I

Only by capturing the Yenisey River Basin can China consolidate its northern border defense.

This is because the North Sea is connected to the Yenisey River, and the Cossacks are entrenched along the Yenisey River and can come by boat to attack the North Sea at any time.

Secondly, the Yenisey River originates from the northern mountains of the Great Lakes Basin, that is, the northwest mountains of Mobei. The Cossacks occupied that place and were able to go upstream and run to the northwest of Mobei to cause trouble.

And if China obtains this land, the Yenisey River Basin, Beihai area, and Mobei Mongolia can all be connected together.

Zhongshan Temple and Fanshiyuan.

A group of Russian soldiers wearing red coats and orange boots guarded the front and back doors to prevent anyone from eavesdropping.

Tsar Alexei I took this mission to China very seriously and actually sent the red-coated shooting army to escort him.

There are three types of shooting troops: red, blue and green. The top red ones belong to the palace guards, while the lowest green ones can only do police and fire errands.

Its predecessor was the Musketeers formed by Ivan the Terrible more than a hundred years ago.

At that time, the traditional army of Tsarist Russia was not effective, so Ivan the Terrible recruited free people from small businessmen and farmers to form a musketry unit. In the first few decades, it was naturally an absolute elite, but now it has evolved into a lifelong and hereditary system.

You can understand it as-Russian military household!

And the number has reached tens of thousands.

Therefore, when Alexey I first took the throne, the powerful officials were making money and messing around. Not only did they not pay wages to the shooting army, they also had to pay taxes to serve as soldiers.

It is normal for a group of military households to not pay wages, but it is outrageous to ask them to pay a poll tax.

The weapons of the shooting army, which was originally dedicated to muskets, have become a mess: muskets, long axes, machetes, sabers, and a few are also equipped with long guns.

As soon as the shooting army arrived in China, their muskets were temporarily confiscated and they were only allowed to carry cold weapons.

Baykov closed the door, returned to the room and said: "The shooting army is guarding the outside, no one can eavesdrop."

A young man of about 20 years old was the first to speak: "The Yenisey River Basin must not be lost. The top priority is to ask His Majesty the Tsar to cease war with the Ottomans, and then send soldiers to garrison castles across the Yenisey River."

Baykov shook his head: "The Yenisey River is too far away, and it is impossible to station a large number of troops. Russia's finances cannot afford it."

The young man added: "There is no need to increase the garrison, but immigration must be accelerated. The Tsar should lift the immigration ban and continue to exile prisoners to Siberia. Only by enriching the population of Siberia can we effectively prevent the expansion of Khitan, otherwise we will never be able to truly expand in the East. Get a foothold.”

"Haha, abolish the immigration ban, do you think you have lived enough?" The noble young man next to him sneered.

These young people who accompanied the mission were either from large noble families or were academic leaders from small noble families.

The previous young man was a top student named Vasily Vasilyevich Goritsyn.

This guy later became Princess Sophia's lover, helped Sophia destroy Peter the Great's grandmother's family, and was awarded the title of Duke for his merits. He ordered peace negotiations with the Manchus to sign the Treaty of Nerchinsk, forcing Poland to recognize that Kiev and all the territory east of the Dnieper River belonged to Russia, promoting the formation of an anti-Ottoman alliance in Europe, and twice led large armies to attack Crimea.

As for the ending, he was exiled to death by Peter the Great.

At this time, Goritsyn was still a question writer. His father worked as a civil servant in Moscow. He was known as the most talented young man in Russia. Not only was he proficient in Western European culture, but he also studied natural science and advocated the abolition of serfdom, the implementation of religious freedom, the development of industry and commerce, and so on.

To be honest, if Goritsyn had not taken refuge in Sophia too early, he would most likely have become prime minister under Peter the Great!

Peter the Great was able to successfully reform, thanks to Goritsyn's murderous murder, which destroyed Peter's grandmother's family. Because Peter the Great’s grandmother’s family was the biggest obstacle to Russia’s reform.

Faced with the question of the aristocratic young man, Goritsyn raised his fist: "Why is Russia lagging behind? Because the great nobility and the church occupy too much land and population, and more than 90% of Russian peasants are serfs! Only by releasing the land and peasants can we grow stronger Russia’s national power!”

Another aristocratic young man said: "If the serfs are released, Russia will be in civil strife and Russia will be disintegrated. Before the country's strength grows, Russia will fall apart."

Goritsyn took out a Latin version of "Datong Collection", which he got in Nanjing: "Russia should learn from the Khitan emperor. Although it is impossible to seize the land of landlords, it should at least turn serfs into farm laborers. It can also encourage Farmers reclaim wasteland, and the reclaimed land is allowed to become the private property of farmers and pay taxes to the government. In this way, farmers can become mobile, and most farmers will farm, and landless farmers can become workers and soldiers. There is also an immigration ban , must be abolished, otherwise Siberia will always be short of troops!"

Just as Spain banned immigration from abroad, Russia banned immigration to Siberia.

Because once the ban is lifted, I don’t know how many serfs will run away.

Of course, it cannot be banned.

The worse the environment in Russia itself, the more serfs escaped. These serfs first turned into Cossacks, and then flocked to Siberia. By the time Peter the Great came to power, the number of Russians in Siberia would reach 300,000!

In the small courtyard of Zhongshan Temple, the debate among the Russian youths continued.

And the results came soon. The young nobles won the argument, but they won through physical means.

Goritsyn was beaten until his nose was bruised and his face was swollen. He left the yard and wandered alone, not wanting to be associated with that group of insects anymore. He gradually wandered into Changganli, which is the most prosperous commercial district in Nanjing. The endless flow of people and the dazzling array of goods made Goritsyn feel complicated.

Compared to Moscow, Nanjing is really a paradise on earth.

After traveling for a long time, Goritsyn returned to Zhongshan Temple and found that the envoys were in a low mood.

"What happened?" Goritsyn asked.

Baykov replied: "The Khitan Emperor sent a message saying that before the armistice between the two countries, we are not allowed to stay for a long time and we are not allowed to study here. We must leave Nanjing within half a month, otherwise we will be banned from the Zhongshan Temple. Get out."

Goritsyn asked: "Can we stay as individuals?"

Baykov was stunned for a moment: "This... seems not to be prohibited. However, as the leader of the envoy, I must leave Nanjing as soon as possible."

"I want to stay," Goritsyn said.

"I also want to stay." Several other young people expressed their opinions one after another.

Some people want to stay in Nanjing and enjoy the colorful world, while others want to stay and learn advanced cultural knowledge.

After thinking carefully, Baykov gave all the study abroad funds brought by the mission to the aristocratic young man Khovansky, and arranged for two other young people to supervise the use of the funds.

From then on, Khowanski took the young people to rent private houses and paid them living expenses every month.

Seven days later, Baykov left with the envoy, and several shooting troops stayed behind to protect the safety of Tsarist Russian students.

Tsarist Russian youths rented houses on the outskirts of the city. On the afternoon of Baykov’s departure, Khovansky said excitedly: “I heard that there is a very lively place called Qinhuai River, and you can watch witchcraft performances on the tiles there. "

"Are there really witchcraft shows?"

"What are we waiting for? Come to the city quickly!"

"..."

In the blink of an eye, these guys all ran away, leaving only Goritsyn in the small courtyard on the outskirts of the city.

Goritsyn was penniless, so he got up and went to Xuanwu Lake. He heard that there was a European scholar named Pascal there. Unable to communicate in Chinese, he could only visit European scholars and conduct conversations in fluent Latin.

"Bah bang bang!"

Goritsyn slapped the knocker and waited patiently.

A servant opened the door and saw that Goritsyn was from a foreign country. He actually said in Latin: "The master is not at home. He has gone to work at Qintianyuan."

"You know Latin?" Goritsyn asked in surprise.

The servant said: "I will only say a few words. Come back the day after tomorrow, the court officials are on holiday."

"I can wait here," Goritsyn said.

But the servant said: "When the master is studying knowledge, he often forgets to go home. He spends half of every month sleeping in Qintianyuan."

Goritsyn could only say goodbye, return to the small courtyard where he rented, and read the Latin "Collection of Datong".

By evening, the city gate had been closed, and the Tsarist Russian youths who entered the city had not returned yet. Even the shooting army responsible for protecting security was nowhere to be seen.

Goritsyn was penniless, his stomach growled with hunger, and he was unable to communicate with his neighbors.

He could only visit Pascal again. After knocking on the courtyard door for a long time, the servant came out and said, "Master will not be coming home today. Maybe he is doing some experiments."

"Excuse me." Goritsyn left disappointed.

Awakened by hunger in the middle of the night, Goritsyn got up and went to the courtyard, carrying a bucket of well water and drinking heavily.

Damn it, Khovansky was responsible for managing study abroad funds, but he forgot to give Goritsyn this month’s living expenses.

It was not until noon the next day that the Tsarist Russian youths had not returned. Goritsyn smelled the aroma of the food next door and finally couldn't help but knock on the door to beg for food.

A half-year-old child opened the door. When he saw him, he immediately took a few steps back, turned around and shouted: "Dad, Mom, there is a Western ghost here!"

The adults in the room hurriedly ran out, and a woman held the child in her arms.

Goritsyn followed the Chinese bow, then rubbed his belly, pointed to his mouth, chewed the saliva and said: "Hungry...eat..."

The male owner of the house understood clearly and immediately laughed: "Hey, this is strange, Western ghosts actually ask for food. How did you come to China without money?"

Goritsyn didn't understand, so he could only smile and continue to point to his mouth: "Eat."

The man of the house called his wife, children and parents back to the main room, then brought a bowl of food and muttered: "In the past, it was not so easy to beg for food. Now that we have more money, we haven't seen beggars for a long time. Eat, Eat, that’s all, I don’t care if you’re not full.”

"Thank you!" Goritsyn finally said a Chinese word.

The male host stood nearby, watching Goritsyn devouring his food, and kept complaining: "This is the reincarnation of a starving ghost, don't swallow my bowl."

Finally, I made a fool of myself. Although I was not full, I was no longer so hungry.

Goritsyn returned to the courtyard and continued to wait. He did not wait for the Russian young man to come back, but he did wait for the police from Nanjing City and an interpreter from Honglu Temple.

"Are you Goritsyn?" asked the translator.

"Yes." Goritsyn nodded.

The translator said: "Your companions have been arrested and suspected of causing trouble. You should also go to the government."

"Do you care about the food?" Goritsyn asked.