Russia at the beginning of the 17th century was a country 100 times the size of England and Wales, twice as populous, and yet its influence in Europe was almost nil.

Not only did the countries of Western Europe have no impression of this country, but some even think that Russia is not a European country at all, but only an Asian barbarian tribe formed by the cross between the northern barbarians and the Tatars.

Even some Russian aristocrats agreed with these Western Europeans, laughing at themselves that under the ** of each Rus' lived a Tatar soul.

If there was any Western European country that was even kinder to Russia, it was the British, who sought to break the trade monopoly of the Dutch. In order to obtain Russian fur and wheat, the British established the Moscow Company.

The British also tried to find a shortcut to China by land in the north, so as to avoid the sea lanes dominated by the Dutch, Spaniards, and Portuguese.

It's just that the Russians, who need wealth more than the British, refused to allow the British to find India and China in the East through their territory, and they preferred to find the two rich eastern countries by themselves.

Just when the Moscow nobles were struggling to find a way to China, the Chinese caravan took the initiative to come to the door and gave them a great surprise. While the nobles and citizens of Moscow were discussing with great interest the various goods brought by the Chinese, the Kremlin was also discussing how to respond to the message brought by the Chinese caravan.

On the west side of the square where the Cathedral of the Assumption is located in the center of the Kremlin, there is a cube inlaid with white stone cut into tetrahedrons, which is where the Tsar's court is located and where the Tsar rests.

Tsar Mikhail Romanov, who sat on the throne, looked much younger than he was. His beard was short and sparse, and his eyes listened gently and curiously, as the military nobles from Tomsk told him about the Chinese caravan.

Standing at the Tsar's side was the de facto ruler of Russia, the Tsar's father, Patriarch Filaret. The Patriarch was tall, with a bushy Ross-like beard, and his eyes were sharp and clear, and nothing seemed to stump him.

Luka Vasilyev, a military nobleman who reported to the Tsar and the Patriarch, who was known for his strength and was not able to bring him to his knees by the captivity and torture of the Poles, returned to Moscow and mercilessly expelled the nobles who tried to share power with the Tsar.

Patriarch Filaret's brutal methods of governance not only did not meet with the opposition of the Russian subjects, but gained the support of the Russians, who were tired of the weak and incompetent aristocracy, and strengthened the authority of the tsar.

Patriarch Filaret fell into deep thought after hearing Luka Vasilyev's report about the Chinese caravan and some information about China.

Moscow, located between the Volga and the Oka River, was able to rise not only because of the convenient river transportation as a regional economic center, but also because of the Tatar invasions, which led to the migration of the population of the Rus' principalities to the Moscow region, which was originally just a forest.

It was the constant invasion of foreign enemies such as the Tatars and the Poles that led to the formation of the national consciousness of the Rus' people. Although the Poles were now a greater threat to Russia, Moscow never let down its wariness of the Tatars, whose worst feared nightmare was the reappearance of a Tatar empire similar to the Golden Horde in their east.

While expanding eastward into Siberia, they also hoped to find an eastern ally to fight against the Khanate established by the Tatars.

From the mouth of the low-ranking nobleman who accompanied the Chinese caravan to Moscow, Patriarch Filaret felt that Russia seemed to have found an eastern ally that could be exploited. However, from the self-description of these Chinese, the Tatars, whom the Russians feared, even had to submit to their emperor in name.

Such a China seems to be a bit outrageous. Patriarch Filaret had to worry about how much reliability the words of these Chinese businessmen were.

However, Tsar Mikhail Romanov did not have so many concerns as his father, and after Luka Vasilyev stepped back, he could not help but say to his father: "Father, what are you still thinking about?" Why don't we meet the leader of the caravan as soon as possible and accept the credentials that the Chinese emperor has entrusted him with? ”

Seeing that Mikhail was so interested in political affairs for the first time, Patriarch Filaret couldn't help but ask with some curiosity: "Why, do you think we should accept the friendship given by the Chinese emperor whom we know nothing about?" Perhaps the Chinese emperor was not necessarily as friendly as his subjects portrayed? ”

Tsar Mikhail said with some excitement: "This is the first time we have met a foreign monarch who wants to gain Russian friendship without many conditions.

In our periphery there are countries full of malice towards Russia, who either want to seize our land and people, or even the position of tsar, and the countries further west are dismissive of us.

Even if the English showed us some kindness, they only hoped to gain trade benefits from us, and they still regarded us as savages like the Tatars in their bones.

Now that an Eastern monarch has shown us kindness, why don't we reciprocate friendship? No matter what kind of country China is, after all, they are far away from us, and they are separated by Tatar countries, and I don't think they will cause any harm to Russia. ”

Patriarch Filaret pondered the words of Tsar Mikhail for a long time before he said softly: "You are not bad, there are still those nasty Tatars between Russia and China, and such a friendship is indeed expected..."

On September 17, the fifth year of Chongzhen, 23 representatives of the Chahar and vassal departments, 44 representatives of the 19 banners of the right-wing Mongolia, and 39 representatives of the self-defense army of each banner and the army of the Chahar department officially held a meeting in the newly built conference hall of Hulitai University in the southwest of Fengzhen.

At the beginning of the meeting, King Shunyi and Zhuo Erbi suddenly spoke jointly: "Now that Lin Dan Khan's life and death are unknown, everyone has begun to discuss the successor of the Mongol Great Khan, I am afraid it is not appropriate.

And since this is the Great Khan of the whole Mongols, I am afraid that it will be difficult to convince the public with the representatives we are sitting in now. The two of us thought that it would be better to separate the Mongol Great Khan from the Chahar Khan, and this meeting would only discuss the successor of Chahar Khan, and wait until the life and death of the Great Khan were determined, and then discuss who would be the Mongol Great Khan..."

Just when the delegates were confused, Gonchuk Taiji and Gui Yingcha suddenly stood up to support the proposal of King Shunyi and Zhuo Erbi, and when they saw the statements of these two Chahar tribesmen, they immediately woke up most of the delegates, so they also expressed their support one after another.

Although he was unwilling, Gunchuktaiji's betrayal made few delegates support him, and he finally had to bow his head and accept the vote.

Although he received more support than Ezhe in the next vote on Chahar Khan, it was clear that Chahar Khan and the Mongol Great Khan were too far apart. Without the name of the Mongol Great Khan, not only could he not take back the management of the Chahar tribes from his eight sisters-in-law, but he even lost the Great Horde guards in his charge, but only had the name of a Khan.

However, this is not the worst of all. After deciding on the candidate of Chahar Khan, Gonchuktaiji got up and said: "Now that the life and death of the Great Khan are unknown, the affairs of the Mongol tribes are left unattended, and I have two proposals.

The first is to fix the format of the Kuritai Congress; The second was for the Kuritai Assembly to temporarily assume the responsibilities of the Mongol Great Khan and regulate the duties and powers of the Great Khan. Even if a new Mongol Great Khan appeared, these norms could not be overturned without the consent of the majority of the Kuritai Assembly. ”

Gonchuktaiji's words were a surprise for most of the delegates, and the Mongol tribes had long been bored by Lin Dan Khan's perverse behavior over the years, and the delegates' desire to take advantage of the fact that no one was able to formulate some norms to restrain the power of the Great Khan.

Just as the delegates nodded their heads, Omubu, the son of the Shunyi king Bu Lost Rabbit, quickly got up and said: "I agree with Gonchuktaiji's proposal, but I think that before that, the Kuritai Assembly should first pass a vote, and my Mongolian state is also a part of China, and the Mongolian tribes should be loyal to China and His Majesty the Emperor of China, and any act of splitting China will be regarded as treason, and the traitor will lose all the rights he should enjoy, and will no longer be protected by any law." ”

The suggestion put forward by Omubu made the audience quiet for a long time. However, none of the delegates present dared to stand up and openly oppose the proposal to formally merge Mongolia and the Ming Dynasty into one country.

The resolution on the first day of the meeting was quickly sent to Chongzhen, although he did not attend the meeting in person, but he was very clear about the content of the proposals discussed at today's meeting.

After confirming that these representatives of the Mongolian tribes had no attitude of resistance at all, Zhu Youzhen finally relieved himself. He then instructed Liu Jingting: "Tomorrow, on behalf of me, you declare to all the delegates that I recognize the legal effect of the resolutions of the Kuritai Congress, and that the delegates and resolutions of the Congress will also be protected by me. However, the name of the Kuritai Assembly seems to be too awkward, and it is better for them to change the permanent assembly into a local assembly of Mongolia. ”

Liu Jingting agreed, but he immediately said with some puzzlement: "The Mongolian right-wing tribes are now part of my Ming Dynasty, and the left-wing tribes led by the Chahar Department have not many people opposed to being ruled by my Ming Dynasty after Lin Dan Khan's disappearance. Why did Your Majesty give them such a council place, so that they would have the opportunity to unite against my Ming in the future? ”

Zhu Youzhen looked up at him and replied: "The Mongolian tribes in our hands account for more than half of the southern Mongolia of Mo Nan, if you swallow it so unobtrusively, you can't digest it, and you can't say it, what do you think of the Mongolian tribes that have not yet surrendered to my Ming Dynasty?" First use the parliament to maintain the framework of Mongolia, and then slowly reduce the independence of the tribes, so that we can truly destroy Mongolia and get the Mongolian people in China..."