"Is Russia strong?"

After receiving Gregory's saber and receiving the surrender, Tong Haifeng returned to the captain's room of the Wenzhou, and the captains of all the ships were there, and everyone asked Andrei, the deputy navigator of the Wenzhou, about their doubts.

Especially when they knew that it was no less than 20,000 miles away from the port at the western tip of Russia, they were all shocked, and it must be very powerful to be able to cross 20,000 miles away. Their voyage has only taken thousands of miles, and it has already taken so long and so difficult.

"Russia is not strong at all, and it is far from Germany, France, Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland and other countries."

Andrei didn't mean to put gold on his country's face, besides, he thought that he was now a member of the Han Empire.

Faced with everyone's doubts, Andrei gave everyone a lesson in the popularization of Russian history.

Earlier, the Russian state was centered around the Polyans who lived in the Dnieper valley, and they formed tribal alliances because they lived on both sides of the Rus' River, a tributary of the Dnieper, and were therefore also called Rus'.

Until about 800 years ago, three Rurik brothers of the Varyags were "invited" by the Novgorod nobles to cross the sea to Novgorod in 862 and established the first Rus' state in history.

It was also the beginning of the Rurik dynasty.

The Rurik dynasty had Kiev as its capital, so it was also called Kievan Rus', and through constant foreign wars, Kievan Rus' became the largest country in Europe in the Middle Ages.

By the time the Mongols were on their way to the west, Kievan Rus' was weakened by civil war and foreign invasions, and they were conquered by the Mongols and later became vassals of the Kipchak Khanate (also known as the Golden Horde), founded by Genghis Khan's eldest son, Batu the son of Shuthorn.

At this time, the lands of Rus' were divided into three parts: northeast, northwest, and southwest, and later these three parts formed the three East Slavic peoples of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.

By the 14th century, Muscovy began to rise. In 1480, Ivan III defeated the forces of the Golden Horde, and the Rus' state began to be established and unified, establishing a centralized state that stretched from the White Sea in the north, the Oka River in the south, and the upper Dnieper River in the west. east to the Ural Mountains.

The long period of internal and external wars led to the continuous expansion of the military service aristocracy, and Russia gradually embarked on the road of serfdom.

The Rus' were conquered and ruled by the Mongol Golden Horde for more than 200 years, and the name Russia is derived from the Mongolian pronunciation of the Rus'.

The weakening of the Golden Horde allowed the Russians to rise up, and after they got rid of the Golden Horde, they expanded rapidly under the huge vacuum left by the Golden Horde. The Russians learned excellent military technology from the Mongols, and they also continued the vast territory of the Golden Horde.

When the Rus' were still subservient to the Mongols. The powerful Mongol Khan of the time married a princess of the Byzantine Empire as empress, so the Russians turned to the Mongol Khan as Tsar. The word tsar comes from the Latin translation of Caesar, which means great emperor.

However, after the weakening of the Golden Horde, the Russians refused to call the Mongol Great Khan the Tsar.

By the time of Ivan III, he himself married Sophia, the last princess of the Byzantine Empire, and since then, Muscovy has regarded itself as the heir of Byzantium, and the double-headed eagle, the symbol of Byzantium, brought by Sophia, as a state treasure.

At the time. The Ottoman Empire captured Constantinople, and the Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, which had lasted for thousands of years, came to an end.

Sixteen years after the fall of Constantinople. At the behest of the Pope, Princess Sophie, the niece of the last emperor who fled to the West at the fall of Byzantium, married Ivan III, Grand Duke of Moscow.

By the time of Ivan IV, Ivan IV elevated the Grand Duke to the rank of Tsar, and the name of the country was changed to Tsarist Russia. Although Ivan IV was the second to use the title of Tsar, he was the first Tsar of Russia in real Russia.

Tsar Ivan IV. Also known as Ivan the Terrible or Ivan the Terrible, it was under the leadership of this Terrible that Tsarist Russia began to grow stronger.

However, it has been more than fifty years since the Terrible died.

Russia is no longer strong, but is in chaos.

Fifty-five years ago. After the death of Ivan the Terrible, the throne passed to the eldest son, Fyodor Ivanovich. More than 40 years ago, Fyodor Ivanovich died and his relative Godunov was elected Tsar, and the Rurik dynasty came to an end.

Since the death of Ivan IV, the whole of Russia has been mired in turmoil and power struggles, and various rebellions have erupted.

The Rurik Dynasty, which had ruled Russia for more than 800 years, came to an end, and the nobles from all sides who coveted the Tsar's throne were endlessly striking, and in the end, it was the Romanovs who took advantage of the chaos to seize the Tsar's throne.

With the support of the family background and the church, twenty-eight years ago, the nobles compromised, and Michael Romanov was finally officially elected Tsar of All Russia, and the Romanov dynasty began.

But when Mikhail I was first elected as the tsar, he was reluctant to be crowned and succeeded to the throne, because none of the previous tsars died well, not only did Russia itself have civil strife, but even Poland made a pseudo-Tyritri twice at that time, and sent it to Russia to ascend the throne as the tsar, plus Sweden in the north also came to beat Russia from time to time a few times, so that Russia at that time was no longer as strong as the Thunder Emperor.

After many compromises, Mikhail was crowned, but because he was only a teenager, the Tsar was in fact held by his father, the Archbishop of Russia.

The Romanov dynasty began, but only nominally ended the chaos, and in reality Russia remained a powerful enemy, with the Tsar effectively ruling only a few areas around Moscow.

In the north, Sweden occupied seven cities, while Poland occupied large valleys such as Smolensk, and the Polish king even believed that the Russian tsar belonged to his son. The Tatar cavalry of the Crimean Khanate in the south also invaded the Russian hinterland, constantly burning and plundering.

Enemies lurk on the outside, and there is no stability on the inside.

Years of turmoil left the treasury penniless, thieves swarmed everywhere, and even Ukrainian Cossacks proclaimed the son born to Pseudo-Dimitri II as Tsar.

Tong Haifeng and other captains listened to it for a long time, looking at each other one by one, only thinking that Tsarist Russia was very powerful, but they didn't expect that although today's Tsarist Russia is a new dynasty, it is completely different from the Han Dynasty.

Replace the Ming Dynasty and establish the country. The Romanov Dynasty, which was at its peak in national strength and could replace the Rurik Dynasty, was not as good as the Thunder Era, with all kinds of internal and external troubles, but it was like the Chongzhen era.

"The reason why so many people take the risk of coming to Siberia is because Russia is having a hard time. All kinds of military service, hard labor, and high taxes made them flee their hometowns. Because of the high price of mink and walrus ivory in Siberia, many people run to Siberia to take risks. ”

This is just like the Ming Dynasty, because of the chaos in the Central Plains, many people ran to the sea to survive, such as Zheng Zhilong and others, first in Japan, and then failed in the rebellion. Then he went to Taiwan to open up.

Even earlier, many famous pirate merchants in the East China Sea and the South China Sea ran away from the Central Plains. At that time, there were even pirates from the Central Plains who reclaimed the famine in Taiwan, and then competed with the Spaniards in Luzon, and even established a kingdom for a time.

The same is true of many Russian explorers today, because Russia can't get along anymore and goes to the East to adventure. And because mink, walrus ivory, black fox skin and other items are expensive in the European market, and even gold and silver mines have been found in Siberia. Therefore, many adventurers made a fortune, which stimulated countless Cossacks and others to come to the East.

"It's just a bunch of outlaws!"

Tong Haifeng sighed again and again. I thought it was a European power like the Netherlands and Spain, but it turned out to be just a group of outlaws.

"In recent years, the situation in Russia has stabilized a lot, and peace treaties have been concluded with Sweden and Poland, and the war has decreased a lot."

However, the Russians, who have already repaid the sweetness in Siberia, will not give up Siberia just because they can make a fortune here. So more people poured in.

According to the information provided to the fleet by the intelligence department, the Russians have not only reached the Xiaohai area, but have also penetrated deep into the Tatar Strait, and even begun to invade the Heilongjiang River valley.

"How are the Russians on that boat interrogated, do you know why they are here?" Tong Haifeng asked.

"Preliminary interrogation. These Russians are still honest, according to their confessions, after verifying each other, we get the result that they went to Kuyi Island. ”

Kuyi Island, also known as Kuye Island, Kuwu Island or Guwei, Heilongyu.

It is a huge island located east of the mouth of the Heilongjiang River, facing the Tang Dynasty called Xiaohai to the east and north, and the new Xihai Province of the imperial court across the Tatar Strait to the west. To the south, it is separated by a strait from Japan's Ezo Island.

Tong Haifeng has a newly published map of the Han Empire in the empire, on which there is a map of the empire's territory, this map is very good, detailing the four seas of the empire, on this map, there is Kuyi Island, and the official name on it is called Black Dragon Island.

On the map, the terrain of Heilong Island is long and narrow from north to south, and its shape is like a fish, and the area is equivalent to the size of two Taiwan islands, or even the entire Japanese archipelago.

As early as the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the geography book Shanhaijing recorded that the inhabitants of Sakhalin Island were Mao, and there were Mao people on the Dahai Island, and this Mao people referred to the Jilie charm on the island.

In the biography of the Later Han Dynasty Dongyi, it is also said that there is a female country in the North Wofu Sea.

Therefore, in the records of the Han family, Sakhalin Island is also called the Maoren country or the women's country. It is said that there are more women than men on the island, and the body is hairy. Since the Tang Dynasty, the Ainu tribe on the island has paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty, and the emperor of the Tang Dynasty has crowned its envoy as a cavalry captain.

It was from Kamchatka that the captured Russian ship crossed the small sea. The Russians called the Little Sea the Sea of Okhotsk, and they went all the way from the west to the easternmost point of the East, and some have even crossed the Bering Strait to Alaska.

The Russians, having conquered Kamchatka, also built fortresses and harbors here, as well as shipyards, where the captured ship was built.

After the Russians conquered Kamchatka, they wanted to conquer the Chukotka Peninsula in the north, but they met with stubborn resistance from the Chukotka people several times, and after the strong attack, the Russians discovered Sakhalin Island, which is across the sea at the mouth of the Heilongjiang River, so they sent a boat with about 200 people to prepare to go to the island to explore, preparing to invade and occupy Sakhalin Island as they did in other places.

It's just that they were unlucky, and as soon as they crossed the small sea, they encountered the Han fleet and were directly captured.

"These Russian bandits."

"Black Dragon Island has been my Huaxia since ancient times, how can these Russians be invaded and infected! Commander, let's stop at Heilong Island and erect a monument on the island. ”

Another officer shouted, "Commander, I am willing to take people to the island to contact the natives, appease them, and set up a guard post on the island." ”

Tong Haifeng was also a little excited, if he landed on the island, even if he just planted a Han flag and erected a stele, it would be of far-reaching significance, and he might be able to become a celebrity in history and become the first person in the Han Empire to land on the island.

However, this mission is to go to Yasak, Heilongjiang to rescue the Sauron people, and there can be no delay.

Black Dragon Island is so big, and there are many indigenous tribes on the island, and they don't have guides.

"Adjust the course and find a suitable place to prepare for landing on Black Dragon Island."

Heilong Island is very large, and Tong Haifeng is not familiar with the guide on the island, nor does he have a more detailed map. On the map given to him by the military department, only a dozen large rivers were marked on Heilong Island.

Not far from the northeast of where they are now, there is a large river that flows into it. This estuary is also the landing site where the Russian ships are preparing, and Tong Haifeng decided to land here.

The crew is very interested in landing on Black Dragon Island, and after sailing on the ship for a long time, they will be very eager to land.

What's more, everyone also knows that this is not an ordinary landing, it will be a place where Han people have not landed for a long time. Since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, it is estimated that no Han Chinese have been there.

Several dhows were ordered to explore the way.

The fleet cautiously sailed behind, and after half a day, they finally saw the mouth of the river.

The water in the estuary was abundant, and the fleet entered the estuary smoothly, chose a bay to anchor, and then stopped the ship to land.

Tong Haifeng disembarked with thousands of crew members, and the sailors, marines, and marines on the warships were all eager to disembark.

After disembarking, everyone saw an undeveloped virgin land, a pristine appearance. But the green mountains and green waters are really beautiful.

Zhou Hong and a group of officers and students formed a flag protection team, they carried a big Han dragon flag down from the boat, and the soldiers saluted.

The flag was handed over to Tong Haifeng, Tong Haifeng took the dragon flag and inserted it into the soil.

"The Great Han Dragon Banner is flying here, Black Dragon Island is the sacred territory of the Holy Great Han Empire, it is inviolable and protected by the force of the Empire!"

More than 5,000 people spent a day and soon built a camp by the mouth of the river with this flag as the center.

"Sir, please name this castle!"

Tong Haifeng looked at the camp that was still very simple, but he felt a passionate and exciting joy in his heart.

"The flagship of our fleet is Wenzhou, I think it is better to call this river the Xinou River, and here it is called Xinwenzhou." (To be continued.) )