Only at this time did the people of Yusheng understand why the Russians were so eager for trade with the Ming Dynasty, the Northern Capture was even more backward and barbaric than the Russians, and there was no wealth, the Ming Dynasty had a large number of goods that the Russians needed, and with the goods of the Ming Dynasty, the Russians could expand the cities in the Far East, attract more people, develop more land, and get more income, and then trade with European powers such as the Netherlands, and could use the wealth earned to buy machines, open schools, and develop cities......

Siberia is already very, very, very important to the Russians, and if they can trade with the Ming Dynasty again, the Russians will develop by leaps and bounds.

Even He Bin had to say privately: "An old man like Petrin is actually dedicated to the country, much better than my Ming scholar, it's really a hell of a life." ”

"The governor and the nobles of the city, as well as the generals and merchants, have come out to greet you."

A Russian soldier rode over, this man was wearing a military uniform, two rows of buttons, a high military hat, the military uniform was dark gray, breeches, boots, the military uniform looked relatively shabby, this person was also full of weather, and the beard on his face was long. At the man's waist was a long, long, diagonal knife with a worn-out scabbard, and on the side of the horse's belly was an arquebus, which was placed in a pocket.

Patrin and the man hugged briefly, and even the people with Yusheng could see that there must be a conflict between him and this person.

"This is Bashrov, the leader of the Cossacks in the city," Petrin said. ”

Mo Zong channel: "There is Lao Yuanying." ”

After a few months along the way, Mo Zongtong and others were originally proficient in Mongolian, and now they can also conduct simple conversations in Russian, and of course, Petrin and others have also learned simple Chinese.

Bashrov nodded stiffly and said, "Everyone has come from afar, please enter the city." ”

The man tilted his head high and glanced at everyone, especially the firearms flag team, and when he realized that all the merchant soldiers were using flintlock muskets, his eyes froze for a moment, but soon the man's face regained his pride, nodded with his chin, turned over and rode away first.

"What's wrong with this man?" Zheng Zhihu said with a depressed face: "Why didn't you come here like a welcome, but like a demonstration to us?" ”

Petrin smiled bitterly: "This person is my opponent, I have always been unable to get along with me, I was appointed by His Majesty the Tsar as the envoy of the mission, and Madov went to China together, and in your Great China City, that is, Jingshi, obtained the Wanli Emperor's reply, this was a few years ago, when I met your proprietor, and determined to cooperate with you and Yusheng, Bashrov has always disagreed with this, plus personal grudges, so he will treat you with this attitude." ”

Mo Zongtong said peacefully: "We don't care about the grievances between Your Excellency and Bashirov, what we care about is his attitude towards the mission. If this is the official statement of your country, then we will have to turn away. If it is a personal grudge, I sincerely hope that you will remind him not to bring his personal grudge into his official affairs. ”

Petrin looked embarrassed and said, "I will definitely react to the governor." ”

The city below the hillside resounded with the cheerful beat of drums, hundreds of soldiers lined up in a neat line, trumpets and drums sounded in unison, and the sound of artillery, and the Russians welcomed the guests from Daming with the highest courtesy.

Tomsk has been a city for almost 30 years, and the city is about the size of the Acropolis, which is a remarkable achievement considering that the Russians have to travel thousands of miles and rivers to come.

The city was normally run by a tsar-appointed governor, with a number of auxiliary institutions and facilities, the main task of which was to search the area east of several large rivers, but due to the cold of Siberia and the vast area of no man's land, the Russians' eastward march had stagnated in recent decades.

Mo Zongtong and Zhang Xuwen, as well as Zheng Zhilong and others, didn't know that they were standing at a turning point in history at this time.

The Russians' covetousness and greed for land are seared in their bones, but at this time they are almost confused about how to continue eastward, and the road ahead is becoming more and more difficult, almost in a maze, difficult to see.

At this time, Russia's biggest enemies were Poland and Sweden, and the Russians needed more access to the sea in Europe than the Far East. They need to build up their national strength, make more guns, earn more money to feed more soldiers, and need stronger cavalry and more artillery.

The Tsar attached great importance to trade with the Ming Dynasty, and in the forty-fourth year of Wanli, the Russian Tuminets came to China, and when he arrived in Beijing, he wrote in a letter to the Tsar after returning to China: "The scale of the city of Peking is so magnificent that you can't walk around it in ten days on horseback, and China is rich in gold, silver, raw silk, silk, velvet, wheat, barley, oats, and millet, and the abundance of products is unbelievable......

Thanks to Tuminets' letter, Tsar Mikhail I sent Petrin and others to form a formal mission to the Ming Dynasty in an attempt to establish a formal state-level trade route.

Of course, this effort was a failure, the Ming court could not be interested in this form of trade at all, do not show that the DPRK is unable to trade northward, even if there is such a possibility, it is not what the imperial court has to do, compared with these emerging countries that regard commerce and trade as the lifeline of the whole country, the whole of China is not only slow and dull in rule, but also completely unfounded and seriously behind the times in theory.

In his letter to Emperor Daming, the Tsar also claimed to be a great power, and Wanli was not angry, but replied in his letter of state: You are a big country, and China is not small.

With a light stroke, if it were not for the appearance of Yusheng, I am afraid that the next time the Chinese deal with the Russians will have to be Nebuchu and Yaxa.

And the scale and grandeur of the welcome group in front of you also shows that Russians really attach too much importance to trade......

Later generations may not know very well, at this time Russia has just ended the old dynasty, the Romanov dynasty has just begun, Russia has just been defeated by Sweden, and at the same time faces the threat of Turkey, and more deadly is Poland, after Russia is strong, Poland was beaten very badly by Russia, and has been destroyed by Russia many times, but before Russia was strong, that is, at this time, Poland has invaded Russia many times, more than ten years ago, King Sigmund III of Poland led his troops to conquer Moscow, ending the old dynasty, Sigmund tried to make his son the tsar, but was unanimously opposed by the Russian nobility, and Russia itself was in constant turmoil, with several pseudo-tsars appearing, and the country was in chaos, Mikhail I was elected after the Tsar's throne was vacant for three years, and when he ascended the throne, Poland occupied a large amount of Russian territory, and the Tatar cavalry of the Crimean Khanate went deep into the Russian hinterland to burn and loot, and the treasury was empty enough to run mice...... Russia was able to get back on its feet in such a weak situation, not because of God's favor for more than ten years, but because of the huge wealth gained from the Siberian trade routes!

A huge amount of wealth was transported over the Ural Mountains to Moscow, where it was traded with the new sea powers such as Britain and the Netherlands!

If the trade route with the Ming State could be opened, Russia would gain more wealth in the vast Siberia, which was the result that the Tsar valued the most.

"This is the Imperial Minister Golovin, the Governor of the city, His Excellency Vlasov, this is the Cossack leader Bashrov, whom you have just met......"

Petrin introduced the Russian nobles and officials in the city to Mo Zongtong, Mo Zongtong noticed that many of the officials in the city had noble titles, they wore wigs, ribbons and beautiful ornaments, but the leather boots on their feet were covered with mud spots, Mo Zongtong nodded secretly, knowing that these Russian nobles and officials were not as flashy as they appeared on the surface, and the nobles and officials who could be down-to-earth should not be taken lightly.

"This official has been appointed by His Majesty the Tsar." Speaking on behalf of everyone, Golovin said: "Your Excellency and the Ming mission are welcome to your government and to Tomsk as a whole. ”

"Correct a little." Mo Zongtong said with a smile: "We are a delegation sent by local officials of the Ming Dynasty, not the imperial envoy of our own emperor. ”

Golovin was a little embarrassed, and he said, "It's the official's negligence." However, whether it is sent by the emperor or a local official, your Excellency is still the official mission of the Ming Dynasty, and we Russians need the same respect. ”

Mo Zongtong and the others felt the sincerity in their words, and although the Russians were a group of bandit-like barbarians in their eyes, no matter what, when people were greeted with such a sincere and warm welcome, it was still touching to people's hearts.

At this moment, everyone heard a cold snort from Bashrov.

Mo Zongtong and the others looked a little ugly, and Golovin and Vlasov and Petrin and others all looked embarrassed.

"In any case, we would like to thank the nobles for their hospitality and welcome." Mo Zongtong said very decisively: "I hope we can quickly start practical negotiations." ”

"Yes, that's right." Vlasov, the governor, said: "There are already many merchants in this city who have come to the city on news, and they are eager to establish trade contacts with you as soon as possible. ”

Mo Zong Channel: "This requires sincerity and cooperation from both sides, as well as a long and arduous process. ”

At noon, a banquet was held in the Governor's Palace, and sure enough, a large number of Russian businessmen came, many of them actually knew Mongolian, these people and Zhang Xuwen and Zheng Zhilong and others desperately pulled relations and friendships, hoping to finalize the trade as soon as possible, how could Zhang Xuwen and others agree directly, just smiled and pushed the topic away, these Russians had no choice but to desperately pour wine, how could Zhang Xuwen and others drink wine, but they refused to say half a wrong sentence, until the end of the banquet, everyone did not gain anything.