, Emperor Napoleon, on the battlefield—that's the highest honor. But because I've always been a kind person, many people who have known me for a long time know I'm not like the legends suggest. Look, the Persians want me to give them a year's tax exemption because the wars of recent years, and the tyrannical Shah's tax collection in the past, have caused enormous damage to the area. They need time to recover, but if I give them a tax exemption, we might not be able to collect taxes in the future."

“If that’s the case, Your Highness, we can send men to protect your tax collectors; they still know how terrible the Pashtuns used to be.”

"Alright, that's unnecessary. Just pay your taxes on time, and His Majesty the Emperor will bestow gifts upon you, including weapons, especially cannons. Some people say that if they give cannons to Asians, they can establish an independent country. That's a ridiculous British idea. Giving you some cannons will also represent our friendship. Moreover, if someone is sent to Kabul, my son, the late Emperor's son-in-law Pavel, can meet with your Shah."

"If that's the case, it would be a great blessing for us as well."

"Alright, let's not be so polite. We also need to entertain our guests. You've come all the way from Kabul, you must be very tired."

As for sending Pasha to Kabul, Solovyov actually communicated with Muhammad Shah several times, getting a general idea of ​​his situation, and with some advice from the Emir of Bukhara.

Solovyov still had his grand plan: to enter India.

But for him to claim this credit would be too greedy.

Moreover, he sensed that his power in Russia would reach its zenith once he returned to St. Petersburg.

This is enough. Instead of going to India, it's better to leave it to future generations.

It wasn't because the place was clean and hygienic; Solovyov actually hoped that the scourge of opium would end in his hands.

Governing Persia was already difficult enough. Solovyov conquered the land in less than two years after entering Persia, but governing it would take at least fifteen years. Unlike in the past, this was a long process. Crimea had a certain degree of established rule, but Persia did not.

He has too much to do, and further conquests will have to stop here.

He still has a lot to do here.

At the banquet, the envoy of the King of Afghanistan also made some requests of Dost Muhammad Shah, including sending Russian officers to train and arm the Shah's army.

Solovyov wanted mining rights in the Panjshir Valley, as well as permission for Russian merchants to trade through Afghanistan. He also wanted the Shah to travel to China to pay tribute to the emperor, thus obtaining rewards and border trade permits.

This was an unexpected surprise. In the memories of the Afghans, at least when Dost Muhammad Shah was a child, he had heard many stories about Emperor Qianlong chasing after the two Khoja brothers.

Yes, Emperor Qianlong was quite frightening in this region, perhaps even more so than Solovyov, because he was actually hunting him down; Solovyov's story is just a legend.

This was also part of Solovyov's grand plan.

Once Britain and the Qing Dynasty go to war, they can split their forces from Afghanistan and Persia and advance into the Indus River Valley. The next step would be to march into Delhi and then eastward along the Ganges, just like the Hellenistic conquest of Bactria, until they reach the end of the Ganges.

Compared to the magical India of the 21st century, the environment in India today is not actually that bad.

Aside from being intolerant of heat, the Russian army actually had no problems.

However, India is a very hot place, so Solovyov began to train Persians as auxiliary troops. When the Russian army goes to India to fight, there will definitely not be a large number of Russian troops from the mainland, but rather troops from colonies and vassal states.

In reality, there was no fundamental difference between them and the British Indian Army; it was just that the Persian and Afghan warriors were more individually powerful.

These people can only be effective if they are organized.

The enigmatic fighting prowess of the Middle East is largely due to the fact that the dissemination of their military skills has been treated as closely guarded secrets.

Solovyov's idea was to have a group of Russian officers train these troops, with the middle and lower-ranking officers mainly being Persians, in order to build a powerful army.

In addition, there's Afghanistan, our friendly nation.

Solovyov was still very interested in reforming the tribal structure of Afghanistan. Mountain people were always closed off and barbaric, and reforming them in the 20th century would likely require facing enormous public pressure.

For him, the cost of governing at this time was much lower than that of the British three wars in Afghanistan and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Because the Shah himself volunteered to become an ally of Russia, Solovyov readily agreed to the Peshawar deal and prepared to send his eldest son to Kabul to meet with the Shah.

If it were the British, they would have been extremely arrogant and refused Mohammad Shah's request, leading him to turn to Russia.

But Solovyov invaded first, and he was even considered another "world conqueror," except that because Solovyov had a Tsar above him, the Afghan envoy did not include him.

"You mentioned training our army, how should we do that?"

“Training the army is for the defense of the country and also for war preparedness. You have a conflict with the Sikhs, who are brave and skilled in battle, and are not an easy opponent. However, they are unaware of their own strength and will provoke the British. This is your opportunity. The advisors I will send are officers who have long been active in the Caucasus Mountains. Your area is also mountainous, so they should adapt quickly. You need a modern army of 45,000 men to defend Kabul and Kandahar. If necessary, you should also abandon these two cities and trap the enemy in the mountains, which will make them pay a heavy price.”

"But what about abandoning important cities?"

“What is there to worry about? His Majesty the Shah can go to Mazar-i-Sharif in the north, or to Kunduz. The British have entered these places, and they won’t be able to reach them easily. If it’s the Sikhs instead, follow my plan, and you can defeat them on your own, or even take back Peshawar directly.”

Solovyov was most confident in training the army; he believed that any able-bodied man could be turned into an excellent soldier and officer.

After the banquet, Solovyov also invited the Afghan envoys to watch a military parade. The four infantry regiments of the 11th Division, which were still stationed in Isfahan, as well as the Cossacks and hussars in the area, were reviewed, letting the Afghan envoys know that the Russian army was very strong.

After the meeting, Solovyov personally saw him off. His son was also going to Kabul this time, and he was somewhat reluctant to part with him.

After all, he's over fifty and no longer young.

"Pasha, please be careful on your journey. Although I believe in your abilities, I'm still worried."

"Father, please rest assured. I will definitely complete the task you assigned me when I get to Kabul, and I will also report back to the Emperor upon my return."

"That's good. Pasha, you must remember that this is preparation for war. Our alliance with our allies is also to ensure their safety. We cannot give people the peace they expect, so we can only prepare for war and let potential enemies know our war potential with our allies."

Solovyov's concerns were not unfounded. Although Viscount Falkland's mission to China had not yet returned, Solovyov was unaware of the provisional agreement between the Qing Dynasty and Britain.

However, whenever the opium issue is involved, the British will never let it go easily, and regardless of whether the Conservative or Liberal Party is in power, they will advocate for war.

The Earl of Grey was a reformist politician at the time, while some of the British prime ministers in the future were warmongers.

Queen Charlotte alone would probably find it difficult to stop them.

Although there was a chance that Britain might choose peace, Solovyov dared not believe it.

He still wanted to prepare for war during peacetime, and therefore was willing to send his son to Kabul. (End of Chapter)