Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 304 006 Humphreysky's father-in-law is the envoy to China

Solovyov was called in, and although the issue of North America was involved, his conversation with Alexander here was far from over.

"Mishka, don't be so reserved, just pretend you are a member of the secret committee too."

"Your Majesty, this is not possible. I am not qualified in terms of title and status."

"I think you are a good fit. Although your family is a baron, your certificate was still formalized by me. In other words, you are mine."

Fortunately, it was literally meant, otherwise, given Solovyov's androgynous appearance during his adolescence, it would inevitably cause some misunderstandings.

"And I know about your anonymous petition to your father. You are still qualified. After all, your family background is not very 'noble'. If you are closer to the common people, you are even more suitable for this than Speransky."

Actually, he needs to change his penny-pinching temper of calculating every penny.

"Well, your Majesty, there is no getting around it. I am an officer serving Russia and the Emperor."

"That's right, Czartoryski is a Pole, I know everything he has done, that's it, he is also my friend"

Solovyov was puzzled after hearing this. The Pole didn't succeed like me. But as the saying goes, he will not regret it since he has said it.

The Tsar himself didn't care about having a few more emeralds on his crown, so Solovyov could only continue to follow his cards and continue to listen.

"You are a rare China expert, very different from those so-called 'Oriental scholars' here. That book is very well translated. What are your plans for the future?"

"Your Majesty, the problem now is that we might be involved in a war with France. We should not prolong the war at this time."

"What you said makes sense. What I'm thinking is that we need to send a mission and someone to serve as ambassador plenipotentiary to China."

When Solovyov heard this, he realized that Alexander did not know how outrageous the "Celestial Empire" was during the Ming and Qing dynasties. From the end of ancient history to the transition period to modern times, China had such a pair of Crouching Dragon and Phoenix, and they really suffered great sins and bad luck.

But no matter what, the main territorial boundaries of modern China are still based on the territory of the Qing Dynasty. There is no way to avoid it. This is part of Chinese history.

Then, Russia was actually very peaceful before 1849, until Nicholas I sent Muravyov to East Siberia and gave him autocratic power.

This is really a problem, as it involves some rather troublesome issues and it is easy to get a 404 error.

If you have read about Russia's foreign policy before 1849, you will know that when Nesherrode was the Imperial Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, he opposed the eastward advance. The reason for this was also to avoid prolonging the front line and to concentrate on dealing with Britain while using his strength on the more important Black Sea and Caucasus.

Then, there is the story of Russia being collectively tricked by European countries.

"Your Majesty, what do you need from me?"

Solovyov has always been willing to avoid trouble, but when it comes to issues involving China, his idea is that nothing should happen while he is alive, and he cannot control what happens in the future.

So, at this time he was still relatively proactive, and what Alexander wanted to talk about was indeed a core issue.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' opinion is that we should send an ambassador plenipotentiary and establish a permanent embassy in Beijing."

"Your Majesty, forgive me for being blunt. Regardless of whether he is the Tatar emperor of Bogd Khan or the real Chinese emperor in the past, the Chinese emperors are all centered on tribute. Our delegation will probably only be considered a tribute delegation. This is a Chinese tradition. Moreover, the current Chinese emperor probably knows less about us than the previous emperors."

Jiaqing's understanding of Europe was relatively limited, and it became even more outrageous by the time of Daoguang.

At least Qianlong knew that Louis XVI had lost his head, and the Qing Dynasty had always had good relations with France, and the majority of missionaries in the court were French and Italian.

It’s just that the Holy See has always been rather stupid, and that’s all.

As for the Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia, this pair of old-fashioned enemies, the Third Rome VS the self-proclaimed successors, they did have frequent contacts, but the communication between the two sides was not very smooth, but it was better than the arrogant British.

After all, the Tsar himself approved that his ministers had to kowtow to the Chinese emperor.

At the same time, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Russia's diplomatic missions in the past were all connected by the Russian Cabinet and the Qing Dynasty's Lifanyuan, and only during border negotiations would senior ministers from both sides meet.

Here we have to talk about the story of Xiao Duozi and Ma Zhongtang. Xiao Duozi did not lose face, but Ma Zhongtang accepted the money. Although this was a common diplomatic bribery method in the world in the 18th century, it should also be noted that the Qing Dynasty suffered some losses in the border agreement of 1727.

But compared with what happened after Qianlong, this is a small matter, and the management ability of the northern border is indeed not very good.

Solovyov had seen Tan's version of the historical map, and after reading it he also said that as for the group of three-year patrol Obo (Aobo) and five-year patrol Obo on the Greater Khingan Range, to be honest, the control ability of both sides was not very good.

As for the northwest, it is even more difficult to say. In fact, General Yili also retreated further in this era.

But it’s hard to talk about the details, and I’d also like to avoid saying too much. It’s actually possible to summon the Omni-King to the earth and make him disappear.

"You actually think so?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Obviously, it is not acceptable for the Chinese emperor to station an ambassador in China. Moreover, they will definitely have strict restrictions on the size of a diplomatic mission."

"I think Count Golovkin should be able to handle it. He is an excellent diplomat and scholar."

By the way, Count Golovkin had a close relationship with old Count Stroganov. His encyclopedic philosophy was taught by the old count.

However, although this man had a good relationship with the family on Nevsky Prospekt, he was not familiar with Russian.

"Your Majesty, is the earl now able to speak Russian fluently? He may still say shin instead of Khitan."

In addition, his son-in-law is Alexander Saltykov, the same Russian Humphreysky, but this title is much higher than that of the knight.

When he thought of this, all Solovyov could think of was that Sir Humphrey could not speak a word of Russian.

And Bosch vodka, the Soviet ambassador, Humphrey from Arabia, and, as a secretary said, "things are universally connected."

Moreover, Count Golovkin's own abilities are not that outstanding.

But the Tsar had already said it, and as a lieutenant colonel of the Guards waiting to be promoted to colonel, he couldn't say anything and could only complain here.

Alexander laughed after hearing this. His smile was a bit devilish, and his feminine features were not as severe as before, after all, his hair was not as thick as before. "Ah, what you said makes sense. He is still speaking French now, and even mocked Count Uvarov, saying that he was speaking a language he was not familiar with. But everyone knows that his Russian is really not very good."

It was in stark contrast to the Stroganovs, and Golovkin’s delegation also included Bykov from the Paris Embassy.

Speaking of which, the prospects of this mission are not optimistic.

However, the Tsar himself issued an order in February 1805 appointing this person as ambassador.

But it will take some time, after all, the embassy needs to prepare a large delegation of more than 300 people, including diplomats, clergy, military officers and scholars, and of course, more are the embassy's entourage and servants.

When Solovyov heard this from the Tsar himself, he could only shake his head.

"Why, Solovyov, you are shaking your head like that, as if going to China would inevitably lead to failure."

"Your Majesty, if the mission could reach Beijing, it would be considered a 'failure', since at least there would be a chance to meet the Chinese emperor. I can only think that this mission might be fruitless. When Macartney went to China, he happened to catch up with the celebration of the 80th birthday of the previous Chinese emperor. Although it was nominally like that, the Chinese emperor at that time was afraid that the British were 'barbarians' who did not know etiquette, so he was more tolerant of them. After all, the British really do not know etiquette, and we often deal with the Chinese, so it is inevitable that we need to accept their etiquette requests."

"Is there such a thing?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, if you have time, you can ask the reading attendant to find some relevant content. However, I am not proficient in this area. I am just more familiar with Chinese classical novels and some historical events."

"That's good. At least it's better than those who don't understand. Besides, if you put it that way, I'm worried that Golovkin will pay a price for his arrogance when he goes to Beijing."

Indeed, when Tsar Alexei sent an envoy to meet Emperor Shunzhi for the first time, the envoy, Baikov, was threatened with beheading.

In addition to the lack of etiquette and language barriers, if the envoys coming to China are rude, they will encounter considerable trouble in the future.

This is also obvious. This kind of diplomatic dispute is always very bad.

When Alexander thought of this, there was still one thing he could pay attention to.

"Then we should also be humble and polite, right?"

"Your Majesty, this is at least better than the Persian court etiquette. This kind of prostration is still a little bit distant."

Alexander, remembering that he was named after Alexander the Great, and his old Greek and Macedonian companions, could not stand the etiquette of the Persian court.

In this way, Alexander also mentioned in the secret decree to Golovkin that he should be polite to Chinese officials and ministers, and maintain full diplomatic etiquette towards the Chinese emperor.

The Tsar himself was a little unsure about this matter. After all, he knew Golovkin's personality well, and even his guards had heard of it.

This is not surprising. After all, Solovyov is a member of the circle at 17 Nevsky Avenue, so it is not surprising that he knows more details.

Moreover, there is something more important that needs to be discussed, which is the demarcation issue of the eastern section.

Solovyov did not expect that Alexander would directly take out the draft diplomatic agreement.

"Your Majesty, who drafted this?"

"Of course it is the text drafted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You are very familiar with the Chinese. What do you think after reading it?"

Think about it, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was led by Czartoryski. Did he want the Russian delegation to go to Caishikou?

"I don't think the Qing emperor would accept the Amur River as the boundary. After all, the Treaty of Nerchinsk used the Stanovoy Mountains (Outer Khingan Range) as the boundary, and there is still the Udi River to be determined. If we move forward like this, the other side will definitely not accept it."

Although it is all a wild place, it is still very scary to the senses because of its size.

Moreover, Golovkin can pass Kyakhta, but where he will go next depends on fate.

Solovyov had another idea in his heart: he must not be allowed to go with him, otherwise it would cause trouble that would be difficult to deal with.

Fortunately, Alexander did not intend to let him watch the farce, but only indicated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the diplomatic agreement should be revised before the delegation set off.

Let’s not talk about the territorial issue for now. The Tsar himself also thought that this treaty was unacceptable to the other party.

Although this first-class battleship was beginning to become shabby and was definitely leaking, it was still a first-class battleship after all.

If Czartoryski knew about this, he might also think that the green-eyed kid was against him all day long, and wondered if he had done something wrong to him.

That's not wrong; they are rivals in love after all.

But more importantly, it is still the stage of equal diplomacy. No shot was fired, no arbitration was done, and there was not even any threat of force. He just went straight to the Emperor Jiaqing and explained the pros and cons. It was already merciful not to give him a seat at the Caishikou or sentence him to immediate execution.

Russia's main focus is now on Europe, and it is unlikely to send troops on an expedition. That would be really crazy.

Apart from Nicholas II, there seems to be no one so fierce.

As for what happened next, Solovyov told Alexander the story of a monkey under the command of an Osaka merchant in Japan, and an old con man from the Ming Dynasty.

Hearing this story, Alexander laughed again.

"I didn't expect, Solovyov, that there could be such a ridiculous performance in a diplomatic occasion."

"Yes, Your Majesty, this will eventually lead to a diplomatic dispute."

“Unless the negotiators on both sides are liars.”

Alexander was in a good mood after hearing this story.

Of course, he also knew the customs in China, which were obviously different.

But this is easier to deal with than the troublesome Ottoman Sultan and the Persian Shah. After all, there is a saying that goes "It is impolite not to reciprocate." If it were the court of the Sultan and the Shah, who knows what strange things they would do next.

(End of this chapter)