Seeing this letter, Li Xiao's eyes did not have the slightest happy look, and a cold cold light suddenly flashed in his eyes.

Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info In real history, the powerful northern neighbor who caused great harm to China is finally about to start interacting with himself.

Now that he has to deal with the aggressive, savage and cruel Russian giant bear, Li Xiao knows that this is definitely a very important test.

Regarding Russia's expansion in the Far East, Li Xiao had learned some shallow history in his previous life, and he had a certain understanding of the process of their aggression.

At this time, the Russian Empire was at its most prosperous, that is, the era of the Romanov dynasty.

The current Tsar is the second monarch of the Romanov dynasty, the ambitious Michael Romanov.

It was under the strong impetus of Michael Romanov that the Russians, who had already expanded into Siberia, began to turn their gaze from Europe to Asia, all the way to the east, in a savage and bloody expansion.

After decades of encroachment and conquest, by the thirties and forties of the 17th century, the invading forces of Tsarist Russia had crossed the Yenisei River and reached the Lena River, the Chukotka Peninsula and the Sea of Okhotsk.

In 1632, in the fifth year of the reign of Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, after Tsarist Russia expanded to the Lena River valley in eastern Siberia, it began to build the largest invasion base in the Far East, the city of Yakutsk, as the main base for the southward invasion of China.

In 1638, the Russian government ordered the establishment of the Yakutsk Overseer, appointed Golovin as the Yakutsk Overseer, and forcibly incorporated a large area of the Lena River Valley into the Russian territory.

From then on, under the command of the cunning and cruel overseer Golovin, the city of Yakutsk became the command center of the Russian invasion of northeastern China.

From 1639, that is, the twelfth year of the Ming Chongzhen, the Russian invaders learned about Heilongjiang from the Evenki population, so they were greedy, and then they made up their minds to occupy this rich and warm place, and the Heilongjiang River basin has since become the dream target of the Russians.

Tsarist Russia began to use Yakutsk as a base, from which it constantly sent armed men to invade the Heilongjiang River valley in China.

And now, the Russians, who used the merchant as a deception and went all the way east along the Heilongjiang River, finally officially dealt with the Tang army stationed at the Miaojie Fort.

The Russian invasion is typical of polar bears.

That is, first infiltrate with merchants, establish trade routes, and then, when they see that it is profitable, send Cossack mercenaries and rogue villains collected from all over Eastern Europe, first with small frictions, and then march in large numbers, start wars, and finally completely annex the region.

Such is the case with the fall of the Siberian Khanate, the Yermak expedition, the expansion of the Stroganov family in the Far East, and so on.

When Tsarist Russia annexed these weak khanates, it was already very handy.

It's just that Lao Maozi's greedy nature can't be stopped, in the late Qing Dynasty, when China was the weakest, it was the neighbor in the north who took advantage of the fire to rob the most, a large territory was forcibly occupied, and even the Northeast and Xinjiang were almost not kept, to say ambition, that is, Japan's comprehensive invasion of China grabbed the first, otherwise from the end of the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, the appetite for China was the greatest, and the most hurtful was undoubtedly that Russia did not run.

It's just that the Russian goods, such as honey, dried fruits, furs, ginseng, pearls, etc., are all very profitable goods, and they are also important commodities that are urgently needed in the domestic market of the Ming Dynasty.

In history, the goods of the Russians are indeed complementary to the Ming Dynasty, they need the exquisite goods produced by the Ming Dynasty, the most important thing is tea, after Ivan IV sent an envoy in history, the Wanli Emperor also gave a reply, and then after a few years, Ivan IV sent an envoy, this time the biggest harvest of the envoy was to bring back tea, since then, the Russians have also begun to grow tea extensively, in southern Ukraine and at the foot of the Caucasus, tea cultivation has been a great success.

Tea, silk, porcelain, these three things alone were enough for the Russians to covet, and the Russian Empire at that time had no access to the sea, and there was nothing to trade with the Europeans.

From the end of the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, most of the trade between Russians and China was carried out by Mongolian tribes.

In order to obtain the wealth of China, they first wanted to invade Mongolia, and after being defeated, they supported the Oirat Mongols to fight with the Qing Dynasty, but until the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Russians for the purpose of invasion never started a real large-scale trade with China.

Even in modern China a few hundred years later, the volume of trade between China and Russia was very limited, and the two sides basically exchanged energy and light industrial products.

At present, China's main trade targets are the United States and Western Europe, and these two roads are along the sea route, and the trade volume with the Russians is not at the same level as that of China and the United States or Central Europe.

Li Xiao thought about it for a long time, and finally replied quickly to Wu Zhuang, the mayor of Anle Town.

Li Xiao asked him that it was okay to start trading with the Russians, but he must pay attention to the ambitions of the Russians, and if they had any intention of encroaching on Chinese territory, he should react quickly and interrupt their dogs in time.

Moreover, Li Xiao also emphasized one point to Wu Zhuang, that is, from now on, to a period of time in the future, the Tang army in Andong Town must be vigilant enough against the Manchus and Russia, in case they may adopt despicable surprise attacks.

In the end, Li Xiao emphasized that after the military reform is completed and sufficient combat effectiveness is formed, then the Tang army in Andong Town should turn from defense to attack, adopt the strategy of defending the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the south and attacking Russia in the north, and strive to continue to expand northward after two years, and finally capture the largest and most important Russian stronghold in the Far East, the city of Yakutsk, located on the right bank of the Lena River.

Li Xiao named this plan for himself Dancing with Bears.

What he meant was to start a shallow commercial cooperation with the Russian giant bear first, but the ultimate goal was to drive this aggressive Russian giant bear back to Central Siberia, so that the whole of East Siberia would become a precious territory for future generations of China.

Of course, if the opportunity is suitable for the national strength, the Tang army under Li Xiao will naturally step on the pace of conquest to the vast and sparsely populated Central Siberia, and then all the way to the west...... If the Russians are not afraid of sacrifice and expand eastward all the way, then Li Xiao naturally has to make the same request to his subordinates.

Since Russia can come from west to east and seize colonies all the way, then our Tang army can naturally go from east to west to fight with these Europeans who think very highly of themselves for this wild and cold Far North Wasteland.

As for the possible deaths and injuries of the Tang Army soldiers in the future, Li Xiao didn't mind this, and he wouldn't blink at all.

Since Gu Ci did not take charge of the army, and to confront Russia, a huge and ferocious opponent, without ruthlessness and determination, and without the courage to dare to fight to the end, he would not be able to hold on to it at all.

Li Xiao thought in his heart that if one day he could gain the whole of Siberia and finally reach the Ural Mountains on the border of the Eurasian continent, it would be a sacrifice of the lives of 100,000 Tang Army officers and soldiers, and it would also be a completely bearable loss.

These soldiers were originally used as bargaining chips in exchange for profits, if these well-equipped and well-trained soldiers did not kill and conquer, did not use swords and spears to expand the territory of survival for the Chinese Empire, what would they do with such a large amount of money and food to support them?

In this world, land is more precious than human life, and if a person dies, he can reproduce and reproduce again by intercourse with men and women, but if the land is lost, it is not so easy to regain it from other countries.

After so many years of bloody conquest and fighting, Li Xiao has long been as hard as iron and very ruthless.

In Li Xiao's point of view, the lives of the Tang soldiers under his command are actually no different from ordinary cats and dogs.

Because in this era of leaping from feudal society to modern society, such a precious opportunity for expansion is likely to be lost and never again.

And for these Tang troops, every conquest is the best means to get promotion and rewards, under Li Xiao's powerful brainwashing and encouragement, and stimulated by the military merits and rewards in front of them, maybe as long as Li Xiao gives them a chance to fight and attack, they will go into battle themselves.

Perhaps, imitating the Russians in this way and carrying out non-stop expeditions in the ice and snow wasteland, it is also a recasting of the temperament of a traditional farming nation like us, who resettled their land and relocated their gentleness.

After writing the letter, Li Xiao quickly sent it back to Wu Zhuang in the form of a flying pigeon.

Two days later, in the evening, Li Xiao's reply was received by Wu Zhuang, and after carefully reading Li Xiao's letter, Wu Zhuang had already thought about how to deal with these businessmen from Russia.

It turned out that since the day when a Russian caravan sent a representative to the temple street fort to petition Wu Zhuang to agree to the Tang Army's trade with Russia, Wu Zhuang always felt that something was wrong with these strange-looking Russian merchants, and he seemed to intuitively feel that the purpose of these Russians was not pure, but most likely had other intentions.

Therefore, Wu Zhuang, who was thoughtful, immediately ordered that these Russian caravans coming from afar should not be too close to the Temple Street Fort, but could only camp on a flat land a few miles north of the Temple Street Fort, and told them to wait for a few days and consult Tang Guogong before making a decision.

Now Wu Zhuang decided to wait until tomorrow to agree with those Russian merchants to allow them to trade with the Tang army, but they could only do so on the Heilongjiang River, more than a mile south of the Miaojie Fort, so that these Russians would not dare to act rashly by virtue of the coercion of the troops in the fort.

Subsequently, Wu Zhuang sent an envoy to the camp of the Russian merchants in the north to deliver a letter, and asked them to send two representatives early tomorrow morning to negotiate trade matters outside the temple street fort.

On a bright summer night this month, after receiving the invitation of the Tang Army to go to the Temple Street Fort tomorrow to discuss trade matters, two Russians were talking in a low voice in the camp of the Russian merchants.

"Mikhail, in your opinion, what will Tang Jun talk to us about tomorrow?"

A man in a top hat, with messy blond hair hanging down from his forehead, blue eyes, a large, straight eagle-hooked nose, and two tall beards, all of whom looked very fierce and rugged, whispered to another merchant next to him.

The merchant, Mikhail, was not as intimidating as the guy opposite, he wore a well-cut crimson shirt and sky-blue trousers, with a belt in between, and the thick cowhide boots on his feet, which reached below his knees, and were shaking and shaking.

"Hey, Captain Poyakov, are you still asking me? Anyway, this kind of trade is just a cover for people's eyes and ears, so why should you think too much? Besides, since you returned to Yakutsk by the coast of Okhotsk, haven't you been looking forward to this day? Maybe you should be happy now, you have finally waited for the opportunity to enter the fortress of the Don Army. ”

Mikhail pouted at him.

"Hmph, if it weren't for this, do you think I'd come here with your stinking caravan? Pretending to be a businessman here for so many days, Lao Tzu has had enough. I'll tell you, I'd like to finish this expedition sooner rather than later, return to Yakutsk to receive the reward, and then go to the biggest brothel in the city, and relax and unwind. Whether it is an Eastern European prostitute or a Tatar prostitute, Lao Tzu does not want to let go of any of them! ”

A sinister smile flashed across Poyakov's face.

"Hey, man, I don't think Sir Golovin, the governor of Yakutsk, will like your rude attitude, maybe you can try to be a little more elegant."

Mikhail laughed.

"Phew, how elegant? Do you want me to say hello to you in French? Or do you want me to give you a big kiss? As long as I can give Golovin accurate information about this temple street fort, I won't care what this guy does. ”

Boyakov grinned and laughed.

Mikhail shrugged his shoulders and did not want to answer him again.

In Boyakov's dark blue eyes, there was a glimmer of cold light, and he whispered: "It's really hateful that these damn yellow-skinned monkeys dare to build a castle at the mouth of the Heilongjiang River." You must know that in this way, our Russian Empire, whether it wants to cross the sea to the east or go south from the Heilongjiang River, has to be more fearful. Therefore, this nail hidden in the estuary of the Heilongjiang River must be removed, and the entire Heilongjiang River basin must also be firmly in our hands. Let me tell you, this is a personal decree from His Majesty the Emperor to Golovin, who hopes that we, the noble Russians, will firmly occupy the land of the Far East, and will forever make this warm and fertile Heilongjiang River valley a subordinate territory of His Majesty the Emperor, and an inalienable permanent land of the Russian Empire! ”

"In addition to land, there are women and wealth."

Seeing that Boyakov looked fascinated, Mikhail interjected in time.

"Hey, that's nature. These Tatar women of the Far East, whose diminutive bodies had the smell of the sun, were softer and more elastic than those of Eastern European women, and could better arouse the desires of the Russian warriors. ”

Poyakov said with a lewd smile.

The two of them burst out laughing, and all sorts of foul Russian swear words, like flies in the night, buzzed and flew around.