Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

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

Soloviev was called here. Although the issue of North America was involved, his conversation with Alexander here was far from over.

"Mishka, don't be so restrained. Just think of yourself as a member of the secret committee."

"Your Majesty, this shouldn't work. I am not qualified in terms of title and identity."

"I think you are very suitable. Although your family is a baron, the certificate was still formalized by me. In other words, you are my person."

Fortunately, it is literal, otherwise Solovyov's androgynous appearance in his adolescence would inevitably cause some misunderstandings.

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

Speaking of which, his temper of being fussy and calculating every kopeck should also be changed.

"Well, Your Majesty, I can't get 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."

Soloviev was puzzled when he heard this. The Pole didn't succeed like me, but he said it, and he won't regret it in the future.

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

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

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

"You are right. I think we should send a mission and someone should be the ambassador to China as the plenipotentiary ambassador."

When Solovyov heard this, he knew that Alexander did not know how outrageous the "Heavenly Kingdom" was in the Ming and Qing dynasties. From the end of ancient history to the transition period of modern times, China had such a pair of crouching dragons and phoenixes, and it was indeed a great sin and bad luck.

But no matter what, the main territorial boundaries of modern China are still based on the territory of the Qing Dynasty. It cannot be avoided. This is part of Chinese history.

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

This is a fatal situation. It involves more troublesome issues, which can easily lead to failure.

If you have read the foreign policy of the Russians before 1849, you will know that when Nesherrode was the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Empire, he opposed the eastward advance. The reason was that he did not want to prolong the front line, and at the same time he focused on dealing with Britain and used his strength on the more important Black Sea and Caucasus.

Then, it was the story of Russia being collectively dug by European countries.

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

Solovyov has always been willing to avoid trouble, but when it comes to China, his idea is that he must not get into trouble while he is alive, and he can't control what will happen in the future.

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

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

"Your Majesty, forgive me for being blunt. The emperor of China, no matter whether he is the Tatar emperor of Bogd Khan or the real Chinese emperor in the past, is centered on tribute. Our mission will probably only be regarded as a tribute mission. This is a Chinese tradition. Moreover, the current Chinese emperor is afraid that he knows us more limitedly, not as well as the previous emperors."

Jiaqing's understanding of Europe was relatively limited, and it was even more outrageous when it came to Daoguang.

At least Qianlong knew that Louis XVI's head was gone, and the Qing Dynasty had always had a good relationship with France, and the missionaries in the court were mostly French and Italian.

It's just that the Holy See has always been stupid, and then there was no more.

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

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

At the same time, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, in the past, the Russian diplomatic missions were all connected by the Russian cabinet and the Lifanyuan of the Qing Dynasty. Only during the border negotiations did the high-level ministers sent by both sides meet.

Here we have to talk about the matter 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 a loss in the border agreement of 1727.

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

Solovyov has seen the historical map of Tan's version. After reading it, he also said that the control of the three-year patrol Ebo (Aobao) and the five-year patrol Ebo on the Greater Khingan Range is not very good.

As for the northwest, it is even more difficult to say. In fact, the Ili General also shrank back in this era.

But it is difficult to talk about the details, and I don’t want to talk too much. He can actually summon the Omni-King on Earth and disappear directly.

"You actually think so?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, it is obviously not acceptable for the Chinese emperor to station an ambassador in China. And the size of a diplomatic mission must be strictly limited."

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

Speaking of which, Count Golovkin has a close relationship with old Count Stroganov. His encyclopedic philosophy was taught by the old count.

However, although this man has a good relationship with the family on Nevsky Avenue, he is not familiar with Russian.

"Your Majesty, can this count use Russian fluently now? He may still say shin instead of Khitan."

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

When thinking of this, Solovyov's mind was that Sir Humphrey could not speak a word of Russian.

As well as Bosch Vodka, the Soviet ambassador, Humphrey from Arabia, and a secretary who said "things are universally connected".

Moreover, Count Golovkin's own ability is not that outstanding.

But the Tsar has already said that he is a lieutenant colonel of the guards waiting to be promoted to colonel, so it is not easy to say anything, and he can only complain here.

After listening to it, Alexander laughed. He laughed a little evilly, and his feminine features were not as serious as before, after all, his hair was not thick enough.

"Ah, what you said makes sense. He is still speaking French now, and even mocked Count Uvarov, saying that he was speaking French and using a language he was not familiar with. But everyone knows that his Russian is really not very good."

It formed a sharp contrast with the Stroganov family, and Golovkin's delegation also included Baikov from the Paris Embassy.

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

But the Tsar himself issued an order in February 1805 to appoint this person as ambassador.

It's just that we still need to wait for a while. After all, the embassy needs to prepare a large delegation of more than 300 people, including diplomats, clergy, officers and scholars, and of course, more of the embassy's attendants and servants.

Soloviev listened to the Tsar himself and could only shake his head.

"What's wrong, Soloviev? You shake your head like that, as if going to China will definitely fail."

"Your Majesty, if the delegation can reach Beijing, it may be considered a "failure", so at least there is a chance to meet the Chinese emperor. I can only think that this mission may be fruitless. When Macartney went to China, he happened to catch up with the congratulations on the 80th birthday of the former Chinese emperor. Although it was nominally like this, the Chinese emperor at that time was afraid that the British were "barbarians" who didn't know etiquette, so he was tolerant of them. After all, the British really don't know etiquette, and we often deal with the Chinese, so it's inevitable. You need to accept the other party's etiquette requirements. "

"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 better than those who don't understand. Moreover, when you say that, I am worried that Golovkin will pay a price for his arrogance when he arrives in Beijing."

Indeed, when Tsar Alexei sent an envoy to meet Emperor Shunzhi for the first time, the envoy, Baikov, received a threat of beheading.

In addition to the lack of etiquette and language, if the envoys who come to China are rude, there will be a lot of 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 something he could pay attention to.

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

"Your Majesty, at least it should be better than the court etiquette of Persia. This kind of prostration is still a distance."

Alexander thought that his name came from Alexander the Great, and his old friends in Greece and Macedonia 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 to the Chinese emperor.

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

This is not surprising. After all, Solovyov is still a person in the circle of No. 17 Nevsky Avenue, so it is not surprising that he knows more details.

Moreover, there is a more important thing to discuss, which is the demarcation of the eastern section.

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

"Your Majesty, who drafted this?"

"Of course it was 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 was also the Udi River waiting to be determined. If we move forward like this, the other side will definitely not accept it."

Although it is all wild land, such a large area is still very scary to the senses.

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

Solovyov also had an idea in his heart, don't let him go with him, otherwise it will be difficult to deal with the trouble.

Fortunately, Alexander did not mean to let him watch the farce, but just signaled the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to revise the diplomatic agreement before the mission departed.

Let's not mention the issue of territory first, and the Tsar himself also believes that the other side cannot accept this treaty.

Although this first-class battleship began to become tattered and must have started to leak, it is still a first-class battleship after all.

If Czartoryski knew, he might also think that the green-eyed boy was against him all day long. Did he do something to him?

It was not wrong to say so. After all, they were rivals in love.

But more importantly, it was still the stage of equal diplomacy. No shots were fired, no arbitration was done in the middle, and there was no military deterrence. He went straight to the Emperor Jiaqing to explain the pros and cons. He was not given a seat at the Caishikou, and sentenced to death immediately. This was already mercy.

Russia's main energy is now focused on Europe, and it is unlikely to send troops to expedition. That is really a brain disease.

Except for Nicholas II, it seems that there is no such a fierce one.

As for the next, Solovyov told Alexander the story of a Japanese monkey's Osaka merchant's subordinates and an old liar in 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, in the end, the truth will inevitably come out and it will inevitably lead to a diplomatic dispute."

"Unless the negotiators on both sides are liars."

After hearing this story, Alexander was in a good mood.

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

But this is also easier to deal with than the troublesome Ottoman Sultan and Persian Shah. After all, there is still a "not reciprocating" rule. If it is the court of the Sultan and Shah, who knows what weird things they will do next.