Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

At this moment, several Grand Councilors were sitting in the Grand Council, having a meeting.

"His Majesty has asked us to draft a plan. In my opinion, the British are very rude. We should be careful and cautious when the Russians come from the south this time, so as not to make any more mistakes."

What the lead military officer Dong Gao said was a typical repetitive statement: as long as you don't make mistakes, it's fine.

Since the nineteenth year of the Jiaqing Emperor's reign, the Grand Council has been facing its most severe personnel shortage.

However, last year the Grand Council only had three people left: Dong Gao, Tuo Jin, and Lu Yinpu. Now at least Zhang Xu has been added.

Compared to the imperial cabinet system of the late Qing dynasty, where the head had to be a prince, Han officials were actually more favored during the reigns of Jiaqing and Daoguang.

At this time, the emperors were all powerful rulers who held real power for a long period of time, unlike the situation where there were three consecutive minor emperors from the Tongzhi to the Xuantong era, or where power was lost to others.

After Dong Gao finished speaking, the four Grand Councilors gathered around a table and began to read the reports copied by the scribes and secretaries.

If they wanted, they could play a game of mahjong right here. It would be perfect for four people to sit around on the kang (a heated brick bed). The Military Affairs Office room would also be cooler, much more comfortable than doing business outside.

"Minister Dong, what do you think we should do?"

Tojin didn't want to express his opinion yet, so he kicked the ball back to Dong Gao, who was in the middle.

"His Majesty has also said that the Rakshasa Kingdom has been quite submissive lately, but as for its title... please take a look."

Dong Gao was already seventy-six years old, which was really too old, but he was still working hard. As the chief Grand Councilor of the court, he could not neglect his duties.

They themselves worked in the military headquarters, which is a testament to the working conditions of the missionaries in the mission.

Moreover, there is no rest throughout the day, and you have to ask for leave in advance.

The problem pointed out by Dong Gao was Solovyov's self-proclaimed title and the title he reported to Katya.

"Since this Rakshasa envoy is well-read and proficient in writing, he also seems to be familiar with our dynasty's official system. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so adept at even the titles of female relatives. Although it is rare, it also violates the system of our dynasty."

"However, His Majesty has always been lenient and benevolent. Moreover, three years ago, the Heavenly Principle Sect rebels caused chaos and praised the Rakshasa Spear. He even bestowed upon it the title 'Wei Lie'. Therefore, there will probably be some leniency in the rules."

"Sir, what do you mean by this?"

"Regarding the British, His Majesty has issued an edict instructing officials along the route to pay close attention and not to glean any military secrets. As for the Russians, they have already arrived in Guangzhou. Perhaps we should delay them for a few more days. According to those missionaries around His Majesty, the Russians are strong in infantry but weak in naval warfare. The British are strong in naval warfare but weak in infantry."

Fucha Tuojin, also known as Master Tuo, did gather intelligence, but it was always rather outdated. If it were during the Qianlong era, it would probably be considered quite accurate.

But times have changed, and now Tuojin is using old terms.

Below is a copy of Solovyov's letter of greeting, which contains many interpretations.

Dong Gao had some tricky cases to handle at the Ministry of Justice, and the summons from Jiaqing was urgent. The documents that had been delivered by express courier were naturally something he had to take a good look at.

He had only read the memorials submitted by Jiang Youxian and Dong Jiaozeng at first, and he had only read the beginning of the documents that Solovyov handed over later.

The following content is also what Tojin is continuing to read.

"Lord Dong, look here. The envoy from Russia is not only the one mentioned at the beginning, but also the envoy from France and several small countries with marital ties."

"What, are they still in the Warring States period, back when the State of Chu sent Empress Dowager Xuan to the State of Qin?"

To be honest, although Dong Gao is old and a bit slow at seeing things, his reaction speed is really fast. He didn't work for nothing for the past thirty years in the central government.

He figured out the intricacies of European intermarriage.

"How about this, we each submit a memorial to the Emperor, outlining our opinions. The final decision will still rest with you, sir, Nan Shi, Yao Qing, and myself. Let the four of us seek the Emperor's wise decision. Is that acceptable?"

Each offered their opinions, and the four Grand Councilors were relatively harmonious, because if there were fewer than one person, the job would be impossible to get done.

In the nineteenth year of the Jiaqing Emperor's reign, one of the Grand Councilors died of illness while on official business in Guangxi, followed by two more falling ill. If it weren't for the appointment of Zhang Xu, the Grand Council would probably have come to a standstill.

Dong Gao was too old, and he requested several times to retire and return to his hometown, but the Jiaqing Emperor refused each time.

His energy level is nowhere near what it was when he first joined the Grand Council in the forty-fourth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign.

In addition, there was no competition among these four people. Tuojin knew that Dong Zhongtang would give him this position sooner or later. The other two Grand Councilors were Han officials, and their ranks would definitely be below Tuojin's.

Moreover, the two of them had to rely on Dong Zhongtang.

That's the situation. There was no competition, and the memorials they submitted were all very similar.

After reading the memorials submitted by the four individuals, Emperor Jiaqing was mainly concerned about the issue of how they addressed each other.

This was inevitable, since previous Western envoys had never come in groups, nor had any of their chief envoys been proficient in Chinese and able to submit a memorial in a horizontal format.

To be fair, the other party was implying that they knew the rules and even the way they addressed people was very accurate.

Solovyov referred to his country's monarch as "Sovereign," artificially creating a four-tiered system of emperor, sovereign, king, and duke, thus prioritizing the face of the Qing emperor without hindering diplomatic relations.

While it wasn't superfluous, it's worth considering that during the Kangxi era, Peter the Great was referred to as "Chaghan Khan" (meaning White Khan). However, from Kangxi to Qianlong, there were also instances in official documents where the other party was referred to as "Tsar." Diplomatic relations between the two countries were generally one of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs versus the Qing Dynasty's Court of Colonial Affairs, and the relationship between the two sides was largely equal, but the Qing Dynasty considered itself slightly superior.

Solovyov was completely disregarding that illusory sense of face, and the emperor's words would easily be used against him by the Qing Dynasty.

The mess that happened with the Golovkin mission is a perfect example.

The problem is that Solovyov addressed Katya as "princess."

Furthermore, they demanded an explanation of the identity of Ney, the "Grand Marshal of the Royal Guard" of France.

Solovyov wasn't in a hurry to go to Tianjin. He wanted to have in-depth exchanges with the Governor-General in Guangzhou, letting him know about Russia's colonies in the North Pacific. He explained that sending merchant groups to trade would eliminate those damned British middlemen who profited from the difference in prices. He also emphasized Russia's desire to develop further friendly and mutually beneficial bilateral relations with the Qing Dynasty.
In short, he used diplomatic jargon very skillfully, so that when Jiang Youxian submitted his memorials, he had to understand exactly what the other side meant.

After seeing this, Emperor Jiaqing could only order the eunuchs to summon all four Grand Councilors.

He was still sitting cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), without any official comments, just sitting there deep in thought, even feeling a little dizzy. This was one of his old ailments.

"Your Majesty, the officials of the Grand Council have all arrived."

"Let them in. Oh, right, Oroli."

"The slave is here."

"Give Dong a seat; he's old, so he doesn't need to kneel down to speak."

The rules in Jiaqing's time were much more lenient than those in Qianlong's time.

When all four ministers came in, the final result was that four chairs were moved in, and they all sat there to talk.

The main reason is that there's a lot to say, and we need to listen to each of them state their opinions.

However, considering the situation during the Jiaqing reign, it was probably just a matter of nitpicking over the wording, using titles and etiquette to give visitors a show of force.

However, since Solovyov didn't need a translator and could simply send a document along with it, the intermediate explanation process was reduced.

The conclusion that can be drawn, namely the Russian envoy, also needs to be clearly explained regarding his official title and what all this entails.

However, if the Russian envoys were allowed to stay in Guangzhou for too long, it was inevitable that they would cause trouble. Emperor Jiaqing had also seen Jiang Youxian's report, which stated that the Russian envoys had left their tribute ships and warships off the coast of Macau, and that the boatmen and soldiers were taking turns going ashore, showing that they were quite disciplined. The Russian chief envoy was also very strict in his orders, and only after negotiating with the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi did he allow the main officials and their families to come to Guangzhou.

In addition, the situation of envoys from various countries was also mentioned.

"Let's draft a plan. I'm just issuing a verbal order; whatever the edict says, you should carry it out accordingly. Say that the Russian envoy has come from afar with great difficulty, and although he may not fully understand the majesty of the Ming Dynasty, he has been respectful and courteous. Therefore, envoys from all countries are specially permitted to disembark at Tanggu."

In short, Emperor Jiaqing granted permission for envoys from various countries to reach Dagu Port.

Solovyov never expected that his actions might have gone too far. By excluding the Portuguese envoy who was already en route and the Madagascar prince from Imreina, he ended up forming an eight-nation delegation.

Fortunately, the army didn't produce that many, otherwise it would have definitely turned into an "Eight-Nation Alliance".

Moreover, if there are any specific etiquette issues, it is necessary to confront Solovyov, the person in question, face to face. Once the negotiations are almost complete, it is time to learn etiquette and come to the capital to meet the Emperor.

Everyone knows the process, and the Russians' performance is always more satisfactory than that of the British.

At least Solovyov, who had served in the military, should have been writing documents with foreign ink and pens, yet his handwriting was still in a passable Yan style calligraphy.

If a military general writes well, his skill is still evident.

Although the contents of this document are somewhat plain, they are still much better than those of Amherst, who was given a very poor evaluation by the receiving minister.

Moreover, after receiving the guest, Jiang Youxian remarked that the guest had read some classic texts and was a person who knew proper etiquette.

It seems that Chaghan Khan has put in a lot of effort. After the failure of the first "tribute envoy", he has learned a lot of lessons and this time he finally sent out a knowledgeable person.

Even Emperor Jiaqing was not surprised, because the Central Plains script also spread overseas. Just like when the Qing Dynasty rose to power outside the Great Wall, Emperor Taizong (Huang Taiji) studied and learned to write at home, and Emperor Taizu (Nurhaci) even invited a tutor from Liaodong.

It's not surprising that some texts leaked out; when the Ming Dynasty fell, the remnants of the Ming Dynasty scattered overseas, and it's not uncommon for people in the Qing Dynasty to have heard of this.

The fact that the Japanese minted "Kan'ei Tsūhō" coins even led Emperor Qianlong to believe that someone was planning a rebellion, causing quite a stir.

It's not surprising that some foreigners understand Sinology, can read Chinese characters, and are even said to be able to recite Chinese poems and know some classics.

The missionaries, including Nan Mide, performed quite well; at least their Mandarin was much more fluent than before.

Solovyov also brought his family to Guangzhou.

The onlookers in Guangzhou hadn't seen any "foreign women" before, since foreigners usually came by boat and it was rare to see them with female relatives from afar. Even if they did come, their female relatives could only stay in Macau.

A foreign woman with a large belly, clearly pregnant, still had black hair, but blue eyes. She wore a white Western dress and a white hat, and was being helped by a maid, leading two foreign children. Such an appearance on the streets of Guangzhou was bound to attract the attention of passersby.

After all, the Russian envoy was handsome and a second-rank official who had studied the classics; his wife was a foreign noblewoman.

However, it should be noted that a prince of the highest rank is considered a hereditary prince in the Qing dynasty. Given Katya's status, it wouldn't be wrong to call her a princess or a county princess.

It's not as simple as just being a "foreign imperial consort".

After the green-clad Russian envoys escorted the white-clad "foreign imperial consort" past, a French "Grand Marshal" in blue followed behind. His rank and military position were higher than the Russian envoys in front of him. He was tall and strong, looking like a seasoned general, and exuded an imposing aura even without anger.

The envoys following behind each had their own ceremonial entourage, but it was smaller in scale than that of the Rakshasa envoys in front, and not as imposing as that of the "Grand Marshal of the Palace." They were probably envoys from several small countries.

However, seeing so many foreigners at once was quite an eye-opener for the already well-traveled Cantonese.

They didn't expect that these foreigners were divided into several countries, with some having green eyes, some blue eyes, some brown eyes, and some black eyes. Their hair color and hairstyles were also different.

Even the "foreign noblewoman" holding hands with the "foreign young master" still had a queue on the back of his head, just like the Russian envoy. They were obviously his wife and son.

Could it be that this Rakshasa Kingdom is like our Great Qing Dynasty?

If the members of the Heaven and Earth Society saw this, they would also have a headache. Why did the Manchus make the foreigners grow their queues?
Of course, they didn't know that this was a trend that was popular in Europe for a while in the 18th century.

Solovyov and his son grew braids together, supposedly to avoid unnecessary trouble.

He preferred to have short hair, but when he was going on a diplomatic mission to the Qing Dynasty, it was still necessary to minimize differences.

It might not work on others, but it might work on my own son.

Moreover, Pasha has an excellent face, and she is as beautiful as a girl, which is considered to be a family trait.

If Lisa and her brother were placed together and dressed in the same clothes, it would probably be difficult to tell them apart. (End of Chapter)