"Hey—that's not the same as saying yes—"

Puff –

On the carriage to the south, Peter shouted out the window in frustration, causing Catherine, who was sitting opposite, to cover her mouth and laugh.

"What are you laughing at? Still laughing! ”

"Your Highness, who said that it was just a casual mention, and Your Majesty would definitely not agree?"

"Well..."

Peter was so dumbfounded that he had to give his wife a blank look.

Before leaving, Empress Elizabeth's lover, her favorite courtier, Alexei from Ukraine. Count Razumovsky even came to Peter to thank him.

Of course, the reason why this trip took place was that the Empress was going to visit the border to inspect the army and border defense construction because the Ottomans had recently frequently invaded the territory of the Russian Empire in the middle and upper reaches of the Don and Dnieper rivers, and that the Ottomans had no reason to attack and abuse Russian merchants who were legally doing business in their capital, Constantinople.

As the crown prince, Peter, the empress felt that it was necessary to increase the loyalty of the imperial army to the imperial family, so she brought it with her.

The Empress and her convoy stopped in the former capital of Moscow, where Peter had the privilege of seeing the great city for the first time.

140 years ago, Moscow, the former capital of the empire, was captured and occupied by the Poles, which indirectly led to the demise of the Rurik dynasty, which led to the later Romanov dynasty.

Despite the hard work of the early founders of the Romanov dynasty, Tsarist Russia had gained a foothold in Eastern Europe, defeating its former rival, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (in the same vein as the Kingdom of Poland). However, it was not until the advent of Peter the Great that Russia officially entered the imperial stage and qualified to get involved in European affairs.

There is also a reason why Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg, although Moscow is already one of the top three cities in Eastern Europe, but it is located inland, far away from the powerful countries of Western Europe, and the land route is very difficult to walk, which is very unfavorable for foreign activities. Although St. Petersburg is frozen for half of the year, it can be used by ship for other times of the year, such as Britain, France, and Prussia, which is also conducive to the development of maritime trade routes. Peter the Great, a ruler who had traveled extensively in Europe, was well aware of the importance of the sea to the Russian Empire, so after twenty years of the Great Northern War, he finally defeated Sweden and took the Gulf of Finland. And the emperor's sustenance for his heirs is to take the outlet to the Black Sea.

While in Moscow, Empress Elizabeth also received emissaries from Vienna.

As the royal family of the Holy Roman Empire, the wife of the current emperor and the archduchess of Austria, Maria. Teresa is actually the true ruler of the HRE. Although she did not win the war of the Austrian succession, Maria. Teresa's resolute tenacity has earned her allies. Among them, Empress Elizabeth of Russia and Madame de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV of France, were the three de facto female rulers who later became known as the 'League of Three Skirts'.

Last month, Empress Elizabeth sent a valuable gift to celebrate Archduchess Maria's birthday, so this time, the Archduchess also returned the gift in time.

The weather was fine, and the Empress walked out of the castle after attending business with Razumovsky, just in time to see Peter playing with the dog.

"Yo roar - quick! Go get the ball back! ”

Peter threw a colored ball into the distance, and several Samoyeds and Huskies scurried out, vying for their master's favorite dog.

"Hmph, what a child who will never grow up..."

Queen Elizabeth held her forehead and shook her head helplessly.

"I think it's good for the crown prince to have a dog to play."

The impulsive Count Razumovsky said to the empress with a smile.

The Count was originally just a church singer from Ukraine, but he was tall and handsome, and he sang very beautifully, so he was brought to the capital St. Petersburg by the then Ukrainian governor-general, and only then did he have the opportunity to be taken by Empress Elizabeth and became united from then on.

"Then tell me, what reason do you have to support what you just said?"

The Empress asked, a little unhappily.

"Did you notice that Peter had become a little more cheerful when he came out this time? It doesn't look so gloomy anymore and there are more laughs."

"Did you say nice things for him because I gave him permission to go on this trip? He's happy with dogs, right? ”

The Empress stared at Count Razumovsky.

"Oh no, how dare I resist you, do I?"

"Alright, I know you won't, okay? Oops, speaking of these headaches again, I shouldn't have listened to him talk nonsense about showing royal majesty in front of the Imperial army, and not only did he bring the dog, but he also pulled a cage for bears, really... Alas—"

"Hehe, maybe you don't know, Ukrainian nobles used to lead bears out of the house, but that was hundreds of years ago"

"Really? What are you doing with a bear out on your hands? Can one person beat a bear? Really..."

"Hey, I'm just telling you about this, the Ottomans still lead lions and tigers to go shopping."

"We are civilized, how can we compare with the Ottomans?"

"It's me wrong, Your Majesty..."

The Count realized that he had made a mistake and hurriedly bowed down to apologize.

"Alright, go and call him, I have something to ask"

"Yes, Your Majesty"