Tianjin Free City, Consulate General of the Russian Empire.

After the Ming Dynasty actually moved to Beijing, the ambassadors of various countries to the Ming Empire also moved from the embassy in Yingtianfu in Nanjing to the Consulate General in Tianjin. In the city center of the northern commercial center which is flourishing more and more, it is completely Western-style. This Consulate General in a strong Russian style is the largest and most imposing of all the Consulates-General, and of course the most heavily guarded. Unlike the British, French, Prussian, Austrian, and American consulates in Tianjin, the Russian consulate generally did not employ a single Chinese, and even the gardeners and servants were white from the Russian mainland.

The new ambassador, Putiyatin, stepped out of the carriage with some tiredness, took the briefcase handed by the secretary, and strode into the embassy. The gardener and the servant saluted him respectfully, but the ambassador, a former naval officer, was in no mood to greet them. However, the embassy staff had long been accustomed to it, and the ambassador, who had been dismissed from the post of commander of the fleet because of his defeat in the war, had always been in a very depressed mood.

In the living room, there was already a middle-aged man in the uniform of a Russian naval colonel waiting for him. This colonel is none other than Nevelskoy, who has just visited the parade in the Mulan paddock. He was waiting for the arrival of the Russian armed merchant ship returning to Nikolaevsk in Tianjin, and by the way gathered some information about the military strength of the Ming Dynasty - a considerable part of which was the British ambassador to China, Robert Murphy. Churchill quietly sent it, in Nevelskoy's view, was inevitably suspected of exaggerating the military might.

Seeing Putiyatin walk in with a blushing face, Nevelskoy smiled with a glass of vodka: "Hey, Mr. Ambassador." What makes you look so annoyed? Is it because of the "Triple Alliance" signed by the Chinese with Japan and Siam? ”

Putiyatin sat down wearily on the couch. Take a glass of vodka from the servant. took a sip and said with a wry smile: "Colonel." I just came back from Tokugawa Saiaki. I wanted to talk openly and honestly with this Japanese man, but this Japanese man was full of hatred for the Russian Empire, and it seems that even if we evacuate the Ryukyus, they will not consider becoming friends with Russia. By the way, do you know the truth? Zhu Jishi is recruiting a Japanese samurai legion, which may number as many as 40,000 to 50,000...... They are all crazy people who are not afraid of death, and we must be vigilant! ”

Hear this. A hint of surprise flashed across Nevelskoy's face, but then he returned to normal and asked lightly, "Does Japan have a very strong cavalry?" ”

Putiyatin shook his head: "Japan is a mountainous island country, and there is no place for raising horses at all...... I heard that their shogun, the de facto ruler, had a cavalry of small lords, probably three or four thousand. ”

Nevelskoy sighed: "Then it's not a big deal, at most forty or fifty thousand infantry, what if you can train into the British Red Shirts?" Fighting in Mongolia, Siberia and Central Asia was fought by cavalry, and our Cossack cavalry was the most powerful in the world, so there was no need to worry about the Japanese at all. However, the fact that Zhu Jishi concurrently served as the Great Khan of Mongolia is more noteworthy...... But it shouldn't be a big deal. The Mongols today are not what Genghis Khan was then, and they have always been defeated under the Cossack warriors. ”

Putiyatin just sneered: "Yes! That's what every one of us Russians thinks. Our Cossack cavalry was invincible, our infantry bayonets swept across Europe, and the winter grandfather fought with the Russians...... Even the Emperor Napoleon suffered and lost his empire. Who else in the world can defeat the invincible Russian army? So we're ready to fight the whole world now......"

He said a few words sneeringly, looked at Nevelskoy seriously, and said helplessly: "Colonel." I know that my words are of little use now, and that Petersburg will not listen. But the opinion of Governor Muravyov was still very useful. I know that His Majesty the Tsar, although he has always regarded the Governor as a liberal, still has great trust in the Governor. It would be useful if the Governor could send a report to His Majesty reminding His Majesty of the threat from the East? ”

Nevelskoy was a little surprised, was this Putiyatin stupid by the Japanese in Osaka Bay! The rise of the Ming Dynasty is very fast, and the process of industrialization can be described as leaps and bounds. But after all, the country has not yet completed the real unification, and the historical burden is very heavy, and every reform measure of Emperor Zhu will cause a backlash from all sides. How could it be possible to threaten the eastern part of the Russian Empire in a short period of time?

He shook his head: "Mr. Ambassador, I really don't know why you are so worried about China. The current Ming Dynasty is still busy unifying their own country, with the support of the empire, and the Western Qing and Mongolia can support it for at least 3 years. By then, the Pan-Slavic flag would have been planted at the head of Constantinople......"

Putiyatin pressed his forehead. Nevelskoy was a very competent naval officer, very responsible, adventurous, and a pillar of the Russian Navy. But he is not a diplomat, not a politician after all. He had never seen what the Turkish Empire was, he didn't know what the Persian Kingdom was like, he didn't know what China was like before the rise of Zhu Jishi, and he didn't know how much progress Zhu Jishi had brought to the country in just a few years! This is Peter the Great of China! How could the Russian Empire not be preoccupied with defending its own East?

"Perhaps...... You can find a way to win over Daming. Putiyatin suddenly thought of something, and said after consideration, "Colonel, there has been such news circulating in the diplomatic circles of Tianjin in the past few days, and there has been some unpleasantness between the Ming and the British because of the New Guinea issue. ”

"New Guinea?" Nevelskoy's eyes lit up, "Could it be that the Chinese have established a stronghold on the island of New Guinea?" ”

"Chinese established two strongholds in the southeastern part of the island of New Guinea, and also established a stronghold on the island of New Britain......"

"Great!" Nevelskoy clapped his hands, and then drew a cross on his chest, "God bless Russia!" The Chinese stretched their paws to Australia, Zhu Jishi made a big mistake, oh no, he made a right choice! China's surplus population can only find habitable land in the warm and humid south, and not look at cold Siberia! ”

He stood up excitedly and walked around the living room: "Russia should unite with the Ming Dynasty and develop southward together!" Russia took the Turkish Empire and India, and China took the South Seas and Australia...... In this way, Russia will be the leader of the Western world, and China will rule the East, and perhaps the United States will be able to pull in the United States! The United States rules the New World, and this is the ideal new order of the world! ”

Putiyatin muttered, "It's ideal...... But it will take time to forge such a Sino-Russian alliance...... There are several thousand versts between Petersburg and Beijing, and it takes more than half a year to travel back and forth at a time. Colonel, do you think His Majesty the Tsar can wait? ”

Nevelskoy glanced at Putiyatin with some incomprehension: "Mr. Ambassador, you said that Your Majesty can't wait...... Do you mean that Russia should not start a war against Turkey until it enters into an alliance with China? He laughed, "Mr. Ambassador, Turkey is vulnerable!" Russia and Austria (at this time these two are iron buddies) can easily win the war, and if the British Empire does not intervene directly, the most it can do is to prop up Egypt and blockade us with fleets. ”

Puti Yatin sighed: "It will also support the Ming Dynasty!" Colonel, you must not forget that Zhu Jishi himself also had the title of English viscount, and he had a good relationship with the British French. With that, he drank the vodka from the glass. Colonel, I decided, when the ship arrives, I will return to Nikolaevsk with you, I think the Governor-General of Siberia will listen carefully to my advice - the report we are going to submit to Petersburg will most likely determine the future of the Reich! (To be continued......)