The impression of the city of Beijing on the Russian diplomatic corps is very strange, it is a feeling of surprise mixed with dreams, in fact, before arriving in Beijing, Baron Ihonovsky's impression of China is only in the works of Marco Polo, but it is only a shock given by the abstract oriental architectural style, and after living in the city for a few days, he immediately feels the huge gap, because he does not see any "milk and honey everywhere" or "golden palaces" and the like, as in Moscow, The city of Beijing is also full of poor, poorly clothed, streets and corners are littered with filthy garbage or feces and urine, and much of the air is filled with the dampness and stench of Moscow.

As a professional soldier, Baron Ihonovsky is naturally very interested in the Chinese army, in fact, he has never stopped spying on military intelligence along the way, from the analysis of the current collected intelligence, the Chinese and the group of barbarians in the Heilongjiang River valley are obviously not the same thing, whether in terms of military appearance or organizational structure, or weapons and equipment, the Chinese army is completely different from those Tatars, as a soldier loyal to His Majesty the Tsar, The army in front of us, which is generally armed with muskets and has large-caliber artillery, is indeed very depressing. However, although this conclusion is somewhat discouraging, it is still expected by him, because according to historical data, the Chinese in the Yellow River Valley have a highly developed civilization, so it is reasonable that the army is strong.

After a few days of touring the city of Beijing, Baron Ihonovsky was finally received by the Chinese ruler, and unexpectedly, the Chinese did not put on any pomp, even some necessary diplomatic etiquette was omitted, and the process of entering Zhongnanhai was a bit like a random visit, and the vigilance along the way was not so strict, this sight even gave the Baron a certain delusion, as if he was not going to meet a king, but to find some third-class civil official.

"Great Tsar Peter, Little Tsar Ivan and His Royal Highness Princess Sofia wish His Majesty the King of Han a long and healthy life, and may the friendship between the Han Kingdom and the Great Russian Empire be long and ......"

"Alright, alright, thank you!" Lin Feng smiled and waved his hand, this old Maozi's Mongolian is indeed very beautiful, as far as he knows, many pronunciations in Mongolian are very different from Russian, and this series of awkward pronunciations can be pronounced so smoothly, it is indeed rare. "This ...... What is ...... I-sama, cough, cough, I'm sorry for this, can you tell me your name again! ”

"Your Majesty, my name is Ihonovsky Horowitz, a servant of His Majesty the Tsar, a civil servant of the Far Eastern Province of the Russian Empire, a 4th class civil servant, with the title of baron, my family originated in the Velky Castle, where the famous Grand Duke Ivan lived, and my grandfather was a general of His Majesty the Tsar, and the fiefdom was in ......, three hundred kilometers west of Moscow."

"Oh......" Lin Feng had a little headache, in fact, he asked casually, he didn't expect this kid to blow it, but the atmosphere of this kind of diplomatic occasion is quite serious, he didn't want to lose face, he pretended to be interested and listened for a long time, seeing that this guy was actually endless, he had to cough at the moment and interrupted his words,"

Ahem, ahem, it's still a nobleman, please sit, please! ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"This ...... I said Master Yi......" Lin Feng was about to ask him about his intentions directly, but suddenly saw Ihonovsky sitting precariously as if he was facing a great enemy, his heart moved, and he changed his tone and smiled, "Is Beijing City so fun?!" ”

"The beautiful city of your country is unforgettable, my esteemed majesty!"

"Be polite, polite, our ancestors once taught us, the so-called 'friends from afar, not happy', this we Chinese have nothing else, that is, hospitality, Lord Yi is thousands of miles away, it is not easy to come, we should be well entertained!" Lin Feng smiled and looked around, and said to the ministers on the left and right, "Gentlemen, go back and ask the kitchen masters to prepare, Sichuan cuisine today, Cantonese cuisine tomorrow, and Lu cuisine the day after tomorrow. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty......," Baron Ihonovsky hurriedly bowed in thanks, "the delicacies of your country are indeed unforgettable, but we will definitely not be able to finish them with so many dishes!" ”

"It's okay, it's okay, of course you can't eat it all in a day or two, but it's basically about the same if you eat it for ten or eight years," Lin Feng smiled and waved his hand, "Anyway, our Chinese place is quite big, you can also look around, what Mount Tai, Yellow Mountain, Lushan and the like, walk a few more laps, and taste our Chinese food by the way." ”

"......" Ihonovsky was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness, but ...... But we are here for an important mission this time......" He looked at the grinning Lin Feng and said helplessly, "We hope to reach a friendly agreement with your country to jointly destroy the evil Tatars!" ”

"No problem, it's not a secret, in fact, these barbarians have an enmity with us, it can be said that they don't share the sky, and sooner or later the widows will have to clean up these bandits!" Lin Feng said solemnly, "Your Excellency the Baron, don't worry, you guys will take it first, and when this king has sorted out this side of the cuisine, he will go to raid their hometown immediately!" ”

"'Right away'? ......" Ihonovsky was stunned, and cautiously probed, "I wonder how long His Majesty said about this 'right away'?" ”

"Oh, it's hard to say, maybe two or three months, maybe seven or eight months, but it certainly won't be more than a year!" Lin Feng's face was serious, and seeing Ihonovsky's face pale, he patiently explained, "Your Excellency, it's not that you don't know, it's very troublesome to fight, what kind of guns, cannons, bullets, food, etc., you have to prepare, don't you?" It's not like I just said it's okay! ”

"But...... Your Majesty......" Ihonovsky hesitated for a long time, and finally smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty, now that the barbarians have mobilized a large number of troops to attack Yaksa Castle, I am afraid that I may not be able to wait for Your Majesty's reinforcements!" ”

"Lord Yi is too modest, the Cossacks and musketeers of your country are heroic and invincible, and the barbarians are certainly not opponents!"

"Your Majesty," Ihonovsky stood up and bowed respectfully to Lin Feng, "We have come here with the purpose of friendship, hoping that Han and Russia can sign a friendly military treaty, and I hope that Your Majesty can really treat friendly friends!" ”

"Oh, do you mean that this king is not sincere?"

"Of course not, of course not...... I'm sorry," said Ihonovsky hurriedly, "Your Majesty misunderstood, I mean to ask you to pay attention to this matter!" He peeked at Lin Feng, remembering the castle that was especially under siege, his heart was ruthless, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, the Junggar Tatar Empire in the northwest of your country is rising, and these barbarians are extremely hostile to civilized people, I think, they should be our common enemies!" ”

Lin Feng was originally lazily laughing with Ihonovsky, but suddenly heard him pull to Junggar, raised his head in horror, stared at Ihonovsky tightly, was silent for a long time, and suddenly smiled, "Your Excellency the Baron is threatening me?!" ”

"Your Majesty has misunderstood, what I mean is that as noble and civilized people, the Russian Empire and the Han State should stand on the same front and work for civilization and peace!" Seeing Lin Feng's expression, Ihonovsky calmed down instead, and his face still had a respectful look, "If Your Majesty can rescue those warriors who are fighting for justice, the Russian Empire will definitely not forget your generosity and friendship!" ”

Lin Feng thought for a long time and said slowly, "What does Baron Ihonovsky need me to do?" - And what can Russia give me ?! ”

"We hope to sign a military alliance treaty with the great Han Empire, and in the future, we will help each other and not invade each other," Seeing Lin Feng's loose mouth, Ihonovsky said urgently, "Your Majesty, if you can establish friendship with His Majesty the Tsar, then in the future war between you and the Tatars, we will stand firmly with you!" ”

Lin Feng silently, Russia and China have a long national border, all kinds of intricate relations, as far as he knows, in addition to their expansion in the Siberian Far East, they have also repeatedly reached out to the northwest of China, the Mongolian Junggar Department has always had a close relationship with the Russians, in addition to giving them political support, Lao Maozi gives them a large number of military supplies every year, according to the intelligence sent by the caravan sent some time ago, now Geldan's troops have been equipped with a lot of Russian-made muskets, Even has a small field artillery, Lao Maozi's ambition for the Mongolian steppe is well known, in fact, in the original "Treaty of Nebuchu", Kangxi also reached a partition agreement with Russia through a small-scale war in the Heilongjiang River Valley, in exchange for them to abandon the support of the Dzungar Empire at the cost of ceding a large area of territory.

Lin Feng pondered for a long time, frowned, and said, "This matter is very important, Lord Baron Ihonovsky-" He raised his head, stared at the messenger at the bottom of the steps, and said bluntly, "With all due respect, I'm afraid that Your Excellency doesn't have this great authority—even your Far Eastern Governor doesn't have the authority to decide this matter, can you guarantee that the Tsar and Princess Sofia will agree to this matter?!" ”

Ihonovsky was taken aback, and his face was flushed, the national policy of establishing Yellow Russia could indeed only be decided by the Kremlin, and what he said was actually far beyond the scope of his authority, because now that the Yaksa dynasty was not in danger, he originally intended to fool the king of the East, and give him a vague promise to solve the urgent needs first, in fact, before this, the conquerors of the Far East were also playing this trick on the local indigenous tribes, Unexpectedly, now the ruler of China unceremoniously exposed, seeing Lin Feng staring at him, he couldn't help but avoid his aggressive gaze, remembering Marco Polo's record, most of these Eastern kings were smart and diligent, shrewd, and couldn't help but regret it greatly.

Seeing Ihonovsky's embarrassment, Lin Feng didn't want to force it too much, smiled slightly, and said, "I'll talk to Sofia about this matter, it's none of your business." "The implication is that you're not qualified enough.

Ihonovsky's face turned red, but he didn't dare to refute, he smiled at the moment and said cautiously, "Thank you, Your Majesty!" I promise that the Russian Empire will deal with these small disputes amicably! ”

"'Friendly'? Hey...... Let's talk about it later! Lin Feng couldn't help laughing, smiled, waved his hand, and said, "Let's spread it out, Your Excellency, if you want to discuss the border issue, let's wait for you to come to Moscow, now we want to solve the Manchu rebellion entrenched in the Heilongjiang Valley, this military cooperation is still very necessary - you tell me honestly, how many troops do you have now, and how long can you support it?!" ”

Ihonovsky hesitated slightly, and stopped talking, seeing that Lin Feng and several Chinese ministers in the hall looked confident, knowing that the other party must have already sent a large number of spies to Yaksa and Nebuchu, and at this time his own side was extremely embarrassed, and there was indeed no need to hide his strength, so he smiled bitterly at the moment, "Your Majesty, when I set out from Nebuchu, there were still more than 4,000 people in our army, of which more than 1,000 were heroic Cossacks, and the barbarians besieging us may have more than 20,000 people, most of whom were Tatar cavalry!" ”

Lin Feng was surprised, "You have more than 4,000 troops?!" Can't you hold a strong fortress?! "I didn't expect the Russians to have such a strong force, Lin Feng was indeed surprised.

"Your ......Majesty," Ihonovsky said with a wry smile, "Originally, one or two thousand natives could not threaten the Tsar's army, in fact, we fought with them a long time ago, but this time it is really very different, there are many regular troops among this group of barbarians, and they are actually armed with a lot of muskets and heavy artillery, which poses a serious threat to our fortress!" ”

Lin Feng only then knew where the red-coated artillery in Shanhaiguan had gone, and it seemed that this time the Fengtian Eight Banners, like himself, had drawn up a strategy to stabilize the rear first - take the initiative to cede most of Liaodong and Liaozhong, slow down and disperse the forces of the Han army, concentrate on doing everything possible to eliminate the Russians harassing the rear in one fell swoop, and then turn back to fight a decisive battle with the Han army.

This strategy is very good, expand the depth of the rear, establish a strong rear in the Xiaoxing'an Mountains and other mountainous areas, even if the plain area is defeated, you can escape into the area with difficult terrain, and contact other ethnic minorities to continue to resist stubbornly.

Seeing that Lin Feng was silent, Ihonovsky panicked in his heart, thinking that Lin Feng was frightened by the strength of the Tatars, and hurriedly added, "Your Majesty, now that our Russian Empire is urgently recruiting troops in the Lake Berga region to strengthen the strength of the front, the Tatars are definitely not invincible!" - As long as you can send an elite cavalry force to harass the rear of the opponent, relieve the pressure on Sakya, and wait for reinforcements to arrive, we can quickly restore our combat effectiveness! ”

"Your Excellency the Baron misunderstood, it's not that I don't want to send reinforcements, I'm afraid that sending troops will be useless!" Lin Feng put away his ridicule, said solemnly, dragged a huge map with his hand, ordered the guards to stand up, and pointed, "Now my army is stationed on the line of Ningyuan and Jinzhou, far away from your battle area, and now the strategy of the Manchu Qing is to first go north and then east, even if I send troops to attack their city, they may not pay attention!" ”

Ihonovsky hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the political center of the barbarians is in Mukden, they will definitely attach great importance to it, and as far as I know, their strength is very weak on this side now, as long as you put on a posture of attacking in a big way, and then send elite cavalry to cut off their supply channels, they will definitely send troops back!" Seeing Lin Feng's hesitation, he explained, "Your Majesty, we have been fighting for several months since last autumn, and now their supplies must be very scarce - you know, the Heilongjiang region is very barbaric, and it is absolutely not capable of supporting such a long war, and there is no production capacity of shells and gunpowder there, so their war materials must be imported from the rear, and it is not the era of Genghis Khan, since they rely on muskets and artillery to attack the castle, they have to pay attention to logistics, Otherwise, we won't be able to break through our strong fortress with those cold weapons alone! ”

Lin Feng squinted at the Russian envoy, and said in his heart that this kid is beautiful, where in the world is there such a cheap thing, but he smiled in his mouth, "Hey...... I'm just too soft-hearted, since the baron has said so, then the widow has to give some face, right?! - Don't worry, this king will take care of his righteousness and try his best to rescue his Russian friends! ”

As if granted amnesty, Ihonovsky hurriedly fell to his knees, "Thank you, Your Majesty the Tsar, and the Russian people will always remember your kindness!" ”

"Where, where, little things, little things!" Lin Feng waved his hand and said, "But there is a bit of a gap in the war horses and military spending on this king's side...... Hey, to be honest, this king doesn't want to open this mouth, but since everyone is such a good friend, you won't mind if you think about it, right? ”

Ihonovsky's smile froze, and he stayed for a while before he came back to his senses, and he asked tentatively, "......What do you mean?"

"Alas, to be honest, it's really hurtful to mention this, originally according to the nature of a widow, it is natural to treat friends with a knife in both sides, but just now my ministers are all pacifists, and they have repeatedly reminded me of this financial problem, alas...... What a dilemma! Lin Feng was heartbroken, sighed for a long time, and pouted at Li Guangdi.

Seeing Lin Feng's naked blackmail, Li Guangdi was indeed a little disappreciative in his heart, but as a subordinate, he naturally wanted to share his worries for the lord, since he was destined to be a wicked person, he didn't want to instigate, so he smiled bitterly at the moment, turned his head and said to the envoy, "Lord Yi, at the moment, we are short of military spending and baggage, I don't know if your country can support some?!" ”

Ihonovsky's expression was extremely bitter, it seems that for civilized countries, whether it is the West or the East, this set of rules of the game is common, but those indigenous people are more honest, but he is not very surprised, in fact, since he upgraded China to a "civilized person", he has this psychological preparation, since everyone understands people, it must be very boring to pretend to be confused.

"On the issue of military spending, I think we should have detailed consultations, and we, the Russian Empire, have always been very generous to our friends!"

"That's good, that's good!" Lin Feng nodded, "Jin Qing, you go back and make arrangements, Your Excellency the Baron is a fourth-class civil official, we also have to send a fourth-rank official over to discuss, don't slack off!" Seeing Li Guangdi bow down to answer the order, he suddenly remembered something, "This military expenditure issue is not as good as the way of Confucius and Mencius, our officials may be a bit of a layman - you'd better go to the Jinhui Chamber of Commerce to find a few experienced masters, everything has to be clear, don't make decisions indiscriminately!" ”