Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 321 Guests from the Central Asian Khanate

Things were going relatively smoothly. At least polishing glass lenses was a traditional part of the Royal Jewelry Factory, second only to marble cutting and mosaic collage.
When Solovyov thought of this, he also thought of the Imperial Household Department. The Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia always had some similar institutional problems.

Of course, the border between the two countries is still relatively calm, and the Golovkin delegation is still gathering personnel.

But St. Petersburg did not know at this time that the diplomats they sent to negotiate with the Qing government had received a clear reply.

Your delegation coming from land requires more than 300 people, which is too many. You need to further reduce the size of the delegation.

As for Count Golovkin's task, his son-in-law, after a long and difficult speech, came to a simple conclusion:
That is, the earl, his father-in-law, really can't do a good job.

Even his only heir, the man who married his only daughter, said so, so there was indeed little hope.

As for this view, it is still very popular in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Because the binoculars were to be used for military purposes and had to be made with the craftsmanship of craftsmen, they still required a master to lead an apprentice in processing. For this purpose, Solovyov also went to the factory in Oranienbaum.

Now it is spring, and Peterhof Palace is being prepared. Alexander and his wife will move in here this year, and the general cleaning is also underway. Preparations are also very busy in the nearby villas.

It is obvious that this would be used to entertain relatives who had fled if war broke out between Russia and France.

In fact, considering the situation of the Thames, it would have been a better choice to move to Stockholm and Petersburg, as these two places were able to maintain normal life when the Napoleonic Wars turned Europe into a mess.

Why not London? Even George III, who was sometimes clear-headed and sometimes confused, said when he was sober that the British Empire should be prepared for defense, as it could easily be affected by the war, at least in form.

Of course, Vice Admiral Nelson, who was leading the British side and lacking more parts, was currently chasing Admiral Villeneuve, who was good at escaping and turning, in the vast waters of the Atlantic, Caribbean and Mediterranean.

Against this background, coming to St. Petersburg, in addition to the weather being similar to Stockholm, is also a very good refuge, especially in the summer when many villas are open, and it can still be used as a summer resort.

In this context, Solovyov also noticed that there were several Caucasian-style buildings near Peterhof that were also being cleaned, and he could tell where these servants came from by looking at their headbands.

Of course, it is not the place of Xinchao Yazheng. The style of turban seems to come from Persia and Central Asia.

As it happened, Bagration's younger brother Roman was here recently, and Solovyov went to ask him as well.

"I said Rome."

This name is not wrong, he and Roman are not very familiar with each other.

"Colonel, what do you want?"

"Those who call us 'People of the Book', what are they doing here?"

"I heard that the Khanate of Central Asia is coming to pay homage. You are a little curious about these people."

"I just want to ask, I don't know if I need a translator to talk to them."

If it is a European language, Solovyov is okay, but if it is a North African, West Asian or Central Asian language, it is not okay, and if it is an Indian language, it is even more like a foreign language.

"You can go and try, or ask where they are from."

A coronation ceremony will be held in Milan this summer, and Napoleon will receive representatives from many parts of Europe.

At the same time, here in Alexander, Khans and emirs from Central Asia also came to St. Petersburg, but they had to be settled separately.

This was to avoid the Kokand Khanate and the Tashkent Khanate, which had been engaged in intense fighting recently, from getting too close to each other. The residences of the Khiva Khanate and the Kazakh Khanate were also adjacent to each other, which would have brought the nomadic wars in Central Asia to St. Petersburg.

When he was in the Putin Regiment, Solovyov would sometimes take his brothers to do security work under the order of the Guards Command. Now this job is rarely assigned to him, and mainly the garrison troops and the troops under the jurisdiction of the Military Governor are assigned here.

However, he was also curious. After all, he used to receive guests from Europe, and these people were all devout "Orthodox Christians" from Central Asia. But there was also fermented grape juice.
He is a very curious person, and curiosity kills the cat. Louisa feels that Solovyov is not the "loyal dog" type, but a "cat master" who ran in from outside by himself, and he also has a cartoon image.

It’s just that the cartoon image she created is more or less like Tom.

If Constantine had a son, he would be happy to get the image of SPIKE.

After all, he is a single father raising his son, and you don’t even know who Taek’s mother is.

"Salam, where are you from?"

When he greeted, he used the Bedouin greeting etiquette. People living in the desert have the same beliefs and some commonalities, so he also gave a Mongolian salute.

"We are from the beautiful city of Bukhara. Sir, are you an officer of the imperial guard of the Russian emperor?"

Since you can speak Russian, it will be easy.

"Yes, I am from the Guards Chasseur Regiment. I am just curious about why you came all the way from Central Asia."

The man heard it and didn't find it strange.

"Our host also said that Russians are very hospitable and that life here is pretty good."

Well, this statement always puzzled Solovyov. Of course, people who did not follow the teachings existed everywhere, and some of them were clergymen.

It’s not bad, as it is the representative of the Emir of Bukhara, but the experience of this branch may seem abstract in the future.

After all, after Vasily started getting food, there were actually descendants of the Emir of Bukhara who joined the Red Army, became military academy instructors and generals, and lived until the 80s, doing much better than their old neighbors.

Some of the descendants of the Emir who fled abroad lived quite well. After all, Bukhara was located in Transoxiana, and they were able to accumulate a lot of money from exploiting the people.

"What are you doing here?"

"As a guard, don't you know?"

"I am a troop leader. I just came here today. Before that I was in the military camp and training ground in the city."

"Ah, my friend, you probably don't know that our Emir and the Khan of Khwarezm will send representatives, and there is also the Tashkent Khanate, which is in imminent danger. Now we are facing a common opponent, the Khan of the Kokand Khanate, Alim Khan, who is driving the Tajiks to attack Samarkand and Tashkent."

Speaking of which, the Khanate of Khiva called itself Khwarezm. As descendants of Jochi, they used the name of the Khwarezm Sultan Muhammad who occupied this place in the past, and also called themselves Khan.

If the snack-loving male goat knew this under the Caspian Sea, he might have laughed for a while. You unorthodox barbaric Mongols have now accepted our faith and used our country name, but Khan doesn't sound good, Sultan is better.

"Are you here hoping that our emperor will send troops to help you?" This gentleman was obviously of a relatively high status and even knew the current situation in St. Petersburg.

"We know that you are going to fight the Franks who occupied the Holy Land in the past, and you have defeated them in the past. My friend, you should know that our Emir also hopes to maintain friendly relations with your emperor. After all, Alim Khan has been too rampant recently."

It seems that he is well aware of the situation.

As for the Tashkent Khanate, Solovyov had a wealth of knowledge, and when he was in St. Petersburg, he also paid attention to collecting intelligence.

However, he was not very clear about this country.

In Central Asia, he was still familiar with the relatively large countries. He knew very little about the recently established Kunduz Khanate and the almost destroyed Tashkent Khanate.

Even the Tashkent Khanate was destroyed this year.

"If Alim Khan controls Tashkent, there are still many places he can threaten."

"That's it, my friend."

However, the other party did not explain one thing, that is, the Tashkent Khanate is also an important trade transit point for Russia in Central Asia.

Moreover, the Khan of Tashkent had sent people in the past to try to establish relations with the Governor-General of Orenburg and the Governor-General of Siberia, hoping that Russia could help the Tashkent Khanate to open mines.

At that time, the Tashkent Khanate defeated the invading Kokand Khanate, but now because of the internal strife, it gave the Kokand Khanate an opportunity.

Alim Khan's actions will indeed change the situation in Central Asia, and Tashkent is quite important in this regard.

Previously, the Russian Foreign Minister had sent a verbal message to Tashkent, stating that Russia could provide guarantees for the Khan of Tashkent's concerns about a certain big country in the East, and would send engineers to Tashkent to explore for mineral veins.

However, this protection does not include the Khanate of Kokand. After all, the level of this country is not strong in itself, but it is very aggressive. It will fight all nearby neighboring countries, regardless of size, especially the current Khan Alim.

As for some countries in Eastern Central Asia, they were still frightened. Even such a big country as Dzungar was lost, so of course they were afraid.

However, this diplomatic guarantee does not include the unfriendly neighbor, the Khanate of Tashkent.

After all, the Khanate of Kokand was only close to breaking into the Tashkent Khanate, which was in the midst of civil strife, in 1805.

It was not even a victory on the battlefield, but because the constant invasions of the Kokand Khanate led to hunger and soaring prices, which resulted in the Tashkent Khanate, where every citizen was a soldier, being unable to withstand it.

Even so, Alim Khan is still so arrogant and invading everywhere. Who knows when something will happen.

It's just a pity at this time, because Russia's focus is on the European battlefield, and the little bullies in some places are particularly arrogant. To be honest, Russia is the boss in these places and bullies men and women. Colonial outposts are built near grasslands, but it's not like the Kokand Khanate.

This way of playing is really original and Americans will probably give it a thumbs up in the future.

You want to make your opponent's life miserable, so that they can't bear it and run away or surrender, but if they really fight, they often can't win.

Indeed, what the Kokand Khanate did in Central Asia always looks so familiar.

But now that Russia has something going on, the neighboring countries are either indifferent or too far away.

Seeing such a Kokand Khanate, Solovyov still wanted to wipe it out.

After all, they dare to fight with opponents who are evenly matched with them without any strength. If they become stronger, won’t they become male goats with a sweet tooth?
Even if he can transform, his fate will be more miserable.

Solovyov stopped chatting with the guests from Bukhara. He was also thinking about a grand strategy.

It just seems that while others are still against France, he is already the first one to prepare for the next season.

The "Great Game" between Russia and Britain in Central Asia and West Asia was definitely an area of ​​focus after defeating Napoleon.

Moreover, in order to prevent the British from making a mess everywhere in the end, we need to make some preparations in this direction.

What's more, Solovyov remembered some of Suvorov's plans, although the old man did not reveal any strategic ideas to him during the months when he returned to St. Petersburg and was bedridden.

But according to Bagration, going to Persia to get gold coins is still something the old man has always been thinking about.

But now, all strategies have to revolve around Europe, and Russia's own southward strategy has been forcibly turned around.

Moreover, this is still subject to the personal will of the monarch.

As for the envoys from the Tashkent Khanate who came to St. Petersburg via Orenburg, they ended up getting nothing.

If nothing unexpected happens, the Khanate of Kokand will force the Khanate of Tashkent to submit to it this year, thus controlling an important node of Central Asian trade.

In fact, the changes in the situation in Europe have also affected all parts of the world to some extent. It’s just that this time the Napoleonic War had a greater impact on Europe, and what happened in the world was not easily taken seriously.

And what happens in some corners will eventually bring about significant changes.

Since the Khanate of Kokand was able to bite people and act arrogantly in Central Asia, how dare it provoke a certain big country in the East?
One day in the future, it will surely turn around and bite the Governorate of Orenburg and the colonial outposts on the steppes.

When the time comes, it would be unreasonable not to beat them up a few times.

As for the matter of the lenses, we should put it aside for now. After all, Napoleon really made big news in Milan and became the King of Italy again.

As for the Viceroy of Italy, he was Solovyov's relative, Napoleon's stepson Eugene.

There are relatives among them, but Solovyov has no intention of looking for relatives recently.

After all, if this matter is revealed at an inappropriate time, it will be big news.

Now that he knows it, he will announce it at an appropriate time.

Next, he had another task, which was to go to the Royal Aquarium.

It is indeed a pity that he does not have a seat in the Academy of Sciences, according to Euler's son, Lieutenant General Christopher Euler.

(End of this chapter)