For hundreds of years and thousands of years, the peasants of Russia have given people the impression of hard work and honesty. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 So much so that Tsar Alexander II's father, Nicholas I, believed that the Russian peasantry was good at enduring oppression and could therefore continue to prop up the apparently obsolete system of serfdom. Although Alexander II realized that serfdom must be abolished, he still had the same basic understanding of the Russian peasantry as his father, believing that they were the most solid foundation of the Russian Empire - a Russian tsar who was bent on taking the road of Western European capitalism, but stubbornly believed that the Russian peasantry was more reliable than the bourgeoisie, which was a bit funny. However, such a view was very common in the time of Alexander II.

"Father, if the Ming Empire is bound to collapse in the future, then we ...... Shouldn't you be prepared? Crown Prince Nikolai coughed lightly twice, and as the weather cooled, his body became a little unwell. Why don't we sign the Russian-Chinese Agreement on the Delimitation of the Border with them? ”

At present, Zeng Guofan and Zeng Jize are negotiating with the Russian side in Constantinople on the issue of border demarcation -- the two sides have already reached an agreement on the issue of "transferring" Eastern Siberia and the southeastern Kazakh steppe. The Ming Empire offered 10 million pounds worth of steel rails in exchange for ownership of the two plots. However, the specific demarcation of the border line still needs to be negotiated, because the military demarcation line between the two sides is somewhat ambiguous, after all, this demarcation line has exceeded 10,000 miles, and most of the areas of insignificance are not stationed with any troops. The armies on both sides are stationed in some relatively important strongholds, and in normal times, they just use patrols to show their "sovereignty".

"The agreement still has to be signed, and Zhu Jishi is only 47 years old this year. It is said that the body is very good. Never get sick. I'm afraid I won't hear of his death for 20 years. Alexander II glanced at his son with some melancholy - Emperor Zhu probably had twenty or thirty or even forty years to live...... But what about this crown prince of his own? His tuberculosis is incurable!

"The border of Siberia should be roughly bounded by the Yenisei River and the Sayan Mountains...... Well, it can be bounded on the west bank of the Yenisei River, or you can give another 20 versts on top of that. As for the Sayan Mountains, they do not require co-ownership, and they can be fully ceded to China. Alexander II thought with a frown.

Now Russia's defensive posture in Siberia is extremely unfavorable. Because the Ming Empire had already built the railway to the city of Yesai west of the Yenisei River (the Belgar Ring Lake Railway had not yet been built), which was roughly the original Krasnoyarsk in Russia. And Russia does not have an inch of railway in the western east of the Urals. This has resulted in a very empty deployment of Russian troops west of the Ob River. If the Ming Empire wants to, it can seize this land at any time.

"But the vast expanse of land east of the Ob River must be in the hands of the Empire, but not developed. Serves as a barrier to the area west of the Ob River. Alexander II accentuated his tone, "This is the bottom line that must be adhered to, otherwise once the Chinese lay the railroad tracks to the banks of the Ob River, then Western Siberia will be in danger." ”

"Okay, I'll stay the course in the negotiations." Crown Prince Nikolai said. Negotiations with Zeng Guofan were presided over by him together with Duke Gorchakov. Like Zhu Jishi, Alexander II was also training his successor.

"In Central Asia, we must stick to the Guriev-Akmolinsk line and absolutely not take half a step back." The Guryev mentioned by Alexander II was Atyrau, the important town of Kazakhstan in the northern part of the Caspian Sea, which was an important stronghold of the Russian army at this time. And Akmolinsk is the Astana of later generations, and it is also a large fortress of the Russian army. The Russians drew a straight line directly at these two fortresses. As their bottom line in Central Asia. Although most of the Kazakhs in later generations belonged to the Ming Dynasty, what the Russians left in their hands was the essence of that time.

"I'm going to stay the course!"

"Good." Alexander II nodded. The conversation turned to the rural communes of Russia. "Nikolai, in addition to diplomatic negotiations, you should also pay more attention to the Russian peasants, take the time to inspect the countryside, and see how the rural communes are developing after the reforms. Particular attention should be paid to the situation of rural commune autonomy. Whether the Mir Assembly was authoritative, whether it could truly reflect the opinions and demands of the overwhelming majority of the peasants, and whether the land of the Commune could be truly and rationally distributed. These points will be directly related to whether the peasants can be relied on for the stability of the empire for a long time. ”

Alexander II carefully explained to his son several key elements of the Russian rural problem - the most important of which was the autonomy of the rural communes. Rural communes in Russia have always existed, but were previously controlled by noble landlords and their stewards. Similar to the gentry landlords in China, these Russian aristocratic landowners, who owned thousands of serfs, were the rulers of the Russian countryside before the reforms. After the abolition of serfdom, a large number of aristocratic landlords moved to live in the cities, and some of them began to transform into the bourgeoisie. This, of course, was the original intention of the Tsarist reforms, but the question also arose: who was in charge of the peasants in Russia?

So the tsar and the advisers of the tsar thought of strengthening the rural communes. The rural communes, which were originally controlled by the landlords, were used as a tool to control the peasants, but at the same time the tsar could not send countless officials to manage the rural communes, and the tsarist government did not have so much money to pay the salaries of the officials. So Alexander II and his ministers came up with a very good-sounding solution - the autonomy of the Commune, and it was for real! After the reform, the rural communes in Russia, as the de facto grass-roots power, were elected by the votes of all the heads of the commune at the Mir Assembly (Commune Congress), and it was also a universal suffrage of one household and one vote. It was a very democratic election, and there was no such election even in Britain at this time.

At the same time, the tsar and his courtiers stubbornly believed that the peasants were the backbone of the country's conservative forces and the most solid support for the tsar's rule, because the peasants never wanted any democratic elections......

……

Hong Kong, Stonecutters Island Military Harbour.

The huge hull of the Jishi ironclad was leaning against the dock of the harbor. Hong Kong is now one of the busiest ports in Asia, with Kowloon Harbour, Macau Harbour and Helena Harbour (Victoria Harbour) filled with all kinds of merchant ships all year round. Only the Stonecutters Island Military Harbour on the west side of the Kowloon Peninsula is empty all year round, but today it is rarely lively.

The military band played a farewell tune on the pier, and the Ming troops stationed in the Stonecutters Island barracks lined up neatly to be inspected by the departing Ming crown prince. Celebrities from all walks of life in Hong Kong also gathered at the pier to see them off. After staying in Hong Kong for a few days, Zhu Guoxiong and his brother Zhu Guojie have become a lot closer. As the heir to the throne of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Guoxiong admired his brother's way of governing Hong Kong very much - now the real estate developers of the Ming Dynasty are going to be unlucky......

At this point, the farewell ceremony has ended. The brothers, as well as Zhu Guojie's wife, Helena, were walking along the dock and talking in a low voice.

"Big brother, your governance in Hong Kong is indeed very good. But there is no way to replicate it in the whole empire, my father has already reprimanded me by telegram, saying that I don't know the difference between a big country and a small country, saying that you are a small country and a widow, and it is easier to manage, and the problem of the Ming Dynasty is too complicated......"

"It's really hard to control big powers, just look at the United States and Russia." Zhu Guojie nodded.

"It's the same in the UK, it's very difficult to manage." Princess Helena chimed in. She speaks Chinese, and after marrying Zhu Guojie, she began to learn her husband's native language. Like all European princesses or princes who marry foreign monarchs, she adheres to the principle of marriage and subordination to her husband (wife) and considers herself the monarch here in Hong Kong. She frowned slightly, "Now with the addition of an American Empire, it's really a headache." ”

Zhu Guoxiong groaned: "It is indeed difficult to govern a big country...... The emperor also said that for every country, there must be one or several classes on which to be relied upon. In the Ming Dynasty, the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie, and the kulaks were the foundations of the empire. It must be cultivated and encompassed. The proletarians can be properly helped, but they must not be regarded as the strength of the empire. (To be continued.) )