Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Solovyov also knew that most of his relatives’ homes in Moscow had been burned down, so except for his nephew Venyamin, who had joined the army, the rest of them lived in their old house in the countryside of Ryazan.

Even though this area is being rebuilt, they are unwilling to spend money. Living in the countryside is better than noisy Moscow today.

However, he had something to do and had to stay here.

His sister-in-law, Sonia, is getting married, and as her brother-in-law, he is older than both of his brothers-in-law, so he will inevitably have to help manage the household affairs.

What's more, the mother-in-law wanted to see her daughter and grandchildren, so she brought over five kids at once, which is a typical grandmother's story.

Solovyov then settled into the Dolgorukov family estate, where he could finally find peace and quiet. Apart from the sounds of his wife and children playing in the garden, nothing could disturb his thoughts.

"Misha, why don't you go play with the children?"

"After all, I am an infantry general, a state councilor appointed by the Emperor, Catherine Feodorovna. I am still a current officer and quite young, so I probably can't take a break."

“My husband has probably never been as diligent as you in his entire life.”

The mother-in-law glanced at Solovyov, who was holding some documents in his hand and had an unfolded map on the table.

"What is all this?"

"His Majesty has ordered me to go to China, so I should make some preparations beforehand. Are you interested in going there?"

“There’s still a little bird in the nest, Misha. If Sonia gets pregnant soon after she gets married, like Katya, I’ll have to take care of things at home. It’s not like Katya went to live with you in St. Petersburg; she and Petya will be living with me.”

"That's because Vasily and Nikolai both hold positions abroad. Vasily is highly trusted by the Emperor in the court. Nikolai is a good diplomat, but he hasn't decided to get married yet. He's a handsome young man, the most handsome young man in Moscow. Girls would scream for him."

"You're joking. My son Coria is handsome, but not to the extent you're describing, is he?"

"That assessment is probably correct. Catherine Feodorovna, you should know, the widow of Prince Bagration, she knew me when she was thirteen, a frivolous beauty known in St. Petersburg's social circles, she really liked Kolya."

"But I don't want that reckless young widow near my son."

“If you put it that way, things are simple. I’ll write a memorial to the Emperor, and Koria can work in the mission this time. Anyway, he’s a seventh-rank civil official, and good diplomats are needed everywhere. He’ll be useful when I take him to China.”

“But the journey is still too long. It will take you almost a year to complete this trip.”

"Yes, it's a long journey, but we have to go."

“If you insist on going, I don’t want you to take Katya and your two eldest children with you.”

“We should bring Pasha and Lisa. They are big kids now and very healthy, healthier than other children their age. I’m more worried about the other kids. They might say that their father is biased and only took their older siblings to China. It’s a long and wonderful journey. If it weren’t for the fact that it takes so long and we’ll be passing through so many places, stopping wherever we go, we could experience different cultures.”

Petya was getting married, so Solovyov decided to leave him behind and travel with Sonia in Europe. They would probably have a child soon, and the mother-in-law would be quite busy then.

This old lady, who is not yet old enough to be considered a real old lady, has already taken on a lot of responsibilities. In fact, my mother-in-law is not even fifty years old yet, and her life has only just passed the halfway mark, already entering the second half.

Solovyov also needed to see the intelligence from England, sent by Count Vorontsov.

His daughter was to marry an English lord, and he himself was already in the English guise. His son, Mikhail Vorontsov, however, remained in Paris as the temporary commander of the Russian garrison—at this time, the Russian army had not yet completely withdrawn from France, and there were still tens of thousands of troops left there.

The war was over, but the diplomatic struggle began again. This time, the focus was on the fact that both Britain and Russia were sending delegations to the Qing Dynasty, and the delegations were quite large.

However, because Russia understood the situation in China, it didn't make any ridiculous "ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary" mistakes; many things had to be negotiated at the local level.

Meanwhile, on the British side, Lord Liverpool had already appointed Amherst as the "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom to China" and led a mission to the East.

However, the British may have a poor sense of secrecy these days, and Vorontsov has a lot of connections there, so he found out the situation very clearly.

The deputy envoys were Mr. Henry Ellis and Sir Staunton Jr., the latter being one of the few Englishmen fluent in Chinese.

On this point, Solovyov wanted to mock the arrogance of the British.

They dominated the oceans, and although they were willing to study other people's cultures and customs, they didn't have a good grasp of the language.

In particular, China is an important closed node in the global trade system. It is said to be closed because the Qing Dynasty's policy was limited "free trade" rather than "closed-door policy" in the strict sense. In essence, it was an extension of the border market system of the Ming Dynasty and even the Song Dynasty.

Countries that paid tribute to the emperor, or neighboring tribes, needed to hold the corresponding trade permits or certificates in order to trade with the Celestial Empire.

The credentials that Li Chengliang initially gave to Nurhaci were only fully acquired after Nurhaci defeated Nikan Wailan.

The Haixi Jurchens had even more trade documents in their possession.

The Qing Dynasty followed the policies of the Ming Dynasty, and at that time, trade restrictions on various countries at the ports were not so severe.

The Dutch, who were good at getting things done, had a great deal of freedom in the past. Even the Russians, who came from the land, were able to set up warehouses near Beijing.

Portugal even leased Macau, which happened during the Ming Dynasty. After the Qing Dynasty entered the pass, after initially helping the Southern Ming struggle for a while, they also chose to shave the heads of the local Han Chinese, and the way they slid their knees was incredibly smooth.

If we're talking about forced occupation, that would have to wait until after the Opium War, not to mention that this problem dates back to the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming and Qing dynasties have too many pitfalls that need to be explained.

However, due to the presence of the British, the Qing Dynasty was always somewhat wary of European countries.

Following the mission during the Qianlong era, there was also the incident of the British occupying Macau, which led to conflict with the Qing government.

This occurred during the Napoleonic Wars, and therefore the two sides were not on good terms.

Considering that Britain had once again sent troops to Qing Dynasty's tributary states and clashed with Burma, these events were also reflected in the memorials of the Qing Dynasty's Resident Minister in Tibet, the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, and the Governor of Yunnan.

The Qing Dynasty's attitude towards Britain was one of extreme vigilance. They believed that if the British broke the rules, everyone would suffer the consequences.

When the Russian expedition arrived in Guangzhou, they were initially given a friendly welcome.

However, because it was operating without a license, it caused a lot of trouble, and the Guangdong Provincial Governor's Office quickly asked it to leave the Guangzhou waters.

However, it's important to note that the request is made with great politeness, and the processing speed is unprecedentedly fast.

Solovyov, who knew about Bereshausen's journey, also knew about the relationship between Russia and the Qing Dynasty. As long as a large piece of territory wasn't seized, Russia could still be a friendly neighbor.

He really hoped that old Muravyov would shoot all his sons against the wall and only have daughters in his life, so that there would be less trouble.

Because Nikolai has his mentor to guide them, their policy toward China will be very clear.

It's best to keep those troublemakers out of the picture.

However, Solovyov didn't know which Muravyov it was. There are many Russians with the same name, and he couldn't possibly check them all and then prevent them from having boys, could he?
Furthermore, Muravyov was also among the Decembrists.

In short, it was quite complicated, and the title of Amursky only appeared after he signed the Treaty of Aigun.

There's no way to go back in time. Solovyov still believed that, at least while he was alive, he should have influence over foreign policy in the East.

Moreover, he was also planning the first phase of strengthening the Qing Dynasty by sending Irish people, who had a blood feud with the British, to the Qing Dynasty every year. These red-haired Englishmen were enemies who were extremely hostile to each other.

If you put a few hundred of them in Zhenjiang, the scene would be too beautiful to look at.

But that was only after the Qing Dynasty, when he, as the chief envoy, had to tell the Jiaqing Emperor.

Amherst lacked this ability; not only did he not know a single Chinese character, but he also needed Staunton the Younger as his deputy to translate and communicate.

Moreover, as the chief envoy, he wielded too much power and did not heed the cabinet's advice to act according to the etiquette required by the Chinese emperor. When Staunton Jr. made this suggestion to him, he ultimately refused.

He ultimately followed the East India Company's advice, which was certainly a good start and didn't cost him any points, but he didn't accomplish anything.

Unlike Russia, which ultimately abandoned the plan to enter via the land port of Kyakhta and instead entered by sea, and even used the passage through the Ili General's side to appeal to the Qing Emperor.

The news had reached Kyakhta, and negotiations had resumed there. In the final round of negotiations, after receiving silver rubles from Russia, the Qing Dynasty's negotiators finally agreed to the plan for the Russian delegation to pay tribute by sea, visit Guangzhou, and then land in Tianjin.

Although Solovyov, as Russia's chosen special envoy, had not yet departed, he had already anticipated the possible situation and had obtained concessions from the Qing Dynasty.

The British should learn from this; they are quite arrogant, which leads to many embarrassing situations along the way and ultimately prevents them from making the trip.

The journey from Britain to China ended in failure and caused a great deal of diplomatic unpleasantness.

The problem was that during the Qing Dynasty's years of isolation, European countries followed China's rules. The Dutch, who were good at handling things, even had to attend sankin-kyo (a traditional Japanese custom of handing over official documents) every year, just like the Japanese daimyo. It wasn't until the end of the Edo period that the rule was gradually relaxed to once every two or even four years.

On the Russian side, communication has always been between the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Grand Council of Colonial Affairs, and it has not involved the issue of etiquette between the two emperors.

According to Russian official sources, Qing Dynasty missions even visited Russia.

Aside from the fact that Lord Tulichentu went to the Torghut tribe to "pacify" them, there were also his two missions to Russia during the Yongzheng era.

They were all supposed to meet the new Tsar of Russia, but the first mission was unsuccessful due to the death of Peter II.

It was Queen Anna, that country bumpkin, who actually met the Qing Dynasty envoys. It was the second group of envoys that the first group missed on their way back home.

Fourth Master, you are truly a man of great efficiency. You even knew that the throne in Russia had changed hands.

It's even possible that in the letter Yongzheng sent to Russia, he acknowledged that the Russian Tsar and he, as emperor, were equals.

However, the rubles that Ma Zhongtang accepted ultimately led to the negotiations in 1727. Although Lao Duozi did not lose face, the treaty was signed according to the Qing Dynasty's bottom line.

If Emperor Yongzheng hadn't been so eager to demarcate the border, preparing to focus his attention on fighting the Dzungars, the demarcation might have been more advantageous.

Solovyov didn't concern himself with whether Chinese envoys should kneel when they arrived.

In any case, according to old Russian etiquette, kneeling is not unusual.

Even Count Golovkin, the father-in-law of Prince Saltykov who had messed up his job, knew that one should kneel and kowtow three times when meeting the emperor. Moreover, when practicing kneeling, he repeatedly assured the Qing officials in Kulun that he would kneel when meeting the emperor and that there was no need to rush to train here.

Then, he failed to get his business done.

Fortunately, Solovyov hardly saw Count Golovkin after that, otherwise he would definitely have mocked him, even though his son-in-law and he were both among the more progressive members of the nobility.

But at least they know the rules; the British, on the other hand, don't.

Although the regent and cabinet, who were sitting at home, knew this principle and told Amherst that they could act expediently.

That's practically telling him that after you see him, you should just prostrate yourself in awe.

However, the matter was ultimately not accomplished, and it also led to extreme distrust between Britain and the Qing Dynasty.

Solovyov need not worry about this. The deputy envoy he sent has already gone to London to congratulate Princess Charlotte and Leopold on their wedding. The two sides will meet in England when their fleet departs for resupply.

And what about the British?
Amherst received orders in January to depart in February, eventually arriving in Guangzhou in July 1816 and Tianjin in August. After much wrangling, he never even got to see the Jiaqing Emperor.

The Russian delegation will depart no earlier than May. However, considering the speed of their clipper ships, along with their fleet of frigates and the latest sailing warships, they will actually be faster than the British. Their arrival time in Guangzhou will not be significantly delayed.

With time adjustments, Solovyov might even be able to visit Brazil and meet with the Portuguese royal family. (End of Chapter)